Red Red Hot Head

#634 update on 8GT

2012-01-30T20:24:00.000-07:00

Words with Friends is fun. It's like a little private Scrabble game you can play with your Facebook friends. I've got five or six games going and I enjoy it.

Last night, T and I were hanging out watching the SAG (Screen Actors Guild) awards and T asked me what was the big deal about Words with Friends. I told him it was fun and you had to do a little thinking and be a little creative with the word placement to maximize your score. I told him there was a free version available through the app store, and he should check it out, so he did.

And that's when the Words with Friends Monster was born.

I think he's already addicted. He texted me at work. "Play Words with Friends now!" He's playing with other friends. I hear him say things like, "Take that, son!" and "I beat Grammy last night!" (That was probably beginners luck, but it shows that you can win if you get good letters and some good word placement!)

A few weeks ago, I noticed something was missing from T's room. It was his xBox. I was concerned that it was broken or that he'd sold it without my knowledge. Nope, wrong on both counts. When I asked him about it, he said he'd packed it up and put it away. Why? Because it was "distracting" him. Distracting him from what? His schoolwork. He gets good grades, but I guess he wants to get really good grades.

What I can tell you is that he's been a lot more pleasant to be around since he put the video games away. He hasn't even got it out on weekends. He's been watching a lot of movies, and then we sometimes actually talk about the movies, too. He's playing around on his computer a lot, watching YouTube videos and I guess that's ok.

The other night, T and MT were wrestling and one of the lenses popped out of T's glasses. We can't find it. He's going to the eye doctor on Saturday and we'll get new glasses. He's really good about wearing them at home.

One more thing about T. He is working on/in the school play. He's in the ensemble chorus and he'll also be working on the set design. He said he wanted to be involved with something after school. I think it's great and I'm happy that he found something fun to do. The play will be performed at the end of March.

#633 I'm cold

2012-01-29T22:07:00.000-07:00

Now I'm back in SLC and I'm COLD! I have had a chill since the moment the plane touched down this afternoon. The temperatures I enjoyed on Friday and Saturday have been cut in half here. :(

But it's good to be home. :)

#632 at the beach/at the hospital

2012-01-29T00:05:00.000-07:00

It was another Chamber of Commerce day in So Cal. The sky was blue, the breeze was nice, the sun was warm. Since Dad had dialysis this morning, Mom and I decided to go to Huntington Beach for lunch. We wanted to go to Ruby's Diner on the pier. There was a little bit of a wait, but it was worth it. The food was good and it was nice to spend some time with my mom.

The beach was pretty full of people and there were lots of surfers. The waves didn't seem that big (but what do I know?) but it looked like everyone was having fun. I thought it was a little chilly for bikinis, but there were plenty of girls wearing them. I guess if you are visiting from a cold-weather place and this was your chance for some California sun, you'd put on your bikini. There was lots of really white flesh on display :)

Mom and I then went to the hospital to visit with Dad for awhile, then we came home and I went back to visit Dad alone. I liked being able to spend time with each of my parents.

#631 hanging out with the folks

2012-01-27T23:34:00.000-07:00

I'm back in Southern California today to visit my parents. I took the second flight out from Salt Lake (instead of the first flight at 6:30 AM which is torture) and it was much better for me. I got up early (5 AM) to go to yoga, took T to school and had time for a nice hot shower and some breakfast before I went to the airport.

On the flight, I sat next to a nice looking guy, but of course I fell asleep. I just hope I didn't snore or put my head on his shoulder. I was pretty tired!

Mom picked me up at the airport and we went straight to the hospital. Did I mention how beautiful the weather was here in So Cal today? Warm and sunny. It felt so good when I got off the plane! Anyway, as I was saying, we went straight to the hospital. Dad looks good - he looks more like his father every time I see him. We stayed for a little over an hour, then Mom and I went to Rubio's for lunch. After lunch, we came home and played with the dog for a little while, then I went back to the hospital to hang out with Dad for awhile. It's been a good day.

#630 it's not Friday

2012-01-26T22:55:00.000-07:00

Today is not Friday but it feels like Friday to me because I am not going to work tomorrow. I'm going to California to visit my parents. Dad is still in the hospital, but he's out of ICU. :)

Because I'm not working tomorrow and because I don't fly out at the crack of dawn, I'm up later than usual. It's nearly 11:00. I was watching a movie that my brother-in-law recommended called "Amalie". It's French with sub-titles. It was sweet. I only dozed off a couple of times, so that's pretty good for me.

But now I have to go to bed.

#629 my new little toy

2012-01-25T19:48:00.000-07:00

I'm writing a little earlier than I usually do. Decided to switch things up a bit. The Jazz are playing right now, but I decided to have a little fun on my computer first and watch the end of the game, and get to bed at a reasonable hour.

Yes, I did make it to Zumba this morning and I feel good. My thighs and shoulders are a little sore from RIPPED yesterday.

Tonight I am going to set up my cute little iPod Shuffle. I got it from my work. I won a random drawing - I think I wrote about it late last year. I was going to give the Shuffle to T, but then he got the iPod Touch, so I decided to keep the Shuffle for myself. It's going to be what I take to the gym, so I'll only have work-out music on it.

So I'm getting on iTunes now. Have a good night!

#628 thoughts about the gym

2012-01-24T21:49:00.000-07:00

I'm SO glad I went to the gym tonight! Here's the thing: my favorite instructor, Marylynn, has quit working at the fitness center I go to. It's really far from where she lives so it wasn't convenient for her anymore. I don't blame her. I'm sure she doesn't get paid big bucks to teach classes at our gym, and she still teaches at a couple of places near where she lives, which, needless to say, is far from where I live.

Anyway...

I've had a hard time committing to going to the time-slots when Marylynn used to teach my favorite class, RIPPED. The instructors who took over the time slots are good instructors and nice people, but I really liked RIPPED. The classes that are taught in the RIPPED time slots are sort of RIPPED knock-offs. It's fun and fine, but not the same energy.

One of the ladies that I see in many of my classes told me that the Tuesday night RIPPED-like class is pretty fun and I do like the instructor, Cher, so I decided to go tonight. Before class, a few of us were standing around and we spotted Marylynn over by the cycling room. She was wearing her RIPPED workout clothes and we got really excited that she was teaching our class. But then Cher came in snd Marylynn put on her cycling gear. Sad. But then, Marylynn came over to say hi and she and Cher decided to switch classes, so Cher did cycling and Marylynn came and we did real RIPPED! Happy!

RIPPED stands for Resistance (arms, shoulders and back); Interval (cardio section); Power (lower body and chest); Plyometrics (cardio section with jumping) and Endurance (kick-boxing). The D stands for Diet. We also do a section of abdominals and then a cool-down. It's a great work-out because each section is only about as long as you can stand doing those moves, then you get to work on something else. It's a good work-out for someone with Attention Deficit Disorder because it moves along and changes really fast.

I've been going to the Fitness Center for several years now and I've come to know some of the people and the instructors. I go to classes early in the morning, usually, and you mostly see the same people in those classes. I even know some of their names. What's funny is to see the morning people in the evening classes. We look different in the evening! Most of us have been to work, so our hair is still fixed and we have on a little makeup. That is certainly not true at 5:30 in the morning!

Here's something else that's funny about the gym - seeing people you know at the gym in real life, like at the store or at their job. They are dressed in regular clothes and they are not all sweaty and sometimes I don't recognize them right away. I'll give you an example. On Saturday, MT and I had to take our car into the shop to have something repaired. I was waiting for MT in the truck, but he was taking awhile (and I was having trouble beating a level of Angry Birds) so I decided to go in. The man MT was talking to looked familiar, but I couldn't place him right away. When I walked in, the man looked at me and smiled and kept talking to MT. When he was finished with MT, he turned to me and said, "Hi! I bet you didn't know I worked here, did you?"

I said, "Nope," still trying to place him. Suddenly, I pictured him in shorts, a sweatband and a t-shirt and I knew it was the guy from my cycling class, Dennis! He cleans up real nice. When I saw him at the gym on Monday morning, looking how I'm used to him looking, he asked me how the car was running, so then I knew for sure it was him! (LOL)

That's all for tonight. I'm wondering if my poor swollen knee joints will be able to handle Zumba in the morning. I'll let you know.

#627 meatball soup and 7-Up biscuits

2012-01-23T21:49:00.000-07:00

I like bread. I like bread in pretty much any form: hard rolls, soft rolls, baguette, french bread, sourdough, Italian, focaccia, regular old sliced bread, croissants, sandwich rolls, biscuits...you name it, if it's bread, I'll probably eat it.

So, I was browsing my favorite site - Pinterest, of course - and I see a picture of some bread. I clicked on it and the caption under the scrumptious-looking picture, says "7-Up Biscuits." My interest was piqued. I tapped on the picture which took me to a blog that had more pictures of the biscuits along with the recipe. I was hooked. I had to try them. They are very easy to make, and I thought they were delicious.

2 cups Bisquik
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup 7-Up

Mix the Bisquik and the sour cream together. Add the 7-Up. Mix it all together. Dough will be soft and sticky. Put some more Bisquik out on the counter and pat the dough out to a nice thickness. Using a small glass, cut out your biscuits. Spray an 8x8 or 9x9 pan with cooking spray (the original recipe called for 1/4 cup melted butter, but the spray works, too.) Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes or until golden brown.

I got 16 biscuits out of this recipe. They are small, and I am ok with that. MT isn't much of a bread eater, so he was ambivalent. T likes biscuits, but only if they are Pillsbury Grands. He accepts no substitutes. I guess that means more for me! I put the recipe in my WW Recipe Builder and it told me that the biscuits only came to 2 Points Plus each. BONUS! I wonder how the biscuits would taste with fat free sour cream and sugar-free 7-Up? Why bother? 2 Points Plus is a good number.

You don't have to go to Pinterest to find the recipe. I typed "7Up Biscuits" in the Google browser and got lots of results. They are all pretty much the same.

Along with the biscuits, I made the soup I should have made last night instead of having McDonalds. The soup recipe came from Rachael Ray's first cookbook, "30 Minute Meals" and is called "Mini-Meatball Soup".

Basically, you make some little meatballs with ground beef, minced onion, a little Parmesan cheese, a bit of garlic, an egg and some bread crumbs. I baked my meatballs, but you can cook them on the stove-top too. For the soup, cut up one carrot, one stalk of celery and a bit of onion. Cook them in a soup pot along with about 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Season the veggies with a bit of salt, pepper and a pinch of nutmeg. When the veggies have cooked for about 5 minutes and are soft and tender, pour in a 30 or 32 oz box of chicken broth. Bring the broth to a boil. Add about 1/2 cup of ditalini pasta. I suspect any short cut pasta will do, like shells or elbows. Cook until the pasta is tender, then add the cooked meatballs. The soup is hearty and delicious. And with those biscuits, man, I was happy!

The meal came together pretty quickly too. It takes me a little longer than 30 minutes (most of Rachel's recipes do; I'm not a fast chopper of meats or veggies). This was a nice, quick dinner on a cold snowy night!

#626 end of a great weekend

2012-01-22T21:48:00.000-07:00

As stressful and emotional as last weekend was (the weekend of my dad's surgery), this weekend has been fun and relaxing. Today was great because I had nearly everything done that I wanted to get done this weekend. The only thing I needed to do was go to the grocery store and finish up the laundry. (Check and check!) I even got to my yoga class and took Osi out to stretch her legs in the field.

I was going to make some soup tonight, but I ran out of ambition, so MT made a McDonald's run. Big mistake. I now have a horrible stomach-ache. I'm going to have to take some Pepto before I go to bed.

Part of my stomach-ache could also have been caused by the treats I baked. I invited T to choose between three treats from my Pinterest Food Wonderful Food board, and he chose s'mores cookie bars. They were easy to make and easy to eat. They are also very rich. Why am I such a glutton? UGH!!

One last thing...I'm sad that the 49ers lost to the Giants tonight. :( It will be the Giants and the Patriots in the Superbowl. I guess I'll root for the Patriots, but I really don't care that much. Of course I'll watch the game. I think it's against the law not to watch.

#625 Zac Brown Band!

2012-01-21T23:27:00.000-07:00

MT and I expanded our musical horizons tonight by going to see the Zac Brown Band in concert. As I've mentioned, ZBB is a country band, but they exhibit Jimmy-Buffett-esque qualities which have endeared them to me. The first song I remember hearing of theirs, "Knee Deep" actually does feature Jimmy Buffett and I'm only a little embarrassed to admit that the song made me teary. (I think I've said this before.)

When I found out ZBB was coming to town, I wanted to go. I didn't know if MT would agree to it or not, but he did, and I'm going to tell you that he's very glad he went. We had a blast! The music was exceptional.

I took videos of four songs using my beloved iPhone. I wanted to post a video for your enjoyment, but I don't know how to do it. Sorry. Maybe sometime I'll figure it out, but tonight is not the night. I'm tired and happy. ZBB played for a solid two hours with very little chit-chat. They just rocked it!

Overall, today was a really great day!

#624 my TV appearance?

2012-01-20T21:07:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned yesterday, I took the day from work today, so after I dropped T off at school, I went to the gym, arriving around 7:15. When I got there, the FOX 13 van, a local news channel, was there. Inside the gym, I saw the on-air personality, Big Budah, was sitting on a bench. He was surrounded by sombreros and stuff, so I figured that one of the dance companies was going to do something during a live shot on the news. I didn't think much more about it and I went to the cycling class.

I set up my bike and started pedaling to warm up. That was when the instructor let us know that the TV people would be coming in to do a live shot around 8:05 - 35 minutes into our class so we would be nice and sweaty for the camera. Also, the people closest to the door would almost certainly be seen on TV. There were three people between me and the door. There was nowhere to move, so I just shrugged and kept pedaling. All the people I know are at work at 8:05, so it wasn't a big deal to me.

Promptly at 8:04 the TV people came in. I couldn't hear much of what Big Budah as saying, but I did hear, "There are a couple of guys in here, but the rest are hot women!" I'm not sure if he meant hot like wolf-whistle hot, or hot like sweaty. Because I was hot in the sweaty way. Really sweaty. And that's when the camera turned in my general direction. I think the the camera-man may have focused on the lady who was next to me. She's quite pretty.

The TV people were only there for a few minutes and we just kept riding. I know it was on the air though, because one of the men in the class told us afterward that he got a text from a friend saying he'd seen him on TV.

I looked on the Fox 13 website, and they have a couple of clips of Big Budah at the fitness center, but not the cycling clip. I don't know whether to be happy or sad. Part of me is glad that I can't watch the clip, obsessively watching my red sweaty face, my jiggling thighs and my bouncing upper body. Part of me is sad that I was maybe on TV and can't see it. Is that strange?

Anyway, that's my story about my time on the small screen.

I enjoyed today. After the gym, I took a quick shower then went over to the Spa Club to have my eyebrows waxed and a manicure. My nails look so pretty! Millie, the lady who worked on me, is really great.

After that, I went over to Ross and guess what! I found a black tote bag that is EXACTLY what I wanted. Well, it's not buttery leather, but the style and size is perfect.

This afternoon T and I went to see the play "The Game's Afoot." It was excellent. The first scene in the second act made us laugh out loud many times. It was hilarious. We both really enjoyed the production. Their next play is "Zorro: The Musical." I'm pretty sure we'll go.

And to top off the day, I called my mom and she told me that Dad has been moved out of ICU! YAY!!

#623 let the Weekend of Entertainment begin!

2012-01-19T20:13:00.000-07:00

I feel happy tonight because I have the day off from work tomorrow. I planned to take the day off a couple of weeks ago - before my dad went to the hospital. I'm looking forward to sleeping in a little, going to the gym for a nice workout, then going to the spa to have my brows 'scaped and a manicure. After that, I begin my Weekend of Entertainment.

Late Friday afternoon, T and I are going to see a play at Hale Center Theater. We'll be seeing "The Game's Afoot". We enjoy the productions at Hale Center. I'm sure this Sherlock Holmes mystery will be fun.

On Saturday, MT and I are going to see the Zac Brown Band. They sing my most favorite song, "Knee Deep." They are a country band. I don't usually care much for country music, so I hope we don't feel "twanged" out. I've been listening to ZBB's two CDs for a couple of weeks and I like most of their songs. I'll buy MT a beer or two and hopefully he'll like it too. It's usually lots of fun to listen to live music and watch the crowd.

To finish off the weekend - FOOTBALL. I'm especially interested in the late game between the San Francisco 49ers and the NY Giants. Go Niners! My dad always liked the Niners when I was growing up, and now I like them too. The quarterback, Alex Smith, played here at the University of Utah, so I think he's neat.

And now, because I won't be getting up at 5 AM, I'm going to watch the Jazz play the Dallas Mavericks on TV. I may fall asleep before the end of the game, but I'm going to watch for awhile!

#622 getting a visual

2012-01-18T20:41:00.000-07:00

I had a doctor appointment today. After the examination business, we started chatting and I told her about my dad's surgery. I explained what had happened, and she drew me a picture so I could have a better visual of what's going on inside my dad. She was really kind and I appreciated the time she took to listen to my story and to help me understand a little better what is going on medically.

When I left her office, I realized we'd been so busy talking that I hadn't asked her to renew the prescription she fills! I'll call her tomorrow; I'm sure that she will call my pharmacy and approve another year's worth of the pills.

I'm going to bed early tonight. Really! I am! I always say that then I start playing on the computer then it's 11, but tonight I played first and then wrote, so I plan to be off my computer in 20 minutes and in bed by 9 and lights out by 9:30.

By the way, I did get up and go to Zumba this morning. Of course it was fun and yes, my knees were sore today.

It's raining here tonight. Will it be white in the morning? I hope not!

Good night!

#621 what I did tonight and what I might do in the morning

2012-01-17T21:34:00.000-07:00

I came home from work, made dinner - and not a healthy one, at that - and plopped myself in my chair and watched some TV. First was Glee, then New Girl, then Raising Hope. I turned off the local news because I hate to watch the news. During commercials I washed the dishes and threw in a load of laundry.

I also talked to my mom. Dad is still in ICU and we don't know when he will be moving to another floor or going home. I'm thinking about going back to California the weekend of the 27th. The people at work are very supportive and encourage me to go as much as I can. "You'll never regret spending the time," they tell me. I will make the decision tomorrow or the next day.

Now it's 9:30 and I am ready for bed. I'm going to go to Zumba in the morning as long as it's not snowing. I hate to go out in the cold, wet dark morning at 5:15. I miss Zumba and I want to do it even if it means I hobble around worse than I usually do on those Zumba days. We'll see.

That's all I've got for tonight and I know it's not much. I told you I'm boring during the week.

#620 sticker shock

2012-01-16T22:18:00.000-07:00

Today I returned the coat that MT gave me for Christmas. I felt bad about doing it because it is (was) a beautiful garment. It was black wool and went to my ankles. That was my problem with it - it went to my ankles. I'm not very tall and I felt a bit overwhelmed by the length of the coat.

I took it back to the store, Dillards, and they gave me a gift card with the amount of the coat. MT was very generous with the gift, so I had plenty to work with. I do want a wool coat, so I looked at everything they had and I found just the coat I wanted. It's still made by the same company as the long coat, and it's still black and still wool, but it comes to just below my knee. Perfect!

The bonus part - I still have around $70 left on the gift card. I decided to buy myself a new bag with the balance. I had just the bag in mind: a black leather tote bag that would hold my planning calendar and my Nook.

Here's what I learned: $73 won't get you much of a bag in Dillards. It certainly won't get you a black leather tote bag. I saw one I really liked, but the price was $325. I don't think there will ever be a time when I will think it's ok to spend $325 on a purse. But the leather was sooooo soft - it was like butter! Another one I liked was a little better at $235. Again, not gonna happen.

I finally saw a bag on the clearance rack that I liked. It was red and it was roomy. The price was right at $48 (marked down from $135) but it wasn't exactly what I wanted and it was more of a suede than a buttery leather. I carried it around for awhile, but I ended up putting it back. I know what I want and I don't want to settle for something else. I'm sure I'll find what I want somewhere else, maybe at Ross or TJ Maxx or Marshalls. I'll look around.

In the meantime, I have $70 to spend at Dillards sometime. I think it will be fun to look around the store. Maybe some perfume. Maybe a pretty sweater Or maybe even some shoes!

#619 home again

2012-01-15T21:22:00.000-07:00

I'm home again after what my mom called my "crap-cation" - like a vacation, but crappy circumstances.

This morning when Lizzie and I were at the hospital, the doctors removed the breathing tube, so we did have the chance to communicate with Dad a little before I had to leave. Under the circumstances, he's doing well. His vital signs are good and he says he isn't in any pain. The ICU doctors and his nurse, Gayle, have been really great and I think he is getting good care.

It goes without saying that my mind and a large part of my heart are still in California with my mom, dad and sister. If you could send a kind thought toward a hospital in Southern California, I would appreciate it.

#618 the day after the surgery

2012-01-14T22:01:00.000-07:00

In some ways today was worse (for me) than yesterday because today we know that what is broken in my dad can't be fixed, at least for now. That knowledge means that now we have a new reality and it's not what we'd hoped for.

Dad is still in ICU. We spent some time there today, but we couldn't really talk to him because he's still on a breathing tube and we were under instructions not to get him too excited. He needs to rest and recover. So we stayed in the room for awhile, reading or thinking. He woke up a couple of times. Once he wanted to know what time it was. The other time he wanted to know how the surgery went. Wouldn't it be strange to not to know how your surgery went? To lose track of time?

Tomorrow I'll head back home and my dad will still be in the hospital. The last time I saw him here at home was in mid-August. :( I'll be back in mid-February. I am hopeful that he will be home at that time.

My mom and my sister are holding it together. When we leave the hospital, the three of us are quiet and contemplative. We don't talk too much. We are all sad and feeling a little helpless. I'm glad that we are together.

Here's hoping that tomorrow is a better day.

#617 more news

2012-01-13T23:15:00.000-07:00

My dad had surgery today and I'm sad to say it didn't go as well as we hoped it would. He's in stable condition in ICU tonight. I'm glad to be here in California and thankful that I spent the day with Dad, Mom and Lizzie.

