I have 10 Followers

This just blows me away. I started this blog as a way for me to journal my thoughts, to grow internally, and to really start opening up (even if its with the WorldWideWeb alone and never read). So when I got 5 followers...well, you should have seen me. I was freiking out. Boyfriend can attest to this. I was super excited, amazed, and panicked. It was hilarious, looking back. I got over that in about a day and just kept blogging, trying not to think of the fact that someone out there might actually read what I write.

Took a wee holiday break, and by holiday break I mean I had the holiday/winter blues and didn't feel like doing anything. Last week I logged onto Blogger again and saw that I now have TEN followers. TEN! It makes me giggle. I love it. Ten chicks, all to myself haha. Know that you will always be My First Ten and this means more to me than I can express. Thank you.

• ALu
• FemmeFlaca
• MegsCamaren
• j_alaina
• RedMissMitchell
• KariElizabethPrincess
• Kerry
• Ondine
• Wendy
• Rogue

xoxoxo

French 101

I've been talking about finishing my Bachelors Degree for a few years now, but just recently my friend Julie lit a fire under my butt. I'm doing it! I'm applying for Fall 2010 admission to finish that darn thing, if it kills me. To gear up for starting school again I've signed up for a class at one of our junior colleges.

I'm going to learn French!!

This is something I've always wanted to do, since at least 4th grade, so I'm pretty excited, but also nervous at the same time. I'm decent at languages but if I suck it'll really bring down my GPA. Oh well, I've put my ankles in the cement, there's no going back now. I start January 25th. Fingers crossed. And wish me luck.

Look what I found!!!

Ahhhh I can't wait!!!! I'm excited already and its 6 months away.

Ketchup

This week I'm going to:

• catch up on all my blog reading (I really miss those girls)
• catch up on my list of things to post
• catch up on some rest and time with boyfriend

All in preparation for my new 2010 goal, thanks to my friend ALu - to make a blog post EVERY single day starting January 1st! We're going to do it together and it'll probably end up in a challenge because one of us is bound to skip here and there. And by 'one of us' I mean that it'll most likely be me.

Miss you blogerettes.

Daisy Let it Go

Daisy by Switchfoot

Daisy, give yourself away
Lookup at the rain
The beautiful display
Of power and surrender
Giving us today
And she gives herself away

Rain, another rainy day
Comes up from the ocean
Give herself away
She comes down easy
On rich and debt the same
And she gives herself away


Let it go
Daisy, Let it go
Open up your fist
This fallen world
Doesn't hold your interest
It doesn't hold your soul
Daisy, let it go

Pain, give yourself a name
Call yourself contrition
Avarice of blame
Giving isn't easy
Neither is the rain
When she gives herself away


Daisy, why another day?
Why another sunrise
Who will take the blame
For all redemptive motion
And every rainy day
When he gives himself away

Let it go
Daisy, let it go
Open up your fist
This fallen world
It doesn't hold your interest
It doesn't hold your soul
Daisy, let it go

Let it go
Let it go
Let it go
And you let it go, go
Let it go
Let it go
Let it go, go
Let it go
Let it go

Some days I feel like Daisy and they’re speaking to me, urging me to just let it go. Let go of all the stress, the worry, the tiny things I agonize over. I need to learn to just let some things go. I know its woman-nature to add extra worry to things, but I really wish it wasn't. Does anyone else have these problems?

You Never Know

Some mornings you just need a good song to be there for you. This is one of my favorites, I just love her voice! I’ve listened to it 3 times already on my iPod mini I bring to work with me.


Here are the lyrics, but you really should hear it – try googling it (I can’t do it for you b/c I’m at work right now, sorry).

You Never Know
Rachael Lampa

I'm following the lines looking for the answers to a prayer
I'm looking for the signs waiting for the signal that ur there
If you ask why I believe - the only thing that I could ever say

You never know when life will turn around
One day your faith's strong the next it can't be found
And you're not looking
And all I know it's outta my control
And you never know

I try to figure in the time
When miracles should happen to appear
And when it comes down to it
There's nothing more that I can do down here
I wanna place it in your hands
Even though I wanna understand


You never know when life will turn around
One day your faith's strong the next it can't be found
And you're not looking
And all I know it's outta my control
And you never know

If you wanna spend your life
In your design, you're only wasting time

You never know when life will turn around
One day your faith's strong the next it can't be found
And you're not looking
And all I know it's outta my control
And you never know


PS "I Like Big Butts" came on after and totally popped my zen bubble LOL

Thanksgiving Day 2009

I completely failed to take pictures of the food we cooked (like I meant to) but I'm not too sad about it (my mac n cheese recipe was a super fail). I did remember to get some pix of my little table setting.

