If you've been keeping up (or trying, at least!), I keep going back and forth about work. Go back to school? Change careers? Well, I've been thinking a lot about it the past few days. And after thinking, talking with friends, and mulling over all the awesome comments you guys have given, I think I have come to a decision. I'm pretty confident in this decision and think I'll stick with it.
So, what is it??
I am NOT going to go back to school OR change careers.
I had so much to contemplate, and after putting it all together this is what I came up with:
a) I have a pretty safe job right now and my bosses think I'm a great asset
b) It would be WAAAAAAAY too hard for me AND John to both be in school while also starting a family
c) I've been at my job for 3 years and have already been promoted twice. If I changed careers, I'd have to start all over, at the bottom, somewhere else.
d) I'm making good money at my current job, and starting over I might not be able to make the same
So, basically, I'm going to suck it, stick with my job and hope for the best. I even went in to work today to catch up on some projects! Over-achiever, right?? :o) No, not really...I felt bad for being so behind since I've been wasting so much time at work lately. I REALLY need to catch up.
It feels good to have a plan though. I mean, even being at work on a Saturday, I felt good. Like I made the right choice. I was where I was supposed to be.
Wish me luck!!
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Friday, May 29, 2009
One of those moods.
Yeah, I’m in one of those moods today. One of those, “I cannot deal with other people’s stupid issues today” moods. One of those, “I need loud music to drown out my thoughts” kinds of moods. One of those, “I need sing at the top of your lungs music – think Hero/Heroine by Boys Like Girls” kinds of moods. One of those, “I also need slow soulful music – think Last First Kiss by James Otto or Don’t Think I Can’t Love You by Jake Owen” kinds of moods. Yeah, one of those.
And it sucks being stuck at work with this mood. I need to be at home, dancing around my living room, singing at the top of my lungs. I need to be cruising down the freeway, radio blasting, windows rolled down. I need to be rollerblading down the street, eyes closed, wind in my hair.
But alas, here I am, trapped. With 15 different projects piled on my desk. All due before Monday. And none of them finished.
And I’m in one of those moods.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
And indecisions...
Am I too old to still not know what I want to be when I grow up??
John and I had a long discussion last night about my career and how I’m miserable in my current job and want to do something different, but I don’t know what. (This was after he came home, saw me on the computer and asked what I was doing. “Looking for a new job,” I responded.) Remember my post about a vet tech? Or maybe I’ll become a home stager. Or maybe go back to school and become an accountant. Why stop at vet tech when I could just go on to become an actual vet? These are the kinds of things we discussed.
John thought I should become a veterinarian. Or a nurse. I could make good money doing those things. I also would need a lot more school. But I don’t think I can manage 6 more years of school and $125,000+ to become a vet. (I told John it’s all my mom’s fault that I’m not currently a vet already. That was my original career choice, but she persuaded me to follow architecture, which led to construction, and now a job I don’t like anymore…but that’s a story for another time.) And I don’t think I’d be a very good nurse. I do better with animals than humans. I’m weird, I know. Plus I pass out having my blood taken…think I could take someone else’s blood? Either way, I doubt I would be good at that. And that would be another 4 years of school for a BS in Nursing.
That’s why I first thought of vet tech. Not too much more schooling and it’s working with animals. I think I could be good at that and I would enjoy it. However, it would be paying for 2 more years of school to make roughly half the salary I make right now. John doesn’t think that’s the most economical choice.
Okay, what about accounting? I like numbers. I’m good at math. I could make good money. So that’s where I am right now. Considering going back to school for accounting. I could a) get a MS in Accounting which would require the 36 hours of graduate coursework, plus some pre-reqs that I don’t currently have since my BS in NOT in accounting or business or b) get a Certificate in Accounting which means roughly 30 hours of coursework to make me eligible for the CPA exam. Saying I pass that exam, I could be a CPA without having a MS and the CA program is geared towards working people with classes at night and on weekends. And it’s much cheaper as they charge you the undergraduate rates for the 30 hours instead of the graduate rates since I’m not actually pursuing a graduate degree. Nice. Oh, and this is just at our local UofH…I really don’t feel like searching around at a ton of schools to find something else.
That would be much more economical seeing as John also wants to go back for his MBA and his company will only reimburse roughly half of the cost of that.
So. What do you think? I am so full of questions lately! I’m completely indecisive about my life right now, can you tell? I just don’t have tons of real life experience yet. I don’t know how to go about changing careers…or starting a family…or making big decisions like that. But I feel it’s about time for me to learn. I’m ready.
John and I had a long discussion last night about my career and how I’m miserable in my current job and want to do something different, but I don’t know what. (This was after he came home, saw me on the computer and asked what I was doing. “Looking for a new job,” I responded.) Remember my post about a vet tech? Or maybe I’ll become a home stager. Or maybe go back to school and become an accountant. Why stop at vet tech when I could just go on to become an actual vet? These are the kinds of things we discussed.
John thought I should become a veterinarian. Or a nurse. I could make good money doing those things. I also would need a lot more school. But I don’t think I can manage 6 more years of school and $125,000+ to become a vet. (I told John it’s all my mom’s fault that I’m not currently a vet already. That was my original career choice, but she persuaded me to follow architecture, which led to construction, and now a job I don’t like anymore…but that’s a story for another time.) And I don’t think I’d be a very good nurse. I do better with animals than humans. I’m weird, I know. Plus I pass out having my blood taken…think I could take someone else’s blood? Either way, I doubt I would be good at that. And that would be another 4 years of school for a BS in Nursing.
That’s why I first thought of vet tech. Not too much more schooling and it’s working with animals. I think I could be good at that and I would enjoy it. However, it would be paying for 2 more years of school to make roughly half the salary I make right now. John doesn’t think that’s the most economical choice.
Okay, what about accounting? I like numbers. I’m good at math. I could make good money. So that’s where I am right now. Considering going back to school for accounting. I could a) get a MS in Accounting which would require the 36 hours of graduate coursework, plus some pre-reqs that I don’t currently have since my BS in NOT in accounting or business or b) get a Certificate in Accounting which means roughly 30 hours of coursework to make me eligible for the CPA exam. Saying I pass that exam, I could be a CPA without having a MS and the CA program is geared towards working people with classes at night and on weekends. And it’s much cheaper as they charge you the undergraduate rates for the 30 hours instead of the graduate rates since I’m not actually pursuing a graduate degree. Nice. Oh, and this is just at our local UofH…I really don’t feel like searching around at a ton of schools to find something else.
That would be much more economical seeing as John also wants to go back for his MBA and his company will only reimburse roughly half of the cost of that.
So. What do you think? I am so full of questions lately! I’m completely indecisive about my life right now, can you tell? I just don’t have tons of real life experience yet. I don’t know how to go about changing careers…or starting a family…or making big decisions like that. But I feel it’s about time for me to learn. I’m ready.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Semi-freedom
As you all know, we have two big dogs. They'll both be 2 years old later this summer. We've crate trained them and while they stay out in the yard during the day, they sleep in their crates at night (and occasionally during the day if it's really rainy outside). We knew at some point they would not have to sleep in their crates anymore without fear they'd potty in the house...or eat something they shouldn't. I think we're coming to that point. On rare instances, we'll let them sleep in our room with us, and they do pretty well.
I wanted to try to start giving them a little more freedom at night, but I was nervous about letting them have complete free run of the whole house. But then I wanted to give them more roam than just one room. So we compromised. I put a baby gate at the top of the stairs, closed the doors to the guest room and hall bath, and let them roam between our room, the hall, and the office where their crates are. We've been trying that out this week and so far it's worked pretty well.
Cocoa was restless the first night and wandered around a lot, which kept waking me up, but Major still slept in his crate all night. The next night, Cocoa started out in her crate, and Major was in our bed...he just wanted to snuggle after a tiring day at the beach. By morning, both had made it to our bed. Last night, Major was in our bed most of the night and Cocoa was on the floor in our room. It helped that we moved some pillows in there for them and they slept on those off and on throughout the night. And silly Major, our door was open, but when he had to go potty at 3am the other night, he came, licked my face, and then went and sat in the open doorway. He knows to sit by the door to go out, so I guess he figured he'd still sit there, even though the door was open. He's so silly.
Anywho...so far it's working out pretty well. They mostly sleep the entire night anyway, so maybe in the future, we can open the stairs so they can go downstairs if they want (Major likes to sleep on the couch) and then we can close our door to keep them out. It's a little distracting when they jump on your face at 6am when you still have 30min. before the alarm goes off!!
So, yay for our puppies...finally growing up and becoming (just the slightest) more responsible. :o)
I wanted to try to start giving them a little more freedom at night, but I was nervous about letting them have complete free run of the whole house. But then I wanted to give them more roam than just one room. So we compromised. I put a baby gate at the top of the stairs, closed the doors to the guest room and hall bath, and let them roam between our room, the hall, and the office where their crates are. We've been trying that out this week and so far it's worked pretty well.
Cocoa was restless the first night and wandered around a lot, which kept waking me up, but Major still slept in his crate all night. The next night, Cocoa started out in her crate, and Major was in our bed...he just wanted to snuggle after a tiring day at the beach. By morning, both had made it to our bed. Last night, Major was in our bed most of the night and Cocoa was on the floor in our room. It helped that we moved some pillows in there for them and they slept on those off and on throughout the night. And silly Major, our door was open, but when he had to go potty at 3am the other night, he came, licked my face, and then went and sat in the open doorway. He knows to sit by the door to go out, so I guess he figured he'd still sit there, even though the door was open. He's so silly.
Anywho...so far it's working out pretty well. They mostly sleep the entire night anyway, so maybe in the future, we can open the stairs so they can go downstairs if they want (Major likes to sleep on the couch) and then we can close our door to keep them out. It's a little distracting when they jump on your face at 6am when you still have 30min. before the alarm goes off!!
So, yay for our puppies...finally growing up and becoming (just the slightest) more responsible. :o)
At the beach
We went down to Galveston, to the beach house on Monday. It was a TOTALLY gorgeous day and we had a great time. I took some pictures, but I have forgotten my camera the past two days so I haven't posted any. Maybe I'll remember tonight and post them.
The dogs had an absolutely wondeful time. Running, playing in the water, chasing birds... It was very relaxing for me as well. Just laying out in the sun...nice breeze. Best thing was, it was not crowded at all where we were. So the dogs were free to run about off the leash without bothering anyone except the occasional passer-by. But they behaved quite well.
Well, that's all really...it was a great day at the beach, and I promise to post the pictures to prove it! :o)
The dogs had an absolutely wondeful time. Running, playing in the water, chasing birds... It was very relaxing for me as well. Just laying out in the sun...nice breeze. Best thing was, it was not crowded at all where we were. So the dogs were free to run about off the leash without bothering anyone except the occasional passer-by. But they behaved quite well.
