I start feeling bad for political candidates. I could list all the reasons why I feel bad for various candidates for various offices, but I won't. Why? Because I'm more frustrated with the fact that I might not be able to vote in the election, through no fault of my own.
At work, an email went out about voters who were placed in inactive status. I went to the site and saw that I was listed as inactive. From the email, it sounded like some people were placed into that status because of moves they'd made without updating their address. Well, I had updated my address for voting as soon as I moved. I'd even received an updated voter registration card in the mail. And then when updating my address for some other agency, there was an option on the paperwork to update your voter registration address too. Well, the form was ready to be mailed in except it was waiting my husband's signature, and he noticed that box was not checked on my form, so he checked that too. I got another updated voter registration card.
So, I didn't understand why it was showing I was an inactive voter. But I clicked on the box to update my address and it's still showing me as inactive. Only I didn't realize until past the registration deadline that it said I was registered in Clark county, and you're supposed to update information a completely different way if you're changing counties. So I may very well still be in inactive status unable to vote (although I'm going to take my card and try to do it anyway!). What's most frustrating/annoying/concerning is that I have NEVER lived in Clark county. How the heck am I listed as being in that county in the first place? Identity theft? Error in inputting my information (possibly with my zip code or something)? What the heck??? GRR!!!!
It got cold in Washington just a few days ago. More or less out of the blue. While I don't need any extra calories, I am glad it's hot chocolate season again!
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Budget help
I just found out about this site where you can get help with budgeting if you are interested. It looks like it could be pretty cool.
LDS Personal & Family Finances
LDS Personal & Family Finances
Expecting?
I don't know much about this service, but it sounded like something that might interest someone who is expecting, so I thought I'd share the link if you want to check it out.
Baby Alert
Baby Alert
Monday, October 6, 2008
I LOVE Mondays now!
I'm excited for today. Since I started having Mondays off, I haven't looked forward to one with anything other than delight. But today I actually have plans other than cleaning and relaxing and sleeping in.
I have gotten a late start, but I'm going to head to the gym soon. Then I'll come home and get ready to go out with a girl from church. She's somewhat close to my age (I don't know how old she is, actually), and she is a childless married woman who is pregnant and going through some pretty bad morning sickness (she told me she can't have anything except French bread and Coke right now). I was told by another woman at church that this woman is home alone during the day with nothing to do, no car to get around in, and stuck in an apartment that is often dark because of where it is in the apartment complex. So I called to see if she wanted to do something. That is very out of character for me, especially since she and I have only very briefly talked a couple times at church. But she seems sweet, and she was so grateful to get the opportunity to leave the house. We're going to play it by ear, but I'm thinking we'll probably go to the Super Mall in Auburn. Shopping is always a good time! I just hope she's feeling well.
This weekend I really enjoyed watching General Conference on TV. It's cool that one weekend every 6 months I get to stay home and hear church messages and beautiful music on TV. I've recorded the different sessions and plan on watching them again or for the first time (I had to miss the first one on Saturday because I was working). I had thought a lot about what I felt were questions or concerns I have at this time that I was hoping for some guidance and inspiration, and those were answered this weekend. I LOVE that!
Anyway, I realized that I never wrote our cats names on here. Part of the reason is because the cat Joe named (the black one) has been given a name, but not a full name (I think). It sounds like he wants to add to it but isn't sure what to name her. So for now, she's Ashley. The other cat is Inspector Cassandra Cuddle Bunny, or Sandy for short. They're getting so big already!
I have gotten a late start, but I'm going to head to the gym soon. Then I'll come home and get ready to go out with a girl from church. She's somewhat close to my age (I don't know how old she is, actually), and she is a childless married woman who is pregnant and going through some pretty bad morning sickness (she told me she can't have anything except French bread and Coke right now). I was told by another woman at church that this woman is home alone during the day with nothing to do, no car to get around in, and stuck in an apartment that is often dark because of where it is in the apartment complex. So I called to see if she wanted to do something. That is very out of character for me, especially since she and I have only very briefly talked a couple times at church. But she seems sweet, and she was so grateful to get the opportunity to leave the house. We're going to play it by ear, but I'm thinking we'll probably go to the Super Mall in Auburn. Shopping is always a good time! I just hope she's feeling well.
This weekend I really enjoyed watching General Conference on TV. It's cool that one weekend every 6 months I get to stay home and hear church messages and beautiful music on TV. I've recorded the different sessions and plan on watching them again or for the first time (I had to miss the first one on Saturday because I was working). I had thought a lot about what I felt were questions or concerns I have at this time that I was hoping for some guidance and inspiration, and those were answered this weekend. I LOVE that!
Anyway, I realized that I never wrote our cats names on here. Part of the reason is because the cat Joe named (the black one) has been given a name, but not a full name (I think). It sounds like he wants to add to it but isn't sure what to name her. So for now, she's Ashley. The other cat is Inspector Cassandra Cuddle Bunny, or Sandy for short. They're getting so big already!
Monday, September 29, 2008
Learning how to delegate
I was just asked yesterday at church if I'd be willing to accept another calling. Then as I was listening to hear what that calling might be, I heard talk of a piano player being needed for the primary children and thought for sure that was what the calling would be. Well, I won't officially be called for another 2 weeks, but the calling is very different than that. In fact, it's another calling with a big time commitment. Like with my Enrichment Leader calling, I was told a big part of my calling will be delegating to others.
My thoughts on delegating are as follows:
1. I'm a perfectionist. If I think something should be done a certain way and don't know WHO can do it that way, I try to do it myself.
2. I hate inconveniencing people. If I don't think someone wants to help, I won't ask.
3. I am shy. Ugh. I HATE being shy. I LOATHE it.
4. I don't know most of the people at church. Yeah, I've been there since May (with the exception of the weekends spent out of town), but I haven't met too many people. When I've gone to events where people would be there I could meet, I'd try to meet some, but it's tough (see #3).
5. Because of #4, I don't know who has what talents/skills/abilities/interests that might help me in the delegation process. I'm trying to get that kind of feedback from people at church themselves (I created and sent out a survey, but most people haven't responded to it at all).
6. If I can't get someone to come to a meeting after saying they'd be available to attend, how can I entrust someone to take on a bigger responsibility?
So it boils down to this: I don't know people and therefore have not built up trust in depending on them. I used to think I was the kind of person to trust someone until they gave me reason not to trust them, but now I am starting to realize that it's deeper than that. I don't trust people I don't know. And if I know you to some degree and you've already let me down in that capacity, it's hard for me to build trust in you in another capacity.
If I try to delegate to others and they fail, I worry it'll look bad on me (since it is ultimately my responsibility). And I don't think that's necessarily an unfounded fear. In fact, when I first started my new position, I heard a lot of complaints. No solutions, mind you, but complaints. I'm asking for solutions, but I'm not getting those responses to help me figure out what solutions would appease the complainers. And now I'm finding myself joining them in complaining, which I hate.
Another part of my problem is that I don't know a whole lot about what either calling really entails. I don't know what the perceptions are of others that someone in that calling would need to do in order to be perceived as fulfilling their calling successfully. Because I'm a perfectionist, I want to do things properly and well. But it's hard to say I'm doing either when I don't know what standards I'm being held to.
Guess I should try to find a book or two about delegating and/or trusting others.
I have a lot of learning/growth to do. Guess that was why I was put in my calling (and will be put in my new calling shortly) in the first place.
My thoughts on delegating are as follows:
1. I'm a perfectionist. If I think something should be done a certain way and don't know WHO can do it that way, I try to do it myself.
2. I hate inconveniencing people. If I don't think someone wants to help, I won't ask.
3. I am shy. Ugh. I HATE being shy. I LOATHE it.
4. I don't know most of the people at church. Yeah, I've been there since May (with the exception of the weekends spent out of town), but I haven't met too many people. When I've gone to events where people would be there I could meet, I'd try to meet some, but it's tough (see #3).
5. Because of #4, I don't know who has what talents/skills/abilities/interests that might help me in the delegation process. I'm trying to get that kind of feedback from people at church themselves (I created and sent out a survey, but most people haven't responded to it at all).
6. If I can't get someone to come to a meeting after saying they'd be available to attend, how can I entrust someone to take on a bigger responsibility?
So it boils down to this: I don't know people and therefore have not built up trust in depending on them. I used to think I was the kind of person to trust someone until they gave me reason not to trust them, but now I am starting to realize that it's deeper than that. I don't trust people I don't know. And if I know you to some degree and you've already let me down in that capacity, it's hard for me to build trust in you in another capacity.
If I try to delegate to others and they fail, I worry it'll look bad on me (since it is ultimately my responsibility). And I don't think that's necessarily an unfounded fear. In fact, when I first started my new position, I heard a lot of complaints. No solutions, mind you, but complaints. I'm asking for solutions, but I'm not getting those responses to help me figure out what solutions would appease the complainers. And now I'm finding myself joining them in complaining, which I hate.
Another part of my problem is that I don't know a whole lot about what either calling really entails. I don't know what the perceptions are of others that someone in that calling would need to do in order to be perceived as fulfilling their calling successfully. Because I'm a perfectionist, I want to do things properly and well. But it's hard to say I'm doing either when I don't know what standards I'm being held to.
Guess I should try to find a book or two about delegating and/or trusting others.
I have a lot of learning/growth to do. Guess that was why I was put in my calling (and will be put in my new calling shortly) in the first place.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Free Museum Day
I subscribe to Rss feeds from The Seattle Times, and I stumbled across this and thought I would share in case anyone is interested.
Tomorrow is a day that you can get free entrance into a museum for you and a guest at participating museums. You do have to fill out some information and print a pass, but it's a great way to have a cheap date. :)
Full information can be found here in the article.
Tomorrow is a day that you can get free entrance into a museum for you and a guest at participating museums. You do have to fill out some information and print a pass, but it's a great way to have a cheap date. :)
Full information can be found here in the article.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Our babies
Here are the (female) kittehs we got last night. The tabby scratched my chest hard enough to draw blood (stained my white t-shirt, actually) before we'd even taken them to our car (the neighbor was pulling his car out and they got so scared). We haven't named them yet. Any suggestions are welcome. Joe will probably name the black kitten and I'll probably name the other kitten. I kind of like Chelsea Kitten, but we may go with titles, and Ambassador Chelsea Kitten or something like that just sounds a little weird. And is it just me, or does the black kitten look like she is posing seductively?
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Much needed day off... more or less
Sunday I was getting ready to leave church for the day when I noticed a man looking around for someone. He found her and started to hand back to her the copy of Breaking Dawn that he'd borrowed from her. I could not control myself. I accosted her unaware (she has no idea who I am because she's younger and I'm new), asking if I could borrow the book to read since I've been on the waiting list at the library for so long. She agreed but was probably perplexed at the least. I was excited beyond words.
I decided that I was going to take my day off, Monday, off. In fact, my plan was to stay in bed as much as possible and just read Breaking Dawn. I started the day that way, but when Joe called to tell me that he wasn't able to get into his school class for this quarter (bummer!) and that he was on his way home, I decided to get up, get dressed and ended up getting a little bit done.
I even made chicken Spanish rice bake (a spin on a healthy whole grain recipe I had tried before) for dinner, we looked on craigslist for different kittens available, and we started working on getting our digital pictures sent to a pharmacy where we could pick them up so we can finish our wedding and honeymoon photo albums.
I didn't finish Breaking Dawn, but I came pretty close. I have less than 100 pages left. The story has really changed, and I had seen some things coming before they did, but it'll be nice to finish out the series and not have to wonder what people are talking about or what is coming next.
So, since we're probably going to become "kitteh" parents tonight, I may not finish it right away, but I'm going to do so before Sunday so I can give the book (and maybe some cookies or something) to the bewildered girl I snaked it from.
I decided that I was going to take my day off, Monday, off. In fact, my plan was to stay in bed as much as possible and just read Breaking Dawn. I started the day that way, but when Joe called to tell me that he wasn't able to get into his school class for this quarter (bummer!) and that he was on his way home, I decided to get up, get dressed and ended up getting a little bit done.
I even made chicken Spanish rice bake (a spin on a healthy whole grain recipe I had tried before) for dinner, we looked on craigslist for different kittens available, and we started working on getting our digital pictures sent to a pharmacy where we could pick them up so we can finish our wedding and honeymoon photo albums.
I didn't finish Breaking Dawn, but I came pretty close. I have less than 100 pages left. The story has really changed, and I had seen some things coming before they did, but it'll be nice to finish out the series and not have to wonder what people are talking about or what is coming next.
So, since we're probably going to become "kitteh" parents tonight, I may not finish it right away, but I'm going to do so before Sunday so I can give the book (and maybe some cookies or something) to the bewildered girl I snaked it from.
Left out
Sometimes it is hard being childless when around people who are parents or expecting or both. I don't want to get knocked up before I'm feeling physically ready (not that I necessarily WOULD be able to get preggers and stay that way right now), and I don't want to do it because I want to fit in. And I sure don't want to have a baby because my sister-in-law told me to so her son could have a cousin closer to his age. Yeah, because making HER and her child happy is what my life is about....
