Weekend Update

My weekend was good. Friday I caught up with a friend. Saturday I did the elliptical, grocery shopped, cleaned the house, and helped Matt bathe the dogs. That night we went to a crab feed with my Mom and Bill. I love me some crab! Sunday we had a funday. It started with a 2 mile run for me and then I went to the motocross track in Marysville to watch Matt ride. We rounded off the afternoon with a couple of hours at Jason's and some football.

Five Question Friday

I saw this on a blog that I follow and thought it was fun, so I'm joining in!

1. Where did you meet your spouse and did you instantly know it was love?

This is kind of a long story. I first saw Matt when I was fifteen. His older sister was my friend Shara's "nanny" and was giving us a ride home from school. We made a pit stop at her Dad's (my now FIL) and Matt was standing on the deck out front. I saw him and said, "Who is that?!?" Carrie told me it was her brother. I informed her and Shara that I was going to marry him. And I was serious. Fast forward 3 years and we ended up connecting through a mutual friend. It took me a while to tell Matt about that one afternoon. Actually, I think his sister remembered and brought it up. It was actually the story she told during her toast at our wedding : )

2. What is your favorite room in your house?
Hmmmm...that's a tough one. Our bedroom. But that's more than likely going to be changing as we delve into remodeling our entire home!

3. Can you wiggle your ears?
Nope!! I can't curl my tongue either. I am genetically uncool.

4. What is your evening ritual?
Come home, usually try to do something active like the elliptical or walk the dogs, do a variety of chores depending on the day (unload dishwasher, fold laundry, etc), make and eat dinner, relax on the couch with the hubby, in bed by 9:00 or so.....

5. How many hours of sleep do you need to function?
At least 7.

My Skin

One of the things on my 30 by 30 list is to find a skin care regimen. Well, I think I've done just that! I've started trying new products to see what I like and what I don't. And last night, my cousin came over to show me some of the Mary Kay stuff that she sells. I ended up purchasing a day and night treatment as well as eye cream. In addition to these products, I cleanse with Cetaphil and moisturize with the Up and Up brand from Target. So far, so good!

A List of Ten Things

1. I am very, very tired today.

2. Speech class yesterday was good.

3. My husband is currently getting ready to drive a Corvette on a racetrack

4. I am watching the movie Valentine's Day tonight. I am excited.

5. My cousin is coming to my house after work to show me some Mary Kay goodies.

6. I want to have McDonald's for lunch, but will instead get Subway. It will be good, but not as good as a quarter pounder.

7. I wish it were summer. I miss my flippy floppies

8. Working is overrated.

9. A vacation sounds great.

10. Is it the weekend yet?

A Hodge Podge

I don't have a proper post for today, so instead I'm throwing a bunch of bullets out there!

• I had a great weekend. Activities included: fixing our side yard gate so that our circus freak lab can no longer escape and wander the streets, going to the motocross track to watch my husband ride and having Stephanie and Jason join me, an engagement party for our friends Cody and Anika (the appetizers were de to the lish!), breakfast at Denny's, and lots of trash TV time. My weekend did not include 3 days like most everyone else though. For that, I am pissed.

• Weight Watcher's is going well. Much better than The Flat Belly Diet. Fruits and vegetables are zero points on WW. I like that. I am a snacker and being a snacker of fruits and vegetables is good for you. Yay me!

• Today is the first day of school for the Spring semester. I am taking Pharmacology and Speech. I am nervous. Nervous about Pharmacology because it's a television course. I am new to this. We shall see how it goeth. I am nervous about Speech because, come on, it's SPEECH. I have to talk. Alot. In front on people I don't know. Luckily, my college offers a group speech class. I'm in that one. I hope it's not as scary as regular speech. My friend Rachel says it isn't scary at all, but I'm not sure I believe her. I'll let you know if she ends up being a liar or not.

• My husband is driving a fast race car tomorrow because his Mom is cool and that's what she got him for his birthday. I will feel as if I'm going to puke until he calls me to tell me it's over.

