Reviews

So I just got back from lunch with my friend Tressa. She is a reader of my blog, and so I asked her for ideas of what to write about. She didn't really help me. But we came up with writing about reviews.

Book Review
I just got done reading Quaker Summer by Lisa Samson. As I have said I am now reading a lot, as I have also said I'm cheap. And well reading can be an expensive habit, until I finally found my local library! This was a book I got at the library. I didn't really like this book. Their really wasn't a beginning of the book. No introduction to the characters, no back ground, no date or location. Which I think is really weird. At one point in time I didn't really want to finish the book, but I figured I started it I may as well finish it. The story did finally get some depth by the middle. It is a story about a woman who has everything, a loving husband who is a doctor and a 15 year old son, but she is unhappy in life, and trying to find herself. I think this book could have been good if the middle of the story happened at the beginning and the end of the story talked about more of what happened about 3/4's through. The book set up some great stories that didn't take place because the book ended. I wouldn't recommend this book.

Movie Review
Saturday I went to go see My Best Friends Girl. It was a good movie, very funny. I loved Kate Hudson's hair in this movie. Beautiful. I wish I knew how to do my hair like that. Plus Dane Cook. He's not too bad on the eyes. If you like funny movies check it out. I really want to see The Women. I spoke to my friend Tina this weekend and she went to go see this movie with her husband. She said it was a good movie for the dynamics's of women, and the relationship you have with them. I love my girl friendships. I honestly don't know what I would do without them. Each relationship has its own dynamic. Tina said this movie made her want to hang out with the close women in her life-which I am included! It is crazy how life brings different people in your life, and how you work to keep these in your life.

Favorite Movie
This was Tressa's idea. My all time favorite movie is Good Will Hunting. This was when I first fell in love with Ben Affleck. Yummy. I like this movie because it has just the right amount of romance, drama, and humor. I love this quote: "Do you like apples?" "What?" "Do you like apples?" "Yeah, I guess...whatever?" "Well how about these apples!, I got her number!" Cracks me up every time! Great movie.

Favorite Book Series
The Stephanie Plum Series by Janet Evanovich. Now I'm biased because I almost positive this is the only series of books I've read(in my adult life, do the Babysitters Club books count, I think now) so can it really be my favorite if this is all i've read? Anyways, I love this series. Super funny, and clever. Very easy reading, which I enjoy. These books have suspense, romance, humor, and a little bit of drama. I love the humor the best. These books seriously make me laugh out loud. A few people have recommended the Twilight series books, but I don't know if I would really be into them. I'm not much a vampire type girl.

TV on DVD Review
Six Feet Under, check it out, seriously. I had never even heard of this show until my ex's roommate got the first season on DVD, and we watched it. It's a great show. Drama and humor. And a crazy family to watch, to let you know your not alone.

TV Reviews
So as you can tell that I'm not really giving any reviews. Just telling you what I like. My friend Emily did TV reviews on her blog, and I thought what a great idea, but I have no idea what I would write. I know I would just write about the TV shows I like. So you know what, it's MY blog so that is what I'm going to do. All I can say is thank goodness for my DVR!

Dancing with the Stars - I love to dance. Seeing this show makes me get upset at my mother for not letting me pursue professional dancing. The only thing I watch on this show is the Dancing. I fast forward through all the talking from the judges etc...although I did stop last weeks to watch the crazy old lady talk to the judges. That was some funny stuff! That has the be one awesome thing about being old, you really don't care-so you act however you want.

The Hills - I know I'm sorry. But I love MTV, and I gotta watch it.

The Biggest Loser: Families - I first watched this show last season. And holy cow it is motivational, and at timed de-motivational. I can barely lose 8 pounds in a month right now, let alone 18 in one week! But it has some great pointers which I appreciate.

Grey's Anatomy - Love it. This weekend I watched the season premiere. I like this show because it makes you think about your life without really thinking about your life.

America's Next Top Model - I'm not too sure why I like this show, to tell you the truth, but I do. Actually I do know why. Because I like pictures. I always like seeing the different types of photo shoots they do, and then seeing the final outcome.

