Theme Idea

Yesterday someone commented (in person) about a post of mine from a few months back about my lost and found check from the Good Samaritan FedEx man. It got me to thinking about how many stories like that I have, and how now that I'm a good 5 months into this daily blog venture, I would like to retell some of those stories. They really amaze me, and I hope that they amaze you when I share them. I am thankful for these "coincidences", and just because they didn't happen in 09 doesn't mean I can't be thankful for them still. :)

Today I'll leave it with being thankful for the theme. I know I have at least 4 of these stories, and I'm sure if I blow the cobwebs off of the brain library I can come up with 2 or 3 more. So we'll see if this carries us through to Saturday or Sunday of next week.

You may want to open a nice bottle of wine to sip while reading, because I cannot help but bring out the cheese factor in some of these stories. You have been warned.

Getting Back on the Wagon

At least the wagon is still within reach.

I have once again fallen off of the exercise wagon, but now I've been to the gym twice this week. As far as I'm concerned, that is back on the wagon. Especially considering all of the times I've had a "goal" in mind of going once in the coming week and never actually made it.

It helps a lot that we finally bit the bullet and acquired a gym membership from Costco for Aaron. So Wednesday night we went and he proved who he was and signed his firstborn child over, etc, and they roped him into coming for a "fitness evaluation" today with a trainer. Being the loving and supportive wife that I am I went along with him (okay, okay, so it was really more like I recognized that if I couldn't drag myself to the gym I could always hop in Aaron's car and go with him).

While he was being "evaluated" I got a full 30 minutes of cardio in and then braved a couple of weight machines on the floor. All the while shuddering at the skeezy guys who were noticeably thinking that I was checking them out while I was scanning the room for my husband. YUCK!

I've been losing pretty consistently since I started Weight Watchers, but now it's starting to slow and I think my body is going to stay that way until I start working out. I'm going to go Monday, and I may even head out tomorrow to rent the new Active game for the Wii, since that might be a step in the right direction towards Aaron letting me buy it.

As a sidenote, I would encourage anyone who knows someone who is trying to lose weight to just be supportive and encouraging. Unless there's a real health concern, of course. For me, when people say "oh, why? you don't need to lose" - it makes me feel awkward. The point is, I am not comfortable in my own skin (or my own clothing for that matter), so I feel that I need to lose. Everybody is different, some girls much larger than myself are perfectly happy being that way, at least they don't say otherwise. And I don't badger them about losing weight. But if I someone wants to, whether or not I think they need to, I try to encourage them because it's really really hard to lose. It takes the power to say "no" to foods everyone loves and tries to offer you at every turn, the energy to think before you order at a restaurant, planning for a good healthy lunch and snacks at work, and finding time to work out on top of all of that.

So, I'm just saying. Don't say "why? you don't need to lose!" Try "good for you!" or "you can do it!" or "let's go for a walk sometime!" Exclamation points are optional.

Department Parties

Apparently the people Aaron works with sometimes rib him about me not "liking" them because I miss a lot (?) of functions, parties, etc.

Couldn't be farther from the truth. I adore some of those people, and I haven't met anyone there that I don't like.

So when I do get to go and I'm able to relax and have a good time with them, it's a lot of fun. Gilda even insisted that we bring Scout, and she was great! Very well-behaved and not a pain in the neck.

Plus I kind of get a kick out of seeing a bunch of English teachers get inebriated. I imagine somewhere Urquizu, Taylor, Molumphey, and Padilla are all having drinks together and being actual people - you know, instead of English teachers. It's just oddly amusing to me to think about.

Adventures

I'm just glad I had a couple of factors working into my being able to be very participatory today in some decision-making. :) That's all I have to say about that. It was a fun day.

Relax!

Today I added a new little self-command to my vocabulary: relax!

Which can also be expressed as "fuhgetaboutit" or "chill out."

So today I needed to get out of the office for a bit, I had a volunteer who needed a desk to work at and I needed a change of scenery. Off I went to Staples to spend a reward certificate that was set to expire on Sunday. Woo hoo for guilt-free and cost-free office supply shopping. I got yet one more piece for my desk beautification /organization, and a few things that were a little more needed, such as post-it notes and binder clips and certificate paper.

