McCooled!

I am so very glad that the McCool family is back into their own little place. We had dinner over there tonight and it was so much fun just to talk and laugh and play with Luxy. Hopefully we'll be able to do that more often on non-work/school nights so we can stay later. We love those guys.

Once again I made pumpkin caramel pudding cupcakes, only this time I actually remembered to add the 1/2 cup of water that's not on the ingredient list but is in the instructions. Hehehe, oops. Well, I remembered once I had all the batter into the first set of cupcake cups... at least I used those or there would have been no undo button.

Just to clarify, I did not end up making them Tuesday night. I'm taking the rest of this batch to the office tomorrow to share.

31 Cents

I'm thankful for 31 Cent Scoop night. Even if I had to wait in a long line to get my mini scoop.

The new lowfat Raspberry Chip is awesome. 3 points for a mini scoop, I would have gladly taken the 5 point hit for the regular scoop, though. :)

Biggest Loser!

It's only appropriate that Tuesdays are my weigh-in day.

We are doing a mini Biggest Loser competition at the office, and with my 3 pound loss this week, I'm in the lead with a total of 7.4 pounds.

I really didn't think I had a chance of winning this competition with Jeff dropping weight like it's hot, and Carrie's big 5 pound loss a couple weeks ago, but now I feel like I have a fighting chance. Although, now that Carrie is starting WW too I may be in trouble... ;)

Apparently this thing is working for me. I'm soooo excited to be making some progress. It doesn't feel like my goal is so far away, after all.

To celebrate, I think I should make some Pumpkin Caramel Pudding cupcakes to bring to the office. Oh, I should take those tomorrow for our big meeting. Mmm!

Off to bake and watch the real Biggest Loser.

Sick Day (sort of)

Well, I still had to work in Chino today because there was just too much to be done. And I thought I'd be home earlier, like at 2 or 2:30, but didn't end up getting home until 4:30.

But that wasn't too bad because then Aaron made dinner, and after I ate, I pretty much conked out for the rest of the evening. When I was awake I was just lounging on the chaise in front of the TV.

I took what I could of a sick day and got some rest. And I already feel better for it. Yay!

Smart Dog!

Wow. I seriously cannot believe how stinkin' fast my dog learns things. I'm sorry, but I just have to brag on this mutt a little bit.

Rewind to Christmas when Sara and Tommy were visiting and we watched a little bit of some dog competition where they were running through tunnels and jumping hurdles and climbing things, all kinds of things. Ever since I saw that, I've thought that Scout would be absolutely great at something like that. So one of the things I got really excited about for Family Camp was that they have recently added a dog park with an agility course!!!

Of course, I couldn't wait to take Scout on it. So, after breakfast on Saturday, Aaron and I walked over there with her and worked on getting her to go through the course. At first, I felt pretty dumb because she seemed to not be getting it. And I thought I had traumatized her for life with the teeter-totter because she was backing away from it after the first time. But I did what Cesar says and just kept the mind moving forward. I got her to go back on it, heavily bribed with treats, and sure enough, she got better at it.

By 2pm, I was able to prop up my camera on the bench and get the following video. Not perfect, but dang, for having just learned what the heck to do earlier in the morning, not bad at all!!!




And I got Aaron to go back with me on Sunday morning to get better video of her doing the same course again, and then the "big" dog course:







I am just so proud of our dog! She definitely has some quirks, I don't especially like being barked at when I'm just trying to watch TV and relax, but she really is a great dog. Smart, sweet, cute... sorry, I just feel like she's a huge blessing and the fact that we got her from the shelter just reminds me how lucky we are to have her.

Now I just need to start saving up for the agility training class that Rancho offers and get her in that. I wonder if we could ever get her in a competition, just for fun?

Angie

I felt a little... out of my element at Family Camp. Since the Andersons didn't make it, I felt like I took a bit of a hit as far as people who I knew and was comfortable with, and Heather and Reigh Lea both had other groups of people who they were hanging out with. That's not a complaint, I promise. It was just a bit of a challenge trying to find a good place to go and sit and be around people. Apparently there were close to 300 people there, so that should bring clarity as to why it was a bit overwhelming.

