This and That

I finally took my cat Lucy in to get spayed this morning. YEAH to no more in heat cats! After these two cats are gone I am not getting anymore cats. (Make sure you remind me I said that later). Lucy is 3 and Buster is 11 so we have quite a few more years before their batteries wear out. I'm so over cat boxes and cat pee and all that mess. Even though the purrs and snuggles are nice. I have had a cat since before I moved out on my own and took him with me so I have not been without a cat for most of my life.

After I dropped her off today I went a little bit late to our community board meeting. We have over 400 members and the same 10 (on a good day) show up to the meetings. Rather sad. I just started going this last year and it's amazing what goes on "behind the scenes". I totally do not agree with how some things are done but eh, if you aren't on the board you can voice your opinion and that's about it. Just have to make sure you vote for responsible people that aren't total assholes. One gal on the board was so negative the whole meeting today. Why be there if you are so miserable and you hate it so much? Step down and let someone else do it and you can stay home and watch TV in your jammies all day.

Friday I finally got the letter that says I'm hired for my new job (before it was "tentative" on me not being a felon and all that). My official start day is November 1st (Sunday lol) so I report for duty on that Monday. I got an email with 500 links to things to read and fill out. I'm pretty sure once I get all my stuff to deduct figured out I'm not going to have much of a paycheck left lol. Insurance, life insurance, retirement, 401k etc. If I was rich I'd be socking it all away heavy but I'm a tiny bit scared of how much money I'm actually going to be bringing home after they take everything out. It will all be worth it in the end though since in one year I'll be getting a bit of a hike in pay and I can only go up from there.

Friday at work I was figuring out my time card and realized I'll have about 30 hours of unused sick time that will just be gone when I switch over. Sucks! Might have to be sick a day or two ;) I also have 2 days worth of vacation. Monday I'll ask if it's ok to take those off at the end of the month. Have a nice LONG weekend before I start my new job (doing the same thing lol). I will be working full time too so I need to work out if I can come in earlier on the days that Trevor has band after school so I can pick him up. Or figure something else out.

All that fun stuff.

Tomorrow is Scott's birthday so we will be going out to dinner then. Tonight the plan is to go hang out at the bar. Hopefully there will be a lot of people there and it will be fun. Last year we went down on his birthday and we were the only ones in the whole place! New people are running it now though so hopefully it will be hopping :)Pin It

Yosemite Half Marathon

Way back my friend Sarah got me to sign up for the Yosemite Half Marathon. Originally we were going to have a "team" with all these people. The race gets here and we are down to four lol. Funny how that works! I had booked us a crappy hotel because I waited too long to book one and everything was super expensive. Sarah's cousin let her know last week that she had booked this cabin at The Pines and we could have it for the weekend! Score! I cancelled the crappy one and did the happy dance.

The actual race was not in Yosemite but at Bass Lake. The lake is really LOW of course since we are drying up in California.

 It took us about 2 hours to get to the resort. My friend Sarah and Masia, who was sharing our cabin and running with us were already there. We hung out for awhile and then went in search of dinner. We didn't have to go far because they have a nice little restaurant right there in the parking lot area.

I think we need a golf cart like this for around the club!

After dinner we went back to the cabin and had a couple margaritas, watched TV and then hit the hay. We had to get up super early for the shuttle to the race in the morning. Because the race basically started at the top of a hill they weren't allowing anyone to drive up.

We got up at 3:30 and were in line for our shuttle by 4:30. After 5 everyone was getting pissed until someone finally came and told us that there was an accident down the road that was delaying the shuttles. Finally a few buses came in and we got on the first one. Which, turned out to be a bad thing because it got slightly LOST. Eventually they figured out where to go and we started climbing the curvy mountain, in the dark, sitting in the middle of a big bus, with no windows, getting car sick. I thought for sure Scott was going to spew chunks all over us. I was pinching myself to keep myself distracted from my own misery. Thank God we made it without having to find a change of clothes. 

