this little life of mine

Happy Monday!

Today was the first day I've felt like an actual living human being since the end of last month. I'm still tired, but not so physically and mentally exhausted I can't function. My eyes are much better, although my distance vision was quite blurry today. I had another follow-up appointment with the eye doctor (which I walked to since I was able to get the appointment in SLO, and man, did that walk feel good!), who said things were progressing very well. I asked him about the blurry vision, and he explained that the lens of the eye can become distorted because of the inflammation, and that it should eventually return to its normal state. He also agreed with me that it might just be from using my eyes at work so much. I have to go back in this Friday (in Templeton, so unfortunetly I have to leave work early), but the doctor seemed confident that I will be even better by then. He didn't seem to think I would be fighting this much longer. Yay!

This evening I was able to go back to the gym and work with TrainerDude. THAT felt fantastic! I was hoping for the hour of cardio, but the cardio room was packed, so we had to do the super set with the weights and versa climber (yuck!). It was difficult and I had a couple moments where I didn't think I was going to make it, but in the end, I did, and it felt SO good to be back working out! I had really missed it! That in itself was a wonderful feeling, and it's something I've been working for this past year. I wanted to make exercise such a habit that I would really notice when I didn't do it. I would FEEL it deep inside me, and I would WANT so badly to work out. I think I've got that, or at least I'm well on the way to getting that exercise habit back!

And, finally, I stepped on the scale (at the gym) for the first time this month and discovered I'd gone from 225 on October 31st, to 215! I knew I'd lost some weight because several pairs of pants suddenly were too big, but I had no idea I'd lost that much! I'm so excited!!!

So, in a nutshell, today rocked!

P.S. Also, I'm going to try to remember to do Participation Positives every Monday!

Participation Positives

I haven't done this in a very long time, but I'm trying to have more gratitude and positive feelings in my life as I recover from whateverthehell it is that's wrong with my broken eyeballs, so here's a list of positives for today:

1. First and foremost, I can see better everyday! In fact, I drove myself to the bus stop this morning and home this evening. Some of the lights at night are still a bit too bright, but I can see the road really well, so I'm back to having some independance!
2. This Thursday is Thanksgiving in the USA, and even though I've been sick, I have plenty to be thankful for: my loving family, my great friends, my awesome job, and the ability to take some amazing trips a few times a year!
3. The Green Bay Packers! 9 - 1. 'Nuff said.
4. I am planning on being back in the gym (sorry, Kevin, the Club) next Monday. I know I won't be up to the level of fitness I was a little over two weeks ago, but the good news is, muscles have memory, so it won't be long before I'm back on track!
5. I have an awesome Christmas Card design this year! I will probably come up with a "holiday" card design for my secular friends, but the Christ-based card is, if I may say so, one of my best yet!!

Monday Positives

A quick update/positive list for this holiday Monday :

1. Well, first and foremost, it's a holiday, so I have today off work. That's always a nice way to start a Monday!
2. We finally got some rain this weekend. Although it wasn't as much as predicted or as much as we need, it's better than nothing at all.
3. I bought a new camera. It's the Canon PowerShot Digital ELPH SD900. The two features I like the most are the larger viewing screen on the back and the 10 mega pixels. That should be an amazing improvement on the measly 4 mega pixels my current ELPH has.
4. I also bought a new computer: the HP Pavilion s7700n. Being unable to upgrade to Vista on my current computer due to not having enough space was the final straw. For at least a year I've been frustrated about how slow-as-molasses my computer is, and how it doesn't have enough space – thus necessitating the purchase of an external hard drive to store my photos on, and very nearly getting another one - but I'd just been living with it because I figured a new computer would be a silly, unnecessary and expensive purchase. Then I saw this HP computer which is smaller than my current computer, has more space, is faster and already has Vista on it! And, it was only $579.98; less as soon as I send it my rebate information. I realized then it would be cheaper in the long run to buy this new machine rather than continuing to spend money on another external hard drive to house whatever it is that's taking up all the space on my machine and the Vista upgrade. So, I returned the Vista Upgrade to Staples, and put in an order for the new computer. It was sold out, but they found one at another store, and are shipping it here. I should have it by Wednesday.
5. The daffodils are coming up in our garden! So far it's just the leaves, but soon the stalks and blossoms will be up!

A Positive Weekend Recap

One of my New Year's Resolutions this year was to spend more time outdoors. Well, I'm doing pretty good so far this year, thanks to Flat Stanely. Rather than sit at my desk and read CNN.com, I went out three days last week to take Flat Stanley to the Mission, Bubblegum Alley and out for sushi. And, this past Saturday, mom and I took Flat Stanley to Avila Beach (one of the places I had on my Thursday Thirteen list which I actually managed to accomplish).