Having said that, Joe and I have talked about getting pets. Part of me wants a dog because I've never had a pet dog that was MY dog. We had a couple dogs when we were kids, but they belonged to the family, and then ran away from home. I think my parents were relieved, and they didn't try to get them back. In fact, it was years before we had any more pets, but we finally were adopted by a stray cat, which led to cats becoming a part of our family.
Joe likes cats because they're more low maintenance and mellow. I don't dislike cats, but part of me wants a pet that is a bigger responsibility than a cat (not that they aren't a responsibility). Anyway, we'd decided to get a couple kittens when we moved into the house, but with everything that had been going on, we kept putting it off.
Now we're going to get a couple kittens. Maybe tonight. If not tonight, soon. I'm excited. They'll be our babies until we're ready for a human baby.
Having said that, Joe and I have talked about getting pets. Part of me wants a dog because I've never had a pet dog that was MY dog. We had a couple dogs when we were kids, but they belonged to the family, and then ran away from home. I think my parents were relieved, and they didn't try to get them back. In fact, it was years before we had any more pets, but we finally were adopted by a stray cat, which led to cats becoming a part of our family.
Joe likes cats because they're more low maintenance and mellow. I don't dislike cats, but part of me wants a pet that is a bigger responsibility than a cat (not that they aren't a responsibility). Anyway, we'd decided to get a couple kittens when we moved into the house, but with everything that had been going on, we kept putting it off.
Now we're going to get a couple kittens. Maybe tonight. If not tonight, soon. I'm excited. They'll be our babies until we're ready for a human baby.
Friday, September 19, 2008
Annoyed
Because of everything that has been going on and will be going on, I have had to use my "vacation" time for anything and everything other than a vacation. I'm trying desperately to help my husband realize how important some things are for me so that he doesn't just brush them off like he has been doing. I need a vacation! I need a day off! I need a day I don't have to play hostess, work, clean, cook, shop, etc.
I tried to talk him into at least getting a hotel room in or near Bellevue when I had a Saturday off (the same day as his grandmother's memorial service), because since Sunday is the only common day we have off work, I didn't know when else we'd get the chance. He turned that down. I tell him I want a puppy because I want a pet that requires a little more maintenance so I can actually HAVE something to do and something to interact with during the lonely day hours when he's not around. It's going to get even more tough when he starts school again on Monday. At least his work is letting him go back to school, even if just for this quarter. But he wants cats and that is that so there is no discussion to be had about a dog.
I had scheduled a doctor's appointment for Thursday way back when- I HAD Thursdays off at that point in time, but I had to schedule the appointment out months in advance because that was all that was available. And now that I work on Thursdays, I wouldn't be able to go to that appointment unless I took time off work. This is time I don't have (since I have to save the time I do have and time I will earn between now and the end of October to go to Arizona for my sister's wedding). So, in a desperate plea for help, I posted my request to switch someone shifts. I begged someone to let me work for them on Monday so I could go on Thursday, but I got no responses. I had to call and cancel the appointment today. I won't be able to get in to see the doctor until sometime in December. They weren't quite sure when that would be, since she hasn't posted her December schedule yet, but the only other doctor I could've seen only had openings in late December when I was scheduled to work, so I will have to wait. This is a doctor I should've seen over a year ago. So frustrating!
Stress is starting to pile up again, and I can feel the difference. I'm not sleeping well, I'm coughing more, and I'm prone to the stress-eating I hate. Ugh. I'm still walking on my lunch breaks (but I'll have to go to the gym on my lunch break tomorrow instead of walking), but I'm also craving that sweet chocolate comfort food, and that's not good. I really have a problem saying no to chocolate when I know it is around and in an edible form.
I'm still looking for a job. I'm losing hope in this economy. At least I'll get extra money next month in this job!
I tried to talk him into at least getting a hotel room in or near Bellevue when I had a Saturday off (the same day as his grandmother's memorial service), because since Sunday is the only common day we have off work, I didn't know when else we'd get the chance. He turned that down. I tell him I want a puppy because I want a pet that requires a little more maintenance so I can actually HAVE something to do and something to interact with during the lonely day hours when he's not around. It's going to get even more tough when he starts school again on Monday. At least his work is letting him go back to school, even if just for this quarter. But he wants cats and that is that so there is no discussion to be had about a dog.
I had scheduled a doctor's appointment for Thursday way back when- I HAD Thursdays off at that point in time, but I had to schedule the appointment out months in advance because that was all that was available. And now that I work on Thursdays, I wouldn't be able to go to that appointment unless I took time off work. This is time I don't have (since I have to save the time I do have and time I will earn between now and the end of October to go to Arizona for my sister's wedding). So, in a desperate plea for help, I posted my request to switch someone shifts. I begged someone to let me work for them on Monday so I could go on Thursday, but I got no responses. I had to call and cancel the appointment today. I won't be able to get in to see the doctor until sometime in December. They weren't quite sure when that would be, since she hasn't posted her December schedule yet, but the only other doctor I could've seen only had openings in late December when I was scheduled to work, so I will have to wait. This is a doctor I should've seen over a year ago. So frustrating!
Stress is starting to pile up again, and I can feel the difference. I'm not sleeping well, I'm coughing more, and I'm prone to the stress-eating I hate. Ugh. I'm still walking on my lunch breaks (but I'll have to go to the gym on my lunch break tomorrow instead of walking), but I'm also craving that sweet chocolate comfort food, and that's not good. I really have a problem saying no to chocolate when I know it is around and in an edible form.
I'm still looking for a job. I'm losing hope in this economy. At least I'll get extra money next month in this job!
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Busy bee
This week has been busy for me. I feel bad for Joe because it's been even busier for him. I've barely seen him since last Friday, since he had drill this past weekend. And he has a work meeting on Saturday and then starts school next week, so we'll continue to see less of each other. At least our work schedules are compatible now!
Monday (my new day off) I went to the fair with my cousin Kristine. We had a good time checking out the exhibits. I fell in love. With a piano. It was dark mahogany and so beautiful. I want it so much! Of course, that's just a dream since I don't need a piano (thanks to my friend Erin), but I lust after it.
I've also had meetings and more meetings and errands and more errands this week to keep me plenty busy. I have another one today, but I don't have anything planned for Friday (thank goodness!) after work, so I can relax a bit. We have options for Saturday, but since Joe doesn't know how long his work meeting will last, I may just be stuck at home then.
Because of my new schedule (not only have my days off changed, but I'm also starting & ending an hour earlier), my lunch break is at 9:00. This is way too early for lunch, and it's too late for breakfast for being up before 5 am. So I have decided to spend it walking. I bring my cell phone with me and set my alarm for 15 minutes after my break starts so I know when to turn around and start heading home. I'm waking up with sore legs, but I'm feeling pretty good getting out and walking, even if only for that 20-25 minutes. And it has allowed me to see a little more of my neighborhood.
I'm still not near 10,000 steps a day (most days, anyway), but I'm improving thanks to this and to working out. I'm feeling better too. And I think I've been fighting something that's been going around, because I can tell part of me is not feeling 100% while I am not totally sick and still able to work (thank goodness!).
I got my second call review at work today. It's still really frustrating to think that my performance is based solely on how many calls I make per hour and how I score in 2 call reviews per month. With the # of calls I make each month, that's not necessarily an accurate representation. I could go on, but I'm dealing with it. Anyway, I scored well enough on both calls this month to earn me extra money for every hour I work next month (yay!). I won't know until the end of this month just how much extra money it'll be each hour, but it'll be something. So that's nice. :)
And on a random closing note, I want to get together with other couples more for double dates. If anyone is interested, let me know!
Monday (my new day off) I went to the fair with my cousin Kristine. We had a good time checking out the exhibits. I fell in love. With a piano. It was dark mahogany and so beautiful. I want it so much! Of course, that's just a dream since I don't need a piano (thanks to my friend Erin), but I lust after it.
I've also had meetings and more meetings and errands and more errands this week to keep me plenty busy. I have another one today, but I don't have anything planned for Friday (thank goodness!) after work, so I can relax a bit. We have options for Saturday, but since Joe doesn't know how long his work meeting will last, I may just be stuck at home then.
Because of my new schedule (not only have my days off changed, but I'm also starting & ending an hour earlier), my lunch break is at 9:00. This is way too early for lunch, and it's too late for breakfast for being up before 5 am. So I have decided to spend it walking. I bring my cell phone with me and set my alarm for 15 minutes after my break starts so I know when to turn around and start heading home. I'm waking up with sore legs, but I'm feeling pretty good getting out and walking, even if only for that 20-25 minutes. And it has allowed me to see a little more of my neighborhood.
I'm still not near 10,000 steps a day (most days, anyway), but I'm improving thanks to this and to working out. I'm feeling better too. And I think I've been fighting something that's been going around, because I can tell part of me is not feeling 100% while I am not totally sick and still able to work (thank goodness!).
I got my second call review at work today. It's still really frustrating to think that my performance is based solely on how many calls I make per hour and how I score in 2 call reviews per month. With the # of calls I make each month, that's not necessarily an accurate representation. I could go on, but I'm dealing with it. Anyway, I scored well enough on both calls this month to earn me extra money for every hour I work next month (yay!). I won't know until the end of this month just how much extra money it'll be each hour, but it'll be something. So that's nice. :)
And on a random closing note, I want to get together with other couples more for double dates. If anyone is interested, let me know!
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Learning how to cook, need help
Okay, seriously... I don't know how to cook. I grew up spoiled by my mother who would make breakfast & dinner every day, and lunch when applicable. We just had to make our own lunches to take to school with us, and that was it. She never really required us to help her much in the kitchen, so I learned how to eat well (and healthy foods I often did not like) while living there. Ever since I moved out, I haven't eaten well. One reason could be because I haven't felt like I had the time to invest into those types of meals (or the desire to spend what time I did have into preparing meals). And another reason could be because I didn't feel like I had the ability to.
So, maybe one of these days I'll actually learn how to "really" cook. In the meantime, I have a few things that I make that aren't too difficult. Some are healthier than others (I really like making whole-grain or otherwise healthy pasta with chicken or turkey meatballs and marinara sauce), but they all are delicious.
Trying to add even more whole grains to my diet, I recently bought a cookbook through Amazon.com. So far I have only tried out one recipe. I should've read through it and really prepared right before I got started, because between the time I read the recipe originally, went grocery shopping for the ingredients I didn't have, and actually made the meal, I forgot a lot of what I read. So there was some scrambling, but it turned out pretty yummy. It was a Spanish Rice Bake recipe, and it could be served as a main course or a side dish. Joe wanted to eat out, so we went to Taco Bell, where I got some choices I think (but don't really know) would be healthier and got them "fresco style." We ate the rice as a side dish. I think I may add chicken the next time I try it to make it more suitable for a main dish. It was pretty yummy, and we still have leftovers in the fridge.
I also grabbed a simple recipe I'd cut out of one of my old magazines for a dessert. It was for an "Autumn Dessert" (apple slices with some nutmeg, cinnamon, almond slices, and granola on top of them, basically). It was supposed to be topped with frozen yogurt, but I didn't have any, so I served it without that. It was yummy anyway.
Last night for our enrichment, we had taco salads. I have never made this and frankly don't like salads, so I've rarely eaten this (the last time was while living with my mother, I think). But since I was in charge of getting the food ready, I looked up what sorts of things I should buy and tried to prepare enough for roughly 35 people. The kitchen looked like a mess by the time Joe & I were through (he helped me by shredding lettuce in our food processor and then going to the grocery store and buying more when I realized I didn't buy enough), but things turned out fairly well. We ran out of tomatoes, and the sour cream was barely enough (some women probably would've eaten more if we had it).
I am finally starting to feel a little bit excited about cooking. I don't know where this enthusiasm has come from or how long it might last, but I'm going to take advantage of it while I have it. I want to cook healthier meals and save money from going out to eat (although Joe really likes to do that- so we do it about once every week or so).
And since I'm new at this, I could use some help. What sort of cooking tips do you have that you could share with me?
So, maybe one of these days I'll actually learn how to "really" cook. In the meantime, I have a few things that I make that aren't too difficult. Some are healthier than others (I really like making whole-grain or otherwise healthy pasta with chicken or turkey meatballs and marinara sauce), but they all are delicious.
Trying to add even more whole grains to my diet, I recently bought a cookbook through Amazon.com. So far I have only tried out one recipe. I should've read through it and really prepared right before I got started, because between the time I read the recipe originally, went grocery shopping for the ingredients I didn't have, and actually made the meal, I forgot a lot of what I read. So there was some scrambling, but it turned out pretty yummy. It was a Spanish Rice Bake recipe, and it could be served as a main course or a side dish. Joe wanted to eat out, so we went to Taco Bell, where I got some choices I think (but don't really know) would be healthier and got them "fresco style." We ate the rice as a side dish. I think I may add chicken the next time I try it to make it more suitable for a main dish. It was pretty yummy, and we still have leftovers in the fridge.
I also grabbed a simple recipe I'd cut out of one of my old magazines for a dessert. It was for an "Autumn Dessert" (apple slices with some nutmeg, cinnamon, almond slices, and granola on top of them, basically). It was supposed to be topped with frozen yogurt, but I didn't have any, so I served it without that. It was yummy anyway.
