Who Steals Shoes?

One of my neighbors, that's who.

So I ran the Ho Ho 5K the other day and was partially on a trail by a wetlands area so needless to say it was a muddy, mucky mess for a bit.  My shoes were a little worse for the wear, so when I got home I put them on the back porch so the mud would dry up and I could flake most of it off and then take them in to properly wash them. The problem is that it's been raining cats and dogs here so on Monday I checked on my shoes and they were still wet and gross so I decided to leave them out a bit longer to dry.  Tuesday morning as I left my house for work they were still sitting by my sliding glass door in all of their muddy glory.  Tuesday afternoon when I got home they were noticeably absent.

I say it was noticeable not because I check on my shoes that much, but these babies were BRIGHT HIGHLIGHTER GREEN and very hard to miss, even with the mud.  So I asked BF if he had moved my shoes somewhere.  He said no.  So I started looking around the back porch thinking I had maybe moved them and not remembered, but then I realized that I hadn't.  So then it occurred to me that someone came up to my back porch, ingnored everything else there and took my muddy gross shoes. 

Here's the thing.  Those shoes are Nike ID shoes...which means they were a customized one of a kind pair with unique colors and a PERSONAL LOGO EMBROIDERED ON THE BACK. 

Way to go idiot thief neighbor... now when I see you wearing my running shoes I can PROVE that you stole them because they had a personal slogan embroidered ONTO THE SHOE. How are you going to hide that? 

My plan is to keep an eye out for them and jump the jerk who stole them.  I know I should be all "Turn the other cheek" on this, but you know what, I liked those dang shoes and you deserve a black eye and a bloody nose for stealing... ESPECIALLY around the holidays. 

Now I'm super bummed because I feel unsafe like ANYTHING I leave out on the porch (chairs, etc) will be taken and that someone might be lurking around trying to break into houses!  We live in a pretty safe and friendly area, but now I'm worried.  And pissed.  Mostly pissed because my comfy shoes are gone.

I'll find you, Thief, where ever you may be, and when you least expect it, BAM, I'm getting my shoes back.


Two days until Disneyland and boy do I need that vacation.

Hilarious...

A friend of mine's sister did this with her comedy group- Divine Comedy- and posted in on YouTube.  It's gotten some good and bad press, but I think it's the funniest thing.  I can laugh at it because I know the culture all too well :)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84u5k4bboU4 or watch it below...

11 Days...

... until BF and I are here:

DISNEYLAND!

I'm SO EXCITED!

I've never been to Disneyland in California so this is the best Christmas vacation ever.  Also, I'm hoping it will actually be sunny and warm (warmer than Oregon, anyway) because I'm so done with the dark, wet, cold days. 

I've been spending my extra time researching what I want to do on my Disney vacation and I've got the park map saved on my computer so I can peruse it at work during breaks.  I cannot wait to see the holiday parades and fireworks, and I'm completely freaking out about some of the rides.  Pirates of the Carribean? YES!

Besides the rides, what do I need to do there?  What should I look out for?  These next 11 days are going to go by SO SLOWLY.

I'm So Tired I Could Fall Asleep Any Minute

I remember when the holidays used to be so lazy and awesome when I was younger- mostly because school let our for a few weeks and I got to stay home and do whatever I wanted to do and enjoy all of the awesome holiday parties and events.  Now I'm an adult with a job and I make all of those awesome holiday things happen for people which makes me a very busy lady this time of year, but I still really like it.  Add that to the sneaky Christmas shopping, getting our Christmas cards out in the mail, work, work events I am involved in, fun holiday activities not of my organizing and daily life and you get one busy, tired girl. 


Yesterday I worked a 15 hour day because we had organized a special event at work.  It was awesome and everyone had a great time, but today I just did not want to get out of bed and do it all over again.  If I didn't have any pressing work things to do today I would not be here. 


I cannot believe how quickly the holidays came this year.  It seems like it was just September!


On the agenda... Christmas Cookies!

Thankful, Busy Times

Happy late Thanksgiving everyone!  I want to pause for a moment and list a few things that I am so grateful for (as I did not have a chance to do this last week).  Don't worry, I'll keep it brief.


1. For BF, who is a constant riot and whom I love with all my heart.
2. For my crazy parents and sister who love and support me and are always making me laugh (even when they aren't trying).
3.  My job; for obvious reasons (like a paycheck) but also because I work with some truly awesome people that inspire me to work harder and become a better person.
4.  My Country, because I have the freedom to be who I want to be and live how I want to live without oppression.




I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!


Now on to the business.  Last week was crazy, mostly because I work for a retail company so things are always crazy around the holidays.  We have so many great things going on, but it takes people working hard to pull it all off so that is what I was doing last week, with some minor kinks in the chain.  The weather at the beginning of the week sort of put things a little behind, but I caught back up quickly. 


Thursday we went to BF's family's house for our first half of our Thanksgiving celebration.  We had a lovely late lunch with BF's parents, sister and grandparents (who were a laugh and a half) with all of my favorite Thanksgiving meal items.  After we sufficiently stuffed ourselved we headed to my parents' house to have an early dinner.  I was pretty comatose from the food so after a quick rest we played Seinfeld Monopoly with my parents for a couple hours and then headed home, car loaded with leftovers from both meals. 


We've been eating Thanksgiving leftovers all weekend and I think I've had my fill of turkey.   

It was hard to adjust to going back to work this week after a nice long weekend, but I'm sort of happy to be back.  There's only so much you can do at home, and when I sit in my house without anything to do I start buying stuff for my house... which isn't what I want to do right now since I need to be saving for a car. 

