Happy New Year!!

I hope everyone has a safe and happy new year!

Hiatus ended

Wow! It has been so long since I last posted. I've been lurking, but that's about it. I have been so sick, I had the flu then just as I was getting better I got a cold that decided to settle in my chest...yuck. It was no fun. I am still coughing. I feel better but keep hacking my head off. So that is one of the main reasons for my absence. Other things have came up that has been taking my time and filling my mind to capacity. Then I went to Vegas for a week to relax and celebrate my hubby's graduating. We had so much fun. Here is a little of my journal from the trip:

We left the house around 5am to start our adventure to Sin City. It was raining all night and we woke up to a roof leak, uh oh maybe this wasn't a great way to start off our vacation! For the first hour or so of driving it was pouring down rain, nonstop. We started going uphill and I looked over and told Armando, I think there is snow on those hills! His reply was that it was probably just sand, I've been known to be wrong so I just went with it….well a few minutes later I could not shake the feeling, "THAT IS SNOW ON THOSE HILLS!" and sure enough not even 2 seconds later huge fat flakes were hitting the windshield. Of course I had to call my mom, how often does a WV transplant see snow in L.A.? NEVER! She was laughing at me and my childlike giddiness. That phone call was the end of the fun and excitement though. I called her at 6:30am and just as I was ending the call I told her, "Oh it looks like they are closing the freeway because of the snow!" Well, close it they did, from 6:30 to almost 11:00am! Have you ever taken a nap in a running car in the middle of the 215 freeway while it was snowing? Well, we have! Yep, both of us took a nice little nap in the middle of bumper to bumper traffic.

After this long wait I really had to go to the bathroom and just get out of the car. So, we decided to take the next exit and stop at the gas station to get a drink and use the facilities. Well, that was a good thought. It turns out that all that snow we got while napping on the freeway ended up at this gas station. A good 6 inches of the white stuff. You know what Californians cannot do?? Drive in the snow. Yep, they are not the brightest when it comes to snow. You see, snow is usually slippery, so it would probably be best if you slowed down and paid attention to what you are doing especially if you have never driven in this stuff before. Ok, let me get back to the story… the gas station was located on a small slope, remember now there are a good 6 inches of snow on this little slope. Three cars get stuck because they think if they try and drive through the part with NO tracks it will make it easier. Dumbasses. So, we spent a good 45 minutes trying to back out of the gas station….no we did not even get a chance to freshen up. Armando did really good, we slid a little and spun tires once but he maneuvered like a pro. He has received the honorary West Virginian Award of driving in the snow. I was frustrated by this point and just wanted to get on the freeway and get away from the snow. Well, I stood up against my aching bladder like a champ and we made it to the Roy Rogers Exit without accident. We stopped at the Cheveron to fill up the tank and empty ours. Lo and behold there was a Costco right across the street. Do you know what Costco is famous for? Well, at least by us. $1.50 hotdogs with a soda! Whaa hooo! You can't beat that! I did not get that amazing deal although Armando did. I had the yummy chicken bake, which is chicken breast with bacon and cheese stuffed inside a yummy hot crust. I didn't say it was healthy, but it sure was good. After our stop we were off to see the wizard! Eh, I mean Vegas.

Next stop, Barstow. Why? Well, I may have forgotten to mention this but I'm incredibly sick right now. I have this outrageously croupy cough that I cannot get rid of…which makes drinking anything an experience to say the least. Put it this way, I have to focus, focus, focus when I'm having a coughing spell. Blech.

Well, we have made it the Nevada state line and coming up on my left I see Whisky Pete's and on the left is a Chevron, which we stop at just to top off the tank again. I was so excited Buffalo Bill's was behind us and were finally in Vegas!! Not so fast…..! Yeah, they tricked me. Whiskey Pete's and Buffalo Bill's is about 30 miles from the strip.

After all the teasing we finally entered the domain of Sin City. Overcast sky's and neon lights!! Traffic was a bit like the 101 during rush hour, but we finally made it to our hotel. We checked in and relaxed a bit, Armando jumped in our GIAGANTIC Jacuzzi tub and took a swim, I flopped on the bed and watched Sponge Bob Square Pants, yeah I'm not so keen on that show.

After we both got ready…I finally had a chance to take a super long HOT shower, ahhhh! We rode around the strip and I took pictures from the car. After that we stopped back at the hotel and then went out to dinner at the buffet at our hotel, which was pretty yummy by the way. Then we went walking around the hotel, played ski ball and the Simpsons at the arcade, stopped for a drink and window shopped a little more.

Over all it was a wonderful first day, minus a few hitches. I wish I wasn't sick, that really kills the fun when you are hacking up a lung. That is why I am typing this at 4:30 am I couldn't sleep, every time I lay down I start coughing. AHHHH! I bought some pills so, hopefully they will help me out a little.

Ta ta till tomorrow….or tonight.

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

5:10pm

Not sleeping because of my coughing really sucks. Every time I lay down I cough my head off. I even tried to sleep sitting up, which didn't work by the way. I finally got to sleep around 5:30am and woke up with a cough around 10am. So, that was good enough. We got ready and hit the town. We had a big dinner yesterday so, we just wanted something simple for breakfast so we stopped at Subway and got a sandwich after we cruised the strip. After breakfast we parked the car at Paris Las Vegas and started our journey there. We walked through the shops, this is the hotel that painted the ceiling to look like the sky… and of course we took some pictures and Armando bought me this really cute key chain that has the Eiffel tower on it and a few blue rhinestones and it opens up like a locket, one side has a tiny little mirror and the other side is the picture frame. Yay! After that we went to Bally's and Caesars Palace and stopped at O'Shea's for a drink and to use the massage chair. Then we came back to the hotel so I could rest a little. Army jumped I n the pool, er bathtub and I was relaxing typing this. We are going to go to the Sahara and get our $1 margaritas and play the nickel slots and grab a bite to eat somewhere in the mix.

