Not much

So not much going on. It's the end of the school year so things at work are just a tad busy...which is weird and kinda nice too. Crazy that we've been out here 10 months already! Still no idea where I will be working in the fall...or living, or anything like that. It's a bit stressful but I'm trying to be patient. I really want to live in Encinitas. I loved it there...we'll see!

Still working out a lot. Last week my personal trainer was on vacation and boot camp was on an off week so I was like feeling crappy because I'm used to working out pretty hard like 6 times a week at least, and I just can't push myself as hard as they do! I had headaches and was bitchy and tired :) Much better already this week!

Alrighty, chat later

Ed

So yesterday I'm just sitting here on the computer and Ivan walks in and says, "Hey come to the door I want you to meet somebody." And there stands Ed, the English carpenter, from Extreme Makeover Home Edition! I was a bit embarrassed because Ivan had had him ome over just to meet me...so Ed's like "Oh don't be embarrassed." And we shook hands and he told me about the show a bit and how he always see Ivan out washing his car, and said thanks for watching the show, nice to mee you. And that was that. It was pretty damn exciting though. He seemed a lot taller in person, I don't know what I expected, but he was around Ivan's height (I think, Ivan says no, but he seemed that way to me).

Birthday Present

So my gift from Ivan was going to be going to Disney Land but we hadn't really felt like going so he got me something else...which you can see in the picture. Love it!

Lucy!

Here's the most updated picture of Lucy (yes her name is for sure Lucy)...at 6 weeks old. Isn't she sweet? She's all fluffy and everything. For my birthday, everyone from work got me puppy toys and a gift card to PetSmart! Fun fun.

So let's see, my birthday was good. We went to Olive Garden & totally stuffed our faces with cheese ravioli, bread sticks with alfredo sauce, and chocolate lasgna! Yum. Yesterday I finished my birthday celebration with a manicure, pedicure, and a massage. Loves it.

This weekend was awesome. We went to Encinitas, which is about 20-30 miles north of San Diego. There's also a possible job there, so we went to see if we even liked the place...I fell in love. It's this cute beach town with little shops, cottages, and great views. We went to the beach and for the first time since we've been out here that the water has been tolerable, not too cold. It was great, we just played in the waves for like ever. So we'll see how the job opportunity goes. Ivan needs more time to get used to the idea, he tends to need more time to adjust to change :)

Hola!

Hey everyone. Things are good out here. It's been nice out, around 85-90 and sunny. So we've just been laying out and hanging at the pool. I love it!

We got some more stuff for the puppy-- a crate, a couple of toys, food/water bowls, and a toothbrush and toothpaste. Still no leash because we can't agree on one-- one that will be cute for her but Ivan won't mind carrying :) He doesn't want a pink one!

Saturday morning we (me, Breigh & Eliza) went on a 5 mile hike. It was lead by my boot camp trainers and a bunch of people went. Good times. It was tough going up, because you're going up for about 2.5 miles and then most of the 2.5 is downhill. It's called the "Claremont Loop" (because it's in Claremont, which is like 10 miles from here, and it loops around a mountain). I'd like to do it again some time.

Today I got the cleaning bug and cleaned out my closets and stuff-- who knew I had 4 garbage bags of clothes, shoes & purses to get rid of! So I'll be taking that to the Salvation Army tomorrow. Oh, and a grocery bag full of books. I love getting rid of stuff.

Anyway, tomorrow is my big bad 24th birthday, woo hoo! So Ivan took off of work so we could hang out tomorrow night...probably eat at Olive Garden (YES!) and maybe a movie...

The Puppy

Here's the new picture of the puppy. She's 4 weeks old now. And she only weighs 11 ounces! Can't wait to get her.

Wango Tango!

So yesterday was Wango Tango, it's this giant concert and had Ray J, Natasha Beddingfield, Nick Canon, Rhianna, Baby Bash, Neyo, Mary J. Blige, Kanye West & Daddy Yankee. It was pretty fun. We got a hotel so we didn't have to worry about driving home afterwards and the hotel had a shuttle going too so we didn't have to drive at all. We thought for sure Kanye West would have been the last one to sing, but it was Daddy Yankee! And I'm pretty sure it was completely because of where we are-- Daddy Yankee's stuff is all Spanish! So being here in So-Cal, well you get the picture! It was definitely one time when I was like, wow I'm totally the minority right now!

