Platelet Donation

Today was platelet donation day... It took the entire two hours and my arm hurts, but I feel really good about having done it... I don't think I have ever felt anything weirder than when the machine would reverse and the blood would go back into my vein... SO strange. And uncomfortable...

It switched into reverse "shoot blood back into your arm" mode right when I started to take the picture.... Hence the weird look on my face.... Haha

My machine... You can see my platelets (the yellow junk in the bag at the top) and my blood winding all over the machine... I've decided that I have very pretty burgundy-colored blood... haha and the machine held my attention a lot more than anything on the tv... haha

So that was my day... Now I have a large pink bandage on my arm... But Bud needs my platelets a lot more than I do.... I hope it helps and wish him the best.

Switchboard Writing

This time I volunteered for our Lexus office... I love going over there... They have a refrigerator full of snacks and drinks. Mmmm...... Strawberry Qwik..... And Diet Coke.... And string cheese. Love it.

On Monday I have an appointment to go to City of Hope hospital to donate platelets. One of our Dealers is really sick and will be needing them more than me.... I'm on edge about it, and the reasons have nothing to do with the actual act of having needles in my arms for two hours... It's more because I have to drive all the way up there by myself, I've never been there before so I will most likely get lost, and I don't know anything about what I need to do when I get there.... Will I have to pay for parking? Where is the part of the building I need to go? How long will it take to get there? Oh well.... It's for a really good cause, so I am happy to do it... Just apprehensive. I tried to make my appointment for tomorrow, but the only one they had that wouldn't get in the way of other plans was at 7am. I'm sorry, I want to help - I do - I just don't want to have to get up at 5am to be ready and there and 7.... So Monday it is. Since it is for one of our Dealers, I doubt they expect me to use any personal time or anything like that... I could probably even grab the keys to one of our pool cars and nab a gas card, but I'm not too worried about that.... Plus, if I take my own car I can just go straight home if it takes a long time or traffic is really bad... Or if I'm feeling crappy. I don't know a lot about how donating platelets makes you feel... I assume you don't really feel any different because you get your blood back... So, anyway, that means I will be spending the weekend taking it easy and hydrating... Sorry, diet coke, I'm gonna have to go easy on you for the next few days... Oh - and I will be dealing with having a headache because all I can take for it is Tylenol and that doesn't work as well for me as Excedrine or Advil... Oh well.... Again - for a good cause. haha

J wanted to go shooting again this weekend, but I think I am going to have to stay home this time... Something tells me that standing in the blazing sun for several hours would be counterproductive to my hydration efforts.... :-) So, instead, I think I will lounge on my couch with my liter bottles of evian and chug water until I float away.... Well, not too much water... I don't want to end up like that lady that was trying to win a Nintendo Wii for her kids...

So.... yeah. That's about it right now. My brain doesn't want to think of anything interesting right now... So I'm going to zone out and read my book while answering the one phone call every 20 minutes or so that comes in here.....

Enjoy your weekends!

I Love Me Some Seatbelt Bags...

I am having a very difficult time making a decision..........

This beautiful espresso convertible tote....

Or this beautiful feather boat tote.....

Both are Seatbelt Bags (pictures courtesy of Seatbeltbags.com). I'm leaning towards the feather one because it's completely different than any other one I have.... but the brown one can be a purse OR a messenger bag!

What to do..... I have to use my 20% coupon I got! I have no choice... hahaha

If this is the hardest decision I have to make today, I think I'm doin' pretty dang good........

I kinda dig my husband...

I decided today to share some pictures from my wedding... Enjoy :-)

He hid my ring inside my birthday present... You can see it on the right. So maybe I did ask for a game that a five-year-old would want for my 24th birthday... haha

This is my ring - we had it custom made. I love it. It's exactly what I wanted - antique-y and absolutely gorgeous. I still hold my hand so that light hits it and makes it sparkle... I can't help it.

Here I am getting ready...

In the dress... Ebay was my hero for pretty much everything... Haha I saw the dress and fell in love with it...

The ceremony was beautiful... It was a little windy and the arch kept tipping over before the ceremony so we enlisted the help of two of my nieces to keep it in place... They were so good...

