Finishing 08 with some calmness

To ring in the new year, we decided go to Napa to get away from everything. This will be my last post of 2008 so I thought I'd end it with a song that always made me feel warm inside, regardless how sad I got.



Thank you once again for all of you who helped me not fall off this roller coaster! I know next year will be filled with lots of joy and happiness!

See you on the other side!

LMP

WOOT WOOT!

I wanted to take a moment and congratulate one of my best friends and fellow rebel child on her engagement!

I know you will make a beautiful bride and plan the most fantastic wedding!


photo source

Winding down the year...

I always start the year with the best intentions about staying healthy, last year I think I did a fairly decent job until this fall. The last few months I fell off the wagon and then had an unfortunate health issue to deal with. Now I'm almost at the 2008 finish line and gained the lbs I lost last year by being active and eating well. So I've decided I'm going to once again put myself on a regimen in January so I can once again not get winded by walking stairs or running excess mileage. On top of my usual list of things to do, I'm going to put a list to do before Feb. The majority will be health related while I'll try to knock off some other things from the Yearly list.

I will also figure out some reward if I complete my challenge. Stay tuned!

Dear Santa,

During these hard times I've tried not to ask for much but there is one thing that has come to mind. During our last vacation, our dear camera passed away in Costa Rica. While it served us well, It just couldn't handle our crazy life style.

On it's final breath, it gave us all 600 photos it took but now, it's sleeps with the fishies.

So, hoping I was good enough to receive anything, could you please tell your elves in the tech dept to make one for me? All I ask is that it's over 8mp and easy to work on the fly.

I'll be leaving you pizzelles and almond dulces with a cup of FF milk by the fireplace.

Love,

little miss planner

one word..........

Where is your mobile phone? night-stand
Where is your significant other? kitchen
Your hair colour? brown
Your mother? loving
Your father? good
Your favorite thing? cooking
Your dream last night? sad
Your dream goal? secret
The room you're in? media
Your hobby? running
Your fear? failure
What do you want to be in 6 years? here
Where were you last night? here
What you're not? sad
One of your wish-list items? slippers
Where you grew up? small_town
The last thing you did? sleep
What are you wearing? PJs
Your TV? new
Your pets? funny
Your computer? pc
Your mood? content
Missing someone? yes
Your car? white
Something you're not wearing? hat
Favourite shop? amazon
Your summer? Hot
Love someone? forever
Your favorite color? blue
When is the last time you laughed? today
When is the last time you cried? yesterday
Current Mood? content

Because I'm procratinating my to-do list...

I found this at A bit of this A bit of that and decided to play along...

If you want to play along, copy and paste the list then put the things you have done in bold

1. Started your own blog .
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon (--only halves for me)
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language still working on it
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied (in general) --Funny thing about this is I made less money then when I felt this way...
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business (ran my own, does that count?)
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check --I was young...
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt --Didn't finish though
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House --the outside counts right?
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day

me hearts a bargain...

Yesterday I got my Travelzoo top 20 newsletter and it had the most FANTASTIC savings in it! I had to share:

Whether you're on vacation or just going out for a nice dinner, meals make up a significant portion of our leisure budget. That's why we were thrilled with this 80% OFF offer from Restaurant.com, allowing us to dine at some of our favorite restaurants for just a fraction of the cost.

Restaurant.com sells gift certificates to select eateries at a discounted price -- the most common $25 gift certificate can regularly be purchased for $10. Through Dec. 25, if you apply the promo code GIVE, you can receive an additional 80% OFF, bringing the final price down to $2 for a $25 gift card.

Other denominations are also available for some restaurants, and certain restrictions apply. With more than 9500 participating restaurants nationwide, you're sure to find a favorite or two near you.

Plus, these certificates make great gifts for the holidays!

Offer expires Dec. 25, 11:59PM PT, but many of the most popular certificates will sell out before the deadline.

To purchase:

1. Click here and enter a zip code or city to find the local participating restaurants
2. Select the gift certificate amount (if more than one choice is available), then add it to your cart
3. Once you're ready to check out, enter the discount code GIVE on the Shopping Cart page
4. After completing the transaction, you'll be taken to a page where you can print your gift certificates

Source

I went ahead about bought 5 gift certificates (spent 10$ and got $125 in GC) for myself and the hubby. You won't fine big chains (TGIF's, Chili's, etc) but you will find really good restaurants in your area. I'm soo excited about this I can't wait to try some new spots out in our area and save a little dough!