If you think about it, please keep my dad in your thoughts tonight. He needs all the positive vibes we can send.

#616 the news

2012-01-12T21:35:00.000-07:00

I just found out my dad is having a major surgery tomorrow. Pretty bummed out about it.

#615 like a cat

2012-01-11T22:19:00.000-07:00

I realized something important today. My son is like a cat. He hangs around me when he wants to be fed or when he wants something. Otherwise, he goes off by himself and is pretty much doing his own thing. Also like a cat, he's pretty cute and I want to pet him (that is, talk to him, give him a hug etc.), but I never know if he's going to bite my face off.

And I love him anyway.

#614 a simple glass of milk

2012-01-10T21:43:00.000-07:00

The scene: The three of us sitting at the table eating dinner. T gets up, goes to the refrigerator, opens the door.

ME: Ooh! Will you please pour me a glass of milk too, T?

T pulls out the water pitcher.

T: I'm not pouring milk.

He gets out a glass, pours himself a glass of water and returns to the table.

ME: Oh.

A quite minute passes. MT gets up from the table, goes to the refrigerator, opens the door. A moment later, MT puts a glass down and pours me a glass of milk.

MT: I'll pour your mom a glass of milk, because that's the kind of guy I am.

My hero! <3

#613 too much food, not enough sleep

2012-01-09T21:05:00.000-07:00

Ugh...I feel yucky and here's why: I ate too much.

I've been good for nine days. I try to eat pretty light in the evening because I don't like to go to bed with a heavy tummy. Tonight I was really craving a tostada from Cafe Rio, so that's what I had.

The chicken tostada from Cafe Rio is much smaller than their regular salad, and mine is very simple: corn tostada shell, rice, chicken, lettuce, salsa fresca, lime juice and dressing. I don't even pour the dressing over the lettuce. I dip my fork in the dressing then get some lettuce. I don't even eat the whole thing. There's always shell and rice and dressing left.

All that is true tonight, too, but I feel so full and uncomfortable. And I'm tired, too. I've been staying up way too late the past few days. Not enough sleep is not good. Last night I was up late because I was downloading some new music. Then I had to burn it onto a disc to back it up. Then I had to put the new music on my various iPods. I got to bed after 11, then I read for a few minutes, then it was 11:30. AND I woke up at 5 to get to the gym. Do you see why I am so tired? Tomorrow I'm going to sleep in a little in the morning and go to the gym after work. That will be ok.

Buenas noches...

#612 soup on Sunday and COOKIES!

2012-01-08T21:52:00.000-07:00

I tried a new recipe today. In fact, I tried two new recipes today.

The first one was chili that my friend Janet made on Thanksgiving Eve. She calls it Cheesy Chicken White Chili and it was so good I asked her for the recipe. It's really easy to make and very tasty. I haven't asked her, but I'm sure she won't mind if I share the recipe.

3-4 chicken breast halves
2 cans Great Northern beans
1 can Healthy Request cream of chicken soup
16 oz salsa
8 oz shredded mozzarella cheese

Layer the first four ingredients in the crock pot. Cook on high for 6 to 8 hours or on low for 8 to 10 hours. Add cheese during the last hour of cooking. Before serving, shred the chicken and the cheese. Top with goldfish crackers or corn chips, like Fritos, if desired.

I used frozen chicken breasts. It works very well. I used four chicken breast halves, and my chili was basically deliciously seasoned shredded chicken. Next time I make this - and there will be a next time - I'll probably only use two chicken breast halves. Oh, another thing...this makes a HUGE batch of chili. I have enough for at least one more meal this week and I froze the rest. There's easily two meals in the batch I froze. I'm thinking of having some for lunch one day this week. I'll cook up some brown rice and put the chicken on top. Filling, healthy and delicious!

As much as I was looking forward to making the chili, I was even more eager to make these cookies. These were the first things I pinned on Pinterest. I sorta made a deal with myself that I would allow myself to have a really delicious treat once a week, so these were my treat this week. Man, were they good. These may be the best chocolate chips cookies I've ever made. When they came out of the oven, they were soft and sweet and delicious. When they cooled, they were soft and a little chewy and even more delicious. AHHH. I love cookies. And look how circular and pretty they are! I was proud of my baking skills today.

That's all I've got for you today friends. Have a great week!

#611 date night!

2012-01-07T23:24:00.000-07:00

Tonight MT and I didn't feel like sitting around the house, so we decided to have a date night. We went out for dinner to Rubios. I like their carnitas street tacos. MT had the fish tacos. We were both happy with our meal.

After dinner we went to see "Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol". I really liked it. I thought for sure I might drift off to sleep. I went to bed at nearly 1 AM and got up at 6:15 to go to the gym. I've been kind of hyper-energetic most of the day because I'm pretty much running on fumes. I thought I'd get in the dark theater and just nap. The movie was fun and it kept me engaged.

Where was T? He didn't want to hang out with us, so he stayed home playing video games.

We got a little snow overnight and we had about an inch and a half here at the house. It cleared up in the afternoon, but it was cold all day, so we still have snow on the ground.

That's all I got. I'm beat! Good night!

#610 about photos, redecorating, and movies vs. books

2012-01-06T22:14:00.000-07:00

Here's what I learned this week: the Picture of the Day project is sort of challenging. Sunday and Monday, I knew what my picture would be. On Sunday I knew I would take Osi for a walk and I'd take a picture out there. On Monday, MT and I went to the Jazz game, and I knew that would be my picture. The other days, Tuesday through today? We haven't done anything or gone anywhere, except to work, and my pics are kind of boring. Well, at least I took the pictures. This weekend I'm going to take my flash drive over to Wal-Greens and have this week's pics printed to put in my book. The up-side is that I'm now thinking about things to take pictures of and that means doing stuff, too, so I'll have subject matter!

Still reading the book about Tuscany. Today's chapter focused mostly on her home, Bramasole, and what she's learned about herself by living there in that house. The way she talks about the house is almost like the house is a living, breathing friend. I don't feel that way about my house. I like my house just fine, but I don't really have much of an eye for decorating and making it homey. The house is pretty much just somewhere I land at the end of a long day. I like my furniture.

Another one of my goals or resolutions this year is to spend some time pretty-fying the rooms in my house. I have a few ideas floating around here and there. The problem is that all of my ideas cost money and I'm sort of cheap plus the afore-mentioned problem of not having much style. I'm going to work on it though. I'll probably take pictures of the events.

MT has big plans to update the kitchen this year. I told him that it sounded great, but first he has to finish a couple of other projects he has started and not quite completed. He agreed.

My ideas aren't quite as drastic as MT's. I'm thinking new drapes in the front room, new artwork that's artfully arranged. In the bathroom, a new shower curtain and rugs. Maybe paint. Little things that will make a difference to me.

Well, it's late (for me, especially since I wake up at 5 AM) but I think I'll try to watch a movie. I'm not really ready to go to bed yet and I've had a video from Blockbuster laying around for a week and I do want to see it. The movie is "One Day" with Anne Hathaway. I thought I'd see the movie, then read the book. Usually I like the book better and I read a book before I see the movie. Maybe I'll like the movie if I see it first. Usually the book is always better, right?

So this turned out to be a long random post. Welcome to your weekend, everyone! Have a good one!

#609 dreaming of Tuscany

2012-01-05T21:43:00.000-07:00

My work is a bit stressful these days. We have a brand spanking new software system that launched on January 3, and although it's functioning, there are still some bugs to be worked out. In addition, we are in the process of closing the books on 2011, and we are doing all that work in the old software system. We are in a unique situation where we are working out of two accounting systems - last year in one system, this year in another system. The duplicity will be over when close is done, but until then, there's just a lot going on.

I brought lunch with me from home today (soup, cheese and crackers and sweet little Clementines) and I also brought my Nook reader. I finished a good book yesterday, and I downloaded a new book last night from the library. The new book is "Every Day in Tuscany" by Frances Mayes. She wrote the book "Under a Tuscan Sun" that was made into a movie several years ago. "Every Day in Tuscany" is actually her third book on her life in Italy.

She is a wonderful writer. She just jumps right in to her story and carries you right along. The way she describes everything - the flowers, the food and wine, the house, the roads, the colors of the sky, the piazzas - it just took me right there with her. I spent such an enjoyable hour reading and eating, it was a little hard to get back to my desk.

Since lunchtime, I have found my mind wandering a little and it always seems to go right to Tuscany. T is all hot to go to Italy; he has said he would like us to take a month off to spend time there. I can't really take a month, but I'm sure we'll get to Europe, including Italy, sometime in the next few years.

Until then, here's a pretty picture of a town called San Gimignano that I found on Google. When I think of Tuscany, I think it looks like this:

#608 that's a lot of babies

2012-01-04T22:07:00.000-07:00

Every now and again, I have lunch at a Subway restaurant near my work. Actually, it's right next to my bank, so when I make the deposit for the rentals, I usually get a sandwich. There's also a high school near the place, so usually there are quite a few teenagers having lunch there as well.

I had a deposit to make today (YAY! Everyone paid!) so I decided to get a sandwich. While I was getting my beverage, I overheard this conversation between three older people, two men and a woman. These three had to be in their 70s, based on their comments. I didn't hear the whole conversation, only this snippet.

Man 1: I can't believe all these kids in here.

Man 2: We certainly didn't go out for lunch when I younger.

Woman: We barely went out when we just married. (Laughs)

Man 1: I was making $5 a day and supporting seven kids. We couldn't go out!

My thoughts: well, you weren't going out, but you were certainly busy, mister. Busy making babies!

I love Utah.

#607 an ordinary day

2012-01-03T22:14:00.000-07:00

Today was pretty ordinary. I went to work. Our new company-wide software went live today, so that was fun. I think everything mostly went ok. Now we are trying to close out 2011 on the old software and handling new business on the new software. Should be an interesting week.

After work I had to go to the grocery store, then I came home just in time to see MT and T leave to collect the rent. While they were gone, I put away the groceries, threw in a load of laundry and divided up the meat I'd bought at Costco into manageable three-people packages. Then I made a quick dinner. We just had shrimp and some pasta. Nothing too fancy, but it was quick, easy and tasty. Throughout dinner and the ensuing clean-up, we watched the Jazz game on TV. Yes, we even watch them on TV!

Tonight I helped T set up his new iPod Touch. He is happily downloading music right now, even though he should be going to bed. I can't blame him for being excited. It's a pretty cool little piece of electronics!

Speaking of electronics, here's T with his phone. I'm not sure what technology he'll play with more because he can text on the iPod.

#606 at the Jazz game

2012-01-02T22:35:00.000-07:00

One of the fun things about my work is that we have a suite at the arena. Sometimes, like tonight, we are lucky enough to get a couple of tickets to the game and sit in the suite. Usually there is food and drink; the seats are good and there's a bathroom so you don't have to stand in line during halftime!

The guacamole that is served in the suite is just amazing. I watched Brenda, our suite attendant, make it tonight. First of all, the avocados are soaked in lime juice and sit, pit side down, until they are ready to be mashed. When the time is right, Brenda lovingly cuts up and smashed the lime-soaked avocados, then she adds a bit of kosher salt, some garlic paste and some chili paste. She mixes these ingredients in well. When the mixing is done, she adds chopped tomatoes, finely chopped red onion and chopped fresh cilantro. She combines all the ingredients together until she has created the perfect guacamole. YUM!

You need to wrap your lips around some of this!

There was other food, too, but the guacamole gets all eaten up every time.

MT and I had a great time celebrating the Jazz win over the New Orleans Hornets 94- 90. Go Jazz!

#605 the first day

2012-01-01T22:45:00.000-07:00

Welcome 2012! I'm so glad to see you! I have lots of things that I'd like to accomplish in 2012 and I'm hopeful that it will be a fantastic year.

One of the things I want to do is a "Photo a Day" project. I saw in on Pinterest and I thought I would really like to have a go at it. I bought the photo album at Urban Outfitters (I wrote about that experience last week), and I'm all ready to go! Today I took eight pictures, all with my beloved iPhone, and here's the one I chose for today's photo:

I began my year by taking my dog for a walk. It was a beautiful day, bright and clear. Yes, it was cold, but I was bundled up and Osi had so much fun. It felt good to get outside and stretch our legs. She's a happy dog when she can go out and run around a little and smell new smells.

The rest of the day I basically spent on my couch. I watched the 49ers beat the Rams, then I got involved in the marathon of the show "Once Upon a Time." I'd seen the pilot a few months ago and liked it, but didn't remember when it was on, so I didn't watch it again. Now I'm back up to speed and I will watch next Sunday night when a new episode comes on. I like the story and the characters. Ginnifer Goodwin is in it and I think she's great.

On Saturday I was out and about a lot with T, so it was nice to stay home and veg out today.

#604 wrap this year up!

2011-12-31T21:39:00.000-07:00

Guess what? It's time for the Year in Review!

The single biggest thing that stood out in 2011 was my dad's health. Dad had a tough year, beginning in February and continuing through October pretty much. I'm happy to say that he's doing better. I hope that he will be stabilized and get back his strength in 2012. Love you Daddy.

I would like to give props to my mom. She retired this year after an amazing career as a kindergarten teacher and instead to kicking back and relaxing, she found herself as a caregiver to my dad when he really needed the help. My mom has been really great with my dad and I wanted to make sure she knows that. Love you Mama!

The other big thing about 2011 that wasn't great for me was my own health. I had problems with my knees all year, and I even met with a surgeon to discuss knee joint replacement. I decided to put off the surgery for now, but it's coming, and it's scary to think about it. Also, I've gained some weight this year and I feel really down about it. I got complacent about my success and thought I could, I don't know, "cheat" I guess. I can't. I'm not back to square one by any means, but I have some work to do in 2012. I WILL NOT GO BACK TO WHERE I WAS.

Of course, there were good things about 2011.

The best thing about 2011 for me was our trip to the Dominican Republic. We spent a couple of weeks there in June and for me, it was wonderful. I liked every day of the trip. T got a bored and missed his friends. MT kept busy with his SCUBA lessons but said that if he hadn't done the SCUBA thing, he would have been bored. Maybe I'm just simple. Relaxing by a pool or on the beach for 10 days was perfectly fine with me.

There were other good things in 2011:
** I visited California a few more times than I usually do. I went in February, April (Mia was there and we went whale watching!), August and October. I was also in California in November, but that was a work thing and I didn't get to see my family then.
** We got to see U2 in concert in May. It was epic. I love them.
** I attended a wedding in August. The only son of my BFF LA married his high school sweetheart.
** I've alternately enjoyed and cringed as T is growing up. He can be so, so cool when he's cool and so, so crappy when he's crappy. I'm hopeful he'll be more cool than crappy in 2012. (You hear me, boy?) :P
** MT and I were both employed the whole year.
** I entered the electronic age with a NookColor and my beloved iPhone.
** MT turned 50 this year. I turned 45. T turned 13. MT and I celebrated 18 years of marriage.
** I read 51 books. !!

I think that's all I've got to say about that.

I have a little personal tradition on New Year's Eve. I go into a quiet room - usually my bedroom, I turn on some music - tonight it was Josh Groban - and I look through my journal and review the year. When I'm done, I literally turn the page and start the new year.

I don't like to dwell on the past. What's done is done, good or bad, and all we can do is move on. I hope that all of you have a happy new year. Go forth and do good!

#603 I'm just not cool enough for some stores

2011-12-28T18:30:00.000-07:00

I went to the Apple store at the mall today. I've never been in there before, and I was a little overwhelmed by the sheer energy in the place. It felt like the whole store was buzzing. There were lots and lots of people in there looking at iPads and iPods and Mac books and iPhones and cases and gadgets to make your Apple products hipper and cooler and better in all ways. I was there to find a screen protector for T's new iPod Touch that he got for Christmas.

While I was waiting for the sales clerk to bring my change (you don't have to stand in line to get checked out. The sales person scans your item on an iPhone, tells you how much you owe, then goes off to get change when you pay with cash.) What was I saying - oh yeah, I was waiting for my change and I had a vision of my stupid Blackberry ringing. I imagined the whole Apple store would come to a complete and silent stand-still while I sheepishly pulled out the Blackberry to take the call.

My Blackberry didn't ring, so of course, none of that happened except in my imagination. I really did have the urge to pull out my beloved iPhone and wave it around to show that I really did belong in the uber-hip and energetic Apple store, though.

That store freaked me out a little, as did Urban Outfitter. I've never been in there either, but I saw something on Pinterest.com (my new favorite website!) that I absolutely had to have right away. I'll explain more about the project inspired by Pinterest another time, but suffice it to say that I felt kind of old and out of place in Urban Outfitter. I was so rattled by the experiences that I had to go to Starbucks to get a Zen-inducing chai latte. Even the experience of ordering at Starbucks is a little strange - tall skinny chai no water. Do you know how many times I've practiced saying that?

Anyway, that's my shopping experience today. What I learned is that even though it all felt a little foreign, it was pretty fun. I think I'll wander around stores a little more often. You don't have to buy anything, and it's fun to look at all the stuff. Maybe next year I'll actually have THINGS to ask for at Christmas time. :) You don't know what's out there unless you go looking!

#602 a good life lived well

2011-12-27T22:51:00.000-07:00

We are back from Idaho. We had to extend our stay an extra day so we could attend the funeral of MT's uncle Paul. He passed away last Wednesday night. The funeral was held today - a little late because the family wanted to wait for one of the grandsons to get leave from the Army. He's stationed in Bahrain. He looked so handsome in his dress uniform.

Uncle Paul was in the Navy. He and Aunt Pat had five sons and one daughter. Pat and Paul would have celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary in August 2012. They are the kindest, most giving people I know. She loved her husband a lot. I know she's hurting and will miss him dearly. He was a great guy. He had the sweetest smile and a wonderful sense of humor. He suffered from rheumatoid arthritis and congestive heart disease, and he was basically house-bound for many of the last years of his life.

It was obvious that his family loved him very much. The funeral service was touching, starting with the family prayer that was said by one of his grandsons, Eric. Eric is a young man in his 20s with a beautiful baby girl of his own, but the way he said, "Please God, watch over my grampa and my dad," made him sound like a little kid. I totally lost it. (Eric's father passed away about four years ago.) In the main service, Paul's sons gave a life sketch and told a couple of stories that made everyone smile. They talked about how much their dad loved their mom and how he always put his family first. They talked about his illnesses and how he didn't complain when he was in pain or his situation in general. They talked about how glad their dad was whenever anyone came to see him; how he welcomed everyone into his home.

Uncle Paul was buried with full military honors. The Color Guard was there and presented the flag that draped the coffin to his widow. He received a 21 gun salute. It was beautiful and moving. At the end of the service, we released blue balloons. They floated away in the pale blue sky. I released mine not only as a good-bye to Uncle Paul, but also as a prayer for Aunt Pat.

After the graveside ceremony, we all went to the church for a luncheon. We didn't have ham and funeral potatoes, though (much to MT's dismay). We had soup and salad and I thought it was nice. We actually had ham and funeral potatoes for Christmas dinner, so soup was good to me.

As moving and loving as the funeral service and graveside ceremony was, I know that type of service is not for me - although a 21 gun salute would be pretty cool, I don't think I can have that! I don't like the open coffin viewing. I didn't care for the musical selections at the service, although the man who sang had a beautiful voice. I don't like the idea of being buried. I think I would like to be cremated and my ashes spread...well, I don't know where just yet. I'd prefer a celebration of my life and the music that should be played is "Where the Streets Have No Name" by U2 in it's entirety. I really love the music at the beginning and the end of the song. I hope that my family would have wonderful kind words to say about me. I hope that friends would be sad to see me go and that they would be glad they knew me and wouldn't be ashamed to say so.

I don't know if that's really what I intended to write about, but it's out there now and I'm ok with it all.

RIP Uncle Paul. You were a cool dude and you'll be missed.

#601 Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T20:10:00.000-07:00

Christmas greetings from Idaho! MT, T and I are in Pocatello, Idaho celebrating the holiday with MT's family. We started the day with the seven of us who are staying at my mother-in-law's house. We opened gifts and had a nice breakfast which included a nice glass of "Christmas Cheer". That's what we call Bailey's Irish Cream. I like it on the rocks with a little milk. YUM! There are only a few times that you should start the day with a little buzz, and I think Christmas is one of those days.

After breakfast, most of us sat around playing with our electronic devices. I didn't get anything new, but I have lots of fun playing with my beloved iPhone. I also had the chance to "face time" with my family in California. It's the video phone application on the iPhone. It was cool to see my mom, dad and sister on my phone. They got to see me, T, Osi and the snow on the ground here.

In the afternoon, the family starting arriving for the meal. I think there were 21 people here to eat. We had ham, turkey, cheesy potatoes, sweet potatoes, asparagus, Greek salad, fruit salad, rolls and butter, and I think a couple of other side dishes that I can't even remember. There are plenty of pies, cheesecake, cupcakes, brownies, cookies etc for dessert as well. I am so full, I hurt.

There were so many people and so much sensory overload, at one point I had to go downstairs to the cool of the basement to chill out. I watched some basketball (YAY! The NBA is back!) and took a short nap.

Now everyone has gone home. There are six of us in the house. T has gone to his cousin's to spend the night. I think we are going to watch a DVD that I got in my stocking - "The Help" - and call this a happy Christmas.

I hope that everyone who visits this site, whether on accident or on purpose, had a wonderful holiday. If you came here on purpose, thank you and I love you and I wish you very merry and much joy. If you came here on accident, welcome! I wish you much joy and happiness as well and I hope you come back again :)

#600 full o'Christmas spirit

2011-12-22T23:02:00.000-07:00

Holy cow! I've written 600 times on this blog?! WOW! Fun!

I'm feeling very festive and Christmas-y tonight. This evening T and I went to see Hale Center Theater's annual production of "A Christmas Carol." I think this is about the fifth time I've seen it and maybe the fourth for T. The venue is really neat - it's a theater-in-the-round and they do an excellent job with the play. The man who plays Scrooge is wonderful. He's been doing it for over 20 years. One thing that both T and I think is neat is that the cast stands at the exit as you leave the building and thanks you for coming and chats with you. It's really nice.