Like I titled the post... I kinda dig my husband... :-)

This picture cracks me up because you can see how hard it is not to laugh when completely posed... haha

This picture came about when I told J, "You - look over there." and told my sister who was our photographer, "You - take a picture" haha It turned out great. I love it.

This is most of my giant family... There are even two people missing from this...

We made our own wedding cake.... J's cousin is a pastry chef and taught us how to make it... It was dark, dark chocolate with mocha-toffee filling and amazing buttercream. I refer to it as "prozac in cake form..." The pictures are our grandparents that aren't with us anymore...

After we cut the cake, I ran off with a piece because it's DELICIOUS. haha

Bouquet toss... The first throw hit the ceiling... if you look closely you can see a rose that got stuck up there... haha

Watch the hands, buddy! haha

And I'll leave you with my favorite picture... :-)

Things on my mind RIGHT NOW.

- It's getting close to time to go home!

- I just sorted a couple huge stacks on RO's into numerical order... It was a pain in the butt, but it's the easiest way to make sure I don't have duplicates.

- I never did my sudoku calendar today...

- I have got to do my Active workout tonight... I've been bad about staying on schedule this month.

- We are going camping in Pismo next month. It's going to be awesome - it's been WAY too long since we had a camping trip.

- I need to make sure to request the Friday off for the camping trip... We used to just leave after work, but it's so much easier to take the day off and not have to set up camp in the dark.

- I am trying to think of what I want for dinner tonight...

- I need to actually go to bed early tonight instead of just saying I am going to... I'm always so stinking tired!

- I really need to clean out my purse... I somehow accumulate a bunch of junk in it and then it weighs a billion pounds...

This Really Shouldn't Need Clarification...

I got a comment on one of my "If I Could Change One Thing..." posts the other day from someone that I have never met, doesn't follow my blog (to my knowledge... seeing as how there are only a handful of people I know that know it exists...), and do not know in any way shape or form.... And the more I think about, the more I wonder why the person felt the need to comment... Those posts are not meant to be serious! They are supposed to be funny - maybe they are only funny to me, but that's just fine...

This person explained to me how I was asking for things that aren't possible (because I truly thought that I could somehow be blessed with a "magical ability" - come on...) and to focus on things I can actually change.

Their example was "smiling more" - I smile plenty, thanks. I was smiling quite a bit when I wrote that post, in fact... And I was smiling even more as I rejected the unnecessary comment...

So now I'm thinking that "If I Could Change One Thing About Myself This Week" it would be to make myself able to make other people smarter... How's that? I like it.

If I could change one thing about myself this week...

I would give myself the magical ability to instantly break in new shoes...... That way my heels wouldn't be hurting and in need of band-aids (but there's a class in the room where our first aid kit is...) and I wouldn't be sitting here barefoot. :-)

But the shoes are really cute. And so comfy in every other way.... I just know that they will get comfier in the heel area.....

The Benelli and Other Pics

I decided that since it has been a while since I took the time to put photos on here, that I would actually hook up the camera and get the latest ones on my laptop...

Last Saturday we went to an outdoor skeet and trap shotgun range to shoot J's new shotgun. It was a lot of fun (even though it made my should sore...).

Here are some pictures from the fun...

J shooting

My turn

Me waiting for my turn... Also after I pulled my hair up because it was so stinking hot - and how I got my little bit of sunburn on my little bit of exposed back....

And some pics that have been hanging out in my camera....

When we were visiting my sister she got a couple kittens to foster... This was the little boy snuggled into his makeshift bed... How can you not love that little face?

My plum tree right after I repotted it... It has been growing like CRAZY!

This is Scarlet, a horse that used to be at my friend's stable. She was in a goofy mood and I finally caught a picture of it... Reminds me of when Peter brought home the "mentally challenged horse" on Family Guy... haha Love it.

So there you go.... Enjoy! :-)

Oh... and I was not lucky enough to come home to a puke free house... My bedding will be freshly washed again tonight........... Sigh.

Things on my mind RIGHT NOW.

- That I am going to head to lunch in a few minutes.

- That while I am sad to be seeing my summer shows coming to an end, I am excited because it means that my fall shows are getting close! Can't wait for more House!!

- That on one hand I am really glad that the lady that sits next to me is back from vacation because I was sick of answering her managers' phones and helping them out, but one the other hand I am not happy she's back because she clears her throat constantly and it makes me gag... She sounds like she is hacking up a lung. And she talks really loudly on the phone. And she uptalks - where everything sounds like a question.... Oh well...