Looking for inspirations...

Back in the day, I used to do a weekly inspirations post about centerpieces. Well, now that we are gearing up for Christmas, I need to make two centerpieces. Here I found some love inspirations for our table:


Source


Source

or how bout a few of these:

Source


Source


Source

Which ones do you like the best?

Checking my this year's to do list

So far, I've pretty happy with the amount of things I've done this year... I've completed 14 of the 17 things. The ones I didn't do, will get bumped to next year.

To Do List before 2009
1. Join a boot camp--DONE
2. Paint the guest bedroom --Done
3. Travel to Central/South America--Done
4. Cycle 2000 miles -- 44 miles complete (need to ride more!!!)
5. Complete 4 half marathons --DONE (did 6)
6. Organize Closet --DONE
7. Set up wireless network in the house --DONE
8. Do one triathlon
9. Blog more frequently--Currently Doing!
10. Find out what a set of good abs look on me! ;) --not even close
11. Get the Holga up and running
12. Workout at least 10 times a month for 3 straight months! --DONE
13. Cook at least two meals at home a week --DONE
14. Start taking lunch to work. --DONE
15. Get a baby brother for bruno! --DONE
16. Finish all wedding related tasks --DONE DONE DONE!
17. Run 300 miles -- 295 miles complete

At the moment I'm putting my 17 things to do in 2009. At the moment it isn't that exciting but things I always needed or wanted to do. How did you fare for this year? What things have you always wanted to do and have yet to do? I need help with some suggestions for my list! ;)

Tagged

Linda tagged me last week to share some details about myself.

First of all, here are the deets:
1. Link to the person that tagged you
2. Post the rules on your blog
3. Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself
4. Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs
5. Let each random person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.

So here are 6 random facts about me:

1. I'm a closet gamer. I LOVE video games and loathe playing them with others in fear of losing. Because I can easily become obsessed with them, I try not to keep them around. Now that I got a brand spanking new Wii, I'm slowly being pulled back in. I think I'll cave to my addiction once the Wii Fit arrives next week on my door step. I'm also addicted to my solitaire game on my iPhone. I play it at least 1 hour a day.

2. I've learned that I love to shop, my preferred spots are all online. I've purchased 85% of my holiday gifts there. How bad could it be? Well, lets put it this way, the hubby thinks we're getting married again with all the boxes streaming into the house and he has no clue where they came from!

3. My favorite moment of each day is when we just got up and are in the kitchen waiting for either the coffee to brew or the oatmeal to be done. I get a nice lingering hug from the hubby that feels like eternity and wish I could stay there all day.

4. If we ever won the lotto, I'd quit my job and open up a floral shop.

5. I love reptiles and hate birds (scared a little of them too!)

6. My favorite book is Way Of The Peaceful Warrior by Dan Millman. I borrowed it from a friend my freshman year of college and read during a hard time in life. It changed how I looked at life. Since then, I've bought the book 5 times, keeping lending it out and never getting it back. I've read it a total of 25 times, each time I've found something new and exciting I never caught before. The book always wakes me up from the slumber I was in.

I'm tagging....

Taking a few deep breaths...

Sorry I've been a little MIA lately... I know I've gotten a bit bad about blogging. Not only have I gotten bad about blogging, I've gotten bad about responding to all my blog emails! (if you've written, sorry, I'm not ignoring you and will try to respond soon!)

I have a good excuse for it. I've been a bit under the weather. I wish it was a cold but have had some health problems as of late that needed immediate assistance. I can't even tell you how many pokes and prodding I've gotten in the last few weeks and it all ended with a minor surgery. I'm better now and while it wasn't life threatening, it's left me drained and a bit mentally unglued. Usually I'm rather chill (at least I hope I am...) but lately, life's curve balls are a little harder to take.

I guess what I'm just tired of this year. As much as I've thrown myself into the holidays (decorated the entire house by December 4) and even wrapped the majority of my presents except for the ones I haven't bought yet for the hubby, I'm just done with this year. This whole health problem was just the icing of this day-old moldy cupcake that you can call 2008.

What a great year it should have been... first year of marriage but it's like if there was some "test of strength" that could be thrown at us, we had it. We lost a sibling this year, had our roof cave in during the "stormy season," sister-in-law in critical condition, lost a family member's house in the fires, had a cousin go through a horrible pregnancy only to lose one of her babies and have her other one have surgery and live in the hospital for a few months....it's like the list goes on and on! I think if anything I'm angry for all these things happening. All these bad moments overshadowed some great ones, one of best friend's beautiful wedding, an amazing Caribbean vacation, and lots of running weekends with my other BFFs. Now, it's December and I find myself just taking deep breaths and counting down the days till the holidays, hoping everything will be okay and we can make one final happy memory for this year.

