Kitty PotPie. The Blog.

How did I do?

2011-12-27T19:36:00.002-07:00

As a recap, here were my goals for 2011.

1. Don’t get kicked out of Fat Camp
How I will accomplish this goal:

Lose 7 lbs every 2 months
Track food (myfitnesspal.com)
Exercise 4-5 times a week for at least 45 minutes – can include walks on break if they get my heart up – Track it
Pack my own lunch 3-4 times a week (or go home)
Walk Nova 3 times a week (that is more than now, I=bad owner, but I need to be above freezing)
Eat breakfast I prepare EVERY DAY (okay I can eat out occasionally, like 3 times a month)
Be honest with myself

2. Keep my house company clean

How I will accomplish this goal:

Open/sort/toss my mail the day I get it.
Empty dishwasher when it is done, add dishes as soon as I finish with them
Vacuum/Sweep once a week
Mop at least once a month
Put things away, don’t pile!

3. Add to savings

How I will accomplish this goal:

Track expenses
Quit random purchases (but not all random purchases, sometimes a girl needs to buy things she doesn't need to live, but it will make her life happier or easier - i.e. fish, pet toys, music, etc)
Put money in my savings and if I pull out of savings I must replace what I took plus more (even if it is just a dollar) within the next month.

4. Read 60 books

How I will accomplish this goal:

Read instead of tv or really keep on keeping on (I love this goal)

5. Write in my journal at least once a week.

How I will accomplish this goal:

Remember that I have it.

6. Ride my bike to work 52 times.
How I will accomplish this goal:

Since Charlie retired and isn’t here to push me anymore, I think I need to just suck it up and do it!
Go clipless – this is a two prong approach, first prong is that it will make it easier, second is that I will have spent money so I will feel like I need to make it worth it.

7. Secret plan
How I will accomplish this goal:

By doing secret

So how did I do? Um, crappy.

1. I got kicked out of Fat Camp. I can get back in now, but I have to lose like 3 pounds to do so, and we are switching insurance on April 1st, so it is now or never. But I will try. The County has a health coach now, so I have been meeting with her, that program just doesn't pay for my gym membership, but it is nice to have someone give me advice about training and stuff.

2. I did okay on keeping my house clean, not great, but okay.

3. I did not add to savings. Buying a new furnace, solatube (totally worth it) and repairing my fence required me to pull from savings. :(

4. I have KICKED ASS AT THIS GOAL!! WOO! Really by the end of the week I plan to have read 65 books (I need to finish one and a half books to do so)

5. I sucked at this goal. I may have written in it like twice..

6. Charlie would be sorely disappointed in me, I think I made it 9 times.

7. I actually did really well at my secret plan. What is it you ask? It is what you all guessed, to date more. Don't get your hopes up Mom or Dad, I haven't met anyone, but I have been at least trying. And they are all guys... (inside joke with my Dad, though I think my mom also worries). This has been a hard thing for me, because I am not good at being flirty and cute or willing to play dumb. But I did pretty well, I don't know how many guys I went out with this year, but it was multiple guys. Some of them were really fun, but I knew they would drive me nuts and others were better fits, but had WAY too much baggage and didn't seem to be willing to dump some of it. Oh well, c'est la vie, there is always 2012. So now you all know, I have been dating and it sucks and it so freaking weird!

So 2.5 out of 7, not exactly good, but it was okay. I actually did pretty well at the parts of my first goal, so maybe I get 3 out of 7.

I don't know what my goals for 2012 will be, maybe I won't have any. Or maybe I will think about it for the month of January and set them in February.

Peace out for now, Party People!

My year in words

2011-12-15T12:52:00.002-07:00

This year has been an interesting year. I feel like I made a lot of changes. Yet, I don't really have any regrets, even about the hardest choice I made. Especially since I got the exact result I knew I would once I made that choice.

I feel like this year focused mostly on getting healthy. I spent my year counting my calories. I actually like counting calories, it is just one more thing I can track and I do love tracking random things. I also spent a lot of time working out, sure I could have worked out more/harder, but I think I did pretty good considering how little I have worked out in the past 10 years.

Here are some of the things I learned this year:

I learned that no matter if I stay within the recommended calories that my body is not going to be happy losing weight and will probably resist. Hopefully, 2012 will allow me to get over my plateau...

I learned that even if the scale isn't moving, other things are happening. I can now wear everything in my closet. In fact, I have actually got rid of somethings that are now too big. It is nice. I really don't plan on going back up ever, so I don't feel bad about donating clothes to the Road Home. Plus I am less jiggly. Sure some parts still jiggle and probably always will, but that is okay, other parts are no longer jiggling.

I learned that I can complete a triathlon (sure it was a sprint, but it was still a tri), a half marathon and 35+ miles on my bike (twice). I had some kind of organized event each month from April until October. It actually was really fun. And even though I spent a crapload on paying for the events, I think it was worth it. There is something about doing something with a large group of people, even if I am in the bottom 25%. The energy I got from the masses of people was worth way more than the t-shirts. Plus, I must admit, they were excellent excuses to drink chocolate milk.

I learned that it is okay to be me and not feel bad about it or apologize for it. This seems like such a weird thing for me to say, because I have always been fairly comfortable with myself, but there were/are some situations that I felt like I had to constantly defend myself or apologize for being me. Well, I am done with that (mostly).

I learned that it sucks to be rejected. Okay, so I already knew this in my personal life (as it happens A LOT), but I have never really had professional rejection. And boy, did I have some this year. While I am still having a hard time with it, I will get over it, hopefully. Though it would help if the person that "was better" could actually perform the job, or at least act like he is attempting....

I learned that I really love my friends. I don't have a lot of good friends, but the friends I have I truly love. They are such awesome people and I feel like they are always there for me, even if it is just over email or Facebook. And most likely if you are reading this, you are one of those people and I want you to know that I love you and appreciate your friendship!

I learned that I really love my family, even when they frustrate me. I can't imagine my life without them, even when I make hard choices about them. I am so grateful that I have two sets of parents and additional siblings/nieces/nephews. And what can I say about my wonderful sister-in-laws? They are the best! I love the women my brother's married and am so glad that I can call them up or drop by their houses to chat. And my Dad is just out of this world, we have done so many emergency projects in the last couple of months, it makes me extra glad I can call him my Dad. My Mom is one of the best out there, even if she comes to my house just to see if it is clean ;) I am glad that she stays at my house and even gladder that she has finally accepted that I am not a morning person and just can't have conversations before I eat and especially not before I shower!

I learned that I can no longer imagine my life without my pets. Occasionally, I think about what I will do when they die and I find myself fighting tears. The dog may get called the Damn Dog a lot, but she also makes me laugh every day. And the cat may terrorize anyone/thing that is not me, but to me, she is the cuddliest/sweetest/smartest kitty a girl could have.

I am sure I learned a lot of other crap, but my project is done uploading. So I can now leave the Starbucks and stop pretending to be a screen writer (it was my cover for mooching their wifi). Stay tuned for my plans for for the New Year (and probably a report on how I did on my plans for this year, this kind of was that, but not really).

Hey Mom!

2011-12-13T17:05:00.001-07:00

Hey Mom,

I am going to keep blogging. Maybe you should set up Google Reader or another RSS feed so I don't have to remember to remind you, it will just pop up!

Love you

XOXO

Jenni

Photos!

2011-11-09T16:56:00.003-07:00

I downloaded my camera card, I know I have more photos on my phone from these occasions, but this is what you get!

Don't know when this photo was taken, but I think it is cute and totally shows Nova's crazy demeanor.

And here she is at Doggie Swim Day. You can tell she is enjoying herself.
This was her "put down the camera and throw the frisbee" look
And now for something completely different.

I went to Memphis last month (you know, October). It was a very interesting city. Lots of good fried food and BBQ. Apparently they had good seafood too, but I didn't eat any. The only fish I ate was fried catfish, which was AWESOME!

This was a famous restaurant there. What is it called? Um, flying something...I just liked the catfish-airplane
This lovely poodle wallpaper was from Graceland...that's right Elvis loved poodles! Okay so it was in his parent's bathroom (which also featured purple tile) but it was AWESOME!
This lovely stain glass was in the front room at Graceland. No one has ever accused Elvis of being bland.
See. Not bland.
There were TONS of creepy accessories in the house. This was just one.
This was a model of Elvis's birth home. Why did I take a picture? Well, I do believe it could be the house I live in!! Except mine has an addition on the back. Maybe in 18 years, I will be a famous rock star..
Memphis is Elvis town (as well as the blues), and I didn't really know a lot about him, but I learned! We went on a tour of Sun Records (pictures on my phone, maybe...) and I learned that when Elvis first walked in the door he was REJECTED!! It took him a year of visiting the studio and recording amateur demos for the owner to sign him. And even then it was only because his secretary insisted that he listen to the record! Crazy stuff!

This was the cutest little boat on the Mississippi. It is an Army Corp boat. We were on their inspection barge (which was HUGE) but this cute little thing came to visit. I feel like we need a boat like this for the Jordan River!

For more pictures of Memphis (and Doggie Swim Day). Click here.

August/September/October are gone!

2011-11-02T16:48:00.002-06:00

Where has the year gone? When I was little, time dragged along and I never believed the old people that said that it would speed up when I got older. I BELIEVE YOU NOW, OLD PEOPLE!! Maybe, because I am now an old person.

August had my birthday, I went to lunch with two of the ladies I just can't shake from my life (thank goodness!) Thanks Mary and Marcie! And that night I got to see the awesome Becky get married. It was a lovely day. August also had the wedding of another friend, I was so happy when he found the woman he married, that I think I bugged him for like 6 months before he proposed to propose to her. I knew that they were a good fit. And with those two weddings, it rounded out my 3 weddings in 6 weeks. The first wedding was in July, and has to be one of the prettiest weddings I have ever attended, plus it was fun dancing the night away at the Country Club. Congrats Nat!!

September was, um, the month after August... Oh and the month I got kicked out of fat camp :( I didn't lose the 1 pound (I am still at the same freaking weight). But I did find out that in 6 months prior, according to the Healthy Lifestyles record, I had lost 9 pounds and ~5% body fat, so even though I have been staying the same weight for the past 4 months, I have been losing body fat, which is awesome and I will totally accept and be happy about.

October saw a trip to Memphis. It was for a conference, but I had a great time anyway. I ate a TON of fried food and BBQ. In fact, I really haven't been eating meat since I have been back. It really was an amazing city. The weather was FREEZING, but other than that it was great. I got to see Graceland (twice), take a boat tour of the Mississippi, ride the trolleys, tour Sun Records, hang out at BB King's club and catch up with my friends from around the country. I do love my professional organization for allowing me to meet such great people. And I am glad that my lovely Mother would come down to watch my crazy pets so that I didn't have to worry about them while I was gone.

Maybe, I will bring in my camera tomorrow and post some pictures. I feel like Facebook has taken over for my blog, which makes me sad. But it is just so much easier! I am still going to try and update, even if it is only for me to read :)

OH MY! I forgot what else happened in October!! I FINISHED A HALF MARATHON!! Cannot believe I forgot that!! I had a super slow time, but I am mostly okay with it. I would have made my goal, except the porta-potty line was 8-9 minutes and I didn't know if I would be okay just using a bush, so I just waited to use a "real" bathroom, so I missed my goal by 4'26". I did have a breakdown when I saw Mary after the race, but I really do blame it on my body being out of fuel (even though I had Gatorade and energy treats throughout the race), I was exhausted mentally and physically. It was a really fun race and it was so great to do it with so many of my friends (I think I knew like 10 people running in it). I really want to do it next year, but unfortunately it conflicts with my ASCE conference in Montreal, so I am going to have to make a hard decision next year on what I should do.

Also, KPP and Nova are doing great. KPP has been exploring the outside and allowing Nova to SNIFF her (it has to be in caps, because sometimes it is a little vigorous and actually moves her). Plus they will now sit by each other (not really close, but close enough). Nova gained 10 lbs in 6 months, so is on a diet. The vet was worried that it was her thyroid, but when I explained that she still has a ton of energy, that was ruled out and my giving her too many treats (she has been working out hard with me!) was probably the culprit. So needless to say, she now only gets one treat a day. I don't think she even notices.

And with that, I am really ending this post.

WHEW!

2011-07-13T09:29:00.003-06:00

I am happy to report that I did not get kicked out!!! WOO!! But the bad news is I have to be down ~11 lbs by September 1st. Good bye cookies and candy, hello working out again.

I can do this, right?

Back in the saddle.

2011-07-06T15:34:00.003-06:00

I am still disappointed in myself, but yes, I do realize that I have made great progress. I just like to meet goals, especially if they are random.

I am still not sure if I am still in the program, but I am going to still pretend I am, err, starting tomorrow. As today I ate a cheese burger for lunch (and frankly it was not worth it).

BUT, I signed up for another race. I say race, but for me they are just organized events and my only goal is to finish. The latest is the Deseret News 10k. This will be year number 3 for me and I am in my best shape yet, but again, I just want to finish. Which maybe harder this year than past years, since my mom/10k buddy may or may not sign up. She is usually my motivator. I guess this year I will have music fill her role.

With all the events I have signed up for, I have had an event once a month since April. Here is the breakdown.

April - 5k

May - Bike ride (30 miles)

June - TRIATHLON! (I'm still a little proud, though I will push myself harder next year)

July - 10k

August - 5k

September - ??

October - HALF MARATHON!!

So as you can read, I need an event in September. These are my criteria, something I can do, a reasonable price and not too far from home. Any ideas?

Failure

2011-07-05T09:43:00.002-06:00

Well, I failed. I hate failing, but it happens a lot in my life, so I should be use to it, but I never am. I missed my goal by 2.5 pounds. I am still awaiting my fate in the Waist-A-Weigh program, but as of now, I am pretty sure I am out of it. I am discouraged, but I'll get over it right?

Call Me Jenni The Triathlete!

2011-06-22T14:06:00.003-06:00

Last Saturday (June 18th), I completed my first ever triathlon. I say first ever, because I do believe I will do another one. I trained and trained and trained. That's right, it was a lot of training, sure I could have trained more, especially in the last month, but I didn't. Next year. Right?

I got talked into the triathlon a while back by Darla. And apparently I am very susceptible to peer pressure when it comes to sporty things. I think it is because I am not at all sporty or athletic, but I like to have goals, and like to have something to work towards, so I agreed.

Originally, we had talked about Daybreak Triathlon, but after much deliberation, we decided that the half mile open water swim was more than we wanted to take on. A half mile is a LONG swim and the open water meant finding a wet suit, due to the temperature. And since I have a hard time finding clothes that fit, I figured finding a wet suit was going to be a nightmare. When Darla found the Shark Attack Tri, I was stoked. It was only a 300 yd swim IN A POOL! 11.5 mile bike and a 5k. It felt a lot more doable. I had found a training guide an printed up a calendar and started on my way. It was really hard, I don't think I ever followed a full week. But I did pretty good. The weather this spring was great for running, but not for biking and since I don't do well on stationary bikes (too boring) I didn't bike as much as a should have, but oh well. Swimming was also another challenge. Sure, I go to the pool every year, but swimming laps is a whole different beast. So I signed up for an adult swim class (two sessions actually) with a friend and learned to improve my technique. It was actually a really fun class, and I miss it so I think I will do it again. Plus, I went out to swim with Darla in Herriman a couple of times and the Masters swim coach (i.e. adult swim team coach) helped us some more. She was so awesome and helpful, that I am jealous she is not at my pool!