- That I wish a program I use would update so that I can verify my numbers from a different program that I use for my monthly reports and my incentives...

- That I have far too many pens on my desk... But I love office supplies so much that I can't help myself. And I use them all for different things...

- I'm worried about my friend at work, Becky's, dog. He's not doing well - he has to have an MRI and might need surgery... Poor Pepe....

- That I really really really really hope that I don't come home to puke on my bed from one of my cats (Emily, I am looking at you... You are the PUKER.) like I did yesterday... It's annoying to have to wash all my bedding after work in time to go to bed....

- That I really need to go shoe shopping - I need more cute flats because most of the ones I have are starting to look old... Nordstrom's Rack and DSW, here I come!

- That I can pretty much move my shoulders with no pain today... Just as my right shoulder was finally feeling better from falling, I went skeet and trap shooting and my left shoulder hurt from that!

- Shooting is fun, theraputic, and exciting... Even though I sucked at it... And missed a spot on my back with the sunscreen and got a little burn... But in defense of my shooting abilities - I haven't done moving target shooting since I was 12 and then I only hit one... And I hit three each of the two times I went up this time. And the other girls that were up there sucked worse. So I didn't feel too bad... Even if I was only hitting 12% of my targets...

- I wonder if my new plum that sprouted on my plum tree is going to ripen properly unlike the other two...

- Milky Way Midnight's are yummy. That's why I never put them in my candy jar when I get the assortment that has them. They go directly into my hidden stash for me only. I'm not very good at sharing.

- I don't need to go to Target at lunch.... But I probably will anyway. It's new movie Tuesday! I have to go see what came out because I missed it when Ralph talked about it on Kevin and Bean this morning! (Is it bad that some of the cashiers know me now?? I can't help it - ever since they opened the one at the Spectrum - RIGHT near my office - I go all the time!)

- I love ponytails. They are so easy for days when you just don't feel like messing with your hair. I missed them when I cut my hair off to donate to Locks of Love.

- I wish my nails would stop breaking. They'll start to look good and then they break and look like crap again. So annoying.

- I keep phone numbers randomly placed around me at work so that I can quickly check to see if it's someone I want to talk to or someone that can just go to voicemail...

- I could have gone back to sleep and slept for hours this morning... I always say that I'm going to go to bed early and then 10:30 - 11:00 rolls around and I think "CRAP! Did it again!"

- I want to go to the Asian grocery store because our sesame shao bing went bad and I want some...

- I also want to go for purely junk-foody reasons too... Probably why I try to just not go at all... But they have my favorite Asian snacks there.... Like Puccas. You can't find Puccas anywhere else... Mmmmm... Fish-shaped chocolate filled pretzels.... And Tomato Pretz. SO good.

- I forgot to go buy my some Tomato Pretz for my mom before I saw her... She loves them and I usually will go pick some up when I am going to see her.... Dang.

- Maybe I shouldn't go to Target.... That's where I was going last week when the parking lot gymnastics happened... Maybe the universe it trying to stop me... Well, too bad, universe, I still went last week and I am still going today!

- I need to remember to put one of my new packs of Sweet Mint Orbit gum in my purse. It's my favorite flavor - it tastes just like those little pink, green, and white after dinner mints that just melt in your mouth.... YUM.

- I have had a lot of Thai food lately... I need some Chinese food now... Maybe dinner tonight... Mmm...

- I need to get myself motivated to attempt to make French Macaroons. They are nothing like the coconut ones here. They are fluffy and delicious and melt in your mouth... But they are seriously difficult to make... I think I'm willing to make the sacrifice and eat all the ones that don't turn out perfectly in order to learn... haha Seriously - these little 1-inch diameter delights can go for anywhere from $1.50 - $4.00 each at bakeries! Craziness. SOOO delicious though. I don't cook - that's Josh's thing - but I love to bake...

- When I figure out how to make them, I want to try all sorts of different ideas that I have rolling around in my head for flavors for them...

- I should probably go to lunch seeing as how my mind keeps going back to foods and snacks.... Yikes. HAHA!

If I could change one thing about myself this week...