Since we went to an early show, there was still time to mess around a little and since I don't have to work tomorrow, I decided to stay up a little late and I watched the movie "White Christmas." I bought the DVD for myself this year because I like it so much. I was sitting in my chair, singing along and admiring Vera Ellen's teeny-tiny waste and long, thin legs. She was gorgeous!

Rosemary Clooney looked beautiful too. Those eyes! And who doesn't get a little teary at the end when they sing to the general? What a great show!

Now it's 11:00 and I need to get to sleep. I woke up early this morning, and I'd like to go to yoga tomorrow morning. I found out today that my favorite instructor at the fitness center won't be working there next year - her last day is Dec. 30. She lives in another part of the valley that pretty far from my area, and it's just become too much of a hassle for her to teach at my gym. SAD! She's a great instructor and I'll miss her. I took classes from her three times a week - more if she was a sub for someone else. She said I should come up to the other gym where she works, but it's close to her house and far from mine. Probably won't be doing that. Bummer.

#599 Secret Santa - The Reveal

2011-12-20T21:09:00.000-07:00

On Monday at work, the people who were participating in Secret Santa got together for lunch and to guess who our Secret Santa was. As I've written previously, I loved my Secret Santa. I got great stuff! The Michael Buble CD was my favorite, and I got iTunes gift cards and hot chocolate mix and toffee and room scent and a few other things that I enjoyed receiving. I had a pretty good idea who my Secret Santa was, and I couldn't wait to tell her how great she is!

So there we all were, sitting around the table and it was my turn to guess. "Kelsie!" I said with authority and joy. Kelsie looked at me, laughed, and said, "Nope!"

ARRRGG!

My next guess was wrong. And the next one and the next one and the next one. In fact, I was the last person to get their Secret Santa and I only got it because he was the only person left. It was Brian!

He was a tricky Secret Santa. One day he came in and I had the bag of toffee (from him, but I didn't know that!) sitting on my desk. He asked what it was and I told him and he asked if he could have a piece. I offered him the sack and he took some, saying that it was very chewy and tasty. Then we talked about the Michael Buble CD and he asked me to burn him a copy. I did and he sent me an email thanking me. At that time, I wrote back, "Wouldn't it be funny if you were my Secret Santa and you're just messing with me?" He wrote back that I would be fun to buy for, but not this time. LIAR!! :)

Also, one time he walked in a handed me a gift. Unprecedented! I thought he was Kelsie's elf! GRRR!!

Anyway, it was pretty funny and everyone got a good giggle out of the fact that I was so clueless this year. Brian did a great job and I truly appreciated everything he gave me. The final gift was fun, too. He gave me some dog cookies and a toy for Osi, a really great water glass (BPA free with a straw - I drink a lot of water!) and a Barnes and Noble gift card. YAY!

The person I gave gifts to enjoyed what I gave her too, and she actually was the first person in the whole group to guess correctly. Maybe my gifts are too much the same year to year. I had fun shopping for her because she is a cool lady.

I don't talk too much about my work, but I have to say that I enjoy the people I work with quite a lot. Sometimes, the people I get to hang out with eight hours a day are the only thing that keeps me going there. As all work places can be, it gets a little stressful around the office sometimes, so it's nice to be able to vent and know it's going to be ok.

That's all I got for tonight. T just informed me that I didn't have to write anything tonight. I actually never HAVE to write, but I enjoy it and I had something to say. I'll be back on Thursday. Maybe I'll even try to kick it up to three times a week.

#598 my shopping is done!

2011-12-18T17:57:00.001-07:00

Here I am hanging out with Buddy the Elf and Santa on Saturday!

This has been a great weekend!

It started on Friday night when MT and I went to dinner with several other couples from my work. We went to Ruth's Chris Steakhouse which is a very nice restaurant downtown. MT and I can only afford to go there if someone else pays (heehee), so we were very pleased with the invitation. We had a great meal: appetizers of crab-stuffed mushrooms and calamari, a rib eye steak (cooked to perfection and served on a 500 degree plate so the meat is sizzling and tantalizing when it's set in front of you), sides of sweet potato casserole, roasted garlic mashed potatoes, creamed spinach and asparagus, wine, and dessert. My dessert was an apple pie tart. I could only eat a small portion of it because I was so full. The meal was divine and the company was wonderful. We laughed and chatted and had a really nice time.

Before we left for dinner on Friday night, MT's mom and step-dad arrived at our house. They came down from Idaho to do a little Christmas shopping and to spend some time with us. On Saturday morning, MT and his parents headed out to do some shopping. I had a few things to do on Saturday morning - the usual exercise and WW meeting (no weigh in for me this week after eating that huge dinner late Friday night!). I also sent my Christmas package to my family. I felt really good about getting that package sent off so it will certainly be there before Christmas.

T and I then set off for some more Christmas shopping. I had to pick up some stuff for work, and also for MT and T themselves. It was a little tricky because T was with me, but we met up with MT and family at Target, so T went off with them and I was able to finish up all my shopping. (insert applause here!) I really, really think I'm totally done with what I want to get for people. I feel jolly!

Last night, the five of us went to see the new Sherlock Holmes movie. It was good, but I was really tired and I did fall asleep briefly a couple of times. Man, I'm getting old!

Today has been very quiet. I did go to the store with MT, and I went to yoga class, but other than that, I've been home in my sweats watching football and reading and doing a bit of laundry and other "Sunday stuff." I feel bad that I didn't get Osi out for a run in the park, but I didn't really have the energy, and now it's dark.

Now there's only six days until Christmas and I've got fun stuff planned every day this week! I hope that all of you have a wonderful week before Christmas, too :)

#597 my nutcrackers

2011-12-15T22:20:00.000-07:00

Back when T was about four years old, he wanted to buy me a Christmas present and asked me what I would like to have. I told him that I really like nutcrackers - you know, like the doll that Klara's uncle gives to her in the ballet "The Nutcracker".

That is when my nutcracker collection began. I'm up to nine and I hope to have ten come December 25 (hint hint T, if you're reading!) The first one he gave me is the third from the left. He doesn't have any feet. MT tells the story of going into the store to buy the gift and T feeling sad because there weren't many nutcrackers left but this one didn't have any feet. MT says the ladies in the shop completely fell in love with T that day. (He really was the most adorable boy at four! Those cheeks! Those beautiful brown eyes!) Anyway, I love that little nutcracker and always wrap him extra carefully when I put my Christmas goods away.

I really like the variety. There's a Don Quixote nutcracker, a Scottish golfer - complete with kilt, a pirate, the mouse king (from the ballet), a traditional nutcracker prince, and a Bavarian nutcracker that was holding a stein of beer in one hand and a pretzel in the other. The beer and the pretzel broke off, but their memory remains. The smallest one, the second from the right end, has no feet and the top part of his hat is now missing. He also is not standing firmly in perch, but I like him a lot. The tall one standing to the right of the mouse king is a traditional prince, but his outfit is shiny with bling. He's awesome.

Just wanted to share of a little of my Christmas tradition with you tonight. Some other time, I'll tell you about the painting of the turtle that's hanging above and to the left of the nutcrackers. It's a good story :)

#596 busy weekend

2011-12-11T21:42:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I went out Christmas shopping with T. I had a mission: to buy for everyone on my list other than T and MT. I almost succeeded, but I got tired and my knee started aching. T and I had both had probably more than enough together time, so I still have to finish, but I'm much farther along than I was before. :) I really don't mind shopping. I like trying to find something that I think the recipient will enjoy. But it is tiring to be out among all the other shoppers and my wallet is a bit lighter today, that's for sure!

Remember last week I talked about accomplishing the five things I gave myself to do? I didn't do quite so well with my list today, but I'm still pretty happy with what I did get done. I have to admit, I was pretty worthless today. After yesterday's shopping frenzy, I was certainly in no hurry to go out and about. But I did make it to yoga (and it felt great!) and I cleaned my fridge and did a bunch of laundry. I also cooked.

I've been wanting chicken enchiladas, but I didn't really want to mess around with rolling them up and actually making enchiladas, so I made an enchilada casserole. It was like Mexican lasagna. It was good too! Here's what I did:

Buy a roasted chicken from the deli and peel off the meat. Shred the meat with two forks.

Chop up half an onion and cook it in a little canola oil along with some chili powder, a pinch of cayenne pepper, some cumin and salt and pepper. When the onions were soft, add the chicken along with a little salsa to moisten it up. Let that cook for a few minutes over low heat.

Drain and rinse a can of black beans, then added a can of corn to the beans. When they were both drained, stir them together.

Take a large can of enchilada sauce. Coat the bottom of an 8x8 pan with some enchilada sauce.

Cut several corn tortillas in half and line the pan with the tortillas, straight side against the sides of the pan. Make sure you cover the entire pan.

Put down a layer of corn and beans.

Put down a layer of the chicken mixture.

Cover lightly with cheese. (I used a mixture of sharp cheddar and pepper jack.)

Repeat the sauce, tortilla, corn/bean, chicken and cheese layer.

Finish with a layer of tortillas, sauce and cheese.

Cover the pan with foil and bake for about 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

After 30 minutes, remove the foil and bake for another 15 minutes or so.

Allow the casserole to set up for about 5 minutes when you take it out of the oven.

Enjoy!

MT and I thought it was very tasty. It's filling. I made a mistake and had another half serving and now I just feel really full. But it tasted so good I couldn't help myself!

I also made some cookies tonight. I've really been in the baking mode lately. I saw the recipe on a bag of peanut butter chips. The cookies were chocolate peanut butter cookies. There was a lot, so I made up a bag for MT to take to work and a bag for me to take to work, and I left a few for us here at home, too. I certainly don't need four dozen cookies hanging out in my house.

Well, I better get to bed. I've got a big week coming up at work, and I want to get a good night's sleep. The alarm goes off pretty early - I've got a spinning class to get to at the gym at 5:30 AM, so good night everyone!

#595 Secret Santa gave me Michael Buble!

2011-12-08T22:07:00.000-07:00

At work, a group of us are playing Secret Santa with each other. We each drew a name and we are that person's Secret Santa. We play for a couple of weeks. We try to figure out who our Santa is, and we'll have a lunch on the 19th and try to guess our Santa. Usually, we give each other little gifts over the days, then maybe something a little bigger on the lunch day. There are 11 of us playing this time, so maybe it will be easy to guess who my Santa is. The thing is, there are a lot of "elves" this year - people who are not playing but who deliver our gifts. I have a couple of Santa suspects, but I don't know for sure yet.

I have received a cute ornament, a box of hot chocolates from Starbucks (I can't wait to try the salted caramel!), a diet Coke and some gum, and some toffee. The best thing I've received was the first thing Santa left me: the Michael Buble "Christmas" CD.

I have heard of Michael before, but I wouldn't call myself a fan or anything. But let me tell you that when I slipped the CD into the player in my car and heard his velvety croon, I was hooked. He does the song "Jingle Bells" with someone called the Puppini Sisters, and I love it! Check out a clip.

You know what it reminds me of? Back in the 40s and 50s people used to get all dressed up and go to supper clubs or lounges to hear acts sing - you know, like in the movie "White Christmas"? The Haynes Sisters had an act; Wallace & Davis were an act? Please tell me you know what I'm talking about! Anyway, when I heard Michael Buble sing the Christmas songs with his crooner voice, I was right in a supper club, wearing a beautiful dress and stockings with seams up the back and pumps and maybe even a hat with a little veil over one eye. And red lipstick. And satin gloves. MT was wearing a tuxedo and we sipped martinis and listened to Michael Buble.

Michael Buble had a Christmas special on TV on Tuesday, but I was at the gym and missed it. I actually just found out about it tonight when I was on my computer downloading the CD into my iTunes account so I could then download it to my various iPod devices.

Anyway, I love the CD and if my Secret Santa doesn't bring me anything else, I'm really happy with everything. Thank you Secret Santa!

#594 my day was a success

2011-12-04T21:27:00.000-07:00

This morning when I woke up I told myself that I needed to do five things today. Sometimes I tend to overload myself with things I feel like I have to do, so I try to limit it to five things on a weekend. It's an easy list:

Pay the bills
Do laundry
Do the grocery shopping
Download my holiday tunes to my iPods
Take Osi to Petsmart to get her feet trimmed

The first three are pretty standard Sunday things. The last two are specific to today.

I'm happy to say that I can consider today a success. I have accomplished all five things! YAY!

Last night my brother-in-law Kelly and his two boys, Jake and Garrett, spent the night at our house. Kelly's brother-in-law, Terry, is very sick and is in the hospital. Kelly's wife, Denise, stayed at or near the hospital with her sister and the boys came here for some sleep. Although the circumstances that brought them to SLC are sad, we were glad to see them. T really likes his cousins, and MT misses his family and any chance he gets to see them makes him happy.

This morning we all went to breakfast at a good little diner in our area. Even though I missed my favorite Sunday yoga class, I enjoyed having breakfast with the guys. They were all funny. As I looked around the table at all of them, I could absolutely see the family resemblance.

My back feels a little sore today. I went to yoga/pilates yesterday and I can feel all that stretching and strengthening working on my back. I didn't do much activity when I was in Watsonville last week.

Back to work tomorrow, but I'll be here! I have such a busy month at work. The next three weeks are going to be a bit crazy. And I've got all my shopping to do. I haven't bought one thing yet. I want to get on that, but shopping isn't my most favorite thing to do. I do love to give gifts to my family, though, so next Saturday, no matter what, I'm going shopping. Anyone want to come along? :)

#593 last night in W-ville

2011-12-01T22:05:00.000-07:00

It's Thursday, right? I think yesterday I said I'd write on Thursday and Sunday, so thought I might was well start today.

Tonight is my last night in Watsonville for awhile, I think. Today was a good day of training. We learned something that will be applicable right from the "Go Live" of the new software. Some of the other things we've learned will be good when we are able to put it to use, but it seems more important to be able to carry on with business as close to normal as usual at the beginning. What we did today will let us do that. I think all the participants felt the same way.

After class, I went to dinner with one of my classmates, Michelle. We ate at a Mexican restaurant across from the hotel. Man, it was goooooooood! I'm pretty glad I didn't know about it earlier. I had carnitas and they were so tender and delicious. Now I'm really full. Good thing we ate early.

I stayed up late last night to finish the book I was reading. It wasn't that great, but it was ok and I wanted to be done with it. I got up a little earlier than I would have liked this morning because my darling son texted me at 6:15 AM (5:15 AM in California) to let me know that I didn't need to call him because he was already up. So, because I'm tired and because I started a new book and because it's kind of cold here tonight, I think I'm going to crawl into bed and read and get to sleep early tonight.

Happy December everyone!

#592 30 days, 30 posts!

2011-11-30T22:57:00.000-07:00

Tonight I've been hanging out reading and playing games on my Nook. I downloaded backgammon, mahjong and Angry Birds Seasons. I've finally beaten The Device a couple of times in backgammon. I still suck at Angry Birds, but it passes the time. I was about ready to crawl into bed to finish the book I've been reading when I realized I hadn't posted on the blog yet today. I couldn't NOT post on the 30th day of National Blog Posting Month (NABLOPOMO). So here it is: 30 days, 30 posts!

My committment for December is to post at least twice a week. I'm usually really terrible at posting anything the month after posting every day. That's why I decided to set a goal of twice a week. Let's shoot for Sunday and Thursday, shall we?

I'm still in Watsonville, and I'm not gonna lie. I'm ready to come home. At first it was kinda fun to be away from home and the office. I have a comfy bed all to myself with lots of pillows. I have full control of the remote. I can go to bed as early as I want, or stay up late. I only have to get myself up and moving in the morning. All that novelty has pretty much worn off, though. I miss the boys and my own comfy bed. I miss my dog. I miss going to the gym. I miss my office and my friends at the office. I miss the mountains (although it is pretty here, too, but in a different way.) I want to cook my own food.

Well, only a day and half left here and I'll be home again. And the bonus part - I get to hang out with my BFF LA on Saturday! Maybe I'll even start Christmas shopping this weekend.

#591 this one is lame

2011-11-29T23:01:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! Not much going on here tonight. The training got over at 5:00 tonight, so I got to drive back to the hotel before the sun set. I imagine it was a gorgeous sunset over the Pacific. The colors were pretty.

This is a really lame post, and for that, I am sorry. I just don't have anything to say! I've been hanging out in the hotel watching TV and reading my book. Now it's time for sleeping. Good night!

#590 I did ok today

2011-11-28T20:56:00.000-07:00

I'm back in W-ville today. I decided to go ahead and pay the $25 for the checked bag fee so I wouldn't have to wrestle with my suitcase through security. SO WORTH IT! I was much happier. Another bonus thing this morning - I found my lost pink Skull Candy earbuds. I thought I'd lost them on a flight from Long Beach, but when I was digging through the pockets of one of my coats, I found the earbuds. YAY! I know it's a simple thing, but I was happy.

It was foggy in San Jose this morning and there was a possibility that we'd have to land in Monterey and wait for the fog to lift. Fortunately, that didn't happen and we were able to land in San Jose. It was a nice drive through the mountains to Watsonville. I got here in good time and decided to stop for lunch. Our class didn't start until 1:00 and I wasn't sure if there would be food or not.

Here's where I made a good choice: I decided to go to Subway rather than to McDonalds. I really wanted chicken mcnuggets. But then I thought, "If I was at work at home, I'd have Subway, not McDonalds. I should just go to Subway." And then I actually did! I was pretty proud of my good choice. I battled the desire for mcnuggets tonight, too. I went across the street to the grocery store and bought some cottage cheese and apples to put in my fridge here in my room. That's what I had for dinner. YAY ME!

I have a raging headache tonight. I didn't sleep well last night. Osi slept on me, so I couldn't move very well. My knees were aching and my back hurt (why?!?). MT was snoring loudly. I could hear T flipping around on his bed. His box spring is falling apart or something and it squeaks every time he rolls over. I heard him get up and go to the bathroom. I heard him talking and I thought he was on the phone or playing his game. I jumped out of bed and ran into his room, but he was just talking to himself. We both struggled with sleep last night.

Now it's only 8PM, but I'm going to take out my contacts and climb into bed. I may watch a little TV, but I don't think I'll be awake too much longer. So good-night friends!

#589 Osi is awesome

2011-11-27T21:46:00.000-07:00

I started out my day doing one of my most favorite things. I took Osi for a walk. Well, that's not really accurate; I took Osi over to the soccer field at the rec center and let her run around to her heart's content. I followed along and gave her dog treats when she circled back to me and followed my directions.

It was a beautiful morning. The sky was bright blue, the air was crisp but not bitter, there was a little frost on the grass. I wore a sweatshirt and a wind jacket on top of that along with a knit cap and some gloves. I was warm and happy. We had the whole field to ourselves (it was around 8:30 in the morning). It felt nice to get a little sunshine and fresh air and I think that Osi really enjoyed it, too. Doesn't it look like she's smiling in the picture?

She loves to get out and run around. Even when we just go for a walk around the block, she is excited. I need to get more into the habit of doing that. She is such a great dog; she deserves to have a little fun!

After play-time, I treated myself to a chai tea from Starbucks. I used the drive-up; for once, there were no cars in front of me, so I didn't have to wait, which is cool. The coffee guy LOVED my dog. He chatted with me for awhile about her: how adorable her bandana is, how her colors are so great, how her name is so cool, how awesome it is that she doesn't eat people food. (He offered to give me a bowl of whipped cream for her, which I politely declined.) Then he said, "Oh my gosh! Your drink is ready. Here you go." He sounded a little down that the drink was prepared so quickly. I even heard him say "Awww," as we drove away. That's Osi, spreading a little happiness at the Starbucks drive-up window.

#588 someone else's fridge and where I learned the chicken noise

2011-11-26T21:30:00.000-07:00

My brother-in-law, Kevin, is moving back to Arizona for work following his latest (and final!) tour of duty in Iraq and the leave he was granted after his return. While he was on leave, he lived in his cabin in a remote part of southeastern Idaho. Today he loaded up a trailer and he and his lady friend, Janet, started driving to Tucson. They stopped here for a bite of dinner and to pick up a couple of his things that we had. We were given the contents of his fridge.

It was interesting to see what he had in his refrigerator. There were a few things that will most likely not be in my fridge again, like Greek olives and a turnip. In fact, the turnip didn't even make it into my fridge. I have no idea what to do with it, so I just threw it away. There was also a random parsnip. Perhaps they were going to roast some root veggies and ran out of time.

There were several different bottles of salsa and hot sauce, a big block of cheddar cheese and a bit of Brie. There was mustard and mayonnaise and BBQ sauce and a home-canned jar of something brown. Maybe I'll open that tomorrow to find out what it is.

Anyway, I thought it was kind of funny to get the contents of the refrigerator. Of course there was no beer. They probably drank all of that rather than pack it up :)Not that I would blame them!

I went to see "The Muppets" movie today. I just went by myself, and I felt a little strange sitting in the big theater alone, surrounded by families. At first, I was thinking, "Oh my God, what am I doing here?" but then it got pretty funny and kind of sweet and I was hooked. There were lots of cameos of famous people, and the songs were cute. I especially like the Man/Muppet song; is he a manly Muppet or a Muppet of a man? And "Rainbow Connection?" Forget about it! I was teary. Just wonderful.

I also remembered/learned something very important. There is something I do to entertain my kid and my dog that I got straight from the Muppets, but I didn't even remember that it was from the Muppets. I make this chicken noise - BOK BOK BOK BOK BA-GOK! - that drives my dog nuts and makes T laugh. So I'm sitting there watching the movie and Gonzo shows up with his chicken who says, "Bok bok". Later, she is joined by her chicken friends and they do the whole "BOK BOK BOK BOK BA-GOK!" thing and I was laughing so hard that the little kid next to me must have surely thought I was mental.

Anyway, the Muppets are adorable as always and it was a fun way to spend a couple of hours.

#587 a little sad today

2011-11-25T22:14:00.000-07:00

Today is a sad day for me. I went to a Zumba class for the first time in quite a while and although I enjoyed it, when it was over, I basically couldn't walk. My knee joints were aching so much, I came to the realization that Zumba is just one of those things I don't want to do anymore. It makes me sad because Zumba was the first exercise class I took over at the gym because it looked so fun. I love the music and the energy, but I really like being able to walk relatively pain free. I don't hurt as much when I do cycling. Even RIPPED doesn't have the pain factor as much. I think it's just the constant pounding of the joints that dooms Zumba for me.