• I just registered for a 10K run on February 6th. This disturbs me for two reasons. #1 It's less than three weeks away and I have not run over 3 miles in far too long. #2 It's on Superbowl Sunday. It encourages me for one reason. It's on Superbowl Sunday. And let's face it, after running 6 miles I'll be able to munch a TON of Superbowl goodies without feeling bad or going over my points. WW will be happy. Yay me!

• Matt and I had a date night last night. It was fun. We went to an early dinner at a sushi joint. Then we went to Gap. Then we went to a ski shop. Then we got frozen yogurt. Then we went home and I gave him an injection of Avonex because we're gangsta like that yo.

The end!

Uncle Chuck

Spring of last year, it was found that my Uncle Chuck (my Mom's brother) had a tumor in his eye. About the size of an M&M candy. He had his eye removed. He did a round of radiation. The prognosis that he would be alright. Then, a spot was found on his liver. That seems like it was the beginning of the end. After a round of two of chemotherapy, the doctors told him there wasn't much more to be done. A last resort would be to participate in a treatment study in San Francisco. It would require that he go once a week. He wouldn't be able to drive himself. It would be painful and drawn out and he would feel awful. He decided to not participate. This was mid November. He died December 3rd. This post kind of sucks to write, so reading must be really bad. I'm sorry. This is more for myself than anyone else.

Wine Tasting

Last Saturday, I went wine tasting with a group of girlfriends. We were celebrating Kim and her impending marriage to Dave. It was such a blast! Rather than go to busy, hoity-toity Napa, we chose Amador Country. And I must say it was a good choice. Though, this was my first experience with wine tasting (so I have nothing to compare it to) I thought it was a great day, with tasty wine, yummy snacks and excellent company.

We started off at Terra D'Oro winery. This was my favorite. The atmosphere was casual, the people were friendly and knowledgeable, and the wine was great.

The next stop was at Jeff Runquist winery. This stop was also a good one. I liked the cheese that was served alongside the wine tastes.

Next was lunch at a restaurant called Taste. I had crab pasta that was delicious!

Finally, we finished the tour with a tasting at Cooper Vineyards. This winery was very cool. There were tables set atop huge barrels that we sat around for the tasting. A large group came in for a 3oth birthday and they were all wearing funky wigs.

By 7:00 when we got home I was EXHAUSTED! It was a fun, fabulous day but I definitely needed some flop time on my couch Sunday!

I'm excited to announce that this is another thing on my 30 by 30 list that can be checked off!!

Another Catch Up Post

The first weekend of December, my sister in law Carrie and I went to visit our dear friend Bonnie. She lives in Scottsdale, AZ with her husband and their two adorable sons. Her brother, Hans, also lives nearby. It was so much fun to see all of them and to get in some good girl time with Carrie and Bonnie.

Jackson sitting at his new big boy table!

Beckett catching a snooze...

Carrie, Hans and Jackson in Hans' work bay at Harley Davidson.

Me snuggling with Beckster.

Carrie, Me, Beckett, Jackson and Bonnie.

 

And I feel awful about not getting a picture of Jerod, Bonnie's husband. Here is one of him and Bonnie with itty bitty Jackson that I stole from a previous post.....

A Trip to the City

Yesterday, I went with Matt to the doctor in San Francisco. He is enrolled in a study for a drug that has possibilities of helping with MS and we jumped at the chance for him to participate. It's been three years since he began the study....pretty crazy! Now that the study is ending for Matt, we'll only have to go to UCSF every few years unless some new symptom or sign rears its ugly head (the doctors seem to not think this will be the case though!).

We are both looking forward to not having the commitment of doing these types of visits every few months. Typically, they consist of us leaving the house at about 6 am. We arrive in the city anywhere between 8 am and 9 am depending on traffic. Then, Matt undergoes whatever tests are scheduled for the day. Sometimes they're cognitive things, sometimes he does a neuro-psych evaluation, sometimes it's just urine and blood and speak to the doc, and sometimes it's ALL of the above! Yesterday was one of those days. We didn't walk back in our front door until almost 9 pm! So, suffice to say, we are ready for a break : )

That being said, I cannot thank all of the doctors at UCSF enough. They are all wonderful and I feel so fortunate, as does Matt, to have them so near to be "on our team". Just one of the many blessings that I count every day!!

