Happy Birthday to Me... back in February

So back in February I celebrated my birthday with most of my besties. We went to Maggiano's at the Grove in LA. It is really good Italian food and we dined family style. Everything was SUPER tasty and I had the best company EVER! I had a great night. There really is nothing better than being surrounded by friends that make my life better. I love these ladies.

Creative June

Well a lot has happened since I last blogged. I am now the Young Women President in my ward. I'm having a great time and I have amazing girls in my ward. I think sometimes I'm getting more out of YW then they are. Ha ha.
When I was a YW we made button dolls that sit on a shelf and the button limbs hang. It was cute, but who really needs a button doll for more than 10 years?!
My friend Hillary was telling me of how easy it was to make hair decorations. All we needed was fabric, felt, needle & thread, hot glue and buttons. So my button doll was disassembled for the cause.

Aren't the hair pieces cute? I can't wait to make more! I think this will help fulfill my creative bug and actually be useful. Thanks Hill!! You're the best! Oh, and the few girls that showed up loved making them too. Success!

"So, can I get your number?"

Have you ever had the experience where your talking with someone, you're really hitting it off, he's totally cute (or just not disgusting) and then... Nothing.

I've had a few of these experiences over the last couple months. I've met someone, somewhere, and we have a great time getting to know each other a little and at the end of the night I'm left wondering if I was supposed to get THEIR number!?! I'm not an expert or anything, but isn't it the guy's job? Is that too old school?

Then there comes the rationalization - Maybe this one guy is just a nice guy who LOVES my son (not in a creepy way). Maybe the other guy was shy. Maybe the other guy _________...

I get that it's hard. The risk of rejection is hard. So I've tried to make it easier. I've even made sure a guy (or more) had my number, but then no call. A guy friend of mine says that if he doesn't call me (or call me back) then he isn't interested.

So, who made the first move? Is it true that it won't go anywhere unless the man is the pursuer? Is it too much to ask to be pursued (again, not in a creepy way)?

Accomplishments

Yeah, so blogging hasn't been going so well in the last few months...
Anyway - I guess I haven't blogged because I don't want to make it seem all negative. But it's not all positive either. I think I need something extreme one way or another for me to feel inspired to blog about it.

Some recent accomplishments:
1. I just folded three batches of laundry I did LAST WEEK (now I need to put them away)
2. I just put together some lentil soup that will cook all day tomorrow.
3. I've finished watching all 6 seasons of The Office except for the episodes not out yet. I've created a strong relationship with the crew down at Blockbuster.
4. I've been reading more with Jonas and I've seen improvements in his skills. He is one smart kid. It's fun to watch his successes and growth. I think this effort has also improved his mood, happiness level, and his relationship with me.
5. I've actually called some people I care about. (Sometimes it feels so hard to pick up the phone)
6. I started a cash budgeting system in January and have done really well with it. This has lead to being able to take a real look at my finances and get a plan together. Pay off debt: I've paid off 1 credit card, I have one more that should be gone once I get my tax return, and all I'll have left is my student loan. Feels good. Make more money. Which leads to -
7. I've put a nice looking resume together. I'm not in a rush to jump ship, I just need to be prepared for where I am being led. It may be time to back out of the dead end.
8. I had another birthday and had fun celebrating it. On the day of I had to work, but everyone there makes it so special. Plus I was giving my mom a hard time about how she often forgets my birthday, so she made it a point to send me flowers and a birthday baloon to my work. I didn't need that, but it was nice that she put in the effort. Plus they were beautiful. I hung with Jonas that night. We went to Red Robin and then watched The Lightning Theif, which was really good. The next evening I went out with most of my best friends to Maggiano's at the Grove in LA. So good. We ate family style so there was SO MUCH FOOD! The food was amazing, but the company was even better. It was a great girls night out, but even better because they were all MY girls!

There are a LOT of things that I had hoped to have accomplished by now, but they take away from the success I have had. So I'll save those for another post.

Interests

Okay, I know I haven't blogged and barely get on blogspot every-other week to read, but... okay no excuse. Sorry.

Back to what's on my mind...
So far January has been a month of lists: budgets, to-dos, plans for YW at church, goals and possible interests. Yes I said POSSIBLE because I'm not sure if I have any interests, or not interests on their own, as in THINGS that I am interested in because I enjoy them. Lemme explain... I have things that I like to do: cooking, baking, board games, taking walks, playing volleyball, boating, going to the movies, going out to eat, sight seeing, etc. But really I like these things because they all involve PEOPLE, doing these things with them or for them. None of these are because I like the task of doing it.

