TGITh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hello everyone!

I am so happy today is Thursday. It has been a really rough week. Today is actually my Friday because I have worked a million hours the last two days. I had to get up at 5:30 in the morning and be on a teleconference for 12 hours each day. The alternative was traveling to Boston for work (which I despise with the fire of a thousand suns), so I can’t complain too much. But I will be happy to wake up at a semi-normal hour tomorrow morning. To say I don’t do well with early mornings is an understatement. I’m a night person and most times it just doesn’t matter how tired I am…I will be up until midnight unless I resort to some sort of sleeping medication to knock me out (which I really don't like to take every night...ugh). When my sister and I were college roommates…well, let’s just say she didn’t speak one word to me before noon ever. Hah.

I guess that is one of the things that I really like about living on the West Coast. When I was in DC, I felt like everyone got to work at 6 in the morning. If you tried to work a regular 9-5 work day (which I always tried to do as often as possible), I always got the feeling that people thought you were lazy or something. Here I feel like it is more the norm, and there is so much less pressure to get in super early. Thank the Lord.

Tomorrow morning I am driving to Las Vegas, and while I am there I will be going to see Joel McHale! If you haven’t heard of him, or watched The Soup on E!…and you are a fan of sarcasm…you must watch this show! It is hysterical. I have never seen any of his stand-up acts; I really hope it is as funny as the show. I’ve heard that sarcasm is the lowest form of humor but I’m not gonna lie, it cracks me up!

This Is Why I Love Running!

A lot of people who don't exercise regularly have asked me how I keep myself going...how I have the motivation...and what has made my routine stick. I try to explain that eventually, it just becomes part of your life, and you don't feel normal without it.

I started playing sports while I was in elementary school. I didn't really start "working out" regularly until I was in tenth grade. Interestingly, I had just stopped participating in sports when I was about half way through ninth grade...so I guess once I stopped being active in sports I felt I needed to get moving another way.

If I spend several days in a row without exercise, I honestly feel completely off. And when I read this article, it really made me think about how much I value the good feelings and energy that are two of the the best rewards of a great workout (not just better abs :-), although that is a nice motivator!). Check it out...Yes, Running Can Make You High.

On somewhat of a side note...today I signed up with some friends for a 6-week beach volleyball class!

Farmer's Market!

Happy Monday everyone! I am actually in a really happy mood today. Surprise surprise for a Monday! :-)

I have recently discovered the wonderfulness of going to my neighborhood farmer's market. I went with Jessie for the first time while she was here visiting. I have been several times since. The one that I go to actually has really reasonable prices and wonderful variety! Below are some photos from the last time I went!

Below is the picture of all of the stuff that I bought! I bought some romaine lettuce, asparagus, carrots, onions, feta and sundried tomatoes, tzatziki, hummus, oranges, basil, and a gorgeous bouquet of flowers!

Some of these flowers are still around and look beautiful...and it's been over 2 weeks now that I've had them! Fresh flowers make me happy. :-)

Jessie's Visit!

A few weeks ago Jessie came to visit me...here are some pics!

I'm Starting a List of Things I Really Like to Do

I'm starting a list of things that I really like to do...

1. Watching new episodes of CSI and The Mentalist
2. Watching TrueBlood
3. Reading pretty much any good book
4. Taking a bubble bath
5. Reading Glamour magazine (especially the "Hey...It's Ok!" page...it always cracks me up)
6. Reading People StyleWatch Magazine
7. Trying out new fashions...especially new ways of wearing things I already have in my closet
8. Going in the jacuzzi
9. Sunbathing at the beach or at the pool
10. Swimming
11. Getting a massage
12. Going to a restaurant on the pier at sunset
13. Getting a facial
14. Getting a manicure and pedicure
15. Going to my neighborhood farmer's market
16. Napping
17. Lounging and relaxing
18. Shopping
19. Writing in my joy journal (this post will go in it! lol)
20. Dancing
21. Listening to music
22. Watching a good movie
23. Writing on my blog :-)
24. Eating yummy food
25. Going out to brunch...or lunch...or dinner
26. Swimming
27. Biking on the strand
28. Pinkberry!
29. Experiencing a runner's high
30. Yoga
31. Listening to/doing a guided relaxation
32. Trying a new recipe
33. Walking on the strand
34. Going to a concert
35. Going to a comedy show
36. Going hiking
37. Going to a museum
38. Rollerblading
39. Kickboxing
40. Playing with Zach
41. Laundry...Just kidding. I hate laundry with the fire of a thousand suns :)

Is there anything you really like to do that I could add to my list? I am going to hang this list up on my fridge and whenever I am having a poopy day...I am going to do one of these things. :-)

Why are you eating a Kalteen bar?

Good morning lovely readers! Happy Friday! I am so excited to sleep in tomorrow, ohmigod. I can't wait.

Last night I had the most strange and random night ever in my life I think. I went to The Otheroom in Venice to meet up with one of my Meet Up Groups. I had never attended anything with this group before so I didn't really know what to expect. I could NOT find the people. I went throughout the bar searching and asked like 5 different people if they were there for the Meet Up. The girl wasn’t responding to my text messages and when they finally got there like 45 minutes late, I still couldn’t find them. This has never happened to me at a Meet Up gathering...I guess it was just hard to figure out who was who because the bar was extremely crowded and, of course, dark!

One of the groups of 2 girls that I approached said that they weren't with Meet Up but asked what it was. I told them all about the website, and they said..."well if you can’t find them you can hang out with us!" I ended up hanging out with them all night and one of the girls was from Rochester, MI (not far from my home town) and graduated from University of Michigan in 2002 (I graduated in 2003). Isn't that hilarious!? She friended me on Facebook while we were there so now I randomly have gained another friend here from Michigan. Ha ha!

