The Gornold B Snyder Family

My First 5K

2011-04-24T14:18:00.002-06:00

Yesterday I ran my first 5K. Though I wasn't the winner, I did finish, which was all that mattered to me. I am not a super fast runner, and as I trained (very loose use of the word 'trained'), I gauged my time to be around 40 minutes.

But I did it in 34 minutes yesterday, at least that is what the clock said as I crossed the finish line. According to my time chip it was 35, but I am sticking with 34, because it makes me feel better.

Me and a couple of my friends registered for this run. It is called The Pink 5K. It is a girl only run and benefits breast cancer.

Here is the jacket that I got for the run, I knew it as going to be cold.

Kaitlyn (one of my friends) and I had to drive from Logan down to Layton to pick up Tiffany. From there, the three of us made our way down to Alpine where the 5K was being held. I got up at like 4:35 AM yesterday to begin my journey.

After we picked up Tiffany, we stopped at McDonalds and got parfaits. It was fun. Below here is Tiffany (left) and Kaitlyn. They are the most darling girls you could ever know. I also get to have the pleasure of working with these two lil' ladies.

We had to pick our packets up before 7:45 AM. We got ours at like 7:43 AM. Pretty good timing. After that we just waited for the busses to come shuttle our butts up to the start line. You see, I did my first 5K right. It was all down hill, except for some barely up-hill spots, and believe me, I noticed the barely up-hill spots.

As we waited for the busses, we took some silly photos.

And then we were attacked by the terrible too-too's. Just kidding. But here is the get up that these gals ran in.

We thought it was so funny and we wanted a better picture of them, so I told Tiffany and Kaitlyn to get up there and I would act as if I was taking their picture in order to get the too-too ladies, and here is how well that worked! This pic just cracks me up.

Here we are on the bus, getting ready to run!

So both Kaitlyn and Tiffany are both super good at running. They finished the run in 24 minutes. Kaitlyn was #1 in her age group and Tiffany #2 in her age group. I am going to train (not loosely) and do better. I have some big running plans in my future. No marathons by any means, but more 5K's for sure. There is also a Pink 10K in Logan in August. I think I am going to do it!

Here is the shirt we got for doing this run. I always order a large for my bragging right's tee's and they always fit, except this is a shirt by Down East Outfitters.

This company makes very cute clothing, don't get me wrong, but their large is actually a small. This damn shirt should have fit me, and it does, just not in a cute way. Oh well. I won't be sporting this baby around any time soon!

After our run we went and visited B's parents. It was so good to see them even though it was a very short visit. Then we went to lunch and then shopping at the mall. We had a great day!

Thanks Tiffany and Kaitlyn!

Last night I was so tired. I had been up for way too long on way too little sleep. I still mustered up the strength to take this picture with Arnold. I love that dog!

And as for today, well B is fishing with Brett. I am thinking of going shopping as I didn't buy anything yesterday, but I may just stay home and work on my project some more. Here are some of the next pieces:

It is coming together slowly but surely. I am excited for when it is all put together and ready to be used.

Coming up, not this next weekend but in two weeks I have the Goldilocks bike ride in Herriman UT. I am going 60 miles on this one. I can't wait! It is going to be so much fun. I also have a triathlon coming up later in May. I have got to get better at swimming! I certainly hope that those tee's will fit! My goodness.

Anyway, I hope all is well with one and all!

Happy Easter!

Someone Farted in the North West Corner at Olive Garden

2011-04-20T21:56:00.004-06:00

The last few days have been pretty eventful. We finally busted out our carpet shampooer and got our carpets cleaned. I know that sounds like woman's work, but not in my house!

We shampooed because we were expecting some very important company. My sister and her girls stayed the night with us last Thursday into Friday, though you'd never know they did.

We had fun, I thought. We didn't do much, just lunch and cupcakes, but it was great.

After they left, into work I went. It was fun. I love the people I work with and where I work. We are a great team!

B and I had a great weekend. We had a quiet night on Friday. Saturday was also pretty relaxed. We went to Smith's Marketplace where I found some yarn for my next big project. I LOVE these colors.

I had sworn off of afghans at one point because of how time consuming they are, but I have never made an afghan that B and I kept, so I think this will be the one, if it doesn't drive me crazy in the mean time.

I love granny square afghans, but I hate tucking the tail ends of the yarn in, only to find that I didn't tuck them well enough and their ugly little heads rear their way out to say "hello dumbass, you didn't cut me correctly."

Here is what the beginnings are looking like:

And below is what all of the square's labeled (cleverly) 1. I have made 12 of them. I am now working on 2 and have to make 13 of them, but I didn't photograph what they look like. You will all see bits of this project as I get going on it.

I really do want to get going on my blanket, but I also need to get cracking on things I can make and sell for MS Tour this year. I have a lot of money that I need to earn! I will get it done!

On Sunday, B and I were bored. He asked me if I would like to go and see if we could find some carp for him to shoot (bowfish). I was a little hesitant at first, but as I broke it down in my head, it sounded better and better because the alternative was sit around and do nothing and probably get fat! So we went, and look at this...

Nature!

Those little black things were moving. They were bugs of some sort, but I dunno what they are. There was tons of them all along river's edge, and these ones were in a puddle.

Here you see a horse, standing in a tire, licking his chops. He lives in the fields that are flooded right now. These fields are also the best place for getting carp.

It was crazy. The carp were spawning in the fields. When you would see one, you would see about 8 all together in a fish ball. We couldn't believe it. B told me that carp don't spawn until the water is about 65 degrees, there was no way it was that warm. It was also raining off and on throughout the day. We really didn't expect to see any, but we were wrong.

B got 7 small to medium sized ones. Our friend Brett joined us later and he got the biggest one. Here is a photo of them in a bucket, up close and personal.

When we got home, I told B to hit the road! So he packed up his most beloved belongings and left!

Just kidding. He is just throwing away the carp.

After we got everything cleaned up, B showered and then we went to Olive Garden with our friends. We had just been shown to our booth and had been sitting for no more than 5 minutes when someone farted. It was a loud fart during a quiet moment. I wanted to pin-point the offender, but couldn't. B however is much more the detective. He said he knew who it was by the sound of the fart. How funny is that. He showed us who the farter was, which of course made things much more funny!

But a fact is a fact: Someone farted in the north west corner at Olive Garden on April 17th.

B and I are lucky in another regard. We totally forgot to do our taxes. We got them done on April 18th and got them to the post office by 11:00 PM. Here is the proof:

We OWED this year! A whopping $3.00 to the state. Getting a return from the feds though!

In other things, I went to my dentist for the first time in 3 years today and not one single cavity! I am amazing! Actually, I am disgusting. I can't believe I put off my dental appointments for that long. I just forgot!

I am out of things to bore you all with so have a good night!

It's Been Awhile...

2011-04-10T21:01:00.010-06:00

Not that many will read this, as it has been eons since I have posted. I have just been so busy and so tired! But here is some of the happenings since December.

Arnold remains cuter than ever and turned 4 years old today, doesn't he just look so exhausted? It is tough being four.

In February my brother Duane turned 35 years old! Can you believe it? I asked him what he wanted for his birthday because we were going to have lunch and he said he wanted a cupcake. So I went to a local cupcake shop called 'Temptation Cupcakes' and bought these little babies:

Don't those look amazing? And they were so yummy! We had a great time. We all went to 'Five Guy Burgers' and ate and got fat!

But what a fun memory.

Below is a poor photo I took of that day, but we all still look cute!

I just like the next picture, so I had to throw it on here.

Same with this one of Gordon, I just love my puppies!

My birthday recently passed and for my birthday I put pink in my hair. Isn't that fun? I like it anyway.

For my birthday we were able to get together with my siblings and meet at Duane's for a pizza dinner and some much needed hang out time. Steve pointed out that this was the first time in over 2 years that we were all together in the same house.

Wise Steve.

Me and my sister just love each other! It wasn't always this way though...

Here we are again....

Here is all of us! I just LOVE the way that Aubrey is looking at Steve. She definitely has something devious in mind!

Here is my B! He recently just got over Swine flu. He didn't have it in this photo, but the darned idiot went out and got himself sick, and even though I was vaccinated, I got sick too. Not nearly as sick as him! I never fevered. Just got all the coughs and congestion.

I am so glad that he is feeling better. I sure do love him!

The next photo is great. Our dog Arnold has never traveled well. He always wigs out and gets nervous on the car rides that we take. When we went down to Duane's for the birthday bash, I had the forethought to put his favorite plush toy (an oversized sheep) in the car with him. Here is how he rode home for the first hour in the car:

Gordon rides so chill and kicked back:

And as we had only 40 minutes left in our ride, this is how Arnold finished out:

Our puppy has a wooby!

In other things. I have finally quit Terrace Grove. I am so happy to be done. I am full time with Integrity Home Health and Hospice. It is a great job with it's own set of challenges, but a definite step up from Terrace Grove.

I miss some of the people that I used to work with but not many. So much drama there.

I have signed up for a lot of fun races and rides this year, I can't wait. I was unable to really train for them this last week because I was sick, but I am gonna get back into that tomorrow.

I know that I have cut a lot of things out that we have been up to lately, but I honestly can't think of anything else to blog about at the moment. Besides if I blog about EVERYTHING you all will get so bored.

Will try to do better with future blogs!

People: Either You Love Them or You Hate Them, Today... I LOVE THEM!

2010-12-05T21:10:00.004-07:00

Today has been a pretty good day. B and I got a lot of stuff done that really needed to be done. But there is definitely a unique story about today.

I had a home health visit this morning at a facility in the valley. B dropped me off for my visit and went to run an errand while I was tending to my patient. I finished what I was doing about 5 minutes before B got back to pick me up. So I waited in the lobby of said facility.

I had not been there long when I was joined by a young man, perhaps in his mid-twenties. He had some sort of social deficit. I am not saying this to be judgmental by any means... you just need to read on, in fact, to give the best picture, I will type up our conversation.

Man: How are you?

Me: I am good'nd you?

Man: Not so good.

Me: Bummer... (not wanting to pry, so I looked at the Christmas tree). Man I need to get my tree up.

Man: I had a doctors appointment.

Me: Oh... so... good news or bad?

Man: Bad.

(silence)

(awkward silence)

Man: (quietly) I have a rash.

It was at that point that B arrived in the parking lot. I don't recall what my reaction to this poor man was, it wasn't mean, I just can't remember what I said. I told B that story as soon as I got into the car and he laughed right out loud.

And that is the reason that I love people today. Yeah, it was kind of creepy. It was also really funny. It takes all kinds to keep the world spinnin' right?

Love to you all!

I Must be the LUCKIEST Person Ever!!!!

2010-12-02T10:49:00.003-07:00

I say I am the luckiest person ever, and I mean this in only a greedy sense of it. The above image is that of 5 MILLION DOLLARS! That is right! On November 24th I received a phone call from a gentleman who could not even pronounce my name. He called from a completely valid phone number of 876-597-1737 and told me that not only had I won 5 mill, but also a Mercedes Benz!

I am POSITIVE that they would have awarded me with the Mercedes that is pictured above. But then something inside my head stopped me from accepting... the world stopped spinning and I just thought:
WHOA!

Though I normally do TOTALLY trust people with major accents and difficulty saying my name... something in my gut told me that there just might be something fishy here. So I hung up on him and told him to take my name off of his calling list.

It was too good to be true, right?

I mean the voice at the other end, so soothing, so convincing... I have really been kicking myself for not accepting these gifts (for a very small fee, so I was told).

BUT WAIT! Could it be? Another opportunity to receive yet another wonderful and extravagant prize? This is just amazing. Opportunity has come knocking!

Today, I received a call from: 876-422-5768. A warmth came over me as I heard the soothing voice of a man with a thick accent who again mispronounced my name. My winnings today? Just a mere $200,000.00 and a LAME Lincoln Navigator 2010.

I am sure that this is the Lincoln that would be coming my way.

At the beginning of our conversation, the sexy accent on the other end of the phone was named Mike Bond. Mid-way through the conversation, his name miraculously changed to John McCoy. Oh this smooth talker was soooooooo convincing. Mr. Mike-Bond-John-McCoy told me he retrieved my information from the local Walmart that I shop at. He was floored that I had received NONE of the mailed notifications of my winnings. All things aside, I was given a simple list of instructions. All that is required of me is to pay a small fee, confirm that there was more than $1,000.00 in my bank account and confirm that I was indeed a U.S. citizen. Simple right?

Oh my gosh, I am so irritated. I hung up on Mike-Bond-John-McCoy once promising to report him, and he called back. Just for the hell of it, I answered again... and threatened again... and hung up again. Well, he called me back AGAIN. I did not answer the last time. I did report him to the local Walmart where I shop. I have also reported the number to some phonephishing site. I just don't feel like this is enough. There are plenty of people getting swindled out of their money, and this upsets me greatly.

PLEASE don't answer calls from the following numbers:
876-422-5768
876-456-0288
876-597-1737
702-347-9485

These are all I have for now. I know that the men with accents are really easy for the ladies to fall for, but DON'T DO IT! I didn't and I just wish there was more that I could do to take these butt heads down. I am at a loss of what to do. If anyone has any advice of how I can take this to another level I would be grateful!

Other than all of my winnings lately, things are going well. I hope that is the case with ya'll!

A Post for November

2010-11-26T14:28:00.002-07:00

I almost got away with not posting at all this month! Big surprise I know.

Things have been busy as ever. I am still working 3 jobs, still going to school, and still just overwhelmed with life in general. Blah, blah, blah.

Today is my first day off since Halloween. I have had nothing to do all day and I really do feel guilty. Oh well. I work this weekend, so that should help make up for the guilt of the nothingness in my life today. I am not sure why I feel a need to ALWAYS be doing something, but I do.