We got off the bus just in time to hit the port a potty lines and then line up.

Originally I thought Scott would stay with Sarah but instead the two of us ended up staying together. We ended up running a lot more than I thought I was going to (since I stopped training over a month ago when I got sick) simply because it was easier to run than walk when going downhill!

This was a nice spot where we stopped running for the first time to take a picture around mile 3 I think.

I stopped twice to use the potties along the run. Something I would try really hard not to do if I was serious about getting a good time lol. We stayed together for almost the whole race but the last 2 miles or so Scott was getting tired and told me to go on ahead. I should have just stayed with him since we still only finished about 3 minutes apart. The last 3 miles was much more difficult since it was up and down more and of course, we were tired.

All in all it was a good run! I instantly started wanting to find another race so I guess I like to torture myself a little lol. After the race we went back to our cabin and rested a bit. Scott, Sarah and I went to the pool and the hot tub to try and ease some of our muscle pains. We were totally kicking ourselves for not driving down to the pool since we were all so sore! I had to take a break walking back up to our cabin! After showers we ended up going back to the same restaurant  from the night before and even ended up with the same waiter. 

After dinner we had more margaritas and came up with a new fat girl drink by putting some vanilla ice cream in with them. Tastes a lot like key lime pie. Yummy! I was laying on the floor watching TV since we were one nice chair short for our little group and I fell asleep before 8 pm. Talk about exhausted. We had to get up around 8 so that we could get Sarah to the airport. 

I took a few pictures of the cabin before we left

Look Scott DOES know how to do dishes ;)

After we got home I spent the rest of the day doing this 

and walking like a zombie. Good thing I have Monday off work.

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YOU GUYS!

So guess what!?! I got the job!!

Way back in August I applied for the "real" position for where I am a contract employee. Last Monday I had a phone interview where I just felt like a blubbering idiot. It's probably a good thing that my current boss was one of the interviewers, and I think had a say into who they wanted to hire. I probably wasn't really all that bad.  I know for the next time, if I ever have to do that again, to write down the questions so I can make sure and answer it all. It's hard to remember a long multi-part question and come up with an answer all in your head.

Friday Scott and I had the day off work so we could go to the Yosemite Half Marathon. We didn't have to be there super early so we went to town to get a hair cut, lunch, car wash, etc and when we were driving home I got a call from Hawaii. I was like I don't know anyone in Hawaii so I declined the call. Then I got a voice mail from the HR lady. I was like OMG it's for the JOB and I declined the call! I called back and it went to voice mail and then after calling back a couple more times the gal finally answered and told me I got the position. Now I'm just waiting for the other HR person to call me back with the next step.

So I will be doing pretty much the same job but now I'll be a federal employee and get all the good benefits. One bad thing is that I will be working full time instead of part time (I did 6.5 hours a day) so I won't be able to pick the kids up from the bus unless I go into work earlier (which MIGHT be a good option).

Anyhow, that's my super excitement going on right now. That was a great way to start our little mini race vacation weekend!Pin It

I've Fallen & I Can't My Pants Up

Ugh nothing like the change of the seasons to let you know just how much muffin top you have hanging out of your jeans, eh?

I was so sick for awhile that everything just went out the window. I have run one time in over a month. Next weekend I'm doing a half marathon and I'm surely going to die! It will definitely be a run walk run walk walk walk walk type of race. I feel like at this point there is no reason to even attempt to "train" and I might as well go in with the only expectation being to have fun.

I am just now starting to feel a bit stir crazy and lost so I guess that means I need to get myself back into focus. I do best with schedules to keep me on track and not just winging things all the time. I keep telling myself  "next week" and then something happens and then it's "next week" again and nothing has happened.

I did actually use Lose It most of last week but fell off towards the end of the week. I need to really just get my focus on! Maybe if I keep telling myself that and write it down here it will actually happen lol.

