Finales!

In my last post I talked about season finales and I just finished the House and Fringe finales. House was so sad! I pretty much cried the whole time, and I'm sure my current emotional state and wine didn't help the fact. Ha! Fringe was okay. A little out there, but the whole show is a little out there so I should've expected it. Oh, and I haven't finished the last two Office episodes yet (have to wait for boyfriend to watch them with me) so I'm looking forward to that one too. After that I should be all caught up.

By the way, I'm making this post using my iPhone - first time I've done it. It's not too bad except for the fact that my iPhone is the original model and is now considered obsolete :( *sad* and kicks me out of apps for no good reason. I wanted to wait until this summer to get the new 4G iPhone, but I'm not sure I can afford it. So I'm debating on whether or not to just get an iPhone from Wal-Mart for $100 bucks. We'll see!

This and That

I don't know about you all, but this week sure has flown by! Which is a good thing. I've been kind of down in the dumps this week and can't seem to get out of this funk I'm in. Hopefully, this three-day weekend coming up will lift my spirits because the weather is supposed to be great!

This week I made a new recipe called Poppyseed Chicken and it was delish! OMG. It's now probably my favorite chicken casserole dish of all time. It was so easy to make too (which is always a plus since I don't get home from work until 6:30 and we try to eat dinner before 8). If you follow the link, it'll take you to Kelly's Recipe Blog. I cut the recipe in half and baked it in an 8x8 casserole dish, instead of the 9x13 dish, since it's just Kevin and me and we usually end up wasting a quarter of the food leftover when I use the larger dish. Anyways, I also sauteed the chicken with chopped onion and garlic instead of boiling it. I wanted to add a little more flavor to the dish. I added salt and pepper to taste too. It turned out WONDERFUL! I think it'd be great to make for a couple who've just had a baby, or if you're having people over for dinner and you want something easy to whip up so you're not stuck in the kitchen the entire time. I highly recommend it!

I didn't do much this week in the area of exercise and I hate it because I feel so lazy and just not good. I'm debating on if I should go to the gym tonight or not. Part of me (actually, about 80% of me) feels like just going home, opening a bottle of wine and enjoying my recorded shows that I'm trying to catch up on. Hmmmm...decisions, decisions! ;)

By the way, is everyone happy with the season finales that occurred this week!? I kind of was, and kind of wasn't. SPOILER ALERT! (don't read the next little part if you haven't caught up on the shows yet!)

I didn't watch this season of American Idol, but I heard it wasn't very good, so I don't feel like I missed much there. I also don't watch LOST, but from what my friends tell me, they kind of have mixed emotions about the finale.

For Biggest Loser, Michael was the winner for this season and lost the most out of any contestant on the show. He lost a total of 264 pounds! That was half his body weight. That's all good and stuff, but I was really hoping Ashley would win. I liked her the most because she was the only girl in the top three and I thought she was spunky! Daris was my second favorite. I knew he probably wouldn't be the final winner, but I was just happy he made it in the top three! I tried to post pictures of split screen before and after of them but I can't find any (only of Michael)! Grr!

On Dancing With The Stars, Nicole won. Wasn't too thrilled with that. I mean, yes. She was the best one, so I guess it only makes sense. But she's had years of dance experience in the past, so it was kind of a given she would win. I think the other contestants should've had a better chance. I was rooting for Erin Andrews :)

Boyfriend watches 24, and I'll usually watch with him if I feel like it. We watched the finale last night and the ending was kind of like "that's it???" I did shed a few tears (because I'm emotional like that!), but I thought they could've come up with a better finale than that. It was the very last episode too. No more "JB, JB" as Kevin would say. That stands for Jack Bauer (the main character) for those of you who didn't watch 24 ;)

I still have the season finale of House and Fringe to watch tonight, so I'll comment on those later. Some shows we're looking forward to this summer are Sons of Anarchy, Entourage, Lie to Me, Jersey Shore and Rescue Me. I'm looking forward to So You Think You Can Dance, The Closer and Say Yes To The Dress!

Last night I was kind of in a mood and had no energy to do anything. At about 10:15, right before bed, I thought I might as well get up and attempt to clean the kitchen, since Kevin did make dinner. He was sweet and also made me a tuna sandwich for lunch today. I sure do *heart* him!

My project for this weekend is to get my tan on, and to repaint our "new" patio set! It's not really new. Kevin's mom is giving it to us. I'm going to pick up the table tomorrow and then I can start painting it. It's a grayish-green color right now. I can't decide if I want to go black - so it'll look like rod-iron, or if I want to do a brownish color that looks hammered. So I think I'll have to go to the hardware store and take a look around. We don't have cushions for this set so I've been trying to price some. There are six chairs and the cushions are so darn expensive! I wish they sold them as a set instead of individually. These are two that I found that I like so far...