At about a month out, I was feeling really confident and good and then I got a cold from hell. It knocked me on my butt BIG time! And then turned into a sinus infection. So that ate two weeks of training. I did swim once during that time (I think that was the day my cold was turning into a sinus infection, because I felt okay). And when I felt better I did go on a long run (4.3 miles) and did really well. So I while I would have liked to work out a little more in the past month, I figured that if I could run 4.3 miles, I could do the tri. And then the flooding started...

Usually our runoff season is done by mid-June, but not this year. And because I know the creeks really well (or at least so they say) I actually worked nights Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday before the race. It was fun being on flood patrol, though it did get boring at times, but that is a good thing. Needless to say, the week before the race, I didn't get a lot of sleep, ate like crap and got a little stressed. But Friday night, I was actually asleep by 10, so I got 7 hours of sleep before the race.

The race started at 7a, which meant I was up at 5a. And from the before picture below, you can see I was still super tired. I am not a morning person, but on days that I have stuff early, I seem to do ok, even if I do look like crap.

The first picture is Darla and me, pre-race. We both look SUPER excited.

And here I am with all my stuff, you can't see the stuff on the ground, but I had two pairs of shoes (running and biking), a camelbak, sunscreen, towel, socks and random snacks.
Because the race was in a pool, it was a staggered start. Which meant we had to line up according to what we thought we could swim in, I had timed myself the Monday before and I was at 11'45", so SLOW. But I had taken a lot of breaks and was really sore, so I decided to stand in the 11' line. The frustrating part was overhearing all the people in the faster times saying that they thought they could finish in that time. Ugh... But I was happy to be where I was, it meant the pool was not really crowded and I got to watch a lot of people swim. And WOW some people are BAD swimmers. Granted, I did the back stroke for most of my swim, but when I did freestyle, my head was at least in the water!

The swim took me 8 minutes to complete. The official time says 10 something, but that was because the transition mat was out a ways from the pool and I walked over to it.

The biking was SO much harder than I expected. I knew the course had a couple of hills in it, but I was not expecting HILLS! About two miles from the turn around a hill started and it SUCKED! It was so bad that when the kid in front of me didn't move over in time for me to pass, I lost momentum and ended up being passed by Darla and her sister-in-law (curses!). Which ended up being fine, because on one stretch of the hill when my biking speed had dropped to about 4mph, I got off and walked to the top of that stretch before getting back on. And another example of how bad the hill was, at the turn around I didn't pedal for probably 1.5 miles and rode my brakes and STILL hit 29mph! That is INSANE!! Next year, I will definitely ride more hills. I was also worried about my knee, as it had started hurting when I did the Salt Lake Century and had been hurting all week, so I knew if I wanted to be able to walk, much less run, I knew that I couldn't push the bike very much, so it took 55 minutes. But still, I vow I will do better next year.

Finally, it was the 5k. I got off my bike, put on my running shoes and I was off. Except, I was so not feeling like running. My legs were fine, I wasn't sore, but without music or a dog, I just can't run. That is definitely something I need to work on, but I LOVE running with my dog, she is an awesome partner/motivator! After I actually felt like I could have gone on a run with Nova, but I went to brunch with my Dad instead. The 5k took ~40 minutes, which for walking most of it is really good. It was such a beautiful day and I love walking by the river. It really was fun, plus I love cheering for people. It makes me happy when people are happy and you can tell they are excited to be there. So I cheered for everyone I saw.

Another good thing of the day, was that my dad came out to support me. It meant so much to me that he was willing to wake up at the crack of dawn to sit around and cheer me on for the minutes that he saw me. He was an AWESOME cheerleader and actually got random strangers to also cheer for me. And they got so into it, that they cheered me on every time they saw me, even if he wasn't there. It was very sweet. Plus, free breakfast is always nice! Thanks Dad! You made race day even better!!

Here is my after picture. I don't think I look too bad for exercising for 1:51'38". Granted, I had to wait around forever for them to fix my time (they finally just wrote down what my watch said and changed it) so I am sure I looked worse, before I finally made it to my phone to take a pic.

It really was fun, and I will do it again next year. It is amazing what a lazy girl can accomplish! And here's hoping the half marathon I signed up for in October is as fun!

On another note, I have an official weigh-in next week. I don't think I will make it. I have been at the same weight all month, which is awesome, except it is 4 pounds above what I need it to be! I guess I'll have to be extra good with my food for the next bit and start working out again!

Milestone!

2011-06-01T14:48:00.003-06:00

I have now lost 20.1 lbs. Sure, I haven't really eaten in 5 days due to a cold, but still I am down 20.1 lbs!!! And I don't think it will come back, since I have been hovering around the 19lb mark for a while. And I am staying super hydrated as water/juice are the only things that sound good to me.

WOO HOO!! Now if only my stuffy head would go away!

On another note, I have my triathlon in 17 days. SEVENTEEN DAYS!! I am getting nervous. I know I can do all the events, but not being able to work out this week, is putting a cramp on things. I did, however, do a "brick", which consists of doing two of the events back to back. People say the transition from biking to running is the hardest, so that is what I did (I was suppose to be doing these once a week, but I always skipped those workouts). And while I only did 8 miles on the bike (the ride for the tri is 11.5) and a 1.25 run (5k for the tri), it wasn't bad. The only reason I didn't do the full 11.5 and 3.1 was time. I needed to be done in 45 minutes. So I am less worried about transitions to the next event than I am about what I am going to wear!

Now for some cute pictures that I took when I was home hyped up on cold meds yesterday.

Nova likes to be by me at all times, so she usually sits by me on the couch. It starts out like this
And ends up like this. Good thing she has calmed down a LOT and now sleeps 90% of the time I need her to be mellow.
PotPie has also decided that she is coming out of my room whether or not the dog is in the house. It is nice. Yesterday, as I was being smooshed by Nova, KPP was sitting on top the couch watching things. She was still on watch, but overall, she was being quite pleasant.
I'm glad that it only took 2.5 years for them to get to where they are, knowing KPP, it could have taken MUCH longer!

New Floor, New Paint, New Quilts!

2011-04-20T16:06:00.006-06:00

I got a wild hair to put laminate in my dining room/entry room. And then after I tore out the carpet, I decided I needed to paint.

Here is the room after the carpet had been removed. Nova and Maxine were quite happy with the progress.

Here is a during construction. I had to move my fish tank into my kitchen. This was the scene 80% of the time Pie was awake. ugh. Poor fish.
And here is an after. I now have furniture back in, and quarter round in, but you get the point. I now have blue walls and pretty flooring!
I also made some quilts. My work friend is having twins, which means TWO babies, therefore I made two quilts. oh and she is having a boy and a girl.

This is for the boy. I love the back.
These were my first attempts at pinwheels. I think they turned out well.
And for the girl (you can tell by the pink instead of blue)
The pink is a little too deep for the other colors, but I like it.
Now these two next pictures are of Nova. This is here for a reference, so you can see how cute she is.
And then there is this picture...
WHAT THE CRAP IS SHE DOING?? Hilarious!!

As for fat camp, I have my second official weigh-in on the 29th. I am a little nervous, right now I need to lose about 3 pounds to make it. Here's hoping!

Ugh!

2011-03-31T16:52:00.002-06:00

Ugh, where has the time gone??

I am pretty much at the same point I was at my last check in. I should be happy about my 15 pounds, but I would like to have my weight lost line be straight, not like stairs.

But on another point I have officially signed up for a 5k, 36 mile bike ride, and a triathlon sprint. The sprint means that it is a 300 yard swim, 11.5 miles bike, and a 5k run. So still long, but short enough to manage.

This morning was my second day of really swimming laps. I did okay. I got 12 - 50 yard laps finished in 30 minutes (well 29:45). 7 of my laps were before the 15 minute mark, so I definitely slowed down for the second half. And I have learn this, swimming is exhausting and while it perks me up in the morning, I crash HARD about 11, especially without caffeine (I'm cutting back). Plus, I feel motion sick today, don't know if it is related, but I think it is. ugh.

Why must being active and healthy be so hard??

Check in #1

2011-03-01T11:11:00.003-07:00

Today I had my first official check in with Fat Camp. I MADE IT!! WOO! Sure I had to change into some shorts to make it, but with jeans I was .3lbs over what was allowable (they round down, even if it is a .9 it rounds down). In my shorts I was EXACTLY the weight I needed to be.

And I am sure you all have noticed my ticker hasn't moved, that is because I went up this month and today was finally back to where I was in my last ticker check in. Ya, I have been sucking, but I am back on track. Hopefully.

This month will bring the challenge of me having to be an inspector, which means I will be out in the field most of the day. That also means that I will probably not get to work out at lunch. Luckily, I have completed half of the "Couch to 5k" program, and am enjoying running outside.

Plus, in the next week or so, I am going to begin training for a triathlon sprint. The sprint I think I will do is a half a mile swim (the most nerve racking part), 5k and 18k bike ride (~11 miles).

Wish me luck! And don't offer me cookies, because I will eat them!! (which I totally ordered a case of GS cookies. Thank goodness they freeze well!)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, POTPIE!!

2011-02-03T16:58:00.002-07:00

I cannot believe that my baby kitty is SEVEN!!! She is a joy in my life! (no one else's, but I am all that matters)

She is good kitty and so freaking cute. Since I am a bad owner, I forgot to take a recent picture so I am posting one of my favorite pictures of her.

I love you, PotPie!

And as always, happy birthday to Bernie. I can't believe that he has been in my family for more than a decade and that I have known him for almost 18 years. I love you Bernie and hope you have had a great birthday.

End of January already??

2011-01-26T17:02:00.002-07:00

Well, I must say this month has FLOWN by!

However, I think so far I am doing super-duper awesome at my goals, sure there is room for improvement on some of them. But that is always going to be the case.

And as you can tell from my little tracker to your right, I am really kicking butt at my first goal, which is not to get kicked out of fat camp. It currently says 13, which is it being nice by rounding up. I am actually down 12.5 lbs, so I am not going to claim the 13 until I am there.

Which I have been struggling with when to count the weight loss, since I fluctuate. So I only count it if I am at that weight two days in a three day period, or I drop more the second day. And I have the rule that if I go back up significantly, I won't record until I am down below the previously recorded weight. So you know if that number hasn't changed in while it is because I went up. I guess I could say I went up, but I don't want to be discouraged by the tracker number getting smaller.

So there you go...a quick update, since I don't have internet at home, it makes posting harder. But I guess staying late at work isn't too bad...

And maybe next time I will have some pictures.

2011 - The year of awesome?

2011-01-06T08:19:00.002-07:00

As I mentioned last post, I am in Fat Camp. It started January 1st, 2011 (not actually a camp, go read my other post if you are confused) due to my BMI being over 30 (okay it is 31, so just barely, but still puts me in the obese category). Which means every 60 days I have to have lost 7 lbs, 7 lbs seems reasonable in two months right?

So by the end of the year I should be almost 50 lbs lighter, otherwise I have been kicked out of Fat Camp. And when I total everything up, 50 lbs scares me! Especially since I know I have a weakness for sugar and anything delicious (luckily, I also love veggies and healthy foods).

Needless to say, I am going to need help, but not nagging help, because that just makes me want to rebel. The help I’ll need will be the encouragement and support of my friends and family, this means, not offering sweets multiple times after I say no (and allowing me to eat them if I want to, because sometimes a girl needs some caramel), not encouraging me to skip the gym for something else (unless it is really really really good), not asking me obsessively if I went to the gym or if I am eating right, etc.

Also, to help me along I am using an app/website called myfitnesspal.com. I think it is a great app and encourage people to use it (and be my friend on it). And to add to the honesty I have going on, I am adding a tracker (see on the right of your screen). It doesn’t tell you how much I weigh, just how much I have lost, but if you all really wanted to know, I would probably tell you or you could figure it out. Just know that I started tracking at a higher weight than what my Fat Camp starting weight was, so it does not necessarily reflect how close I am to my goal for Fat Camp, but it shows my overall progress (even though I didn’t start at my highest weight).

I am going to try really, really hard not to let this take over my life, but frankly, I think it needs too or at least be my top priority for the year. But if I become too much like a one-trick pony, let me know and I will try and reign it in (pun not intended).

With all that, here are my goals for 2011. New for 2011, I am adding how I will accomplish my goals.

1. Don’t get kicked out of Fat Camp
How I will accomplish this goal:

Lose 7 lbs every 2 months
Track food (myfitnesspal.com)
Exercise 4-5 times a week for at least 45 minutes – can include walks on break if they get my heart up – Track it
Pack my own lunch 3-4 times a week (or go home)
Walk Nova 3 times a week (that is more than now, I=bad owner, but I need to be above freezing)
Eat breakfast I prepare EVERY DAY (okay I can eat out occasionally, like 3 times a month)
Be honest with myself

2. Keep my house company clean

How I will accomplish this goal:

Open/sort/toss my mail the day I get it.
Empty dishwasher when it is done, add dishes as soon as I finish with them
Vacuum/Sweep once a week
Mop at least once a month
Put things away, don’t pile!

3. Add to savings

How I will accomplish this goal:

Track expenses
Quit random purchases (but not all random purchases, sometimes a girl needs to buy things she doesn't need to live, but it will make her life happier or easier - i.e. fish, pet toys, music, etc)
Put money in my savings and if I pull out of savings I must replace what I took plus more (even if it is just a dollar) within the next month.

4. Read 60 books

How I will accomplish this goal:

Read instead of tv or really keep on keeping on (I love this goal)

5. Write in my journal at least once a week.

How I will accomplish this goal:

Remember that I have it.

6. Ride my bike to work 52 times.
How I will accomplish this goal:

Since Charlie retired and isn’t here to push me anymore, I think I need to just suck it up and do it!
Go clipless – this is a two prong approach, first prong is that it will make it easier, second is that I will have spent money so I will feel like I need to make it worth it.

7. Secret plan
How I will accomplish this goal:

By doing secret things

So I am down to 7 goals. Yes, I realize that my "how I will accomplish" plans are also goals, however, I am looking at them as guidelines to my 7 main goals.

What do you all (my 3 readers) think?

Also, I need to think of rewards for myself for weight loss mile stones. I have a hard time coming up with rewards, especially since I don't want them to be food related. Suggestions would help.

How I did on my 2010 goals.

2010-12-28T14:48:00.003-07:00

I had eleven goals for the year, besides the looming items of pass the PE, get licensed, turn 30, go to Paris, etc.

Here is my short recap and my points I awarded myself:

Get my house "company clean" and keep it at that level. – hmm, I completed this about half the time. I don’t know why this is so hard for me, it shouldn’t be, but it is. – 0.5 points
Exercise 2-3 times a week. – ya, I did really well for a while and then slacked off a LOT! – 0.4 points
Walk Nova 4 times a week. – Um, totally failed! Poor doggy. – 0 points
Pack and take a lunch 2-3 times a week. – Now, I didn’t pack my lunch, but I went home at least 3 times a week for lunch. - 0.9 points
Make my own breakfast 4/5 work days a week. – I totally rocked this goal! – 1 point
Track expenses and spending for January. Find a way to save at least $200/month – Epic fail :( - 0 points
Read 60 books. – WHOOT! I read 62 as of today! And that doesn’t include books read to kids or books read for work - 1 point
Write in my journal at least once a week. – meh, mostly fail – 0.1 points
Ride my bike to work 87 times. – SUPER EPIC FAIL! – 0 points
Take the stairs at work. – I did okay – 0.5 points
Secret plan – I did better than I expected, so I am giving myself full credit – 1 point

Awww, crap. I only got 5.4 out of 11, which means I didn’t even get half. Boo for me! Hopefully in 2011 I will be better at reaching my goals.

