TGIF!!!

wow, are you glad the week is over?  i am!  it was a long one...again, nothing necessarily bad, but just a LOOOONG week. 

this weekend?  i'm thinking of going to see Inception.  Anyone seen? 

I have to bring some clothing of my mom's to a consignment store, have to write some letters to put liens on people's homes (unfun) and then throw some exercise in there somewhere as well.  dinner with my cousin, which i cannot wait for.

no word on the job yet.  apparently monday may be the day. 

i'm thinking also some baking may be in store.  Maybe Angela's Healthy Carrot Cake Power Scuffins?  They look great and I think they are just the thing.  or maybe something with carob?  oh, i love carob, but having a tough time finding it around here?  when i was little, they used to sell carob starts, etc.  they are MIA right now though. 

anyway, that's my not-so-exciting weekend.  monday, i'll be able to share a lot more with you, i promise.  i feel like i've been hiding away! 

summer time!

picked up the CSA goodies today.  There are gigantic zucchini in there and summer squash.  bigger than my forearm!  there are huge beets and spinach also. 

a few weeks ago i won a giveaway by Jessica at "Living in the Kitchen, Gym and Mall".  she was generous enough to give a gift certificate away for Element Bars.  this company is known for allowing you to make your own energy bars, by choosing your own ingredients and having THEM make the bars!  it's an awesome concept.  i was skeptical, as i had just started making my own bars and i'm pretty happy with the recipe.  instead of making my own bars, i got a "try it" pack of three of their special bars.  one is blueberry, one is cranberry and one is cherry.  anyway, i got three flavors/4 bars each.  i was so excited to get them! 

first off, i didn't know that they all had whey in them, which automatically took t out of the running for eating them, due to his dairy allergy.  i tried the blueberry.  ick.  it was strange texturally, and i'll say, i'm not a fan of blueberries in general.  i tried the crispier bars last night.  they are good, but not exceptional.  they have very little fruit taste to them and i'm guessing a lot of protien powder taste to them. 

so for now, and likely for good, i'm sticking to my recipe.  For those of you who want...here it is: 

1 cup rolled oats

1 cup of your favorite crunchy cereal

1/4 cup sesame seeds

1 1/2 cup chopped apricots

1 cup raisins (I like dried berries instead)

1/4 cup chopped almonds

1/4 cup wheat germ

1/2 cup protein powder

1 tablespoon butter or canola oil

3/4 cup brown rice syrup

1/2 cup peanut butter

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350. Lightly spray a 9x13 inch pan with nonstick cooking spray.

Spread the oats, cereal, and sesame seeds out on an ungreased cookie sheet and toast for about 10 minutes. Cool slightly, then transfer from the cookie sheet to a large mixing bowl. Add the apricots, raisins, almonds, wheat germ, and protein powder. (Separate the apricots and raisins so they're not stuck in clumps.) Mix well.

In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter or heat the oil. Add the brown rice syrup, stirring until bubbly. Mix in the peanut butter and cinnamon. Pour into the dry ingredients, and quickly mix together and transfer into the prepared pan. Press the mixture into the pan and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Cut into 12 bars and wrap each on separately in wax paper, store in refrigerator.

overload

there are many things that are on overload right now...none of them "bad" per se, but just a lot of stuff. 

1.  i have my third pick up at the veggie CSA share today.  remember, way back when, when i thought they were being stingy and not giving us enough veggies?  um, not so much the case now.  i have now successfully eaten some form of veggie as my main course for just about every day....with no end in sight.

2.  i am still waiting to tell you about this job prospect.  i don't know where it stands, but when i do, i'll let you know.  it's very exciting and very different from anything i've ever expressed before. 

3.  next weekend starts the month and a half where i have non-stop weekend activity.  every weekend is booked.  yes, it should make for good pictures and tired me. 

4.  still stinging on a daily basis from the friend vs. baby battle.  you know, the one where someone you consider on the relative level doesn't call you for 5 years until their child goes off to school and expects things to be just right where they were when you left off?  yeah, that one. 

5.  i have been thinking a lot about this knee/hip pain and all of the things that seem to be making my body fall apart all at once right now. i do not know what is going on, but i told t the other day, that there is something wrong.  and when i find out what it is, all of this will make sense.  today and last night, my whole body was aching.  i woke up and found that it almost felt like all the nerve endings on my back were exposed in someway..or that it was raw.  WEIRD. 

