Sunday, January 30, 2011

it wasn't such a bad weekend..

Friday was a lazy day at home (once I got home that is).. I worked until 5:30.

My boss has been giving me different projects the last few weeks. the last project she had given me ended Thursday afternoon at which point she had determined from the VP that she had told me it wrong so I corrected that first thing Friday morning. Then I was out of work (what? me? out of work?).. so I told her I needed more, and she mentioned she had another project. Then at 12:00 they pulled the whole department together and told us they had a mandatory 1099 project. we "all" went to lunch 12:00 to 12:30.. then sat around until 1:15 when they gave us the project with a 3:00 deadline - then the list-makers had a 3:30 deadline to get everything sorted and compiled together.

So, we boogied our butts from 1:15 to 3:00 at which point they told us we did it wrong =P so 3:00 to 3:30 was correcting what we could from there on and sending to our designated list-maker. I was a list-maker so I stopped once I got my first response... I ended up being at work until 5:30 sorting and compiling my list.. so I worked 7-5:30 with 1/2 hour lunch.

Then I came home and did nothing.. yep, nothing.. that's what I did. I tried to vacuum but both vacuums weren't cooperating. And then I just gave up. I was on the computer, had the tv going.. and just sat around instead..

Saturday, that was the "big" day. got up and watched tv for a bit.. sat at the computer for a bit.. but then got dressed and planned the day. Ronnie and I left at 10:00-ish. drove Angela to Brewster to C-street, to Sycamore. then LA to the wash by green acres.. then drove all through the wash - across Sequoia, across Tapo Canyon, Tapo Street, to Hidden Ranch.. then down LA to Rory, cut through mobile home park back to the wash and continued on to Kuehner.. down Kuehner to Rocky Pointe then through to Katherine Park through Katherine Street all the way to Cypress then cut across to the train tracks, and "rode the rails" back to Hidden Ranch..bike trails through the wash again to Sequoia.. then down Sequoia (techically "up" though) to the end.. cut back through neighborhood from Appleton to Watson, Fitzgerald to Sycamore, home.

Lots of ups and downs.. but 16 (?) miles in 4 hours.. and I survived it. I can't WAIT to go again next weekend!!!

Afterwards we went to a bbg up the street that's when it started getting cold.. and today it rained.. today we did a few errands and came back home to relax.

The weekend flew by.. Saturday was busy, tiring, and invigorating.. Sunday was a do-nothing, lazy day.. just how I like 'em! =)

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

okay..

alright, so there is this girl at work that's been giving me a bad case of the "irks".

it started out that she'd be on the phone about 7 hours of the day.. and passing off work to other people.

management talked to her and things got a bit better.. now she's always opening her mail (still passing work off to other people) and she comes in when she wants (leaves the same time as everyone else).

management talked to her last Thursday (or was it Friday?).. she wasn't too happy about that.

the boss was out yesterday and she seemed to be "free" again.. but another employee complained about her so today management asked for my opinion on yesterday..

management talked to her again today.. she wasn't happy again..

Sunday, January 23, 2011

so this weekend was a wee-bit better

well.. to start on Thursday.. I've been exercising every day walking at lunch.. walking 'nona for 20-30 minutes.. even had a dvd I was doing.. I was doing level 1.. I had a whole schedule planned out including playing piano. but it was already "normal".. Toni give me a new dvd last Monday that I used the first time on Thursday ..that was the end of "normal"

Jillian Michaels is killer.. she IS the toughest trainer. She says you're not supposed to stop.. and I know me, I'll stop for anything. So, I told myself I can't quit when the going gets rough. I made myself keep going.. so much to the point that I was really in pain. My legs were really hurting. All those jumping jacks, and jump ropes, and squats - my legs were dying. Then she had us doing crunches.. cross your legs, and criss-cross crunch up and down.. then switch sides.. she did 5, I did 1.. she did 7, I did 1.. she did 10, I did 1.. then switch sides.. I tried to do 1 and I was in agony. My arms were going numb, my legs were going numb, I couldn't breathe.