Real World/Road Rules Challenge: The Island - Again MTV, my guilty pleasure. I think I like this show because of the crazy make out sessions!

The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency - I told myself not to get into this show, then I saw all of last sessions play and so now I'm watching this session. The male models are hott!

Project Runway - I like clothes.

Private Practice - Like Grey's makes you think about your life without thinking about your life.

Desperate Housewives - I haven't seen the season premier yet, but I'm hoping this season is good. I'm not too sure about the whole 5 years in the future thing. I think it would have been fun to see how things happened to get to this 5 years later. It's the stuff in the middle that makes it good, right!?

Travel

I love to travel. Absolutely love it. Mainly because it is doing stuff I don't normally do, and I love to do things I've never done. Eat somewhere different, try new food, go to different places. Saturday I drove to A Grande Finale to buy my Mom a birthday cake. My friend Tina has this thing-you have to have birthday cake on your birthday. Seems like a simple enough thing, but think about it, when was the last time you had your very own birthday cake for YOUR birthday. I was visiting Tina in Florida for my 26th birthday and she made me my very own birthday cake-german chocolate! And well ever since then I think that people I love need to have birthday cake on their birthday! Anyways I was watching The Foodnetwork about a month ago and saw a new show "Road Tasted with the Neely's" and they were in Denver. The cool thing about this show is all of the places they visit, will ship there food right to you! One of there stops was A Grande Finale in Louisville, CO, which is just north from where I live. It was then I decided I would ship my Mom a cake for her birthday! I drove there on Saturday. To get there I went on a highway I had never been on before. When I go on a road I've never been on before I think it is so exciting. I think to myself "This is a place my car has never been to before." Once I found the place (it is SO cute) I ordered my Mom's cake. And had a breakfast pastry for myself. It was yummy.
Moving on. I have lots coming up and I'm super excited. This weekend I got my T-shirt for Race for the Cure. It is Sunday. I can't wait. I know I won't want to get up early on Sunday, but I know that I will, and once I finish it will feel Great! Then next Wednesday I leave for Chicago. Going to a place I've never been to. I can't wait! I'm meeting my friend Michelle there for her birthday. It is really excited because it has been a really long time since we have celebrated both of our birthdays together. ...I went to see her in San Francisco in January for my birthday. I've been so lucky to do all of the traveling that I do, do. I have to really watch my budget, but it is SO worth it! I wish the timing was a little bit better. My Uncle Billy who has lived in Seattle for a long time, moved back to Albuquerque this past Christmas to get better. And now his wife (my Aunt Luanne) will be flying to Albuquerque the weekend I'll be in Chicago to drive back to Seattle with my Uncle Billy-where he is moving back to. I was originally going to be in Albuqueruqe that weekend for my Mom's birthday(my mom and Michelle share the same birthday.) but when I found out Michelle had extended her job in Madison, I asked if I could met her in Chicago for her birthday. Uncle Bill and Aunt Luanne very rarely make it to Albuquerque, and now that Uncle Bill is moving back to Seattle I'm sad I won't be able to see them. Although I'm very happy I was able to see my Uncle Billy when I was in NM in July. I just wish all of this wasn't happening in the same weekend.
Lots of coming up! And I will have pictures to post!

Countdown

I've been going to the gym a lot lately. Five days a week. On the two days I don't workout I feel like I'm forgetting something. I really enjoy this stage of working out because I crave it. Crazy I know. The last time I was like this was almost 5 years ago. I was in training at Qwest, and working out five times a week. In training I had a group of friends, and we had "Tuesday Night get together's" they were SO much fun, and how I met Aaron. My friend Tressa would tell me to come over right after work, and I would tell her No, that I needed to go to the gym first. Right now I'm doing the same thing. My priority is the gym. And it feels good. Moving on, now time to vent.