After I got Aaron to go with me to take Scout to the little doggie agility course, we ran into Toby and Angie and Toby was leading a gaggle of boys to go catch crawdads. So Aaron went along. While he was doing that, I went and rinsed my pound of strawberries and took them and a chair and a book over to find Angie so we could sit and read and enjoy strawberries together.

That was probably the highlight of the weekend for me. We really didn't get much reading done, but Angie is just so nice to be around. We mostly talked about how good the strawberries were (because they were! and they're only 88 cents at Henry's right now!), and what we were reading (or not really reading at the moment), and whatever random porch talk you might have. We were just lounging, and it was nice.

I'm thankful for Angie. I get to work with her just about 4 days out of every week, and she is a constant and steady source of encouragement. That and a good rubber wall for joking - hopefully that makes sense. And some people (*cough*myself*cough*) might have been irritated to have someone come along and take away their reading time. If she was perturbed by that, she didn't show it. I really was there to read, honest, it just didn't happen. ;)

We're going to the Strawberry Festival next month with the Pikes, since Angie is one of the few people I know who truly shares my love for strawberries. I'm glad that Aaron is hanging out with Toby once in a while. And I'm really glad that we're starting to do more with that whole family. I think even Josh and Caleb seemed to care that I was packing up my chair and heading back to my own site when they came back from their little jaunt to the river.

Okay, if I write about any more of the ways that Angie has been a great friend to me I'm going to cry and that's just lame because I'm sitting here writing a BLOG for cryin' out loud. :P

Getting the Tent Set Up

There was originally supposed to be another couple sharing a campsite with us for the weekend, but they had to back out. They still loaned us their awesome (read: HUGE) tent. I mean, Aaron could stand up in it huge. I mean, fit the queen sized air mattress, a folding chair, and the dog crate in it huge. Plus a "foyer" for the ice chest and a safe place to stash the other chairs! Which, the same couple loaned us.

SO, if all had gone according to plan we would have gotten down to San Diego around 6 or 6:30, with plenty of daylight for setting up tent (that we have never set up before). Um, when do things go according to plan, anyway? No. We got there around 8 or 8:30. It was dark. Our dog was excited and had to be contained on her leash from a few feet away so she wouldn't grab a pole and run with it.

This is where my thankfulness comes in: Dan Houghton and Dante Avila, husbands of a couple of my friends from Flipside, helped Aaron put up our little home away from home. Seriously, so so so thankful for them and their willingness to patiently put up with a couple of camping newbies to put up a complex tent. In the dark.

:) Those guys rock. I'm sure without them Aaron and I would have been sleeping in the bed of the truck Friday night, and would not have been very happy with each other in the end, either. They really saved the day.

Friends who Lend

Well, we were going to be sharing a tent site for family camp this weekend with Kenny and Amy, but they can't go. Which is a bummer because I was looking forward to hanging out with them.

Not like there won't be 100 other people there to hang out with, but still...

So they are loaning us their gigantor tent. It will be a little silly for just me and Aaron to use it, but it will be nice. We have our air mattress, and we'll be able to keep Scout's crate inside the tent. That and we'll be able to stand up inside of it! :) They also loaned us some of their awesome folding chairs, I'm talking footrests, baby, oh yeah.

Sidenote: Amy LOVES camping, Kenny could do without it. I think I love it under the right circumstances, so we're thinking a girls' camping trip sometime. Hit me up in the comments if you'd like in on that.

I have also acquired my dad's Tacoma for the weekend, so now we can bring my bike, as well as fit the ice chest and crate without having to play a game of stuff tetris in the trunk of one of our cars.

I'm pretty sure I'm closing the office early today to get a decent start on the trip down to San Diego. And I'm positive Gretchen won't hold a charge if I leave her on all weekend. So I will owe 2-3 blogs when I get back on Sunday, but this time it won't just be because I glossed over the commitment. ;)

Appreciation

At Cramer Painting, we were lucky if we got a "hey, thanks" on Administrative Professionals Day.

At Flipside, the pastors go all out. It's great. One year they brought in someone from the church to do pedicures for us! And Jane, Allison, and Mindi put their collective skills together and bring us this amazing lunch and set up a pretty table, it's fantastic.

This year, a masseuse who goes to our church came in. During our weekly Wednesday meeting, each of us who are "admin" got to go in and have a chair massage. And lunch was, as always, great. I was extra glad I hadn't abused my weekly points yet (and I think I've even figured out how to survive camping this weekend and stay on track).

