Summer Lovin'

Been lots going, but too tired to blog.

This seagull was chilling on the railing at the beach yesterday. He sat there forever while we took his picture, almost like he was posing for us.   Funny little dude.



We have been keeping ourselves pretty busy this summer.

I am still doing weight watchers, and I am still(slowly and steadily) losing weight.

I have lost 35.5 pounds to date.  I am thrilled with that amount, but I have a ways to go.  I try not to think about how far I have to go and be happy with what I have lost.  I don't always succeed. But 35 pounds!  I have no clothes that fit me now.  

Work is going great.  It's our busy time and boy are we busy!  We have five telephone lines and they ring off the hook.  It's crazy really.  Keeps us on our toes.

We have a mexican restaurant across the street from us and occasionally we will go over there after work and have a margarita(or two).  Some days we really need them.



We went out a couple of weeks ago to say goodbye to my co-worker who is moving away.  I am sad that she is leaving but excited for her new journey.  There are quite a few girls missing from this pic. (T and I  didn't get the memo on the sunglasses....lol)

Me with Kelli, the girl who is leaving.  We will miss her!  She is having a baby and we are all bummed she won't be here for us to spoil after she has him/her.

Love, love, love the girls I work with!

Today was our last dragon boat practice. Next week are the races. I am excited about the races, but sad that it is coming to an end.  I love it so much.  I love everything about it. I even love the exercises we do in the beginning, although I seem to be the only one who does.  Maybe because I have been exercising on a regular basis at home.  I feel so much more warmed up and ready to go after our 20 minute warm up sessions.

Last week they let me be the caller and it was the coolest thing ever!  The caller is the one sitting on the bow of the boat, facing the team.  At first it's a little scary because you are balancing precariously up there but once I got over that it was awesome.  So exhilarating. One of the reasons they chose me to call was because the caller rarely gets to paddle(because they are calling), and Debbie really wanted some paddling time.  I couldn't paddle because of my thumb, so I was the perfect candidate. The other reason was because, well, because I am so loud and they needed someone who could speak loud enough for everyone on the boat to hear.  I fit that bill perfectly.  As we were getting off the boat I overheard someone saying to Joe "Michelle did really well.  I could hear her all the way in the back of the boat".  Joe responded "Yeah.  She can be loud.  That's her playground voice".  LOL!  He's right.  You don't work in a daycare center for 14 years and not learn how to project your voice.

We have been on this team for six years now and have come to really like the people we paddle with.




Oh, I forgot to mention something else that happened over Fourth of July.

Here I am rocking my latest fashion accessory.  Yes, that's a thumb splint.  I knocked my hand into a table(HARD)  the day before the 4th and I have been rocking the splint ever since.  The urgent care doc said it wasn't broken(although they didn't x-ray it).  It's just a bad sprain, but oh my word does it hurt!  I have only just started going without the splint for a few hours per day when I am not active.   I swore to my co-workers that if I had to wear it one more day I was going to bling it up, so last Thursday that's what I did.









Here it is :

Isn't it bee-yoo-tee-ful?  Or gaudy.  You choose.  I already know which one Joe chooses.  :)











Yesterday my friend Carla let me hang with her at the stables.  I didn't get to ride because the horse she has there right now is a baby, but I got to groom and watch while she worked him in the round pen, and just soak up the horsey goodness.  I spent so many years of my life at the stables that it feels like coming home.  That's where Carla and I met, and spent most of our childhoods together.  We were trying to figure out how long we have been friends and realized it has been 28 years!  Wow, that must mean we are getting really old!!



This is Carla's colt Cowboy.  Love him!

This is Carla's daughter's yellow lab Sage. He's such a love.

Afterwards we rode bikes down to the beach and had lunch at Ruby's and walked around.  Only in Southern CA can you be taking care of your horses and then 20 minutes later be hanging out at the beach.  Love where I live.







The weather was beautiful and the beach was packed.

There were a ton of wind surfers out there.  There was supposed to be one in the picture but I didn't realize how far away it looked on my phone until I uploaded it.  It's that tiny little thing over my right shoulder.

That's how my summer has been going.  How about you!

20 days until we are here!