I can't decide which one I like better. I like the green because it's more spring/summer colors. However, red and brown are my faves, so I don't know. Which one do you like?

As I've mentioned in this post, I've been kind of blue lately. I'm not sure what the deal is. It's been going on for about the past three months now and I just can't snap myself out of it. I'm not sure if it's my new birth control. I've been on it for about two months now. I'm really sensitive to medication, and the pills I was on before were great! But they caused blood clots, so that was no bueno and my doctor put me on these. I'm not sure if they're good for my mind and emotions, though. Back in college I was on a different pill and it was awful and I never want to go back there again! They literally made me feel psycho!! So I'm just trying to be really aware of my emotions and stuff after being on this new pill. I just don't feel like myself. I just wish I could be the happy person I was a few years ago, but I just can't stop worrying, or being anxious, or self-conscious, or stop stressing and it's inhibiting my life! If my moods don't get better soon I'm going to look into talking to someone about it. Depression runs in my family and it's not a happy place to be. So we shall see. It sure is an awful feeling though. What's ironic is that I majored in psychology so all these things I'm experiencing I am WELL aware of. Weird!!

Enough of the depressing stuff! I hope you all have a great three-day weekend!!! I am so, so, so looking forward to sleeping in on Monday :)

Puppy Tips

Recently, a few friends of mine have gotten puppies and they are as cute as can be (the puppies - although my friends are pretty cute too ;))! It got me thinking about when Kahlua was a puppy and how adorable she was and all the work it was to train her! It really wasn't all that bad. After about six months I would say she pretty much had a hang of her schedule and rules. I thought I'd make a post about some of the things I did when I was puppy training her that has made our lives so much easier now in case it might be of some help to those that have new puppies

1. Crate Training
When I got my dog, I decided I wanted to crate train for two reasons: 1) I would be travelling on the road a lot visiting my family and other friends, and I wanted an easy way to take her with me and a place for her to feel safe and stay in when we were in a different house. 2) I needed somewhere to contain her in the mornings when I was getting ready, during the day while I was at work, and at night when I wanted to sleep.

When crate training, you want to make sure you get a crate that isn't too big. It should have enough room for them to stand up in and turn around, but if it's any bigger, they will have the opportunity to go potty in them. Dogs don't like to be anywhere near their potty, but if the crate is too big, they will potty in it and still have enough room to stay away from it. If it's just the right size, there will not be enough room for them to potty in it and not be near it; therefore they won't do it. They don't want to have a messy home, and who does!?

When you initially start crate training your puppy, he/she will SCREAM and sound like they're being tortured to death. They're not (obviously). They are just afraid that you are going to disappear forever. When you first put them in there you'll want to be right next to them, but don't take them out of the crate until they stop crying. Next time you crate them, you'll sit farther away from them so they can still see you. Again, don't take them out until they stop crying. Next time you crate them, walk out of the room. They will scream and scream, but don't walk back into the room until they're done crying. Eventually they'll learn that you do indeed come back eventually and you're not abandoning them. Each time you crate them, you'll do it in longer intervals.

Another tip is that it's nice to have a certain word or phrase for the crate. We say "get in your crate" and we say it with an excited tone so it sounds like a good, fun thing.

Consistency in crate training is one of the biggest things to keep in mind. Having a schedule is key. Each night at the same time I'd put her in her crate. She would usually wake up halfway through the night so she could go outside and potty, and get a drink of water, but as soon as she was done she was right back in her crate. In the morning as soon as I'd let her out, I would take her directly outside to potty, then I'd let her run around a bit, then I would put her right back in her crate while I showered. Once I got out, I had a little bed set up for her in the bathroom and that was her spot while I finished getting ready. If she would get out, I'd put her right back in her little bed. I had to do it like a million times, but eventually she got the hang of it that that was where she was supposed to be. I'd let her out again before work, then she was in her crate until lunchtime. I lived about 15 minutes from my work at the time, so it was a struggle to get home during lunch, but I made it work, and once I got home I'd let her out to potty and she'd get a chance to play and eat. I'd let her out to potty one last time and then I'd put her back in the crate once I left and once I got off of work I'd let her out to potty and eat and play. I'd repeat this day after day and I'm so thankful I did because it's made our lives so much easier.

2. Potty
You'll notice that while crate training the main thing was to immediately let her outside to potty and always let her out again right before you crated her. There was no playing with her when I let her out of her crate. That way she could develop a pattern and know that she was supposed to go directly outside when she was let out of the crate. Every time she was outside I'd say the same thing ("go potties" or "go pee-pees"), over and over again, in an excited tone. Once she would "go," I'd give her a lot of praises and pet her and be even more excited (if that was possible), and I'd keep saying those same words over and over again so she'd know that was what "go potties" and "go pee-pees" meant. Now, if I say those words, she'll literally go potty on demand (outside of course)! It's great!