Well, that's all really...it was a great day at the beach, and I promise to post the pictures to prove it! :o)
Menu Plan Monday
Yes, I do realize it's Wednesday, thank you. With the Holiday Monday, I obviously did not post my menu plan. It's not a very exciting menu this week. Just odds and ends of meals we haven't eaten over the past couple weeks. Here it is, regardless!
Monday - I had a cookie...John had a burger
Tuesday - Leftover steak and veggies from Sunday
Wednesday - Taco salad
Thursday - Sausage wrapped in tortillas and green beans
Friday - Umm...maybe hot dogs? Really, I think we'll probably end up going out...it will have been a long week...for being a short one!
Told you it wasn't very exciting. Mainly whatever I can find that I don't have to go to the store for. I did go to the store yesterday, but I didn't buy much. Mostly odds and ends for lunches and snacks. And hot dog buns...I know we've got hot dogs in the freezer. Always good to have buns around for those impromptu meals when we've got nothing else to eat! :o)
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
News...decisions...
Look! I have a few new followers! Thanks guys! Welcome to my madness! Hope you enjoy what I've got and I'm always open to comments and suggestions for my blog. It is new, after all, and I am always in the market to make it the best it can be. :o)
Okay, so, my news. Sometime in the next year, I will enter into the ranks of "pregnant lady". Sometime. In the next year. Let me explain...
A few weeks ago, my husband and I agreed upon a "5-year plan" for ourselves. He had just done one for himself at work and I thought we could use one. We don't really have any set plans and I thought it was about time to start making some real, concrete plans. Our plan consists of: 1) be pregnant in the next year, 2) buy a new house in the next 2 years, and 3) have baby #2 in the next 5 years. Simple plan, yes, but at least it's a plan, right? Okay, well, we had already discussed offically starting to "try" when we're on our vacation this summer (we leave in 44 days, if you missed my countdown down at the bottom of my blog...no, I'm not the least bit excited... :o)). Well, given my hormonal challenges, we might not be very successful in getting pregnant on our own in a reasonable time, so I asked last night how long we should try before getting on Clomid. First, he says, umm...next summer? That would put us past our "within the next year" mark. So, we agreed on next January, since even after starting on Clomid, it might still take a few months to work. So from July 9 - Jan. '10 we'll try on our own. If unsuccessful, we'll see the doc at that point about getting Clomid and hopefully succeed in conceiving by next summer!
Big step, huh? It's so strange to think I might be somebody's MOM in less than 2 years! Whoa. I think we're finally getting ready for it though. I mean, we have been married 3 years now. And we both turn 27 this year. It's about time, right?
Okay, so this is the first I've talked about it with anyone other than my hubby...so...how did anyone else break the news to family members that you were trying to get pregnant?? Or did you? Or was it a surprise to them until they found out you were pregnant? I don't know how to go about any of this. I'll be the first out of me and my (older) sister to have kids, so I don't know what the protcol is! Help!
Okay, so, my news. Sometime in the next year, I will enter into the ranks of "pregnant lady". Sometime. In the next year. Let me explain...
A few weeks ago, my husband and I agreed upon a "5-year plan" for ourselves. He had just done one for himself at work and I thought we could use one. We don't really have any set plans and I thought it was about time to start making some real, concrete plans. Our plan consists of: 1) be pregnant in the next year, 2) buy a new house in the next 2 years, and 3) have baby #2 in the next 5 years. Simple plan, yes, but at least it's a plan, right? Okay, well, we had already discussed offically starting to "try" when we're on our vacation this summer (we leave in 44 days, if you missed my countdown down at the bottom of my blog...no, I'm not the least bit excited... :o)). Well, given my hormonal challenges, we might not be very successful in getting pregnant on our own in a reasonable time, so I asked last night how long we should try before getting on Clomid. First, he says, umm...next summer? That would put us past our "within the next year" mark. So, we agreed on next January, since even after starting on Clomid, it might still take a few months to work. So from July 9 - Jan. '10 we'll try on our own. If unsuccessful, we'll see the doc at that point about getting Clomid and hopefully succeed in conceiving by next summer!
Big step, huh? It's so strange to think I might be somebody's MOM in less than 2 years! Whoa. I think we're finally getting ready for it though. I mean, we have been married 3 years now. And we both turn 27 this year. It's about time, right?
Okay, so this is the first I've talked about it with anyone other than my hubby...so...how did anyone else break the news to family members that you were trying to get pregnant?? Or did you? Or was it a surprise to them until they found out you were pregnant? I don't know how to go about any of this. I'll be the first out of me and my (older) sister to have kids, so I don't know what the protcol is! Help!
Progress Report Tuesday
It's Tuesday again. Though it feels like Monday since it's the first day back to work this week. Thank goodness for holidays, right?!
Okay, so the progress this week? Loss of .2 pounds. That is pretty good given the fact that I quit tracking my points this week. I still did pretty well with the no carbs after 3pm. We had fish and corn Tuesday night, steak and squash Wednesday. Thursday was bunco and I did NOT follow the rules. Friday we went out for Mexican. Who can pass up chips and queso?? Saturday we did pretty good. Ate at my mother in laws house and she made jerk chicken with rice and squash. It was yummy. Sunday we did good with steak and beets. Yesterday we went to the beach all day. I snacked on pretzels, goldfish, and cherries at the beach and then we had cheeseburgers and corn for late lunch. Then I had a few cookies the rest of the day...never ate a real dinner. Just wasn't hungry. <-- Really starting to realize when I'm actually hungry and when I just feel like eating. Great progress!
Either way, I'm doing really well in proportioning my food and watching more closely what and how much I eat. Good job me! :o)
I got compliments from my mother and sister in laws about how great I was looking and how tan I had gotten. That made me feel good. All my effort is starting to show! Woo hoo! Now I'm really looking forward to vacation in 44 days because I'm feeling SOOOO much better about myself!
I'm actually a little sore today from running around at the beach with the dogs yesterday. We were in and out of the water...running through the sand. They had a great time!! Need to start rollerblading more.
Okay, so the progress this week? Loss of .2 pounds. That is pretty good given the fact that I quit tracking my points this week. I still did pretty well with the no carbs after 3pm. We had fish and corn Tuesday night, steak and squash Wednesday. Thursday was bunco and I did NOT follow the rules. Friday we went out for Mexican. Who can pass up chips and queso?? Saturday we did pretty good. Ate at my mother in laws house and she made jerk chicken with rice and squash. It was yummy. Sunday we did good with steak and beets. Yesterday we went to the beach all day. I snacked on pretzels, goldfish, and cherries at the beach and then we had cheeseburgers and corn for late lunch. Then I had a few cookies the rest of the day...never ate a real dinner. Just wasn't hungry. <-- Really starting to realize when I'm actually hungry and when I just feel like eating. Great progress!
Either way, I'm doing really well in proportioning my food and watching more closely what and how much I eat. Good job me! :o)
I got compliments from my mother and sister in laws about how great I was looking and how tan I had gotten. That made me feel good. All my effort is starting to show! Woo hoo! Now I'm really looking forward to vacation in 44 days because I'm feeling SOOOO much better about myself!
I'm actually a little sore today from running around at the beach with the dogs yesterday. We were in and out of the water...running through the sand. They had a great time!! Need to start rollerblading more.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
What the heck? Are you SERIOUS?
Remember our gazebo we put up last Sunday (just one week ago)? We had a WONDERFUL week enjoying it. Dinners on the patio. Evenings sitting on the patio reading. Just lovely.
Well, today, we had a sudden rain storm. We had gone out to Lowe's to get some things to build our doghouses and it starts pouring on our way home. We had left the dogs outside so I'm feeling super sad for them having to be out in the rain. It had only been raining maybe 10min. by the time we got home, but it was raining pretty hard. So we get home, and right away I run to the back door to go out and let the dogs inside. I reach the back door, look out the window and see our lovely gazebo canopy, has imploded on itself!! NO!! Our canopy!! But I'm still worried about the dogs so I just blow it off and run out to get them. John comes in and sees it, at that point. He is PISSED. We've had the thing for ONE WEEK. Well, I find the paper work that came with it and no where does it say in the 1-year warranty that rain fall is not covered, so we are definitely calling to have them send us out a replacement canopy. That is just ridiculous, that the first rain storm we have, it comes falling down. And my table and chairs got so much more wet had it not fallen in on itself. Now the wicker top on the table is starting to warp. :o( Yeah, here's our imploded gazebo...
Sad, so very very sad...
Friday, May 22, 2009
My pants.
Remember those pants I decided were my goal?? Last night, I was in my closet, changing to go to Bunco. I pulled out my trusty capris, about to put them on. Then, on a whim, I thought, well, while I’m putting on pants, why not just see where I am with these jeans. I take them off the hanger and cautiously put one leg in…then the other…then pull them up…ALL the way up…and button them…WITHOUT having to suck it in…and walked out of the closet. I could walk in my jeans!! I could sit down in my jeans!! I was COMFORTABLE in my jeans!!!! My jeans, that I swear I haven’t worn in over a year because previously, I couldn’t even get them all the way up…couldn’t even think about buttoning them! Oh. My. Good. Grief. I was BEYOND ecstatic. So I took those off and threw on another pair that hadn’t been fitting either for a year+. The same thing. I was comfortable! Comfortable enough so that I even wore them to Bunco!
I ran downstairs and went to stand right in front of John who was laying on the couch. With a huge smile, I said, “Guess what!!”. Looking at me like I had lost my mind, he asks, “What?”. “I haven’t worn these jeans in over a year…and now they fit!!” And I held up my shirt and spun around so he could see. Still looking at me as if I had lost my mind, but with a smile he says, “Good job.”
Oh, happy day!! Want to know the BEST part?? This morning, I was getting ready in the bathroom, and I happened to glance down where I had tossed my jeans the night before. I noticed, for the first time, the tag on the inside of the jeans. What does that say? I leaned closer. Then, very clearly, I saw “26/2”. Those jeans were a size 2?!? What?? No way. But it says so, right there. EEEEEEEEE!!! <-- That’s me, squealing with delight, if you were not aware. :o)
I ran downstairs and went to stand right in front of John who was laying on the couch. With a huge smile, I said, “Guess what!!”. Looking at me like I had lost my mind, he asks, “What?”. “I haven’t worn these jeans in over a year…and now they fit!!” And I held up my shirt and spun around so he could see. Still looking at me as if I had lost my mind, but with a smile he says, “Good job.”