We have a ton of snow up here from the blizzard on last Tuesday. That was actually really neat to experience. It went by really fast though.

B has been doing well too. He is at work, for the stupid sales today. Poor boy had to be there at 4:30 this morning. I was smart. I stayed in bed. I tried my hardest to sleep in but only made it to 8:15. I would have loved to have slept until 10:00 or so. That just didn't happen.

In other things... I have a new niece! Her name is Daisy. She is Hillary and Max's newest edition. She is absolutely beautiful in every photo I have seen. I would have liked to have come down to meet her in person on the 24th, but we were unable to afford the trip.

I really don't have anything else to mention. I wish I lived closer to my sister, well, closer to anyone really. I am having a very down day, most likely because I am alone. I need a new scene. Up here in Smithfield is beautiful, but I really have no friends. It is just me, B and the dogs. I love this tight little circle that we are, but I want something more I guess. And on this note, I am leaving before I get too friggin' desperate sounding.

Hope all is well with everyone!

Perhaps I Just NEED to Vent!

2010-09-23T18:05:00.002-06:00

So I knew that working three jobs would be a little bit insane. I was just not expecting this.

On Tuesday I started at my third job and they told me that they would call me and tell me where to go for training today, as I would be training on actual home health visits. I told them that I could start seeing patients at 2:00 PM and they said that they would just tell me where to be at 2:00 when they called.

I received no phone call.

So I showed up at the office of my new job at 2:20 because I didn't know what else to do. Right upon walking in I was talked to as if I were just to know to show there. I did some over the phone training with a very sweet gal who just assumed I was in the loop.

Apparently I was assigned a patient today, and I needed to be to her place like 20 minutes before showing up at the office. Hmmm, I was just a little aggravated. I explained to the sweet girl that I was told nothing. She understood. While talking with her she informed me that I needed to pass off on how to draw blood... ON MY NEW BOSS!!! Just a little bit intimidating.

All these things could have been mentioned and better planned out on Tuesday, but what do I know? I am just the new person.

After having gotten off of the phone, I then was informed of another patient with a blood draw order that I would need to go and see. Of course I couldn't do this until drawing my bosses blood.

Luckily, I got my boss on the first stick with a completely retarded blood collection kit. Then I was sent up the hall from my office to do a blood draw and an assessment. Of course all of areas assessed on the patient need to be charted on a document that is entirely foreign to me. I did my best, but boy do I feel dumb.

First patient, able to get a flash of blood, but the darn vein kept rolling. After my 3rd attempt, I threw in the towel on the blood draw. I did the assessment, but I know I will need some corrections made, at least I would expect it.

2nd Patient.

Went to her apartment which is at Terrace Grove, where I work most of the time. Of course her granddaughter is there, and she didn't have to leave, she decided to stay.

No pressure right?

Assessed, got the blood. Turned blood in to the correct lab, but I was 15 minutes after the doctors are not in their offices. Darn it!

I will get to follow up on that blood draw tomorrow at Terrace Grove, which will be good. But my goodness, whatever happened to my training? I just got thrown in which I suppose is good, but I also should have been done at 4:30 PM, didn't finish until 5:30 PM, Don't know how to bill out all of my time to get paid for it all, and I missed my 5:15 PM workout.

Things are going to get better, right?

I know they will, starting new things is just so hard sometimes!

Oh yeah, then I called my sister to vent and... my phone died.

Bummer.

I Must be Crazy!

2010-09-21T12:21:00.001-06:00

So I got a third job. Blog posts will be few and far between, but I will post.

I hope all is well with everybody!

Hat Season and School!

2010-09-09T15:02:00.004-06:00

Things here in Smithfield have been pretty chilly and wet! I am both excited for fall to come and sad to see summer leave. Oh well.

Lately things have been going just fine. I love this time of year because it is time to make hats for winter! I love to do this. B wants me to sell them, and I am happy to do so, but I don't have a lot of people asking for them.

Nonetheless, they are a blast to make.

Here are my latest:

I was really excited about the brown and green hat, but I made it a bit too small. I will have to find a friend with a small head to have this one. It looks like a swim cap on me!

This pink and green beauty is the perfect size. I do think that having both a ball and a flower is a bit much, but what do you think? It is cute either way, but I think one or the other... not both!

The little pink number above was made for my friend to give to her friend who is having a baby girl. I love the big ball on top. It turned out very cute!

I plan on making many more hats!

School is going wonderfully! I am so very grateful for my stepmom Bonnie who loaned me some money to pay for my tuition. Thank you Bonnie!

My class, excuse me, my LAST class before I get my bachelors degree is called Children in the Middle Years. I have only 2 books. Here is one of them:

I have to write 4 reflection papers on this book. I think I may post the true reflections on my blog. My other is a boring text book. So far, the 'Best Friends, Worst Enemies' is not so bad. There are some stupid analogies, but oh well.

Funny story that kind of relates to my book. I was reading it last night as I was waiting for an aerobics class to end, my class was next. As I sat there reading, other girls began to show up for the 7:30 PM Hip Hop class. 3 in particular sat close to me. They began to talk as if I wasn't there, of course, I listened in from time to time.

It came out in their conversation that one of them was the instructor. She said to the her friends "It is kind of a drag to come here on Wednesday nights and hang out with a bunch of people who can't dance." I glanced up from my book, then went right back to reading.

I paid no attention to my book after that because all of my insecurities about the fact that I can't dance were hot on my mind. I started to reassure myself that I could just fit in amongst the crowd and she wouldn't know that I would be that person who couldn't dance.

Well, including her two friends, there were 7 of us there. So much for blending in. I thought several times to just abandon ship. I stuck it out though. I am so glad I did. I laughed at myself and I had a blast! Oh and I learned a new hip hop routine! It is a way cute dance and I was able to do it. Not as quick as the other 6 girls who showed up, all of them younger than me and all of them with little hot bodies. On second thought, I guess I did blend in!

Well that is my life for now. Hope you all are doing good!

Some Wonderful People who are GREAT Friends!

2010-08-30T17:26:00.004-06:00

This weekend was very memorable. We had a great time. On Friday, we hung out with Brett and Stacey. We ate dinner and that was about it. Called it a night after dinner.

On Saturday B and I were worthless. I got up and did my visit and then I came home. We just watched programs all day. We drove into town once, and then came home and fiddled with the watering device in our front bushes. After that we watched a movie called 'Adventureland'. I loved it. It was pretty darn funny.

Sunday was absolutely wonderful. We reconnected with our friends Bryan and Stacy Hansen. We haven't seen them since like 2007. It was so nice to reconnect. They are the type of friends where, even though 3 years had passed, we took up right where we left off, as if only a week had passed.

We had lunch at The Beehive Grill. It is actually owned by the Moab Brewery and should have been called that as well, but the owners understand that Cache Valley citizens would most likely not support a business with the word 'brewery' in it.

(I learned that fun fact today!)

We didn't take photos in the restaurant as we were eating, drinking and catching up. It was so nice to see them. They have a 2 month old baby girl named Ada. I feel like she looks just like her dad. She and Bryan have the same eyes, in my opinion. B says, 'she looks just like a baby'. He is so funny. I love that man.

Below is a great photo of me lovin' on Ada. When I finally got the guts to hold her, she was a little cranky, but still adorable nonetheless.

She eventually warmed up to me and we snapped this photo that I didn't rotate before blogging. I even got her smilin' a little bit... okay, it was probably Stacy who got her to smile. She is a doll!

Then B got the guts to hold her and just look at how cute they are!

AND... he liked holding her too! That smile is proof positive of him liking it!

We wanted a photo of all of us together, so we tried out our timer. In this first pic, there was no flash due to the windows behind us. Oh... and my big fat head got in B's way. He mentioned this as we were waiting for the timer. We all laughed and laughed!

Take two... better, but still awkward.

Our neighbor Stacey (of Brett and Stacey) was kind enough to come over and take this much better photo of all of us!

Stacy and Bryan, we had a wonderful time with you guys and cannot wait to see you again!

We love you guys!

After they left, Stacey (neighbor) stayed and we watched 'To Catch a Predator' that show on MSNBC. Those guys are creepy! That was fun.

Today has been interesting. It started out just fine. I got up and went to work my 12 hour shift. All was well until about 11:00. My kidneys started to ache and I started to chill, no fever though. I went home early and have had a pain pill and a heating pad on and am feeling much better, but that was really odd. I am sure that I am fine... but I thought I would tell you my odd illness.

Things are great... hope they are great with everyone else!

Birthday!

2010-08-25T23:28:00.012-06:00

August 24th was a great day. We celebrated two birthdays: B's and Gordon's. We had a lot of fun. I went and did my home health visit. When I got home, I wrapped B's presents and set them up on the counter... no... I didn't take a photo... but you will not be let down... this post is still full of photos!

The dogs had hair cut's scheduled and just look at how handsome they are!

While the dogs were at their appointment, B and I ran some errands. This included going to USU and getting me set up for fall semester. We now just need to scrounge up tuition money. It is such a good feeling to be getting my degree done!

After that, we picked up the pups and went home. We did some laundry and B did some boring office work. We were just killin' time until our neighbors Brett and Stacey got home. They were at work and we wanted to go to dinner with them. Once they got home the adventure began.

Below is a photo I took of B once we got in the car. Girls ride up front and boys in the back. I thought this photo was funny!

We then just started to take photos of random people. Though the photo below may look innocent and random, there is a funny story.

The people in the car are strangers to us. They didn't notice us until the flash of the camera. We were all laughing, and then Stacey noticed that the dude in the back was angry and mouthed the phrase "what is wrong with you guys?" at her in an angry/mad face.

This made us laugh more, which in turn upset them more. Oh well.

The photo below is of Brent, a Cache Valley cycling icon. He is mentally challenged, but very accomplished and independent. He worked at USU for about 30 years and can still be seen riding his bike, all throughout the valley, ALL year long. We like Brent. He was the torch bearer in 2002 when the Olympic torch came through Logan. Brent makes your day when he honks his bike horn, smiles and waves at you.

And now... the birthday dinner!

We went to Happy Sushi. It is yummy and expensive... but most importantly... yummy.

Below is the Sake we ordered. How cute are those little cups and that little poorer?

Here we all are, so happy!

Here is our pretty sushi! All of it was fantastic, and that even includes the yellow tail (chef's choice) and the albacore tuna that are on the far right. That is considered the real sushi, not in a roll. I was apprehensive to try it at first, but it was indeed good. The tuna had more flavor. ALL of the rolls were fantastic!

Below here is the noodles we ordered and split. They were super good as well! (Super Good!)

The after dinner photos start now! Below is B and Brett. I just love those guys!

We stopped at Sweetly Divine (a pastry shop) to get dessert on the way home. Below is the cannoli's. I love those, and that is what I got. The finger belongs to Brett.

This is just a view of some of the many divine treats you can eat at this yummy shop. They are super good! Right Hillary?... Super Good!

On the way home B decided to take a photo of my head.

I then turned and smiled at the camera. Not my best photo, but good enough!

The birthday was fabulous. We had a blast. Our friends Brett and Stacey really are some of the best friends we have. It is so nice to have such wonderful people to share your life with. I just love them!

Now, onto today. I went to work (of course). I worked 13 hours today. After clocking out, I went to the gym and did Zumba! Stacey came with me. We had a lot of fun. I have noticed though, my skin on the underside of my foot is having a hard time toughening up.

I have literally danced my skin off!

Totally worth it!

Hope all is well with one and all!

What We Are Up To

2010-08-23T11:18:00.004-06:00

So I lied... below is the only photo I took of MS Tour. This is after the race and once we got back to our car. We were riding up to the car and I told B "We've got to get at least one photo!" So we did.

I have been kind of a butt hole lately when it comes to taking photos. I didn't take one single photo of my brothers and their families when they were up here that weekend either. I just have been a nit wit.

Instead, I never miss a photo opportunity when it comes to bacon!

Yeah, I cooked turkey bacon yesterday and didn't burn it at all. We made savory breakfast sandwiches and boy were they yummy.

We made them again today and they were even better.

In my little world of crochet, below is a dinosaur that I made a while back. This is not my pattern. I have a blast finding other peoples patterns and botching the work to my best abilities!

Here is a black and white dog, much like my brown and... uh... brown dog! A sweet little lady that I take care of has ordered one of these dogs. I have got to get hoppin' on makin' it!

So now it is time for you to be prepare of a bloody carp fish photo. I have not blogged this and B caught this big fish back in like June or something. He is a big ol' fatty.

Look at that fish!

And again.

I put these here now because I have got to brag about B. He is so wonderful! I wish he knew that to it's full extent. He and our friend Brett are quite a pair. They were going bow fishing quite a bit at the beginning of the summer, but then, we got busy and bow fishing got put on the back burner. At least they were able to catch this big fella before they stopped going.

I love B's face in the pic where he is holding this big fish up by a rope. He is such a cutie!

It is B's birthday tomorrow. He is going to be 31. All morning long so far I have been pinching him, tickling him, bugging him and telling him that it is the last time I get to do this to a 30 year old. He just laughs it off. He is one in a million.

I am a lucky lady.

Right now, we have no idea of what we are gonna do for birthday celebration, but something fun!

It was also my friend Stacey's birthday on Friday (the 20th). We went out for appetizers and drinks at Cafe Sabor, then it was our first time with sushi for dinner. We went to Happy Sushi. Luckily Brett, Stacey's husband, has eaten there before and he is quite daring with sushi. He even ordered the real stuff, not just a roll.

We really do have a wonderful friendship in Brett and Stacey. They are fabulous people of which I am so happy to know.