So, while I'm going to try to keep the rest of the year's post more upbeat, I think I just needed to one little post to vent and say I'm tired of 2008 and now it's time for me to look forward and hope 2009 will bring the yang of happiness to the yin of this year's hardships.

Okay... don't venting... thanks for listening!

A Simple Christmas Dinner

This is my first official holiday meal I'm cooking and as always I need to start planning now. I only have around 9-12 people over for dinner but want to make sure I have everything!

For the Main course: I'm doing Ham, not sure to do honey ham, pork loin roast, something along the lines. I'm not a ham cook since I barely even started to learn how just in the past 6 months.

Now side dishes: Green Bean Casserole (not a fan but my family is), and mashed potatoes. Maybe gravy...and dinner rolls.

Salads: Waldorf Salad (or just a simple salad)

Appetizers: Spinach Dip

Desserts: Cookies and hot chocolate. Maybe some eggnog.

Recipe help: Here and Here and Here

Now that I have an idea of what to do for food, onto decorations for the table and the rest of the house!!!

so how was it?

We are finally back from our trip and while the camera is dead and the photos are half uploaded to the computer, I figured I'd do a quick recap of the trip.


Day 0: flight canceled-- bumped to the next day flight

Day 1: flight was okay... landed and Costa Rica = GREEN!!! waited 3 hours for our flight to Arenal... when we got there it was rainy... no biggie cause our our hotel was sweet!

Day 2: Did a real life Jungle cruise: Cano Negro Tour. Saw monkeys and sloths, caymen, tons of birds and the Jesus Christ lizard (runs on water). Had dinner in town (quickly realizing Costa Rica is NOT a food destination!!!) Bought my new favorite cap.

Day 3: Did the Hanging Bridges Tour. Rained TONS!!! super cool though!!!

Day 4: Leaving Arenal without seeing the volcano! Half of Costa Rica is flooded because of a bad storm that came through. Flew back to San Jose to barely catch our flight to Tamarindo. Once in Tamarindo, see the sun again and was welcome with open mouths by TONS of mosquitoes.

Day 5: Happy Turkey Day: Did a snorkeling tour and within 5 minutes I was stung (on my arm) by a mysterious tentacle floating in the water. Guide later tells everyone this is normal and doesn't know where all the mysterious tentacles come from. I proceed to swim with arms tucked around me. Saw sharks, sting rays, tons of fish, star fish, and played volleyball with a few puffer fish! Upon getting out of the unusually cold water (guide couldn't even handle it) I get stung again on my leg. Go back to room to find construction going on RIGHT next to our room. Lucky us! Complained and they stopped for 30 minutes. Had a thanksgiving day feast on the beach. Soo yummy!

Day 6: Breakfast,then walk on the beach to the village to get some pampering. The hubby got a massage, I got a coffee/sugar exfoliation! Sooo nice! Found a new favorite lunch spot! Dinner was a beach BBQ with folkora dancing! Really neat!

Day 7: Time to check out. Construction still going on and now we think they hit a sewer pipe. Bathroom has a bad smell to it because of the bathroom window left open. Complain and nothing is done. Leave and have our last lunch at our favorite restaurant in the village before heading to the non-airport airport. Tamarindo to Liberia to San Jose. Finally get to Marriott. AWW... nice! Quickly ran to the gift shop to buy coffee and misc souvenirs at a jacked-up price and go back to room to order room service. :) Room is at the end of the ENTIRE hotel. No view (which was requested months ago) and could hear everything. Barely slept.

Day 8: Woke up from our little sleep and checked out. Upon complaining, hotel desk man tells me this is what is charged. Uggh. Grab the shuttle and head to airport. Wait an hour and finally check in... to totally different seats on first flight. :( Upon arriving in San Salvador, we grab a bite and head to our next flight. Arrive at LAX at 1pm and out of customs and with our bags by 128. A friend picked us up with the puppies at 130... SOOO HAPPY to be home!


So what did I think about the trip. We had lots of fun... just had some issues. Would we go back,YES! In fact, we want to try to go back Next year! :) You loved Costa Rica... and oh, I think I even might have lost a pound!

Wii Fit Giveaway!

