Onions or B.O.

So I got on the bus this morning and was instantly hit with a stench: was it onions I was smelling or was it someones BO at 6:30 in the morning? I couldn't quite figure it out until the lady next to me lifted up her arm to turn on her light.

Oh the Injustice!

Brad: The start of summer weighed in at 182. Does not eat breakfast or lunch but does down 3 cans of Mountain Dew in one day. He has increased the amount of water he drinks – maybe 24 oz a day (and I’m being generous with that). Snacks on Twinkies and donuts. He has increased his activity level (slightly) – we go on more hikes and walks; however, it’s only his fingers that really get a workout (Xbox). At the close of summer weighs in at 167?!? He makes minimal lifestyle changes and loses 15 pounds?!?

Julie: I won’t disclose my weight. I do eat breakfast and lunch. I drink at least 64 oz of water a day. I snack on cottage cheese, apples, cheese, pretzels, and celery (YES CELERY!! – I HATE CELERY PEOPLE). Yes, occasionally I indulge (and, yes, it is on a daily basis). I jog a couple of times a week and do Pilates a couple of mornings a week before work. I take the stairs at work. And you know what I lost? NOTHING.
N-O-T-H-I-N-G.

But I’m not bitter.

I'm Stronger than I Thought

Not only did I survive 1 day without my phone I survived 10 days! (My cell was accidentally forgotten in my back pocket and went through the washing machine) And some of those days were survived while Brad was away on business - and we don't have a land line.

Yeah, I am woman hear me roar.

Retreat

On Friday we had our annual department retreat, which I am in charge of. This year with the help of an awesome committee and the talented Stephanie it was a huge success. Nothing went wrong - NOTHING -well with the small exception, we never got our projection screen. But they had a white board in the room and with some minor floor plan changes within minutes the problem was solved - which saved us $50 buckaroos and anyone who has an overzealous accounting department knows that is a wonderful thing.

My stress finally kicked in on the drive there. As I was mentally making last minute prayers asking for the technology to work, and creating contingency plans I saw this and all the stress dissipated:

I'm not sure why, but seeing this dog in utter bliss enjoyment put a smile on my face and brought me back down to earth that I could finally think clearly again. I had done everything in my power to make this retreat a success the rest was out of my control and I was fine with that. The stress never returned. I was not subjected to its mind fogging, horriblizing, head ache causing symptoms - I owe this all to this one sweet dog who was just doing what dogs do best - living in the moment.

Here is the gang.

San Francisco

Brad plans the most wonderful surprises for me, so this year I wanted to do something for him. For Brad's birthday/Christmas/anniversary/and anything else gift I surprised him on a trip to San Fran. I had never been there and he hasn't been for over 10 years. We went over the Labor day holiday.

Here we are waiting to board.

San Fran City sky line. I bought us city passes to tour different attractions AND the city pass paid for public transit. One of those attractions was a Bay Cruise that took you under the Golden Gate and around Alcatraz. This was the view of the City from the cruise boat.

The crookedest street - Lombard Street.

The Painted Ladies

China Town. I actually enjoyed China town - although I wish we ate at a more authentic Chinese restaurant. We ate at the Oriental Pearl which was good but nothing different.

I really like Brad's face in this picture.

The seals at Pier 39

We decided to rent bikes for a day and ride the Golden Gate bridge into Saucalito. I'm not going to pretend - biking is NOT my thing. It was only 8 miles but it felt like 50 (I know I'm a wuss). My derrière was in so much pain I thought I needed one of those pillows women sit on after giving birth - no lie. BUT besides the fact I'm not a biker - I really enjoyed it. I loved being outside and active. You can see so much more of San Fran on bike.

The Sundae we got at Ghirardelli Square.

We went to the Science museum of San Francisco. They had an exhibit on rain forests that was spectacular. Here we are in the rain forest. Please excuse the glistening faces as we were dressed for San Fran weather in an exhibit the temperature and humidity of a rain forest.

Most Unusual Shade of Green

This morning I rode into work on Trax, a rarity these days which I really don't miss. In August the amount of passengers on trax doubles - college kids. Today I was on board with two college kids who were talking about their class schedules and you know what??? I was JEALOUS! I was actually jealous of people in college. I miss it. I miss my class schedule when I lived in Provo. I would go to class from 8-12, study, then from 3-7 I went to work; this was my Monday - Friday schedule. I'm not sure why I was jealous morning. Quite unusual seeing that from the start of my first semester I was counting down the days to graduation. I loathed the amount of time I spent in the library doing research, the long nights that ended in the wee morning hours writing papers, and that I would actually get ecstatic because of the extended hours at the library during finals. But I realized as much as I hated hitting the books or writing papers I thoroughly enjoyed college. I loved the socialization. I loved meeting new people; each semester I always walked away with a close friend (it's amazing how nervous break downs because of due dates can draw people together). I really enjoyed getting to know my professors. The networks that were created have proven to be invaluable. BYU (and I can't believe I'm saying this) I miss you.

The Happiest Dog

The happiest dog in the world is a border collie at work.

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=7792770

I'm sad we are missing it this year.

Thought for Thursday

Life should not be a journey to the grave, with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well perserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand Diet Coke in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming:

"WOO HOO, WHAT A RIDE!!"

Our New "Alarm Clock"

Syd apparently feels our alarm clock is frankly incompetent at its job. Sydney has self-appointed herself, along with her squeaky toy "lil buddy" to be the [said in a deep loud voice] "THE SNOOZE BUTTON PREVENTION ENFORCER". Every morning right after the alarm goes off Syd takes her lil Buddy and squeaks it as loud and as frequently as she can - she also has observed that the technique of getting up on the side of the bed so she is right by my ear is the most effective approach. I must say my sweet Sydney is as resourceful and she is clever. This was the 4th morning running. Coincidentally lil Buddy has gone missing today.

The Weekend in a Nutshell

As you have probably read the previous post you know what a needed weekend this was for me. As I received some concerned calls over my last post I felt it necessary to clear some things up. First, there was no particular incident(s) that caused my day to be bad - it was just one of those days. Second, my patience was already in reserve when my day started and, well, it was on empty by 9:30 in the morning. I appreciate the concern but I felt important to post it. The reason: I've been doing a lot of blog stalking lately (yes, I'm admitting it) - I found some old college classmates and many complete strangers. Well, I began to see a pattern: They either had perfect fairy tale lives or were completely depressed, and I just wanted to write about my experience - my REAL life - because I want people to know it is normal to have an off day and more importantly it is OKAY.

With that being said, this weekend went by quick but I had a lot of fun and more importantly I'm rejuvenated, refreshed and I am ready to start a new week. My patience is full, my smile is on, and I'm looking forward to it (even if I'm a tad bit more happy for lunch on the "veranda").

This weekend we had our company picnic and I really enjoyed it. It's nice to socialize with co-workers/friends in a relaxed atmosphere AND two of us went home with prizes (I, however, was not one of them but I loved cheering for my friends when their names were called anyway).

Also I have been inspired by the movie "Julie and Julia". I saw this as a matinee when Brad and I were in Colorado and Brad was in the office. Yes, I did like the movie; however, I think it is a better rental than one you pay $7.00 to see, but it left me inspired... to cook. No, I'm not much of a chef. It's not the cooking part I mind it's the clean up I hate, so I avoid it. I decided I wanted to branch out; try new things and learn some techniques. Today, I made chicken cordon on bleu - and not the frozen stuff I actually made it. Flattened the chicken and rolled it myself.

Here is my proof:

Then for dessert I made raspberry bars with white chocolate chips in them. However...

The only real thing I did on this one was add the white chocolate chips, but they were delicious.