I had to sit there (lie there) until my legs started working again. Of course, if you exercise and "rest" your muscles freeze up.. which of course happened. I was there for 20 minutes, and as the night went on, I got more and more stiff.. by Friday, I was in agony. No walking Friday, no exercise of any kind. I wish it could have been the same for Saturday, but I went bike shopping.. which meant bicycle test-driving.

It also was my first time on a bike in 15 years.. it was very scary, but at the same time something I've wanted for a long time. I tried out 3 at a bike shop across town. The first one was too scary for me to really enjoy. Then I treid a 2nd one, that was a little easier.. it was a comfier ride, but I was still on edge - worried of cars in the parking lot, turning too tight and taking a fall. Then I tried a 3rd one.. also comfy, but felt like someone else's bike.. #2 was feeling right.. off to 99c store to think it over.. but as I got across the street to 99c, Ronnie and I decided to continue our quest.. to Rick's where there was no selection ..continue across to the other end of town to the other "popular" bike shop. I found 2 more I liked. I've never chosen my own bike so I had no idea what to look for.. #1 was nice, as nice as #2 at the east shop.. but #2 at west shop was awesome! that was the one!

We then went to pick up Kane & Abbie.. the fun time of the weekend had begun. They were here from 5:30 Saturday until 11:30 Sunday. They were much better than the last time they were here.. Abbie is awfully "barky" but she definitely made it through the night a lot better. I'm sure Jessie will hate me forever; she seemed really short-tempered this time around =P

Sunday.. once the puppy patrol was gone.. I was more relaxed. I was too nervous of what they were getting into, how much they would be tramatizing my Jessie-pie. I let the Lillie-bird out of her cage, watched tv while she wandered herself around the house (then magically appeared back at the top of her cage!) Not a whole lot else went on all day.. watched TV.. read some emails (and responded too) a trip to Big-5 at 3:30.., then to Walmart.. then home for a 1/2 hour bike ride on my new bike.. I was very self-conscious about where every car was, every pot-hole.. it was a tiring trip but definitely worth it.

Now it is time to go back to work again =( where do the weekends go??

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

a rather uneventful weekend.. depending on your point of view..

so last week was a full 5-day-week of work.. I hate 5-day weeks.. I think I'd feel a lot better if I could work from home.. to satisfy my day, I need to keep busy. And once I start on something, I'm pretty capable to filling my time, and keeping busy.. but there are certain people that distract me - then time ticks by very very slowly. But if I could work from home, I know I'd never be interrupted (okay, so, maybe not "never".. but very very rarely..)



Friday, I was very ecstatic to be free for 3 whole days.. do what I want, when I want, where I want. Saturday morning - laundry, so more organizing of stuff.. some laziness (hey, it's my weekend - "what I want, when I want"). Then waiting on friends to hang out.. we went hiking in Hope Town.. yeah, it was kinda dark, but awesomely fun..



Sunday, more hanging with friends. We had originally planned to go to Frazier Park to play in snow.. but then determined with the 70/80 degree heat we'd had, there probably wouldn't be much snow left.. We went to the park to feed the ducks.. very fun, but very stressful. Whinona would not listen.. she walked up to a husky (luckily he was very friendly), she walked up to a Chihuahua (rather, it ran up to her) and she walked up to a pit-bull (not a good thing). I have no problem with pit-bulls. I don't stereotype them as horrible vicious creatures, not normally.



Whinona starts walking up to the dog, I called for her, but she ignored me.. The guy yells, "he will attack".. so I ran to get her.. he's kicking her away, he's yelling for me to come get her.. I did, oh, I definitely did. I grabbed her back kicking and screaming.. (yes, kicking.. and screaming).. put her leash on her and tied her to the bench. The guy walked by.. his dog was pulling on the leash, squeezing out breath, growling.. Whinona whined but I told her she was being punished.



Why would you bring an unsocialized dog to a park? Yes, Whinona should have been on her leash (that's my fault), but why would you bring an unsocialized dog to a public place where there are so many other animals and kids everywhere?? I can only hope and pray that the couple with the Chihuahua had her on a leash if they crossed paths.. because that would have been fatal if they didn't..