I work out at Bally Total Fitness. I don't like this gym. I have never liked this gym. I joined Bally's a little more than 6 years ago-about 2 weeks after I moved to Denver. Shame on me for not doing my research. I've only belonged to two gyms in my life. Prior to Bally's I belonged to Defined Fitness in Albuquerque. I really liked this gym, they would say HI when you walked in the door, and the members were nice and courteous. When I joined Bally's I signed up with Dennis, he is the manager of Bally's. He set me up on what I believe was the most expensive plan available. Plus Dennis spelled my name wrong. "Madird." I didn't know what I was doing. Defined was month to month, I got a student discount and would just come in and pay the first of every month. No big deal. Bally's is a big chain. He signed me up on some contract, promised me "X" number of personal training sessions, and all of these goodies...Protein bars, Protein shakes etc... Not knowing what I was doing, I had no idea when I would receive all of these wonderful things. I signed up with a personal trainer, and had two sessions with her. On the third session she didn't show up. Shame on me, I did nothing about it. After going to Bally's for a couple of years, I moved and went to another Bally's across town. This Bally's was a lot better. Still not up to what I would want out of a gym, but much better than the previous. As a new person at a gym you almost always get spotted and approached by a personal trainer because they want you to use them. Which of course did happen at this new Bally's. I got approached to buy some personal training sessions, and I said "Well actually I believe I still have some from when I originally signed up." The trainer looked me up and indeed I believe I had 6 or so left. So about 2 years later I finally finished my training sessions. Another 2 or 3 years pass, and I'm back on the side of town where the original Bally's is. Now that I'm going to the gym again, that is where I go. I go into this gym, and I feel like I'm invisible. Nobody acknowledges me, nothing. Now I don't expect you do cartwheels for me, but at least say "Hi" or "Enjoy your workout"-something. Specifically now that I'm going regularly. It is hard to actually get to the gym, it would be nice to have SOME motivation once I am actually there. Plus these people are rude. Not nice. No one says, excuse me. More than anything it is a social gathering. Now I can say this because I'm half Hispanic. But you know the saying White Trash. This place is Hispanic Trash. It seems to be that majority of the people there are just there to socialize, not work out. I try to push myself during my work out. I'm on the freakin' Elliptical for 45 minutes, it is tuff. And I don't want the person next to me going as slow as she possibly can barely even moving.(this has happened on more than one occasion.) This does not motivate me to go as fast as I can go-it makes me lower my pace. I don't need a group of guy standing around a machine just talking and not using it, when I want to use it!(again more than once.) I want to go into the bathroom and get a paper towel to wipe off my sweat and mascara after my 45 minutes-I went to get a paper towel on Saturday(I think) and no paper towels. Never have I ever seen so many people be at work, and nobody actually working. ...and this coming from someone who works at Qwest :). And the trainers-ah! I would never pay one of these guys to help me work out. They look like they are dead in the middle of a training session. I watch them while they make the people who are paying, and they are just sitting there.

This is just the beginning. The breaking point was this: Way back when I first joined Defined in Albuquerque I was working at Victoria's Secret Catalogue, and working late. The time I went to the gym was 11pm to midnight. Defined closed at midnight. And many times I would be there until closing. No big deal, at midnight they would just make the announcement and let everyone leave. Well about a month ago, I went to the gym on a Saturday evening. I thought Bally's closed at 10, and it was about7:30pm when I left to go to the gym. As I'm walking up to the front the first thing I look at is the time they are closing. They close at 8pm. I think, "well crap they close in 20 minutes, oh well. I'll do my cardio for 20 minutes." I walk in the door, and the first thing the guy says to me is "we close in 20 minutes." I say "Yeah, I see that." It immediately pisses me off. I think to myself-I've been going to this gym for 6 years (granted not consistently) and never once have you said a word to me, and now you go out of your way to tell me when you are closing. So I go on my elliptical, the guy makes the announcement at 7:50pm saying the gym is closing in 10 minutes. Also, I'm not the only one in the gym. There's probably a hand full of us working out. Then at 8pm what happens? The guy just shuts off the lights! All of a sudden I'm in the dark! I couldn't believe it. Who does that?! It really pissed me off! So I leave. At this point in time I know I need to find another place to work out.