A moment of silence, please. :(

For most of the rest of the day, I sat in my big armchair. I watched the Utah game. Another sad thing. The Utes were playing Colorado, a team that hasn't won on the road since 2007, it's been like 24 games since they've won outside of Colorado. Plus they've only won one PAC-12 game this year. You see where this is headed, don't you? Yes, Colorado beat Utah by three points today. The Utah kicker missed three field goals today. This is the same guy who won the game in overtime last week IN THE SNOW with a field goal. Today was a nice day, weather-wise. I felt bad for the kid, actually. He looked sad. It was a sad loss.

After the game I downloaded Angry Birds Seasons on my Nook. It's way more fun to play on the bigger screen instead of on my beloved iPhone. The Nook was one of my favorite purchases this year, I have to say. I didn't know how much I'd enjoy it, but I do.

After I sucked at Angry Birds for awhile (I really am not good at that game, but it's addictive), I watched the end of the movie "The Holiday." I cry during the part where Arthur goes to the Writer's Guild thing with Kate Winslet. So sweet! I love that movie!

Then I watched "Forrest Gump." THAT is a great movie. And yes, I cry at various times in that movie, too.

Now I'm ready not to be sad anymore today. I think I'll go to bed. Tomorrow, I'll probably go see "The Muppets." And clean my house. And maybe make lasagna. Doesn't that sound good?

#586 Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T21:13:00.000-07:00

...and now we're back in SLC. It was a quick trip north to Idaho to hang with the family and feast today. Poor MT has to work tomorrow, so we decided to come home tonight rather than getting up at 3 AM and driving home.

There were 15 people at my mother-in-law's house for the Thanksgiving feast today. We had turkey, ham and a leg of lamb. Why lamb? Because Kevin wanted it, so he cooked it. There was also mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes (I made those!), cheesy grits, broccoli, corn, stuffing, cranberry sauce, rolls, and gravy. For dessert there were about five different kinds of pies. We all ate way too much. We'll do it again in a month at Christmas.

I should have taken some pictures. I forget that my beloved iPhone has a nifty little camera in it. I'll try to do better with picture taking, because I like to add photos here.

Even though it was a really quick trip, I enjoyed myself. I really like all of my in-laws and it's fun when we get together. My mother-in-law, Linda, has a nice house and it's very comfortable and relaxing there.

Now that Thanksgiving is almost over, I will be free to upload all my Christmas music on my iPod. When Thanksgiving is over, Christmas in ON. I plan to put up our Christmas tree and get out all my decorations this weekend. We didn't do any Christmas decorating last year because we went to California for the holiday and T said there was no point in decorating our house when we wouldn't even be here on Christmas day. We're going to Idaho this year, but I still want to decorate. It just feels more festive. :o)

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you. Even if you don't celebrate Thanksgiving, it's nice to take a minute to think about everything you are thankful for every now and then.

#585 pre-Thanksgiving haiku

2011-11-23T19:43:00.000-07:00

In Pocatello
Hangin' with the family
Excited for feast!

#584 this redhead didn't get along with her dentist

2011-11-22T22:10:00.000-07:00

I was checking out the headlines online at MSNBC.com today when I saw something that caught my eye in the Health section. It was called "Why Redheads and Dentists Don't Get Along."

The gist of it is something about redheads being immune to some type of painkiller that dentists use or something. The reason it got my attention is because I don't really like my dentist. I don't mind going to the dentist; in fact, I love to have my teeth cleaned. I just don't like my dentist.

I was supposed to have an appointment with him a couple of weeks ago, but the more I thought about it, the more I just didn't want to go to him. He's always talking about money - how much he used to make, how much he's making now, what he's doing to cut costs to make more money, etc. Who wants to hear that?

Plus, he bought the practice from the dentist that I used to go to that I really liked, and when I first met this new dentist, he spent a few minutes bad-mouthing my previous dentist. For example, he asked me if the other dentist, Dr. H, had put in my crown. I said no. He said, "Oh, that's a good thing. I've seen a lot of crowns he put in that went bad really fast and I had to replace them." I never had any problem with Dr. H or his hygienist, Mike. I thought Mike was terrific, but the new dentist said unflattering things about Mike, too. Not cool.

So I decided to make a change. I called the dentist's office.

ME: Hi. I'd like to cancel my Friday morning appointment.

RECEPTIONIST: Ok. Is it the time or the date that doesn't work for you?

ME: Um, it's the dentist. I just don't like him. I'll be finding a new dentist. Thank you.

I guess I didn't think that through very well, and I was a little more blunt than I should have been. I mean, after all, MT still goes to this guy (although he agrees with me that the dentist is kind of a jerk.) The receptionist really didn't know what to say. She ended up with, "Oh! I'm sorry. OK." What else could she say?

Anyway, I'm now in the market for a new dentist. I am due for a cleaning, so I think I'll try a new practice in our neighborhood. I'll let you know how it goes.

#583 adventures of 8GT - rewarding good behavior

2011-11-21T22:11:00.000-07:00

I take T to school every morning. We live close enough to his school that he does not qualify to ride the school bus, but we're far enough way that it's a long walk. We made arrangements with our neighbor for T to get a ride to school with them last week when I was gone, since the neighbor kid goes to T's school also.

The first day, Monday, was fine. On Tuesday morning T called me.

T: Hey Mom. I'm going to be late for school.

ME: How come?

T: Spencer's mom is sick.

ME: How is Spencer getting to school?

T: He's not going. I'm going to ride the bus. Will you call the school and tell them I'll be late?

ME: Yes I will.

I called the school and told them the story. They made a note and told me to tell him to check in at the counseling center when he got there.

The rest of the week, T didn't even mess around with getting a ride from the neighbors. He just rode the bus.

Two thoughts on this. First of all, T is awesome, right? His dad leaves for work early, so T had to get up when MT left, get ready for school, eat breakfast and make sure to get out to the bus stop across the street in time to catch the bus. I was really proud of him for doing this. I think it showed a lot of maturity, and I appreciated the fact that he can and will take care of his business when I'm not around.

My second thought is that even when I've been sick, I manage to drag myself out of bed to drive five minutes down the road to get my kid to school. I was kind of bummed out by the way that all went down, but as I said, super-proud of T for being a problem-solving self-starter. (How's that for manager-speak?)

I wanted to reward T for his excellent behavior, so Saturday morning I told him to get up and get ready because I had a surprise for him. He doesn't really like surprises. In a semi-cranky tone, he kept asking me where we were going. I just told him it would be worth his time.

We got in the car and we started driving down the road. When we were pretty far from the house, I told T that we were going to see the new "Twilight" movie. I so, so wish I could have taken a picture of his face. He was ANGRY! He yelled at me, "I DO NOT WANT TO SEE THAT MOVIE! UGH!!" I tried to look surprised and replied, "But you read all the books. I thought you liked them."

"I did read those stupid books a long time ago, but I don't want to see the stupid movie!"

I pulled into the Smith's grocery store parking lot. His fists were all clenched and his eyes were all scrunched up. When I parked the car, I turned to him and said, "I lied. We're just going to Game Stop." He just stared at me, but slowly his eyes un-squinched and his fists un-clenched. "Are you messing with me?" he asked.

"Not now, but I was a few minutes ago," I said. We went into Game Stop and I let him pick out any game he wanted (Modern Warfare 3). Everyone was happy. I got a good laugh out of the whole thing, and T got a game he wanted.

Good times, good times.

#582 Sunday stuff

2011-11-20T22:21:00.000-07:00

I almost forgot to write today!

MT went skiing with his brother Kevin and Kevin's girlfriend Janet. Their day was cut short when Kevin blew out his ACL. He's in a big brace and walking on crutches now. He'll have to have surgery to repair the ligament. Poor dude. And they were having such a fun day on the slopes!

T went to church with his friends today. He looked nice in his church clothes. I don't know if the church thing will become a habit. It's his choice.

I went to yoga, then to the grocery store. I made no-bake peanut butter cookies to take to work tomorrow, although we all had some tonight.

Last night I cooked a roast in the crock pot. I really wanted one of those stringy roast beefs, and I even asked the butcher what was the roast that would be stringy. She told me one, and I bought it, but it wasn't stringy at all. It was tough and as T just said, disappointing. There was a lot leftover because it was so yucky. I cut it up into tiny little pieces for tacos and tonight I cooked it with some jalapenos, green chilis, some taco seasoning and beef broth. It got more tender, and the tacos were pretty good.

Then we all sat around and watched the American Music Awards. I enjoy awards shows, and especially music shows that have lots of performances. The finale by LMFAO was entertaining. I'm quite sure the image of David Hasselhoff in the smiley face boxers doing the pelvic thrust is permanently burned into my retinas. And boy, can that Justin Beiber do the shuffle. I liked it! :P

Only two days of work this week, and then we're off for Thanksgiving break. YAY! The holidays officially begin!

#581 40 things

2011-11-19T14:46:00.000-07:00

Today is my little sister's birthday. It's milestone birthday that ends in a 0. To celebrate her awesomeness, I have come up with a list of 40 Things I Know About Lizzie:

1. When she was little, we all called her Isabel. Our dad still calls her that. Our maternal grandfather gave her the nickname Lizzie. She liked it and it stuck.
2. She writes beautiful poetry.
3. She has had two full time jobs since graduating from college. (I'm pretty sure.)
4. Lizzie hosted the Meeting Grace house concert series for several years.
5. She went to massage therapy school. Her fingers are magical.
6. She is friends with lots of cool people.
7. She was a beautiful baby.
8. Her hair was stick straight when she was young. It got all wild and curly later.
9. Lizzie is super smart and started reading at a really young age.
10. She doesn't wear make-up.
11. Her hair turned gray at a young age. She had a cool gray patch that just grew.
12. She used to have a long "tail" in the front of her hair. She wore her hair short, but had a long braided tail.
13. Lizzie was a very good tennis player in high school.
14. She was the first person I told after MT and I decided to get married.
15. She was my maid of honor.
16. We used to meet up for Las Vegas weekends when we were both a lot younger.
17. She has a tattoo on her shoulder.
18. We have been to many concerts together. Many, many concerts.
19. She always got good grades.
20. Her Scrabble skills are wicked good.
21. She likes stories about family history.
22. She drinks Coca-Cola.
23. When she was really little, she carried around a blanket that she would use to tickle her nose. So cute!
24. She is tender-hearted.
25. We went on a driving trip through Montana into Canada with our dad.
26. On the Canada trip, we got pretty drunk in Waterton, Canada.
27. She has a quick wit.
28. Through Lizzie, I have six degrees of separation to lots of cool and interesting people.
29. She has had knee surgery.
30. When she was in college, she spent spring break at my place a couple of times.
31. She loves baseball.
32. She doesn't like boats.
33. She once spent the day in Disneyland in a wheelchair after the knee surgery.
34. We have been to Spain together a few times.
35. When she was little, she had s stuffed teddy bear named "Teddy." I think she still has Teddy somewhere in her house.
36. She loves Jeff.
37. She enjoys spending time with her many friends, and she also treasures quiet time.
38. She spent one summer at my house in Pocatello.
39. No cavities!
40. She is a Beatles girl.

Happy birthday Lizzie!

#580 homecoming haiku

2011-11-18T22:36:00.000-07:00

Back home; snowy night
The dog is glad to see me
Chilly inside, too.

#579 I'm ready to go home

2011-11-17T22:11:00.000-07:00

I created a playlist for my various iPods that I call "OMG I LOVE THIS SONG!" Right now it has just over 70 songs on it. This evening I was walking on the treadmill here at the hotel, and that was the list I chose, and I promise you that every song that came on, I really did say, "Wow! I love this song!" I think the list will change frequently, like whenever I get on my iTunes and think about it probably. My tastes change a little and I might really be feeling Guns and Roses one day and then the next time not even be able to stand Axl's whine.

Tonight I turned down a couple of dinner invites because I just really felt like chilling out. This week has been kind of crazy, but it started coming together for me today. I thnk when I come back in a couple of weeks for the actual training, the program will make sense to me. There was a lot of background testing this week, but it gave me insight into how the program is meant to run.

There's not much on TV tonight, so I think I'll get to bed early. I'm tired. I'm ready to go home and see the boys. The route is a bit circuitous: I'll fly from San Jose to Portland and then to SLC. The hour plus trip from San Jose to SLC will take five hours because of the detour through Portland. Oh well. At least I'll be home tomorrow night!

#578 e1 haiku

2011-11-16T22:54:00.000-07:00

Another long day
Testing, approving, brain melt
It's e1-derful!

#577 conference room showdown

2011-11-15T23:03:00.000-07:00

This afternoon during the system testing, a man walked into our conference room and announced that we were going to have to leave the room and find another place to have our meeting. One of the men, I'll call him Carlos, said that he would talk to the lady who wanted to make us move. Carlos came back a short time later and told us that we wouldn't have to move, so we continued with our testing.

About half an hour later, the man came back into the room and said, "I'm sorry Carlos. You guys will have to get out of this room. Kathy reserved this room six months ago and it's for a quarterly meeting and she wants to get the room cleaned up in preparation for her meeting tomorrow. You have to go. There's a room across the street for you." Then, the man actually stood there with his hands on his hips, glaring at us. The pocket protector he was wearing didn't do much to increase his authority level.

Grumbling, we all gathered up our laptops and test scripts and snacks and headed across the street. I was walking with Carlos. When we got to the cross-walk, who should we meet up with but Kathy, the woman responsible for kicking us out of the conference room. She was walking with another lady, Alice. Alice started talking to Carlos while Kathy looked at her Blackberry. Carlos said something about the tail wagging the dog. Kathy put her Blackberry in her pocket and yelled - YELLED - "I've had that room reserved for six months! That's my room!" Carlos yelled back, but I couldn't really understand what he was saying because they were both talking loudly at the same time. The rather heated conversation ended with Kathy telling Carlos to "take it up with Kevin." Kevin is a big boss. His title starts with Chief (but let's be clear: he's not the Chief Executive Officer).

Carlos marched off across the street, with me following behind, barely able to keep up. (I was toting my laptop bag and a big box of snacks.)When we got to the new conference room, he was still cranky about the whole move. Who should Carlos see but Kevin? I wish you could have seen the look on Kevin's face as Carlos lit into him. Carlos was flapping his hands around. Kevin stood there quietly and I heard him say, "Kathy was yelling at me." (She is kind of intimidating.)

Now we'll be in the new room for the next couple of days, unless we get displaced again. It's true that the new room isn't as comfy as the modular room. There's not nearly enough room for us all to spread out. Oh well. The little drama to end the day was kind of fun.

#576 feeling tired today

2011-11-14T21:41:00.000-07:00

I'm hanging out in my hotel room in W-ville. It's not a bad room. It's a mini-suite. There's a sitting room area, where I am now, with a couch and TV, a sink, mini-fridge and mini-microwave. There is a separate room with a bed and a TV, then the bathroom area.

Today was a long day. My flight left around 8:40. I promptly fell asleep and slept most of the way to San Jose. I got a rental car (Chevy Cruz) and drove from SJ to W-wille. I got some lunch and went to the office. We're set up in a conference room across the street from the main office. The main office is fancy, as is befitting a corporate office. The conference room in the modular unit across the street is fine. The company is implementing a completely new software system at 1-1-12, so we are testing the system this week and we'll begin training the week after Thanksgiving. I stayed with it pretty well until about hour number three. Then my eyes started to glaze over a bit. We'll see how tomorrow goes.

Good night!

#575 pre-trip jitters

2011-11-13T21:03:00.000-07:00

The bag is packed, my maps and boarding pass are printed, and I think I have just about everything ready for my trip in the morning. I always feel like I'm forgetting something important when I pack. I hope I'm not forgetting anything this time.

I didn't do much today. Got up, took care of my book-work (ie paying the bills), went to yoga, then MT and I went to lunch. We tried a place we haven't been to before, Virg's. We each had an enormous cheeseburger gut-bomb. I've felt kind of icky all day from it. When we got home, I watched the 49ers game (another win!), then we watched the final Harry Potter movie. It's really great.

Now it's nearly 9:00 and I admit that I'm ready to go to sleep. I know that my son isn't quite ready for that and I can't go to bed on a school night if he's not in bed first. MT doesn't have that problem at all. I hope that T gets enough sleep next week and gets up and moving around and ready for school. He's a big kid now; everything will be fine. I just don't like to be away from them.

#574 three good things, football and a weather report

2011-11-12T20:23:00.000-07:00

Today was weigh-in day for me. I lost a tiny amount (.2 lbs) last week, and I thought I'd have another little loss this week, and I did - .6 lbs. I kept thinking about something my leader said last week. She told us about another member that she knows who would take a few minutes to think about all the good things she did in the week, so no matter what the scale said, she knew she had done some things right. Here were my things I did right last week:

I exercised every day.
I made good food choices throughout the week.
I kept my snacking under control.

I would have liked to have seen a bigger loss on the scale. Weight sure is a lot easier to put on than to take off. I'm thankful and happy for any little loss. It's like pennies and nickels. If you get enough of them together, pretty soon you've got a little spending money. If you get enough little losses together, you're getting a five pound star! :o)

It's cold and snowy here today. It was overcast and drizzly in the morning, and the rain turned to snow in the afternoon. It's stopped now and it's just cold. I had to take a nap. It was a good one, too. I burrowed right under the covers and fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. I love naps!

The Utah football game just ended with the Utes beating UCLA soundly, 31-6 or something like that. The Utes started slow this season, but they're ok. Only a couple more games to go, I think.

T and I bought the final Harry Potter movie this afternoon, and I'd like to watch it, but I think MT is watching a western movie. T is playing his newest video game. Guess I'll do some laundry and channel surf.

Good night all!

#573 beware of auto-correct

2011-11-11T22:39:00.000-07:00

There's an auto-correct feature when you text on the iPhone. If you type a word the iPhone doesn't recognize, it will put in a word it thinks you mean. It's pretty handy, because if you misspell a word, it will correct it for you. You do have the option not to use the correction, but you have to pay attention.

Yesterday MT says, "I don't really like the auto-correct thing on texts on the iPhone."

ME: "What happened?"

MT: "I sent a text to one of our subcontractors, and I put my whole name, but it auto-corrected. So it was signed Marty Tampon."

ME: hahahahahahahaha

The moral of this story is to read what you wrote before you press Send.

:)

#571 woo hoo! Harry Potter tomorrow!

2011-11-10T21:35:00.000-07:00

I just watched the last 30 minutes of the second Harry Potter movie, "Chamber of Secrets." It's one of my least favorites of the movies, but I hadn't seen it in awhile, and you know what? At the very end, when Hagrid comes back and Harry says, "It's just not Hogwarts without you, Hagrid," tears were flowing and I had a big stupid smile on my face. I LOVE HARRY POTTER!

The final movie comes out on video tomorrow and I will have it. I'm sure I'll have a mini Potter-fest this weekend.

#570 mi prima va a casar

2011-11-09T21:47:00.000-07:00

I promise to be more cheery tonight. That whole Penn State thing really bugs me, though! I always say that I don't watch the news because there's too much bad news, and that's why I stick to sports, but there's bad stuff in sports news, too.

But enough of that.

My cousin in Spain, Monica, is getting married this weekend. I'm happy for her! I feel sad that I haven't seen her in over 20 years. How is that even possible? Well, I haven't been to Spain in a long time, and she's never been here. I guess that's how it happens.

Going back to Spain is definitely on my list of vacation destinations. I would love to show MT and T around Barcelona. I think I could get them to Tibidabo, and it would be cool to roam around the Gothic quarter and the Ramblas. How great would it be to spend a couple of days in Playa de Aro? Having a drink at a sidewalk bar, watching the people go by? I'm sure Playa de Aro has changed tremendously from the last time I was there in 1987.

MT hasn't been feeling well. He has a bit of a cold, so I decided to sleep in the guest room last night. MT took some Nyquil and slept like a baby. I flipped around a lot because I wasn't in my bed. I'll sleep in the guest room again tonight. MT is feeling better, but I don't want any germs before my business trip.

I gotta hit the shower. I went to cycling tonight and I get really sweaty in that class. Have a good night, everyone!

#569 it's been on my mind all day

2011-11-08T22:49:00.000-07:00

I just spent a whole bunch of time writing a post about a story that is all over the sports news today. I don't know if I'll post it, though. The story is so ugly and makes me feel so repulsed and angry, that I don't know if I want to have it's filth in my blog.

I will say this: SHAME on the people who knew about the situation at Penn State University and didn't report it to the police. Those people will have to live with the fact that they did nothing to stop the problem.

As for the problem, there is a dark, nasty place in the pit of hell for Jerry Sandusky.

The world is a beautiful place, but for all the beauty and love, there is a dark and ugly side as well.

Hug your kids tonight.

#568 Monday haiku

2011-11-07T21:30:00.000-07:00

Really want to write
Have nothing worthwhile to say
Time to read and sleep

#567 soup on Sunday - a new recipe

2011-11-06T20:54:00.000-07:00

One of my resolutions this year was to try a new recipe every week. I started out ok, as most resolutions do, but let me tell you something: finding a new recipe to try every week takes a lot of energy. I just couldn't do it. I think maybe one new recipe a month is much more do-able. I'm pretty sure I've tried at least ten new recipes this year. I'll check on that and get back to you later.

There is a point to this story. I tried a new recipe tonight, a soup recipe. MT and I have gotten into the habit of going out for lunch on Sunday afternoon. We eat a big lunch - usually Mexican - and then we're not too hungry later, but we like to have a little something. Since it's been cold, I thought we'd have some soup. I saw a recipe for baked potato soup in the "Hungry Girl 300 Under 300" cookbook. I modified it a little, and it was pretty good! It was really easy, too. Here's how I did it:

1 large or 2 medium potatoes
1 tablespoon canola or olive oil
2 tablespoons chopped onion
1 clove minced garlic
3 cups fat free chicken broth
1 cup 1% milk
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon non-fat Greek yogurt (or sour cream)
4 slices pre-cooked crispy bacon
salt and pepper

Pierce the potatoes with a fork in multiple places. Microwave for about 10 minutes until the potatoes are soft. When the spuds are cool enough to handle, peel the skin and mash the pulp in a bowl. Set aside.