Sometimes, I feel like I'm so behind at work, or not getting enough done, or not doing certain things up to my standard. I think I'm the only one who notices that. I got this really nice card from Kevin, he's great about encouraging all of us on staff. I actually feel like I was able to work "better" for the rest of the afternoon. I honestly believe that when he tells me I'm doing a great job, or Jeff tells me I'm indispensable, that I perform better than if one of them had pulled me in and told me everything I'm doing wrong. I've gotten a bad review or two before, and all they did was make me sad. Maybe because one of them was bogus from a bogus boss who was basically just shopping on ebay and playing online poker, but I digress. :P

I'm just thankful to feel so appreciated today. Even though I'm not perfect, and some days I do sit in la-la-land for far too long, I like to think that for the most part I work my tailfeather off. And when it feels like someone notices that and thanks me for it, it makes me want to keep doing it. And it clears my mind of the questions and self-doubt, which helps me to do my job better.

Ramble, ramble, ramble, stop.

Fat Free Dessert

I'll be honest.

When Kevin set up a meeting for me and Aaron along with another couple we lead our Bible study with at his house for dessert, I was apprehensive. I have absolutely zero willpower when it comes to dessert (see how I spelled that correctly?). Especially the kinds of good things that Jen creates... like that Heath Pudding Brownie bowl thing they made at MOPS one day.

Sidenote: I think that must run in the family, I've had some good sweets from Louise's kitchen and Jane's, too. Dangerous, these women! ;) In a really good way.

Anyway, I was just glad that it was a Tuesday and I would have a full week's worth of extra points to work with.

So imagine my surprise when the dessert was this ice-creamish thing made with sugar free fat free pudding mix, fat free cool whip, and raspberry sorbet??? Score! I ate my whole serving without one ounce of guilt or concern. I think it was only about 2 points, too. Which I had left within my daily points anyway, so I haven't even gotten into the weekly points.

Although, I'm sure I will tomorrow considering it is Administrative Professional's Day and Jane (Jen's sister), is a huge part of planning that AND she makes amazing cupcakes. I actually think her and Aaron Thomas would be well-matched for a bake-off.

Unexpected Visits

Back in August (?), our friends, John and Gina Erickson, moved to Colorado. I had known them for a while, I think since January of 07? It was always their plan to eventually move to Colorado, but they were paying off debt and preparing while they were still in Southern California. They became part of our Bible study, helped lead it actually, and even though I didn't really want to get too close to Gina because I knew I'd feel abandoned when they moved, I still did. :P

They're just those friends that everyone is lucky to have. They are always willing to help, to go get frozen yogurt, to encourage you.

Apparently John's grandmother died sometime over the last week, so they came to California for the funeral. And they text messaged and organized for everyone to get together at another friend's house for a little bring your own dinner party.

I'm so glad we were able to go see them, and that so many of our other friends were there, too.

Happily Ever After

Okay, I'm behind (again), so I'll make this quick:

Lisa and Christopher pretty much started dating after chatting the night away at our wedding. They got married today. How cool is that? I'm really happy for them.

Little Sister

I grew up as an only child. I was adopted as a baby, so I'm blessed to have my parents (who raised me), and my mother (who physically gave me life).

When I was 18, I found and met my birth mother, and discovered that I had 2 brothers and 2 sisters. However, they live 500 miles away so forging real relationships has been challenging.

But today, I was able to spend the whole day with my sister, April, at Disneyland celebrating her birthday. I honestly never thought I would get to do something like that with her. We're really pretty different when it comes to interests, tastes, beliefs, etc. But, she is my sister. So I like to think we can spend a day together like we did today and enjoy being around one another.

And it was fun. I'm thankful that today it feels more like I have a sister than it did a year ago, or even 6 months ago. Baby steps. Slow, arduous, long-distance baby steps. And those steps look differently for each of my siblings. April has just been the toughest sell on the idea so far.

These awkward dynamics definitely keep life interesting. I love having such an interesting family life. Sometimes it hurts, and it's weird and uncomfortable. But days like today are refreshing reminders of why I keep pressing on.

Bicycle! Bicycle!

So Nathan came over this evening and brought an extra bike for Aaron to ride. I had left the garage open, so he was very sneaky and fixed my tires for me before ringing the doorbell. :)

We made it to Rochester and then rode back. If I had realized how much easier the ride back was going to be, I would have been willing to go farther!