We are also looking forward to seeing our long time friends Bryan and Stacey. They live in Escalante now and have been friends with us for quite a while. They have a new baby girl named Ada. She is absolutely beautiful! We are hopefully going to get to see them this coming weekend. I can't wait! I will bring my camera and I WILL take photos!

Other than that, life is pretty good. It is boring, but that is good.

I should be starting up with school again here pretty quick. Cross your fingers and hope that I get into the RN program, I am applying in September! Holy Moly, that is soon!

Love you all!

I KNOW, I KNOW, I KNOW!

2010-08-16T17:44:00.004-06:00

So here's to catching up!

MS Tour

The MS tour was fabulous! We had an absolute blast! B and I rode the whole ride together and just enjoyed each others company. He is so wonderful. I am amazed at how he is able to put up with me and all of my bull crap.

I really do love the MS tour, and it is a fantastic cause... but I HATE the inconsiderate riders, and believe me, when you ride with that many cyclists, people are very inconsiderate! Still a blast and it was still a fantastic day!

Sorry, no pics!

Vegas

So the weekend after the MS tour, B and I had the opportunity to go to Las Vegas with our neighbors Brett and Stacey. They are some of the most wonderful people in the world! We love them so very much.

We left from Smithfield at like 6:00 PM on July 1st and got there at like 1:00 AM on July 2nd. We stayed with some of Stacey's relatives off of the strip in an absolutely AMAZING house. The estate was worth like 5 million $$$. It was amazing. And yes, I do need to be shot... we didn't take one picture. We should have.

Stacey's relatives are so very nice. We enjoyed their company entirely. We hit the strip pretty much every night we were there, except for the 4th, which was a shame because I bet there were some kick a$$ fireworks!

B and Brett played Craps. B and I lost money, but one of the nights we did start to make a come back, still came back to Utah with less money than when we started with. Didn't matter though, we went to play!

Post Vegas

We lit some illegal fireworks on the 24th for Pioneer day. That was fun, and they were amazing!

The latest highlight... B's sister Hillary (yogurt flavored) came up with her sweet husband Max. They stayed the first weekend of August with us. We don't have an extra bed, so poor lil' pregnant Hil' had to sleep on our couch, which was not super comfortable for a 6 month pregnant lady!

We absolutely loved having them here. I wish they lived closer to us. We had a great time.

We went out to eat, more than we should have. We played some Nazi Zombies, and we lit off more illegals. Though it needs to be noted that Hillary did not participate and ANY illegal activity.

We love you guys and hope you come again!

This last week, we have washed B's truck and worked. Oh I trimmed our bushes out front. They look super good!

This is a small update. I will blog again soon and I will start figuring out how to use my camera again!

Upcoming Events

I may go run a 7 mile stint with my sister on Sept. 18. I am gonna die. Must start training 2 weeks ago for that!

I also (haven't told B about this yet) have planned a potential trip to Boise (where photos will be taken) for later in October!

Vow

I WILL blog more!

I promise!

I now must get back to my entirely-too-scary-to-play-by-myself-game: BioShock... gulp... yikes!

Bow Fishin' and Other Stuff

2010-06-15T09:23:00.003-06:00

We went bow fishing, which is self explanatory, and B caught this fish. We think he weighs 10 pounds. We were just about to call it good and go home, but then Brett and B saw the back of this fish rise and B to a 30 foot (approx) shot and got him! It is his first bow hunt kill!

I had to snatch another photo of the fish at home. Too bad Carp are crap! That fish went right into the dumpster. Apparently there are people who use them for fertilizer and stuff, but we don't know them, so we just threw him out.

Way to go B!

Below is a photo of the boys. They are mad because I just told them they are getting their hair cut today. Look at the disgust on their faces!

Below here is a behind photo of a dog that I made using a pattern you can find here:

Dog Pattern.

Here is his face! Isn't he just cute?

I sold him for $10.00 and got B that much closer to his MS donations!

If ANYONE is interested in having me make them something for more donations PLEASE comment and let me know what I can possibly do! We are getting down to the wire and really need more money for MS!

If you just want to donate PLEASE click below:

B's MS donations

We need your help!

Today I am going to place flyers all around our condos, we will see if that drums up any business!

Well, I have got to run these pups to their hair cut! Love you all and will post more fun stuff soon!

The Weekend of Little Red and my Super Sister!

2010-06-08T14:25:00.008-06:00

FINALLY our ride has come... and sadly it has gone. Little Red was a complete success this year. My sister rocked it out big time! She and I had a fantastic time together. Unfortunately, she had to go home today. So sad, but now it is time to blog about our fantastic time together!

So I have decided to just use normal names for this blog. Nickie arrived to my house last Thursday (June 3rd) at about 4:00 or so. I was so happy to see her. That night we went to Zumba and had a blast and then came home and watched 'So you think you can dance'. That was just a wonderful evening.

The next day was Friday (the 4th). We went to a million places that day. We bought some fabric because we wanted to make costume skirts for the Wonder Woman themed bike ride, but that turned out to be really frustrating. We also bought some beading supplies and stuff to make a fantastic pasta dinner. Stacey even came over and the three of us beaded, cooked, tried to sew, and got our bikes ready for the ride. We had to pick up packets that night too and Nickie and I ended up buying some super cute athletic items from a booth called Born Fit. Nick got a very cute teal jacket that zips up the side and I got a super cute running skort that is brown and pink. I can't wait to wear it to Zumba!

We both realized we spent money that we shouldn't have. I kind of upset B by purchasing the skort. Sorry B.

When we got back we ended up staying up till about 1:00 AM just getting all of our crap ready. Nick and I still managed to leave our water bottles on the kitchen table when we left for our ride. Fortunately we had put a protein shake in the water bottles that we did remember, so we just didn't have water for the first 12 miles of the ride.

At the second stop we met up with Stacey and her Mom. Below is a photo of me and Stacey together. She can pull of ANY color of hair. Look at how cute that purple hair is on her!!!

Below here is the 3 of us. We are just such beautiful babes! I really would love to travel back in time and do it all over again!

And here is just me and my sister. I love that girl. I look like a complete fat face in this photo, but I am a fat face with my cute sister! I need to mention again just how awesome she did on this ride! She did have me worried, and I will tell you why later!

Below here is Stacey with her mom. Aren't they gorgeous? They have the same eyes. How fun that they can do this together.

The action photo below is Nickie coming up a hill. This year she never stopped and said 'It just keeps going and going'. She had a better bike and better skills for this ride. I am so proud of this woman!

Awe, isn't she cute?

We stopped for lunch at like mile 36. Before we ate I saw this cute English Bulldog. Her name is Sophie and she is 9 years old. She is so cute! Her dad was a proud dog owner and was very nice to let me take this photo and love up on her a bit.

Look at that face!

During lunch Nick took a moment to ponder life's larger mysteries.

Deep in thought...

And that is the last photo I took on the ride. Nickie and I thought that we ate a good lunch. Turns out we were wrong. This is where she started to worry me. After lunch there was a 4 mile climb. It wasn't steep, but we were riding into the wind and our speed was just atrocious. In the first mile, I lost her. I thought she was riding closely behind me, but as I got off of my bike to wait for her, it was a long wait. Okay maybe only like 4 minutes, but as it turns out, there was a bunch of cotton in the air and Nickie thought it would be awesome to inhale one of the pieces. As it turns out, that is just not a good idea. She had to stop and cough. Anyway, we pushed on. At about mile 45 Nickie got very nauseated. We sat on the side of the road and I called B. I wanted her to take a SAG wagon or allow B to come and get her but she insisted on going on. There was one more stop at about mile 48, so we got her there and stayed for about 25 minutes.

I again called B and he and Brett met up with us at that stop. I tried to convince Nickie to go with them because I didn't want to kill her. But She wanted to ride the rest of the ride. So away we went! I am so glad that she finished it off. As it turns out, she probably just needed to eat more at the lunch stop. She truly worried me though. I want us to do this bike ride for many years to come and I can't go killing her off on one of them! I also fear that she may start to hate the sport of cycling if I push her too hard, but she was determined to finish, and finish we did!

We crossed the finish line at the same time this year. It was so much fun.

And then we crashed.

It felt so nice to just lay there as we waited for B to come and get us. I had such a good time on this ride. Thank you Nickie for doing this with me! You are the best sister a gal could ever ask for! Next year we will have to try for 80 (we signed for 80 miles this year, but decided on 60 instead).

Besides riding a lot of miles on our bikes, we also beaded. My sister is just amazing at so many things, especially crafty things. She has gotten me hooked on beading.

Below here are the two watch bands and the watch face she gave me for my birthday. When I went to Idaho in April, we beaded and beaded and beaded.

Now look at all the stuff I have made!

Below is a necklace that Nickie made and I made the matching watchband. I just wanted to feature it here so Nick can see that I kept the band up to her super skills!

What a cute set!

Yesterday was Nickies birthday. Below is a photo of the cake that she baked. I bought the supplies, but Nick did the rest. She made the frosting and look at that cute icing job!

What a regular Betty Crocker!

Seriously, she has some mad skills in the kitchen. We were all just sittin' around the other night and she whipped up scones for us, from scratch, with stuff that I didn't even realize that I had in my kitchen. B wants me to do more stuff in the kitchen like her.

My sister is seriously amazing.

Below is a photo we tried to take of us. I didn't realize that my zoom was maxxed out.

So we took it again. But I hat my fat double chin to the left in this photo.

3rd time is a charm. Now we both look super cute!

So we took Nickie out to to dinner for her birthday to Cafe Sabor. Last year Nick and I went there and she got a Pink Zebra (drink). So now it is tradition. Here is B and I with our Pink Zebra. It was yummy.

Here is Nickie thoroughly enjoying her Pink Zebra.

What a dufus!

These next few photos were all taken today, and were done just to keep her here longer. I hated to see her go, but I know her family missed her like crazy.

Nick didn't like her in the first photo, so we did an upgrade!

Then we went out to walk her to her car. We photo'd bird poop on her door... and then decided that our reflections were pretty funny...

...so we took more photos...

...and more.

Alas, she finally evaded my stall tactics and got her van door open.

But I could see in her face she didn't want to leave.

Still, I am not convinced she really wanted to leave.

And just like that, she was gone.

Oh sister, I miss you already and you haven't even been gone a day!

Thanks for the super fun time and the great memories. I love you and sorry if this seems like an ode!

What a fantastic weekend!

Lately...

2010-05-26T17:04:00.002-06:00

Things lately have been good, and a bit surprising. About a week ago I received a text from B's Momma. She woke up with zero site in her left eye. She has gone to the doctor and there is no reversing her loss of vision. She will remain blind in her left eye. I have no idea what this would be like. We have gone down and visited her twice and we wish we could do more. B loves his mom very much. He cried when he learned about what had happened to his sweet mom.

Lynne, I know this is hard, but you must know you are loved and are always in our hearts.

I have been sticking with Zumba and loving it. I have heard of other teachers in the valley that teach these classes and I wish I was made of money so that I could try them all out. Rumor has it that the teachers available at Golds Gym (in Cache Valley) are incredible. I am waiting to see if my job will comp part of a membership, if so I just might join... but who knows.

The Belly Fat Cure is good, but I am getting bored with it. I am not sure why I am getting this way, it may be partly due to the fact that I seem to have to replace everything that I already have in my pantry and fridge. Also it is entirely too frustrating to realize the amount of sugar in vegetables and fruits. That part actually pisses me off a bit. I should be able to eat an amount of vegetables that I want without it affecting my sugar gram intake... but nonetheless... it affects it. Fruit I understand, but vegetables? Come on!

This last weekend our neighbors and us went hiking up Smithfield Canyon. It was cloudy and almost 9:00 PM on our first venture, and then it rained on us the next day that we went. I was just proud of us for going, and not letting the rain get in the way. We were going to bring the camera both times, but didn't. We did bring Arnold and Gordon and they loved it. Gordon is quite the little hiker.

Last night B and our neighbors made a ridiculous dish called 'Bacon Explosion'. I don't recommend it, and neither will your cardiologist. It is not the best thing for you. If you don't believe me, just google it. It is awful!

I am still trying to raise B's money for MS tour. There is an active link at the top of my blog on the right-hand side. So if you are feeling like giving, please do so!

Coming up... not this weekend, but next is Little Red Riding Hood. I am so excited for this! My sister will be here and things will be fantastic!

Well this is life in a nutshell. Hope all is well.

A New Diet

2010-05-17T12:02:00.005-06:00

So as many of you may know, P90X is a fantastic diet. However, B and I lost our steam with this diet and are now trying something new. B's momma has been doing this diet since January or February and she looks fantastic. I think that they said she has lost 40 pounds. She looks simply amazing. So here is her secret:

After seeing B's momma on mothers day, I was a believer in the diet. I went and found a Borders coupon and then went to Borders and bought the book. I have read quite a bit of the book and am just astounded at how much sugar people eat on a daily basis. B has yet to read the details.

Today is the official start day! I have had my first Belly Fat Cure recipe. It is called Perky Blended Coffee Shake. It is quite good, and quite sweet!

I will most likely be posting recipes from this book on my sidebar. This one is quite fabulous. I already love this diet as it allows for you to have coffee, P90X does not allow for coffee. Jerks.

Below is an aerial photo of my perky shake, and yes that is cocoa powder on top of whipped cream! Can you believe it?

Here is a side view.

I did end up using a protein powder that this book does not recommend due to it containing the wrong kind of sugar. We are poor though and cannot afford to just throw it out. We will use up our EAS whey protein and then buy Jay Robb protein powder that the book highly promotes. The shake was still fabulous though!

When B comes home for lunch break we are going to make another yummy recipe from the book. I am really excited. I need to drop some weight fast so that I am not carrying all of these pounds on my bike rides. They are coming up fast!

