Work In Progress

Over the past few weeks, I have felt more and more like I am falling apart. I am stressing over mundane things that never bothered me before. Collin tells me I need to find an outlet for my frustration. This used to be that outlet. I think it can be again; it'll take some time.

Much has transpired in the last month and a half.

Step one of my teeth restoration was completed. No more root tips! Now I have two surgical implant posts screwed into my jaw. The next step (in about three to four months) is to have the abutments attached and temporary crowns place. About four weeks after that I will have the permanent teeth attached. I am so excited for this to all be done.

We are building our mileage base up in preparation for the Eugene Half Marathon in April. This week we are scheduled to do just over nine miles!

I am continuing to strive towards returning to school this fall; be it full or part time, it's going to happen. I would love to be able to go full time and work part time, but there are several pieces to this goal that have to come to fruition before definitive plans can be made.

Morning Two of working on this post. I only have five minutes so I am sure this will require some evening work or another  morning. Ow, I think I just scratched my cheek...

Thoughts on basketball:
I'm not a fan; it is one of the most boring sports to watch, and way too high scoring. I think they should make it more interesting by mimicking soccer and hockey. Here's what they need to do:
Put a six and half foot tall, 300 pounds of solid muscle behemoth in front of the basket with a trampoline. He would be the goal tender; the trampoline would be for preventing shots outside the key, but once the player enters the key he's fair game. Oh, and the goal tender would be exempt from those lame ass technical fouls, but heaven help the player who gets one against him!

Ah, I have a wee bit of time to kill before our Thursday night shows. Just watched a disappointing hockey game while playing WoW. Sad face.

Yesterday was my father's 61st birthday. I hope I have the same attitude as him when I get older. I asked him how it felt to be 61, his response, "Like 29... A slow 29, but 29." I love him. Sometimes I am much too much like him. He raised me well, and I inherited a lot of his virtues. The only downside to these virtues is that I have a tendency to take on too much and give way too much of myself. Also I curse like a sailor and have a very dark and dirty sense of humor. I wouldn't trade that for anything.

The baby thing... We plan to do try for one in about fifteen months or so. It seems rather contagious at the moment, and the number of pregnant people I know seems to be growing.

I have some many things swirling around in my head that it gets kind of jumbled and I lose track of what I am trying to express. My extremely active brain is making all these plans of if this then that, if that then this, if here then there, and so on. It is moderately overwhelming. Thankfully I am blessed with a few people that I can vent to and share with all of my crazy notions and frustrations (Collin being one of the biggest "supporters of my [in]sanity").

I think this is long enough so I am going to go cook some apples.

New Year, New Layout

I felt it was time to update the layout on the good old bliggity blog.

Upcoming events:
I am making almond crusted tilapia for dinner tonight. (Wish me luck!)

Running/walking over five and a half miles tomorrow morning.

Going to visit Collin's grandma later in the morning.

Wednesday is THE day. My root tips come out and my implant posts are placed!

And other stuff.

Collin's Present

The following is what I gave Collin:

His present to me:

The one's with the green hashes are overlaps, and the purple are one's I ALMOST added but then didn't because I was worried it would make the playlist too long...

I love him so much.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Sing Like You Think No One's Listening

I do that. Everyday. In the car. I figure I don't look anymore embarrassing than the people picking their noses! Muaha!

I am so looking forward to tomorrow evening and my hair appointment. It is thankfully not to the "I am just going to shave it" length yet, but I have over an inch of grow out since my last color. I love it when I have fresh color! 

I just need to survive tomorrow and Friday at work and then I get a four day weekend. I plan to run some errands while Collin works on Monday (yea, he has to work until two that day), and Saturday is looking to be pretty freaking awesome.

I also hope to be 100% recovered from this cold so I can go for a run or two over the long weekend. I am about 90% better. I just have some mild congestion left over. I would like to thank the following for a fairly speedy recovery:

- Zinc
- Vitamin C
- Good food
- Green Tea
- Korean Honey Lemon Tea
- Water
- Sleep

Without those items I would probably still be one miserable bitch, well, more of one than normal! I also have to thank my dear patient husband for putting up with me through the worst part. I know I get super cranky when I get sick because it takes all my energy and I feel like I get nothing done!

This next bit will drive Collin mad.

I am super excited about the present I got him. Every bit of it means so much to me, and I think it will all mean the same to him. Heck, the awesomeness might bring him to tears. Part of it did that to me. After Christmas I will post EXACTLY what I got for him. This will keep him guessing... ;-) (Love you, babe)

Time to chill and watch our most hated protagonist! (Breaking Bad; seriously, if you haven't watched it, do it. You will understand why we hate the main "good" guy.)

Sleep well and may Raptor Jesus be with you!

End of The World Volcano

I seriously want to make one... I would have to start tomorrow to get the actual volcano formed and stuff... It would be fun. I am talking about the age old elementary science project. I think it would be fun to set on off on the 21st.

I am trying to kill time while awaiting the rice cooker. It should be done soon, which is good because I am freaking starving.