Ahhh, the Sahara was kind of crappy… it was much more exciting when we came here 4 years ago. Now it is a bit run down and blah. We didn’t even get a margarita!! Waaahhh!

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

We went exploring today! Downtown Las Vegas. Let me tell you….it isn't a pretty site. Not at all. It was like going to those scary neighborhoods in downtown L.A. Yuck. So we headed back towards the strip and a little bit beyond to grab a cheapy breakfast and start our day.

That is all that I recorded, I got lazy and we did so much that I forgot half of it!! We did go to Sigfried and Roy's secret garden to look at the baby dolphin and the three baby tigers, we seen the Blue Man Group, took lots of picture of the snow (which I will post in a second) and we basically ran around the strip for 5 days. :)

Finally the holidays snuck right on up on me. We had a really nice time for Thanksgiving and Christmas, now New Years just a few days away! Yikes!

My Hubby!

I am so proud of him right now it is not even funny! He is truly amazing. Right now at this very second he is taking his comprehensive exam to graduate from Grad school!! YAY! I wish him the very best! My hubby has to be the most amazing man in the whole wide world...nope your hubbys/boyfriends do not compare!! lol He is AMAZING!!! I am so lucky to have a wonderful man like him by my side.
I LOVE YOU ARMANDO!

How long has it been??

It seems like I started posting at least 5 or 6 times, yet I haven't published any of them. Oops!

Thanksgiving is coming up! Yay! I'm cooking the family dinner this year. I took a hiatus for about 2 or 3 years due to family issues. My hubby and I would just go out for dinner and just enjoy being together. I have to admit that it wasn't ideal. I miss having huge family dinners where everyone is happy to be together....just the two of us felt a little lonely. So, this year I wanted a home-cooked turkey and since we have a new addition (a new niece) I thought it would the perfect time to try again. I just want all of us to have a nice dinner. I hope they leave all of their problems at the door!

What are you doing for Thankgsiving?

Thwarted again!

Gosh! This is becoming a habit that I want to break!! I am here all alone in another empty classroom and just got the newest/freshest Californiacation all loaded up....and in walks another student searching for a warm place to kill time. I am kind of upset by this. I just want to sit in peace and watch my lovely little show that I wait all week to see. BUT NO! It cannot happen when I want it to. Grr. Stupid people.
Oh, I do have thousands of things I should be doing: Two ten page papers that are due this Monday that I haven't gotten past page one on either of them. Paperwork that I need to fill out for some client....a final that I need to start preparing for. Calling my darling nephew who is in the Navy to tell him hello and that I haven't forgotten about him. Yeah...I have lots to do....but all I want to do is watch TV. Damnit.
Why can't life be fair?! Ok, I admit it is totally my fault. I am in a public place....but I WANNA WATCH IT NOW! *sniffle* Feel bad for me. Go ahead.

Pissed off, Pissed on and all around irritated

I have had the flu for two entire weeks now. I got it from those icky little kids I work with. They bring all their cooties and just spread them around....I need to buy myself a little plastic bubble to live in during cold and flu season. I was supposed to get my flu shot two days after I got the stupid flu. That's what really pissed me off. I swear by that miracle shot. My time started off feeling like I got hit by a bus; that head to toe achy feeling. Then it moved on to running a fever up to 104 degrees and then the coughing. Oh my God, the coughing is the worst!! I cannot function without a cough drop in my mouth. If you look at the little bag it says: ONE drop every two hours....I have exceeded that limit by about 100 in an 8 hour period. My mouth is so raw from eating those nasty things, but it does keep me from coughing, sort of. I work as a receptionist and I am coughing so bad that I cannot answer the phone or talk to the students that are coming in to the office. I took last week off because I was coughing so bad....but I had to go to classes tonight and it would have been pointless to be on campus for classes and not work at all. I just felt like an idiot... it really is embarrassing to cough so much, so loud. Especially in classes and of course at work. Grrr!
I am just waiting for my hubby to get finished with his class, I already suffered through mine for the day....I found this lovely little empty classroom to hide out in...no one around. Just me and my happy little computer to do as I wish. What did I wish for? I wished I could have watched CALIFORNICATION the new episode. I just got it all downloaded and started watching it....in pops this little twit to ask me if she could sit in the room with me. Oh I was being nice. After all this isn't my room...I just found it first. So gracious me, I let her come in and I turned off my lovely new, fresh and exciting episode of Californication. Since this is a campus I didn't think it would be appropriate to have people fucking and saying all kinds of crazy shit like; "I want to do her then punch her in the face." Yeah, I don't think it would go over too well. Then she called another little twit to come in to my coveted space. So, I became passive aggressive and started sighing when they started talking. Yeah, that was fun. She then asked me if it would bother me if they talked outloud. So...of course I said; "Yes, I am typing a paper and it would be dreadfully distracting to hear you two talking." Hahahah. This is the paper I'm typing. Fuckers.
If you haven't watched Californication, please do, but start at the beginning or you won't get the full effect. hahaha. Oh and please only watch it if you like batshit crazy stuff, lots of sex, drugs and any other taboo thing you can imagine. Yep, it's my guilty pleasure. I SHOULD BE WATCHING IT RIGHT NOW INSTEAD OF BLOGGING. WTF?
I hope you all are flu free and happy!!

