In a mere eight months, I'll be getting in to a strapless dress. Not to mention all of the arm-baring activities before then.

So who wants to take the 100 pushup challenge with me?

I did the test last night and could do a paltry three.

What a weird week. I'm so glad it's over!!!

Monday: Fine, except for a ton of crazy drivers out. I guess the things to come were why everyone was acting odd. That, and my school group decided to have a group meeting - after class! Until 10:30! I'm too old for that.

Tuesday: That was the "big one," of course. It had started out fine until the big earthquake around lunchtime. I was about to stand up, stretch, take a little break and hit the ice cream social when it started. All I could do was sit in my cube and watch the modular cube walls and hanging fluorescent lights sway. We've had little earthquakes since I've moved, but nothing worth anything more than just giggling and saying "that was crazy!" I was utterly convinced the building would collapse - it felt like it was rolling on balls. I even got motion sick; it lasted at least a full minute. I tried to be cool like everyone else, but I've never been so scared in my life! The whole world isn't supposed to move around you like that - I'm used to the ground being where it is, without fail. No damage and no injuries, of course. But, it seems that my work had it worse than Andy's; odd, but definitely not an award I want!! At least traffic wasn't bad that night, and my class didn't go all the way through to 10:30 as threatened. Just a homework assignment and final left for that class!

Wednesday: It was a long, long day. After yoga some friends went to a happy hour in Long Beach. I was horribly tired, but it was fun. Until half the group left and the rest of us remaining were stuck $300 short on the bill. No kidding. If anyone was there who left before that happened just know: we are not friends right now.

Thursday: Arrived at work to a snippy email, got a call from someone in my former rotation arguing about what I did then (four months ago - and wanting me to explain to them what they had been doing since then!), left work late, called home, ran, had dinner, and slept. Totally unnecessarily high-stress day.

Friday: At least today was more ... chill. Maybe things are going back to normal now that the earthquake is long over?

This weekend I need to arrange our engagement shoot with our photographer and start looking for a pair of jeans that actually fit (I tried on 10 today, and not a single one fit). I've got a bucketload of schoolwork to do, and July was over so quickly and it's hot hot August, but I'm still dreaming about that white Christmas.

This made me miss Christmas something terrible. When I was little, I was lucky to grow up seeing these little snow-covered towns, all cutely decorated for Christmas. I know it's special because it doesn't happen all year, like Starbucks holiday drinks and Fourth of July fireworks, but I could really use something simple and cheerful like this right now.

Wednesday: Running, 4 miles
Thursday: Yoga
Friday: Running, 4.5 miles
Saturday: Biking, 7 miles
Sunday: Yoga

... whew ...

I finally think I'm closing in on a decent chili recipe! It kind of reminded me of "dump" cake, as unappealing as that sounds - literally, open cans, dump, cook on stove 1 hour.

1 can beef broth
1 can kidney beans
1 can diced tomatoes
1 (little) can tomato paste
steak ... or ground beef ... or really, whatever your heart desires
cayenne powder
cumin
salt
pepper
garlic
onion

Notice - no measurements. That's because it's incredibly similar to the recipe I found in my Betty Crocker. But, their recipe called for 2 tablespoons of chili powder. I put in one, and it's on fire!! So, the moral of the story is, season it to your liking. If you like spicy, then by all means, use the whole jar of chili. If you're like me and cry over pico de gallo, maybe do less.

Next time I'll put in more meat (I thought I'd put in too much) and less cayenne; maybe another can of different beans. Yay for meals that don't take 6 hours to prepare & cook!

Ah, cars. They're a pain, aren't they?

As my car is about to fall apart, I've been thinking about what kind of car I want. It's tough, though. I mean, I've driven the same car for 10 years now. How on earth do you replace that?


Ha, just kidding. Although, if money were no object, I think I'd really like this one. I saw a middle-aged woman driving it in Huntington Beach once, and it certainly was a beautiful car. But, it's not really practical to spend more money on a car than you make in a year. An this is where I begin: start at the top, and work down.


OK, this is another dream car. And I don't even dream about the convertible. But I've been a fan ever since (embarrassingly) Legally Blonde. Yet another dream car, but we're getting closer ...


Oh yes. The Mitsubishi Eclipse. I am totally obsessed with the orange, too. In fact, the big factors here are: 1) the color, 2) the shape, and 3) the price. It's within a reasonable price range for a car, in my opinion. It would satisfy my need for a sporty, fun car, before I get saddled with the SUV or (gasp) minivan for the kids. They're not the best of cars, and it doesn't get as good gas mileage as I do now, but hey, I'm getting an MBA, don't I deserve a little fun??

I was pretty dead set on this one. I have all the options picked out. And then, I remembered this childhood (OK, maybe teen-hood) dream ...
Oh yes. The iconic Volkswagen Beetle. When these first came back, I was all in to them; I'll admit, I totally fell for the advertising (remember Absurd?). Now, these are not technologically superior cars, either; the gas mileage is a little worse than the eclipse.

{edit: No, it does not come in pink. I'm not sure why the picture looks pink. The downside to this one is the colors leave something to be desired.}

BUT ... who would have ever thought I'd be able to afford a convertible??? I know, I never really wanted a convertible. And, I don't really like the soft-top look. But there's something about a convertible Bug, in my price range, that's wonderfully attractive. I haven't test driven one, but you better believe when I get a few free minutes, I'm going to!!

Are cars like wedding dresses and houses? Do you always end up with the exact opposite of what you thought you wanted? Or is there really just no car out there for me? I guess we'll find out after my test drive.

This ...

My one experience with Waffle House: a group of people went late one night during one of our high school trips, and the next day everyone was sick with some kind of food poisoning. But hey, this was 10 years ago ... they've probably gotten better since then.