Lavender and Leisure

Unexpected adventures can be good or bad but always memorable!

Saturday Arlene and I met up for lunch. We both had salmon cesar salad at Parkers. On the way home we swung by the Castle Rock lavender farm. Tons of purple flowers filling the air with a fragrant old-fashioned smell.

After the lavender, we arrived back to Arlenes where she loaded me up with lots of veggies, herbs, and blueberries to take home.  I love me garden fresh produce!

Made my way home and relaxed until Sam showed up. He was heading out to the river - Mickey Mouse spot on the Toutle River, a spot I'd only heard about from him but had never been. Ended up inviting myself to tag along.

Met up with Jimmy and Christian. The water was warm and there were tons of prime painting rocks as far as the eye could see. Unfortunately I brought no bag to gather the stones so left empty-handed.

River fun over, I arrived home, changed into dry clothes and relaxed the rest of the evening. It had turned out to be a really great Saturday.

Today is another hot day so just may make my way back to the river to soak up the sun and replenish my rock painting supply. Here's to having a wonderful Sunday before the workweek begins!!

Car and Carbs

So it's been about 3 weeks now without sugar or carbs. Well, except that tiny bit of cake frosting I had last weekend. Can't tell if I've lost weight although my face looks thinner and I'm feeling pretty good.

Tonight I made a cauliflower rice spaghetti kind of thing for dinner. Wasn't the greatest but it was edible.  Haven't been craving sugar or pasta or bread so that's a plus. Need to buy some batteries for my scale to see how I'm doing.  Batteries for my scale?  As if that's ever on the top of my list!!

Finalized the details for my car fix today with the insurance company. Actually moved pretty quickly.  Found out I could file a hit and run report on line with WA State Troopers so took care of that, knocking my deductible down from $500 to $300. Score!!

Thinking of moving my furniture around. Seems like whenever I have a breakup I want to freshen the house or change it in some way. Will see if the urge calls me this weekend!!

Tonight after work I actually hemmed a skirt where the hem was falling apart along with sewing some tees that needed the neck made smaller. After that I hung a pitcher outside with lights in it - now just waiting for the timer to turn them on. Of course was an idea from Pinterest.

On a side note, excuse me while I vent about the new distractions while driving law in WA. This girl has got to have her coffee and her lip gloss during her commute!!  And the occasional text. Along with the once in a blue moon phone call. Plus a selfie now and then.  Don't take away my entertainment while I drive 1.5 hours each day!!!

Here's to the downhill slide to Friday!

Sunday and Single

Tough day today. Made the difficult decision to break up with Mike. He is a lovely person but, after much thought and consideration, I realized we were more "friends" than soul mates.  But no regrets over the time we spent together.

Single once again but all is good in the world.  On the plus side, the breakup gave me motivation so all the pile of clothes in my room have been put away!!  It's a miracle!!

Nails, New Nummy, and Nostalgia

Friday I had lots of activities so at the last minute took it off from work.  Started out the day grocery shopping at Walmart. My cupboards were so bare and it feels good to have them and the frig stocked again.  Stopped by on my way home to Target to pick up a prescription and ended up browsing. Alas found nothing.

Ran home, unloaded, then met up with Mike at the Pho restaurant.  Never had it before and it was pretty damn good. Big bowl full of broth, vegetables, meat, and noodles, which of course had to be bypassed due to my low carb plan. But still very tasty. It came with a side of lime, bean sprouts, basil, and sliced chili pepper. I added a little bit of all but when I ate a seed from the pepper wowza!!  Serious hotness!!! Immediately removed that demon from my pho.

Stopped at Ross to look around, in search of an outfit for the evening.  Mike came with me; now he is very patient but having someone next to me while I clothing shop puts a damper in my retail meditation.  Just may have to stop by again today by myself so I can soak up some regular retail therapy.

After Ross went over to T-Nails for a manicure.  Very busy so told to return in 35 minutes. Mike and I then stopped at 8 to 28, a resale place I'd never been. Quite a large store with tons of items. No purchases but I will be stopping in there again.

Finally back to the nail place, Mike departed and my manicure began. I figured there would be time so I booked a pedicure too.  Alas, after my nail fill it was pushing 4pm, eating into my primping time for the evening so had to book it out of there to make it home. Am back this morning having a redo.

Last night I met up at Mikes house and we drove over to his 30th class reunion, which was held at The Regent but will always be thought of as The Woodshed, an old stomping ground from my twenties. He checked in and I said hello to a couple I actually knew....the only people the whole night.

The rest of the time, I hung out with Mike and observed the old cliques. Even without going to his school, I could spot the jocks, the cheerleaders, the loners, etc. They had a buffet dinner of nachos and Chinese food so I picked through for something to eat. Actually wasn't bad. Cheated a little by drinking 2 red beers.

The night was over by 10. Today is a bbq to attend as a continuation of his class reunion.  Sigh. No wonder I'm considered a good girlfriend!!