Now, I am still deciding my goals for 2011, but I can tell you now they will be weight loss heavy (and probably similar to my failed goals of this year). My BMI is over the obese level (barely, really, just barely), which means I qualified for the Waist Aweigh program (fat camp) offered through my insurance. That means that as long as I lose 1 BMI point (~7 lbs) every 60 days, they will reimburse me $50-$100 towards me reaching that goal. This means the gym membership that I have had for 2+ years, will now essentially be free, which is extra awesome, since the County just extended it to be unlimited to every SLCo Rec Center. YAHOO! Free water aerobics! Oh and other benefits of the fat camp is that when I get my BMI to less than 25 I will get $100, and if I maintain it for 6 months I get another $100, and I get a coach to help me waist aweigh...bah ha ha

So wish me luck on my journey to be a healthier-skinnier-less winded Jenni in 2011! And stay tuned for my 2011 goals : )

Now for pictures of the pets! (sorry they are blurry, they were from my phone, uploaded to picasa and then linked, next time I won't be so lazy, but if you click on them they are clear)

My November (and some October)

2010-11-24T21:38:00.003-07:00

In October, I went to the National ASCE Conference. It was a conference, but had a technical tour to the Hoover Dam. Damn, that dam is AWESOME!

Here is me with the new bridge and a statue. The new bridge opened the week before we toured the dam, it is an amazing bridge and is HUGE!
This is the view from a vent tunnel. It was raining so hard while we were there.
The view from the vents.
Me in the vent tunnel. It is kinda blurry, but it shows how big the tunnel is.
More tunnel. My camera died about this point and so I switched to my phone, however, I don't know where my adapter is, so I can't download my photos.
Here is Nova, I believe I was cooking, so she was resting in the living room making sure I didn't leave.
Tamaran had a baby boy (Brayden) while I was in Vegas. And I didn't know what I wanted to do for a quilt, so I started it late.

This is what I came up with, I am happy with it. I think it was one of my most square/straight quilts yet. However, I decided it needed something more than the little 'x' ties I put in the corners, so I added traditional ties. I shouldn't have, but it still looks cute.
This shows the back. PotPie approved of the quilt and would often be found sleeping on it, while it was on the stand (okay only once, before I started locking her out of the room while I was gone)
And of course here is a picture from our first major snow of the season. The snow was so wet and heavy that my poor trees bent all the way over. The next day I went and shook them off and they seem to be doing okay now, but I am going to have to make sure to clear the snow next time we get the heavy/wet snow. The "blizzard" we had yesterday didn't even phase them.
So when my bed was on the floor (it has been fixed, Thanks Dad), Nova got use to sleeping on my bed, especially after I picked her up after I got home from Vegas, since I didn't put her kennel up. Now she thinks that it is her bed. I am still torn about this. She is dirty (hence the sheet on top), but SO warm! I haven't had to put on any extra blankets on my bed yet this year. And it has been cold. I feel like I should stop this, but I like not having the kennel up. If only I could get her to sleep on her bed that is at the end of my bed. Maybe next year...

Another thing that happened this month, is that I called to cancel my cable. Which means, no paying for tv (I ordered an antenna) and no internet. This FREAKS me out! I just keep reminding myself that I have internet on my phone and at work. Hopefully this change will be okay or even good. I am trying to be more active, so I can beat the winter funk with endorphins. I have been working out after work on Mondays and Wednesday and I go to water aerobics on Tuesdays. I am trying to go on Thursdays, but that has yet to happen.

So there you go. There's my update. My next update will be??? This is the only problem I see with not having internet at home, but maybe I can update at work, after hours of course!

Well, hello there.

2010-11-01T20:02:00.002-06:00

So, um, it is November. That means I missed the WHOLE month of October. CRAZY! That is the first time I have missed blogging at least once a month since I started this blog in August 2007. I am oddly disappointed in myself.

October went by fast and I have been in a funk, hence the no blogging. Maybe November will be more exciting and less funky (not the good funky like funky chicken funky, but bad funky this milk is old funky)

Peace Out.

Doggie Swim Day 2010

2010-09-11T13:29:00.003-06:00

Today was Doggie Swim Day. It was a great day.***

Here Nova is at the beginning in the shallow end.
Here she is swimming in from the deep.
Close-up (isn't she so cute!)
Beginning of a jump.
Landing in the water.
Mid jump (it was really hard to photograph her)
Swimming
More swimming.
***
I dropped my phone on the deck of the pool and it cracked big time. : ( I have insurance for it and have ordered a new phone, because the only thing really keeping the screen together is the screen protector. And while I can still use it, it is losing the pieces not under the protector. It makes me sad. Because the deductible was more than I wanted to pay, but still cheaper than buying a new Droid Incredible.
Also, I went for the frisbee and Nova clamped down on my thumb. I don't think she knew it was there, but it still hurts like crazy! Hopefully I won't lose my nail.
Can't wait until next year (though I won't take my phone out of my pocket and I won't let Nova bite my finger).

Pictures from my phone.

2010-09-05T21:46:00.001-06:00

I have a lot of photos on my phone and for some reason I can no longer download them, so I have to email them to myself. sigh.

Nova got a lovely headband from Hazel. Apparently, when they have sleepovers they go crazy.
Then I tried to get to get a picture of Nova and myself. She does not like to share the spotlight.
I love the blurry nose.
This was the best picture taken of both of us, but I missed half my face.
And last weekend, I had Hazel hanging out with me, so we went shopping. She decided to pose. The title to this picture was "We're in the store and it's crazy"
This title is "It's Awesome and Beautiful"
I got this awesome plant from Marcie's wedding. Here PotPie is when she thinks I am not watching.
First nibble.

Taking a break.
Second helping.
Flossing.

Finishing up.
You can tell she likes it by the way she licks her chops.
the end.

Paris

2010-08-11T11:16:00.000-06:00

Here is my album of pictures from Paris. There are a LOT of photos, but I tried to take out duplicates and blurry photos.

What can I say about Paris? It was amazing. I absolutely love that city. And I thought it would be a problem with me not speaking French (I can kinda understand and read it), but I never really had any issues.

This was probably my top vacation ever, one of the few that I came back relaxed (thanks to sleeping in and naps)

IS BACK!

2010-08-10T12:03:00.002-06:00

I am back from Paris and now 30.

I will post pictures sometime this week but for now here is a teaser.

Leaving on a Jet Plane

2010-07-26T10:12:00.002-06:00

But I know when I will be back again (mostly).

That's right, I am going to Paris. WOO HOO!! I leave on Wednesday, July 28 (as long as the plane is not full) and get back on Thursday, August 5 (as long as the plane is not full).

I am very excited, and am still debating whether or not to take my lappy. If I do, I can blog while I am there (yea), but will have to pack it (boo). If I don't, I will be cut off from my Utah world (boo), but will not have to worry about it (yea)

That's all. Going to Paris, turning 30. No big deal, it happens all the time. (Okay not really, but I like to channel Elf, so that line turns up a lot.)

Au revoir!

Vinyl and Trees

2010-06-14T21:27:00.004-06:00

The Girls (I like to call my friends, "the girls") and I bought some vinyl a while back. Meadow and Shauntil have Cricuts so we thought it would be fabulous to buy a crap-ton of vinyl. And let me tell you IT IS FABULOUS!

I have been vinyling up a storm. I cut out my name, some flowers and other fanciness and put them on my DSi, DSi game case, phone, and lappy.
I also made a "no soliciting" sign. I wanted some stronger wording, but this has been working, so I haven't had to kick it up a notch yet.
I also cut out a kitty face, so I would know that was kitty food in the bin.
Nova just got her name on her treat bin.
I also decorated my bathroom. However, at the next vinyl party, I need to get some more green, because I screwed up the green I cut out before.
I also vinyled my Kitchen Aid. Now, it mixes so much better...okay maybe not.
And the coup de gras! HEY KITTY, POOP HERE! ha ha it makes me so happy. Now I didn't think of that all on my own. I bought a koozie with it on it and thought it was hilarious.
Plus, PotPie totally approves and does what it says, she's so smart.
Also, I got some trees from Salt Lake City. I love them and so does Nova.
Until next time, PEACE OUT!

Happy Birthday, Nova!

2010-06-07T21:02:00.002-06:00

Hey Nova.
It's your birthday! YAHOO!
Now that you are two, you get a new bed (but it can still be taken away), a new rope toy and a bone stuffed with peanut butter.
Good thing you have a long tongue.
But don't worry the ball will clean your teeth.
But then you can go back to your bone.
Happy birthday, my lovely little dog. I can't believe you are two, I hope that now that you are a "grown-up" you will start to chill-ax!

And the results are...

2010-06-01T16:20:00.002-06:00

I PASSED!!! WOO HOO

PASSED PASSED PASSED!!!!

For those of you who are like "what is she talking about?" I AM TALKING ABOUT THE PE EXAM!! AND I PASSED!!!

Now we don't get the actual score, just a pass or a fail letter. So I am going to pretend I got a 95%. YAHOO FOR ME!!!

Seriously, I am SO EXCITED!!!! And SO relieved!

Update Schmupdate

2010-05-17T22:02:00.003-06:00

Anyone who has talked to me in the last 4 months, knows that I took the PE on April 16th. It was hard...harder than I expected. And has taken me a while to process it all (as I am finally posting about it a month later)

I felt like I should have studied more, but if I pass, I will be glad I didn't study more. Especially since the topics I really struggled with, I would have never thought to study the stuff that was actually on the test (but I can sure analyze effective stress in soils).

Mostly, I studied at work and counted my review class as good, but I decided I should study at home on a couple of Sundays.

Here is my study area with all my reference books, before I started studying.
This is what happened when I started studying.

KPP joins the table (this is after I pushed her off my book I was reading)
Nova joins the party. She spent a lot of time rooing at Pie or with her head in my lap trying to get me to play.
KPP was NOT going to move, you can tell it is later in the day, because my blinds are closed. This totally took me back to being in school. KPP use to sit on my lap in front of my laptop, it was very convenient for writing papers.
And here is me at the Easter Egg Dying Party. It was going to be the cutest picture of me ever, and then Geoff walked in front of me.

Now for the progress report on the goals
1. Company clean house - it is currently a train wreck : ( I had it clean and then the weekend after the PE happened and I just haven't had motivation, maybe tomorrow I'll clean.
2. Exercise 2-3x /week - again the PE happened. That test threw my schedule off. I will have to start up again.
3. Walk the Nova 4x /week - ya see above
4. Take a lunch 2-3x /week - I have actually done really well on this one, except I have been coming home for lunch. I rather enjoy seeing Nova and Pie in the middle of the day, plus I get a lot of cleaning done on lunch breaks.
5. Make my own bfast4/5 days - I have rocked this one!! YAHOO me! I think I have purchased bfast twice in the past 3 months.
6. Track $, Save >=$200/month - I have done fairly well at this, the saving, not the tracking, I suck at tracking, but I am more conscience about where I am spending my monies and that is what matters.
7. Read 60 books - Check I have been reading.
8. Write in my journal >=1/week - ya um no.
9. Bike to work 87x - I am still at two rides for the year, but tomorrow is bike to work day, so I will be biking, maybe that will be my kick-off for the season.
10. Take stairs at work - I was doing so well until I stopped working out and then I stopped taking the stairs. I guess I should start that up again, maybe tomorrow (but not when I have my bike)
11. Secret - I am doing okay at my secret goal.

Now I feel like I used the PE as an excuse for a lot of things, but it really did wipe me out. I think if I have to take it again, I will not schedule anything for right after (even though the baseball game was super fun) or the Saturday after (even though I go my composter together and Nana sanded most of my chair) or the Sunday after (I did something) and will take the Monday after off. I was/am really surprised how exhausting it was, I must be getting old. Oh and the worst part of it is I get asked daily if I know yet, I WISH! I only have 6 to 8 weeks left before I get my results! Please let me have passed!! I am too cheap and tired to take it again, however, I will take it again, because I vow to become a PE!

And thank you to all my friends and family (aka my only readers) for putting up with and supporting me while I prepared, I know I became a one trick pony. I sure hope I passed, so I don't have to play that pony again...

Curly Dog, Blanket and New Shoes

2010-04-01T09:16:00.003-06:00

So everyone that knows me, knows I love a good pair of shoes. Well, I got this new pair, they are exactly like a pair I purchased a year ago and wore out. It is amazing to me the difference between this pair and my year-old pair. Both are comfy, but the new is so much better. And sometimes you have to take comfort over cute.
Next. My co-worker's wife had a baby, so I serged the edge of some fleece and voila a blanket. He is our bug guy and his baby is a boy, so I figured a bug blanket was appropriate. I was right.
And finally. Nova got a bath a couple of weeks ago. I was amazed at how curly she is getting.
I like this picture, because it shows her curls and it looks like her tail is turning invisible.
This picture is her after she escaped from the towel I had draped on her. I think it freaked her, as she is a wimp.
That's my update. And none of it is a joke (it is April Fool's Day). Oh plus there was a TON of retirements. I am going to actually miss all of them that left. Weird.

Spring Fever??

2010-03-15T18:47:00.002-06:00

Last May, I bought some art and today, I finally hung it up.

My picture doesn't really do my layout justice. Granted, I just eyeballed everything and it is random, but still it looks way better with my eyes than the camera shows
.
Eventually I would like to fill that wall up with lovely framed things. But for now I will settle for 4 items hung up.

Also, Nova approves.
PotPie was busy eating dinner, but she also approves, especially since her photo is prominently displayed.

Today, I also picked up poop, raked my flower beds, pulled out dead plants and now it is movie time.

It is like I get so much energy in the spring time, but only in the evenings, not at work. At work, I am still sleepy : (

Daylight Sucks Time

2010-03-14T19:58:00.002-06:00

So I love more light at night, but I hate switch clocks and getting use to the time difference. Wah wah wah.

But to celebrate Daylight Savings Time today, I planted my peach tree.

Okay so I bought it two weeks ago, so it was about dang time I planted it!

Here is the view looking east.
Here is the view looking west.
It is just a tiny little thing, but hopefully it will be happy as part of the Oman household and grow quick and give me delicious peaches!

Photos, photos, photos

2010-02-20T18:02:00.004-07:00

Hey Mom. Here is an update!

A couple of weeks ago, I was sitting on my couch and had my camera by me. So I took some pictures.

Here is the cute PotPie.
I believe Nova had entered the room for this picture.
Then I thought, "hey I need some pictures with my pets"

The following are the results....

Nova does not like taking pictures with me. Let's see how KPP did.

Well, she stayed for this one.
Started getting bored
And gone!
Now looking at these pictures I notice that my mascara does not last all day. bummer.

And today, we went ice skating for Sadie's birthday. I know Anne and Meadow took more pictures, but I only took these two.

