Merry Christmas!

Just wanted to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a safe and Happy New Year!

Brief update

Okay, I keep saying I'll post some new pics of myself soon, but then I never get around to it. So here's a new pic that was taken by my mom this morning...

This pic was taken before I ventured out to make some sales calls for Mom's cleaning company today. Fortunately I don't have to get too dressed up, since I have virtually no nice clothes that fit! After stopping at a few places, walking a couple jobsites, and leaving some business cards, I came home for about an hour. Then I was off to decorate Christmas ornaments with my brother's kiddos. This will be their first Christmas since their parents divorced, so we're trying to make the best of it and get them excited. Mom and Dad got Arron a small tree, and we (Mom, Dad, Arron, me, Kaylie, Luke and Jacob) spent a couple hours making/decorating ornaments with stickers, glitter glue, markers, pipe cleaners, etc. Everyone seemed to enjoy it, and I'm glad we all got to spend a little family time together.

Happy holidays!

Uneventful weekend

I wish I had something fun to share with you, but other than changing my blog background, watching TV and surfing the web, I didn't do anything this weekend. Instead of getting over my week long cold, it got worse. I ended up going to an urgent care on Friday, where I learned that I have an upper respiratory infection (I guess that's fancy wording for a cold) and bronchitis. I was given a high dosage of steroids and sent home with two prescriptions -- one for an overpriced nasal spray and one for a yucky cough medicine with codeine. Because I'm so annoyed about still being sick, I've been diligent about taking my medicine and done virtually nothing but rested. At least I got to watch football today, and despite how pitiful they played, my Colts won (woot woot!). I can't say I was pleased with their performance, but hey, a win is a win. There were quite a few close games today, which keeps things interesting I suppose. Now I'm just sitting here waiting until I can shove another dose of crappy cough medicine down my throat before I head to bed...can't do that until midnight though. Good times.

Well I better sign off before I bore you to death. I hope you had a much more fun-filled weekend than I did. :)

Thankful

Happy Thanksgiving! I was fortunate to get to spend Turkey Day with family -- many who I haven't seen in about 9 years. We visited, laughed a lot and ate a ton of yummy food. I'm so grateful to have such an awesome family. Yet, while that was great, I must admit that I'm feeling lonely today. It wasn't so bad when everyone was here, but now that they're gone, the sadness has crept in. This is the first time in 8 years that I haven't spent the holiday with Eric, and it's not easy. I guess I can't expect it to be. The holidays just don't feel like a happy time this year. So in the spirit of the holiday, and in order to stop feeling sorry for myself, I've decided to list some things that I am thankful for (in no particular order)...

1) My family - They've sacrificed a lot for me over the years, and continue to sacrifice in order to help me get back on my feet. They laugh at my silliness. They forgive me. They stand behind me ALWAYS. They value my opinion. They encourage me. They love me unconditionally. They want nothing more than for me to be happy. I know I can always come "home" and feel welcome. They respect me. They help me in any way they can. They are the best!

2) My best friend, Michelle - She is selfless and supports me no matter what. She always finds the time in her very busy "mommy" schedule to call and let me know she's thinking of me. She encourages me when I need it most. She listens without judging. She keeps me grounded. She tells me I'm beautiful when I feel ugly. She lets me vent and cry whenever I need to. She understands me. She reminds me that I deserve to be happy and loved. She shaved my legs for me when I was too sick and depressed to get out of bed...that's a true friend, and I love her dearly!

3) My good friend, Stephanie - Although I've only known her for a year and a half, she has helped me through some rough times. She helped me maintain some sanity in Idaho when I had nobody else. She's caring. She laughs at my craziness. She listens and shares. She welcomed and accepted me into her life and home from the day we met. She relates to me and my feelings. She's compassionate. She has a mouth like a trucker and makes me laugh! :)

4) Eric - Despite the current situation, I feel so grateful to have had Eric in my life these last eight years. He's given me so much to smile about. He's the best snuggler. He pretty much supported me financially for the last 2 years...always made sure I had everything I needed, even when we couldn't afford things we wanted. He encouraged me on my weight loss mission, because he wanted to me to be happy. He put up with my many mood swings over the years. He has beautiful, loving eyes. We've had so much fun together, often just hanging out being silly. He didn't get upset when I'd beat him at Wii bowling, Swing Away Golf, or Monopoly. :) He was my prince charming when I was at a really difficult crossroads in my life. He laughs at my silliness and makes me laugh as much. He loves me.

5) My life experiences - Even though there have been plenty of ups and downs, I am so grateful for the many experiences I've had. I've gotten to travel throughout the US, and to Canada, Jamaica and Mexico. I've met so many amazing people throughout my life...When I moved to California, some very generous friends let me stay with them for a couple months for free. They helped get me a job and meet new people. They helped me establish a life. I'll be eternally grateful for their kindness. My job at Western Air (Trane) opened up so many great doors for me...I made some really good friends -- co-workers, customers and vendors, got some amazing job experience, learned how to work hard and handle big responsibilities, and gained a lot of computer, marketing, sales, hvac, and business knowledge. I'm even thankful for the bad things I've experienced, because they've helped to make me who I am.

6) My education - I'm grateful for the education I received at Dalton and the couple years of college at Wayne. I learned how to be accountable for my own actions. I learned how to make friends. I learned how to speak in public. I learned enough to help me through many levels of Smarter Than a Fifth Grader and Cash Cab! :)

7) Miscellaneous - I'm thankful for sunshine, nature, hugs and kisses, dogs, music, technology, the feel of sand between my toes, makeup, slippers, holidays, french fries, seeing my niece and nephews smile, football, having a roof over my head, love, my colts blanket, the beach, toilet paper and indoor plumbing!, water, old friends and relationships, electricity, funny movies, having common sense, clothes, sweet treats, good health, compassion and sensitivity, the internet, the innocence of children, memories, laughing til my tummy hurts, gifts, summer thunderstorms, my weight loss, a warm bed to curl up in, kleenex to dry my tears, rainbows, coloring books and crayons, compliments, bike rides, my Jeep, cough drops, hot showers, passion, a sense of humor, eye candy, and much more.

