In repy to "what does steph think...."

Honestly, I think she is full of cheetos! She might win the case....maybe not I don't know I guess that's up for the judge to decide. Anywho I do have some comments to make on this "case."

The reason why I said this student who is studying to be a counselor is full of cheetos is because I don't honestly believe that the University she is attending is trying to force her to accept any which lifestyle. I don't know if the program she is in is anything similar to the one I am in but I can say this.

By what I know most of the Counseling programs here in the US are regulated by an organization called CACREP. Basically what CACREP does is it evaluates programs, courses, and instructors to insure that the students (future counselors) are as prepared as they need to be for what they will be doing, we need to be fully rounded. With that said, part of the core items that must be touched upon are how to provide services to a diverse population. NOTE not everyone is like us, thinks like us, or believes the same things we believe in. I think being a counselor we need to have an open mind and empathetic mind....this doesn't mean we MUST accept the lifestyle of someone else it just means that we have to be flexible enough to meet the needs of the person who is seeking them.

Now these are required courses that must be taken, and if the program is CACREP accedited then it is not the University that is "forcing" anything it is required courses that have to be met so that she can graduate. It's like taking math, or stats....we just have to do it to move forward. It doesn't mean that the school is trying to make me love or accept stats.....I still don't and prob never will but I still have to complete them.

Also if she has such a huge problem with a certain group of people than when she opens her own damn practice she can choose who she speaks to and what kinds of issues she will be dealing with....mean while she doesn't really have much of a choice.

ANother note: When you begin a counseling program they go over all of the courses and requirements that will have to be met....I guess she didn't really pay attention huh? I guess my thing is if a person is studying to be a counselor, this person needs to have an open mind.....this doesn't mean they have to accept any kind of lifestyle at all, it just means that they will be able to at least try to understand what the other person is going through...

Okay! I am now off of my little soapbox. I have no idea if my ramblings even made sense, but if they didn't please let me know so that I can re-explain it....

Thanks for reading!
May you have a wonderful weekend!

Namaste,
Steph :)

Are we still Game??

A few days back we discussed doing something, Crimnerd asked for ideas on what to do.

Here is my response:
Ideas...hmmm: River (float down/bbq?), Bowling, Theater, Park to play volleyball/soccer or perhaps walk a trail. I haven't done any of those in forever.

I didn't get a response except for a deleted comment by Party of 3 (who I wish was here to hang out with us).  I wish I knew what she attempted to say.  She was probably talking smack to us!  lol  Sorry, Party of 3 but we figured since you're so far away you won't drive down here for a weekend.  Why do we figure you ask??  We've tried it before & you didn't drive down!!  :P

So, perhaps this way, you'll both read it.  If not, we'll talk more about it later today/early tomorrow.  :)

Good to know

I just watched this video and to me it was one of those "huh" videos. I don't mean "huh" as in "What the hell are you taking?" but more of "huh" "That's super interesting and I didn't know that."

Anyway, thought I'd share and get your feedback. Did you guys know the info in the vid?

Books

I went to check out this book called Men are From Sperm Women are From Eggs, and it reminded me of that book Men are From Mars Women are From Venus. I read the back of the book and thought this sounds like a good book, and thought it would be like a Mars/Venus book. Turns out that is was a guy just talking about crap, needless to say I just returned it the next day.

Linky Links

Hey guys! This morning I was checking my mail and got one with a bunch of links to articles that had some interesting information. I thought I'd share the link with you all so you can take a look.

The first one is on 15 Creative Ways to Recycle and Reuse. It has two videos; the first one talks about seven things that you thought you had to chuck in the trash. In the video they talk about recycling the tabs off of soda cans and I remember when I was a little kid my family use to collect these all the time. We had a bag full of them and I would ask my dad why the heck we were keeping them. He was like "To help the little kids." but even then I didn't know exactly why we collected them. Apparently you can donate them to a Ronald McDonald House and then they sell them to get money to help raise funds to help children and their families.



Anyway, the second video is on a couple of ways you can reuse a plastic bottles. For example, Kipkay turned some into a bird feeder, a insect "repellent," and a mini green house. Pretty cool I think.



And lastly, the second article I read was on 10 Things Your Skins Says About Your Health. This article was super useful! For example, it touches upon breaking out in hives while in the sun. And if you know me, I have had this happen to me quite a few times. It's the worst freaken thing ever!!!

Anyway, check out the videos and links I posted for the full info. :)

Hey everyone!!!!

Today is the last day of class, I am very excited. I still have to finish my final for one class, I was telling Steph I like the class but not the teacher, and I think I will be taking the class over again. The final is creating a proposal to switch from paper to paperless medical records. I already found my three companies I just need to write about them. It was an optional class. I got sick yesterday. I felt very nauseated with a head ache, and guess what G said? lol I ended up throwing up and still have a headache from yesterday.

Back to class, we watched the movie The Secret have you guys heard about it? It's about the Law of Attraction. It went on to talk about energy, and I asked my dad if he felt the negative energy in the house I live, he said yes. Question, did Crim and Coffee feel negative energy when they came to visit me? Or Bee did you feel the neg energy at the babyshower? After watching the movie it made me change the (in whole) being down and bringing the good in.

