1 for the Good Guys

Finally, San Diego makes me proud.

Suddenly Sexy

I've been listening to John Mayer's new album Continuum. I can't get enough. Yum.

I'll Be Eating Turkey By The Pool

I’m wearing khakis, sandals, and a cardigan and I’m hot. Its 80 degrees outside and the Southern California heat doesn’t make me feel like celebrating Thanksgiving much less begin preparations for Christmas. I’m usually first in line for the Black Friday sales but this year I think I’ll have a hard time getting my sandal covered feet to get in the shopping mode at all. Sun + 80 degrees = Not Holiday Time. I’m in desperate need for some rain, clouds, and a cold front.

Yesterday, I went shopping in preparation for my first attempt at cooking Thanksgiving dinner. I walked into the store with my long list of groceries needed and quickly became overwhelmed as I glanced from the massive crowd to my list and back again. Luckily the World’s Best Fiancée had known that I would be grocery shopping after work so he decided to surprise me in the bakery aisle with a Starbucks Green Tea in hand. He pushed the very full cart while I darted between the mass of people, grabbed items off the shelf, and checked them off my list.

Dave and I won’t be celebrating Thanksgiving until Saturday. My Dad and older Brother will be driving down from the LA area to eat with us. The next day all 4 of us will drive to the football stadium where we have season tickets to see the Chargers v. Oakland Raiders game. The Chargers hate the Raiders and we all happen to be Raiders fans so it should be a fun time! And by fun I mean my older brother will instigate drama with the Chargers fans and I will spend my day yelling at him to shut up.

I can't wait ;-)

I've Been Hobbled

I'm bloated, my right foot is covered in blisters, my left ankle is swollen, I have a bruise on my left thigh, and I'm extremely hungover. A good weekend trip to Las Vegas will do that to you.

I went to Vegas for a random girls weekend. I wasn't excited about sleeping in a non-luxurious hotel, over consumption of alcohol, nor the late nights spent dancing in high heels. In the past all 3 would have made me excited for weeks but I've found as I've gotten older (and less wild) that I have more fun when I'm relaxing.

I was eager to spend quality time with 2 of my best friends (B & M). We started out our trip by eating at a 4 star french restaurant (Lutece in The Venetian). While enjoying our delicious meal overlooking the canals, I presented B & M with cards asking them to be my bridesmaids. The sweet moment combined with a really good bottle of wine resulted in B spending the rest of the dinner crying. Too complete the evening we took a ride in the gondolas and then went to Olympic Gardens to watch some hottie boys dance for dollars. (If you go to Vegas with a group of girls, Olympic Gardens is a MUST see!)

The next day we went to Bellagio to enjoy the champagne brunch. Another excellent (and reasonably priced meal!). We then walked the strip (hence all the foot blisters) before returning to the hotel for a food induced slumber. After waking we explored one of the newest Vegas hotels, Wynn (now one of my favorite places to stay and explore). For dinner B and I went to Tao for an assortment of sushi and dim sum. We left Tao just as Paris & Britney arrived. The evening ended with drinks at an open air bar. Good music with good friends followed.

I had originally planned to spend only one night in Sin City. I've been trying to lose weight and I wanted to do the least possible damage to my body. Unfortunately, my one night trip got extended since all flights to San Diego were canceled and/or full do to fog. I finally was able to leave Vegas this afternoon on a flight bound for the Land of BMWs (Orange County). My wonderful fiancee picked me up from the airport and brought me back home where I promptly took a 4 hour nap. Good times.

Tres Redonk*

Tomorrow's to do list involved waking up at 4am and standing in line at Walmart/Target/Sears/Best Buy for four hours trying to get a new Sony PS3. Unfortunately our plans were thwarted when we learned that Sears didn't receive any PS3s and Target/Walmart/Best Buy already had people camping out in line at 7pm on Wednesday. Yes Wednesday. Which means that people were going to camp in front of the store for 36 hours in hopes of buying a $600 gaming console. I'm not sure whether to be jealous or outraged. Oddly enough I was looking forward to standing in line with Dave amongst the crowds. Now that the lines are already hundred deep and each store was only allocated 10 PS3 units, Dave and I have decided to throw in the towel and leave the line debauchery to the youngsters.