Hazel wanted me to skate by her, but not too close and absolutely did not want my help

All the kids did so well ice skating. Sadie and Ashton were so graceful. Dylan was a tornado on ice, he was FAST! and I think I only saw him fall once. Hazel was slow, but steady. She fell multiple times (in the slushy part) but got up and kept moving.

Was that a good enough update, Mom?

Kitty Bed

2010-02-06T14:03:00.004-07:00

For Kitty PotPie's birthday, I wanted to make her a new bed, so I could have my lap desk back. So I found some cute fabric and made it today.

It was an easy project, however, I haven't installed a zipper in anything in like 17 years. So I installed it how I thought was best, ignoring the instructions. It doesn't look good, but KPP doesn't care and it is functional.

Here is my final product.

KPP began enjoying it as soon as I put it in her spot by the couch.

Nova is a little jealous, mostly because someone decided to use her bed as a teething toy, so it no longer looks pretty. Maybe if she is good, she will get a new bed cover for her birthday!
This week, I also made a couple of simple receiving blankets for Darla, who is having a baby TOMORROW! But I forgot to take pictures : ( bummer man.

BIRTHDAY TIME!

2010-02-03T20:59:00.002-07:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KITTY POTPIE!!!
Today, you turned 6. And I love you more than I did when I first met you as a teeny-tiny kitty, who insisted on sleeping on my neck. You are so cute and surly and are totally the best kitty I have ever/will ever own.
And not to impose on KPP's birthday blog, but I got my new glasses. I love them. They are horribly gaudy and make me happy.

It was super hard for me to take a picture of myself, so here is a shot of just the glasses. I got them for a smoking deal off the interweb.
oh and HAPPY SIXTY-SECOND BIRTHDAY, BERNIE!!! I think you are fabulous and I am still glad you are in my family!

Progress

2010-02-01T10:45:00.002-07:00

It has been almost a month since I posted my goals. So I am sure you all are curious to know how I am doing.

Well, here it goes.

1. Company clean house - I am so dang close on this one! My kitchen and entry/dining/cat furniture room is clean, and the living room and my bedroom are almost there. (not that anyone sees my bedroom, but I like it to be clean)

2. Exercise 2-3x /week - Yup

3. Walk the Nova 4x /week - I think I had a week of 3 walks : (

4. Take a lunch 2-3x /week - Check (I do count free lunch as bring a lunch, since it is free)

5. Make my own bfast4/5 days - I have totally rocked this goal!!! I have purchased bfast once this month, and the rest of the time I have eaten either at home or the oatmeal in my desk. And I have yet to skip a breakfast!

6. Track $, Save >=$200/month - I have tracked, so this month's challenge will be to save.

7. Read 60 books - I think I finished 4 or 5 books in the month of January

8. Write in my journal >=1/week - check

9. Bike to work 87x - Bike-a-thon started today. I did not ride, there was snow on the ground and it was really cold, plus me waking up at 7:30 didn't help. Maybe on Wednesday

10. Take stairs at work - I think I have taken the elevator twice this month. And one day I even made the trek from the basement up to my floor. I about died, but I did it. I think I am doing super awesome on this goal.

11. Secret - yup, still working on it.

Overall, I think I am doing pretty good on my goals, now I just have to keep it up!

January Co-op

2010-01-30T14:01:00.003-07:00

Co-op day is always a happy day, and today was no exception.

Here is what I got this month

1 lb. lean ground beef (85/15)
4 6oz. boneless pork chops (1.5 lbs. total)
2 lbs. split chicken breast (boneless, skinless)
1 lb. beef stew meat
5 apples
2 lbs. green grapes (bagged)
3 grapefruit
1 head red leaf lettuce
5 lbs. red potatoes (bagged)
3 cucumbers
5 Roma tomatoes
2 red bell peppers
Wheat bread

I decided to branch out and get the meat, hopefully, it is delicious!

As you can see from the picture, Nova was very excited!

KPP just wanted to take a nap.
I love that she looks so pissy.

Whew!

2010-01-26T20:06:00.002-07:00

Tonight, I tried water aerobics for the first time. I don't know what I was expecting, but man, I am exhausted. There was a lot, A LOT of kicks and waving of the arms. I totally felt like the most uncoordinated one there and the splashiest. I do not know how the other ladies did not disturb the water and stayed in their places.

It was tough.

But I will go back...I have to...I bought a pass...DOH!

Knitting Projects

2010-01-08T16:34:00.003-07:00

Now that the WyOman's have finally picked up their Christmas presents from the post office, I can blog my projects. (granted April probably hasn't opened it, so April DON'T scroll down until you have opened your present!)

First - the latest knitting project. While I was knitting a present for April, Hazel came to play and wanted to know what I was doing and I told her I was making a scarf. Of course she requested a scarf of her own, and since her birthday was coming up I figured what the hay (hey?). So I just used yarn I had at my house and made her the following.

I think it is cute. Too bad she didn't remember requesting it, but whatever, she can always just let it sit in a drawer.

Here is one part of April's present, it was the second part I made. I guess I should've put the pictures in chronological order, but whatever.

I chose this picture, because I find Nova's bottom jaw hilarious.
Here is the scarf and hat I made for April. It is a pink and black scarf and a pink and black hat. Now I should have asked her what colors she liked before hand, but I didn't, because I am a jerk. So April, sorry they are pink and black. I hope you like them anyways.
oh but wait, the scarf has a secret skull and crossbones. Awesome I know.
I think I will start making a pattern for other secret things, maybe a "J" for Jenni or a kitty face. Who knows, the possibilities are endless!! Okay maybe not endless, but there are a lot of possibilities.

And here is a cute picture of Nova, unlike KPP the dog seeks out the camera. (hence the above jaw shot)
Peace Out.

Plans for 2010

2010-01-07T20:26:00.002-07:00

TWENTY-TEN! HOLY SHITE! 2010!

While I know it is just another year, 2010 seems like a big year to me. Maybe it is big because it is the year I turn 30. Or maybe it is a big year, because it is the year I take the PE. Or maybe it is a big year, because it is freaking 2010.

Last year, I completed 6.5/10 plans. While that is not bad, I would like to do better this year.

Here are my plans.

Get my house "company clean" and keep it at that level. Now "company clean" is subjective, but for me it means, no random piles. A place for everything and everything in its place.
Exercise 2-3 times a week. I know I should focus on physical activity not exercise, but I like to focus on exercise. Now I have decided this means going to the gym or doing my routine at home. BUT it is not a workout if I am not in workout clothes (strolling with Nova does not count, but walking fast or running with her does count)
Walk Nova 4 times a week. Strolling with Nova does count for this one.
Pack and take a lunch 2-3 times a week. This is going to be a HARD one for me. But I am really really really going to try
Make my own breakfast 4/5 work days a week. I can eat at home or I can eat the oatmeal in my drawer, I just can't purchase it from the delicious cafeteria at my work (or other eatery).
Track expenses and spending for January. Find a way to save at least $200/month. $200 may not seem like a lot to some people, but that is about how much I got cut from my pay this year (a little more), so it is going to be a challenge.
Read 60 books. Now I read 65 this year, but 3 were gardening books, 1 was a craft book and another one I quit halfway through because it was HORRIBLE!
Write in my journal at least once a week.
Ride my bike to work 87 times. That is a third of the work days (including holidays as work days) - Charlie is shooting for 130, but he is better at riding than I am.
Take the stairs at work. Now I don't have to take them if I am carrying a lot of stuff or have my bike, but other than that, I have to take them (but I can take the escalator)
Secret plan - I may share this when I do a recap at the end of the year, but probably not.

So, 11 seems like a lot of plans, but last year I had 10 and it was '09, so for '10 I figure 11 is a good number. And most of my plans involve physical activity, so hopefully I don't burn out on them...

Happy 2010 to you all!

How did I do?

2010-01-04T13:43:00.004-07:00

Last year I had the following plans:

One: Learn to Cartwheel
Two: Volunteer
Three: Finishing Knitting Projects
Four: WIN BIKE-A-THON 2009
Five: Average 10,000 steps/day
Six: Walk the DAMN DOG more
Seven: Paint the inside of my house
Eight: Create and stick to a BUDGET
Nine: Take a Community Ed class
Ten: Grow at least 3 Veggies

And here is how I did:

1. Learn to Cartwheel - No progress, I am still scared I will fall on my head and break my neck.

2. Volunteer - I did in fact volunteer until the computer lab closed down for the year. I am still waiting for it to reopen. Too bad the volunteer coordinator won't return my emails (maybe I was a bad volunteer or something). Maybe I will find a new gig.

3. Finishing Knitting Projects - I finished lots of knitting projects. And I believe I blogged about most of them. I will blog about my latest 3 projects by the end of the week.

4. WIN BIKE-A-THON 2009 - I lost Bike-A-Thon, but I did ride a total of 59 days, so I did complete Bike-A-Thon, Charlie just completed it faster : (

5. Average 10,000 steps/day - I actually did average 10,000 steps/day. In fact, I averaged >10,000 steps/day and my calculations only included 1/2 of November and no December, but my total steps for the rest of the year divided by 365 equaled 10,004.6 steps per day. I rocked this goal!!

6. Walk the DAMN DOG more - Checkity-check! I didn't walk her as much as I should have, but I definitely walked her more, hence my awesomeness on goal #5.

7. Paint the inside of my house - I painted my kitchen. Counting it as completed!

8. Create and stick to a BUDGET - oh I failed big time on this goal.

9. Take a Community Ed class - I took lots of classes, like 5 or 6 classes.

10. Grow at least 3 Veggies - Another big fail : (

So I completed 6.5 goals (I am counting Bike-A-Thon as 0.5, while I didn't win, I finished and that was a challenge). I think that is pretty good. Granted, it would be a D in school, but I am not in school so I am saying I did a good job!

Now I just have to figure out what I want to work towards this year...

I need a goal!

2009-12-29T10:54:00.002-07:00

My work is doing this whole "Healthy Holidays" thing instead of "Maintain Don't Gain" (which I loved). And this week I am suppose to come up with a goal following the "SCAMPI" rules.

I don't know what my goal should be. I would say exercise, but that is so cliché, though it is a good goal. Or maybe journal writing, but that is kind of lame. Or I could take one of my failed plans for 2009 and make it my goal, but do I really want to fail at the same thing twice (not that I haven't done that before, but still).

***So give me ideas for a goal!***
It must be able to follow the "SCAMPI" rules (click on the underlined "SCAMPI" to see the rules).

Thanks and peace out.

This time already?

2009-12-19T17:14:00.003-07:00

CO-OP DAY!! Apparently, I have not been so good at blogging, because it is co-op day once again....
This month I got:

1 loaf Stoneground artisan wheat bread
16 oz. black beans

7 bananas
8 apples
5 clementine oranges
1 head romaine lettuce
1 cauliflower
4 green peppers
3 avocados
1 3lb. bag yellow onions
1 bok choy

Delicious!

And here are some pictures of when I watched Hazel a couple of weeks ago.

I purchased a Minnie Mouse dress-up doll at the D-Land and Hazel loves it and always wants to play with it when she is over.
Well, apparently Nova also thinks it is a great toy.
And it took every once of willpower for her to resist. She is a good dog
And because I was taking pictures of my cute dog, Hazel thought I needed to take a picture of her, me and the dog. Well, I couldn't get Nova to come sit and stay by us and take the pic. So this is what I got. I think it is a mighty cute picture of both of us.

Well, until next post.

Co-op Day!

2009-11-22T16:08:00.002-07:00

Yesterday was co-op day.

Here is my haul!

This month's food was:

1 loaf Stoneground artisan wheat bread
16 oz. rice

7 oranges
8 pears
6 apples (Utah-grown)
1 broccoli
3 red bell peppers
4 tomatoes
1 8oz. mushrooms
1 5lb. bag russet potatoes
1 bunch asparagus

And I must say, I love the bread. When I first saw it I was like "really?", but now I want MORE! SO YUMMY!!!

I love my co-op!

Exciting Day in Jenni-land

2009-11-17T22:13:00.006-07:00

Back on April 1st, I moved over to be the engineering/construction person for the watershed planning section of the engineering division. I was excited to move and enjoy being in the position I am, however it is a higher stress job than I had before. I dream more about work and I basically feel rushed all the time. Why am I telling you this? Well, part of my job involve me going out in the field (which I used to LOVE!) and today (much like yesterday and all last week) was one of those days. HOWEVER! today I saw a little rodent like animal digging a hole. I was fascinated by it and took 11 pictures of it from the car (I didn't want to get out and scare it, but mostly I didn't want to go out in the cold before the lady I was meeting got there. (It was really cold.))

Here is one of the many pictures I took.
It was really cool. I don't know what it is, but I think it is a gopher. I think I need to take some classes or read some books on animal and plant identification...
The second part of the exciting day in Jenni-land was coming home to this. Kitty PotPie just hanging out on top of the fridge. She is such a cute cat and makes me happy when I see her, pet her or think about her. She may hate the outside world (Sorry again about the attack, Christie.), but she loves me!
And of course, here is the dog. She is ALWAYS happy to see me. And usually I am happy to see her and play with her (we learned some new tricks last night)
When I finally got home today to stay (I got an allergy shot and went to a couple of little shops and blah blah blah), I made pumpkin pies for my work party on Thursday. I would have made them tomorrow, but alas, I won't get home until about 7:30p or 8p tomorrow and I have to make "healthified" cupcakes for my healthy lifestyles class, which is on Thursday night.

I think they turned out really well. And I am getting better at making crust, which makes me happy.

Another event in my "exciting" day was burning my forehead on a cookie sheet while I was rotating pies (I only have one oven rack, hence the rotation). I had taken out one pie and put it on the range and then bent down and smacked my forehead into the cookie sheet I put the pie pan on. My depth perception has been even more off than usual...
It really freaking hurts! And while I was icing it, I got a brain freeze. So looking at this picture all I can focus on are the bags under my eyes, now I know some of that is genetic, but I think a lot of it is due to the circumstances described this post's first paragraph. *sigh* oh another side effect of me being a stress case is I can no longer think of the proper words or spell, so that is awesome. But really I don't feel stressed ALL the time, just 75% of the time at work (the other 25% of the time, I am driving or talking to co-workers or walking or eating lunch or reading stuff) And I have gotten better at leaving work at work (except the dreaming of work part), so I am not so stressed at home (who could be with an adorable kitty and a PITA dog?)

Well, since I seem to be getting more negative, I should really go to bed. And don't get me wrong, today was mostly an excellent/exciting day. I really was so freaking happy to see the gopher! And my allergy shot didn't hurt and isn't red (yet) so that always makes my day better! PLUS! I have graduated to one shot a month! Granted, I have to go 3 weeks in a row, but after that ONCE A MONTH!!! I have been looking forward to this day for like a year! (okay so not like a year, but an actual year.)

nighty-night blogger-land

I HAVE A PORCH!!!

2009-11-12T20:18:00.003-07:00

So my dad called me today at 5:10p and I rudely said "let me call you back" as I was in the middle of writing a letter to encumber $400k+ that I needed to get out ASAP (I finished just as my director was walking out the door, so I barely got his signature on it, before I emailed it to the UDEQ). SO then I rushed to my health class (I get points for work if I go and points=$$) and as I am leaving there at 7:19p I call my dad to say "what did you need? I just left work after TWELVE hours of being there". (I didn't even leave for lunch, I went to a presentation for lunch).