Walmart

To the woman who was walking ahead of me in the Walmart parking lot in Porter Ranch, on Saturday. You are an idiot. Screaming at your child will not make you a better parent, in fact it made you look like a dumbass. It was really wonderful how you kept chanting "YOU WILL NEVER WIN!! I WILL ALWAYS BE RIGHT." Now your son is going to grow up with low self esteem, always questioning himself, just hearing your voice in his head saying you will never be right or good enough.
Oh, it was also pretty amusing to me that you told the little boy that he embarassed you by telling his sister to leave him alone. You did a knock out job embarassing yourself, by SCREAMING at the poor kid throughout the entire parking lot. You really need some parenting skills. Screaming at a child WILL NEVER PRODUCE RESULTS! NEVER.

Busy

I have been so busy, its not even funny anymore. I have exactly NO free time...arg! Well, that is kinda a lie. I do have free time but at odd periods during the day. For instance, on Wednesday, I had two hours free from 4-6pm and my darling hubby took me to see a movie. Awww! BTW, go see Blindness, it's really good.
I feel all sucky inside because I don't have time for any of my friends right now. Between school, work, clients (11 hours a week!) and trying to write my comp questions... I have to squeeze time in just to hang out with my hubby. ARG! Even time with him is divided between, shopping, cooking, cleaning....and all that other married life stuff. YUCK.
Where is my genie?! I need three wishes!!

Who loves the rain?!

I DO! I DO! I cannot wait until it really starts raining. Yesterday was just a preview......ahhh!

Frustration

My grandmother (mom's mom) and I are not that close. She is a lovely woman, however she puts up with too much shit from my uncle. She is 79 years old raising two teen granddaughters because her son is too messed up on drugs to do anything with them as is their mom. She has undergone some serious health issues in the last 10 years. Stomach cancer, half of her stomach was removed and part of her intestine. Chemo therapy, numerous surgeries, chronic arthritis pain.... and raising two kids that do not appreciate her. Not many can stand by to watch. Its horrible.
Yesterday she went to the doctor because she is forgetting a lot, getting extremely bad headaches, and it lethargic. They found a lesion on her brain...they do not know much about it except how wide it looks, they are going to do a MRI to see how deep it is and if they need to do anything about it. One of the doctors said that it could be beginning stages of Alzheimer's or an aneurysm. It honestly breaks my heart to see her go through this and still have to come home to a house full of idiots. I do feel bad for my cousins, please don't get me wrong. They have been raised by my grandma since the oldest was a few months old. They only treat her the way they do because of my uncle. It still should not happen. She does everything she can for them.
Grrr.

Long time no news

Busy. Yep sums it up alright. I feel like I am in limbo. I don't know what to do. I hate *seriously dislike* the field site I am at and am wondering if I should change. It is such a hassle to apply and then go to an interview. I am a wreck at interviews. But on the flip side, I am miserable there. The drama is enough to make a sane woman crazy. Since no one ever said I was sane......it makes it even worse. I am irritated with so much it is not even funny.
So, blah!

Today

We fight
We argue about the dumbest things
We tease each other
We piss each other off on purpose
We know each other's greatest annoyances and use them to illustrate a point.
We can still look at each other and say "I love you, with all of my heart."
And actually mean it.

We had a stressful day yesterday, things were said, feelings hurt, emotions rampant, but at the end of it all we could laugh and say "What the hell are we doing?!" I can't help but look at my husband and fall in love all over again. He makes me happy. A word so simple can have such a huge meaning. I LOVE YOU ARMANDO.

Sickenss...

Why is it that every time I lay down my nose runs?!?! Madness.

Miracle

A miracle. This is probably the hardest topic to write about. I have started at least four times, four different interpretations of the word miracle. Not one seemed to echo the right feeling in me...then I realized, they were all about me. If a miracle would happen I would be rich, have a new house, be pregnant, never worry again...etc. Well, that's really not how I feel. If a miracle would happen or if I had the power to create/make a miracle happen I would want it worldwide.... to end, suffering, war, disease, pain, hopelessness... I would want everyone to benefit from my miracle. I am just a small blip on the map, who else would notice if the miracle only happened to me? What would your miracle be?

Today

Sleep eludes me. I'm tired and cranky and hot and all around just miserable. I feel like a zombie, I had a venti soy latte this morning with 5 shots of espresso which means absolutely nothing to me right now. Usually I can drink a regular latte in the morning and I'll be pretty good all day long. Not today... YAWN. I even went to bed at 9 o'clock last night!!! 9 o'clock, that's mighty early here in the grad school house! Waaaah.
I work and attend school in the valley, if you are not from California, the valley is pretty much an over sized oven in the summer. The air quality is horrible, it is in the 100s...blah. Have I ever stated that I love winter and can't wait until it gets cold???? Well, I'm waiting, I know one day soon I'll see people wearing tshirts with gloves and a scarf on.....huge snow boots with short skirts. Yep, that's how you know winter has arrived in California. Weirdos.

Somewhere....