Oh, happy day!! Want to know the BEST part?? This morning, I was getting ready in the bathroom, and I happened to glance down where I had tossed my jeans the night before. I noticed, for the first time, the tag on the inside of the jeans. What does that say? I leaned closer. Then, very clearly, I saw “26/2”. Those jeans were a size 2?!? What?? No way. But it says so, right there. EEEEEEEEE!!! <-- That’s me, squealing with delight, if you were not aware. :o)
How to be More Adventurous for "Date Your Mate month"
| May 22, 2009 |
Make an Effort to "Date Your Mate" |
|
| Add a Little Adventure to Your Relationship Tip: Don't let National "Date Your Mate" month get away. Embrace the opportunity to revive the romance in your relationship—in a safe and healthy way. Q: We've been together for so long, and sex feels like work. How do we make if fun again? A: Find new ways to enjoy each other's bodies, like long massages and strong daily hugs. Have intimate contact outside the bedroom, or write down your fantasies and put them in a "fantasy jar." Take turns picking out of the jar and act out the fantasies. This can build intimacy, trust—and great sex. |
Copyright © 2009 Health Media Ventures, Inc. All rights reserved. The material in this site is intended to be of general informational use and is not intended to constitute medical advice, probable diagnosis or recommended treatments. See the Terms of Use for more information. |
Not Me Friday
MckMama hosts a Not Me Monday every Monday. They’re super fun to read. I, however, can never think well enough on Monday’s to ever write my own and link up. I kept thinking last night about all these dumb things I did this week. So instead of waiting until Monday, when I’ll probably forget, I’ll just make my own Not Me Friday today. Enjoy!
First off, I did not start re-reading Twilight, just 2 weeks after I finished the last book in the series, Breaking Dawn. I also did not finish that 500 page book in just 3 days.
Twittering
Okay, just a warning…I might have lots of posts today. It’s Friday. I don’t want to be at work. I have lots of things on my mind. So yeah. Must be Super Post Friday! :o)
I joined Twitter this morning. I’ve been thinking about it for a while and finally was on the computer this morning looking for new music and thought about it so I just joined while I was at the computer. Knowing that once I got to work and thought about it again, I wouldn’t be able to get on at work, so why not? Just one more thing to update and distract me from work. Work that I don’t want to be doing in the first place. Yay!
So since I am at work, I can’t do much with my blog, like add a “Follow me on Twitter” button…yet…sooooooo, if you would like to follow me, go here. :o)
My oh my, I think I’m about to be in technology overload! I Facebook, I blog, I (now) twitter, I surf the ‘net on my phone, I text, I email…man…who knew I would be that girl? :o)
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
20 Questions!
**UPDATED!! Thought of a middle name...**
I love questions! I love reading all the questionnaire’s on blogs! I also love copying them! :o) Thanks to Mrs. C., who stole this one from Remember Moments, for posting, so I could steal from her!!
1. World Cup final, Olympic Games, Superbowl, World Series, NBA finals, Stanley Cup... which one would you like to attend?Olympic Games, definitely
2. If you had boy/girl twins today, what would you name them?Ella Nicole and Emmett Ryan (I just thought of Emmett today…it’s really growing on me.) :o)
3. 5 Biggest Purchases of 2008:Hmm…what did we buy last year…paid for vacation, bought our laminate wood flooring, umm…we bought a lot of stuff for the house…I can’t even remember last year!!
4. What 3 words do you think of when I say Italy?Tuscany, bread, wine
5. How fond of vegetables are you? Which ones are your favorite?Oh, I really like veggies…most of them. I love zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower, squash, peas…so many…it’d probably be easier to list the ones I don’t like!
6. If I were a character on "Friends" I'd be:I would probably be Monica
7. 5 of your pet peeves.no driving fools…I mean, people that don’t use blinkers, when John stops talking mid-sentence, plans that aren’t thought through thoroughly enough (that was a lot of “ough”s.), unkept promises, rudeness
8. What was the last thing you regret buying?Right now I’m regretting buying the Bowflex since John has used it once since we bought it in February. So much for promises. Ahem…**glancing at question above…**
9. What three things come to your mind when I say the word “Fresh”? clean, shower, laundry
10. Cheers, Mash, or Seinfeld?Mash…I still watch re-runs of that show…funny stuff.
11. I should be:Working at the moment. We all need a little break now and then, though, right??
12. What is something that you really should get rid of, but haven’t:We still have unpacked boxes from when we moved into our house…2+ years ago…I could really just throw it all out…haven’t used it in 2 years, what makes me think I still need it enough to keep it until I finally get around to unpacking? And then just throwing most of it out anyway!!
13. Do you think that a person can really change?I think if they want it enough. Most people don’t have the determination to really change themselves, but if it’s important enough, they’ll try really hard.
14. In your opinion, what is the best tv show that isn’t on the air anymore?Is Reba still on the air? I used to see re-run on Lifetime at the gym. I LOVED that show.
15. Is it easier to forgive or forget?For me? Easier to forgive…it’s VERY hard for me to forget something I’ve had to forgive.
16. What do you order when you eat Chinese food?Usually like chicken and broccoli or beef and broccoli…and egg drop soup…love me some egg drop soup.
17. Is your blog a dirty little secret, or do you tell everyone you meet about it?I tell lots of people that I do blog, but don’t really go around handing out business cards with the address or anything. I do have links up on Facebook though. So if you want to find me, you can.
18. Your personal candy heart would say:dream
19. You're having a bowl of soup. Your choice.Broccoli cheese…Mmmm…from McAlister’s…in a bread bowl. **drooling** I talked a lot about broccoli today, didn’t I?
20. What can’t you miss?I hate missing weddings. I love weddings. I try my hardest to go to every wedding I’m invited to…especially if it’s family.
I love questions! I love reading all the questionnaire’s on blogs! I also love copying them! :o) Thanks to Mrs. C., who stole this one from Remember Moments, for posting, so I could steal from her!!
1. World Cup final, Olympic Games, Superbowl, World Series, NBA finals, Stanley Cup... which one would you like to attend?Olympic Games, definitely
2. If you had boy/girl twins today, what would you name them?Ella Nicole and Emmett Ryan (I just thought of Emmett today…it’s really growing on me.) :o)
3. 5 Biggest Purchases of 2008:Hmm…what did we buy last year…paid for vacation, bought our laminate wood flooring, umm…we bought a lot of stuff for the house…I can’t even remember last year!!
4. What 3 words do you think of when I say Italy?Tuscany, bread, wine
5. How fond of vegetables are you? Which ones are your favorite?Oh, I really like veggies…most of them. I love zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower, squash, peas…so many…it’d probably be easier to list the ones I don’t like!
6. If I were a character on "Friends" I'd be:I would probably be Monica
7. 5 of your pet peeves.no driving fools…I mean, people that don’t use blinkers, when John stops talking mid-sentence, plans that aren’t thought through thoroughly enough (that was a lot of “ough”s.), unkept promises, rudeness
8. What was the last thing you regret buying?Right now I’m regretting buying the Bowflex since John has used it once since we bought it in February. So much for promises. Ahem…**glancing at question above…**
9. What three things come to your mind when I say the word “Fresh”? clean, shower, laundry
10. Cheers, Mash, or Seinfeld?Mash…I still watch re-runs of that show…funny stuff.
11. I should be:Working at the moment. We all need a little break now and then, though, right??
12. What is something that you really should get rid of, but haven’t:We still have unpacked boxes from when we moved into our house…2+ years ago…I could really just throw it all out…haven’t used it in 2 years, what makes me think I still need it enough to keep it until I finally get around to unpacking? And then just throwing most of it out anyway!!
13. Do you think that a person can really change?I think if they want it enough. Most people don’t have the determination to really change themselves, but if it’s important enough, they’ll try really hard.
14. In your opinion, what is the best tv show that isn’t on the air anymore?Is Reba still on the air? I used to see re-run on Lifetime at the gym. I LOVED that show.
15. Is it easier to forgive or forget?For me? Easier to forgive…it’s VERY hard for me to forget something I’ve had to forgive.
16. What do you order when you eat Chinese food?Usually like chicken and broccoli or beef and broccoli…and egg drop soup…love me some egg drop soup.
17. Is your blog a dirty little secret, or do you tell everyone you meet about it?I tell lots of people that I do blog, but don’t really go around handing out business cards with the address or anything. I do have links up on Facebook though. So if you want to find me, you can.
18. Your personal candy heart would say:dream
19. You're having a bowl of soup. Your choice.Broccoli cheese…Mmmm…from McAlister’s…in a bread bowl. **drooling** I talked a lot about broccoli today, didn’t I?
20. What can’t you miss?I hate missing weddings. I love weddings. I try my hardest to go to every wedding I’m invited to…especially if it’s family.
You are worth it.
Okay, so I gave in and starting re-reading Twilight on Monday. I just had seen the movie like 4 times now and I kept feeling like there was so much missing. I had to remind myself of all the stuff that was left out of the movie. I’m really glad I did though. I’m finding it’s even better the second time around now that I can take my time reading it since I already know the story. There is so much I completely missed from the story the first time while I was rushing through. And so much more that has been quite thought provoking.
I got to a part this morning that completely caught me off guard. I didn’t remember it all from the first read, but it was so powerful. I’ve been thinking about these lines all morning. It’s the part where Alice and Jasper are about to take Bella to Phoenix to escape James. Everyone has left and Bella and Jasper are alone waiting for Alice to get the car.
Jasper: Sensing Bella’s emotions, says “You’re wrong.”
Bella: “About what?”
Jasper: “You are worth it.”
Bella: Starts going on about how she couldn’t forgive herself if someone got hurt, yada yada yada…not believing she’s worth everyone risking themselves to keep her safe.
Jasper: Simply says, “You are.”
So, if you don’t know the story, Jasper can sense emotions of other people. So he can obviously sense the emotions Edward has for Bella and knows exactly how he feels about her. So when he says she’s worth it to him, he knows that as a fact. To me, that short little conversation between Bella and Jasper was very powerful. I don’t know how to explain it. It just hit me hard.
No matter how self-sacrificing someone may be, there is always someone out there who thinks they’re worth “it”, whatever the “it” may be. This really makes me want to make sure that everyone I feel is worth it, knows that they are.
And I hope that each and every one of you all out there let that someone know they’re worth it, too. :o)
I got to a part this morning that completely caught me off guard. I didn’t remember it all from the first read, but it was so powerful. I’ve been thinking about these lines all morning. It’s the part where Alice and Jasper are about to take Bella to Phoenix to escape James. Everyone has left and Bella and Jasper are alone waiting for Alice to get the car.
Jasper: Sensing Bella’s emotions, says “You’re wrong.”
Bella: “About what?”
Jasper: “You are worth it.”
Bella: Starts going on about how she couldn’t forgive herself if someone got hurt, yada yada yada…not believing she’s worth everyone risking themselves to keep her safe.
Jasper: Simply says, “You are.”