Fourth of July

We had a laid back Fourth of July.  I had a couple of invitations to go to BBQ's but we decided to stay in and then go watch the fireworks show in the park next to us.  They always put on a good show and we can walk there.

The sun didn't make an appearance until almost four o'clock but that didn't stop me from having a craving for something cold and refreshing.  Margaritas were the drink of choice and off I went  to the store to pick up a few ingredients.

I was going to make a traditional margarita but then I saw on Pinterest this grapefruit margarita and it looked so yummy we decided to try those instead.

I had most of the ingredients on hand, except for the grapefruit juice.

I pinned the recipe here:  Grapefruit Margarita

The recipe actually calls for Triple Sec, but we had Grand Marnier on hand and it was delicious with it.  But if you wanted to follow the recipe exactly, it uses Triple Sec.

Please don't mention the huge bottle of Petron tequila that we own.  It was bought for me by Joe as kind of a joke after our staff Christmas party last year(don't ask).  I have no idea how more than half of it got drank in the last 7 months.  No idea!(ahem)

Anyway, it was called for in this recipe, and luckily we had some.    :)

They were so good!

When it started getting dark we walked over the freeway overpass to the park.  The fireworks show they put on at the high school next to us is rated as one of the top ten in Orange County.  People come from all over town to see them.  They even fill up the parking lot of our apartment complex since we live so close.   It's illegal and annoying as heck, but they still do it.

Waiting for the fireworks to start

I can never get good pictures of fireworks, so no pictures of those.  

Chilling after the fireworks waiting for the crowd to thin out before walking home.

It was a nice, laid back day.  At least next year we will get two days off.  It sucks when it falls right in the middle of the week like that.

Two weeks until Dragon Boat Races(already!), and then four more weeks until I am sitting here with a cold beer in my hand:

Can.  Not.  Wait.

Time flies

How does so much time get away from me between posts?  How is it almost Fourth of July?(seriously..how?)



I have no idea what is up with the text here and later on but I spent 20 minutes trying to fix it and I can't.


I am happy that time is flying by right now because it means we are slowly getting closer to our trip here:

It's been three years since we were last there and I.  can.  not.  wait.  to go back.  

7 weeks!!

Last weekend we met up with P, K & S to have dinner at their house. K was going to make us homemade carnitas(Joe's favorite).  Just as we pulled up I got a text from K(sorry I didn't get it earlier while I was driving) that S had fallen on their tile floor and busted her chin open.

So we arrived at their house,  and they had to leave  to go to the ER.  Joe and I enjoyed the carnitas(and a margarita.  O.K., a couple of margaritas, but who's counting?) alone. The carnitas were dee-licious!

I  kept updated on S's condition via text while Joe and I enjoyed their flat screen t.v. and trashy cable t.v. shows, neither of which we have at our house. 

Sadly, by the time they came home I was ready to go, as I wasn't feeling well and hadn't slept well in a few days.

Here is S after she got her stitches.  Poor little sweetie!  She was so brave.

We are making plans to do it again, this time where we actually get to eat together.  :)  I can't wait!

Let's see, how else am I occupying my time?  Oh yes, Pinterest.  If you aren't on Pinterest, man you are missing out!  You can follow me here.  If you don't know what it is and you want to check it out, I can send you an invitation.  I heart Pinterest

One of the jokes about it is that people pin all of these amazing things like recipes, or DIY projects or crafts, but they never make any of them.

 Well not me, because I actually have made quite a few things that I pinned.  Most of them recipes or craft projects, but I have used some of their natural home cleaning tips as well.

Anyway, if you have spent any time on Pinterest at all, I'm sure you have seen those salads in a mason jar.  I loved this idea when I saw it, as I bring salads to work two-three times per week. I bought some divided tupperware containers to put all of my ingredients in, but it was very bulky to bring to work, and store in our very small fridge.  I decided to give the jar idea a try.

I didn't have any mason jars at home. I didn't want to buy a whole package of 12 and I had a spaghetti jar on hand so I used that and it worked just fine.

First I gathered all of my veggies and got to chopping.

I love this low fat honey mustard dressing I found that is made with yogurt.  I despise fat free dressing(yuck) so I usually go with a low fat version. It's worth the extra points for me. This dressing is only 2 points per serving. It comes in a parmesan caesar that is delicious too.