Scout did really well when we were on the actual bike path, just running alongside me - not pulling or crossing in front. And she was pretty beat when we got home, too. Definitely a bonus of utilizing the bike for exercise.

Although, there's a house close to Rochester that has a pit bull in the back yard that apparently made it up onto the fence and was going to come eat our dog. That's according to Nathan and Aaron. In my head if he made it over I could out "run" him with the bike, although I guess not if Scout can keep up. I really hope he's not back there all the time. I would prefer my ride to be a little less eventful than that.

Free Stuff!

Who isn't thankful for free stuff? Especially good free stuff! Get yourself some free Dunkin' Donuts coffee. I imagine it's coming whole bean, which means don't grind it until you're ready to use it. This is particularly true of DD, if you ask me!

Getting over it (finally)

Tonight I hit a total wall. I felt like I was making so much progress after Crossroads, but tonight I went into almost complete melt-down depression mode. Ugh! I can see improvement, I mean, I didn't cry, I didn't throw anything or eat my way out of it... but it was rough.

In case you didn't see the mini-Twitter saga, here's the full story.

I came home from work instead of going straight to the gym because Aaron had to go "paint the rock" at school. Yes, that is literal. For Link Crew they paint this giant rock with whatever the current color is for the Link Crew. So he was awesome and had dinner ready and waiting when I got home so that we could eat and he could leave.

I parked outside of the garage, expecting to get my bike out after dinner and go for a ride with Scout running behind me.

After dinner, I went into the garage, got the dog leashed up, got my helmet adjusted, and proceeded to position the bike to ride it out. Thankfully I left the garage door closed this whole time, because I discovered both of my tires were really flat. No problem, I think we've used my balance ball pump to inflate them before. I go grab that and come back and that's when the epic struggle began.

Pump, pump, pump. Nada.

Take off attachment, screw pump onto the valve: pump, pump, pump. Nada.

Noooooooo! I was feeling so determined and actually excited! Lame.

So I went in the house, texted Heather, texted Nathan (who lives in Chino, that was unlikely from the start), talked to Heather, tweeted my frustrations... Finally I gave up on the notion of riding the bike. Poor Scout was whining and confused because she had her leash on and wasn't going anywhere. I mustered up the determination to get out the door and just started walking.

I ended up finding a pretty nice loop that took me by this meadow in the middle of our neighborhood. According to Map My Run it was just under 2 miles. I think I could have finished faster if it weren't for the dog or having to stop and figure out where I was.

It wasn't the most intense workout, but I'm just so glad I got over being so upset about the bike and went.

And Nathan is going to come on Friday evening with an extra bike so that he and Aaron and I can go for a ride. Obviously he'll inflate my tires for me, too. :P

Progress

Yay! I lost another pound.

As much as I say I'm glad I'm losing really slowly, because I know I'll be more likely to keep it off that way, I still wish I could drop 4 or 5 pounds in a week. But I know with what I'm doing and how I'm eating, I'm losing it really really well, as in, the healthiest way I can.

That doesn't really help when I think about trying on bridesmaid dresses in 2.5 weeks though.

Did anyone watch Biggest Loser tonight? I wanted to cry for Mike's little brother. Seriously, they had better let him on campus next season or something because that's just wrong. Now he's the fat guy in the family, and feeling terrible for it. Seriously, that is one thing I hate about this show. It's just so impossible to lose that kind of weight if you're at home doing it as well as doing all the normal things like working 9-5 and having a social life. The only way to get that kind of instant gratification (losing 100 pounds in 15 weeks) is to make working out and eating healthy your JOB. It's understandable that the brother would feel like he's not going to be able to do it, because Mike and Ron couldn't do it at home, either. They had BETTER be there for that kid when they get back, that's all I'm sayin.

It was breaking my heart watching that and I just had to get it out of my system.

I'm going to be brave and put this out there... I'm thinking about looking into doing a marathon with Team in Training, hopefully in Laiken's honor. Pleh! I hate running, it makes my stomach hurt just typing that. But I think it would be really good for me both in accountability and help training, and emotionally to run that for her. We'll see. I haven't signed up for anything yet.