Also, at various times this past week, we've been decorating the place for the holidays.  I put some little holiday trinket things out a few days before Thanksgiving and hung our stockings, and then the day after Thanksgiving we put the tree up and decorated our little hearts out. Now the house is very festive and cozy, but we need to get rid of the old TV that is sitting in the living room floor (want a tv?).  The only store we ventured to on Black Friday was Best Buy to see if we could score a new Samsung LCD flat screen tv and a Wii for my mom's Christmas present.  They had a cool package deal going on where you get the TV AND the Wii for $399 (FAR less than you would pay for both) so we figured we would jump on it and came home the proud owners of a new tv.  It doesn't detract much from the Christmas decorations. 

I LOVE this time of year and am so happy that BF and I can share it and create new traditions and fun memories!

Decisions, Decisions... Also, SNOW DAY!

I went to bed late last night knowing that I would get to sleep in because it snowed.  Whenever it snows here in the Portland metro-area people freak out and everything shuts down... because our city (and our drivers) aren't equipped to handle that sort of thing.  I don't know why.  It happens every year.  I digress...





Anyhow, I awoke this morning and turned on the news and peered outside and sure enough the snow was still there and the roads were icy so I decided to work from home for a bit.  I checked my email and what did I find?  THIS!!!



The Mini Countryman



 Why is this so awesome?...



Because it's a Mini; but also because I've been planning on buying a new car within the next 8 months or so and my dreams of owning a Mini were growing dim.  But now it's back because this awesome little Countryman is all-wheel drive. 

Before I found this little gem I was looking into buying one of these:



The Nissan Juke



It's a Nissan Juke.  I hate the name, I think it's totally lame, but the car itself is pretty awesome. 

Both the Nissan and the Mini are crossover vehicles with all-wheel drive and plenty of room.  I don't necessarily whave to have these things, but BF has a small car and we need to have a vehicle that has all-wheel drive to get us up the mountain and through the snowy roads... and the space for our camping and adventure needs in the summer.

I will be spending the rest of my day comparing and staying warm.

Weezer, How I Love Thee... Again.

It hasn't been super publicized, but Weezer came out with a couple new albums recently.  Before I left on my work travels I picked them both up as I figured if they sucked it would be mildly entertaining and if they were good then I scored some good new music.


Well guess what. 


Weezer, you have won me back.  After your tragic "Raditude" release (I'm not saying it was complete garbage, but I can only listen to 2 songs on that album) I was a little hesitant to even give you another chance but I'm sure glad I did. 

Death to False Metal was quietly released earlier this year without much notice by anyone really.  I LOVE this one.  Ripe with catchy beats and humorus lyrics that evoke bands of the nineties I feel like this album was a fun tribute to some token groups that are no longer making music... or have evolved far off from where they started.  As always, there are a couple of off the wall tunes that I skip over, but the album as a whole is pretty enjoyable.

Hurley, recorded in part at the Hurley offices in Costa Mesa, CA but named after the Lost character, is as enjoyable, but not as fun in my opinion.  There are a couple of heavier songs that aren't outright sad, but aren't the normal style of melancholy nerd-rock I'm used to.  Still, it's a big step up from the aforementioned 2009 flop that is now on my cd rotation (yes, I still actually use my cds... odd isn't it?).

At any rate, I'm glad Weezer is back (somwhat) and this is enough to tide me over for a bit.



A Whole Bowl of Random

There are eleventy million things I could write about today and not a one of them makes a good post singularly... so I've decided to put them all in one post.


First off, here are some pictures from my Utah work trip.  It snowed on us, which made the mountains in the background very lovely... when we could see them through the fog and clouds.  But it cleared up a bit one of the days so it wasn't all bad.

Before the snow... view from the hotel



Beautiful snow after the weather cleared up.




Me pointing out the iced-on snow that I would have to clear before going to work.

Anyhow, so that was Utah.


I've been back for a few days now and I'm just starting to feel normal again.  All of my laundry is done and my house is mostly clean and we have groceries.  I started new workouts this week and I'm hoping it doesn't get too rainy and cold so I can still run outside... I'm dreading that indoor treadmill season so much.


I'm freaking out right now because Thanksgiving is NEXT WEEK.  That really snuck up on me. I'm fighting myself about Christmas decorations because I LOVE CHRISTMAS SO MUCH that I want to put them all up now... and that would be a little socially unacceptable since it's not even Thanksgiving yet.  I really think it's the best time of the year because of the decorations and the baked goods and the warm drinks, etc. 


When I got home last week, BF and I looked through my boxes of holiday decorations to see what we needed.  We headed out and got some white twinkly lights to wrap our porch with and also got new stocking to hang.  They are a plush velvet with a bedazzled H on mine and an R on his.  I also found the cutest little owl ornament.  I guess our new tradition each year will be for both of us to find a new ornament for the tree.


Speaking of the tree... we will probably have 2 this year.  I have a fake pre-lit one that I ADORE- because it's a pretty dang good one that doesn't look fake, and also because I have the death-allergies and so live plants tend to give me a hard time.  BF's family tradition is to go cut one down (which my family did when we were younger as well).  I respect that, so we are putting my tree up and then we are going to go cut down a little one (think under 4 feet) and have a live one as well.  "It's not christmas until you are cold, wet and miserable."  I have no idea where we will put either tree, but we'll figure it out.  We may be moving the dining room table into the extra bedroom for a while. 

We also bought our holiday cards to send out this year so I'm in the tedious process of updating my address book.  FUN.

Now we just need to start collecting Christmas lists from the family and start the holiday shopping. 