A few weeks ago I went through a little reading binge and finally read It Was Me All Along by Andie Mitchell. I have read her blog for years and had kept meaning to read her book. I really enjoyed reading it.

From Goodreads 

A young food blogger shares her inspiring story of incredible weight loss-a journey from nearly 300 pounds to losing more than half her size-and establishing a healthy and confident relationship with food.

On her twentieth birthday, Andie Mitchell stepped on the scale and discovered that she weighed nearly 300 pounds. At 5' 9"-even knowing that she was big and hating herself for it-she was stunned. How had she gotten there? Without following wild diet trends, she lost 135 pounds over thirteen months and has kept it off for six years. It Was Me All Along shares the at times heartbreaking, yet ultimately uplifting and motivating, story of how Andie kicked her habit of binge eating, which she developed during a traumatic childhood, and developed a healthy relationship with food, which she still loves to cook and enjoy. Her story is at once familiar and inspiring to millions who have struggled with weight and self-image issues. Andie is a powerful motivator who bravely bares all to help others.

Then that lead me to read another book from another blogger, Jennette Fulda that I used to read all the time when she was on her weight loss streak. She wrote a book called Half-Assed and then she kind of stopped blogging about weight loss. Her newer book Chocolate & Vicodin explains what happened. She got this horrible headache that just NEVER WENT AWAY! Can you even imagine? No I can't either. Just from being sick the way I was this summer I totally understand how not feeling well can totally derail your healthy life style.

From Goodreads

Jennette Fulda was riding high on the success of her first book, Half-Assed: A Weight-Loss Memoir, until one fateful day in February 2008, when she developed a headache—and it never went away. So she dealt with it the best way she knows how: by writing about it. And eating lots of chocolate. 

In Chocolate and Vicodin, Jennette explores her change of identity from “the girl who lost hundreds of pounds” to “the girl who lives with constant pain,” and all she’s had to endure to try and make the pain stop—from a bevy of expensive, time-consuming tests, which have taught her interesting facts (for example, that an MRI does indeed cost more than a European vacation—and doesn’t last nearly as long), to tons of medications prescribed by her doctors to hilarious, sometimes insane advice she’s received from her blog readers. While nothing’s been able to grant her relief, she has gained a new perspective. Instead of dwelling on the “invisible tiara of nails” she may very well wear for the rest of her life, she’s instead learned how to live with the pain, sharing with readers not only how she’s managed to get by, but to laugh—and thrive—in spite of it

After reading that one I was looking for something else to read and ended up picking this random book called Hungry: Lessons Learned on the Journey from Fat to Thin. If you've ever wondered how someone becomes severely obese this book will show you how. It gets you inside the mind of the emotionally hungry. I actually think this is a great read for people that are struggling with binge eating.

From Goodreads

Allen Zadoff spent years reasoning that a big, healthy man should have a big, healthy appetite and that his rapidly increasing girth was no more than a regular guy thing. At 350 pounds, however, it became clear that what had started as a little weight problem was destroying his life. Desperate to find a new way of living that would carry him into thin and beyond, Zadoff began to focus less on what he ate, and more on the physical and emotional underpinnings of what he came to understand as a disease. The pounds melted away, and so began the adventure of a lifetime. Following Zadoff’s incredible journey both up and down the scale, Hungry blends his personal story with surprising strategies for weight loss success; it is as laugh-out-loud funny as it is inspirational.

So after all that reading you'd think I'd get my act together eh? Maybe this week...Pin It

Road Trip Day 4 and 5

So after the Enchanted Forest my GPS on my phone was being a total A HOLE and wouldn't re-route from the Enchanted Forest to the hotel in Reno we were going to. Finally I had to get it to do from my house at home to Reno and then change the start from where we were to Reno (not the hotel address) and it started working. I picked the "shortest" trip that came up which was 9 plus hours.That SEVEN HOUR trip? Didn't show up lol

I drove awhile and then we stopped for dinner around 7 or so. I had 2 cups of coffee (good thing), we filled up with gas and it was all good.  UNTIL we got in this FOREST AREA. Which of course, I kind of had to pee. I couldn't drive all that fast because the road was twisty and turny and dark and HELLO DEER who we I stopped for so he could prance across the road. Thank God I had music on my phone that I could play in the car or I might have went a little batty. 