A couple of weeks prior to this I was talking to my neighbor who told me they were building a brand new gym right by this brand new shopping center they just opened. With my experience at Bally's and the triggering event of working out in the dark, I decided to look into it. This gym is called Lifetime Fitness. It's really more like a country club. They open on November 11th, and they currently have a Welcome Center. So I went and checked it out, and signed up. It is of course more expensive, but it is a price I'm willing to pay. My first month is a trial membership since I joined before I could actually see the place. I'm really hoping this place is everything Bally's isn't. Plus it is super close. That is the other thing I don't like about Bally's. It is further from my house, I have to get on the freeway, and it just really isn't convenient. This new place is 12 blocks away! And come November I'm pretty sure I'll be hitting a plateau, and this new place will be a great way to break that! Plus because it is so close I won't have an excuse not to work out when it is snowing outside. I cannot wait to go into Bally's and discontinue my membership. I plan on going up to Dennis and tell me exactly why I'm quitting his gym. I was at the gym yesterday, and it happened again. I wanted to use an arm machine and all of these guys standing around it talking. Which why I am now venting to you. So the countdown is on for the opening of Lifetime Fitness: 47 days and counting!

Otis and Denali

Let me introduce you to my family. I have 2 cats, Otis and Denali. I never thought I would be a cat person. I grew up with dogs. When I first moved to Denver my cousin Kari suggested I get a cat for good company. I never really thought about it. Then my friend Sarah moved in with me, and after about a month she got Zelmer. A cute white and gray cat. This was the first time I had ever lived with a cat. It was very fast that Zelmer grew on me. Then Sarah got Kit about 2 years later. Super cute kitten. It was only after having Kit that Sarah and I moved out in our own separate places. After being in my own 1 bedroom apartment by myself I immediately went to the Adams County Animal Shelter and got Sierra. Sierra was a beautiful gray kitten. And very very talkative. She meowed ALL the time. She was sick when I got her. She had a very watery/runny left eye. On her first vet visit I got antibiotics which cleared it up for a while. But it slowly came back. After having Sierra for about 5 months, I came home from work to pack for a trip to Florida. This was in April 2005. Sierra was being her usual talkative self. I had my closet door open, which she loved to run in and out of. While I was packing I look outside of my bedroom door, and I see Sierra fallen over, dead. It was horrible. To this day I don't know what happened. She was probably just 7 or 8 months old. Sierra was my first cat.

After coming back from Florida I went to the vet to select a new kitten. I knew I didn't want to be home without one. The few weeks without a cat in my home was very strange. I didn't like coming home to it being empty. The vet I go to gets their cats from Adams County Animal Shelter. When I arrived they had a selection of a bunch of black kittens. Otis rubbed up against me, and that was all I needed. That is when I got Otis. My all black male cat. Otis was super tiny when I got him. I think he was just 8 weeks old. Bringing him home and watching him play was so much fun. We bonded very fast. I have now had Otis almost 3 and half years. Otis is a scardey cat, in every sense of the word. He is scared of everything. You move to fast, make a noise he freaks out. My home is great for him, because it has a basement where he can hide. Otis isn't a social cat either. Whenever I have guests over he hardly ever comes out of hiding. A couple of years ago my cousin and her family came to visit for a whole week, it wasn't until the 4th days he finally came upstairs.