 

We played 3 rounds of Trivial Pursuit and had a fabulous day. I hope everyone else had a great holiday too!

Haul - Clothes

With the gift cards I got for my birthday (back in October) I picked up a few items to update the wardrobe. Just a few things I've really been wanting for myself.

This is a pencil skirt from Forever 21 that has very feminine ruffles on the bottom, which I love. I haven't worn it yet, but I plan on it...eventually...

This is a navy cardigan from J Crew that I wear weekly. Probably a bit too much actually, but I just love it!!

I got this cute little tshirt dress from TJ Maxx when I went shopping with my friend Femme Flaca.  It was only my second time shopping in a store like this and boy have I been missing out!!! But I've already got plans to go back regularly.

I decided to wear to work the next day, so here's my outfit of the day...or 'OOTD' as the beauty bloggers call it, lol. Paired the dress with existing pieces I had - sweater from Abercrombie & Fitch; leggings from American Eagle; ballet flats from H&M in NYC; not sure where the pearls are from but probably F21.

Last but not least, a new pashmina. I've got 3 already and come to find out, a black one can come in handy. I borrowed my mother's while in Georgia and it helped to make my cocktail dress more modest while staying dressy, so I decided to get one for myself. This was also purchased at TJ Maxx.

Anyone else done some shopping lately? I mean for yourself, not Christmas. Actually, some Christmas shopping posts would be great too!

 

Thanksgiving Menu

Tomorrow my little family (me, boyfriend, brother) will be having lunch at our new condo to celebrate Thanksgiving. (My dad is at home in Sacramento & my mum is in Georgia taking care of my grandmother, but usually they come down to SD). Here's what we've planned for our menu:

• Rotisserie Chicken - Pre-made from the grocery story (We started this genius tradition last year)
• Mac n Cheese - Homemade in the SlowCooker (it's my first time, so if it turns out well I'll post the recipe)
• Corn on the Cob
• Mashed Potatoes & Gravy - From KFC. Oh yes, they're the best
• Pear & apple slices
  
• Stuffing - Just the easy peasy box kind
• Mimosas

My mouth is watering just thinking of the yumminess. And my favorite part is that I won't spend all day slaving in the kitchen, but spending it with my favorite boys.

Boyfriend for hire

First load of dishes in the new condo are washed and dried in the dishwasher just fine. Second load of dishes is a different story. About 10 minutes into it, I come into the kitchen only to realize there’s water everywhere – on the floor, on the counters, in the sink, dripping under the sink, and spewing straight out from the sink aerator. WHAT the?!?!



So I do some online research and chat a bit with my boss (who just finished remodeling her kitchen). She is convinced that it’s the aerator’s fault and that it either needs to be cleaned or replaced, simple and easy, at most $3. So I relay the message to boyfriend, who takes apart the aerator only to find that it’s just fine and in working order. Hmm…



Google this, Google that, mention to boyfriend that it could be the brand new disposal he just installed last week. Turns out that if you are connecting your disposal to a dishwasher there’s this little plug on the disposal that needs to be popped out before you install it, otherwise when you run the dishwasher, water will spew straight out from the sink aerator. Huh. Go figure. You would think the disposal directions would have mentioned that. No matter, we fix.



Boyfriend removes the disposal, pops out the plug, reinstalls the disposal, and reinstalls the sink aerator and all its parts. All in like an hour. So I check the dishwasher again, and what do you know, it works!!! And for zero dollars extra. Not a drop of water. Hurray for boyfriend!!

Sorry ladies, he’s all mine.

Haul - Shoes! Shoes! Shoes!

A few months ago I budgeted some money to update my shoe collection. I needed some shoes for weddings, casual comfy, and some new boots. To make it easy on myself I ordered online from DSW.com and hurray for me, I guessed the right sizes! All my shoes fit and I love them. I would definitely order online from them again...but not until next year :^)

These are some super cute ankle boots I bought for my skinny jeans, but my jeans dont tuck into them, so I either have to wear with a dress bare-legged or with tights.