Little Red Riding Hood is the first weekend in June. I can hardly wait. Not only am I happy to be riding, but I am super excited to have my sister come down. She is going to stay with us for almost a week! I just can't wait! She is the best!

The last weekend in June is the MS tour! I have successfully collected all of my donations, but now I am trying to get B's donations. He is still at zero $$$. I have updated my link on the top right of the my blog to have donations for B.

PLEASE donate if you can! I understand if you can't (believe me... we po'), but if you are able we would be grateful!

In other things, I am now showing you my beads.

When I had gone to Idaho in April to see my sister, she got me addicted to beading. Here are two of the watchbands I made for myself while there. I also made 2 for B's mom and my sister made one for Yogurt Flavored for me to give her for her birthday. They all turned out so cute!

My sis also made a beautiful band for B's momma. Yeah, we kind of like those two.

Below here are 2 watches my sister made for me for my birthday back in March. She is very good at making these suckers.

Well, this is my life as of now. B is great and wonderful. He puts up with me and my crabby moods, and let me tell you, I sure tried his patience last night! I love that boy though. He is great.

I hope one and all are wonderful! Much love.

Here Came the Sun!

2010-05-13T18:26:00.002-06:00

Finally, a day with sunshine AND some heat! I was excited!

I took the dogs with me to my home health visit (they stayed in the car for the 20 minutes).

After the visit... up the canyon we went. We walked the river trail and had a blast. The poor dogs got absolutely covered in cockle-burrs, but they loved every second of the walk. The river trail up Logan canyon is quite beautiful. We had a great time.

When we got back to the car, I de-burred the dogs and then we headed home. Once home those poor pups needed a bath and more de-burring. So we had quite the morning. Afterward I cleaned my car seats. I know that my life is so damn exciting you can hardly stand it.

Things have been just normal as all get out lately. A couple of nights ago I found myself awake at 3:30 AM. I tried and tried to get back to sleep, but couldn't. I was so annoyed. ANY noise that B or the dogs made just made me stay awake longer. So my patience is very short lived. At 3:45 AM, I stopped trying to sleep. I just got up, threw on my workout clothes and hopped on the treadmill until 4:30. That was the best decision ever.

I had a fantastic day at work. I was full of energy. I imagine that I would have been just an absolute jerk had I laid in bed and tried to sleep. When I went to bed last night, I crashed out hard.

In other things... B and I are preparing ourselves for a trip to Vegas with our neighbors. We are going in early July and we can hardly wait! How exciting!

Well this is my life for now! Hope you all are wonderful!

The Blog Break Ends... for now....

2010-05-06T09:51:00.004-06:00

I am not quite sure what came over me, but the thought of blogging was just absolutely awful. What have I been doing? Well...

Some bike rides, collecting MS donations, making stuff to sell for MS donations, turned 30, worked, went to Idaho to see my sister (best trip)... split open my right great toe while in Idaho... didn't take ANY photos... made watch bands, worked, adopted a dog from the Human Society... had to take said dog back to Human Society so my dogs wouldn't kill him, started Zumbah, dyed my hair, worked, washed my car, off and on dieted, cleaned, worked, cleaned, worked... really my life has been super boring... perhaps not worth blogging.

I think I have just been in a funk. In the beginning of April was the 2 year mark of my dads death. I have missed him immensely. I have just kind of been 'in and out' if that makes any sense to anyone. Plus, now I am 30. I feel old. I feel like I look old. I don't want to get any older, but I know I will.

In other things, I mentioned that I started Zumbah, and I am not sure if I am spelling it right. In starting this class at the Rec Center, I have found that I have absolutely no rhythm but an absolute passion for shaking my ass and hips. I am sure that I put on a good show. It is a lot of fun. I have finally found a place that offers good aerobics classes that doesn't cost an arm and a leg. I am absolutely thrilled. Mainly because my treadmill has been getting oh so boring.

My friend Stacey went to the first class with me on Tuesday night. We laughed and laughed but got a really good work out. I went last night and there was not as many women there, and we did the same routine as the night previous... despite having known some of the moves, I still bit it big time... but still had a blast. Tonight we Zumbah again. It really is a blast and I encourage one and all to look into their local Rec Centers for these classes. Yeah, you can buy the dvd's and do them at home, but it is so much more fun to be in a group.

Work has been really nice lately. I really dig my patients. My favorite story of the week:

I was at work on Monday and one of my residents came up to me and it was clear that she had been bitten by one of our pet therapy dogs (define irony right?). She was so sweet, she said to me "I was sitting on the couch and this is what the couch did to me." She had two perfect puncture wounds to her forearm. So I responded "Are you sure that the dog didn't get you?" And she then says "Well, I was sitting on the couch and my arm was hanging low and the dog was there and so was his mouth, but, this happened from the couch." I just started to giggle. I cleaned her arm and dressed the bites and reassured her that every thing would be fine. That the dog, who is really just a teething puppy, will be able to come back after he has had more training. She was so worried that the dog was going to get punished and never come back. I love that she tried to blame her wounds on the couch. She really is a sweetheart. I have some of the best patients in the world.

I have probably lost a lot of followers, but, as I said, I don't know what came over me, I just couldn't bring myself to blog. But here we are, we are back. I will do better at blogging. I hope to promise that to you all.

Much love.

The Weekends Suck?

2010-03-27T22:53:00.002-06:00

I know what you are thinking. How could I possibly think (or even write) that the weekends suck?

Well... they don't really... maybe just the ones that I work. However, I find that on my weekends off, I DON'T WORK OUT! I become a lazy little sack of fill-in-the-blank. I even had aspirations to run this evening. I didn't quite make it.

There B sat on the couch and he just looked so darn comfy. So I sat next to him and cuddled INSTEAD OF working out.

Why am I such an ass?

Oh well.

We have been having lots of fun. We had dinner with our neighbors tonight. They are just so much fun!

Now... it is time to convince the men that it is not fun to watch them play XBOX and to actually play Rockband!

Sorry it is so short! Much love to one and all! :)

Whoo, I am Impressed

2010-03-24T20:38:00.005-06:00

So I actually have been super good on using my treadmill lately. I didn't run yesterday, but I did on Monday and today. Having yesterday off, may have been a mistake as running did not yield improvement today.

So I stayed on for 45 minutes instead of 30.

This impresses me.

Tomorrow I work a 12 and need to keep motivated afterward so that I don't miss another day on the treadmill.

And can remain impressed.

In other things... I have been a complete easter candy monster. I need to quit the sweet crap for good... but... I LOVE EASTER CANDY!

Took the boys on a walk tonight. They really sucked with their halti leashes, but got better as the walk wore on. So overall, they are good.

I have been busy making oodles of crocheted pets and selling them to co-workers. This year 100% of the proceeds are going to MS so that is going good. I am 14% closer to completing my goal. Then I have got to work on B's donations.

And last but not least... I broke down and bought the Black Eyed Peas extended album from itunes. It totally rocks.

The countdown continues to my 30th birthday... this Friday we are celebrating with friends at Cafe Sabor (my favorite Logan restaurant). Should be fun!

Much love to all.

The MS Tour!

2010-03-22T12:40:00.004-06:00

FINALLY! I got both B and me registered for the MS tour! So this blog is a plea for your $$$$! B and I are trying to raise $250.00 a piece in order to ride. In order to do this, we are gonna tug at your heart strings just a little bit.

The gal below here with me is my sister in law Jen. She is a fantastic woman who has done many amazing things in her life. In 2006 she was diagnosed with MS. My family and I have done the MS tour ever since.

Look at how bad ass we all look!

If this isn't quite heart tugging enough... My friend Monica (the only blonde below), also has been diagnosed with this devastating disease.

So YES I do ride to support these two women whom I adore. I also ride because, as a nurse I have taken care of many patients who have been afflicted with MS. Currently there is no cure. So let's donate what we can in order to get closer to a cure!

At the bottom of this blog is a link to make donating easy as pie! Click here and help me raise money!

Patty's MS donations

I will also be keeping this link on my blog side bar in hopes to raise all of the money possible for this ride!

This year we ride 75 miles and we thank you all so much for your support!

An Old Photo for a New Post

2010-03-17T19:42:00.002-06:00

Today has been great. I had the day off, well mostly. I had my home health visit, but that was over and done with in like 30 minutes (including drive time).

Our temperature hit 64 degrees today! I got all of the un-snow-covered dog poop cleaned up. I got all of our laundry done. And... I WENT ON A BIKE RIDE! Yeah!

Below here is a photo of my sister and I on last years Little Red Riding Hood bike ride.

She and I rode 46 miles together. We had a blast. We talked today and got ourselves super excited for this years ride! It is on the first weekend in June and we signed up for 80 miles. The bike ride is female only and it raises money for cancer. Last year it focused on breast cancer.

At any rate, B and I got our bikes out tonight after he got home from work and rode. We only went 12 miles and our average speed was 12.74 mph, so I have A LOT to work on. I need to get that average up! Usually by mid season my average is about 16 mph, but I am looking to improve upon that this year!

Tomorrow is supposed to be a crappy weather day up here. Lucky for me I work a 12 hour shift so I won't be missing out on too much! B and I are super excited to be hitting the road lots this year!

Well, in other things, I am crocheting a hippo. He is gonna be cute. But at the moment I am grillin' some steaks, so this post has gotta be short.

Much love to all, and a special love to Taylor who had surgery on his broken ankle today! Hope all went well with that!

Elephant Evolution... and a Cow

2010-03-15T19:26:00.004-06:00

This is elephant evolution. From left to right you see my first, second, and last elephant. It only took me three times to get the damn pattern down.

Here you have side-view of elephant evolution. My middle elephant looks more like an anteater.

An ugly one.

So below here you have blue. I never did finish him because he was so obviously wrong. He now is a toy for the dogs. The unfortunate thing here is that now whenever I am making an amigurumi pet, the dogs patiently wait at my feet because they think that it might be for them.

Here is Ugly Anteater. I know exactly where I messed up in this pattern. To my credit, the pattern is kind of written poorly in that area.

Now here is a close-up front view of the cutest pocket pal you could ever have. I was so happy when this finally worked.

Just look at how cute he is. In this side view he looks like he is walking... no I didn't do that on purpose.

And now... my cow. It is cute, but I can still see all of my flaws in it. I had a co-worker request a cow, so this is my first attempt. She hasn't seen it yet, but she will see it tomorrow. We will see how she likes it... if she likes it.

Side view of cow. I didn't purposefully make his head turn to the side, it just sort of happened that way.

And now... Life.

Things have been good. Really busy, but really good. I even went jogging on my break from work today! Hooray! I used to do that a lot last year. Today, after I got ready for work, I packed my gym bag and went jogging. Now this really is a big deal. I never jog outside because I fear judgment. I know that the auto's that pass me have people in them that are probably looking out their windows and thinking "look at the cute fat girl... at least she is out there." But finally, mind over matter. I got out there and did it. I am so proud of me!

I knew that if I didn't jog on my break that I would come home and just hang out on the couch and feel guilty for not getting on my treadmill for the couch to 5k program. So, when I work my 12 hour shifts, I get an hour break from 1 to 2 PM on most days. That is how I spent my time.

Today was a busy, typical, Monday for me at work. I am glad it is over. I go back tomorrow for an 8 hour shift. But the other good news here is that I may just be working 12's next month! That is fantastic. I love 3 days a week of work! I LOVE it!

B and I went with our neighbors and saw 'The Crazies' yesterday. It is pretty darn scary. I didn't see the whole thing because when scary movies get intense I either close my eyes and just listen, or plug my ears and just watch... on occasion I will do both. So I saw most of the film, and heard most of it too. It is scary!

In other things... we turned Gordon into a blanket. Isn't he cute?

Well people, I am tired. I know it is not much of a blog, but it is a blog nonetheless. I have missed the blogging world lately! I hope one and all are fine!

Much Love!

I am Almost 30... Holy Crap!

2010-03-08T13:37:00.005-07:00

I can't believe that I will be 3o years old at the end of March. I don't feel 30. A lot of very nice people tell me that I don't look like I am 30. I really do like that. When I was younger I always thought it was stupid how women hated to admit their age. I never understood it.

I understand it now.

Things have been interesting for me lately on an emotional level. I have been thinking A LOT about my parents. I miss them so much. I hate that they are dead. I find that certain things will set me off lately. Even happy songs... songs that they haven't even heard... songs that make no sense to make me sentimental.

I was cleaning today and listening to my ipod and the song 'Rama Lama' by Roison Murphy came on... and it almost made me cry. I was just overwhelmed for no good reason. Instead of letting a good cry out... I stayed the course of house cleaning. Sometimes I wish I could just let myself feel what I need to feel. But falling apart and crying right then and there would not have been appropriate. That is what I kept on thinking. I am not sure why I thought that... but it kept me from taking a few minutes to myself.

How do I change that? How do I let myself realize that it is not selfish to take some time for me? I think if I even had allowed myself to sit and get it all out, I would have felt inadequate in some way. I am sure one day I will have all the answers!

On to other things that are not so... different.

So my sister made a small, tiny pocket elephant. I found the exact pattern that she used and I tried to replicate it. Here is my elephant:

I quit making him because he is just not right.

He was supposed to look like this one below:

My sister can do anything. I will try again. We will see if I can get it.

Now, something that I got for B that made me laugh. My friend Stacey and I were out getting some snacks at a gas station a few weeks ago. They were selling these tacky pens with horses and dogs and other animals carved out of wood.

I found a schnauzer one. I got it and gave it to B.

We laughed and laughed.

Could you imagine B using this pen at work or at school? How funny would that be? It sits in our kitchen drawer. We use it to, you know, write with.

