Day Two Hundred and Four

Sandra picked up her skates today so we went to the park to skate and we had fun! It was kind of late so we didn't get to skate as long as we wanted, but now I feel comfortable enough to go during the week alone or with the other derby girls. Fun!

Day Two Hundred and Three

It has been a good day, I got a 90% on my chem test and was approved for training benefits via unemployment. That means I have approval to go to school while collecting unemployment and don't have to look for a job while in school! Yeah! The only bad part is I am still having Internet problems (it constantly is disconnecting) and am waiting for Comcast to send me a new router!

Day Two Hundred and Two

My yard is full of wildlife! First it was bunnies taunting Riley and now it is snakes slithering all over the place! And not to mention the spiders inside the house! I think my place needs to be re-zoned as a wildlife preserve.

Day Two Hundred and One

I have posted everyday for 200 days! Holy cow.. that's pretty impressive. Tonight was movie night and it was really nice. We had leftovers and I brought over some tarts I had made. I used a graham cracker crust and filled it with caramelized banana cream, bananas, and strawberries, and topped it with some chocolate chips and macademia nuts. They turned out pretty good.

Also.. it was a big night because Allison walked! We were so excited and she was giggling along with us. Christa got it on video so she could send it to her hubby. Yay Allison!

Day Two Hundred

Not only is this the last day before I hit day 200 of writing in my blog, it also marks the day that I officially quit smoking one year ago! Woo hoo!

Here are the details:
Quit smoking for 1y 0m 0d 00:54:21, saving $2,555.00 and 35d 11h 40m of life by not smoking 7300 cigs.

I plan to never ever smoke again and am super excited for the rest of my smoke free life. :)

Day One Hundred and Ninety Nine

I went to derby practice today to watch everyone skate and it was awesome! I miss it so much. I just need to get my health insurance worked out (find a way to get some) and I can start skating. The plan is to go to new skater practice next month and see how I do with the newbs. I just need to remember to take it slow. 

Ohhhh and I was given an envelope of cash from the broken leg fundraiser and there was almost $200 in it! That is going to really help to pay my medical bills or at least get some money to the creditors!

Day One Hundred and Ninety Eight

Things are getting fancy in the Lewis household. I installed an above ground pool all by myself and Riley spent the day frolicking in it! Riley has taken it over for herself, but I am sure she would share it with me if I asked nicely.

Day One Hundred and Ninety Seven

A day in the life of unemployed me! First, wake up around 10am, make some coffee, feed the dog, get dressed and head out for hair appointment at 11am. Spend about an hour getting an AWESOME haircut and then head to Martina's for lunch and visiting.

We had a really nice lunch of sourdough bread, mozz cheese, tomatoes, fresh basil, nitrate-free ham, and olive oil, oh and strawberries! I then headed to the library to pick up some books I had on hold and to print out some pages for a paper I need to write for school. 

After the library with memories of the yummy lunch still in my head I stopped at Trader Joe's picked up some of the aforementioned ingredients as well as some ginger cookies. Yum! After I got home I video-chatted with Susie and then read for the rest of the afternoon. What  a hard life!

Day One Hundred and Ninety Six

It is almost blackberry and plum time! The blackberry plant has fully bloomed and the berries are starting to peak through, they are still green though. The plums are growing on  the tree and they are also green, but soon will be ready to pick. I am excited for them this year. I plan to eat TONS of my own fresh picked fruit. :)

Day One Hundred and Ninety Five

I had to park far away from my class today because of construction and I got lost! Bellevue College doesn't have that big of a campus, but there are so many trees it can get a little confusing. But it ended up being a good thing because I got tons of steps in as I was wandering around! Oh, and I finally found my class.

Day One Hundred and Ninety Four

After being bothered and distracted by the fallen tree outside my door blocking my view,  I decided to hack away at the bad parts and see what I could do about cleaning it up myself. At least clean it up enough so I could see my yard from my window!

I managed to remove the majority of the dead or dying branches and it now looks a lot better! I think it might still continue to grow even lopsided like it is. I am proud of myself for being able to do all that work my self, that just goes to show how HARDCORE I am!

