Happy New Year to all! Hope you all have safe and happy celebrations! Here's to a wonderful, healthy 2009!


Mmm...champagne... :)

My New Year's resolutions...

Since the end of the year is near, I've been thinking about my new year's resolutions. Since I hardly ever keep them, I thought that I would try really hard this year, but also give myself more attainable goals.

So here are my 2009 New Year's resolutions:

1. Go to the gym at least two times a week - since I've been going more than this, I figured this would give me something to live up to. Plus if I go more, I'm a super star and if I go just the two times that accounts for times when I'm not feeling great or whatever.

2. Kick caffeine out of my system - stop drinking Diet Coke basically. I'm working on it and down to no more than one a day (after that I feel yucky) and usually drink no more than three a week.

3. Get pregnant, or at least try! I figure a year is a good amount of time to try at this and then if it still hasn't happened by then, then we'll take an alternative route!

4. Menu plan - and stick to it. We are about 40% on this. And lately we've become lazy and do a lot of Subway for dinner or random crap that isn't healthy.

5. Save money - to go along with #3, getting pregnant for me = no paycheck when out on maternity leave. Therefore I have to save as much as I can now and budget and stretch things so I can be comfortable then.

6. Pay off credit cards - this is an easy one, as they'll 100% be paid off on January 15 in my next paycheck. But hey, it's still in 2009! :) From then on I'm a cash only gal!

7. Spend more time with friends and family - we're already planning on going back to see my parents and brothers in June for my older brother's wedding (more about that later), to Houston for a friend's wedding in July, and then to Peru in December for Christmas again. We're hoping that if I get pregnant, I'll either be 6 months or under for the Peru trip or have had the baby, as I don't think my cardiologist, and perinatologist would allow me to fly 15 hours to another country at 7 or 8 months pregnant with a heart condition. Something tells me that would be a big no-no in their minds.

8. Get a new place! We're currently looking, although Tito doesn't want to move until we need to (i.e. have to because I'm pregnant and we need the third room.) So hopefully we'll be moving this year! :)

9. Eat better - goes along with #4 and menu planning. If I plan it, I'll eat it rather than shoving just anything in my mouth (the other night I had cheese and crackers for dinner - not exactly healthy.)

10. Recycle more - the fact that they haven't picked the garbage up in 2.5 weeks has made me realize that Tito and I produce a lot of trash. 3 bags on average in a week for just the two of us and the cats. So I'm really working on getting a recycling set up that works...right now we have just paper, but don't really recycle cans/bottles/plastic/glass because our complex only has one "recycling" bin but it's just for paper.

Back to it

So there was Snowpocalypse 2008 where I worked from home for 5 days. Then there was Christmas. What does that equal? Basically two weeks out of my office. And when I was working from home, there was a lot of other multi-tasking being done (baking, cooking, organizing, watching tv, talking on the phone, etc.) so it wasn't all work. So now I'm back to it...although tomorrow is my last day of work this week.

Let's see, what's been going on?

• On December 18, I celebrated my 4 year wedding anniversary. Alone. Because my husband left early that morning (think 12am early) for Kansas and his youngest brother's college graduation. So I drank a glass or two of wine in celebration and was cooped up in the house as the snow/ice had begun. I can't believe it's been 4 years of marriage...sometimes it seems like so much longer. And I can't believe we've been together for 8 years now. Crazy. We were babies when we got together (he was only 20 and I was 23...made our dates fun cause he couldn't drink on them!)
  

• Christmas was good. Santa was very good to my husband, cats and I. I have to upload the photos from my camera and then I'll post some here. We went to mass at 4pm since the roads weren't so great, saw all the cute kids, and then came home where I proceeeded to start dinner. Since my husband is Peruvian, the tradition with them is to eat Christmas dinner at midnight on Christmas Eve. So I have participated in this tradition for the past 4 years we've been married. Dinner was done and served promptly at 12am, we ate and enjoyed and then opened presents then went to bed.
  

• Our "big" gift to one another this year (and anniversary present) was a new plasma tv. We spent most of Friday and Saturday looking for one and comparing at every store in WA I think. We finally found one..but this task wasn't made easy because not only were the roads crappy, but no one around here knows how to plow a parking lot, so each one was a virtual mine field of ice, snow, slush and gigantic puddles. I had cold feet for days since all of the lots soaked through my boots and left me chilly. Finally got the tv on Saturday and a good deal, and had to buy a new tv stand as well. I hated our old one so I was not upset.
  

• TV and stand are up and look great in our livingroom...old entertainment center is posted on craigslist, but no interest as of yet, so we're hoping soon. It's sitting in our livingroom behind a couch and driving me batty. I need it gone like yesterday!
  

• We are looking for a new place to live...house or townhome. 3 bedrooms. We're not in any hurry but would like to find something on the east side or north Seattle for under $1500 a month. I have a feeling we will be visiting a LOT of places.
  

• Doing our part to stimulate the economy, my husband has decided to buy his car he's been looking at this month or early next month. Which means we're finally back to two cars! He's been test driving everything under the sun so hopefully he makes his decision soon.
  

