hmmm...where did that come from?

This week has been pretty much the same as always. Nothing too much out of the ordinary I guess...

I have been feeling great lately...working out A LOT and eating pretty well...lots of fruits and veggies and NO red meat! I will admit that I am still hanging out with my Boar's Head Honey Maple Turkey though...I have also SIGNIFICANTLY reduced my cheese intake...none on my sandwiches or tortilla soup at La Rosa...only a few sprinkles on my ground turkey taco salad!
I have always been in pretty good shape and a fairly healthy eater, I will admit. I like to run for sure. I am really enjoying taking it to another level though...really thinking about the food I eat and how nice my body feels when I am done!

I think deep, deep, DEEP down I am trying to get my body ready to have a little baby growing inside of it...I always think about the way I would raise my child...from foods I would give him/her, to the religion/denomination I would raise her/him, to everything else on down the line. I would NEVER want to get pregnant and have horrible eating and exercising habits...and I for SURE would not want to have a child that looked up to me in every way and I was shoving cupcakes in my mouth every chance I got...it just wouldn't seem right to ME for some reason.
I will say though, in a weird way, (and I know this statement will sound bad) as much as I have been right now working out, I would not want to get pregnant right now and ruin my body...eek, bad I know! I just think I am too young to have a post baby body...I know this is selfish though and that's why I am not trying to have a baby. I think I will be ready for a baby when I think less about my body and more about cribs!

Anyway, it is scary even thinking about having a baby (for ME)!! I hear the question, about 100 times a week though "when are y'all gonna have a baby?"...never gets old...ha ha!
Well, now that THAT is all out there...

man oh man

I have had a pretty weird week...Dixie ate a WHOLE pack of gum which contained XYLITOL!! Not good for dogs...it causes severe liver damage...I called the vet and she told me to give her four tablespoons of peroxide. This caused Dixie to throw up... A LOT! All the gum came right back up. I have never been happier to clean up puke-it didn't stink either, it smelled like the orange gum! I cried for a good two hours though...on the phone with vet, while shoving down the peroxide, while rubbing her belly, and when it was all over and I was cleaning everything up! I sat on the couch with my girl and she licked my face and, I SWEAR that dog made ME feel better even though SHE was the one that was SICK!! I love my Dixie girl more than anything in the world!!

After all of that, I started thinking about all of the dogs my family had when I was growing up. We usually had at least one dog in our back yard at any given time. Now, I have to say that all of this is MY memory...I have a feeling that I may be mis-remembering (ha ha)! I will have to ask Faye about it...

Anyway, it always seemed like our dogs were all named either Lady or Patches. I mean, ALL of them! I remember a bunch of chow dogs and a big white dog. I also remember that I didn't always wanna go in the back yard with the dogs. I wasn't scared, I just didn't want them to jump on me...it is funny what you remember about certain things!

I also remember other pets we had...ducks, birds, hamsters, and a bunny.

The bunny was my FAVORITE! All of us grand-kids got one for Easter the year that my paw paw passed away. We came out of my Aunt R's house and their they were on the lawn with ribbons tied around their necks (the bunnies, that is!). I loved that rabbit. I took it home in a cardboard box and fell asleep on the couch with my face beside it. I woke up with that little bunny nibbling on my nose...not hard or anything more like just sniffing me! My nanny butt was like "girl, you better get that bunny some lettuce!". It always makes me laugh when I think about how she said it. It is one of those memories that makes me smile without even realizing it when I am thinking about it.

little bit of everything

Wow! The weather has been soooooo nice here lately...mid 70's and sunny! It is suppose to get a little chilly this week, which is normal for Central Oregon in May...soon, though, it will be blue skies and sunshine ever single day!! I can hardly wait...I love it when I can throw on a sun dress and a pair of flip flops and head out on my cruiser bike to work or play!

In other news, I believe that the hubby is on board with the whole vegetarian idea. Actually, he just came up to me one day and was like "I don't wanna eat meat anymore.". It was really odd! He still wants to eat fish, which is fine by me because I don't really eat too much fish anyway so on those nights I will just eat the salad and sides! So, we are gonna give the vegetarian-thing a whirl. I don't wanna put any pressure or stress on us about it. I am going to make a conscience effort to not eat meat but I won't get upset or anything if we aren't toooooo strict with ourselves.

To me, eating is fun...cooking is fun. I like to eat healthy, mostly organic food. I steer clear of most processed foods and hardly ever eat fried foods. I mean, I am not a saint by any means. Like I said, eating is fun to me so if I am at a party or back home in the Mississippi Delta, I indulge! I will say that for the most part though I eat pretty well and I feel good about most of the choices I make so I will not be too hard on myself if I give in here and there with treats and now, meat!

Anyway, in other news...summer is almost here which means I really need to get my you-know-what in gear about the whole "new career thing"! I am really leaning towards dental assisting. I have done A LOT of research and I just think this will be a good fit for me. So, I am starting to talk to dentists in the area about a few things....I have a few questions about school, etc. and also would like to see about interning or shadowing at an office. SO CRAZY!

