Speed boats and meteors

I got a call from my mumsy (aka MOM) inviting us to join her on a boat ride around the local lake.  The company my mom works for was taking employees, distributors and some other lucky bums (us) for a tour around the lake (my mom works for Simplexity Health.  They harvest a certain blue/green algae from the lake and incorporate it into a supplements,etc.)

Since I've never been on the lake, only on the shores of it, we accepted her invitation.

I'm sooo glad we did!

We were taken with a small group of other people on a speed boat tour that lasted close to three hours.  I've driven around the lake on different roads going out of town but never realized how spread out and beautiful the lake in its' entirety really is.

We saw some pelicans, other birds, a deer on an island in the middle of the lake and of course some gulls. 

Here's a little peek of what we saw at the lake:

Thanks again to my mom and her company for allowing us to go along for the ride! It was an awesome way to spend a day enjoying our beautiful surroundings!

Then on Sunday night we drove up into the mountains with some of our dear friends to catch the Perseid meteor showers.  If you don't know too much about these showers, they happen every August.  Stats say you could see upwards of 100 meteors flying through the air in an hour.

We saw 4.

But again, it was soooo worth it!

The little boogers fly through the sky so fast I couldn't get a picture, but here are a few shots from the surrounding area while we were up in the mountains:



these were all the bugs we call midgies...maybe some stars



The creation we can enjoy outdoors, all around us is a "simple pleasure" yet amazing and I'm a little bewildered that I never took note of all the beauty in my own "back yard" before.

21 day challenge- Day 1

As usual I've hmm'd and haaa'd and generally waited until the last minute to decide about doing the 21 day challenge from Freckles in April .  I had many reasons not to: I wear scrubs most days of the week so why should I dress up, I'm tired, I'm lazy.  But then I thought, why shouldn't I do it?  I actually found I have many reasons to accept the 21 day challenge:  I do wear scrubs most days of the week but I also have a closet jam packed with little worn clothes, I have the bad habit of going out to buy new clothes without surveying what I have and let's face it... I've been wanting to do some sort of clothing/remix challenge AND I want to be one of those people who puts together an amazing outfit made out of pieces from my closet. 

Here's my chance, so I'm doing it!

Here goes........

So the challenge from Day 1 is this:

Remix Something

Guidelines:

Pick an item of clothing from your closet (not jeans) that you're going to wear at least 3 times within the next 3 weeks without repeating outfits.

So I decided to go with this skirt:



Calvin Klein skirt, Liz Claiborne blouse and Rue 21 belt

 

The poor skirt only gets worn in Fall/Winter and is usually paired with a cardigan, so I'm excited to see what I can do to mix it up for the remainder of the summer. 



Lazy Sunday revisited

Just yesterday I declared that weekends would be blog free (mostly.)  I don't have an uber exciting social life nor has our summer been as jam packed with trips as we originally thought it would. 

But then I woke up this morning and thought I would try out a new recipe for breakfast.  I haven't had carbs in roughly two weeks and I needed a serious fix.

I found a recipe for buttermilk and blueberry breakfast cake (find the recipe here.)

I had some left over buttermilk and some blackberries in stock so I thought I would give it a try.

I just had to show you these cute measuring cups I picked up at a friends' yard sale!

This recipe was easy to make and even easier to eat (it was so good!)

I think it would be a great recipe to whip together when there is a crowd gathered at your table.

Hope your Sunday is going as lazy and relaxing as ours.

See you tomorrow!

There's a saying that goes.......

........"I'm a shopper with a closet problem."

That sums me and my little situation up in a little nutshell.

I don't have a shopping problem, just a closet problem.

Hmm.....Never heard that saying before?  It could be due to the fact that it has never been said before, until Aaron, my fabulous/ingenious husband made it up......

Truth be told,  he got the basic idea for my special quote when he read this: "I'm a beer drinker with a mountain biking problem."

He felt that applied to him (oh how it does) just like mine applies to me.

But I digress.

Again.

Why oh why does this quote apply to little ol' me?

Well....my closet broke.

AHHHHHH!!!!!

As in the bar pulled out of the wall broke.

Check it out.