...In reality, I see that I have a lot to be thankful for. I could keep adding to my list, but it's getting late, and I'm still struggling to get over this nasty cold. As an FYI, if you're reading this, I'm also thankful for you. I sincerely hope you had a nice Thanksgiving.

Siblings...

For those of you who don't already know, I have one real brother and 4 other "siblings". I've posted a pic of my brother and his kiddos before, but I thought you might want to see the others too. There's Angel (half St Bernard, half Rottweiler - age 5), Chubbs (St Bernard, rescued from a really bad life, age 4), Chy-Anne (St Bernard, just rescued from a really bad life, age 2), and Sassi (St Bernard, spoiled rotten, age 1). They're all so spoiled already, but they seem to enjoy the extra attention they're getting from me!

ANGEL

CHUBBS

CHY-ANNE

SASSI (2 PICS)

DAD WITH HIS BIG BABIES (2 PICS)

Mission accomplished!

I stepped on the scale this morning and found that I have now lost 50 pounds! I can't even tell you how excited I am and how accomplished I feel! I'm now in a healthy weight range, according to the ideal body weight charts, and that's a huge sense of relief for me. I still plan to lose another 15 pounds by my birthday in February, and I'll continue exercising to tone and maintain my weight going forward. I'll be taking and posting some new pics soon.

And if I needed another reason to smile, I got to spend Friday and Saturday night with my brother and his kiddos, and got to see my best friend today. It's so great to be able to spend time with them again. I'm so thankful for my family and friends!

Hope you all had a great weekend!

One positive note

One positive note is that I've now lost 45 lbs!!! I had hoped to reach the 50 lb mark by Thanksgiving, but with everything that's been going on, it's been hard to stick to my regular exercise routine. I have no doubt that I'll get right back on track when I get settled in Ohio, so I'm not stressing about it. I have about 20 more lbs that I want to lose before my 30th birthday in February...After that, it'll all be about maintaining a healthy weight. It'll be nice to show my family and friends how much better I look and feel now compared to when they last saw me a year ago!

Hard times

Sorry I haven't updated my blog much lately, but things haven't been so wonderful around here. Eric and I have officially decided to take a break from our relationship, after almost 8 years together. I have to admit this is one of the most difficult things I've ever experienced, and I'm having a pretty hard time with it. The upside is that we've been getting along great and are spending as much quality time together as we can. We both agree that we love each other very much and want this to work out at some point, but with my increasing unhappiness with living in Idaho, it just isn't working right now. So I'm going to Ohio to stay with my parents for a while, and Eric's going to stay with his parents until we can figure things out. I'm very grateful that we have such wonderful families who are willing and able to help us out! Fortunately we don't care to fight over belongings or anything, so dividing things up hasn't been too bad. I've gotten rid of a lot of my stuff, as I'm driving my Jeep Liberty across the country and can't fit everything in it. Eric's parents are letting me store a few boxes at their house until we can get them shipped to Ohio -- or until we figure things out. Everything else will get crammed into my Jeep for the long drive. I'm fortunate to have my mom coming out to ride/drive back with me, so I don't have to make the trip alone. She's flying into Salt Lake City (about 3 1/2 hours south of Rexburg) at 10:05 on Monday morning, where I'll pick her up at the airport, and then we'll be on our way. I don't know if I could do this without her. I'm hoping to make it to Cheyenne, WY or even further that day, but we'll see what kind of weather conditions we encounter. If everything goes as planned, we should be in Ohio on Wednesday night. I'll probably take a couple of days to recuperate, get settled in, and visit with my family and best friend, and then I'll start working for Mom the following week. I know that this is going to be a very difficult holiday season, and to be honest I'm not really looking forward to it at all right now. But hopefully my emotions will calm down before long, and I'll be able to appreciate the things I am blessed with. It's hard to do that in tough times, but I'm sure I'll get there. Eric and I haven't really established any "rules" for this whole thing...We're just going to take it day by day and see what happens. I want more than anything for Eric to be happy, and I want to find happiness for myself as well. I also hope to learn a lot from this humbling experience, as I think that's what we're supposed to do in difficult times. Well, I suppose I should stop rambling and get back to packing and cleaning. Please keep us in your thoughts.

yearbook yourself

You may have already seen this site before, but if you haven't, then you're missing out! It's http://www.yearbookyourself.com/, and it allows you to upload a headshot photo of yourself and see what your yearbook photos may have looked like through the years (from 1950-2000). It's quite entertaining if you ask me! Here are some of my HOT "yearbook photos" for you to enjoy...

1952

19601962

1964

1966

1968

1972

1978

1990

1994

Adorable Monster Pumpkins

I am in love with these monster pumpkins! Check em' out...

http://www.bhg.com/holidays/halloween/pumpkin-carving/monster-pumpkins/

Every year since Eric and I got together, we've carved pumpkins for Halloween. I guess you could call it a tradition in our household, and we both really enjoy scoping out the coolest carving designs and creating our masterpieces. :) I'm sure this year will be no different, but I'm really hoping to try out these monster pumpkins instead of carving the usual ghoulish designs.

If you decide to try these, I'd love to see pics of how they turn out. And if I can afford to make these, I'll definitely post some pics too.

Love these guys!

My dad snapped a couple pics of my big brother and his kiddos -- Jacob - age 7 1/2, Kaylie - 13 1/2, and Luke - age 10 -- on Sunday, while they were visiting for Grandpa's birthday...

Boy do I love and miss these guys!!!

Happy Birthday, Dad!