Well he plays dumb and just says he wanted to say hi and asked me what I am doing this weekend. So I say "working on my porch?". So he says "well I don't know if I will be able to come up" So I say "whatever you do is fine by me, I have other projects I can do instead, no biggie". (now I say this sadly, but I don't want to be ungrateful, because I know people have lives, and my projects are not always at the top of the list, plus I really do have other things I can do, I just really really really wanted a porch roof before the snow.)

WELL! As I am turning the corner to go to my garage, I see my porch light was on, and I think, "hmm that is weird". And then I notice that I have boards connecting my posts. And I think oh my dad was here and put up the boards. BUT he put up MORE than just the boards, he put up the roof sheets (?) as well!! YIPPEE!!

So of course I called to thank him and then I found out my brother helped too (THANKS STEVEN!!!!)

BEST FAMILY EVER!!

Here are some pictures.
I wanted the sun to be able to reach my porch, because I am a sun lover, so we opted for plastic sheeting. AWESOME! And we will eventually drill holes in the boards in between posts, then I can hang things. But I am so excited to not get rained on while unlocking my door or having to shovel snow off my porch a zillion times a day.

**oh and that is not the moon in that picture, it is my flash reflecting on a rain drop.**

THANKS AGAIN DAD AND STEVEN!! LOVE YOU GUYS! (and Annie and Bonnie and Anthony and Gloria) (oh and the rest of my family, they're are helpful too, they just didn't build me a porch roof or allow their loved ones to build me a roof)

Quilts

2009-11-08T18:13:00.004-07:00

This post has been in the making for like, oh, 5 months.

Here are a couple of quilts I made this year.

This quilt was for Natalie. She is due this month. But I had to give her the quilt in July, because she moved away and was back in July for some business.
It was a simple tied quilt with a basic binding.
This quilt I started in June and then Holly had her baby early, so then I stopped working on it for a while and then her baby shower (well, Josh's baby shower) was yesterday so I picked up working on it again. I barely finished in time, but it got done.

Now it has Decepticon and Autobots logos on it, because Josh's Dad, Eric, had been trying to convince Holly that "Megatron" was a good baby name. Luckily, Holly did not believe him and now has a son named Joshua Allen, which is a much better name.

We will not discuss how much time I spent on this, but it was worth it. I really like how it turned out.

Now I am done crafting for a while and need to clean my house...

Happy Co-op Day!!

2009-10-24T11:28:00.002-06:00

Today was this first time I received my co-op food. I was a little worried, but I figured for $14 I could try it once (you sign up for it and are not obligated to order each month, so no commitment which I love).

There are currently 51 pick-up sites ranging from Nephi to Ogden and I guess they add a new site almost every month. But mine is in a pavilion at the north end of my park, so ~3 blocks from my house, I didn't walk today (I was out running errands). But I think I will try and walk next month.

And here is all the food I received for $14!

I got the "Harvest Share", which included the following:

1 loaf Stoneground artisan wheat bread
16 oz. lentils
4 avocados
10 Golden Delicious apples (Utah-grown)
9 pears
8 bananas
1 head cabbage
2 lbs. carrots
2 eggplants
3 lbs. yellow onions (Utah-grown)
2 spaghetti squash (Utah-grown)

WOWZA! that is a lot of food! BUT looking at next months shares, I think I will get the standard share so I can get 6 lbs of meat for an extra $9, though with that share I get one less veggie, so who knows what I will end up ordering... (I have until the 6th to decide)

I really do think everyone should sign up for it, with the following warning, you never really know what you are going to get and you will have to think of ways to use it.

HAPPY NEW MATTRESS DAY!!!

2009-10-20T15:51:00.002-06:00

HAPPY NEW MATTRESS DAY, EVERYBODY!!*
*New Mattress Day varies for everyone. Don't be sad if it is not your New Mattress Day, because that day will come for you as soon as you save up for a new mattress and have it delivered.

As you can tell, Kitty PotPie is VERY excited for a new mattress. She was calling everyone and telling them how she was brimming with excitement. I practically had to rip the phone out of her paws to make her stop. How annoying!

Nova was also excited, even though she is not allowed to be on the bed (that privilege is only for Jenni and KPP)
When she learned she wouldn't get to sleep on it, she dropped her tennis ball in disgust and became very sad.
And here is the new mattress. It is SUPER tall! Now I had a tall bed before, but this is like 2-3" taller! Wowza!

Now you may ask, "why are you still awake?" Well the answer to that is, I need an allergy shot and the bedding is being laundered, but once those things are done, I will be asleep!!!

Random

2009-10-20T10:52:00.005-06:00

Last night as I was telling April when KPP's birthday is (she said her cat was 5, but KPP is 5 and Meow is her mom, so has to be older than 5), I realized that my pets have funny birthdays.

KPP's is February 3, 2004 (2-3-04)
Nova's is June 7, 2008 (6-7-08)

CRAZY! How did I end up with two pets that have sequential numbers as their birthdays?

And now for two pictures of Nova...

We went on a walk last night and I took a ball. On our way home, we played fetch in the park and I guess she got tired, because she just laid down by her ball.

But she is always good and looks up when I say her name.

Now those pictures are cute, but I took them for the ball. It is COVERED in slobber that is lathered up so the ball is WHITE! And that my friends is why I bought the ball chucker or make her carry the ball home. GROSS!

Weekend Projects

2009-10-18T18:00:00.003-06:00

Since I have moved in my house, I have dreamed of the day I get a roof for my back porch. WELL!! That day is coming soon! I now have two fancy posts!

FANCY!I also shingled Nova's house. This is the best looking side. I am happy with my job, though I ran of nails, so it is not finished. I just need two more nails!
This is the other side. The top shingles are not lined up nicely on this side, so some of the tar is exposed, but hey, it is a dog house! and my first solo shingling job!
Here is the ridge. They shingles need to melt together. Maybe I will take my dad's suggestion and blow dry them.

I also cleared a lot of plant matter from my backyard. But I didn't take pictures of that.

It was such a great weekend! I loved the weather and hanging out with my dad. Thanks dad for all your help! Can't wait until you can make it up here again to help me finish my roof!

October Already?

2009-10-11T19:41:00.005-06:00

Well, it has been a while, but here is an update.

Shane, Tamaran and I competed in an "engineering iditarod". We did not win overall, but we did win some prizes and we had a pretty sled.
I burned my finger making the sled. It hurt and I will have a scar, but the pretty sled was worth it.
This last Tuesday I went to the zoo with the AF Omans, Hazel and Meadow. There is a baby elephant at the zoo. It is seriously the cutest baby anything I have ever seen. And pictures do not do it justice, it must be seen in person.
Here are Gloria and Hazel. Gloria was trying to hide, but alas I am fast with the camera.

This is my first project. It is a check structure. It stabilizes the channel invert. It is pretty and AWESOME.
I went to the Home Depot today to get some stuff and this is what was in the parking lot. Hilarious.
Here are my cute plants I got today.
Cute.

Swimming

2009-09-12T20:35:00.004-06:00

The Liberty Park pool closed to the public on Monday, which meant they stopped chlorinating and today it was open for the dogs.

I thought Nova would enjoy swimming in a pool, instead of the gross pond across the street and indeed she did.

I took her frisbee, and I am glad I did, because there were so many tennis balls floating around that she would have had a hard time. But with the frisbee she always knew which toy was her toy.She was a natural in the water and had no problem jumping into the deep end (after getting used to the pool). I wish I would have taken a picture of her jumping into the pool, because it was really funny.

There were two other chessies at the pool (seen below on the left). They were a lot curlier than Nova, but they had to same jump into the pool.

After the first hour, she stopped shaking after every time and only shook every two or three times.
She was a very happy dog. I am going to have to take her swimming more next summer.
After two hours of swimming, she was still ready to play, but about an hour after we got home she finally tuckered out and we napped for hours. It was a great Saturday.

NEW KITCHEN COLOR!!

2009-09-07T18:21:00.005-06:00

Before I get to my fancy new paint color....

The other day when I was putting away my pans, I neglected to close my oven drawer in between pans.
This is what happened. Seriously, why must she go in EVERY where!
And now to the paint, well almost. Here is a reminder of my kitchen before (note, I have been in my house a year this weekend!!)
Beige, beige, beige.

AND NOW!!!! Drum roll........
Green, green, green!!
So it is a yellowy green, but it is not as yellow as it looks in these pictures.
I am really liking it, which is good, because I was SUPER nervous when I got the first paint chip I picked mixed into paint.
GREEN!
The whole process took me about 7 hours. 5.5 hours of that was prep. Washing walls, taping, cutting in and cleaning up. I did have a couple of oops spots, but hey, I don't care! It was my first time doing the whole painting process myself and I only messed up on spots that will get paint in the near future.

Now maybe I will get the next room painted before the second year in my house is over...maybe not.

Laundry

2009-08-17T22:37:00.011-06:00

I remembered about 20 minutes ago, that I needed to do a load of laundry so I would have pants to wear tomorrow. Now I do have clean pants in my closet, but I don't like them.

So I figured now would be a good time to download my 231 pictures I have taken between June 11, 2009 and tonight at about 9:30p. Here are the highlights.

No point to this picture. Nova is just cute when she sleeps.
This is Nova's first long car trip. We were on our way to pick up Ben and Zoe.
This is what I did to entertain myself. Good thing Wyoming roads are empty.

On the way back to SLC, I gave Zoe my camera to run. Here is some of her picture she took.
The next set are in order of how they were taken.

Now I would say something about how funny it is that she took those pics (which it is) but alas people in glass houses should not throw stones, I just didn't take the amount she did or I am sure those faces would have come out in my photos too.

Here is one she took of Ben.
I took this next one. I held the camera over my head and pushed the button. This picture makes me laugh EVERY time I see it. I love Zoe.
While the Ben and the Zoe were down, we enjoyed Taco Tuesday. Gloria did not really want her picture taken.
Hazel on the other hand told me to take her picture
She even posed multiple times and wouldn't let me put away my camera until she was done posing.
I was trying to get a cute picture of Zoe, instead I got this..
In June, I went to Disneyland for my Mom's 60th birthday (with my Mom, Bernie, the Wilde Family and the WyOmans). It was a good time. Here I am in a teacup. I didn't really take a lot of pictures.
Here we are driving a Monster Inc car. I don't know where Bernie or the WyOman's were at this point.
Before we left for Dland, Mom and Bernie built me a beautiful trellis for my trumpet vine. I love it! As does my trumpet vine.
Over the 24th of July weekend, Mom came down and we ran the 10k again. I slowed us down this year by running through every sprinkler on the route. Totally worth it. While she was down, we went to dinner with the Wilde's. Hazel took this picture herself. She did a good job.
Roscoe also came to stay. He is the cutest little thing and I wanted to get a picture. This is what I got (okay I got other pictures too)
Then I got this one of Nova.
Nova LOVES Roscoe and could play/wrestle with him all day. This is how they play.
Seriously Nova could do this ALL day! Roscoe, however, could not and would occasionally have to go in his kennel for a break.
Also the other day we had a "Walk o'Mystery" We ended up at the International Peace Gardens. It was GRAND! here is a picture I took of Hazel. I love the movement, too bad it was digital zoom so it is kind of blurry.
Also, I had a birthday. It was a rough week and I wasn't that excited, but when I got to my office I encountered this and it totally made me smile. (the Dora balloon had my name on it, awesome! and the sign said "Happy Birthday Jenni!" and had a crazy cake head man, again AWESOME!)
When I opened my door I saw this. (The streamers were the addition, unfortunately my desk is usually that crowded.)
and this.
It really didn't take me long to figure out that it was Tamaran. Thanks Tamaran! It totally brightened/made my day. Now what to do for her birthday...

This picture is just random. I heard a noise and found this. Why does she have to climb on top of everything??
And then I found her actually using her cave on her tower. YAHOO!! I have never really seen her hang out in there (Nova was outside when this was happening) I also like this picture, because I caught her yawning.
This picture is from tonight. I was trying to get a picture of Nova after her bath wearing her new collar. She thought I wanted her to jump on me. This was snapped right before she became airborne.
Here she is all clean and with her cute collar.
And since I was taking pictures of Nova, I had to get pictures of Pie.
She is so pretty!! Dang, I love my kitty!
Well, my clothes are now in the dryer, so I guess I can go to bed. But first a bike-a-thon update. I lost v1 and I am losing v2. But at least I have over 52 rides this year, right???

Long time no blog.

2009-07-23T14:22:00.003-06:00

Well I haven't blogged in over a month!! That is just crazy!! And I never wrote about my NYC trip, so here it goes.

New York City was AWESOME!! I seriously think it was one of my BEST! vacations. And not to get sappy on you, but I really think it was the people. I loved hanging out with Mary and Marcie. It was a good time.

Instead of posting my pictures here, I think I will just give you a link to my picasa album. It will be easier, and I will try and comment on all my photos. The first photo (and the album cover) is the cute gift Marcie got for Mary and I. She wrote a cute note that corresponded with the candy in the mug. She is nice.

2009-06-08 NYC

okay now go to my link and you can find all about my fun trip. Note: I did not delete any pictures, so be prepared for some duplicates and blur : )

oh as I am going through the pics I am reminded of stories.

Mary and I were on our own the morning of our first day as Marcie had to work. So we decided to go to the Met, see some art and then mosey through Central Park on our way to meet Marcie for lunch. Well, the Met was a confusing building so we were there a long time, but we did see some AWESOME stuff, but a lot of lame stuff as well. But they had a fashion exhibit. It was really cool to see all the old magazine covers and dresses. Couture is definitely interesting. After the Met we started our mosey through Central Park and got totally lost. At one point, Mary made me pull out my compass (which I was MOCKED for carrying by Marcie and Mary, but man it was handy!). But we made it out. It really is a nice park, but I don't recommend the hot dogs, I wanted fixings and the park hot dog carts only carried ketchup and mustard. LAME! I need onions and sauerkraut! We also found that people were nice and would stop when we looked at the map and help us find our way. I don't know why people think New Yorkers are rude, because people were always willing to help.

hmm I think it will be easier to tell little stories by the pictures.

It really was a great trip! I am definitely going to go back. Thanks Marcie and Alex!!

Plans

2009-06-19T13:23:00.002-06:00

Dang. I am sucking at my plans for 2009. I have failed at two of them. I did not plant veggies (never got around to it, due to issues with where to put them) so that plan is shot. And I lost Bike-A-Thon 2009 to Charlie on Tuesday when he rode for the 52nd time. My 52nd time was on Wednesday, so it was close race, but still I was the loser. : (

LUCKILY! We are starting Bike-A-Thon 2009 v.2 on July 6th, so there is a slight chance I can win the second time around...maybe...

May Update: Bike-A-Thon

2009-06-01T08:17:00.003-06:00

May was an exciting month for Bike-a-thon. I rode 20 days (that's right, EVERY WORK DAY!) and Charlie rode 16 (he went on vaca). That put the score at Jenni-42, Charlie-40 as of May 29th (today it is 43 vs 41).
We also saw some new riders: Shane, Dan, and Marian. And Tamaran had an additional ride, which included hauling her baby in the trailer!

By my calculations (and dreams) I will finish my 52 rides by June 17th, but that is only if I ride every day I am at work! AND since I am going on a super exciting trip to NYC this week, Charlie has the chance to finish one day before me. Let's just hope he doesn't ride one of the days I am gone! I really want to win, or at the very least tie!