Somewhere, there is a place, a place I can finally feel at ease. I can lay my head down with no worries interfering with my peace. I feel safe and free at the same time. I'm not worried about school, work, money or bills. Life seems to just flow by, without the existence of time. I hear waves crashing against rock and smell the salty air as it whips my hair around my face. I love this place, but I fear if I stay too long will all my happiness turn into fear? Anxiety? Insomnia? I have to leave before this happens...Knowing that I can always return.

Stolen from the lovely Frigga @ Any Apples!!

How many people live in your house? 2

Do you like your siblings? Yeppers, they are pretty spectacular

What color are your nails? natural

What’s your favorite place on earth? For now... Pismo beach. I feel so free right there. It just has an incredibly beautiful vibe.

Ever punch someone in the face? no

Did you have a dream last night? I don't remember it if I did. I actually fell asleep pretty fast.

Where is your top from? Fashion Bug

Are you mad at someone? Not anymore

Where’s your best friend? Yep

Last place you bought something from? Starbucks

Last person you were in a car with? Armando

What bank do you use? Bank of America

Do you like being in photos? Not really, I like to take pictures

Who’s your last missed call from? My hubby.

Ever broken something at someone else’s house? Of course. I am super clumsy.

Are you a good driver? Nope, I hate driving.

When is your birthday? July 13, 1980

What kind of mobile phone do you have? Motorola

How old will you be in 5 years? 33

Are you a movie buff? I do love movies, but I don't get to watch as many as I would like anymore...sniffle

If you could move tomorrow, would you? Where to? Yes, if I could afford it, I would buy a house somewhere here near the valley, but not in the valley.

Do you like the weather today? No its hot.

Do you like the outdoors or indoors better? Outdoors, ynless its hot out. Then give me the A/C

How tall are you? 5'7"

If you had to choose an age to remain for the rest of your life what would it be? Hmm. 21 I guess. I was still wild and crazy then. I've tamed down in my old age

What’s something in your past you wish you could relive? The day I got married.

What is your favorite thing to do on the weekends? Watch movies with my hubby

Favorite nearby vacation destination? 3 hours is nearby, right??? PISMO

How’s the weather? HOT

Does anything on your body hurt? My back, from sitting in class/work all day

What was the last television show you watched? George Lopez

Do you prefer orange or cherry ice-pops? I don't really like popcicles. Especially if they are on a wooden stick..gag.

Do you like pickles? Yes, any kind will be fine with me!

Does your hair still smell like shampoo? Nope, I took a shower at 5am....it is now 7:30pm....

What’s plugged in in the nearest socket? Computer

What was the last thing you wrote by hand? Notes in class

What’s your favorite tv advert? The one for kieser (probably spelled wrong) permenente (that's probably spelled wrong too) with the little boy who talk about how bad he used to live....drinking, the people he hung out with...etc. it is the cutest commercial EVER!

Do you pay attention to celebrity gossip? No.

Have you sung out loud today? Not yet...but I told my hubby I would write him a song today, damn.

Do you wish it was 4 years into the future, or 4 years back? 4 years in the future. Hopefully already licenced!

Can you touch your nose with your foot? Yes.

Do you prefer paper towels, or napkins? depends on what kind of mess I made

Are you currently texting anyone? Nope, I hate texting, Im slow

What was the last movie you watched? Death Race, it was really good

Whom did you last high-five? my pal Mike

Do you watch the Olympics? yep, I did, I love gymnastics

Can you dance? Nope and I don't try to either.

Do you keep the oil changed in your car? Yes. to the mile. We are very anal about the car.

Have you ever been hunting? Nope, but I do love deer meat.

Do you like taking pictures? Yes!!

What about making scrapbooks? I love them, I love looking at all the gadgets and stickers, but I don't have the time/patience/money to actually do it.

Are you a sushi lover? YES, YES, YES!! I could go for a spicy eel roll right now!! YUM!

What is your favorite restaurant of all time? Now you got me thinking sushi!!!! Todai, because come on....all you can eat sushi is just lovely.

Does it annoy you when people drive slow in the fast lane? Yes, especially when they are on the phone. That law wasn't very effective.

What do your parents do for a living? My Mom works in a daycare with all the itty bitty babes and my dad has long since passed, but he was a truck driver

Are there any famous people you’d like to meet? not really

Do you get tired of hearing about celebrity divorces? Yes

What are your plans for the weekend? Relaxing, I have one appointment on Saturday and thats it!! Whoot!

How often do you tan? NEVER! I don't tan anyway. I burn, no I FRY! I always wear SPF 50+

Are your nails always manicured? Nope, never.

Could you ever go without eating meat? Yes, I love veggies.

Where is your favorite place to buy groceries? Trader Joes

When was the last time you took a bubble bath? I hate taking baths. But when we were in Long Beach last winter we had a jaccuzi and I did take a bath then...I love showers.

Do have good sense of style? I dress comfy. I love jeans and Tees

If you could have any car, what would it be? A smart car. lol

Do you like fast food? Ehh. I do love Subway. Does that count?? Its not a greasy fast food joint, but it is cheap and fast and oh so yummy.

Have you ever cut someone off while driving? Yes

Do you like to receive compliments or give them? Both.

Have you ever been to a casino? Yes, I love VEGAS!

What do you do to relax? Read, play the sims 2....other free games online.

Do you like kids? Love them

Does family mean a lot to you? Yes!