3. Food
I have a very tiny dog. When we got her she was just a little over a pound, so all the dog food seemed huge when she'd try to eat it! I had a scare with her the first week I had her because she choked on her giant piece of dog food and I had to rush her to the ER Vet. Luckily, she was okay, but after that it was still a challenge for her to eat. A friend of mine recommended using a coffee grinder to break up the food so it'd be smaller. It worked, but the food would end up more like a powder and Kahlua wasn't a fan of that. Thankfully, the dog food brand that she was eating at the time had a version called Small Bites and they were just the right size for her little mouth! I'd definitely suggest looking for Small Bites if you have a tiny dog, or a little puppy. It makes a world of difference.

3. Socializing
When Kahlua was a pup, we made sure to socialize her with a lot of people (once she had her shots of course). I didn't want my dog to be like those Chihuahuas that get all crazy if someone comes around and starts yapping and biting. NO THANK YOU! So I'm glad we were able to train her to be nice to humans. However, I wish we would've had her around more dogs. The only dogs she's comfortable around are my parents two dogs, and Kevin's mom's dog (RIP Lulu!). Otherwise, Kahlua is not friendly to other dogs - which I hate. I'd love for us to be able to take her to dog parks and have her run around, but she does not like that. She snaps at other dogs and she just spends the entire time trying to crawl up my legs and whining. Embarrassing! I wish she'd play nice. So that's one thing I'd definitely suggest - to socialize your pup with people and dogs.

4. Disciplining
I didn't do any hitting with Kahlua when she would do something bad (which was usually only when she pottied in the house). It was a struggle with her potty training because she was so small that her little bladder couldn't hold anything for very long, and she was so low to the ground it was hard to tell when she was popping-a-squat and getting to her before she pottied. I did the typical thing of sitting her close to her mess, telling her no, then I'd take her immediately outside and tell her all of my key potty words so she'd know that's where she was supposed to do it and where she gets the praises of potty - outside. ALSO, never discipline your dog by putting them in their crate. You want the crate to be their safe-haven - not something that they relate to being bad and not wanting to be in it. So if they get in trouble do something other than crating them, because they'll just associate the crate as punishment which is what you DON'T want.

Today...
Kahlua now sleeps in the bed with us. Ha! She'll sleep right up until we leave for work. We get her up (yes, we literally have to drag her out of bed - the dog loves to sleep like her parents!) and we immediately let her outside to potty (we don't have to say the magic words anymore, she knows that's what she's supposed to do) then she comes in and jumps on the couch and gets underneath her blanket on top of her heating pad (yes, she's SPOILED!). We leave for work and Kevin will usually come home for lunch and let her outside for a good 30 minutes, then let her back inside until we get home from work that night. HOWEVER, lately she's been going potty in the house during the day. I HATE that because it's gross and I don't want my house being nasty! So, we've gone back to her crate. She goes in there in the morning, she's out when Kevin gets home for lunch, and she's back in there until we get home that night. It's working out great! ALSO, she's been getting up two or three times a night for the past week, so I'm not sure what the deal is there, but tonight we'll be crating her while we're asleep. We've had to do this a couple times in the past when she would get up constantly, and it works to get her back on a schedule and to know that it's sleepy time. Don't get me wrong, I expect our future baby to get up a ton during the night - but she's not a baby and we'd like to enjoy our sleep while we still can.


We also have a little bed in our office that she knows to lay in when we're in there. That way she's not whining to be picked up or something. We call it her "baby bed" and again we say that phrase really excited so she thinks it's a good thing to be in.

A lot of these tips I read in crate training books throughout the years. My parents and other family friends of ours also crate trained their dogs and it's worked out great for them. Crate training may not work for all dogs or owners; especially larger dogs. But this is just what has worked for us. It's very easy to tell her to get in her crate, buckle her into the car, and tote her along with us wherever we go. Once we get to our destination she can stay in her crate if she wants and she has a safe place to sleep at night. Some people may think crate training is cruel or whatever, but I really don't think it is. Dogs like to feel safe, they like having their own spot in your world and they like consistency and routine. My thinking is, there's always different methods to parent a child, just like there's different methods to train a dog. TO EACH HIS OWN!

Maybe you'll find some of these tips helpful with your new fur-baby! :)

I would just like to say...

That I am SO GLAD this coming weekend is a three-day weekend! I'm already doing the *happy dance* (and it's only Monday) which consists of me flailing my arms and legs, and doing a little booty shake - where no one can see me of course! Often times in my closet at home this morning as I was looking for something to wear, and I even caught myself, unannounced, doing my *happy dance* in the file room at work. Ha!

I don't have much planned for the weekend. Kevin's going to be in San Luis Obispo (SLO) attending the Beerfest. I have to head up to his mom's house Saturday/Sunday to pick up the last of her patio furniture that she's so graciously giving to us :) I will be refinishing the furniture Sunday/Monday. So I'm really looking forward to having some nice, quiet alone time this coming weekend. However, Kevin is gone pretty much all week this week on business, so ask me in about five days if I still want some nice, quiet alone time. LOL!

