This week marked a monumental moment in American history. Emotions have run high for everyone. I have never seen any election create more passion in people than this one. No matter which side you stood on last week, I hope that we will all stand together from this day forward.
I, for one, feel as though I have waited for this day for my entire life and I have never been prouder to be an American.
There's so much to say about it, but no words as eloquent as this:
"Americans sent a message to the world that we have never been a collection of individuals or just a collection of red states or blue states. We are, and always will be, the UNITED States of America.
The true strength of our nation comes not from the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals; democracy, liberty, opportunity and unyielding hope! That's the true genius of America. That America can change." - Barack Obama, 11/4/08
P.S. Does anyone have any interest in knowing that I live a mile away from where John McCain made his concession speech? Part of me wondered if living less than a mile from his Phoenix residence would boost the value of my condo if he became President. Yeah, I know... that was wishful thinking...on a MULTITUDE of levels.
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Thursday, September 4, 2008
My Favorite Zip Code
...is BACK!!!!! That's right, folks. I've waited 8 years to be able to say it, and the time has come! 90210 is back on the airwaves! (How do I know it's been 8 years, you ask? Oh, that would be because the night of the BH 90210 season finale fell on my 18th birthday, and incidentally, my last day of high school... Most kids would go out with their friends and party, right? Not me! All I wanted was 2 hours of peace so I could watch David & Donna's wedding, and then another hour or two to mourn the end of my all-time favorite show and wish that one day, it would come back to life.) I couldn't be happier. I am the ULTIMATE 90210 geek. I could totally smack down the competition in a 90210 trivia game. In fact, I think all through college it was like an on-going "thing" among my friends Missy, Mikey and myself to compete for who knows the show best. I guarantee that each of us has seen every episode at least a half a dozen times. Perhaps this isn't something to brag about, but I'm proud of this geeky obsession. I loved every PART of this show. Jennie Garth is my idol.
I'm happy to report that I watched the new series premiere this week and L-O-V-E-D it! However, I realize that age must really be settling in, because I found myself more curious about the adult story line than the kids. Whatever, I'm just glad that I have OTH and 90210 to help me escape from my own reality for an hour each week. There's something comforting about knowing that I can get lost in these shows each week. Geez, how pathetic am I?
I'm happy to report that I watched the new series premiere this week and L-O-V-E-D it! However, I realize that age must really be settling in, because I found myself more curious about the adult story line than the kids. Whatever, I'm just glad that I have OTH and 90210 to help me escape from my own reality for an hour each week. There's something comforting about knowing that I can get lost in these shows each week. Geez, how pathetic am I?
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
I Heart Pilates
One of the more embarrassing (and terribly blonde) moments of my life occurred one evening a few years ago while leading a class of teenagers that were preparing to be confirmed at Church. It was Easter season, and that night's particular lesson happened to involve The Passion. Picture: a room full of forty 16-18 year olds in a dimly lit room, intently listening to me reading the passion accounts from The Bible. I get to a line that mentions Pontius Pilate - a name I'm familiar with, in fact, one that I say on a daily basis in prayer. (Especially since I went to Catholic school for several years of my life...) I read aloud, "Pontius pih-lot-ee, pih-LOT-ee, pih-lot-EE." I knew in my head the first time I said it that it didn't sound right, so I said it again, thinking that if I emphasized a different syllable, it would be right. Wrong. So I said it a third time. Still wrong. Never did it occur to me that I was saying the wrong word COMPLETELY. Before I even realized what I had done, laughter broke out in this silent room, breaking the somewhat somber mood of the lesson. I had just made a total you-know-what of myself in front of the world's most judgemental age group. How EMBARRASSING! As red as I turned that night, it gave me a new nickname and all of my friends a good laugh for years to come. I still laugh at the thought of that moment, and am still called Pilates from time to time.
At that point in time, Windsor Pilates had just made a big boom onto the infomercial circuit. I'm fairly certain it must have been my subconscious coming through to tell me that I had been watching FAR too much television. A couple of years later (and about 2 years ago now) I was watching TV early on a Saturday morning and I had succomb to the genius marketing technique. I was SOLD on this exercise program and in just two weeks and $29.99 later, I was the proud new owner of the Windsor Pilates DVD set and a FREE Windsor Pilates Circle with a Circle workout DVD! I got that DVD in the mail and I started doing it - wow, gave me more of a workout than I ever thought possible! And would you know? I actually had more energy and strength! If only I had the will power to continue doing it. It's easy when there's no real accountability factor to let it go by the wayside. But I knew I liked it and I knew it worked. People started to see results. I started to FEEL results.