So, if you don’t know the story, Jasper can sense emotions of other people. So he can obviously sense the emotions Edward has for Bella and knows exactly how he feels about her. So when he says she’s worth it to him, he knows that as a fact. To me, that short little conversation between Bella and Jasper was very powerful. I don’t know how to explain it. It just hit me hard.
No matter how self-sacrificing someone may be, there is always someone out there who thinks they’re worth “it”, whatever the “it” may be. This really makes me want to make sure that everyone I feel is worth it, knows that they are.
And I hope that each and every one of you all out there let that someone know they’re worth it, too. :o)
Best investment ever!!
I think adding the gazebo to our patio has been one of the greatest investments we’ve done to the house so far. And we’ve only had it up for 3 days! Even so, we’ve already spent more time outside under it than we’ve spent out in the backyard in a while.
I already told you how I sat out there Monday morning and read with my brunch. And then again later that afternoon, I sat out there to read more and have a snack.
Yesterday, when I went to my workout class, hubby was out in the backyard starting to cut up some lumber to build our dog houses. He had started a fire in our fire bowl to burn the small leftover pieces. He was still working on that when I got home, so I took my book out to sit under the patio while he worked. After a bit, I went in and got dinner ready. We were having grilled fish and corn, so I prepared the fish to put on the grill and put the frozen corn in an aluminum pan to stick out on the grill as well. Hubby started up the grill and put the food on and I sat out and read a little more while there was still some daylight left. We decided it was just too nice outside so I went and got our plates and silverware to eat on the patio. We had a lovely dinner in the fading twilight, with the embers glowing in the fire bowl nearby. So very relaxing. Unfortunately, not long after we finished eating, the mosquitos started to come out as the sun had fully set. Back inside we went, after cleaning up our dinner and lumber messes.
And I still cleaned up the kitchen, made my lunch for today, and ironed both our clothes for today before getting in bed at 9:30pm to read a bit more before falling asleep. I can’t even begin to tell you how great the feeling of getting so much accomplished in the evening and still having time to enjoy a good book before drifting off to sleep. Time used to FLY by in the evenings. We would eat dinner and all of a sudden, without having gotten anything else done, it would already be 10pm! Of course, that was when the TV would turn on about as soon as we got home and would stay on for the duration of the evening. Don’t get me wrong, I love my shows, but it was always just such a time drain to sit in front of the television night after night. Now, with the DVR, and the fact that most of the good seasons have ended now, it’s nice to have nights where we’re not a slave to the “boob tube” and we can enjoy to beautiful weather and each other’s company.
Ahhhhhh….
I already told you how I sat out there Monday morning and read with my brunch. And then again later that afternoon, I sat out there to read more and have a snack.
Yesterday, when I went to my workout class, hubby was out in the backyard starting to cut up some lumber to build our dog houses. He had started a fire in our fire bowl to burn the small leftover pieces. He was still working on that when I got home, so I took my book out to sit under the patio while he worked. After a bit, I went in and got dinner ready. We were having grilled fish and corn, so I prepared the fish to put on the grill and put the frozen corn in an aluminum pan to stick out on the grill as well. Hubby started up the grill and put the food on and I sat out and read a little more while there was still some daylight left. We decided it was just too nice outside so I went and got our plates and silverware to eat on the patio. We had a lovely dinner in the fading twilight, with the embers glowing in the fire bowl nearby. So very relaxing. Unfortunately, not long after we finished eating, the mosquitos started to come out as the sun had fully set. Back inside we went, after cleaning up our dinner and lumber messes.
And I still cleaned up the kitchen, made my lunch for today, and ironed both our clothes for today before getting in bed at 9:30pm to read a bit more before falling asleep. I can’t even begin to tell you how great the feeling of getting so much accomplished in the evening and still having time to enjoy a good book before drifting off to sleep. Time used to FLY by in the evenings. We would eat dinner and all of a sudden, without having gotten anything else done, it would already be 10pm! Of course, that was when the TV would turn on about as soon as we got home and would stay on for the duration of the evening. Don’t get me wrong, I love my shows, but it was always just such a time drain to sit in front of the television night after night. Now, with the DVR, and the fact that most of the good seasons have ended now, it’s nice to have nights where we’re not a slave to the “boob tube” and we can enjoy to beautiful weather and each other’s company.
Ahhhhhh….
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Done and Done!
We finished the gazebo! Put our patio furniture under it. It is AWESOME!! I spent half my day off yesterday out there reading. It was spectacular! And now our living room windows are nice and shaded in the afternoons, too. I am SOOOOO happy we decided to go ahead and do this. It's WONDERFUL! Here's finished photos:
Progress Report Tuesday
I’m not sure how I managed to do it, but I had a loss of 3.4 pounds this week. Now, granted, 2.2 of those were what I had gained the last week, but I really wasn’t expecting to lose much more than that and I lost another 1.2 on top of it! Crazy. I hardly counted points at all this past week. I did for like breakfast/lunch/snacks, but I never added up dinners. We had leftover fajitas for dinner every night and I never tried to figure out how many points it was. Even as early as yesterday morning I still hadn’t even lost the entire 2.2 pounds I had gained. But I don’t think I ate very much yesterday so I guess that’s why it so much less this morning. I had a late brunch of a lean pocket about 11am, then only had 2 graham crackers with peanut butter for a snack at about 4:30pm (no lunch) then we had a light dinner of pork chops with tomatoes and squash and then I had a small cup of ice cream. All before 8pm. And didn’t go to sleep until about 11pm. So yeah, I guess that would make up for it. I didn’t realize until just now how little I ate yesterday. Hmm. And I wasn’t ever too hungry either. Must have been living off my fat stores. :o)
I’m not sure how much longer I’ll be actually tracking my points. Seems like I can only make it about a month before I start to slide on the tracking. But like I said before, I’m really starting to see what I can and cannot eat on my own. I basically eat the same breakfast/lunch/snack every day during the week so it’s really just dinners that I need to be careful of. And as long as I plan it all out at the beginning of the week, I do pretty well with that. It’s only when I don’t plan that we run into trouble.
I decided this morning that my goal was to fit into a particular pair of jeans that I own. I haven’t tried them on in a few weeks. Last time I tried, I could get them on, but I could barely move in them! So my goal would be to be able to wear them comfortably. I’ll try again in a couple more weeks and see where I am.
Our cardio/abs/strength training class ended last week and our new cardio salsa class doesn’t start for a few more weeks. Our instructor, however, has agreed to meet with us at the park to keep up the class until the next session starts. I’m so happy about that! I love the classes with this instructor. She’s awesome! So no down time between classes! And it’ll be nice to be outside for a bit in the evenings. We had a small cold front come through (surprisingly, this late in the year) and it’s been beautiful weather so far this week.
Only 51 more days until vacation!! That’s definitely enough motivation to keep it up, keep it up, keep it up!!
I’m not sure how much longer I’ll be actually tracking my points. Seems like I can only make it about a month before I start to slide on the tracking. But like I said before, I’m really starting to see what I can and cannot eat on my own. I basically eat the same breakfast/lunch/snack every day during the week so it’s really just dinners that I need to be careful of. And as long as I plan it all out at the beginning of the week, I do pretty well with that. It’s only when I don’t plan that we run into trouble.
I decided this morning that my goal was to fit into a particular pair of jeans that I own. I haven’t tried them on in a few weeks. Last time I tried, I could get them on, but I could barely move in them! So my goal would be to be able to wear them comfortably. I’ll try again in a couple more weeks and see where I am.
Our cardio/abs/strength training class ended last week and our new cardio salsa class doesn’t start for a few more weeks. Our instructor, however, has agreed to meet with us at the park to keep up the class until the next session starts. I’m so happy about that! I love the classes with this instructor. She’s awesome! So no down time between classes! And it’ll be nice to be outside for a bit in the evenings. We had a small cold front come through (surprisingly, this late in the year) and it’s been beautiful weather so far this week.
Only 51 more days until vacation!! That’s definitely enough motivation to keep it up, keep it up, keep it up!!
Monday, May 18, 2009
What a trip
I managed to get out of the grocery store with everything I needed for meals the rest of the week for only $13.53! Woo hoo!! Since we bought so much last week and ended up not making any of it (we had leftover fajitas 5 days in a row!) I only needed a few things. So I got some lunch meat and cheese for sandwiches, bananas, watermelon, 1/2 gallon of milk, and 2 yogurts. Yay for me!
Giveaway winners, your prizes are in the mail! I dropped them at the post office this morning. Enjoy!
I finally got my darn window on my car fixed today. FINALLY. Only took THREE trips to the complete OPPOSITE side of Houston to do it, but it is done! AND I went ahead and got them to change my oil while I was there since I was do for a change and John didn't have time this weekend. And all in all it only took about an hour and a half and cost less than $100 for it all.
Man, I love vacation days. It's days like today (where the weather is also gorgeous, by the way) that make me wish I did NOT sit in a cubicle 8 1/2 hours a day, 5 days a week. *sigh* Back to work tomorrow, unfortunately.
Giveaway winners, your prizes are in the mail! I dropped them at the post office this morning. Enjoy!
I finally got my darn window on my car fixed today. FINALLY. Only took THREE trips to the complete OPPOSITE side of Houston to do it, but it is done! AND I went ahead and got them to change my oil while I was there since I was do for a change and John didn't have time this weekend. And all in all it only took about an hour and a half and cost less than $100 for it all.
Man, I love vacation days. It's days like today (where the weather is also gorgeous, by the way) that make me wish I did NOT sit in a cubicle 8 1/2 hours a day, 5 days a week. *sigh* Back to work tomorrow, unfortunately.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Getting a gazebo!!
As you know (from my constant talking about it), we've been working a lot on our home projects and trying to spruce the place up, right? Well, after we got the dog run fence up, I decided I really wanted to start working on the backyard and getting it into shape. It's a MESS right now. About 6 months or so after we moved in we poured a huge 14x20 patio slab in the back. A year and a half later, there's still nothing on it except the bar-b-que grill. We've been wanting to get a nice gazebo to put out there and we finally got one yesterday! We're working on putting it together today. At the same time, we're working on FINALLY cleaning up the splattered concrete from pouring the patio slab off the siding and doing some re-caulking on the siding where it's all dried out and touch up paint. John did the caulking and I scrapped splattered concrete so far. Now we're taking a break to let the caulk dry so we can do the painting. Then we can finish putting the gazebo together. I am soooooo excited! Here's a "work in progress" photo of the patio: 
I'll post again once I have som "finished" photos!
And here is the fence we put up for the dog run:
Look at how great my plants are growing now since the dogs aren't able to trample all over them during the day!
And the still not completed shed we built in the most unsightly corner of the yard...
I'll post again once I have som "finished" photos!