6.  still getting in great workouts.  ran for 2 miles at a 6.5-7 on the treadmill.  did some ab and core work on the bosu ball, and did the spinning bike for about 30 minutes. 

I'm Yours(ukulele)

this video never ceases to make me laugh. it is funny, even if you don't know the song...this kid is just too funny

weekend recap

this weekend was just weird. it was the most active and non-active weekend i've ever had....all in one.  friday night, i worked out HARD.  i came home and even though it was boiling, i decided to bake a pie and make energy bars.  it was rhubarb from the CSA share that was supplemented with others from the store.  i added a tad too much cinnamon, and I think the rhubarb was on it's last leg as far as the lateness in the season, so it ended up like apple pie. 

we did a bike ride/skate early in the a.m. on saturday, then went to work out later in the day, after a nap taken, by me.  i'll let you know that i'm not a big napper,but this weekend, i couldn't get enough.  i literally think i could have slept throughout the whole thing. we went out for my mom's birthday (we got her a kindle) that night.  BBQ chicken for me and pulled pork sandwich for t!  no pictures, because well...BBQ isn't very attractive. 

sunday a.m., we were up early again to go watch my little cousin ride in a race.  this kid is seriously one of my favorites.  i feel a connection to him unlike any other.  i think it stems from me watching him while his mom was on a mission trip when he was about 2 years old.  i cannot help looking at him and seeing him in his car seat or swimming at the pool with his floaties on calling me "sweetiepie".  now, he's 17 and a fantastic bicyclist and he just makes me happy. 

i took ANOTHER nap when i got home.  and then laid lethargically on the couch for the rest of the night.  i didn't have anything left in me at all.  i don't know why and again today...still the same.  but, i got it together enough to grill some chicken brats for t and make some roasted beets and corn on the cob for me. 

these beets are from two weeks worth of the CSA.  aren't they amazing looking???  i roasted them with basil, oil, and balsalmic vinegar. 

that's the weekend recap!

and yet another day

this weekend has been full of activity and baking, and more activity.

last night, i baked a rhubarb pie with the proceeds from CSA week #1.  i had to add a little more rhubarb and i used premade pie crusts, but whatever....it turned out well.  i know next time to use less cinnamon, as it ended up tasting like apple pie...still good, but not the tartness that rhubarb pie has. 

we woke up and were on the trail by 6:50a.m. today.  t on skates and me on my bike.  it was a great ride/skate.  18 miles and then i came home and slept.  something about the being up late baking, got me even more pumped up and energized...i was up until about 2 a.m. last night, so a little nap was in order.  woke up, took care of some house-sitting, then went to the gym. 

tonight it was off to some BBQ.  we didn't eat much today, simply for the fact that we would be going to this restaurant nearby called Nordy's.  it's really good and by really good, i mean, cornbread muffins that would make you cry a little and great BBQ too. 

we came home, took a walk and ended up at our neighbors like we usually do on a weekend night. 

tomorrow, it's up and early too, going to watch my cousin, sam race in a criterium.  i'll get some pictures, should be a good time! 

it seems so petty

Image via Wikipedia

but, i'm afraid i'll have to moan about this anyway.  because i'm sorry..it's a big deal to me and it gets ever more sad to me as time goes on.  if you are reading this, you can be assured that i'm not referring to you in this...even if you are the person that hardly ever reads this...i'm still not talking about you.   

just a little FYI, in case you haven't gotten the memo...i don't have kids.  it's not that i don't like them, it's not that i didn't see myself with them, just plain and simple, i don't have them. 

that being said....just about every friend i have, has them.  i've never really had an issue like this before with previous friends that have had them.  sure, life has changed, but it certainly didn't detract from their ability to drop me an email or give me a call, if only for a few minutes.  it really wasn't even irritating if i was making 30 calls to their one call (except maybe to them, ha ha!)

i am, however, flabbergasted about a few friendships that, in my opinion, have gone completely in the pot, after a child has been born. 

i know, i know, i can't really know how much time children take...i can't tell you how many times i've heard that before.  i get it.  but i've had plenty of friends that have still maintained some resemblance of normal life in these situations.

when it started, i thought that maybe the amount of time that i'd hear from these people would change with the ages their children were.  like, maybe when the baby wasn't crying constantly, making phone conversations difficult, that i'd get a 5 minute phone call or even just a text, maybe once a month. 

but alas, that hasn't happened either.  i'll admit, i know this has nothing to do with me, and yet my feelings are hurt.  these are friends that have been in my life for a good many years and i just can't fathom them not being there...but i also have a hard time picturing myself not saying something when their children and in school and they finally find some time to give me a text message, asking "what's up, haven't talked to you in so long and i don't know why?" 

these are people that, in the past few months, have known nothing about my updated cancer status (clear, YAY!), not a thing about my possible new job, and know nothing about me, in general. 