Trials and Tribulations of a BART Rider

I was going to do a post about this at some point, but I saw an article online today for the Tri Valley Herald, and the author hit the nail on the head with this one! She pretty much sums up my pet-peeves when it comes to taking the train each day, to and from work. Ha! Enjoy!

A BART rider's list of least-favorite commuters

Bay Area News Group
Posted: 05/23/2010 12:00:00 AM PDT
Updated: 05/24/2010 09:19:07 AM PDT


The Queen of the Road recently asked her readers who ride BART to share their pet peeves. A regular BART rider responded with a list of least-favorite train commute companions who will be familiar to many other BART patrons.

Music demon

He's listening to this music, and it's so loud you don't need to share his headset — you can hear it at the other end of the carriage. He won't have any hearing left in 12 months if he keeps up this noise level. Despite the misconception that this is not limited to young people and rap music, this blasting of tunes is also regularly displayed by 30-somethings with country tracks and the familiar middle-aged AC/DC fan in his business suit — easy to spot with the foot beating to Angus Young's guitar.

Headbanger

Not to be confused with the Music Demon, these are the BART riders who wear their handbags, satchels or computer bags over their shoulders and walk down the center aisle banging heads and shoulders as they go, oblivious to the damage they cause. This species is often experienced in the center aisle on domestic flights as well. Be careful because they are also known to attack your cheek, your ears and the occasional eye. Advice: Put your bag on the floor between your feet. I would like to get off the train in a half-hour without damage to my facial features.

Rules don't apply to me

That means these riders can eat their bananas (sorry it brushed against your white coat), drink their coffee (don't worry, those spills on your trousers will come out at the dry cleaners), munch their fries (it's 5.30 p.m., we're all starving and can smell the takeout you're chomping on back there). Oops, they didn't mean to spill their soda there. Oh well, that's not too much damage to your suede pumps.

Rules also don't apply to me

This rider is most frequently seen at the MacArthur station during morning rush hour with bicycle firmly in hand, boarding the back car of the train about 8 a.m., along with 15 passengers running from the Richmond-Fremont train headed toward the city. Seats are already full, the aisle is backed up, and there is barely room to scratch your nose. But bike rider brings a full-sized bike and a friend. No, I didn't need that toe. I have others. Come on in, the more the merrier.

Geek

Familiar in most walks of life, these riders are easy to spot on BART because of their tap-tap-tap mating calls, pounding the dear life out of that laptop for a half-hour. Not an ideal seat companion when you're trying to nap or read on the commute.

Bathroom Bessie

She proceeds to primp and preen herself on the ride in and applies creams, powders and jells, plucking her eyebrows, spraying perfume and, on occasion, painting nails. Please note, those of us afflicted by asthma really don't appreciate the smell of nail polish or cologne in confined spaces.

'Nappers'

Usually observed during morning commutes, these riders take the seats just inside the doors. They normally wear dark glasses or read newspapers so that they can't make eye contact with any one boarding who may need the seats. These riders seem to have the built-in ability to ignore the elderly or frail riders, parents with young children and pregnant women. You will see them happen to doze off just before the train pulls into each station and hold that pose until the doors close again. Something in that tunnel is working miracles because the person occupying those seats designated for riders in need has undergone a transformation — by the time we're pulling into Embarcadero they've mustered all their energy, are jostling at the exit door and pushing their way up the escalator and out of the station.
These people bother me so much! Often times there is an elderly person or a pregnant woman who obviously needs the seat and the 'nappers' completely ignore them! It really angers me how inconsiderate these people are.

Loudmouths

They come in all shapes, sizes and ages — many times attached to cell phones but often terrorizing their seat mates with information about less-than-interesting topics. Beware of the loudmouth boarding the train with a friend. Exit immediately for a new carriage because twice the noise becomes intolerable when you enter the tunnel and they have to speak up over the din. Just the other night between Montgomery and Lafayette, I learned all that I never wanted to know about how to process those insurance claims that come into the office where I don't work. My colleague had been ear-bashed with every detail of a doctor at UCSF that they hated working for, names and all. Just a tip folks: When people are wearing noise-canceling headsets or ear plugs and they can still hear your whole conversation, chances are you're talking too loud.

My bag needs a seat

You know who you are, and I'm not talking about airport riders with luggage. I mean you with the laptop bag or the duffle bag or the tote bag. If you want to take everything you own on the train to work each day, that's fine, but I paid for my fare. I have the same 35-minute ride you have, so if it's not too much trouble, yes, I would like to sit there.

Here's a direct link to the article if you feel so inclined ;)

Courtney Goes to Italy!

