Pepsi No More

News Flash... I just gave up carbonated beverages! This is completely spur of the moment but I am tired of the way I feel when I drink them so wish me luck!

How Did I Get So Lucky

Last weekend we had the Love family over for a BBQ. We finally busted out the croquet set that our good friend Clint had given us almost 3 years ago for our wedding present. It was a blast! Never thought croquet could be so much fun. Also got to use our new patio set for the first time... I love it!

So...sad start to the weekend. We had planned a 3 day backpacking trip to Dark Canyon for Memorial Day Weekend but Mother Nature for reasons unknown decided against this. We debated still going despite predictions of non ideal weather but decided against it as scrambling down a mile of rocks with Gabe's goofy legs and new backpacks could be no fun if slick. Its been a crazy season weather wise so far as we had hoped to have 2 backpacking trips under our belt by now and have had to cancel both.

Thursday Night my sister graduated as a Medical Assistant. Chelsea, I am so proud of you. Despite all hardships and obstacles, you did it. Not only did you graduate, but you did it great grades and attendance. This proves that no matter what may stand in your way, if you really put your mind to something, you can accomplish it. Please don't stop here, you have the special touch with people and I know that you have what it takes to make a difference in many lives.

I came home from work on Friday to find Mr. Matt waiting for me with pizza, wine, and my personal favorite, chocolate covered grapes and raspberries. How did I get so lucky. I never imagined that someone could be so right for me. Six years into the relationship now and I couldn't dream of a better person to share my life with. Matt... you make me so happy.

Since we didn't make it too dark canyon this weekend i'll share some pictures of last years trip.

Matt thinks hilarious that I keep up on my celebrity gossip even in the middle of nowhere..




Matt, Myself, Gabe, and Sam all cozied up in our 2 person tent..

Grateful I Am

Sometimes I can't help but feel that nice people, and I mean genuinely nice people, are a thing of the past. The world we live in today seems to be full of people who are too consumed in their own lives to realize that there are in fact other people in this world living among them. People don't know their own neighbors anymore and ma and pa shops are very quickly becoming a thing of the past. When I was a child, we played outside all day. Left in the morning, played in the fields (which are also becoming a thing of the past) all day and came home at dusk. Today, you can't let your kids out of your sight for ten minutes without some pervert taking off with them. Sometimes I get so down on people and the society we live in. Maybe I was just born in the wrong era. And then you meet someone. Someone who is genuinely nice. Someone who at the time may be facing one of the most difficult challenges one could face and they're happy. Happy to be alive. Why sometimes does it seem to take a tragedy in ones life to make them see the big picture, to be grateful to be a alive. I am no exception. I so often find myself consumed in my own life, and then I have to stop and ask myself "what is really important to me". Why is it so difficult at times to not take life for granted?

This last week I have found myself feeling so down on people, so burnt out from work. And then today, one of my favorite old patients stopped by with flowers just to say hi. Thanks Ray for brightening my day and helping me (as one of my friends always says to her child) "change the attitude".

Dear Mr. Matt

Gabe and I have decided that Arizona is about 680.21 miles TOO FAR away. The house is now near spotless and Gabe has not left the living room all night except of course for about 30 seconds when I accidentally dropped a bunch of crackers onto the kitchen floor. As for Sam, as soon as he decides to put down his ball long enough to notice that your gone, I'm sure that he'll miss you too. Hope you dream of sweet things like endless bike trails, red vines, rocky mountain extreme.com, and car parts :).

Ps...Is it Friday Yet?

I Did It!

So I did it! I finished the Master Cleanse. I make it 10 days. Thats 10 days with absolutely no food. I have never fasted a day in my life so I was really skeptical as to if I would be able to finish. My goal had been to make it to day 8. The third and fourth day were hell, but after that it wasn't that hard at all as I began to lose all cravings for food. So what benefits did I get out of it?

1- I lost 6 and a half pounds although I am sure that I have gained a few of them back since I began eating again on Sunday.

2- They say once you lose a sense, your other senses will become stronger to make up for it. I was amazed at my newly found sense of smell. I could smell everything... and I mean EVERYTHING.

3- I have lost all cravings for junk food. The entire time I was on the cleanse, I was dreaming of what my first real meal would be. It of course changed everyday from Veggie Burgers and Homemade fries to Cafe Rio Salad to a whole package of saltines to the famous cheese fries at Outback Steakhouse which by the way were recently voted "worst food in America" with a whopping 2,900 calories. I was however very surprised that by the time the cleanse was finished, all of those craving had subsided. I have had Pepsi twice since I finished and It has done nothing for me where before I would down 4 Pepsi's before a meal was served.

