What was I thinking...

Becca walks in to the bank and says do you want to run the Shamrock 5k with me? I instaneously say absolutely and get Tara to do it with us as well. What was I thinking. Today was my first day jogging and I feel like my legs could just fall off. I jog/walked a mile in 14 minutes. How sad is that. My legs are killing me as well as my ankles. However from where I started off from a couple years ago it's a whole lot better. Back then when I first start I think I jogged really fast walked a mile in about 20 minutes. So I shaved off about 6 minutes of time which is pretty good because it's been about 8 months since I jogged last. I'm actually kind of excited about doing it I just need to get into shape and take off some weight by that time so I can be faster. Hopefully it works and I can be into shape or at least be able to run 3 miles by March 13. Pray that I can do it.

Decisions

I found myself thinking while we were travelling down the road in the truck that every decision could change the rest of your life. One decision, one choice could change something about the way you live your life and what might happen to you later on in life. That one decision that you make changes something about the way you live and that one decision could make your life spiral out of control and you might lose your way. It's amazing that just one decision can change your life for the worse or even for the better. That choices have such a dramatic effect on the way you live. Its mind boggling to me. You hear or even see people that were such great children and then something happened, something changed and a decision went through their brain and they acted upon it. They changed for the worse. You also hear about the other spectrum of a change happening. Something happens and they change for the better. They take control of their life and something great comes out of it. Then of course their is the middle ground. I think that I'm the middle ground. Nothing great, lots of good, nothing bad, nothing horrible. Hopefully everyone has more great then bad. It's interesting when your mind wonders and what you start to think about.

Kitchen Cabinets 2

Well it didn't happen today. I was too lazy apparently to do anything with the kitchen cabinets. Bill helped move a hot tub for a friend while I watched Gilmore Girls and played on the computer while spending money on itunes when I probably shouldn't have. As soon as Bill came back home we went to recycle plastic and cardboard, went to the church and set up for coffee, grabbed the old Christmas trees from the church, dropped off some boards and knee board at a house, went up on the hill and threw the Christmas trees on the burn pile, and then finally ended up at Donnie and Jessie's new house drinking some beer/wine coolers and walking around the new house talking with friends. Well maybe tomorrow or next weekend I will finally get around to the kitchen cabinets. Who knows though.

Friday Night

Went out to dinner with friends tonight. We went all the way down to Tillamook for Chinese because it's the only close place to us that serves Chinese. It was so incredibly good. Twice now in the past two weeks, each Friday we have gone to Chinese. Once by ourself and once with friends. It's so nice to be able to go out however our fortune cookie that Bill got was perfect for us. Something that we should always take to heart but so far we haven't. You should work hard for money and hold on to it.

Bill and I are trying really hard right now to save money for multiple reasons. One such reason is taxes. Every year we have to pay and this year we actually will have the money for when we do our taxes and get the final figure on how much we owe. It sucks that we have to pay every single year. Never State always Federal. When will the madness stop!! Hopefully sometime it will. We have changed how much taxes is withheld last year as well as this year. Hopefully it won't be so bad. I hope that you are better then us.

Kitchen Cabinets

Alas, my kitchen isn't coming along as fast as I would hope for. I'm feel like I'm procrastinating for no apparent reason. I know I just need to sand them down and stain them but I need a day to do it. It is such a massive project but I know that once I actually do it my kitchen will look great. I'm hoping this weekend that I will actually get time alone with my kitchen cabinets and start sanding them down. I've done one so far and it looks great. I still need to sand it down one more time and then do the second coat of stain before I can turn it over and start on the other side. Then I'm going to hang it up and stare at it. It's a beautiful stain color and I just need to get in the kitchen and do it.

Physical Therapy

I had my first physical therapy appointment on Monday. Everything went great. She said that she is surprised at how well I'm doing with how bad the accident was. She did so many different measurements with me sitting down on a chair and pulling my arm this way and that way. Eventually she had me lay down and poked and pushed me. I told her that the mornings are always the worst time for my arm. So she told me how to sleep. I get to have a pillow in between my ankles and knees to help my lower back and then I get to hug a pillow to help my shoulder. At the end she put electrical pads on my arm and did some shock therapy on my arm. That was definitely a different feeling that I haven't had before. Hopefully I won't have to go that many more times. I will keep you updated on the treatment.