Let me reiterate...this is not everyone that has children.  only a select few and i just don't understand it.  and for those of you reading that may be ready to have children, just take it in stride and don't forget about the rest of us!

CSA week #2

this week was markedly different than the first week.  the veggies were way more plentiful and they were WAY bigger too.  i'm making pie tonight, in an attempt to get rid of the rhubarb from last week.  let's see how that goes!

i've been waiting so long!

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o.k., i've only been waiting a week, but man, has it flown by!  i get to pick up week 2 of our veggie share tonight.  Last night, except for the rhubarb, i officially ate all the veggies.  i'd have to say, that the at the top of the list, were the peas.  they were amazing....the three tablespoons that i ate.  pictures will be forthcoming.  i've heard through the grapevine that we'll be getting beets striped on the insides like candy canes.  :)

you really must read this

i was reading blogs yesterday, you know, the usual and this one stopped me in my tracks.  just in general, on a daily basis, Hilly's blogs are honest, real, and a breath of fresh air.  this one might make your cry as you picture how this whole scene went down.  we all need to have some moments like this in our lives.  we have those choices...and i know we all have them, where we say, "should i intervene in this?"  and for situations like this, Hilly's answer is yes. 

this friday, I believe, there is some special on people put in situations and should they intervene...i think i'll watch it to further reiterate that yes, we should.

cuteness in a dress

great giveaway over at Running with Babes!  it's a review and a giveaway about a company that makes running dresses (my favorite!).  go here to enter!  it's worth it, they are adorable and got great reviews.  i will NEVER wear shorts to work out EVER again

shortness

just a few things...

had a job interview today.  i'll not say a lot about it, other than i think it went well...it would be a pay cut and i don't quite know how i would do it.  i will say that i think i'd be amazingly happy with this job and the people and company.  it is something i've never done and it would be a stretch for me and my skills.  i like it.

i am trying to use up my veggies from the share last week.  funny, i thought i'd have run out by now...but i still have baby beets, a zucchini and i think that may be it.  i had romaine lettuce, peas, and kale tonight.  i will be trying kale in my shakes, and not as chips ever, ever, ever again.  we'll just leave it at that.  or maybe i'll try it with more salt or something.

people are flaky sometimes and i guess i have to learn that.  i seem to repeat the shocked feeling over and over again, everytime i rediscover this fact. 

things are very good right now....

good raw food

There's a contest over at Making Love in the Kitchen for some great raw food snacks!  GO HERE

I'm anxious to try these! 

snacks

another thing i did this weekend was make these Frosty No-Bake Glo cakes.  They ended up being SO good and i just happened to have all the ingredients in my pantry, which was amazing.  that never seems to  happen to me and therefore, i end up not making things....

these were fantastic.  i didn't take pictures, well...1.  because i was lazy, and 2. because they look exactly like they do on the Oh She Glows site.  they were great and perfect for the 100 degree heat that we had this weekend. 

i was watching this show on this new network that came out...it's a sister network to another obsession of mine...the food network.  anyway, this new station, The Cooking Channel is great.  It is much different than the Food Network, which is just as great for many reasons.  The Cooking Channel looks more, from my understanding, at the crafting of food.  It is for those who are obsessed really like food.  Anyway, I watched this show called Food Crafters and saw this woman who made cheesecakes in NYC.  that is all she makes and it's all she made for the past 35 years.  She got into the biz, by telling some deli owner that she wouldn't taste the cheesecake in his store because she would only eat her mother's cheesecake.  he had her make it for him, then asked her to make 10 more....after a while, she was crafting these things out of her little apartment by the dozen. 

anyway, this just gave me some food for thought as to the age old question: What would you be doing if you could do anything?  i have some ideas in the mix....

the weekend that was...

this week AND weekend were a bit nuts.  i have been trying to take care of some things that need being taken care of and that, has led to mass chaos in my life. 

