BBQ Chicken Pita Pizza

This is delicious!

BBQ Chicken Pita Pizza
Pita pockets - store bought
Chicken breast
BBQ sauce
Mozzarella cheese
Purple onions, thinly sliced
Grated Parmesan cheese
Pineapple
Cilantro, fresh
Crushed red pepper
Salt

Boil the chicken until cooked and then cut into chunks. Sprinkle pitas with Parmesan cheese and toast in oven until golden brown. Layer on your favorite BBQ sauce, shredded mozzarella, chicken, pineapple, purple onions, and chopped cilantro. Season with crushed red pepper and salt. Warm in the oven until the cheese is melted.

I like to make up a bunch of them then freeze them for later! They are awesome that way!

Fried Green Tuna-mato

So I've been trying to cook a bit more lately and this is my newest creation! I call it Fried Green Tuna-mato. Basically it's a fried green tomato with tuna on top.  I don't measure when I make cook, but here's my best recipe.

Fried Green Tuna-mato
3 cans of chunk white tuna, in water
3 green tomatoes
3 eggs
2 C bread crumbs
1 C grated parmesean cheese
Mayo
Garlic Powder
Salt
Pepper
Oil for frying

Open tuna and drain water. Mix with a few tablespoons of mayo. Add salt and pepper to taste, put in refrigerator. Mix bread crumbs with parmesan cheese, add garlic powder, salt, and pepper to taste. Beat three eggs in separate bowl, set aside. Clean and slice tomatoes into thick slices. Maybe 3/4 of an inch.

Heat up your oil. I like to do this in a skillet type pan, so there is about a 1/2-3/4 inch of oil. Dredge your tomato slices in the eggs then in the bread crumbs and cheese, then fry them in the hot oil until they are golden brown. Remove from the oil and put on a paper towel to drain excess oil. Top with cold tuna and serve. Yum!!

Me circa October iPhone Pictures

Hii! I'm still here, just super busy! So here's what I've been up to circa iPhone pictures.

My Dad and I went to Aussie Pink Floyd. OMG it was AWESOME! I loved it! 

And he sucks at picture taking. Haha. 

I cut my hair! And I love it! My friend Nikki did such a good job! 

 Nutella. It has a gold seal so you know it's good.

 I broke in these boots. They are bad ass. 

These are the boots I will wear when I am an old lady, like in Sons of Anarchy. 

Don't laugh. I'm totally serious.

 Work: Been there a month and I love it! I'm busy all the time and my coworkers are the best! 

I listen to Adele and Mumford & Sons exclusively now. Seriously, exclusively. 

I love them so much I can't even handle it. 

If you don't have these two albums you are cuhrazy. 

Go buy them ASAP.

 I do artwork now. That's hanging above my bed and I wish it were bigger. That's what she said. BOOM.

 I still love this little shit.

I'm reading these books. I'm also cooking and redecorating my room/bathroom, 

but I'll do separate posts for those. Stay tuned!

Movies I want to see

Contraband


Man On A Ledge


Ides of March


Underworld 4: Awakening

Day 7/Final Post

So I think this will be my last daily post on this subject. I've successfully gone from 50mg Percocet and/or Lortab each day down to 10-15mg/day in 7 days. I'm pretty pleased with myself! A few more days and I'll be at zero. I know I still have lots of work ahead of me on this self improvement project but I'm well on my way. Even after only 7 days my head is more clear and I feel like I have a better handle on working through my aches and pains than before. I hope to hear about my MRI on Monday.

Thank you to everyone for the support and love through comments, emails, and texts! It is so appreciated and helped keep me motivated to complete this process!

Day 6

Today was the best one I've had in this whole process. I woke up and actually wanted to get out of bed. I know, weird. I got a MRI of my ass bone at the ass crack of dawn. Ha! I'm funny again. Anyway, got that and should hear something back on Monday. My back hurts but I think I am just starting to accept it and do what I can to keep my mind busy with other things. Today was my final day at Center for Change. I start at Geneva Pipe on Monday. I'm pretty excited about it! Hope everyone has an awesome weekend!

Early Morning of Day 5

I can't sleep. My heart was pounding so hard it woke me up. I HATE not sleeping and it's too late to take another Ambien. So, I've been reading blogs on other people getting off medications and lower back pain. And I started Sons of Anarchy over. I love me some SAMCRO. If you don't watch that show currently, you need to get on it. I mean Charlie Hunnam. Need I say more?