Monday, was another 1/2-do-nothing day. I washed dishes from our bbq the night before (oh yeah, after the park we had a bbq with short ribs, tri-tip, sausage, garlic bread), I also finished cleaning the bathroom from Saturday/Sunday (yes, it takes me 3 days to clean the bathroom) and vacuumed the living room. Then my sister Toni came over and we sat and talked for about 1/2 hour. She brought me some 2.5 lb weights, and an exercise DVD. She also brought a box of clothes from our sister Karla up in Larkspur (up by San Francisco).. then we met our sister Sab for lunch at Chipotle. It was yummy! I'd never been there before. I know I will definitely be going back again. I had 3 carnitas tacos, flour tortilla, mild sauce, guacamole, sour cream w/a cup of water. After lunch we walked around the mall for a bit so Toni could go shopping.



After that came home to control my mind for going back to work today :( I made dinner, a new recipe of pasta w/sausage and bell pepper. It was okay.. Ronnie loved it.. the sausage didn't sit too well with me (or rather the combination of jalapeno cheese with the sausage) and the onions were very overpowering (..for my taste)



Ronnie and I found a condo-listing for sale Sunday night. I scheduled an showing appointment for Monday afternoon 4:30. I was speaking with the realtors assistant from 12:30 on.. at around 3:45 he said that the listing agent would need to have the homeowner there because they have a dog so we can't just enter the property. So the meeting was scheduled for today 4:30.. then he called today 2:45 that the listing price is incorrect. The homeowner is doing a short sale and they need to meet fair market value with Chase for short sale to be valid. so, the listing price will change sometime next week when market value is determined.. =(

Sunday, January 9, 2011

January updates

I'm trying to find a flat magnet (or weight).. kind of rectangle shaped.. I looked on JoAnn's website - they have round magnets.. Michael's has nothing =( tring to "fix" the curtain on our laundry shed, it always just flies wide open, then the rain and wind get in.. I suppose the round magnets will work..

We are also going to recirculate (re-circulate? is that a real word?) our emergency rations.. We had planned it during the week.. buying new supplies and donating the "old" ones to a local food bank. Well, yesterday, while shopping at Smart-N-Final, we were approached by an organization that sends care packages overseas to the military.. so we decided to donate our "old" supplies to them.. and then we can refill the storage bins with new canned goods. There is a list of "please sends" and "do not sends", so whatever is not allowed we can still donate to the food bank here in Simi..

we went back to work last week.. that's always sad when the holidays end, and "real life" begins again. things at work are going good. my boss has been giving me lots of research stuff and other work, letting me prove myself and expand my skills (as well as fully use other skills I have learned but not had the opportunity to really use)

We got another new procedure, plus an addition on an old procedure.. took a bit of time to adjust to the whole new routine. But now it's just common nature.

I've made myself a little schedule. I played piano Monday, Wednesday, Saturday (Monday was 2 hours because time just flew by.. Wednesday and Saturday were 1 hour), Friday, I exercised 45 minutes (a DVD that I think my mom gave me - Denise Austin's Body Makeover Mix) I thought I had more exercise videos/DVDs but whenever I organize this house I always end up hiding things from myself. So, I'm going to go look for more DVDs to give myself some variety.

After Friday's exercise, my stomach was sore!! thighs as well.. and I thought that Saturday I was going to regret myself.. but no, I was actually okay.

Ronnie and I plan to get out and walk or hike on Sundays so that day is planned. Now I need a new "something" for Tuesday and Thursday.. still walking 1/2 hour on lunch Monday-Friday, and I walk Nona after work Tuesdays/Thursday - so maybe I'll make the Tuesday/Thursday longer walks for me.

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

christmas stress

has there ever been a christmas that wasn't stressful?? i mean maybe as a child, but even then you're stressing that you did something wrong, and santa won't bring you presents, but might put coal in your stocking..

but as adults.. all bets are off and you're stressed beyond belief.. getting the right gift... getting the right gift, in time.. having the money, to get the right gift, in time.. and then there's the planning and travelling.. again, in time.. what about when you get there?? you're still stressed, even after you arrive..

last year, Ronnie and I stayed home. We had moved in together June the year before (so, 18 months before Christmas '09) and from that August things got progressively worse. ((ya see, we'd moved in together June 25th.. but I told my mom he moved in August 30th)) I couldn't call, email, text without getting a God-fearing lecture.. I LOVE God. ((why do people even put the fear of God into thought??))