All Caught Up

So I missed a few days of blogging this week... shame on me. I'm all caught up now. I really want to keep this thing going.

I also missed a workout on Saturday. But since Aaron was sick yesterday, we didn't end up going to the family festivities that would have prevented me from working out, and kept me stuffing my face all day. And since Daniella ended up sitting in front of me at church, and her husband was sick, too, I was able to set up a walk the dogs date with her for later in the afternoon.

Daniella lives pretty much up the street from me, I guess it's a mile away. We walked and met halfway and then around a loop and then I walked back. It was good to catch up with her.

And, I got my 3rd workout in for the week. Score!

I feel like I have a fresh start to the week now. Caught up on the blogs, ready to go work out and work today, and maybe even go to the grocery store.

That's it. Monday is calling, I've gotta go. :)

Death to Life

I learned something new today.

I believe wholeheartedly that Jesus Christ was a real person, that he died, and then he wasn't dead anymore.

I did not realize that there were other people alive around the same time he was who were claiming to be "messiah." Because I hadn't heard of them before. Because they died, and people stopped following them.

The new thing I learned that intrigued me was that religious historians, who are not Christian, have a hard time understanding how this little movement of people who followed Jesus Christ of Nazareth has become this huge movement, with millions of people, that has continued since the time he was alive.

It shouldn't be so, because he died.

It wouldn't be so, except he lived.

He didn't stay dead. That's such an important part of my faith. I love remembering it each year by getting up and going to a park at sunrise, by remembering that the women who dilligently went as soon as Sabbath was over to go take proper care to bury him, only to find that there was no body. And even though angels appeared to them and told them he was alive, they were still perplexed. How could this happen? Someone stole his body! No! He even had to them and set them straight. He really came back from the dead. Nobody stole his body, the disciples didn't even "get it" enough to put together a scheme like that. His body isn't there because He lives.

Gives me chills! I love it! Happy Easter, everyone.

Kitchen Improvements

I had every intention of going to the gym this morning, but I got into cleaning mode in the kitchen so I didn't make it.

My kitchen is sparkling! At least, everything but the floor. Sometimes it's so hard to dig up the motivation to do nitty gritty chores like cleaning out the toaster oven. So when I found myself effortlessly flitting around cleaning, I had to ride that wave.

Then my mom came over and I made her Girlfredo, but she couldn't handle the noodles. Ha, I guess it's not for everyone. She went with me to a Pampered Chef party that Amy was hosting, and even bought me a little somethin'. :) I'm excited, I was on a quest for new measuring tools and I found some great ones that I think will be very helpful when it comes to keeping up with this healthy eating thing.

My pantry is pretty well organized, now I would like to tackle the rest of the cabinets... especially tupperware and the area above the plates. I feel like I made big progress today in improving my kitchen, with the cleaning and the new tools. :)

By the way, I heart my granite countertops. Especially that I can choppity chop away on them. Awesome!

Encouragement

Tonight after Good Friday service, Mindi stopped me and told me that people were talking about me! The nerve!

;)

But they were saying good things about me. It made me feel really good and after this week, it was great timing.

I'm thankful for Mindi and her sweet way of stopping me and telling me such nice things. It kinda made my night. :)

Aha!

Ok, I know I am behind a day. We have lack of extra computer problems at times. Here's a quick note about today.

I found my way in to that bike path! It was great, too, because I walked up with Scout after a decent sized meal since I had points to spare today.

Yeah, I actually got some physical activity out of sheer curiosity! Who knew? ;)

And I got A LOT done at work today. That's always a good thing.

So, lots to be thankful for.

Prayer at Work

One of the many things to love about having a ministry-related job is that our boss is also our pastor, which means sometimes his instruction to us is to go pray.

During the time that would normally be our Wednesday meeting, we instead went out and experienced the prayer labyrinth which had been set up for Passion Week.

Once we finally got ipods and cd players working, we each went in and prayed.

Sometimes I think that I could be better off at a normal job, at least financially. But on days like today, I wouldn't trade this job for any amount of money.

Boredom and the Lack Thereof

I truly cannot remember the last time I was "bored."

There is never a time when I have nothing that I want to do. I usually either have plans, or a project I want to work on, or housework to be done, or something I want to read/watch/otherwise ingest.