That situation could have easily turned into me pacing around, trying to figure out how to install Office on the lame-duck computer in the corner (which reminds me, I need to do that anyway so it's more useful for Jane!), and otherwise trying to squeeze an extra-person into the already bustling and busy front-office.

But no, I gave Dawn some work to do (hooray for Dawn!) and headed out to Staples and then to take an actual lunch break, away from my desk and everything!

Then tonight, after getting home around 6:30-7:00, and Aaron not getting home until 7:30, I decided we should go out to dinner - even though we're completely broke as far as the monthly budget goes. Yes, we borrowed a little bit from tomorrow (a big whopping $20), but it was worth it for us to both be able to say, "relax!" It's no big deal, really.

Plus I got the big messes in the kitchen / dining area tidied up and now Aaron is working on the dishes, which I am about to go relieve him from so he can write a test. :)

Now, to those reading this blog who are stressed about no job, no money, no time, no weight loss, or whatever... I say, "Relax!"

5% Off!

It's official. Today I am 5% less of a person than I was a couple months ago! Woo hoo!

I know they say you're not supposed to reward yourself with food when you're dieting, but I say screw that. Food is good. ;) But I was still good. Aaron and I went to the gym so he could complete his membership and I got in a 30 minute workout before we headed over to Baskin Robbins for a celebratory scoop of low-fat Raspberry Chip ice cream.

And it was gooooood. And I accidentally forgot to eat my snacks today, just too busy at work, so I had the points to spare anyway. :)

Today definitely had ups and downs. I was a little ball of emotion because sometimes I just have too much empathy (and my coworker/friend's boyfriend's mom died in a motorcycle accident this weekend), which was surprisingly hitting me pretty hard. Maybe because I knew about the text she got saying the accident had happened and it seemed like no big deal. I don't know, my heart just goes out to people in certain circumstances. Maybe too much and I need to reign it back in. On top of that, I woke up not feeling well, I took Claritin and it made me jittery and weird all day, and my friend confronted me on some stuff that to be honest, I already know most of and am doing the best I can to work it out.

AND I didn't even make it to the semi-finals of the Despair.com caption contest. Oh well, maybe I'll be somewhere on the "best of the rest" list on Thursday.

Ugh.

When I put it like that, today was mostly down. But I am so thankful that Aaron has a gym membership now, and that I have lost 5% of my body weight, and that I have done so while enjoying fantastic things like Raspberry Chip ice cream and the occasional french fry. I will try to end on the life is so good note instead of the today was not so good note. Strike that, reverse it.

First 3-day weekend in 2 years

Everyone looks at me funny when I say I still have to go to work on Monday when it's a holiday like today.

I only work here once a week, people! Of course I have to go to work!

Anyway, today was really nice because I knew the boss-man and lady weren't going to be here because they're at the river. So there was extra-reduced pressure for me to get here by a certain time. I rolled up around 4:15pm and I'll probably leave in 20 mins.

I am so thankful for the extra rest and lounging I got today. :) And when I get home, we'll grill up some tri-tip and onions and a bell pepper for a special Memorial Day dinner.

Entertainment Setup

Thanks to this software called PlayOn*, we are able to watch Hulu content via our XBox360 on our big tv in our living room. We can also watch YouTube, if we still had a Netflix account we could watch Netflix "watch now" movies there, and eventually when ABC gets on the ball, we'll be able to watch episodes of Lost on there as well.

It is pretty awesome.

Today I was especially thankful for it because we watched Johnny Dangerously, Dr. Horrible's Singalong Blog (finally), and started to watch Super Size Me - but we started too late and got too sleepy to stay up and finish it.

I feel like Aaron and I are so "go, go, go" sometimes and it can be so nice to just veg. No housework, no reading, no grading, no thinking, just to become a ball of mush on the couch. It's a brain vacation.

*If you're thinking about downloading PlayOn, I will warn you - it's MORE than a tad-bit buggy, so be prepared for a few moments of banging your head on the remote control if you're going to go for it. But when it works, it's beautiful. It could also be due to my computer being on the verge of dinosaur status.

Shiny Happy People

On my way home from the grocery store today, I forged a brief, but meaningful, friendship with two adorable little girls in the car next to me at a red light near my house.

I think one was about4 and the other 7.

I was just sitting there, minding my own business, when I looked over and they were waving and pointing towards the shopping center across the street. I had no idea what they were trying to communicate, so I started pointing in the other direction just to play along. Then I "scarecrow" pointed both in front of me and behind me, and they laughed.