Add canola oil to a medium sized pot. Heat to medium-high, add onion and garlic. Cook for a couple of minutes until onion is soft. Add broth and milk. Slowly add flour, stirring constantly, until it has completely dissolved.

Add mashed potato and stir until completely blended. Add the other ingredients. Mix well, reduce heat, and let simmer for about five minutes.

Top with a bit of sour cream, shredded cheese or whatever you like to put on a baked potato. Enjoy!

I thought the soup was tasty and filling. MT said it was good and that is high praise. (Usually the best I get is "It's not bad." Praise without a negative word is high praise!)

~~

In other news, I took T shopping today. He needed a new coat, some new jeans and some "church clothes". (I'll elaborate on that another time.) He's grown into the next size already. He almost looks me in the eye when we talk. Soon I will be the shortest person in this house.

~~

There was a bomb threat in the Wal-Mart in our neighborhood. Good thing I didn't shop there today.

~~

Last thing...I enjoyed the extra hour of sleep this morning, but now I'm ready for bed. My body thinks it's 10:00 although the clock says it's only 9:00. I'm pretty sure that alarm ringing at 5 am will still seem dang early.

#566 a new "friend"

2011-11-05T17:24:00.001-06:00

Typically on Saturday morning I like to get up around 6:30 and go to the gym for a spinning class at 7 followed by an hour of yoga. This morning when I woke up at 6:30 and saw about four inches (approx ten centimeters) of snow on top of my car, I said, "Aw hell no," and crawled back under the covers. I slept until around 8:30. It was pretty glorious, except that I missed one of my favorite work-out days.

I feel like I've betrayed an old friend today. I have purchased a planning device that is not from Franklin Covey. For years, I have been a Franklin Covey planner disciple. I am a list-making, task-oriented person, and the discipline that I got from the Franklin Covey planner really helped me get my act together at work. Now, though, I do my task-planning at work through Outlook. I've come to really like it. I don't have to re-write tasks that I didn't finish today on tomorrow's page. I can plan tasks for myself well ahead of time. (In my job, we have more free time in the winter, so if something comes up in the summer that needs to be done but can wait, we call it a winter project.)

In my personal life, the task lists had become a bit redundant. Every day had the same list: exercise, help T with homework, blah blah blah. I rarely had anything to make note of. I do like to have a calendar, though, so I can see a month at a glance, and it would be good to have a way of writing some things down as reminders (make dentist appointment, flight information, my aunt's birthday). I thought about using my beloved iPhone, and I've been trying it, but it's not as satisfying as writing it down and looking back at it.

After carefully looking at all the Franklin Covey products at the store and picking out something I'd like, the cost came to about $40. I went to Target and found a similar, but not as cute, product for $15. Good-bye Franklin Covey. I'm switching to Mead. I feel a little strange, like I'm meeting someone that I've known but haven't hung out with before. Someone that my other friend, Franklin, thinks is beneath him. I'm slumming a little. But I think it will be ok. The product I got has a couple of blank months, so I can start using it right away to see how I like it. If I decide it's just not enough for me, I only spent $15.

Wow. I have devoted waaaaaaaaaay to much space to my planner addiction. Sorry about that! You should have seen how much time I spent at Franklin Covey and at Target, looking at all the products and comparing the different but similar calendars. I'm kind of embarrassed. :)

BUT...one of my favorite quotes is "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail." So there it is. Yes, I am that much of a nerd.

#565 a question of joy

2011-11-04T23:08:00.001-06:00

Every other Friday at my work we have a festivity that we call "15 Minute Friday". We have a big stack of random questions on 3 x 5 cards, and everyone picks a card. One of the ladies bakes some cookies (there's an oven in our break room) and the business staff gathers together for a cookie and a get-to-know-random-things-about-your-coworkers time.

Some of the questions are easy: What's your sign?

Some of the questions require more thought: Tell us two truths and a lie about yourself. (Then we get to guess which is the lie.)

My question today was: What was the best day of this week and why? When it was my turn, I had to pass and go last because I could not think of the best day. That made me feel a little blue. I finally settled on last Saturday (community service with T, Utes win, took a nap) but someone pointed out that Saturday was technically last week. I countered with the fact that it was within the last seven days, so I think it counts.

I want there to be something best about every day. On the side bar of this blog, I have a line for today's joy. It's just a place for a random little thing that made me feel happy that day, to remember something that brought me joy. It's pretty naive to think that every day could be the best, but every day should have a little bit of joy, don't you think?

#564 special right triangles can be radical

2011-11-03T22:21:00.000-06:00

Tonight I helped T with his geometry homework. What do I know about special right triangles and simplifying radical equations? Well, I know more now than I did 90 minutes ago, that's for sure. I'd like to thank the internet for helping us figure out how to solve the radical equations. And when I say radical, I don't mean that they were super-cool in an '80s kind of way. Radicals have that square root symbol.

Anyway...

I found out today that I will be traveling for work. I will be at the corporate office for a week testing the new accounting system software we're implementing. The system goes live on Jan. 1, so we all pretty much have to learn how to use it in the next two months. It's been awhile since I've been to "Corporate", so I'm a little nervous and kind of excited to try to new software.

One more thing...

You know that I'm obsessed with the stats tab on this blog. Yesterday I had 25 pages views: 24 from the US, 2 from Australia and 1 from Sweden. I'm pretty sure I know the person in Sweden. HI MIA!! And hello Australia :) Thanks to all for checking in.

There may have been another thought on my mind, but I sure don't remember it right now. Good night!

#563 Kim, Justin and finding a swagger coach

2011-11-02T22:22:00.000-06:00

I used to be a big pop culture girl. I felt like I knew a lot about TV shows and movies and music and celebrities. I'm not so much there anymore. I still like all of those things, but I don't watch much TV, except for some reality shows and the ultimate reality shows - sports. I don't go to a lot of movies unless there's something that really calls to me. The last movie that called to me and that I saw on its opening weekend was "Moneyball." I read the book, and the movie was about baseball and starred Brad Pitt, looking cute. It was a win. I love music, but I'm not that adventurous, I guess. And celebrities, well, I find that when I pick up an issue of "US Weekly" I only know a few of the people they are writing about. I've never watched any of the "Real Housewives..." shows or "Teen Mom" and I don't really keep up with the Kardashians.

Except...when Kim married Kris Humphries. Kris played here in SLC with the Jazz when he was a rookie. We all hoped he'd be the next Karl Malone. That sure didn't happen. But he is big and strong and good-looking, so I was intrigued when he married Kim K. And now, a mere 72 days later, it's over.

I really just don't understand why the Kardashian's are famous. What did I miss? I mean, they are pretty girls, what with all that hair and boobs and butt. They don't seem very natural, though. I'm not saying they are implant-ful, but they are always so camera ready. That is so the opposite of how I live. I don't think I've ever been camera ready in my whole life.

One more little pop culture reference that caught my attention recently was that Justin Bieber's swagger coach moved on to a new gig. I have so many questions and comments about this! 1) What the hell is a swagger coach? Is it like a life coach who instead of helping you figure out who you are instead shows you how to project yourself? 2) Justin Bieber has swagger? Maybe it's the hair. 3) Will the swagger coach find someone new to coach in swaggeriffic ways? 4) You can teach someone how to have swagger? I kind of thought it was something you had or you didn't have.

Well, if someone can teach me, I could sure use a little boost to my swagger. I feel like my swagger has been dragging lately. Maybe I only have swagger when I'm tan. I certainly feel pasty and un-swaggerful right now.

That's all I got for today. Do better tomorrow!

#562 adventures of 8GT - games, grades and community service

2011-11-01T22:13:00.001-06:00

Today was an excited day for T. He's been anxiously awaiting the release of the video game "Uncharted 3" and it came out today. As soon as MT got home from work, they were at Game Stop. T texted me a few times about how excited he was to play. I could tell he was happy because he used many exclamation points!!! He hasn't beaten the game (yet) but he says that so far it is pretty good.

The first term is over at MJHS, and T did well on his report card. He has nine classes and earned seven As and two Bs. Good work!

In one of his classes, a requirement is to do three hours of community service each term. Last term we just gathered some food and made a donation to the Utah Food Bank. This term, we actually donated some time at the Food Bank. We went in last Saturday to the warehouse and sorted the donations into different boxes. There are eight or nine categories like "canned fruit", "dry foods" and "cereal, snacks and sweets" to name a few. The donations come in these huge collection boxes, and we take the food out of the huge box and put it in the smaller boxes. Once a small box is full, we move it to a pallet of similar items - like all the canned fruit boxes go together. I'm not 100% sure what happens after that.

We worked alongside a nice family: a mom, dad and three daughters. They were there because one of the daughters also has community service for a class (she's in high school) but the mom told me they donate time there regularly anyway. They were really nice and we boxed up a LOT of food.

T did a great job. The work isn't hard, but it goes pretty fast. The boxes get heavy, too. T muscled right up and moved the full boxes to the pallets. I was really proud of him.

Happy November everyone!

#561 Halloween haiku

2011-10-31T20:51:00.000-06:00

Good-bye Halloween
I am glad to see you go
Take candy with you

#560 Ryan Reynolds loves me

2011-10-30T22:30:00.001-06:00

You know how sometimes dreams can be really fantastic? Well, I had one last night that has made me smile all day long - and it wasn't even X-rated!

In my dream, Keanu Reeves and Ryan Reynolds are crazy in love with me, and I have to decide which one should be my boyfriend. Ryan shows up in jeans and a t-shirt, looking all lean and smokin' hot. We joke around and have a great time, then he leaves to go to a baseball game. (Why can't I go with you, Ryan?)

Then Keanu comes along, and we're meeting in a park or at an outdoor cafe or something. He is wearing a beautiful camel-colored suit. His hair is black and silky and shiny and he looks like a million bucks. We talk for a little while, then he has to leave. When he goes, we kiss and I whisper "I've always loved you, Keanu." (This is true. I have always loved him!)

Later that night, I'm in my apartment which is tiny and has all the windows open and is on the top floor of the building. I hear a car pull up outside and I see Keanu and Ryan get out, along with some other guys. I think one of them will come up to see me, so I'm not surprised when there is a knock on my door. When I open the door, it's not Keanu or Ryan, but it's my boss from work, Brad. I let him in and ask what he's doing. He tells me that he's come to help me make the right choice. He was at the ball game with both of my boyfriends and he knows I have to choose one, and he wants to make sure I don't make the wrong choice.

After a few minutes of discussion, we agree that I should choose Ryan Reynolds. Then I get nervous because Ryan is so incredibly gorgeous, what could he possibly want with a chick like me? I mean, he was married to Scarlett Johannsen! But Brad assures me that Ryan loves me and that I'm making the right choice and that Keanu will be sad, but he'll get over it.

Then I woke up, feeling happy that Ryan Reynolds loves me. :D

WAIT A MINUTE! WAIT A MINUTE! Just when I was Googling this picture, I read a little blurb that Blake Lively is introducing Ryan Reynolds to her family. WTH?! I thought she was going out with Leo. I can't keep up with these Hollywood types.

#559 scale is climbing

2011-10-29T20:52:00.000-06:00

OK, OK. I think I said I would try to write once a week, but things happen and something has to give and it was the blog. So what have I been doing that has kept me from sharing mundane, day-to-day RRHH trivia with the WWW? Not much, to be honest. Except for the trip we took to visit the family in California, we/I didn't do too much. I have no excuse. I'm probably down to five readers now. :(

I'm about to vent.

I weighed in this morning, and the scale showed the largest number it's shown this year. And as much as I celebrated and congratulated myself for losing the weight, I have to take full responsibility for gaining some back, and doing it so quickly. That's the thing, isn't it? It takes so long to work it off, and it will come back the moment you don't pay attention. And that's what's been happening. I just haven't been paying attention. As much as I'd like to say I know how to manage my weight, it's plain that I have to focus plenty of attention on myself and what I'm eating. I have a tendency to just eat stuff because it's there.

For example, on Wednesday morning, I had a meeting at work. We returned from California late on Tuesday night, and I was hungry in the morning. Since there wasn't really anything in the house, I stopped for a breakfast sandwich, because I didn't even think that there might be breakfast stuff for the meeting. But there were bagels there. I didn't take one right away, but I did take one and I gobbled it like I hadn't eaten in days. Why? Why did I do that?

This morning before I went to WW, MT said that he thought we hadn't been eating much. I told him that I knew I had gained, and I think it's because I thought I wasn't eating much. That's my problem when I don't sit down and have an actual meal - when I'm just picking stuff up as we go along. I don't make good choices. I don't drink enough water. I don't exercise, or even walk around much. It's seriously so easy for me to get lazy about everything. Then I see a big gain on the scale and I have to say, "Yep. I did that."

I've become complacent. I've said to myself, "I've lost 85 80 75 71 pounds and I know what I'm doing. I can eat a cookie now and then." OK, but do you need a cookie (or two or three) every day? And I've got to get a handle on what can only be called an addiction to Nutella. I'm tellin' ya - I love that stuff, and not in moderation. I'm going to have to get militant with myself like I did when I first started Weight Watchers. Plan, track, measure, make good choices and not just pop that little candy bar in my face just because the candy is there. I've come way too far to F it up, you know?

So there's my rant for today. Do better.

#558 ghost stories

2011-10-08T22:34:00.000-06:00

Lately in the mornings on my way to work and in the office I've been listening to Chunga and Tysen on 101.9 The End, a local radio station. In October, they always do a bunch of things about ghosts and paranormal stuff leading up to Halloween. I'm not exactly sure how much I believe in that stuff, but I know that when I hear them talk about it, the hair on my arms and the back of my neck stands up and I get a little creeped out.

I don't like scary movies, especially gory horror-type movies. Occasionally, I do enjoy a movie that will creep me out a little, like the Nicole Kidman movie, "The Others" or "The Sixth Sense". Some friends at work told me about a movie called "The Fourth Kind" that's creepy; maybe I'll watch that. It will have to be during the day, though, when I can do a bunch of stuff afterward so I won't be traumatized.

Chunga has been talking about some experiences he's had here in SLC at the Old Mill and at This Is the Place Heritage Park. This month, Chunga and Tysen are going to do a ghost investigation of a house somewhere in the city. Although I get the heebie-jeebies, I still want to hear about it. Weird huh?

A friend of mine at work also likes to go on ghost hunting adventures. She's told me about a couple of places she's been and what she's experienced. Again, when she talks about it, I get that creepy feeling. I don't think I would want to go to those places, but sometimes I think it's interesting to hear about it. It makes me wonder...

#557 hello Q4

2011-10-01T15:15:00.000-06:00

Today is October 1. It is the first day of the fourth quarter of the year - some would say the best quarter because of the autumn weather and the holidays. I like to add because of sports. Usually we would start the NBA pre-season this month and we'd also have college football, the NFL and the baseball playoffs. I guess three out of four isn't bad. I will miss the NBA this year, though. Hopefully the owners and the players can get their acts together and resolve their issues. I'm not counting on it, though.

I haven't written for awhile, and I feel bad about it. I also haven't been doing my Spanish lessons and I feel even worse about that. I totally should have capitalized on my adventures in speaking and listening in the Dominican Republic and been inspired to learn and practice more Spanish. But I didn't, and now I have a lot of catching up to do. When I set aside time for myself to do it and actually honor my commitment to myself, I get it done. I just haven't done it yet. This being the first day of the fourth quarter and all that, I should re-start my learning journey.

But that will be later, not now. Now is for writing.

September was interesting. I bought myself a new toy in September - an iPhone. I have to say, I'm totally falling in love with it. It's just so cool! I can take pictures, check sports scores, play Angry Birds (I'm terrible at it, by the way), listen to music, keep track of my appointments, set up tasks, use it to make shopping lists, check my email, update Facebook, look at the weather report, find out how to get somewhere, text easily...it's amazing. Oh, and I didn't even mention that I can call people with it! Yes, it's a phone, too! There's a thing on it called "face time" where you can actually see the person you're talking to. MT and I tried it out the other day. I'm looking forward to talking to my sister this way as well.

My very most favorite thing that happened in September is that my BFF LA and her husband came down for a visit a couple of weekends ago. We had lunch at a fun little pub up near Big Cottonwood Canyon (or is it Little Cottonwood? I can never remember.) Anyway, it called Porcupine Grill and they make tasty food. After an enjoyable lunch, we wandered through REI and the Patagonia Outlet before heading to the mall. We were amused by the fact that even though we now actually have the funds to be able to shop at REI and Patagonia, we all scoff at the idea of spending $50 for a t-shirt.

In the evening, we went to the Real Salt Lake soccer match at Rio Tinto Stadium. RSL played and beat Sporting Kansas City. (That may just be the most stupid-est name for a sports team of all time. I'll do some research to verify.) It was a beautiful night. Check out the sunset:

After the match, there was a mini-concert by the band OneRepublic. I mentioned their song "Good Life" a few posts ago when I downloaded some new songs. However, I was duped. They do not actually say "My friends in Utah..." in the version I downloaded. Apparently that's just a radio thing to make me like the song (which I still do). On the version I have on my iPod, I just sing very loudly over the part where they sing "My friends in LA..." But in concert, they DID say "My friends in Salt Lake..." That made me feel happy. The concert was an excellent length of time. They did all the songs that I knew from the radio plus a couple of new ones, so probably about seven songs altogether. The best part was that the band was set up at one end of the pitch and the whole field was open for people to go stand on and dance around. We actually sat in the stands (LA has a quirky back and my knees are a mess). We enjoyed watching all the little kids dancing around.

LA and I have been BFF for nearly 24 years. That's just crazy! We met when we both worked at the newspaper in Poky. Her husband Rob worked with MT's brother Kelly at Blackfoot Motors. Rob liked to rock climb, and MT had seen him around the climbing places. Neither of us had kids, we were all around the same age, we liked the same stuff, and it was/is a great friendship. I feel so lucky to have her and her boys in my life!

Imagine my surprise when she walked into my house that Saturday and we were both wearing the same shirt. If that's not a connection, I don't know what is!

I was thinking about trying to write every day in October, but the real Post Every Day month is November, so I'll wait for that. I will try to do better than posting just once, though. October should be interesting, too. I've got an appointment with a knee surgeon coming up and we'll be going to California for a few days at the end of the month. Plus T is usually good for some fun posts. I'll shoot for once a week to check in. It's good to have a goal, right?!

That's all for now.

#556 The Adventures of Eighth Grade T: 9/12 - 9/16

2011-09-17T10:40:00.000-06:00

T is in eighth grade now and he's really into hanging out with friends after school. I thought he had a fun week, so I asked if I could write about it. He said it was all right, and I know that he enjoys reading about himself :) Of course, I don't know many details of his adventures, but here's my take on it.

On Tuesday, T met up with an old friend of his, Jake. T met Jake back in day-care days; in fact, they both started at the Magna Rec daycare on the same day. I remember that Jake was crying because he was so upset. Maybe it was his first time in a daycare? I don't remember. I do remember talking to his mom about it. She was a bit mortified. T was nervous about starting at the new daycare, but he was an old pro at it by the tender age of six, and since he and Jake were the same age and going into the same class, they started talking and became friends. T and Jake don't go to the same schools, but they met up again through Facebook and have been chatting online while playing XBox, so they decided to meet up. Some of T's friends also know Jake, so there were several kids who got together. From all accounts, a good time was had by all, although T did mention that it was a little awkward at first. It had been seven years since they've seen each other! But he certainly wasn't ready for me to pick him up. I think they'll get together again.

For me, it was also a trip down memory lane, taking 201 all the way to 8400 West to Magna to pick up T who was hanging out with Jake, just like the old days! And I didn't even recognize Jake! He's tall now!

A bunch of T's friends play on the MJHS boy's volleyball team, so Wednesday he stayed after school to watch the match. T has never played volleyball, and I don't know if he has any interest in it other than to watch his friends, but since his friends are involved in activities, I'm hopeful that T will want to be involved in something, also.

On Thursday morning, T informed me that he'd be home later than usual because there was a dance after school and he wanted to attend. He said that the dance was "pretty fun" and that "Eric can do a wicked good shuffle." T said that the favorite songs were "Baby" by Justin Beiber and "Party Rock Anthem" by LMFAO. Modern day classics. That LMFAO song is darn catchy :) T also told me that all the kids just run on the floor and dance around, none of this asking girls stuff. I think that's cool, and more like real life.

T gets out of school around 12:30 on Friday, and he often walks to the home of his friend Ben to hang out on Friday. There are a few other kids who live in Ben's neighborhood, so they all hang out together. I'm not really sure what they do. I know that sometimes they walk over to Arctic Circle (complimentary ice cream cones!) or go to Smith's to snag a cookie sample from the bakery. Last night they watched a movie at a friend's house.

Social little man, isn't he? And to think that MT and I were worried that he might be anti-social since all he wanted to do last year was play video games and talk to people on the XBox. But that was Seventh Grade T. We like Eighth Grade T. (I think I'll shorten that to 8GT. Eighth is hard to spell. Those H's throw me off.) I just hope that his grades will be as robust as his social life and that his teacher's will tell me that he's a good student citizen when I meet them next week at parent-teacher conferences.

#555 10 years ago

2011-09-11T22:11:00.000-06:00

What do you do on a day like today, the tenth anniversary of a day where you remember exactly where you were, what you were doing, and how you felt? I think you have to take at least a few minutes to remember the events of the day, to reflect on the people whose lives were lost, and to think about the evil that caused September 11, 2001 to be a day that should never, ever be forgotten.

As I drove around the town today, I especially took notice of the American flags that were waving from every flagpole. I tried to be extra-nice and thoughtful to people I encountered. I took a moment this morning to remember that morning ten years ago. Tonight I watched a special on TV called "9/11 Ten Years Later". If you haven't seen it, please try to watch it. It is a first-hand account of what the very first-responders to the scene were dealing with and what they went through. It's very emotional and real.