first and foremost is this pesky job thing.  i was thinking nursing...and i realized that i cannot do it with working...at all.  i mean, literally, the only time i'd have is on the weekends and it wouldn't be feasible for me to work at real estate on the weekends only, nor would it be fair.  so, i started looking in different directions...very interesting ones that i had never thought of.  i've always been told over and over again that i'd be great in HR.  Low and behold, I have an interview for a national company in HR this week.  i also looked into an academic advisor role at some of the universities nearby.  both of these options interest me greatly! 

secondly is the whole cancer thing.  it was time for my 6 month checkup.  the exam itself was anxiety provoking, but even more so is the "waiting for results" period that i'm in right now.  not fun...but necessary.

also, last week, i finally had the MRI on my knee that i likely should have had months ago.  we'll see what comes of that as well. 

I've been trying to dig into our veggie share as much as possible.  chard has been incredible and definitely a new favorite!  it's really versatile.  i'm waiting to get into the English peas tomorrow. 

the last, and most detailed part of this week was our travel plans to Duluth this year.  we have stayed in a condo repeatedly.  it's a nice place, great view of the lake...it's just great, but one minor hitch...it only has one bed.  this is an issue, when at times, we've had up to 10 people staying in the unit.  last year, we went and stayed at a hotel just to have a bed.  i started looking into other options that could accomodate us, yet still be affordable.  i found this house, newly-built, that is amazing.  i was really leery though.  i had never done this before, and who knew what i was actually putting money down on?  i think it should be good though.  it's a house, with views of lake superior, and located only three miles from the race start.  this is good on a few levels.  for the people doing the full marathon, they were stuck with a half an hour bus ride for the start of the morning, at around 6 a.m.  not a huge thing, but it will be nice for the people to be able to just leave the house and get to the race.  this one, also has sleeping space for about 10, and the owners are willing to bring extra beds and such for us.  ahhhh, BEDS!  we will have two kitchens, a deck with views of the lake, and a firepit!

This weekend was really a culmination of me just enjoying not dealing with any of these things.  it was really great. 

my veggie booty

i went to pick up the CSA share today!  it was a blast...i was looking forward to it all day long.  i showed up at a local brewery and went inside, found my name and took a bin.  it held all of this:

in this, there was some of this:

and some of this:

and finally, some of this:

you may think i'm being cute and saying "this" just because, but really it's because i don't know what half this stuff is, ha ha!!!

Just kidding, i know what all the stuff pictured is.  all in all, we got:

1. two heads of romaine lettuce
2. bag of spring greens
3. radishes
4. baby beets
5. kale
6. chard (i think)
7. a bag of cut up and cleaned rhubarb
8. garlic scapes
9. cilantro (barf)
10. green onions

Pretty good.  it's supposed to feed 2-3 people and I'm splitting it with my parents.  I think that we could have gotten the family share and been a little better off, but this was all about learning.  it will definitely force me to eat different things and try new things, as i don't believe chard has ever been a staple in my diet.

Part deux

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after the spooky tour, we came back to Ft. c and went to Old Town.  Always a fun time with lots to see, but it was packed that day!  We ended up over at the Rio Cantina for dinner and drinks.  i always get the same thing there.  their beef fajitas are to die for.  not to mention the margaritas that have a three drink limit! 

the next a.m., we got up and went for a ride with our friends that we hadn't seen in ages.  i was a bit leery to do so.  let's just say that since our MS ride, i hadn't been exactly jumping on the bike every day.  i was just done with it for a while.  this ride was GREAT though.  we went up Poudre canyon and had a nice relaxing, uphill climb, then a FAST downhill.  it was great! 

we then went for a breakfast at snooze!  this is one of my favorite places in fort collins, recently.  it has local products, a lot of them, organic and everything is just good.  so good, in fact, that i will wait for an hour to get in, which we did. 

we had to get ready though, because the eating was just beginning...we went to fogo de chao for dinner.  yes, it's a chain, and yes, you eat more than your share of a small cow.  but, oh my gosh, is it good.  i had been tempted throughout the day to just get the salad bar....then i got there, decided i would be eternally mad for that...and i ate a lot of meat. 

it was the perfect weekend.  many times people come out with the intent to move here.  we end up disenchanted after some visits.  just, we don't get along with the people as much as we thought we did...or we'd probably not see them a lot if they moved here.  this was not one of those times.  it was the perfect match of people.  we would love nothing more to have them here...although, i don't know that's in the cards...but at least now, i can know, that this friendship is true and it's real and i don't have to wonder if we would be friends if we lived in the same place. 