Recipes

Kind of a menu plan Monday post I suppose. This week for dinner, I don't really have a plan. Trying to stick with healthy things so I purchased turkey breasts and salmon along with green beans and brown rice for one meal, and red potatoes, peppers and mushrooms for the other.

I did want to share a Weight Watchers recipe that I tried before the holidays and LOVED. It's super filling and really tasty. I will definitely be making it again....

Slow Cooker Chicken Burritos

Ingredients:
1 pound chicken breast
1 can stewed diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can kidney or black beans, drained
1 cup of fat free chicken broth
1 red onion, chopped
Pepper to taste
* I added a little bit of minced garlic

Directions:
Place all ingredients in a slow cooker and cook on low for 7 hours. Serve in a tortilla with a little shredded cheese.

Blog People

Tonight, I have a heavy heart. Actually, truth be told, my heart has been heavy for a couple of days. You see, there's this blog that I read. I don't recall how or where I stumbled across it (as is the case with most of the blogs that I follow), but I can tell you that reading posts from this blogger has become a part of my life. I have read about her battles with infertility, pregnancy, and finally motherhood. She became pregnant for the second time in late Spring of 2010 - with twins. Ecstatic yet experiencing all of the other emotions that come with this news, she shared with myself and hundreds of others about her journey. It was not an easy one. There were complications with the pregnancy, and it came to be found that one twin was not growing as big as the other one. She was put onto bed rest. She was monitored. She was seen by the doctor all. the. time. Still, after all of this, she kept her sense of humor and in her blogging filled us in on the goings on of her two babies - girls. At 32 weeks, she was admitted to the hospital. She updated her blog. The doctors thought that the smaller baby might need to be born sooner rather than later. She updated her blog. It was determined that both babies needed to be born. She updated her blog.

On Friday morning I checked my updates. A blog had been written with the babies names as the title. I clicked on it. I read about how the babies had been born the day before. About how the small baby was fighting in the NICU. About how the bigger, healthier baby was with her and her husband. For now. It seems that the bigger baby, who wasn't really worried about during the pregnancy, had passed away.

Reading those words devastated me in a way that I had not experienced ever. No, I don't personally know this blog author. But, I kind of do. She has allowed me into her life through many trials and tribulations. She has made me smile, cringe, smirk and think. So, even though I've never met her and probably never will, it affected me to receive this news. Especially from a person that I can count on to be comical even in the worst of times.

And now, in my heavy hearted state, all I can do is pray and send thoughts her way. I hope that I can ask any one who may read this to do the same. I simply cannot imagine what she is going through now, and what she will endure not only in the coming weeks, but for the rest of her life. There just aren't words to say how much I wish this were not happening to her....

The Last Decade

Happy New Year!! 2010 was a year with good and bad. I have no resolutions for the new year, because I don't do that. I have the opinion that you can set goals and achieve them any time, not just January first.

Being that it's the start of a new decade, I thought I would do a recap not of the last year, but of the last ten years.....

2000: turned fifteen. Got learners permit to drive. Began sophomore year in school.

2001: turned sixteen. Got drivers license and first car. 1983 Oldsmobile Cutlass. It had velvet upholstery.

2002: lost Dad. That event pretty much defined that entire year.

2003: turned eighteen. Graduated from high school. Began working at current job. Started classes at community college. Met Matt.

2004: Life seemed to be in limbo this year. Nothing truly stands out about it.

2005: Decided to change my major from nursing to accounting.

2006: A lot of things changed in my relationship with Matt, for the better. Turned 21, went on a cruise.

2007: Moved in with Matt. Got engaged.

2008: Graduated with my AS in Accounting. Got married : ) Decided that I really do want to be a nurse.

2009: Continued with pre reqs for nursing school. Lots of babies were born. Celebrated one year of marriage.

2010: Applied to first nursing school. Got denied. Had many friendships that grew. Made some decisions about how I want to live my life.