My mind going one million miles a min? Yes, Bee I have had that happen to me. It might be why I have this headache now...lol. What do I do? I tell myself to stop and stop worrying I will not get anything accomplished, and it won't help me to worry. Going to see if my kid woke up he was sleeping when I came back from school.

Stop, brain!!

This morning I woke up thinking of all kinds of crap in a series of short thoughts.  For example, I woke up thinking, "Oh  man!  I have to shower in guest bathroom; need to get my clothes." Then I was thinking of things I needed to take to work and things to do at work.  As I put my hair up in a 1/2 ponytail, I reminisced the times when my mom would do funky palm tree hairdos.  I called them that b/c that's what they looked like.  lol

Anwyay, I walked out of the house, started driving out when I realized that I almost forgot my glasses & had to go back in the house.  On my way to work I started thinking of breakfast & considered stopping to get something but chose not to get any after all.  Then as I pulled up to work I thought, Mr. W always buys us something for breakfast.  Poor guy!  We should do something for him.  Then sure enough, he got us some oatmeal cookies.  My brain is just going, going, non-stop.  I wish I could just turn it off! 
Anybody know how??

Mood going downhill

I woke up feeling pretty darn good except for the fact that I had to shower in the guest bathroom (ours is suspended until further notice lol).  However, I'm finding that as the day progresses, I'm getting more mad at anything & anyone! Everything is getting on my nerves including the whole darn SBwhatever bull crap!  lol

I can still laugh at myself but is this normal?  So annoying, Geez!!

Judge Blocks Parts of Arizona Immigration Law

PHOENIX - A judge has blocked the most controversial sections of Arizona's new immigration law from taking effect Thursday, handing a major legal victory to opponents of the crackdown.

The law will still take effect Thursday, but without many of the provisions that angered opponents -- including sections that required officers to check a person's immigration status while enforcing other laws.

The judge also put on hold a part of the law that required immigrants to carry their papers at all times, and made it illegal for undocumented workers to solicit employment in public places.

U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton put those controversial sections on hold until the courts resolve the issues. 

SOURCES 

http://www.abc15.com/dpp/news/state/sb1070-ruling

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/07/28/us/AP-US-ArizonaImmigratio.html?_r=2 

http://www.azcentral.com/news/election/azelections/articles/2010/07/28/20100728arizona-immigration-law-court-ruling-brk28-ON.html

I'm sure there is going to be a lot about this on the news tonight. Now that the most f'ed up parts are blocked, what do you think will happen when the rest of law takes effect tomorrow? 

I think there will be quite a bit of confusion; more so than there already was, and scrambling to keep officers updated on what they can and can't do.

UPDATE: I'll post the full decision the Judge made later when the site isn't crashing. 

Marianismo Study

This actually comes from StephLuvsCoffee.  I thought I might was well post it & allow the female community to participate in this study on how women identify with their gender.  Click on link for further information on the study.

There is a part on the study that asks what your spiritual orientation is, go here to find that out.

What does StephLuvsCoffee think?

I mean, I probably already know the answer but I think it would be neat to hear from your point of view. So I was just reading an article in regards to a female student in Georgia who is suing the university she goes to because she thinks they are trying to force her into accepting gay lifestyles.

Oh, did I mention she's studying to become a counselor? Ya. LOL.

Since this is your field of study Steph, I was wondering what your point of view is on all this. Is she right in trying to sue the school or is she full of cheetos?

Obviously, it would be neat to get the point of view of anyone who wants to voice in on the article. Have at it guys and gals. :)

Student Claims University Tried to Force Her into Accepting Gay "Lifestyles

PS. Make it as a new post Steph. Please and thank you! :)

It's tuesday with steph!

Yes, yes, so it is my turn to blog....what to blog about? hmmmm think, think, think.....

So the other day, more like yesterday on my way to work this dude was driving beside me and all of a sudden decided to merge onto the lane I was in without signaling or looking to see if anyone was there......I slammed on my brakes and swerved to the right.......::sigh:: needless to say I busted out crying and hyperventilating. Some how I don't think I am quite over being hit by another driver. That put a hamper on my day. It got better though when I went in for my therapy....at least this time it didn't hurt like a something i shouldn't say on here. lol

TODAY! Well today I was/am tired. I have been super tired all the time no matter how much or little I sleep I just don't rest. Doc said it's all due to the same source......

On a happyish note...guess what girls? I got a car...tada! Not so excited about the payment part...actually not excited at all but I am sure glad I have transportation now. I have transportation for work now too, instead of using my car....which we all know what happened to it....I get to use one of the office vans. The A/C sucks majorly and I feel like im in a sauna all day long but at least I don't have to use my own car now. See I am trying to think positive.....positivity is GREAT! So I think to myself.....Dalai Lama....Dalai Lama....Dalai Lama....he is one of the very few truely amazing people on this planet. I hope to one day have the opportunity to meet him, he is a very wise man. :) So I leave with this.....

Let's be kind to ourselves as well as others, and let's not take ourselves so seriously. We are the change we hope to see in the world....(these are someone else's word no copyright infringement intended!)