Not my giveaway though, I'm not rolling in the dough. But if you would like to win a Wii console and a Wii Fit, head on over to La Petite Chic and enter! Spread the word on your own blog to get an extra contest entry.

Regular posting should hopefully resume December 1 when we come back from our vacation.

that is if we ever leave...(i know, i know... stop being so pessimistic linda!) :)

i'm leaving on a jet plane... oh wait...

Apparently I'm not. I guess in the middle of the night our flight was canceled. Something about the plane i guess so yea for them catching it. And we were bumped till the next day. UM WHAT?!

I about flipped my lid when I heard this and am now waiting for some other group to call me back. If I don't get a phone call by 1230 I'm calling back!

This little planner is not very pleased!

UPDATE: flight now leaves at 1am on Sunday morning. :( one less day in paradise!

Shock and awe...

Linda gave this award last week!



I have to admit I was a bit surprised to ever get an award. I am very humbled that someone thought of me in that way! :)

The Uber Amazing Blog Award is a blog award given to sites who:

* inspire you
* make you smile and laugh
* give you amazing information
* are a great read
* have an amazing design

The rules of this award are:

* Put the logo on your blog or post
* Nominate at least 5 blogs (can be more) that for you are Uber Amazing!
* Let them know that they have received this Uber Amazing award by commenting on their blog
* Share the love and link to this post and to the person you received your award from.

So I award this award to... I can't just pick five, but I will say Linda's blog is amazing and truly inspires me to open up more here! if you haven't checked it out yet, you should go right now! :)

At a loss...

For so many things at the moment... these fires in Southern California are just out of control. (well, both major ones are at least 40% contained) I don't remember anytime growing up down here that we had such a bad fire season like 2008.

I simply can't breathe due to my lovely sinuses and a dash of asthma. And that's just the cake stand. The hubby's parents had to evacuate AGAIN (they are back home as of last night) and the hubby's grandma (did I mention she is 98) lost her home completely. Thank goodness someone was with her and helped evacuate her and move a lot of stuff for her in time.

It's been a rough weekend and I know we're not the only ones down here suffering. For all the other families dealing with all this smoke and fire, and everything else, my heart and prayers go out to you! I hope all of you are safe and sound.

Pop

I'm such a little audiophile it's a bit pathetic. I don't even know how many cd's I've owned back in the day... My itunes account is one of the most used programs on my computer. My all time favorite band is U2 followed by Smashing Pumpkins and I love me some old school ska (Skankin’ Pickle, i'm looking at you!). But I do have some closet favorites too, and most of them are in the Pop category.

So before I get into all that, let me just say how excited I am for fall/winter in pop music, all the major names are coming out with albums, P!nk with her rocker pop, Christina with here mega-watt voice pop, Beyonce with here R&B pop, and of course, Britney. Yes, I'm admitting I'm a fan. I know, she's been through a "rough patch" to say the least but I really could care less about her private life, I just love her music! Even to the point all my friends make fun of me but to be honest, it's awesome bubblegum pop that you can dance to on your way home for work and belt them out when no one is looking.

Reason all this is getting brought up is due to the leakage of songs I've heard in the last 48 hours of these artists. How happy am I? Over the moon!

Good bye 20's... HELLO 30's!!!

Someone asked me if i was sad turning 30, my reply:

"Why should i be sad, I've done soo much in my life already that I'm excited to see where this new decade takes me! Besides, I woke up this morning feeling loved and will go to bed feeling loved. What more could anyone ask for!"

doing my duty...

did you?

photo source

Tonight!!!

OMG... tonight is my little bbq! There's only a few things left to do since we got some much covered in the last few days.

Done:
pulled pork for the sandwiches
cupcakes and eyeball cookies
carved watermelon
carved pumpkins
food trays completed
caramel apples
house clean
spiderweb pizza created
snack trays completed


left to do
cut up the break and toast it
finish bbq meatless meatballs
heat up pulled pork
boil corn on the cob
stop at store and buy salad and corn on the cob
make punch

i'm soooo excited!!!

i'll try to post photos this weekend to show all the hard work!!! :)

a year ago today...

I was falling in love all over again with my best friend while reciting my vows of marriage!

Happy Anniversary bebe!

Running...