Updates on the Oil Cleansing Method and my "No Poo" Hair Routine

So it's been a couple months since I switched from using face soap and shampoo/conditioner daily and in the while I've been doing it my body has adjusted and thusly I've adjusted what I'm using. 



Hair Cleansing:

While my actual baking soda and water cleansing solution has not changed, I've changed how frequently I need to do this.  I only do it every other day, and if I feel gross in between I rinse my hair in the shower with water.  I've also been using a light hair oil every few days on my ends because I blow dry and it keeps my hair shiny and I notice less split ends.  Right now I'm using Morrocan Hair Oil or a little Jojoba oil, but you can use any variety you are comfortable with.

I still rinse with my same vinegar/water/essential oils solution and I switch up what essential oils I add for fragrance every couple of weeks.  I'm very partial to the cinnamon and clove mixture since it smells spicy like Fall, however I like lavender and lemon together as well. 


Facial Cleansing, or Oil Cleansing Method:

At first I concocted a castor oil/olive oil/ tea tree oil combination for my face and it worked quite nicely for a few weeks.  I noticed that my skin was starting to get a tad dry after a few weeks and on a whim I used some of my straight Jojoba oil for my face... not adding any other oil at all.  I used it exactly the same way as the previous oil mixture; I just used a dime sized spot in my palm and massaged it over my face and then rested a hot damp washcloth on my face for a minute or so.  It worked really well and my skin doesn't get the dry patches any more.



I have the 4 ounce bottle and I've hardly used any of it.



For pimples I use a cotton swap and dab a very tiny bit of tea tree oil on the spot to help clear it up. 

When my skin feels oily or clogged (which isn't very often) I've been using a clay mask on my t-zone from MyChelle Dermaceuticals.  You can get it at New Seasons or whole foods but it is a bit spendy.


Deoderant:

I was using the last of my regular deoderant every few days until it was gone... which seemed to take forever.  Now I mostly just use my Tom's of Maine clear roll-on deoderant in the mornings after my shower.  When I know I'm going to be getting really sweaty and gross (like playing soccer or running) I will do a quick dusting of baking soda and cornstarch and that works really well also.

I've also noticed that now that I'm not using conventional deoderant with harsh chemicals in it that I need to use deoderant less and less.  BF hasn't noticed or complained of any BO smells (and neither has anyone else) so I think I'm doing ok. 



There are so many great reasons to make the switch from conventional shampoos, soaps and deoderants.  I love that I spend very little on hygiene items now... my only real expense these days for hygiene is my Tom's toothpaste and floss, but even then it's very little.  I've also noticed that my body responds very positively to what I am putting on it now... no cyclical symptoms and buying.

Home, Sweet Home

I'm done traveling for a while!

YAY!

So after being gone almost every week for the past 6 weeks I am finally done with all of my travels for work... at least for a couple months.  We will finally get the house decorated and done.  I will get to exercise and run on a regular basis and not try to squeeze it in at the pathetic hotel fitness centers.  I get to spend time with BF. 

This weekend is going to be quiet and uneventful and that is what I need right now.  I have pictures of my travels but I haven't sorted through anything and I'm not planning on doing that this weekend... unless I get bored.

I do, however, have my first co-ed indoor soccer game on Saturday night at 11pm.  You did, in fact, read that correctly.  We are scheduled to plat at 11pm.  Who schedules this stuff anyway?

But it will be fun.

Well, I'm off to do my loads and loads of laundry that I have neglected.

Why I Don't Miss Working In An Office While I Travel... OR Why I Hate People

So this is my first full week in the office between all of the travels I've been doing.  I leave on Saturday to travel again, but for now I'm in my lovely little office. 

While I've been out and about I've forgotten some irritating things that happen in offices as I was pining away to be back in my little cube neighborhood.

Yesterday I was too busy catching up on voicemails and emails to get any real work done so today I was prepared to buckle down and get some things going before I have to leave again, and you know what I found?  I found that officemates are passive-aggressive, selfish, rude and strange sometimes. 

I'm referring to the following:

1. I went to throw something in the trash under my desk and then heard the crumpled plastic hit the floor.  Why?  Because my trash can was GONE.  Where did it go?  I looked and looked and I have NO IDEA.  So I had to walk to the other end of the building to a supply closet and get a new freakin' trash can.  I asked the people around me and of course I got the, "I have no idea, I didn't touch it," response from everyone.  But the thing is, why would anyone take my trash can?   Everyone has their own! Custodial services doesn't touch the trashes in our offices... we are responsible for emptying our own- they just take care of the common area trash receptacles.  It was mostly just frustrating. 

2.  Pens and highlighters were missing from my desk caddy.  Are you that lazy that you cannot walk the 2 feet to your office and grab your own writing utensils?  Mostly I'm mad because I don't use the pens from our office supply cabinet because I'm a little picky about pens so I bring in my own kind (the RSVP ones from Pentel). 

3.  My tissues are gone.  I have allergies and use A TON of tissues.  Yesterday I wasn't so bad, but today I have the sniffles and reached for a tissue just to find that the whole box was gone. 


Who are these people stealing my pens/highlighters/trash can/tissues?  There is a supply cabinet 10 feet down the hallway with most of these things in them (except trash cans) so why take mine?  Go get your own BRAND NEW one from there! 

I'm going to start labeling and licking my desk stuff so when they steal them I will see my label and can then say, "Hey!  I licked that!  Go ahead and keep it if you want."  Kind of gross, but most likely effective. 