Thoughts on No Carb Eating 😊

WTF Monday

Well it was a Monday today. Was at work until 1230 then had to head over for an HR meeting for the rest of day (as well as tomorrow all day.)  When I was walking out to my car I discovered this:

What happened and when did it happen? Today at work?  Over the weekend at Winco?  I have no idea but did not see it until today and Mike doesn't remember seeing it yesterday.  Ugh. Will get a security report tomorrow and see what insurance can do.

On a good note, during the meeting I answered two HR related questions so I won a muffin (which I tossed) and a coffee mug!  That was the bright spot.

Almost Monday??? Noooo!

Moss, Mongrel Mess, and Mike

Didn't do a lot this weekend but got a lot done!

Friday was a shitshow - literally.  All week had been beyond busy at work. Friday night I was beat; got home, changed into sweats, ran into the bathroom to grab something and stepped right into warm dog doo-doo. Damn Stubbs!  And I was barefoot!!  Ugh!  Had to step in the shower to clean my freakin feet.

Made it to Mike's place where he made me dinner - fish and asparagus, which brought up my spirits.

Saturday stopped by Jordan's to visit on my way home, then cleaned some at home, took a shower, ran over to Winco, back home then returned to Mikes.

This morning came home and found Sam, Jimmy and Christian sleeping on the couch - just like the old days. Guess they stopped by to borrow movies last night and ended up crashing.

This morning I made my first batch of Cloud Bread - made with egg whites and no carbs.  Turned out awesome - light, fluffy, and melt in your mouth.

Once Jimmy and Sam roused from the couch, Jordan stopped by and they all climbed the roof to rid it of moss.  Sprayed it a few months ago so it was all dead just needed to be removed. Didn't take them long and it looks so much better.

Allergies are wreaking havoc with me so had to take a Benydryl. Currently watching the first season of Empire but fighting a nap. Here's to relaxation before Monday hits.

Having an Amish Grandma with Bad Hair Day

Oh this week has been rough!

Returned to work on Monday to play catch up, meetings, plans, and a spreadsheet from hell to be completed.

Tuesday brought more projects, visit from a top dog, humongous employee meeting, stayed later than normal, then booked it home to ride with Mike to Vancouver for an appointment. Done there he dropped me off about 9pm.

This morning had to wake up earlier than normal so I could be at work at 7 am for another big employee meeting. Problem was I slept horribly, waking up every hour because my internal clock didn't want me to oversleep.

Rushing to get ready for work meant quickly blow drying my hair into a curly mess which later in the day evolved into a thorough bad hair do, not to mention the poor outfit I threw on which gave me Amish grandma vibes.

Had to teach a class today with my skeewaddy hair and frumpy frock. Boy did I feel inspiring - NOT!  High point was finishing that #%! spreadsheet!!

End of the day finally came.  Made it home and cooked up some chicken with mushrooms along with a side of cauliflower rice.  Tasty!!

Finished off the book I was reading and now I'm watching the movie Dear John, which may just put me to sleep.

Here's to Friday arriving sooner than later!!!

Putting A Hawaiian Spin On The Day

Cleaned the kitchen then napped today. Jordan and Candy invited me to the lake for an Hawaiian themed picnic. I just wasn't feeling it but figured I should haul my sorry ass up and do something productive. Ended up washing my face, skipped the shower, then threw on some shorts, a Hawaiian shirt, and a flower in my hair and made my way to the lake.

Guess what?  I'm actually happy I went!  Visited with Jordan, Candy, her oldest son, the baby mamas of her two granddaughters and one of the girls boyfriend. Sam showed up when he got off work and we took lots of pictures.  Weather was great with a pretty good breeze but it felt perfect to me.

When the luau was over I stopped off to browse at Goodwill before heading home.

Right now I'm sipping a red beer to cap off the day and start thinking about Monday.  Let's make it a great week!

Weekend Recap and Naps

Friday turned out to be a very long day.  Wandered around the airport and read my book, The Girls, which is a riff on the Manson Family.  Finally the plane arrived and I was off.

Being Southwest, it's a free for all on the seats. I was toward the end lineup but saw a seat in the middle on the front row, which offered more room.  Snagged it and assessed my seatmates. Lady to my right was obviously nervous, continuously rubbing her finger and thumb together against her shirt.

The man on my left was just plain odd. Late 50's, dressed in rocker shirt, tons of tattoos, skull rings, fingers and toes painted in alternating red and blue.  My first thought was "is this someone from Aerosmith?"  Throughout the flight he sat with his hands on his lap, covering his I-Pad, and moving his legs together slowly.  It was beyond creepy.

Landed at my connecting gate, then spent the next 2 hours reading my book.  Finally hopped the plane to Portland, where I landed about 12:45am. Mike picked me up at 1am and we got to his place at 2am. I was beyond beat plus I felt like a grimy, sweaty dollar bill that had been riding in someone's cleavage all day.