Day One Hundred and Ninety Three

I am so exhausted that i really don't have much to add. I had school all day and my brain hurts. :(

Day One Hundred and Ninety Two

I have a huge blister on my hand and my body is sore... all from mowing my lawn! It took me a long time, but I finally got both sides mowed down to a more presentable length.

The grass had to be around two and a half to three feet tall and it took a lot of skill to mow it without the mower stalling out (which it did a few times) but I did it! I am just hoping we have real strong winds in the next couple of days to blow away all the grass clippings!

Speaking of strong winds, I came across three large branches that must have fallen during a previous storm that were tangled up and buried beneath the long grass, oh and a few holes Riley dug and then camouflaged with the grass in order to try and trip me! Sneaky bugger!

Day One Hundred and Ninety One

I had an awesome day today! First Cyn and Sandra came by and we went rollerskating at the Bellevue Skate King, and I didn't break any bones! Then we went by Big 5 Sports and tried on different boots and looked at pads and skates and then we ended the day at Red Robin where we had a yummy crispy chicken salad. Very good day!

Day One Hundred and Ninety

I started the day planning to get the dishes done and ended up going on a cleaning spree! I scrubbed floors, counters, door jams, and picked up and organized things. I also re-hung the mirror that fell, put my license plate cover on my car, and put up a picture in the bathroom. Oh yeah.. and did laundry!

After a busy morning of cleaning and organizing, I spent the afternoon laying in the sun and actually got some color! My face got nice and pinkish and my arms and legs got lots of color!

Day One Hundred and Eighty Nine

Holy cow it was warm today! I had to put the top up on my car while I was out, around 3ish because it was actually getting too warm with the sun beating down on me. It got to around 101 today which is toasty for this area,. Summer finally hit! Woo hoo! I think Riley and I will hit the lake tomorrow and cool our paws!

Day One Hundred and Eighty Eight

See the black VW? On the other side of it stood three Asian girls confused at how to open the gas cap and then how to pump the gas. Luckily they were brave enough to ask a stranger (me) how to do it! It is things like this that make me wonder how many other things we do on a regular basis that we take for granted. Simple things that may be second nature to us, but confusing for someone new to the country or area.

Day One Hundred and Eighty Seven

Finally another movie night with the Charters. We had a slight break from them and it was nice to hang out again. We had omelets with chorizo and mushrooms. And then I made mini trifles. Yum! We then watched a bunch of South Park episodes. Very fun night!

Day One Hundred and Eighty Six

I went on two long walks today (yes, two!) to try out the ankle braces I got and was surprised by the results. I thought I would like the shorter one that had more arch support, but that extra arch support really made my foot hurt and I had to take it off before the end of the walk.

It was a good lesson to learn because I always though with high arches I needed more support, but I think all the extra support I have been trying out is what is actually causing all the foot pain I have when walking/jogging. I will use it in place of an ace bandage for swelling, it works really well for that.

The taller one with the stays on the side worked really well. I could barely tell I had it on and my ankle felt really supportive and then was no pain. I plan to buy a second one so I can wear one on both ankles when doing anything that involves movement!

Day One Hundred and Eighty Five

I started using the cardiotrainer program on my phone again to record my walks and I was pleasantly surprised to see that my pace hadn't changed from when I was walking last year, pre-break. I walked just about two and a half miles today and it took about 40 minutes. That was at a 3.5 average pace with inclines and declines. Not too shabby for a girl with two weak and pathetic ankles!

Day One Hundred and Eighty Four

It is no secret that I like Astrology and find a lot of it eerily accurate.  So as a break to my normal blog posting, today I decided to post something that I feel accurately describes me! I found this description which talks about the Sagittarius/Dog, which combines both the eastern and western astrology signs. I think I mainly like stuff like this because it lets me say things like, "I am only blunt, easily distracted, curious, nosy, and rebellious because I am a Sagittarius, sorry!"

I have pasted all of what I found below the break... but here are some clips from it that I thought were pretty descriptive of me in case you can't find what I mean by 'below the break' (that would be you, mom).

Sagittarians like to be frank and to expound. Dogs, although circumspect and mistrustful, tend to lash out with words, toppling adversaries like tenpins.