Namaste,
Steph

Keep on truckin'

Earlier today I was reading a health tips blog and I wanted to share it with you guys since I thought it was useful and more than one of us is trying to loose weight or be healthier. The blog goes to talk about ways to help you stick to living a healthier lifestyle and making the healthy habits stick. Which in all reality is a big part of trying to be healthy and not falling back on really bad habits.

The article uses tips from The American Heart Association's recent research, which discovered many common sense steps that can help people achieve healthier lifestyles. While many of the tips given are indeed common sense it helps to refresh or memory a bit. I know I'll be using these tips to help me on my Project Lose an Olsen Twin (#PLOT).

Increase your chances with these steps:

1. Set smart goals. Individuals who set goals had greater adherence to their programs than people who had no goals. But just any old goals won't work. They have to be specific, attainable, and realistic. "Lose weight," is generic, but "Lose 1 pound this week" is specific, realistic, and attainable. However, the AHA's review found that goals that focus on behaviors (such as eating more fruits and vegetables or exercising 3 times a week) rather than physiological targets (such as lowering your cholesterol) are even better because you feel more in control of them—and can see your progress.


2. Monitor your progress. Now that you have your goals, how do you know how well you're doing? Self-monitoring increases your awareness and helps you recognize when you make progress toward your goals, according to the AHA report. This can be as simple as writing down your food or tracking your workouts in a journal, although electronic and Internet-based tracking systems work just as well and have many advantages, says the AHA. Tracking is important—and a proven key to lifestyle behavior change. The AHA cited one study in particular showing that individuals who tracked their food lost twice as much weight as those who didn't self-monitor their food intake. Frequency matters, too. You have to track, and track often. Another study cited showed that a group who weighed in more often lost more pounds than a group of people who weighed in less frequently.


3. Find support. Individuals who had more frequent and prolonged contact with others (whether doctors, coaches or support groups) had more success in changing their lifestyle habits. The AHA says that contact can happen in many ways," including face-to-face, telephone, email or through the Internet." What seems to matter most is that people have a reason to come back (to a meeting, group, or website) to get support and accountability to adhere to their program.

4. Get feedback. In addition to goal setting and tracking, feedback is also important. This allows you to understand your current level of performance and set realistic goals to improve. In lifestyle behavior-change interventions, people who received feedback more frequently were more successful in adopting their habits. Feedback acts as reinforcement.

5. Believe in yourself. The technical term for your confidence in your ability to reach your goals—and perform all the steps necessary to do so, such as cooking, ordering a healthy meal at a restaurant, and exercising at the gym—is self-efficacy. According to the AHA's review of research, programs that helped people improve their self-efficacy had more favorable results than programs that didn't address it. So how do you boost your confidence in these areas? First and foremost by achieving a short and simple goal (SparkPeople calls these fast break goals) to boost your confidence and momentum to continue. There are other ways to boost self-efficacy, but this is the most effective way, say AHA researchers.

6. Learn from others.When you watch someone else perform a healthy behavior that relates to your own goals, like exercise, cook a healthy meal, or move past a slip-up, it's called modeling. In a way, modeling adds credibility—it shows you that these things work and that you can do them, too. It also helps build self-efficacy. According to the AHA report, programs that included modeling had higher success rates than those that didn't. Modeling can be done in-person, via videos or even through discussion with others who are doing the desired behaviors you hope to emulate.

7. Accept setbacks.When a person is "aware that it is normal to deviate episodically from the goal behavior, such as missing some scheduled exercise sessions or giving up on the program due to lapses," it can help prevent relapse, according to the AHA report. Instead of expecting perfection all the time, programs that teach individuals that setbacks are normal and can be overcome will result in greater success. Fortunately, none of this healthy living stuff is about being perfect. We recommend an 80/20 rule where you adhere to your program most of the time, but allow for indulgences and rest days, too. Our motivation resources offer plenty of tips and tactics to help you plan for potential setbacks and recover from them, too.


I hope these tips help you guys keep on it! 
Source

Circles, Triangles, Square, and Squiggly Lines

Today during class when we came back from our break the instructor put four shape drawings up in the class. We had to pick which one we felt like that day/gravitate to, I chose the squiggly lines that is how I have been feeling lately, but I wanted go under the circles. Turns out when the instructor handed us a paper to read out loud squiggly lines where unoragnized, and do not finish anything. Yet when the charteristics of circles where read that was more me. It said that circles wake up one day when they are 40 they are tired of being nice to everyone and start to become mean squares. Interesting because I am already there, sure glad I figure that out before 40....LOL. Both the shapes went more in depth, but those two stuck out the most. Have you guys heard of this test?

Cars 2

I want to know as soon as you guys see/hear about the Cars 2 trailer, please.  I've seen some pictures & wannabe trailers on YouTube but I want to see the actual trailer. I'm curious to see what they did with it & I want to know when it comes out. My son would love to go see it; he's already nuts about the 1st Cars...I can online imagine his face! lol

I read the blog about feeling like a failure and......

I feel the same way. I want to post more but Baby S is being a rugrat.