Are you going to the beach anytime soon? Nope

What is your favorite perfume? I don't really wear much perfume. I do love this one from bath and body works, I think it was moonflower or morning glory or something like that, it smells really nice.

What is your favorite men’s cologne? Polo....all except for the sport one

What is your favorite type of dog? A weenie dog

If you had to move to a different country, which one would you choose? England

Do you like to color in coloring books? NO, I never really did, even as a kid.

Do you think you would have been a hippie in the 60s and 70s? Yes, I do believe that I am a reincarnated hippie.

Would you rather be cold or hot? COLD, COLD....BRING ON ANTARTICA!

What is the one website, other than MySpace, that you visit most? MSN/MSNBC

Incense or candles? candles, I hate the smokey smell

What brand of cosmetics do you use the most often? covergirl

What is the one tv advert that annoys you the most? The one from Target witht the two girls dancing. I usually love target ads, but that one is stupid.

Are you an early bird or a night owl? Night owl

Would you rather be smart or beautiful? Smart.

What is your favorite reality show? eh. I'm not too into reality shows. I like those dancing ones...I just don't watch them religiously.

What ringtone is on your phone? boring ringtone

What would you tell a 3-year-old that asks where babies come from? I agree with you Frigga: Mommies

What is your favorite type of cereal? Fruity pebbles or raisin bran

Are you double jointed? No

What videos do you search for on YouTube? only music vids when I want to hear a particular song

Have you ever given money to a homeless person? Yes

Have you ever had to go to A & E? I don't know what that is.

Who is your favorite comedian? I like lots of comedians...Gabrielle Iglacias is pretty damn funny...

Name some foods you will not eat: any sort of organ meat *shudder*

Do you have any irrational fears? Spiders. Even the smallest ones look incrediblly huge to me

Do you snoop in other people’s medicine cabinets? Nope. I have that fear that as soon as I open it it will crash to the floor...or something like that.

How much would you pay in ransom if someone stole your pet? No, but I would be sad if someone stole my fat cat Cheetos.

Have you ever eaten green eggs and ham? No.

Ever had surgery? No.

Ever walked through a fast food restaurant drive thru? Nope.

Holy Crackers!

It's time once again to:

• To have no life outside of work, school, and clients.
• To turn into a bundle of nerves before everything is due.
• To worry myself into insomnia.
• To pray that Starbucks will lower their prices so I can have an iced, venti, soy, Cinnamon Dolce Latte, with four shots of espresso, EVERY SINGLE MORNING.
• To wish for nothing, but a single day of solitude...I would even settle for a nap.

New things on the agenda for this semester:

• Work on my Comps. I have exactly one year left until I graduate, therefore I have to write 10, 10page papers and 'study' for the test at the end. Yay.
• See more clients!! I'm excited about this one!
• Run my groups, which start tomorrow! They are for Autistic children and their siblings (2 groups)
• Work less. I cut my hours in half, so I can dedicate the year to clients. I need 240 hours people!! GIVE ME CLIENTS!

I really need to reduce my stress level by at least 20% that really doesn't seem like a lot, but I really need it. I was using concentrated breathing techniques, but I have lapsed since last semester... I get so stressed right before I have to do anything new. It drives me nuts! I am not nervous the week before, only the night before. NIGHT, which means I do not sleep a wink before I have to do a big project or somethign new. Yuck. Which just leaves me a caffinated mess. Not fun. I'm also going to go back to therapy starting next month. I really felt so much better when I was seeing my therapist. That is not just a plug because I am in the field...I really truely loved therapy. It helped me more that I thought it would. :)

Updates

I haven't been much into blogging lately. I'm not sure the exact cause, but my fingers haven't felt like typing a single thing. Maybe it is due to the reappearance of school...I can see it on the horizon and I want to conserve all my typing energy for all the papers I will have to write. Blah! So today I will bullet some of the things that have been going on in my life:

• Yesterday the hubby and I went to Hollywood to go shopping. We were in the car getting ready to turn at the corner and two women, started fighting. The one woman, a larger woman, was wearing a 60's style dress (picture Twiggy) and the other woman hit her and she fell to her knees... she wasn't wearing any undies, not really a pleasant sight. SO, this is a reminder to everyone: WEAR UNDERWEAR! It isn't that hard to slap a pair on. If you don't want lines, wear a thong...they do make some pretty incredible undies now, so try some on! It will eliminate future embarrassment on your part. Especially when all of your shining glory is exposed during rush hour on Hollywood Blvd.
  
• I seen my first client and have a new one on Monday. Can't wait, but I'm a little nervous. Yikes!
• I made, for the very first time, salmon patties. I always liked them when I was a kid, so I wanted to see if I could make them and if my hubby who is ANTI-SALMON, would eat them. This is the recipe I used:

1. One can of Salmon. Keep the liquid and remove those nasty bones.
2. Two eggs beaten.
3. 1 cup of Italian bread crumbs. Plus a little more.
4. Finely sliced onion. As much as you like.
5. Garlic salt. Just a little.
   

Mix everything together and form patties. If your mixture is too wet add a little more bread crumbs. Add a little oil to a nonstick skillet and brown them. Just make sure you cook them all the way through. You don't want any sucky salmonella.

• When my mom used to make them she would leave the bones in, they are soft and edible, but come on...they would make me gag. Nasty stuff!
• I can't think of anything else that has been going on. Work/Supervision/Client's. That's about all. I did buy some clothes and shoes, so that was exciting, but that was pretty much the extent of the excitement.

