family pictures

We had family pictures a week ago. Not my favorite thing to do, but...I think it turned out pretty good....

the monday of mondays

First, it started out waking up to a gray, overcast sky and the sound of rain. Normally I love rainy days, but today it just added to my overall sense of melancholy (for an explanation on this, see yesterday's post).

Next, my hot chocolate exploded. And I mean that literally. It exploded. All over my desk and the desks around me.

A training teleconference about the changes to the FAFSA for 2011-2012 ate up another hour of my day.

Then, one of my computer monitors decided it didn't want to work. Which meant 30 minutes of being on hold with tech support just to have them tell me to do everything I had already done before calling them.

After that, I had an hour long one on one with my manager.

Lunch, the only good part of the day, was at Chipotle with my brother.

The afternoon was eaten up by trying frantically to return emails and voicemails and an hour long team meeting where we had to go around and say which celebrity would play us in the story of our life. *rolls eyes*

And now, I am sitting on my couch updating my blog. My head hurts. I feel like punching something. I wish I had someone (and by someone, I mean a guy) who can give me a hug, rub my feet, make me dinner, and tell me I'm pretty.

small miracle

It's a miracle I didn't kill myself or someone else today.

Sundays are supposed to be a day of rest. The problem is, Sunday is usually when I have the most trouble. Most of the trouble comes from the fact that I am 28.5 years old and still single. The world doesn't see this as an issue, but those of you who are LDS will understand what I'm talking about. I'm a failure. By now I should be married and have 3 kids. What do I have? I have a fish. Because I am almost 29 and still unmarried I am relegated to attending church in the Young Single Adult ward where I get to sit there, week after week, feeling more and more like a failure and a freak and act happy for all the 21 year olds who are "finally engaged!"

*insert the sound of me blowing my brains out*

Usually I can ignore the feeling of failure but today it was just one more stick in my pile o' crap of a day. Let me explain...

It all started last week. Got a voicemail from the ward mission leader (I'm a ward missionary) laying a guilt trip on me for not being at missionary correlation meeting and telling me I need to be better at being there every week. I'm sorry. I was out of town one week and then went to my cousin's mission farewell the next. Before that it was the holidays and no one was around so we didn't have it. I sent him a text & said I would be there this week. Fast forward to today. Came for the meeting. No one was there. After sitting there for 10 minutes, I sent him a text which said, "I was here for the meeting. Did I miss it?" Giving the benefit of the doubt that maybe they had had to relocate to a different room for some reason before I had gotten there. A few minutes later I got his response: "Sorry there wasn't one today."

*cue the frustration and irritation*

And he wonders why I never show up. But apparantly, I'm damn if I do and damned if I don't. When I don't show up I get the guilt trip laid on me. When I do show up, no one bothers to tell me it's been cancelled.

After that I sat through meetings with crazy people giving talks. Then during announcements one of the guys who spoke got back up and told everyone he was available for Valentine's day and he likes rib eye steak and mashed potatoes. Wow. Really?? Then another guy got up and said there was a multi-ward activity on Valentine's Day and that, "if you're one of those girls who doesn't have a date" to come. The knife just keeps twisting.

The next fourteen days are going to be rough. It's gonna be a miracle if I, and everyone around me, survives. Fair warning. I'm not going to handle Valentine's day very well this year.

the hunger games

In my family book club last year we read "The Hunger Games." I had friends telling me, previous to this, that I needed to read this book, but I just never got around to it. The book club forced me to finally read it. It was the first in a trilogy and luckily, by this time, all three books were already out which meant I didn't need to wait several more years to finally know the ending of the story (unlike a few other stories I'm in the middle of and waiting to find out what happens...).

The story takes place in the future. The government is set up with a Capital and 13 districts. There was an uprising during the Dark Days where District 13 rebelled against the Capital. In response the Hunger Games were set up as a way of reminding the other Districts that the Capital is in charge. During the Hunger Games 2 tributes (children) from every district are chosen each year and they compete in a fight to the death. The last one left is the victor. The book (and the other 2) follow Katniss Everdeen through her experience with the Hunger Games.