Last weekend I finished my 12th half with my fellow running buddy Kim (or known here as BM Kim) at the Nike Women's (half) Marathon. If there ever was a race you wanted to do, this was it! The expo had free massages, manicures, oxygen bar, and lots lots more! The race was just as cool, with amazing scenery and lots of snacks and volunteers cheering you on. When you finished there were men dressed in tuxes handing you your finisher's medal and it was a Tiffany Necklace!!! It was an absolute blast!! (Oh shout out to the unknown man who stood out more than anyone else by not saying a word but holding one little 3x3 inch sign that read: GO! ...catching you at different spots was priceless!)

Now I'm just INCHING my way to my 300 mile goal for the year!!! I only have 10 more miles to go and have 2 half marathons and a 5k in the next 4 weeks! I know I am crazy. Now if the weather COOLED OFF (instead of hitting 100 degrees) maybe I'd actually train for the next few races!



NIKE Women's Half Marathon
San Francisco, Ca
October 19, 2008

NOTE: Yes,we are wearing the same t-shirt. Interesting fact, it was from the First half we ever ran together years ago! :)

I MUST make this!!!

Melon Brains


yes, that is a watermelon! looks soo easy to do too!

Obsession...

I'm obsessed with halloween. Everyday I'm doing some little crafty project, first I created neat jack-o-lanterns and placed them on a stick to line the pathway to the front door, next were the black bats that are on our front window. Then the spiderwebs... OH THE SPIDERWEBS. IF it ain't moving, you better believe it's be covered with spiderwebs. There are Candles all over the place, pumpkins in every corner and gravestones and skulls scattered inside and outside of the house.

The hubby's favorite thing he wanted this year was a fogger so we got him a standard one at Target. Now, with all this obsession, I realized it might not be the best to blast every little princess or power ranger that come traipsing down our pathway, so tonight I will be building a fog chiller. By going to local hardware store, I also get the opportunity to pick up some more pumpkins... what can i say... I'm addicted to all things Halloween!!

How creepy and cute are these?

I think I might just have to make these CUPCAKES for my little shin-dig! :)
Source

Con and Pro...

Sorry I haven't been updating as much as I've wanted to. I haven't been feeling to hot lately. Now with the Santa Ana winds kicked up a ton of firestorms in my area, breathing hasn't been the easist thing.

But I'm here to proudly announce that I officially kicked my caffiene habit. It's been one full week of nothing. Before that, it was a 1/2 to a full cup a day. For someone who just six weeks ago was drinking 4-5 cups a day, is a huge triumph!

Anyhow, I'm going to go bury myself into the medicine cabinet to help the sinuses.

Until later...

UGGHh... when it is going to feel like fall?

Is it too much to ask for to get the weather down to a normal fall-like temp? I really would love to put away my shorts and tanks and bust out the occasional sweater. Today it hit 102 degrees. 102!!!

It's suppose to cool off, this week...I'll be happy when I see it!

Squash Carving!

Legend has it that the luckless souls who hear the Three Squashes' song of woe shall vanish into the nearest vegetable patch, never to be seen or heard from again. Since narrow squashes are easier to hollow out if you work from both ends, these guys had the tops of their heads cut off.


Carving a Squash
1. To hollow out a tall, skinny squash, scoop out the insides from the top and the bottom: Cut off the bottom with a keyhole saw, and use a plaster scraper to scoop out the wide bottom section until walls are 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick.

2. Cut off the top with the keyhole saw, and use an apple corer to remove the insides at that end. Carve features; replace the top for display, if desired.

Source

I think this will be super cute to do! I think I might have to break in my new tools to make these little guys!

Happy October!!!

Can you believe it's already October? This year has gone by in a flash! Before you know it the hubby and I will be celebrating our first anniversary! Well, I'll be sprucing up the place a bit here and there and I do promise I will start blogging more frequently again. :)

Pumpkin Guts and BBQ...

T-minus 40 days till my favorite holiday and to celebrate, the hubby and I are planning a pumpkin carving BBQ. We'll grill up some meat and veggies and serve some scary fun drinks. Not to mention so really fun desserts! Because I LOVE throwing parties I know you can't be too prepared. So without further ado... My latest holiday investments for this fabulous soiree:


Pumpkin Masters Power Poker and Saw

and


Pumpkin Masters Family Carving Kit

I got two of each so multiple people can work at the same time. I just love how they are power tools for carving now. Talk about the Massive Turnaround time!

Now all I need are a few more patterns to print out if inspiration is lacking in some.

Next up... cocktails and the dinner menu! :)

numbers keeping me busy...