Here's some pictures to look at, they're kinda hard to see at time but you get the idea. share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=9IZMWbVw5YoE

Hola

Hey all, just thought I'd say hello. not much going on really. I am getting a puppy this summer! The puppy is in Kentucky, so whenever I come home to visit in the summer I will drive to Kentucky and get her, then she'll fly back with me. She is a Malti-Poo, which is a Maltese-Poodle mix. They're kinda popular right now because it's the same kind of puppy that Nick Lachey bought for Jessica Simpson on Newlyweds. I just needed something small since we live in an apartment you know and they are all tiny & fluffy so that's what I'm getting. Need someone to keep me company (and sane) while Ivan is at work at night! I'm going to train her to a litter box in the house so we don't have to worry about getting home to let her out and things like that. Plus, being so small, she'll have a tiny bladder and this would just be easier for her! The picture above is her and I'm supposed to get an updated one pretty soon so I can watch her grow! haha

Standup.org

As you know I hang on nearly every word that falls out of Oprah's mouth :) What can I say, she's usually saying something worth hearing.

Today her topic was how America's schools are basically crap. And it's not just poor areas and inner-city, it's everywhere (although it is worse in those places). And yeah we probably kinda knew that, but we probably didn't think ahead a little bit about that and what it means, and I'm going to paraphrase this a lot!-- ok, if our kids are coming out of school stupid, who is going to lead us? A bunch of stupid people? Not only that, they're lazy! Did you know that 1 student drops out of school in the U.S every 26 seconds?! So, our kids are lazy so they don't even want to lead the country, but if they're not lazy, they're stupid! America will fall behind all the other countries (as we are already slipping quickly) and we will not be the most powerful nation in the world anymore. (Along with a host of other reasons that I'm not going to go into right now about why we are making ourselves suck so bad- such as being super fat and over-spending, healthcare, etc.) And the thing is, it's not even the kids faults that they're "stupid." They're not being provided the right education/resources. And keep in mind it's not just a matter of "leading the country" as in a president & people like that, it's people researching, and becoming doctors and all that stuff. The kids won't be ready! And America will be the dumb, fat, broke nation that was.

Why do you care? You probably don't. I sure didn't until I watched Oprah & thought about it for a minute. Anyway, just go to www.standup.org and you can just type in your name & address and it generates a letter to your state officials. That's it, you can do nothing else but that. And if you're reading this then you're already doing nothing on the internet, so just do it real quick! Big numbers folks!!

Top 33 Work-Out Songs!

Ok, as you know I work out quite a bit, especially lately. (Yeah you can't always tell that I work out a lot, but I really do work out consistently) Anyway, tonight I was doing my cardio after I had my trainer session and got through it by finding my absolute, all time, most energizing songs that I have on my IPOD. And then I felt I needed to share them with you! I guess mom & Jyll because I think you're the only ones I read this every once in awhile :) haha

Anyway, I thought maybe it would be my top 20 or something, but I couldn't narrow it down at all...you should try some of these songs because for me, they are awesome!!! There is quite a range on here, but I think there's something for everyone, and it depends on my mood too ya know? (Can you tell I'm bored?? And in the zone right now??)

I could only rate the top 5, and that was a fairly difficult decision :) ha But the rest are all still in my faves!

1. Boom Boom Boom- Vengaboys
2. We Ready Remix- Archie Eversole & Bubba Sparxxx
3. Evil Deeds- Eminem
4. I Want To Be Sedated- Offspring
5. Lose Yourself- Eminem

Like A Prayer- Madonna
Mony Mony- Billy Idol
Beverly Hills- Weezer
Material Girl- Madonna
Right Back Where We Started From- Maxine Nightengale
Like A Virgin- Madonna
I Think We're Alone Now- Tiffany
Let's Go- Trick Daddy
Over & Over- Madonna
Jesus Walks- Kanye West
I Want You to Want Me- Cheap Trick
Sweet Caroline- Neil Diamond
Throw It Up- Lil Jon
I Hope You Die- Bloodhound Gang
Lean Back Remix- Fat Joe, Eminem, Lil Jon, Mase
Welcome To Detroit City- Eminem
How You Like It- Petey Pablo
Three Point One Four- Bloodhound Gang
Party- Dis N Dat
Outta Control- 50 Cent
Oh- Ciera
Gasolina Remix- Daddy Yankee
Hoochie Mama- 2 Live Crew
Cotton Eyed Joe
Yeah- Usher
Candy Shop- 50 Cent
Goodies Remix- Ciera
Rompe- Daddy Yankee