This post is a day late, but I wanted to wish my dad a very happy birthday! He is such a good, loving father, and I don't know what I'd do without him. I love you so much, Dad!!!

Boring little Rexburg?

If you know anything about Rexburg, then you know it's considered a small town. Additionally, when you drive into town, the sign reads "America's Family Community". And after living here for 17 months now, I can assure you that not a lot of excitement happens here. So imagine my surprise to read this...

http://uvsj.com/articles/2008/09/26/news/15.txt

I know that bad stuff happens everywhere, but seriously, this is REXBURG. What is this world coming to? Are pigs flying too???

More pesky pounds dropped

Just a quick update...As of today, I've dropped a total of 40.5 lbs. After reaching my initial goal of 30 lbs in mid-August, I set a new goal to lose 20 more by Thanksgiving. So today I'm at the halfway point and feeling great about the progress. I can't believe what a difference losing all this weight makes! I'm so ready for the challenge of losing the rest...bring it on! :)

Quirky things

Just for fun, I thought I'd share some quirky things that you probably don't know about me.

* While I've never actually been diagnosed with OCD, I believe that I have small doses of the disorder. For example, I always have to check the doors multiple times to ensure they're locked before going to bed or leaving the condo, even though I know I've already checked. Another example, one that will probably get a chuckle out of you because it's so strange, is that I have to apply my deodorant with 18 swipes under each arm! Why 18, you ask? I have no idea! I'm not even sure when it started, but I've been doing it for as long as I can remember. My mom used to joke that I ate my deodorant, because as you can imagine, I go through a stick fairly quick. There are a few other things I do that probably fall into the OCD category as well, but nothing major. I would be concerned if these things drastically affected my quality of life, but since they don't, I just laugh it off. :)

* I'm a list person. I make lists for pretty much anything, and then I make lists for my other lists! For example, Eric and I decided to go camping late spring. So I immediately started making lists of what food we needed to buy and what needed packed. Once those were done, I had to make "better" lists to organize what I had already written. Craziness I tell you!

* When I was little, I would sleep on my belly with my butt sticking straight up in the air. :)

* Because I'm such a picky eater and it really does affect my life, I got desperate and went to a hypnotist in California to try and change some of my eating habits. It didn't necessarily work miracles, BUT before I was hypnotized I couldn't eat anything green (not to mention a ton of other things) or I would literally gag...Since being hypnotized, I can at least try some new things without gagging, and I'll actually eat a salad now. That's real progress for me, people.

If you didn't already know how weird I am, now you do!

Happy Friday!

Posing for the webcam again :)

While I don't think I'm a vain person, I admit that I like seeing my face (and body) look so much thinner than before I lost this weight. I've lost 38 lbs so far, and I'm enjoying feeling healthier, thinner and just overall better about myself. And considering Eric isn't a picture person and I can't really take my own picture without the webcam, these are the quality pics (yes, my computer is in my kitchen, so that's the awesome backround!) you get to enjoy...

Sorry to those of you who don't like to look at me as much as I do! :) lol

Book Recommendation

Eric's boss just gave him a book to read at his leisure, and I decided to give it a go last night. You may think it sounds boring, because it's centered around providing excellent customer service, but it was actually quite enjoyable. The title is Raving Fans, and it's written by Ken Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles.

I've always felt that customers in any business are the nucleus of that business and should be treated accordingly. After all, where would any business be without customers? Yet, when I look around, I see people -- myself included -- getting horrible service in pretty much every industry that exists. I've worked in various aspects of customer service since I was sixteen, and I've always felt like I could put myself in the customer's shoes at any given time. Since we're all customers ourselves, it should be fairly simple to understand a customer's perspective. But businesses struggle with this very important missing link day after day. My opinion as to why they struggle or fail is that they don't truly CARE about their customers. The focus of this book is to teach business owners and managers that a satisfied customer is simply not enough...You should ALWAYS strive for "Raving Fans", or your company will never truly be successful. I like how the authors utilized a 'fairytale' storyline to keep things light and enjoyable, even though the message may be somewhat intense. I also like how they used many specific examples and kept things simple to drive their point home.

This book was quite short, totaling 132 pages, which is a plus for those who don't really enjoy reading. The spacing was a bit strange, as I think they could have easily fit more words on each page, which then could have cut the book down to less than 100 pages. Still, I finished the entire book in about two hours. That said, I think this was a great book, and I think that anyone involved in customer service could benefit from reading it. If more companies would incorporate these simple strategies into how they run their business, there would be a lot more happy customers or "Raving Fans"!

Ouch!

If any of you follow football, you already know that my Colts didn't start the season out on the right foot (sniffle...wiping tears away now). It was a depressing season-opener against the Bears, but I still have faith they'll pull it together and have a great season. My only source of comfort about the Colts losing week one is that Eric's Chargers lost too. :-) (Hey, I'd be lying if I said any different!) I must admit there were quite a few surprises in the first week's games, so I'm very much looking forward to seeing how things progress throughout the season.

Yay football!

Football season is here!!!

Despite my less than chipper mood lately, one thing I'm super excited about is the arrival of the NFL FOOTBALL SEASON! I've become a bigger football fan over the last few years, and I can't wait to see what this year's teams will do. For those of you who don't already know about my obsession, I'm a huge Indianapolis Colts fan. Peyton Manning is my god! Okay, maybe that's a bit much, but you get the point. I'm also still gloating about the Giants beating the Patriots in last year's Super Bowl, as I can't resist another Manning brother! And of course, there's always a little tension in our household when the Colts and Chargers play...Eric loves the Chargers. We can definitely expect some trash talk during week 12! lol

GO COLTS! Beat da Bears!