Menu Plan Monday
I know I'm a day early, but I figured if I had the time now, I should go ahead and get my plan out, otherwise, it might not happen. Our leftover fajitas ended up lasting us ALL week last week so I pretty much have the entire rest of last weeks menu left to make for this week! Yay! I only have to pick up like 2 things from the store. That is AWESOME! So here is this week's menu (though mostly from last week). And don't forget to stop by orgjunkie.com and link up your menu!Steak and zucchini
Taco Salad
Pork chops with tomatoes
Sausage wrapped in tortillas and green beans
Baked or grilled fish and corn
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Yay! Winners!
I did say first thing in the morning didn't I?? I can't sleep so I stayed up and checked the entries at midnight for my first giveaway! What luck! I have four prizes and four entries!! Everyone's a winner! I used random.org to select the winning order and here they are!
2 Grand Prizes go to:
Cpullum
Mrs. C
2 Secondary Prizes go to:
goalmom
Misty
Congratulations! I've sent you an email with the subject "You won on A Day in the Life's Giveaway!" Reply with your address and I'll send out the prizes straight away! Thanks for playing!
2 Grand Prizes go to:
Cpullum
Mrs. C
2 Secondary Prizes go to:
goalmom
Misty
Congratulations! I've sent you an email with the subject "You won on A Day in the Life's Giveaway!" Reply with your address and I'll send out the prizes straight away! Thanks for playing!
Friday, May 15, 2009
Last Chance!
Okay, last chance to enter to win my sample prizes of John Frieda Root Awakening! I'll keep the comments open through tonight and choose the winner tomorrow morning. There's at least 4 prizes to give away, so still a chance for everyone to win!!
PS: Val and Bailey, y'all are allowed to enter, if you would like!
PS: Val and Bailey, y'all are allowed to enter, if you would like!
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Brake-fast bowls
Have you guys ever heard of these?? Let me tell you, they are awesome! My sister told me about them. Her roommate had bought one for her dog because he would eat so fast it would make him throw up. Well, when our two big dogs were puppies, they devoured their food in record time. Especially our lab. She could eat two cups in like 5 seconds it seemed like. Since that’s not really healthy for them, I decided to give these bowls a try. Presto! They totally slowed down. The trick with these bowls is they have to start eating around the little legs in the bowl so it takes them longer to eat. The bowls also slide easily on a hard floor so the more the push on it to try to get to the food easier, it slides away from them making them work even harder to get the food and thus slowing them down even more. They come in a few different sizes so no matter how big or little your pet is, if they eat too fast, you can slow them down. We’ve been using these bowls for about a year and a half now. With Cocoa’s anxiety as of late, she doesn’t really need it (since she’s eating so slow as it is!!), but Major still uses his…and still slides it all around the kitchen during meal time.They are a little bit more expensive than the food bowls you’d buy at the pet store, but I think it’s definitely worth it for the health and safety of your beloved pet. I would definitely recommend checking them out if you have a pet that inhales their food! Brake-fast bowls
Yep, we're talking about bras...
I wore one of my new bras today. One of the new ones I had to buy a size smaller. A size smaller because of the 7 pounds I’ve lost and my (non-existent) boobs are the first to go. :o( The great news is the new bra fits great. Actually fits. The bad news? Do you know how hard it is to find size 32 bras?? I mean, really. I had no idea. Sorry I have such a small ribcage...geez. I know I'm not the only one!!
While shopping at Kohl’s (which I thought had a pretty good selection before) I wound up with only 4 options. I didn’t like 2 of them. Luckily one of the ones I found and liked was on clearance (only $6!!) and there were two of them. So I ended up getting 3 new bras, but two are identical since I really had no other choice. It was quite disappointing. But, on the bright side, I now have 3 new bras that actually fit me, which is a nice change.
While shopping at Kohl’s (which I thought had a pretty good selection before) I wound up with only 4 options. I didn’t like 2 of them. Luckily one of the ones I found and liked was on clearance (only $6!!) and there were two of them. So I ended up getting 3 new bras, but two are identical since I really had no other choice. It was quite disappointing. But, on the bright side, I now have 3 new bras that actually fit me, which is a nice change.
Last night
My plan for yesterday evening didn’t work out quite as well as Tuesday. I did NOT clean up the kitchen after dinner. But we did take the dogs out rollerblading for a little bit. That was fun. It was my first time to rollerblade with the dogs, John’s second. We had bought Cocoa a pinch collar since she pulls so bad on the leash and that helped a LOT. But she loved it since she got to run where as we usually just walk. She loves to run. She did pretty good for the most part except when John would roll past us really fast and she would start running to catch up so she was basically just pulling me down the street. It wouldn’t be as bad if I were, you know, good at rollerblading. We just got them though so we’re both still pretty wobbly. I don’t know how to stop…especially when I’ve got 60lbs pulling me along! Major did really well with John though. He’s usually pretty good on the leash so I wasn’t surprised. I love it how it totally wears them out though. We didn’t go until almost 9pm so they zonked out when we got home and slept great all night. Other than that, I did get in bed about 9:30pm and watch the rest of Twilight. What a great movie to watch before you go to sleep. Such a nice ending.
Speaking of, I think I’m going to start reading the first book again on Monday. I keep thinking about the movie and what all they left out, but I’m starting to forget the rest of the story that wasn’t in the movie, so I want to re-read it and refresh my memory. Plus I’m taking my car BACK to the dealership AGAIN to try to FINALLY get my window fixed so I’ll need something to do while I wait for it. What better than to re-read an awesome book? And I’ll get in a good 2 hours of solid reading time. Nice.
Speaking of, I think I’m going to start reading the first book again on Monday. I keep thinking about the movie and what all they left out, but I’m starting to forget the rest of the story that wasn’t in the movie, so I want to re-read it and refresh my memory. Plus I’m taking my car BACK to the dealership AGAIN to try to FINALLY get my window fixed so I’ll need something to do while I wait for it. What better than to re-read an awesome book? And I’ll get in a good 2 hours of solid reading time. Nice.
Oh, my Cocoa...
Want to hear a funny story? Haha…who doesn’t? Okay, here’s my story.
We have a dog, Cocoa, that has problems with anxiety. Yes, you heard right…she’s very anxious/nervous/scared. The past week or so it has gotten even worse. Possibly related to enclosing a portion of the yard for them during the day? Very possible. Either way, there’s no reason for it. But she is seriously scared of EVERYTHING. Oh, but the best part, she’s not scared of things that she should be scared of. You know, like strange people or other animals. Oh no, she loves people and other dogs and bugs and other animals… What is she so scared of then? Inanimate objects. She’s scared of things. Oh, and noises. But mostly things. And change. She can’t handle change. I hung some clothes on the stair railing to take upstairs and she’s comes around the corner to go upstairs and saw it and about had a heart attack! She jumped, spun around and ran back down the hallway. Did I mention that Cocoa is a 60+ lb chocolate lab? Uh huh. Tell me about it.
The worst is umbrellas. She HATES umbrellas. And John likes to tease her with them, poor thing. If she sees you with an umbrella, she will run to the furthest opposite side of the room she can and hide behind whatever is over there. And then she’ll proceed to growl and bark at the umbrella. Like one of those “I’m terrified!!” growls. It’s very sad to watch. Though I know John would love to video it because it is pretty funny how she acts. But yeah, I could go on and on and on about all the things she’s afraid of. Smoke, Saran wrap, rollerblades, Tupperware…I’m totally serious.
Okay, well, like I said the past week or so has gotten really bad. How many people have ever met a lab that won’t eat!? Well, she’ll eat, but VERY slowly, and won’t even finish it all. Yesterday I tried to sprinkle some cheese in her dinner since she only ate like half her breakfast. That didn’t help. I tried to put her food in a different bowl. That didn’t help. She only ate more once I put it straight on the floor. And then still didn’t finish it! Major had to come in and clean up the rest. So this morning I tried pouring some milk in with her food (thanks for the idea, Val!) and she did eat more, but still didn’t finish. If I leave the room where she’s eating, she’ll stop eating and follow me. So I have to stand right there while she eats. And even then she’ll eat some, stop, walk around, I have to tell her to go back and finish eating and she’ll eat a few more bites, stop, look around. I tried to leave her to finish eating this morning so I could get in the shower, but again she stopped eating and followed me out of the room. I swear she’s losing it. And she’s not even 2 years old yet!
Well thank goodness we have an appointment at the vet on Monday. I’ve brought up her anxiousness to the vet before (it got REALLY bad after the hurricane, go figure) so I’m going to have to bring it up again. She might actually have to start on medication. I don’t know what else to do!
Yep, that’s my story. I guess it’s not super hilarious or anything, but it’s comical to me. I have a 60lb dog with such bad anxiety that she might need medication. That would be my luck.
We have a dog, Cocoa, that has problems with anxiety. Yes, you heard right…she’s very anxious/nervous/scared. The past week or so it has gotten even worse. Possibly related to enclosing a portion of the yard for them during the day? Very possible. Either way, there’s no reason for it. But she is seriously scared of EVERYTHING. Oh, but the best part, she’s not scared of things that she should be scared of. You know, like strange people or other animals. Oh no, she loves people and other dogs and bugs and other animals… What is she so scared of then? Inanimate objects. She’s scared of things. Oh, and noises. But mostly things. And change. She can’t handle change. I hung some clothes on the stair railing to take upstairs and she’s comes around the corner to go upstairs and saw it and about had a heart attack! She jumped, spun around and ran back down the hallway. Did I mention that Cocoa is a 60+ lb chocolate lab? Uh huh. Tell me about it.
The worst is umbrellas. She HATES umbrellas. And John likes to tease her with them, poor thing. If she sees you with an umbrella, she will run to the furthest opposite side of the room she can and hide behind whatever is over there. And then she’ll proceed to growl and bark at the umbrella. Like one of those “I’m terrified!!” growls. It’s very sad to watch. Though I know John would love to video it because it is pretty funny how she acts. But yeah, I could go on and on and on about all the things she’s afraid of. Smoke, Saran wrap, rollerblades, Tupperware…I’m totally serious.
Okay, well, like I said the past week or so has gotten really bad. How many people have ever met a lab that won’t eat!? Well, she’ll eat, but VERY slowly, and won’t even finish it all. Yesterday I tried to sprinkle some cheese in her dinner since she only ate like half her breakfast. That didn’t help. I tried to put her food in a different bowl. That didn’t help. She only ate more once I put it straight on the floor. And then still didn’t finish it! Major had to come in and clean up the rest. So this morning I tried pouring some milk in with her food (thanks for the idea, Val!) and she did eat more, but still didn’t finish. If I leave the room where she’s eating, she’ll stop eating and follow me. So I have to stand right there while she eats. And even then she’ll eat some, stop, walk around, I have to tell her to go back and finish eating and she’ll eat a few more bites, stop, look around. I tried to leave her to finish eating this morning so I could get in the shower, but again she stopped eating and followed me out of the room. I swear she’s losing it. And she’s not even 2 years old yet!