It was a very interesting story to read, with an interesting take on the future. Being a history major I couldn't help but make connections between the Games and the ancient Roman's gladiators in the Colosseum. The rich sit around, enjoying and taking pleasure from watching people--children!--kill each other. It was disheartening to see history repeating itself but unfortunatly, we don't have that saying for nothing. History does have a history of repeating itself unless (like the Lorax says in the Dr. Suess story) we take care and learn from our mistakes.

I had a hard time initially getting into The Hunger Games. The second book, Catching Fire, was my favorite of the trilogy. Mockingjay, the final book, took me longer than the other two to read. I recommend everyone read this trilogy. The ending of the story left me with tears in my eyes. The characters were original, the writing was great, and it makes you really stop and think. Although things aren't always the way I wish they were in the world and the government, I am thankful for the freedoms I have. I'm thankful I'm not living my life under the tryanny of an evil rule forced to watch my children fight and kill each other in an area for said ruler's pleasure. We truly are blessed to live where and when we do and I hope you'll take a moment to count your blessings and realize that things could be a whole lot worse.

new crush

I have a new celebrity crush. This guy, right here:

Garrett Hedlund. Certified Cutie-Patootie. He is the "Tron: Legacy" and "Country Strong" and I'm completely smitten with him. Not only is he incredibly good looking with an adorable smile:

He can also sing:

words

I love words. I love reading words. I love writing words. I love discovering new words. I love the fact that with a few simple and well-chosen words I can paint a picture, tell a story. I love the power that words have. Words can lift you up or bring you down, give you answers or leave you questioning, and I am constantly amazed at those who are able to use words in new and inventive ways.

pepper salt

Pepper Salt is nine years old. She lives on Snaffle Bit Road with her mom, her dad, and her baby brother, Morton, and their Bulldog, Otis. Pepper goes on many adventures proving the existence of different mythical creatures despite the objections of her frenemy Flossie Faucet that mythical creatures don't exist.

Pepper is starting her first adventure tonight.

of vacations, flight delays, zombies, and boybands

Thanks to a great man named Martin Luther King, Jr., I had a three day weekend this past week. To celebrate Equal Rights and all of those who "have a dream," I flew to Utah to spend 3.25 days with Kristy! Friday I flew up to Salt Lake and was greated by sub zero temps. And by sub zero I mean 20. Which, in my defence, is frickin cold for a gilf from Arizona!! I had to wait for Kristy to get off work so I sat and waited. With my eyeballs getting colder and colder by the minute. Luckily, although it was cold all weekend, it didn't snow. Which I was extremely thankful for. It did rain a little bit on Sunday and Monday but rain I can handle.

But back to all the fun stuff!

Kristy picked me up and we went straight to Crown Burger. Crown Burger is my all-time favorite burger place and, besides my family and best friend, it is the only thing I miss about Utah. I crave it all the time. So, whenever I am up there, I have to go! :) One bacon cheeseburger with fries and fry sauce later, we drove to Kristy's place, dropped off my bags then went to go see Tron. Kristy hasn't see it yet and wanted to see it in 3D. This was my third time seeing the movie. Yes, you heard right: third time. (I LOVE this movie!) But seeing it in 3D was kind of disappointing. I'm not a huge fan of 3D, first off, and secondly, since I had seen it twice previously, I didn't think the 3D aspect added anything to the movie. In fact, I felt like it actually detracted from the experience of the film because watching it in 3D is such a strenuous thing for your eyes and brain to focus on for that long of a time. Bottom line? If you haven't seen the movie yet, GO SEE IT! But. DON'T see it in 3D.