That's why when I finally got to the point again with my body where I knew I HAD to do something, I decided to start pilates classes. A couple of the girls at work take them and it's five minutes from our office. That makes it pretty convenient to go after work. Well I'm about 6 classes deep and I am completely HOOKED! It's slightly different from the mat pilates that I was doing at home, because we use machines, combined with some mat work, ball work, and Patti also throws in the circle from time to time! (Patti is also known as Patti Pilates in the circles I run in - oh, did I mention she is married to one of our underwriters and also happens to be Carlie & Josh's next door neighbor? Small World.) I love every minute of it! I never want the classes to end. It has given me more energy, strength, and most of all - has had a bigger impact on my emotional well-being than I EVER thought possible. Oh, and, I just have to say - I lost SEVEN pounds last week! I am so excited by how I feel that it has helped me make better food choices, and... drumroll please... inspired me to quit drinking soda! This is huge for me.
I do hope that the excitement continues and that I continue to reap the benefits from doing this. IT AIN'T CHEAP so I'm certainly having to make some adjustments and sacrifices - but the way I see it, it's keeping me out of trouble and it's really transforming my life. The attitude adjustment alone makes it all worthwile.
When I started telling people about it and what we do in class, I realized that it's hard to envision what you do when you are in a Pilates class unless you've actually seen it before, and I thought, "must search YouTube." Here's a video I found that shows a lot of what I get to do. I have no affilation whatsoever with the studio in this video, nor have I ever been there. Enjoy!
At that point in time, Windsor Pilates had just made a big boom onto the infomercial circuit. I'm fairly certain it must have been my subconscious coming through to tell me that I had been watching FAR too much television. A couple of years later (and about 2 years ago now) I was watching TV early on a Saturday morning and I had succomb to the genius marketing technique. I was SOLD on this exercise program and in just two weeks and $29.99 later, I was the proud new owner of the Windsor Pilates DVD set and a FREE Windsor Pilates Circle with a Circle workout DVD! I got that DVD in the mail and I started doing it - wow, gave me more of a workout than I ever thought possible! And would you know? I actually had more energy and strength! If only I had the will power to continue doing it. It's easy when there's no real accountability factor to let it go by the wayside. But I knew I liked it and I knew it worked. People started to see results. I started to FEEL results.
That's why when I finally got to the point again with my body where I knew I HAD to do something, I decided to start pilates classes. A couple of the girls at work take them and it's five minutes from our office. That makes it pretty convenient to go after work. Well I'm about 6 classes deep and I am completely HOOKED! It's slightly different from the mat pilates that I was doing at home, because we use machines, combined with some mat work, ball work, and Patti also throws in the circle from time to time! (Patti is also known as Patti Pilates in the circles I run in - oh, did I mention she is married to one of our underwriters and also happens to be Carlie & Josh's next door neighbor? Small World.) I love every minute of it! I never want the classes to end. It has given me more energy, strength, and most of all - has had a bigger impact on my emotional well-being than I EVER thought possible. Oh, and, I just have to say - I lost SEVEN pounds last week! I am so excited by how I feel that it has helped me make better food choices, and... drumroll please... inspired me to quit drinking soda! This is huge for me.
I do hope that the excitement continues and that I continue to reap the benefits from doing this. IT AIN'T CHEAP so I'm certainly having to make some adjustments and sacrifices - but the way I see it, it's keeping me out of trouble and it's really transforming my life. The attitude adjustment alone makes it all worthwile.
When I started telling people about it and what we do in class, I realized that it's hard to envision what you do when you are in a Pilates class unless you've actually seen it before, and I thought, "must search YouTube." Here's a video I found that shows a lot of what I get to do. I have no affilation whatsoever with the studio in this video, nor have I ever been there. Enjoy!
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
A Fistful of Misguided Anger
Straight up... I have been angry at EVERYTHING for the past 48 hours and I DON'T KNOW WHY!!! It's killin' me, because I realize that my current state of anger makes absolutely no sense. The events (if you can call them that) that set me off are quite minuscule in nature and should warrant nothing more than an exasperated sigh. But the past few days, I have flipped the bitch switch into high gear. I apologize to anyone whom I have come in contact with and promise to make a concerted effort to gain composure and control.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Big Scare
ACCIDENT VIDEO
Please note the Honda Civic. This is the vehicle of one of my oldest friends, Megan (Melissa) - we grew up together. Our moms are best friends and we used to live around the corner from eachother. Firefighters used the jaws of life to extricate her from the vehicle. She passed out a couple of times because of the trauma that her body went through, but her vitals remained steady, and she came out with just a bunch of broken bones. She is in another surgery as I type. I found out about the accident yesterday afternoon and couldn't watch the video. I started watching a different clip from another news site without sound, and without realizing yet what I was watching, I saw her being rolled away on a stretcher by the paramedics and I had to stop watching. She was in pretty bad shape. My mom talked to her today and I will go to the hospital tomorrow, but she seems to be in good spirits.
After graduating with her Master's in social work, yesterday she was on her way to her first day at her new job. Her "dream job". My wish is that she heals quickly to start her dream job soon because an excellent social worker she'll be. She's had her ups & downs in life, but she has a heart of gold and is one of the most generous people I know. We have a lot of memories together... here's to many more.