i got nuthin'

Image by Alan W Brown via Flickr

this weekend was seriously, one of the best that i've had...in a long time.  i've got nuthin', because i had no card in my freakin camera though!

juni and m were here and we met up on Saturday.  we had breakfast at a Boulder place called Turley's.  It is natural food, organic, I believe, in most cases.  i am partial to it, because when i was little, i would get the granola and yogurt and it just so happens that their yogurt is FROZEN.  it was dessert for breakfast, what little kid could ask for more?  anyway, it still excites me.  juni partook (?) in my excitement too, and then, fully stuffed, we went to Estes Park. 

we drove to Rocky Mountain National Park and got to Bear Lake, hiked around and saw some scenery...it was very fun.  we did see an elk on the way up, and then while there, saw a herd of deer...just chillin, with their fuzzy racks.  juni didn't know what they were because they were just sitting there, totally calm, and as she said, "wagging their tails".  LOL 

we got down for the excitement of the day...The Ghost Tour of the Stanley Hotel.  For those of you that haven't been here, the Stanley Hotel is mostly famous for it's ties to The Shining.  Basically, Steven King stayed there and in a night, wrote the book, because he was so inspired.  There is the famous room 217 that is featured in the movie with the creepy naked lady that makes out with Jack Nicholson.  That is apparently the one that King stayed in.  also, Dumb and Dumber was filmed there and something weird happened during filming and Jim Carrey wouldn't stay there.  Needless to say, it's rumored that the hotel is haunted.  The people that built it were from the Stanley Steemer family, and lots of intrigue surrounds them. 

We had an animated tour guide that, from the beginning, was annoyed by the little ghost children that she claimed were surrounding her.  Pretty creepy.  we went into one hallway in particular, and some people stood in a circle and sang "twinkle, twinkle little star" in an attempt to make the ghost kids come out.  people claimed certain things...tingling, chills.  i'll admit, the left side of my body went cold...but who knows.  then the tour guide's skirt was supposedly moving on it's own.  juni and i were giggling at her.  she was standing there swaying and kind of making it go from side to side...each time, "LOOK, DID YOU SEE IT?".  there was one time, when a corner of it did pick up though and flutter in a totally unnatural way.  CREEPY.

That's all i have time for now...part two is coming!

i am a winner!!

guys, i WON something from a blog giveaway!  I have never won before, so this is very exciting.  just like ebay, except this time, i did actually win something!  a while ago, I posted something from Jessica about a contest with element bars.  Element bars are nutritional bars that either 1.  you can choose the ingredients that you put in there, they will make them, and package them with your name on them, then ship them to you.  or 2.  they have a variety of different types that they have that they will send to you. 

well, i WON!!!  (did i mention that?).  so today, i placed my order.  i tried a variety pack, since i make my own bars and put what i want in them, i figured i'd try someone else's ideas instead of having someone make MY bars. 

they are ordered and on their way! 

miss and mister THANG

very rarely do i meet people that you instantly mesh with.  t and i are a little different than a lot of people, i find...as i guess, everyone is.  we both tend to jump head first into things...without really looking at the "what ifs?" about the situation. 

i don't think i've ever met another person, much less, couple, that would do this same thing.  until i met a girl and her guy over from Because of Match. 

first off, j and i met online.  not something i do on a regular basis, especially so at the time that i started talking to her.  i had just barely found out what this thing called a BLOG was and there i was writing to this girl that i didn't even know, but i had been lurking at her site.  for some reason, we started talking.  i was going through a really hard time in life and trying to make some big life decisions at the time.  j just took it in stride.  told me to call her if i wanted and shared her experiences that were similar and the reasons that she made the choices that she had. 

we met in person, a couple years ago, in austin, tx, of all places.  seriously...and the reason we met, is because she and her guy decided two months before, that they were going to travel there to do an inline marathon.  NO FRICKIN WAY.  i know...it's nuts.  they met us, and the 8 or so friends that we had there as well and fit in like there was nothin' to it.  then, the proceeded to do the marathon the next day.  troopers...i tell you.  the guy, even won a medal. 

she and he are now out here, in colorado, for a long weekend.  i cannot wait.  i'm able to show them boulder, then we are driving up to estes, then down to ft. c., tomorrow.  AWESOME!

veggies

i know you are wondering exactly HOW excited I am to get my very first bundle of veggies from the CSA next Thursday??? 