Last night for our enrichment, we had taco salads. I have never made this and frankly don't like salads, so I've rarely eaten this (the last time was while living with my mother, I think). But since I was in charge of getting the food ready, I looked up what sorts of things I should buy and tried to prepare enough for roughly 35 people. The kitchen looked like a mess by the time Joe & I were through (he helped me by shredding lettuce in our food processor and then going to the grocery store and buying more when I realized I didn't buy enough), but things turned out fairly well. We ran out of tomatoes, and the sour cream was barely enough (some women probably would've eaten more if we had it).
I am finally starting to feel a little bit excited about cooking. I don't know where this enthusiasm has come from or how long it might last, but I'm going to take advantage of it while I have it. I want to cook healthier meals and save money from going out to eat (although Joe really likes to do that- so we do it about once every week or so).
And since I'm new at this, I could use some help. What sort of cooking tips do you have that you could share with me?
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
And now, more talk about me
My friend Alicia tagged me, and so I must play along. After all, being a good sport is what they teach you from the time you're young, and we all know playing is fun. :)
Four Places I've Lived:
1. Phoenix, Arizona
2. Tempe, Arizona
3. Mesa, Arizona
4. Bellevue, Washington
Four Favorite Books:
1. Man's Search For Meaning
2. Emma
3. Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion
4. Night
Four Favorite Movies:
1. So I Married an Axe Murderer
2. 13 Going on 30
3. Sleeping Beauty
4. Anastasia
Four Embarrassing Facts About Me:
1. I am a major klutz. I have bruises everywhere that I don't know where they came from because I run into things all the time. I tell Joe I will probably die in a household accident from falling down stairs or something like that.
2. Sometimes I laugh so hard I can't breathe.
3. My face turns red a lot. I'm embarrassed= red face. I laugh= red face. I workout= red face. I hate it. And when someone points it out, it gets even redder. Ugh.
4. When I was younger, I taught myself how to burp. I shared my knowledge with my siblings and many of them learned how to burp on command as well. Our family performed a little skit at church for some get-together (a homemaking meeting, I believe), and I had to stand up in the middle of it and burp. This is the "talent" I'm most remembered for.
Four Dreams Of Mine:
1. I want to write a novel.
2. I want to write a song (either lyrics or accompaniment, but preferably both).
3. I want to be a mother. And not just any mother (meaning someone who pops out babies and is therefore a mother), but a positive influence on my children's lives.
4. I want to learn more hobbies/skills.
Four Pet Peeves:
1. Talking on cell phones while driving without hands-free headset.
2. Wearing hands-free headsets all the time.
3. Not saying "hi" or something else back when someone says "hi."
4. Condescending talk.
Four Things That Make Me Really Happy:
1. Chocolate
2. Sex
3. Spending time relaxing without thinking in the back of my mind about all the things that need to be done.
4. Spending time with friends.
People I tag:
Becky, Emily, Carrissa, Heather
Four Places I've Lived:
1. Phoenix, Arizona
2. Tempe, Arizona
3. Mesa, Arizona
4. Bellevue, Washington
Four Favorite Books:
1. Man's Search For Meaning
2. Emma
3. Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion
4. Night
Four Favorite Movies:
1. So I Married an Axe Murderer
2. 13 Going on 30
3. Sleeping Beauty
4. Anastasia
Four Embarrassing Facts About Me:
1. I am a major klutz. I have bruises everywhere that I don't know where they came from because I run into things all the time. I tell Joe I will probably die in a household accident from falling down stairs or something like that.
2. Sometimes I laugh so hard I can't breathe.
3. My face turns red a lot. I'm embarrassed= red face. I laugh= red face. I workout= red face. I hate it. And when someone points it out, it gets even redder. Ugh.
4. When I was younger, I taught myself how to burp. I shared my knowledge with my siblings and many of them learned how to burp on command as well. Our family performed a little skit at church for some get-together (a homemaking meeting, I believe), and I had to stand up in the middle of it and burp. This is the "talent" I'm most remembered for.
Four Dreams Of Mine:
1. I want to write a novel.
2. I want to write a song (either lyrics or accompaniment, but preferably both).
3. I want to be a mother. And not just any mother (meaning someone who pops out babies and is therefore a mother), but a positive influence on my children's lives.
4. I want to learn more hobbies/skills.
Four Pet Peeves:
1. Talking on cell phones while driving without hands-free headset.
2. Wearing hands-free headsets all the time.
3. Not saying "hi" or something else back when someone says "hi."
4. Condescending talk.
Four Things That Make Me Really Happy:
1. Chocolate
2. Sex
3. Spending time relaxing without thinking in the back of my mind about all the things that need to be done.
4. Spending time with friends.
People I tag:
Becky, Emily, Carrissa, Heather
Monday, September 8, 2008
*Insert piercing scream here*
I am afraid of spiders. Really afraid. I'm not sure when or how that came about, but it seems to have always been the case.
Shortly after moving into my first home in Mesa, I went to bed to discover a spider underneath my pillow. I don't normally check under my pillow before I go to bed, so I'm glad that I happened to catch that little guy before I called it a night, or the event might've been a lot more emotionally scarring than it was. I didn't want to smash it on my bedspread, so I grabbed some toilet paper and smashed it between my fingers. It was so gross. That was the bravest I've ever been when it comes to spiders.
I've noticed lots of spiders at this house... mostly outside. When trying to pull weeds, a bunch scrambled out from the ground where I'd just plucked up a weed, and I decided I'd had enough of pulling weeds for the time being. I sprayed and sprayed and sprayed around the front of the house.
And one day shortly after moving in, I noticed what appeared to be spiders hatching. They were so small it was hard to tell that they were actually spiders. But I figured out that must be what they were, so I quickly got my Knight in Shining Armor to come kill them all. It was quite a gross, messy production, but he did it.
Yesterday morning, I was ready for church early and decided I would wash the dishes. I got pretty far before I noticed in one of the sinks the biggest spider I've ever seen. In fact, I touched it without seeing it and it scrambled in the sink trying to get away from me. I screamed the most bloodcurdling scream and backed away as quickly as possible from the sink. Joe ran downstairs very quickly to see what was going on. I explained to him the situation, and with his knowing how much I can over-react to even small spiders, appeared a bit skeptical. But then he saw the spider and calmly responded, "Yep. That's pretty big, alright."
He was going to vacuum it up and then go outside and let it out, possibly in our garbage can. But before he was able to share his full details, I stopped him and demanded, "No. You have to KILL it. I don't want to think that it might be able to come back again." I felt a little more in control, and so I started toward the faucet to try to drown it, but he stopped me. He eventually was able to take out the rest of the dishes from that side of the sink to start his plan of drowning it. I'm not quite sure how he managed it, but I know he used a plastic cup with at least some hole poked in the top of it. I left the room until it was gone.
He said to me later that he doesn't like spiders at all either, but just didn't dislike them as much as I do. I told him he should teach our future kids not to be afraid of spiders so they can kill the spiders for us. Then he mentioned getting cats to chase the spiders away, and I pictured cats eating spiders and then trying to lick me, and I got creeped out all over again. Yuck!
Shortly after moving into my first home in Mesa, I went to bed to discover a spider underneath my pillow. I don't normally check under my pillow before I go to bed, so I'm glad that I happened to catch that little guy before I called it a night, or the event might've been a lot more emotionally scarring than it was. I didn't want to smash it on my bedspread, so I grabbed some toilet paper and smashed it between my fingers. It was so gross. That was the bravest I've ever been when it comes to spiders.
I've noticed lots of spiders at this house... mostly outside. When trying to pull weeds, a bunch scrambled out from the ground where I'd just plucked up a weed, and I decided I'd had enough of pulling weeds for the time being. I sprayed and sprayed and sprayed around the front of the house.
And one day shortly after moving in, I noticed what appeared to be spiders hatching. They were so small it was hard to tell that they were actually spiders. But I figured out that must be what they were, so I quickly got my Knight in Shining Armor to come kill them all. It was quite a gross, messy production, but he did it.
Yesterday morning, I was ready for church early and decided I would wash the dishes. I got pretty far before I noticed in one of the sinks the biggest spider I've ever seen. In fact, I touched it without seeing it and it scrambled in the sink trying to get away from me. I screamed the most bloodcurdling scream and backed away as quickly as possible from the sink. Joe ran downstairs very quickly to see what was going on. I explained to him the situation, and with his knowing how much I can over-react to even small spiders, appeared a bit skeptical. But then he saw the spider and calmly responded, "Yep. That's pretty big, alright."
He was going to vacuum it up and then go outside and let it out, possibly in our garbage can. But before he was able to share his full details, I stopped him and demanded, "No. You have to KILL it. I don't want to think that it might be able to come back again." I felt a little more in control, and so I started toward the faucet to try to drown it, but he stopped me. He eventually was able to take out the rest of the dishes from that side of the sink to start his plan of drowning it. I'm not quite sure how he managed it, but I know he used a plastic cup with at least some hole poked in the top of it. I left the room until it was gone.
He said to me later that he doesn't like spiders at all either, but just didn't dislike them as much as I do. I told him he should teach our future kids not to be afraid of spiders so they can kill the spiders for us. Then he mentioned getting cats to chase the spiders away, and I pictured cats eating spiders and then trying to lick me, and I got creeped out all over again. Yuck!
Friday, September 5, 2008
Couch potato
I am so excited, but I also know I might end up in big trouble... my TV shows are coming back!
I went through the list of the returning TV shows and the dates and times they'll be on and returning so I can start recording them on my DVR (I LOVE that thing!). And then I went through the list of cancelled shows to see if something I watched before was cancelled. Carpoolers was cancelled, but that was no surprise to me, and I'd only watched one or two episodes out of boredom before realizing that it wasn't worth my time.
Kitchen Nightmares returned last night, and it is waiting in my DVR for me to watch. Next up in The Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles on Monday, and then I have over a week before the next show I watch returns: Supernatural. The end of September will bring back The Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother, and The Office. And I still need to figure out when exactly House and Samantha Who are returning (although I missed a lot of the last season of Samantha Who because I can only record 2 shows at once- and I think I'm going to have to stop watching another show this year because of that same reason, which is annoying).
Then I'll have to wait until January to watch Scrubs & 24. But I'm excited, because I was under the impression that Scrubs was done for, and the last episode did nothing to tie up loose ends, so I was definitely left wanting more. Gosh, that sounds like I watch a lot of TV. And when you add to that The Daily Show, it sounds even worse. But I swear I don't watch TV all the time. I just have to make sure that I stick with my goal of spending at least a couple hours a day not in front of the computer or TV. I still have a lot of books I want to read.
Speaking of which, I'm finally reading How to Win Friends and Influence People. I have had that book for years and should've read it a long time ago. It's not that I'm reading anything that is really shocking, but maybe I need those "common sense" reminders. I mean, I've been in Washington for over 1 1/2 years and still don't have one person I can call a friend. I have a couple acquaintances and there are people I have done things with outside of church once or twice, but I need friends. So, I'm going to try to work harder at it and hope that I get some results.
In other news, I finally spoke with someone the other day about my calling as Enrichment Leader. I have only attended Enrichment meetings here & there (except for the brief period I was on the committee in a singles ward). And I know every ward has their own expectations and ways of doing things, and who am I to rock the boat, right? Well, I was told that my committee/board is very small (2 people) and typically those members don't do anything to help in this ward. I didn't get a whole lot of information, because the last person who was in charge of it was doing it basically as a temporary fill-in, and there really hasn't been someone with that position for a while (so I was told). There is no binder or anything to be passed on to me.
So I have decided to take on this challenge as something that I'm going to tackle through my interpretations (with approval, of course) of how I want to do things and run with it. I will definitely start with getting those other 2 sisters involved. In fact, we have an Enrichment night in less than a week that was already more or less planned, but I'm going to do what I can to get more people there. We'll see how that goes. :)
I went through the list of the returning TV shows and the dates and times they'll be on and returning so I can start recording them on my DVR (I LOVE that thing!). And then I went through the list of cancelled shows to see if something I watched before was cancelled. Carpoolers was cancelled, but that was no surprise to me, and I'd only watched one or two episodes out of boredom before realizing that it wasn't worth my time.
Kitchen Nightmares returned last night, and it is waiting in my DVR for me to watch. Next up in The Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles on Monday, and then I have over a week before the next show I watch returns: Supernatural. The end of September will bring back The Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother, and The Office. And I still need to figure out when exactly House and Samantha Who are returning (although I missed a lot of the last season of Samantha Who because I can only record 2 shows at once- and I think I'm going to have to stop watching another show this year because of that same reason, which is annoying).
Then I'll have to wait until January to watch Scrubs & 24. But I'm excited, because I was under the impression that Scrubs was done for, and the last episode did nothing to tie up loose ends, so I was definitely left wanting more. Gosh, that sounds like I watch a lot of TV. And when you add to that The Daily Show, it sounds even worse. But I swear I don't watch TV all the time. I just have to make sure that I stick with my goal of spending at least a couple hours a day not in front of the computer or TV. I still have a lot of books I want to read.
Speaking of which, I'm finally reading How to Win Friends and Influence People. I have had that book for years and should've read it a long time ago. It's not that I'm reading anything that is really shocking, but maybe I need those "common sense" reminders. I mean, I've been in Washington for over 1 1/2 years and still don't have one person I can call a friend. I have a couple acquaintances and there are people I have done things with outside of church once or twice, but I need friends. So, I'm going to try to work harder at it and hope that I get some results.