Kitties

2009-05-28T21:04:00.003-06:00

Okay I am totally stealing this from Sam's blog (sorry, its private and you are not invited, okay some of you are)

I laughed the whole freaking time, in fact I still have tears in my eyes from the laughter.

Art

2009-05-27T08:57:00.003-06:00

When I bought my house, I realized that I need to buy some art. So bit-by-bit I have been making acquisitions when something strikes my fancy (and is in my budget).

Here are the items I have purchased this year.

This is a paper cut out by Melissa Clark. It's name is "Crab Apples". It is a small piece, but I absolutely love it. I think the colors are great and the detail is amazing up close.

This print is by John Clark (Melissa's husband). It is named "The Fair Motorist". The look on the lady's face totally sold me on this print. She looks so freaking sassy! Plus I love the green with the other colors.The Fair Motorist came with this awesome little book that is a history of women drivers in Utah. It is pretty interesting and is put together beautifully. The website for the Clarks is www.motortales.com
I also got this AWESOME pie pan. Okay, so my Dad bought it for my birthday (that is two months away). It was crafted by Joe "The Potter" Bennion, who is an amazing potter. I think I will rig up a way to keep it on display when it is not in use, because that swirl makes me so dang happy. Now I just have to make some pie...
I got this photo a while back at an event where you paid how much you could afford for the piece. Which I must say is unnerving, you don't want to insult the artist by low balling them, but if you can only afford so much, then that is all you can afford. Anyways...

This is by Don Thorpe. It is named "Monet's Flowers". Mr Thorpe took this photo at the gardens in Giverny. He did some fancy exposure and then tweaked it more in the studio. The colors are super bright and a little crazy, but I love it.
So those are my acquisitions. None of them match, but I love them all. The only problem with them is I don't know where I should put them!

Something new.

2009-05-18T21:30:00.003-06:00

I learned something new today. What did I learn you ask? Well, I learned that butter can mold. Oh yes, it was quite nasty! The weirdest thing is that it kind of smelled like parmesan cheese. Still so freaking gross, oh well now I know.

Waahh? Another post?

2009-05-12T20:27:00.005-06:00

TWO POSTS IN ONE DAY! AM I OUT OF MY MIND!! No. I just have my computer on.

It has been so nice outside I have not really been turning on my computer at home. Okay, so I did check Facebook last night, but it was quick.

Now to the pictures.

Last week, I spent 2.5 hours working on my yard. I mowed, edged and swept. Nova was my constant companion. She walked behind me as I mowed and only backed off when I started the weed whacker. Dang, she is a cute dog.
She has totally gotten so when she sees the camera she sits. What a poser.

Here is PotPie. She watched from the screen door. I remember the good ol' days when she was scared of the outside, now she is so intrigued by the outside and always is trying to get out. Sorry Kitty!

Here is a pic showing how nice my yard looked (granted it is a week later and needs to be mowed again, sigh)

North side-just look at those edges!!

South Side - note the broom, I have turned into the crazy lady who not only sweeps her sidewalk, she sweeps the gutters.

Then last Saturday I woke up early and thought, hmm today is the day I rip my strip. Well, I spent 6.5 hours digging, pulling, planting and mulching and am still not finished : ( here is the before (and what is left to do)

Here are the cute little "stepables" I planted. This one is 'Coccineus'. It will be covered with 'light rose flowers in the summer'. Here's hoping!

This cute little thing is Corsican Mint. It should get little purple flowers.

And finally I planted 'Purple Form' it should also get little flowers. Cute.

Here is my 'after' (taken today (Tuesday) not Saturday). It may not look like much, so just trust me when I say "It looks MUCH better!!" and it was very hard work. But it was worth it, maybe not worth the sunburn, but worth the sore muscles.z

Also, a week or so ago, I planted this cute Fuschia.

A close-up of the flowers. They kinda look like dancing fairies.

Here is my gigantic rose bush. It is already smelling delicious and it totally makes me miss my Curtis grandparents, they always had the most beautiful roses.

ooooh, and I didn't kill my grape vine. BONUS!

Here is another pic of Nova, she followed me around with a tennis ball while I took pictures.

oh and the best purchase I made this year! A new (to me) grill!! LOVE IT!

Oh and a fancy pic of my crazy backyard. The mint is taking over.

I like this picture because it shows KPP in the window and my ghetto fabulous dog house roof...I must remember to shingle it soon.

A close-up of KPP. So cute.

So this is the end of my super long post. I just had to share since Bonnie inspired me with all her cute flower pictures. Plus, I had just emptied my camera so I really had to share. And I will have you all know, I have ridden my bike to work every day this month. I realize it is only the 12th, but still good. And today was ride 30 only 22 more to go!

Saturday, May 2, 2009

2009-05-12T20:10:00.005-06:00

Two Saturdays ago, I wanted to get tickets to Wicked, but the line was super long for the drawing, so I gave up, ate a Belgian waffle and went on a tour of the City/County Building.

Here is the outside of the building. It has been 20 years since the remodel was complete, so the city opened up and the historical society gave tours. AWESOME!
Here is the mascot of Salt Lake City. It is a griffin. I call him Falkor

Here is the view from the midway up the tower.

The library from the tower. Very cool to see all of it.

Clockworks.

A note from Walt.

.
I am guessing he was talking about this

More clockworks.

A cool ceiling (not in the tower)

A playing card on the Mayor's ceiling. The story is that when the building was celebrating the completion of the remodel a magician came through and did a trick and this card hit the ceiling and stayed.

A close up of the card. It is a 7 of spades.

I must say that was a gorgeous building and I am totally jealous the County no longer occupies it! And while it was fun wandering the tour guides all had conflicting years for the earthquake that was the cause for the remodel. It was either in 1933, 1934, 1935 or 1942.

May Day! MAY DAY!!

2009-05-01T11:15:00.003-06:00

Happy May Day, Everyone!!

It is a good May Day. We had a short shower in the morning and now it is sunny. Perfect.

Here are some pictures of Kitty PotPie. They were not taken today, but they make me happy. When I got home on Wednesday, she was being all crazy when I was unpacking my bike bag, so I felt I needed to take pictures.

I think this first pictures is my favorite. She is SO CUTE!

I like this one, because I like to pretend she is roaring like a lion.
The next set are from when I sat on the floor by her. It was good to have KPP/Jenni time. No Nova! (she was still at the neighbor's on her play date)

Apparently, I bore her, so she felt she needed to start cleaning herself.

Also, since it is a new month, I have updated the Bike-A-Thon Leader board. Currently, Charlie is 3 ahead, however his lead is not an easy one for him to keep. I rode a total of 14 days in April, and considering there were only 22 work days, that is a pretty good percentage of days (especially since I was out two days sick and it rained a lot). AND this week I rode every single day (as did Charlie). That is the first time ever I have ridden 5 days in a row, I have done 4, but never 5.
Today also marks the half way point for Charlie! This year's contest is moving FAST!! It took me until the end of July to get the 23 rides I have today, so YAHOO for me! Also, the month of April saw the addition of new competitors to the contest. Shane rode 3 times (he is in grad school, so that makes it harder!) and Dan rode once (he lives super far away). So as an office we have eliminated 54 trips by car, that's right, we rule.

Clean Kitty Teeth

2009-04-17T21:39:00.002-06:00

KPP made it through the teeth cleaning. She is still coming out of the anesthesia, which means she is hiding under my bed. But now her teeth are all clean. Apparently, she is missing a back tooth, either it fell out or was never there. Weird! I guess we will never know, because the vet has never been able to inspect her teeth. I was just happy that she didn't need any extractions, because man, extractions are PRICEY!!

And she weighs 9lbs, that means she has lost 1.6 lbs since last year. I think the continual stress of the d*mn dog made her lose it.

Poor little Kitty.

Kitty Cats

2009-04-17T08:12:00.003-06:00

Kitty PotPie is at the vet right now. She is waiting for her shots, her teeth to get cleaned and a bath.

I was dreading this morning, because she has been less willing to do what I want her to lately. But luckily I found out (last night), that if I take her in my bathroom and shut the door, she reverts to the docile kitty I used to know and love. So I managed to clip all her front claws last night, in preparation for getting her in her kennel this morning.

Putting her in her kennel in the past was usually a 15-minute ordeal, ending with her sulking in the kennel corner and me covered in scratches. In anticipation of the scratches, I donned a sweatshirt, not the sweater I am currently wearing (it is easier for her to get her nails caught in sweaters). Then I picked her up, took her to the bathroom, where the kennel was waiting, door open and facing up, shut the bathroom door and put her in the kennel. None of the usual struggle, none of the usual hanging on to the opening and escaping, nothing but a small mew. SO WEIRD!! This is only like the second time of her life over 5lbs that this happened. Oh well, I guess I will enjoy it.

Also, her weight in her kennel was 12.8 lbs, and the kennel weighs either 2.5 or 5 lbs. I hope is the 2.5lbs, because I would feel bad if she lost that much weight over the year, because it would all be because of that d*mn dog!!

Oh, another thing. She was not allowed to eat last night or this morning, due to the anesthesia, so early this morning, I woke up to her biting my hand and meowing. And I couldn't figure out why she was so mad at me, then this morning when I looked at the empty spot her food is usually at, it dawned on me, she was hungry. Sorry Kitty! It is for the best! You will understand when you feel how clean your teeth are!

Stairs

2009-04-14T21:02:00.002-06:00

Monday night, Nova and I went to visit the Wilde Manor. It was a grand time, until the end of a tour of the house (not for me, Belle stopped by). During the tour, we visited the upstairs, Nova whined when I first went up, and then decided to follow. WELL! when we were going back down, Nova refused to follow.

Here she is at the top of the stairs, this was as I was trying to call her down.
The next steps were: bribing with treat, pulling her collar and bribing with a toy. Well, she wouldn't eat the treat (which is weird for her) and when I pulled her by the collar, she slipped out of it and then would not come within 2 feet of the stairs.

Here she is sitting waiting to see what I would do next.

The final step was to carry her down, luckily Geoff said he would do it, because I was dreading picking her up, SHE IS GIGANTIC!!! Plus, their stairs are narrow and steep and I am clumsy, so I was worried I would fall. So a BIG thanks to Geoff.

Now I have to get her used to stairs...Anyone volunteering their stairs for practice???

Bike-A-Thon

2009-04-03T15:09:00.002-06:00

Oh and I forgot to mention, I have now updated the leader board.

Charlie rode 5 days in a row, two of those days I was in Las Vegas, so he now has the lead. DANG!!

As of yesterday, the count is Jenni-9, Charlie-11, Tamaran-1 (It is too cold to ride in with a baby!)

My Office

2009-04-03T14:56:00.005-06:00

Well, so far it has not turned out to be an April's Fool joke, so I guess I get to stay.

Here are some of pictures of my fancy new digs. I have a ton (6) of windows, which is nice, since I haven't ever been by a window at any of my jobs.
This picture shows my walls and table. Steve was in here a long time and must have had the same pictures on the wall the whole time. My goal is to find things that fit the squares.
**The item above the door is a failed "Beaver Protection Device". It is some plastic tubing that was placed around a tree to protect it from the beaver and the beavers chewed right through it and took the tree anyways. Steve left that for me, and I find it amusing, so it can stay.**
I, also, get two bookcases. Currently, I only occupy 1.5 shelves, which is all I need right now. The other shelves contain the Water Resources Library and random books Steve had. One day, when I get ambitious, I will go through everything...
But overall I really enjoy being in here. I have yet to turn on my overhead lights! My only issue is that I see everyone that walks across the bridge (seen in the first picture). I think eventually I will stop noticing, but for now, I get distracted by everyone.

And even though I like my office, I still miss the other side, I already feel out of the loop.

These times, they're a changin'

2009-03-30T16:09:00.002-06:00

My department is losing two AWESOME people tomorrow, one is retiring and the other is following her man to Virginia (he is a JAG officer, like on the TV).

So there has been some shuffling.... I am now in the water resources section of my division. I got a new boss (excited about it, but will miss working for Scott, as he has been my boss since I started at the County and he is a great boss). I also get new job responsibilities, which I am stoked about. (I will be doing more water quality projects, mitigation projects, or so I am guessing.) But the biggest change of all, will be I am moving from my cubical that I LOVE! to an OFFICE on the other side (we have two sides to our division, where I am now and across the bridge)

It is exciting, but as with all change I am a little apprehensive, but I am sure it will be great.
Oh and I found this all out today (not about the people leaving, but the reshuffling) and all the changes are effective April 1st. Hopefully it is not an April's Fool joke....

Wish me luck!!!

Cat Houses and Crazy Parades

2009-03-16T09:37:00.003-06:00

Last week, I watched Hazel, while Geoff and Meadow worked on there house. After they were done working for the day, I had them over for dinner. The entertainment for the night was Hazel (of course).

She loves KPP's house and pulls it out every time she comes over. The following is usually what happens.

She gets in, pokes her face in the holes and occasionally does a couple of rolls while in it. Then she goes to get out and Nova is waiting with lots of slobber.
She is less than amused by being licked in the face by a dog (okay she giggles a lot)
oooh and I was fancy and did a sequence shot.
I was very proud of Nova, she was so well behaved. Sure, she licked Hazel's face multiple times, but it is at her eye level. But she didn't jump on Hazel and allowed Hazel to do pretty much whatever to her, she got hugged, draped in blankets, laid on, and yet, she did nothing. So proud of my hyper little pup! (and by little, I mean my 76.5lb pup, she got weighed on the 7th)

On Saturday the 14th, SLC held the annual St. Patrick's Day parade. It is my favorite parade of the year, mainly because it is rowdy and they let anyone walk in it, much like the Pride Parade, but more green.

Here is a shot of part of the group I went with, it was the girls' and their families.
And Mary and Liam were walking in it with Mary's school. It was great to see her and hopefully they lasted, because Liam seemed EXHAUSTED by the time they passed us and we were at the beginning.....But in his defense, they were at the end of the parade, so they had probably been waiting in the staging area forever!

Oh and I didn't update my leader board this week. I think it will become a monthly deal. That way it is less work/remembering for me. BUT currently the numbers are Jenni-7, Charlie-5, Tamaran-1. YAHOO! Still winning!!

Spider vs. Fly

2009-03-10T16:34:00.003-06:00

On Sunday, I noticed what I initially thought was two spiders, um, hugging, ya, hugging. So of course, I had to look closer. And I found that it was really a spider EATING A FLY!! SO FREAKING AWESOME!! Way better than spiders hugging!

I took 11 pictures, but only 2 turned out. They were the two that I realized I had a macro function on my camera and that it was focusing on the spider not outside.
I also wish I could have pulled the blinds up for a better shot, but I figured it would scare the spider away.
AWESOME!

February IS over!

2009-03-06T16:54:00.001-07:00

Well, it is the end of the first week of March. I believe it is coming in like a lion, so does that mean it will leave like a lamb? Probably the weather will do whatever it wants to do.

Any who. I have updated the Bike-A-Thon Leader Board. I am up to 5 rides. WOO HOO! I am already at more rides that I had for March and April combined last year (that was a total of 1 ride, for those who care).

And I decided to take the Body Conditioning/Weight Training class. I think it will kick my 'a' but it will be good for me right?

February is almost over!