Not much else exciting to talk about today...but I wanted to share this article with you because I thought it was interesting: Best & Worst Breakfast Cereals. I was really surprised about a lot of these...and I actually eat some of them...specifically Raisin Bran, Smart Start, and Quaker Oatmeal Express! I only eat that oatmeal when I'm lazy (usually I mix my own), because they are convenient and in the kitchen at work. Basically the issue with all of these is that they have a ton of added sugar in them. Which, by the way, goes back to my sugar quesiton that I never got an answer to!

Sara's Wedding Shower!

Hellooooo everyone! Well it has been over a week now since I have posted and subsequently I have come to the realization that I have absolutely no time to post while I am traveling. Also, it'd be nice if Blogger would come up with a way to automatically upload photos to your blog (like you do with Facebook)...or is there a way and I just don't know? I may send them a note and ask them.

Last week I worked about a million hours during the week so I could take Friday off (my vacation was STILL negative from taking so much time off over the holidays...ugh) and then I went to Detroit for my sister's wedding shower. It was at Brandywine Country Club. It was so much fun! Everyone loved the games that I made...especially the "What's in the Bride's purse?" game! The food was amazing and she received so many nice gifts! It was so nice meeting some of her fiance's family members! I gave her some bedding as my gift...which included these 100% Pure Beech Sateen Sheets that are absolutely amazing. I have a set of these sheets myself and I am obsessed with them, they are so soft and comfortable. She said she knew I would get them for her if she registered for them. Ha! Below are some photos from the party! :-)

Also, below is a picture of the absolutely gorgeous bridesmaid dress that Sara chose for us to wear. It is going to be in a sage green color and we are going to be holding pink flowers. Isn't it beautiful? I can't wait to wear it!!!! I just got a call today from the bridal shop that they have come in and they are shipping it to me tomorrow. Yayyy :-)

My Favorite New Toys

Being an engineering nerd, I really like my electronics (and I also love automatic things and cool gadgets - "As seen on TV" store, anyone? lol). Although, I wouldn't say that I am quite on the level of the way that many men love electronics. But I did just get two new toys that are pretty awesome.

The first is my Nook eBook Reader. When I first saw the eBook Readers, I was intrigued but I wasn't so sure about them. I love books, I love the smell of books (and bookstores..and libraries...lol), and I love collecting books. I have visions of having a little library in my house one day. :-) Then I started thinking about the amount of time I spend traveling...and well...I decided I was tired of lugging around 500 books every time I go anywhere. As I have started traveling more and more, I have become an extremely efficient packer and I don't like to be burdened with a ton of stuff. Considering most times I am traveling to the East Coast or to the Midwest...and I read like crazy...I was ending up carrying multiple books with me everywhere I went (I can read a lot on a 6 hour flight lol). The amount of time I spend on the road was what inevitably made me go out and buy a Nook. I freaking love this thing! It is SO nice to be able to download books anywhere and anytime. I never have to worry about being bored on a flight or running out of things to read. If I finish a book...I just download another one with the touch of a button.

A lot of people have asked me why I chose the Nook above the Kindle. My answer is that I just liked it better. Most of the technical specifications are basically the same (yes I read the specification document, engineer nerd..remember?). I liked the touch screen and the fact that it had expandable memory. I really do think I would have been equally happy with the Kindle though. I really am not looking for tons of features, I just like the convenience.

The second new toy I just bought is a little less exciting...I just bought my first LCD TV. I wanted a TV for my bedroom. I've been resisting this for a while (don't they always say that TVs keep you awake and mess up your sleep?), but I finally decided that I actually did need a TV for my bedroom. For one thing, it blocks out the annoying noises from my neighbors enough that I don't really notice them (seriously, they are annoying and loud at all hours!). For another, if I get in bed in the silence of my bedroom it just feels wayyyy too lonely and I can never turn my brain off. I can't let my kitty in the bedroom because he would keep me up all night. Having the TV on is a nice "white noise" effect and setting the sleep timer keeps it from waking me up once I drift off. Hopefully this works to help me sleep better from now on!

March Workouts!

Here's my little calendar with all my workouts in March that I was telling you all about! :-) I worked out 22 days in March. Yay me! (So, at first I was disappointed to see that I took 9 days off. But then I decided it was better to focus on the positive and that I worked out a lot of days last month!) Next month's goal - to only have one rest day a week...but seriously...I needed every single one of these rest days that I took this month in order to keep my sanity!


And....here are a couple of pics with my little angel fur, Zach. Doesn't he look absolutely thrilled to be taking pictures? Ha!

This weekend and next week things should be settled down and I will be back to blogging more often. Things have been busy! :-) I hope you all have a lovely and restful weekend!

Busy Busy Bee!!!

My goodness I’ve been so busy! I have lots of pictures that I will post very soon - from Jessie’s visit a couple weeks ago! Then as soon as she left, I worked about a million bazillion hours, went to Las Vegas, went to Boulder, and now I am finally back in Los Angeles! Thank goodness! I do not have time to post anything substantial or thoughtful today…but I just wanted to say hello…and post a few pics!

The first pic is sorta blurry but I had to post it because it is cute anyway. It’s me and my future doggie Buster! He is seriously the sweetest doggie ever.

The second pic below is the care package that my mom and granny sent me! Just when I was feeling totally down in the dumps, I received this little package in my mailbox that smelled amazing even before I unwrapped it! Inside was a pair of slippers, a pair of really cute socks with ladybugs on them, 5 little candles that smell so good, a card from my granny, and a card from my mom! Aren’t they the sweetest?! It made my day!