Friday, January 26, 2007

Thursday, January 25, 2007

What A Day!

So last night Carrie called me to ask me to go to the Kings game. Me, being me, said yes (of course). It was such a blast (we won!).

Here's Brig and I at the game:
Here are Carrie and Amy:

However, apparently my little body does not enjoy staying up late anymore, so this morning I woke up looking and feeling exhausted. After fighting my way through all kinds of traffic to work, I open my email only to discover that it was going to be a great day - I got an award at work and had tons of congratulations emails. Nothing makes a crummy start to a day better than some kudos!
After work today I headed over to look at another house. I think this one might work out. I'm going to talk to my realtor and broker tomorrow to see how we can work it. I'll definitely keep everyone posted!
On that note, I'm off to bed to get some beauty sleep! It's Friday tomorrow!!!! :)

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Bootcamp

Yes, I said boot camp. Last night Julie and I get all psyched up for kickboxing only to discover that the teacher that we don't really like couldn't make it. Instead, there's this tiny little fit looking woman who informs us that she is covering for our teacher but knows nothing about kickboxing. Therefore, we're going to do boot camp. That's right, boot camp. Before I go any further, let me explain my fear of step aerobics. Those of you who know me, know that I tend to be very athletic and will try almost anything. That said, I've always avoided step aerobics. They look like tons of fun to me, however, I've always been fully convinced that I will fall off the step. I mean, seriously convinced. Fast forward to last night. Our angelic instructor tells us that for the boot camp class we're going to need mats, weights and... ...steps. At this point, I begin to get nervous. Julie assured me that everything was going to be ok and that I wouldn't fall and kill myself. We start the workout by just stepping up and stepping down, with Julie shooting me encouraging smiles. We add weights while continuing to step. At this point I mention to Julie that I think this instructor and class are both pretty cool. Then we move on to jumping onto the steps, squatting and lifting weights in a thousand different ways ("now pretend that you're zipping your jacket" or "now hold them behind your head"). We do these different variations for sets of 30, 45 and 60 seconds. Now, 60 seconds is a pretty long time. Hold ten pounds above your head while jumping up and down for a minute and you'll see what I'm talking about. Still, I think to myself, this class isn't too bad.

Then we move on to push ups. I'm not going to lie, I have wimpy arms. Always have. After doing all the stepping/jumping/squatting with weights, my arms feel like they're going to fall off and definitely don't feel like doing push ups. Somewhere in the middle of the 30 second sets I look over to Julie and calmly inform her that I think our instructor is the spawn of Satan. She seemed to agree.

After that we moved on to every imaginable way of hurting your stomach possible. Yes, sit ups. The worst part was that on the last set the Devil, I mean, instructor, tells us "these are the ones that are going to make you feel like you got hit by a bus tomorrow". That is NOT what I want to hear when I'm faltering in my workout. I want encouraging words, like "wow your abs look great" or "almost done".

Needless to say, I feel like I was actually run over by a train today. There are weird muscles that I didn't even know were in my body that hurt. I am pretty dang proud to say I made it through the class though. I might even take it again some day.

Today was an interesting day. At about 5pm I suddenly had the urge to shop. I know, it's a small miracle. For those of you who don't know, I'm not big on the whole shopping thing. Anywho, I think it was predestined because I ended up getting MAJOR sales everywhere I went. Like an Express skirt that retails at $50 for $9.99. Or a Macy's shirt that retails $30 for $5. I know - amazing!

That said, I'm off to bed to get my "stop getting sick" sleep. I've been trying to get to bed super early lately and to stick to a general sleeping regimen. We'll see if it works!

Monday, January 22, 2007

Movies, House Hunting and Other Oddities

Well, it was quite an eventful weekend for me. Starting with Friday when someone hacked into my bank account. Fun times. Turns out, it seems that I accidentally clicked an email that I shouldn't have (I think) because that's the only way I can imagine someone getting that far into my account. They ended up taking some money, but the joke's on them because I was able to stop payment and the check is going to bounce. My passwords and account numbers have all been changed and the lesson was definitely learned. It was a mess.

Friday night my parents and I went to see "Dreamgirls" (see the movie review to the right) which was surprisingly good. Saturday was nice and relaxing and I was able to get lots of little stuff done that has been on my to do list forever. I also discovered the best kickboxing class ever at the gym by my house. Julie and I take one on Monday's at a different gym, but this one was just amazing. The instructor really focused on making every move do something for you and explained how you would use it in a fighting situation. I kind of like having a reason to wake up on Saturday mornings and something to do. He teaches the same class during the week, so I may try that one too. I went to dinner with Brig at our favorite Red Robin (hooray for Southwest Chicken Pasta!) We were going to see a movie, then realized it started at 10:10pm and that we were old, so that was too late. Instead, we're going to try to get a matinee on Tuesday. I know, I know.

Sunday I hit the pavement and started the house hunt again. It was a sort of weird experience. Every other house was cool and every other house was really weird. On of them had actual bullet holes in the windows from BBs. Now, this might just be me, but if I were to sell a house, I would most likely make sure that things like bullet holes in the windows were patched up. But that's just me. I actually found one that was pretty nifty, so I'll be researching it a little more this week. I don't want to get too excited just yet.

By the way, I've discovered the wonder that is green tea. I've always been a little wary (tea that's green?!), but in the past week or so have discovered that it's actually quite tasty. I don't even need to put sugar into it! And, I've heard it's pretty dang healthy for you.

On that note, I'm back to work and to sipping my green tea! Happy Monday everyone!