Well thank goodness we have an appointment at the vet on Monday. I’ve brought up her anxiousness to the vet before (it got REALLY bad after the hurricane, go figure) so I’m going to have to bring it up again. She might actually have to start on medication. I don’t know what else to do!
Yep, that’s my story. I guess it’s not super hilarious or anything, but it’s comical to me. I have a 60lb dog with such bad anxiety that she might need medication. That would be my luck.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
I'm bored
So my plan for the evening yesterday? Worked out perfectly! When I got home, I made myself a fajita for dinner. Then fed the dogs and changed into workout clothes. Went to class. Tanned after class. Got home about 8:30pm. Ate a little dump cake dessert. Took a shower and got in bed to watch some Twilight at 9pm. Watched the first hour, then turned it off and went to sleep. It was a nice night. :o)
John didn’t really like the fact that I got in bed at 9pm, but it did make him come upstairs and get in bed sooner. So he watched about ½ an hour of the movie with me. And it was pretty funny because he kept asking questions about it. He watched it on the plane to Germany a few weeks ago, but didn’t pay too close attention. But I think he likes it more than he lets on. Though he still won’t agree to read the book. He would ask about a part in the movie and I would explain it to him and give more details about what was in the book and told him he would like the movie more if he read the book and knew more of the back story that they didn’t put in the movie. I guess just getting the info from me is fine enough for him.
He’s been talking about wanting to go see the new Star Trek movie and says I have to go see it with him and that I’ll like it. So I tell him, “I’ll go see Star Trek with you if you go see New Moon with me when it comes out.” He says, “I don’t even know what New Moon is!” So I tell him, “It’s the next movie in the Twilight series.” He didn’t even protest after I said that! He likes it. I know he does. :o)
Since I only got to watch half the movie, I think my plan for tonight will be to clean up the kitchen after dinner, maybe go rollerblading if I can get John to go with me, and then get in bed at 9pm again to finish the movie. That sounds like a good idea to me. I did sleep better last night. Still didn’t get out of bed until 6:45am (half an hour after my alarm went off), but at least I felt awake when I finally did get up. And I was very happy to see I was down a pound from yesterday so I’m getting back down there. That’s good news.
Oh yeah, and don't forget about my giveaway!! Entries accepted through Friday! I have about 4 prizes to give away so don't delay in entering!! :o)
John didn’t really like the fact that I got in bed at 9pm, but it did make him come upstairs and get in bed sooner. So he watched about ½ an hour of the movie with me. And it was pretty funny because he kept asking questions about it. He watched it on the plane to Germany a few weeks ago, but didn’t pay too close attention. But I think he likes it more than he lets on. Though he still won’t agree to read the book. He would ask about a part in the movie and I would explain it to him and give more details about what was in the book and told him he would like the movie more if he read the book and knew more of the back story that they didn’t put in the movie. I guess just getting the info from me is fine enough for him.
He’s been talking about wanting to go see the new Star Trek movie and says I have to go see it with him and that I’ll like it. So I tell him, “I’ll go see Star Trek with you if you go see New Moon with me when it comes out.” He says, “I don’t even know what New Moon is!” So I tell him, “It’s the next movie in the Twilight series.” He didn’t even protest after I said that! He likes it. I know he does. :o)
Since I only got to watch half the movie, I think my plan for tonight will be to clean up the kitchen after dinner, maybe go rollerblading if I can get John to go with me, and then get in bed at 9pm again to finish the movie. That sounds like a good idea to me. I did sleep better last night. Still didn’t get out of bed until 6:45am (half an hour after my alarm went off), but at least I felt awake when I finally did get up. And I was very happy to see I was down a pound from yesterday so I’m getting back down there. That’s good news.
Oh yeah, and don't forget about my giveaway!! Entries accepted through Friday! I have about 4 prizes to give away so don't delay in entering!! :o)
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Budget update!
I was only about 2 weeks late, but I finally updated our budget spreadsheet last night. We did go over budget in the categories I was expecting, but at least we still had “extra” money left over after all was said and done. And (have I mentioned this yet??) since we PAID OFF THE CAR (!!!), we now had to decide where to put that money each month.
First, our plan was to put the old car payment towards the mortgage and save the rest of our “extra” money. Well, then I was talking to my mom about it and she was like, well, if you’re not going to stay in the house that much longer, why pay up the mortgage? Hmm…good question. And we really don’t plan on staying there for a whole lot longer. Maybe another 2 years at the most. We did decide that we would like to move between child #1 and child #2. And if we have 2+ years between children and have child #1 in the next year or so…
So then I thought about maybe just saving it all. We do want to save up for a nice big down payment on the next house…since we won’t have a ton of equity in our current house by the time we move.
Then I started thinking about all the projects that we have around the house that haven’t been getting done because we’re trying to save so much money. Hmm…we could get so much done on our house projects with $625 a month!! I talked to John about it last night and we’re in agreement. The car payment amount will now go towards getting all our house projects finished and once that’s all done, it will then just start going to savings. Our friends have been doing some remodeling at their house and John wants to talk to their contractor about coming to our house to install our laminate wood flooring in the dining room (that we’ve had for over a year and it’s still not installed!!) and also painting our (two story) entry, entry ceiling, and upstairs hallway. So an extra $625 a month will definitely help in covering that cost. And we can finish A LOT of projects on that kind of money. Woo hoo!!
First, our plan was to put the old car payment towards the mortgage and save the rest of our “extra” money. Well, then I was talking to my mom about it and she was like, well, if you’re not going to stay in the house that much longer, why pay up the mortgage? Hmm…good question. And we really don’t plan on staying there for a whole lot longer. Maybe another 2 years at the most. We did decide that we would like to move between child #1 and child #2. And if we have 2+ years between children and have child #1 in the next year or so…
So then I thought about maybe just saving it all. We do want to save up for a nice big down payment on the next house…since we won’t have a ton of equity in our current house by the time we move.
Then I started thinking about all the projects that we have around the house that haven’t been getting done because we’re trying to save so much money. Hmm…we could get so much done on our house projects with $625 a month!! I talked to John about it last night and we’re in agreement. The car payment amount will now go towards getting all our house projects finished and once that’s all done, it will then just start going to savings. Our friends have been doing some remodeling at their house and John wants to talk to their contractor about coming to our house to install our laminate wood flooring in the dining room (that we’ve had for over a year and it’s still not installed!!) and also painting our (two story) entry, entry ceiling, and upstairs hallway. So an extra $625 a month will definitely help in covering that cost. And we can finish A LOT of projects on that kind of money. Woo hoo!!
Progress Report Tuesday
Oh, what a sad, sad weigh-in day today. GAIN of 2.2 pounds! Agh! Back to where I was almost three weeks ago! Bad Julie. Bad bad bad. I knew it was going to be a bad week, being “that time” and all…giving in to more sweets cravings and what not. But geez. This is awful. I have A LOT of work to do this week to make up for it. Too bad we still have fajitas and dump cake leftover from Sunday. We’ll be working on that for a few days to get it all eaten.
I SO need to go rollerblading. I meant to go last night, but never did. I just wasn’t feeling like exercising. I’ve been exhausted this week so far! This morning I could barely drag myself out of bed and to top it off, I didn’t even know what day it was!! I thought it was Monday again! I seriously had to ask John what day it was. I am completely out of it. And that was after getting a good 7-7.5 hours of sleep. Granted, I didn’t sleep particularly well. I tossed and turned a lot. Kept waking myself up…had all these weird dreams. I hate nights like that. Definitely need to go to bed early tonight. Eat when I get home, go to workout class, tan after class, take a shower when I get home and go straight to bed. (So what if it’ll only be like 9pm?)
For a second week in a row I didn’t count my points all weekend long. So I have no idea how many I had this week. Obviously too many. Only got in my two workout classes for exercise last week. Unless you count a whole day of shopping as exercise. :o) Haha…I thought not!
Well, at least today is a new day and a new opportunity to do better. I will not give in to my failure! I will only use it as a tool to push myself to keep it up, keep it up, keep it up!!
I SO need to go rollerblading. I meant to go last night, but never did. I just wasn’t feeling like exercising. I’ve been exhausted this week so far! This morning I could barely drag myself out of bed and to top it off, I didn’t even know what day it was!! I thought it was Monday again! I seriously had to ask John what day it was. I am completely out of it. And that was after getting a good 7-7.5 hours of sleep. Granted, I didn’t sleep particularly well. I tossed and turned a lot. Kept waking myself up…had all these weird dreams. I hate nights like that. Definitely need to go to bed early tonight. Eat when I get home, go to workout class, tan after class, take a shower when I get home and go straight to bed. (So what if it’ll only be like 9pm?)
For a second week in a row I didn’t count my points all weekend long. So I have no idea how many I had this week. Obviously too many. Only got in my two workout classes for exercise last week. Unless you count a whole day of shopping as exercise. :o) Haha…I thought not!
Well, at least today is a new day and a new opportunity to do better. I will not give in to my failure! I will only use it as a tool to push myself to keep it up, keep it up, keep it up!!
Monday, May 11, 2009
Dump Cake recipe
I totally forgot I was going to post the recipe for Dump Cake. It’s WAY more delicious than it sounds. :o) And SUPER easy. I’ve had it so many times, but this is the first time I’ve made it myself and it turned out really really yummy. Lots of compliments from the family.
Dump Cake
1 large can crushed pineapple
1 large can cherry pie filling
1 box yellow cake mix
1 (3.5 oz) can flaked coconut ~~ I had a bag in the freezer that I used…I didn’t even know coconut came in a can!
1 cup chopped pecans
2 sticks melted butter
Dump pineapple (juice and all) into 9x13 pan, spread evenly. Dump pie filling on top of pineapple, spread evenly. (My pie filling just pushed out the pineapple, so it was pineapple on the edges, cherry in the middle so I just mixed it all up together and then spread evenly.) Sprinkle dry cake mix evenly over the top. Sprinkle coconut and nuts over cake mix. Pour melted butter all over. Bake at 325 for 1 hour. Let cool. Can be served with Cool Whip, though it’s still delicious without. :o)
Enjoy!
Great news!
In happy news, my sister-in-law is going to be getting married next May! They chose a venue and a date this weekend. Even though she’s not “officially” engaged. Well, she just doesn’t have the ring on her finger, but only because it’s still on order from the jewelers. We’re all very happy for her since she hasn’t had the best of luck with past boyfriends. We like this one. :o)
The funny part? They’re getting married at the same place John and I got married! Some past brides might frown on the fact that such a close relative chose to get married at the same place, but I’m really looking forward to it. I had the BEST wedding ever at this place and would recommend it to ANYONE! I know it will be beautiful, and stress-free, and fun! You should definitely check them out here. (And you can even see photos from our wedding here!)