We sat there and played and I think the mom was embarrassed or weirded out by this little game we had going.

We ended up stopped at one more red light together before I got home, and that time was spent making absurdly funny faces at each other.

It was pretty much the highlight of my afternoon. I love it when kids "pick me" for shennanagins like that. It was really fun and brought a smile to my heart.

TGIF

For the first time in a long time, I actually get to sleep in. Like I really don't have anywhere to be until a grad party at 7.

I'm writing from my phone on a nearly dead battery. Better post tomorrow... :)

Nurturing

I love being able to take care of my dog.

Like knowing when she's pestering me because she wants food, or when she gives a little whine and she's pacing because her water dish is empty, or how she paws at her crate if we've locked her up and forgotten to let her make one last visit to the backyard first.

It makes me feel like I'm good at being that nurturing mother-like person. It's at least good practice.

And it's kinda nice because she's not nearly as demanding as a child would be. :P

Plus when I feed her or give her water, she usually comes back to me and gives some sort of thanks, usually in the form of a lick to the arm.

My mom had a headache

I know it sounds weird, and I am not at all glad that my mom was in pain, but in hindsight I was kinda thankful my mom had a headache tonight when the receptionist at my mom's WW meeting got on my case about trying to weigh in twice in one week (God forbid!).

It's no big deal, really, I was just hoping I was at my 5%. And I wasn't sure how everything was going to play out this week because I wasn't going to my regular meeting in Rancho, so I went and weighed in and left. But since my pass gives me unlimited meetings every month, I thought I could still weigh in on Wednesday and just choose which number I wanted to go with (for my own personal records) for the week.

Anyway, this receptionist just went on and on and on, she wasn't even hearing what I was trying to say, which was basically okay, sorry, I didn't know - can I just step on the scale to see the number and we don't have to write it down on your list or in my book and nobody at WW is going to FIRE you over this. Oy vey.

Now the reason why I'm glad my mom had a headache was because if she hadn't, she probably would have gotten pretty belligerent with this lady. I mean, she really wouldn't stop (the lady). She wasn't listening to me, and she was prattling on and on and on!

I was embarrassed, and I'm really glad that that meeting is not the one I plan on going to every week, because I know at least 2 people overheard the whole ordeal in line behind us.

It gets better, too... at the end of the meeting, she asked the leader if she could make a quick announcement. I wanted to hide under the table. She said, "A lot of people who have the monthly pass think they can weigh in at multiple meetings..." and she went on to explain basically my exact situation, stopping short of turning on a neon sign over my head that pointed down and said "like that girl right there".

Oh, man, I never knew I could want to clock an old lady.

I actually handled myself quite well for my mom's sake, just so she wouldn't have to deal with it when she comes back every week. The two ladies who overheard the whole thing in line were asking me about it after the meeting and agreeing with me that it was pretty much overblown nonsense.

It's funny to me. It really is. It probably wouldn't have been if my mom had been feeling 100% and had gone to verbal blows with the lady. ;)

Sorry

Sorry, Blog, I know I've been neglecting you.

Next week will be better, I promise. ;)

Today I am thankful for GTD - like getting the T-Mobile bill paid for the first time, and set up to pay itself automatically from now on, getting my $1.02 credited on the AT&T account, and (I think), getting our extra payment on the couch refunded from DECEMBER. That baby is no interest for 3 years, so no way am I putting any extra funds towards that!

Of course, now (if we get) that money (it) is going in the Hawaii jar!!!

I love it when a plan comes together

So, a few weeks ago I was fishing for cheap vacation ideas. And an old friend from high school overlooked the cheap part and mentioned that she works for the Ritz Carlton in Maui.

Well, hmm. She thought she might be able to help us get a discounted room for 65-70 a night. And I thought I might be able to get someone to donate some frequent flier miles to help us get to the island.

Neither of those options worked out.

But Vanessa did help me find a studio apartment in a great location that we can get for $50 a night. Yeah! It's got a little kitchen, so we'll be able to save a little bit on food. And I found us round trip nonstop (yes, you can stop going LAX to Hawaii, either Honolulu or Salt Lake City for some odd reason) tickets for $726. Total. As in, each ticket was $363. Yeah, I'm pretty stoked. We were going to try to do a super cheap vacation this year, but when this opportunity came up we just had to go for it. And it's pretty cheap considering what we're doing.