Birthday and Halloween Extravanganza Weekend

I got back from Washington on Wednesday last week and hit the ground running at home. 


Thursday was BF's birthday, so after working for a few hours and running errands we celebrated by going to the Rheinlander with BF's family for dinner.  That was hilarious.  The Rheinlander is a German restaurant that BF and I just love because it's decorated with Bavarian style items and all of the staff wear dirndles and lederhosen.  They even have a guy that plays the accordian and walks around and takes requests; pretty great.  I was anxious to see how BF's family would react and they weren't that into it, which was pretty funny.  It was still an excellent dinner.

After dinner we opened presents.  I got BF the new Rock Band 3 game and the new Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock game (we already have the instruments).  He got some other great stuff from his family and I think a shopping spree is in order so he can use all of the giftcards he got.

Friday I took BF to the Winterhawks game and it was a riot.  One of the reasons I love hockey is because of the fights and violence.  I don't really like violent movies or things like that, but hockey brawls are the best.  Luckily the game was chock full of agression and tension and many fights broke out.  I'm pretty sure the captain of the 'Hawks lost a tooth. 

We headed back home and went to bed relatively early for a Friday night.  We woke up at 1:30am or so because we heard a single gunshot.  That was sort of scary, especially because we live in a good neighborhood... but we do live within a half mile of farms so I am assuming it was from one of the farms, hopefully.  Anyway, I calmed down and fell back asleep for about a half an hour before waking up again in a full out sweat.  I threw the covers off of me and rolled over and realized that I had not felt this bad in recent memory.  I had the worst stomach ache and my stomach was so bloated I couldn't even touch it.  I was afraid to move too much or too quickly but eventually made my way to the bathroom.  Needless to say I spent the rest of the night on the bathroom floor and when I was done there I slept on the couch so I wouldn't wake BF.  NOT FUN.  I don't know if I caught a touch of the flu that is going around or if I ate something bad but I don't want to feel that lousy again if I can help it. 

Saturday I just slept on the couch most of the morning while BF went to the gym and ran errands.  By the afternoon I was feeling much better but afraid to eat anything heavy so I snacked on crackers.  Saturday evening we decided that I wasn't sick and that we should put our Halloween costumes on and find something fun to do.  We invited our good friends Kyle and Kate over as well.  I went to change and as I put my costume on I realized that I wasn't going to be able to leave the house in it.  Originally we wanted to be Pauly D and JWOWW from Jersey Shores, however BF cannot wear that to elementary school.  So then our plan was to be Mario (BF) and BatWoman (Me).  But then at the costume store I hated the BatWoman costume so I just picked the Robin costume instead... without trying it on.  Bad move.  BF didn't try his Mario costume on either but decided to when we got home.  Boy was he shocked by the costume sizing.  We had to take his Medium sized Mario costume back and he got an XL Spiderman instead.  I didn't try my Robin costume on since it was made by the same company as BatWoman so I figured it would fit the same.  Back to changing to go out on Saturday:  I put on the Robin costume and realized that it fit fine on top but was SO SHORT you could see EVERYTHING if I moved even a little bit. 

Luckily I keep my costumes from previous years so my options were 1) Marilyn Monroe  2) Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz  3) a Masquerade Vampire.  I ended up choosing Dorothy.  Kyle and Kate came over dressed as vampires and we didn't even leave the house.  BF and I broke out the new Rock Band and Guitar Hero games from his birthday and we rocked out for a while and then played Apples to Apples. All in all it was a fun, but very late, evening.  Pictures to come.

Sunday was recovery day and BF and I slept until 12:30pm.  I haven't slept that late in years.  We stayed in sweats all day and then waiting around for Trick-or-Treaters, but only got one group of middle school boys that were too old to be out.  BF is taking some candy to school with him today to keep on hand for treats.  I hope he doesn't take the Butterfingers.  Those are my favorite.

I'm home all week (for once!) before I head to Utah for work. 


Happy November!

I LOVE My Job BUT...

... then I visited some of our affiliate offices during our little LA trip and now I want to work at Hurley.  HOLY CRAP.  I mean, I really don't want to move to LA or the surrounding area because it is not really where I want to be (I adore Portland), but they have the COOLEST stuff at the Hurley campus.

We had some meetings there on the second day of our California trip for work and then we got to tour the Hurley facilities and I just about died.  They have a surfboard shaping workshop, an indoor skate park, an art gallery with artist in residence programs and a recording studio, also with an in-residence program.  When we were touring the recording studio we ran into Dan Smith from LA Ink who was there on some business as well. 

UGH.

Anyway, I'm back for a whopping TWO DAYS before I head off to Burlington, Washington for work again. 

Pictures from my travels to come...

Portland Is Definitely My Favorite...

...and LA sort of sucks.


So it's 70 degrees and sunny at home according to the news.  Do you know what it's doing in LA today, tomorrow and the next day?

RAINING.

Raining freakin cats and dogs. 


And there's lightning.


Do you know what happens when it rains hard and there is lightning in LA?  Everyone freaks out.  The stores shut down and people drive 30 miles and hour under the speed limit.  Needless to say the first day of our meetings in LA was awesome. 

I miss home and I miss my place and I miss BF. 

And I'm Off...

It was a nice weekend.  I got more house stuff done so our place is actually looking habitable instead of the maze of boxes it once was.  Also, I had to buy lamps for our living room.  No one ever told me how expensive LAMPS are.  Are you joking me?  I spent $86 on two lamps because guess what, you buy everything separately.  I bought the two lamps, two lamp shades, two lightbulbs and then two harps to hold the dang lampshades up.  Don't know what a harp is for lamps?  Neither did I.  It got me even more because all lamps and house accessories were 20% off.  That was the 20% off price!  UGH!