• I have to get my teeth cleaned soon...even though I take very good care of my teeth, I'm always afraid they're going to find a cavity which = pain for me. Not looking forward to this.
• My husband's 28th birthday is this Friday. We were planning this really fun 80's themed party (his favorite kind) where we would have all of our friends dress up to celebrate the era he was born in. Well the weather really put a kink in our party planning, so now we're planning a party at the end of the month. But he told me he wanted to go out to dinner or something to celebrate still. When I asked him where he said "Applebees or Olive Garden." Seriously. This man, whom I love, is definitely a quantity over quality type of man when it comes to food. If he could eat Chinese buffet everyday for $3 he would. Food poisoning be damned! So I'm trying to plan a surprise mini-party with two of our closest couple friends and us for Friday. Olive Garden style. And I've bought deep forest chocolate cupcakes for the occasion. His favorite cake, but I can't make it because it's too damn complicated and I have no free time. So hopefully he'll like it!

That's pretty much it...I want to go back to Mexico. Or move back to Florida. I'm cold and this winter seems worse than ever before. Or maybe I need a trip somewhere again? Just got an alert from TravelZoo that Southwest is having a sale on Las Vegas fares from $35 each way from Seattle. And then I checked it out and found a ticket to Orlando for $204. I miss the sunshine, but more importantly, I miss the warmth.

Snowpocalypse 2008

So I am working from home again today...for the 4th day! My couch is very comfy thank goodness! I went out to look at the snow this morning and see if I could brave it in. Nope...there's been little to no plowing and no sanding. I was slipping as I was walking on 5 inches of snow on top of ice.









My street. Normally very busy this time of day...only one car all the way down the street!



This is on the other side of my building (thank goodness!) the branches are so bowed they're almost touching the ground!

So I ventured out on Friday for a bit to get some groceries and storm supplies. We're due to have more snow tonight into tomorrow and winds as high as 70mph - 90mph! So I've got our storm kit out, some new candles and non-perishable essentials (i.e. Mint Milano cookies and wine!) I've got new magazines to read just in case also. And my parents gave us a portable propane heater last year, so I'll use that but we have the fireplace also, so I'll use that overnight. I'll pull my futon out in front of it and pile on the blankets and layers. But hopefully I won't need it!!

Ok here we go

So I'm attempting to upload some photos from my walk yesterday...



The view from my porch



Walkway to our building



Love in the snow...




And because they would love it, here are my animals in the holiday spirit...



Monet, one of Santa's lost reindeer



Eponine gets into the spirit as well




Monet with the tree



The tree and the fire...so cozy!

Happy Holidays!

So it's snowing right now in Seattle...the most it's snowed in the past three years I've lived here. We've got about 4 inches at my house and it's still snowing. I ventured out this morning at about 11am to go to the supermarket 1/2 mile from my house and get some food and stamps. The roads haven't been plowed and are full of slush which is sure to freeze tonight and make tomorrow morning's commute fun. I worked from home yesterday and am today as well, and if it's bad tomorrow, I'll work from home then as well. And we're supposed to get more snow on Sunday! Hopefully I'll be able to get out and about on Saturday though because I don't like being trapped in the house for that long.

I keep trying to get photos on here but for some reason Blogger isn't working...hopefully I'll be back later to post!

Brr....

Ok, I'm back from Mexico for 3 days now, and I'm FREEZING in my office. The thermostat says it's 72 in here...it's SO not. I can't feel my fingers, as they've gone numb. And even though my window is closed, I swear I feel a breeze. Hopefully it's just a chill in the air and not ghosts since my office is in an old church! :)

Maybe my blood got really thin being in Mexico...I live for warmth, and was actually pleasantly surprised when it was in the mid-50's yesterday, and this morning on my walk to the bus stop, I had to unbutton my jacket because I was getting a little hot. Now I freeze INSIDE! Isn't it supposed to be warmer inside rather than out?

We're back!

Back from Cabo! We had an AMAZING time! It was such a great belated honeymoon and we're so glad we went. There was a snafu a few days before the trip (involving me realizing my husband's passport was expired and him having to take a flight to San Francisco to the closest open Peruvian consulate (he's from Peru and doesn't have US citizenship yet.) but we got it straightened out, and happily were on our flight Sunday morning.

We arrived at the resort at about 3pm, and the rest of the week was spent eating, lounging by the pool/beach, drinking (all inclusive included all drinks even alcohol!) and just enjoying each others company. We took one day and walked the three miles on the beach into downtown Cabo and did some shopping, and then went into downtown Cabo twice to go dancing. The rest of the time we hung out at our resort, watched the performances by the staff, and it was great! We definitely would recommend anyone staying at the Riu Santa Fe or Riu Palace in Cabo (or any of the many other Riu locations!) The staff made us feel like royalty while we were there, the food was great, drinks were good, and it was a great atmosphere!

Here are a few photos:


Arriving in our room, we were greeted by some towel swans...












With our mini bar in the room


The beach past our infinity edge pool


Relaxing on the beach and watching my husband swim


Out in downtown Cabo at El Squid Roe


At Cabo Wabo...we had to go there...and no, I wasn't double fisting just holding the other drink.


At the pool bar


Getting ready to snorkel...where I ended up being stung by a jellyfish! Didn't pee on it though, just put packed hot sand onto it and it felt better


Who doesn't love a swim up bar??