I was talking to a fellow at work on Friday who said he thought that American's had "cauterized" their feelings about Sept. 11. You rarely see the footage of the planes crashing into the towers. You forget about the feelings of fear and later, patriotism that were prevalent in our country. It's easy to sort of put all of that away. I don't want to think about it all every day, but I think on one day, this day, you should remember all of those things.

I feel a little confused, though. I want to be respectful and thoughtful on this day, but I don't want to be maudlin or morbid either. I think what I take from 9/11 is that you find to find joy and happiness in each day because you truly don't know when something will happen that will shake your belief in everything you though.

On Sept. 11, 2001, I was getting ready for work, just like any other day. My son was asleep in my bed and everything was fine. Within an hour, I was dreading dropping my little boy off at a daycare that was across the road from the Salt Lake Airport. All I wanted was to have my family all together and hold everyone tight. At work, we all kept checking the internet for the latest information about what was happening. I remember tearing up throughout the day. I remember thinking, "Oh my gosh, what's going on here? Where will they strike next?" I remember getting ready for the Olympics and wondering if something terrible would happen there. I remember being a little freaked out the first time I flew on a plane after 9/11. I remember crying at the U2 concert in December when they played "Walk On" and dedicated it to the memory of those who lost their lives on Sept. 11.

Anyway, I just wanted to take a minute to say what I had to say. Take care and be kind.

#554 Solider Hollow Classic Sheepdog Championship

2011-09-03T21:27:00.000-06:00

Today was the first day of the Labor Day weekend. I wanted to go somewhere and I knew where I wanted to go. Here's what happened when I asked the boys if they wanted to come:

MT: Absolutely not. I have no interest whatsoever in going there.

T: I don't want to go anywhere and you can't make me. (That was soooo Summer T talking.)

Since I have become accustomed to these types of responses, I do not let the fact that no one from my family will come with me and I headed out. My destination: the gorgeous Heber valley to see the Soldier Hollow Classic. The big draw there is the sheep dog trial championship and the dock diving dogs competition.

It was a beautiful day. The temperature was right around my ideal, about 82 degrees. It was warm, but not overly so. The Classic coincides with Swiss Days in Midway, and there was a lot of traffic in the area. However, although there were a lot of people at the Classic, it wasn't overly crowded.

Here's a picture of the general area:

Over on the left there is where the dock diving competition was held. You walked down a paved trail to where the sheep dog trials were being held. It took less than five minutes, but it was a little steep. If you have trouble walking, they had a little golf cart shuttle you could ride between the areas. I didn't use it, but I liked that it was there.

The sheep dog trial was interesting. Five free-range sheep are released up on the hill. When the sheep are in place, the dog is released from below in the main area. The dog, mainly border collies, has to run up the left side of the hill and come around behind the sheep, herding them down the mountain. Along the way, the dog has to guide the sheep through a gate in some fence panels. If all five sheep don't go through the opening, points are deducted. The dog then herds the sheep toward the handler and around a pole, then back up the hill, through another gate. After that, they go back across the field, through another gate and back to the main area where the handler and the dog separate the sheep into two groups. That's called "shedding." When that's done, the dog and the handler have to get the five sheep into an enclosure. When the sheep are enclosed, the trial is complete. All that has to be done in 13 minutes or less.

Here's what I learned today: sheep don't always follow directions. The first five dogs I watched weren't able to get the sheep into the enclosure. I think I only saw one or two dogs that were able to herd their sheep through all the gates. I was surprised that only one dog bit a sheep (resulting in disqualification of the dog) because the sheep are irritating. Talk about patience! There were several dogs that weren't able to accomplish all they had to do in the allotted time. And I never knew that I would get so excited when the dog was able to do all the stuff in the time. The dogs are pretty amazing.

There was a drawback to all of this, and it was the constant whistling. Whistling is how the handler communicates with the dog. It's pretty remarkable, actually.

Here's some pics:

Bringing the sheep down the mountain.

shedding

herding the sheep into the enclosure

cooling off after working hard

There were lots of other things going on all during the trials. The place is full of delicious food, and vendors selling everything from hats and t-shirts to jewelry and Navajo rugs. There was also demonstrations by police K-9 units and sled dogs, and a small petting zoo and pony rides for the kiddies.

There was also the Dog Diving competition. This is where the owner gets the dog all psyched up then throws the dog's toy into a pool and the dog launches itself into the water to get the toy. The leap is measured and the dog with the longest leap wins, or at least advances to the next round.

The diving dogs were mostly labradors and golden retrievers, but there was an occasional Jack Russell Terrier other dogs I couldn't identify. The owners were almost as much fun to watch as the dogs. Here are some of my favs:

The lady didn't kick her dog in the water, but I guess she thought a little extra kick wouldn't hurt

How cute is this little guy? Look at his ears flying! He loved it!

This dog didn't have the longest leap, but he certainly had the most style

Then there was this dog who really wanted the ball but did not want to jump into the pool to get it. I love the owner's expression. Everyone was cheering for the dog, and the pup started howling and barking at the water. I think the kid finally pushed the dog in.

I had a really enjoyable day. I've wanted to go up to this event since I saw an ad for it in the paper last year, but we were doing something else and I missed it. I'm really glad I didn't let the fact that no one in my house wanted to go with me stop me from spending the day there!

#553 Eighth Grade T

2011-08-30T21:47:00.000-06:00

I started the month with every intention of writing something here every day, but things happen and frankly, coming up with something to say that entertains me and might entertain you is sometimes just plain old hard to do. Especially when life gets a little routine and monotonous.

The biggest thing that has happened in our house recently is that T has gone back to school. It's only been seven school days, but I am happy to report that he seems to really like eighth grade, and even better, I really like Eighth Grade T! He's just so cool! He gets up in the morning and takes a shower, and we even have our shower schedule worked out so we don't have problems. He's ready to go at 7:15, so I can drop him off and get to the office by 8:00. He seems to enjoy his classes, has made some nice friends, and even talks and laughs with us, his parents! Eighth Grade T rules!

Sometimes old, angsty, sullen Seventh Grade T comes back. I hold my breath and hope he won't stay for long. For example, one day last week, we were driving to school in the morning. Seventh Grade T didn't like to talk in the morning, but Eighth Grade T is better at it. Anyway, I was commenting on a book that I was reading, a book that T had suggested.

Seventh Grade T: I read that book like a year ago.

Me: Oh. I guess it would be hard to remember. I won't talk now.

A minute goes by. Eighth Grade T shows up.

Eighth Grade T: Yeah, it was last September that I read that. Wow, time goes fast. I remember that part now. You'll be surprised when you find out who did that.

We continued to chat for a minute or two, then we were at school. He allows me to kiss him on top of the head, then he briefly brushes his lips on my cheek. I'll take it!!

Last night Eighth Grade T entertained us with a free-style rap that involved him pulling his pants down low to reveal his boxers and included something about drinking milk for it's vitamin D properties. Have I mentioned that his voice has dropped and he just about looks me in the eye when we stand face to face? Also, our feet are the same size.

One more anecdote: I took T driving on Sunday. Yes, he's too young and doesn't have a learner's permit, but we went to a parking lot where there were no other cars and I got him behind the wheel of my Corolla. I only have a little tiny bit of whip-lash from the experience - he was a bit rough on the brake at first, but he got better. He even got the car up to about 20 miles an hour at one point and declared that to feel "very fast." He drove for about 15 minutes or so and did all right for his first time. Afterward he said he didn't think he'd want to do it again anytime soon. Then on Monday he told me he'd probably like to try driving again this weekend. :P

~~

In other news, I'd appreciate it if you could send some kind thoughts and good karma along to my dad who is in the hospital. He is suffering from peritonitis. The good news is the antibiotics seem to be working to kill the infection, so we're hopeful that he'll have a successful recovery and be able to continue the PD at home. Get well soon, Dad!

#551 Zac Brown Band - 2011 CMT Music Awards - Knee Deep

2011-08-18T21:22:00.001-06:00

Zac Brown Band - 2011 CMT Music Awards - Knee Deep: Zac Brown Band

This is my favorite song at the moment. The chorus totally sums up how I feel about going on vacation somewhere warm and tropical:

Knee deep in the water somewhere
Blue sky breeze blowin' wind through my hair
Only worry in the world is the tide gonna reach my chair
Sunrise there's a fire in the sky
Never been so happy
Never felt so high
And I think I might have found me my own kind of paradise

This video is from the CMT awards show. Jimmy Buffett isn't in the clip. I was going to post the actual video for the song, but it's kind of weird and I didn't really like it. You can easily find it, though, if you really want to.

One thing about the original version of this song...at the end, there's whistling.

Enjoy!

#550 chopped, delayed and the answer is the men's department

2011-08-16T21:47:00.000-06:00

I'm still here! T and I are back in SLC now after an eventful flight from Long Beach on Sunday, em, I mean Monday morning. I'll explain:

Our flight out of Long Beach was slightly delayed on Sunday night. No big deal. The problem came when we got in the Salt Lake area and a series of thunderstorms prevented us from landing. Fearing that we would not have enough fuel to circle the area for as long as necessary, it was decided that our plane would go to Las Vegas, refuel, and come back to Salt Lake. Now, the flight to Las Vegas is about one hour. From where we were, it took us about 45 minutes to get to Vegas. We would have had to circle for longer than that to avoid the storms? Sheesh! I just thought of that.

So we went to Las Vegas. We pulled into the airport gas pump and refueled. We were not allowed to get off the plane, so we stood up and moved around as much as we could for the 30 minutes or so that we were on the ground. We did finally get to Salt Lake. We landed at 3 AM local time, so we were in the plane for about five hours (Long Beach to SLC is a 90 minutes flight.) We got home at 4 AM.

Fortunately I didn't have to work on Monday; instead I played in a work-related golf tournament. It was the first time I'd played a round of golf in about a year and a half. I didn't play as poorly as I might have, given all the circumstances. Our team came in second (first losers!) and I had the long drive of the day. Then I came home and took a nap.

Monday was my 18th wedding anniversary. :D MT and I celebrated by going to dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant, El Habanero. The restaurant added an outdoor seating area that is quite nice, and we ate out there. It wasn't a very festive meal. We were both exhausted. MT had to work at 3 AM on Monday - I called him when we landed in SLC and he was just getting to work.

After dinner, I decided that I had to have some cross-trainers (yes, this again!) because my feet were hammered. Walking around D-land in flip-flops was bad and my feet hurt most of the weekend, plus my golf shoes are not cushion-y and that Thing on My Foot was hurting. MT went with me to Famous Footwear, and he was very helpful. So was the girl/lady who guided me to the men's department. Men's shoes tend to be a little wider than women's, and even though the shoes aren't really cute, they are comfortable. I got two pairs of cross-trainers. I wore one pair today and my feet were happy.

I made a change today. I cut my hair. I was tired of it's bushy straw-like texture. I needed a change, so I chopped it off. Well, Lanna, my stylist, chopped it off at my direction. It's quite short and it sure looked cute when I left the salon. I hope that I can style it as cute as Lanna did. I'm not very good with the styling tools, but I'm hopeful that I can handle it.

Want to see?

That's all I got for today!

#549 sandwiches, hummingbirds and proper relaxing

2011-08-12T19:30:00.000-06:00

My feet hurt today. I'm thankful that I haven't had to walk around a lot. I've mostly been sitting around reading a book and enjoying just chilling out at my parent's house.

Mom and I went to the Cuban bakery Portos for lunch. I had a Cuban sandwich. I've never had one before. It was porky. Pork-ful. Pulled pork and ham and Swiss cheese. They wanted to put pickles on it, but I declined (I hate pickles.) It was good. Quite filling. Very delicious. We also got assorted treats that we've been sampling throughout the day. Decadent!

This afternoon Dad and I went to the grocery store to get a few things for the next couple of days. Dad seems so much better than the last time I saw him in April. I'm glad that the treatment is working so well. :)

My parents have a great backyard. It's full of plants: tomatoes, basil, geraniums, lavender, strawberries, mums. There's a beautiful fountain from which the water bubbles in the most pleasing way. There's a bird feeder on the lawn to which little swallows and an occasional dove flock for lunch. There are hummingbird feeders hanging from the patio.

Hummingbirds kind of freak me out. They are so little and quick and unpredictable, at least until you sit there and watch, then there is a little predictability there. The one I was watching would fly to one feeder, make a little singing noise, then fly to a hanging potted geranium and perch there for awhile. Then he would fly to the other feeder, feed, make clicking sounds, feed some more, then move to the giant wind chime where he would sit and groom his long beak. He always moved in that pattern, for about half an hour or so. I wasn't freaked out anymore after that.

Now Dad is making one of his specialties, fried catfish, for dinner. I'm going to finish the book I'm reading, "The Peach Keeper" by Sarah Addison Allen, and we'll just watch some TV and relax tonight. I like being here because at home I'm often thinking of all the things I should be doing and I don't relax properly. That's not a problem today!

#548 lines, sandwiches and shoe karma - a day at Disneyland

2011-08-11T22:12:00.000-06:00

I'm at my parent's house in Southern California. I got here yesterday evening, and the first thing we did was stop at El Torito for a margarita. It was nice. I don't drink very often, and sometimes it just hits the spot!

Today T and I went to Disneyland. I find that D-land is one of those places that you anticipate going to with joy and enthusiasm, and then you get there and there are so many people and the lines are sooooo long, that some of the joy seeps away.

T and I rode seven rides from about 9 am to 1:30 pm (Pirates, Indiana Jones, Big Thunder Mountain, Astro Blasters, Space Mountain, Big Thunder again, and Haunted Mansion). We rode three rides from about 2:30 to 7 (Pirates, Splash Mountain and Space Mountain). The lines at Space Mountain and Splash Mountain were over one hour long. The Fast Pass at Space Mountain in the afternoon got you on the ride at 11 pm.

Waiting in long lines is kind of a buzz-kill, isn't it? The rides are fun, but they last about two or three minutes. After our last ride on Space Mountain, we were done and ready to come on home. T kept saying, "Carry me, Mom." As if! The dude is 100 lbs and like an inch shorter than me. He'll be carrying me soon!

I have to mention my shoe karma. It's not good. My plan was to wear my Teva hiking shoes. I took them to work with me and left them in my car to change into yesterday to wear on the plane. However, when I went to pick them up, the whole sole fell right off the left shoe! They are totally broken! GRRR. The only shoes I had with me were my Birks, which I wore to work yesterday, and some flip flops. I wore the flip flops to the park today. My feet and knees are sore. They would have been sore anyway, so I don't really blame the shoes, but still.

One more thing about Disneyland. We ate at the Cafe Orleans today. I've never eaten in one of the actual restaurants in the park. We usually eat at the Bear Country place where you can get a quick burger. I splurged on Cafe Orleans because I really wanted to try their famous Monte Cristo sandwich. We started with an order of pommes frites - french fries with garlic, parmesan and parsley. They were delicious. T isn't usually much of a fry eater, but he gobbled these! We each ordered a sandwich, and that was a mistake. The things are huge! There are four big pieces that come with each order. We both ate most of two pieces, and that left us with an entire portion to pack around the park in the afternoon, which is exactly what we did. The sandwiches are huge, but they are also pricey - $17.50/sandwich. Mom and Dad sampled them this evening. They aren't as good cold as they were piping hot. Still tasty, though. My advice: order the pommes frites and and one Monte Cristo to share. It's worth it because the sandwich is tasty and you'll be full.

That's all for today!

#547 new tunes for me

2011-08-09T23:00:00.000-06:00

It's been awhile since I downloaded new music to my iPod, so I decided tonight was the night. I've been listening to the radio a little more - music, not just sports - so I've heard some songs that I like, and some that have just grown on me. Tonight I got 12 new songs:

Moves Like Jagger - Maroon 5 w/Christina Aguilera
Did you watch "The Voice" in May and June? I guess Adam and Christina sang this song on the show; I missed that episode. But the tune makes me want to waggle my tushy around! Catchy. It has whistling in the chorus.

Pumped Up Kicks - Foster the People
101.9 The End was a radio station that I really liked here in SLC. It went off the air for awhile, but now it's back and they play good songs! I first heard this song several weeks ago and the chorus totally got stuck in my head. I've heard it a lot lately, and the song can be heard in the movie "Friends with Benefits." It has whistling in the chorus.

Good Life - One Republic
"To my friends in New York I say hello/my friends in Utah they don't know" I'm a sucker for a song with my state in the lyrics. Catchy! There's whistling in the chorus.

Give Me Everything - Pitbull feat. Ne-Yo and others
What can I say? I like Mr. Worldwide!

If I Die Young - The Band Perry
Lauren on American Idol sang this song and I liked it. It's on the radio all the time now, and it's stuck in my brain. Might as well have it anytime it pops in my head.

Knee Deep - The Zac Brown Band feat Jimmy Buffett
They had me at Jimmy Buffett. I stumbled on this song while I was looking at the iTunes 200. I previewed, I purchased. I really enjoyed the snippet. Can't wait to hear the whole thing!

I'm Into You - Jennifer Lopez feat Lil Wayne
My crush on J Lo lives on, long after American Idol has finished. And Marc Anthony never belonged with Jennifer anyway. He was WAY out over his skis with that one.

Every Teardrop is a Waterfall - Coldplay
Coldplay. Nothing more to say. They're great.

Super Bass - Nicki Minaj
I got the clean version. I don't like dirty words in songs. This song is catchy as all get out. I got a few Zumba moves I bust out for this one!

Toes - Zac Brown Band
"I got my toes in the water, my ass in the sand." That pretty much describes my perfect day. I think I might get into the Zac Brown Band.This is another one that I just sampled and purchased.

The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie - Red Hot Chili Peppers
The return of one of my favorite bands. Really looking forward to the whole cd coming out at the end of August. Please tour RHCP!

Fader - The Temper Trap
Another song I heard on 101.9 The End. I like the beat. Sounds kind of 80s-ish.

I mentioned on the first three songs that there is whistling in the chorus. I really dislike the sound of whistling. It just gets on my nerves. It's as irrational as my hatred of pickles, and I can't help it. On these three songs, I just try to ignore it and continue with my overall enjoyment of the beat. Just thought I'd let you know why I pointed out the whistling.

Going to sunny CA tomorrow! YAY!

#546 shoes, books and hugs

2011-08-08T22:38:00.000-06:00

I haven't heard from Dr. B, so I really think the Thing On My Foot is not a cyst, but just some kind of Annoying Foot Thing. I went to look for cross-trainers tonight, but I couldn't find anything I like.

When I told MT about my foot predicament, he asked if Dr. B prescribed cross-trainers. MT sees Dr. B also, and was told to live in cross-trainers, too. I think that to Dr. B cross-trainers are like the words "reboot" to IT people. Whenever I have a problem with my computer at work, the IT guys always ask, "Did you reboot?" Dr. B says, "You have a callous on your foot? Live in cross-trainers," or "You have gout? Better wear the cross-trainers." So I'm mostly not going to stress too much about the Annoying Foot Thing or the cross-trainers or the stupid Crocs. I'll keep putting lotion on it and wear shoes and we'll see how it goes. It's not getting any bigger or more uncomfortable or painful.

I finished the second book in the Hunger Games series, "Catching Fire", this morning. It's a good one. I'm looking forward to finding out how it all ends (I'm sure not well for our heroes), but I think I'll wait until I get back from California. I actually want to spend time engaging with my family, not with my nose completely stuck in a book, with me waving them off when they want to do something. I'll certainly read, just not anything as all-engrossing as I think "Mockingjay" may be.

It will be good to have a couple of days away from the office. I find myself getting cranky at people. I yelled at the plant engineer today. A few obscenities may have escaped my lips in my tirade. I'm thankful he is good natured and forgiving. I wasn't very professional. I don't lose my cool that often anymore, I don't think, so hopefully he will do better at the stuff I was yelling at him for. I apologized for my behavior and he gave me a hug, which mostly just made me want to yell at him some more. I am not a hugger, especially not at work! Oh well. Maybe he does know that I don't like hugs at work and that's how he was getting me back. OK, if I think of it that way, we're square. :)

#545 The Hunger Games

2011-08-07T20:33:00.000-06:00

My lovely son commented on yesterday's post that he wants me to write about what I thought of the book "The Hunger Games." The book was so highly recommended to me by so many people that I felt pretty remiss about not having read it yet. There are three books in the Hunger Games series, so I asked T to pull them from our family library for me. I read the first book a week ago in basically one day.

I couldn't put it down. The story is riveting. It is set in the future. There had been many bad things happen in the United States and the new government system is a president who lives in the Capitol which is somewhere in the Rocky Mountains, and there are no more states; now people live in Districts. There were 13 Districts, but when District 13 mounted an uprising against the Capitol, the District was destroyed. Part of the fallout of the destruction of District 13 was the creation of the Hunger Games in which each district must send two tributes, a boy and a girl between the ages of 12 and 18, to battle to the death with the tributes from the other districts.

We meet the people from District 12. It's hard not to fall immediately in love with the heroine, Katniss. She's strong and tough and kind. You meet her friends, you meet her family. You know she's she's going to be a tribute. You know she's going to be ok because there are two more books to follow. How she becomes a tribute and how she survives the Games are what power the book. I promise that you won't want to stop reading even for a minute even though some of the story is gut-wrenching, sob-inducing, what-kind-of-crap-is-this-yelling mayhem.

The author, Suzanne Collins, has created a world that is unimaginable. What kind of government would force us to send our children to a game where there can be only one champion and the others must die for one to win? She describes a world where Big Brother is indeed watching; where travel between the Districts is forbidden, where even leaving the confines of your own District is punishable by death. Can you imagine living say, in Wyoming and never being able to leave? Ugh. It's terrifying. It's a world where one sentence may bring the wrath of the President upon you in the form of torturing your family or your friends while you watch. It's not pretty. But you keep reading because you feel that Katniss will figure out a way to stop the madness.

I've got about 90 pages left in the second book "Catching Fire." It might be even better than the first book. I find myself literally holding my breath sometimes as I wonder what is going to happen next. I'd love to finish it tonight, but I don't know if I'll be able to. I was super-active today and I'm running on fumes. I'm going to try, though!

OK, T, there you go. What did you think of my review? I didn't give too much away, did I? Do you think I made anyone want to read the book?