Anyway, so I did a lot of organizing and purging of clothes and I still have a lot to do in that area, but we are getting there.  I don't think I'd move anywhere new soon at this point because I am SO DONE with boxes of stuff. 

So I was home for a few days (Thursday through today) and tomorrow I'm off to California for work stuff and even though it will be fun I'm going to hate it because I just want to be home.  I'm not the best flyer, and I feel bad moving into a brand new place and leaving BF all alone in our disorganized home.  Also, I just want to go to work, go to the gym, go home and hang out with BF.  That's it.  I'm not that exciting.  I save my exciting adventures for the weekends. 

When I get home from California I will be home for 2 days before I head up to Washington for 4 days.  In those two days BF and I have to find pumpkins for the pumpkin carving party we are going to on Saturday, get our halloween costumes together, unpack old stuff and repack new stuff for my travels AND do all of the regular house stuff that needs to be done (grocery shopping, cleaning, laundry, etc). Another reason I'd rather be at home.


BUT, good times are coming.  BF's birthday is coming up, and then Halloween!  And before you know it it will be Thanksgiving and Christmas!  I LOVE the holidays and cannot wait.

And I'm Home... For Now

Just got back from Sunriver, OR.  It was nice, but just like everywhere else I've been lately I was allergic to it.  I'm not quite sure what "it" is, but something.  And it wasn't just me this time.  Some of my coworkers got rashy and itchy and sneezy... it must have been the pine pollen up there.  Who knows.

Anyway...

I was home all weekend trying to unpack the house and get it in some sort of state of organization and stability.  BF and I didn't finish everything, and then I was off to Sunriver until last night for work.  It stressed me out beyond belief to leave a mess at home, especially since BF had to live in it while I was gone... sorry!  Anyway, so work was fun, but it was still work. 

I drove up to Bend at 6am on Tuesday morning with an SUV full of groceries and meeting supplies.  I arrived in Bend around 8:15 or so and headed to the grocery store to pick up the ice cream and other items that I didn't feel like driving with then pulled up to the Sunriver Resort around 9:30 and started unloading.  To my dismay the main house we rented had the kitchen and living areas UPSTAIRS so I carried 1 GIGANTIC cooler up the stairs, two costco cases of beer, two 20x20x20 inch boxes full of supplies and 7 grocery bags up the stairs all by myself to get things set up.  I finished putting things away and prepping around 11am and watched TV for 30 minutes while I waited for the rest of my group to arrive for lunch.  We grabbed sandwiches at one of the little cafes in Sunriver and then headed to our afternoon activity.

This was the most fun part of the whole trip:  Bike Scavenger Hunt.  The adventure company set us up on a bike scavenger hunt, split us into 2 teams and sent us out into Sunriver.  We had a list of clues to find the locations and a disposable camera to take pictures once we got there.  It was a blast!  It was also a great workout and I think we ended up biking around 7 miles over the hour and 45 minute activity. 




We didn't really ride this one...


We had meetings all day on Wednesday, so I left Sunriver for home around 4:30... of course I had to stop at Starbucks and the Nike Store in Bend on my way :)  Right outside of Sisters, OR they were having a controlled burn near the highway so we had to crawl down the highway at around 15 miles an hour for a few miles, so I didn't get to Salem until 7:00!  I got home just after 8pm and was SO exhausted I could've cried.  And almost did.

Then I got a migraine and spent the rest of my evening on the couch with BF, trying not to throw up. 

The plan for today, tomorrow and the weekend is to get the rest of our new place in order!  I'm hoping I'll be done Saturday morning so I can be lazy the rest of the weekend.

NEVER AGAIN

Dani, you were right... that is exactly how I feel. 


Moving is not one of my favorite things. I was super excited to move to a place with BF.  I'm still excited about having a place together, but I'm just so exhausted from moving I want to crawl in bed for a week.  And we still aren't done.  We have unpacked most things and only have a few boxes left, but mostly we are working on finding homes for all of our belongings. 

We spent Thursday evening moving essential things over (soap, toilet paper, some food) and then I took Friday off so we could rent a truck and move all of the big furniture stuff.  It took ALL DAY and I got a pretty good work out.  My dad came and helped us so it went a lot faster than I anticipated.  I spent most of Saturday opening boxes and moving things to the correct rooms in the house and unpacking them.

I think we've decided to have a garage sale at my parents' house because BF and I don't have a garage or a driveway so having a garage sale at our place is pretty much impossible.  We have multiples of things since we've combined our house "stuff" and I have things that I don't really use but it's all in great condition so we just need to get it out.  Then I think with the money we earn we are going to buy a new Samsung flat screen tv- mostly because I like me some Samsung products and own one of their televisions already and LOVE it.  Or we'll put the money towards plane tickets to Costa Rica.  Yes, we are going there this summer. More on that later.

Also, our new place has NO PANTRY.  I don't know why I didn't realize that.  So I headed to the Ikea yesterday with my mother in tow to find a suitable freestanding cubbard or shelf unit for a pantry.  I found the Värde cabinet that is pretty dang heavy duty and the perfect size for storing our food. 

It was a pretty heavy box and when I got it home and opened it I realized that this may be one of the only SOLID WOOD pieces of furniture Ikea makes.  Seriously, those side panels and legs are SOLID WOOD.  Anyway, I think it's good so that it'll hold up well for us. 