All of the ingredients chopped and ready to go into the jar

                                                       Next I chopped the lettuce

Now to layer it in the jar. The dressing goes first. The key is to not let the dressing touch the lettuce, or the lettuce will get slimy.

Start layering the ingredients. They said to start with the "hearty" vegetables first.  I put the tomatoes, onion, and corn in first, topped by the chicken.  

Next you stuff the lettuce on top tightly. I really mashed it in there.  Put the lid on and that's it!  A healthy lunch to take to work. When you pour the salad into a bowl, it comes out perfectly with all of your veggies on and dressing on top. I read somewhere that you could shake up the bottle and it would coat the lettuce but mine didn't budge because I stuffed so much lettuce in there.

 The best thing about them is that they last four days!  On Sunday night I make a couple of these for my  lunches and I am good to go.  So convenient and healthy!

I had also seen on someone's blog that you could make fruit salad and store it the same way, so I tried that too.  The fruit salad kept for about three days, but it was very convenient to just pour it into the bowl when we wanted to eat it.  If I prep fruits and veggies when I first bring them home so I am much more likely to eat them.

I put the blackberries on top so they didn't get squished.

Anyone else out there a Pinterest addict that I can follow there?  I am always looking for people to follow because the more people you follow the more great pins you see.

On a totally unrelated (yet awesome) note, head over to my friend Rhonda's blog and check out the referral of their beautiful baby BOY!  He is precious!

Some pictures

The last two weeks have been busy. And draining.  I find myself so tired at the end of each day.

I always have a million blog posts in my head but never actually have time to write them. Here are just some pictures of the last month.  

We went on a picnic at our favorite walking trail on Memorial Day.  We had a wonderful time.  I love riding my bike!

We even took Gizmo, which we don't normally do because she is a menace.  No really. She is.  Do not let her cute face fool you!  Just ask our downstairs neighbor, who she barked at and chased into her house the other day.  No joke.  I think she was scarred for life!

This is how we got her there.  It was Joe's idea and I laughed in his face and told him she would *never* stay in that basket for two miles there(and back).  But you know what?  He was right! She totally stayed in the basket and actually seemed to enjoy it!  Write down the date of this because it isn't often that I use the phrase "Joe was right".  LOL.

Happy to be at the park.

I made a couple of banners for a friend's little girl's birthday.  I think they came out cute!

We laid my aunt to rest. It was very sad.

I fit into a size dress that I haven't fit into in a long time.  I have a long way to go but I am very happy with how far I have come. 

My sister showed up with a dress similar to the one I just bought.  Twins much?  

We went to the Spectrum and tried out these little cars.  Cute!

We rode the Ferris Wheel.  I am not normally a fan of the Ferris Wheel but the weather was so clear and beautiful you could see for miles and it distracted me from the height at which we were dangling precariously   :)

                                    

Dragon Boat practice started a few weeks ago.  My heart is happy. I feel a peace out on the water that I don't feel anywhere else.

Like I said, been busy!  Summer is here.  I have a whole list of things I want to do this summer.  Maybe I will post it and we'll see how many I actually get done!

We Are Family

Go ahead and sing the next line.  You know you want to.    :)

I have a small family.  When I was a child we could all sit around one table for holiday dinners.  Slowly we grew, as my cousins had children, but we are still a small,  close-knit family. 

 Twice in the last month I have had the pleasure of visiting with family.  We don't all live locally, so this is a treat when everyone is in one place. 

On Mother's Day we met at my cousin's house for a lovely brunch.  Then again last Sunday we met at my aunt's small apartment.  It isn't that often that I get to see all of my cousins so frequently.  We always have a good time together.

When you look at your life, the greatest happinesses are family happinesses.  ~Joyce Brothers

You don't choose your family.  They are God's gift to you, as you are to them.  ~Desmond Tutu

To us, family means putting your arms around each other and being there.  ~Barbara Bush

What greater thing is there for human souls than to feel that they are joined for life - to be with each other in silent unspeakable memories.                                                 ~George Eliot

Other things may change us, but we start and end with the family.             

                                                                               ~Anthony Brandt

My aunt lost her battle with Cancer this week.  She was brave, courageous, strong and faithful.  She was my only Aunt and I will miss her dearly.