#544 good times in Poky

2011-08-06T18:33:00.000-06:00

Sorry about not posting yesterday! I wanted to, but just didn't get to it. MT and I went to Pocatello to attend the wedding reception of our friend Caz. He married his high school sweetheart, Ashley. Caz, of course, is the only child of my BFF LA. MT and I have known Caz since the day he was born and we wouldn't have dreamed of missing his wedding reception. Since they are LDS, Caz and Ashley were married in the Temple and as non-LDS people, MT and I couldn't actually attend the wedding. We were in good company, though; Caz's grandpa and aunt couldn't attend the actual wedding either. But, we were happy to be at the reception where we hung out with Aunt Jen and Grandpa Ray. :)

Caz looked handsome and happy. Ashley is a very pretty girl and she was a beautiful bride. Congrats to them!

After the reception, MT and I decided to go to one of our favorite restaurants in Poky, an Italian place called Buddy's. So delicious! It was in the parking lot that we discovered the rear driver's side tire was going flat. After we ate, we went to a gas station to put air in the tire. That's when we saw there was a nail or piece of metal in the tire. You could hear the air hissing out of the hole. Not good. We made it back up to MT's mother's house and since it was so late, we decided we'd just change the tire in the morning.

MT must have parked just right, because although the tire was low, it wasn't completely flat like we expected. We drove down the hill to a gas station, put some more air in the tire and headed over to a tire store. We went to Les Schwab and they fixed the tire and rotated all them and didn't charge us a penny. That's Les Schwab, ladies and gentlemen. Buy your next set of tires from Les Schwab. They are good people!

Tire fixed, feeling good, thinking happy thoughts about our new friends at Les Schwab, we headed over to another favorite Poky place, Butterburrs, to meet Kip and Tracy for breakfast. Kip is a life-long friend of MT's. They grew up together, got in trouble together, and remain friends to this day. Tracy, of course, is MT's sister. I admit that I was still a little full from my meatball sandwich the night before, but that didn't stop me from powering down Butterburr's famous cinnamon twist. I also ate some eggs, a bit of sausage and some hash brown potatoes. That all took place around 10:30 am. It's now 6:30 pm and I'm just barely thinking about maybe having a bowl of cereal or a little salad.

We got home around 3:00, and both of us took a nap. I fell asleep after reading a little on my bed. MT was watching TV and dozed off. What is it about driving that makes you tired like that? It probably had something to do with all that food we gobbled down, huh?

The first fun event of August is complete. MT and I talked about going to Park City tomorrow for the Arts Festival. We enjoyed roaming around there last year. Also tomorrow, we are expecting Cousin Andrew to spend the night. He's moving here from New Mexico or Washington and his apartment isn't available until Monday or something.

Then, later in the week, it's off to sunny So Cal to see my parents and pick up my boy! I'll enjoy a few days off from work :) T and I are planning to go to Disneyland!

#543 the not-so-charming day

2011-08-04T20:58:00.000-06:00

As there is light and dark, good and bad, yin and yang, so must there be a day that is not charming to remind me of how great the charming day that I wrote about before really was.

Have you ever had one of those days that when you first wake up, you just know that something is "off"? When my alarm went off this morning, the first thing I wondered is why I had set it so early on a weekend. But it's not a weekend day, is it? No. It's Thursday. That just set the tone for me. I tried to shake it off by taking a minute to read, but the part of the book I was reading made me sad and tear-y. I tried to listen to music on the way to work, but the only song every station seemed to be playing was something slow and mellow when I needed upbeat and peppy. I turned to sports radio, but the I have decided I don't like the guy whose program was on. I couldn't stand to hear his voice!

Then I got to work. I was late (of course) and busy right from the moment I sat down at my desk. One of the fellas I work with came in to work on a project with me and he accidentally tipped over my drink, spilling my ice tea all over the desk. (Pretty comical, actually, when I think about it. Tea was everywhere!) I was trying to do an adjustment in the computer and I kept getting the sign wrong, so the adjustment got bigger and bigger and took longer and longer. I didn't get lunch, and we had delicious food brought in. I wanted to work, but I had to wait for someone else to send me information. Stuff wasn't set up in the computer and I had to wait for someone else to fix it.

All of the things are little and petty. It's just when I string them all together that it becomes nonsensical and not-so-charming. :-(

But now I'm home. We went to the Mexican place where I should have had lunch today, and I feel a little better. I have something from work that I wanted to get started on tonight so that tomorrow I can finish it quickly and easily and send it on it's way, but you know what? I think I'll have a beer instead and read a book that won't make me cry and get to bed a little early. Tomorrow's a new day. The work I didn't finish today will be still be there, and I'll be better able to handle it if I just say enough is enough today. Right?

Cheers!

#542 how about Birks?

2011-08-03T22:34:00.000-06:00

I didn't hear from Dr. B today, so the Thing On My Foot probably isn't a cyst. Don't you think he would have called today if he figured it out? There's definitely something there. I wore my Birkenstocks today. They are wide and although not cushion-y, they are supportive. I haven't been shopping yet. Maybe tomorrow.

Don't have much to say today. Work was really busy today, and I had to do a little homework. Now it's time for bed!

#541 a vist with the foot doctor

2011-08-02T21:34:00.000-06:00

Today I had my annual meeting with my podiatrist, Dr. B. We get together once a year so he can make sure the gout medicine is working. I haven't had a gout attack since 2007 (knock on wood), so I'd say the medicine is working well.

While I was there, though, I had Dr. B look at something on my left foot that's been bothering me for at least a couple of weeks. On the outside part of my foot, just outside the little toe, I've got a painful thing. I thought maybe it was a callous that had hardened. I've been rubbing it with a pumice stone in the shower and slathering foot cream on it at least once a day. It's smooth and soft, but there's something there that is uncomfortable at best and painful on occasion.

At first Dr. B thought it was a callous. I do have some callous-y buildup there. The more he looked at it, though, the more he didn't like it. There's something on the bottom of my foot, and it's not a wart or and IPD or IDK or something (I don't remember the initials he used.) It's not hard, but it's firm and it hurt quite a bit when he pressed on it.

He instructed me to go to the lab and have an x-ray done on it. His initial diagnosis is a cyst, but he's not sure. He told me to ice it and keep putting lotion on it. He also told me that I needed some new shoes. GRRR!!!! New shoes? Come on! He told me that I'd have to live in cross-trainers, like ALL THE TIME except when I sleep and shower.

I must have had a sad look on my face. I told him that one of my pleasures of the day was taking my shoes off when I got home. He said that I could get another, different pair of shoes to wear at home. He suggested Crocs.

I know that my hands flew to my face and I practically yelled, "I hate Crocs! I make fun of people who wear Crocs!" (Sorry about that Crocs fans, if you are reading. It's true though.) He just smiled (I think he has some Crocs) and explained that I need something with cushion to relieve the pressure on that cyst/thing-in-my-foot.

Thinking back on it now, maybe my priorities are a bit messed up if I'm more concerned about the stupid shoes than the potential CYST IN MY FOOT.

So I guess I'll head back to the shoe store and see if I can find some comfy cross-trainers. I don't know about the Crocs yet, though. I just don't know if I can do it. Dr. B said he would call me if he figured out what the Thing In My Foot is. If I don't hear from him, I should just ice it and elevate it and wear good shoes. If it starts to grow or hurt more, I should go see him. I shouldn't let anyone massage it or try to manipulate it.

MT and I are planning to go to Park City this weekend, and there's a Crocs store there. I'll probably go check it out. I just shuddered at the thought. The following totally sums up my thoughts on Crocs:

I'll let you know how this all goes...

#540 I'm not smart about shoes

2011-08-01T21:11:00.000-06:00

Happy August everyone!

It was a few months ago, I think, that I lamented the fact that I didn't know my own shoe size, so I have problems buying shoes. Flip flops? No problem. Slides? Easy. But when it comes to actual shoes that fit all the way around the foot, I've got nothing but problems.

Acting on the sage advise of my mother, I had the lady at a shoe store measure my feet recently. Ah hah! My right foot is half a size smaller than my left foot! Any my feet are a little on the wide side - not too much, but enough to be squishy if the shoe isn't a little generous. You can't very well buy a right shoe in one size and a left shoe in a different size. They ALWAYS check for stuff like that before they ring up your purchase. So I have weird feet.

A couple of weeks ago, MT needed to buy some new shoes for work, so I went with him. The shoe store he went to was having a buy one, get one half price sale, plus we had a 20% off coupon. While he was trying on shoes, I looked around too and found a perfectly cute pair of Naturalizer shoes. I put them on and they felt great- wide enough across the top and good in the length. I should also mention that when I was heavier, my feet were bigger, that is, I wore a bigger size. Do you see my confusion? And you know how clothing sizes aren't always the same across the board? Like a 14 in one brand is necessarily a 14 in another brand? I thought shoes might be the same, so I went ahead and purchased the shoes at the sale.

I've worn them twice, and today I had to admit to myself that I bought the wrong size. The right shoe flops around like a clown shoe. There's a good tow to three inches of space between the back of the shoe and my heel. The left one is a little better, not quite as floppy, but still floppy. How ridiculous am I? And I really like these shoes!

I remember the lady at the shoe store telling me that they sell inserts for people with my problem. I think I'll check it out and see what I can find.

In the meantime, I bought a new pair of cross-trainers last night. I'm fairly confident that these shoes are the right size. I put them on and walked around in them for awhile. I'll let you know how it goes when they are put to their first test in the class I'm taking tomorrow night.

~~

August has the makings of a pretty fun month, and since I don't have any more vacation stories to write about, I guess I'll just write about my simple little life. This week I'm most looking forward to attending the wedding reception of my BFF's son. I remember the day he was born, and now I'll be there on his wedding day. Wow! Since we moved to SLC when he was five years old, I have a tough time seeing him as a young man, although I of course I have seen him through the years. But really - married? That's just so...grown up! I wish him and his bride every happiness and I'm looking forward to celebrating their marriage on Friday. :-)

#539 un dia in Santo Domingo

2011-07-31T22:30:00.000-06:00

I wonder if by delaying posting about my vacation is my mind's way of thinking it's not over. Hmmm...

I'm going to write about the last day of our trip. We left Cayo Levantado in the morning and arrived by taxi in Santo Domingo two and a half hours later. The ride back to the city was good because I was actually awake and alert and could enjoy the scenery.

Our hotel was the Intercontinental V Centanario. It's right on the Malecon, which means "by the sea" or something like that. It's a pretty nice hotel. Our room had a nice view of the pool and the Caribbean.

We had a rather expensive buffet lunch at the hotel, then we decided to walk around the Colonial Zone, which is the oldest part of the city. The lady at the front desk told us we were in the Colonial Zone, and all we had to do was walk about ten minutes up the street, turn left, and we'd be in the heart of it. We headed out, and we wanted to get to the cathedral and Columbus' house. We'd been there before the last time we were in the city, and we wanted to explore it a little more on our own.

The thing is that I should have asked what street to turn left on. I think we turned left too early, and we were in a not so tourist-y part of the city. And it was hot and steamy. Sweat was running down my back. I didn't have an elastic to pull my hair back into a pony-tail and so it was curling and sticking to my head and generally I wasn't very attractive. And I was uncomfortable because I had no idea where we were. I should have broken down and got in a taxi, but I was stubborn and stupid, I suppose.

So we walked and walked, with T and I getting crankier by the minute. Looking back, I feel bad for MT. I actually felt bad for him at the time because he was really looking forward to seeing the sights and T and I were just not too happy.

Finally we stumbled upon a big park that looked like a fort. There was a big white fence around it with pictures of people, some being executed. It was a little creepy. We finally made our way around to the entrance, and it was guarded by a soldier or policeman. I asked in my halting Spanish what the park was and if we could go in. He said it was Independence Park and that we were welcome.

We walked in and saw a marble building up ahead. Thinking it might be a little cooler in there, we walked in. MT was wearing a baseball cap, and the minute we walked in, a little man appeared and asked MT to remove his cap. Inside the room were enormous statues of three men: Sanchez, Duarte, and Mella. There were also several bouquets of flowers with a sash reading "Viva la Patria" on them. I didn't know who the men were, but it was a little cooler in the building so I was ok.

The man who asked MT to remove his cap started talking to us in Spanish (of course), trying to explain what we were looking at. Apparently, Sanchez, Duarte and Mella were like the founding fathers of the Dominican Republic and this building is their final resting place. Then man offered to take us upstairs where he promised we would have a beautiful view of the statues and we would see a magnificent mural of the country and the flag. We agreed to see it. We went up a few steps when the man turned around and told us it would be three pesos per person (of course.) He agreed to take $10 and we began our "tour".

The statues are really big. I could only get two in a frame at a time. So here is Sanchez and Duarte:

The mural was very nice, but it was big, too and I couldn't really get a good picture of it, although the guide did everything he could to help me get a good shot of it.

He then lead us up a few more steps so I could take this picture:

I don't remember what he told me the name of the street was, but it's pretty cool. Cars are not allowed on that street and there are tons of souvenir shops and places to eat. More about that in a minute.

After being in the building, the man offered to give us a tour of the park. We agreed. After all, we'd paid $10, so we might as well get our money's worth. That's when it got interesting. The man, Eduardo, didn't speak any English. I can understand slow and simple Spanish. Eduardo really really loves what he's talking about, and sometimes he wasn't keeping it slow and simple for me. I did my best to translate for MT and T, copying Eduardo's many gestures as I stumbled through the history of the Dominican Republic.

Here are some highlights that I remember:

Duarte's mother is also buried in the park. She's the Madonna of the country.

There's a hollow tree in the park. I learned that hueco means hollow.I didn't understand how it became hollow.

There used to be a prison in the park.

At one point, Eduardo decided that the three of us would be the three founding fathers to make it more interesting. T was Sanchez, MT was Duarte, and I was Mella. I don't remember all the details, but let me just say we were all laughing and having a pretty good time at this point. I kept asking Eduardo to slow down so I could keep up with the translation. I remember something about Sanchez shooting a gun into the sky and Duarte sending the army to battle (with who? Spain?) and Mella running the newly created flag up the pole. Viva la Patria!

Eduardo kept telling me to take pictures and posing T in front of everything. This picture is one of my favorites. Eduardo told T to stand under this bridge, pointing up at a plant, then he decided T should wear his own Viva la Patria hat, and that MT should be in the photo also.

I was laughing so hard, it's a wonder the picture is even in focus. I have no idea what MT is looking at. He's probably trying to figure out what Eduardo wanted T to point out.

Eduardo was cool. He obviously enjoyed what he was doing and his joy was infectious. He was also helpful in getting us to the Cathedral. All we had to do, he said, was walk down the street he showed up from the top of the mausoleum and we'd get there. Then he took our picture.

So we headed up the street whose name I can't remember. MT was all fired up about getting souvenirs. He wanted a t-shirt or something. We must have gone in at least half a dozen shops and looked around. Well, MT looked around. T and I stood in front of any fan we could find, trying to cool off. MT was unsuccessful in his t-shirt hunt.

We kept strolling and ran into some LDS missionaries. We started talking to them, and a couple more missionaries showed up, then an American guy in a Kobe Byrant t-shirt came along and joined in our conversation. It was just like being at home!

We left the Americans and continued along to the plaza where the cathedral is located. It is the oldest cathedral in the Americas. It doesn't really look like much from the outside, but it is really beautiful inside.

Of course, it was pretty dark in there, so I didn't get very good pictures, but look at the ceiling:

I liked it. And it was cool in there.

After wandering around the cathedral, MT was still on the souvenir trail. We walked up a street and found a shop. We went in. The place had lots of these metal painted lizards. We'd seen them in a shop on Cayo Levantado and they are really cute. MT decided he would have one if he could get it for the right price. He haggled mercilessly with the shop-lady and finally walked out when she wouldn't agree to his price. She ran down the street after him, yelling for him to come back and they did finally agree on a price. We now own a blue lizard from the DR. It's sitting on MT's dresser. I don't know where the lizard will find permanent residence. He is cute.

By this time, I'm seriously sweating and thirsty. We plunked ourselves down at a corner bar and got a couple of beers and some water. The beer in the DR is called Presidente and it's really delicious. The Presidente I had that day was truly one of the tastiest beers I've ever had. I think I could have sat at that table, looking at the cathedral and the statue of Columbus all afternoon and got really drunk. But we didn't. We drank and rested and laughed about Eduardo and the lizard and decided to go back to the hotel. We took a cab.

Oh...here's a picture of the statue of Columbus:

Looks kinda like the one in Barcelona, huh? (Except the one in Barcelona is a lot taller.)

Again, looking back, I'm sorry that we didn't get to some of the other places MT wanted to see. Maybe it would have been better if we'd started in Santo Domingo instead of saving it for last. I mean, I was pretty relaxed after eleven days on the island. I was still in relaxation mode, not really walking-around-the-city- being-all-sweaty mode. Sorry MT.

Back at the hotel, T flopped on the bed and promptly fell asleep. It was nice and cool in there. MT and I decided to go down to the pool. (T knew where we were. We told him before he slept.) The water was cold, but the breeze felt great. I read and had a coke and relaxed. It was good. T came down a little later, and we ended up having dinner on the patio by the pool. It was nice. We stayed out until it was pretty dark, then we got some chocolate and went to our room, where we played a game of rummy. It might have been one of my favorite evenings.

The next day, our flight out wasn't until the afternoon. MT and I once again went down by the pool. I read and lazed in the sun, enjoying the sounds of the reggae/merengue/bachata music coming from the construction site behind the hotel, the honking horns of the cars and trucks on the Malecon, the sound of the Caribbean crashing against the sea wall. The sun was warm, but the breeze cooled me off and I was happy.

Here's a picture of the Malecon:

So that's the end. I think I've told you about all the highlights of our trip to the Dominican Republic this year. I will say that the DR is a beautiful place, and the people I've encountered have all been friendly and pleasant. I've been there twice and I'd be happy to go there again!

#538 a charming day

2011-07-21T22:01:00.000-06:00

Have you ever had one of those days when you just felt, well, charmed? As I was walking Osi through the neighborhood tonight, enjoying the mild temperature and the beautiful sunset, watching the kids riding their bikes up and down the street, greeting my neighbors as they mowed the lawn/washed their car/enjoyed the evening, I thought about my day and how lovely and sort of charming it was.

It started when I woke up a little earlier than I have been and my knee felt good (ahhh...cortisone!) so I decided to do some yoga. It was just a 20 minute A.M. yoga dvd. It felt good to stretch and twist and gently come into the day.

Then I picked out a cute outfit. I put on my favorite top that I purchased for vacation. It's sleeveless, white and black, with little diagonal ruffles on it. I paired it with an A-line black skirt and black sandals. I wore pretty silver dangle-y earrings. It was simple and I liked it. I felt good in it.

Work was busy this morning. I had a couple of meetings, but they weren't stressful and I felt good about what was going on. For lunch, a few of us went to a soup and sandwich place downtown called Zupas. We ate on the patio because the weather was so wonderful. We sat in the shade and enjoyed our meal, took care of a spot of business, and listened to a crazy woman yell at us until one of the restaurant people told her to move along. With the SLC skyline in the background, it felt just like being in a real city! :-)

Back in the office in the afternoon, I got a bunch of stuff done, and again, I didn't feel stressed or rushed. I just felt happy to check things off my to-do list.

When I got home, MT wasn't here yet, so I took my Nook outside on the deck and read for about half an hour until he came home. I tried a new recipe tonight. It was simple and tasty. It was grilled chicken with a goat cheese vinaigrette. I'll tell you how to make it.

I took two boneless, skinless chicken breasts and sliced them lengthwise so I had four pieces of chicken. I seasoned both sides of each piece of chicken with a bit of garam masala, salt and pepper. I sprayed my grill pan with non-stick spray, heated the pan a bit, then put the chicken in the pan.

While the chicken was cooking, I mixed about 1/3 cup of olive oil, about a palmful of red pepper flakes and some chopped parsley in a bowl. Then I added about two ounces of goat cheese to the mixture.

In the meantime, I cooked some orzo in another pot.

When the chicken and the pasta were done, I placed a piece of chicken on the plate along with a reasonable serving of the orzo. Then I topped both the goat cheese vinaigrette. The goat cheese began to melt on the hot pasta and chicken, and it was dang tasty. It was light and good and creamy. It pleased me. MT said it was fine. I think I was a little heavy on the parsley, and the vinaigrette could have used some salt and pepper, but overall, I liked it a lot. There was leftovers, so I cut up the chicken into bite-size pieces and mixed the pasta and the chicken bites with the leftover vinaigrette. I think it will be a yummy light lunch. I bet it would even be ok cold.

After dinner, like I said, I took Osi for a quick walk around the neighborhood. It was just a nice mellow day.

Sheesh! I must be getting old if this is all it takes to make me so happy!

#537 when animals attack

2011-07-19T22:31:00.000-06:00

This morning on my way to work, I was listening to the radio. The question to the listeners was "Have you ever been attacked by an animal other than a dog or a cat?"
I think the question stems from recent animal attack incidents - an actor or someone famous was attacked by a dog recently, and there was a mountain lion attack around here somewhere.

Anyway, I usually like to just hear to music, not talking, but the first couple of calls were funny, so I listened.

There was a guy who worked for a cable company and he left the windows in his truck rolled down or the door open or something and when he got back in the vehicle, a raccoon was sitting in the passenger seat. He described it like a scene from a movie: he and the animal looked at each other, then the man yelped and jumped out of the truck, followed by the raccoon who grabbed hold of his pant leg. I can imagine the guy standing in the road trying to shake the raccoon off his leg!

Next there was a man who got too close to a buffalo in Yellowstone and got charged. It turns out the bison only took a couple of steps toward the guy and his friend, but still. I'd freak out and run away, too. Bison are huge! (Almost everyone around here seems to have a bison-attack story.)

There was also a lady who told a story of how a pelican tried to eat her when she was a little girl. She and her family were visiting San Diego and they were looking at the water from a pier or something and a pelican came over and put her whole head in its mouth. She says she remembers being terrified and remembers her father laughing as he pulled the bird off her head. She ended her story by saying that "Pelicans are jerks."

