30th Birthday Outfit

My 30th birthday is 6 weeks from yesterday! Yikes! I am both scared and excited for 30! I sometimes don't feel like I have achieved everything I should have by the age of 30, but then also feel like I've achieved WAY more than I ever thought I would. I have a great husband, a comfortable home, great family & friends, four adorable fur babies, etc. Isn't that all that matters? Anyway, we are going to Vegas for my 30th birthday and the husbands 35th birthday. Yay!!!

So.... I think I need an outfit similar to this

Things I want to do in 2012

This year, instead of resolutions, I decided I would just make a list of some things I wanted to do. I rarely ever never stick to my New Years resolutions, so I figured this would be an easy way to set some goals and hopefully stick to them. Here goes...

1. Live a healthier lifestyle. Including eating healthier and exercising more. I know this is usually number one on everyone's resolution list, but this year I really want to stick to it. My resolution is usually to lose weight, but this year I decided not to focus so much on losing weight and more on just being healthy.

2. Cook more meals at home. Thanks to Pinterest, I've already been pretty good about this.

3. Be a better homemaker. I have a bad habit of waiting until we have company coming over to clean the house.

4. Learn to knit or crochet.

5. Read at least one book per month. Recommendations please!!!

6. Blog regularly. I am SOOOO bad about this. I get on a roll for a week or two and then feel like I run out of things to say and end up just reading all my favorite blogs instead. 

And on a more fun note...

7. Go to Vegas for my 30th birthday! Yes, 30! Eek!

8. Spend a week in Missouri visiting my family and friends.

9. Take a wine tour on the wine train with my girlfriends.

10. Go on a random weekend vacation with the husband.

I'm sure there are more things I will add to this list over time, but for now these are my "resolutions". Wish me luck!!!





 

An Interesting Story

How did your New Year start? I hope the way mine started isn't an indication of how the rest of the year will be.

We had a great New Years Eve with friends!!! We sipped champagne, did a little bar hopping and ended the night watching How I Met Your Mother. It was legen - wait for it, wait for it... DARY!!! Since we had quite a bit of bubbly, we decided to spend the night at our friends. We woke up around 8:30 New Years day and headed home. When we opened the door, we saw part of the wood paneling around our door laying on the floor. I said, "Did we get broken into?" and the husband said, "Looks like it.". We looked around the living room and it didn't look like everything was missing. I was freaking out because our pets (two dogs and a cat) didn't come running to the door like they always do. I yelled for them a few times and finally they came running into the living room. We could tell they were traumatized, so I took them outside to calm them down. I came back inside to see where Jeremy was and make sure there wasn't anything missing. I walked back to our bedroom to find Jeremy standing on his side of the bed and a guy in a tuxedo standing by my side of the bed. My immediate reaction was, "What the #$&*?!?!". The guy had no idea where he was or how he got here.The guy actually said, "Look at my shoes, I don't think I kicked the door in." And then he tried to bribe us with some pot.  I called the husband's parents (who live across the street) and they came over. He had the audacity to tell my mother-in-law that we were lucky it was just him and not some bad guy. I called the police and within 5 minutes there were about four officers at our house. They checked the house and everything looked fine, so it was basically up to us if we wanted to press charges or not. The officers said most likely the guy would get off either way since he was so wasted. He blew a .12 at 10 A.M., so who knows how wasted he was when he broke in. He offered to repay us for the door and emotional stress, so we decided to just let him walk. So off he walked in his tuxedo and plaid fedora.

It's pretty funny looking back on it, but it was very scary at the time. So now you know, if you ever break into our house you better be wearing evening attire. No t-shirts and jeans here! We only accept tuxedos and evening gowns.

PRAY FOR JOPLIN, MO!!!

The town I lived in before moving to California was hit by a major tornado yesterday. I am still in shock and disbelief. Looking at the photos and the coverage, most of the town is unrecognizable. The town I once knew like the back of my hand is now a place of mass destruction. The apartment I lived in before moving is gone. It is so scary to think of all the times my roommate and I heard tornado sirens while living in that apartment. Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Walgreens, many fast food joints and restaraunts... GONE!!! Just like that. It is so amazing to me how something can come through and cause so much damage and devastation in such a short time. I lived in the area for 26 years and never witness anything like this. Many of my friends have lost their homes and loved ones. So many lives are changed forever.