In other news, today was the Great American Smokeout. As I was leaving the house this morning I tossed a roll of commit lozenges and a QuitAssist brochure at Dave's head. Dave is a smoker and has tried (unsuccessfully) quitting several times in the past. When Dave and I first began dating Dave assured me that he only smoked the occasional drunken cigarette. He also told me that he wasn't a Republican so it really came as no surprise when I realized that Dave's occasional cig was really a pack a day habit (and his voting leaned more towards GW versus my Al Gore tendencies). I've never dated a smoker before but surprisingly I'm really not too peeved by Dave's dirty habit. He always smokes outside and for some strange reason never smells of nicotine. He has promised me that he will quite (someday) so I've made an effort not to nag or berate him. Honestly I'm not looking forward to him quitting. Smoking is a very serious addiction and will involve many days of cranky Dave before he's able to break his habit. That will make for some fun blogging!

*Tres Redonk = Very Ridiculous. Get in the Know.

Things I Love

• Veggie toasted sub from Quizno's. Seriously YUM. So good that I sometimes crave all the veggie and avocado goodness.
• Cold Stone. I've only recently discovered Cold Stone ice cream about a year ago. I know. How the hell I went so long with out trying them out is beyond me. Now I can't get enough. Today for lunch I had a Like It serving of some chocolate/brownie/caramel concoction. Sinlicious.
• TIVO. World's greatest invention. I don't know how I ever watched TV without the ability to stop, fast forward, rewind, and record.
• Healthy options at McDonald's. I was running late to a meeting so I swung by McDs for a quick lunch. I looked at the menu and saw that they've added quite a few new healthy options. Fries can now be replaced by a side salad and water can be subbed for soda on the Meal Deals. I walked out feeling like I had made a healthy eating choice (I had the grilled chicken sandwich with no mayo, cheese, etc).
• The Weather. Well this goes in love/hate category. It's been 80 and sunny which is nice but it's mid-November and I want it to be cold so that I can get in the Holiday spirit! On the other hand I was able to eat lunch (Cold Stone ice cream) while sunning myself on a patio and reading a book. Nice.
• 7 Months Til Our Wedding. Time flies when your having fun. This past month I completed several wedding related tasks. Honeymoon location has been selected and deposit put down, officiant selected, wedding dress ordered and delivered, bridal attendants selected, save the dates sent out, wedding registry set up. For the next few months I'll be able to relax and enjoy the holidays.

Beware: Things May Appear Easier Then They Really Are

Dave and I established our wedding gift registries at Bed Bath & Beyond and Crate & Barrel this weekend. “Sounds fun!” is probably what you are thinking. Before hand I was thinking the same thing. I’ve been looking forward to this event almost as much as I looked forward to cake tasting. And I really love cake so that tells you something.

Now after a weekend full of browsing store aisles with a scan gun in one hand and a list in the other, I can tell you that wedding gift registry = lots of work + not fun. Why you ask?

Reason # 1 that Gift Registering Sucks - Shop for today or shop for the future??? I think that was the constant question in my head this weekend.

Now: we don’t do much entertaining. We just moved to a new part of the state where we don’t have many friends or family.
Future: Well I hope we make friends and are able to entertain. Which leads me to believe that I need this to serve punch/sangria at friendly BBQs, etc.

The Problem: OK. So I would need this in the future but where do I store it (and other "future" gifts) for now??? The kitchen pantries and one-car garage are already packed full in our 1,000 sq ft condo. And I just don’t feel like packing my guest bedroom with boxes that I wont need for 2-3 more years.

Now: Our dining table is set up as part of the living room / open kitchen space. The décor matches both the kitchen and living room well.

Future: Our plans are to buy a house in a year (or so). I hope to have a formal dining room or at the very least a dining room that occupies a more defined space from the living room. I would love to decorate the future formal dining room in a dramatic fashion much like this painting (in fact I would hang a very similiar painting in the future room).

The Problem: OK. So do I register for linens, plates, etc that match the current décor or the future décor? And even though our plans are to move in a year, what happens if our future home doesn’t have a formal dining room???

Reason # 2 that Gift Registering Sucks – Choices! Choices! Choices!!!

Which bedding do I choose???? So many to pick from!




Reason # 3 that Gift Registering Sucks – He Said. She Said.

I love these plates. Dave does not.


Dave loves these plates. I do not.