So last night we spent FOREVER putting the thing together so we could get all of the food put away when we realized that we put the shelves on backwards.  And when we realized that we also realized that to get the shelves turned around we have to take the WHOLE THING APART to do that.  So we gave up and went to Walmart to get Halloween candy and minced garlic.

Speaking of Halloween... we've decided what our costumes will be this year.  I'll give you a couple hints as to what we may be dressing up as:  hair gel, spray tans, hair poofs. 

Anyway, I'm out of town for work for two days this week so I feel super bad leaving BF in a messy, half unpacked house, but that's my next thing to tackle when I get back.

And moving again?  Not any time soon if I can help it!
Happy Monday!

I'm Not Dead! and Other Amazing Things

Yesterday and Monday were the WORST DAYS EVER to be sick.  I just have so much going on that I didn't have time to sleep and get better, which is precisely why my body was like, "Hey, let's go ahead and catch this cold/flu thing that is going around."  But I survived and today I feel back to my old self again, with an added bonus of congestion.  And even though I didn't have time, it was nice to be in bed for a whole day and eat soup.  I love soup.  You can eat a whole can of it and it's only like 120 calories. 

Between naps the past two days I've been busy packing up my stuff because BF and I start moving TOMORROW.  If that isn't awesome I don't know what is.  I can't even handle it because we will have the best, coolest, funnest house EVER.  You are all invited to come and see/experience the superbness once we are all moved in.  Also we get to eat pizza.  Because apparently that's what you eat when you move.  I'm not going to argue with that.

BF also got his teacher business cards in the mail the other day.  I didn't realize that teachers had business cards, but I guess when you are substituting it's good to be able to leave contact info with schools.  Oh the things I don't think of.  Anyhow, they are pretty snazzy, with a blackboard and a jaunty pile of books on them.  Jealous?  I am.  Mine are plain white with alternating sports figures and sports equipment on them and orange lettering.  I want purple ones.


So now you all can rest easy because I am on the mend... I know you were worried.


To come... more product reviews and the deal with magnetic bracelets.

Why I'll Probably Go Home at Lunch Today

Oh you guys.  I am so sick today.

I think I caught a combination of the different colds and bugs that are floating around right now.  Yesterday I had a tickle in my throat and was tired.  I woke up this morning to the WORST SORE THROAT EVER, but no fever.  That's frustrating.  So instead of eating breakfast and going on my run I slowly got dressed and sprayed my throat with a million pumps of  Chloroseptic spray.  I love that stuff.  My face is all puffy and icky and I just feel gross.

So I'm at work now and I think I'll be leaving as soon as I get my necessary stuff done.  I'm going to stop by Freddy's on the way home and pick up soup and some Dayquil/Nyquil tablets and get in bed. 

I hope I'm better by Thursday so we can get our move done!

Happy Anniversary!

This week was BF and my 1 year anniversary.  I say this week because we didn't really have a specific DAY that we starting dating, it was more over a few days that we became "official". 

BF took me out for a fabulous dinner at Chart House.  It. Was. Amazing.  We had the lobster and shrimp spring rolls for an appetizer, then clam chowder (which has been the best chowder I've eatin in my life so far), and then our entrees were the Coconut Crunchy Shrimp and the Hazelnut Crusted Mahi.  For dessert we had the famous Chart House Molten Lava Cake that you have to order before you order your food because they make the cake from scratch and bake it upon request so it takes longer.  I don't think I've ever had a better meal. 

We exchanged cards and gifts- I got him a "Flipadelphia" t-shirt from the "It's Always Sunny In Philedelphia" show website and he got me an OWL BOOK!!!!  So awesome. 

We are idiots, though, and didn't get a single picture of us all dressed up for our fancy dinner.  I must say, I looked cute. 

I cannot believe we have been together for a year, but then in a sense I feel like we've always been together... if that makes sense. 

BF- thank you for being my best friend and my solid rock.  I can always count on you to make me laugh and we are never lacking on adventures and good times.  Some of my favorite things about you that make me love you more each day are:

1. The "shrimp" dance you do when I yell, "SHRIMP!".
2.  Your slightly innappropriate sense of humor.
3.  You stop thinking and get "foggy" when you are hungry.  It can sometimes be hilarious.
4.  You smell wonderful!
5.  You are always up for trying new things and going on adventures.
6.  You like to camp as much as I do.
7.  You text me funny things that happen to you during the day... you still need to tell me about the lunch- ketchup incident from yesterday.
8.  You sometimes pattern your speech like Mitch Hedberg without even noticing it.
9.  You LOVE to eat, and you love to eat what I cook!
10.  You have blonde eyebrow hairs, but dark brown/black hair.


My list could go on much longer, but I'm probably boring everyone else.

I love you so very much!  Here's to another wonderful year together.

Why Morning Runs Are Not My Thing

I've been getting into doing short road races lately... mostly 5K's.  I like them because they are short enough that I know I will finish without totally killing myself but long enough so that I have to keep working and running so I don't suck... and even so I can get faster.

I made a commitment to myself that I would stop doing cardio at the gym after my weight sessions and just focus on running longer distances and harder on my in-between days.  That's been working out pretty well, until it got hot again this week.  Before this week it's been cool and some days even cold so I can go straight home, throw on running gear and take my run in the late afternoon/early evening.  This week it's been close to 80 every afternoon and we've had 90% humidity so outside feels like a broken sauna.  UGH.  I hate running in the heat so this doesn't work for me.  My options were to move my running time to later in the evening after it cools off (around 9 or 10) or wake up super early around 4am and go.  I've done BOTH of those options this week and I feel that late night runs are much more suited to me.