I would make myself less clumsy. Seriously. I fall down and UP stairs. And yesterday I somehow fell in the parking lot at my office.... There I was just walking along - minding my own business - and then all of the sudden I was flying towards the ground. I honestly couldn't tell you how I fell if you paid me. I don't remember tripping, slipping, stumbling... So weird. So now my shoulder seriously hurts... If I try to move my upper arm away from my body it feels like someone is stabbing a knife in the muscle and wiggling it around... I think I'm going to have to give in and actually go to the doctor for this one....

Dang.

Yipes.

I am currently on one of the most boring conference calls / web conferences in history. The guy's voice is not a good one to hear well over the phone - too gravelly - and he is talking at a rate of a million words a minute...

I guess I better resume trying to focus on it...

Sigh..............

Things on my mind RIGHT NOW

- My wrist hurts. The right one. It's annoying. I've been wearing my wrist braces at night.

- My nose is stuffy and I really don't have the patience to be under the weather right now.

- I really wish that Lexus would release the pricing for the 2010 IS 250 so that I could price it out and make my final decision as to whether or not that will be my next car.

- I'm tired. And a little bored down here at the switchboard...

- How much is the lottery jackpot up to?

- How much longer until we can upgrade our cell phones? I cannot wait for my iPhone.

- Do I have enough change for my daily diet cokes or should I just run out and get a bottle from the gas station? (mmmmm.... diet coke.............)

- Wonder what I am going to have for lunch.... (I bring my lunches every week and just eat whichever one happens to be on top... haha)

- Ruby was really cute... I need a baby of my own so that I don't have to obsess over other people's babies...

- They should really bring back nap-time... I miss that.

- Who keeps calling from a stupid "Withheld" number on my cell phone??? Just talk, already!!

- I need a vacation.

- Today's a workout day... And yesterday was a workout day. That means tomorrow is a rest day. :-)

- I wonder how long it's going to take J to actually get my sewing machine... My birthday was in MAY! and I still don't have it... Oh well....

- It's cold in here.

- I need to win the lottery...

- I need to pick my yellow color for the guest bathroom... And find red shower curtain hooks in the perfect shade of red that I am picturing in my mind... And find some neat artwork for above the towel rack.

- I want a dark brown couch. The one I have doesn't work with the theme I am working on in the living room...

- If I won the lottery, I would be able to actually get my redecorating that I want to do done instead of being too tired to even think about it...

- I want my other wedding band... My ring will always look incomplete until I have it... The casting is in our jeweler's safe... We just have to give her the go ahead to do the work on it and set the diamonds in it...

- I really dislike some of the people in my office and wish I could remove their voice boxes. Everyone would be greatful, I am CERTAIN.

- Have I mentioned the lottery?

Switchboard Writing Time

So.... Once again, I have generously offered my time to cover our switchboard... (This time I actually did the volunteering instead of being volunteered.) The office is totally empty right now - everyone left to go to the funeral of one of our associate's daughter. Such a horrible thing to have to go through - she had struggled with Sickle Cell Anemia her whole life and it finally won. I've known her dad for almost 10 years now, but I spoke with our receptionist and she really wanted to be there today. I, however, am supremely uncomfortable at funerals - not to say that anyone enjoys them, but I really, truly dislike them. So I sent my well-wishes and prayers and let her go instead. And a small part of me feels bad - like I'm not being there for him, but a bigger (more selfish) part of me is really glad that I didn't go... So I'm not going to let it get me down.

This past weekend was mostly a good one... Friday night we went to our friends' house and had dinner and relaxed in the hot tub. Their poor puppy, Cowboy, was feeling crappy because he had been to the vet that day to get snip-snipped. Saturday was a little crowded - had to get up first thing to run pay the mortgage (we always just walk into the bank instead of mailing it in), run to Target to get a cute present for our friend's 3-year-old daughter's birthday party (we totally lag and didn't get it in advance), spend a little time at the birthday party, and then head over to the monster-in-law's house (J's mom's) because Loren and Jen were going to be coming down with Henry and Ruby (our newest niece). I was instantly put in a cranky mood when we got there because J's aunt had Ruby and wouldn't let me hold her... So I went outside and played with Henry and Max for a while. I finally got to hold little miss Ruby, so all was well. She is so stinking cute. After we had all had our fill of being at MIL's place, we took off to go to Sonic. I love Sonic... Since J and I had already eaten, we decided that we were in need of something sweet... He got a chocolate malt and I got a coconut cream pie shake. Delicious.