1 days till Fireworks Finale!!!!!!
8 days till 15k Art's Run
23 days till Rock N Roll San Jose 1/2 Marathon
37 days till Nike Women's 1/2 Marathon
71 days till our 1 year Anniversary
60 days till My 30th Bday
65 days till Pasadena 1/2 Marathon
68 days till The Hubby's Bday
71 days till Costa Rica
128 days till Rock N Roll Arizona 1/2 Marathon
174 days till Maui

With all these numbers, you'd think somewhere I'd find inspiration to stay active, but I feel lately I'm all talk and no action. Maybe this post will make me really kick my tush into gear and start working out more consistently!

56 days til the most magical night of the year...

Halloween!!!

This year we'll finally be home and in a house! HOORAY! I'm already starting to plan decorations for the front lawn and what we're going to be when we give out candy! We even are going to throw a Pumpkin Carving BBQ the night before so we can get completely in the spirit of it all!

So, what are you doing this year for this festive holiday?

Breaking in the new season...

One of my FAVORITE parts of fall are the colors! I'm not talking about the colors of the leaves, I'm talking about the colors of fall fashion. And if I had a MILLION dollars, I wouldn't feel bad about dropping a "few" bills on a pair of these bad boys!

Mui Mui Buckled Bootie

oh drooolll......

What are we doing this weekend?

We're running the Nike + Human 10k Race tonight! Nike has joined forces globally to create the world’s largest running event, with the goal of helping humanity in the process through givebacks to global charities. There are over a million people signed up to race all over the world today. LA is the last race and should be a lot of fun!

Wish us luck! :)

Not trying to miss the point of it all...

Coming up to the last real weekend of the summer, I must say that this summer has really been dozy. From losing someone really close to us, having the most fantastic vacation with my best friends, watching my beautiful friend marry her BFF, running in SD with my fellow rebel child, and even relaxing by the pool, so much has happened that you feel like you were jolted out of your chair and woke up. Before the summer started, I really disliked my job. Now, the job has changed and work-life is better. Before the summer started, I just went through the motions of our daily lives, always focusing at the end result of it all. This summer with all the horrible-ness and greatness really made me wake up again.



Thanks Matt for pointing out this video!

Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend! Enjoy every minute of it and relish the time y'all have to spend with each other!

me loves paper...

my strange obsession grew at a all time high during the wedding planning. I've gotten better over the last ten months. But when I saw this, I went crazy and threw tons of it in my cart. Did I buy any, not yet! ;)



>>>>PAPER MOJO<<<<

Friendly Competition...

Yes, my friends, I've joined another challenge. After the last 7 weeks I've thrown almost all healthy habits to the side (the last two weeks I've been trying to do better but still... not as well as before) and I've realized this is not a way to live a healthy life. My buddies started another challenge where you get points for different activities and misc things you do. While at first it seems a bit daunting but now looking at how you can earn points, I feel like I can really rise up to be a competitor for medal position. (Okay, you don't get medals, you get prizes but the Olympics ended and it just sounds better)

I looks like this challenge ends the day before our Costa Rica Trip which is perfect!!! I'm truly excited and will start posting how it goes!

I do want to set a personal goal for me. To do some form of exerise everyday. It could be a half hour walk with the dogs to all out workouts. Wish me luck! ;P

Lost some weight...

.... about 4 or so inches of it...

Hair is no longer past bra strap... it is now just below the shoulder! :)

ahh, happiness!

EDIT:

Adding photo!



:) granted it's about 10pm and i can make all the excuses I want that I'm about to go to bed, no makeup, dead tired... whatever...I'm happy my head feels lighter!

Friendly Motivation...

Last weekend during the America's Finest City Half Marathon, we saw two women running with shirts that said "Amy made me do it" and "Mary made me do it." BM Kim and I let out a chuckle and said how we needed shirts for our next half in the fall.

So we made a cute design...



And on the back, the shirts had different slogans. This seems like a fun little thing to make it more exciting! Some of the slogans are:

It's all about the medal!
How does my butt look from back there?
Half the distance, twice the fun!
Running is a mental sport and we're all insane!

(Sidenote: "Junior Clan" was a nickname we were given by some friends of ours who were older class men during HS and it sorta stuck. Now twelve years later, we still call ourselves that.)

With all of us living so far away from each other, it's the little things like this or emailing/IM-ing each other to keep the motivation going that pushes us past each finish line. While none of us are true runners by definition, we still do try to give it are all out there on the pavement and have a little fun!