These are black satin heels that I bought for the weddings, with a matching clutch. They worked out great and I got loads of compliments.

These are my comfy new ballet flats with a fall feel, I just love ballet flats!

And these are the boots that boyfriend picked out. Actually, these ones I ordered online from Victoria's Secret, not DSW.

 

Oh and then last week I was at Marshall's with my friend Karina, and I bought these cuties.

Has anyone else bought new shoes lately??

The Twilight Saga: New Moon

Saw the movie in theaters last night with my brother and my friend Mallory. I just couldn't wait for it to come out on Netflix. Boy was it entertaining. I feel like a laughed the whole time, even though it wasn't meant to be a comedy, they had some really good lines. I will be watching it again, that's for sure, but I haven't decided if I'm going to buy it or just put it on my Netflix queue. But definitely a guilty-pleasure re-watch.

I LOVE TWILIGHT!!!!!!!

You have green grass

You know that saying 'the grass is always greener on the other side'? Well it bothers me. And I think mostly because its true. We're always striving for something better, which sometimes I think can be good, but some days I just want to appreciate what I have.

I've had a terrible morning - drama with work, broken things at home, one frustration after another - and the whole time I kept thinking "I just want to be happy today, please Kim make yourself happy". But amidst all the drama I hadn't quite made a game plan on how to do that. 

So as I'm catching up on my blog reading (I was 2 weeks behind, happily caught up now) I read one of Kandee's posts about this adorable wife/mother/amazing woman named Stephanie. So naturally I go to Stephanie's blog (http://nieniedialogues.com/) and start reading from the beginning post. She's been blogging for several years, so I skipped up to 2009 and started reading about her near fatal accident and the things she has suffered and the people that have taken care of her and her husband and children.

Her story touched my heart and I am just so proud of her for staying positive during everything she's gone through and is still going through. And in a little miracle, my heart was lifted and I realized something. Grass might be greener on another side, but my grass is still green. Sometimes you need the help of others to see the beauty and joy in your own life. Today Kandee and Stephanie helped me do that and I thank them immensely.

Halloween 2009

Yes, I'm a little behind on this post, but I talked so much about Halloween leading up to it, I feel a final post is in order. Our Swarm of Killer Bees costumes came out pretty well I think. We got loads of comments and smiles and high-fives and all that.

This is me, still in the get-ready process

Here I've got my full killer vampire makeup done, but we couldn't get the fangs to stay on our teeth, so I went without them. This is my friend Cara, such a cute little gypsy!

The Swarm. Or 4 out of 5 at least. Somehow I don't have any pix with our 5th bee in them, Maritza.

 

Playing with all the fake weapons. I love dress-up! I hope everyone had a fun and safe Halloween. Now time for Thanksgiving planning!!

Happy Birthday to ME

This year I wasn't able to celebrate my birthday (which is highly unlike me, usually I do a whole birthday month!), but my little brother still surprised me with these lovelies!!!!

I just love sunflowers and when I was younger my whole room was filled with any kind of sunflower decorations. Isn't he so thoughtful and aren't they just gorgeous?! I love thoughtful gifts and these made me smile so much.

Where have I been?!

It's been about a month since I've been on good ole blogger and boy do I miss it. I'm soooo behind on reading all my fav blogs and updating my own. Why, you ask? Well, as if life weren't stressful enough, I've had some pretty major things happen in the last month. In one month! Here's what I've been up to:

• Closed on our first home
• Moved out of old apt and into new condo
• Boyfriend and brother get flu at same time for about a week and a half
  
• Work in Oakland for 2 days
• My 28th Birthday - work in Oakland again all day
  
• Boyfriend gets promotion and moves buildings
• Halloween, 2 buddies in town, super fun
• Wedding in TN for 6 days
• Buy the wrong sized W/D and have to return it to Home Depot in my SUV
• Wedding in VA for 8 days
• Grandfather passes away in GA
• Dont catch my connecting flight home from VA to ATL to SD & instead rent a car in ATL to drive to Augusta to be with family for 4 days
  
• Grandfather's full military funeral and burial service
• Drive back to ATL, fly from ATL to SD on Saturday
  
• Buy & install new garbage disposal so that I can use kitchen sink on Sunday
  
• I get a new office closer to home & move myself in 1 day (Monday)

Umm yeah, I think that's about it...and this was literally in 30 days time. I'm amazed that I haven't pulled my hair out or gotten sick...yet :^) Looking forward to things calming back down and getting back to my blog, facebook, and twitter.