You will often find these people in the medical or healing professions. They can't help wanting to help others, improve their lot, comfort their sorrows.

At their very best, Saggitarians are: Generous, Courageous, Honest, Intelligent, Reasonable, Adventurous, Philosophical, Enthusiastic, Resilient, Caring and Loads of Fun.

But when they go too far (which is every other day) Sagittarians can become: Rebellious, Reckless, Outspoken, Tactless, Inconsistent, Perverse, Overbearing, Self-centered and Ill-mannered. 

Saggitarians don't do anything. They overdo everything.

Saggitarians seem to live on on a perpetual spree. Generally, they can be found studying yoga and taking piano and French lessons and have also decided to become a martial arts master and a gourmet cook while perfecting their skills on the zither - all at the same time.

... because they cannot stand to be tethered or tamed, Saggitarians often fall prey to their own large gaping mistakes. They are forever marrying the wrong person, taking some goofy professional fork in the road .... They are in perpetual danger of screwing up and need to discipline themselves from a young age to keep out of harm's way.

Now this bluntness for which the Sagittarian is so famous, is not at all like the viper tongued sudden sarcasm of Scorpio. Sadges don't say your hair looks disgusting because they want to make a snotty remark or jab you one in the gut. No way. Sagittarian bluntness is pure childlike candor in the rough.

Number one Sadge profession is Doctor or nurse or some sort of caretaker. That sounds odd because Saggitarians seem so flighty. But they are also deeply caring people and understand how to reach out and touch those in need.

Also, I thought it was interesting to know that if I was a Sagittarius dog I would be known as "The Problem Dog".

Sagittarius / Dog
The dry hero that is Sagittarius/Dog embodies all of the Sagittarian's idealist traits, the adventurousness, the


(CLICK ON THE POST HEADING TO READ THE REST)
future vision, the bravura and the fire. But this person also takes on those creditable qualities native to all born under the sign of the Dog: honor and sincerity, loyalty and respectability. Both signs are endowed with a loose tongue. Sagittarians like to be frank and to expound. Dogs, although circumspect and mistrustful, tend to lash out with words, toppling adversaries like tenpins. This is a worthy person whose nose for what's happening on the world scene and how to fix it is enviably accurate. You will often find these people in the medical or healing professions. They can't help wanting to help others, improve their lot, comfort their sorrows. The private lives of these people are very private indeed. They are extremely sexual. But never air their dirty linen or kiss and tell about this or that affair.Good Compatibilities - Libra Tiger

THE DISQUIET DOG
Dogs are: Attentive, Well meaning, Helpful, Altruistic, Modest, Devoted, Philosophical, Dutiful, Discreet, Loyal, Intelligent and Enthusiastic.But Dogs can also be: Mean-spirited, Disagreeable, Bad-tempered, Self-righteous, Judgmental, Quarrelsome, Accusing, Nervous, Anxious and generally Impossible to live with.

Man's best friend indeed you are: honest, faithful and sincere. You give pure tenderness in return for affection. You are (mostly) an agreeable companion. To know you is to love you - except when you let go with a brutish comment or snap sarcastic zingers at us poor unsuspecting bystanders. You have a bark on you, Doggie, that makes even your most ferocious bite seem painless. But you selflessly redeem yourself. Knowing how to say you're sorry is one of your most charming traits.You believe in justice for all and willingly take up worthy causes and bear weighty crosses against unfair practices. You respect tradition and value honour. You take real pleasure in helping a senior citizen cross a busy street. In life's big western movie, you definitely wear a white cowboy hat.A finely-honed critical sense allows you to sniff out deceit and track down fraud. Trouble is, this flair for truth is so keen that it sometimes causes you to become pessimistic. Terminal disappointment and even depression may ensue. As a hedge against this tendency to hopelessness, try to surround yourself with amusing people whose optimism and joie de vivre help you maintain your own equilibrium. At a tender age you will begin to notice that the world is a very unfair place.My advice? Try not to be so painfully self- righteous. Marry up with a carefree Tiger, a fantasy-loving Horse or a cozy, reassuring Cat person. 