Anyone got any ideas of other fun slogans? Remember, we aren't fast so things like: "you just got passed by a chick" wouldn't really work for us! :P

:)

Joints...

It's day two after the half I just did. Body feels good...except for my leg joints. Hips and knees! I think I need some DW-40 for them!! :P

13. 1 miles...

We (me, BM Kim, and the hubby) completed yet another one and this time, I'm sore. SORE SORE SORE. Take it from me people, if you decide to run an for an extended period of time, train a bit... heck, walk even. I did not and now am sore. But the plus side I got another shiny medal and completed my fourth for the year. :) While we didn't break any records (I didn't but the hubby killed his PR), I'm still happy to have finished!

I just have three more this fall, and I better start training for them...

(photo taken from marathonfoto. I'm in the red, BM Kim is in the right!)

What's for dinner?

Have I ever mentioned HOW MUCH I LOVE THE OLYMPICS? I watch it all. From basketball to archery. What ever sport is played I'm a vested individual on how our team is panning out. I think a lot this has to do with the 1984 games back in LA. I was 5.5 years old and my oldest brother volunteered so he was a part of it all. I went to about 15 different events and just thought it was amazing seeing so many countries playing together. Because of that, it always gave me hope that one day we could all just get along with each other and just have fun. I know, sounds naive but still gives me hope.

Anyhow, in an effort to stay home and enjoy the Opening Ceremony tonight I decided to cook dinner. What are we grubbing on? BBQ meatballs. I made the turkey meatballs last night and threw them into the crock-pot with homemade bbq sauce. In the middle of the night, I got up for some water and the WHOLE house smelled sooo good. This morning it was soo strong and while I was jones-ing for one, I opted for my Chex cereal. Now, we figured we'd do BBQ meatball sandwiches... but we need some sort of a side. Mac and Cheese? Corn on the cob? Any and all suggestions greatly appreciated! :)

Books galore!

Linda tagged me! I love to read but I don't do nearly enough of it and this solidifies that I really need to read more... and by more, I mean more of the classics. While I might think David Sedaris is one of the best writers out there today, it's hard to compare him to Alexandre Dumas.

1) Bold those you have read.
2) Put an asterisk next to those you started but didn't finish.
3) Italicize those you intend to read (or have started and intend to finish).
4) The ones you LOVE are Green. (It orginally said underline but I couldn't figure out how to do that.)
5) Reprint this list in your own blog.

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6 The Bible*
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveller's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34 Emma - Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert*
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens*
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones's Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville*
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte's Web - EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

I tag Heather!

Addicted

I just made a VERY important decision.

I decided I need to quit drinking caffeine. For REAL this time. I know I know I've stated before how I gave it up... but each time I was back in the coffee area at the office within 72 hours. But I'm talking for reals this time!

And since my addiction is soo strong (4 cups of coffee...really is that bad?) I decided I will have to set an end date. (OMG... i can't believe I'm planning how I'm quiting my favorite tasty drink!) I think I will quit on November 1. This gives me all of October so I can start weening myself off it. What about September and the rest of August you say? Did I mention it is my FAVORITE tasty drink?!?!

you think I can do it?

On the bus again...

So the last 6 weeks I completely fell off the heath bus. I ate what I wanted and gave up on all forms of exercise. I was a mess. But last Sunday I realized I'm not happy like that and missed working out. On Monday the hubby and I finally went to the store and just LOADED up on food. Almost all of it was unprocessed (yes there were a few lean cuisines for emergency lunch purposes) and boy did it revive me.

Since then, I have to admit, I already feel leaner. It isn't like I'm saying I lost 20 lbs in two days... but I don't feel bloated anymore and the waisline "looks" better.

Anyone else fall off the bus and trying to get back on?

That's amore...

I can't wait to tell you about how good of a time and how beautiful that wedding we went to last weekend. Being around all my friends really had a good affect on me and I feel more like my old self than that lesser version I've been in the last month.

Onto the show....


Seven bridesmaids!


TEN groomsmen!!!


One bride + two father figures!


Me and BM Kim


Most of the Junior Clan back together again!


The amazing centerpieces


The Bride and her party crew


Isn't she stunning?!


Yummy Cake!


The Happy Couple


The Hubby and me!

~~photos courtesy of BM Kim, Frank, and yours truly!~~

Taking the plunge...

My MOH is getting married in just a few days and I wanted to say a few words to her...