6:50

It's 6:50 in the morning and I'm hoping against eveything that I don't have to go to work. But alas of course I do because it's Thursday, not a weekend. Somedays it's just harder and harder to have to dress nicely and talk to people all day long. However I heard that we are going to have the power go off today for 6 hours. I'm just hoping it's going to actually happen and that the guy is right about the power going off. I love when the power goes off because we lock the doors and we don't have to really do anything. We play games and just help people through the drive up window. So nice. It's completely relaxing. Anyway, I am just praying that it's going to be a good day.

Weekend

I'm so incredibly happy that Melissa, one of my longest ever friends came out to the coast this weekend. She came with her friend James on Saturday and then they left this morning. Melissa is one of my closest friends that I can tell anything and everything to and not think that she sees me differently or thinks the worst of me.

We went to the Sea Shack for dinner, Bayway for some drinks, and the Sea Shack for some more drinks and karoke. Yes I did sing again. My second time ever. Again though not up there by myself. This time I was with Stephanie and we sang a Carrie Underwood song. It was such a fun time.

Sunday, we went out to coffee. Walked to the beach with Lucky and Pretty Girl. James jogged. Melissa and I walked. Went to the Big Wave and then we began our journey. We started up at the Astoria Column walking up it so incredibly fast that it felt like we jogged up it. We drove to the Goonies house, bought candy in Seaside, took a picture of Melissa and James with Lewis and Clark, then to the Nehalem Bay Winery for some Blackberry wine.

For dinner I made some homemade noodles while James made some alfredo sauce and drank some of the Blackberry wine. It was subperb. It was so fantastic tasting that I would eat it everyday of the week if I could and not gain any weight at all. Then back to the Bayway for Pepsi in my case. Melissa was asked to have drinks with the owner of the bar so we had to go back there so she could before she left.

I kept trying to get her to move back in with us but unfortunately she isn't going to not anytime soon. Which is completely sad but it's ok. Maybe again one day. It was sad to say goodbye but its not for forever.

Demolition Phase 1

So I'm not quite sure if I told anyone about my present that I got from my aunt for Christmas. She bought me an electric sander. I was completely walking on clouds because I bought a hand sander that is completely fine but would have taken me forever to try to sand down all of our kitchen cabinets. That and the fact that it would have taken me longer to sand them down because of the accident that we were in my arm and shoulder wouldn't have allowed me to do that much.

Bill and I have started our demolition of the house. Bill has been using an air compressor and gun to break the bricks free from around the fireplace. He has gotten a lot done so far and just has the bricks on the floor and then about a foot to two feet in places of bricks on the wall. We also have been able to pull down 2 of the panel boards with 3 more to come. The panelling has always darkened the living room in that corner and now that 2 out of the 5 boards are gone you can tell instananeously that its already brighter.

While he is breaking apart the bricks I used my electric sander and started sanding down one of the kitchen cabinets. It was fun. We bought stain awhile ago and since I sanded down the cabinet I stained it as well. It will be interesting to see what it's going to look like because my other staining project didn't turn out really good. I have to wait until 7:45 tonight to re-sand and then re-stain. I'm hoping that it comes out well. I also have knobs to put on the cabinets to really make them look like new.

Hopefully soon pictures will come. I will try to do some before and after shots if I have any left of the fireplace like it used to be.

Dreams

So last nights dream was an interesting one for me. Now I can't remember every detail but I know enough of it that I'm going to share it. So out front in my yard right in front of the house i have a flower bed. For some reason we had a massive hole extending from the driveway to the end of the entry way the entire flower bed. The hole was 20 feet long and probably 8 feet deep. I was the only one home so I was the one that had to fill in the hole. I left the dogs inside and went out to fill the hole to fill it back in with a shovel. I then glanced in the window and saw Lucky, my dog, putting her head through the curtains standing on the couch looking out the window at me. Now my dogs are not allowed to be on the couches and no matter what I do I can't get them to stop coming up on the couch. So of course I'm upset and come back inside and yelled at Lucky to get off the couch and made her lay on her bed. I go back outside and begin shoveling the dirt filling the hole again. I look in the window and see the same sight Lucky on the couch looking out at me. So again I go in and yell at her to get off the couch. So this goes on for a few more times. Eventually I got so mad that I put Lucky and Pretty Girl in the bedroom and tell them to stay there and stay off the bed and closed the door so they couldn't get out. I went back outside and finished the filling in the hole. I came back in and went back to the bedroom. I opened the door and found both of them on the bed. They are again not allowed on the bed but unlike the couch they never get on the bed ever. So I came in with them on the bed Pretty Girl immediately jumped off the bed and then with incredible strength I took Lucky by the collar and started shaking her and telling her that she was bad. Now my Lucky is my dog, I love her very much and she is a black lab/golden retriever mix not a small dog. So me being able to pick her up and hold her is massively impressive. That's when my dream ended. I laugh thinking of the dream because I would never be that mean to Lucky ever shes my dog. This was such a funny dream to me.