Two years ago I got Denali. She is my girl tuxedo cat. I went back and forth for a long time about getting a second cat. Mainly because I didn't want to be the crazy cat lady. Once I decided I would "look" I knew exactly what I wanted, and figured if it was meant to be it was meant to be. I knew I wanted a girl cat, mainly because I had a girl name already picked out. I also knew I wanted a tuxedo cat, because how cute would a black cat and tuxedo cat look together?! c'mon now. So I would randomly call the vet to see what kind of kittens they had in. After about a couple of months I called, and they had what I was looking for. I immediately went and got Denali. I was very nervous about bringing Denali home because of Otis. For the couple of months leading to Denali's arrival I would have conversations with Otis. "What do you think about being an older brother?!" etc... Otis is somewhat talkative, and meows back at me when I talk to him. Once Denali came into the house inside of her crate, and once Otis realized there was something inside of the crate he got pissed. Oh boy was he mad. So Denali had her own home in my room for about a week. One weekend day I let Denali out, and let Otis be more curious. I seriously thought they would kill each other, but by the end of the day Otis seemed ok. Of course now they are fine. I think Otis doesn't want people to know that he enjoys her. He actually gets pissed off and hisses at her when he is the one chasing her around. And Denali she just doesn't care. Denali is much much more social. She enjoy's it when people come over, and is a licker. She'll give you a full on bath if you let her. She is also the purrer. She purr's a lot. Otis not so much. And when he does it is very quiet. Denali also doesn't talk/meow all that much. She meows when I'm about to feed her-she acts like she is starving to death every night. I really enjoy Denali because she still looks like a kitten. Not too sure if she was the runt of the group, but she is super small for being a grown cat. I have had Denali almost 2 years now.

I'm going to be posting "Otis and Denali updates" on my blog. I got this idea from my cousin Nikki who does the same with her cat. Denali is a model. She loves to take pictures, so majority of the pictures will probably be of her, but that doesn't mean I love Otis any less. Otis is my cuddlier. He loves to cuddle with me. Which can sometimes drive me crazy. But they are the perfect duo.

What's in a name? I helped Sarah come up with Zelmer. We were watching a movie one day(couldn't tell you what movie) and we were watching the credits at the end. And one person had the last name "Zelmer" and I suggested it. It was long after that, when we realized that Rachel on "Friends" had a boss named "Mr. Zelner". I went to go get Sierra with Aaron. As we were bringing her back to my place driving in the car with Sierra meowing away. And we are both throwing out names. We pull up to a Sierra(the big truck), and Aaron says "how about Sierra?". I immediately liked it. Otis, I got a from a street name. One of the streets I used to pass from my apartment to the vet was "Otis". Then Denali. In the summer of 2003 I went to Alaska. It was a trip of me and 11 family members. It was an awesome trip. One of the stops was to the Denali National Forrest. When I thought about getting a second cat, I knew I wanted it to be a girl, so I could name her Denali.

Race for the Cure

So i've always wanted to do "Race for the Cure". It is a big deal here in Denver at the Pepsi Center. ...I don't remember a "Race for the Cure" in Albuquerque. Anyways. While reading posts at Sparkpeople.com this morning, I read about this year's Race for the Cure. I immediately thought, I am SO going to do it. And I did it! I did! I am all registered, and ready to go. I'm very excited. It is a 5k run/walk. And very early on Sunday October 5th. The running/walking isn't what scares me. I know I can do that. I might be the last one to cross the finish line, but I know I can do it. What scares me is getting up ridiculously early to go to this event. It starts at like 7am. I am not a morning person. But I really want to do this, and I know I will do this. I'm super excited. I'm at the point of working out where I crave going to the gym. It is a habit. My days off from the gym feel empty, like I need something to do. I love when I get to this point, because there seems like there is no return. ...Granted I have returned before, BUT not this time! They have "Sleep in for the Cure" which is something I would also LOVE to do, but it doesn't get me out of bed, and exercising. ...Race for the Cure does, and that is something I need. I'm so proud of myself. Right now I'm doing it alone, which I really don't want to do, but oh well. I do most things by myself anyways. My Grandma Madrid had breast cancer, and at the time I was really too young to really understand it. This is a great event, but I'm mostly doing it for me. Do to something I've never done before, which is something I always enjoy. I hope that after this, I can make it an annual event for myself. Go every year. If you would like to pledge/donate in my name click here: http://www.komendenver.org/site/TR/Race/General?px=1526091&pg=personal&fr_id=1070. Thank you! And wish me luck!