It seems it will be another year of weddings in my family this next year. We just went to my cousin’s wedding in Florida in March. Another cousin is getting married in September. Then my sister-in-law next May and another cousin next June! And those are just the ones I know of! I would LOVE to be able to go to all of them if we can. Only problem with a big extended family…they’re all over the country! I love weddings…I love family weddings…I love love! :o) *sigh* (As I sit here and listen to “Always the Love Songs” by Eli Young Band…)
The funny part? They’re getting married at the same place John and I got married! Some past brides might frown on the fact that such a close relative chose to get married at the same place, but I’m really looking forward to it. I had the BEST wedding ever at this place and would recommend it to ANYONE! I know it will be beautiful, and stress-free, and fun! You should definitely check them out here. (And you can even see photos from our wedding here!)
It seems it will be another year of weddings in my family this next year. We just went to my cousin’s wedding in Florida in March. Another cousin is getting married in September. Then my sister-in-law next May and another cousin next June! And those are just the ones I know of! I would LOVE to be able to go to all of them if we can. Only problem with a big extended family…they’re all over the country! I love weddings…I love family weddings…I love love! :o) *sigh* (As I sit here and listen to “Always the Love Songs” by Eli Young Band…)
Menu Plan Monday
Okay, I’m really going to make an effort to post my Menu Plan Monday EVERY week. I don’t know what the deal has been the past couple weeks. Well, this week we did plan out some stuff to eat, but I didn’t write anything down about when we’re having what. So here is what is on the menu this week, though in no particular order. And don’t forget to drop by orgjunkie.com and check out everyone else’s menus for the week!Leftover fajitas and Spanish rice
Steak and zucchini
Taco salad
Pork chops with tomatoes
Sausage wrapped in tortillas and green beans
Fish and corn
Oh, and don’t forget about my giveaway I’ve got going on! Entries accepted until Friday!
Great weekend...bad weekend...
First off, I really did have a great weekend. And this might be a long post as I recap it all. :o)
I was gone ALL day on Saturday. Bailey came by and asked if I wanted to run some errands with her. Since I had a few of my own, I of course agreed. We ran all over town running errands and doing some shopping. I got everything on my list of things to get (and then some) so it was a super productive trip. After she dropped me off I ran over to the grocery store to get all regular food for this week and all the food for our Mother’s Day fajita feast we were hosting. I got home later than I was supposed as we were supposed to be at Tony and Val’s at 4:30pm and I didn’t get home until almost 5pm. So I changed real fast and we headed over there. Then us, Tony and Val, Matt and Bailey and Kelley and Kyle all went to Landry’s in Kemah to celebrate Tony and Val’s birthday’s (they’re only a week a part). That was a lot of fun. After dinner we walked around a bit and some of us (NOT me) rode the roller coaster. We got home about 10:30pm or so, but I was so exhausted from such an eventful day we went straight to bed.
I got up fairly early Sunday (about 7:30am). I still had some cleaning and preparation to do before families came over at noon. So I worked on the last minute vacuuming and straightening up and wrapping presents and setting out food and John worked out in the yard getting it mowed and edged and weed-eated. Then his mom, sister, and brother and my mom and sister all came over for Mother’s Day. We made fajitas and I made a dump cake (recipe coming!) for dessert. We watched a little of both the Astros and Rockets games. Then everybody went home about 3:30pm or 4pm. We cleaned up the kitchen and I got started on some more laundry. Then we laid on the couch and watched Transformers. Then put clothes away, then ate dinner and watched whichever Underworld movie was on FX (maybe it was the second one?). Then John ran around the house trying to find his jury summons paper while I got ready for bed, exhausted again from another very eventful day. I think I was asleep before I hit the pillow. I barely remember John even coming to bed a little while later.
So all in all we had a very eventful yet really good weekend. It was great to get together with friends and then also family. We had a good time all around.
The bad part of the weekend though…you guessed it…the EATING! Enough to be 3 pounds heavier this morning over Friday morning!! Ugh. Since we were out and about Saturday, Bailey and I went out for lunch and I had a cheeseburger and some fries. Then we went out to Landry’s for dinner where I first had a mojito, then friend zucchini for an appetizer, John and I did split a grilled fish entrée for dinner (good job there!) but then split a big brownie a la mode for dessert! Then (I told you we would, Val!) we had cake for breakfast Sunday and I had WAY too much fajitas and chips and guacamole and rice and dump cake for lunch. At dinner we tried to eat up the last of our leftovers from last week and I had too much chicken casserole. One of those, too much for one serving, not enough for 2, so I just ate it all to get rid of it. Shame on me. And I had bought some ice cream pops at the store (they were Skinny Cow, at least) and I had one of those after dinner. Though I REALLY didn’t need one! And because of all that I gained 3 pounds over the weekend and now feel like a giant COW. Ugh. And it’s weigh-in tomorrow morning…maybe I’ll just not eat today and live off all the excess calories I consumed over the weekend! Totally kidding…I could so not go a day without eating. I’m just going to be EXTRA careful about what I eat today. Nothing in excess. Only the minimum amount of points if I can get away with it. And I’m drinking a TON of water today. I swear I’ll be running to go potty every half hour. It’s barely 10:30am and I’ve already finished off TWO bottles of water and I’m about to go refill for a third. Yep…gotta pee…AGAIN!
Friday, May 8, 2009
Queen of AWE-SUMMM Award
An award? For me?? Awww!! That’s so sweet! Thanks Val!!!!
Wow…I’ve never gotten an award before. How AWE-SUMMMM! :o)
So I've been tagged as a fellow Queen of all things Awe-summmm.
The rules: List seven things that make me awe-summm and then pass the award on to seven other people who I think are fabulously awe-summm.
1. My awe-summmm friends! You just can’t help be a better person with such great friends!
2. Fightin’ Texas Aggie class of ’05!! Whoop!!
3. My cooking. It’s in my genes. I love to cook! I love to bake! I love to try new recipes! (Now if I could just find the time to do all three!)
4. My husband. He’s definitely my other half. Where I fail, he succeeds, and where he fails, I (hopefully) succeed. :o)
5. My new-found inspiration to be better at life, love, and happiness. (Thank you Twilight!)
6. I know how to build a house. Jealous? :o)
7. I love my two big dogs like they were my two big babies. (Much to the chagrin of my husband who thinks they’re totally spoiled and utterly useless now aside from being giant lap dogs) :o)
Other Awe-summmm bloggers:
1. Valerie at Next to Heaven
2. Elizabeth at Type A Mommy
7. Misty at The Newsome family
Career choices
So I’m contemplating a career change. I haven’t talked to Husband about it yet…it kind of just dawned on me this morning on my way to work. Wanted to see if you guys had any thoughts on the subject. Wondered if it’s something I should seriously consider.
All my life I wanted to be a veterinarian. I LOVE animals. I wanted to be able to help animals. So I entered college intent on majoring in Biology. And from there I would maybe go on to vet school. Well, I think I started to doubt myself. Would I be able to do the whole vet thing? Could I handle surgery and all that medical stuff? Would I be able to get through all the maths and sciences (even though they’re my favorite subjects and I know I’m smart)? Do I want to be in school for that long? So with all these questions over my head, at freshman orientation, I changed majors to Architecture. Freshman year was mainly core classes anyway at Texas State (then Southwest Texas).
Sophomore year I transferred to Texas A&M and entered the Environment Design major. It took a year of that (and my first ‘C’ EVER!) to realize I did not have the creativity to be an architect (not even close). I transferred to the Construction Science major in the same College of Architecture. Construction…much more practical. I’d been around construction my whole life…it seemed to fit. I was good at it. I excelled at it. But knew I was too girly to work out in the field in the construction industry. So I leaned towards the residential aspect of construction and landed an office job as an estimator with a home builder after graduation. Again, something I was good at…I excel at. Within 2 years I had been promoted to Senior Estimator and then to Assistant Manager of Estimating. Then the housing downturn caught up in Houston and they got rid of the Assistant Manager position and I was dumped back down to Senior Estimator (at least I wasn’t laid off, right?). While I’m still really good at my job, I was happy when I got promoted to assistant manager because I’d been doing this work for over 2 years and I felt I needed more of a challenge. I’m good at it, but it’s not challenging anymore. I’ve been back doing my old unchallenging duties now for about 4+ months and it’s really starting to wear on me. I dread coming to work every day because it’s so boring. I can get through an entire day, even be productive in that day, and not have to think at all. Which makes my brain hurt because I don’t have to use it! It’s very frustrating. And things I used to take care of when I was asst. man., my boss now does and he doesn’t do them as well and asks for my help and then messes stuff up that I have to then go fix. I should just do it in the first place!
Anyway (sidetrack venting)…recently Husband and I have been talking about when to have kids and what we want to do when we have kids. We both would love for me to be able to stay home with kids, but Husband needs a big fat raise before that can happen…and we have a lot saving to do before then too! Not that I don’t want to work at all though. I think I would like to do something that would allow me more time at home. Something more flexible…more part time. Could I do that in the same industry? Is there anything else that I could maybe do by going back to school for an associate’s degree maybe? Then it hit me this morning. Like an epiphany. What if I became a vet technician?? I wouldn’t have to worry about the whole like surgery and big time medical stuff, but I could still work with animals. I could maybe even find a job closer to home…same city, maybe? Or work at the zoo…that would be awesome! I would definitely bring in A LOT less money, but I would still be working like I like and I would be doing something I enjoy rather than something I’m starting to dread on a daily basis. What do you think?? Am I just crazy because I’m hating my job? I could still work while going back to school, right? Night classes? Online classes? Should I seriously look into this?? I need some advice!!
Thursday, May 7, 2009
John Frieda Root Awakening Giveaway!
**Giveaway closed! Winners have been chosen!**
Geez, I've been meaning to post this for DAYS! So busy, so busy. Okay, so, I joined up with BzzAgent.com like my good friend Mrs. C. You get to test out products and give feedback on them. I was lucky enough to get an invitation to try out the new Root Awakening line of shampoo/conditioner by John Frieda.
They sent me a full size bottle of shampoo and conditioner as well as some sample packs of another shampoo/conditioner AND two sample bottles of a leave in de-tangler spray. Along with a TON of coupons. I wish I would have remembered to take a picture. I guess I still could and post it up here later (if I remember).
So I started using the shampoo/conditioner on Sunday. I must say, I am enjoying it. They sent me the kind for dry hair, thank goodness, since I have dry hair. Probably from all the blow drying and flat ironing I do every day. I think it's working great. I LOVE the scent. It's eucalyptus. It makes my hair feel REALLY clean which I like since I tend to have oily hair. The conditioner wasn't as thick as I'm used to with other products for dry hair, but it does the job. My hair feels very silky and I can run my fingers through it wet with no tangles. I haven't tried the samples of the de-tangler spray...I was actually thinking about doing a GIVEAWAY!!