Plague!

Sorry! It has been a while since I posted last. Life caught up with me again...
I think my house has some sort of plague. A few years ago we got infested by moths, inside my house. They were literally everywhere, flying at your head as soon as you turned on the light...showing up in very unwanted places...like a freshly poured cup of coffee or a delicious bowl of ice cream. Not a good thing, not good at all my friends.
Well today I went into my kitchen and it seems we are the proud recipients of spiders, little baby white/clear spiders. Have I told you my greatest fear is of spiders crawling on me?? Yep, it is. I was talking to my hubby, who was standing in the other room...my hand was resting on the side of the fridge and low and behold teeny, tiny, freaky spiders started crawling on my hand! Of course I screamed for the hubby and he did a wonderful job squishing the little bastards. But now I'm all itchy and feeling gross. I have to look at everything I touch. YUCK! To top it off yesterday night there was a lone spider that decided to make it's way from the ceiling via a string of web coming out of it's butt. It also decided to do this right in front of me while I was sitting at my desk. My hubby the ever vigilant spider killer, gave that one a big squish for me too...Now it got me thinking. Are the spider Gods pissed that we live in a zero tolerance spider zone?? So, they must invade my sanctuary with the creepiest of all creatures?! I cannot handle this atrocity! Tomorrow I will go and buy Spider-B-Gon!!

Please, no comments on how inhumane I am, that I should let all of God's creatures run wild and all that...when it comes to spiders shoes are my best friend. Peace be with you! :P

Summer

Well, I guess my summer will be officially over on August 4th. You know, I 'm not too excited about that little fact, not excited at all. I have been so busy this 'break' that I haven't really had a chance to just relax, to fully relax.


June:
I took two summer classes which met Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. I worked 20 hours a week, and I took a four week (60 hour) crisis training program that met Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I basically had no day off for an entire month.

July:
Ahh, July! I loved July, seriously, I LOVED IT! I did not have to work beyond the 6th and I just relaxed. I still had to go to supervision on Tuesdays, but it really didn't count. :) My 28th birthday fell on the 13th and our anniversary on the 23rd. We went to Pismo Beach, to the movies, out to dinner (many times) and on a never ending taco hunt. We are trying to find the bestest tacos in L.A. but we haven't found any that beat our neighborhood taco truck. Any ideas?

August:
Well this month is going to start getting busy. I will miss my late nights...sleeping in.... I start work on the 4th. The 23rd my first groups as a co-facilitator start and I will also start seeing my very first client in two little weeks! Yikes! Oh, an school starts on the 25th. BUSY, BUSY, BUSY!


So, that was my summer vacation, How was yours?

Book List

I was going through my blogroll today and over at And so she blogs, I found this cute little book list. I am a self proclaimed book whore. I love to read almost anything. Anything that has nothing to do with learning something valuable. I go to school, I read enough of that crap during those hours, when I want to read, I want to fill my brain with dramatic chick lit. You know the kind: I want the corner office and to screw my neighbor, my boyfriend, my neighbors boyfriend...oh wait there's shoes! Yep, that's what I like. So, I stole this list and I will put the books I have read in purple.



1. Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, Rebecca Wells (I have no idea why though)
2. East of Eden, John Steinbeck
3. Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, David Sedaris
4. The New Kings of Nonfiction, Ira Glass
5. Lulu Meets God and Doubts Him, Danielle Ganek
6. White Teeth, Zadie Smith
7. Then We Came to the End, Joshua Ferris
8. Prodigal Summer, Barbara Kinglosver
9. The Secret Life of Bees, Sue Monk Kidd
10. A Girl Named Zippy, Haven Kimmel
11. Welcome to the World, Baby Girl!, Fannie Flagg
12. Ella Minnow Pea: A Novel in Letters, Mark Dunn
13. Stupid and Contagious, Caprice Crane
14. Running with Scissors, Augusten Burroughs
15. Bitter is the New Black, Jen Lancaster
16. Nice Girls Don’t Get the Corner Office, Lois P. Frankel
17. I Love Everybody (and Other Atrocious Lies), Laurie Notaro
18. Running in Heels, Anna Maxted
19. She’s Come Undone, Wally Lamb
20. Sushi for Beginners, Marian Keyes
21. Jemima J, Jane Green
22. Something Borrowed, Emily Giffin
23. The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho
24. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Betty Smith
25. Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, Judy Blume
26. The Gift of Fear, Gavin De Becker
27. Emma, Jane Austen
28. The Hours, Michael Cunningham( I seen the movie and hated it, I don't know what possessed me to read the book too)
29. Mrs. Dalloway, Virginia Woolf
30. The Romance Reader, Pearl Abraham
31. Twilight, Stephenie Meyer (I LOVE all of her books, I just ordered Breaking Dawn, yay! Vampires rule)
32. Blink, Malcolm Gladwell
33. Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation, Lynne Truss
34. A People’s History of the United States, Howard Zinn
35. Manufacturing Consent, Noam Chomsky
36. Swell: A Girl’s Guide to the Good Life, Ilene Rosenzweig
37. I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence, Amy Sedaris
38. Manifesta: Young Women, Feminism, and the Future, Jennifer Baumgardner
39. The Official Guide for GMAT Review
40. Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman’s Search…, Elizabeth Gilbert (I read most of it, but I just couldn't get into it, sorry!)
41. Bloodsucking Fiends, Christopher Moore
42. The World According to Mimi Smartypants, Mimi Smartypants
43. The Girls’ Guide to Hunting and Fishing, Melissa Bank
44. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life, Barbara Kingsolver
45. Middlesex, Jeffrey Eugenides
46. The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan (I love all of Amy Tan's books, the mother daughter relationships are amazing)
47. The Singing Creek where the Willows Grow, Opal Stanley Whitely
48. I Am America (And So Can You), Stephen Colbert
49. No One Belongs Here More Than You: Stories, Miranda July
50. Shopgirl, Steve Martin
51. Good In Bed, Jennifer Weiner (Her books make me happy)
52. A Million Little Pieces, James Frey (the content was okay I just found it annoying how they wrote it)
53. The Thorn Birds, Colleen McCullough
54. The Notebook, Nicholas Sparks
55. Confessions of a Shopoholic, Sophie Kinsella
56. Sex and the City, Candace Bushnell
57. See Jane Date, Melissa Senate