Free Lunch

I love me some free lunch! Today at work they had the "2nd Annual Picnic on the Patio". It started at 11:30am, and was on a first come first served basis. I saw the sign for it yesterday, and got excited. At my old work location I had free lunch about once a week. ...Center events, contests, etc...we got free lunch a lot. At my new location, this is the first free lunch I've had-well technically the second(my boss bought me lunch once!). I enjoy free lunches, well because they are free. I'm super cheap, and I'll take something if it is free! I also enjoy them because it is one day I don't have to plan for my lunch. With my new weight loss journey, I plan all of my meals. I write out every single meal I'm going to have Monday-Friday and put it up on my fridge. So I already had a lunch meal planned-but again, I can't pass on a free meal! I left my desk at 11:32 to go down and get my lunch. I didn't really know what to expect, where it would be, how many people would be there etc... Once I get down to the lobby I see it is all set up right outside of the main entrance to the building. And their are a LOT of people. I start walking towards the end of the line-the line goes all the way to the other end of the street. And I see people that I know. Old co-workers, and new co-workers. Then I see 2 of my old bosses. One of which is a very charismatic man, very loud, even though he is small. It was wonderful to see him, because I found out recently he was on a leave of absence because his cancer came back. I'm not too sure what type of cancer he has, but it is heartbreaking to see a man like this have a disease like cancer. So sad. Please keep him in your prayers. But it was great to see him. It immediately warmed my heart. To see his smile, his newly bald head, and to give him a hug. Free lunch and an old co-worker/friend. It has been a good day!

P.S. Thanks to my beautiful cousin Nikki who showed me how to make my page pretty!

Home Ownership

So I've been a home owner for almost 3 years. My house is 3 levels. An unfinished basement, the main floor, and the upstairs. And I haven't had the best of luck with maintenance and repairs etc... In December 2006 Denver got 21 inches of snow in one day, and shut down the city for about 2 days. Well snow some how got in my plumbing. While I was stuck at home, I went to use the upstairs bathroom. Well it overflowed. It overflowed like crazy, and me being very inexperienced in how to turn off the running water, the water flowed down into the floor vent, out of a light fixture in the bathroom on the main floor, and then down into the basement. Not good. So I opened a claim with my home owners insurance and got it fixed and cleaned. I had to give my neighbor a key to get into my house-because I was leaving for NM for the Holidays. Then when my mother and I returned to Denver after the Holidays I had fans blowing everywhere from the guys that came in to dry out the walls. Now going home(to NM) for the holidays is stressful for a few reasons. One of which is my mother. When she comes to visit I want my house to be perfect. Very clean, and nothing cluttered. It is a challenge to make sure this is done BEFORE I go home for the holidays, because my mother comes back home(to CO) with me. So I have to make sure it is up to her standards(it never is) before I leave, and don't have a chance to clean up before she actually comes into my home. Plus I have 2 cats-and who knows what they have been up to while I have been gone. So bringing my Mom into my house with big fans blowing on all 3 levels of my house, is not attractive. ...This was also the first Christmas I had in my house, and I decorate a lot, and was looking forward to my mom seeing all the decorations, and well the fans took away from my over all look. Jump forward one year. Last Christmas(December 2007) when my mom and I landed in Denver it was snowing, cold, and late. ...I think we landed around 7pm, and didn't get home until around 9pm. We walk into my house, and it is FREEZING. I keep my heat on. Mainly so I don't go home to a cold house, and for my cats. I look at the thermostat and it is 54 degrees. I turn on the heat, and I hear it click on to warm up, but then shuts off. We go down to the basement where my heater is, and my mom says "It smells like gas." Not good. We call Xcel Energy-the guy comes out and says "You have a broken hot service ignitor." Well I don't know what that is, and the Xcel guy can't fix it. I have to call an electrician to fix it. By this time it is almost midnight. Thankfully the cats are fine, but my mother and I are super tired, and COLD. So we decide to check into an hotel for the night. I call around the next morning, get it fixed. And warm up. So unfortunately my mother has yet to get a smooth trip without having to help me with household repairs. Well at the beginning of the year I found I had a leak in my kitchen sink. I was in denial about it for a very long time. I wanted to get it fixed, I didn't want to pay for it. It wasn't a bad leak, it never even accumulated any water. But it was a leak. My parents came up in June. And my mother found out I had a leak. I also had a dying garbage disposal. I kept putting it off, then a few weeks ago I finally decided to look underneath my sink. There was a tiny pool of water in my sink, and some water damage. And well my garbage disposal was nonexistent. Afraid of the result(thousands of dollars in repairs-this was what I was seriously thinking) I finally made a call to my mom for help. She gave me the permission I needed-"Go ahead and get it fixed." I called Roto Rooter-the came out in an hour, advised the sprayer on my hose was lose and just needed to be tightened. That was it. That's all. That is what I waited 9+ months for. The guy tightened it, didn't even charge me anything, and advised I replace the garbage disposal. I took his advise, went out a bought a new garbage disposal-$100. My mother (bless her!) paid for the guy to install it-which happened the next day. $218-I had a coupon! What I thought would be a much much much more costly repair turned out to be nothing. Now I have no fear when I run water in my kitchen sink, and I have a very quiet garbage disposal that works! So the lesson here boys and girls-if something is broken, get it fixed! Now when my mother comes to visit again in November we won't have to worry about any repairs that need to be done!, well I hope anyways. And I truly pray that when my mom flies back with me to denver this holiday season, we come home to nice warm, well decorated, clean house!