Courtney (Kevin’s sister [and hopefully my future sister in-law!]) left for Italy today! She and Kevin’s mom (Debbie) came up yesterday and stayed over since we live within a decent distance from SFO. Courtney will be documenting her trip on her new blog she set up called Courtney Goes to Italy. I gave her a few blog tips last night since she’s a newbie ;) Feel free to follow her if you’d like!

Last night Kevin grilled some carne asada and chicken and we had very good tacos. He also made some excellent margaritas that we all enjoyed!

Courtney, Kahlua, Debbie and Kevin enjoying margaritas (Kahlua didn’t have any, don’t worry ;))

After dinner we headed over to Tutti Frutti for some frozen yogurt, then watched a movie and went to bed. This morning Kevin and I made a big breakfast for them (I *heart* breakfast!), cleaned up then Courtney and I headed to Target so she could get a few last minute things before her flight. Meanwhile, Kevin and his mom went to the Apple store because the iPhone Debbie got, no less than three weeks ago, pretty much died. Why does that happen!? They didn’t have any luck there (typical, right?) so she has to wait until this week to get it fixed.

Once we all met up back at our house, we packed Courtney up in the car, Debbie and Courtney said their goodbyes, and we were on our way!

Courtney with her GIANT backpack on. She could only take one suitcase, so she had to fit everything else in this as her carryon.

Debbie, Courtney and Kevo before Courtney left. We took pictures in front of our flag. Have to represent!

 Mother-daughter moment! Debbie was pretty emotional that her youngest was travelling so far by herself. It was very sweet :)

  Kevin and his sister.

Kevin, concentrating on the road ;)

Courtney in the car, excited and nervous for her long trip to Italy!

San Francisco International Airport!

Unloading the luggage. You’ll notice that I had the ‘important’ job of picture-taking ;) I leave the hard work to Kevin. Ha!

Finally a picture of me and Courtney!

Kevin giving Courtney brotherly advice before she heads in. Awww!

And she’s off!

Frug will be in Italy studying abroad for about five weeks. Then Debbie is going to Italy after Frug is done with her classes and the two of them are going to travel around for a couple weeks together. They’re going to have so much fun!

It was really nice having these two visit us this weekend and we’re glad we were able to see Frug off!

PS: Courtney’s nickname is Frug. When she was little (I think around two?) she was outside on the lawn and (as the story goes, and as I remember it) she tried to put a tiny frog in her mouth before her dad stopped her. So since then they’ve always called her Frug. You know…Frug – Frog. LOL. So I call her that too :)

A Few of My Favorite Things…

Are the following:

#1. Fresh-cut flowers. I love putting flowers out around the house when we have company. These flowers are my absolute favorite. I think they’re called Alstroemeria’s. That’s the only name I can find on the package. Anyways, you can get these flowers at the grocery store, and they’re pretty cheap and come in all different colors (pink, purple, orange, yellow, white, dark pink, etc.). The thing I love best about them is they literally last up to two weeks, as long as you change the water every few days and make sure to trim the ends of the stems as well. They don’t really have a scent to them, but that’s okay with me.

They’re also nice because I can take some from the bunch and place them in different areas around the house.

Like in this little vase in the guest room. Isn’t this vase cute? It’s hand-painted and one of my favorites (I have a lot of vases – more than I know what to do with!).

I put a couple buds in each one of these little glass holders. I got these glass things at a thrift store for like .50 cents. I’ve held on to them for a while not knowing what to do with them, but they work just fine like this!

#2. Pandora! I think this is the best invention since sliced bread! What’s even better is that our TV has this program that connects to it, so we can play it while we’re making dinner, or I’ll usually play it while I’m cleaning. I’m loving this big time!

Of course I have Lady Gaga playing. She is another one of my favorites!

#3. And I can’t forget about this little cutie! She wasn’t being very photogenic this afternoon, so I had to resort to some pictures of her when she was a puppy. She is literally our child! We *heart* her!

This was her at 10 weeks lounging in the pocket of my mom’s bathrobe!

Her namesake! (Her eyes kind of look like they’re going in separate directions here, huh? I promise they’re normal in real life! lol)

Her ‘play-pen’

Giving her daddy kisses! Wasn’t she a tiny little thing?! Makes me want another one!

It's a girl thing...

So it's that time of the month for me (sorry for the TMI) and you know how it goes; you start thinking crazy, and talking crazy, and you feel fat and hormonal and get hot flashes and freak out over the littlest things that wouldn't have bothered you last week (at least that's what it's like for me). In addition, I always have a distorted image about myself during this time (and sometimes all the time - hey, I'll admit it). Actually, I have this image about a week before I 'start' and pretty much the entire time it's 'that time of the month.'