Big Bear Mountain

This week I was on Spring Break and loved it :) Ivan planned a little trip to the mountains, Big Bear Mountain which is about 55 miles from us. We went up on Thursday afternoon-- we had to buy snow chains for the tires. They were required; there was a little stop & the police made sure you had them on before you could go any higher. And the driving was crazy too-- as you can imagine, driving through the mountains is bad enough how it winds & stuff, now imagine doing that when you can only see about 20 feet in front of your car! It got really foggy up there and I was scared to death. All of a sudden it was completely clear and when you looked over to the side you could look down on the clouds! Very pretty, there's some pictures of them down below. So anyway, we got up there about 2:30, got some food and then went tubing. It was a good time. There was a moving sidewalk thing that you stood on & it took you back to the top of the hill and so we just kept going & going.

Friday we went to the Big Bear Resort and signed up for our lessons-- Ivan snowboarded and I skiied. I have to confess I was scared out of my mind before we went into our classes, I was crying a little & everything! Pathetic, I know. So anyway, it started out a little shaky... we were on like relatively flat ground and anytime I started gaining speed I totally forgot what to do because I was freaked out a little bit. It got better though, I actually only fell once that day! I was starting to enjoy it quite a bit & then it was time to go. Ivan was doing pretty well too, he fell a lot but the snowboarders did quite a bit so he was normal :) Today we went back and skiied for about 3 hours, and I didn't do nearly as well today! Neither of us did, must have been beginners luck yesterday. I fell 2 or 3 times coming off the lift-- both times when Ivan & I went up together, if we went separately I did much better! And one other time I fell and I fell good-- poles flew out of hands, I'm dragging my hands in the snow trying to stop! It was crazy. After that I did alright. Ivan fell pretty hard once, his tailbone is pretty sore right now. But overall I think we did pretty good for beginners, and had a lot of fun. Oh & my face got so burnt, day 1 I didn't wear sunscreen (duh) and you can tell, I look like a red & white raccoon. Ivan looks like it too only not as bad :)

Here's some pics for ya: share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=9IZMWbVw5Ylw

Snails!

Ok, this is kinda random, but anyway, I see these snails around sometimes. Mostly I have just seen a couple hanging out on our patio wall-- all you see is a shell like hanging there. Well last night I was out running & the snails were like out of the shells, with their antennas up slithering along. So tonight I saw them again & thought I needed to take a picture & post it :) Enjoy!

For anyone wondering, Megan made it back to Bloomington, a couple bumps in the road, but she's back :)

Friday night Ivan and I went to see the movie "Stay Alive." It's about this video game that once you start playing it, if you die in the game, then you die in real life. It was pretty creepy. Oh and we bought the movie "Kids." Yes it's like 10 years old but I had never seen it, that movie is crazy. If you haven't seen it, watch it, it's crazy I tell you.

So this week is my spring break and Ivan planned a little surprise-- Thursday we are going to Big Bear Mountain, which is about 40 miles from here, to go skiing!! I'm psyched. He got a little cabin or room...something, either way it sounds nice. And neither of us have been skiing before so this should be interesting, but really fun I think. So I will be sure to fill you all in when we get back, assuming I don't run into a tree or something messed up like that!

Megan's Gone :(

Well, Megan left yesterday to go back to Illinois. So, she worked one week for that porn lady & then I think the lady was just cracked out and said that she didn't need an assistant after all. (A little sidenote, the lady's porn name was Kelly Madison, so you should go check out her picture on her website...she's got like triple F's, and I guess they're real)

Anyway, so then she almost had a nanny job, but they didn't need her to start for awhile. Long story short, the job market wasn't kind!! She tried but it just didn't work out. Wish her luck driving back, she left around 4:00 p.m. yesterday and I talked to her at 10 this morning, she was in Colorado and had already hit some ice and flew off the road, but all is well :0

Next week is my Spring Break so I'm looking forward to that, sleeping in! Yes! And not dealing with any kids! YAY! I'll have to get up for boot camp but then I will just crawl back into bed. Did I tell you all about boot camp? Well I get up around 5:00 on M,W,F to go work out with about 40 other women while 3 personal trainers yell & yell & yell :) It's painful and wears me out but it's all good. I've still got my own trainer who I see 2-3 times a week, who also kicks my butt, but she's a lot nicer about it :) Ha!