Mail and Phone Calls

Today was a good day!! I opened the mail and we got the title to my car!!! I'm really excited to put it into our names and have it be officially ours. However I have a weird feeling that I'm going to get in a wreck now and total it out. I'm not sure if its more the fact that we were in an accident a month and a half ago or if it's something else. However at the same time if I got into an accident then I would be able to get my Ford Expedition that I really want. However I really, really don't want to get into another accident. I'm tired of being freaked out and always thinking about getting in accidents. Enough of my rambling.

Another good thing that happened was that we got the phone call that our fireplace is in!!! We are going to go pick it up on Saturday!! Yay!!!!!! Bill and I are already demolishing the bricks around the fireplace we already have, so hopefully soon we will have the new one in. I will have pictures soon I promise!

Criminal Minds

So Bill and I have been hooked on the TV show called criminal minds. It amazes me and slightly frightens me that there are people like what they show on the television that are out in the real world. It makes me not want to trust anyone at all that I ever meet. Some of the episodes are really disturbing. I'm glad that I have a God to pray to and to watch over me and my family and friends. It's sad to think what some people are forced to go through and see in their life. It is a good show but very sad. I like that they catch all of them it's the best part of the entire show. I've always been fascinated in criminology and this show it more about the physcology of the killers and if I went to college for what I was going to do. Boy, my life would be insanly different if I was doing that now. I'm kind of glad that I'm not doing anything close to that. I think I like to be a little naive to what really goes on in the world.

Newest Movies

I love movies. I love everything about them. They make noise, are completely visual and they make me imagine what I should do in my life or wish I could do or be. They show me a world that I have never known. They let me focus on them and not my life. They have help me through my most darkest moments when I couldn't turn to anyone.

Anyway, enough about that. My newest movie selections for the past couple of months have been disney/pixar movies. My children section is growing by the month by a few movies every time. Costco had the best deal so far for disney/pixar movies. They had a selection of dvd's for 8.99!! An unheard of price for cartoon movies that are usually in the neighborhood of 18 - 25 dollars. My newest movies are The Emperors New Groove, The Great Mouse Detective, How to Train Your Dragon, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Kung Fu Panda, Madagascar 2, Monsters vs Aliens, The Rescuers, and lastly, Toy Story 3. Granted some of the movies I got at Fred Meyer but all in all they are my newest movies. I'm leaning more towards children movies then my chick flicks right now because I have most of the ones that I want already and the other ones I do want I just don't feel like paying the price for them. I am a cheap movie buyer. It kills me to buy movies for full price and if I do it has to be something amazing, fantastic, out of this world. Really something that both Bill and I really enjoyed.

First Purchase

So Bill and I made our first purchase yesterday down in Tillamook. I had to brave through the flood water to get down there but it was worth it to make the first purchase. Really there was only flood water south of Rockaway and only a few inches but it still makes me nervous. I always think that I'm going to stall out in the middle of the water and people are going to honk and get mad at me. So anyway, Bill had a physical therapy appointment yesterday also in Tillamook so while he was there I went to Fred Meyers and got new Chocolate Chips because our other ones that we bought apparently were recalled. After that we met up over by Farmers Insurance and went into the fireplace shop. You guessed it we bought a fireplace. It is on order so we should be getting it in a few days. We already started tearing down the fireplace that we have now. Really just the wood on top of the bricks but we still started. The bricks are going to come down in the next few days as well as the panelling!!!!!! I'm so stoked that we are finaling starting!!!

Who Knows...

The day the earth stood still was the beginning of my life. While every one was freaking out there I was beginning my life a fresh. Wondering down the streets looking and taking everything in like it was slow motion. Walking like I was on top of a mountain. I was wearing leather of course because that's what you where when you are hard core and have something to show off. Guns strapped on my hips, shoulders, and ankles. Waiting for the war that is soon to begin. Just waiting for someone to think that they can take me. Little did I know that no one was even paying attention to me there was a greater evil out there that they were running away from. Raiders. They had formed before the world stood still waiting for the inevitable to happened. Rounding the corner I came face to face with one such person. He grabbed me by the arm threw me against the wall. My hand shot up and sucker punched him in the solar plex making him drop his hold against me and then I head butted him. That wasn't the best idea. My head instantly hurt and I felt like I was oging to pass out. It seemed so much easier in the movies. Apparently either they have the thickest skulls ever or they are just super human. I continued to walk down the streets looking, watching for something else to happen. It was my turn to be bold, to have confidence, to be the best that I could be. Is it going to happen? Who knows. But I continue down the street and look for action that could be.