Thursday Thirteen

This is my TT, thirteen pictures that I think are beautiful. I found all of these today on the highly addictive stumble upon....hope you like!

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

Anniversary

Well on Wednesday the 23rd was our 9th anniversary! I cannot believe time has gone by so fast! I have found the most amazing person to share my life with, I am so thankful for every second I get to spend with this man. He truly makes my heart sing!
We went on vacation for our anniversary. To Pismo Beach, my absolute favorite place in California. I love it there.
Bad news is that I also got a nasty ear infection, thanks to the stupid pool at the hotel. At least it did not start to hurt until we were on our way home, so we got to enjoy the entire trip together. :)

I will leave you with some pictures of our trip. Oh and if you so desire you can click on each picture and it will bring up a HUGE picture.

Dinosaur Caves, Pismo Beach Those rocks aren't white it is all the pelican poop. :(

Me and the hubby! Aww!

No trip to Pismo is complete without the clam chowder bread bowls from Splash Cafe!

Half of the outdoor pool at Hearst Castle

Just a teeny tiny segment of the indoor pool at Hearst Castle. Most of the yellow in this picture is 24 carat gold. Even the tiles inside the pool have it too...wow!

Fashion...Well, sorta.

I have never once even pretended that I am fashion savvy. I usually dress for comfort, jeans and tees are my uniform. This post however is about shoes. Sandals to be exact. I love them: Flip flops, slides, wedges. You name them and I'm probably a fan. One thing I don't understand is why on earth do people wear socks with sandals?? Doesn't that just defeat the purpose?
I was out today and while stopped at a red light I seen this guy. A macho big, buff guy, wearing socks with FLIP FLOPS!! Could there be anything worse?! Oh the humanity! Ew.
If you really feel that your feet shouldn't see the light of day, wear sneakers! OR if you really want to go wild wear those sandals that are basically all enclosed except for a few strategically placed air vents. But never, ever wear flip flops and socks.

Thursday 13 Summer Style

Thirteen Things I love about the summer! 1. The Beach! I don't get to go that often but just walking on the boardwalk makes me happy! 2. Fresh fruit! There is nothing better than super juicy watermelon, nectarines and pineapples! 3. Time off of school, this really wasn't the case this year, but usually that is a favorite part of my year. :) 4. Catching up on reading! I absolutely love to read, but I just don't have the time during the school year. Once I get a second you will find me reading constantly, I usually have two or three books going at once. :) 5. Vacation! We don't always take our vacations during the summer but, this year we are. Pismo Beach here we come. I posted some pictures from earlier trips in the previous post so go check those out. It is so beautiful there. 6. Just being outside. Not when it is boiling out, but in the early morning or evening, just makes me happy. Like tonight, the moon was so beautiful I didn't want to come in. 7. Shredding!! Yeah, this is an interesting one. At the end of the school year I usually have a ton of papers that need to be shredded, along with all the bills/checks/credit card crap that we get during the year. Now, I do shred during the year, but it just doesn't always get done in a timely manner so, it builds up. Yuck! 8. My birthday of course!! And my sister's too! Nothing like summer birthdays. 9. Cookouts. This is the only time my hubby cooks! I prep, marinate and chop and he grills his little heart out. It's quite nice. 10. Air conditioning. 'nuff said 11. Going to the park to feed the ducks and geese. 12. These last two will be things I hate: SUNBURNS 13. Bug bites!

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!



The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Pismo

Next week my wonderful hubby and I are off to Pismo Beach again! I am so excited, I absolutely love this place. It is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been, it has a small town feel...I adore it. Here are some pics from our previous trips. What's not to love?!

The Boardwalk

It almost looks like a volcano because of the clouds

Dinosaur Caves

Near Morro Rock

Fun!

I had such a wonderful birthday! My hubby has to be the sweetest man in the world! He bought me a cake a few days earlier so I could enjoy it, throughly. Today, we went out to dinner, Red Lobster, and went running around the mall for a few hours. I just love that my birthday is always untraditional. Growing up it was the same thing every year, don't get me wrong I LOVED the tradition, but now that I'm an adult it is fun to do something new every year. We went to Vegas one year, Pismo Beach another, Go-Kart racing, Mini Golf at this amazing course that had waterfalls and all kinds of great obstacles, and many more, it is always a blast. Thank you hubby!!
One thing that I thought was funny is that we went to the mall because they were having a going out of business sale at Linen & Things. I have never been there before so I didn't know what to expect. Well, I could understand why they were going out of business. I couldn't believe the prices! They were all marked down 30%, but they were charging $12-$20 for cheap looking toothbrush holders!?! What?! The thing that made me laugh was that there were shower curtain hooks, plastic ones. They had this little sticker on it saying they were $4.99, with 30% markdown, making it about $3.50. Well, that little sticker was an older one, so they put a black slash mark through the price and put a new one the other side saying $12.99! So, that's how they make money?? Raising the price before the going out of business sale. Idiots. Needless to say I didn't buy anything from there. I did go to Ross and found a really pretty gold/tan material shower curtain for only $7! Whoot!