So whenever I'm complaining to Kevin about how "fat" I feel and how uncomfortable I am in my clothes because I feel so bloated and everything feels a size too small for about a week, I don't really think he comprehends what I'm saying, or what's going on in my head. So I sent him this email today:

So, you know when I say I look fat? Or I'm uncomfortable with what I'm wearing? This is what, in my mind, I think I look like. Minus the brown skin and horrible swimsuit. Just so you know what's going through my head when I say things like that.




Now, don't get me wrong. If Snooki is comfortable in her own skin and being in public in that swimsuit - MORE POWER TO HER! I wish I could be that brave; but I'm not, and I WOULD NOT be comfortable looking like that in public. That's just me. But it's just what I feel like I look like sometimes. Hey, it's a girl thing and I'm just being honest here!

Anyways, I'm going to turn comments off for this post because I'm not looking for a pity-party and wanting people to tell me I'm not fat, yada, yada, yada. And I don't want anyone getting offended if they happen to sport this swimsuit in public looking like Snooki ;)

Happy Friday everyone, and have a great weekend!

Alarms and Sickness

This week I've been trying to fight off a nasty cold. I have no clue who I got it from because Kevin hasn't been sick, and my co-workers haven't been sick. I'm pretty sure it's from just being run-down and I've slacked off on taking my daily vitamins, so I think everything just caught up to me. Thankfully, I'm feeling much better today! My throat hurts a little, but not nearly as bad as the past few days. Plus, I have so much more energy! I think I'll finally be able to get back to the gym tomorrow morning after five days off (eek!).

I have a list of things I have to get started on tonight because Kevin's mom and sister are visiting this weekend. Kevin's mom hasn't seen our house since she helped move us in and so much has changed so I want to make sure everything is perfect (I'm pretty Type A if you haven't caught on to that fact already ;)). So tonight I have to clean all the bathrooms. We have three bathrooms and I despise cleaning bathrooms more than anything on this Earth - well maybe not more than I despise spiders and bees. I also have to finish laundry and I hate doing laundry. So I might as well get both of these things out of the way tonight. However, I'm very thankful we have a lot of room to have three bathrooms in our house, and I'm also SO thankful we have a washer and dryer and no longer have to walk down flights of stairs to get to the community washer and dryers like we did when we lived in an apartment - TORTURE!

Tomorrow after work I have to dust, sweep, go to the store and get some flowers and buy some of those good smelly things you stick in the outlets (I'm completely drawing a blank on what those are called just now!). Saturday I'm getting up early and vacuuming and pulling weeds and putting fresh sheets on the guest bed. Then I should be all set for company :) Kevin's sister is flying out to Europe on Sunday to study abroad for six weeks. I'm so happy for her. I never did that when I was in college and I regret it. So I'm going to be living vicariously through her :) I think she's going to start a blog to document her adventures, so I'll be sure to link to her if/when she does!

Yesterday was a tough day at work. My manager is out of the office, we're down a second manager and another associate is out as well. So I'm taking on two jobs, plus mine this week. I don't mind too much because I'd rather be busy than bored (and I must not be too terribly busy if I'm able to write up this post during a little break) but yesterday was one of those days where everything that could go wrong, did. At my job we manage a bunch of different properties that include single-family homes and commercial properties. One of our single-family home alarms was going off and no one from the office that is near it could get there to disarm it. So I had to drive at 3 o'clock yesterday afternoon, through San Francisco traffic to get to the house. I thought I'd get there and it'd be one of those incredibly loud alarms that go off and everyone in the neighborhood could here it. Luckily, it was a tiny alarm and you couldn't even hear it from outside. I had to get on the phone with the alarm company and luckily it was able to be turned off. Then I headed back to work at 4:30. Let me just tell you that if you are able to avoid travelling in and out of San Francisco between the hours of 2pm and 6pm during the week, that you should avoid it at all costs. I didn't get back to my office until 6:30 last night, then I had to jump on the train and commute another hour back home! But, I'm thankful to even have a job - so enough complaining about that!

Needless to say, I was exhausted when I got home last night, and I was still feeling pretty crummy with this cold. Thankfully, Kevin offered to pick up some dinner on his way home from the gym and it was delicious! I had teriyaki chicken and rice and Miso soup and it hit the spot!

While I was making my commute home from work last night I realized I really need a way to decompress during that time before I get home. Sometimes I'm so stressed by the time I walk in the door, and I just let it all out on Kevin for no good reason. Usually I read, and that will do the trick. However, I'm reading this book by Paula Rhinehart called "Strong Women, Soft Hearts" and it's an amazing book, but it really makes me face a lot of things about myself and my relationship with God, and that stressed me out even more because I feel like I fail in those areas. *sigh* Anyways, I either need to read a different book during my commute and my Paula Rhinehart book at a different time in the day (like at lunchtime), or I need to find something else to calm me down before I get home. Any ideas would be much appreciated :)

PS: The book I'm reading is an incredible book, don't get me wrong! I highly suggest it to any woman who feels like they aren't living their life to the fullest or are still seeking that one thing that they feel like they've been missing their whole life. It's a very powerful book. I found it through the Bloom Book Club (button's on the right).