All Sagittarians are born between November 23 and October December 21 

At their very best, Saggitarians are: Generous, Courageous, Honest, Intelligent, Reasonable, Adventurous, Philosophical, Enthusiastic, Resilient, Caring and Loads of Fun.

But when they go too far (which is every other day) Sagittarians can become: Rebellious, Reckless, Outspoken, Tactless, Inconsistent, Perverse, Overbearing, Self-centered and Ill-mannered. 

Saggitarians don't do anything. They overdo everything. They leap at life and gobble experience and inhale learning. They take each day in one huge gulp and barely go to bed for a quick rest, get up smiling and raring to devour the next day with the same verve and fire as the day before. Saggitarians pounce on time, using it up flagrantly as though every day were both their first and their last on Earth.

Needless to add, Saggitarians are always on the go. Never try to hold a Sagittarius back or in any way hinder his freedom of movement. If she wants to trot off India and live on an ashram for a week in order to try to understand Indian culture and learn about Buddhism as well as be able to report on the meaning of every single Indian god and goddess that ever existed when she gets back... drive her to the airport and pray that she doesn't decide to stop off for a weekend in Tokyo on her way home to try and pick up a few words of Japanese and learn how to make sushi in her own kitchen. 

These people are all about motion and knowledge and most importantly, they are about understanding the world and its workings. Saggitarians seem to live on on a perpetual spree. Generally, they can be found studying yoga and taking piano and French lessons and have also decided to become a martial arts master and a gourmet cook while perfecting their skills on the zither - all at the same time. It is amazing what they can accomplish and it is also amazing how often they shift from one discipline to another without batting an eye.

Trouble is, because they cannot stand to be tethered or tamed, Saggitarians often fall prey to their own large gaping mistakes. They are forever marrying the wrong person, taking some goofy professional fork in the road or squandering their fortunes on tricky deals. If only for the thrill of doing it, Sagittarians are apt go overboard on everything from shopping for presents for their families to ingesting illegal substances. They are in perpetual danger of screwing up and need to discipline themselves from a young age to keep out of harm's way.

Outspoken is an understatement. Saggitarians (unless they have succeeded in getting their natural bluntness under control) always tell it like it is. "Your hair is all flat. What did you do? Didn't it used to be bigger? Fluffier?" 

Good old hawkeye Sadge notices right away. But does he stop for one second to think that you may be having a bad hair day and that's why your head looks extra flat today and so maybe he should button his tactless fat lip before he "notices" in your face that you look like a smashed Easter egg? Nope. He pipes right up and splat! Your day is ruined for life. 

Now this bluntness for which the Sagittarian is so famous, is not at all like the viper tongued sudden sarcasm of Scorpio. Sadges don't say your hair looks disgusting because they want to make a snotty remark or jab you one in the gut. No way. Sagittarian bluntness is pure childlike candor in the rough. Where you might put on a velvet glove when hinting to your best friend who needs an urgent face lift by saying, "My, Hilda but you're looking tired these days." The Sagittarius friend blurts, "Hey Hilda honey you better get yourself a face lift before it's too late." I know that you may think this is part of the inimitable Sadge charm. And indeed it can be. Especially if the Saggitarian in question is eight years old. But grownup Sagittarians take heed. Most people do not wish to hear the flat out truth, so if you must speak the truth, wrap is in some attractive manner so that your unsuspecting interlocutor doesn't go out and shoot herself before she can even get to the phone to call her plastic surgeon.To stay in love with a Saggitarian, you must be first of all be an independent sort yourself. Never cling or appear needy. You must not mind being alone for months on end whilst your lover or fianc¨¦e is in the Antarctic or at Igloo university in Alaska or on the golf course in Scotland or in the Seychelles hunting for dead coral or resting in the south of France on a pebbly beach next to a blackjack table. Lots of Saggitarians never marry or else they marry late. It¡¯s no mean feat to pin down a moving target and the successive possible marriage partners of most Saggitarians often get discouraged and defect before they even set a date. Contrary to popular myth, men like to be married and have few compunctions about leaving the little woman behind to tend the hearth and children. So Sagittarius men marry a bit more often than their female counterparts. But I know oodles of Saggitarian women who have never married. Too choosy? Too busy? Too easily bored? All of the above. 