In other news, I finally spoke with someone the other day about my calling as Enrichment Leader. I have only attended Enrichment meetings here & there (except for the brief period I was on the committee in a singles ward). And I know every ward has their own expectations and ways of doing things, and who am I to rock the boat, right? Well, I was told that my committee/board is very small (2 people) and typically those members don't do anything to help in this ward. I didn't get a whole lot of information, because the last person who was in charge of it was doing it basically as a temporary fill-in, and there really hasn't been someone with that position for a while (so I was told). There is no binder or anything to be passed on to me.
So I have decided to take on this challenge as something that I'm going to tackle through my interpretations (with approval, of course) of how I want to do things and run with it. I will definitely start with getting those other 2 sisters involved. In fact, we have an Enrichment night in less than a week that was already more or less planned, but I'm going to do what I can to get more people there. We'll see how that goes. :)
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
My office
Here are a few pictures of my office. I work in this room 40 hours a week, and sometimes spend more time in here on the computer or whatever, but otherwise try to stay out of the room as much as possible to really help me mentally keep work and home life separate. It is much larger than Joe's office, with a big window that I could not get to show up well in photos due to lighting. I LOVE this desk.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
More photos, more babblings (family visit)
I haven't written for a while because I haven't had much time to. We played host again to my parents & oldest sister and spent a lot of time with family.
My parents & Lori arrived on Wednesday night and we shared some upside-down pizza casserole (yum!) after giving them the tour of the house. Lori slept on an air mattress on the floor in Joe's office so she could get a little bit more privacy than she would've on our sofa-bed while my parents slept on our awesome air mattress in the guest bedroom (we'll have to replace that with a real bed one of these days).
This was my third or fourth time going to Snoqualmie Falls, so these were all the pictures I got... Joe being a rebel and climbing off the boardwalk with Lori to take some pictures closer to the falls and my dad pretending to be a rebel by climbing off the boardwalk for a photo op.
My parents & Lori arrived on Wednesday night and we shared some upside-down pizza casserole (yum!) after giving them the tour of the house. Lori slept on an air mattress on the floor in Joe's office so she could get a little bit more privacy than she would've on our sofa-bed while my parents slept on our awesome air mattress in the guest bedroom (we'll have to replace that with a real bed one of these days).
I had Thursday off but Joe had to work, so Lori, my parents, and I drove to Ballard to check out The Locks & botanical garden (we didn't see many salmon, but it was still interesting and nice). If you ever wonder where I get my goofy nature from, look no further than my parents & older siblings:
Then we drove to Seattle and did a lot of walking. We visited Pike's Place Market and Pioneer Square. We had "Cow Chips" cookies, checked out some stores, ate at a nice French cafe, and went on The Underground Tour. Then we headed home and played some games with my aunt & uncle before calling it a night.
Some of my favorite items from the tour's gift shop:
On Friday after work, we prepared & hosted a potluck dinner. Joe's sister, Jillena, was in town to have her baby blessed by Joe on Sunday, and she & her husband, Scott, hadn't seen our house yet. So they came over, along with Joe's mother, and were joined by my aunt & uncle, a couple cousins, their families, and of course those staying at the house. The food was delicious and we had a great time.
We were planning on visiting Mt Rainer on Saturday, but my aunt & uncle had to cancel, so instead we visited Snoqualmie Falls. Then we stopped at XXX in Issaquah for some burgers, root beer, and shakes before Lori had to go to the airport to catch a flight home. We picked up my cousin, Kristine, dropped Lori off at the airport, and then headed to the Seattle Temple.
This was my third or fourth time going to Snoqualmie Falls, so these were all the pictures I got... Joe being a rebel and climbing off the boardwalk with Lori to take some pictures closer to the falls and my dad pretending to be a rebel by climbing off the boardwalk for a photo op.
Sunday morning we split up, with Joe and I going to church with his parents and my parents going to church with Kristine & her family. There was a potluck at Joe's parents' home after church, with more yummy food and mingling. Once Joe and I got home, we weren't feeling well, so we decided to get some sleep in hopes we'd feel better.
But when Monday came, we were still feeling very sick, so we weren't able to make the 4 1/2 hour trip to eastern Washington for Joe's grandmother's burial. My parents spent the day with my aunt & cousin visiting Mt. Rainer, and when they came home, we were in bed. But we got out of bed and headed to my aunt & uncle's house for a BBQ, returning home later not feeling quite
better but a little bit so.
Today I woke up still feeling under the weather, but Joe made it in to work. My parents just left a while ago to travel home through the west coast so they can visit other family and friends and places on their return trip. We were so spoiled by them while they visited. My mother washed all our laundry for us and even did the dishes a few times. My father spent a lot of his free time changing out light switches and outlets in our home, which was a much-needed project we hadn't yet tackled. It was great seeing them (and Lori, of course), and I wish all 3 of them could've stayed longer. I'm glad that Karena is getting married in October so I can get a chance to spend more time with them and more of my family and friends in Arizona soon!
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Photos and yet another doctor's appointment...
Here is another round of pictures of our house.
First is our guest bedroom. Yes, that's an air mattress, but it is the comfiest air mattress I've slept on (multiple times). It comes in quite handy when I want to escape from Joe getting ready to go to work just after 3 am for a little more shut- eye.
First is our guest bedroom. Yes, that's an air mattress, but it is the comfiest air mattress I've slept on (multiple times). It comes in quite handy when I want to escape from Joe getting ready to go to work just after 3 am for a little more shut- eye.
Here is our guest bathroom. I can't believe how much it cost just to get some towels, rugs, and a little color for this bathroom.
Here's Joe's office. The walls were already painted and the car borders were already there. Wait until you see my office. I know he's jealous!
So today I drove to Tacoma to see an ENT doctor to find out about my cough. He asked a lot of questions and said that part of it COULD be from acid reflux/GERD and the other part COULD be from my sinuses. So I'm going to try some sort of nasal spray contraption and Zyrtec to see if that helps my sinuses/post-nasal drip and he'll follow up with me in a couple weeks via phone. I'm also going to start taking that medication (generic Prilosec, I guess) to see if that combo works for me. Hopefully it will.
So today I drove to Tacoma to see an ENT doctor to find out about my cough. He asked a lot of questions and said that part of it COULD be from acid reflux/GERD and the other part COULD be from my sinuses. So I'm going to try some sort of nasal spray contraption and Zyrtec to see if that helps my sinuses/post-nasal drip and he'll follow up with me in a couple weeks via phone. I'm also going to start taking that medication (generic Prilosec, I guess) to see if that combo works for me. Hopefully it will.
Monday, August 25, 2008
More pictures and updates
Life sure seems to have thrown a lot at us lately. I hardly know where to begin...
I had an appointment with a physician's assistant on Thursday last week regarding my shoulder. I was kind of hoping my shoulder would be at it's worst that day, but after killing me on Tuesday and hurting immensely but not quite as badly on Wednesday, it didn't hurt very much at all on Thursday. I explained where it hurt and tried to explain when and how it hurt the best I could. The pain was in multiple muscle groups, and she told me she believes it is just a muscle strain injury. So, I'm supposed to ice it for 20 minutes every 4 hours as needed and take some Aleve as needed and follow up in 3-4 weeks if it doesn't get better. Luckily, it hasn't been hurting much at all since then. Thank goodness! So I am going to start going back to Curves this week. With travelling and the injury, I think this has been a rough month for me physically and emotionally.
Then yesterday after church, Joe spoke with his mom on the phone and was told his grandmother, Lorraine "Mootie" Manderscheid passed away. It was something the family was preparing for, and he seems to be taking it well. I have been emotional about it all, but with my hormonse being all crazy and me being the emotional person I've always been, that's not a surprise to me at all. She was very wonderful and I know she's at a better place, but I will miss her greatly, as I'm sure everyone who knew her will.
Yesterday Joe and I were set apart for our new ward callings. He will be teaching Sunday School to 12- and 13-year-old kids. He's excited about it. I am excited that he'll get more exposure to kids that age. I have been called as the Enrichment Leader for Relief Society. I'm not entirely sure what my responsibilities are going to look like, but I do know the woman who was in charge of it before was in charge of the book club. And there is an activity coming up on September 10th, so they're putting me right to work. I'm pretty excited and nervous about it all.
I'm thinking this might be a good day to take pictures of the house, since we are cleaning in preparation for my parents & Lori (my oldest sister) to visit starting tomorrow. For now, I figured I'd show off a couple pictures of our entry way. We finally have a picture frame for the picture Joe's mother gave us for the entry way (above the plant you can see in one picture), so I'll have to take pictures from that angle as well and post more pictures soon.
And I will say that I haven't forgotten about my friends in Bellevue, but I don't really want to invite people over for dinner until we have a dining room table that is bigger than that Ikea table we have right now. Once we have that, invitiations will start going out. And I'm excited about that.
I had an appointment with a physician's assistant on Thursday last week regarding my shoulder. I was kind of hoping my shoulder would be at it's worst that day, but after killing me on Tuesday and hurting immensely but not quite as badly on Wednesday, it didn't hurt very much at all on Thursday. I explained where it hurt and tried to explain when and how it hurt the best I could. The pain was in multiple muscle groups, and she told me she believes it is just a muscle strain injury. So, I'm supposed to ice it for 20 minutes every 4 hours as needed and take some Aleve as needed and follow up in 3-4 weeks if it doesn't get better. Luckily, it hasn't been hurting much at all since then. Thank goodness! So I am going to start going back to Curves this week. With travelling and the injury, I think this has been a rough month for me physically and emotionally.
Then yesterday after church, Joe spoke with his mom on the phone and was told his grandmother, Lorraine "Mootie" Manderscheid passed away. It was something the family was preparing for, and he seems to be taking it well. I have been emotional about it all, but with my hormonse being all crazy and me being the emotional person I've always been, that's not a surprise to me at all. She was very wonderful and I know she's at a better place, but I will miss her greatly, as I'm sure everyone who knew her will.
Yesterday Joe and I were set apart for our new ward callings. He will be teaching Sunday School to 12- and 13-year-old kids. He's excited about it. I am excited that he'll get more exposure to kids that age. I have been called as the Enrichment Leader for Relief Society. I'm not entirely sure what my responsibilities are going to look like, but I do know the woman who was in charge of it before was in charge of the book club. And there is an activity coming up on September 10th, so they're putting me right to work. I'm pretty excited and nervous about it all.
I'm thinking this might be a good day to take pictures of the house, since we are cleaning in preparation for my parents & Lori (my oldest sister) to visit starting tomorrow. For now, I figured I'd show off a couple pictures of our entry way. We finally have a picture frame for the picture Joe's mother gave us for the entry way (above the plant you can see in one picture), so I'll have to take pictures from that angle as well and post more pictures soon.
And I will say that I haven't forgotten about my friends in Bellevue, but I don't really want to invite people over for dinner until we have a dining room table that is bigger than that Ikea table we have right now. Once we have that, invitiations will start going out. And I'm excited about that.
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Disappointment
I really wanted to like Seth Rogan as a person. I like seeing people act who did not get their part because of their looks. I'm not saying he's a good actor and I'm not saying he's a bad actor. But I wonder how well he'd be known if he didn't star in movies he helped write and/or produce. But I digress.
He appeared on The Daily Show earlier this month, and Joe & I happened to miss that episode but caught it recently on a repeat. We decided that he is a total loser. And I'm not saying that because he dropped out of high school or because he smokes pot but because of how unintelligent he is in his interview and the "advice" he gave to kids.
He appeared on The Daily Show earlier this month, and Joe & I happened to miss that episode but caught it recently on a repeat. We decided that he is a total loser. And I'm not saying that because he dropped out of high school or because he smokes pot but because of how unintelligent he is in his interview and the "advice" he gave to kids.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Favorite Movies
A few posts ago I asked what some of your favorite inspirational books are. Now I'm curious what some of your favorite movies are-- and why. A lot of my favorites are comedies. I also like a lot of romantic comedies. Here are some of my favorites (in no particular order):
1. Dodgeball - the characters are losers but lovable, and some of the lines/scenes are just absurd and funny because of the absurdity. It's a nice break from reality, and Ben Stiller's character is ridiculous.
2. So I Married An Axe Murderer- I find this movie quite funny. Sometimes that humor is quite subtle. But it reminds me of dating someone and always wondering what is going to turn out being horribly wrong about them. Every person I've dated has had some flaw (real or perceived). Sometimes it can be a perceived flaw that is something we know we can't live with, and this takes that to an extreme. Plus, a lot of Mike Meyer's characters in future movies are similar to his characters in this movie. His role as Charlie's father is great. I love quoting this one.
3. While You Were Sleeping- I love Sandy Bullock, especially in this movie. She's a dreamer, much like me. And sometimes you learn that your dreams are much better than reality. But she is a genuine character who appreciates those she meets in this movie and I really cheer for her to find that happiness. There is some good humor in this one as well.
4. The Emperor's New Groove- The humor in this movie is fantastic. And the subtleties really add to the story. The way the characters interact with each other and play off each other is a joy to watch. It's not too often that you find yourself rooting for bad guys and good guys alike.