One side note...I dug out my Colts tee shirt today, and I guess I hadn't realized how huge it would be on me now that I'm down 35 pounds...If anyone hears of any good NFL apparel deals, please let me know! :)

Update

I apologize to those of you who actually stop by to read my oh so exciting blog and have been left wondering why there haven't been any posts for two whole weeks. To be honest, I've been dealing with some difficult issues, and I didn't want to post a bunch of negative stuff on here. I won't go into a lot of detail at this point, but Eric and I are trying to make some important decisions about our relationship. The majority of our issues are due to the fact that I REALLY don't like living in Rexburg, ID, while he's content here. I feel like I've given it an honest chance here over the last 16 months, and my feelings of wanting to leave have only gotten stronger. But unfortunately money is really tight due to the lack of opportunities here, so moving doesn't seem to be an option at this point. I've realized that I'm not okay with working a crappy, low-paying job, when I know I can handle so much more. I'm determined to find something that gives me a sense of pride and accomplishment again, and I just haven't been able to find that here. I'm not sure what we're going to do yet, but as you can imagine, having invested over 7 1/2 years in this relationship makes this an extremely difficult decision. Regardless of the hurt and anger, we love each other very much and want to explore every option before calling it quits altogether. Please keep us in your thoughts and/or prayers.

I'll try and get back to my regular posts this week...I hope you have an amazing week!

25 Ways to Cut Costs and Save More

I found this money-saving article this morning, and while many of the items could be considered common sense, there may be something helpful to you on the list.

http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgeting/article/105529/25-Ways-to-Save-More-Each-Month

Have a great week!

Weekly recap

This last week was fairly uneventful, so I don't have much to post. Here's a quick recap of my week:

* cleaned a dirty, ant-infested apartment

* worked my part-time job, tried to enjoy it but didn't

* lost another 3.5 lbs.

* went to Old Navy's one day denim sale on Saturday to buy a couple new pair of jeans...This was the first time in a very long time that I had a pleasant experience, rather than leaving the dressing room in tears! :)

* went to the lake to relax in the sun and swim on Sunday

* realized that many of the people I care deeply about are struggling with various challenges -- one lost someone they were close to, one found out they were losing their house due to the economy, one found out their best friend stole something and kept it from them, one has a son who was arrested and is sitting in jail...My heart goes out to each of you! Stay strong, and know things will get better!

* 5-7 mile evening bike rides

* watched a lot of Olympics on TV

Aren't you jealous of my exciting life???

Happy Anniversary, Mom & Dad!!!

Today is my parents' 35th Wedding Anniversary, so I'd like to send them a big shout out...I'm so proud of you guys, and I love you sooooooooooo much!

For fun, here's their wedding photo (and remember this was the 70s, people!)...

And here's a couple pics from their vow renewal ceremony (around 93')...

I now realize that we don't have any recent family photos or photos of just Mom and Dad, so that's going to have to change the next time I go home. Even though money is super tight right now, I'm really hoping to make it home for Christmas this year. Regardless of when I make it back, we ARE going to get some nice updated pics taken!

Anyhow, HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, MOM AND DAD! You are the most amazing parents anyone could ever hope for! Big hugs and kisses, and many happy years to come!

Stress reliever

I suppose this could work for pretty much anyone, but I think folks who are stuck in an office -- especially a cubicle setting -- could find some serious stress relief AND AMUSEMENT here...

http://eyegas.com/recentprojects/cubiclefreakout.html

Enjoy! :)

Misc pics...

These pics may not be too exciting for most of you, but considering there isn't a lot to do here, it's the best I can do.

Last weekend, Eric and I went to Idaho Falls for a festival-type event. It was our first time attending, and I'll be honest, it may be our last. It wasn't very exciting at all. I suppose it may have been better if we had kids, as they had a lot of kid-specific events (crafts, noise-makers, painting, etc.), but not much for adults to do. We did check out a small car show along the way, but that was about as exciting as it got. However, we made the best of it and at least got some exercise walking the entire greenbelt bike path (6 miles). Here are a couple scenic pics I snapped of the Idaho Falls Greenbelt.

You can see the Idaho Falls LDS Temple (in the distance) in the top pic, while the second pic is just of the waterfalls...

We went to the Madison County Fair (here in town) this afternoon, and I must say that this has to be the smallest fair I've ever been to! You could seriously walk the entire thing in 15 minutes or less! Now I grew up in a very small community too, but we knew how to have a real county fair. We had TONS of horses, cows, sheep, goats, pigs and many more animals. We also had at least 50 different places to eat greasy fair food. And more importantly, we had RIDES! The Madison Fair has zero rides, which makes it hard for me to understand how it's called a fair in the first place. They do have a bouncehouse/slide for the little ones, but that's it. So once you walk through the single animal building, the very tiny 4-H display, and a commercial building with about 6 vendors, the only thing left to see are the rodeo events. I've never been a huge fan of rodeos, but I'll be honest and say that I really enjoyed watching the little cowboys and cowgirls ride today. I snapped a few pics to try and show you how unbelievable cute these kids are. We're talking some kids as young as three or four riding sheep! You should be able to click on the pics to see them larger if you want.

Little cowboy riding his sheep...

Little cowgirl riding her sheep...

ADORABLE little cowboys after they rode their sheep (2 pics)...I so wanted to steal these little guys and take em' home with me!

And last, but not least, here's a pic I snapped of some baby goats snuggling in the animal building...who doesn't love cute baby animals cuddling? Awwww! :)

Oh and since I have no shame, I thought I'd throw in a couple pics of me being silly in front of the webcam at home recently...

I really have too much time on my hands sometimes! LOL :)

******BREAKING NEWS********

This just in...

I've met my original weight loss goal of 30 lbs as of this morning! I don't mean to toot my own horn here -- wait a minute, yes I do! :) I don't often think or say nice things about myself, but I am truly proud of myself for working so hard to get to this milestone. Thank you to everyone who has offered words of encouragement along the way!