You can't even guess!  ;)

sometimes, i just don't know why we decide to do these things....

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i work every day with my parents.  most people hear this and immediately think that i'm insane.  they soon move on to the thought that we all most be, in order to do this.  it may or may not be true, but that's the fact of my life, and actually a very good fact. 

people have varying comments on it.  i've gotten that i'm a suck because i've leeched off my parents.  i've gotten that it's not a "real" job.  i've gotten that, "you all must be VERY nice because i would kill my family if i worked with them".  none of these things are true.  i've gotten valuable insight from my parents that i know i would have never gotten just starting off in a company where i was trained.  i work my butt off, so i know it's a real job and no, we are all not very nice.  ;)

we do it and have done so for 8 LLLLLOOOOOONNNNNGGGG years now. 

then we decide to make decisions, such as we did today, and we all looked at each other and said, "do we really want to do this?" 

we are taking a little family vacation together...just the three of us.  to san francisco, the sight of our family trip for my high school graduation. 

it started out with just me, going to see my MIL and my friend.  then, we decided that mom should go.  she knows both of these people and well...she wanted to.  then, my dad realized he had miles to use up and points that would get us a sweet piece of hotel in Nob Hill.  so, at 3p.m. today, we did the insane.   we all hit the "purchase" button on the screen.  there was only a little bit of cringing going on.  and i'm driving. 

a little thing i noticed today

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i hadn't thought too much about my eating, as the more clean eating is becoming a way of life and just the way i do things.  until today. 

i had my green sludge shake and then for lunch, the office had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on white bread, party along with doritos.  i had a general serving of each and went on my way. 

by 4p.m., i was seriously having hot sweats.  i was starving, like, i would have eaten watermelon, starving.  i haven't felt like that...well....since i started eating better.  you see, even if eat something not so good for me, i'm making sure that i'm eating something good along with it. 

that was my first realization of the day.  the second was that i'm not so into coffee anymore.  i haven't had any for at least a few weeks.  i didn't really try to stop, but it just came to me, that it just didn't sound very good anytime now. 

FREAKY!

serendipity

i'm floored. 

i got a note from one of my favorite bloggers that i've never met, stating that she would be in my neck of the woods and would i be around?  yes, in fact, i was going to be around.  what was strange is that she was going to be there on the EXACT same days as one of my favorite people in the entire world, Juni, is going to be in town. 

how weird, right? 

well, Juni and i were talking the other day and discussed where she would be staying? 

AT THE EXACT SAME HOTEL.  i'm not kidding guys...you can't make stuff like this up

anyone have an extra, oh...$8,000 and some time on their hands to lend me? ;)

you know, for me, things always end up easier than i anticipate they will be.  i'm sure, for some people it's the opposite, but in a way, i kind of like that it goes like that. 

i am getting the feeling that this nursing thing may be just like that.  in that, right now, it's feeling very overwhelming and almost stifling, but i'd like to be so excited...i could burst.  the financial part of my brain has kind of been put at ease.  going to a community college will save a bazillion dollars, so that kind of answers that question.  i was kind of all up in a tizzy also because, MY GOD, these schools have wait times.  but, after reviewing, i find that there are some pre-req courses that i need to take regardless and that wait time will give me plenty of time to do that, and not all in rush, as i'm known for doing. 

really now, the only thing i'm stressing about is time.  time that i will not have because i'll now be learning a skill set of which i have NO knowledge.  through this, i realized, i'm not good at, or do i ever want to be, mediocre.  i want to be at the top of my class, i want to have hours on end through the day to learn as much as i can, like i did in my first run in grad school.  but it's not going to be that way.  i have responsibilities now that i didn't have then.  (SOB).  it set in that, when you're old and creepy and the real estate market hasn't gone the way that you had wanted.... well, that's not reality.  ;)  (i'm joking about the old and creepy part). 

i will need to work, likely full-time, just like i did with my other degree.  after the whole cancer incident, i quit school...in great part to the fact that the docs couldn't give me any real reason of why it had spread so fast...other than "maybe stress".  but, i think that part of the stress in my head at that time (or at least this is what I tell myself) is that i knew i had 7 or 8 years of that stress ahead of me.  this time, i'll only have 18 months or so. 

i can handle that!

great giveaway!