Out Latin dancing at Las Quesadillas


The amazing sunset from our balcony on the last night. We sat out there with a drink and just watched the whole sky catch on fire...

Ok, back to real life... :)

5 more days...

Until my trip. Super excited. Right now, super busy with work though, so that's helping to pass the time.

I've been working out about 5 days a week for the past two months in preparation for this trip. While I have only lost 5 pounds (wanted to lose 10), I am feeling a lot better. Clothes are fitting better (not so tight!) and I have lost inches! At last measurement, I've lost 1 in from my arms, 2 from my waist, 2.5 from my hips, 1.5 from my thighs and 1 from my chest. I'm happier about these inches lost than the actual weight to tell you the truth. There were a lot of things about my body I was unhappy with and it seems as if things are falling into place. Literally and figuratively. :) And I just feel better overall.

While my sleep patterns have been messed up since I started going to acupuncture a few months ago (something my doc says is normal because of the balancing he's doing with my chi), I'm more awake, craving good foods like veggies, fruits, and water, I've cut down on caffeine to only one Diet Coke a day during the week (because I need to basically cut it out in the next month now that my husband and I are officially TTC as of our trip), and alcohol (although wine is still in my diet until I get a positive pregnancy test!) My arms are more toned, as are my thighs and calves, and I'm loving my chest and shoulders right now as well. While I'm not as thin as I was, my stomach is flat and I am beginning to see some ab definition that I once had back in my high school and early college cheerleading days (yes, I was a cheerleader...don't make fun!) :)

My goal was to drop about 10 pounds and get down to under 120. I'm currently at 123, but still want to lose the rest. My original goal was to look good for our trip, but now I'm going to continue to work out, not only because my body is craving it, but because I want to be in the best shape possible for TTC and pregnancy. Hopefully the better shape I'm in pre-pregnancy, the easier it'll be for me to bounce back afterwards. I'm already scouting jogging strollers and I'm not even pregnant yet! With an average of 90 - 100 sunny days here in Seattle, and maybe another 50 where it's not sunny but not raining, I want to be able to take advantage of the somewhat ok weather with the baby and get out there and literally walk my ass off. :) I unfortunately gain weight in my butt, hips and thighs pretty much exclusively (although I was gaining in my arms too) so I know that's where baby weight is going to go...while I've always felt good that I didn't get the dreaded muffin top in my fluctuation of 5 to 10 pounds, it still sucks when you have a small waist and have to buy bigger jeans because your thighs or hips are bigger (and then have them altered so you don't have a coin slot showing every time you bend over!) And being 5'2" with a pear shape is unfortunate too...so I'm working on it!

Weird...

Last night, while waiting for the bus on an otherwise normal street corner in Ballard, and clutching my Ipod to my body while attempting to watch last week's episode of "Gossip Girl", I looked up and saw a guy walking toward me on the street.

As I was standing alone, I moved closer to the entrance to the apartment building behind me, while keeping an eye out for my bus. The guy walked toward me, heading up the street, casually flipping something in his hands. At first, I thought he had unusual, long paint scrapers.

As he got closer, and proceeded to glare at me while still walking past me, I realized he was holding long machete type knives. Three of them. And casually flipping one around by the handle in his hand.

I made a not-so-obvious step backwards towards the apartment building and watched him walk up the street. Until he was far enough away where I realized that he could not throw anything at me, I stayed tucked into the entrance to the building.

Luckily, my bus came about three seconds later and I was able to hop on...I have no idea what that guy was doing or why he had those things on him. And the weird thing is he looked mostly normal...dressed in some khakis, a dress shirt and jacket, listening to an Ipod and just casually walking down the street holding three machete-type knives!

This is actually the safest bus stop for me to wait at because if I walked down to the main street in Ballard, there are tons of homeless, crazy people who wait by my bus stop. But, on the other hand, it's in front of a ton of businesses, so there would be a lot of witnesses if something happened to me...at the stop I currently wait at, there's no one around and only a small bar down the street. Maybe I'm rethinking where I wait for the bus...or at least maybe re-think leaving work a bit earlier so I'm not waiting in the dark for the bus...

A lovely grey day...

So it's grey today. Literally, just grey. As in basically colorless. Ick. The only thing that's allowing me to hold it together is the knowledge that I will be in Mexico in 9 short days. 9 days!! I'm so excited for this trip. In looking at the weather online, this is the forecast for while I'm there:

Monday, Nov 24

Sunny. Winds will be light and variable. Realfeel®: 81 °F.

Monday Night, Nov 24

Clear. Winds from the WNW at 5 mph.Realfeel®: 55 °F.

Tuesday, Nov 25

Sunny. Winds from the WNW at 7 mph.Realfeel®: 79 °F.

Tuesday Night, Nov 25

Clear. Winds from the NW at 8 mph. Realfeel®: 53 °F.

Wednesday, Nov 26

Abundant sunshine. Winds from the NNW at 9 mph.Realfeel®: 78 °F.

Wednesday Night, Nov 26

Clear. Winds from the NNW at 12 mph.Realfeel®: 51 °F.

Thursday, Nov 27

Sunshine. Winds from the NNW at 11 mph. Realfeel®: 80 °F.