I got up this morning to run at 4am.  I changed into my running stuff and then promptly went back to sleep for another 15 minutes.  THEN I grabbed my iPod and ran out the door.  I usually don't get a good rhythm going until about 5 or 6 minutes into my run.  This morning I just couldn't get into a rhythm.  I felt all clunky and awkward and like I was running against the current in a molasses river.  My legs just wouldn't move.  I was SHOCKED to find out when I got home that I ran 11. minute. miles...  I haven't run that slowly for over a  year!  Just two days ago I was hitting an average of 7 minute 50 second miles.  Plus my nose was all runny and I didn't bring a tissue so I kept sniffling as I ran. 

When I ran the other night I felt AWESOME... and I think that it is due to having a day's worth of food in me to pull energy from.  Also, I like running at night when I have things on my mind.  I get my frustration and anxiety out and think more clearly.  I can hardly think about moving my feet in the mornings.  The only downside to running at night is that I go to bed later and usually have to rush around in the morning because I didn't get stuff done the night before... while I was running. 

I may give early morning running 1 more try.  Eh.

Baking Soda is a Miracle Item

So we know that I use baking soda and water instead of shampoo, and I've been looking up ways to make my own household cleansers and most of them call for baking soda as part of the recipe, but I didn't realize that Baking Soda was SO awesome until last night.

I told you about my face rash.  Most of the day at work I spent my energy trying not to scratch at my face which made me pretty grouchy.  I did a Google search of remedies for rashes and allergic reactions and found that a baking soda and water paste has long been used to soothe rashes and bug bites.  Before I went to bed I made a thin paste and gently spread it on my face.  I let it set for a few minutes until it dried and then I rinsed my face in cold water.  As soon as I patted my face dry my skin was noticeably less red and a lot less itchy.  This morning when I woke up my face had cleared up considerably, but still some rash remained so I made some more paste to put on my face while I got dressed.  I'm not wearing any make-up or lotion today because I don't want to irritate my skin further.  I'm totally impressed by baking soda. 

The cool part is that baking soda is inexpensive and easy to find at pretty much any store.  It's way better on your and the environment than harsh chemicals and has a billion uses (as I am finding out).

It Has Begun

... the craziness, that is.

Last week I didn't post at all because it was our annual huge work conference and I worked twelve hour or so days for most of it.  It was a long, but very fun, week. 

Friday I worked in the morning before heading to Beverly Beach state park to camp with BF.



Beverly Beach



Along the Nature Trail



Ancient Stump... duh





HUGE ROOTS!






I'm under the tree!






Dinner!



We got out there in the mid-late afternoon and set up camp and then just hung out.  Saturday I woke up with my allergies all a-buzz and my eyes/face/neck covered in a lovely rash.  Who knows what it's from.  I spent the rest of our weekend and most of today chowing down Benadryl and slathering on ointment.  Awesome!

Despite the allergic reactions to camping, BF and I had a great time.  Saturday we walked along the beach and collected agates and jasper for my mom (she is now what the call a "Rock Hound" and has started collecting and polishing them).  After our stroll on the beach we wandered to see the Beverly Beach State Park attractions.  We found the really old stump, a nature trail that lead us around the wooded area of the park through groves of trees with huge roots above ground that we could fit under, and then finally we wandered back to camp to roast our dinner over the fire. 

Saturday evening we stayed up late in the tent and read the last Harry Potter book out loud to eachother until we were too tired to continue.  I woke up around 3am when I heard the strangest sound.  As I sat in the tent I realized what I was hearing... the wind coming up from the beach through the little grove we were camping in before it got to us.  It was pretty cool, and then all of a sudden the wind hit our campsite!  A few minutes later it started raining pretty hard.  As the wind and rain lulled me back to sleep, it also knocked a few branches from the trees and woke BF up with quite a start.  We got up around 7am and everything was SOAKED.  We ate breakfast and packed camp up as I tried not to scratch my face.  We were done in record time and headed back home around 9:30am to get ready for our week.

Up next:  Packing and moving this week and next.  Then I'm off to meetings and store openings! 

Adding to the List

Only when I have a completely full list of things to do are more things added.  That's just the law of life I guess.

But this added "to do" on my list is more exciting than anything!

BF and I are moving in two weeks!  Yes, that is right in the middle of everything happening that I posted about the other day, but I WANT to do this!

So today we are off to put down a deposit and sign paperwork and all that jazz that goes along with moving to a new place.  I also need to cancel my storage space, change my address, look into cable/internet, and then look up the utilities for our new place. 

I also need to buy a few house things- but that's just another excuse to go to Ikea. :)

Before You Know It...

... it will be Christmas.  Seriously guys. 


This week at work has been hectic!  We have a huge meeting next week where everyone from all over the United States and Canada comes to campus and we have this week long meeting thing with food and fun and festivities planned.  It happens every September.  So I was looking at our agenda for next week and then also looking at my calendar and realising that HOLY CRAP it's almost the holidays.  There are Halloween and Thanksgiving decorations at the store already and Costco already has Christmas decorations. 

My next few months look like this:

Next week: Big meeting until Friday.

Week after:  Get ready for 3 new store openings, only 2 I have to actual travel to.  And it's BF and my anniversary.

First week of October:  New Store management teams at work for training.

2nd week of October:  Meeting in Southern California with boss and business partners.

3rd week of October:  Meeting in Sunriver with business partners.

4th week of October:  last meetings for new store openings and holiday prep.

5th week of October:  go to Burlington, WA for the week to set up new store before it opens.  Also it's BF's birthday AND Halloween.

1st week of November:  Back in office to get ready for another store opening and Black Friday prep.