I was so excited when we FINALLY got out of the forest. Right to a Chevron with the most beautiful disgusting bathroom. I was so happy to pee somewhere I didn't even care that someone just put their cigarette out in the toilet water. 

We all got a little stretch out but not too much since it was a bit sketchy out there and then it was only another 20 minutes or so to Reno. Originally we were going to go to see my mom's uncle but he ended up having other plans. I already had the reservation there so we decided we'd just go anyways since there is this cool antique store that we went to the last time we were there. About midnight 30 I was thinking maybe we should have just asked for ONE MORE DAY off work so we could have split this ride up a bit more. 

We got into Reno and I drove down the strip and made a right on 2nd street, which I thought was the way to our hotel, the Grand Sierra. I had never been there before but I got a great deal. Of course I should have made a LEFT instead of aright if I wanted to end up at the casino and not a scary industrial park area. Another turn around and mapping and we finally got into the hotel. I had called when we stopped for dinner and told them we were going to be a really late check in. The woman on the phone said that was fine and had put that we could check in until 3 am, which was really nice.  When I checked in the gal said they were out of regular rooms so we got upgraded to a suite. Which was nice, but other than the kitchen type stuff it wasn't all that much better than a regular room would have been.

We went to bed and ended up staying in the room until check out because we were all tired and Melissa was sleeping forever. SO we didn't actually end up spending any time in the casino part. It seemed really nice walking through though lol.

We loaded up the car and then went over to the Eldorado for the buffet breakfast/lunch and then after that we went to the big thrift store where I found NOTHING to buy. My mom found this kid's iron rocking chair though. I told her she was going to have to sit with it on her lap though lol. Amazingly she somehow squished it in the car. 

When we got to her house we hung around a little bit and then it was back on the road another 40 minutes home. I was looking forward to just sitting when I got home but my house smelled like a giant cat box and was totally wiped out so I ended up doing some cleaning. Lucky for Scott he came home and did the dishes on his lunch the next day or I might have taken another road trip and not came back ;)

All in all it was a great trip but I could have used at least another day in Oregon and definitely another day to drive home! Next time I will need to save up more vacation time!

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Road Trip Day 4- Enchanted Forest

We didn't get too far when we realized we were going to be driving right by that Enchanted Forest again. AND it's the weekend and open! Even though we had a super long ride, we figured we'd probably not get the chance to go here again so we went and checked it out!

You can read about the history of the Enchanted Forest here.

It's only $10 to get in for adults, and it's like a mini Disneyland in the beginning minus the rides lol.

I took a bunch of pictures, I'll keep them smaller so you can just click on them to see them better if you want. You start off walking through a Nursery Rhyme/Fairy tale Land

The 3 Little Bears

Alice In Wonderland

The Man in the Crooked House

Hansel & Gretel

Humpty Dumpty

Jack & Jill

Peter Peter  Pumpkin Eater

Miss Muffett

Mary Had A Little Lamb

Old Lady in the Shoe, this was a slide with carpet type things to slide down

The paths were so pretty

Little Red Riding Hood

Rip Van Winkle

Snow White 

This was so cool, you go in and come out the slide!

Tofteville which was like an old Western area

The Haunted House

This is a ride, which sounds cool now that I read about it on the website, we didn't go on it though

Love this, sing a song of sixpence. Jessica used to sing that when she was little.

Hickory Dickory Dock

This like an old cottage area, there are dolls in the top windows that talked to each other across the street

Us before we left

We had lunch there, it was nice and inexpensive, only like $2.50 for a cheeseburger or something. Totally fun for kids that's for sure!

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