Please keep my cousins in your prayers, as they are now without either of their parents.

 Please keep my Dad in your prayers, as he has lost his big sister and his only sibling(I cannot imagine).

On Friday we will gather again to celebrate her life. 

I will be forever grateful that we were able to gather together one last time  to make these wonderful memories.

Goodbye Tante.  You will be missed.

Having a place to go - is a home.  Having someone to love - is a family.  Having both - is a blessing.  ~Donna Hedges

I Wish

I wish I didn't still feel so blue.

I wish I blogged anonymously, so I could write about some stuff that is going on and actually post it here instead of writing it and having it sit in my drafts box.

I wish they would hurry up and have the new girl start at work so I didn't have to work ten hour days anymore.

I wish I wasn't so tired.

I wish when I looked in the mirror I liked what I saw,  instead of disliking my body.

I wish I could celebrate the 27 pounds I have lost instead of focusing on the number still to go.

I wish I didn't always feel like I don't fit in anywhere.

I wish something that is bringing some friends profound happiness didn't make me feel sad.  I wish I could be there more to celebrate in their happiness instead of isolating myself so they can't tell I'm sad.

I wish my aunt wasn't sick.  (She is very sick).

I wish I had air conditioning in my car.  It is miserable to drive in if the temp climbs above 80 degrees. Heck, while I am wishing, I wish I could afford a new(used) car.  The one I have is falling apart at the seams.


I wish I didn't have depressive episodes that made me feel like this.  This has been a long one.

I wish I had a three day weekend.  Oh wait-I do!


A three day weekend.  Beautiful weather.  Long bike rides.  Corn on the cob from the Farmer's Market.

All things to be thankful for.  I will try to focus on those things.



I am taking a  little break from FB.  Not a lot of people noticed(LOL). I will be back soon.  I just found it sucking up a lot of my time and decided to step away from it for a bit.  It probably seems kind of dramatic to deactivate my account, but it's the only way I can stay away.  What is it about FB that makes you feel like you *need* to spend time there, even if you are trying not to?

If you could say a prayer for my aunt I would really appreciate it.  She really needs them.

Discombobulated

Discombobulated:

Out of order, not working properly, contorting, blabbering nonsense, confused, dysfunctional, out of shape and out of mind. (This definition from the Urban Dictionary, which sums it up perfectly for me)

That's the word of the day.  Or, week rather.

Some might say it's the word that best describes my life.   :)

Lately I am in a constant state of discombobulation.  Say that three times fast.


Another way to describe it:  running around like a chicken with it's head cut off, which if you think about it is quite gross.  Why would a chicken be running around with no head?

Anyway, I digress.

I have been feeling very discombobulated.  Why, you might ask?

Things have been very stressful at work.


We are two girls down and I have been working a lot of overtime.  It's just me and my office manager up front right now, and that simply isn't enough to accommodate the schedules of three doctors and the influx of patients that we deal with on a daily basis.

Add to that the fact that I have not been sleeping, and you get someone who is exhausted.  And discombobulated.  I told you it was the word of the day.   :)

Here are some examples of stupid things I have done out of exhaustion/discombobulation:
I'm going to see how many times I can use that word in this blog post.

Today I got up early to go to a WW meeting only to discover that it hadn't been seven days since my last weigh in(you can only weigh in once per week), so they couldn't "officially" weigh me in, which sucks because I reached a milestone today(two actually) and was supposed to get my keychain and another charm.  Now I have to go to another meeting this week so I can get them.  I did"unofficially"  lose three pounds though, so I am thrilled about that because I have been stuck at the same weight for three weeks now.

Another example of my discombobulation: Twice this week I went  to purchase something, only to realize I had left my wallet at home.  TWICE.

And another:

I almost ran out of gas because for some reason I neglected to see that my gas light was on, and had obviously been for quite some time.

Bah.  I would like a do-over on this whole week please!



Speaking of being understaffed, you know that phrase good help is hard to find? Wow, is it ever true.  We have interviewed 12 people in the last two weeks, and while they did find two people to work in the back, we have yet to find the right person to work up front with us.  I can't believe the amount of people who come in for an interview with NO computer experience(like can't even turn one ON), or are dressed inappropriately(flip flops?? Skin tight skirts and hooker heels?   Really??).  It's partly because we are being very picky about it too.  If you have to sit three feet from someone for 45+ hours per week, you want to make sure you can get along.