Well, my house is clean. I have blogged. I am going to do my couch to 5k workout this evening. I am also going to pick a low-carb soup recipe from my new 'low carb cooking for dummies' book and we shall consume. I also plan on making protein bars. It is my day off, and I sure am being boring, but I am getting a lot done.

In other things, I have decided to help me raise money for the MS tour this year, I will make some small crocheted stuffed pets. They will be cuter than my first elephant attempt. I think that will help to raise the $500.00 I have to raise this year. Not a bad idea right?

Anyway, I hope all is well with everyone!

IT'S MARCH!!!

2010-03-03T12:48:00.005-07:00

Over the last few days, I have been sick. I dunno what is going on. I have had a fever of unknown origin... low grade... and have been really lethargic. I even called in sick to work on Monday because my stomach felt like it was on fire, I was extremely nauseated and had a headache from hell. Today, I am happy to be welcomed back into the world of being a human!

So let's see. On February 27th I took my mutts in for a hair cut. Here is their before picture:

My cute little bears! I love them. I asked that the groomers leave a little skirt to their legs, not a longer skirt, which is more traditional to a schnauzer cut. They did a great job and Arnold was given a chest pelt.

He is now the Neal Diamond of dogs! I am really digging his chest pelt.

We took are dogs to a local place called Stylin' Pets and they did a great job.

Also on February 27th my brother Dee turned 34. He is a great guy. We celebrated on the 28th at Steves house. It was so much fun. B was unable to go and neither was Angie (Dee's wife). So it was the siblings hangin' out old school with their kids and Steve's wife Jen was there. She is a hoot and a hollar! We had a great time.

Below is photo we took. I had to tip-toe to get in this photo!

Me and my brothers!

We ate fondue and watched the American's lose to the Canadians in hockey. We just laughed and had so much fun. I hated to go, but had to in order to get home at a good time.

Below is my departing photo:

It was after that night that I got so sick.

I am feeling much better now though and that is great because it is so sunny here now and spring fever (which isn't contagious by the way) has hit me hard.

I am happy to start back into exercising again, now that I have energy. I can't believe how down and out I have been. I didn't even want to blog or do anything. The thought of spending my time doing something other than sleeping was just overwhelming.

In other news, we are getting our own team ready for the MS Bike Tour. I will soon be pleading with one and all for donations so get ready! We are going to register our own team this year which is new for us as we usually ride with Harmons. I believe our team will be called S.O.B. In the medical world this stands for 'Short of Breathe', in New York (and elsewhere) it stands for 'Son of a Bi***', really you can come up with your own interpretation.

We are also going to be selling some bikes coming up here. So if you are interested or know someone who is, refer them to me!

Thanks to one and all. I hope all is well with everyone!

February Diet Re-Cap

2010-02-27T11:11:00.003-07:00

Okay so this month is a little discouraging, but that is okay. Here is the re-cap:

Weight Loss: -0.2 pounds

Yup, this means I gained.

Cheats: Way too many... Let's see... I had a doughnut on 2/12/10, we ate out numerous times, last night I even had pizza with extra cheese... Let's not forget the movie theatre cheats. This is something that will look much better for the month of March.

Workouts: Have done some dog walking and started from couch to 5K. Also, major cleaning on basement today which will qualify as a workout given the amount of clean-up needed. Must do better here as well. I am going to get my bike out, possibly even this weekend, we shall see.

Eating Habits: Despite the cheating, I didn't do awful on Monday's through Thursdays. I stayed within the dietary guidelines I have set for myself. Those damn weekends are killer though. A couple of compliments that I have for myself: I have made an awesome chicken chili that will be made again in the near future, am kickin' ass at soups and stews that are low carb/high protein and last for more than just one meal!

Overall: I know that I need to do better. I am actually turning thirty in March (on the 31st) and I would love to give myself another 10 pound loss. So March is going to be much better and much more strict with dieting and exercising. February was a failure, March will not be this way.

And there you have it!

Just Another New Blog Site... Very Good!

2010-02-26T17:49:00.003-07:00

Lately I have become a blog stalker. I am happy with this choice as it has lead me to many fascinating sites that help to motivate me, or just make me laugh!

Here is the latest and greatest:

Cranky Fitness

I love it. I will have it on my side bar for future references. It will be titled the same. These people are very clever and wonderful. Check them out!

Kind of a Boring Post

2010-02-26T14:52:00.002-07:00

So today I was texted by my home health job and told that my visit with the hard egg patient will no longer require that I cook for her. All of that hard egg cooking practice for absolutely nothing! Oh well, it really made for a good story, and she is a sweetheart. So I now basically go in check her sugar and give her a shot. How simple is that?

For those who don't know... well... it is extremely simple! I can't believe that is all I have to do and I get paid what I get paid.

Work at Terrace Grove was good. I only put in a half day. That was nice leaving at 10:40 this AM. I had great morning too. All of the aides showed up. I was got through the morning med pass without any struggles. I did have a million doctors to call, but I was able to let the nurse who split the shift with me call the meanest doctor. She was really sweet about it too.

Tonight will be a night filled with dog walks and from couch to 5K (woot woot!). I am excited about both. The boys are learning to walk at our sides better and I am fat and need to get my a$$ on the treadmill!

Things that I did that B may say were wrong:

I went shopping at Old Navy right after work. Our bosses have changed our uniforms at work to a lab coat (that is oversized) and a pair of scrub bottoms. We can wear either a scrub top or a cute t-shirt underneath the lab coat. So at Old Navy I found a bunch of V-neck and normal neck tee's for $5.00. I also bought B a couple of shirts that I think will look good on him. He will take them back though.

I do have a funny Arnold picture/movie post to do, and I will. Probably not until tomorrow. The boys are getting groomed in the morning so I will post before and after photos too! I am really impressed with the local business we have come across for our dog's grooming. Perhaps I will include them as well. It will be a doggy-delicious post!

I am going to go as I have spring fever right now and feel like a louse sitting on the couch inside even though it is only 32 degrees outside! (Hey, the sun is out!).

Sunshine Award

2010-02-25T17:52:00.004-07:00

So my blog buddy Googie gave me a sunshine award! She is a very sweet girl and I am glad we have met through the blogging world!

So with the Sunshine award you are to highlight 12 blogs that you follow and that give you happiness, or sunshine so to speak. So here are the blogs that I find myself checking daily... I hope I can make it to 12!

1) Raw Chicken (my sister)

2) Yogurt Flavored (my sister in law)

3) B's Momma (my mother in law)

4) Kandice (my friend)

5) Exercise Addicts (another blog I contribute to)

6) Inspirational Runner (just a cool chick)

7) The Toole Tanks (a high school friend who stuck it out with me!)

8) Bryan and Stacey (college pals)

9) Teach (my step mom)

10) Fatchick (this woman doesn't know me, but she is very inspirational)

11) Dee (my brother, even though he doesn't blog much)

12) Steve (my other brother who doesn't blog much)

So the last two, really hardly ever blog, but I love to click their blogs and see their cute little families! So there you go, spread the sunshine if you were highlighted and realize it!

Love to one and all!

Recipe for Home Made Tortilla Chips

2010-02-25T17:41:00.003-07:00

My sister gave me a recipe for home made tortilla chips and these things really hit the spot when I am craving something crunchy that is not a vegetable, and they are super yummy when they are hot. Super simple to make as well!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Spray cookie sheet with nonstick spray.

Cut wheat tortillas with a pizza cutter and arrange on cookie sheet.

Spray over the top of the cut tortilla and flavor. I use salt and garlic powder.

Bake in oven for 12 to 15 minutes.

Enjoy!

I have also thought of baking these for 8 minutes and then taking them out and putting a small slice of 50% fat free cheddar cheese on top and then letting them finish baking. I haven't tried this yet... but it sure sounds good. Especially if you have a fresh salsa dip!

Chicken Chili Recipe

2010-02-25T17:23:00.004-07:00

I found this recipe on Googies blog and she found it at about.com. It was super easy to make and super yummy! I even loved the left overs. So here is the recipe!

Ingredients:

1 to 1 and 1/2 lb chicken, cut into 1/2" pieces

1 chopped onion (I used 2 yellow onions diced)

1 15 oz can drained pinto beans you can use white or small red beans too

1 15 oz can drained black beans

1 can stewed tomatoes, Mexican style, (I used 2 cans of Rotel)

1 15 oz can corn (drained and optional)

2 tablespoons chili powder or seasoning mix (I used powder)

Preparation:

In large skillet sprayed with nonstick cooking spray, brown chicken and onion over medium heat. Stir in remaining ingredients; bring to boil. Reduce to low; simmer for about 20 minutes.

I flavored my chicken with salt and garlic powder. I also added red pepper flakes.

Hmm, I Have Been Bad!

2010-02-23T15:48:00.002-07:00

So I blogged yesterday about a bunch of books that I bought. B made me take them back. Not because he is mean, but because he is smart. We bought the same books for $40.00 cheaper than what I had spent originally. He is just a smart man!

I am excited to get them so that I can start to read them. How great will that be to read again. I just don't do that enough.

So I mentioned that I have been bad, and I really have! I have been eating awful things, and drinking them too. It is not as though I can afford to do this. I am by no means skinny. Geez, I just dunno how to kick this eatin' crap habit. I do so good for so long and then it all goes to pot!

Tonight I will do better. I will make a good dinner for us and it will be yummy. I will not cheat... except I already did. I ate three pieces of red ropes. My favorite. We still have candy in the house from when we went to the movie on Sunday. It is calling my name... I must find will power! One slip up man and all I wanna do is cheat and eat.

In other news...

Arnold hates his mouth spray. Tough crap, he's gettin' it until I feel that it is not working or until it works. It is just gonna have to be one of those things. He is a sweet pup and I don't want him to lose any of his teeth.

At work we got lab coats for the nurses to wear. They are so ugly. Whoever ordered them ordered all larges, x-larges, and 2x-larges. Keep in mind that these are mens sizes. And we have to wear them. My boss thinks that they are ugly as well. She is working on getting us some that are feminine. I am happy about that. I am also happy about the idea of wearing a cute shirt underneath the lab coat rather than a dumb old scrub top. So that is good.

Today I am going to work out. It may just be a jog, it may be a longer jog on the treadmill as I have been meaning to try the from couch to 5k thing. I just don't know why I am so damn lazy lately! I have got to get it together.

Well, that is that. I hope everyone is doing much better than I am!

Friends, Food, Dogs, Books and a Shower Head

2010-02-22T20:05:00.006-07:00

We have been doing great lately... except not so much on our diets (gulp). B and I have just been doing a lot with our friends Brett and Stacey. They are great people.

On Friday, I decided to make us all dinner. I found a recipe on Googie's blog and it sounded delicious. It was too. It was a recipe for Chicken Chili. I made it a little bit my own and will post the recipe later. Here is the first photo of the chili. I put more chicken in that it called for.

I then decided it needed something else. So I added a can of corn. It not only made it prettier, it also made it tastier! I love canned corn.

With the chili we made some tortilla chips, recipe thanks to Raw, and yes I will post it. It is quite easy and very yummy.

Before they were cooked:

After:

They were perfect to dip in the chili. We also had baked potato's. I was a bit skeptical on eating a baked potato without any butter, but really, salt and pepper was all it needed. After dinner we just all hung out for a while.

Friday was also the day that Brett and Stacey saved a life. They adopted a dog from the Humane Society that had been short listed for being put down. He is a pit bull, and he is a sweet heart. Brett has been very good to work with him daily. Troy is doing well. And he gets along with their smaller dogs (a yorki named Dax and a fluffy one named Elli). Both their smaller dogs are 15 pounds at most, if that.

Here is Troy:

How could you not love that face? When I went to get this snap shot Brett was teaching him to 'sit'. He is doing quite well. Below is another photo just to gage his size better.

When Arnold first met Troy, he ran up and bit Troy on the chest. Troy didn't really react at all. He didn't growl, snarl, bark, or anything. He just looked at my dog and sat there. Not a very vicious dog at all. Which is interesting because the Humane Society tried to talk Brett and Stacey out of taking this dog as they said he will eat and kill smaller dogs. Not so. Smaller dogs will most likely eat and kill him... just kiddn'.

B and I have decided we really need to work on our dogs temperament much more. We have started this by making them walk next to us or just slightly behind us when we do take them out walking. Arnold is slower to learn this than Gordon. I have faith that they will get this skill soon.

Let's see, what else to tell you.

I had to work at Terrace Grove this last weekend and the shifts were really good. I do have another lil' fella who isn't doing so well, I am afraid he may have passed away since I worked last, which was yesterday. He is a sweetheart, and he will be missed.

On Sunday, after work, Brett, Stacey, B and I went to the movie 'Shutter Island'. It was not at all what I thought it would be. It was still a good show, but I expected a horror film and got a drama with some scary parts. It is good though.

Today was my day off from Terrace Grove. I did a home health visit and had a good time. I also installed our new shower head this evening. Below is a photo of the old one, don't mind the calcium deposits on our dirty little shower head, those things are a pain to clean.

B had bought this shower head about a month ago and has been too busy to install it. So tonight I came across it and B told me that I could probably handle installing it. So I did. And I interrupted him a lot to help me. B was sweet and obliged.

Here it is all hung up and ready to go. After I first turned it on it was leaking where I hadn't tightened it enough, so B had to tighten it better. Now it doesn't leak and I am looking forward to my 4:30 AM shower tomorrow!

Today was also Gordon and Arnold's annual physical/rabies boosters. They did well. Gordon weighs 21 pounds even; Arnold is at 19.7. Gordon got gold stars all across the boards. Arnold however has a lot of plaque on his teeth. We try to brush his teeth, we really do, but he will not allow it most of the time. His fronts are better than his backs, as they should be, he let's us brush them better than the backs. Anyway, I explained this to the vet and he said that Arnold had so much plaque that if we didn't do something about it he will eventually need to have some of his teeth pulled. He then suggested sedating him and having them polish his teeth for a mere $100.00.