I got in for a 90 minute massage last night after I posted Day 4. It totally relaxed my body. Except I'm not sure it really helped my back pain, it's traveling down the back of my left leg now and it's like wrapping around my hip into my stomach. It almost feels like I have a ovarian cyst, only I can feel the direct "pain line" if you will from my back.

This MRI better give me some answers. I'm terrified they are going to tell me I have early signs of my Dad's diseases: DISH and Ankylosing Spondylitis. Read those and you'll know why. I don't know what I would do or how I would handle that news. I'd probably be in a dark room with a bottle or two of tequila for a few days. I have 3 mini bottles of Sprite, 1 can of Coke, and 3 cans of Dr. Pepper sitting around in my room. I should probably just quit all of my vices while I'm at it. Hahaha, I have no intention of giving up my Coke and DP any time in the near future. That's just stupid.

Thanks to everyone for the flood of supporting comments, emails, and texts. It really means so much to me. I was pretty nervous about putting all of this out there, but I think it really was the best idea. I feel like it has given me a huge level of accountibility. I have thought every single day that I just want to go back on my medicine full throttle. I could if I wanted to, no one is forcing me to quit this treatment plan, it's 100% my choice. But I feel like it would be disappointing to the almost 300 unique visitors to my site in the last 4 days. Apparently, people like reading about detoxing and drugs? Anyway, thank you for the support. I appreciate it.

Day 4

Today was much better, I got my MRI scheduled for Friday morning. I slept through the night, could focus, and I didn't cry once! Go me!  I'll decrease my meds again tomorrow so it will probably start over again. What a shit storm I've gotten myself into.

Day 3

My back hurts. I'm seriously cranky. I have no patience for anything whatsoever. I can't focus for more than 3 minutes at a time. I cried three times today and can't remember why. I bought a new blu-ray to get me out of the house. That's all.

End of Day 2

Well I survived Day 2 - on three pills. My back kills and I feel like my whole body is pressing against something. Like you know the doorway trick where you stand in a doorway and push your arms outward as hard as you can for like 20 seconds and then you step out of the doorway and your arms magically float? Yeah, I feel like that. Only I haven't stepped out of the doorway for HOURS. I might try to get in somewhere for a massage tomorrow, but we'll see how it goes. Its been interesting how many people from my past have sent messages, comments, or texts of support compared to how many currently people in my life that have said absolutely nothing. Some of the sneezing and congestion have subsided. And I would kill for a strawberry milkshake right now, but I really just don't have the energy to go get one. I might get one for breakfast ha ha. It's dairy and fruit...like fruit and yogurt. What? It's healthy.

I still absolutely can't live without: Tonka, David Bromstad from Design Star, and my Dad. :)

Day 2

I went to bed at about 11:00PM last night and slept until about 4:30AM. I am trying to taper down my usage until I'm not taking any more meds instead of just stopping cold turkey. (Side note: I hate the term "cold turkey". What does that even mean?) So, according to the master plan I could have/was supposed to take a pill last night when I went to sleep, but in all my over-achiever glory I decided to see if I could make it through the night without it. So I lasted until 4:30AM and took one. The pain in my back woke me up at about 8AM. So this morning isn't awesome, but I am not in agony. My back is on fire and I might try to get in the tub for a bit to calm it down. And my head is really congested. My eyes keep watering and I have sneezed like 15 times. I know I don't have a cold, it's just part of the process.

Things I absolutely could not live without right now: Tonka and Design Star. And Gatorade. Guys, everyone should get a dog. They just know things. Tonka has not left my side since I got in bed last night. And he's not being annoying play with me! Play with me! -Tonka. He's just being sweet, cuddly, I know you feel like shit Mom, Tonka. :) He's the best.

Thanks to everyone that has texted or made comments of support. I appreciate it.

Awake My Soul

I feel like this post could back fire on me but I'm willing to take that risk. I'm hoping it will give me a support system, but if I offend a few readers in the process so be it. So here's some background for you: the last 3 years or so I've lost myself. The girl I was in 2007 is gone. She doesn't exist, I don't know what happened to her but she's gone. It started slowly, there wasn't one single event, that made me lose track of who I am, it was just life. People got sick, finances got hard, I lost and found love, I grew up and I changed. In the midst of evolving as a person I somehow started to care less and less about everything. It became a philosophy for me: Lower expectations to avoid disappointment.