I. am. stoked.

Now I just need to figure out getting us to LAX and back... I'm thinking metrolink coming back at 5:30am on Wednesday morning (yes, I work on Wednesday - that should be fun LOL) , but getting there on Thursday afternoon it might be nice to get a ride from someone.

TV

I am so glad this TV season is winding to a close. I don't even watch that much, but there are a few shows we've been really wrapped up in this year.

P.S. I would be writing a few catch-up posts right now, but my internet is being stupid so I am using my phone. It's difficult.

It's over!!!

So my number one addiction as far as television goes, Lost, is over for the season.

And next year will be the final season.

I actually feel like my schedule is more free now because of it. I think that's kinda sad, but I also don't feel too badly about it because it's one show. And the two others I really care about watching, The Office and 30 Rock, will be done for the season tomorrow, as well. I just don't think 2 hours of TV a week is all that bad. Justifying? Maybe. But that's more because I am a productivityaholic than anything.

The "fish biscuits" we made (pics to follow later), were actually made from this recipe Aaron found for Citrus sugar cookies. They were SOOOOOOOOOOOO good. I think I'm going to have to make sugar cookies that way at Christmas time now, they were just more sexy than plain ol' sugar cookies. And they cooked really nicely, better than the Pilsbury dough. I think they'll be worth the effort.

Clean House

We're having a little Lost party tomorrow night. Well, Aaron's having a little Lost party tomorrow night. He and a few other teachers and a secretary from his school get together every week and theorize and talk about Lost, so he wanted to invite them to watch the season finale.

Which meant I had an awesomely willing helper to get the house all spic and span for them to come over. :) I really try to stay on top of the little cleaning tasks regularly, but sometimes it just feels good to get the whole house clean at once. It's a greater sense of accomplishment or something, I'm not sure why I like that so much.

So yay, my house is clean and I get to play hostess tomorrow night! Word on the street is there will be Dharma Initiative peanuts, soda, water, and fish biscuits like the ones that Sawyer and Kate ate when they were locked up in the Polar bear cages. ;)

Grabbing Monday by the horns

I'm tired of being tired and not feeling rested. So I have decided to work longer hours Tuesday - Friday at Flipside so that my only duties on Mondays are work at Scheu Plumbing and grocery shopping.

Today I slept in until 9am, lounged around the house and worked on our budget, then went to lunch with April and Vicky before heading over to Rose's house.

It made the day feel so much more like a day off. Even though I worked. :) I think this new schedule is going to be much better for me.

Doh!

Yeah, so, I'm actually just about officially a week behind on my blog. I am not dead. There is nothing wrong with your feed-reader setup (yes, one person asked, so that's a legitimate reply).

I want to catch up, I'm going to catch up. Just not tonight. I'm wiped out.

I am thankful for my mom. We definitely have our ups and downs, but I love that woman. Today I was able to demonstrate that for her by way of spending the whole day at their house. I got there early, with groceries in tow, and made breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the three of us. I was going to do dishes, too, but my dad did instead. :) We watched a couple of movies and relaxed.

Basically, it was my family's idea of quality time.

And now my mom's fridge is stocked with a few low-point goodies, a couple WW brand items that they don't carry at Stater Bros, so I feel like what I did today is a gift that will keep giving. Plus I was able to plan the meals all around how many points she gets for the day, and then modify for how many points I get by skipping a side dish or whatever.

My mom is a housewife, so she has always done all of the cooking and cleaning and now that I have my own house and my own hubby and dog to care for, I appreciate that much more just what that takes. I'm thankful that the planets aligned properly today for me to be able to go love on her by way of serving her. And of course, I'm thankful for her.

Understanding

I really wanted to go ride my bike with Lori tonight after work while Joe and Aaron went to see Star Trek.

But then everyone was talking about how good Star Trek was and I was tired and hot and Lori had chores to do, so I ended up going to hang out with the guys instead.

I'm so glad that Lori and I are able to be flexible with each other when we need to be, and that I didn't cram in going on a bike ride AND going to dinner and a movie into what was already a hectic and busy day.

Although I'm sure the exercise would have been great for Tuesday's weigh-ins. Oh well. ;)

Planning Ahead

So often Aaron and I will go to dinner because we don't have other food in the house, or because we just don't feel like cooking, or because we are going with friends.