We are gonna try something else first. I called a pet place and they suggested this:

Apparently this is a spray that you spray twice a day in your pooches mouth and it gets rid of plaque in 3 to 6 months. The pet store person said that the did a trial run with her poodle who also had awful teeth and that now the teeth are perfectly white. So Arnold got his first sprays tonight. We didn't want Gordon to feel bad so we gave him a couple of squirts too. Gordon's teeth are perfect though. He is better with letting us brush them.

Both the boys are a little tired tonight from their booster shots. The vet said that would happen. It is pretty cute how lethargic they are.

Tonight I also got some books. I am just tired of the same old low-carb recipes, so I bought some stuff to help supplement the p90x diet. Some of the books I feel will really help me keep on my diet rather than cheat on my diet. The 'Panic in Level 4' book is my guilty pleasure book. It looks good and I just need to read more books anyway!

I have also hear good things about the other books as well. I will let you know what I think about them, as if my opinion really matters.

Well, that is our lives thus far. Tomorrow is a work day. Therefore, since the 9:00 PM hour is approaching, I now must get ready for bed and stay there.

I hope all is well with everyone else.

An Egg Blog (Mostly)! :)

2010-02-19T11:17:00.005-07:00

Today has been a pretty good day so far. It is my day off from Terrace Grove. However, it is my first day of visits for Primrose. I really had a blast. I ended up laughing at myself (out loud) on my way to my 2nd visit.

My first visit was with a little gal that lives quite close to me. My instructions were simple and basic. Just check the blood sugar, give the insulin, and light meal prep. I have had no formal training with Primrose as they have recently acquired a lot of these diabetic patients due to the recent health care decisions from Obama. Just a quick overview, Obama has made it impossible for medicaid to pay for diabetic patients to live at home and get 3 - 4 home health visits a day. Medicaid can now only pay for one visit. Families are having to supplement this care, and unfortunately we will see most families have to put their loved ones in nursing homes. Some home health agencies had to drop many patients as they were going to be losing money for just one visit per day. Primrose is relatively new and picked up quite a few of these diabetic patients and needed some help, fast. I am happy to help out!

Anyway, I get to my first patients house and after having woken her up, I realize that I have no idea where everything in her house is kept. I had to call the case manager to find out where syringes and things are kept. Easy enough.

After I had given her shots I asked her "What would you like for breakfast?". I thought she was just going to say something easy like cereal or something. Oh no, she wanted an egg over hard. I don't make eggs. B makes eggs. My stomach jumped a little, but I played it cool.

I made her what I thought was an over hard egg. She said it was good, so I guess I did okay. That is what I laughed out loud about in my car. I called B and he laughed at me too. He also told me the proper way to make an egg over hard. Apparently you only need to flip it once and cook it a little longer after it has been flipped.

After talking with him, I went to my next visit. I have never seen these people until today, and the patient in visit number 2 was hard to find. I had no idea who I was looking for but luckily the front desk lady was there to help. He was a sweetheart and I am so happy to have this job!

After my second visit, I decided to go home and practice how to make an egg over hard. Here is how that went.

Step One: Pretty basic. I got out my supplies and set them up like any professional chef would do.

Step Two: Crack the egg in a pre-heated pan. So far so good. I am a master at these two first steps, as you can see!

Step Three: Add some salt and pepper and let it cook. I am still doing pretty awesome.

Step Four: Prepare to flip the egg over WITHOUT breaking the yolk... Um... What? How is this possible? I was able to successfully scoot the egg across the pan, as you see below:

Scooting was easy, but flipping it? Gee whiz. I am sure that I can do this...

Step Five: A SUCCESSFUL egg flip!!!! And yes I was successful in this mornings first egg flip. This morning, I flipped the egg about three times, and this resulted in a yolk breakage.

My egg practice at home was a success though.

Step Six: Celebrate your successful egg flip and cooking the egg over hard with a photo!

Step Seven: Cut into the egg and see how you really did.

Looks pretty good, but oh my, what is that on the right side of my egg?

Whoops! It is liquidy yolk!

Step Eight: Eat it anyway. Even though your diet only allows egg whites. Celebrate your 95% victory and eat that yolk... leave the whites! That's right, I said leave the whites!

Step Nine: First wonder why your font is reddish now, and why you can't fix it... then say 'mmm, I just ate the best, almost hard, egg yolks on the planet!'

Now, onto other things. We bought the cutest banana's in the world. They are perfect for the size smoothie that I usually enjoy in the morning:

Oh, welcome back normal colored font!

Below: Momma banana and baby banana unite! How cute are these things?

Enough about food!

In other things, I finally finished the throw that I made for Dee and Angie. It is a beauty! Here it is draped on our captains seat... for the captain!

Here is a close-up of the detail. It is a pretty easy pattern. I sure like it anyway. I hope they like it!

I really don't have too many other exciting things happening right now. I think that might be obvious as I have spent the better part of my blog all about an egg.

I am getting extreme spring fever! I cannot wait for warm weather. It is gonna be a good, fun, and active spring/summer. I really cannot wait!

Things at Terrace Grove just may start going my way too as far as going back to 12 hour shifts. I am hoping that we can go back. Three shifts a week are nice, and it would be even better for me now that I have this new job. I guess doing 4 days a week throughout March isn't all that bad though.

In other thoughts... I am almost 30! Oh my heck! I should probably have a baby by now, or at least want one. But some days I do, most days I don't. Is there something wrong with me? One of these days I just might have things figured out, but I guess for now it is not so bad to live in the moment.

As for now, it is time to end this post. My love to all out there who actually read my endless bull crap!

The Happy Haps

2010-02-15T17:27:00.005-07:00

This last weekend was pretty fun. We hung out with our neighbors and just had a nice relaxing time.

On Saturday we drove down to Lindon and got Brett's new bike. It is pretty nice and we are all excited that he now has a bike that is road-ready. We also all dreamed about spring and summer and just can't wait to get out and cycle!

After Lindon we saw B's parents. That was a fun, but quick visit. From there it was on to SLC to a tattoo convention. That was actually quite interesting. And I honestly must confess... I want a tattoo! There are so many pretty and feminine tattoos out there. And yes, I really do want one. Whether or not I get one is another story.

After the convention, we drove home and just bummed out on our couches and watched programs from Netflix. Very fun and relaxing.

On Sunday (Valentines), we slept late. B and I made a not-so-healthy breakfast. Regular waffles and maple syrup (with sugar...) ugh! Oh well, it tasted good, and, after all, it was a holiday. We later went shopping with Brett and Stacey. I got some very cute purses. Below here is one of them:

And it gets cuter than that, just look at the inside:

And I also got this little cute one. I am currently using it now:

After shopping we all had dinner at our house. B and I moved our table into the living room and we watched more programs. It was very fun. Our neighbors are the best!

Overall it was a very good weekend.

B and I have been drooling over the new road bikes that we want and can't afford until we sell some of our current bikes. We also have been really wanting to plan a trip to Hawaii, yet another fantasy we have been drooling over. One day maybe.

So that is that, short and sweet.

So I For Sure Got the Job!

2010-02-12T19:20:00.003-07:00

Things are great!

I was officially offered the job with Primrose Home Health and Hospice yesterday. I went to do my first visit tonight. As it turns out, the family didn't need the visit done tonight. But I went and I met the family and that was good.

I am really excited to be trying a new job. That is great!

I am happy with my other job too. There are still some nurses being drama queens there, but such is life. I think that my schedule will change next week so that I am only working at Terrace Grove 4 days a week. Two shifts at 12 hours a piece and 2 shifts at 8 hours a piece. That is nice. It frees me up for one more day that I can go and do visits with my new job... and that is wonderful!

This weekend is really going to be fun. We just may get to see B's parents too! How fantastic will that be? I am just a happy little lady.

I weighed in today and I haven't lost any more pounds but... I haven't gained any either. This too is good news!

Just a quick update. More blogs to come in the future... with pictures even! But for now I must get back to my ghost show... it is scaring the hell out of me!

Love it!

I Just Might Have...

2010-02-10T16:37:00.002-07:00

This will be a picture-less blog. Beware all you who are only in it for the visuals!

Things have been pretty good lately. I may have gotten a new job. Not that I will quit my current job. This is just a job to supplement. It is with a different Home Health/Hospice agency named Primrose. I say different because I was hired at an agency called Integrity, but they lost my stuff after they hired me and never called me for like a month. I was not impressed. I didn't go with them also because I had a very busy schedule when they did contact me.

The opportunity I have with the agency Primrose seems pretty good. I am really excited and I hope that they will take me! They have always been pretty reputable and I would like to be associated with that.

Things at my regular work are good. There is always the nonsense drama between nurses and I hate that. I think the thing I hate the most about my profession is that it is primarily female dominant and therefore very dramatic at times.

This weekend things are gonna be fun. Our neighbor Brett found a bike that he wants to get so B, Brett, Stacey and I will be traveling down to Lindon to get the bike on Saturday. That will be fun to be out and about in a city that has more than 7 popular restaurants. I am excited. Plus, I really love our neighbors. They are some of the funnest people I know. We always have a pretty good time with them.

I must also confess, I have been cheating on my diet a little bit lately. On Super Bowl Sunday our neighbors and us had some junk food. Candy and chips. And today, I had some more chips. I don't feel too bad about it because it hasn't been like binge eating or anything. In fact it has been kind of nice to bring some of those items in to the diet. I don't plan on having these cheats as staples, and having that knowledge helps a lot.

There really has not been too much going on. I think it is nice to have some slow time.

Hope all is well elsewhere.

Another Protein Bar Recipe

2010-02-08T11:43:00.004-07:00

This is another protein bar recipe that I got off of the weight loss blog that I follow and contribute to. They look super yummy. I am excited to make them and try them.

Primal Energy Bar.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup slivered almonds

1/2 cup pecans

1/4 cup almond or sesame seed meal

1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

1/4 cup almond butter

1/4 cup coconut oil (check your local health food store)

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/2 tsp of raw honey

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 cup dried cranberries or blueberries

Method:

On a cookie sheet, toast nuts and shredded coconut until golden brown (you may need to shake the tray once or twice to make sure they cook evenly).

Once toasted, pour mixture into a food processor and pulse until nuts are chopped and the mixture becomes coarsely ground.

In a mixing bowl, melt coconut oil and almond butter (about 20 seconds). Remove from microwave and stir until smooth.

Add vanilla extract, honey and sea salt. Mix thoroughly.

Fold in nut mixture and almond (or sesame seed) meal until mixed thoroughly.

Fold in blueberries/cranberries.

Press mixture into an 8 by 4 loaf pan.

Refrigerate for 20 minutes or until firm.

Cut “loaf” width wise. Should make 6 good-sized bars.

Enjoy! (or, if you don’t plan to eat immediately, you can store the bars in the refrigerator, covered loosely with a paper towel and plastic wrap.

By: Mark Sisson

Todays' Smoothie

2010-02-08T11:32:00.003-07:00

Today, and yesterday, I made a very yummy protein smoothie. Here is the super yummy recipe:

1/2 Cup Skim Milk

1/2 Cup Low Fat Chocolate Milk

1 and 1/2 Scoops Chocolate Protein Powder

3 Ice Cubes

3 - 4 Chunks of Frozen Banana Slices

Blend and enjoy!

It is super yummy and has a refreshing creamy taste. I love it! It actually tastes like the egg nog that my dad used to make when I was a kid!

This is super good and super healthy, not to mention, super filling!

Another Protein Pancake Recipe

2010-02-06T16:57:00.005-07:00

This is a recipe that I found on the weight loss blog that I have joined. You can find this blog on my sidebar. It was posted by Mark Sisson. It is almost the same as the pancake recipe that I have already posted, but their pancake pictures look much more enticing. Anyway, here it is:

Protein Pancakes:

8 egg whites

1/4 cup cottage cheese

1/2 cup old fashioned oats

1 scoop protein powder

1 small banana mashed up

cinnamon to taste

Blend all ingredients in the blender. The batter will be very thin, using about 1/3 of a cup, cook like a pancake. they will be kind of like a crepe. Spread with 1 tab of unsweetened almond butter and roll up. I usually make a double batch an freeze. great to grab and go. I like to warm mine up (in the microwave) just a little.

What a Super Fun Night!

2010-02-06T11:09:00.008-07:00

Last night B and I drove out to Toole to have dinner with some friends of mine from high school. Brynn and her husband Chad were kind enough to host a party. We had A LOT of fun. It was really good to see these girls again and to just do some basic catch up. Something that we definitely need to do more often in the future. As it turns out too, I am super lucky to have these girls as friends still as I was not a very nice girl in high school.

Below here is a photo of us. From left to right you have:

Kristy, Brynn, Me, Eve, and Monica. Both Brynn and Eve are pregnant right now, and both of them look fantastic! It was really a good time. Thank you Brynn so much for the idea of a get together and for thinking of me as a guest!

Below here is a photo of Brynn and her little boy Trevor. He has quite an arm. Not to mention how cute he is.

Here is a cuter photo of Trevor. He is a doll! He looks so much like Brynn. I am really excited for her and Chad on their 2nd child!

As it turns out Eve and her husband Justin have a mini schnauzer too. His name is Archie, and I regret now that I didn't take his photo. He is a bit bigger than our schnauzers but so darn cute. He is silver. Eve and I have made plans to get together with our dogs and to go out on a search party. I am pretty sure that is what schnauzers were made for... searching.