In 2008 I slipped on the icy steps on our front porch and ended up breaking my tailbone. It was awful. Since then I have had increasingly worse lower back/tailbone area pain. It started out bothering me here and there and then it was just bad in the mornings until quickly it was a constant everyday pain. I went to the doctor and we tried everything. I've done physical therapy (twice), massage therapy, chiropractic, cortisone injections, trigger point injections, lidocaine patches, changed my mattresses, ibuprofen, naproxen, etc. Seriously, I've done all of those things to relieve the pain in my back and none of them were successful. While doing all of these treatment plans I would take Lortab (hydrocodone) when it was really really hurting. I was able to take one 7.5mg Lortab and I wouldn't have any pain for 6-8 hours. I quickly became tolerant and it was bumped to 2/day; then 3/day until finally I was at 1-2 pills 3 times per day. In the Fall of 2009 I went to the doctor and told him I was sick of the yo-yoing of the medications throughout the day (ie feel good for 3 hours but then be in pain until for a few hours until I could take my next dose). I told him I wanted to get on an extended release pain pill so that I could take 2 pills a day instead of 6. He put me on MS Contin and my pain was under control much better. After about 3 weeks of that it really started giving me some scary thoughts and feelings so I went back in and got back on the Lortab at 6-8 pills/day. The same time I broke my tailbone was when my ears started getting really out of control. Basically, I felt like complete shit 24 hours a day.

Fast forward to today, my ears are somewhat under control, but my back pain is the same as ever. I recently switched the Lortab to Percocet because it wasn't working as well. So, I am taking 6-8 Percocet a day and it really helps control my pain. But there are some side effects that come along with any daily narcotic usage. 1- Anxiety. Especially when I start to run out of pills. I know that my doctor will refill my script, but there is this major fear that for some reason he won't this month and I'm gonna have to come off them cold turkey. I hate that fear. 2- I feel nothing, I'm numb. Getting back to my "I don't care philosophy" - the pills just increase those feelings ten fold and I know that I've cut myself off from personal relationships because of it. 3-I don't know what pain is anymore. It's to the point where I don't make myself work through any sort of pain on my own. My back hurts? Take a pill. Have a headache? Take a pill. Feeling depressed? Take a pill. Can't sleep? Take a pill. I literally take a pill for everything. I have no real sense of what my pain level actually is anymore. I'm sick of it.

The point of this whole post is that I have decided to come off all the pills. I started tapering down today. About 2 hours ago to be exact. I know it's not going to be easy, but I need to get back to zero so I can access what my real pain is. And hopefully get a little more clarity in my head at the same time. I have to find myself again before it's too late. I want to care about things again. I want to feel happiness and sadness again, because I honestly don't feel anything. In the words of Mumford & Sons, I'm going to awake my soul. Wish me luck.

Mumford & Sons
Awake My Soul

How fickle my heart and how woozy my eyes
I struggle to find any truth in your lies.
And now my heart stumbles on things I don't know
This weakness I feel I must finally show

Lend me your hand and we'll conquer them all
But lend me your heart and Ill just let you fall
Lend me your eyes I can change what you see
But your soul you must keep totally free.
Har har, har har, har har, har har

In these bodies we will live, in these bodies we will die
Where you invest your love, you invest your life
In these bodies we will live, in these bodies we will die
Where you invest your love, you invest your life

Awake my soul, awake my soul
Awake my soul
You were made to meet your maker
Awake my soul, awake my soul
Awake my soul
You were made to meet your maker
You were made to meet your maker

Garden Veggies!

My Dad has a serious green thumb this year! I'm not sure what he did but the garden has never grown like this. The plants are overflowing their boxes! I gathered all of this just today. That's 50 jalapenos! Yellow cucumbers, regular cucumber, tomatoes, and zucchinis. I don't know where that really large zuch came from.. I go out there about every other day and my Dad is out there everyday. Somehow we both missed it for this long.

Today's picks

Zucchini Plant - it looks prehistoric to me. Dinosaur food maybe?

 Lemon Cucumber

Tomatoes

 Garden boxes - these boxes are 3x8-ish. Those plants are taking over the yard!