More to come later I'm sure.

New Laptop

Bill got me the best gift ever a new laptop. It is the most amazing thing ever. I love the fact that I can read the New York Times every day if I wish to. That I have so many applications for Microsoft, all the templates. I love the fact that I have Mahjong to play whenever I want to. I love that I can now be on the computer while sitting and lounging on the couch being a couch potato. Do you think that I love this computer?

Our 6th Anniversary

Bill and I celebrated our 6th anniversary yesterday on the 15th of January. We were married on the 15th at 2 O'clock in the afternoon after a major ice storm. 6 years ago I woke up and took Lucky out to go to that bathroom that day and noticed that every tree was weighed down dramatically with ice. When I came back in my dad asked me if I was still getting married. I said of course I am are you crazy. So that day we slowly made it to the church and Bill and I got married. Only about 80 people showed up out of around 200 that would have came. We were excited to have that many people on such a crazy day of ice though.

We went down to Newport for the weekend to celebrate by going to the Hallmark Resort and Hotel. We got down there at 9pm, walked into the hotel and said that we had reservations for the weekend. I'm glad that I had my reservation confirmation notice because come to find out that the reservation for some reason was for July 14 instead of January 14. Isn't that hilarious!! Jessie, one of the girls that I work with used to work for Hallmark up in Cannon Beach and made the reservations for us. Neither she nor I realized what had happened. So instead of the room we were supposed to get we got a queen size bed with ocean front room. Everything was the same except we didn't have a spa tub. So we had a queen size bed, fireplace, living room, and balcony. It was wonderful.

We went to the Wax Works, Rippley's Believe It or Not, and the Undersea Gardens. We were going to go to the Aquarium but it was raining so hard that we didn't want to get drenched walking through it. We then walked around downtown Newport on the waterfront. Then we went back to the hotel and took a nap. That was really nice to take a nap in the middle of the day. For dinner we then went to a sports pub. They had great food and drinks. I got a Long Island Iced Tea and it was so strong that I was beginning to feel it after a few sips. Which is insane to me. It was nice, fun and romantic in the pub though. It was nice to go somewhere for the weekend and out to dinner with just Bill and I. We had such a great time!!

Flooring

So I think that I picked out the flooring for our house. I think that we are going to go with a toasted almond color carpet (which is a little bit darker then what's in the house right now). It's going to be in the living room and all the bedrooms. Then we are going to get wood flooring called Jamacian Coconut Shell (actually a darker wood) for the dining room, kitchen, hallway, and entry way. Then we are going to do a slate or tile insert in the entry way as soon as you walk in, in all the closets, and under the washer and dryer. Then the bathroom will be tile that we had bought I'm sure at least a year or two ago. It will be wonderful to have new flooring in the house!!! It will look so upgraded just with that.

6th Anniversary Present

So....I just got my anniversary present today. I know that it's a couple days early. Our anniversary is on the 15th but Bill couldn't wait and thought that I could use it this weekend when we go away. He couldn't wait so bad that he actually brought to me at work along with a birthday check since his birthday is tomorrow. It was fun to open a present at the bank. He walked in with the box under his arm. All it said was Amazon on the box. I opened up the box to find another box. Which I was thinking that it was a computer but I didn't want to jinx myself until I was able to see it. Oh, it was great!!!!!! I love my new laptop. It's red and pretty!! I can't wait to see Bill's face when he opens up his presents. He is going to be so excited to find out what he got!!!

The Bad Morning

So you ever have those days where you just can't find your keys for the life of you. Well, I had that day recently. However it wasn't the keys to my car or to the house of course, it was to my work. Now it wouldn't be that big of a deal but unfortunately that morning it was. Patty was going to come in late and I was supposed to open the branch. That morning was supposed to be great but instead I went into panic mode and I had to call Patty to go to the branch just to open while I continued to search. I searched everywhere. I searched the entire house, my purse, the car, the coat pockets, everywhere. Eventually I went back to the branch at 8:40 and called Bill frantically. He hadn't seen them either. Patty went back home and I continued to search at work in my purse. Well, I got a new purse for Christmas and if the zipper is down where you can't see it then you forget that there is a back pocket. I eventually remembered it while I was staring at the purse and opening up the pocket out they sprang. I was beginning to think that I was never going to find them. Once I found them I felt like a complete idiot. I normally don't put them there and I couldn't believe I forgot about the pocket. Therefore when I went home for lunch I switched purses because I was to upset at the purse I was using. I kept calling a do-over for the morning but it didn't happen. The day just continued. Blah.