Herraduras

I went to that restaurant 2 days in a row!  Let me tell you, it's the best new Mexican Food place we've had in a long time!  It beat the crap out of Chile Pepper!!  So sad!  Chile Pepper has become so AMERICAN in the last few years that everything is so overpriced for the actual Mexican food you get.
However, at Herraduras, you get what you pay for.  The burritos, even though they are only $2.50 are huge; they are like 3 burritos in 1!  That's insane.  I ate their sopes & shrimp tacos.  So delicious!!  I wish they had a to go menu so I could post it.  It didn't occur to me to take a pic.  I do have a business card though.  So I've attached it below.

Sorry about the blurriness; need a better pic.

I highly recomend you check it out next time you crave Mexican Food.  :)  The staff is very friendly & the service is pretty fast. The best part is that it's never THAT NOISY in there...well, that is until word of mouth spreads about the place & people start going there!

Hiatus no more?!

I am officially off of hiatus guys! ::cricket noise::
I am kinda coming back to being myself again....sort of. It's been a hell of a couple of months....let me tell you. I do share the sentiment of CriminologyNerd though....it's confusing, frustrating, stressful and mentally debilitating this thing called life. It's tough.

It's nice to be back and to have time to blog and read blogs and comment on blogs....it's just nice to have some free time now. School kicked my butt.....then it was over I was super excited and then a car kicked my butt and now i am recovering from the butt kicking car event. Details shall come later...perhaps on my personal blog....perhaps here.

Anywho I just wanted to say Hola and let you all know that I am officiall off of hiatus.....from blogging that is! :)

Let us be kind to ourselves, we deserve it
Namaste,
Steph

To fill the void...

I think since today is Steph's day and she is still on hiatus that perhaps we should do something like Funny Vid Friday. So, here's the vid I found for this Friday... It's a pretty awesome vid and I wish I had been one of the people there. That would have been awesome! It's always funny to see people's reactions after they find out they've been duped.

Undercover Karaoke with Jewel from Jewel

UPDATE! So, I just watched the new Annoying Orange vid and I thought I should add it to this post. I think it's hilarious and I'll be singing it for a while. PA-PASTA! :p

Why you gotta be so emo!?! Gosh!

Time for a CrimNerd life experience or whatever it is that you want to call it. You may be asking yourself why I’m not posting this entry on my personal blog. I suppose it’s because I haven’t ever truly written about my everyday life experiences on this blog (The Tell All Blog). After all, writing about our everyday life experiences is a part of what this blog is about, so finally here is one of those CrimNerd life experiences. 

For the past few days I have truly been in a pretty shitty mood and I haven’t quite been able to shake it off. Everything feels like a complete freaken fail! I know I know shit like this happens and everyone goes through these situations all the time, but this time it just feels different. In all reality it’s the stress of not being able to find a job and knowing that the day looms closer for when I have to pay back my student loan. 

But, it’s not just that that had me in this mood. The other day I filled out an application (or two I should say) for a job(s) at my old place of employment. When I went to turn them in I ran into an old coworker of mine and she decided to show me around the new building that was put up after I left. While there she decided to look at my application and she pretty much tore me a new one. 

My application was without a doubt dreadful. For some reason when I had gone over it the day before I only skimmed it and didn’t quite focus on the fact that I had many typos. There were a lot of those She totally called me out on it and I felt like a complete ass because I was ready to turn in that piece of rubbish. The fact that this old coworker had become irritated with the fact that I had let this slip by me really made me question my abilities. Not only that though, I also felt like a fraud! For some reason or another people always think I’m smarter than I truly am. I for one have never thought I was particularly smart. Sure, I’m not a complete dumbass and can form complete sentences from time to time, but to think that I’m some above average person is completely beyond me. The fact that some people think I’m smart really puts that much more pressure on me, especially if there is a bigger chance of failure. I finally proved to someone that I didn’t fit into their perception of me and I guess I was disappointed with that fact. 

I could go into more detail, but in all reality it’s just me being a dumbass.

Seriously, I just don’t know anything anymore! Since that day I have questioned everything that is going on in my life, where my life is going, and what the hell I’m going to do now. If you’re like me when you get into this type of mood then you probably recall every single stupid, wrong, embarrassing thing you did in your life. And then of course that brings you down more… of course, OF COURSE!

Ugh, life is beating me down, man!

I hope you are all faring better. 


Had to throw in something semi-humorous. It's an emo chick. :P

Need a Vacation??

I was talking to a girl on SPP who just got back from her honeymoon in Bermuda!!  I wish I was there!  No, not @ her honeymoon...in Bermuda!  :P

Anyway, I decided to look up some cheap trips and bumped into CheapCaribbean.com.  This site offers lots of vacation packages.  This link will take you to packages from Phoenix, AZ but you can enter your city for a more specific list that suits you!  The prices aren't bad; definitely attainable.

I loved the package to Cancun because it's an all inclusive (air, hotel, & meals) plus kids eat & stay for FREE!  Can't get any better right?!  WRONG!  They also include the following:

Trip Mate-Full reimbursement for the unused portion of your vacation, or re-schedule for no penalty if inclement weather cancels your travel plans per the terms and conditions in the Trip Mate policy.
SPF 100-a $100 off it it rains during your stay
Promo Code-$500 off your next vacation; may share with family members/friends (min. of 5 nights)
Service Rep-available contact during your stay

Sounds like a deal!  I guess we just have to decide, save, & GO!