Okay, I do get bored at the gym sometimes, but only because I can think of all of those other things I'd rather be doing than walking to go nowhere at the gym. :P

Today was one of those extra busy days. I went to work, went to the bank, went to WW, came home, grabbed a coupon for frozen yogurt, went back to WW shopping center to meet Lori for frozen yogurt, went to the grocery store, came home and put away groceries, did some dishes, watched some Biggest Loser and SVU while putting away food and dishes...

And then it was bedtime! Past bedtime, actually.

Tomorrow, it will be lather, rinse, repeat. I love my life, but I get tired sometimes. More sleep might be nice. ;)

Finding the Way

After a frustrating day at work, I got home much later than planned and still needed to exercise.

Instead of going to the gym, which would have taken an additional 20 mins at least, I decided to go for a little walk with Scout. I really wanted to take my bike up to the Pacific Electric Trail, but I'm glad I walked around first with the intention of looking for an entrance.

They don't make it easy to get connected to that path, let me tell you. Especially if you consider a canine presence, and you know, actually wanting to ride a bike.

I took one little side street to try to find a way through, and happened upon some lost keys that had a Ralphs rewards card on them. I knocked on the door of the house they were in front of, but the lady said they weren't hers. I debated leaving them, but the Ralphs tag says return to the nearest Ralphs store if you find lost keys, and that's what I would want someone to do with my keys, so I did. I'm glad I ended up on that street and I hope the keys got back to their owner.

The walk was better than most because I was actually rushing a little bit to get back for dinner. And I was determined to find an entrance to the trail. Once I realized exactly where the trail was (above my head as I went through the Victoria tunnel), I noticed a pretty steep dirt path that had an opening onto the trail.

So I off-roaded it up that and felt this tremendous sense of accomplishment once I was actually on the trail. Only I also felt this sense of oh, crap, it's already dark and I don't want to have to walk all the way back to Etiwanda and then along Baseline to get home if that's the only way out.

As I examined all of the openings to the trail, I caught sight of a familiar looking one. The one where the lovely little sidewalk that goes through my neighborhood through a little fake park in the middle abruptly ends. A little more off-roading and I was in the home stretch. I *might* be able to walk my bike up through there to get on the trail.

Once I was across the street and into the center path, I decided to take Joe's inspiration and run. I panicked about halfway through and stopped, thinking I was mistaken about it being my neighborhood, but then I realized I was okay and kept running.

It was a really good walk. I can't believe I actually ran on my own volition - you know, without Ms. Dewitt menacingly withholding popsicle sticks from me if I wasn't running when I passed her by on the track. I ran just because. And it gave a nice little boost to my heartrate. I might try that again. Might.

If anyone knows of any quiet streets that have actual entrances into the trail, I'd love to hear about them. I have two concerns with riding on Baseline or Day Creek. 1, I do not have any exceptional prowess when it comes to riding a bike (read: I might fall or have brake issues). And 2, I thoroughly plan on taking my hyperactive dog along with me, because she needs to get tired out sometimes.

Smooth Sailing

I realized too late that we had forgotten to bring money to pay for Family Camp (big ol' church camping trip), but then discovered that we could share a site with the Andersons so now we just need to pay them back, and it's only costing us half as much to go! Yeah!

After church we went to Target, got a "few" things (went in for 2, got 10), stopped at Henry's and picked up some salad for lunch fixins, ate awesome salads, then I went to the movies with Joe and saw Sunshine Cleaning. Which was great.

Then I came home and cooked and made a horrible mess of the kitchen. But all the food was good, including the diet coke brownies (thanks, Sarah!).

I'm just thankful for days like these. There's no particular rush, except for getting to church on time (which we sort of did). And then when you're not rushing, I don't know if it just seems like everything goes more smoothly or if it just does because there's no deadline or time constraint. Either way, it was a good day and I'm thankful for the change in pace.

Daffodil Garden

Daffodils are my absolute favorite flower.

Since March 0f 2007, when my dad sent me a forward about this garden of daffodils in Lake Arrowhead, I've been dying to go. But you have to go during the three weeks that the garden is open to the public and in bloom. If you want to read more about this fantastic garden, go here.

The garden will only be open to the public for one more week. Next Sunday, Easter Sunday, when the garden closes it will be the last time anyone the Bauers don't personally invite to see the flowers.