I am still having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that Christmas is in a week. Then, Hello 2013! I hope that it is an amazing year full of growth, change, and happiness for everyone (whether I know you or not!). This past year has had many ups and downs all the way around.

Ah, my back itched! The great thing is that now I can reach almost every spot on my back. I have always been fairly flexible, but it's even easier with less "me" in the way. Ha!

Pandora seems to be gracing me with a stream of songs I love. Kind of nice.

Oh, something I failed to mention last night... Um. So, after years of peer pressure I finally caved and began playing World of Warcraft. I must say that I am finding myself enjoying it. It is one of the many things I am finding I can balance with in my life.

Seriously, I am hungry... What the heck is taking the rice cooker so long....

Phew! Only seven minutes left. So I am going to leave you here while I go nom some dinner with the husband before we play some WoW.

Peace out, home skillets.

At Least One More Than 2011

This post; it makes my total for the year more than 2011. That's sort of an accomplishment right?

I'm getting better at finding my balance with all the things I love. And continuing to do so will be a big part of 2013 for me. This is assuming that the world doesn't end in three days. HAHAHA!

Quite a few things have transpired during my most recent radio silence.

I completed my first 10k race on Thanksgiving morning. It was a great way to cancel out the calories from the excellent dinner I had.

I have my oral surgery scheduled for the 9th of January. The closeness of the completion/realization of this dream to have my teeth fixed is amazing and slightly terrifying.

Two of my very dear friends are engaged, and I am so happy for them. They balance each other and complement one another so well. I wish for them a happy and joyous future!

Right now (literally, as I type this) I am fighting off this damn cold that ripped its way through my work. I would like to believe I am coming out of it, but you know how colds can be.

This year we are abstaining from Christmas mostly. We plan to do a quiet little thing for us and maybe a friend or two at home, but other than that we are just enjoying the extra day(s) off. Haven't really been feeling the family thing lately, which sucks because I know our time on this planet can be so finite. In the same breath, I shouldn't need a holiday to dictate when I can have a family gathering. Okay, I am not wanting to go off on this rant right now.

Here's some uplifting and inspirational information that I have yet to disclose. I promised myself once I hit a certain goal I would be ready to share this, and as of a week ago this past Saturday I had surpassed my goal. To date, I have lost more than 125 pounds (that's more than a good friend of mine weighs and she is three months preggers!!). At my heaviest in 2008 (there are pictures from this time on my facebook page if you have access) I was over 420 pounds. It has been an immense struggle and an entire lifestyle change to get to where I am now. There have been so many ups and downs and stalls/plateaus that seemed insurmountable. As of December 8th I weigh 297 pounds. The last time I weighed this little was when I met my husband over eight years ago. Before that? When I was fourteen/fifteen I weighed about the same. I still have about 100 pounds to lose to be at MY goal weight, and I know I can do it. I hope this information can help someone, anyone realize that they can achieve their own health goals. I have lost this weight without surgery, pills, or crazy dieting. I have monitored what I put into my body and how much. I have cut out some unhealthy habits such as soda all the time, sweets/junky snacks, smoking, and being a lazy bastard. I still enjoy soda and other sugary things, but very rarely and in extreme moderation. Oh, and I do not eat any fast food except in "emergency" situations (so once every six months!), and when I do I go for the healthiest option I can.

That is the biggest news of the last couple months really. At least it is for me. Now I am going to drug myself up with some Nyquil so I can have some more disturbingly odd dreams. Here's a quick recap from the past couple nights:

Woke up (in the dream) to find I was bald in a strip straight down the middle of my scalp... Not shaved, but truly bald.

At the doctor's for routine exam and the doctor then tells me in four to six months they intend to remove my appendix. I argue that there is nothing wrong with my appendix. They say it is an unnecessary organ. I argue that I have other superfluous anatomy like my tonsils. They respond that they will just remove those when they take my appendix. (Freaky, right? My fear of doctors my have played a role in that one.)

Every room I entered, the lights didn't work. Like they would flicker out immediately after I turned them on...

Yay, for sickness and drug induced dreams! Good night, yo.

Vacation Statistics

Miles driven: roughly 3,500

Number of States Driven Through: 9

States traveled through (in order): Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa, South Dakota, Wyoming (again), Montana, Idaho (again), Washington, and of course Oregon (to get home).

Total monies spent on fuel: $390.70 (I love my car!)

Pictures taken: roughly 1,000 (822 after deleting and editing)

Furthest driven in one day: 740 miles (It was brutal as it was through Iowa and South Dakota mostly. Pretty, but extremely flat....)

State with best rest areas: South Dakota; they had some super nice ladies there that handed out info guides and told you about interesting places to visit. Plus, the bathrooms were clean and nice.

State with worst/scariest rest areas: Montana; beautiful state, but I seriously thought one of the rest areas we stopped at was going to be the start of some horror movie... Plus the bathrooms were CAH-reepy!

There will be more... For now I need to go make dinner. Tomorrow it will be back to the grindstone...