This is where my clothes should be hanging



Instead this is where they chose to hang out



My closet breakage couldn't have come at a worse time.  You see Aaron's parents were visiting and my bedroom was the only room that I didn't even touch as far as cleaning goes, so it was a hot mess (literally super temperature hot and a huge mess.)

To make matters worse, my MIL (mother in law....fun abbreviation, I know) helped me carry all of my clothes to other rooms to hang them in other areas....

SO...she not only got to see the humiliating mess we call our bedroom, but also got to see first hand just how many clothes I own ( and this after our day of shopping...)

HOW HUMILIATING

Is it a sign that I have too many clothes?

Maybe.  Probably.

Should I do something about this situation?

Probably?....maybe.....YES!

So today I'm planning on putting my little closet back together.  I'll be hanging out with and hanging up all of my clothes again.  Some of the clothes may have to find another home.

If you don't hear from me it means my clothes have planned an angry attack and I'm buried under all of them.

Send help.

In the shape of a California Closet.

Thursday finds- take 3

Last week my mother in law and I went to my favorite resale shop AND to Goodwill.  I mean what would a visit to another town be without heading to the ol' Goodwill?  Besides visiting with people you don't get to see much.....it would be sad. 

Anyway, we both secured some pretty good finds ( I would say more so at the resale shop this time) but I didn't have much time to share them with you.  No time like the present, right?

So at Goodwill I found this simple, navy Eddie Bauer top for only $3.99.  You may not believe me, but I've been looking for a long sleeve, navy top for a while. 

 Maybe it found me.Maybe it was meant to be?

I know, I know...not too exciting.  But hey, not everything purchased can be outstanding. 

 The same goes for this next top.  It's nothing amazing, but again something I've been on the look out for.

Coming up next is a fuchsia cardigan from Victoria's Secret for (you guessed it) $3.99.

  From there we moved on to the resale shop where I love to take my old clothes and get new ones. 

Here is where I really ( I feel) scored.

At this shop I found an Ann Taylor Loft sleeveless shirt I had eyed on their website a while back.  The only problem with it at that time was that it was a little more than I wanted to spend on a sleeveless top ( I think $45 or something like that) so I waited for it to go on sale.  It was gone before I knew it.

Fast forward to last week.

I saw the top.  It saw me.  Love. At. First. Sight.

It fit but I wasn't sure about it....there was something different about it.

Then I just unbuttoned a few of the buttons and voila!

At $12.50, I was sold!

KA-CHING!

Oh!  Here's the little lovely now:

The reason I adore this top so much is that I can mix and match it with so many things I already own*. I have a bright yellow, fuchsia and navy skirt AND cardigans in the same colors...so there you go.

Win, win and win.

Then I stumbled upon this top. 

It's print caught my eye....I'm pretty sure it is little coffee beans. 

Here's why I like it: I LOVE coffee.  With the ties in front it's kinda sexy librarian.  Sexy because the ties untie for a completely different look.  As the lady at the shop said, "it puts the shh in chic." (Tricky play on words, that.)    

Also It's a little unexpected and quirky...a little like me and maybe that's why I liked it.

And it was only $12.50.

(Did I mention I didn't even have to pay for either of these due to a store credit I had at the store? No?  Ah! Well I did now.)

And last but not least was the final purchase of the day.  We went back to Goodwill to look at something I had scoped out earlier.  While that something turned out to be a bust, I managed to get something else I'd been looking for, a jean jacket.

Really, it's another simple thing I've been looking for, but not one I owned yet.

For $4.99 I do now.

Here 'Tis:

So the grand total of cash out that day was

(DRUM ROLL PLEASE)

$12.97. 

Not too shabby in my opinion.

Not too shabby indeed.

But wait!  There's more!

Today I had a little free time on my hands to I went back to the said resale shop AND goodwill again. 

(See here for my confession of shopping too much)

I won't drag this out too much longer but last week I saw some linen Calvin Klein pants and thought I'd go back today to see if they were still there.

They were.  I got them for $18.00.

Pricey compared to Goodwill prices, but still way cheaper than what I would get them for at a department store......right?

Then I found some dark trouser jeans ( I've been looking for these too....) that just happened to be Ann Taylor Loft again.  Again they are now mine for $9.00.

Finally I found a cute, roomy top by Liz Claiborne.  I'll admit it's price wasn't great at $24.80...but I liked it and will wear it a lot at work.