I've been dying to try this company, and now, Jessica has a giveaway for it!  now that i've made my own, i'll say that i haven't been AS gung ho to get these bars....but i'm still tempted!  I can't wait to hear about them.  go HERE to try and win.  but let me win first! 

throwin in the towel

Image by The Library of Virginia via Flickr

on the job front, things haven't been going as planned this year.  but, that can only be a good thing, right?  i mean, your life doesn't change if you don't have reason to make it change. 

in a nutshell...i've got nothin'.  i mean, i have a job, but not sure how long that will last.  i applied for, only god knows, how many counseling positions, all over the state.  then i hit my low....for jobs, that is.  i applied for a job that i had sworn that i wouldn't do.  not because it's beneath me in any way, but because it was almost a surefire way to make me unhappy in life.  if i did it, it would only be for the money and i knew that that was even a worse reason.  i haven't heard back from them yet. 

so, with my current degree, i can't really find anything of substance that i would do AND that would make me enough money to pay the bills. 

that said, wheels were turning this weekend, appointments were being made, and some excitement was in the air.  i'm thinking about getting my nursing degree!!!  I have gone through this time and time again, but this time, it's kind of a necessary time for me to think about it and actually do something, if i wanted to get accepted by next year. 

i'm meeting with the university soon, so, the wheels are in motion.  i'm really excited about the possibility of this. 

yay, CSAs!!!!

Image by 427 via Flickr

as life goes along, i'm looking for inexpensive ways to give back.  maybe it's just not using plastic bags at the grocery store, maybe it's eating more local products, but it all helps.  i'm trying to do a little at a time, but it's hard not to get really excited about some things that you can do. 

and then i found this and it blew my excitement out of the water.  CSA's are a great way to "give back" and get fresh, organic food while you are doing it!!!  it really isn't a pricey thing, per se, but the cost is all up front.  I'm looking at doing the Grant Farms one, in our area, but there are tons around.  basically, (i'm sure you know this, but humor me) you go to a pick up area, once a week (ours is right by our house, but i also just found out a friend of ours has her house as a pick up area) and you pick up the allotted amount of veggies.  i'm splitting ours with my parents, so we are getting a "family" amount.  this happens once a week, until mid to late December.  this particular farm is so big, they have cut flower shares, egg shares, fruit shares, meat shares, and (get this) organic artisan bread shares.  don't think that next year i might not be finding myself with a loaf of bread a week for more than half the year for $130.  it's amazing. 

deflated

Image by freshelectrons via Flickr

is anyone as deflated as I am over this?  the pulling of Kombucha off the shelves of stores has me in a tizzy.  not like a drink a lot of it.  but it's my once a week treat.  come on people, so what if there's a little alcohol in it?  and it smells a tad like femented feet? 

mish mash

hi all!  you thought i'd fallen off the face of the earth since the ride, i'm sure.  i'm here...just busy, i guess.  lots of stuff happened in the past few days, so i guess blogging has taken a back seat.  Funny though, reading blogs has taken a front seat.  sometimes, i guess you need that!

i got a letter from an old friend that i guess i had a falling out with a while ago.  i did post about it, however, took the post down, after getting some sage advice from Fit and Forty Something.  it was about letting go.  it's hard to know when to do that, isnt' it?  i think it's especially hard for me, when you don't have a ton of friends just flocking around you.  regardless, it was great advice and taken.

my allergies are invading my life....more.  

i got an email from a friend with some very distubing news.  a relative of his, that they had been trying to diagnose whatever illness they had, and had misdiagnosed a few times, found out that they have an extremely rare form of cancer.  i won't go into details, however, it is devastating, even more so, as there is a child to be born into this family this year and now a terminal situation to think about as well. 

that bike ride was really inspiring to me!  i'm thinking about doing the diabetes ride again this year (62 mile route) in August.  We'll see.  i went to physical therapy and found that i tore more of my knee bits, so i'm working on just taking it easy.  funny how taking it easy is WAY more work than being active! 

I applied for a job that i've been putting off for years.  it's in social work, it's also in a field where i could make adequate amounts of money and increase my salary exponentially each year with virtually no chance of being cut from my job.   sounds great, right?  well, it's in an area that i've avoided, mostly because it 1. can be somewhat dangerous and 2.  it doesn't exactly focus on the positives in life.  we'll see what happens...i guess the worst thing is that i could be a little too pollyanna for their liking  :)

this weekend?  we are invited to a Tour de France party on Saturday a.m.!  along with two parties on Sunday!  there will be skating thrown in there as well.