It was a beautiful day - sunny and kinda warm! I got pictures of Flat Stanley at the beach, on Avila Pier, in front of "Beach Regulation" and "Shark Warning" signs, and at the newly opened Avila Beach Marine Institute. They actually had quite a bit of exhibits up already including a touch pool, small aquariums with fish, an octopus, starfish, and a sea cucumber in them, and true-to-life tide measure. The main lobby had information on abalone fishing, sharks, displays of vintage diving equipment, and a table with microscopes where you could look at what micro organisms live in the water. It was really very fascinating!

After walking around and getting pictures, mom and I had lunch at The Custom House. I had the Sunburst sandwich (Turkey, Avocado, Apple wood Smoked Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato, and Melted Jack Cheese) with cottage cheese, and mom had the French dip sandwich and a salad. Both meals were really good, but huge, and we ended up taking half our sandwiches home for dinner. After lunch, we sat on the concrete steps by the pier and watched the waves rolling in, then, when we'd had our fill, we came back home.

Yesterday I printed Flat Stanley's pictures and put together a box with the pictures, some postcards, news papers from Avila Beach and Atascadero (I didn't include SLO's paper because they tend to print articles/opinion letters with profanity in them), a bottle of sand and some shells and a few other little knick-knacks. I mailed him out this evening, and he should arrive back home soon. I really hope the kids enjoy Flat Stanley's adventure at the beach!

A Positive New Year

My first list of positive stuff for 2007:

1.  Watching the Rose Parade. I love this parade! The floats are so gorgeous and creative (and expensive!), and the equestrian teams, the high school bands; everything about this parade rocks!
2.  The Green Bay Packers winning their final game of the season. Yeah, I'm sad their season is over, but it was a great game, and living on the west coast I don't often get to see the Packers play, so it was quite a treat! (Even if Brett did make me cry at the end with all his hand shaking and hugging and shedding of tears.)
3.  A typically beautiful, sunshiny day. I should take a picture, but I'm too lazy to get dressed to go outside, but trust me, it's gorgeous out today!
4.  Having today off from work! That's always a positive, though!
5.  Starting a new 26 Things. I've been looking forward to this all December! I'm really excited to get started!

Happy New Year, everyone! Let's hope it's a good one!

A Christmas Meme

Blatantly stolen from Bozoette Mary. Can also be seen on Self-Portrait where I'm currently participating in Holidailies. Enjoy!

1. Egg nog or hot chocolate?  Egg nog! I love hot chocolate as much as the next person, but I can have that any time of the year (although I will admit it usually doesn't taste quite as good as it does during the wintertime!), and Christmas is the only time I can drink egg nog. With a little nutmeg sprinkled on top.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?   He always wrapped them unless they were too big and didn't come in a box, like a bike, then he'd leave them out for all the world to see.

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white?   When I was little we used multi-coloured blinking lights on our Christmas tree (we never did lights outside), but back when I was living in Lincoln City, OR, I was into the minimalist look (it helped that we didn't have Christmas decorations for a year or two), and just had a couple strings of white lights on the tree. I still have the white ones, but next year I might just switch it up and go back to multi-coloured blinking lights. It would be so "retro".

4. Do you hang mistletoe?   No. There's really no reason for it.

5. When do you put your decorations up?  It depends on how my mom and I are feeling. Usually the weekend of Thanksgiving or the weekend immediately following (like we did this year). However, last year, we didn't decorate at all. Neither of us was in the mood.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)?   I love the turkey! Dark meat from the thigh, please and thank you.

7. Favorite holiday memory as a child? When I was little, my family would go out into the woods and chop down our Christmas tree. I don't recall if we went to an actual Christmas tree farm (or if they even had those things back then) or just out into the wilderness, but we'd head out, stomp through the snow, hunt down the perfect (or nearly perfect) Christmas tree, and my dad would chop it down, then we'd drag it back, throw it in the back of the pick-up and head home. We had some odd looking trees, but the whole experience was great fun!

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?   Honestly I don't remember. I do remember snooping in my parents' closet when I was 9 or 10 and finding a bunch of presents, and it was either that year or the year after that I snuck out after they'd gone to bed and saw all the extra presents and the new bike under the tree. However, I'm not sure if I discovered this on my own, or if some kids at school put a seed of doubt in my mind and sent me searching for the truth.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?   Yes, we always used to open one gift on Christmas eve. Nowadays, however, we don't do gifts - it's just too hard; everyone is too old and can just buy whatever they want themselves.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree?   With white lights (see #3) and ornaments I've had since I was a little kid. I have several Betsy Clark ornaments my Aunt Alice gave me, a set of wooden paint-by-number ornaments (Just the ones my mom painted becasue they looked nice; the ones I did were sucky, and I threw them out last year. Yes, I do regret that now.)

11. Snow! Love it or dread it?   If I'm inside and don't have to go out I love snow! It's so beautiful to watch the snow falling and seeing the undisturbed snow smooth on the ground. And, okay, I'll admit it, sometimes I even like going out and playing in the snow - making a snowman, making snow angels, catching snowflakes on my tongue ... But, if I have to drive anywhere, I dread it! I slid off the highway once in compact snow and ice conditions, and I've been really nervous about driving in snow ever since. However, it's all moot, as I live on the Central Coast of California, and we don't get snow.