Extreme Makeover Home Edition

Guess who is our neighbor? Ed, the Australian carpenter on Extreme Makeover Home Edition! Kinda exciting right? Ivan's talked to him, I guess he is looking to get a Mustang so he was asking Ivan about his. I've yet to see him but Ivan says he's seen him out with his son riding bikes & stuff. I'll be keeping an eye out!

The Car!

So as you know, Ivan got a new car-- an '06 Mustang GT, here are some pictures. They're not the best but you get the idea. He didn't want me to post these because he hasn't got to do stuff to it yet-- tint the windows, get new rims, etc. But I assured him I'd send new ones when he gets that done :)

Hey!

Hey! I just got my computer fixed. Yay! Not a whole lot has been going on really. Been working out my trainer & that's been going well. Work's good.

Oh Ivan got a new car!! He got an '06 Mustang GT. It's black with black leather interior. It's nice. Fun to drive! I'll put a picture on sometime.

Hello!

Long time no write :) My computer has been on the fritz, hopefully I'll get it fixed tonight so for now I'm using my friend's computer. The trip home was good, but so quick! Friday night I went out with some friends, Saturday I had the wedding, Sunday was my nephew's birthday party and then I came back here on Monday.

The weather has been nice, actually it rained yesterday for about the first time in like 4 months or something. It was great!! I miss rain! It's been around 70 I think lately.

Work is good. I'm beginning to wonder where I will be in the fall. If the need was there I think I would stay where I am right now. I'd like the opportunity to move closer to the coast but if I can't, I'd stay here. I'm enjoying my job more lately, I think because I have been putting more effort into it.

Ivan's good. He might be looking for a new job soon though. He's getting frustrated with his because of his co-workers. As you know, he works with some trouble-making kids and he doesn't feel like his co-workers are helping the kids at all, he feels like he's the only one who's really doing anything, and that's not enough...hopefully he finds something better or finds a way to be happy with his job. We'll be car shopping for him here pretty soon. His car is about to give out, I can't believe it's made it this long, so wish us luck with that. Hopefully the car will last until we find the car & money for a new one!

What else...oh yeah, I've got my personal trainer and she's kicking my butt into shape. It's been about 2 weeks and I'm already starting to see some subtle differences. I probably won't post any pictures of me for awhile because I want to surprise everyone when I come home (if there's a big change!) ha!!!

Oh, Megan, my friend who lives with us now started her job yesterday. She's working as a personal assistant for an internet porn star!!!!!!! How fun!! So she just does whatever the woman needs her to do-- run errands, take other porn stars home to L.A. after a shoot (crazy!) and answer fan mail!! I'm so jealous just because I think it would be fun.

Alrighty, talk to you all later! Oh yeah, I think I won't be home again until the summer...will keep you posted :)

I'll Be Home Tomorrow!

So here's the agenda, arrive in Bloomington around 8:30, head to Pit Row, Saturday is a wedding, Sunday is Clayton's birthday party and I leave on Monday...hope to see you all!

Valentine's Day

So instead of going out to eat or anything I told Ivan to make me dinner...and since I'm trying to eat healthy I told him to just pick something with chicken, turkey or fish out of my friend Breigh's "light cooking" cook books. So last night, Breigh & Ivan made dinner-- we had honey glazed salmon, brown rice, and broccoli with champagne. Later we had this mint pie that Breigh made. It was all very yummy! And I'd never tried salmon, rice or broccoli (pretty pathetic I know) so I was little scared but it was all really good :) So here's some pics!

First Meal...

Ok, you all know me, you know that I don't cook anything at all...never have, besides like pizza, mac & cheese...anything microwaveable...things like that :) Well anyway, I'm trying to eat better so tonight I made me first meal ever. Well Ivan really had to tell me what to do every step of the way but I did it... so I had chicken tenderloins and threw some cut up red potato on there and covered it in lemon paper-- very delish I must say. So anyway, here's a pic of it! And I swear it's better & more filling than it looks!