Guilty Food Pleasures

I feel guilty for taking 2 bites of the Mars Almond Chocolate Bar.  I took it to work this morning because yesterday I was craving something for a snack & had nothing with me.  I figured I could eat it when I needed to snack on something.

So, it was sitting on my desk by my water bottle (I should have put it out of sight) and it kept calling me but I kept ignoring it because I also have some grapes I could be eating & they are a much healthier choice.  However, I lasted about 3.5 hours and then I had to have some.  I have no clue why I gave in...starting to become stressed perhaps?  It was time for a snack?  Who knows but what I do know is that it tasted sooo good!

I shouldn't have ate it though because then I couldn't stop eating it.  1 bar is 220 calories!!  I could have eaten 1/2 of it & it still would have gone past my 100 calorie snack limit.  I do so well with chocolates at home though; it makes no sense.  I guess work isn't the best place to take chocolates because you're sure to eat way more than you intended to.

Last week one of my co-workers brought in a sandwich bag with plain M&M's & I ate the whole thing in a heartbeat.  The bag was about 1/4 full but still.  I just kept shoving them in my mouth one after the other.  It's horrible I know but I coudn't help it.  Ok so I could have helped it but it's like that Pringles commercial, "Once you pop, you can't stop!"  :P

What's your guilty pleasure food that you always end up eating way more than you wanted to?

Whoa, Momma!

So, did you guys hear about the lady who is pregnant with two babies but they aren't twins and they are about a week apart in development?

It's a crazy true story! The lady has two uteruses or didelphys as it is called by the pros. Can you image being pregnant like this!?! It's pretty freaken crazy and kinda scary to tell you the truth. I hope everything goes well with her pregnancy.

When I asked the Booger if she had heard about the lady she was like, "Wait are the babies from the same father???" I just shook my head at her and was like, "Of course you would ask that." LOL. Anyway check out the full story here.

Home cooking...

So, tonight for dinner I caved and made the lasagna I was craving; even though after cooking for that long I no longer wanted any. Anyway, my brother was rushing me to make it because he wanted some. He even went as far as to get the stuff needed out so that I would get to work making it. Of course that's all he did and the booger didn't even help this time.

Holy hell though, I had forgotten how long it takes to make it. I was standing for a good long while and you know how if you have been standing in one spot for a while your back hurts like right around the kidney area? Well, at least that's were mine starts to hurt... it still does and I would like very much to relieve the pressure there, but it's super hard for me to pop my back.

Anyway, so my recipe for the lasagna is from this recipe I read a long time ago that I just ended up tweaking to my liking over the years. Some times I'll make the sauce completely from scratch but that takes way too long. And this time I used canned marinara sauce, but I did add some of my own touch to it. I added some onion, red bell pepper (I would have used green, orange, and yellow too but I only had red), and some ground beef. Now that I think about it I should have added some chile a la Mexican style. LOL. Oh ya, can't forget the mushrooms I added some to the sauce as well. Yum yum.

The rest of the ingredients I used were: oven ready lasagna noodles (I like the oven ready ones because it holds it's shape better for me than the ones that you have to cook first), ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese, eggs, mozzarella cheese, and of course the sauce.

Layer it all together and voilà labor intensive lasagna:

Don't forget to add a freaken salad. Gotta make it seem semi healthy, no? :P

Salad source

Everything's Fair in Love & War?

We all know that relationships have their ups & downs.  Mine sure as heck does.  About 2 weeks ago I was posting about how loved I felt by hubby's little gestures of kindness.  BLAH, BLAH, BLAH!

Today I give you last night's short version of my pissed off state.  The details are in my personal blog.

Hubby didn't have to work so he invited his friend J to come over but he never told us if he would or not, he simply showed up at our house at about 8pm.  My husband tells him we're getting ready for bed but invites him in anyway. At about 9pm my hubby decides to get J started on a workout.  They go outside & I go to the bedroom to prep/go to sleep. I hear baby yelling & screaming out there but I figured he'll come in when he's ready for bed so I turn off the light. At about 9:30/10pm baby comes in the house realizes I'm in bed and since he isn't ready for bed he walks back toward the door crying because he wants out. I have to get off the bed, get the door open for him, & yell at hubby for letting him in the house unsupervised. What if I had been sleeping already?

Anyway, I fall asleep, some time later I feel baby boy climb in bed with me but I'm half asleep so I just go right back to sleep (no clue what time it was). Then I wake up a bit later and notice baby has a car in his hands & he's asleep. So I take the toy car out of his hands & go back to sleep. Then all of a sudden something wet wakes me up and I realize it's baby leaking through his diaper. I'm a bit ticked off so I call for my husband to come change the diaper (geez!  he couldn't change it before?!!). I get no answer, I call for him again, no answer. I'm mad now so I change the diaper, put a towel on the bed, tell baby to go back to sleep & storm down the hall.  I notice that dinner hadn't yet been put away and hubby's truck is nowhere in sight! I say, "Mother F..." & head back to the room.