Shortness!

I have this gift card to Forever 21 I want to use for a new dress to wear to this wedding we're going to in August. So I was window-online-shopping today on Forever 21's website and I can't believe how short all the dresses are! I mean COME ON! Look at this:






All of these dresses are at least five inches above the knee. I'm sorry, but my short, stumpy self and these legs cannot do dresses that short. My legs and I prefer dresses that are just above the knee, or at the knee. Maybe these super tall, thin models make the dresses look so short. I don't know. I guess I'll have to actually go in the store after all and try some on. Ugh!

However, I did find this little gem that I thought was adorable.



It still looks super short to me, but the neckline is my absolute FAVE! This is the neckline and halter design I'd like to have on my wedding dress. I have a bathing suit with this neckline/halter and it's so flattering. It doesn't make my "girls" look too big and it makes my waist look small. All pluses for me! Also, my favorite color is purple (as if you couldn't tell), so I'm really liking this dress. The only thing is that that umpire waist can sometimes be my enemy because I tend to carry all my weight in my middle area and look like I'm preggers (when I'm NOT). I think I'll spend a few more weeks in the gym until I go try this one on, or else I may just make myself depressed if it doesn't fit. Lol!

If any of you ever find some cute dresses that aren't too short, and is a halter (I love all halter dresses) let me know!

Commuting and Crocheting

As you may already know, I take the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) to and from work. While at times it can be a little sketchy, what with the homeless people that post up in the trains and others that seem to have forgotten to take their mental medications, I'm still very grateful that I don't have to drive for over an hour each way to and from work, sit in that dreadful traffic, pay for parking or put the wear and tear on my car. So it's really not that bad, and the times I commute there are generally working professionals and students on the trains as well (save for the random homeless or mentally ill passengers).

Last Friday I was on my way home and I had to stand for a bit until a seat became available. As I was standing in the aisle, I noticed this guy was crocheting! I've seen women knit and crochet on the BART before, but I've never seen a guy crochet - period! Crocheting isn't easy. My mom crochets, and she's taught me how to crochet, but I have never seen a man do it. So I was kind of impressed and decided to take a picture and share him.

And, this guy sitting behind the crochet guy was really impressed too and was staring over his shoulder for a good 10 minutes. Ha!

I don't normally take pictures of strangers in public like this, but no one was looking so I snapped a few. Just something random on my commute I thought I'd share with you all! ;)

Clutter Diva Shout Out

I wanted to give a little shout out to a new blogger. I worked with Sally at the Rodeo for a few years in Salinas, but then she decided to up and leave us all, and moved to Texas to be with her family :) She has great ideas on organization (my favorite topic - besides cleaning!), so give her a follow if you feel so inclined.

Clutter Diva

Recipe

Best Chicken & Vegetable Stir Fry

I can’t remember where I got this recipe, otherwise I’d just link to it, but I made this last week and it was the BOMB! I usually don’t like stir fry (I know, I’m weird) and I normally don’t like anything I make (does that happen to anyone else??), but I was gobbling this up and Kevin even said I out-did myself on this one. Score!!!!

A couple notes: 1) It took a good 30 minutes to prep everything. 2) The sesame oil was pretty expensive ($12), but I figure we’ll be using it again and it will last for a long time. 3) Prep the sauce ahead of time – not while the veggies are cooking, otherwise, you’ll over-cook the veggies.

Ingredients

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil, divided

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into thin strips (I used two chicken breasts and that was a perfect amount)

1 c. red bell pepper strips

1 c. sliced, fresh mushrooms

16 fresh pea pods cut in half, crosswise

1/2 c. sliced water chestnuts (I don’t like these so they weren’t included in my meal)

1/4 c. sliced green onions

1 Tbsp. grated fresh ginger root

1 large clove garlic, crushed (I ended up just using the minced garlic that comes in the jar)

2/3 c. reduced-fat, reduced-sodium chicken broth

2 Tbsp. Equal Spoonful (I didn’t have Equal – and I forgot to get it at the store, so I just used about 1 1/2 Tbsp. of Splenda instead)

2 Tbsp. light soy sauce

4 tsp. cornstarch

2 tsp. dark sesame oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Hot cooked rice

Steps

1. Heat 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil in large skillet (I used a wok) over medium-high heat.

2. Stir-fry chicken until no longer pink. Remove chicken from skillet/wok.

3. Heat remaining 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil in skillet/wok and add red peppers, mushrooms, pea pods, water chestnuts, green onions, ginger and garlic. Stir-fry mixture 3 to 4 minutes until vegetables are crisp tender.

4. Meanwhile, combine chicken broth, Equal, soy sauce, cornstarch and sesame oil until smooth. Stir into skillet/wok mixture.