10/17 = TWO weeks until Halloween

So I know 10/17 was almost a week ago already, but I've been soooo busy busy bee that things have gotten away from me!! I will be finalizing costume accessories on 10/31 I'm pretty sure.

Is anyone else NOT ready for Halloween?! I feel like it crept up on me, even though I've been blogging about it for weeks.

I Lied - I have Bee Pix!

I'm a dummy, I completely forgot boyfriend was helping me with my costume and snapped a few pix. I bought these black and white stripped tights (b/c I couldn't find yellow and black) but I think they don't look right with this costume.

 

So I took them off and tried bare-legged.

But then remembered I have black tights, so I tried those on too. I think I'll go with the black, for warmth.

 

And here's me, picking my butt, lol.

10/10 = THREE weeks until Halloween

Okay so I know today is already Tuesday and I am clearly behind on my posting. But I have good reasons, I swear. We're closing on a condo soon (maybe today) and things have been nuts around here, to say the least!!

What I wanted to say for this week is that my costume is ready!!! I'm going to be 1 part of a Swarm of Killer Bees :^) I went to 5 different stores this weekend, but items were found and bought. Tried it all on and its boyfriend approved. Unfortunately, like a dummy, I didn't take pix and its now all packed and ready to move to the new home. So no 'before' pix but you'll get them after Halloween in full gear. But here's the low-down:

• Bee costume - tube dress w/ stripes and a yellow tutu
• black tights
• black knee-high boots
• black ruffly bootie shorts to cover my bum (dress is too short)
  
• Antennae headband that came w/ costume, but I bought huge yellow pom-poms to glue on to make the dots bigger and fluffier
• Yellow eyeshadow and huge spidery black fake lashes
• Yellow, orange, and black ribbons that I'm going to braid together and make a bracelet
• black nail polish
• 2 vampire fangs with fake blood (for my 'killer' role)
• a mini disappearing dagger (for my 'killer' role - I know vamps dont need knives, but its fun)
• Piece of fake skin w/ 2 fang bites that I'm going to beg my boyfriend to glue on his neck haha
• For the boys - they get bee shirts/wings, a bullet belt to strap around chest, fake daggers, but still need to buy their fake guns
  

And I think thats it...definitely not wearing the bee wings.

I'm ready for Halloween!!! I even broke down and bought some cute pumpkin decorations that we can use for Thanksgiving too. Looking forward to having our new condo keys so I can decorate.

Week 17 of Mission: FitBitch

While Week 16 I was the energizer bunny of workouts, Week 17 was the opposite. I know it was because I was 'sick', but it still looks sad. Hopeful to get back on track this week, or asap.

Week17: X-6 which means I lost another pound from last week!!

I am now 2 lbs away from my moderate goal weight (by Halloween) and 7 lbs away from my ideal goal weight (by 12/31). Pretty excited actually, even though its hard work, because it's working!!

Here's all the exercise I did from last week:

• Fit Orbit Workout - from my personal trainer - 30minutes

And that's all I was able to do, one whole week ago :^( I want to get rid of this stone asap, and be re-motivated like I was 2 weeks ago.

Ghosts of Halloweens Past

I love to dress-up and Halloween is the perfect time for doing so! In prepping for this year, I found some pix from previous years I wanted to share for fun. Or costume ideas. Who knows.

This is boyfriend and I, our first Halloween together, in 2006. Our friend Cheyenne came to visit from Virginia so we went out downtown San Diego. Boyfriend was a priest and I was a devil. A bit sacrilegious, I know, but we thought it was hilarious!

 

In 2007 I was still recovering from my one and only lithotripsy, so we didn't celebrate.

For 2008 me and my kickball team and friends did a pub crawl in which I was an Army girl aka Major Hustler. haha (I bought my costume at the Hustler store, so I guess thats what happens). Here's Cait (gladiator) and I.