 Today's pick

 HUGE Zucchini

All or nothing

I fully realized today I am an all or nothing type of person. I saw a therapist once who told me I was exactly that and I remember saying to myself, yeah okay, but how does recognizing that help me get out of bed in the morning? I still don't know and it's really getting worse.

Hobbies - I don't just casually do things like crafts or puzzles. Recently, I finished 3 1000 piece puzzles in a matter of 14 days. I will knit 5 or 6 beanies in just a few days and then I won't yarn for months. It's the same thing with reading. I get really into it and have a stack on my nightstand, and will read 2-3 books in a few weeks and then won't pick up another for a long time. When I redecorate a room I will do all of it at once, I don't like collecting a piece here and there.

Dating and friends - I want to be in a relationship seriously moving in a forward direction or I don't want to date you at all. I want to be the focus of a guy's attention, because they will be mine. I don't care for casual dating much. The expectations are never clear and I usually end up disappointed. I have many casual acquaintances but I have few really close friends. Those that are, I talk to almost everyday and know exactly what's going on in their lives. I feel like I hit roadblocks a lot with personal relationships. I will completely open up to you or I won't at all. More often than not it's the latter. For example, I generally avoid getting close to people I work with. I feel like if coworkers know too many details of my personal life they will be used against me in some way. In many ways I no longer lead a lifestyle similar to those around me and I feel like I will be judged if people knew my real beliefs on certain subjects. There are more than a handful of things in my life, especially in the last three or four years that I am more than ashamed/embarrassed about and I just avoid budding relationships with everyone to avoid telling these ugly parts. I build walls to avoid being judged and in return I end up lonely. I don't know how to open up anymore.

Finances - I used to be so on top of my financial well being it was amazing. I kicked ass at paying my bills on time and knowing exactly where all my money was. Part of that was that I was making really good money and had little expenses. However, not working for 18 months while racking up ungodly amounts of medical bills has killed that. Not to mention I make less than half of what I used to, there's barely enough for gas and food, let alone get caught up on past shit. I avoid the mailbox and the thought of adding up the numbers gives me serious anxiety. I know the longer I put this off the worse it gets but I literally don't know where to start.

This all or nothing mentality is killing me. It has become super easy for me to get down on myself and feel like a failure. Most often I will feel I could have done better in one aspect and I can quickly move on. But right now, I'd like to just completely start over with life. I really would, I feel like I am so far behind or doing poorly in so many areas that it's just not worth the effort, so I've slowly stopped making any at all. I want to just wipe the slate clean, but I cant. I need to find some healthy balance in my life and I don't know how. My life used to be in perfect working order, and now it's just chaos.

Love Is Art

Amazing! I love it! Buy kits here.

Tonka Howls!

 I seriously love this! Don't mind my Dad howling in the background.

Life List Updated

I made some changes!

Fly first class

Ride in a submarine

Burning Man

Name a star

Eat pineapple in Hawaii

Fall head over heals in love

Ride in a train

Visit New York

Be an inspiration

Culinary Arts School

Kiss on a bridge

Build-A-Bear

Get a tattoo

1000 DVDs
Read Mein Kampf

Go to a World Series game

Visit the big sycamore tree in Indiana

Ride in the Tea Cups

Go to the end of a rainbow

See the Northern Lights

Attend a taping of The Price is Right

Go to the top of a lighthouse

Ride in a hot air balloon

Attend Mardi Gras

Learn Spanish

Learn to knit for reals

Attend the Sundance Film Festival

Shakespearean Festival

See the Golden Gate Bridge

Eat at a Gordon Ramsay Restaurant

See a space shuttle launch

Learn to ride a motorcycle

Lasso

I'm so into music right now! LOVE! So I'm spreading The Band Perry love. Listen here.

Lasso

The Band Perry

When I first laid eyes on you

Well, the night just felt so odd

You looked at me and the stars lined up

So I thought I'd heard from God

And I gave him my best shot

Loving you was like throwing a lasso around a tornado

I tried to hold on to you

Took a ride on a tilt-a-whirl that sits on top of the world

Man, I thought I could show you

I've always been afraid of flying 

But you can't blame a girl for trying

Felt like a pearl when I was holding your hand

So precious I forgot

You could have any girl but I only wanted one man

Still I gave it my best shot

Loving you was like throwing a lasso around a tornado

I tried to hold on to you

Took a turn on a high trapeze swinging over the deep

I thought i could show you

I've always been afraid of flying

But you can't blame a girl for trying

Like a vine bends a tree to the ground

I won't hold you down

I tried to climb just as high

But I found all the clouds touch the ground

In this small town

Took a ride on a high trapeze swinging over the deep 

I thought I could show you

That I've always been afraid of flying

But you can't blame a girl for trying

No, you can't blame a girl

Walk Me Down The Middle

This is pretty much my favorite song and band right now. They are (in the words of my sister) amazeballs! Seriously, I've listened to this song 16 times on iTunes since I bought the album like a week ago. Oh and this one is my favorite right now too. Kenny is always my favorite though. Amazeballs!