Day One Hundred and Eighty Three

OMG. Sometimes I think I shouldn't even leave the house. As I was walking outside to take Riley for a walk I misstepped on a stepping stone outside my door and twisted my ankle! It freaked me out because I imagined it breaking!

I hobbled inside and got some ice to put on it when I started to feel dizzy, nauseas, and clammy. I realized that I was so freaked out that I was going into shock. I hurried and put the ice on it and then laid down and propped up my feet. That helped tons, I am glad I was thinking clearly!

As you can see from the pic my ankle is swollen, but hopefully putting ice on it right away helped and it won't be too stiff tomorrow.

Sheesh, I swear I can't get a break in my quest to get healthy. At least I am back to recording my food and I can at least control that.

Day One Hundred and Eighty Two

Today was MUCH better. I got my wallet back, with everything intact, and my classes went real well today. We had a Chemistry lab that was actually fun and we picked a topic for our group biology paper. I am soooo looking forward to this four day weekend of doing nothing but exploring and playing videogames (and studying and doing homework!) Such a hard life I lead. :)

Day One Hundred and Eighty One

I don't have too much to report today. I had class, stopped at the store to get a rolling backpack and some reflectors for my mailbox, lost my wallet, realized I was out of gas, and dug ten bucks out of my change jar to get gas. I am trying to relax so I can look for my wallet with fresh eyes. I hope I find it!

Day One Hundred and Eighty

School is exhausting! I forgot how tiring it is to sit in class and listen to lectures and absorb information. I didn't have class until 1230 and I got out at 1500, but as soon as I got home I laid down for a nap! After the nap I got a bit more active and finally cleaned up the section of the cottage I use for storage. I also did some homework and ate a healthy dinner; grilled chicken sandwich and a peach.

Sandra had mentioned this weekend how horribly she eats around people and how good she eats when she is alone and I found out I do the exact same thing! It is official, I can no longer hang out with people! At least not around meal time. :)

Day One Hundred and Seventy Nine

Today was my first day of school and my brain is reeling! Oh my gosh... first day of Chemistry and so much to learn. I knew this would be tough since it is a summer course, but both Chemistry and Biology at the same time in a sped up faster should be interesting!

As I was leaving the grocery store this evening the sunset caught my eye. It certainly isn't as beautiful as an Arizona sunset, but it was close. That is one thing I miss about Arizona is the beautiful sunsets! But luckily there are a lot of things I love about Washington. But who knows, in five years I may be in love with another state... or even country!

Day One Hundred and Seventy Eight

Well.. I made it back across the border! It was quite a wait to get back into the States, but they did let us. It was a long weekend but I had tons of fun. I am so glad Cyn and Sandra invited me to spend the weekend with them. :) Oh, and it was pouring rain as we were leaving Canada... I think Canada was crying because it was sad I was leaving :(

Day One Hundred and Seventy Seven

Has a great time today! We picked Chickie up from the bus station so she could join us for the day and then we went to a huge park and then to have Pho and then derby.  I will write more later when I get home because we are getting ready to play some Scene It! (and drink some cranberry and vodka!!)

Day One Hundred and Seventy Six

I made it to Canada! It was a nice drive and we didn't have too much trouble at the border. The border guard did ask me, "How long have you been in the States", which I answered 39 years. He then got frustrated and said I didn't hear him right and we should start over and then asked me a totally different question. 

I KNOW what he said, and Cyn heard the same thing as me.  I think he just messed up and didn't want to admit it! But we made it across and that pic is a view from in front of Sandra's place. Pretty mountains!

Cyn then made us some yummy nachos which we ate while watching "Whip It", in preparation for the bout we are going to tomorrow! I am excited about seeing our friend Chickie who will be joining us!


And Sandra and I jammed playing some "Lips" on the Xbox, after we figured out that we had to sync the mic's before playing!  Duh!

Day One Hundred and Seventy Five

Very busy day today. So busy I didn't even get a picture taken! First I had a 3.5 hour workshop at school in regard to CAT/TB. These are benefit extensions when you are on unemployment and permission to go to school while you are on tuition. There was one of those people in the workshop that kept asking questions all the time and kept asking questions about things that the person leading the workshop had already gone over so it went pass the three hours it was supposed to be.