Please note the Honda Civic. This is the vehicle of one of my oldest friends, Megan (Melissa) - we grew up together. Our moms are best friends and we used to live around the corner from eachother. Firefighters used the jaws of life to extricate her from the vehicle. She passed out a couple of times because of the trauma that her body went through, but her vitals remained steady, and she came out with just a bunch of broken bones. She is in another surgery as I type. I found out about the accident yesterday afternoon and couldn't watch the video. I started watching a different clip from another news site without sound, and without realizing yet what I was watching, I saw her being rolled away on a stretcher by the paramedics and I had to stop watching. She was in pretty bad shape. My mom talked to her today and I will go to the hospital tomorrow, but she seems to be in good spirits.
After graduating with her Master's in social work, yesterday she was on her way to her first day at her new job. Her "dream job". My wish is that she heals quickly to start her dream job soon because an excellent social worker she'll be. She's had her ups & downs in life, but she has a heart of gold and is one of the most generous people I know. We have a lot of memories together... here's to many more.
Monday, June 30, 2008
The Home Stretch
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a scathing blog that vented about everything wrong with the world today. It was so bad that I had all kinds of warnings to preface the blog. "If you will judge me for bitching - STOP HERE!" I had to vent. Writing that blog was a therapeutic necessity. What happened to that blog, you ask? Well, I actually wrote it in Microsoft Word rather than straight into the blog, and would you know? I pressed the big X in the upper right hand corner, and without thinking, said NO to saving it. $^%(&$^!!!!!!!! I suppose it's best that way. Here's a brief synopsis, in case you are still curious: Men are idiots, women are bitches and everyone I seem to come in contact with has the mental capacity of a toddler. I can have a better conversation with my 2 and a 1/2 year old nephew than most folks. So played out, right? Right. Thank goodness for small miracles and brainless deletions.
Although my stance on these issues remain somewhat static, I have a slightly lighter felling about everything. I feel as though I'm finally on the home stretch and ready to be done with the negative "phase" of this year. It's a terrible feeling to be so negative. I'm over it.
My motor is being delivered tomorrow and Ryan will replace the old with the new - YAY - and I might ACTUALLY get to drive my own vehicle again before August!! *FINGERS CROSSED*
Last week my friend Cynthia left for Europe and I couldn't be more excited for her! She asked me when she first had the idea if I thought she was crazy and I told her - HECK NO! If I could swing it, I totally would! Here's some pics from our bon voyage celebration: The first is of me & Cyn and the second is me, Jordan and Cynthia. I love these girls so much!!
One last thought for the evening: I hate when people lie to you and think you don't know that they are lying - and the worst part is when it's over something trivial. I'M SO OVER IT!!
Although my stance on these issues remain somewhat static, I have a slightly lighter felling about everything. I feel as though I'm finally on the home stretch and ready to be done with the negative "phase" of this year. It's a terrible feeling to be so negative. I'm over it.
My motor is being delivered tomorrow and Ryan will replace the old with the new - YAY - and I might ACTUALLY get to drive my own vehicle again before August!! *FINGERS CROSSED*
Last week my friend Cynthia left for Europe and I couldn't be more excited for her! She asked me when she first had the idea if I thought she was crazy and I told her - HECK NO! If I could swing it, I totally would! Here's some pics from our bon voyage celebration: The first is of me & Cyn and the second is me, Jordan and Cynthia. I love these girls so much!!
One last thought for the evening: I hate when people lie to you and think you don't know that they are lying - and the worst part is when it's over something trivial. I'M SO OVER IT!!
Monday, May 19, 2008
Happy Birthday to ME!
The big birthday weekend came and went, and all in all I had a nice weekend. Dinner & a movie Friday night with Heather - SO fun, minus the obnoxious teeny bopper crowd... Saturday I woke up early for a conference call, then went and did super girlie things with myself like go get my eybrows waxed and tinted, get a pedicure and get my nails done, go shopping - those sorts of things... It was great! My Uncle Dan and I share a birthday and it was his 50th, so I went to their house to begin my celebrations. Later on I headed down to Tempe to this cute new little place called La Bocca Pizzeria & Wine Bar where I met all of my friends for a birthday celebration of my own! Josh's birthday was on Thursday, so we decided to have a joint party. Delicious food & wine... Loved it. AND they gave both Josh & I a birthday tiramisu!! I LOOOOOOOOOVVVVVVVVVVVE tiramisu!
Yesterday Paige brought me breakfast from our fave spot - La Grande Orange - of which I ate only half of due to the state of hangover that I was in, and took me back to my car. My mom threw me a little birthday BBQ at her place. I got to swim with the kiddos (Jonathan & Anika) and we ate tons of food and had a blast. That was also a joint bday - Jonathan's dad's bday is today!
All in all, I had a great, fun weekend! Thanks to all who shared it with me!
Yesterday Paige brought me breakfast from our fave spot - La Grande Orange - of which I ate only half of due to the state of hangover that I was in, and took me back to my car. My mom threw me a little birthday BBQ at her place. I got to swim with the kiddos (Jonathan & Anika) and we ate tons of food and had a blast. That was also a joint bday - Jonathan's dad's bday is today!
All in all, I had a great, fun weekend! Thanks to all who shared it with me!
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