After the party at Brynns, B and I went to see Dee and Angie. That was a fun visit as well and I wish we would have been able to have stayed longer. The night just seemed to fly. I would have loved to spend more time with both my family and my friends. Bottom line I guess, B and I need to go down to Salt Lake area more often. There are so many people we love down there, and I think they love us! :)

The ride home was good. We drove mostly in rain until we got nearer to the Logan exit. And then of course the rain changed to snow. As we got into Sardine Canyon, the snow flakes were HUGE! I tried to catch some still photos of the snow, but that did not work out so well, so I took a short video to show you what we drove in.

Visibility was extremely limited. It was to the point where we had to look more at the tire tread in the road rather than look further out of the windshield. Scary. We did about 2o - 25 mph mostly. In a couple areas we were able to reach 40 mph safely. It took awhile, but B is a very experienced driver and did a fantastic job!

Yesterday I also registered for the 2010 Little Red Riding Hood Bike ride put on up here in Cache Valley. It is a yearly bike ride for girls only and you can donate money in the event and the money goes toward a different type of female cancer. Last year it was a big supporter for breast cancer. I got a little crazy on the registration and I ended up ordering a few items. Here they are below:

This is a front view of the sleeveless jersey that I bought to ride in.

Below here is the back. I think it is super cute!

Below here is a boulero (?). It is for me to wear in the morning as the ride usually starts out cooler than it finishes. I think it is super cute. This is just the front:

And below here is a photo of the back. It says 'Super Red' on it. I am way excited about having that. Plus I ordered everything a size smaller than what I was last year, because my weight loss is going so well. I hope by June I have lost no momentum, however, since I registered so early my jersey and things should ship out to me before the ride so I can exchange if I need to!

And now this is a photo of the shirt you get just for registering to ride. I think it is super cute:

Here is another one you can buy for $10.00 and I like it too, but I didn't purchase it because....

I ended up getting this hoodie:

I wear hoodies quite a bit, so I think this was the better purchase. But who knows, maybe I will change my mind and get the other shirt as well. It is only $10.00.

After having registered for the ride I have been super stoked to go cycling. I really can't wait. I also got Raw to register yesterday and have hopefully recruited Angie as well.

Today has been a pretty good day. We went out with our friends Brett and Stacey to Petsmart to see the Four Paws rescue dogs. They only had three of them there so we went to the Humane Society and fell in love with every dog they had. I love my schnauzers, and I know that I will probably pay for some more pure bred dogs in the future but I also plan on adopting dogs from the Human Society as well. When we have a house and a yard we will be able to do more stuff like that.

Our friends filled out an application to be a foster home for the dogs. How fun. Brett is extremely good with dog training so it makes sense that he wants to do that. They are both good people with big hearts. I am really glad that we are friends with them.

Today I also saw my friend Kandice and her husband Josh. We don't see them enough. I really do like them and want to hang out with them more in the future.

And that is that. I am just sort of hanging out now, blogging and my immediate future plans are to do nothing at all. I have to work tomorrow and that is the extent of my weekend for now. I hope all is well for everyone.

Again, thank you Brynn for a lovely evening. It was so good to see all of the girls!

Weight Loss Update

2010-02-05T11:29:00.002-07:00

GONE are another 2 pounds. This totals my weight loss at 10 POUNDS!!!! I am feeling really good! B has done even better. He has lost a total of 16 pounds! That is awesome. I must be honest that I really worried about him sticking to this diet. He has done fantastic! Still, we are not working out like we should be, but we will!

I think I am going to add another gadget to my blog that will track my weight loss. Blog friend Googie has this on her blog and it is very cute and I think would very helpful. However, I am a little embarrassed about posting my start up weight (yikes!). You all then will know just how billowy and fat I am!

Maybe posting it publicly will be good though. There are a lot of big people out there, and I am just among them. But this big girl is getting smaller. :)

Well, the rumor is that sign ups for Little Red Riding Hood open this month. So Raw Chicken, you better have read this blog and you better hop to it and get signed up for the ride! I want to ride the 80 mile route this year. I think that will be great. I plan on also doing the MS tour, so I will be begging everyone for donations! This year I want to go the full 100 miles on the MS tour so that will be great!

Tonight I get to eat dinner with good friends from long ago. This will be fun. I really am excited to see each and everyone of these people. I will be taking photos so a nice picture post awaits. I also am super excited to see my brother Dee and his wife Angie. I have been working furiously on the comfort blanket all day to day to get it done. I am almost there. I also have a little gift for their kids. It is going to be a good night.

Love to all!

More Stuff I Have Made Recently

2010-02-03T16:46:00.003-07:00

Things lately have been good. Work has been busy and stressful. Today I swear that I set a record for most telephone orders received and written. My oh my it was busy. But it is done and I don't return to work until tomorrow at 6:00 AM. Which is too soon.

Onto other things.

Below here is a hat that I made. It is pink and yellow with brown accents. And I put the flower on in a stupid spot, so I have to take the flower back off and re-sew it on. I put the hat on and just wondered to myself "what was I thinking when I sewed this on?"

For some reason unknown to me this hat reminds me of cupcakes. Maybe it is my diet telling me that I am lacking the daily nutritional value that a cupcake can bring. Or maybe I have had one too many chocolate cupcakes with pink and yellow icing... no that can't be it, there are NEVER too many of those!

I miss cupcakes!

And now below here is a cute lil' dog sweater that I made for one of my favorite co-workers. Her name is Patsy and she has a little girl dog that freezes all the time when out and about. So I made this, and it is a bit long for her dog, but Patsy is talented in the fine art of crochet and will shorten the length.

I took this photo to hopefully capture the flowers on the back better.

Presently I am working on an afghan for my brother Dee and his family. I know that it is not much but it is a comfort. I will photo it when I am done and post it on the blog.

I have been doing better with workouts on the days that I am not pulling 12 hour shifts at work so that is good! On those 12 hour days I come home and am just exhausted. Not sure how to not be exhausted after a day like that.

B has a test coming up on Friday. I hope he does well. After that we are going to our friend Brynn's for dinner. That will be fun to see her and other friends that we have not seen a in long time! We also plan on stopping at Dee's to see him and his family. I love them so much and it will be good to stop in for a visit.

I took my amigurumi turtles into work and showed them to some of the cute lil' ladies. They loved them. I am making some for them. I think they turned out really cute as well. Plus they are fun to make.

At any rate, that is my life in a boring little nutshell!

I hope one and all are doing well!

January Weight Loss/Diet Re-Cap

2010-01-31T22:01:00.005-07:00

Okay, just a quick blog about the diet and the diet alone.

Weight Loss: 8 pounds!

Cheats: Two, maybe three times

Workouts: A few done, but nowhere near where I should be, here's to a better February

Eating Habits: Not eating late at night, don't really miss candy, DO miss soda, caffeine, and bread like crazy, however am extremely happy with the food changes

Overall: I feel like this month was still a success. I am doing much better and I am really feeling a lot better too. I have made some pretty significant changes for a better life, but still have many more changes to make.

Dieting has always been something that I dread. I find that this go around is better, more because I am accepting it as life changes rather than viewing it as 'diet this and diet that'.

I am very excited to see how I do in February and hope that I can lose another 8 pounds or maybe even 9, hell, I would be happy with a loss of 8.1 pounds.

We shall see how it goes!

A Celebration and Some Sad News

2010-01-30T21:45:00.004-07:00

I figure I may as well start off with the fun part of my blog first, then we will move onto more of a sad subject.

Last night, we (our neighbors Stacey and Brett, and me and B) went out and celebrated. Stacey just got a new job and she was really excited about it. We all were. I am so happy for her as she has really wanted to find a new job, especially within the last couple of months. So we all abandoned our diets (we are doing P90X together, and they are better at it than we are). We went out to eat at Texas Roadhouse. It is a yummy place that serves really good food.

We then went bowling. I am the worst bowler, but I still have a lot of fun doing it. We played two games and then called it good. After that it was back to our house. At first we just watched some T.V. The party was fading fast as me and Stacey were falling asleep. However, B was able to save the party.

He turned on our Wii and started to play the game 'Just Dance'. It was hilarious. It woke both Stacey and I right up. I didn't film the solo's that B performed, but Brett did. We were all laughing so hard, I was almost bawling. So we had a great idea. Up to four people can play at a time so we did boys against girls. It was a blast!

Below here are two mini movies, you must hit pause on my playlist (sidebar) and turn up your volume, especially for the boys dancing, it is best to watch them dance and hear the music.

I love how the boys shimmy. We were all in hysterics for most of the night. Below here is a victory picture of Stacey and I after we wasted the boys on the 'Pump up the Jam' dance. She is so cute. I just love that girl!

And below here is just one more action shot of how much fun the boys had. It was a really good night and a really good way to work off the dinner that we consumed that wasn't so diet friendly. It was well worth it.

And now, things get a little bit sad. My brother Delaware (real name is Dee) is a great guy. He has two gorgeous children and a wonderful wife. I don't really have any pictures of her, but below here is a photo of Dee and his oldest, Nash.

So sweet.

Dee and his wife were expecting. They were about 17 weeks in, and were so excited. At their ultrasound about two weeks ago, they found our they were having a little boy. They were going to name him Joseph William. Although Nash wanted to name him Mario.

Yesterday they went in to have another ultrasound and there was no heartbeat. They were far enough along that they had to induce labor. And today they delivered.

I feel so much sadness for them right now. What do you do in a moment like that? How do you comfort people who experience this? What do you say?

It is completely foreign to me as I have no children yet. We haven't even been pregnant. I just feel so stupid not knowing what exactly to do. I figure I could make them a blanket, and I will, but that just feels so... empty.

They have been in my thoughts all day since I heard the news. It is a certain hell that you experience when you watch/hear of someone you love going through such... well... hell.

I love my family very much. In this night I wish strength and healing to my brother and his family. They are always in my heart. I just wish that felt like enough.

Much love to all.

Just Another Recipe

2010-01-30T17:36:00.003-07:00

My friend Stacey has set me up with a blog link to post and join with her brother. It is all about weight loss. He has some great posts already, and part of one of the posts I have copied and will put here for my blogging friends to use.

It is a recipe for a breakfast smoothie, and I warn you, this on has a higher amount of carbs than what I am currently consuming... but it will be good for the future.

Plain Yogurt Smoothie:

3/4 cup skim milk

1 1/2 scoop of vanilla protein powder

1 cup non-fat plain yogurt

1 cup raspberries

1/2 of a banana

Then you just blend them all in a blender and drink.

Here are some of the nutrition facts about it.
about 450 calories
2 g total fat
48 g protein
65 g Carbohydrates

Like I say, I haven't tried it at all yet, but it doesn't sound bad. I also plan on posting something else this weekend, probably not until tomorrow.

Amigurumi

2010-01-27T15:11:00.007-07:00

My sister is great. She and I talk so much more lately and I LOVE that we do that. We have gotten so much closer now as adults. I never thought we would have been as close as we are now... never. But we are and this is great.

She has always been very crafty and pretty much perfect at it. So you can imagine just how flattered I was when she asked me to teach her to make crochet hats. That was last summer. Finally in September I made a trip up to Boise, and it was a blast. I also was able to sort of help her learn to crochet.

Now she has gotten so good at it she has branched out to other projects. Amigurumi. These are little stuffed animals that you crochet. They don't have to be animals, they can also be monsters or dolls... anything really. She brought my attention to a pattern for tiny turtles. They are so cute.

Here are mine:

Below here is an arial photo taken from the Live @ Five Sky Chopper...

(just kidding).

Below is picture of their underbellies:

And below here is a photo of my amigurumi turtles next to a pocket packet of Listerine breath strips. I did this so you could better judge the size of these lil' cuties!

I filled them with polyfil, but you can use left over yarn scraps to fill them. The pink and white one was made with a bigger sock yarn, and the other was made with a thinner sock yarn.

I still need to perfect their faces, but that will come in time. Right now I just enjoy making them!

Yesterday I finally busted out my Wii Fit Plus. It was a blast. Before I knew it I had spent 40 minutes on it and burned over 300 calories! I love it. There is a hula-hoop game that you can play that really burns the fat. I got up to 341 spins in a 6 minute time frame. I thought that was pretty good. Then I called my sister. I told her my spin count, then she told me hers... 846 (I think). Holy crap. She is gonna have to come to my house so I can learn her secrets and so we can have a hula-hoop off... Actually she just needs to come to my house, no agenda required!

I miss her a lot lately and I am so glad that we talk often. We just need to be neighbors now.

I also ended up playing the Just Dance game, which is hilarious and fun. I was dancing to 'Ring my Bell' as B walked through the door. I was doing a slap-your-butt move right as he entered. We just laughed and laughed after that. It is a very fun game... well worth the $$$!

In other things:

Work is going well. We have had more deaths, and more admits. Things have actually been pretty calm the last two days. That is good to have some down time.

I have gotten another hat order (thank you Stacey), and an order for a dog sweater. That is exciting, but also intimidating as I am not too good at dog sweaters yet. But practice makes perfect.

I also plan on making more amigurumi items as well as putting together some cute hat ideas. So that is always fun.

I hope all is well with one and all.

I Thought I Lost Them For Good!!!

2010-01-24T20:25:00.006-07:00

Today started out as any normal working Sunday would. I got up before anyone really should bed getting out of be on a Sunday. It was about 4:30 in the morning. I used the bathroom, and decided not to shower before work, so I promptly went back to bed until 5:05 in the morning. Still too early for anyone to be out of bed on a Sunday.

I went about my morning routine (except the shower... ewww, oh well, I am over it!). As I was putting on the final touches, there was one last step that could not be completed.

Putting on my wedding rings and watch.

This is my last step before going downstairs to the main level to put on my shoes and make some breakfast.

"Oh well" I thought at first, "they must be down on the kitchen table."