I am now setting a second goal to lose an additional 20 pounds, which I hope to accomplish by Thanksgiving. It is getting harder to lose the weight as quickly now, but I am more determined than ever to check this next goal off the list in a couple months. Woohoo!

Making decisions?

This may sound silly, but I've been wondering how people make decisions in their lives. I know we all make decisions on a daily basis -- ranging from something as simple as what we'll have for dinner to how we react to life's toughest roadblocks. For myself, I have no problem making simple everyday decisions, but I do struggle with making important decisions, and I wonder how other people manage this. I think part of being a happy, successful adult is to realize what we're good at and what we're lacking. Consequently, I've taken a good hard look in the mirror and realized that decision-making is something I really need to work on. I'm sure some of you pray about tough choices, while others may ask a trusted friend or loved one for advice. While I am a Christian, I don't feel the prayer route works well for me at this stage of my life (I do pray for others, but I don't pray for myself.). And I do discuss issues with one or two close friends at times, but I don't want them -- or anyone else -- to make my decisions for me. I am very open to advice, but I don't want to live my life as someone else thinks I should. It's my life, and I want to make my own decisions, but I honestly don't feel equipped to do so. I virtually never feel happy or comfortable with the decisions I make, and more often than not, I feel that I make decisions based on what other people want from me, not what I really want. As I think about this, I feel ashamed that this is a problem for me. And I've undeniably developed a huge amount of anxiety to accompany the existing issue. When I was younger, I was always a happy, confident person, and I didn't really question my decisions. But over the last 5-10 years, it's become very obvious to me that I could use help in this category now. It's not that I make horrible decisions like committing crimes or treating people badly, as that's not me at all. But when it comes down to things such as taking a new job, leaving a job, things pertaining to my relationships, etc., I'm horrible at making decisions. It's like I don't trust myself, and I'm not sure why. My gut tells me that this problem goes hand-in-hand with the huge lack of confidence that's plagued me since becoming overweight. And now that I'm losing weight and starting to feel better about myself, I'm hoping I gain the strength and knowledge to fix my broken decision-making abilities. In the meantime, I'd like to hear your thoughts...What helps you make important decisions in your life? How do you know what the right decision is? Does anyone else struggle with this problem?

New job

Sorry I haven't posted much lately, but I haven't really done or seen anything worth writing about. I'll try and get better at that! One thing that could be considered noteworthy is that I start a new part-time job this afternoon. It's with a property management company, and I'll be working in the office Monday through Friday from 1-5pm. It's definitely not my ideal job, and the pay isn't very good either, but it's something, right? Hopefully, if nothing else, it'll help my sanity. In addition to the 4 hours in the office each afternoon, I'm told there will be opportunities for me to make money doing property inspections and such. We'll see how it goes...Wish me luck!

Have a great week, everyone!

Today I am thankful for...

...Country Time pink lemonade

...sweet kisses from Eric

...the tremendous love and support of my family and close friends

...beautiful summer days

...overall good health

...technologies (cell phones, the internet, etc) that allow me to stay in touch with loved ones

...having the will-power to continue getting in shape

What are you thankful for today???

Duh!

On Sunday, we went to Rigby Lake to swim and relax in the sun. We had a really good time and got some good exercise. But after we got home, it became apparent that sunscreen works much better if you actually apply it, rather than forgetting it's sitting beside you in your backpack...

I mostly got burnt on my shoulders and upper back, and it still hurts today after applying about 10 layers of aloe vera on it. But Eric got it a lot worse than I did...He wouldn't let me take a pic :) but his entire chest, belly, shoulders and back were fried. I think we're going to the lake again this weekend, so hopefully this will be a reminder to actually USE the sunscreen.

Random weirdness: prepositions

I have no idea why this popped into my head or why I felt compelled to put it on my blog, but here it is. This is a tribute to my middle school English teacher, Mrs. Clark (I think it was 7th grade, but I'm not sure)...She made us memorize a list of prepositions, and I just realized that I can still remember and recite them as she taught us:

is, are, was, were, has, have, had, do, did, done, does, can, could, will, would, shall, should, may, might, must, be, been, being, am, become, became

Considering I don't have the best memory in the world, I'm pretty surprised that I can remember something like this from so long ago...It had to have been about 17 years ago!!! I don't know if this will be something that I'll actually use in real life, but if nothing else, it may help me on Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader! :)

Nature Park

After spending the morning thoroughly cleaning my kitchen appliances, I showered and got dressed for the day. But Eric wanted to be lazy and I couldn't think of anything to do, so we sat around and watched TV for a couple hours. By late afternoon, Eric could tell I was bored and getting restless, so he suggested stopping by Jamba Juice for a drink (I opted for a blue raspberry Snoasis treat instead -- yum!) and then heading to the Nature Park. We grabbed some old bread from the pantry, so we could feed the ducks, and then we headed out. Here are a few pics of the excitement. :)

When we pulled up in my Jeep, the ducks tried to get as far away from us as they could...

But when they realized we had bread, they decided to come and say hi.

Eric telling the ducks "no more!", after we ran out of bread...

And here I am posing for a photo opp...

And last but not least, after we ran out of bread, this mother duck and her babies appeared.

It's official...

Well, it's official...Brad and Angelina have agreed to sell exclusive photos of their newest additions -- Knox and Vivienn -- to People Magazine here in the U.S., as well as London-based Hello! Magazine. They will reportedly receive $14 MILLION DOLLARS for said photos, which will debut in People on Monday (with an alleged sneak peak on their website Sunday night). I know some people find this controversial, believing that celebrities are exploiting or "pimping out" their kids. I personally am not the least bit bothered by this. In this case, "Brangelina" is donating all the money to charity, which is pretty darn respectable if you ask me. But honestly, I wouldn't care what they did with the money. The bottom line is that people are dying to see these pics, and it's inevitable that the paparazzi would be hunting these kids down if the Jolie-Pitts didn't release the pics like they're doing. I see nothing wrong with this.