I always thought I would be a grant writer...my passion in college. My degree is in Social Sciences and my favorite classes were always the grant writing ones. I love researching and developing ideas! Anyway, that is a hard job to land...not too many of them out there!

same ol' same ol' BUT...

Been a little while...not really too much going on I guess. I am still trying to decide on all of the little details of career choices. A few new things have come up with the SEO stuff. I heard about a job here in Bend which would be awesome but I am not ready for it yet...still need training! I have been reading lots of books about it but I still need the hands on training to actually feel confident to apply for a job in the field. It is hard to set up training times because everyone is so busy and basically life just gets in the way sometimes! I wish there was an entry level job that I could do in order to get hands on trainig exactly the way the company would want me to do the job...haven't found that yet, though!!

I am also still into the dental assisting thing...actually I am really leaning more towards that at this point. It really interests me for some reason. I know I wouldn't make as much money as I would with the SEO but I could make a living for sure AND have job stability anywhere we might have to move for the hubby's job....

DECISIONS! yucky!

Two new things have sort of started happening...I have become a domesticated lady on fire!!! It is like I have a new role in life right now ha ha!! I am doing laundry, cleaning the stove, washing my car, sweeping, mopping, dusting and cooking dinner EVERY night!! We are only going out like once or twice a week which is WAY less than EVER BEFORE! I am just feeling the whole working part-time, taking care of my family thing!!! I have always been pretty neat and tidy with my house and enjoyed cooking... but this is like over-the-top! I am loving it....obsessed!!! Hubby is loving it too!

Another thing...working out! I am loving loving loving going to gym! I actually feel bad if I don't go!! I have always enjoyed being healthy but I am actually going all out when I am at the gym...burning and churning!! Hubby is also loving this too!!

Anyway, I am going to ride this motivation train for as long as I can...keeping up with the house, the gym....EVERYTHING!! Still thinking about the future but with a clear, stress free head!!

veggie lasagna

Ahhhh, one day of nice weather this week! Bend does not really have a Spring so when we get a day of sunshine and blue skies, 60 degrees...you gotta live it up! Before work and after I sat outside...didn't do anything special. I took the kiddos I watch to the park, too. They loved it!

Anyway, I made a veggie lasagna earlier this week. It took A LOT of preperation but I stuck with it and it turned out great! There were a few things I would add...Fontina cheese and red pepper flakes! These two will give the flavor a little kick! Also, I forgot to put in spinach!! As soon as I stuck it in the oven I thought to myself...hmm, spinach would have been good! Oh well!

The best part was that my hubby actually liked it...he always complains when I try to cook without meat. In fact, that is one of the hardest things for me while trying to become a vegetarian... he needs his meat!!

I started a food log and exercise log, too. I think these will help me realize all the crap I eat! I am not worst eater at all but I am not the best either! There are for sure some areas I can improve! The logs will help me do that I hope!

As far as careers go I am still doing the SEO thing...I am enjoying all the research I am doing and can hardly wait to get some hands-on experience.

I am also looking into dental assisting...I have always been interested in the field and I really think I would be good at it. I love working with people!! I am ready to work with a group of people, too. I really, really, really miss that!!

All for now!

too much

So, I had a pretty good weekend although it pretty much SNOWED the whole entire time!! I mean, it was really coming down. It was weird though...it never really stuck around or if it did stick it just melted away pretty quickly.

I did get in a couple of runs. It felt really good to get back out on the road and treadmill. I forget how good I feel after a nice run!

On the career front, I started doing some SEO research. It is really interesting stuff. It is for sure something I want to pursue more....

I also have been looking into physical therapy assisting and dental assisting. These two have been on my list (radar) for a while. I enjoy working with people and I also would like to work in office setting. I think it would be good to have professional relationships...in my job right now, and in the child care field in general, it is really hard to have that.

Anyway, I am using the rest of the day to do some housework and some errands. Also, I am compiling a list of dentists and physical therapist that I may go talk to about their fields. Honestly, I am feeling a little stressed right now. I need to step back, think about the fact that everything will work out-because it has to...there is really nothing more that I can do to help this situation. I am putting everything into it and I know something rewarding will come out of it!
ok...breathe!

veggies

So, I have been doing some reading about vegetarian lifestyles lately.... In the past two years or so I have been thinking about becoming a vegetarian/vegan and I suddenly feel that right now is the time to do it!

I don't think people REALLY realize what is actually in the meat/dairy that we eat...it is quite shocking. All sorts of chemicals, antibiotics, hormones and just completely disgusting stuff. Not to mention that our bodies really don't NEED meat or dairy. For instance, humans are the ONLY things that will drink other animal's milk...cows don't drink goats' milk...goats don't drink cows' milk...interesting! Why do WE drink cows' milk??

Not only is all of that totally gross but also HOW they kill, care for, and treat factory raised animals is appalling to say the least! I actually can't even write about it because it makes me ill!

Ahhhh, here comes the problem though...turkey is my life! I love it...I eat it everyday! I could do without all the other stuff...cheese would be tough but I could do it. Maybe I will try that tofurkey...