2009-02-27T11:14:00.003-07:00

First I saw this ad and I thought it was a misprint as it reads "Ground Beef Chub", but apparently that is the tube of meat and it wasn't supposed to be "Ground Beef Chuck" like I originally thought. Still makes me giggle. Chub. bah ha ha ha
Second, I like to buy stuff from amazon.com, because it is so dang convenient. So the other day, I bought some mixing bowls, a spatula and a silicon basting brush. My shipment came in two boxes and since one of the boxes contained everything but the brush, I decided to document me opening the other box, because frankly, it was a GIANT box (in fact a bigger box than what held everything else).

Here is said box unopened.
Here is the packing paper.
Here is Nova sniffing the packing paper for scale.
And finally, here is what was in the box. I love amazon, but come on! they couldn't find a smaller box?? Good thing I got free shipping (I love the super saver shipping!)
And finally, I have added a picture in my side bar of the Bike-A-Thon 2009 tracking sheet. I think I will update it every Friday or so, but as you all can see, I AM CURRENTLY IN THE LEAD! It is not a big enough lead to be comfortable, but it is making for a more exciting 'thon!!

Classes

2009-02-24T13:06:00.002-07:00

I am thinking I will take another PE type class for the next session of Community Ed. The only questions is which class...

My options are 1. Pilates & 2. Body Conditioning/Weight Training.

1. Pilates - I am currently in it, and it is a good class. But theoretically I could now do it at home, but will I? Pilates is also once a week from 8-9p for 6 weeks.

2. Body Conditioning/Weight Training - I currently lift weights 1-2 times a week, but don't really know what to do, so just copy people in the room. BC/WT is TWICE a week from 6-7p for 10 weeks (may have a week or two off, I don't know). And the cost is $5 more than Pilates (but it does have more classes).

What do you all think? (You know all 5 of my readers) Pilates or BC/WT??? Post it in the comments, because the poll I made would not work. : (

Oh and there is always the control option, which in this case would be not to take any class and just sit on my couch and watch tv on the night(s) I would be exercising.

Updates

2009-02-22T19:55:00.004-07:00

As the world knows, I kennel Nova at night. Well, I always felt a little bad about it, BUT I know now she is okay with it. Last week, I stayed up WAY too late baking and when I looked around to find Nova, I couldn't. Until, I looked in her kennel and VICTORY!!

She also went in there the other morning when she got scared of the blow dryer, so now I know she is okay with being kenneled and I no longer have to feel guilty about locking her in every night.

And here is what I was baking.... one ugly king cake! But it actually turned out better than I expected and was devoured completely.

Back to missing pets...
Friday I came home and could not find KPP. I looked under the couch, under the bed, in between the covers, in all the closets, behind the washer and dryer, behind the fridge and in the office. And after all those places had found to be empty TWICE, I started to freak out a little, but then I remembered that she has been a fan of opening doors and drawers, so I started searching in cupboards... AFTER I looked in all of them, I looked up and noticed there was still one cupboard left, above the fridge...
And sure enough, there she was, comfortably napping on my cookie cutters.

I included this picture, because you can see her tongue.
And my final installment...I went down to Provo yesterday and met up with Darth Maul and Stone Cold Steve Austin (posing as a construction worker). It was quite strange.

Then they had to pose with my Dad, to see if there was any resemblance. Darth Maul is blocking SCSA, but let me tell you, there is some resemblance.
Well, that is all for now blogging world, until next time.

Thank You, Darwin!

2009-02-12T18:43:00.003-07:00

Today is Charles Darwin's 200th birthday (oh and Lincoln's). YAHOO for DARWIN!!!!! (oh and Lincoln)

I must say, I do blame him a little for pointing out to my cat that she can evolve. (DANG YOU, DARWIN!) But I must say I admire the man, and am glad he was born and got to hitch a ride on the Beagle and study birds.

But back to the whole "cat evolving"

Every day this week, I have come home to this:

That's right, she is OBSESSED with my bathroom drawers. It makes me CRAZY! I think I am going to have to add those stupid child-proof locks to keep her out.

But I rarely catch her in the act, because by the time I walk in the door, she is waiting for me on the dryer. Sneaky evolved cat...

Nova, on the other hand, is not evolved. She is still a gassy, giant dog. (At least, she has her looks to get her through life)

On another note, I never had much sympathy for people with ear issues, because frankly, I just didn't understand, as I hadn't ever had issues. Well, I now feel their pain!! My stupid ears have been clogged since oh August, okay the clogginess comes and goes, but it is more here than gone. And while it doesn't hurt (most of the time) and just gives me headaches, I cannot imagine if they did hurt all the time. So if I ever scoffed at you when you had hurt ears, I AM SORRY!!!! IT SUCKS! Hopefully, my 3 nose sprays help, because if I am not popped by tomorrow, my Dr wants me to see and ENT. EEEEK! (and another note, Astelin is NASTY!!! and the taste never goes away and taints everything I drink or eat, and yet again, I will never doubt a Dr again when she/he tells me, "no really it leaves a BAD taste in your mouth")

HEY DARWIN! HOW ABOUT YOU EVOLVE MY EARS!!! oh wait, you are dead. Thanks for nothing (besides, you know, all your scientific research)!!!

Guilt

2009-02-06T14:31:00.003-07:00

Last night while buy kitty litter and puppy food, I was feeling like I neglect KPP too much, so I bought her a new toy (it was on sale).

She absolutely LOVES it!! It is just a mouse that goes around a tunnel. But, man, does she get into it.
The funniest thing is that instead of walking around it, she just reaches her paw in to grab the mouse.

Since I have gotten the lovely Nova, I know that KPP has felt neglected, so my guilt is making me buy her things, like a water fountain and a silly toy. Sadly, they are all items that make me have to interact with her less. Though don't get me wrong, I still love her the most and I think she understands that when I lock Nova outside on the weekends and we take a nap together.

Oh and yes, she is on the counter, that is another thing that has happened since the dog entered our life. KPP lives on the counters, the fridge and on top of cabinets. Though she is getting so she will come and sit on the back of the couch when I watch tv. But don't worry, before I cook anything I scrub down the cabinets and banish her to the top of the fridge...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

2009-02-02T18:45:00.005-07:00

My dear Kitty PotPie was born February 3, 2004. That makes her FIVE!

HOLY!

MOLY!

My baby kitty is 5!

Here she is enjoying her birthday present. It is a drinking fountain. She loves to drink out of the faucet, so I figured she would like a fountain, and she does...for the most part.

And here she is on her birthday eve. As you can tell she is a par-tey ani-mal

And now an homage to KPP over the years. Isn't she so cute?

And for those of you wondering about my two completed items.... I am taking Pilates and a gardening class through community ed. AND I finished my hat (blogged about previously) and my other project was a super fancy "Dr. Who" scarf for Christie's birthday. (Happy Birthday, Christie!) As you can see, KPP totally approves.
And finally. Happy Birthday, Bernie! Way to share your birthday with my cat. I know deep down inside she loves you as much as I do! Thanks for marrying my mom!!

ooooooh and this is my 100th post, hence why I waited for KPP's birthday!! It is only right that my 100th post features KPP in every photo, as the blog is named for her.

San Francisco, take 2

2009-01-27T13:13:00.006-07:00

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to go to San Francisco for a conference. It was a grand time.

I flew in the day before the conference started and did a little sight seeing. And since I was just there in May, I got lost a lot less (which was very nice, because at least in May when I got lost I had Meadow to get me unlost and this time I was by myself).

But here is the south-west view from my hotel room. I was on the 23 floor, which was cool, except looking down made me a little sick and my hotel key got demagnetized a lot, so I spent lots of time in the elevator going to the front desk and back. And every time I would have to explain that no I did not keep my key by my phone. Though the last day I did realize that it was by my camera case that has a magnet closure, but whatever..
Here is my view looking down. It was a dealership.
This was a dude that had a dog, a cat and a rat in a tower. I probably should have paid him a $1 for the picture, but I took it from the moving cable car, so I didn't really have the option.
This is the planter boxes on the wharf. I am going to try and model the boxes I build after these.
Obligatory picture of the sea lions, they had the welcome back party the weekend before, hence there are not as many as the end or middle of the sea lion season.
This was a pretty cathedral that was next to the cable car line that was adjacent to my hotel. I believe it is the Grace Cathedral Episcopal Church (or at least that is what google leads me to believe)
Picture of Coit Tower from the cable car.
Golden Gate Bridge - taken from the rec yard at Alcatraz. This was my second time to Alcatraz, but I still took the audio tour and looked at everything, though I think the best part of it was on the boat ride home, when one seagull pooped on 3 people, it got the first guy and the came back for the other two, so funny! Especially since it happened to people on the other side of the boat from me.
ME! at the rec yard at Alcatraz
Me in front of the rubble pile and lighthouse on Alcatraz.
Last time I went to Alcatraz the Agave Trail was closed, but this time it was OPEN! It was a very nice trail (okay stairway). So now I have seen everything that is open to tourists and never need to go back!
View of the Golden Gate Bridge from the Agave Trail.
View of the Golden Gate bridge from the top of Coit Tower. I decided that I had enough time on Sunday morning before I needed to catch the BART to the airport, so I took my luggage and myself to Coit tower, it required me catching two buses, but I got there. And I must say it was worth the hassle.
This is the top of the tower. For those of you who do not know about Coit Tower, it is a monument to the firefighters in the 1906 fires, that were caused by the earthquake. And it has murals from the New Deal program for artists, which are amazing!
Here is a view from Coit Tower, I thought the roof top playground was cool (it is atop the blue building)
Here are the stairs I lugged my suitcase up. Luckily, it was only 1 flight, because otherwise I would have died carrying it up 21 flights.
My trip was great except for the traveling. My flight out was delayed for 2.5+ hours and my flight home was delayed 2+ hours. And when I got home it was snowing badly and just as I got on the freeway my passenger wiper flipped off, which left me with no snow clear ability on that side and when I did have to use my wipers to clear the driver's side it would dig into the glass. Quite frustrating.

But I will say this, after my last trip to San Francisco I left thinking I could never live in that city, but after this trip, I could TOTALLY live there. It is truly an amazing city.

Oh and my conference was great, I learned a lot and met a lot of cool people. Can't wait for next year in San Diego!

Oh and HUGE THANKS! to Tamaran for watching KPP and picking up Nova from Doggy Boarding!!!

PEACE!

2009-01-20T10:00:00.003-07:00

With every new president there is always hope of change. But with the swearing in of Obama this morning, I can already tell peace is in the air.

AND I HAVE PROOF!!

Here is KPP and Nova yesterday. Notice the fear and hatred?

Well, here they are now. Peace and calm!

It is like they know with the change in our administration the world already hates us less and soon it will be a more peaceful and tolerant world (hopefully).

RUINED!

2009-01-16T21:55:00.003-07:00

So I thought this doggy daycare was a good thing, but NO apparently it made Nova believe she can get away with anything!

I am sitting on the floor watching tv and what does she do? CLIMB ON THE COUCH AND LAY DOWN!
The nerve!

Luckily, the flash from the camera put her back in her place and she got down on her own and is now napping in the living room.

Rotten dog! Lucky for her, she is cute!*

*possibly the reason she gets away with things.

Adventures at Doggy Day Care

2009-01-16T19:48:00.001-07:00

I am going to San Francisco next week, therefore I had to find a dog kennel for Nova. So I looked online, compared prices, hours and locations and found one I thought would be good.

Today was her interview day. We showed up at 7:00a and while I watched on the webcams in the lobby, Nova was "interviewed". After 20 minutes, I was told she passed the initial interview and was welcome to stay all day, so she did.

The best part of this doggy "camp" is the webcams (besides the AWESOME staff, of course). I was a little too obsessive about checking them. And they had a handy dandy 'snapshot' feature, so I captures some pics.

As you can see, she walked around a lot and took some naps. She seemed to have a good time and apparently made friends with a pair dog, one of which is a foster dog and doesn't socialize with other dogs. I am so proud of my little dog for making friends!

And the staff was all very nice and said that Nova was very well behaved and sweet and they looked forward to having her back next week.

Now, I kind of feel like one of those people that are overly obsessive about/impulsive to their pets (which I am), but she won't be going to doggy daycare every day, though I did buy a package of 5 days (not sleepover days) and a bath, so on super cold days she can go there instead of tearing apart my house. (YAHOO!)

Where's Pie?

2009-01-12T19:10:00.003-07:00

I had my bathroom cupboard open and this is what happened.

Here is my kitty's leg in my drawer.

Here she is inspecting what is in the drawer.

And here she is investigating the construction. I think she is so-so happy with it, she thinks it needs to be replaced with something better.This is the reason that I always keep all closets, drawers and cupboards closed, that cat will get into anything!!

Cactus?

2009-01-05T09:16:00.004-07:00

Is it a Cactus? NO! It is my hat!! I FINISHED A PROJECT!! YAHOO!!!! I have now completed half of Plan #3. I think it is one of the best hats I have ever made, I only have two spots that have issues. And I got sick of trying to combine stitches, so I do have a hole at the top, but I rather like it like that, it makes it so easy to take off.

Note: the flower is not knit. I had purchased the flower brooch at an antique store during Holiday Gallery Stroll, and I thought it would look cute on my hat, and sure enough it does.

Now for some pictures of my darling cat.

I came home from work one day and there was PotPie lounging on my dirty towels basking in the sun from the laundry window. I thought it was cute. She actually stayed in the basket until the sun went down. That kitty loves the sun!
I love when I get pictures of her tongue.
So cute!! Dang, I love my stupid cat!
Now here are some pictures from Hazel's 3rd birthday party. It was a princess party. Here is Gloria being a smiling princess. She is so cute and funny.

Here is the birthday girl with her mother, the pirate queen.
And yesterday we went bowling for Meadow's and Ross's birthdays (both today, Happy Birthday!). It was a fun time. Hazel and Tayvia were so cute to watch. Here is a picture of Hazel carrying the bowling ball with "her tummy".

Late Christmas Present Post

2008-12-30T14:03:00.002-07:00

I had forgotten I was going to post these pictures on Christmas.

Here is KPP with her toys (on top of the kitchen cabinets), she only received the crazy mouse thing that is wearing red boots. She loves it and often tosses it at me while I am using my counters. Granted, she does not look happy in the picture, but trust me, she is!!And here is Nova enjoying her new collar (very reflective and FANCY!) and her new chew toy. Which I had to throw it away last night, because she had managed to pulverize the tennis balls sewn inside and finally made it through the outer fabric and was beginning to eat tennis ball piece. But she sure enjoyed it while she had it. Maybe I will buy her another one for her birthday or for KPP's birthday.

It also amazes me that since I have had Nova, she has more than doubled in size. Weird. Though she still looks like a dopey puppy to me. And I guess I shouldn't be amazed because when I got KPP she was<2lbs and now she is 10lbs, so that is 5-6x her weight, but her change does not seem as dramatic as Nova's, maybe because I have had 4 years to adjust to her 10lbs while Nova's 60+lbs is very tiring.

Plans for 2009!

2008-12-29T16:13:00.003-07:00

My plans (not resolutions, because I suck at resolutions) for next year 2009 are as follows*:

Plan one- learn how to cartwheel. This was a tentative resolution that only a couple coworkers knew about for 2008 and I didn't even try it, so for 2009 I VOW to at least try.