So that's all fine and dandy as long as I have people I care about to do them with or for. But that isn't always the case. I have friends. Many friends actually. But that doesn't always work out. I have a son, but not every-other-weekend. My siblings actually have lives outside of mine. I have my parents... um that doesn't count (see side note #1 at bottom).

So I've been trying to be fine alone. Trying to feel full, at peace, engaged while by myself. Because after all, there are no guarantees that I will ever "have" someone else (see side note #2 at bottom). It's difficult to feel all that when I'm not really interested in anything. So how do I solve this... I guess by trying new things. I just don't know where to start. I have a list but would welcome suggestions.

What have you done to cultivate interests?

Side note #1: I made dinner tonight (for myself and made more than enough to share with my parents); Cobb Salad. Yummo!!! It was so good (if I do say so myself); however, the only things my dad uttered as he shoveled it down his gullet is that he didn't like how the lettuce was cut, and inquired about what dressings are usually served on a Cobb (And it was all done in a way to imply that I had done it wrong). I do NOT like to cook for ungrateful condescending people... It takes the joy out of it.

Side note #2: I do believe that I will "have" someone someday. I'm great. I have hope. But I can't wait around until "it" happens and really there aren't any guarantees. I just want to be happy either way. That's where this whole train of thought was coming from.

Thanksgiving "Stay-cation" with the McNiers

Jonas and I went to Tennessee last Christmas to see my cousin Jessie and her family. This year I convinced them to come party in Southern California for Thanksgiving week. I can't go too long without seeing her or her beautiful family. This time they had a new addition. We had a blast! We ate a ton, saw the Christmas Carol (totally too scary for children) at the Long Beach Town Center, went to Downtown Disney, Liberty Park in Cerritos, the Aquarium of the Pacific, and explored Downtown Long Beach and Shoreline Village. We saw old friends, visited with family, and my amazing friend Anja hooked us up with a free trip to Legoland. I had so much fun and bawled my eyes out after dropping them off at the airport. I love this family and part of my heart is with them in Tennessee. Thanks for the great time and for being an example of a God loving family!

Legoland!

Halloween

On Friday Jonas' school had a Halloween party for the families. We had a lot of fun and got to hang out with Lorie & Joseph. On Halloween we had a chili cook-off and Halloween party. My dad had made a great chili and ended up winning. It was one of the best chilies I had ever eaten. My friend Liz came and joined us in the festivities. We hit up the street by the church for some "real trick-or-treating" as Jonas requested. Then he wanted to know what the other people are called...the ones who are at the homes who pass out the candy. I told him they are called neighbors (I couldn't think of anything better). So, he wanted to go home to be a good neighbor. It was a fun, stress-free, safe and full Halloween filled with friends.

Pumpkin Patch Fun

Missed me?

So have (both of) you noticed I haven't posted lately? One simple reason is that surf controls are back up at work. LOL!! Not joking! And I've been spending less time online in the evenings.

Weight related: I haven't been good with the Weight Watchers stuff. Haven't tracked and have barely weighed in. I'm getting back on track tomorrow. I've travelled a few weekends and had other things throw me off. But... it surprised me to see that I was down. If last week's weigh in was accurate, I'm down a total of 30 pounds. I'm a little sceptical, so we'll see tomorrow morning.

Traveling: I went to Salt Lake City last weekend for General Conference. It was AMAZING and it was the first time I had been there for conference. My favorite moment was singing "We thank the O God for a Prophet" with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir while standing a hundred feet away from President Thomas S. Monson. So precious. We (Sarah, Eileen, and I) were able to stay at my cousin Risa's super cute condo. Big shout out for her hospitality. I met one of Eileen's old friends and one of Sarah's. I totally love these new friends.

Jonas: He is having a hard time in Kindergarten and it isn't because he isn't capable, he is just so strong willed. He has spectacular days, good days, and really bad days. It all depends on his attitude and how much effort he wants to put into his work. His teacher is amazing though. She is working so hard for his benefit. Plus Isaiah has been able to step in and be a part of the positive and negative reinforcement. It seems to be helping. Jonas doesn't care about disappointing me, but he doesn't want to upset his daddy.

Me: I have good days, bad days, and everything in between. I have hope though and am working on making my life better and being a better person. Life is all about growth right now. I'm trying not to stress about the little things and am getting better at the big picture. Life is good.

Scripture 3

1 Nephi 3:7 - And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.

I'm still working on last weeks too. This week went too fast.

Scripture 2

This week's scripture brought to you by the New Testiment - Matthew 5: 14-16
14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Last week went well. It helps that it was a short one. (Moses 1:39 - For behold, this is my work and my glory - to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man)

Santa Cruz Sept. 2009

Last weekend I went to Santa Cruz for a conference (an excuse to go party). It was beautiful. The boardwalk was fun.