 

Grand total today?

At first it was $51.80 (yikes!)

But then I still had $14.24 left over in credit and $5.00 discount

So the total for today = $32.56

(less than the pair of Ann Taylor loft pants would have cost at full retail price!)

Clearly I'm on a shoppers high, but it's time to bring it down a notch people.

I'm going to lay low as far as thrifting goes for a while.

Now I'm going to concentrate more on actually putting together and wearing all of these clothes I have.

Don't cry for me, it will all be okay.

Trust me.

*I'm really trying to mix and match more of my clothes.

Instead of buying one article of clothing then running around trying to find something to match it I've started trying to match the things I'm thinking of buying with things in my closet.

Question: How long did it take me to figure this out?

Answer: A LONG TIME.

Crater Lake

This past week felt like it disappeared in a blink of an eye.  So many things (both big and small) happened and I (finally) have things to tell you.   Where shall I start? Okay....how bouts here:  we had visitors in the shape of Aaron's parents.  They drove a long way to pay us a visit and one of the things they wanted to do was drive to Crater Lake for the day.  We were happy to oblige! 

 It's been many years since I was last there and a lot had changed, with new buildings and parking lots.  The only thing that hadn't changed was Crater Lake itself. The day was clear, the water an unbelievable shade of blue (azure perhaps?) and there were tons of people there to pay it a visit....even a random tight rope walker.  Weird place to tie up the rope, but whatever.  Anyway, if you haven't stopped by Crater Lake maybe you should consider it.  Maybe you should snap some pictures and maybe you should have a lunch in the new restaurant(s).  The food looked delicious.

If you have no desire to physically see it, check these pictures out.  Then you can say you saw it and wouldn't be lying.

Weightier Matters

Remember what it was like to go to a lake, river, or even the ocean and run to the edge to dip your toes just to be shocked by how cold it was? For me it felt like a jolt that raced through my body and made me yank my toes back out.  If you're like me, it also made me a little more apprehensive about doing it (or not) the next time.  But sometimes it is better to just not think too much about it and to just go for it: to take the plunge or dive in head (or feet) first.

That is what I'm doing today.
I'm taking the plunge.

Because I'm still not sure of what direction this little blog is taking, I've decided to add one more category to the ever-growing list of possibilities:

Weight loss.

(yay?)

Why oh why would I take this on?

Well, for me my weight has always been, and probably always will be an issue.

Here are the stone-cold facts:

I've always been "chunky" or "stocky."

I LOVE food.

I lose weight just to regain it

and, I often play for team lazy.

Also I've read that if you "go public" about making changes such as trying to lose weight you are often more successful.  The simple idea that others know makes you more accountable.
Ooh! Ooh! Pick me!  I want to be successful, but I'm not so sure about accountable!?

And that's the reason I started this post out the way I did. It was my way of letting you know that this hasn't been an easy decision to write this post.  Quite honestly I've written something along these lines several times to delete it and move on to another post.  My ever-present weight issue is frustrating and embarrassing.  I also have a feeling my weight is not a popular topic others will look forward to reading about.  I know and get it.

But I think I'm doing it more for me this time.

You see, this same time last year I started a similar endeavor with a friend and we both did very well.  We both lost a considerable amount of weight.  But I didn't keep up on my exercise and eating better.  I stopped exercising and then started making worse food choices.
Weight gain came with the poor choices and now I'm back to where I was last year.
Boo!

So I'm starting it up again! 
Don't worry, this blog won't be a daily diary about what I ate and how I feel about what I ate and my choices.  I don't even want to read OR write that.
Instead, I'm going to try to make 1 post a month to let you (or just me) know how I'm doing.

I also hope to be more active and to try more things, both activity wise and food wise.  As I said, I LOVE food, so instead of eating nothing but rice cakes the rest of my life I also plan on trying out more healthy recipes and lightening up some old favorites.
I see it as hopefully making life changes instead of quick weight loss from diets or crazy exercise.

So without further ado, here's the first month picture:

I'm not super comfortable releasing my "start weight" but I'll definitely let you know how much weight I've lost and maybe (just maybe) let you know my start weight as I get the feel for how this idea is coming along.