Also, just an FYI for anyone looking to land a job working up front, if you come in for an interview and you are totally rude to the girl working up front, who you will be sitting right next to, you probably won't get the job.  Just sayin'.

Sheesh.

Things haven't been all bad though.  Last week my boss pulled me into his office, to which my first response was "Oh Crap!' given the fact that three girls have fired in the last 4 months.  He assured me he wasn't asking to see me because of anything bad(thank goodness!) and that instead they thought I was doing a fabulous job and they wanted to give me a raise.  A substantial raise.  I started crying right there in his office. I have been working my ass off, coming in early and staying late and it is so awesome that they saw that and rewarded me for it.  I can't tell you enough how much I love my job!

Other than that, I have been kind of down in the dumps this weekend, with Mother's Day and all.  I know, I know, it's just a day.  It isn't different than any other day.  I get it.  But it makes me sad.  And I am entitled to my feelings, even if you don't agree with them(or think they are stupid).

On Monday I will get up and not think about Mother's Day for another whole year.

But this weekend I feel sad.


I am hoping for a week this week in which I am feeling  less discombobulated(that was five times.  I think I could have done better if I wasn't rushing out the door right now to make it to an appointment).

If you are celebrating Mother's Day, I truly hope you have a wonderful day.

If you aren't celebrating, I totally understand and I wish you lived closer so we could all go out and have a margarita together. Sending virtual hugs to you guys.





P.S. If you are reading this K, please answer my texts.  I am worried about you.

Chin Up Buttercup

This time of year always brings me down.  Mother's Day is a tough one for me.

My mom is gone.

I don't have a child to call me mother.  I probably never will.

It is heartbreaking when you realize that something you wanted your whole life, and have tried to attain for 10 years isn't going to be.

I am really coming to terms with this recently, as many of my friends become closer to referral. I am happy for them(I really am).  But I am sad for myself.

Perhaps it's just a pity party.  Perhaps I should snap out of it.

Or perhaps I should just let the feelings come and allow myself to feel them until they pass(but not while I am at work.  Because crying at work is lame.  Not that I have done that.  I'm just saying that it would be lame to do that).

When I get like this I feel myself retreating and isolating, two things you shouldn't do when you are depressed.  But I do them anyway.  I can't seem to help myself.  *But I am trying not to do them.

So I get up every morning and drag myself out of bed.  Force myself to go to work, and then force a smile while I am there.  Throw myself into work so I forget about feeling sad for awhile, but feel the sadness creep back in on the drive home.

Pretty soon you start to realize that you are feeling sad more than you are not feeling sad.  Such is the nature of depression. Sometimes it sneaks up on you and you don't realize it until BAM-there it is.

One thing I love to do is browse pinterest and find inspirational words.  It is probably annoying for anyone that follows me there because I am a fan of the inspirational words and will pin as many as I can find in one night, flooding their boards with inspirational words.  It's comforting somehow. I suppose there are worse things to be flooding your pinterest boards with than inspirational words, but I get that it can be annoying.

Here's a good one I found to help me through the week:

Here is something I do quite often. Especially when I am in a funk like I am now:

This is a good one too:

But here is one that I have next to my bed:

I will be grateful for this day.  

No matter how sad I am.  No matter how stressful work is.  No matter how crappy I feel.

I will be grateful for this day.

The rest will fall into place and eventually I will stop feeling so sad.  

It is a pattern that I am accustomed to.

Here is a piece of writing that a popular blogger wrote about depression that very much hits home for me.  I cried when I read it. If you have a few minutes, it's worth a read.

**I am forcing myself to work out, and I know that will help.  I am trying to get out of the house and not isolate. Some days are better than others. I will probably step away from the internet for awhile.  At least until Mother's Day is over.

I will be o.k.  This too shall pass.

P.S.  My phone says I am always online on FB, even when I'm not, so if you instant message me there it's not that I am ignoring you.  I just don't see those messages unless I have my phone in my hand.  I wish I could turn off that feature but I can't figure out how.