My only question is this: How can I get Brad and Angelina to adopt me? I'm tired of being poor! :)

Satisfied...

Anyone who knows me probably knows that grocery shopping is one of my least favorite chores. I'm not really sure why I don't like it, but I don't. Maybe it goes back to my childhood and always being allowed to pick out a toy or treat...and now nobody gives me a treat, so the excitement is gone. :) Regardless of my logic or lack thereof, I see no way to get out grocery shopping, so I decided to tackle the task today. In an effort to try and be more frugal, I've recently started creating menus each week, which I can then easily convert to shopping lists. My journey always begins at WalMart (unfortunately it's not a Super WalMart, so the selection isn't very good) where I pick up canned goods, lemonade and a few other items. Then I head next door to Albertsons -- one of two grocery stores in town. The other store is always packed with college students, so I prefer to avoid that madness for my own sanity. Anyhow, I had already checked off half of my list at WalMart, so I really only needed produce, meat and milk. I gathered all the veggies on my list and proceded to the meat section. I intended on getting chicken breasts, pork chops, a little ground beef and a small beef roast, which I did get. But I was pretty darn excited to see that both pork chops and beef roasts were packaged with a bright orange buy one get one free sticker. So I ended up getting two packs of pork chops for about $8 and two nice roasts for about $13. I was so impressed with my bargain purchases that I had to take a pic to share with you. I don't know for sure, but I assume all Albertsons stores would have these. This is a win win for me, because not only did I get a good deal, but now I won't have to buy as much next trip.

This has actually been a pretty good day. Not only did my shopping trip turn out well, but I had received a call from my friend and old neighbor, Jenny, and she asked if I wanted to come visit with her at the park. I headed over there and hung out for about an hour or so before forcing myself to go shopping. I enjoyed catching up with her and seeing her adorable boys, as it had been a couple months...I could've stayed all day. Thanks for inviting me, Jenny!

One quick side note: My friend Stephanie (Eric's cousin's wife) is having some "female" surgery this afternoon, and I know she's scared about the procedure. I know she'll be fine, but if you could please say an extra prayer for her, I'd really appreciate it. She's a wonderful person, and I adore her! Hope you recover quick, Steph!

Bridesmaids: botox and boob jobs?

Okay, so I was just randomly surfing the web this morning, and I came across an article that both sickened and intrigued me. Apparently brides today are changing how they give bridesmaid gifts. Rather than giving traditional gifts to their besties, many are opting to give Botox injections -- and some even boob jobs! What???

According to this article on Yahoo's Shine http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/beauty/botox-bridal-showers-217096/, one Beverly Hills dermatologist offers "Bridal Beauty Buffets" to clients, and he boasts that business is up by about 40%. Another report by spafinder.com refers to these treatments as "bridal party tuneups", and it claims a 25% increase in such treatments.

Even though many of us see these "gifts" as a bit over-the-top (that's putting it mildly in my opinion), the startling fact is that women as young as 29 are getting these treatments! Hell, I'm 29, and I don't need Botox (maybe a little liposuction, but hey that's another story)!!! What is going on with people today? I realize that beautiful, airbrushed women are everywhere -- billboards, magazines, reality TV -- but hasn't this been the case for many years? What's changed? While I believe that plastic surgery is a personal choice, and I'm not against getting something done for yourself, I absolutely do not think such procedures are good bridal party gifts. I find it insulting, and I think I'd be first in line to kick the bride if she felt compelled to try and "improve me" through such treatments.

What are you thoughts?

Eric's family reunion

Every year, Eric's family has a four-day reunion here in Rexburg. Although we were living here last year, this is the first year we attended. We went over on Saturday and spent about 4 1/2 hours hanging out. There were a lot of people. If you're not LDS, you probably don't know that Mormons generally have large families. I don't know if anyone was able to take a head count, but I'd say there were easily a few hundred people there. They had all kinds of activities for the kids and some for the adults, as well as lots of food. We sat and visited with Eric's aunts and a handful of cousins that Eric barely knew, and I actually enjoyed getting to know them better. The event is held at the Westover Ranch just outside of town, and it's a pretty large venue. There's a lodge that houses old family photos and info, bathrooms with showers, a soda shop and more. Family members travel from all over to attend the reunion and camp out on the grounds each year. Family board members spend the year planning a schedule of events and menu for the upcoming reunion. Activities consist of flag ceremonies, crafts, face-painting, bingo, water rockets, campfire activities, baseball, jumping on trampolines and much more. I haven't been to a family reunion since middle school, but even still, I've never seen one to this degree. They put a lot of time and effort into this event, and I think it's really neat to see so many people show up. I took my camera to snap some pics, but I forgot about it until shortly before we were leaving. I did take this pic of Eric and his parents (Terrell & Kathryn) though.

Saturday was really hot here, and Eric and I were ready to go cool down by about 3:45. So we said good-bye and headed for home. We have a new weekend obsession that we were wanting to get home to -- sprinkler volleyball! We bought a "monster volleyball" set at Kmart a couple weeks ago, which we've been setting up in our front yard each weekend. But that wasn't helping us deal with the heat problem. It's been in the high 80s and low 90s for over a month (Trust me, I'm not complaining! I HATE winter weather, so I'll take the heat any day!), so we had to add the element of water to our new favorite activity. We bought a cheap little sprinkler at WalMart, and we set it up underneath our volleyball net. So now we're getting good exercise playing ball AND we're cooling down at the same time. It's awesome! We can play for hours. Here's a pic I snapped of Eric, and you should be able to see the net and sprinkler too. If you're looking for some fun exercise and a way to cool down, here's your solution. :)

Wipeout

Have you seen the crazy new show on ABC, titled Wipeout? If not, you need to! Since the show debuted in late June, Eric and I spend every Tuesday night sitting on the couch laughing our butts off for the entire hour it's on TV. The concept is basically this: Twenty-four contestants must compete for the best time on a zany and often messy obstacle course. The twelve contestants with the best time get to move on to the next round, which is basically more of the same -- only different obstacles. They continue to eliminate contestants based upon skill and timing. The show consists of many wacky obstacles...the sweeper, the big balls, the dizzy dummy, the dreadmill, the sucker punch and more. I'd like to explain what each obstacle is, but I don't think I could do them justice. So instead I'll direct you to ABC's website that talks about Wipeout and all its glory...

http://abc.go.com/primetime/wipeout/index?pn=index

Here you have the option of learning more about the show, seeing recaps, watching stunt sketches and actually watching past episodes online. If you're bored or having a bad day, I highly recommend checking this out on the web or on Tuesday night TV. I can't imagine anyone not being thoroughly entertained by this silly show!