Also, I almost finished cleaning my car. I wiped down all the interior and got a lot of the hair off, but my dustbuster was charged so I wasn't able to vacuum at all. I think I might have to go to one of the self service places and vacuum. 

And then my friend Sara called around 9pm and asked me to come over because she was having problems and needed a friend. So I only just got home and barely made my time to post this! Leaving to see Sandra in Canada tomorrow. Woo hoo!

Day One Hundred and Seventy Four

Today could be categorized under clean. Well sort of. I took Riley to the dog walkers to hang out and she had a blast hanging with the pups... there was about 25 of them there today!  Holy cow that is a lot of dogs! While there Dana volunteered to give Riley a bath in this cool bath setup she has. Riley was scrubbed clean.

Later I kind of cleaned out my car. Sort of. I got the papers and junk out. But there is still a lot of dog hair! 

And the third thing I cleaned was the pathway and stairs in front of my patio. I had already used the weed whacker on it but hadn't got around to clearing off the grass I whacked.

I also downloaded this cool program on my phone that takes pictures and then applies a cool filter to them (Susie, it is called FxCamera check it out on the marketplace). The one I like best is called toycam and it makes the pics look retro, you can see one of the filters in the above dogs pic. There is also a filter called Warholize or something. 

I tried the Warholize on Riley and it was a bit too dark inside so I wanted to get more light. This is how it played out. ME: "Riley, I need more light for the picture, come outside please." I open the door and step outside, Riley follows me outside. I stop and point at a spot and say, "go there". Riley walks over and turns to face me and sits down. I say, "Pose" Riley titls her head and poses. I take the picture, wait for the filter to apply and see if it looks good. ME "Thanks Riley" Riley stands up and walks inside and lays down on her rug. I swear she must have been a model in her previous life! 

Day One Hundred and Seventy Three

I spoke to the worker retraining advisor at Bellevue College and was approved to take courses starting this summer to fill some pre-reqs I need for the nursing program I want to apply for next year. So that means I start school next week! Woo hoo! I am going to be a college student again! :) I have a TON of science credits to take and I hope some of my other credits like math and speech will transfer over.

Day One Hundred and Seventy Two

OMG! I am stuffed! I made a yummy stir-fry which consisted of tofu, quinoa, peppers, spinach, broccoli, garlic, and cherry tomatoes sautéed with soy sauce and teriyaki sauce, all around 400 calories. I can't get over how filling it was and at 400 calories.

Also, I have done yoga two nights in a row and I think it made a big difference in my sleep. I also didn't realize how stiff my back is! I guess that makes sense since I have been having horrible back problems the last few weeks. I need to keep up this yoga for sure.

Day One Hundred and Seventy One

I decided to use my C25K program but do a walk/fastwalk rather than a walk/jog. This works out real good right now because I don't want to pound too much on my leg until I am in better shape. I started this morning and Riley and I ran into horses on the trail! Riley freaked out, she didn't know what the heck they were!

When we got home I was resting on my beanbag chair using my computer and Riley climbed up on the back and rested her head on my shoulder. She has zero concept of personal space!

Day One Hundred and Seventy

Diana (next door neighbor) let me borrow her weed whacker so I could clear a path from my front door and down the steps. It was actually hard work to use the gas powered weed whacker! And to top off the fun it started raining.

Whacking weeds in the rain isn't as fun as it sounds, but I got it done and now there is a nice, cleared pathway from my door to my car and from the side door to the shed. Next step... removing all the weeds and grass I removed.

Day One Hundred and Sixty Nine

 

I decided to have another go at getting something planted at the planter near where Riley hangs out. I had a bunch of veges that i needed to plant because they were being smothered in the little pots they were in.

Hopefully this time they will survive Riley, and hopefully the grate thingie I put up will convince Riley to leave them alone!

Day One Hundred and Sixty Eight

Well my comp died again today :( I am currently running a repair on it, but it has been over an hour and I am not sure how much longer it will take. Today was a lazy day anyway. Riley and I decided to relax and enjoy the comfort of our home during this dreary wet Washington summer day.