I haven't been using the products for a whole week yet, but so far I really like them. Since I do have so many samples and coupons, would you guys like to get some?? It's not much, but what can I do with all that? I'd love to share the wealth! I know I don't have many readers, but if you guys want some samples or coupons, let me know! And share with your readers that I have some to giveaway! I might do a couple prizes. 2 Grand Prizes with sample shampoo/conditioner/detangler spray/coupons.
And a few Secondary Prizes that will just be coupons. The coupons are for $2 off the Root Awakening product line. I haven't looked in the store to see how much they cost, but John Frieda products usually run in the $5-$8 range so not a bad deal.
Okay, so I'll have at least 4 prizes, and (hopefully) I will post some pictures of what exactly will be in these prizes. All you have to do is leave me a comment to enter! And, since I love trying out new products, in your comment let me know about any new product you've tried out that you now love! Spread the word!! You have until next Friday (the 15th) to enter!! Thanks for playing!!
Geez, I've been meaning to post this for DAYS! So busy, so busy. Okay, so, I joined up with BzzAgent.com like my good friend Mrs. C. You get to test out products and give feedback on them. I was lucky enough to get an invitation to try out the new Root Awakening line of shampoo/conditioner by John Frieda.
They sent me a full size bottle of shampoo and conditioner as well as some sample packs of another shampoo/conditioner AND two sample bottles of a leave in de-tangler spray. Along with a TON of coupons. I wish I would have remembered to take a picture. I guess I still could and post it up here later (if I remember).
So I started using the shampoo/conditioner on Sunday. I must say, I am enjoying it. They sent me the kind for dry hair, thank goodness, since I have dry hair. Probably from all the blow drying and flat ironing I do every day. I think it's working great. I LOVE the scent. It's eucalyptus. It makes my hair feel REALLY clean which I like since I tend to have oily hair. The conditioner wasn't as thick as I'm used to with other products for dry hair, but it does the job. My hair feels very silky and I can run my fingers through it wet with no tangles. I haven't tried the samples of the de-tangler spray...I was actually thinking about doing a GIVEAWAY!!
I haven't been using the products for a whole week yet, but so far I really like them. Since I do have so many samples and coupons, would you guys like to get some?? It's not much, but what can I do with all that? I'd love to share the wealth! I know I don't have many readers, but if you guys want some samples or coupons, let me know! And share with your readers that I have some to giveaway! I might do a couple prizes. 2 Grand Prizes with sample shampoo/conditioner/detangler spray/coupons.
And a few Secondary Prizes that will just be coupons. The coupons are for $2 off the Root Awakening product line. I haven't looked in the store to see how much they cost, but John Frieda products usually run in the $5-$8 range so not a bad deal.Okay, so I'll have at least 4 prizes, and (hopefully) I will post some pictures of what exactly will be in these prizes. All you have to do is leave me a comment to enter! And, since I love trying out new products, in your comment let me know about any new product you've tried out that you now love! Spread the word!! You have until next Friday (the 15th) to enter!! Thanks for playing!!
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Wordless Wednesday
Not sure where she gets it, but my good friend Mrs. C does Wordless Wednesday and I needed one today...
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Probably TMI...oh well.
Okay, so this post might be TMI, but I figured I should probably explain some. I’ve been mentioning being “hormonally challenged” and taking progesterone. “Why on earth would an otherwise healthy 26 year old have to take progesterone?”, you might wonder. “Isn’t that for old ladies in menopause?” Well, yes, if you don’t make enough of your own progesterone, you have to take a supplement. In my case it is to help with my secondary amenorrhea. Which means I don’t get my “monthly gift” on a monthly basis. For me, it’s more like every 6 months…or so. Now this causes a few problems.
Problem #1: Apparently, not “shedding the uterine lining” often enough can raise the risk of uterine cancer or endometriosis, according to my doctor. So that is why every 2 months when I don’t have one on my own, I have to take 10 days worth of progesterone pills to “trick” my body, so to speak, into having a period. Fun, huh? Apart from the horrible water retention this causes, it also has another really odd side affect. I have to take it at night before I go to bed because if I’m awake too long after I take the pill, it makes you feel like you’re drunk. TOTALLY. Blurred vision, can’t walk straight. I didn’t know that the first time I started taking it and was just watching TV for a while after I took the pill. I get up a couple hours later to go to bed and about fell right over trying to stand up! Yeah…great.
Problem #2: Fewer chances to get pregnant. Women with normal cycles have about 12 chances per year to get pregnant, right? Me? I have about 2. So, with no help, I have about an 83% LESS chance to get pregnant in one year when compared to a normal person. Wow. Great odds, huh? And to top it off, I don’t have any earthy idea when to even EXPECT when my chances are in that year so I’m completely in the dark. This is why I tell my husband that if he wants kids about the same time as our friends, we better get started early because it’s going to take a while. I mean, I mentioned to my doctor about trying to start having kids in the next year or so and the very first thing she says is how I’ll have to get started on Clomid. Not even, “We’ll see how you do on your own first.” Just straight up, if you want to get pregnant, you won’t be able to do it without drugs to make you ovulate. Doesn’t that take the fun out of it? The surprise? Of course, if I did get pregnant on my own, how would I even know? I’d be six months pregnant before my first missed period! Haha!
Problem #3: No expectations. I can NEVER prepare. Since I have idea when it’s coming, I can’t take necessary precautions. It just shows up out of the blue, no warning (except the EXCRUCIATING cramps the night before). Guess that’s the only good thing about taking the progesterone. I can kind of plan around that. Other than that though, no idea…no expectations. It’s very frustrating since I’m such a “planner”. I don’t do well with spontaneity.
I do admit, the not having to deal with it on a monthly basis is kind of nice, but the issues that make that the case, I don’t know if it’s worth it. I hope I don’t have daughters for this reason alone. I don’t want to have them deal with it. And since it runs in my family, there’s a good chance they would. Why me?? I seriously think that life hates me.
Progress Report Tuesday
Tuesday again. Which means another weigh-in for me this morning. This week’s results? Loss of .4 pounds. Not too bad considering I haven’t kept track of my points since Friday morning!! AND it’s “that time” coming up and the progesterone pills make me retain water like a sponge! So overall, I’m pretty happy with the results. Though the water retention is still making me feel like a COW! Ugh. Why do I have to be so hormonally challenged??
Since I have not kept track of points for the past 4 days, I have no idea what my total ended up at for the week. Probably way over since we went out to dinner a few times and went to a crawfish boil on Saturday all day. I did, however, watch my portion sizes MUCH better. When we went to Texas Roadhouse on Friday, I only ate like 3 bites of my actual meal since I had already had most of a salad and two rolls. So I took the rest home and John and I actually split the rest of the leftovers for dinner on Saturday after we got home from the crawfish boil. Good job, right?? And I’ve been trying to eat slower so that I can register earlier that I’m full. It’s working out quite well.
My exercise has definitely not been up to my own standards lately. I went to class on Tuesday and Thursday, but that was really the extent of exercise last week. John and I did buy rollerblades on Sunday and we rollerbladed to Matt and Bailey’s (about a 15min. roundtrip). And we plan to rollerblade fairly often…hopefully with the dogs once we get used to it again so they don’t knock us down so easily!
Sorry for the lack of posts the past few days. I’ve been completely out of it lately. Can’t even think of anything to write! I did (semi) make a menu for this week, but I didn’t know how well we’d stick to it since John will be schmoozing it up at OTC a few days this week and won’t be home for dinner. So I didn’t post my Menu Plan Monday. But if you are interested, on the menu for the week, we have: taco salad, chicken stir fry (no rice), some kind of chicken casserole (just throwing together chicken, cream of mushroom, broccoli and cheese), and steak with zucchini. Anywho…maybe I’ll get my brain back sometime this week and I can figure out something interesting to write about!
Happy Cinco de Mayo!
Friday, May 1, 2009
Friday random thoughts
Sorry I don’t have anything else to talk about today. It’s a blah day. We had our department appreciation lunch today. We played Bingo. It took me 18 out of 25 squares before I got a Bingo. How is that even possible?? I won some cute Post-it Notes. :o) I was glad all the candy had been won already so I wasn’t tempted with it. Now I’m trying to find a way to waste the rest of a long Friday afternoon because I just don’t feel like working. Two more hours to go… And my iPod is about to die so I’ll have to listen to the radio. I hate commercials. (Which is why I do subscribe to XM in my car and listen to it almost exclusively)
Husband and I are supposed to go over our budget tonight. We’ll see if that actually happens. Our usual monthly budget meeting consists of me up in the office updating our spreadsheet, paying bills, determining how much cash I need to get out of the bank, seeing how much “extra” money we have leftover, and Husband downstairs watching TV or not even home. Hmm…thought this was supposed to be a “group” effort. And he wonders why I get agitated when he doesn’t help out. At all.
So I had a crazy dream last night and I just suddenly remembered what it was. It somehow involved a dead body (like weeks old, dead) wrapped in a blanket hidden under a bed (though it didn’t smell bad). And I was trying to keep hidden the fact that I knew about it…in some condo my grandparents bought or something. I had to go somewhere, but someone took my car so I had to ride with my grandpa (who isn’t alive in real life) to his condo first and I was mad because it was making me late and I didn’t want my grandma to make me eat dinner with them. Then there was someone else at the condo that knew about the body and they accidently squished it and it started oozing and my dog tried to eat the ooze coming out. Very very odd, I know. And just a little on the creepy side. Though, oddly enough, the dream wasn’t like a nightmare or anything…was just like a normal day to me. Almost something you’d see on the show, Bones. Anybody watch that? I love it! Anywho…I don’t know what made me just remember that dream, but I thought it was strange.
Umm…yeah…so I guess I’ll call it day then. Now that everyone thinks I’m C.R.A.Z.Y. :o) Happy Friday!
I promise I'll stop.
Okay, okay, I know that I have been obsessively blogging about Twilight for the past week. Well, I’m almost done, I promise. I’ll try to get back to my more random assortment of blogs here soon. I just wanted to put it out there for any of the Twilight readers, if you didn’t already know. The author started a Book #5 to the series, Midnight Sun, to be Edward’s perspective of the first book, Twilight. Well, about halfway through, her draft got leaked to the internet and she has stopped writing the rest of the book. She has though, for diehard Twilight fans, posted herself, a partial draft of it on her website. There’s a little over 250 pages there, I think. I found it, but haven’t read it yet. I’m sure I’ll finish it this weekend though. (I’ve scanned the first page when I found it) It appears to be a promising new perspective and another captivating book. I’ll be glad when she gets around to finishing the whole thing and publishes it.
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