5. Batman Begins & The Dark Knight- I really like what Christopher Nolan has done with the Batman movies. The characters have more depth and emotion, and you really get a chance to see another side of Batman and his enemies through these action-packed, suspenseful films. Heath Ledger really did an awesome job as Joker, also.
I have many more favorites, but those are all I'll list for now. I want to hear what some of your favorites are.
1. Dodgeball - the characters are losers but lovable, and some of the lines/scenes are just absurd and funny because of the absurdity. It's a nice break from reality, and Ben Stiller's character is ridiculous.
2. So I Married An Axe Murderer- I find this movie quite funny. Sometimes that humor is quite subtle. But it reminds me of dating someone and always wondering what is going to turn out being horribly wrong about them. Every person I've dated has had some flaw (real or perceived). Sometimes it can be a perceived flaw that is something we know we can't live with, and this takes that to an extreme. Plus, a lot of Mike Meyer's characters in future movies are similar to his characters in this movie. His role as Charlie's father is great. I love quoting this one.
3. While You Were Sleeping- I love Sandy Bullock, especially in this movie. She's a dreamer, much like me. And sometimes you learn that your dreams are much better than reality. But she is a genuine character who appreciates those she meets in this movie and I really cheer for her to find that happiness. There is some good humor in this one as well.
4. The Emperor's New Groove- The humor in this movie is fantastic. And the subtleties really add to the story. The way the characters interact with each other and play off each other is a joy to watch. It's not too often that you find yourself rooting for bad guys and good guys alike.
5. Batman Begins & The Dark Knight- I really like what Christopher Nolan has done with the Batman movies. The characters have more depth and emotion, and you really get a chance to see another side of Batman and his enemies through these action-packed, suspenseful films. Heath Ledger really did an awesome job as Joker, also.
I have many more favorites, but those are all I'll list for now. I want to hear what some of your favorites are.
PCOS
I have PCOS. Before my appointment yesterday, I looked up information about this online, since I really had not heard much about it before recently. In talking with the OBGYN yesterday, he reviewed a lot of what I'd read. He downplayed the possible negative effects of PCOS, encouraging me to montior my blood sugar levels regularly because PCOS can lead to an increased risk of diabetes among other things.
When we talked about my painful and irregular periods, he first recommended birth control pills, which I cannot take due to my history of DVT. So the only option there is progesterone pills. He said that there is a slight increased risk of getting another blood clot, but he did not consider it to be dangerous for me to take the medication if I wanted to have more regular periods. I have decided to do that and will start the medication in a couple weeks, after having some more blood work done.
The other issue is possible infertility. He said not to worry about that at this time. When we're trying to conceive, I should simply stop taking the progesterone pills. And if at that point in time, after 3-6 months of trying, we're still having difficulties, then I can talk with him about other options. I'm not sure what other options I have that will be okay because of that DVT. So even though it's some time in the future before I SHOULD start even thinking or worrying about that, I'm already thinking and worrying about that.
I have an appointment tomorrow to check with a doctor about my shoulder. I'm hoping that before too long I'll be able to start going to Curves again without risking further injury to my shoulder. In fact, I think I'm going to call them to see what their recommendations are for today & until I know what's going on with my shoulder. There are at least a few machines I can do that don't require any use of my arms, plus the aerobic exercise. And I can always go for walks until I can get back into the full swing of things.
When we talked about my painful and irregular periods, he first recommended birth control pills, which I cannot take due to my history of DVT. So the only option there is progesterone pills. He said that there is a slight increased risk of getting another blood clot, but he did not consider it to be dangerous for me to take the medication if I wanted to have more regular periods. I have decided to do that and will start the medication in a couple weeks, after having some more blood work done.
The other issue is possible infertility. He said not to worry about that at this time. When we're trying to conceive, I should simply stop taking the progesterone pills. And if at that point in time, after 3-6 months of trying, we're still having difficulties, then I can talk with him about other options. I'm not sure what other options I have that will be okay because of that DVT. So even though it's some time in the future before I SHOULD start even thinking or worrying about that, I'm already thinking and worrying about that.
I have an appointment tomorrow to check with a doctor about my shoulder. I'm hoping that before too long I'll be able to start going to Curves again without risking further injury to my shoulder. In fact, I think I'm going to call them to see what their recommendations are for today & until I know what's going on with my shoulder. There are at least a few machines I can do that don't require any use of my arms, plus the aerobic exercise. And I can always go for walks until I can get back into the full swing of things.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
What else?
I have been having a lot of health problems as an adult. Sometimes those health problems have led to weight gain and sometimes they're a result of weight gain. As you may or may not know, I have difficulty dealing with stress without turning to food (especially sugary, chocolaty, delicious comfort food). And I also have a problem (more recent in nature) with depression (I have never been on anti-depressants). And I started having really irregular periods (skipping one every so often) starting the same year I started my internship for my master's program. I always informed my doctors, who always attributed it to stress and/or brushed it off as no big deal, even though it was very abnormal for me.
So I figured that if I could figure out how to get my stress levels down or just wait until things that were stressful (like my internship, moving, getting married, house-hunting, etc) calmed down a bit, things would resolve themselves. But so far they haven't. My new doctor (it's great to have health insurance and a doctor who doesn't appear to be more or less a quack like my last one) ran a lot of blood work. Most of it came out fine, but what didn't come out fine (plus my telling him I want to have kids one day in the hopefully near future), led him to refer me to an OBGYN. I have an appointment today, to rule out PCOS.
I just did some research on that and really hope that's not what I have. But as it talks about the possible symptoms (some of which I know I do have and others I know I don't), I'm really starting to wonder. If it is, I hope that it doesn't lead to infertility, as I do want to have kids one of these days. I don't know if I could emotionally or physically go through some of the helps for PCOS/infertility/irregular periods due to my health history, so that has also been weighing on my mind.
I still have the cough, so GERD has been ruled out as a culprit for that (taking the Prilosec did not help my cough at all). So I have also been referred to a ENT and an allergist for follow up there.
As part of the GERD recommendations, I was told not to sleep on my right side. I had been trying to avoid that as much as possible. And now I'm finding myself wishing I could feel more comfortable sleeping on my right side (or my back or stomach) than I do on my left side. I have been experiencing fairly frequent pain in my left shoulder. Unlike my knee injury or broken foot, I didn't feel or hear a pop. I didn't notice during any particular event when it started hurting. It just did. In fact, I was laying in the floor in my family room reading a book when I first felt it. The pain wasn't too terrible but instead felt like I needed to pop it (kind of like how it feels when you think you need to pop your knuckles or something). Massaging and the like have not really been helpful with getting it to go away completely. It's not a 24-7 thing, but it has been more noticeable on some days, almost the entire day starting with pain while sleeping (probably from sleeping on it). Shoulder injuries run in my family to an extent, and I'm hoping this is just something small that can be fixed fairly easily.
So, what I have been doing is working out and working on losing weight to see if that helps with any of the aforementioned issues. Now with the shoulder hurting, working out is tough to talk myself into doing for fear of hurting myself worse. I saw my PCP last week, have an appointment today with another doctor, have an appointment next week with a third doctor, and have 2 more appointments to schedule now (one with an allergist and one with my PCP about my shoulder). This is very disheartening and frustrating!
Anyway, if you have any knowledge to share, any words of comfort, or are willing to keep me in your thoughts & prayers, I would very greatly appreciate it. This has been a very tough time in my life and sometimes I wonder how I can get past these obstacles.
So I figured that if I could figure out how to get my stress levels down or just wait until things that were stressful (like my internship, moving, getting married, house-hunting, etc) calmed down a bit, things would resolve themselves. But so far they haven't. My new doctor (it's great to have health insurance and a doctor who doesn't appear to be more or less a quack like my last one) ran a lot of blood work. Most of it came out fine, but what didn't come out fine (plus my telling him I want to have kids one day in the hopefully near future), led him to refer me to an OBGYN. I have an appointment today, to rule out PCOS.
I just did some research on that and really hope that's not what I have. But as it talks about the possible symptoms (some of which I know I do have and others I know I don't), I'm really starting to wonder. If it is, I hope that it doesn't lead to infertility, as I do want to have kids one of these days. I don't know if I could emotionally or physically go through some of the helps for PCOS/infertility/irregular periods due to my health history, so that has also been weighing on my mind.
I still have the cough, so GERD has been ruled out as a culprit for that (taking the Prilosec did not help my cough at all). So I have also been referred to a ENT and an allergist for follow up there.
As part of the GERD recommendations, I was told not to sleep on my right side. I had been trying to avoid that as much as possible. And now I'm finding myself wishing I could feel more comfortable sleeping on my right side (or my back or stomach) than I do on my left side. I have been experiencing fairly frequent pain in my left shoulder. Unlike my knee injury or broken foot, I didn't feel or hear a pop. I didn't notice during any particular event when it started hurting. It just did. In fact, I was laying in the floor in my family room reading a book when I first felt it. The pain wasn't too terrible but instead felt like I needed to pop it (kind of like how it feels when you think you need to pop your knuckles or something). Massaging and the like have not really been helpful with getting it to go away completely. It's not a 24-7 thing, but it has been more noticeable on some days, almost the entire day starting with pain while sleeping (probably from sleeping on it). Shoulder injuries run in my family to an extent, and I'm hoping this is just something small that can be fixed fairly easily.
So, what I have been doing is working out and working on losing weight to see if that helps with any of the aforementioned issues. Now with the shoulder hurting, working out is tough to talk myself into doing for fear of hurting myself worse. I saw my PCP last week, have an appointment today with another doctor, have an appointment next week with a third doctor, and have 2 more appointments to schedule now (one with an allergist and one with my PCP about my shoulder). This is very disheartening and frustrating!
Anyway, if you have any knowledge to share, any words of comfort, or are willing to keep me in your thoughts & prayers, I would very greatly appreciate it. This has been a very tough time in my life and sometimes I wonder how I can get past these obstacles.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Happy Sunday (misc. ramblings)
Today Joe and I got to sleep in. It was fabulous! I woke up several times over the course of the night, but I have no problem going right back to bed.
It has been hot the last couple days and sometimes a fan just doesn't cool you enough. It's amazing the temperature difference in our house from the first floor to the second floor on days like this. Last night Joe said that he wanted to buy an air conditioning unit one of these days so we have it handy for those handful of days each year when it would actually be used.
I woke up around 7 am but quickly went back to bed, only to be woken up again around 8:45 by my cell phone ringing. "Hi. My name is Mark and I'm with Dur Heck TV. I'm at your house. Is anyone home?" This is super annoying. So I told him that I am home (we didn't hear the door over the noise of the fan & air purifier in our room) but that I'd already cancelled this appointment... more than once. He said he'd let the company know and that was that. Then a few minutes later I got a call from a woman with Dur Heck TV (although the name of the company she gave me was something I hadn't heard before) confirming I do want to cancel this apointment. I told her yes and the call was ended.
You see, an hour or so after Thursday's debacle, I received an automated call telling me Dur Heck TV would be here on Sunday between x-and-x time to complete the installation. Apparently the system rescheduled the appointment for today. So, the automated message told me to "press 3" to cancel the appointment. So I did and had to talk to someone (and then someone else and then someone else) to get it cancelled and get the money I'd already paid refunded to me. I thought it was finally taken care of, and Joe even let me know that the money had indeed been refunded to our bank account.
I should've guessed when I got all the paperwork in the mail from them welcoming me that something wasn't right. But I figured maybe it'd been sent out before that call. GRRR. And Jest also dropped off some sort of installation disk at our front door on Friday (and I got some welcome mail from them too), which now has me questioning whether or not they really cancelled things on their end also. I really hope this is over now. It's so annoying.
So when we moved here, we got various little "gifts" for our house. We received a small package from the local country club inviting us to join and giving us a free round of golf for 2 and a complementary lunch dinner (up to $50 in value) at the lounge or restaurant. Yesterday we decided to take them up on their offer for the free food and dressed up nice (because it was a fun excuse to do so) to go there. The food was so-so, but the dinner cost us a $10 tip and nothing more, so that was nice. There was also a pretty nice view of part of the course and a live band performing in a nearby room to entertain us while we ate. We also got to check out some really nice cars right outside since they had a car show going on at the same time we were there.
After eating, we had a little time to kill, so we headed to Fred Meyer's to see if they had received any more boxes of the entry bench we wanted to get. We'd gotten a rain-check from when it was on sale but in our multiple return visits to the store, we still were unable to pick it up. So they called another Fred Meyer store that wasn't too far away and had them hold one for us.
Then we headed to the nearby $2 theater to catch a movie. When we arrived, it was just past the time the movie was listed as starting (previews anyway). We took a look at the line of people waiting to get in and changed our minds about seeing a movie there. Instead, we decided to drive to the other Fred Meyer store to pick up the entry bench. Afterwards, while driving home, we decided to swing by the grocery store and pick up a "few" groceries. By the time we got home, it was fairly late, so we watched an episode of 24 and then went to bed.
Those are the kind of "date nights" we usually have. We may go out to eat, or we may stay in to eat, but they seem to more often than not end in us watching a movie or something at home. Guess we just like our home sweet home.