Day One Hundred and Sixty Seven

Movie Night! We watched a movie that originally was a 2 part movie on ABC Family, called Fallen, that partway through I realized I had already seen! We had BBQ ribs and broccoli and biscuits to eat! Yummmm.

I also gave Alli her present for her 1st bday. I had crocheted here a blanket using pink camo colors that Calli stole for her own since she liked it. 

I also made her leg warmers with a matching tutu! I think they turned out really good! Alli modeled the tutu...while eating an apple so she gets nice and strong for her future as a ballet dancer.  

And Riley had to try it on as well.. silly puppy!

Day One Hundred and Sixty Six

I spent a couple hours at Bellevue College today sitting in a meeting to listen to someone discuss the worker retraining program. I learned at the end that I could have just made an appointment since I had already looked up all the info that was discussed. Oh well.. it was a learning experience.

Now I have my paperwork filled out and I just need to call in the AM and make an appointment. From what they said in the meeting, it looks like they have funds available for the summer session. I hope they have some for me!

Day One Hundred and Sixty Five

Real short blog tonight because my comp isnt working! Sandra used it to look at her Hotmail and it blue screened and now it wont work!  Sending this via my phone. Great time at trivia tonight to raise funds for broken derby girls.... thats me! Met even more new people and visited with lots of people I know. Fun fun! The picture is of us driving back home since I forgot to grab a shot during trivia. Silly me :)

UPDATE: I got my comp working again. I had to restore it to an earlier point. Not sure why it did what it did.. but it is working now!

Day One Hundred and Sixty Four

I got over 16000 steps on my pedometer today and I earned each and everyone of them! First I went on a 2.5 mile walk this morning; before my coffee and before breakfast. Yes, it was around 10am.. but that is early for the unemployed! 

Next Cyn and Sandra came over and we went to the dog park and walked along the trail to the lake. The bridge was flooded... but we didn't let that stop us and our feet got soaked! It was a beautiful day to be outside and we really enjoyed it.  And walking through the flooded bridge to see the view on the lake was worth it too.. well all of it except the dreaded mosquitoes that attacked me. Thanks mom, I blame you for my sweet blood!

We ended the day by playing Scene It and Rock Band. It was awesome having someone to play those games with. I miss having AJ or Zach around because they were my social games buddies!

Day One Hundred and Sixty Three

It was a beautiful day out today and Riley and I decided to spend it outside. First we went to the dog park where Riley ran around for about an hour. She made tons of friends and had a ball. 

Then after we got home and I changed from my sweatshirt to a t-shirt (I think it was a blistering 70 something outside!), we went for a nice long two mile walk. By the time we got home Riley was so tired she collapsed on the bed. What a lightweight! 

Day One Hundred and Sixty Two

I didn't do anything exciting today because I wasn't feeling well. :( So I spent the day watching 24 and eating cereal (frosted shredded mini wheat). I have been obsessed with frosted mini wheats lately and eat them every morning for breakfast and a couple times for dinner too!

Day One Hundred and Sixty One

Went to the gym today and worked my ass off! At least I hope my ass is shrinking! I did 20 minutes of treadmill, 45 minutes of weights (focusing on upper body), and then 20 minuted of elliptical. I was sweaty and exhaustive. It was awesome! I also weighed myself at the gym and was two pounds down. That's good! Slow and steady will win this weight loss race! 

I have been super good about counting my calories and recording everything I eat. I even recorded the piece of cheese and fudgsicle I had in the middle of the night when I woke up and couldn't go back to sleep!

Day One Hundred and Sixty

Busy day today! First Riley and I went to the dog walkers house to visit for a while. Riley had a blast hanging out with her buddies. There were tons of puppies around.

I also picked some herbs; lemon balm, rosemary, and oregano. I bundled them and put them all in a paper bag to dry. I am excited about using fresh herbs!

Tonight was also movie night. We watched The Tooth Fairy and had hot dogs and baked beans with orange slices for desert. Yummy!