Now I'm beyond just a little ticked off or mad...I'm furious!! So, I decide to call hubby & yell at him. Phone conversation doesn't help at all but I keep my cool and end it with "So you might as well have bought him (his friend) a dress and a ring while you were at it (half pause) Goodnight (hang up)."

Not more than 5 minutes later (1:30ish am by now), I hear the door open, he's putting away dinner, goes to the restroom, comes to the room. He says nothing & I say nothing because I figure it's not worth my time & there's absolutely nothing left for me to tell him. He already knows I'm mad & screaming at him will not help the situation. Besides, if I say nothing then he's sitting there pondering it (what better punishment is there?). So I try to relax & calm down (it's quite a skill let me tell you). lol I finally manage to relax by laying down on my stomach and I'm out for the count...until 2.5 hours later when my alarm goes off & I feel like the walking dead.

I turn the air down to 75 (baby can't sleep if he's warm so we keep it at 73/72) so I can shower and while I'm in the shower I contemplate leaving the air at 75 just so baby will wake up my hubby early. I grin reallly big, get out of the shower, get ready, put on my clothes/shoes, grab my phone & purse and walk out of the room. I decide to leave the bedroom door open just to let a little light shine in there to aid the waking up process. ;P The little angel in my head gets the best of me & tells me I'm just being mean b/c I'm mad & that it's not baby boy's fault so I close the door & put the air back on 73. I should have done it just for payback but you know what...karma is a bee so he'll get it in the end.

O Dios Mio! Salsa, Guacamole, Heels!

So, I was on NPR's site earlier and found two articles that I found interesting and thought I would share.

The first one is regarding food poisoning. Apparently, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, salsa and guacamole constitute "an important cause of foodborne outbreaks in the U.S." The article states that when large batches of either guca or salsa are not kept cold in the fridge then nastly microbes grow like wild fire. Really, seriously? Please note the sarcasm, lol.

I guess it goes to show, some people need to remember to refrigerate their foods after use, no? Nobody wants brown guca dammit!

Yum! I want some now. 

The second article I read is also health related. It's on "Why High Heels Hurt Even After You Take Them Off." Might I add, that title needs some revising... how can high heels (the actual shoe) hurt? I'm sure they meant it to say "Why Your Feet Hurt Even After You Take Your High Heels Off."

Anyway, so there's this British study which was published in  the Journal of Experimental Biology that states that women who wear high heels daily for years are prone to have "shorter calf muscles and stiffer, thicker Achilles tendons than those women who wear flats." Because of these thicker Achilles tendons, "the habitual high heel-wearers... couldn't stand flat on the floor without discomfort." Talk about major sour monkey balls! Aye!

So, the question was asked whether women should wear high heels and some people who were asked said NO! A lady by the name of Casey Kerrigan, biomechanics expert, says that it's not worth wearing heels if it can contribute to higher rates of knee arthritis for people who wear them.

On the other hand there are people like Orthopedic surgeon Donald Bohay who say, "women can continue to wear high heals as long as they take certain precautions." ie. no higher than 2 inches, if they hurt don't use them...

I don't know about you guys, but I love heels! To me they just add that extra awesomeness to an outfit and they help your legs look longer if you have fat stubby legs like mine.

Sure, sometimes they can hurt like a bitch; especially if you f' up on getting the right size, but if you maybe limit yourself to only wearing heels for a few hours a day than you should be fine.

I mean back when I used to wear heels everyday I would only wear them for a few hours and most of that time was spent at a desk. So, I wasn't really walking in them that much and putting all that strain on my feet. I was usually fine most of the day. Although truth be told I don't wear my heels all that often anymore and now that I'm a bit older it might be a completely different case. :P

You can't tell me these don't kick ass!?! I wish I could afford these! LOL. 

Anyway, what are your thoughts on the subjects? Article links below:

Food Poisoning? Holy Guacamole! And Salsa, Too

Why High Heels Hurt Even After you Take Them Off

In My Head by Jason DeRulo

This is one of those songs with a catchy tune but you have to laugh at the lyrics.  I mean, is there a girl in this world that would actually say yes to this guy??


Lyrics | Jason DeRulo lyrics - In My Head lyrics

The Ugly Truth - A

My birthday is coming up in about a month so I was trying to remember what I did for my bday last year so that I could do something different this year and I don't think I did anything.  I do know that I went out with some co-workers & then I was off to my mom's.  They made me a cake, sang to me and a few days later, my friends took me to see The Ugly Truth, which got me thinking that I love that movie!!

It is truly a must see.  My husband thought it was a major chick flick & every time I suggested watching it, he'd say, "nah!"  Then, about 2 weeks ago, I bought the dvd on discount from Hollywood Video (out of business sale) and my sister & I sat down to watch it.  While we were watching it, we laughed so hard that he had to find out why we were laughing.  Needless to say, he stopped what he was doing & watched it with us.

So, if you're debating what to do this weekend, watch The Ugly Truth.  It will have you laughing your ass off!

What I was going to say.....

Ok, I know I didn't tell Crimnerd and Coffee but every now and then I would ask G about moving. His responses have been: "after a year", "soon", "we can move next month if you want to", and the recent one, "when you get a job so we can save money".  It wasn't until Lifes a Bee pointed out to me that he really is not interested in moving. So, I am starting to look for a job, found two job openings and I have sent two job applications; I am excited to start working!