Thursday Night, Nov 27

Clear. Winds from the NNW at 9 mph.Realfeel®: 59 °F.

Friday, Nov 28

Sun and areas of high clouds. Winds from the NNW at 5 mph. Realfeel®: 80 °F


My favorite part of that whole forecast is how it's going to be sunny every day and they had to come up with words to explain the sunshine...not just sunny, but "abundant sunshine"! And "sunshine"! Oh I'm so happy! :)

Our waterproof camera arrived yesterday...we bought a point and shoot Fuji camera. I plan on using it at the beach (we have a nice camera and video camera we're bringing, but don't want to bring those to the beach where they might get stolen.) Also, I plan on using it while doing this:













and this:










I've never done either, so I'm excited. I think Wednesday night we're going to have a private dinner on the beach since this trip is both our honeymoon and our anniversary present to one another (celebrating both of our major anniversaries since one is in October and the other is in December.)

Hopefully I can bring some sunshine back with me!!

Today...

The weather sucks in Seattle. Most of the time it sucks. This is one thing, after living here for three years, that I have not gotten used to. Today, for instance, it's drizzly and grey. Yesterday at least the sun came out for awhile. Now I'm not complaining too much as my parents back in Maine are already experiencing cold snaps and frost. Soon they will get snow, and if it's anything like last winter, they'll get a snowstorm once a week that will dump between 6" and 12" on them each week. I don't miss that. I don't miss the cold wind that finds any available opening in your jacket and freezes you down to the core. But I miss the sunshine. I don't need the warmth and hot days I had when living in Florida. But I miss the sun. This weather just makes me tired all the time. I'm doing my best to try and get over it, going to sleep early, going to the gym to increase my energy, but on days like today I just want to sleep.

The only solace I have is that I will be in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico in 11 days for a week on my belated honeymoon...ah sunshine, my pasty white legs are coming for you! I have already packed most of my clothes as I'll be wearing things I haven't been able to wear here in months now...shorts, tank tops, skirts, bathing suits, flip flops. I am getting a celebratory pedicure (the first professional one in 4 months) in honor of baring my toes once again. I can't wait to wiggle them in the sand and have it be 70 degrees at 10pm and 85 during the day. Ah, Mexico...I can't wait to see you!

There is hope...

Despite my circumstances from last night, there is hope. I am ecstatic about last night's election results. We've come a long way. We still have a long way to go, but this is a very good, very large step in the right direction.

Esperanza para Obama!

Details of a horrible night...

So to detail what happened to me last night...I'm still mentally processing it, and have gone through so many emotions over the past day.

I was essentially mugged on my bus ride home last night. It was actually 4:30 in the afternoon. I was minding my own business, sitting in the back of the bus, in the last seat near the window in front of the back door, in a seat alone. I was watching a video my Ipod Nano and the bus came to a stop and this kid (maybe 15 years old) reached over me from behind and grabbed the Ipod out of my hands...I didn't know what was happening at first, as he didn't have a firm grip on it, and had to grab at it twice. It all happened in the span of three seconds but it felt like 15 minutes had passed.

I got up and yelled for the bus driver to stop, and she did. When the kid had gotten on the bus, he got on with a big group of kids and I didn't pay too much attention to them other than that they were loud. I got up and demanded from the girls that he had been sitting with to tell me who he was. They looked scared ( I must have been a crazy sight!) and I asked what his name was. They said it was Tamir, and they said that his friends had just gotten off the bus with him, and I should go ask them and they could tell me where he lived so I could call the cops.

I saw the kid run across the street, and got off the bus and chased him but he had a 10 second lead on me, and was too fast. He disappeared, behind a convenience store. I ran over to his friends who were waiting to cross the street and asked them if they knew him. They played cool and said no...I wanted to smack the crap out of them I was so angry. So I ran across the street to the convenience store, knowing full well the kid had to be nearby or local as he took off like he knew where he was going. I asked the people running the register if they had seen someone tearing through their parking lot 10 seconds earlier. They had no idea what I was saying (I don't know how well they understood me cause I must have been a crazy sight) and said "no".

So since I had stupidly gotten off the bus, I had to wait for another one, which didn't come for another 25 mins...I tried calling Tito, but he wasn't answering because he was at an after school program. I tried calling my parents just to have someone to talk to and their phone was busy. I tried calling my brother and he wasn't home. I then just stood there and as the adrenaline was wearing off, I started shaking and crying. Thankfully, at that point it was raining so I could hide under my umbrella. :) I crazily vented to some random girl who I was unintentionally rude to...I think she thought I was crazy but nicely listened and said she was sorry.

I soon realized I was in the ghetto of Seattle, on Aurora and 105th for those of you who are familiar with the area, (there were bullet holes in the windows of the check cashing store of which I was standing in front of.) I don't know what I was thinking running after him because he probably would have beaten me up...but I was so angry! And I feel so defenseless and scared. So many thoughts were running through my head of how I shouldn't have sat there, how I should have moved (I had thought about moving a few mins before and didn't), how it could have been worse...I could have caught up to him and he could have hurt me. How he could have hurt me in trying to take it.