Home Improvements

So today was the day!! I got the call!!! We can sign papers for our loan tomorrow!!!!!!! $30,000.00 is coming our way sometime this week. It is so needed that it will be nice to finally be able to do all the things we need to do.

Here is our to do list:

Fence
Pay off Car
Pay off Credit Card
New Siding
New Front Windows
New Back Door
New Front Door and Side Window
New Flooring in the Entire House
New Fireplace
New Dishwasher
and
Possibly New Counter Tops

I think that, that is it!! I know it will be like we have a brand new house by the time we are done!! It will be so nice to not come home and see our house falling apart. Our flooring will be amazing compared to what we have now. I will be able to keep it clean because of my very nice vacuum cleaner!! Hopefully I will be able to get a camera sooner because we will be saving money that I will be able to take pictures and share with all of you all the fun and new things that we are doing!!

Brown Sugar Meringues!!

So my recipe for Brown Sugar Meringues turned out fabulously!! I loved them. Then turned out crispy and melt in your mouth good. They were completely easy to make and they will be continuous made from now on. The recipe had me make them, bake them, and then for some added interest put whip cream in the middle of them and drizzle chocolate over them! They were delicious!! So I had to update you about them because they were fabulous!!

Remember When

Do you remember growing up with your family seeing cousins that you haven't seen in months or even years? Probably most everyone has. I had that moment on Christmas day when my cousin that I haven't seen in a year, who by the way is 15, is now taller then me.

Growing up my brother was always taller then me by only a inch at times until he got his growth spurt while away in the Air Force. My cousin Zach who is about 5 months younger then me was always shorter until again he hit a growth spurt sometime after high school I think and grew an inch or two taller. Then my youngest, fondest cousin has always been the baby. He was born on February 21 when I was 9 almost 10. I was able to hold him and play with him. When he hit the time when he was 2 years old I would hold him and he would ask incessantly what things where. "What's that?" "An apple tree" a moment later "what's that?" "grass" a moment later "Question" "Answer" so on and so on. I love him and I loved the questions. We have always had a special bond. From the moment he was able to talk he called me My (My Name here). We always hung out and had our own fun together.

When he walked in on Christmas Day I had to actually look up at him. Mind you he is 15 right now and last year when I saw him he was still shorter then me by at least a few inches. He grew over a foot almost foot and a half!! It's insane to me that I have to look up at him and now I'm the shortest cousin out of them all. How depressing is that!! It's nice to know though that we still have a lot to talk about and that we still have that bond. I only wish that I saw him more often. *Sigh*

Life Changes Eventually

When life throws you a bone you better catch it, right? Well I think so because it might be something that is so amazing that you would regret passing it up. No I don't have any of those kind of opportunities but I'm waiting for some. I'm looking into classes maybe for next term or even enrolling in college at some point. I think I'm getting restless here at the job I have. It's not that I don't like my job I'm just ready for a change. I don't think that I want to be in banking for the rest of my life. By the time I would reach retiring age I would be in banking for 33 years. Not something that I want to do and look forward to. Now comes to the fact that I'm not sure what I'm going to do to try to become. I think that I'm going to start out slow. The sad thing is that I would probably really enjoy taking classes at The Portland Art Institute but it's so far away to take any classes there. Isn't that sad. Oh well. I think that I will find something up at Clatsop Community College and start there. With that I'm still undecided but I will let you know once I do decide. I'm really thinking of something in business or medical assistant (?) and then some fun courses with cameras. Learning more about them. I think I take decent pictures but I want to be able to take phenomenal pictures. Anyway, I will keep thinking and researching what I want.

Yummy Treats!!

So I think that I have decided that I'm going to try to make a dessert every Saturday when I'm home and then share it with someone and hope they like it. That way, secretly, I don't have to eat the whole thing by myself. My first creation is going to be Brown Sugar Meringues. They sounded and looked really good and then great thing is they only have 2 ingredients!! I love that part. I have 2 other recipes that I'm anxious to try as well. So look out I might be on your doorstep before you think with some yummy treats.