Here is my opinion/input: What I want to know is, do you think I would be rash if after saving money and start talking about moving and he doesn't want to, to just tell him I found an apartment and take Baby S with me, and say something like you know where we are when you ready to cut the umbilical cord? Ok maybe saying the umbilical cord part was the frustration coming out. I am sure you guys knew it was something along these lines.

So, guess what happened to me today......

So, the library is not far from the house, it is only about 15-30 min walk, and I decided to go take a walk and have Baby S in the stroller for the exercise. I make it to the bridge and a white truck is driving by.  I see it out of the corner of my eye that the guy's looking at me. I thought whatever, then I see him stop and turn around (by this time I am thinking just keep walking) and he starts driving near the side walk slowly asking me my name, if I needed a ride, etc.

I keep looking ahead and walking even faster when I see that he does not take the hint to leave me alone, and he drives the same speed I am walking. Ok, by this time I pull out my cell phone and the mother f'er got the hint and drove off. As he drove off I was going to get the plate number from the back plates, but he didn't have one. Instinct kicked in for this situation, and naturally I thought more about Baby S' safety and what I needed to do to protect him, than me. Could I have used a stunned (sp) gun?

The Real Dumbledore's Army!

I don't know how many of you saw my tweet from last night telling you guys that I voted for the Harry Potter Alliance to win part of the $5 million that Chase Community Giving is donating to a few lucky charities.

But, right now the HP Alliance is in first place! Yay, however Kristin Brooks Hope Center is not far behind. While it is awesome that any of these charities wins, it would be even more awesome if we can help out one of my favorite charities; The HP Alliance.

So, what does the HP Alliance stand for? We stand for the same principles that Dumbledore's Army stood for! Sure to some it may sound outlandish to try and use a "child's book" as an example (Yes, I'm been told that before by an asshole "friend"), but if its helping make the world a better place WTH does it matter?

HP Alliance Motto
The Harry Potter Alliance is dedicated to using the examples of Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore to spread love and fight the Dark Arts in the real world.

" Harry and his friends start a student activist group called Dumbledore’s Army when the adults and politicians of their world fail to address the concerns of the day. The Harry Potter Alliance is a Dumbledore’s Army for the real world.

Just as Dumbledore’s Army wakes the world up to Voldemort’s return, works for equal rights of house elves and werewolves, and empowers its members, we:"

• Work with partner NGOs in alerting the world to the dangers of global warming, poverty, and genocide.
• Work with our partners for equal rights regardless of race, gender, and sexuality.
• Encourage our members to hone the magic of their creativity in endeavoring to make the world a better place.

So far the HP Alliance has:

• Raise funds to protect thousands of civilians in Darfur and Burma.
• Donate over 14,000 books across the world, including 4,000 to a youth village in Rwanda.
• Increase Mass Equality’s calls to Maine voters to protect marriage equality by over 1200% in one day with over 3500 calls
• Produce and distribute hundreds of videos, the best of which were used at the closing ceremonies of the 15th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide in the Rwanda capital Kigali
• Empower our partner anti-genocide group STAND with a 40% increase in high school chapter sign-ups and a 52% increase in calls to 1-800-GENOCIDE during a two-week campaign
• Register over 900 first-time voters during our Wizard Rock the Vote campaign in 2008
• Produce a podcast on Darfur that was downloaded over 120,000 times
• Gather over three quarters of the 10,000 signatures that the UK based Aegis Trust sent to the UN Security Council concerning Darfur
• Prepare tens of thousands of student leaders to face the global challenges of ending genocide, equal rights, environmental protection, media reform, fair trade, and more!

Source

So, I'm asking you to please go vote for this awesome charity to insure that they win a piece of that $5 million. I know they'll put it to great use and then you too can join us and become part of Dumbledore's Army!

Only 13 hours left to vote so go go go! :D

Vote here: Harry Potter Alliance 

Getting Older

It dawned on me yesterday that I hadn't written my blog on Saturday so I logged in to write the blog & my computer started freezing.  It was so annoying that I just gave up trying & decided to wash some dishes and do some cleaning instead.  You know it's bad when you'd rather clean than sit there & wait for the web.  lol

Regardless, back to my blog story: I was sitting there getting ready to go to sleep when all of a sudden I get heartburn.  I thought to myself, "Man!  It can't be that a little bit of lasagna caused that...I've had jalapeños before & haven't gotten heartburn!"

Then it hit me like a ton of bricks, "I can't eat jalapeños anymore without getting heartburn, what am I talking about?"  So I'm thinking of a list of things that I can no longer do that I was able to do before, say 3 years ago when the little devil inside my head said to me, "Think again!  Try 6 years ago darling!"  "Uggh!"  was all I could muster.  So here we go!