I'm going to go back some day and take the train they have there and do some kayaking. The weather was perfect. Last year we went to San Francisco at the same time of year and I was cold most of the time. We stayed at a resort on the beach in Aptos. It was nice to have a kitchenette even if we didn't do any cooking. This resort even offered beach bon fire services. They'll set up a bon fire, provide the fixings for smores and then clean up for you. Pretty cool. One of the events for this conference was formal. I got to wear the dress I blogged about before.

It was nice to get away, meet new people and the drive back home down Hwy 1 was beautiful even if it was foggy a lot of the time.

Jonas' late birthday post

Catching up is hard work...

I've been meaning to blog about Jonas' birthday party that we had in July, but was overwhelmed by the amount of pictures. I had to figure out how to do the collage first. Much better. Just click on it to enlarge.

We had 2 ponies, carnival games with tickets and prizes, snow cones, corn dogs, corn on the cob, cup cakes in ice cream cones, watermelon, lemonade, a horse pinata and LOTS of FUN!

The Scripture Memorization Challenge

I've been regretful that I didn't take advantage of my time in early morning seminary class (scripture study class) when I was in high school. I went all four years but didn't graduate the program because I stopped participating my senior year. Even then I never memorized the Scripture Mastery scriptures. In hind sight I know I did myself a disservice. So I've been thinking about my disappointment and my lack of knowledge regarding the scriptures. Then this weekend I realized I could be regretful or I could do something about it. Hence the title of the blog: The (self inflicted) Scripture Memorization Challenge!

The challenge: Memorize 1 scripture mastery scripture per week. Blog about success (or lack there of). Invite others to the challenge (even if they only need a refresher). Pray about the challenge as it goes; pray for strength, understanding, and the truthfulness of each scripture.

There are 25 scriptures from the 4 books (Old & New Testament, Book of Mormon, and Doctrine and Covenants). That is 100 in total. So yeah it might take two years, but if not now, when?! I'll do one from the Old T., New T., BOM, D&C, Old T. ...That way I work on verses from all books each month.

So here I go. I'm starting with: Moses 1:39 (Old T. / Pearl of Great Price) - Behold, this is my work and my glory - to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.

I am officially challenging YOU to join the challenge: http://www.ldsscripturemastery.net/scriptures.html

"Search the scriptures — search the revelations which we publish and ask your Heavenly Father, in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, to manifest the truth unto you, and if you do it with an eye single to His glory nothing doubting, He will answer you by the power of His Holy Spirit. You will then know for yourselves and not for another." — Joseph Smith, Prophet

Progress - end o' week 18

Down 27 lbs in total. I haven't really set any goals about how much I want to loose, but for now I'm aiming for 50 lbs in total. That's only 23 more to go. Totally do-able.

Some things that help me:

1) A two point breakfast that I can do at work: I discovered Apple-Cinnamon herbal tea from Lipton.

It is yummy. I put a tea bag in my cup, fill it up to the top with hot water from the coffee machine, add a pack of Sweet'N Low, wait for the flavor to seep into the water. I enjoy half of the tea and then add a pack of Quaker's High Fiber Maple Brown Sugar Oatmeal to the tea.

Then I have a flavorful, high fiber, breakfast right at my desk. Did I mention 10 grams of fiber and only 2 points?!? Anyway, it is my M-F staple, I do it at home sometimes, and it is an easy solution for traveling.

2) Fiber One Oats & Chocolate Chewy Bar. 9 grams of fiber and only 2 points!!! It is yummy like a little Quaker chocolate chip granola bar, but will actually do something to help fight the hunger.

3) Special K Protein Meal Bar. I love the Chocolate Peanut Butter one. 3 points, 5 grams of fiber and more fat then the other items I mentioned, but being able to eat something with peanut butter in it is totally worth it. Plus I've found that this one does fight the hunger and the sweet tooth.

4) Special K crackers. Different flavors which are all tasty. 2 points for 24 crackers. They are crispy like a chip. Satisfies the munchies.

Labor Day Weekend Adventures

On Saturday afternoon we had a baby shower for Heather. Karina and I were in charge of the food and Heather's mom, aunt, and grandma did the rest. It was a beautiful, but hot, day. She got some beautiful blankets and other items to help "feather" the nest.


After the shower we jumped in the pool for a few hours. We had been in the pool the night before and were anxious to get back in the cool water. I had to leave early to go home, shower, and meet up with a group to go to the Hollywood Bowl to see the LA Phil being directed by John Williams and doing only his music. They did scores from Harry Potter, Star Wars, Witches of Eastwick and more. It was a perfect night to be out in the open.