If you decide to watch this or have already watched it, what's your favorite obstacle? Mine is definitely the 'big balls', as only a couple people can make it past them. It's quite hilarious watching people bounce off of them or just get slammed off the side into the water. This is what I call ENTERTAINMENT, people!

Dirty Secrets

Okay, let me preface this post by saying that I consider myself to be extremely open-minded. I'm someone who has no problem with same-sex couples. I am someone who doesn't believe that making condoms available in schools is actually telling kids to have sex. I'm someone who ordered Eric a Maxim magazine subscription the last couple years, even though it's full of beautiful half-naked women -- and I actually enjoy reading the mag each month myself! There isn't much out there that would surprise me, and I'm okay with that. I generally think that life is too short to worry about how other people choose to live their lives. I've had friends who are religious, friends who party, gay friends, arrogant friends, and friends who've been swingers or had threesomes. My point is that I try and keep an open-mind and appreciate differences. However, while flipping through the August edition of Maxim yesterday, I came across an article titled "Mr. Infidelity", and it really made me wonder about peoples' values nowadays...

I don't know if any of you have heard of ashleymadison.com or not, but the article states that "the six-year-old website is the biggest and most profitable infidelity site". Darren Morgenstern, the popular site's founder, coincidentally claims to be a happily married father of two who describes himself as "a businessman and nothing more". While this may be true, I can't help but wonder what kind of person starts a website that offers a venue for married folks to cheat on their spouses. I don't deny that if someone wants to cheat, they'll do it with or without the help of ashleymadison.com and other similar websites. But I can't understand why we need to develop new ways to entice married men and women to have affairs. According to Morgenstern, he read an article in 2001 that said, "Internet dating sites were the only content sector thriving after the dot-com bust". It went on to suggest that "as many as one third of the people on these dating sites were attached". Morgenstern consequently decided this was his opportunity to offer a service to these folks. He describes this venture by saying, "There was a hole in the marketplace that needed to be filled." Soon after, Morgenstern started doing his market research. His research involved meeting with people who were admittedly having an affair, had had an affair in the past or were planning on having one in the future. He asked his target audience whether the Internet service (versus phone or mail) was their preferred option, how much they'd be willing to pay for the service, what privacy concerns they had and what features they'd want to see. His market data then became his business plan, and he launched his new site in January of 2002. Morgenstern said, "The reality was that people who were going to cheat were going to cheat anyway, and people who weren't going to cheat were going to ignore Ashley Madison, just like they would any service". "But since people will cheat, it's a recession-proof business." The site boasts of more than 150,000 new visitors a day, which nearly leaves me speechless! How does the site make money, you ask? Well, after registering and creating a sexual profile, the site allows users to purchase "credits" that can be used to communicate with other members. 100 credits will cost you $49, while 500 credits will run $149. It'll cost you 5 credits to email another member, while it costs between $10 and $20 to have a chat session with someone. Keep in mind that this isn't your typical dating site. These folks are on ashleymadison.com for one purpose only -- to find a person or people with whom to cheat on their spouse.

I walked away from this article with mixed emotions. I honestly felt a little ill to my stomach that cheating on a spouse had become such a fad. What does that say about our society? I wanted to be mad at Mr. Morgenstern for creating this new cheating venue, but realistically he does have a point that people will cheat regardless. One thing I've never understood is why people continue to cheat on a spouse instead of ending the relationship with that person and acknowledging that they aren't meant to be in a committed relationship. Is that really so hard? I don't condone extra-marital affairs, but I do believe that genuinely good people can sometimes make a mistake. These are people who realize the nature of their mistake, feel horrible about what they did and take steps to ensure it never happens again. But then there's the other type of person who has cheated, is cheating and will continue to cheat -- because they don't value their spouse and the sanctity of their marriage. These are the people I envision registering on ashleymadison.com. For the record, my only policy is that you should be open and honest with your spouse and/or lover(s). If you're honest about what you're doing, and your partner is willing to accept it, fine. Otherwise, you're being extremely unfair to the person you vowed to love, honor and cherish. Put yourself in their shoes...How would you feel if your significant other was carrying on an affair? If it wouldn't bother you, then you shouldn't be married to begin with. If it does bother you, then take a long, hard look in the mirror.

What are your feelings about this issue/article? Do you see anything wrong with ashleymadison.com, or do you agree that it's simply providing a service to folks who would already be unfaithful?

The "blahs"

I want to apologize for not posting the last couple days, but believe it or not, I haven't had much to say. I guess I have a case of the "blahs". I promise to get something interesting posted this week, as my goal is to eventually post everyday. Cut me some slack, and check back in a couple days...

Frugality

Dictionary.com defines the word frugal as follows:

frugal: adjective
1. economical in use or expenditure; prudently saving or sparing; not wasteful: a frugal manager.
2. entailing little expense; requiring few resources; meager; scanty: a frugal meal.
[Origin: 1590–1600; < class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">frūgālis economical, equiv. to frūg- (s. of frūx produce, fruit) + -ālis -al1] —Related forms
fru·gal·i·ty, fru·gal·ness, noun
fru·gal·ly, adverb
—Synonyms 1. thrifty, chary, provident, careful. See economical.