One of my favorite stories was about a man who was swimming in Lake Powell without a shirt - would this detail be uttered anywhere other than Utah? - when a blue gill fish nipped at the dude's nipple and drew blood. Stay out of the fish's home!

Of course, all of these stories reminded me of the time I was attacked by a wild animal.

I was playing golf at Eaglewood. I was on the 18th hole and on the left side of the fairway is an embankment. I could see there were some birds over there by the embankment, so I wanted to stay in the middle of the fairway and avoid the birds. Of course, my ball went directly left to where the birds were, causing the birds to fly to the bushes on the embankment.

The cart path was way on the right side of the fairway, and of course, the ladies I was playing with were all right in the middle or on the right side of the fairway. I had to go to the left by the birds by myself. I got my nine iron and trudged across the fairway. My ball was nestled right by the hillside. I lined up my shot. I pulled the club back and just then, a bird flew at me, coming so close I felt it's wings at the side of my head. I screamed, closed my eyes, waved my club in the air and started running back across the fairway with these stupid birds chasing me and making bird noises. I was terrified.

When I couldn't hear the bird anymore, I opened my eyes. The three ladies I was playing with were laughing their fool heads off. One of them was actually sitting on the ground, holding her stomach, tears pouring down her face as she laughed.

Was it a crow? A hawk? An eagle? No. It was a quail.

I'm pretty sure I was quite a ridiculous sight, lumbering across the fairway, club held high, with the little quail flying after me. Yes, they are small, but that one was scary! Every time I'm at that golf course, I think of the guardian quail at 18.

#536 the sun halo

2011-07-10T21:58:00.000-06:00

On Wednesday June 15, T and I were playing catch in the pool by the beach at the Bahia Principe resort on Cayo Levantado, Dominican Republic. We'd invented this game where we had a soft ball that we tossed back and forth to each other. If one of us missed the ball, the other person scored a point. The ball would get heavy and wet and sometimes it was just plain hard to catch. We had hours of fun playing this little game together.

It was a beautiful day (as most of the days were!) The sky was a brilliant blue, the air was warm, there was just enough of a breeze to keep the temperature comfortable and the humidity didn't seem overpowering.

So there we were, throwing this ball back and forth. T threw the ball to me and it went way over my head (not catch-able) but I jumped up to try to get it. I looked up at the sky and this is what I saw:

There was an incredible "halo" all around the sun in a perfect circle. It was huge. The picture is nice but doesn't do it justice. Imagine the sky outside the circle is bright, bright blue. Then you have the outer circle, the halo, and you can faintly distinguish the colors of the rainbow in the circle. Then the sky inside the halo was a little darker blue and the brilliant shiny sun right in the center. I've never seen anything like it.

I pointed to the sky. "Look at that," I called out to T or to anyone who was listening.

T looked up. "Oh yeah. I've seen that before," he said.

"Really?" I said. "When?"

"In third grade, at lunchtime. I thought it meant the aliens were coming. It freaked me out. You remember stuff like that."

I shook my head. But our conversation had aroused interest from other people in the area. There was a French Canadian couple sitting in the lounge chairs next to ours and they were really excited about the sight. Pretty soon all the people at the pool were looking up at the sky, shading their eyes against the bright sunlight.

I hopped out of the pool and grabbed my camera. It was kind of hard to take a picture of the sun, but I snapped some off.

If you click on the picture, you'll get a bigger image of it. I love how you can see the little sort of furry-looking things around the halo. MT says that is the sun.

None of us could really figure out what the phenomenon was called or what caused it. MT was in the pool having a SCUBA lesson at the time. When he came up, T pointed out the sight. Both MT and the divemaster/instructor said it was a "sun dog" and Bryan, the divemaster, said it was the biggest one he'd ever seen. The French Canadian man sitting near me had an iPod Touch and he Googled something. He said there had been a lunar eclipse that morning, and maybe what we were seeing was the tail-end of the eclipse. Other people were saying that it meant that a big storm was coming. (It did rain, thunder and lightning later that afternoon, but it wasn't a big storm.)

When I got home and looked at the picture on my computer, I thought it looked like a halo around the sun. I Googled "sun halo" and sure enough, there are other images out there that look like mine. It's caused by humidity or moisture in the air or something. I'm not scientific. I don't really care how it got there, I just feel so fortunate that I got to see it. It was there for a pretty long time. I kept checking the sky and watching it. It would fade a little, then come back.

It was really one of the most amazing things I've ever seen in the sky.

I posted the picture on Facebook and a friend of mine, who is a really great photographer, suggested that I submit the photo to National Geographic magazine. They have a feature called "Your Shots." Every week day, the editors select a dozen pictures, the call it the Daily Dozen. People can vote on the pictures and the ones that get the most votes get to be in National Geographic magazine. So far, mine hasn't shown up on the Daily Dozen, but if it does, I will certainly let all seven of you know. Hopefully then you will tell seven friends to vote for me and so on. How wonderful, amazing and cool would it be to have a photo published in National Geographic? There'd be no living with me after that. :-)

That's all I've got for today. Hasta luego!

#535 Playa Rincon

2011-07-09T21:57:00.000-06:00

I mentioned before that we only left Cayo Levantado a couple of times. One excursion was to Los Haitises. The other was to Playa Rincon.

In a travel book, I'd read that Playa Rincon was one of the most beautiful beaches in the Dominican Republic. I also read that to get there, you really had to want to get there, because it's quite remote. I really wanted to go, so we booked the excursion.

It started out with a quick bus ride to the town of fishing village of Las Galeras. I have to say, it really struck my fancy. I think I would like to go there again and explore it. (A few days later, MT would go there on his way to a SCUBA trip. He liked it a lot.)

Once again, we were the only English-speaking people on the trip, so I did my best to translate. There were a lot more people on this trip, so the guide didn't take extra time to talk slowly and patiently to me. Fortunately, since it was a beach day, not a lot of translation had to happen. The most important information was how we'd get to the beach. There were three options: a 30-minute boat ride, an hour ride in a camioneta - safari jeep - or a 90 minute horseback ride. T decided we should ride in the safari jeep.

In Las Galeras we stopped at a bar/restaurant on the corner of the main street. We were served fruit juice that you could spice with a little Vitamin R (rum). I declined. It was a little early in the day for rum, even on vacation. While we were there, I asked one of the guys to take our picture. This is one of my favorites from the whole trip:

We loaded up in the camioneta and headed for the beach. Not Playa Rincon just yet, but to Las Galeras beach so the people who were riding the horses could get saddled up. The beach at Las Galeras was stunning.

What did I tell you?!

In the camioneta, there were the three of us, two Dominican girls, and two women and one girl from a Spanish-speaking country. Let's say Argentina. The girl was probably eight or nine years old and she was quite chubby. And mostly naked. She wasn't wearing a shirt, only shorts and flip flops. It wasn't a pretty sight. T couldn't even look in her direction. He was quite disturbed.

So we set off through the Dominican countryside. The road was pretty dreadful. We couldn't make very good time. I don't think the truck got our of second gear. We passed through tiny villages, passed fields, passed houses, passed little kids playing in yards surrounded by beautiful flowers. The houses were fairly primitive. I can't imagine anyone I know living like that. I wondered what their lives are like. I wondered what they'd think of our houses and the stuff we take for granted. It's a really different lifestyle. The countryside is gorgeous. Very green and lush. Take a look:

That last picture is a pirate scarecrow. I loved it! It's a little blurry because we were bouncing along the road. It was mostly gravel with a little pavement, lots of potholes. Bone-jarring.

After about half an hour, we stopped outside a little village at a shop to stretch our legs and buy a souvenir. There was all kinds of fruit and necklaces and MamaJuana, of course. What is MamaJuana? It is a collection of sticks and stuff. You pour rum on it and let all the flavor mix together. It's supposed to be medicinal and an aphrodisiac, I guess. Last time we were there, MT bought the twigs, but we never made the concoction. I ended up throwing the sticks away.

Here's a pic of part of the store:

Here's a pic of the road in a good spot:

From the store, we were only about five kilometers from Playa Rincon, but it took us a long time to get there. The road was very rough and rocky and in some places, covered with water. I would have taken a picture, but I was too busy holding on so I didn't slip off the seat. If you suffer from a bad back, I would NOT recommend taking the camioneta to Playa Rincon! Bone-jarring is really the only way to describe the ride. The ladies we were riding with had some sprite with rum, but it ended up sloshing all over the place. There was no drinking on the ride. Your drink wouldn't stay in the cup and your bum wouldn't stay on the seat unless you were holding on! But the scenery was pretty spectacular.

Finally, we got to the beach area. It was breathtaking.

I tried to take more pictures, but my camera had a message for me: LOW BATTERY. ARGH! MT was plenty cranky at me, I can tell you. I was so sad. Here I was at a truly special place, a place I probably won't get to see again, and I wouldn't be able to take pictures of our time there. As you'll see, I did take more pictures, but certainly not as many as I would have if my camera wasn't telling me that I was irresponsible with the battery charger.

We settled on the beach and immediately got into the clear blue water. The beach is sheltered and the waves were very gentle. The best part of it all - no fish!! Sure, there were probably some fish somewhere, but they weren't patrolling the shore so I was able to get in the water free of fish-fear. It was heavenly! T seemed to have some reservations about it all at first, but then he got in and had fun. The water was shallow for a long way; T and MT went pretty far out while I stayed close to the shore. (Surely there would be fish further out and I didn't want to risk it!)

We played in the water for awhile, and then it was time for lunch. We walked up to an open air restaurant and enjoyed a buffet lunch, Dominican style. There was pan de coco (bread made from coconut), rice with beans, a delicious crunchy lettuce or cabbage-type salad with salsa fresca for dressing, chicken, fish and lobster. Fresh, grilled lobster. The adults got a whole lobster, split in two. T got half a lobster. He seemed a little perturbed by it. All it's legs were there and it's spiny shell. MT showed us both how to dig the white meat out of the tail. If I'd had more battery life, you'd see pictures. I'll just tell you that it was incredibly delicious. T gobbled his lobster up once he got the hang of getting it out of the shell. I'm surprised he didn't get more. What a fantastic lunch. We're sitting in a simple open-air building, looking at a beautiful beach, sipping a nice cold beer and eating grilled lobster. Best Thursday ever!

After lunch we got back in the water. MT did a little snorkeling. He found the fish. They were over by a rock wall. He said it was really great snorkeling there. Of course it was. Everything was great there!

T decided that if there was room, he'd like to ride back in the boat. I was so thankful. Fortunately, there was room. Most of the people who had been in the boat on the way over wanted to ride in the camioneta on the way back. (I don't know why.) Since the boat ride took the shortest amount of time, we were able to stay a little longer than everyone else, and MT and I took the opportunity to walk along the beach.

MT is a true beachcomber. As we walked, he was picking up little shells and interesting pieces of coral. We left everything there. I did keep one little piece of coral. It's white and shaped like the number four. It's on my desk at work to remind me of that wonderful day.

The boat ride back was terrific! It's way less than 30 minutes from Las Galeras, but we stopped for snorkeling. T and I didn't swim or snorkel; we just hung out. MT snorkeled though and he had a blast. There was a local boy who was part of the crew and he was an excellent swimmer and snorkeler. MT said that he and the boy were the last two people out in the water. The boy found something sharp and broke open an anemone which set off a feeding frenzy for all the fish. MT said it was really cool to see so many colorful fish in one spot. He gave the boy a nice tip. We figured he probably lives in one of the little houses around Las Galeras and the tip was a lot of money for him maybe. It made MT feel happy to give the tip because he felt so happy to see all the fish.

We got back to Las Galeras, got back in the bus and headed to Cayo Levantado. It was a fantastic day!

#534 Los Haitises National Park

2011-07-04T00:00:00.000-06:00

We left Cayo Levantado twice to go on excursions. Our first excursion was to Los Haitises National Park. The trip involved a boat ride to the park, viewing some caves, swimming in an underground river, seeing mangrove swamps, then lunch. It would be an all-day event.

We started out at 9 AM, which was pretty early for T, so he was a little grumpy. It didn't help that we were in a boat. He doesn't love boats. I gave him some sea-bands to wear that prevent sea-sickness. He put them on and slept most of the way. It caused people to ask if he was ok. I explained that he was a teenager and that he was awake earlier than normal. Everyone understood.

Speaking of understanding, there was a little language barrier going on. Our guide didn't speak English. I don't speak much Spanish. Fortunately, I can understand some Spanish, so what ended up happening was that the guide would tell me some information in Spanish and I would do my best to translate to MT what was said. This type of communication happened throughout our trip. Glad I've been learning a bit of the language!

On our excursion, there were three couples from Spain, a couple from Puerto Rico, a couple from Portugal and us. The people from Portugal spoke some English, but we didn't talk to them very much.

The guide told us that we might have a chance to see the dolphins in the brown water (the water was brown because it came from the second largest river in the DR and fed right into the bay), but we didn't. It wasn't for lack of trying to find some, though! I kept my eyes on the water all the time. And it was brown.

As we got closer to land, though, the water became less brown and the place was tropical and green and beautiful!

We stopped at a little beach where there was a long explanation that I didn't much understand. I do know that he talked about spiders and bats (murcielago) in the cave we were about to enter. I also know that he talked about the Taino Indians living in the caves before Columbus came to this part of the world. I was excited about the Indian art, less so about the spiders and bats.

Fortunately, the first thing we saw was the art:

We went into the cave. The guide pointed his flashlight high up above us. Hanging there, upside down, sure enough was a bat. I didn't take a picture. I didn't want to make eye contact with it! Just knowing it was up there, hanging around, creeped me out mightily! As we continued into the cave, there was an opening out to the water and all these little birds were flying around. I thought they were bats, but thankfully they weren't. It was still a little creepy.

Then, tucked back into a dark corner, the guide became terribly excited because he saw a spider. I didn't crowd around to see it. I understood him to say that this particular spider was poisonous and not to be messed with. MT took the camera and tried to get a picture of it.

In the second picture, MT focused the camera on the rock right in front, but toward the back, behind the bright rock face, you can see a large spider. EWWW! MT still talks about that spider being the biggest one he's ever seen. He puts both of his palms together and says with the legs, it would be as big as both of his hands. The body was small, but the legs were very long. Nasty! The guide poked it with a stick to assure us it was real, not plastic, that "they" hadn't put it ther for the tourists. hahahaha

We continuted on through the cave for a little bit more time, then back past the spider and the bats and out to the boat.

We saw a little another Taino petroglyph, this time on the side of a rock wall.

Can you see it there? It's in the middle of the picture on a little grey rock face. I wonder how the Indians got up there. It looks like it would be easy to reach, but let me tell you that the carving was at least twenty feet above the water.

We also went through a mangrove swamp. Mangrove trees are interesting because they live in salt water, half in the water and half on land and support a tremendous amount of life. I think they are very interesting. And they look cool. I like how their roots show above the waterline.

We got to another cave area. At this area, we pulled up to a little platform and walked up some stone steps into the cave.

Inside the cave we spent quite a bit of time at a rock formation that looked a little like the Madonna holding a child. The pictures we have don't really do it justice. You can't really make out the shape in the photo as well as I could standing in front of it. MT had the camera so I'll just blame his photography skills ;)

As we went further in, we saw this cute little Taino monkey face carving:

As I turned away from the little face, I saw an opening above the cave through which what seemed like green light was coming in. Because it was so dark, I had to hold perfectly still to capture what I was seeing. The rock seemed to be bathed in this green light.

The guide told us that a scene from the first "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie was filmed in this cave, in this spot and at another spot we'd see soon. At least I think that's what he said. He kept mentioning Captain Jack Sparrow. I need to watch the movie again and we'll see if we can recognize the spot.

The second spot was very dark and there was no way for me to capture the image. Of course, T said he totally recognized it from the movie. He has seen the movie a bunch of times.

After the cave, we boated through some inlets and past some beaches and rocky islands that were the nesting areas of pelicans and frigate birds.

We went to the area of the underground river, but the tide was out and the water was too shallow to allow us to go closer to the beach so the swimming could happen. MT was very disappointed. I didn't really care because I wouldn't have swum anyway. And by that time, everyone was getting pretty hungry, so we headed back across the bay to an area near the town of Sanchez for lunch.

On the way back, just about everyone partook in some "Vitamin R" and coke. That's rum to you and me!

I wish I had taken a picture of the beach where we pulled up. It was covered with debris. Remember earlier I mentioned that the water in the bay was brown because the river emptied right into the bay? Well, along with silt (dirt), the river also carried tree branches and whatever else was in the it to the bay. That debris washes up on the beaches in the area. Most places clean up their beaches regularly. The particular beach we landed at hadn't quite gotten around to cleaning up. There was a lot of big sticks and garbage washed up there. It was kind of sad. The boat couldn't pull right up to the beach and there was no dock, so we had to get off our boat and get into these little fishing boats. Then some local men pulled the boats about five steps to the beach where they brought the fishing boat right up on the sticks and garbage. MT wondered why he couldn't just wade from our boat to the shore. I said he probably shouldn't want to get into that dirty water. No one was swimming or getting in the water except for the men who pulled our little boats in.

There was a little restaurant tucked up away from the beach a bit. It was a beautiful view:

The food was delicious. To start we had croquetas de yuca. The yuca had been made into a paste-type substance, then coated in breading and fried. When splashed with some spicy hot sauce, they were quite tasty. T had about six! Then we had a little salad and bread, and the main course was paella. It was delicious! It was full of chicken and shrimp and other fish. To drink there was water (which no one had), coke or sprite and beer mixed with sprite. That's one of my new favorite drinks. (I had some yesterday!) It cuts the bitterness of the beer and little and sweetens it. It's not too different from the shandy which is beer with lemonade. One of the Spanish men told me that in Spain they drink beer with Fanta de limon. So there you go.

After lunch we sailed back to Samana and then back to Cayo Levantado. It was a fun day. Los Haitises is a big park, and we only saw a very small part of the coast. The interior of the park has some magnificent waterfalls I've heard. Maybe we'll have to check those out next time. :)

#533 Bahia Principe at Cayo Levantado, DR

2011-06-26T10:12:00.000-06:00

So I've decided to start talking about the vacation with the place we stayed, the Gran Bahia Principe resort at Cayo Levantado. Cayo Levantado is a tiny island right off the north coast of the Dominican Republic near the town of Samana. It's in the bay of Samana, so the water there is very calm.

To get there, we took a flight from SLC to NYC (five hours), then another flight from NYC to Santo Domingo (about four and a half hours). From Santo Domingo, which is on the Caribbean side, we took a taxi across the country to Samana on the Atlantic side, and that was about two and a half hours. From there, we took a seven minute (approx) boat ride to Cayo Levantado.

Here's what you see when you pull up in the boat:

The main building is a beautiful Colonial-style structure. It was unusual for us because it was the first resort that actually had a building with four walls. The other resorts we've been to in the Caribbean aren't enclosed. The restaurants and everything are covered, but don't have walls, so this place was different in that respect. Maybe because of hurricanes?

Like I said, the island is very small and the only thing on it is the resort. There are 30 villas with three or four rooms in each villa, plus there are rooms in the main building. In the main building was the buffet. There were also three a la carte restaurants and a snack bar by the beach pool. There was also a beach bar and another bar at the other swimming pool.

We spent all of our time at the pool by the beach. They have a very nice beach:

In this picture, people are doing water aerobics. The leader is on the beach. The beach is nice and the water is calm, but there are fish in the water, and I don't like to be around the fish. (I have talked about this before and I just don't like to have the fish around me. And sometimes there were lots of fish!

Those little squiggly things are fish. For a few days, there were thousands of them right up close to the shore. They were so thick and plentiful, the pelicans just stayed right by the shore and scooped them up at will.

So I hung out at the pool.

The water was so warm. In the afternoon it was like a bathtub. I never wanted to get out of the water late in the day. It was so comfortable! T and I bought a little softball that we tossed around for hours. I also bought a floatie and we'd take turns using it just to float around and relax. My routine was: get in the water for awhile, get out, get something to drink, read, repeat. It was a good routine. I did it for days. That's my kind of vacation!

I would go over to the beach daily to do what I liked to call "surveying my domain."

It was just beautiful! And the pool was great too:

All the resorts we've been to have beautiful gardens, but I think the gardens at Cayo Levantado were the most beautiful. I mean the place is just GREEN. The whole countryside around there is green and lush, and the island was no different.

There are different kinds of palm trees, and one of my favorites is the fan palm. I think they're pretty. There were lots of fan palms at this resort. I took lots of pictures of them. MT thinks I'm a bit of a freak, but you just don't see these trees here in Utah!

The resort is private, but there is a beach on the island that is open to the public. It didn't happen when we were there, but there are cruise ships that dock at Samana, and an excursion that is available is to go to the beach at Cayo Levantado. The public beach is called Bacardi Beach because it looks like the beach where a Bacardi rum commercial was filmed. I don't know if the commercial was filmed there, but it is nice. The sand is not white, but it's very light and there are lots of palm trees over there. There's also about 1,000 chairs for the cruise ship visitors. The water over there isn't as calm as at the private beach because it's not as sheltered. It's much more open. You can see a lot of Samana Bay from the public beach. We went over there a couple of times in the evening or at sunset. It's the best place to see the sunset on the island.

Before we left for our trip, we were maniacally checking the weather forecast which always said thunderstorms and cloudy. The reality was that it was warm and humid and sunny and gorgeous 90% of the time.

It was raining the evening we arrived, but it was the kindest, gentlest rain ever. And it was over very quickly. It did rain twice during the day when we were there. Both times we were at the pool and we took shelter under our palapa until the rain passed. MT said it rained at night once.

We spent 11 nights on Cayo Levantado. It is a beautiful place and one that I would certainly visit again. The Dominican Republic is the only place we've been to twice, although we stayed in different areas both times. I can see us going back to the DR again. The people are nice and friendly and the country is beautiful. There are not a lot of Americans that go there (part of the appeal for me) so you get to meet people from all over the world. We met people from Canada, Spain, Germany, England and Australia.

I'll leave you with two views that I got to see every day and I didn't tire of them. It was a wonderful place to stay and I enjoyed myself very much!