This was something I think I took for granted, thinking one of these days I would actually go check it out. We tried to go one other time, but we didn't make it. I happened upon the information on the internet that this would basically be the last chance to go. So, we went. And what perfect timing, because it was a BEAUTIFUL day.

It will probably be even more spectacular next week, judging by the pictures at the bottom of the article. It was awesome, but I bet there are a lot more flowers still to bloom in the coming week.

I'm so thankful for the work the Bauers have put into creating the garden, and opening it to the public (for free) the way they do. Especially after reading the article, it's impressive that they've been able to keep this up for so long.

And it made a nice little afternoon date for Aaron and I. ;) We drove up to Big Bear afterward and got lunch at a great little place in the Village.

If you want to go, you have to go between 10am and 6pm. It's not actually in Lake Arrowhead, it's in Running Springs, so it's not AS far up the mountain as going to Arrowhead. You go park at this church called St. Anne's, and there are porta-potties and a kitchen/craft shop that's open from 10am to 3pm (Aaron and I didn't go in, so I can't tell you more than that about it).

Here's a map, just to make it that much easier for you. ;) 210 to 330, right on Fredalba Rd. Follow the signs.

Nick & Alicia

Alicia is one of my best friends, and Nick is one of Aaron's best friends. So the fact that they are getting married in August is pretty sweet for us... except that it means now both of them will live in Long Beach.

Tonight we went to Vince's, a usual spot for us, then split up and went to get supplies for Irish Coffee and a movie.

Irish Coffee, I discovered, basically equals coffee and whiskey. Ha. It's extra-warm coffee.

We watched Bolt, which I had heard great things about, but I wasn't terribly impressed.

It was a fun night, it always is with them. I'm thankful for their friendship(s), and I hope that the LBC doesn't eat them once they move. It's so hard to maintain friendships across freeways filled with traffic. :(

Mission: Accomplished

I wrote the other day about our kitchen being a disaster area...

Well, Aaron did some work on it on Wednesday, and I finished it up tonight after my attempt at making low-fat Buffalo-wingish chicken. It was okay. Not great, but once I figure out how to make it work, I'll pass it along to Siobahnne. ;)

I think that's honestly what I'm most thankful for today: my empty sinks. I can't stand when the dishes get so piled up that it becomes this huge beast of a task to get them knocked out. I know it shouldn't be like that, but once in a while it just happens. There are only two of us, and we both hate doing the dishes. :P

Don't judge me! lol

Lying & Cheating

April Fool's day is really fun when you actually get to "get" someone.

Like how I got Brittany when I came in and asked her what happened to the back passenger-side of her truck. She came running downstairs, she actually would have gone outside to look at her truck if Louise hadn't started saying things like "your truck is on fire!" It was funny. She was more worried about what her dad would do than anything. That helped to add to the funny.

So that's the lying portion of the day.

Then there was the cheating... on my diet!

Aaron and I went to Graziano's and I had an antipasto salad that I'm sure was just about horrible for me, but oh so tasty. We also ordered these Garlic Knots which were FABULOUS. I had noticed a Gelato place next door so I asked Aaron if he wanted to get a treat... I was thinking he would get something, not me - but then that place was closed and we got sucked into the Baskin Robbins across the street.

Yeah, I had Gold Medal Ribbon ice cream. So. good.

So I totally cheated, but the beauty of WW is that I get these "flex" points throughout the week that I can spend on stuff like that. It may impact my weight loss, but since I'm on the road to 3 workouts this week, I think I'll still be okay. Then next week, when I don't cheat, I'll really knock off a good 2 lbs. *fingers crossed*

Potential Lost Spoiler:

Side note, when it comes to Lost I'm totally with Hurley on the WTH boat. *shakes fist at time travel that is trying to actually be realistic and make sense*

Easy Breezy

Our kitchen is ridiculous right now. Dishes in both sinks and overflowing onto the counters, you would think we didn't have a dishwasher or something. Lame.

I am thankful for the fact that I had picked up some more interesting shredded cheese at the grocery store and was able to microwave myself a quesadilla and have some baked tortilla chips with salsa for dinner. And considering it was 8pm by the time I even sat down to eat that, no, I did not tackle the dishmonster.

And slow and steady wins the race... I've now lost 1.8 pounds. Maybe that will start coming off faster now that I have intentions of regular gym visits? I hope.