Saturday we slept in (the best part about being on vacation!) then got ready, drove up to Salt Lake, and did a temple session. It was very nice and fun to be able to do together. Afterwards, we went home and changed, then went and got pedicures! Pedicures became a tradition that we have established a few years ago when I introduced Kristy to the wonders of the pedicure for the first time. Now, whenever we are together we go get a pedicure. I chose a bright teal color (that, conicidentally matched the shirt I wore to church on Sunday) and got a cute little white flower on my toes. I love pedicures!! When we got home I introduced Kristy to Justin Timberlake's FutureSex/LoveSounds concert DVD.

Sigh. I love him!!

Sunday we slept in again. Went to church. Drove out to Kristy's school where she showed me her new classroom (very high-tech and awesome). Then we made dinner (chicken and veggie stirfry) then watched "Revenge of the Bridesmaids" on Netflix and two episodes of "Vampire Diaries."

Monday I woke up and finished reading "Catching Fire" while Kristy slept in (trying to make up for when she stayed up till 2am Sunday morning reading a book). Once we were ready to really get up and get going I packed, we went to the grocery store so Kristy could pick up a few things for school, then drove up to Salt Lake. We went to lunch at Cafe Rio, went and saw the movie "Country Strong" (really, really liked it!), then went to Barnes & Noble (bought a couple new books). Then we went on a quest to find candied cherries (for some cookies Kristy wanted to make) and the soundtrack to "Country Strong." Unfortunately we found neither. Which, seems to be a common theme with us. Kristy and I often go on quests to find random CD's with humorous conclusions. Ask me about the time we drove ALL OVER Mesa/Tempe/Chandler/Gilbert looking for JC Chasez's "Schizophrenic" album...

Not finding either of the items we were searching for, we decided it was time to take me back to the airport. *sad face* My flight was scheduled to leave at 8pm. I checked in then went to go through security, when I stopped. What was that I saw up on the "Departures" screen? My flight has been delayed? Two and a half hours?! o_O

Walking back to the ticket counter I asked the ticket agent if the screen was right. Was my flight really delayed two and a half hours?! The answer? Yes. Yes it was. #headesk

So, now I wasn't an hour and a half early for my flight I was FOUR hours early for my flight. Sigh. We debated for a few minutes whether or not we dared leave and drive back into town to get dinner somewhere or just stay at the airport. Finally, deciding to stay at the airport (just in case the flight time changed or an earlier flight became available) we bought some snacks at sat for a few minutes outside of security. We talked for a few minutes, surfed the internet, and ate. I finally decided to just head down to the gate and wait...thinking it was a good thing we had gone to Barnes & Noble and I had a couple new books to read. Security took a while, but I made it through and walked down to the gate, sat, and waited. And waited. And waited. My flight finally left Salt Lake at 10:35pm and finally landed in Phoenix at 12:05am. Mom and Dad came and picked me up (Mom had dropped me off on Friday) and I got home about 1:00am. I fell into bed and slept for about 4 hours until I had to get up to go to work today. Needless to say, I am very sleepy and today was a rough day to get through.

Besides the fact that I felt like a zombie all day due to lack of sleep, it was a very nice and relaxing weekend. It was great to be able to spend time with Kristy, who truly is my best friend. It doesn't matter how much time we spend apart, as soon as we're together we pick up right where we left off. We have fun together laughing, jamming out to boybands, reading, sleeping in, and watching movies. Our next vacation is planned for June with Kristy is going to brave the heat and fly down here to see the NKOTBSB show and spend the 4th of July weekend with me!! Wooo!!! Long live Boybands!!!

status update

Haven't had any sugar (that I'm aware of) for 4 days! Go me!! I spent about a while at the grocery story last night looking at lables. Sugar is in EVERYTHING! Sheesh! Took me a while to find a mayonnaise that didn't have any sugar in it, but I finally did so I was able to make a tuna sandwich last night for dinner on my Sara Lee 9 Grain Sandwich Thins (very tasty, highly recommend them) then followed it up with a small cup of Kroger's No Sugar Added Cherry Cordial ice cream. Yum!