Walk Me Down The Middle

The Band Perry

I was meant to be by your side

And I have waited here a long time

For you to turn around and notice me

But now you're here holding hands with me

Walk me down the middle of the county fair

Walk me down the middle like you don't care

Walk me by the ferris wheel

And make sure she sees

Let the whole world know you belong to me

I heard about your bitter end

About how she stole your heart and put back again

Well I may not be the prettiest girl around

But I sure am a sight for sore, sore eyes

Walk me down the middle of Main Street

Walk me down where the whole town will be

I don't need no parade

But make sure that she sees

Let the whole world know you belong to me

I'd walk through fire for you

Walk through barbed wire for you

I'd walk for miles, it's true

Just to be with you

If you walk me down the middle of my momma's church

Walk me down that aisle in your finest shirt

Let the whole world know you will 

Walk me down the middle of the county fair

Walk me down the middle like you don't care

Walk me by the ferris wheel

And make sure they all see

Let the whole world know you belong to me

You belong to me

Moneyball

Hmm...yeah I probably need to see this come fall.

DO NOT Use CLEAR Internet Service

They are a scam! Here's my story: in February we switched ISPs and went with Clear. We were a bit skeptical at first because they were a fairly new company, but ultimately we decided to make the change for three reasons: they had an unlimited usage plan, their service was built to stream video really well, and the pricing was good.  So we buy their modem for $150 (to avoid being in contract) and signed up for their unlimited service plan at $45/mo.  It only took a few minutes to hook up the modem to our router and we were off and running. Everything worked great! There was a few days were the service seemed to be a little slow, but we attributed that to March Madness and figured there were more people using the service during the games and what not. No big deal.

So last week they sent us an email saying that during routine maintenance they found an atypical amount of usage on our account and said we were bogging down their system. They attributed this to a) viruses on our computers b) an unprotected router and/or c) constant uploading or streaming of data. They told us to check the computers, router, and to be more cautious of our usage to be sure other users weren't experiencing problems. My first reaction was oh wow, I hope someone isn't piggy backing on our router and causing the problem. If they were they'd have to be doing a massive amount of downloading and what not in order for our account to be causing other users problems. Then I was bugged. I thought we were paying for unlimited usage so even if others were on our router it shouldn't matter, right? We called them and they confirmed our unlimited plan and told us to take the above listed precautions to avoid any problems. So we looked into it and we don't have any viruses on our machines and our router is password protected. We'd done everything we could on our end and figured it would work itself out. Well Wednesday we got another email saying the same thing, only this time it said that if we don't adjust our internet usage to an appropriate level they will terminate our service. WHAT?! Adjust our usage? We have an UNLIMITED plan. And what exactly is an "appropriate" level? Here's a few screen shots of our usage since March.

Mar-Apr 255,409 MB used

Apr-May 179,682 MB used

May-June 144,408 MB

We are using much less now than we did when we first started using the service! But apparently that is soo much we are a problem to others. I find it hard to believe that one household's usage could be killing their systems. And even if that was the case and that user has an unlimited plan, it's not a user issue to fix. It's Clear's. Get more towers or better systems or whatever. Do not put some imaginary limit on the user that's paying for what they think is unlimited service! So, we did a little more research into this problem and apparently this happens to A LOT of their users. This is their scam. They get people in the door with an unlimited plan, everything is fine for a month or two, then they say you are using too much, bogging down their system and cut you off. What a joke! Luckily, we are not in contract with them. In some cases if you are in contract they penalize you for terminating it, even if they are the ones doing the terminating! UNBELIEVABLE! I hate this company! So now we must find a new ISP. Blahhh. So if anyone has some suggestions I'm open. I will not go with Comcast, their customer service is HORRID and Qwest is too expensive. Oh PS I posted this negative review using Clear's internet service. Bitches!!