4-It was a great mind game. It made me realize that the majority of the time that I eat, its not because I'm actually hungry but more so because the food is there. I was very much reminded of what a hunger pain feels like and it was something that I hadn't felt in a very long time.

So what was my first meal you ask...Yummy Watermelon! And let me tell you, it was a YUMMY Watermelon. Will I do it again? Yes, I have already decided on January. I figure what better time to clean out the junk in the trunk than right after the holidays? Next time Mr. Matt and I will do it together instead of the 2 weeks apart that we did this time around. I think that my goal for next time will be 13-15 days.

So is it Spring or Winter? I'm still not sure. I actually pulled my winter coat back out of the closet this morning. On the other hand, my confused tulips are finally doing this.... And This.... And for my trees... News Flash! Roller Derby is back! We went to the first bout last Saturday and it was a blast! If I didn't think it would get in the way of our backpacking and camping trips planned for the summer, I would buy season tickets in a second :). Go Bomber Babes!! The weekend before last we got to have our niece over for the night. It was a blast! We rented What a Girl Wants, went to the dog park, and made a cake for her to take home as a housewarming gift. She very quickly became Sam's best friend as he LOVES kids. Things to look forward to in the next few days: Wise Guys with an old friend, Date with my sisters, BBQ at Clint's house, Planting my garden, Love family dinner at sister Shauna's and Mr. Matt getting his skinny ass home so we can watch an episode of my new favorite series "How I Met your Mother" and finish the night off by soaking in the Hot Tub.

Sweet Dreams

We went to see A Fine Frenzy on Tuesday...It was Incredible! Her talent is phenomenal. A special thanks to Mr. Matt for surprising me with tickets to her show.













I keep having these reoccurring dreams. I was searching for a dream interpreter as I'm curious as to what they could possibly mean, but naturally they all cost an arm and a leg and who knows if its not all just BS anyways. Theres 3 dreams that I have at least once a month if not more. 1) I'm at an amusement park. It's Lagoon, but it never looks anything like Lagoon, I just know that it is. I get on a roller coaster, and just as it begins to go, the restraints fail. Sometimes its mine that fail but the majority of the time theres someone next to me and its their restraints that fail, I spend the whole ride frantically trying to hold them in. 95 % of the time its my little sister Hayley and the rest of the time its some random baby. I always wake up in a panic. 2) I go to put my contacts in and the are huge. Regardless of the fact that I'm looking at the contact and can obviously see that its way to big to fit into my eye, I keep trying because I know that I have had them in before and they fit fine then. I always wake up feeling extremely tense. 3) I'm somewhere other than home and my eyes start watering, then they start burning, burning to the point that I cant open them. I spent the whole dream trying function in some random situation but not being able to see other than a few split seconds here and there when I manage to crack my eyes briefly. I think it would be interesting to know how they tie into my everyday life and emotions since I keep having them over and over and....over again.

Mr. Matt went to see a movie with a friend. Gabe's giving me the "I'm waiting to cuddle up and fall asleep look" so I think I'm gonna turn on a movie and curl up with the pups. Stoli's obsessed with tormenting the cat so we'll go downstairs and give poor miss Abbie a break :)

A Breath of Fresh Air

Its Monday and I officially had a vacation day :). We stayed in a bed and Breakfast last night located up the canyon in Woodland. It was B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L! Mountains and farmland together make a very peaceful landscape. We spent the evening eating junk food and watching episodes of LOST. The room was nice, a large sliding door window in the bedroom with a great view of the mountains. It was not the cleanest room, but it was a quaint country cottage so what can you expect. The whole room was done old style country including an aluminum bucket shower.


And how could we forget our after breakfast dessert :)
After we had gotten into town this morning, Matt took me bowling:). We both did particularly awful but had a blast anyways!!
Shauna (sister in-law) and her now husband Bill are currently in Costa Rica. They married on Saturday on the beach. Shauna if you read this...I am so happy for you. Bill is a great guy and you are great together. I wish you nothing but happiness! I can't wait to see pictures. Meanwhile, we are puppy sitting Stoli for them. The first few days were a lil crazy as she was in the process of adjusting and well... bouncing off of the walls with energy. But now that shes a bit more settled, its been great. She's still got a lot of pup in her but shes definitely got the personality to make a great dog for life. Here are a few pics.

This was just after I had given them a bath today...
This is a video of Stoli falling asleep on our way home from Camp Bark Alot. I actually got a better video of it but it was too dark to see her eyes.