It has been hot the last couple days and sometimes a fan just doesn't cool you enough. It's amazing the temperature difference in our house from the first floor to the second floor on days like this. Last night Joe said that he wanted to buy an air conditioning unit one of these days so we have it handy for those handful of days each year when it would actually be used.
I woke up around 7 am but quickly went back to bed, only to be woken up again around 8:45 by my cell phone ringing. "Hi. My name is Mark and I'm with Dur Heck TV. I'm at your house. Is anyone home?" This is super annoying. So I told him that I am home (we didn't hear the door over the noise of the fan & air purifier in our room) but that I'd already cancelled this appointment... more than once. He said he'd let the company know and that was that. Then a few minutes later I got a call from a woman with Dur Heck TV (although the name of the company she gave me was something I hadn't heard before) confirming I do want to cancel this apointment. I told her yes and the call was ended.
You see, an hour or so after Thursday's debacle, I received an automated call telling me Dur Heck TV would be here on Sunday between x-and-x time to complete the installation. Apparently the system rescheduled the appointment for today. So, the automated message told me to "press 3" to cancel the appointment. So I did and had to talk to someone (and then someone else and then someone else) to get it cancelled and get the money I'd already paid refunded to me. I thought it was finally taken care of, and Joe even let me know that the money had indeed been refunded to our bank account.
I should've guessed when I got all the paperwork in the mail from them welcoming me that something wasn't right. But I figured maybe it'd been sent out before that call. GRRR. And Jest also dropped off some sort of installation disk at our front door on Friday (and I got some welcome mail from them too), which now has me questioning whether or not they really cancelled things on their end also. I really hope this is over now. It's so annoying.
So when we moved here, we got various little "gifts" for our house. We received a small package from the local country club inviting us to join and giving us a free round of golf for 2 and a complementary lunch dinner (up to $50 in value) at the lounge or restaurant. Yesterday we decided to take them up on their offer for the free food and dressed up nice (because it was a fun excuse to do so) to go there. The food was so-so, but the dinner cost us a $10 tip and nothing more, so that was nice. There was also a pretty nice view of part of the course and a live band performing in a nearby room to entertain us while we ate. We also got to check out some really nice cars right outside since they had a car show going on at the same time we were there.
After eating, we had a little time to kill, so we headed to Fred Meyer's to see if they had received any more boxes of the entry bench we wanted to get. We'd gotten a rain-check from when it was on sale but in our multiple return visits to the store, we still were unable to pick it up. So they called another Fred Meyer store that wasn't too far away and had them hold one for us.
Then we headed to the nearby $2 theater to catch a movie. When we arrived, it was just past the time the movie was listed as starting (previews anyway). We took a look at the line of people waiting to get in and changed our minds about seeing a movie there. Instead, we decided to drive to the other Fred Meyer store to pick up the entry bench. Afterwards, while driving home, we decided to swing by the grocery store and pick up a "few" groceries. By the time we got home, it was fairly late, so we watched an episode of 24 and then went to bed.
Those are the kind of "date nights" we usually have. We may go out to eat, or we may stay in to eat, but they seem to more often than not end in us watching a movie or something at home. Guess we just like our home sweet home.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Oh... my... word...
Guess who just showed up at my front door.
The installation man for Dur Heck TV.
I shouldn't be surprised. Really, I shouldn't. With everything else that has happened, you'd think I expected this. Maybe from one of the other companies, but they at least seemed to have their stuff together when I called and cancelled the installation. I had just enough time after hearing his truck pull into my driveway to compose myself before he was at the door.
When I told him I'd cancelled the installation and apologized (because he had to make the trip for no reason), he dropped his shoulders in frustration, hung his head, and said, "That's okay. The story of my day."
Wow.
The installation man for Dur Heck TV.
I shouldn't be surprised. Really, I shouldn't. With everything else that has happened, you'd think I expected this. Maybe from one of the other companies, but they at least seemed to have their stuff together when I called and cancelled the installation. I had just enough time after hearing his truck pull into my driveway to compose myself before he was at the door.
When I told him I'd cancelled the installation and apologized (because he had to make the trip for no reason), he dropped his shoulders in frustration, hung his head, and said, "That's okay. The story of my day."
Wow.
I am a terrible wife... I have been remiss
I realized I never posted about how awesome my husband is and the wonderful things he's done for me lately.
The day we were at Target shopping and I saw the ad for the Guitar Hero Aerosmith game, I told him I wanted it. I wanted to make sure that what I was seeing actually existed, so I searched online and found out it did indeed exist and would be coming out. I told him I wanted it. That day he went on Amazon.com and ordered it for me. I didn't know this and added it to my wish list and incessantly blabbed about it, excited as ever. About a week after the game was released, it was delivered to me, as a gift from him. We do little things like that for each other or give each other permission to buy things we want because we have been horrible about giving ourselves an allowance for such things, but it still was a very nice and appreciated gesture.
The other big thing he did for me happened about a week ago. I'd had a terrible day at work and was crying throughout and even after my shift. I told him I was worried I was going to get fired (I can be so dramatic sometimes, I know) and I was inconsolable. I finally decided to go to the gym instead of turning to food to deal with stress (like I normally d0), and that helped me feel a little better. But when I got home, he wanted to check in with me and it all came back to me. So I fumed and vented upstairs as I started to undress for a shower. I stomped up the stairs, right past a big vase of flowers (red roses & some purple accent flowers) he had left just inside the front door for me to see when I got home (I'd gone in the other door and hadn't seen them yet).
I was still mad but a part of me softened at that gesture. When I got into the bedroom, I noticed a vase of yellow lilies (my favorite flower) next to my side of the bed. I didn't acknowledge them and continued to rant then hopped in the shower, but another small part of me softened at that gesture. I had time to think and calm down a bit in the shower. I thanked him for the flowers after I got out. Then when I went downstairs again, I noticed the sweet & touching note he'd left on the vase with the roses. What a great guy!
Yesterday as I was running around frantic after work (going to the doctor's, working out, showering, getting ready for the book club), he was more than willing to help out. He helped me print some bookmarks I wanted to hand out off my printer. He talked to the Jest representative on the phone. He cleaned the entry way. He set up chairs downstairs in our living room. He vacuumed the living room rug.
I am so lucky to have him!
The day we were at Target shopping and I saw the ad for the Guitar Hero Aerosmith game, I told him I wanted it. I wanted to make sure that what I was seeing actually existed, so I searched online and found out it did indeed exist and would be coming out. I told him I wanted it. That day he went on Amazon.com and ordered it for me. I didn't know this and added it to my wish list and incessantly blabbed about it, excited as ever. About a week after the game was released, it was delivered to me, as a gift from him. We do little things like that for each other or give each other permission to buy things we want because we have been horrible about giving ourselves an allowance for such things, but it still was a very nice and appreciated gesture.
The other big thing he did for me happened about a week ago. I'd had a terrible day at work and was crying throughout and even after my shift. I told him I was worried I was going to get fired (I can be so dramatic sometimes, I know) and I was inconsolable. I finally decided to go to the gym instead of turning to food to deal with stress (like I normally d0), and that helped me feel a little better. But when I got home, he wanted to check in with me and it all came back to me. So I fumed and vented upstairs as I started to undress for a shower. I stomped up the stairs, right past a big vase of flowers (red roses & some purple accent flowers) he had left just inside the front door for me to see when I got home (I'd gone in the other door and hadn't seen them yet).
I was still mad but a part of me softened at that gesture. When I got into the bedroom, I noticed a vase of yellow lilies (my favorite flower) next to my side of the bed. I didn't acknowledge them and continued to rant then hopped in the shower, but another small part of me softened at that gesture. I had time to think and calm down a bit in the shower. I thanked him for the flowers after I got out. Then when I went downstairs again, I noticed the sweet & touching note he'd left on the vase with the roses. What a great guy!
Yesterday as I was running around frantic after work (going to the doctor's, working out, showering, getting ready for the book club), he was more than willing to help out. He helped me print some bookmarks I wanted to hand out off my printer. He talked to the Jest representative on the phone. He cleaned the entry way. He set up chairs downstairs in our living room. He vacuumed the living room rug.
I am so lucky to have him!
Books that have changed your life
I apologize for multiple posts today, but I wanted this particular topic to have it's own post. And this may not be my last one before the day is out either since I have today off (consider that your fair warning).
During my conversations last night in my book club and with Joe afterward, there was talk of books that have really had an impact on one's life. I LOVE to read but like to fill my time with quality books. I don't just like self-help/pop-psychology/counseling-focused/etc books. I do enjoy good fiction- suspense books, mystery books, etc. I always enjoy recommendations on every front. However, it was suggested to me by the woman who showed up for the book club that maybe people should share what books they find have been most influential in their lives and then we can choose from that list for our books to read. I kind of like the idea of discussing fictional novels (at least every now & again), but I liked her idea as well. She mentioned that there are 5 books she could list right away that she said have "changed her life." She then shared with me those titles. I have not yet read any of them, but here they are (in no particular order):
1. Personality Plus: How To Understand Others by Understanding Yourself by Florence Littauer (in doing a search for this one on Amazon.com to add to my wish list, I noticed the author also wrote a Personality Plus book for couples and one for parents)
2. A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose by Eckhart Tolle
3. Of Monkeys and Dragons: Freedom from the Tyranny of Disease by Michele Longo O'Donnell
4. Natural Cures "They" Don't Want You to Know About by Kevin Trudeau
5. (The title she gave me I can't find an exact match to) Wayne Dyer is the author and the title given was Tao Te Ching. I found a book titled: Living the Wisdom of the Tao: The Complete Tao Te Ching and Affirmations, so maybe that's it.
Like I said, I haven't read any of these books yet, so if you have and have feedback (they don't all have super positive reviews on Amazon.com), feel free to share that feedback with me and my blog readers by adding a comment below.
This got Joe and me to thinking about and discussing non-scripture books we'd say have either "changed our lives" or had a very strong impact on us and our perceptions.
Here's my list (in no particular order):
1. Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl
2. The Miracle of Forgiveness by Spencer W. Kimball
3. Choice Theory: A New Psychology of Personal Freedom by William Glasser
4. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey
5. The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work and Why Marriages Succeed or Fail: And How You Can Make Yours Last by John Gottman
6. Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert B. Cialdini (who incidentally was one of my psychology professors at ASU. He talked about some of the stories included in this book during the course of the social psychology class I had with him, and I am thrilled that just now I found he released on August 8th the 5th edition of this book titled Influence: Science and Practice. I had lent my copy to someone a while back and have been missing it ever since, so I may just have to pick up the new edition one of these days.)
In adding Joe's 2 cents, here is a list of books he says changed his perception:
1. The Law by Frederick Bastiat
2. Surely You're Joking Mr. Feynman by Richard P. Feynman
3. The Illustrated Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking
4. Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions by Edwin A. Abbott
5. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey
6. Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki
Out of all of the books on Joe's list, I've only read the one that is on both of our lists, so I've got a lot more reading I can do! But before I get started on that, I want to finish reading Jane Austen's Emma and the 2 books I have checked out from the library.
What books would you say have had a strong impact on your life, whether life-changing, perception-altering, or the like? (For those who receive this blog currently via email, I'd love if you answered this one online so you can share your choices with others who read the blog and have a great place I can refer to when I'm looking for a good book to read. If you don't know how to post a comment here, let me know and I'll try to help.)
During my conversations last night in my book club and with Joe afterward, there was talk of books that have really had an impact on one's life. I LOVE to read but like to fill my time with quality books. I don't just like self-help/pop-psychology/counseling-focused/etc books. I do enjoy good fiction- suspense books, mystery books, etc. I always enjoy recommendations on every front. However, it was suggested to me by the woman who showed up for the book club that maybe people should share what books they find have been most influential in their lives and then we can choose from that list for our books to read. I kind of like the idea of discussing fictional novels (at least every now & again), but I liked her idea as well. She mentioned that there are 5 books she could list right away that she said have "changed her life." She then shared with me those titles. I have not yet read any of them, but here they are (in no particular order):
1. Personality Plus: How To Understand Others by Understanding Yourself by Florence Littauer (in doing a search for this one on Amazon.com to add to my wish list, I noticed the author also wrote a Personality Plus book for couples and one for parents)
2. A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose by Eckhart Tolle
3. Of Monkeys and Dragons: Freedom from the Tyranny of Disease by Michele Longo O'Donnell
4. Natural Cures "They" Don't Want You to Know About by Kevin Trudeau
5. (The title she gave me I can't find an exact match to) Wayne Dyer is the author and the title given was Tao Te Ching. I found a book titled: Living the Wisdom of the Tao: The Complete Tao Te Ching and Affirmations, so maybe that's it.
Like I said, I haven't read any of these books yet, so if you have and have feedback (they don't all have super positive reviews on Amazon.com), feel free to share that feedback with me and my blog readers by adding a comment below.
This got Joe and me to thinking about and discussing non-scripture books we'd say have either "changed our lives" or had a very strong impact on us and our perceptions.