 

Our kickball team also did a tournament in which we got to dress up. We didn't win the tourney (or the costume contest for that matter, booo) but we MADE OUR costumes!!! The boys were cowboys (they were on their own for costumes) and the girls were indians. We planned ahead, took measurements, drank a lot of wine, and Erinn and I sewed like mad to make these dresses (mostly E did the hard work). SO cute, I still love them. Nikki, Kat, Cait, ME, Erinn, and Maritza.

Then for actual Halloween night 2008 we party hopped in Pacific Beach. "An angel, a bunny, and a devil are walking down the street..."

Erinn is the devil, Maritza is the bunny, and I am the angel.

 

Here's my full costume. I loved loved loved this one.

 

Cheyenne will be flying out from Virginia again this year (lets make it a 3 year tradition Chi-Town!) and my buddy Erinn will be flying down from NorCal (she just moved up there and left me a few months ago). My lil brother will be working :^( Still deciding on venue, but probably party hop in PB again. Excited for sure.

Who else has old Halloween pix?? I want to see!

10/3 = FOUR weeks until Halloween

I'm really focused on being fit for Halloween, exercising a lot and eating healthy, I even buy a personal trainer to help with meal plans and workouts. Sooo of course my body decides this is the perfect time to get a kidney stone, which means exercising is nixed until its gone. And its not gone yet. Really bummed about that, buuut we still have 4 weeks left (a whole month!) so I hope to be able to get back on track soon. Time to start shopping and planning!

Good thing is that I haven't really gone off track, weight wise. I'm still dropping lbs just by the diet change and water intake, so at least that's a positive. Still, looking forward to getting back on the treadmill. Had a phone chat with my girl E tonight, she's coming down to stay with me Halloween weekend, and I'm excited!! We decided we'd have a co-ed group costume this year and we're going to be a Swarm of Killer Bees. AHAha so Funnn.

Here is E's costume, I think its perfect for her.

 

Our friend Ritz got the costume below, which is so great b/c someday she can also be a ladybug :^)

I was going to buy mine online tonight, but after talking to E, I'm going to go shopping and try some on tomorrow. So far I like the 2 below the best for me.

 

 

Still need to find a bee costume for the boys (boyfriend & his friend from VA), then add all our blood and weapons to make the 'killer' part. I'm going with the vampire teeth and blood since this is the season of Twilight and TrueBlood.

Anyone else have their costumes planned this early? I LOVE dress-up!!!!

It wasn't the FLU

Turns out that I've got a kidney stone that's trying to squeak through. I was wondering why no one around me was getting my sickness! Hasn't made it yet, and I still feel under the weather. Making this mini-post because I miss blogging already and my list is piling up of things to post when I'm feeling better. Looking forward to birthing this baby stone so I can get back online.

Miss you

Flu Schmu

I've had a fever and body aches all week, but not really any other symptoms (thank goodness!). I get chills here and there, I'm still cold when all bundled up, but thats pretty much it. Stayed home from work yesterday to try and get rid of this thing, but my fever still didn't break. Grr!! I just want to be rid of this thing - Oct is seriously too busy for me to be sick.

I've increased my water intake to try and flush it out. Staying as warm as possible, and sleeping or resting all the time. I still have an appetite, which is good, but I don't think I've been getting all my daily calories. It's weird b/c I'm hungry, but then I get nauseous after I eat or drink water. But I'll take it since I'm not actually throwing up!

Pretty bummed since the last time I exercised was Monday, but I think I'm still on track for my H4H and FitBitch goals...we'll find out on review day tomorrow. I am soooo over being sick and definitely ready to start working out as soon as my fever breaks.

Week 16 of Mission: FitBitch

Last week was my first full week of super intense fitness mode. I was really excited, motivated, and determined and I think my actions showed this. So while I've been tracking my 'FitBitch' mission for 16 weeks now, last week was the most work I've done. Mostly because I'm determined to be Hot4Halloween this year.

Week16: X-5 which means I lost another pound from last week!!