I first got news of the tornado on facebook and immediately text my mom and my old roommate. My mom lives about 20 miles outside of Joplin and was fine. My old roommate lives literally blocks from most of the devastation. Her and her husband were so lucky that only a tree was ripped up out of their yard and his car has some minor damage, but they are fine and their house was untouched. She said the damage is just unreal and it like a bad dream. I saw my cousin's facebook status stating that their house just got hit by a tornado, but they are fine. The cell phone towers are down, so there is hardly anyway to get in touch with many people. I got a text from another family member saying that my cousin's neighborhood is completely demolished and her and her boys were unaccounted for. I immediately freaked out and started trying to call every family member even though I knew I wouldn't be able to get through. About half an hour later, the missing cousin's brother found her and her family walking down the road. Her and her whole family piled into the bathtub just in time before all the windows started shattering and the roof flew off of their house. Luckily, they are all ok!

The picture above is a picture of my old roommate taken by a local photographer. She was searching for her parents who had told her they were going to Wal-Mart before the storm hit.

What used to be a residential area

Wal-Mart

St. John's hospital

Here is actual footage of the tornado and the damage: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XT7CtF5ljxY&feature=share

Aerial video of the damage: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWNwZ1IY2p0&feature=player_embedded#at=50

Today show: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/43133516#43133516

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/24/us/24tornado.html?_r=2

My heart goes out to all of my family and friends and the town that I love so much and will always consider home. 

For Katrina

"And so the lion fell in love with the lamb" - Edward
"What a stupid lamb" - Bella
"What a sick, masochistic lion" - Edward Twilight

So, I've decided that I want to keep a little anonymity with my blog and not let people know who I really am. But, I'm going to give people very obvious names, so that if they do run across my blog they know who they are.  I will name people things like Couple friends, Couple wife and Couple baby. I will also write up a little list of everyone's names and a little description about them. Because you can't tell who someone is by a description right? Right? Also, I'm going to write about peoples kids, pets, etc. I will post pictures of things I have done and things I have done with other people, but I will cut mine and other peoples heads off in the pictures. You can't tell who someone is when their head is cut off in a picture right? I will write detailed descriptions of things I have done and things I have done with other people, but I will use their "nicknames" so no one will know who I'm really talking about.

Ok, I am totally joking! Actually poking fun, and maybe it's not so nice to do that, but it is so darn fun! We actually know a girl that has a blog just like this. The funny thing is, she thinks no one knows about her blog. If more people knew about her blog, she would definitely have a lot less friends. She talks some mad crap sometimes, and it's actually pretty funny to read since you know exactly who she's talking about.  I guess maybe she likes being "anonymous". I figure if I'm going to have a blog and let people in on my life, I'm just going to be me and let people see who I really am.

How do you guys feel about anonymous blogging? I love reading all of your blogs and getting a little glimpse of your life!!!

Wonderful Weekend

I hate to admit it, but I failed miserably at my diet this weekend. I am starting it back up tomorrow though!

This weekend was a pretty fun-filled weekend. Friday night, our friends Danny and Katrina came over for fondue. We made Swiss-Cheddar fondue and dipped bread, apples and veggies in it. Then we gorged out on filet, chicken and shrimp dipped in oil. Soooo delicious! This is such a fun thing to do with friends. If you've never used a fondue pot before, I highly recommending buying one (electric) and having friends over for a fondue night. Thanks for coming over Lassens! :)

Saturday, I went wine tasting with my friend Beatrice. It was a nice girls day. We started out at J Winery then went for lunch and a beer at Patterson's Irish Pub. We then moved on to Ledson winery. After Ledson, we decided that we wanted to go somewhere else, so we decided to go to Rita's. Rita's is this little dive bar that we went to for karaoke one night and had a blast! After Rita's, we decided we should probably eat some dinner, so we decided to go to the Thai House in downtown Santa Rosa. After dinner, we went to a bar called Stout Brothers and then on the Christies for a little dancing. We had such a blast all day and it was definitely a much needed girls day. Sometimes, you just have to have a day/night out with the girls.

Today, the hubby and I have had a very relaxing day. Our day has consisted of taking a nap, watching tv and cooking dinner. It has been the perfect, relaxing day!

I hope you all had a great weekend! What did you do this weekend?

Shakeology Day 2

This post should have been posted last night, but I didn't get around to it. So, I'm just going to pretend it is yesterday. I must say, day 2 was a little easier than day 1. I think it will just keep getting easier and easier every day once I'm not so used to just going to my kitchen and grabbing anything I want to munch on. And I must say, these shakes are GOOD! Today (really yesterday), I did my Zumba 20 minute express workout. Since I haven't worked out in quite awhile, I decided I should probably start off easy and not go for the whole 60 minute, dance your booty off workout. I will work up to this though, I'm giving myself one week.

PB & J Shakeology
1 scoop chocolate Shakeology
1 cup strawberries (fresh or frozen)
1 Tbsp peanut butter
1/4 cup almond milk
2 cups ice (more or less to preference)
Blend well - Add water to thin

This shake was delicious. So far, this one and the Chocolate Mocha are my favorite!

I hope everyone has a FABULOUS weekend!