It's not that it was something that was worth a lot...but it's the fact that it was MINE. And that I worked hard for it, and that it was a gift to myself for my 30th birthday. And that I didn't stupidly lose it, like leaving it somewhere, or even get it pick-pocketed, but that someone physically ripped it out of my hands. All because he wanted it.

I've gone from crying hysterically, to angry, to sad, to trying to be positive about it and thinking if he wanted it so bad to steal it from me he probably needed it more or the money it would bring more than I do.

I am scared to ride the bus now. I have vowed to only sit up front now near the bus driver. If there's no seat, I will stand there. I don't care how tired I am. The old bus I used to take to our old office building went straight downtown and was filled with business people. This bus is a new one I take because of where my office moved. This bus goes through some really bad parts of town. And there are a lot of junior high and high school kids who ride the bus who are "bad kids"...I have seen them drinking beer on the bus, talking about drugs, getting into fights, etc.

I am also paranoid about people. For the rest of the ride when I finally caught another bus, all I did was look at people, clutch my purse and backpack close to me and give them the stink eye. I'm sure I looked crazy. When the bus got to its last stop which was the Northgate Park and Ride, I walked over to the mall and called Tito and told him to come and get me. As I was walking, there were some teenagers behind me and I kept looking over my shoulders and walking super fast. I felt like they were going to come up and assault me.

I hate these feelings. I hate that maybe I was naive before but I felt safe in this city. Even walking through Belltown and Pioneer Square, I felt safe. And now I don't. I feel like everyone is going to hurt me. I am giving evil eyes to all people! I find myself thinking things I don't want to think. I asked Tito if I can't have anything nice for myself now because someone's going to take it from me if they feel entitled? I just don't feel safe right now, although I am hopeful this feeling will pass. And if I'm having these feelings after someone just snatched something from me, I can't imagine how people feel who are assaulted or more and pray this doesn't happen to me.

This just sucks because it was such a good day. I was so happy to cast my vote in the morning for Obama, and was thinking about how things were going to change...and then I get ripped off while riding public transportation (doing a good thing for the environment!) and it's by a young kid, who we're supposed to be educating and is the future of our nation. I feel like kids today don't have the respect they once did, and maybe they're a product of their environment, but I also feel like there are just a lot more bad kids and bad people now.

I still need to process all of this...but I'm ok. I wasn't hurt, and I made it home alright. And Tito was so great, he came and picked me up when I made my way to Target. I was complaining that now I have to buy a new one, and he said not to, and that I could have his Ipod (one that he had gotten for free through work and he hardly uses.) He just made me feel what I wanted and needed last night, which was safe. Despite him being really sick and in bed himself, he made me feel better. Have I mentioned how much I love my husband?? :)

I had nightmares all last night though about the incident and eventually woke up and couldn't get back to sleep at 4:30am. Each nightmare was the same thing...me sitting there and just hands coming over my body and taking something from me. In one dream I elbowed him, the other I smacked the crap out of the kids who played dumb, in another, I caught up to him and he beat the crap out of me. I finally woke up after that one.

I know it's something small, something materialistic, something that doesn't matter. My dad kept saying he was so glad I was ok. That I didn't catch up to him. I know stuff like this and worse happens in Seattle all the time and other cities. It's because it's a city...and I know it happens in rural areas as well.

But I've got to try and move on. So, in the spirit of hope and the changes about to come in our nation, I am thankful for the fact that I'm ok and that I wasn't hurt during last night's incident.

VOTE!

Don't forget to VOTE today! It doesn't matter who you vote for (well, if you ask me, I have my own opinion) but just get out there and cast your vote!

I was in line at 7:15am this morning casting my vote...and then had my ballot spit out by the machine 6 times because it thought I had voted twice...turns out since I used a pen to fill it in, I smudged a different spot than I had voted in so it looked like I had voted twice. But I didn't so the gal overwrote the machine and said when the people go through to tally, they will go with the most logical choice. It was on a vote for a judge here in Seattle, not THE important one though. :)

Fall...

So as much as I dislike cold weather, I love a lot about the fall.

1. My birthday is in the fall. I am one of those people that no matter how old I get, I love my birthday. Yes, I dread getting older like the rest of us, but given my health history, I really am thankful for each day, month and year I get, and the things that life throws my way. This October 12th, I celebrated 31 years with a large group of friends, food and some wine. It was perfect.

2. Fall apples...there is nothing better than biting into a slightly tart, crisp, non-mealy apple. Nothing. We went to Costco yesterday and bought a huge pack of apples, and my husband didn't think I would eat them all (I have a habit of buying fruits and veggies and not eating them all before they go bad.) Well, last night, I was craving a snack and grabbed an apple that was almost the size of my head (ok, maybe not that big, but it was big!) It was delish.

3. The changing leaves. Growing up in New England, this was one of my favorite things about fall. It was also the one thing I missed when living in Florida. I like having a marker for the changing seasons.

4. Hot chocolate...the thing with Seattle is that it's cool enough for hot cocoa in the fall. Something about a rainy day and coming home to make a cup of cocoa that warms my heart.