Here's my list (in no particular order):
1. Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl
2. The Miracle of Forgiveness by Spencer W. Kimball
3. Choice Theory: A New Psychology of Personal Freedom by William Glasser
4. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey
5. The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work and Why Marriages Succeed or Fail: And How You Can Make Yours Last by John Gottman
6. Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert B. Cialdini (who incidentally was one of my psychology professors at ASU. He talked about some of the stories included in this book during the course of the social psychology class I had with him, and I am thrilled that just now I found he released on August 8th the 5th edition of this book titled Influence: Science and Practice. I had lent my copy to someone a while back and have been missing it ever since, so I may just have to pick up the new edition one of these days.)
In adding Joe's 2 cents, here is a list of books he says changed his perception:
1. The Law by Frederick Bastiat
2. Surely You're Joking Mr. Feynman by Richard P. Feynman
3. The Illustrated Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking
4. Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions by Edwin A. Abbott
5. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey
6. Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki
Out of all of the books on Joe's list, I've only read the one that is on both of our lists, so I've got a lot more reading I can do! But before I get started on that, I want to finish reading Jane Austen's Emma and the 2 books I have checked out from the library.
What books would you say have had a strong impact on your life, whether life-changing, perception-altering, or the like? (For those who receive this blog currently via email, I'd love if you answered this one online so you can share your choices with others who read the blog and have a great place I can refer to when I'm looking for a good book to read. If you don't know how to post a comment here, let me know and I'll try to help.)
In case you didn't notice...
That last blog entry was written by Joe. He has so graciously agreed to join this blog as an occasional author. I am glad he chose to do so, because I think sometimes he has things to say from his perspective that I know at least his family would like to read about.
When in settings for blogger blogs, you can make your blog private and only have certain approved readers be able to see your blog. I thought I was approved to see 2 different people's private blogs, but for whatever reason, I can't subscribe to see when they're updated, and I can't leave comments on there, which is a bummer. I don't know that we'll ever make this blog private, but who knows.
Another setting that I've enjoyed is the email option where you can have up to 10 different email addresses entered that are emailed whenever you post to your blog. I have entered 10 email addresses, but with my large family and Joe's family, I haven't been able to guarantee that everyone I want to read certain blog entries is able to do so. So, I think I'm going to only send the blog to myself and to Joe each time we post, and that way we can forward the blog entries to people we want to read the particular blog entries (I think that sometimes it's not necessarily a blog that anyone needs or probably even wants to read, and knowing that it is going to be emailed out to those 10 email addresses has kept me from writing some things I may have otherwise written). So (for those who currently receive my blogs via email), please visit my blog here if you want to read each and every blog entry we write. But if you prefer to just receive the general updates, those will be forwarded to you via email.
And on to other news...
After work yesterday, I just wanted to go to the gym, but I also had to prepare for hosting the book club. Only one person ended up showing up to the book club (annoying!), but we had a good time chatting for a couple hours so I didn't consider it a waste. I did get to the gym and burned about 550 calories (the most ever in one single workout for me) and am paying for it today! It felt good to workout after about a week of not doing it because of the trip and then my laziness. We'll see if my body & mind will be able to make it there again today.
While getting ready for the gym yesterday, I got a call from Jest yesterday. They wanted to confirm my installation appointment for today. And they were telling me that the installation would be in the window of 8 am - 5 pm. SO NICE OF THEM to narrow it down like that! After getting that automated phone call, I got the option to "Press 1 to confirm the appointment; Press 2 to change the appointment; Press 3 to cancel the appointment" but there was no option to reach through the phone and strangle the person/people responsible for me receiving such an annoying call after my ordeal the other day. Bummer. So I pressed 3 and was placed on hold for the longest "2-3 minute wait" of my life while my cell phone was dying and Joe was in the other room with the bank trying to add me as a shared account member on our credit card. The somewhat incompetent person he was talking to said he needed to speak to me, so we switched cell phones. Then he put me on hold. GRR. Finally, Jest came to the phone and Joe explained to them that we did NOT want those additional services and that I had called trying to tell someone that already. Well, the person he was talking to found out that the incompetent woman I'd spoken to who had set up the services had created a Brand Spankin' New account for me to add services instead of adding them to the account I had already had, which is why the other 2 women I spoke to later that day weren't able to find anything even listed for me. We finally got that resolved (I hope). It's almost "8 am - 5 pm" so I guess I'll find out soon enough if everything was cancelled correctly.
Now that I don't have to worry about Jest or Dur Heck TV coming over for any installations, I am enjoying my day off. In fact, I am contemplating not doing anything productive at all today (yeah, I like to dream).
When in settings for blogger blogs, you can make your blog private and only have certain approved readers be able to see your blog. I thought I was approved to see 2 different people's private blogs, but for whatever reason, I can't subscribe to see when they're updated, and I can't leave comments on there, which is a bummer. I don't know that we'll ever make this blog private, but who knows.
Another setting that I've enjoyed is the email option where you can have up to 10 different email addresses entered that are emailed whenever you post to your blog. I have entered 10 email addresses, but with my large family and Joe's family, I haven't been able to guarantee that everyone I want to read certain blog entries is able to do so. So, I think I'm going to only send the blog to myself and to Joe each time we post, and that way we can forward the blog entries to people we want to read the particular blog entries (I think that sometimes it's not necessarily a blog that anyone needs or probably even wants to read, and knowing that it is going to be emailed out to those 10 email addresses has kept me from writing some things I may have otherwise written). So (for those who currently receive my blogs via email), please visit my blog here if you want to read each and every blog entry we write. But if you prefer to just receive the general updates, those will be forwarded to you via email.
And on to other news...
After work yesterday, I just wanted to go to the gym, but I also had to prepare for hosting the book club. Only one person ended up showing up to the book club (annoying!), but we had a good time chatting for a couple hours so I didn't consider it a waste. I did get to the gym and burned about 550 calories (the most ever in one single workout for me) and am paying for it today! It felt good to workout after about a week of not doing it because of the trip and then my laziness. We'll see if my body & mind will be able to make it there again today.
While getting ready for the gym yesterday, I got a call from Jest yesterday. They wanted to confirm my installation appointment for today. And they were telling me that the installation would be in the window of 8 am - 5 pm. SO NICE OF THEM to narrow it down like that! After getting that automated phone call, I got the option to "Press 1 to confirm the appointment; Press 2 to change the appointment; Press 3 to cancel the appointment" but there was no option to reach through the phone and strangle the person/people responsible for me receiving such an annoying call after my ordeal the other day. Bummer. So I pressed 3 and was placed on hold for the longest "2-3 minute wait" of my life while my cell phone was dying and Joe was in the other room with the bank trying to add me as a shared account member on our credit card. The somewhat incompetent person he was talking to said he needed to speak to me, so we switched cell phones. Then he put me on hold. GRR. Finally, Jest came to the phone and Joe explained to them that we did NOT want those additional services and that I had called trying to tell someone that already. Well, the person he was talking to found out that the incompetent woman I'd spoken to who had set up the services had created a Brand Spankin' New account for me to add services instead of adding them to the account I had already had, which is why the other 2 women I spoke to later that day weren't able to find anything even listed for me. We finally got that resolved (I hope). It's almost "8 am - 5 pm" so I guess I'll find out soon enough if everything was cancelled correctly.
Now that I don't have to worry about Jest or Dur Heck TV coming over for any installations, I am enjoying my day off. In fact, I am contemplating not doing anything productive at all today (yeah, I like to dream).
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Petition to remove front licence plate in Washington State
Not long ago, as I was reading through some threads on http://www.pstoc.com/ I found a thread about someone trying to get together a petition to remove the requirement to have a front license plate in Washington State. I found myself curious about this idea and went to investigate. The thread was old and it seemed that nothing happened with it. So I decided that a new petition would have to be written so....I wrote a new petition.The reasons for my desire to remove the requirement are many and can be found in the petition itself. From a suggestion from my wife, I have posted about it on this blog. I ask you to please read it and if you agree with it, sign it by following the link here:
http://www.petitiononline.com/wafrtplt/
I have been in contact with some Washington State representatives who deal with transportation issues. Unfortunately, it has become apparent that I need more support for this idea to be looked at with any seriousness. I would appreciate any support with this project. Thank you.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
The lesser of 2 evils...
What are you supposed to do when you have 2 options, neither of which is all that appealing to you? Sometimes spending hours on the phone (like I have done) is not something that you want to do, when the end result is either poop dolled up on a plate or poop in a bucket.
I have a current bundle package for my cable, Internet, and home phone with a company I'll call Bombast. It's bombastic. Not only do we never really know what to expect as far as whether or not our cable will go out, we have features on our home phone we don't want or need, and we have TV channels we never watch. We want a DVR (we are spoiled with it and will probably have difficulty going without). We want few specific cable channels, but we don't need a lot of what is required to pay for in order to get what we want.
So, when realizing just how much we were paying Bombast to provide us with such unnecessary frivolity, we decided to see what other options are out there. That's when the phone calls started.
First I called Dur Heck TV. I spoke with a very persuasive salesman and was all ready to switch over to them, despite their 2 year contract that requires you to pay $20 a month for each month you terminate that contract early should you choose to do so and despite a couple other bothers (not to mention a satellite dish). In fact, I locked in to that deal by paying their $21.75 equipment shipping charge and was told I could call back and cancel the installation should I change my mind later.
Then I spoke with Bombast. I wanted to simply remove my cable from my package deal to shave off some money there. In trying to get me to stay with them, they went the route of it'll-cost-you-just-as-much-for-Internet-and-phone-because-you'll-lose-the-package-deal. This actually had an opposite effect on me. I started to think, "Well, then I guess I'll have to quit all my Bombast services."
So in came Jest. I called Jest to see if I could be hooked up with phone and Internet services. I don't know a whole lot about DSL versus high-speed Internet connections in a battle of annoyance/effectiveness, but I was willing to give it a try. Even knowing I'd have to pay $99 to have someone switch up some wires in my home so I could have a secondary line (that I already have) through Jest for work, and I'd have to buy a DSL modem and I'd have to jump through flaming hoops of fire, I was still interested, especially when they said I'd get a package deal because I was going to be going with Dur Heck TV for my satellite cable. It sounded like I'd be saving about $50 or more a month than what I was paying at the time for my Bombast package and even $15 or so a month cheaper than the cheapest comparable deal with Bombast.
I ran the information by Joe, and we decided Dur Heck TV and Jest were the companies we wanted to go with. I had already had an installation date for Dur Heck TV set up for this Thursday, so all I had to do was call back Jest and Bombast and I'd be on my way.
I tried to contact the Jest employee who had originally helped me, in case they work off commission, twice. He was nice enough to give me his email address and told me to email him when I was ready to sign up so he could then call. But when I emailed him at first to ask him a quick question, I got no phone call and no reply. Then I emailed him later telling him, "We have decided to sign up and I want to give you the commission (if' that's how that works), so please call me." No call. Then we went out of town.
So yesterday, I decided I'd better hop to it, hoping everything could be taken care of on Thursday. On my lunch break, I called Jest and talked to an incompetent woman. That call lasted about 35 minutes (5 minutes longer than my lunch break) and had me on hold quite a lot of the time. Even though Jest said that we'd have to switch our home phone #, I decided to stick with the plan. I even got a cool new home phone # from them. She gave me a confirmation # for my order and said I'd be getting a call from someone about setting up the phone lines.
So I called Bombast later and spent some time talking to a very competent and persuasive person there who didn't want to lose my business. She explained ways I could stay with them and save money. Plus she pointed out different reasons WHY I should want to stay with them. And when she knew there was an issue with their computer system, she asked if she could call me back instead of putting me on hold for several minutes while trying to figure out what was going on there. She called back and made the changes to our services, matching the offer with Dur Heck TV and Jest if not beating it because of extras and not having all those installation/equipment fees, etc.
Then I had to call Dur Heck TV and Jest back to cancel the upcoming installation and services. I spent a fair amount of time doing all this. But the thing that was most annoying and baffling was that Jest apparently didn't even have anything on my file indicating I wanted anything other than the phone line I already have for work. Apparently, the incompetent woman I spoke with never issued the work order, even after giving me that confirmation. Or so the 2 people I spoke with yesterday afternoon who were trying to figure things out said. That made us very happy that we chose to stick with Bombast, currently appearing to be the lesser of the 2 evils...
I have a current bundle package for my cable, Internet, and home phone with a company I'll call Bombast. It's bombastic. Not only do we never really know what to expect as far as whether or not our cable will go out, we have features on our home phone we don't want or need, and we have TV channels we never watch. We want a DVR (we are spoiled with it and will probably have difficulty going without). We want few specific cable channels, but we don't need a lot of what is required to pay for in order to get what we want.
So, when realizing just how much we were paying Bombast to provide us with such unnecessary frivolity, we decided to see what other options are out there. That's when the phone calls started.
First I called Dur Heck TV. I spoke with a very persuasive salesman and was all ready to switch over to them, despite their 2 year contract that requires you to pay $20 a month for each month you terminate that contract early should you choose to do so and despite a couple other bothers (not to mention a satellite dish). In fact, I locked in to that deal by paying their $21.75 equipment shipping charge and was told I could call back and cancel the installation should I change my mind later.