Me, 6 yrs. ago, in college:

• "More Jalapeños please" *heartburn from hell now if I have too many or eat them way late*
• "I'm more of a hard liquor person" *as if it was cooler than drinking beer*
• Ok!  See ya at 9pm!" *sometimes that was still early*

Me, 3 yrs. ago:

• "I'd rather run" *Yeah! Now my tendons/muscles creak when I do*
• "We can't just stay at home; that's boring!" *Ha!  Look at me now!*
• "My hair will grow back fast; I'm not worried." *It still does, but now it takes longer*

Needless to say, I'm getting older...way faster than I care to admit or even notice and there's nothing I can do about it.  What are some of your I'm getting older moments?

I don't want this to be on just drama but......

I need your opinion on this question.


**I found this draft as I was editing some of the blog labels & I usually just delete these since most of the time it's the start of the same blog we ended up posting.  However, I was intrigued by this particular blog draft that I decided to post it for ya!  So what was the question???  You know what they say, Curiosity killed the cat!  lol*~*Life's a Bee**

I really got to get back on the dance floor

Santi and I are at A's birthday party, she has a Hawaiian themed party and my sister got some dancers to come perform. The way they move their hips reminds me of the belly dancing I did, and I miss it A LOT. Well got to go I think they are cutting the cake.

Yummy in the Tummy!

So, for the last couple of weeks I have been seriously craving Carrot Cake. It's one of my favorite cakes! Unfortunately making one and eating some it would kinda defeat the purpose of my 2 to 4 miles I put in each day. However, I think since I've been relatively good at not eating too much crap, I should bake one myself for the family and me.

Have you guys ever baked one? I found a recipe by one of my favorite cooks on Food Network. He's the nerdy genius, Alton Brown. For some reason I was thinking that it would be a more difficult recipe since it involves a vegetable, but the recipe actually looks pretty simple to do. Anyway, I'll probably try it out this weekend if not today. And as long as I'm in this baking mood I might as well try and bake some Zucchini Bread. That has been another one of those things that I want to try and make from scratch.

What about you guys? What's something you have always wanted to try cooking/baking that you've yet to try?

Recipes:

Carrot Cake

Recipe courtesy Alton Brown, 2005

Prep Time: 40mins
Cook Time: 1hr

Ingredients

• Unsalted butter, for the pan
• 12 ounces, approximately 2 1/2 cups, all-purpose flour, plus extra for pan
• 12 ounces grated carrots, medium grate, approximately 6 medium
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 10 ounces sugar, approximately 1 1/3 cups
• 2 ounces dark brown sugar, approximately 1/4 cup firmly packed
• 3 large eggs
• 6 ounces plain yogurt
• 6 ounces vegetable oil
• Cream Cheese Frosting, recipe follows

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Butter and flour a 9-inch round and 3-inch deep cake pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper. Set aside.

Put the carrots into a large mixing bowl and set aside.

Put the flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt in the bowl of a food processor and process for 5 seconds. Add this mixture to the carrots and toss until they are well-coated with the flour.

In the bowl of the food processor combine the sugar, brown sugar, eggs, and yogurt.

With the processor still running drizzle in the vegetable oil. Pour this mixture into the carrot mixture and stir until just combined. Pour into the prepared cake pan and bake on the middle rack of the oven for 45 minutes. Reduce the heat to 325 degrees F and bake for another 20 minutes or until the cake reaches 205 to 210 degrees F in the center.

Remove the pan from the oven and allow cake to cool 15 minutes in the pan. After 15 minutes, turn the cake out onto a rack and allow cake to cool completely. Frost with cream cheese frosting after cake has cooled completely.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

8 ounces cream cheese

2 ounces unsalted butter, room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

9 ounces powdered sugar, sifted, approximately 2 cups

In the bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment, combine the cream cheese and butter on medium just until blended. Add the vanilla and beat until combined. With the speed on low, add the powdered sugar in 4 batches and beat until smooth between each addition.

Place the frosting in the refrigerator for 5 to 10 minutes before using.

Yield: approximately 2 cups

Zucchini Bread

Recipe courtesy Paula Deen

Prep Time: 10mins

Cook Time: 1hr

Ingredients

• 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3 cups sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 1/3 cup water
• 2 cups grated zucchini
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, nutmeg, baking soda, cinnamon and sugar. In a separate bowl, combine oil, eggs, water, zucchini and lemon juice. Mix wet ingredients into dry, add nuts and fold in. Bake in 2 standard loaf pans, sprayed with nonstick spray, for 1 hour, or until a tester comes out clean. Alternately, bake in 5 mini loaf pans for about 45 minutes.

Has this happen to anybody????

Last weekend, I was breast feeding Santi and we both feel asleep. Have any of you while you where sleeping been able to hear what is going on around you? The other day that happen to me. I heard G having a conversation with his mom. It was weird.

Has anybody heard of...

the restaurant named Homemade by Jody?

They have a breakfast, lunch, & dinner menu made up of soups, sandwiches made from freshly baked bread, chicken, italian meatballs, dumplings, potato salad, old-fashioned potato, muffins, brownies, cakes, cheesecake, cinnamon buns, the list goes on. They do catering (menu chosen by you) and take orders in advanced for any themed cakes.  Who knew!

It is located in town by Ave C & 24th in the Mission Valley Plaza at 3970 W. 24th St., Suite 101. They are open Monday to Friday 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.  Their phone number for more info. or special orders is 329-0900.

I say we need to give it a try one of these days...