2nd week of November:  go to Jordan, UT for the week to set up new store before it opens.

3rd week of November:  Catch up at the office from traveling for a month.

4th week of Novemnber:  Work, and then Thanksgiving.

5th week of November/1st week of December:  WORK WORK WORK.

2nd week of December.  Work like a fiend to get ready for the holidays.

3rd week of December:  Work until Friday, go to Disneyland with BF and his family.

4th week of December:  Come back from Disneyland and then it's Christmas.

5th week of December:  Work, and then New Year's.



OMG.  In all of this BF and I will probably be moving... hopefully sooner than later.  What happened to 2010?

HALLELUJAH!

Holy Crow, BF got a job. 

A million pounds has been lifted off of his shoulders and we can both relax and then start worrying about moving now.

BUT... we can move now, so that's nice.  We are going to Cha Cha Cha for dinner to celebrate.  I'm freaking out right now I'm so happy. 

What a blessing.

Our Relaxing Weekend

OH MY GOSH, I'm going to get more massages.  I had forgotten how awesome they are.


Friday afternoon BF and I ventured down SE Hawthorne to Dosha for our couples massage.  It. Was. Fabulous.  I'd never had a massage there so I was a little unsure of how they did things, but it was very relaxing and probably the best thing I've done for myself in a while.  The therapist started by having me choose an essential oil that I liked the smell of, then he dropped a few drops of it on the massage table's head rest so I would smell it the whole time.  He started the massage by putting a steamy towel on my back and a hot one on my neck for a couple minutes which felt awesome.  Later when he flipped me over he put a steamy rolled up towel under my neck with a few drops of Blue Oil on it which really cleared up my sinuses.  From what I can tell, BF's was about the same, but I wasn't really paying attention because I was close to sleep the entire time. 

At the end of the massage I felt so light and relaxed it was hard to drive back home! 

Friday night was Fall Softball for BF, so after running semi-fun work errands I headed to the field to watch them play.  We went out with the team afterwards, which is always entertaining, and the old guys were in rare form.  There's something sort of awesome about hanging out with old people; tons of great stories, off-color jokes, and hilarious advice.

Saturday was unplanned, but turned into a big day of shopping with my mom.  We haven't gotten to spend a lot of time together recently, so it was nice to get out with her.  We went to Ikea and ended up shopping a bunch of the other stores in that area.  The only thing I got at Ikea was a lamp to match one that I already have, but I found some great bathroom accessories at Home Goods for our new place... which we don't have yet but probably will soon.  I got some great ideas though at Ikea and can't wait to take BF there to do some more housewares/furniture shopping.  We are in need of some more bookshelves I think.

Saturday night we met up with Kyle and Kate at Red Robin for drinks and dessert before we saw "Resident Evil 4", which wasn't too bad, but was pretty cheesy. 

Sunday I ran more errands, went grocery shopping and made a list of what we still need to get before we move.  I also decided that we should have a garage sale after we move.  Then I did massive amounts of laundry and researched better detergents and home cleaning solutions to use. UGH.  It's a little daunting to have to sit and read the labels so thoroughly and then Google all of the chemicals that I don't know about.  But I'm doing the work now so I don't have to do it later, plus I'll know what is what when I read labels in the store.

Today I'm scheduling another massage for BF and I at the end of this month because I will need it.  The weekend is over and I'm missing it terribly.

Alternative Toiletries Update

So I've successfully gotten through a little over two full weeks of not using shampoo or conditioner and you know what, I don't think I'll ever go back. 

There are a few things I've done to tweak my recipe, and I don't know if I've got it right just yet, but I love being able to be so flexible with my ingredients.  I've kept the cleansing recipe the same, but the sealer/conditioner is what I've been playing a bit with.  This week I added clove bud oil and cinnamon oil to my vinegar and water and my hair smells like spicy autumn.  It's awesome.  I've also cut down to using the solution about every other day and then in the inbetween days I just rinse my hair with some water if I need to. 

I also added a step to my face wash routine.  I found some rosewater and glycerin spray at New Seasons to use as a moisturizer.  The rainy week has dried my skin out a bit (weird, I know, but that's how my skin is) and I was hoping to find a good moisturizer that wasn't straight oil.  It's made from distilled water, roses, and vegetable glycerin (no animal products) and you just spritz it on your skin.  Plus, it smells like roses.

I also bought some sweet almond oil to start putting on after I shower because with the weather changing my skin is getting a little dry all over.  Almond oil smells wonderful as well. 

I'm still struggling with the deoderant thing.  I still have left over regular deoderant that I'm trying to use up, so I'm still alternating between regular and natural ones.  I think it'll be easier as the weather gets colder because I won't worry so much about the sweating... not that I sweat a lot, but you know, just self concious that way.  It's so hard for me to switch my thinking from "sweat= smelly" to "a little sweat doesn't necessarily mean smelly".

I've recently found a couple of good books at Powell's.  The first one is "Make Your Place", a little 'zine published by Microcosm Publishing about sustainable, affordable living.  It is full of recipes for cleaning your home and your self, first aid recipes, and how to compost and garden more effectively.  It was a great buy at $7 because it explains exactly how to do things, what is in what you are using, and why there are better alternatives than mass produced chemical concoctions. It even has an all natural pest control section to deter creepy crawlies from your living space naturally- LOVE IT! 

The other is "The Naturally Clean Home"  which has very detailed recipes and instructions for cleaning with ingredients like baking soda, castile soap, lemon oil, vinegar and borax just to name a few.

Anyway, just wanted to pass along the info!