Anniversary

It's crazy how today is a piece of history. What is even crazier is I was a witness to this history. I remember being in H.S. and reading about the Gulf War, and thinking "I was alive when that happened." I still remember my 11th birthday, when the Gulf War just begun, and I felt bad for celebrating my birthday because I knew people were at war. And now thinking about 9/11-and knowing that is a part of history, that will be printed in History books and it will be taught about in our classrooms. Knowing I lived that. I was 21 at the time. Working at Victoria's Secret Catalogue, from 4:30pm-1am. I'm sure the night before I hung out with my friend Shaun-we hung out EVERY day. I slept through everything of course. My Mother is weird about telling me things I think. I was living at home during the time. I wish my Mom-or someone-would have called and woke me up. I'm not too sure what time I woke up, or what I did right when I woke up. At some point in time I did turn on the TV. And of course everything unfolded from there. It still brings tears to my eyes and goose bumps to my skin. Seeing the images again makes me wonder "Was that real? Did that REALLY happen?" I remember hanging the paper American Flags that they put in the Albuquerque Journal in my bedroom-which faces the street. I remember calling into work that day, and going to Gardunos with Shaun, and sitting at the bar having a margarita. I still question, why this happened. What did we do to them to deserve this? I just don't get it. I think of my kids(if I have them) going to school, and learning about this, and talking to them about it. This morning I put my America flag outside of my house. At my work they are doing something really special to remember today. Today at work their were 343 Colorado and Wyoming firefighters in their full uniform running up and down the 52 flights of stairs in the building I work in, as a remembrance of those firefighters that went up the stairs of the World Trade Center in New York City 7 years ago, but didn't come back down. I heard the firefighters while I was walking back and forth going to the bathroom, and it was really cool. Plus I got to see them this morning, and this afternoon when I went out to lunch- it was great eye candy! ;) Today I can't help but feel thankful, for all of the men and women all over this world working hard to keep us safe.