I got the lecture that we are living in sin.. I got the lecture that I'm pleasing the devil, and once I get married the devil will sabotage my marriage.. I got the lecture that we should rent a 2-bedroom place.. I got every lecture, every kind of lecture you can imagine.

No matter what I called, texted, or emailed about.. that's the direction the conversation went.. half the time my true original question or concern was never answered.. no way was I going to try again!!

SO Ronnie and I stayed home.. yeah it was only my 2nd Christmas away from my family.. but I was trying to make a point.. and I really truly think I failed. I'm quite positive my mom thinks (and led everyone else to believe) that Ronnie wanted me to stay home. I think she was trying to put the blame on him rather than on herself.. and I don't think she knows she's ever done anything wrong - I mean, heck, she's perfect!

So this year, I emailed family to inquire on their travel plans, and to inquire on their Christmas wishes.. no response.. oh wait, they all said around Thanksgiving-time that "I don't plan that far ahead".. and my dad responded shortly thereafter that his Christmas wish was that he wanted a hug.

So Ronnie and I beat the traffic rush and drove up to Big Bear on Christmas Eve morning.. we arrived after 3 short hours.. then next was a 2-hour hike in the forest with Whinona, in the snow!! ..plus some target practice for me with his new..22 air-rifle :) Then we "bucked-up" and drove across the highway to my parents' house.. and that's where Ronnie stayed.. restricted to the downstairs of their 2-story, 4-bedroom house..

I went to church with my parents at 5:30 (actually 5:00 for the Christmas "concert" before mass) while Ronnie stayed home.. during the concert my dad "oh-so-politely" said that I had gotten wider - what's that you say? whiter? - no, wider.. yay dad, way to notice those 12+ lbs I'm already upset about.. I kindly said 'no, it's probably the winter jacket' =(

I got through mass with the priest's sermon about living the Catholic way and being prepared for Jesus' coming (have you sinned today??).. the music at communion was actually very beautiful.. the choir was preparing for communion so no instruments, just acapella singing, very beautiful.. then mass ended and we prepped for the 'happy' trip back home..

my mom had 3 complaints - the choir was horrible (no choir is as good as hers), they butchered Silent Night (the acapella communion song that was beautiful!).. never did hear her 3rd complaint.. my dad said Silent Night was very good and my mom exploded at him. I think she thought he was being sarcastic to start a fight (she always thinks he's picking a fight, but he never actually is) but he was being serious, and I agreed with him.. which was the wrong thing to do!!

I was so happy to get back to their house and check in with Ronnie.. he was happy in the quiet house (don't blame him one bit.. I totally envied him).. we had dinner, and watched a bit of tv (too much tv rots your brain, don'tcha know) then bedtime.. me upstairs in a very dark bedroom and too-tall Ronnie squeezed onto a too-short non-pull-out couch.. took me about 2 hours to fall asleep, and I woke up 2 hours earlier than planned..

next morning, got up just as my parents were shuffling all the gifts under the Christmas tree. my mom had already informed me that breakfast would be around 10:30 after they got home from church.. so they left at 8:00 for Christmas concert before 9:00 mass.. 10:30 came around, they weren't even home yet. they got home at 10:45, with a friend, and my dad took the solidly-frozen omelet out of the freezer.

that went into the oven and Ronnie and I watched more tv.. omelet came out of the oven at 11:30 and I grabbed a plate of food.. getting ready to walk out of the kitchen and my dad nudged my shoulder *check if it's warm enough* - nope, ice cold still.. so into the microwave it goes.. that 10:30 breakfast was at 12:00..

needless to say, Ronnie and I left at 1:00.. my mom was mad.. I was mad.. he was mad (he actually had to come and rescue me from my screaming/yelling mother)..

..and I didn't get to see my brother and my sisters..
like I said..
..Christmas stress..

next year.. I think we'll stay home (..again..)