Phone Photos

If you've seen Goldmember you will know why this is so funny

I closed my finger in the car door. OUCH

Holli brought this back to me from Cali this trip. 

I've wanted one of these fire fighter shirts forever.

 I have a drinking problem.

Ooops..I forgot my blinker Mom...

The COOLEST thing I've ever seen

1. Put on nailpolish and let it dry.
2. Dip fingernail in alcohol..basically, any will do, vodka is suggested.
3. Press a strip of newspaper big enough to cover the whole nail on your alcohol soaked nail.
4. Pull of slowly and be amazed!
5. Cover with top-coat if desired. Also, I found this here.

Cup

I decided to upgrade from that one time I did this. This is my I'm-going-to-quit-drinking-soda-so-ill-put-water-in-a-cup-that-looks-like-a-soda-drink-cup-cup. Cute, huh!?

Bodies upon the gears

"There's a time when the operation of the machine becomes so odious, makes you so sick at heart, that you can't take part; you can't even passively take part, and you've got to put your bodies upon the gears and upon the wheels, upon the levers, upon all the apparatus, and you've got to make it stop. And you've got to indicate to the people who run it, to the people who own it, that unless you're free, the machine will be prevented from working at all." -Mario Savio

Center For Change

I've joined the ranks of the employed...again! YAY! *Queue choir angels* I accepted a receptionist position at the Center For Change. Center For Change is a treatment center focusing primarily on eating disorders but also treats substance abuse, major depression, trauma issues and sexual and physical abuse. They have been in business in since 1994.

I start on Thursday and I'm pretty excited. It will be good to get back into a routine and I'm excited to work somewhere that has the ability to really make a difference in a persons life. I desperately need to start making a dent on my debt that has accumulated. Ughh. That's a very overwhelming, but I have to start somewhere. So wish me luck and I'll do some posts along the way with updates on how it's going.

Crazy Stupid Love

MMmmm Ryan Gosling. Can't wait.

Tonka inside Hello Kitty

Which sounds dirty...but it isn't. I come out of my room a lot and find the Tonker wrapped up in Holli's (although he's secretly stolen it) Hello Kitty blanket and lounging comfortably on the couch. He's so cute. Random side note: as of yesterday morning my blog went over 50,000 page views. Go me go. 

Everything Must Go

I realllly want to see this! Everything Must Go releases May 13, 2011.

Best thing ever

I've become a little obsessed with drinking Gatorade over soda and water lately. I'm not as tired when I drink it instead of water. Probably all the electrolytes. Anyway, I love these little mix with water yourself Gatorade powders! Each of these will make 8 32oz Gatorade's. They have 3 powdered flavors and you can get them at any grocery store in the Juice aisle.

Unbearable Lightness

While I was in California in February I read Unbearable Lightness by Portia de Rossi. I really liked it. It's the memoir she wrote during her severe struggle with anorexia and bulimia. She discusses how her desire to be healthy and fit quickly became a full blown eating disorder and how she got down to a shocking 82lbs. She also describes what it was like being gay and working in Hollywood during a time when it wasn't opening accepted.

Overall I really enjoyed this book! It was a quick read at 272 pages and while I found a few grammatical errors (which drive me nuts) I enjoyed the content. You can purchase the book here through Amazon.

The Gargoyle

*So this is a review I posted on a different blog I had about two years ago, but I got a request to do some book reviews (Hi Laci!!) so here's a repost (with some tweaks) until I put together one of a current book I've read.

My 2nd favorite book (after To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee) is Andrew Davidson's, The Gargoyle. I really love this book! The Gargoyle would be a perfect airplane read. I can get completely engrossed in a book when I am on a plane. I think it's because I have absolutely no interest in talking with the strangers around me and do my best to tune them all out. But back to the book. The beginning is a little brutal. Not because it's boring or difficult to read, but because it's so descriptive you can almost feel the words. The first part describes a car crash that the narrator experiences and if you can make it through that you won't want to put it down. The remainder of the book is the narrators experience with burn recovery and addiction and a woman named Marianne, whom he meets in the hospital. Marianne is a psych patient that has been recently released and tries to convince the narrator they met and loved in a previous life. She is awesome. And crazy. I loved each of the stories Marianne told because they kept my attention. I couldn't wait to continue reading to hear the next part of each one. I also liked the way the narrator goes back and forth determining whether she is totally insane, or if they really happened. I love how they all tie in to one another, and in the end when he tells Marianne Engel he loves her. Aww. So sweet. Here's a excerpt from that part.