5. It's almost time for Christmas! Christmas, aside from my birthday, is my favorite holiday (and my birthday is actually a holiday - Columbus Day! Although they don't celebrate it in WA.) I love the decorating, the cookie baking, the cheer, the ornaments, the feeling of getting the perfect gift for my loved ones, the cute stuff that Target sells that I don't need, but love. So I love this time of year, as I start getting into the spirit long before the day!

Happy Fall!

Happy Halloween!

Kitty update

So the vet thinks it's arthritis at this point, even though she's young, or that she played hard with our other cat. So he gave her "joint juice" and said it would take 10 days to kick in. Sunday she looked like she was doing better and even jumped on her own up to the couch to cuddle with the husband.

But last night we came home and she was really stiff. When I would pet her on her head, she would silently meow (open her mouth but no sound would come out - but she can meow.) She usually does a "trick" of sitting up on her hind legs to get her treat, but she couldn't do that. I could tell she was in pain. When I was petting her, any time I would pet near her belly, she would roll over immediately to have me scratch her stomach. But when I picked her up and held her hind legs, she would meow and this morning she actually hissed at me when I was holding her like that, which is SO unusual for her and I know it means she is in pain. So basically I think the pain is not in her belly at all but only in her back legs/lower back.

We have a heating pad and have been using that the past two nights with her (having her lie on it) and she loves that cause she loves the warmth. But she's just moving so slowly and stiffly. She's normally up and bugging us in the morning for her daily wet food...and she isn't doing that. This morning when I got up, she actually stayed in her basket in the livingroom until I came over to her and told her it was time for food - normally she beats me to the bowl!

However, she's not walking funny. She's not favoring one leg over the other, and she is walking around. She's just slow and lethargic. If it's possible, I think she's sleeping more than normal. I'm happy I'll be home for most of tomorrow to spend time with her. If she's not better after this weekend though, I'm going to bring her back to the vet, since it'll be past the 10 days in which he said it would take for her to feel the effects of the meds. But her personality is still the same (last night when I was adjusting the heating pad for her and getting her to lie down she only wanted to play with and "chase" my hand that was underneath the blanket). She also "plays" with her scratching pad (it's one of those round ones with a ball in it that she can chase around. She'll chase that and then lie sideways next to it and kick the round part with her hind legs...which is supposedly what is hurting her.)

I'm a little worried leaving her if she's not better when we're in Cabo, but I think it's just an injury from over playing with my other cat...hopefully I'm right. She just seems too young for arthritis. And the vet didn't think it was anything else (like cancer or tissue damage around the spine, etc. which he mentioned but said it wasn't presenting that way.)

So that's her update. She's not any better, but she's still "herself"...just on meds now. :)

Monet update...

Saturday morning, we overslept, but thankfully not that much and didn't miss Monet's appointment with the vet. So we brought her in, explained her symptoms (not jumping all of a sudden, seeming she was in a little pain in her hind quarters, etc.) The doc took awhile and examined her, felt her belly for masses, watched her walk, felt her spine, manipulated her legs, etc.

He thinks it's a combination of age (she's only 10), possibly arthritis and that she overplayed with our other cat. He offered to give her a steroid shot, but I turned it down for now considering he wasn't sure if what was wrong with her was muscular. He did give her some "joint juice" pills, which we're giving her twice a day and she is jumping from the floor to the couch (not as high as the bed), so we think it might be soreness from over playing. We're going to keep an eye on her though and see how she is in the next couple of weeks. The good thing is that her personality hasn't changed and she's eating enough.

Last night, we pulled out the heating pad and had her lie on it, and switched her in the middle so she could warm both sides of her lower half. We don't know if it helped, but she LOVED it. She's always searching for warmth anywhere in the house (all winter she'll sit in front of the forced air vents, or she'll get on top of the dryer while it's going to feel the warmth) so I'm sure this heating pad was an added bonus.

Two good things...

1. I am officially on the board of the Kawasaki Disease Foundation! I've got to talk with the President either this week or next to discuss my contributions, role, etc. but I'm pretty excited about it! Never thought this would happen, so it's something I think will be great for me personally as well as professionally.

2. The husband and I went to the gym last night for our orientation with the trainer. He set us up with a workout plan and we did it and it kicked our butts! But the best part was when he weighed us, took measurements and fat percentage. I have been monitoring myself at home with our own measuring tape, fat percentage meter and scale, and 3 months ago, I did the last set of measurements and weight. Since then, I've lost only 6 lbs, but I've gone down 3% in body fat, and lost 1 inch off each of my arms, 1 inch off of my waist, 2 inches off of each of my thighs and 2.5 inches off of my hips and butt! I was shocked because I didn't really think it was that much until I compared the measurements! Wow! The trainer, of course, wanted us to buy training packages and we think we might buy a couple of sessions. It's great how motivated we are right now...currently it's for our vacation to Cabo San Lucas next month, but by the time we start seeing more results like this, we don't need any motivation other than that!

My cat...

My cat Monet isn't herself. Last night she attempted to jump up onto me while I was on the couch and instead just sort of pulled herself up with her front paws. Then, later, while Tito and I were in bed and our other cat, Eponine was in bed with us, Monet attempted to get up into bed, but instead pulled herself up there as well. We have a platform bed frame and she kind of scooted her back paws to be sitting on the bed frame and then pulled herself with her front paws.