Today, we planned a few days ahead to go to Graziano's tonight after work. So all day I looked forward to it, and as soon as I got home we went. We didn't have the dramatic digging through the fridge and pantry, the guilt over how we shouldn't spend money. It was planned and decided, so we went.

Which made it so much nicer of an evening, let me tell ya!

My Happy Place

So, I got to spend another day at Disneyland with my sister, April. And this time we got to go to California Adventure as well. Thanks to a friend who oh-so-generously agreed to help us get into the park sans hefty admission fee. :)

It was a really nice day, we had a couple of good laughs, and it was more good sister-time.

Successful Mad Dash Shopping

One of the reasons I get so frustrated with my weight is how much difficulty I have finding clothes that A, fit, and B, look decent.

I stopped in today before WW at Old Navy and grabbed a pair of denim bermuda shorts, so I would have something to wear at Disneyland tomorrow that would not cause me heat stroke, and a shirt. I ended up grabbing 3 shirts, with the intention of returning 2, but I am only going to return 1. The other two look pretty cute on so I'm keeping them.

It felt good to be able to get that in the span of about 20 minutes without the usual agony, and for that I am grateful.

Scheu Plumbing

I mustered up my assertiveness and talked to Rose today about my work schedule. I had to actually ask if she cared what time I came in on Mondays, because my schedule is starting to stress me out. I'm going to work longer hours at the church Tuesday - Friday now instead of trying to squeeze in work from home time on Mondays. And I'm going to sleep in on Mondays and come down here to Chino whenever I manage to get up and get moving for the day.

I have been seriously lacking "sabbath" time. I think I am going to start my Sabbath Sunday after church and end it after breakfast Monday, or when I'm on my way here. I think that will work. Except when I have Sunday meetings. I'll play it by ear. But I need to incorporate more rest into my life.

I'm glad that I have such a great relationship with the Scheu family and this little business of theirs.

Another List

• Sleeping in, even just a little bit (until 8:15)
• Being able to opt out of an "obligation" in order to have downtime
• Spending downtime meandering with Aaron
• Having a little extra cash that can be allocated to home improvements
  
• Spending downtime on a lunch date with Aaron
  
• Spending downtime watching Special Victims Unit with Aaron
• Watching Aaron try to prove that a mess could be cleaned up in 5 minutes, just to help me out and make me laugh
• Having a friend lend a helping hand for a church event
• Watching 34 people get baptized! Including a homeless guy who had not been accepted at a church before like he has been at Flipside
• Getting Hulu to work again on the XBox 360
  

Helping Out

Amy didn't want birthday gifts or a party this year.

Instead, she wanted friends and family to help paint the inside of their home.

So we did. :) It was fun, work, but fun. I can't wait to see it with all the furniture and pictures back in place!

Making it Fit

Friday was cruising along just fine until about 4:00 when I found out I had grossly misunderstood the plans for the evening. I thought me and Alicia were going to pick out my bridesmaid dress, well, I guess I did realize the other girls would be coming to order theirs, as well, but they had already picked theirs so, yeah.

Anyway, apparently we were all going to dinner after, too, which I did not realize until Friday around 4. After Joe had already made cheesecake for me and Lori to enjoy prior to us all going to see Wolverine that night. Yeah. Woops.

Thankfully, Lori was stuck at work pretty late so I was able to stick around for dinner with the wedding peeps. I also am really happy with the dress, I was afraid it wouldn't look good on me, but it does, yay. Here's a pic. It will be in "pool" instead of brown and green.

But poor Lori was really stuck a lot longer at work than she should have been, so she was all decked out in her Lois Lane reporter look. I had managed to keep a few pairs of "someday maybe" jeans, so I was able to loan her a pair for our little outing.

Joe's cheesecake was amazing.

The movie was okay. I didn't love it, mostly because of the adamantium bullet nonsense and a few other cheese factors. But it wasn't awful. ;)

Between 4 and 5 on Friday, I felt like I had completely screwed up schedule-wise and that it was going to be a lousy evening. But by the end of the night, everything had worked out really nicely. Got to have dinner and laughs at Vince's, I was able to lounge on the couch with friends and enjoy Joe playing guitar, Nathan reading a comic, and Lori singing along. And Aaron and I had a nice little game of trick-fetch going with Scout.