"...I spent my entire life waiting for you, Marianne, and I didn't even know it until you arrived. Being burned was the best thing that ever happened to me because it brought you. I wanted to die but you filled me with so much love that it overflowed and i couldn't help but love you back. It happened before I even knew it and now I cant imagine not loving you..."

I recommend reading this book if you are in the mood for a love story and can stand reading a little human suffering. Side note, I am not really familiar with writing book reviews, or any reviews for that matter so I apologize if this one kind of sucked. Maybe I'll improve in the upcoming attempts. Click here to see what I am currently reading.

Simplification

Hi everyone! Lately, I have been thinking about condensing my life. Just getting rid of things I don't really need. A "Life Spring Cleaning" if you will. Anyway, I decided to start with my blog. I removed a few things that made it look cluttered, changed the color scheme, and made use of the "pages" feature to present a much cleaner, more simple site. I hope you like it. I you can't find something you use to like seeing on my blog just leave me a comment or send me an email and I'll see what I can do.  Also, I'm going to try to do more book reviews here and add more recipes in the future. Anyway, wish me luck and everyone let me know what you think of the new design?!

In Person vs Phone Interviews

My next post, In Person vs Phone Interviews, for The Career Effect is up! So if you've got a minute head over there and tell me what you think!

As far as jobs go, I had two interviews today that went well and I have one (almost) lined up for tomorrow as well! Just waiting to hear on the exact time. The two today were for local (Orem) companies, a receptionist position and an executive assistant at the other. To be honest, I wasn't super impressed with either, but I'd make the best of working at both if given the chance. I should hear back early next week about 2nd interviews. I am actually really excited about the interview tomorrow. I don't have any experience in this particular field, but it could be really cool! We'll see how it goes. Anyway, everyone check out my article!

Returning to an active routine

So I am slowly trying to get my butt back into an active routine. On Sunday, my Dad took me to the tennis courts to play. I've never played tennis once in my life, but I have to say that I did surprisingly well. It was really fun actually and I am hoping to go again tomorrow if the weather permits. My arm/elbow are pretty sore today from swinging the racket, but otherwise no harm done. I love learning things from my Dad. He is an amazing athlete and teacher.

Today my Dad and I went to the Orem Rec Center for a work out. He started in the weight room and I immediately jumped on the treadmill. I knew I didn't want to push it too hard since it's been a year since I was working out on a regular basis so I started out just walking at a 2.5 pace and then increased it to about a 3.3. After my little warm up I decided I wasn't going to be able to run the full 30 mins so I decided to run (at a 4.4 speed) every other song. It worked out pretty well. I'd like to go 3-4 times a week so I can get back down to my normal size. Wish me luck!

Man Candy...Don't they make your Sunday better?

Jon Hamm

 Christian Bale

 Dean Winters

 Heath Ledger

 Leonardo Dicaprio

Mark Wahlburg

Things that must go

• The word 'loaf'
• The Netflix "Retrieving" screen
• Couples who share a Facebook Page
• Jimmer
• Women who post about their time of the month on Facebook
• Diuretics
• My laptop scratching my arm
• Running out of Coke and Dr Pepper
• Saving Grace only having 3 seasons
• Anyone that puts 'Mr. or Mrs.' in their pet's names (ie Mr. Tinker, Mrs Spottyboots)

I kinda want a Monroe...

What do you guys think? Probably move it to the left a bit. Cute?

Obvious

Blink 182 - Obvious


I saw you again
I think you used me again
Should we try this before
We give up and move on
And pretend to restore
What we have and hold on

At times like these
It's Obvious

I saw you again
I know you fucked him again
Can you comfort yourself
WITH the sense of revenge
Are you leaving me here
With the taste of the end,

At times like these
It's obvious (2x)

I saw you again and again and again
There's some room to move
On to move on to move on
And i saw you again and again and again
How do we fix this if we never had vision (repeated)

No sampling please

Who exactly is sampling the dog treats at Winco? Sick dude.

Flowers...Again!

Twice in one week! I can't believe it! Kelvin had flowers waiting for me when I got off the plane in Sacramento this morning and they are really cute! I love that kid so much!