Here's all the exercise I did from last week:

• Netflix DVD - Self: Slim and Sleek, Fast! - 30minutes
• 24 Hour Fitness - Sit Down Bike - 45minutes
• 24 Hour Fitness - Ab100 Abench - 100 crunches
• 24 Hour Fitness - Turbo Kick Box class - 60minutes
• 24 Hour Fitness - Yoga Vinyasa class - 60minutes
• 24 Hour Fitness -Treadmill - 18minutes

Makes me exhausted just looking at the list right now. I will say that it's been hard work, I know that, but the happiness is in the results. It's important to stay motivated and stick with it b/c changing your lifestyle does not happen overnight. I know this. It's still hard. And today I have no motivation and would prefer to sit on the couch. But my desire to be fit is stronger than my laziness, so I will be doing my FitOrbit workout today. Like the little engine that could: I think I can, I think I can, I think I can!!!

Who's with me??

Syrah Wine Parlor in San Diego

There's a new wine bar that opened in San Diego a while ago, and I've been meaning to try it out, but haven't had the chance until last Friday! My friend Chrissy celebrated her birthday there and I was pretty excited to see it. It's called Vin de Syrah Spirit and Wine Parlor, or Syrah for short, and I love love love it. I would say the decor is a modern twist on Alice and Wonderland and also reminds me of some Anthropologie windows I've seen. Unfortunately it was way too busy for me to snap any pix of the decor, but I was able to find the following on Google images and the Syrah website. It's meant to feel as if you were in the rabbit hole.

 

 

 

 

I was in heaven and definitely plan on going back. The wine was reasonably priced (and by 'reasonably' I mean that it wasn't any more or less expensive than the other bars in the gaslamp). 

Me, before leaving the apt. Boyfriend being silly with the camera so I started being bratty b/c I wasn't getting the pic I wanted.

 

I was over it and started walking away, so boyfriend kept shooting. But this one is a good indicator of the slight bubbliness on the bottom of my dress. Also, as you can see, I had in my extensions and this was the day before my hair appt in which I darkened the bright blonde a bit and chopped it off.

Me and my friend Erin that I've known since elem school but now we both live in SD.

Julie and I.

I'm a dummy I didn't get any pix with the bday girl Chrissy :^( I will be going back here at some point and would like to snap more pix when it's not so crowded.

Has anyone else been here? Or is there something out there that's similar that you know of?

New healthy hair!

For various reasons my hair has been damaged upon repair. So last week I made the decision to go see my stylist Candice and to simply cut off the death. There was just no fixing it at this point, so it had to go. My appointment was on Saturday, so I'm still getting used to it. Here's the new cut, wind blown dry, with no heat or products or styling.

My hair was getting long, and I do miss it, but this is the best thing for my locks. Cut your hair to grow your hair, right?! I believe Laura has even mentioned that recently and I know that Kelly has done the same (btw, I don't personally know these girls, but their blogs are my religion and I heart them). 

I also went back to using my Matrix Sleek Look Shampoo & Conditioner because I like the soft way it makes my hair feel. My K-Pak deep conditioner will be once every 1-2 weeks (b/c you can over-condition). And I'll be getting rid of all my Aveda products (they hate me for some reason and I'm bummed about this).

What do you think? Good decisions?

Working Girls Guide to A Mini Mani

I don't know about you but I don't have as much time as I'd like to get regular manicures. So this means that I mostly do my own nails and maybe once or twice a year I make it to the nail salon. In my purse I keep a nail file (I get the $0.99 ones, usually Target of CVS Pharmacy) and the Sally Hansen Cuticle Pen (any cuticle oil pen should work). 

When I have a conference call in which I don't need to take notes (or pay terribly close attention), this is how I give myself a mini mani:

• Bust out your file and give your nails a quick soft file, to clean them up and keep them fresh.
• I then rub the tops and edges all along my jeans as my 'buffer' almost like I'm sctratching my legs. One time I wasn't wearing jeans I used my paper lunch bag. This 'buffing' gets all that extra flake off so you can see the shape of your nails and keep filing at will.
• Then I use my cuticle pen (shown above) and paint a u-shape around my cuticles. No need to be precise here. Then I sort of use any excess to paint on top of my nail for good measure (I don't know if this actually helps any, but I do it anyway).
• Repeat on other hand
• I typically leave it for a while so the oils can get all nice and soaked in
• Wash hands with soap and water (hopefully your work has a restroom for this).
• One coat of Sally Hansen Max Support polish (or any quick dry topcoat you have).

Et voila! Mini Mani complete.