On Monday, Jonas and I slept in and then headed to Long Beach to use our passes to the Aquarium of the Pacific. We love it there and have made good use of our passes. We played for a couple of hours before it was time for lunch. We took the bridge across to the Pike and made it over to California Pizza Kitchen. We shared a pizza and the yummy split pea and barley soup out on the patio. A bus kept stopping right out front on the street every 10 minutes. I saw that it said "free service" and had seen it stop in front of the aquarium before. We decided to check it out. We rode it to Shoreline village (but we didn't get off) and another stop within the Pike. The bus had to stop for service so we got off and walked on the path next to the harbor back to the Aquarium. There are many boats there that offer different trips. Jonas pointed out that I said we'd do a boat cruise one day and why don't we do it now. So we did the 45 minute harbor cruise. It was beautiful and informative. After it was over we headed back to the aquarium for more fun.

Then, because that wasn't enough, we hit the Citadel Outlets (not in Long Beach) for an evening of shopping. We had fun there too and shared a caramel apple that was covered with mini reeses pieces instead of nuts. Yummy! On the way home we took Heather and Eric hot chocolate from Starbucks and checked out the work Eric had done on their shower. It was beautiful.

It was a really good weekend.

Progress - end o' week 17

I don't remember how much the loss was between week 15 and 17, but it was a loss. I'm down over 26 pounds in total. It feels good to loose, even if it is slowly. We're told that the slower you loose, the more likely you will keep it off.

I did horrrribly this last week. I had used all of my points by Thursday and then just stopped counting. That doesn't mean I made horrible decisions the rest of the week; I just wasn't holding myself accountable for them. On the bright side, I made it back to the gym on Friday and did 40 minutes on the elliptical without too much effort. I thought that I'd be dying since I hadn't been in 3 weeks.

I'm still motivated, still counting (at least M-F I am) and excited about my progress no matter how small. Yesterday I bought a dress that I had tried on 26 pounds ago that I didn't buy because I didn't feel comfortable sitting in it. This is NOT me, but this is the dress:

Jonas' first day

So I have so many things to blog about right now, but I'm going to focus on one thing...

My baby is a Kindergartener now!!!

No, his name isn't Austin...Jonas' name is on the other side. He was excited to see his name on a card with the alphabet and numbers to 20.


He doesn't need a backpack and uses this canvas bag to tote his things. His teacher said he had difficulty adjusting. I was surprised about that because he has done so well at pre-k. I bet he did better today. He did look happier and better prepared this morning:

Progress - end o' week 15

No loss, but no gain either. I said I wanted to make it to the gym two times this week. I didn't make it there at all. At the last moment I put Jonas in swim lessons M-TH with his buddy, Joseph. There goes my week day work outs. I didn't have time over the weekend 'cause I was "busy" lounging around the house. Ha ha. Seriously, we were bummin' it this weekend. It felt good to have a real "free" weekend. I asked Jonas if he wanted to go to Adventure City, the Aquarium or go visit his friend Aiden (and my friend Anja). He chose to visit friends, so we went a bummed part of the day with them.

I ate good stuff this week, but I ate a LOT of it. Oh well. I'll do better this week...I promise...**crosses fingers**

Our sleep schedules have been off this weekend. After we came home from Anja and Aiden's, I took a nap. I didn't get up in time for us to catch a movie or really anything else, so we rented Air Bud from Blockbuster. It was after 10 pm when the movie was done. Needless to say, it was a late night. We slept till 10 am on Sunday (11:30 church rocks!!!), and after church and lunch, Jonas fell asleep on Grandpa's chair for almost 2 hours. He never does that anymore and I was enjoying just watching him sleep in front of the fan. It was a beautiful sight (for a mom). I knew he wouldn't be tired at a decent hour so I didn't even try to get him to bed till 10. 10:30. 11. 11:30. At 12 AM I gave the final "mean mom" GO TO BED AND STAY THERE warning. I laid my head down at 12:30 and within a few minutes I heard (and felt) my boy sneaking into my room and crawling into my bed. I ignored it and just hoped he'd sleep.

At 1:30 I was roused because I was hot, opened my eyes and guess what... Jonas was staring back at me! That was slightly disturbing and funny at the same time. I'm pretty sure he still hadn't slept. He then proceeds to talk to me in a normal volume, in full detail, and not in the voice of a tired boy. I can't describe it more. It was a "you had to be there" moment. But it was memorable. I hope he is okay at school today and taking full advantage of nap time.

Progress - end o' week 14

3 pounds down, 10% goal met. It's so exciting especially because I haven't made it to the gym for almost 2 weeks now. I just hope this recent loss wasn't all loss of muscle. Ha ha.

Current goal: Track points more carefully, track on the weekends, get to the gym twice this week, and find something active to do on Saturday with Jonas.