Day One Hundred and Fifty Nine

I made the most AWESOME salmon today. For some reason it turned out absolutely perfect. I don't know if it was just a good piece of salmon, or because it was fresh, not frozen, or I am just an awesome cook. I only put a bit of pear gorgonzola dressing on it and then backed it in the toaster oven, but it was perfectly done and just melted in my mouth. Yum!

Also, today Riley and I went on a walk to the lake across the street. I decided to catch our adventure on video. Look how awesome and green the path to the lake is, and how beautiful the lake is! It also looks like a great place for a serial killer to hide out and dump bodies.

Anyway, Riley also wanted to show off her swimming and fetching skills.  

Day One Hundred and Fifty Eight

Went to the gym and then the doctors today. I saw the PA and he said basically I can start doing whatever I want and to just know my limits and don't push too fast or hard too soon. Good News! :) So when I got home I slipped on my skates and skated in my kitchen a little bit. I think I want to get my muscles even stronger and lose more weight before I start skating regularly. I don't want any more injuries!

Day One Hundred and Fifty Seven

Oh my gosh.. I am/was worn out and sore and tired today! These old bones can't take so much excitement in one weekend. Actually.. I don't think I have old bones.. I just think my body is out of shape. So, as soon as I get healthy and fit I will be able to have more active weekends and not have to pay for it the next day! 

Speaking of healthy and fit. I worked on my menu for this upcoming week and I think it turned out really well and will be easy to follow and very filling. 

Oh, and something else. I was reading about healing broken legs and came across something that suggested using the rolley shoes like Susie got me last year because they help build up the muscles in your ankle! So I got mine out of the closet and will start wearing them. Neat!

Day One Hundred and Fifty Six

So I dont forget.... fun fun time with Sandra, Cyn, and Drea, at dinner and then roller derby and then after party!  We had a blast! And Oh my gosh.. I drank quite a bit 'cause I wasn't driving and it was crazy!

This was definitely a last hurrah before I buckle down again this week and exercise, exercise, exercise, and eat right! Mexican food and margaritas before the bout, beer during the bout, and Guinness and nachos at the Irish Pub we found in Redmond (after driving around in circles forever) after the bout.

Cyn, Sandra, and I made plans to go camping, hiking, and a bunch of other stuff and we are going to do it (I know you are reading this Sandra so don't forget!)

Day One Hundred and Fifty Five

I had lots of fun at karaoke tonight celebrating one of the roller girls, Zwack, 40th b-day. I actually had a really good time and sang a couple songs with friends on stage without having an alcoholic drink all night! Didn't know I could do that! :)

Oh yeah, and I went to the gym again today and I worked out HARD. I did upper body exercises until my arms were weak and did my mile on the treadmill and got down to 18 min.

I also used this other machine called an AMT that allows you to choose the type of stride you do. So I could go from using it as a stepper, to jogging, to a full out running stride. It was actually really cool kind of stair-climber, elliptical mix of a machine and a hardcore cardio workout!

Day One Hundred and Fifty Four

Today was the last day of my contract at Windows Media, so that means I am officially unemployed. I spent the afternoon rearranging things in my house after I took the computer back to work and had more room to rearrange things. I am not done rearranging it yet.. so no pictures yet! All this free time, plus a healing leg, should give me plenty of time to get things done!

Day One Hundred and Fifty Three

What an awesome day. I went to the gym this afternoon and did some fast walking and lower body weights. I then had a nice snack of an apple and a piece of cheese that I brought with me to have on the way home so I wouldn't be tempted to go to McDonald's next door... and it worked! I drank TONS of water today as well! 

Then it was movie night with the Charters. We finished watching True Blood Season Two and then had BBQ chicken, biscuits, and green beans to round off our southern watching.

Day One Hundred and Fifty Two

I had lunch today with Martina, Paloma, and Marcia as a farewell lunch since this is my last week at this job. The food was yummy! We had a big ol' salad with O&V dressing, mini quiches, quinoa, and chocolate dipped strawberries. YUMMY.

It is sad that I won't be working with them anymore, but I know I will keep in touch. Paloma also gave me some fresh oregano to take home and dry since she has an abundance of it.

It was cool seeing her garden as well. She has it blocked off in one foot squares, called square foot gardening. I think I might try that with mine. You can see more info about it here: Square Foot Gardening