It was a beautiful weekend out... And I have not yet started thinking that it was too hot again ever since Vegas.... haha

What a day...

There are few things that make you want to go to work less than a crazy customer threatening to come to your office... That's what we got to deal with today. He says that he is so angry with Toyota now that he is going to have his wife's car crushed and leave it in front of our building. We figure that if that is the extent of his plans for us, then we will be doing pretty good. Until we are sure he means no actual harm and is more bark than bite, we will have our doors locked and security close at hand... It's going to be a weird few days...

On a better note - I just started a book yesterday that I already absolutely love. When I saw it at Borders I know in a second that I would have to purchase it and make it mine. It is "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies." Someone took the classic Jane Austen and added maneating zombie mayhem and made it delightfully twisted. I am truly enjoying it... And already have a line of people waiting to read it when I am done. Awesome.

I am excited for the premier of the new season of Man vs. Food tonight. It's such a fun show. And the host, Adam Richmond, is hysterical. Some of the food he finds is so horrible that I can't imagine eating it, but some of it makes me drool... While waiting for it, I am content to continue lounging on my couch in my jammies (I change into them immediately upon getting home from work when it is one of my days off from working out), watching old episodes of Man vs. Food, reading my book, and playing on my computer with my boy-cat, Fred, burying himself in my hair while I wait for my husband to get home from work... It's a good day after all....

So... yeah.

Apparently sprucing up my page didn't get me back in writing mode... Oh well. I've been really busy lately and generally just not in the mood... This afternoon, however, I got volunteered to cover the switchboard at my office, so I have a few free moments.

Last week was an exhausting week. Monday I had the day off and I used it to clean out my car, work out, do laundry, and run errands getting ready for our trip to hades... I mean - Nevada. We got up Tuesday morning and got on the road in good time to head out to a mini-family reunion at my oldest sister's house in Henderson. There were only a few of us that couldn't make it. We spent the week sweating our buns off (we are way too used to our delicious 72 degree house), playing games, and spending time with family. I can't deny - by Friday when it was time to leave, I was more than ready to get back to my house with my air conditioning and my bed. When you are used to a California King with a REALLY nice mattress on it, a full-sized bed just isn't as easy to sleep in... I am still tired from the lack of sleep... Oh well. I don't get to see my family very often, so it's a small price to pay.

On the way home, Josh was determined to stop at the gigantic outdoor store somewhere in the middle of the 909. (I can't remember exactly what city...) One of our friends has gotten really into skeet shooting and Josh wanted to pick up a shot gun so that he could join in the fun. True to form, my darling husband is not content to get a reasonably priced, semi-decent gun. He must get the top of the line one. I understand the compulsion - if he bought the cheaper one and ended up really loving skeet shooting, he'd end up buying the more expensive gun anyway and then it would end up being even MORE money because he would have already spent the $300-$500 on the cheap one.... So in about 9 more days, he will be driving back out to the 909 to pick up his gun. (Stupid new waiting period - never used to be one for shotguns and rifles...) He's like a kid counting down the days to Christmas... I'm really excited too. I learned to shoot with a shotgun and shotguns and rifles have always been more natural to me. I don't have the wrist strength to be really good with a hand gun, but I am deadly accurate with a rifle. I love shooting (WONDERFUL stress reliever) and can't wait to try out the new toy... Now we need a gun safe though - it's just one more gun to add to the collection that was already kinda making me wish we had a safe... We would really need one even more if I am ever able to find my gun again... Winchester Model 1890, 44-mag, side-loading, lever-action rifle. One of the most fun guns I have ever had the pleasure to shoot. Unfortunately it has almost quadrupled in price (and difficulty to find) since Winchester once again stopped making guns... Sucks. Oh well. I will find it and talk myself into spending the money on it someday. I love it.

It's good to be home. Even if I did actually have to get up to the alarm today and come to work... I go through phases where I hate how expensive California is or wish I could live somewhere a little more interesting (like Alaska), but then I go away for a little while and realize just how much I love it here. Our home is here. And we can't imagine really living anywhere else...