All the way from the Netherlands!

Not what you're thinking, a girl gave these to me. Such a sweetheart! I helped a coworker in the middle of the night. She was stressed about getting a project done while she was overseas, and she brought these back for me in thanks. She said she couldn't believe how willing I was to help her when I didn't have to, and that I was so nice about it. This perplexed me. She explained that everyone else was snotty about it and I wasn't. Apparently, she bragged about me to the bigwigs that not only was I accommodating, but that I really knew my shit!  I guess it does pay to be nice!

Wild Elixir

My new scent. :-)

Just Woke Up

UG. Didn't get to bed until around 3 am. (Thanks Joe!) Should go to boxing this morning but I am so exhausted from the week I don't know. The dogs are looking up at me with expressions on their face like, "What are we doing up before noon on a Saturday?" Indeed. Perhaps I should go back to bed. Okay, sound good. Buh-bye.

Randomness

New shoes! Glowing pool! Laguna Beach and my favorite restaurant there! And, those DAMN Angry Birds are at it again!

I spent THREE FREAKING HOURS playing that stupid game on Saturday non-stop. I warned Joe not to download it, we'll see if he listens. He is taking me to see "Red Riding Hood" on Friday, I haven't heard anything about it yet, so SHHH don't tell me!

Food

How I've lost 60+ pounds and am still going!

I do not eat anything I do not like the taste of. Period. There is no way I could eat tofu, rice cakes, diet soda or live on chicken and broccoli. Blech. I don't like Boca Burgers, but I love MorningStar Grillers! I put steak dust and red pepper flakes on them, drop them in the skillet, then eat them on an English muffin with stone ground mustard. (Pictured below with a side of fresh strawberries!) Since I live for Blue Cheese dressing, I had to find one that was lower in fat, carbs and calories. Walden Farms makes a great one! It actually tastes GOOD! I also make Cajun chicken and scampi with zero calorie sauces from Walden Farms. They ROCK. Tonight, however, I am eating ribs and having creme carmel for dessert! :-D

Reduced to Tears

Tonight, I can hardly move. I can't recall ever being in this much pain from a workout. I knew boxing was hard, but it hurts to breathe, literally. I wasn't aware of all the muscles in and around your ribcage. It took me 6 minutes to get downstairs, holding on to the railing for dear life. I must have done 100 squats throughout training having to "crouch" down between punches.

On my first day, I walked in and looked around for where I was supposed to be. I saw a woman helping a man put his hand wraps on, so I figured she was the instructor and waited to have her help me as well since I have no idea what I'm doing. After several minutes of standing there like an idiot, a man came up to me, grabbed my hands and started putting my wraps on. No "hello", no "welcome", no introduction whatsoever. The first thing he said to me was "You smell like a cigarette.". I just kind of blinked. He said, "If you are going to smoke, why are you bothering?" More blinking from me as he yanked my hands around. I managed to say something retarded like "I'm trying really hard to quit." He finished and walked away. No mercy here. Yep, he is the instructor. About 30 minutes into the workout, I am sopping wet, my face is beat red, and I am breathing so loud I can hear my heartbeat in my ears. He is calling out combinations and I am having to quickly figure it out. 1 - 2, 1 - 1 - 2, 1 - 1 - 2 - 3 - 4. Okay, left jab, right cross. Left jab, left jab, right cross. Left jab, left jab, right cross, left hook, left upper cut. Again, again, AGAIN. I'm focused. I think. AAAH! There he is. Right beside me. Shit! He is standing in front of me with sparring equipment on. This means I am to take my focus off the bag and spar with him. "Come on" he says. I start hitting his gloves with the latest combination called out. "Harder." I really throw myself into this. I wail on his gloves. I'm grunting. OMG I'm grunting. He says "Good, now show me that kind of enthusiasm on the bag, and control your bag, stop letting it swing everywhere." Did I join the Marines, and no one told me? SHEESH. The police academy wasn't even this intense.

I have a really big bruise on my right forearm. Sexy.

Loving the Life I'm Living Now

I spent a buttload of money over the weekend. That's what happens when you have an episode of insomnia and go online shopping. LOL! I bought a bunch of new clothes (the pics above are a sampling of what I got), including some new workout gear (Ottomix), some new makeup "Raw Natural Minerals", and a big jug of caramel latte protein powder. I joined "LA Boxing" which is right down the street from me. I finally did it. Boxing, Kickboxing and MMA (Mixed Martial Arts)  hopefully starting today. I was nervous to tell Joe (Yes, that's his name) about the boxing because he thinks I'm so feminine. Every time he sees me I'm all dressed up and in high heels. ROFLMAO! But, when I told him, he said "Oh, that's hot." He is very secure in his manhood. :-)

While listening to my favorite tunes and drinking a glass of wine, I BBQ'd a pound of marinated Carne Asada last night and grilled with it some jalapeños, green and red peppers and onions. YUM! That gives me lunch for a few days. Then I watched "Zombieland" while waiting for the pool to heat up to a perfect 84 degrees and took a nice long skinny dip. That is my absolute favorite thing to do before bed. I got the pool light fixed, so it is so cool! The pool glows and you can see the steam rising off of it.

Earthquakes, Tsunamis, and Medieval Times!

WOW, an 8.9 in Japan, that's a biggie! Terrible. We have been getting tsunami warnings all morning here in Southern Cali, but nothing to worry about apparently, just no surfing or laying out on the beach. Most of the beaches here are closed right now.

I think I have been out every night this week; hence the reason I have been too tired to blog. Went to Medieval Times in Buena Park last Sunday night with some girly friends and what a trip! Too fun. You eat with your hands! And the alcoholic beverages come in these HUGE-ass goblets. I got the "First Knight" which has malibu rum, Bacardi rum, strawberry daquiri mix, pina colada mix and something else I forget. YUM. The show was very entertaining as well, the horses were gorgeous. None of us had ever been there before.

So, I am dating the sweetest man EVER, who also happens to be hysterically funny. He makes me laugh every day. His recent adventure was with his homemade salsa. His blender exploded while making the first batch, and he is still cleaning habaneros off of his ceiling, parrot and dog. Because I love spicy stuff, he made another batch and brought it to me at work. Isn't that nice? I guess it helps that he works across the street from me at Boeing. ;-)

Ahh, the weekend. It was in the 80's yesterday and is nice again today, so hopefully the weekend will be relaxing by the pool.

Conversations While Driving

So I went to lunch today with coworkers/friends Mario and Paula. I was driving, and on the way back to the office we had a pretty funny conversation. Paula is back on the dating scene after a long while just like me, and Mario is a perma-bachelor who is protective of his friend Cheryl.

Paula: "So when do we get to see a picture of your new man?"
Mario: "Yeah! When?"
Me: "Well I have a couple on my phone, here."
Paula: "Oh, he's hot!"
Mario: "He looks like a serial killer."
Me: "He does NOT look like a serial killer. What is the matter with you?!"
Mario: "He does too look like a serial killer, you are dating a serial killer."
Me: "Get OUT. Get OUT of the car." (Paula is howling in laughter in the back seat.)
Mario: (laughing) "Look at him. Serial killer."
Me: "OUT! Gimme my phone! You're fired!"