I told Tito I thought something was wrong with her because she hadn't been jumping all day it seemed like. So we attempted to make her jump to the bed and she wouldn't. We opened the window and attempted to make her jump to the window sill - she wanted to, we could totally see she wanted to, her tail was twitching in excitement, and then she attempted to make the jump, but only made it about half way up the wall and then stopped trying. And she proceeded to sleep really close to me last night (she normally snuggles with Tito) and then this morning she was moving very slowly. I attempted to make her play with her favorite ball and she looked like she wanted to chase after it and then sort of walked over to it and pushed the ball slowly. I think she's got something going on with her hips/legs.

When I pick her up she meows more than normal. I'm really worried about my little girl...when I left this morning she was sleeping on my pillow which is something else unusual for her. She's not old either, which is really worrying me. She's only 8! So hopefully it's nothing serious and maybe she just hurt herself in some way? Anyone have experience with something like this? My childhood cat lost the ability to jump after awhile but she was 17 when that happened.

One project down....working on the second one right now...I can't wait until this week is over!

We're booked!

We booked our vacation and we're so happy! We got a great deal - $1400 for the two of us for 6 days and 5 nights, all inclusive (including alcohol) so we don't have to leave or pay for any food or drink while we're there. Happily we paid for it with cash and had saved for over 6 months for the trip. We're back to adding to our travel fund until we go (Thanksgiving week) so we can do some fun things while there if we want to.

I'm headed to Chicago next weekend for a charity event on Sunday, but I have Saturday and Monday to myself (I fly back at 6pm on Monday.) I'll be doing some fun things on the cheap, and maybe a little shopping for myself and Christmas presents. And a trip must be made to H&M! :)

News Flash: Credit Card Reform Bill Gets Nod From the House

http://www.savvysugar.com/2071723

How To Save More Without Spending More

Raises may be a rare occasion during these days of employer belt-tightening, and when they do come along they're likely to disappoint. Stagnant paychecks don't have to imply savings-as-usual — there's a tangible way to save money without earning more!

Scott Burns of MSN Money calls it the "Power of Attentive Spending," but I just call it a good idea. When you hold a magnifying glass to your spending there's no doubt you'll discover places where you can find better deals and spend less. Consumer Reports' August issue is confident we can save $500 each month by reviewing these six expenses: car insurance, life insurance, food shopping, phone costs, bank fees, credit card bills.

Even if you can't find $500 within your expenses that can be turned into money saved, a lesser amount would still have a positive impact on your savings. However you manage to cut your bills and save the money instead, Burns suggests you think of the amount you save over one year as after-tax income. So, if your salary is $50,000 and you find $6,000 by using your power of attentive spending, that's a not-too-shabby, after-tax, 12 percent gain.

Yay!

I paid off a credit card on Friday! The other two remaining cards are slotted to be PAID OFF on September 15th!! Woo-hoo! This is HUGE for me...after this debt is paid, I have a remaining loan from my parents, which I'll now dump the money I was paying in CC's towards, one small student loan ($800) which I will have paid off by December 15th, my computer loan (which will be paid off by December as well) and then the only thing I'll have is my large student loan. After doing some calculations, I figured I could increase my payments by $200 a month and pay it off in 5 years...so that's the minimum...I figured it would be safe to do the smallest amount I could increase my payments and pay off in a short amount of time rather than going all out and risking forgetting about other debts in the future (i.e. I'll be taking over the payments on my husband's car as he'll be getting a new one in the next month, so that's $200 a month plus $90 a month in insurance to add into the budget) as well as if we choose to buy a house or rent something larger with a higher payment than we have now. And then there's the whole having kids thing...but the good thing is that throughout all of this I'm still saving. Right now it's only $400 a month, but will increase as I have less debt. I am just so excited to have NO credit card debt and have that available just in case (being on the other side of the country from my family and having family that's ill and the possibility I may have to fly home at the last minute is a good emergency fund use.)

Free=good

Free stuff is great. Last night I came home to find a package from Walmart.com on my doorstep. I had no idea what it was, so I opened it and it turned out to be a sample sized Nivea body and face lotion. I remember vaguely signing up to receive it, but had forgotten about ordering it. So yay! Now I have a perfect purse sized lotion to try, and just in time because I ran out of my other hand cream the other day!

College Degrees Pay Off, Especially For Women

There are plenty examples of people who have made a name (and billions) for themselves without a college degree, but The New York Times argues that the progress women have made over the last 40 years goes to show that higher education is not overrated. The statistics they note are remarkable: Only 25 percent of women received a college degree in the 1960s, while today almost 40 percent will end up with one. During the same time period, between 30 and 35 percent of men graduated from a four-year college.

Overall, educated women have seen their degrees pay off — the average inflation-adjusted weekly pay of women has increased 26 percent since 1980, while men's pay has risen only one percent in the last 20 years. Less gender discrimination has something to do with women being able to seek out higher paying jobs — about half of new doctors today are women, up from just one of every 10 in the early 1970s.