Surprise!

It's not my birthday, yet. My darling hubby surprised me with a cake yesterday. We 'have plans' for Sunday (I have no idea what they are yet) and he wanted to make sure I had a cake to enjoy too! He is such a sweetie! The cake is from Portos Bakery, in Glendale. My favorite place to buy any kind of sweets! The cake was so, so good. Chocolate, chocolate, CHOCOLATE! YUM!!

Yes, the lady misspelled my name. The hubby didn't notice till we opened it at home. Oh well, it was just one 'N.'

It' on fire!!

This my friends is a solid chocolate hand sculpted rose. It was very, very good. ;)

My Oldest Friend (Sunday Scribblings)

It is 3:30pm and we would be jumping off of the bus. We would run to her house (it was closer) slamming the door and running past her mom we would fly into her bedroom oasis to sit and watch after school cartoons: Beetlejuice, Ducktales and Tiny Toons were our favorites. Sometime before Beetlejuice was over I would call my mom to let her know I was ‘home’ and would be up as soon as the cartoons were over.

I was in the 4^th grade when Brandy moved into my neighborhood and we became best friends almost immediately. She was a year older, beautiful, teased her hair, wore makeup, shaved her legs and she was my best friend.

We got into lots of trouble in those few years her and her family lived in my neighborhood; we got caught skipping school, smoking and many other things. But we always remained true to each other, we would never sell the other out, even if it meant a lighter sentence for the other. Even though we were so young and had many friends come in and out of our lives we were always friends. She moved around a lot so we didn’t get to spend much time together after she left my little neighborhood, but we always talked.

To this day it is still true, we have lost contact with each other more times than we can count, but we always manage to find each other and are able to pick up where we left off, like nothing ever changed. She is my oldest friend, a friend I know I will have when I’m 80.

Thursday Thirteen

Since I will turn 28 on the 13th, here are a list of my favorite birthdays, gifts or birthday parties. 1. I'll start at early one: 1987, my 7th birthday. I had a Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs birthday cake. It was my favorite. It had little plastic figurines of all the dwarfs and Snow (which my mum still has), each of them had something, a wheelbarrow, rake or shovels. It had a little plastic bridge that went over blue icing water. 2. 1995, my 15th birthday. It was held in the local park of my hometown. This was probably the first time all of my friends could make it and we had such a good time. We went on the paddle boats, played mini golf...my mom made really great gift bags for all my girlfriends. Great time! 3. 1999, my 19th birthday. This one was a combo party. It was my birthday, going away, and congratulations on getting married all wrapped up in to one day. Maybe I should explain a little: I was long distance dating this great guy from L.A. and well, we decided it was the right time to get married so, the very next day I was leaving my little hometown for the dazzle of L.A. and ten short days later I was a married woman. None of my family members seen me get hitched, so this party was really beautiful. We had super extended family there, it was also held at the local park. We had the food catered and it just turned out wonderful. 4. 2001, my 21st birthday: My friend from my hometown came out and spent a few weeks with me, so on my birthday we went to a bar (of course) my first one I went to legally. Good times were had by all. 5. I think this was my 24 or 25th birthday. My hubby and I went to Vegas for the first time and went to this little diner called Roxy's which has singers dressed as if they were in the 60s and they sing to you....well he told them it was my birthday and they pulled me to the middle of the floor and sang to me. I was so embarrassed at the time and was shooting the evil eye at my hubby, but now that I look back I wouldn't have changed it for anything. 6. Almost Every year from the time I was about 6 or so I would get ice cream cakes from Dairy Queen, unless they were outdoor parties. If you have never had one, let me just tell you they beat baskin robbins by a mile. They are so good! 7. The menu hardly varied for any of my parties we would have: Sloppy Joes or hamburgers/hotdogs if we had a cookout, cake and ice cream, or just ice cream cake, unlimited chips and soda... You know, the healthy stuff! 8. One year my mom bought me a store bought cake and I kid you not, it had 3 inches of icing on it. It was in the shape of a unicorn, but damn 3 inches???!!! 9. I always loved to rip open my gifts. I never (still don't) understand why people want to lift the tape....then fold it up and then look at the gift. 10. My cousins always had parties at Burger King. I am so thankful that I didn't. My big family parties were always better. :) 11. One year, 1989 my sister who also shares the same birth month, was living in Tennessee and wouldn't be home for her birthday. So since we were already having a party for me we just made signs and got everyone together to take pictures to celebrate her too. It made me feel so good! 12. I was sad on my 20th birthday. That was the first year I wasn't at home for my birthday. My mom would always wake me up and sing happy birthday to me and give me a little present to start the day. It always made me feel so special. 13. My family still calls me every year and sings to me. EVERYONE, even my brother, Mr. Macho! :) I have a few saved on the answering machine, just to listen to every once in a while. :)

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!




View More Thursday Thirteen Participants