I quickly found out that they were not there.

Nor were they in my purse, or my nursing bag, or on the kitchen counter, or sink....

Instead of making breakfast, I was frantically looking in every place I could possibly think to look to find them. Alas, I had to accept defeat and go to work with a naked hand and wrist.

The whole drive in I was completely sick about it. I thought "maybe I left them at work and the nurse coming on shift after me stowed them away in the top med cart drawer." I decided that had to be where they were and began to breathe a sigh of relief. Upon starting my shift I found that this was not the case. I then began to think, "did I leave them here at work and were they stolen?" Which isn't too weird of a thought, especially because one of my residents is a clepto... (she stole 17 poinsettias one year that were on display throughout the building for all to enjoy... but this is a different story altogether). My heart absolutely sank at the idea of someone having stolen my stuff.

I work with some great people and couldn't come up with one co-worker who would have taken anything from me.

I then decided, the items must still be at home in areas I haven't looked at yet, or better yet, had overlooked. I called B at about 6:45 in the morning, early yes, but my worry overruled any logical thoughts. B said he would go through the couch and the captains chair THOROUGHLY! And I knew he would.

Work was super busy, far more busy than the usual Sunday. And this helped to keep my mind off of my missing items.

Around 10:00 AM, I received a text message from B that said the rings and watch were not in the couch OR the captains chair. Again, my heart sank even further than before.

I then decided, "perhaps the afternoon nurse has them with her because I left them here last night and she will bring them back with her today."

As shift change occurred, I quickly asked her if she had seen them or had them with her. No was her reply.

So I drove home and was determined to turn the house upside-down to find them. B helped me look in areas unimaginable for these items to be placed. He continually mentioned that they simply were not in the couch or the captains chair as he had searched them THOROUGHLY earlier.

After about 1 and 1/2 hours of searching, B decided to show me how he had checked the chair, and... VOILA he found them in the captains chair in one of the nooks that had been neglected.

I was elated.

My hand and wrist are no longer naked!

Though not well captured in photo, below is a picture of the cranny in which B found my rings and watch.

And this is the chair guilty of stealing my jewelry. I have forgiven it though, and in that very chair I am sitting as I write up this blog.

All is well in the world tonight. Mainly because my B is my hero.

As for now, I may begin working on another hat. Look at all this yarn... I must do something with it! And the specialized bag... yes it is filled with more yarn, crochet hooks, knitting needles, patterns and how-to books. I have spoiled myself with these items. It is quite an enjoyable hobby. Raw and B's Momma can vouch for me on that I believe.

I have tomorrow off from work, so I am not stressed out about getting to bed early tonight. We will see how long I can keep these tired eyes open.

I hope you all had a wonderful Sunday!

Love to one and all.

Hats, Clothes, Weight Loss, and So Much More!

2010-01-22T21:16:00.004-07:00

It dawned on me the other day that I have never posted one of my favorite hats ever. It is very basic, and it is my own little twist on a pattern that I found online. I love this hat.

Below is a photo of it, and it doesn't look like much.

However, this hat is great because it comes with a brim, a floppy one. And I LOVE it! I usually prefer to wear it with the brim on the side. One of my co-workers told me that is was very 'skater-esque' even though I am not a skater. I just pretend to long board sometimes. But here I am in my hat with a happy lil' smile.

The pattern makes up a little big, and pretty soon I will find a way to post the link on my blog, even though the link will teach you to make a hat that is not quite how I do it.

Below are two of the 'stringy hats' that I made and gave to my nieces Maddi and Ruby. These are Yogurts girls and they are absolutely adorable, and they have really no clue of who I am because we don't get to see them much at all.

I love them dearly though.

Below again are even more hats that I gave away to my sibling-in-laws families. I just love making hats and really did have a blast making all of these gifts for my family, both blood related and law related.

And more hats below. This is a pattern that I use for children. It makes up perfectly for their cute lil' noggins without any alterations to the pattern.

And more hats below. I call these my basic beanies, and really, the black one I just use the 'Cutest Ear Flap Pattern' on my side bar and don't add the ear flaps.

I kick myself now because I didn't take pictures of ALL the hats I made as gifts, and sold items, so now I don't have them to post on my dream business. I know I can make them again, but geeze louise, what was I thinking?

I made some very cute hats for Taylor and Sharee's family, and I am going to have to bug them to get me photos of their hats, as I think they are very cute. I wish I took pictures!!! Darn it!

Anyways...

B and I went to Old Navy the other night and bought some clothes. Below are some of the sleeveless numbers that B bought to wear while out biking this summer. He looks much cuter in them then they look on the hangar. Also he got some very cute pants.

Below here are the 3 pairs of capris that I scored at Old Navy. I only wish it were warm enough to wear them right now! I love them. They may not look like much, but believe me, they are super duper cute!

In other news:

I have lost another pound, yes only one pound. This makes the total 8. I am thrilled with that. I am sure that I would have a higher loss if I were a more diligent person and was doing all the workouts as often as I am supposed to be doing them. But alas, I am human and I am lazy these days. I don't mean to be, I just need to light a fire under my ass about working out. It is so funny that people always complain and dread the time just before a workout, and during the workout there are times you just wanna give up, but after the workout, you ALWAYS feel better. Why do we forget so easily these happy feelings and highs that our bodies experience after our workouts?

I mean really the way that I feel when I am done sweating it out is always REALLY good. I should crave to feel that way all the time, and I do, but I still put off working out.

I guess it is just easier to give in to my inner idiot.

Things at work are good. Our new boss seems very efficient. I had a rotten impression of her the other day, but that was also partly my fault. I came home and literally scoured the internet for a new job, which you think would come easy for a nurse. Not in Cache Valley. There is nowhere else to go.

At any rate, I now see more clearly my new bosses objectives, and she sees mine. I think after all the bumps are sorted out, Terrace Grove is going to be a very great place to work no matter what title or position you hold.

I admitted one of the cutest people I have ever met today as well. Things really are looking up for me in many aspects. However when one thing goes bad, out comes my inner idiot again and tells me to run, run, RUN! I am so glad I didn't listen this time. Having worked there for more than 6 years would be A LOT to run away from.

Well, here it is, almost 10:00 on a Friday night, and I am thinking 'oh my gosh it's late'. And it is considering the fact that I have to get up at 4:30 in the morning to go to work. So goodnight to one and all.

Love you!

My Newest Hat

2010-01-18T20:32:00.003-07:00

I made what I believe to be yet another super cute ear flap hat. I LOVE it. I made it for no one in particular and hopefully to get some guts up to start a business. I suppose I should probably get a little head to model it better.

Done!

Of course that is just me, not a real model. All real models were not available, so this will have to do.

I also don't know how I am gonna sell all of these hats that I seem to fall in love with. Perhaps we should move to a very cold climate that stays cold all year long. Then every day I could debut a new hat. That might be a little overboard though.

Below is a picture of the boys who wondered what on earth I was doing taking these photos. They were too cute and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to take their photo!

And this is them again below, showing you just how cute they cuddle when they sleep on our bed... EVERY STINKING NIGHT!!!

Still cute, but man oh man, sometimes I miss the days of leg room and not worrying about who I am gonna squash when I roll over.

In other news.

Changes they are a brewin' again at my work. My current boss has decided to take a new position within the company, so we get another new boss. I met her today and she has worked with Sunshine Terrace for quite some time and I have heard many positive things about her.

Though I am nervous about this new change I am also excited to see what kinds of things are going to change with this new boss.

Work is still just crazy busy and, though I complain about being there when I am there, I am really quite grateful to have a job at all. I feel that I do a great job when I am there, and I truly love those little patients of mine.

As far as personal life is concerned, I really must admit that I don't mind the diet so much. Though, we did cheat last night and went to Wendy's and ate twisted frosty's. We both ordered Oreo flavor and they were the best tasting frosty's to have ever graced the earth... I am pretty sure anyway.

I really must say that we are doing quite well on the diet. I have to admit that my favorite part is that we eat dinner together at the table almost every single night. I love it. We used to eat on T.V. trays so we could watch, well, ya know... T.V. Now we actually sit at the table and just enjoy each other and our meal. We also have done more breakfasts at the table when we are off together. I never knew I was missing out on so much by not eating at the table with my baby.

Well, I am ending this post to put a picture of my ear hat (featured in this post) on facebook to see what kind of a response I get from my friends. Their responses just might make or break my confidence in starting up a business.

We shall see.

Get a Load of This!

2010-01-17T12:02:00.004-07:00

Would you ever believe that egg whites, oats, cottage cheese and cinnamon would make pancakes? B and I never thought so either.

However, it turns out when all of these things are mixed together, they work...

kind of:

We were really iffy about the whole process while we were just mixing these ingredients up. After first putting them on the pan, we still weren't so sure about them working. But, after they cooked, we tried them with sugar free maple syrup. The result: NOT SO BAD! Actually they are pretty good.

As the meal wore on we were still putting our pancake mix in the pan. We seemed to get better at cooking the cakes. Our last one looks the best and resembles an actual pancake the most:

We have done a lot of things differently as far as diet and intake are concerned. Other changes we have made are home made protein bars:

We eat a lot more protein in the form of whey. It isn't that bad, but I can't say that I ever really crave whey protein. I prefer the chocolate flavor in the bars and can do either flavor in my shakes. We used vanilla in our pancakes this morning. Not bad stuff really and pretty good for you.

We also have been eating more oats and changed over to sugar free syrup. Who ever would have thought that we could change in these areas?

One of our final changes (and perhaps my favorite)... Turkey Bacon!

I think this stuff is great. Finally bacon with hardly any fat and it actually tastes like really good bacon. I haven't always been a fan of pig bacon as it is just so greasy and I end up eating only the parts that are not fat, which makes for a very skimpy piece of bacon. With turkey bacon, you can eat the whole thing and it tastes super good.

Under my 'important blog labels' you can find recipes for the pancakes, protein bars, and shakes. I think they are really good and I remember Raw commenting that she wanted the recipe for the protein bars. So there ya go!

In other things:

Work has been just the same except one of my residents passed away yesterday and she was one that nobody would have expected to go. I will miss her quite a bit. She was quite a sweet lil' lady.

Things are crazy busy at work, which is nice because it makes the days just fly when I am there, but a little break would be nice. I really don't ever get to take breaks.

B and I had this weekend off together. It has been quite nice. We took the dogs for a walk yesterday which then lead to them needing a bath. They are both so fluffy now. I also think that Gordon now thinks that Arnold is a girl as he has attempted to be inappropriate with him. Perhaps we should have left Arnold dirty for his own protection. I love those mutts.

I have one more hat to make and then Yogurt and Krauts families will be receiving their Christmas presents (finally!). I also managed to sell another hat! How about that! I really need to get the guts and the courage up to start myself up a business. I can't really pinpoint why I am so scared to do that, but I am.

I hope all is well with everyone else.

Much love to you all!

Protein Shakes

2010-01-17T11:55:00.002-07:00

These shakes are super easy to make and pretty darn good.

Ingredients:

1 Cup Skim Milk

1 Cup Frozen Berries

1/2 or 1 Banana (sliced)

1 and 1/2 to 2 Scoops Protein powder

1/2 Cup Ice Cubes (optional)

Blend altogether and enjoy!

We have a mini blender that allows us to make one serving at a time. Ours is an off name brand but the popular brand is the Magic Bullet. I usually don't put in the ice cubes as the berries are usually frozen and work in place of the ice cubes. Plus I have also crammed so much crap in the little cup that ice cubes just won't fit.

I also will take my cup off the the blender and shake it once, and blend again.

These are really good and really filling!

P90X Protein Bars

2010-01-17T11:38:00.005-07:00

These are pretty good. If you want them to set up best add more oats!!!

Ingredients:

4 Scoops of Protein Powder

*2 cups Oats*

3 Dashes of cinnamon

3 Heaping Tablespoons of Peanut Butter

1/4 Cup of Unsalted Peanuts

1/4 Cup Sugar Free Maple Syrup

1/2 Banana

1/2 Apple

Instructions:

Mix Banana and Apple until mashed (we use a food processor)

Stir everything together, if you have a stand mixer this is ideal, if not, you can mix with a spatula or large spoon, but it does get really thick

Lay the mix out between wax paper on a cookie sheet

Freeze for about 45 min or so

Cut into bars

We have only made this once so far and used a chocolate flavored protein powder. We doubled the recipe because what the hell are you supposed to do with a half banana and a half apple?

We also only used the advised amount of oats and as a result, the bars don't stay in bar shape when in room temperature. So on our next attempt we are adding more oats.

One other thing that we altered with this recipe is instead of using unsalted peanuts we used a chunky peanut butter. The best thing would probably be to use an all natural peanut butter and actually put in the 1/4 cup of unsalted peanuts... but using the chunky peanut butter was damn good!

*I made this recipe again and instead of 2 cups of oats we used about 3 cups of oats. As we sectioned them off into wax paper we rolled the mixture in oats as well to make for an easier way to eat.* (3/8/10)

Enjoy!

P90X Pancake Recipe

2010-01-17T11:29:00.005-07:00

Makes approx 4 - 6 pancakes

Ingredients:

8 Egg Whites

1/2 Cup of Oats

1/4 Cup Cottage Cheese

1 Scoop Protein Powder

Dash of Cinnamon

Mix all ingredients together and cook like pancakes.

We use vanilla protein powder, the only other kind that we have bought is chocolate, and I haven't tried the pancakes with that flavor yet... but watch for a blog post in case I do!

Also, our neighbors will blend the ingredients to chop the oats up better. We don't have a big blender, just one like the Magic Bullet. So we mixed our ingredients in our Kitchen Aid stand mixer. They turned out really quite good. Much better than they sound.