Then I spoke with Bombast. I wanted to simply remove my cable from my package deal to shave off some money there. In trying to get me to stay with them, they went the route of it'll-cost-you-just-as-much-for-Internet-and-phone-because-you'll-lose-the-package-deal. This actually had an opposite effect on me. I started to think, "Well, then I guess I'll have to quit all my Bombast services."
So in came Jest. I called Jest to see if I could be hooked up with phone and Internet services. I don't know a whole lot about DSL versus high-speed Internet connections in a battle of annoyance/effectiveness, but I was willing to give it a try. Even knowing I'd have to pay $99 to have someone switch up some wires in my home so I could have a secondary line (that I already have) through Jest for work, and I'd have to buy a DSL modem and I'd have to jump through flaming hoops of fire, I was still interested, especially when they said I'd get a package deal because I was going to be going with Dur Heck TV for my satellite cable. It sounded like I'd be saving about $50 or more a month than what I was paying at the time for my Bombast package and even $15 or so a month cheaper than the cheapest comparable deal with Bombast.
I ran the information by Joe, and we decided Dur Heck TV and Jest were the companies we wanted to go with. I had already had an installation date for Dur Heck TV set up for this Thursday, so all I had to do was call back Jest and Bombast and I'd be on my way.
I tried to contact the Jest employee who had originally helped me, in case they work off commission, twice. He was nice enough to give me his email address and told me to email him when I was ready to sign up so he could then call. But when I emailed him at first to ask him a quick question, I got no phone call and no reply. Then I emailed him later telling him, "We have decided to sign up and I want to give you the commission (if' that's how that works), so please call me." No call. Then we went out of town.
So yesterday, I decided I'd better hop to it, hoping everything could be taken care of on Thursday. On my lunch break, I called Jest and talked to an incompetent woman. That call lasted about 35 minutes (5 minutes longer than my lunch break) and had me on hold quite a lot of the time. Even though Jest said that we'd have to switch our home phone #, I decided to stick with the plan. I even got a cool new home phone # from them. She gave me a confirmation # for my order and said I'd be getting a call from someone about setting up the phone lines.
So I called Bombast later and spent some time talking to a very competent and persuasive person there who didn't want to lose my business. She explained ways I could stay with them and save money. Plus she pointed out different reasons WHY I should want to stay with them. And when she knew there was an issue with their computer system, she asked if she could call me back instead of putting me on hold for several minutes while trying to figure out what was going on there. She called back and made the changes to our services, matching the offer with Dur Heck TV and Jest if not beating it because of extras and not having all those installation/equipment fees, etc.
Then I had to call Dur Heck TV and Jest back to cancel the upcoming installation and services. I spent a fair amount of time doing all this. But the thing that was most annoying and baffling was that Jest apparently didn't even have anything on my file indicating I wanted anything other than the phone line I already have for work. Apparently, the incompetent woman I spoke with never issued the work order, even after giving me that confirmation. Or so the 2 people I spoke with yesterday afternoon who were trying to figure things out said. That made us very happy that we chose to stick with Bombast, currently appearing to be the lesser of the 2 evils...
Monday, August 11, 2008
Visits
Joe and I went to Oakley, Idaho on Thursday to visit his grandmother. We drove up with his parents and their dog. The trip took about 10 1/2 hours each way. I wasn't sure I was going to be able to make it with my poor circulation and with some other factors, but I'm glad I decided to stick with it and take the trip. All of his grandmother's children were able to make it to see her, and we were able to see some extended family as well. I met my nephew, Jace, who was born just about 4 months ago, for the first time and also got to see most of my other in-laws. We had some great conversations in the car with Joe's parents (we carpooled), and it was nice to get the opportunity to spend that time getting to know each other a little better. We got home last night a few hours before bedtime. We were exhausted and glad to be home. We really appreciated the hospitality of Joe's aunt Jane allowing us to stay in her home. With everyone who was visiting, we were still able to get our own room. We even had a kitchen where we were able to have shared meals with the rest of Joe's immediate family.
Joe's best friend, Jacob, is flying into town today and will be staying with us through Wednesday. So now that we're home, we have to settle back in and clean up from our travels quickly before he arrives today. I'm sure Joe will enjoy having some time to spend with him.
I will be hosting a book club meeting on Wednesday at our house, so it might be a little chaotic, but I am looking forward to it. I've wanted an excuse to make some more cookies without having to worry that I'll be the one eating them all, so this seems like quite the nice opportunity to do so. I may have to pick up a few more things from the store to nibble on, but we're really needing to carefully watch our expenses, because of the extra money we've had to spend on the trip and to take time off work for the trip.
I'm going to have to think more about what I want to do with my life, because I'm not really happy with my job more often than not these days.
Joe's best friend, Jacob, is flying into town today and will be staying with us through Wednesday. So now that we're home, we have to settle back in and clean up from our travels quickly before he arrives today. I'm sure Joe will enjoy having some time to spend with him.
I will be hosting a book club meeting on Wednesday at our house, so it might be a little chaotic, but I am looking forward to it. I've wanted an excuse to make some more cookies without having to worry that I'll be the one eating them all, so this seems like quite the nice opportunity to do so. I may have to pick up a few more things from the store to nibble on, but we're really needing to carefully watch our expenses, because of the extra money we've had to spend on the trip and to take time off work for the trip.
I'm going to have to think more about what I want to do with my life, because I'm not really happy with my job more often than not these days.
Saturday, August 2, 2008
My sister is getting married!
With so many siblings, there seems to be SOMETHING going on with SOMEONE at almost all times, whether it is someone moving, being pregnant, having a baby, starting school, finishing school, getting a new job, looking for a new job, injuring one's self, etc. It has been quite a hectic 12 months.
My sister Emily gave birth about a year ago. My sister Karla gave birth early this year. My sister Erin recently gave birth. Even my sister-in-law Jillena gave birth this year. I have had 3 different jobs in the past 12 months. Joe has had 3 different employers in the past 12 months. We have moved. Karla has moved. My brother Scott started a new job. My sister Karri started a new job. And on. And on. And on.
And now, the youngest sibling is getting married. Congratulations Karena (she's the busty one in the front)!
Friday, August 1, 2008
And we're walking... and we're walking...
My work recently provided me with one of these bad boys:
All I had to do was fill out a form saying I was willing to join the new "walking club" and use the pedometer. No obligation. Just the agreement that I would give it back if I don't use it.
Let's just say that when I received it, I was very impressed. It retails for about $60, so I'm told. It has a place where you enter the time. Then it has a place where you enter your weight. It also has you measure how long your stride is and enter that. It stores up to 7 days of steps at a time, resetting to zero at midnight every night. It even appears, as I just noticed right now, to tell you how far you've walked and how many calories you burn. Then you can scroll through previous days to see how your current day compares to your previous days. You see a USB cord in the picture because you can go online and download your information to track your progress and set walking goals based on how many steps you're actually taking. This thing is high tech and yet very easy to use.
So I have been obsessed with measuring how many steps I've been taking since I got it. I check out where I'm at often. Now, I didn't say that I have changed my habits to take more steps, but I am now fully aware of just how little I do walk. In fact, I can go a whole day, like yesterday (my day off) without walking a mile (less than 2000 steps). Yikes. Then again, even when I do work, if I don't get out of the house, I don't necessarily walk much then, as my office is less than 50 steps away.
Today I got a wild hair up my butt (not literally) and decided to walk to the gym. That is crazy thinking right there, I know! At least for someone as unfit as me. I mean, I made it through my first month at Curves and even got a little reward for going at least 3 days a week every week, so I'm getting better, but I'm still far from where I want and need to be. The directions from MapQuest puts the gym at about 1.2 miles away taking the shortest route, and I figure the walk there for me today was just about that much. Not a big deal. I started off with just over 900 steps in for the day and motivated that I could hit (or at least come closer than I have previously this week) my 10,000 recommended steps today. But when I made it maybe a little less than 1/3 of the way, I almost turned back to get my car. I'm so lazy sometimes! I stopped myself from turning back and trudged up the hill and along the route to the gym.
It felt like it took forever, but as I thought back to the days when I used to have to "run" a 15-minute mile in gym, I remembered that you could walk most of it at a brisk pace and then jog only a short amount and make it in that time easily. So I looked at the handy pedometer clock and realized I'd only been walking 10-15 minutes. I had plenty of time to get to Curves before the last workout started.
Once I arrived, I felt so proud of myself for making it without huffing and puffing or getting hit by a car or bicyclist or other aggressive pedestrian. In fact, I briefly wished I had brought my wallet so I could treat myself to Dairy Queen or Baskin Robbins so conveniently located near the gym. But no sense on dwelling on what I couldn't have, so I looked at my pedometer (close to 3900 steps at that point) and then worked out-- and worked out hard.
I typically burn from the mid-to-high-400's calories each workout, and a few times have broken the 500 calorie mark. I figure that's not bad, considering it's only about a 30 minute workout. Today was no exception to that achievement, even though I did feel a little bit more worn out during the circuit because of my brisk(ish) walk to the gym. I drank plenty of water before and after working out, checked out my pedometer (approximately 5000 steps) and then I headed home.
Maybe it was because I didn't have to walk uphill this time, or maybe it was because I didn't reward myself with a fattening and yet delicious ice cream treat after working out, but the walk home seemed to go more smoothly, quickly, and easily. I even stopped at the small park near my house and stared at the water and the ducks who were swimming and then waddling so boldly toward my direction while my thighs and calves tingled from the uncommon use. Then I headed home and sat down, away from my kitchen so I wouldn't blow that workout by eating homemade cookies or ice cream.
I'm at 8484 steps right now, and I do think I could possibly reach my goal today. I'm even thinking I might walk to the gym again at least once a week, although I might save those walking trips for when I'm really wanting Dairy Queen or Baskin Robbins.
All I had to do was fill out a form saying I was willing to join the new "walking club" and use the pedometer. No obligation. Just the agreement that I would give it back if I don't use it.Let's just say that when I received it, I was very impressed. It retails for about $60, so I'm told. It has a place where you enter the time. Then it has a place where you enter your weight. It also has you measure how long your stride is and enter that. It stores up to 7 days of steps at a time, resetting to zero at midnight every night. It even appears, as I just noticed right now, to tell you how far you've walked and how many calories you burn. Then you can scroll through previous days to see how your current day compares to your previous days. You see a USB cord in the picture because you can go online and download your information to track your progress and set walking goals based on how many steps you're actually taking. This thing is high tech and yet very easy to use.
So I have been obsessed with measuring how many steps I've been taking since I got it. I check out where I'm at often. Now, I didn't say that I have changed my habits to take more steps, but I am now fully aware of just how little I do walk. In fact, I can go a whole day, like yesterday (my day off) without walking a mile (less than 2000 steps). Yikes. Then again, even when I do work, if I don't get out of the house, I don't necessarily walk much then, as my office is less than 50 steps away.
Today I got a wild hair up my butt (not literally) and decided to walk to the gym. That is crazy thinking right there, I know! At least for someone as unfit as me. I mean, I made it through my first month at Curves and even got a little reward for going at least 3 days a week every week, so I'm getting better, but I'm still far from where I want and need to be. The directions from MapQuest puts the gym at about 1.2 miles away taking the shortest route, and I figure the walk there for me today was just about that much. Not a big deal. I started off with just over 900 steps in for the day and motivated that I could hit (or at least come closer than I have previously this week) my 10,000 recommended steps today. But when I made it maybe a little less than 1/3 of the way, I almost turned back to get my car. I'm so lazy sometimes! I stopped myself from turning back and trudged up the hill and along the route to the gym.
It felt like it took forever, but as I thought back to the days when I used to have to "run" a 15-minute mile in gym, I remembered that you could walk most of it at a brisk pace and then jog only a short amount and make it in that time easily. So I looked at the handy pedometer clock and realized I'd only been walking 10-15 minutes. I had plenty of time to get to Curves before the last workout started.
Once I arrived, I felt so proud of myself for making it without huffing and puffing or getting hit by a car or bicyclist or other aggressive pedestrian. In fact, I briefly wished I had brought my wallet so I could treat myself to Dairy Queen or Baskin Robbins so conveniently located near the gym. But no sense on dwelling on what I couldn't have, so I looked at my pedometer (close to 3900 steps at that point) and then worked out-- and worked out hard.
I typically burn from the mid-to-high-400's calories each workout, and a few times have broken the 500 calorie mark. I figure that's not bad, considering it's only about a 30 minute workout. Today was no exception to that achievement, even though I did feel a little bit more worn out during the circuit because of my brisk(ish) walk to the gym. I drank plenty of water before and after working out, checked out my pedometer (approximately 5000 steps) and then I headed home.
Maybe it was because I didn't have to walk uphill this time, or maybe it was because I didn't reward myself with a fattening and yet delicious ice cream treat after working out, but the walk home seemed to go more smoothly, quickly, and easily. I even stopped at the small park near my house and stared at the water and the ducks who were swimming and then waddling so boldly toward my direction while my thighs and calves tingled from the uncommon use. Then I headed home and sat down, away from my kitchen so I wouldn't blow that workout by eating homemade cookies or ice cream.
I'm at 8484 steps right now, and I do think I could possibly reach my goal today. I'm even thinking I might walk to the gym again at least once a week, although I might save those walking trips for when I'm really wanting Dairy Queen or Baskin Robbins.
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