Slept in til 10:30am, went to breakfast at Stuffys, stopped at my place so I could shower, then headed over to Winco as my cupboards were bare.

After offloading groceries, we returned to Mikes until 5:30 when we drove to Carols to celebrate her sister Cathys birthday.

As always, I was reminded it's a small world, actually a small town. Cathy was previously married to a former boss of mine so I'm sure we crossed paths before back in 1987.  I also went to school with her stepdaughter, and her son is friends with my brother's best friend.  So coincidental.

Dinner was awesome - big salad, grilled asparagus, flank steak, and corn on the cob, which required me to sneak into the bathroom to floss my teeth. Nothing worse than chunks of corn in a person's teeth to drive you over the edge.

Today I'm in recovery mode from the whole Chicago trip and weekend.  Going to finish my book and there just may be a nap in my future!

After my pizza and pasta trip, I'm looking at starting a ketogenic diet.  Looks promising and I've lost weight before by cutting out pasta and starch....let's see how it goes!

Preparing for a Long Evening

Beautiful morning today on the final leg of my trip.

Finished up our meeting around 1pm then a co-worker and I, who were using the same airport, took the train to Midway for our departure. Cheap tickets but it was so warm. I'm tired of all the humidity over the last few days.  Big time hot, sweaty, and tired.

Unfortunately my flight out is not until 6:45 with a connecting plane change. Tried to change my ticket for an earlier time but it would have cost me $300 so I'm keeping what I've got.

 Looking forward to seeing Mike when he picks me up at the Portland airport.  Just sitting here biding my time waiting for my very late flight

From Pizza to Zombies All in One Day

Oh it was one of those days when every activity possible was crammed into 15 hours!

First off was the work meeting, which lasted all day. They fed us breakfast - fruit, muffins, bagels, and some kind of warm eggs rolled up in bread.

Meeting, talking, discussions then it was time for lunch. Chicago style deep dish pizza
 It was good but I'll stick with my Papa Pete's. Then back to more meeting.

At the end of the day we were on a teleconference which lasted longer than it should. It was almost 6 when we were rushed from the room as we had to catch a train to a team building exercise.

 

Off the L we then hiked to a building where we were greeted by a couple of English speaking guys dressed as scientists.  Apparently we were going to be doing a Trapped with a Zombie team building event.

We broke into two teams then were led downstairs for instructions.  Our task was to be locked in a room with a zombie and find clues that would enable us to escape.  We could prevent the zombie from infecting us by singing and dancing.

There were about 7 or 8 of us in the room. We worked togetber, it was very rowdy, with lots of bad singing. However, we found the clues and were able to exit the room 15 minutes short of the time allotted.

After the game, the scientist then went over how everyone behaved. I was the risktaker....pretty part for the course.

 

After both teams finished, we took the train to our dinner destination,  The Franklin Room, which was speakeasy themed. The food was outstanding. I had squid ink pasta with shrimp and mussels along with an 18th Century drink - cucumber vodka, ginger syrup, and lime. Yummy.

 

After dinner we then hiked in the very humid air back to the hotel. I was still sweaty from the zombie game and the hike didn't help. At one point I thought we were lost. Thankfully, we found our way home where I ran to my room and stood naked over the A/C to cool down.

And tomorrow is my last day in Chicago. We get done at noon but my flight doesn't leave until 6:30. Anyone need an airport souvenir?

R.I.P. Kiki

This morning received a sad call from ex-boyfriend Steve, saying his mom Kathy ie Kiki had passed away this morning. So sad. She was the sweetest person - kind, caring, and funny. She and husband Champ were married over 60 years.

This morning I wore Chanel Chance perfume in her honor. When we first met I told her how good she smelled and she told me it was Chanel Chance. When Christmas rolled around, she gifted me my own bottle of it.

You will be greatly missed Kiki!

Chicago Virgin

July 4th was pretty uneventful.  Worked until 2:30 then returned home and painted rocks, relaxed, painted, ate dinner, painted, then went to bed about 10 amid the massive fireworks going off in my neighborhood.

This morning slept in then packed for my work trip to Chicago. Arrived at Mikes about 10:30 as he was kind enough to offer to take me and pick me up at the airport.  So much nicer than long term parking!

Flight was delayed 30 minutes - left around 1:40 and arrived about 7:10 Central time. Met up with a coworker then caught a taxi to the hotel. I was beginning to feel very hot and sweaty....had been a long day.

Checked in at hotel (on 22nd floor!) then met up with the rest of the group for dinner. Made our way down the road some to the Shamrock Bar. Asked for a red beer - she didn't know what it was so I had to explain.  Ended up getting a beer with plain tomato juice waved over it. The cheeseburger hit the spot though!

It's now 11:23 but of course feels like 9:23.  Must force myself to sleep soon or I'll be paying for it in the morning!!

Pseudo red beer

View from my room