Spark People

Some of you have the knowledge that I am on my way to losing weight. I have told a select few people of the details of this plan, and all of the specifics that go along with it. One of them is my friend Michelle. She referred me to http://www.sparkpeople.com/. It is a great motivational website, and is 100% free. This website is great. It is a like myspace, but for weight loss. I have my own page, and graph to track my progress, and lots of forums and message boards for motivation. It is a great way to make myself accountable(which is one of the new things I'm doing this go round.) Another new thing I am doing, that I have NEVER done in the past was weigh myself. I used to only know how much I weigh by my yearly doctor's office visit. I have now purchased a scale, and have decided to weigh myself every 2 weeks. When I first started this new program(on August 10, 2008) I bought a scale, and decided I would probably weight myself every 3 weeks to a month. My first weigh-in was on August 31, 2008. Unfortunately I didn't get the results I wanted, and while talking to another friend Tina(who knows all of the details of this journey as well.) she decided that my first week doesn't really count. My first week was, well, my first week. I only went to the gym 4x's, and 2 of those workouts weren't my full 45 minute work outs with 15 minutes of toning. Plus I had a daily visit with Ice Cream! For those of you that don't know, ice cream isn't something to eat on a journey of weight loss! Everything in moderation. I've lost weight in the past, and was pretty successful without me even knowing it. I was also pretty successful at keeping it off. My major weight loss came 5 years ago during my training at Qwest and went through the first part of my relationship with Aaron. During my 2 year relationship with Aaron I surprisingly kept it off(I think, again I didn't weigh myself). The major weight gain came with my break up with Aaron. I was depressed, and eatting out just about every day, and just about every single meal. And I was eatting a lot. For the first time ever I had to go shopping for bigger clothes etc...It was very depressing. But it obviously wasn't my wake up call(this was almost 3 years ago). I have never started working out as a "New Year's Resolution". For a couple of reasons. 1. Have you ever gone to the gym in January?! It is CRAZY. Super packed, and busy, and all of your machines unavailable. Everyone goes to the gym in January, because of their New Year's Resolution. All of the times I start any weight loss is in the Summer. Mainly because I want a noticeable difference by the time I see all of my family during the Holidays, and plus that seems to be when I get the motivation. So I started this summer. Well this summer has been crazy. I've been consistently going to the gym, but only while I have been in-town. I've been out of town a lot this summer, and well if I'm on vacation somewhere, I'm not going to the gym. With the expcetion of my second trip to Florida. My friend Tina and her husband Jason 3 weeks prior had just started a 12 week program: Body For Life. (I plan to do Body For Life in January or February of next year.) And this program is strict. It isn't time consuming(it is made for the everyday life in mind), but you do have to follow it. Since Tina and Jason were doing this program, when they went to the gym, I went to gym. And had 3 work outs while I was in Florida! That was a first for ANY vacation, ever. Coming back from FL, I had a solid 3 months of no trips, and the chance to finally get a good routine going. So that is what I have done. I have set myself up with realistic goals as well as a good support group of friends and family.

Summer '08

Summer of 2008 has had it unofficial end. And I have had a crazy summer. That is the way I like it. It started with a brand new job, which I now know was a great career move. I work with a group of great people. I've done lots of traveling. Which I feel so blessed to be able to do. I've been to Florida-twice. To Rhode Island and New Mexico. And I have a fall trip planned to Chicago. I have seen different parts of my past, at my 10 year High School Reunion, and a more recent past, my ex. I've done more swimming this year since my first summer here-which I love. I have gained a stronger friendship in a friend I never thought I would be close to, again. I went to baby shower, and a wedding. I had my parents here for a Rockies game. I experienced yet another birth into this world, as well as another tragedy of death for my family. The beginning of a bunch of babies turning 1 has started, and will continue for what seems like forever! I experienced history with the DNC and new memories with wonderful friends. I worked hard at the gym and focusing on being healthy, and put in some labor into a new bathroom. The summer was filled with a lot of firsts, and I hope that the firsts keep coming. I enjoy and feel so blessed with all the new experiences coming into my life. I am open and looking forward to what the rest of the year will bring.

Every summer I have a summer song. And well I don't really have one this summer. I've been thinking of what could be my summer song for awhile now. And well, no new dance song comes to mind. But one of my new favorite songs is "Bleeding Love" by Leona Lewis. It is a beautiful song, but not a song I would classify as a summer song. But one of my favorite memories of this summer has to do with that song. On my second trip to Florida this summer, my friend Tina, her two boys(that I've known since they were born) Max, and Jakob were driving home one day. And "Bleeding Love" came on the radio. Well all 4 of us starting singing along with this song at the top of our lungs. We were really screaming this song, not really singing. Well at the end of this song it has 2 very long notes of "and IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII keep bleeding, I keep keep bleeding..." well in the "I...." we all screamed as loud as we could. It was one of the moments where I wished so much I could take an aerial picture of that moment. The 4 of us, having the time of our lives. It was a beautiful moment, and now every single time I hear that song, I can't help but life and remember that moment with Tina and her boys, Max and Jakob, and laugh out loud.