I haven't seen any more weightloss to date, but I feel so much better than I did even a week ago. It's amazing how much sugar weighs you down. Literally. Staying away from it and trying to limit my intake of carbs and focusing on eating fruits and veggies is definitly helping me feel better if nothing else. The weight comes and goes. I'm not so much focusing on losing it (although, I'm still aiming for my goal of 100 lbs so I can go to Disneyland) but more on just getting more healthy.

sugar free

I made a decision. I'm going sugar free. I went through the fridge and my cupboards yesterday and today and did a purge. Then I went to the grocery store to stock up on some sugar free items. I've done this once before and, truth be told, I was basically doing it anyway this past week with the way I was eating so it's not going to be that huge of a change for me. I'm going to post the recipes I try and like so you can make them if you want! :)

Home-made Corn Chips: Cut corn tortilla's into eigths. Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray. Spread tortilla triangles on the cookie sheet. Spray tortillas with cooking spray. Sprinkle with seasoned salt. Bake in the oven at 350 for 12-15 minutes (until golden brown). Enjoy with your favorite salsa!

For dinner tonight I made chili and corn bread. They were both very easy to make and tasted awesome!

Honey-Buttermilk Cornbread:
2 c. cornmeal
1 c. flour
2 1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
3/4 t. salt
2 eggs
3/4 c. buttermilk
3/4 c. milk
3 T. honey
1/4 c. melted butter, cooled

Preheat oven to 400. Grease 9" baking dish. In a medium bowl combine cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In another bowl whisk eggs, buttermilk, milk, honey, and butter. Stir liquid mixture into the dry mixture until blended. Spread into the pan. Bake 25-35 minutes, or until top is golden brown.

Vegetarian Chili:
3 T. olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
8 large garlic cloves, chopped
3 (15 oz) cans lt. red kidney beans
2 (15 oz) cans dk. red kidney beans
1 envelope taco seasoning
1 t. dried basil
1/2 t. dried oregano
1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce
3 c. chicken broth
1 (6 oz) can tomato paste

Heat oil. Add onion and garlis. Saute for 8 minutes or till onions are translucent. Add beans, taco seasoning, basil, and oregano. Stir 2 minutes. Mix in tomato sauce, chicken broth, and tomato paste. Simmer till thickens ( 1 1/2 - 2 hours).

2 down, 98 to go

Day four: lost 2 pounds.

Made some home-made pita chips last night that I had for a snack today. Yummy.

Drinking so much water I have to pee all the time. Annoying

Ate a "Fruit & Yogurt Trail Mix" SlimFast meal bar for lunch on Monday. Delightful.

Forgot how much I love cooking. Fun.

my goal

Okay, so...I've quit making New Year's Resolutions because I never keep them and I feel like a loser when I do. But, since it is the beginning of a new month, which just so happens to be the start of a new year, I have a new goal that I've set for myself. What is that goal, you ask? To go to Disneyland!

I love Disneyland and, since it's been a year since I last went, I figure it's time to go again. However, in order to reach this goal there is something I have to do. What is that, you ask? Lose some weight!

In order to reach my goal of going to Disneyland I need to lose 100 pounds. Yesterday I think I ended the day with about 1000 calories. Today about 900. The third day is always the hardest, so tomorrow may be a little rough. Hopefully I can get over the 3-day-hump and stick with it. I need to go to Disneyland.

So...I need your help!! Please remind me of my goal when I lose track of it. Please tell me to put down the chocolate and grab a carrot instead. Please. I need you to be tough with me. Tough love, people. Tough love.

ode to 2010

In 2010 I....

...had a glomus tumor removed from my thumb...

...bought a house...

...became a fish mom...

...saw The Backstreet Boys in concert for the first time...

...went to SeaWorld for the first time...

...discovered the wonder of Netflix, Blu-Ray, and DVR...

...finished my Master's degree...

Can't wait to see what 2011 holds!!!