Saturday, January 13, 2007

Sexy Is Definitely Back

First things first, I used to be a closet Justin Timberlake fan. You know, a little afraid to admit it because I have a degree in music and all that. Well, I am now a full fledged JT fan and I'll yell it from the mountain tops. Last night us girls attended the FutureSex/LoveShow. It was an OUTSTANDING performance. The girls and I got all dolled up with our "smokey eyes" and headed out to dinner and the show:
P!nk opened for JT and I was a little skeptical, just because I don't really listen to her music and haven't heard her do much singing. I was actually very impressed and came home and downloaded her song "Dear Mr. President". She sang for about 45 minutes and did a bunch of her hits. Then, after a short intermission to set up the stage, Justin came out. The boy was hot. He sang, he danced and he wowed the crowd. He played guitar, piano and "keytar" (remember those from the 80s? They're a keyboard that looks like a guitar).
The best part was that he played all 12 songs off his new album, "FutureSex/LoveSounds" and the popular ones from "Justified". All in all, the whole concert was about 3 hours, with Justin singing close to 2 hours. Justin had Timbaland there, who sang with him on a bunch of the hits he helped produce and did a cool little dj thing in the middle of the show. There were light shows, lasers, smoke and these cool screens that projected all kinds of stuff, but were see-through so you could still see the stage. I love concerts that make you feel like they're worth every penny!

Thursday, January 11, 2007

Know When To Hold Them, Know When To Fold Them

Some of you may have noticed that my house countdown is gone. Well, as the title of this blog implies (in the words of the immortal Kenny Rogers) , it was time to back out. As it turns out, the house appraised at significantly a lower value than asking price. There are several things wrong with this scenario, the first being I would have to fork over the cash for it. The second being that it's a buyers market, so this lady needs to adjust or I'll find a better home at a better price somewhere else. Long story short, I'm backing out of the deal today and will start looking at other homes in the area in the next week or so. It's a bummer because I really liked the house and it would have been the perfect little starter home for me, but I have to be financially smart. I mean, I worked really hard for this, why blow it on the first house I like for the sake of having one?

That said, I actually feel really good about my decision. Surprisingly good. I know there's the perfect little house out there somewhere, waiting for me to come along and buy it (at a FAIR price). Shame on this seller and her horrible realtor... who advises their client to sell high in a bum market?

In other news, tomorrow is the Justin Timberlake concert. I know, I know. But I really like his new stuff and can't wait! The girls and I are going out to dinner first, which is always a blast. I'll be sure to take lots of pictures!

Finally, thanks to everyone who thought happy thoughts for little Onyx. Great news - she pulled through (what a little fighter!) and is back home. Woo hoo!

Friday, January 5, 2007

Onyx Vigil

Ok everyone, time to round up some prayers and happy thoughts. Eva's kitty, Onyx is very sick and in the hospital. She's fighting through some kidney issues. Maybe if everyone sends out a happy thought/prayer we can help her out a little!

Here she is in her Thanksgiving sweater:

Tuesday, January 2, 2007

BEST BIRTHDAY EVER!

Today was such an awesome birthday!

First of all, I got the wonderful news that the house is a done deal! The previous owner chose my bid over the other people who made offers on it. I'm SO excited! I get the keys on the 26th and can't wait! Now it's time to start pulling everything together - inspections, loans and packing!

As if that wasn't enough, I got to go to a wonderful dinner and the Kings game. We ate at Chris Webber's restaurant, Center Court. (for those of you who don't know, C-Webb is a former Kings player). My family, Brigitte's family and Amber/Kris were all there (it's Brigitte's sister, Delinna's birthday too). We had the honor of sitting at the Bibby table:Here are the girls and I at dinner:
After a fun dinner, complete with singing and ice cream we (Amber, Kris, Brig and Alyse) headed over to Arco for the game. Little did I know, that we had really bad seats. As in, the last row at the very top. In fact, we had our own special row:
We cheered our little hearts out and after half time decided to head down to the empty seats to get a closer view. Brigitte's family was down there, so we had a much better view of Mike Bibby for the rest of the game. Brigitte's quote of the night: "That one guy is really tall". Of course, he was 6'11", but it just sounded funny to all of us since she was referencing a basketball player. I wore my new jersey from Adam and Eva, which, by the way, is LUCKY!
The Kings won the game (woot woot!) and we had a blast. Here's the back of Bibby:All in all, it was a wonderful day... a ton of people from work, school and life called, texted and emailed me. I felt very loved today! Thanks everyone!

Monday, January 1, 2007

Party of Two

New Years was very interesting this year. My parents had a bunch of friends over to play games and have a little potluck. I didn't really feel like going out somewhere, so I invited some of my friends over. As it turns out, only Brigitte showed up, but we had a blast watching movies all night (who knew I would like Will Farrell so much?!). It was nice and relaxing. The bonus is that while all of my friends were hung over and sleeping this morning I watched the Rose Parade and walked the dog. :)

Here's Cody thinking he's a person:

And here's Brig and I just before midnight:

I plan on spending the rest of the day being lazy, napping and watching movies. It's my last day of vacation - I might as well enjoy it! Tomorrow is my birthday and we're planning a ton of fun stuff. As it turns out, I share the same birthday as Brigitte's youngest sister, Delinna. Her family has tickets to tomorrow's Kings game, and the girls and I bought tickets as well. Both of our families are meeting up at Chris Webber's restaurant before the game for a joint birthday dinner. I can't wait! I'm also planning on meeting up with my broker to finalize the house stuff. Hopefully. Keep your fingers crossed for me! :)