Plan two- volunteer somewhere that is not nerd club. Now, I don't know if I am going to count single day volunteering efforts (as I do these) or if I have to be a regular. I guess at the end of 2009 I will decided. ha ha

Plan three- finish my knitting projects in time for me to wear one before the snow melts and in time to give one as a present. This should be doable since I am ALMOST done with my fancy hat.

Plan four- REALLY win Bike-A-Thon 2009. It starts on March 2nd, so I will be riding that day (unless it is raining/snowing or is too cold)

Plan five- average 10,000 steps EVERY DAY! By saying "average", it allows me to have low step days, which is inevitable, but the average should be doable.

Plan six- walk the damn dog more. She is so much more pleasant to deal with when I exercise her.

Plan seven- paint the rooms in my house! I figure the bathroom and kitchen can be the same color and then the living room/entry way/office another color and my bedroom a third color. I think it will be a good summer project.

Plan eight- develop a real budget. The main disadvantage of buying a house is that my discretionary funds are GONE! Now I did realize this would happen before I bought, but it is still hard to deal with, I like being able to buy random crap and not feeling like I am stretching myself thin.

Plan nine- take a community ed class. I was thinking I would sign up for Pilates or beginning language class, because alas I am a nerd and like classes. But I have to make sure they don't conflict with Doggy School.

Plan ten- grow at least 3 vegetables in a garden of one kind or another.

And those are my plans. I would have said lose weight, but I say that EVERY year and every year I fail miserably, BUT if I complete plans 4, 5, 6 and 10 this should happen.

Also, I have made my plans an official list on my blog, so I will remember them all year, as I kind of forgot about my plans for this year until today.

*Plans maybe added during the year, BUT I cannot delete plans once added.

Plans?

2008-12-29T15:10:00.003-07:00

So back in April when I was at the end of my school career I made a list of things I wanted to complete. Now 8 months later, let us see how much I have completed of said list. The blue is the plan, black is my comments.

First plan, clean my pig sty house. My house is normally cluttery, but this last semester it has descended into chaos. I have a stack of like 10 magazines that I need to read. I have random papers thrown into a pile on the floor. I have a couch COVERED in kitty hair. You get the picture. Well I moved so that helped, and new house has not descended to the same level of chaos, so I count this plan as complete.

Second plan, work a normal schedule. Ahhhh, 8 to 5, never thought I would be happy working 8 to 5 every day, but after this semester it seems like heaven. The fact that I will get an hour lunch every day is the BEST part of the 8 - 5 schedule. I have missed lunch!!! I am now working a normal schedule, though now I am getting allergy shots 2-3 times a week, so I still miss a real lunch, still COMPLETE!

Third plan, beat Charlie!! Bike-A-Thon 2008 started in March, I currently have ONE measly ride to work, while Charlie is now "Charlie Seven Rides". Oh ya, lost MISERABLY!! I ended with 37 rides and Charlie ended with 60, BUT I was more than half his rides. YAHOO! Maybe next Bike-A-Thon I will win.

Fourth plan, start volunteering somewhere again. I miss volunteering! I have been so self-obsessed this past year, that I feel like a lousy member of my society. uh ya, still being self-obsessed, though I am a treasurer for my nerd club, so that is kind of volunteering. BUT in my defense, I totally emailed the volunteer coordinator at the shelter and she NEVER emailed me back, so I did try, still I FAILED!

Fifth plan, I would like to take a knitting class. At a local quilting/yarn store, they offer knitting classes. The best part is, you just sign up, pay your fee and they just teach you to make whatever you want!! That is AWESOME! I totally want to learn how to knit sweaters, so I think that is the class for me. Didn't take a class, BUT I have been knitting a lot, still it is a fail.

Sixth plan, I am going to start seriously shopping for houses!! (yahoo!) Well, ok, not going to do that until after I complete the "Opening The Door To Home Ownership - Home Buyer Education Program" which will be at the end of May. But until then, I will definitely be doing more drive-bys on houses I think are cute online! COMPLETED!! I TOTALLY OWN A HOUSE!

Seventh plan, okay I am out...oh wait I can watch more movies! Netflix is going to have to start delaying sending me movies (can't think of the term) because I will be watching so many!!! TOTALLY COMPLETED!! I have watched a TON of movies!!

Eighth plan, go on a REAL vacation!!! San Francisco here I come!! Completed!!! And it was grand. In fact, I am going back, but for a conference, so not quite a vacation. In 2009, my vaca will be Disneyland for my Mom's 60th birthday.

Ninth plan, hmmmm, okay now I am really out. COMPLETED! as this was not a real plan.

6 out of 9, not bad, not bad at all!

I am going to have to think about what my plans for 2009 shall be....

Baking

2008-12-23T09:38:00.002-07:00

This Christmas season, I did some baking. I decided that I wanted to make treats for humans and doggies (kitty treats were complicated and I couldn't find wheat germ or catnip).

So here is Nova while I was baking...
Here are the 126 dog biscuits I made..
Here is Nova after I tested one on her...She really liked them and thought if she came REALLY close, she would get another one (and she did).
I also made three kinds of cookies for humans, the fancy kind in the back were a pain in the bum to make, so I only did a batch of those, but the sugar sprinkle chocolate kind were super easy and very delicious so I made like 4 batches of those. The sugar cookies were only a pain to roll out and frost, so I made two batches of those. When all was said and done, I think I made about 150-200 cookies, and I would have made more, but I ran out of brown sugar.

I also dipped pretzel rods in caramel and chocolate, but I didn't get any pictures.

AND my favorite things that happened this weekend were (in no particular order):

I bought a Kitchen Aid stand mixer for $160, I am VERY happy about that deal, it was basically half price due to it being a breast cancer pink mixer. I guess no one wants a pink mixer so the store marked it down $100 and then I had a 20% off coupon. SCORE!! (not that I could afford to shell out $160 on a mixer after I shelled out $114 on my dog, but still)
I went to Jeremy's 30th birthday party! I had a really good time catching up with Mary, Jeremy, Natalie, Marcie and Shawn. I totally don't see them enough (especially Mary and Marcie)
I FINALLY got my cable out let in my "tv" room hooked up. YAHOO! I can sit on my couch again to watch tv. I had missed my couch! I instantly fell asleep while watching tv, oh how I have missed that.
Sleeping in Sunday morning with my kitty, while the D*mn Dog was outside. I really do miss having KPP on my lap every time I sit down...

My least favorite thing over the weekend was:

Nova having to go to the vet for kennel cough and then INSTANTLY getting worse the minute we get home. And spending so much freaking money on drugs for her, but if it makes her not have a snotty nose and disgusting cough, then it is worth it right?

Basically everything is good in the Oman household. and maybe I will post a Christmas brag letter later, or maybe I won't.

Christmas

2008-12-16T11:30:00.002-07:00

As everyone knows, Christmas is in 9 days. So last night I decided to hang the stockings. Now I don't actually have a stocking for myself (well I don't know where it is), but Meadow has provided some for my animals. She made KPP's stocking the first Christmas I got her and Hazel picked out a stocking for Nova earlier this month.

The problem with stockings for animals, is that they have to be hung where the animals cannot get them, so I hung them on my molding.

Here is a picture. Guess which stocking belongs to which pet. (Big hint, KPP's has her initials on it)

Also, last week we went to Body Worlds3. It was pretty cool, but I will probably never go to another one again.

BUT they did have this thing where you could text a message in and the skeleton would say it. AWESOME! I made it say hello to Hazel. I think she liked it, as she likes to see her name in print.

And Now For Something Completely Different...

2008-12-09T08:33:00.004-07:00

I haven't posted any pics in a while so here we go...

Zoe came to visit with my Mom (and Ben) over Turkey Day. It was great. She had a armful of flowers and was not big on putting them down, so she carried them around all the first day.
Hazel had to take some pictures.

For Girl's Night Out we went on the Holiday Gallery Stroll. We passed this sign and I think we all got pictures of it. Because it is funny. I think the new motto for the Rio Grande Hotel should be "We put the 'ho' in hotel!"
Last night, it was peaceful at my house* This was the scene.
*Then Hazel and Meadow came over to give Nova an early Christmas present, which was her VERY OWN STOCKING! (I did not get a pic). But after Meadow decided she needed a picture of Hazel and Nova, because Hazel really does love Nova, even if Nova tends to go CRAZY around Hazel, probably because they are about the same height. Man, that was a long, long sentence.

Here are the results.

Hazel going in for a hug.
Nova noticing Hazel is coming for another hug.
She is having no part of it.
The two friends next to each other, since one does not like hugs.
Nova deciding Hazel is delicious and she is going to eat her (okay not really)
Nova "smiling" for my camera

Meadow may have gotten a better hug shot, but personally, I like the picture where they are just standing next to each other.

Oh and I must add, KPP was sitting on her perch the whole time and did not hiss, even though she does not enjoy little blond girls. I am so proud!

Single Home Owners

2008-12-08T08:34:00.002-07:00

This weekend I figured out why single people (women to be more precise) don't usually buy a house. It is all the D*MN yard work. I can totally understand why people what until they are married or shacked up to buy a house, it is so they can make the other person do the work!!

Now I really do like owning my house and I even like to do some yard work, but not all of it. And trying to do all of it makes me really really really tired/sore and feeling like I should have accomplished more since I am so freaking sore.

At least I got all my front leaves raked and it only filled up 5-6 bags. (mind you, I have already filled my yard waste bin, THREE times with leaves from the back and front about a month ago). And I got a measly 75 feet of lawn edged, which took me like 1.5 hours and bruised my tummy (I used my tummy to help me push). AND when I looked at the edge this morning, all I could think was "meh". It doesn't even look that good! When I finished it last night I was like, "man, that looks so much better" now I just think it was exhaustion and dehydration that lead me to believe that.

OH WELL! It is supposed to snow today, which means I don't have to worry about lawn/garden care until spring.

Now I just have to design my yard make-over. I am seeing topiaries, arches, fountains and oh wait, wrong yard. I am really seeing gravel and garden boxes...

Poem about Nova.

2008-12-03T18:55:00.003-07:00

I have a little puppy,
She weighs a mere 55-60lbs.
Kibble she does love to eat,
She also loves to lick feet.
She is a nice dog,
But man, her farts smell like a bog.

This poem was inspired by my dog's stanky-a%$ gas. However, it has gotten less frequent now that my nephew has left...coincidence? maybe, but most likely no.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Efficiency!

2008-11-25T09:35:00.002-07:00

Why must the Salt Lake City Library system be so efficient? Granted, I usually love their efficiency and that they will send a book to the branch closest to my house, but today I curse them!

I had a book on hold and it was at the Sprague Branch for a week and I remembered last night at 11 that it was the last day to pick up my book. Hence, I did not get my book and this morning it was released to the next hold.

Really, I guess I should curse myself for being so forgetful, but it is never fun to blame yourself!

Alas, I will take consolation in the fact that I am now 8 of 8 holds on 8 copies of the book. Which means this time next month I should be reading "The Braindead Megaphone" by George Saunders. And for now I will finish the crap-tastic "Austenland" by Shannon Hale.

post-script. The dog and cat are well. They are still chasing each other around the house and there is still hissing, growling, barking and swiping, but overall they are well...

Update

2008-11-17T16:43:00.002-07:00

Well, I haven't posted in a while. So here is a mini update. Nova is doing well, her tummy is FINALLY healed from being spayed, which means the cone came off. And she is back to being herself.

However, while she was coned, I had to leave her inside. On her last day inside, I came home to this. The crap on the table is mine, but all the ziplock bags and tp is her doing.

But do notice the roll is intact.
She now thinks it is a GRAND game and plays it when ever the bathroom door is open and she is feeling bored. (the door gets shut a lot now)

Here are some cute pictures of her with her cone on. She got a lot of rawhide while coned, because it was the only thing that would keep her calm for longer than 2 minutes.She just looks so sassy in this picture.

KPP has still not adjusted to the dog, though she does seem to bait Nova so maybe in her own way she is playing. Last week, however, she felt like the fridge was not safe enough so she got as high as she could.She is a silly kitty.
Basically, my animals are crazy. But I will keep them because they are cute and cuddly (except when Nova thinks I am a chew toy)

Election Day!

2008-11-04T13:07:00.002-07:00

I love Election Day! It is so exciting! It makes me wish I hadn't voted 3 weeks ago, so I could be at my local polling place watching people in line.

Now, I am definitely aligned with one party over the other, but I always encourage everyone to vote, even if they don't believe in the same things as me. Because if you don't vote, you can't complain!

Dang. I love being able to vote!! (I try to vote in EVERY election, even stupid races like school board!)

Now only if we could get rid of the electoral college....

Happy Halloween!!

2008-10-31T09:17:00.004-06:00

I have always been a fan of Halloween. I love it in fact. If it was a boy, I would totally marry him!

This year, in following my theme of "Types of Engineers" I am a "Domestic Engineer". And while I think this is a misuse of the term "engineer", I also think it is funny. So here I am in a skirt, an apron, hose!, heels!!, a SLIP!!!, pearls and a cardigan okay so I wear this a lot as it from my work). I also thought I needed a fancy purse and a plate of cookies. There was going to be a baby in my arms at all times too, but I forgot to grab my cabbage patch when I left this morning. I find my costume amusing, though rather uncomfortable (okay only the heels)
Kitty PotPie decided she wanted to be Puss-Next-To-Shoes in homage of "Puss-in-Boots"
When I explained to her that was LAME, she stormed off...
Nova on the other hand, had an EXCELLENT idea of being a conehead, like her favorite SNL skit.
However, her implementation was a little off...but she was convinced she had the right idea.
And tried to get me shake on it.
I didn't shake, because I think it is silly, so she stormed off... (no picture of the storming, sorry).

That is my Halloween tale for 2008. Basically I am a nerdy girl that is amused by her costumes, more than other people are (but hey, I am the one that has to wear it) and my animals have NO sense on what is a good costume (it is like they have never experienced Halloween before (oh wait, Nova hasn't...))

On another note, Nova has been to the Vet 3 times in the last week. The first time was to get spayed, the second time was for leakage, the third time was to get a staple in her tummy. Hence she has to wear a cone ALL the time now and cannot be left outside, because she has to keep clean. Today is the first day she has been allowed to stay in the house by herself, and let me tell you, I am NERVOUS!! But at least with the cone on, she is a lot more calm and cannot get into as much trouble. Right???

"Help control the pet population; have your pet spayed or neutered"

2008-10-24T09:01:00.006-06:00

Nova is at the vet right now. She is waiting to get spayed, just like Bob Barker told me to do. I am kind of worried about her, but mostly about my bank account. Getting a 48 lb dog spayed is WAY more expensive than getting a 5 lb kitty spayed (I think KPP was about 5 lb when it happened).

But on another note, Nova learned "leave it" at puppy school on Wednesday. DANG! I love this trick and she is pretty good at it. Here are some pictures of her leaving it (the it being me).
Sometimes she is not so good, but I just have to say it more stern and she is good again.
Until she wants the treat and then I get a "roo roo roo" from her. Maybe I will try to get a recording of her roo'ing, because it is so funny.
And where was KPP throughout this? In the bathtub of course!?! This was taken yesterday morning, after I had showered and she likes to go lick the water in the tub, not really sanitary, but whatever. She is a weird kitty, but so cute.
And don't worry, I will get some pictures of Nova wearing a cone.