Its seems silly how two little words and a small ring can change the rest of your life. Signing your name on the dotted line, knowing that you just created your new family. We've spent our lives remembering the past and planning for our futures but this weekend, just sit back and relish every moment you can because before you know it, it will be next week and you'll be an married woman. I know I've said it before how you lucked out to find such a great man, but in reality, I always thought he was the lucky one to find a person like you!

Best wishes and many happy moments on your journey together!

Salut!

Date Night

One thing the hubby and I started a few months ago was date night. After the wedding it's really easy to have your life just blend all together, errands after dinner, exercise in the evenings, shows, happy hours, etc etc etc. We realized that while we did spend a lot of time together, sometimes the quality is sacrificed and wanted to figure out a way to improve it, hence our date nights.

Last night we had our first date night in about a month. We've spend a great deal of time together this last month with everything that happened, I don't think we really had any real alone time where our minds were together. Our typical pizza at our favorite joint and a movie (the new Batman is really good btw). Nothing special but it was really good time. After the movie I looked at him and told him thank you for one of the best date nights we had in months and for the first in the last three week, I felt very content and happy.

Do you do anything to keep that spark going after the dust has settled from the wedding?

Can we just forget this month?

I've been trying to get back into the swing of things but if it isn't one thing it's another. I went to a wonderful bachelorette party last weekend for one of BFF's. Everything was great and I really tried my hardest to shake my little rain cloud that is following me. Well, the heavens thought I still wasn't ready to be completely myself and what do you know, I caught a nasty chest cold. I spent Sunday and Monday dead asleep and have been coughing up a storm ever since. Any thought of exercise throughs me into coughing attack. I'm slowly getting better. The goal is to be all healthy by next weekend. I don't want to be that BM that coughs on the bride! ;)

THERE’S ALWAYS A WAY OUT

The last two weeks have been really hard. With losing someone so close to the hubby and me, and everything at my job, I've been feeling so not myself. No usual smile, no usual pep in my steps. It just feels like something really needs to change. Need to shake life up a bit!

My good friend just sent me this from Dean's blog:

THERE’S ALWAYS A WAY OUT

Do you sometimes feel trapped, unable to break free from the chamber that holds you prisoner? Do you long to escape, to be blown free in a blast of warm air, liberated forever from the bowels of containment?

Sometimes the situation seems forever hopeless, I know. But that’s when you need to dig deepest, that’s when you need to continue foraging boldly onward despite the acrid mire and the total darkness. Go to the light. Don’t give up. When all seems lost, never forget…Click here

When I read this, I thought Dean was writing how I felt. Then I clicked and chuckled to myself, and knew hope is not lost!

I think with the events going to conspire this weekend I will break out of my little world more and get back to myself. If i don't do it for me, I'll do it for you dear blog friends!

...

I hate to keep delaying our regular blogging schedule since it was just delayed because of our last vacation. I'll be taking a little hiatus for the next week or so due to a death in our family. Thank you all for always being supportive and I'll "see" y'all next week.

Love,

Linda

where have i been?

...
I've been stuck behind a computer dealing with a lot of not fun work stuff.

What do I intend to do about this?

I plan on boarding a plane in two days and flying down to Puerto Rico.

When will start posting like a good little planner should?

Two weeks.

Have a wonderful 4th of July everyone! Stay safe and sane!

Love is in Bloom!

~~~~LOTS OF PHOTOS...BEWARE!~~~~

Back in February, a few us starting planning our dear friend's bridal shower. We decided we wanted to keep everything under wraps so we kept a secret blog detailing all the neat ideas we came up with. Little by little our theme came alive and this is the end result!

On the way into the clubhouse, we scattered lots of daisies. It smelled sooo good!


To go with the theme, the favors we choose were little pots filled with seeds. We wrapped them up and wrote directions on the back of the sign:


Our centerpieces were all bright colored roses with grass, giving the illusion of them growing! I think they turned out darling! We used pedals and scattered them from on side of the table to the other, like it was a table runner!



Me and BM Patty


We made two other centerpieces for other tables when the guests walk in.




One of the neat things we did was ask all our guests to give some advice to the bride written on a pedal. When they arrived, we placed them in a scrapbook we made for her:



Her cake was lemon cake with white chocolate frosting. It was yummy!


BM K did an amazing job with the bride's rehearsal bouquet!


For the bride, one of the presents we gave her was a towel cake and a just married ornament:


Last but not least, a photo of most of her beautiful BMs and the guest of honor in the center!



Everything turned out great and to see our bride so happy was worth all the hard work! Photos provided by myself and BM Kimmy!