Things About Me #31 - #60

31. I have two godfathers. They are brothers and my father's nephews. They are only a year apart and my parents didn't want to pick just one, so I have two!
32. My godfathers and godmother were all under the age of 18 when they became my godparents (12, 13 and 17.)
33. I love to do old school Tae Bo videos
34. I started scrapbooking when I moved to Washington because my friends were into it. I didn't think I would get into it, but for some reason I did!
35. I love to travel, but hate the trip back...
36. I survived my last year of college by eating a Pop Tart and Diet Coke for breakfast during the work week...and I weighed less then than I ever have!
37. I like to waste time by reading new blogs
38. I rearrange furniture in my house about every 6 months. It drives my husband crazy.
39. I used to like getting the Sear's Catalog when I was a kid and dreaming about perfectly organized and decorated rooms
40. I think penguins are cute
41. I'm a sucker for cute stationary and notebooks
42. I love the sunshine, but it hates me since I'm a pale skinned redhead
43. My new love is Philosophy's Hope In A Jar...it makes my skin so soft and glowy
44. I love watching old Cosby Show re-runs...they just make me happy!
45. I DVR the most random shows, from Jon and Kate Plus Eight, to Get Fresh With Sara Snow to Oprah
46. I was a cheerleader in high school and early college
47. I've only broken two bones in my life - my ankle and my toe - and both were from cheerleading accidents
48. I dig celebrity gossip
49. I've recenlty discovered hulu.com and love listening to shows during my work day when I'm not listening to the radio
50. I love chick lit books and Oprah's Book Club books
51. I am double jointed in my right hand thumb
52. I've never been to California
53. I love Diet Coke
54. My cats can do tricks, including playing fetch and sitting up on their hind legs to receive treats
55. I love to cook and am always trying new things
56. I used to know how to knit and gave up after a scarf I made for my Cabbage Patch Kid doll was a horrible disaster
57. My first job out of college was for a major car rental company...no matter what they say, it's NOT a real job, and you'll never get any respect in the working world
58. I've never been to Europe, but am planning on going next fall!
59. I wear my watch on my right wrist
60. I love the elliptical machine at the gym!

Working out

Workout
I made it to the gym last night for the first time in over two weeks. I was happy to be there, with my new heart monitor and new iPod arm band. I felt like a real "gym rat." So I got there and hopped on the elliptical machine. I upped the intensity to high and cranked away for 35 minutes while watching "Scrubs." (Love the fact that my machine has its own tv on it.)

After that, I started with some weights, and then went to my "step ups" where I step up onto two steps stacked on one another with 8 pound weights in my hands and kick my leg up when I get up on the top of the step. I finished the rest of my workout and then went and got my stuff and walked to the next bus stop down (about 1/2 mile) rather than taking the bus from in front of the gym to get my "cool down" walk in instead of being on the treadmill.

On two embarrassing notes:
While working out on the elliptical, I was going no-hands (I had seen on The Biggest Loser that you can actually burn more calories by actually not hanging on.) I was attempting to adjust my iPod strap on my arm band, and almost lost my balance because I was leaning to the right too much. So I *almost* fell off of the elliptical...in the front row of machines...with about a million people behind me...but I didn't. : )

The other semi-embarrassing thing was that when I went to the weight machines, my trainer was in there. I haven't been in about two weeks and I just pretended I didn't see him and that I was "really focused" on my workout. I was very careful to do things correctly though since I haven't been in so long and because I didn't want him to correct me (like I've had some other trainers there do.) I don't know why I was embarrassed about this, but I was. It took the pressure off when he finally left the room!

100 Things About Me: Part 1/#1-30

1. I love reality television
2. I have two cats, both girls, named Monet and Eponine
3. I have lived on 3 of the 4 corners in the United States
4. My first job was a chambermaid for a hotel
5. I have had 9 separate jobs in my lifetime since I began working at 16
6. I drink about 80 oz of water a day
7. I love to organize things, and purchase things for organizing
8. Because of my organizing hobby, places like Storables, The Container Store and Ikea are my favorite stores
9. I prefer drinking beer over mixed drinks
10. I prefer drinking wine or champagne over beer
11. I like scrapbooking
12. I blog on my Dell Inspiron laptop and my work Mac
13. I crave chocolate
14. I love all things sour, and can eat lemons like oranges
15. I eat salad with almost every meal
16. I don't really like sports, but can bandwagon with the best of them
17. I am an older sister
18. I am a younger sister
19. I love all home related shows, including House Hunters, Sell This House and Clean House
20. I have my DVR and "Favorites" on my remote set to HGTV, FLN, TLC and Discovery Home
20. I read roughly a book a week on my morning and evening commute
21. I sneeze in 3's
22.My first car was a 1979 Dodge Diplomat that was yellow. It had 25,000 miles on it (in 1994) and was my grandparents car
23. I've spent more time in hospitals than most people spend in a lifetime
24. I've never been to Hawaii
25. I love to travel, and have been to almost all of the US states, as well as Vancouver, BC and Peru
26. I listen to live stream of Real Radio 104.1 during work because I used to listen to it when I lived in Florida and I miss the shows
27. My husband is from another country, and I never imagined marrying someone like him. Now that we're married, I can't imagine my life without him
29. I have been married three times to the same man, in three separate years consecutively
30. My siblings and I all have each shade of hair (one is brunette, one is blond, and I am a redhead.) We are the second generation in my family with kids like this as my father and his sisters are one of each hair color as well