Errrr …

Blech (aka Vomit Trifecta)

My last 3 posts (including this one) have all had titles that reference vomit. I haven't thrown up since June 2005 (Jayme's graduation party, too many long beach iced teas) so I have no idea why the idea of up-chuck seems to be such a popular word in my brain these days. Hmmm ...

I'm sick this week. And stressed out. Really stressed out. Which really hasn't helped me get over this horrible cold. Things stressing me out:

* Weight Loss - I've been steadily losing 1 pound a week which is good. Just not good enough. I need to lose more if I want to be in tip top shape for my wedding ;-(

* Work - My desk is full of things that need to be done yesterday. I came in sick on Monday and Tuesday but stayed home Wednesday. Sick = not very productive. Desk full of things that need to be done = me stressed.

* Work - I had a tiff with a colleague (totally her fault) and now I'm angry at her and situation she has put me in. AND I have a problem contract that needs to be fixed but just seems to be making a bigger problem (kinda my fault). Vague, I know but I'd hate to get dooced.

* Wedding - My mom has disinvited herself from my wedding (woo! Really. I need to write about my non-mom someday soon. You'd woo too) but my mom's attitude is making my grandparents upset and they (once again) are looking to me to make everything better. I don't want to make things better.

* Wedding - A certain family member on Dave's side of the family invited a group of people to our wedding that we had no intention of inviting. Lots of drama has ensued.

Things that make me feel better:
* 3 day weekend - Thank you veteran's day.
* Wedding Gift Registry - I've been waiting my whole life to actually have a wedding gift registry. This weekend I'll be visiting Crate & Barrel as well as Bed Bath & Beyond to set up our registries.

Bulimic Blogging

I was such a good blogger last week, I felt creative and had ideas (and time) to write a blog post almost every day. I was obviously binging since this week I have nothing to write nor have I had time. And when I say no time. I mean no time. Not even 5 seconds to do a half post that I could maybe finish later. My week so far and other random thinking:

* I'm in Northern California Wine Country for a 3 day meeting. I was prepared for our meeting to be held at a resort located deep in the middle of acres of grapes. Luckily the resort is located in the middle of town near a grocery store and several cute restaurants. I ate at a gourmet cafe for dinner that featured mouth watering salads and savory paninis. YUM.

* My favorite new shows this season have been Ugly Betty and Studio 60. Unfortunately, it looks like plans are underway to cancel Studio 60. Nooooo! I seriously love this show. The writing is so mature and witty and the acting is believable. Stupid NBC.

* I've been seeing my personal trainer twice a week for the last 3 weeks. I can't believe that I'm saying this but I really enjoy my personal training sessions. The exercises are difficult but surprisingly fun. Best of all, since I don't have to think I can just sit back and do what I'm told to do without watching the clock or creating excuses to cut my workout short. So far I've only lost one pound per week but hopefully that increases as I get more into a workout routine and concentrate on improving my diet.

* Most of October was relatively quiet for me which was a good and bad thing. Good because I wasn't running around like a chicken with my head cut off. Bad because I had so little that needed to be done and it got to the point where I was bored. This week is back to my crazy, hectic routine. My State Office sent 3 bulletins in a row that need quite a bit of work to be completed, I had 12 employee performance reviews that needed to be finished in only one day (my fault), and I had a dentist appointment that took up a half day. Hopefully the rest of the month continues to be just as fun.

* Work took up my day time hours while the gym and wedding duties took up my evening hours. This week I stuffed and addressed all 80 of my STDs (save the dates). Now in the past I will admit that I never understood the big deal about stuffing and mailing invites. Brides-to-be would complain about the massive work required and I would scoff. How long can it take to put something inside an envelope and affix a mailing label on the outside??? Answer: long time. Very long time. I think it took me 5 dedicated evenings of printing out labels, buying stamps (which also involved finding out how much stamp they needed), writing a letter to be included with magnet, folding and stuffing all contents into each envelope, and finally affixing return label, mailing label, and stamp to each envelope before sealing and putting in the mail box. Whew! I'm afraid to find out home much time will be required to do the actual invites!

* Fluff continues to be the cutest kitten ever created. Seriously. That little kitten lights up my day with his mischievous antics, loving snuggles, and happy purrs. Here's a cute pic Dave took of Fluff while he was taking a mid-day nap. Dave siad that he stayed in that same position, sleeping soundly for over an hour.