12. Can you ice skate?  No. I've never tried, so I'm pretty sure I can't do it. That blade is just too narrow. I'm sure I'd snap my ankles in half if I tried.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift?   Not really. There've been so many great gifts over the years. I loved the Malibu Barbie, Ken and Skipper dolls and the Malibu Camper; the Sunshine Family with their pick-up truck, my bear Brandon, my bike ... etc.

14. What’s the most important thing about the holidays for you?   Celebrating the birth of my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

15. What is your favorite holiday dessert?   Pumpkin pie with Cool Whip, without a doubt!

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition?  My family used to go to the Candle Light Service at church Christmas Eve, then come home and have a little cocktail-type party. Later, after everyone has left, mom and I sit down to relax and watch "It's a Wonderful Life". We don't do the church service or the after-church party anymore, but my mom and I still watch "Wonderful LIfe".

17. What tops your tree?   A "retro" silver star with multi-coloured lights. It's pretty old; maybe even from my childhood, but I'm not entirely sure.

18. Which do you prefer, giving or receiving?   Giving. I love watching the recipient's face when they open it, especially if I did good, and chose just the right thing.

19. What is your favorite Christmas song? "Joy to the World". It's so uplifting and, well, joyful!

20. Candy canes? One or two.   Love 'em! I'll take two, please!

21. Favorite Christmas movie?   Without a doubt, "It's a Wonderful Life".

22. What do you leave for Santa?   We used to leave cookies and milk, but of course, Santa doesn't visit this old fart anymore, so I don't bother leaving him any food.

A Positive List

Yes, I've been doing poorly at Participation Positives. What else is new? But! I have remembered today and present to you this brief but happy list:

1. A lovely Saturday morning spent walking around the lake with my mom, seeing the various birds who reside there, taking pictures of said birds, and admiring what's left of the beautiful fall colours.
2. Wandering through the Holiday Craft Fair. There are lots of really talented and/or dedicated people out there who have lots and lots of time on their hands.
3. Gorgeous freakin' weather! Seriously, it's November? But it's also been in the mid-70s - sunny, blue skies and very few clouds. Lovely!
4. This is a short week, as I have Thursday AND Friday off for Thanksgiving!

Cheers!

Monday Positives

Well, I'm sick (again), but that's no reason to skip the Positives, is it? No, it isn't. So, here we go:

1.  It's Columbus Day, and I have the day off!!

2.  Mom and I finally cut down the Behemath:

Before:

After:

It felt really good - I'd been wanting to cut that thing down for a very long time! I'm amazed at how big the backyard seems now. I had no idea how much space that monsterous bush was actually taking up.

3.  I finally got around to printing out eight of my favourite Chicago pictures to post on my Art Wall:

4.  Despite being sick (again), I've scheduled a manicure for this afternoon. I've actually gone one whole week without picking at, chewing on, or clipping my cuticles! I am bound and determined to break this disgusting and unhealthy habit by the end of this month!

5.  Yesterday was my mom's birthday. I finally got around to making her birthday card this morning.

Positive Monday Entry

Monday already! Man, those weekends go by fast! It was all good, though. Mom and I did our usual walk up to The Gathering Place (formerly known and loved as Carlene's), and had some of their delicious coffee and a yummy homemade granola bar. Afterwards we got our groceries, then I went up to visit my grandparents, and bring them a gift: a good-sized eggplant and bell pepper.

Apparently they're not getting any eggplant, so they were thrilled to have one. The plants have recovered nicely from whatever-it-was that almost killed them (and in fact did kill the cucumber and zucchini), and are producing quite a bit, as are the tomatoes and peppers. It's getting pretty exciting!

The rest of the weekend was spent relaxing. I know I need to Jiffy Lube and wash both cars, but I decided to put it off until next weekend (since it's Labour Day, I'll have an extra day to get work done, and still have two days to rest or play, whichever I decide.)

And, finally, the Packers play tonight! Yay! I've dusted off my cheesehead and have a beer chilling in the fridge!

Participation Positives

Well, I was going to do a Positives list today, but I realized I already mentioned all my positive stuff in yesterday's post. The pedicure, the maybe-not-dying-after-all garden, the paella, putting stuff on eBay ... I'm not sure I have anything else right now.

Oh, there is one thing I forgot to mention: the sunburn I got on my forehead during the Santa Barbara trip finally stopped hurting this past Thursday. It's still really red, and it's peeled a bit, but I'm putting Neosporin on it frequently, so I'm hoping it'll heal up soon.

And, also, we now have Sephora in SLO. It's just opened up last week, just down the street from SupCo., so I'm planning on doing a quick run-through during lunch. Which is now. So I'm off.

Cheers!