5. Cook over medium heat until thick and clear.

6. Stir in chicken; heat through and season with salt and pepper to taste.

7. Serve over hot cooked rice.

Trust me, you will not be disappointed. I think the sauce was my favorite part of this meal :)

This Weekend

Well, I’ve woken up at 8:30am for the second day in a row this weekend. Super frustrating because we don’t have kids, the dog isn’t waking us up to be let out, and it’s nice and quiet, but I can’t sleep past 8:30 anymore! I’m trying to take advantage of sleeping in, but it’s  not happening. Hence, I’m updating my blog at 9am on a Sunday morning. Ha!

Friday night I got home from work and went to the gym. Surprising because I rarely ever workout after work, but I wasn’t able to go that morning, so I made myself. Afterwards, Kevin and I went out to sushi and boy was it tasty. I took a few pics. I don’t know why, but I had my camera with me and just felt like taking some. Kevin definitely thought I was crazy ;)

I had this steak roll. Looking at it now, it doesn’t look that good, and I definitely need a new camera. But it’s super yummy and low in calories.

Kevin got this Ahi Tuna Salad and it was delicious! I’m definitely getting that next time. I think Ahi Tuna is about the only fish I’ll eat raw.

We went home afterwards and watched the Hurt Locker. GREAT movie!

On Saturday I was wide awake at 8:30 (like I said) so I got up, ate some cereal, watered the lawn, my flowers, took Kahlua for a walk, finally got Kevin up and we headed to the gym. I asked him to show me some new things on the weights because I was getting in a slump with my weight lifting and boy oh boy. We did nothing but argue! I think that will be the last time I ask him to do that. Bless his heart, he was trying to be so patient with me, but I just can’t shut up with my opinions and with what I think is right. We’re definitely better off working out by ourselves. LOL!

After the gym we came home and did yard work in the backyard. Kevin’s decided he wants to throw a big BBQ at the end of June, so I automatically go into “everything-has-to-be-perfect-mode” and now the backyard needs a lot of work before we have people over. It’ll get there though. Once we were done for the day we got cleaned up and went and saw Iron Man 2 at the IMAX theater near us. It was good, but the first one was definitely a lot better. We then went to On The Border and that place was SOOOO GOOD! I had the Southwest Chicken Tacos and they were tasty! I’ve never been to On The Border before, but I’ll definitely be going again. We came home after that and just watched some shows on the DVR and then went to bed.

Today I’m going to Orchard to get a few things for the backyard. I’ll take a pic of my completed project and post that a little later. Other than that, that’s about all that is planned for today. I’ll probably do some laundry (ugh!) and clean the bathrooms (double ugh!) and call it a day!

Side note: Kevin and  I really need to get our acts together and find a church to join around here. I think I keep coming up with excuses about why we haven’t done it yet, but it’s time to get our butt’s in gear and actually do it. It’s something I’m missing in my life SO much and it’s time to be proactive about it. The only thing that is a challenge is that Kevin is Catholic and I’m Lutheran, so we want to find a church that is more middle ground, that we can both enjoy. Either way, I think as long as we belong to a fellowship and can worship with others, that is the main point.

Hope you all are having great weekends!

Favorite Books!

I absolutely love to read! I would have to say that it is pretty much my favorite hobby (other than cleaning – yes I love to clean!). After I read a book, I’ll usually note the month and year I finished it, so when a year or two passes, I can go back and remember just how long ago it was that I read it, and if enough time has passed and I don’t entirely remember the story, I’ll read it again, and it’s always as good as the first time!

Growing up, my favorite book was Anne of Green Gables. I absolutely fell in love with the characters! I think I was destined to grow up in that time period ;) I think once I get through my current book list, I’m going to read this book again. I miss the story and characters.

Now that I’m older I’ve expanded my taste of books somewhat. When trying to decide on my favorite book as of late, I really can’t choose just one. There are a lot of good books out there, but I think my favorites would have to be the following:

This was a very powerful book. I think I’ve read it twice already. Pretty much anything written by Wally Lamb are among my favorites.

A couple other favorites are those written by Frank McCourt

  I just recently finished reading this one for the second time.

I’m going to read this one again soon since it picks up right where Angela’s Ashes left off.

Another author I’m fond of is Khaled Hosseini. The two books of his that I’ve read, I felt like I cried the whole time reading them! Very moving stories and it really opened my eyes to things that are occurring outside of my little bubble.

And finally, a book (and/or author) I think most everyone has read, My Sister’s Keeper, by Jodi Picoult. I think I’ve read just about every book she’s written. They’re easy, quick reads and always dramatic. But my favorite of hers is My Sister’s Keeper, for sure!

I could go on and on with some more of my favorites, but you’re probably falling asleep at your screen by now ;) so I’ll save you the time and just say that all of these books are great reads! And I’d also read these books over and over and never get sick of them.