I chose this topic for a couple reasons. First off, regardless of your financial situation, who doesn't want to save a little money on their purchases? I don't care whether you have money burning a hole in your pocket or $12 in your checking account, it certainly wouldn't hurt to save even a few bucks here and there. Over the last six months, I've been blog-stalking strangers' blogs, and I've come across some good resources to aid my personal journey of frugality. Being unemployed and seeing prices skyrocket for just about everything lately made me realize that I should do as much to cut costs and save money as I can. The second reason I chose this topic is to share my knowledge and resources with family and friends who also need or want to save money. This is a topic that I will probably post on quite frequently, but I wanted to start by sharing a couple of my favorite frugal blogs. My favorite is Money Saving Mom, and you can access this blog by clicking here: http://www.moneysavingmom.com/ My second favorite is Sisterly Savings, and it can be found here: http://www.sisterlysavings.net/ Both of these blogs share a ton of useful info regarding sales, freebies, coupon clipping and deal scenarios at various stores across the country. I read both of these every morning while I'm drinking my protein shake. Sometimes I email special deals to friends and family, but I thought it might be better to share my sources with you here on my blog. I've started using coupons a little more, as well as taking advantages of some freebie offers. I don't have a Rite Aid or CVS around me, and a lot of the deals they discuss on these blogs take place at one or both of these stores. If you have one of these stores close to you, you could honestly save a ton of money and get a lot of stuff for free. These blogs explain how in great detail. But even if you don't live close to a Rite Aid or CVS, there are plenty of other deals to be had. Other things you can do on your own would simply be to buy generic brands instead of name brands. I admit that I'm very much attached to some of my name brand products (Dove creamy oil body wash, Prescriptives pressed powder, and others), but I've learned to settle for cheaper brands on certain items -- especially at the grocery store. Although beware, because I've noticed that often times name brand products are on sale for a cheaper price than the generic items. Well, since this is just an intro to frugality, I guess I'll end here. There will definitely be more to follow, but in the meantime, can you think of ways to cut costs for you and your family? What items can you live without or substitute a cheaper product? What could you do with all the money you save by cutting costs...Start a savings account? Plan a much-needed vacation? Put a down payment on a home? I'd love to hear your ideas and comments.

From food rut to fabulous!

I don't know if you have the same problem, but it seems that dinners in my home consist of the same meals week after week after week. Well, I'm on a mission to change that. I want to break free from the food rut, which means adding new foods into the mix. Last week I was grocery shopping, and I was on the prowl for something different. I wasn't quite sure what I was looking for, but I was determined to find it regardless. As you already know, I don't eat dinner...I have a protein shake instead. But Eric still has to eat, and since he's not picky like me, I want to try some new options. Eric's theory is that a meal isn't a meal without MEAT. It doesn't really matter what kind of meat, but having meat is a necessity in this household. Since prices are sky high these days, I was also looking for bargains. I found myself in the beef section, and I came across some packaged meat labeled as london broil. I'm sure I'd heard the term before, but I'll be honest...I had no idea exactly what a london broil was or what to do with it. But it looked like a good piece of meat, and the price was right, so I decided to try it. I also ventured over to the pork section and nabbed myself a good deal on a pork loin. That was also foreign to me. I'd made pork chops many times before, and I make bacon (and eggs) for Eric every weekend, but otherwise I just didn't buy or cook pork. I then finished my shopping and headed for home. I got home and logged onto http://www.allrecipes.com/, which is a pretty good recipe website that I'd used many times before. I searched for recipes for the london broil and the pork loin, and within about 10 minutes I'd found the recipes I wanted to try. I was ready to rock and roll now! I finished putting the rest of my groceries away, and then I started gathering all the ingredients I'd need from the pantry and fridge. Since I didn't have my recipes picked out before shopping, I hoped I'd have what I needed -- or at least be able to improvise. And I did. I first made the marinade for the london broil. I admit that I changed the recipe slightly due to size and the fact that I didn't have any soy sauce...I substituted Worcestershire Sauce. Once the marinade was mixed, I poked a bunch of holes in my piece of meat and put it in the marinade. The directions said to let marinate for at least 8 hours, but I opted for 2 1/2 days. I grilled the london broil over a charcoal grill for a total of about 20 minutes, and then I served it with green beans and a salad. Can I just take a minute to pat myself on the back? Eric LOVED this meal. He went on and on about how good the flavor was and how juicy and tender the meat stayed. The best part was that he had leftovers to take for lunch a couple days. I feel bad that I didn't take a picture of my masterpiece (which coincidentally I made again last night), but I'll take one and post it next time. I would definitely recommend this recipe, even if you want to put your own spin on it.

Here's the recipe:

1 - 2lb london broil

3 cloves of garlic (I actually used a large tablespoon of minced garlic)

1/2 cup soy sauce (Again, I used Worcestershire sauce)

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

2 Tbsp ketchup

1 tsp. dried oregano

1 tsp. ground pepper

Mix all ingredients together. Poke holes in meat to allow it to better absorb the marinade. Marinate for at least 8 hours, but I would recommend 2-3 days. The directions say to grill 5-8 minutes per side and to not overcook. The first time it took about 20 minutes to cook (I flipped it every 5 minutes), but last night it took about 30 minutes. This will obviously depend on cooking temps and thickness of the meat, so you'll have to play around with the times.

The Herb Garlic and Bacon Pork Loin also turned out really good...Here's the link to the recipe if you're interested: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Herb-Garlic-and-Bacon-Pork-Loin/Detail.aspx I actually did take a couple pics of mine, which I'm posting for you to see. I thought it looked really nice, and Eric thought it tasted really yummy, so I'd say it was a success!