I'm That Girl

I have a major crush on music. It's pretty much been like that for as long as I can remember. My family likes to remind me, especially while in public group settings, how when I was little I would line all of my stuffed animals up on the couch, pop in an Amy Grant tape, grab a pencil as my microphone, and crank that music up to give the performance of a lifetime. I danced. I sang. I worked that stuffed animal crowd like nobody's buisness. And it was a sold out performance every time.

Not much has changed in the 24 years since, except maybe the audience. Instead of stuffed animals I sing to real animals. Hunter happens to be one of my number one fans. My poor husband is subjected to my performances on every road trip. Bless his soul. Because you know I'm singing along to every song on our 5 hour drive down south- unless he's lucky and I fall asleep. (Love you Hunny!). And if he's really lucky, I don't just sing, but I dance too. Ya, I know, the talent I withhold is abounding.

Knowing my deep love of "bumping", Matt had an improved amp and subwoofer installed in my car after we got married. Thankfully, now I can include all of the Bay Area in my arena and audience. Because you know that if I'm driving along, and especially if it's a sunny day and I have the sunroof open, I am singing at the top of my lungs, feeling every beat, and even my seatbelt can't hold me back from dancing as I sit in traffic on 280 everyday. Yep, that's right. I'm that girl.

This is one of my new favorite songs, and the collection grows every week thanks to iTunes Free Download of the Week. So come on. Let your hair down. Throw off fear of public embarrassment. Give in to the beat and let it go. You know you wanna join me on tour. ;)

Snow Patrol "Just Say Yes" (click on the link for the YouTube song/video)

Buffalo, New York

Last weekend Matt made a quick trip home so we could fly to New York and attend our friends' wedding in Buffalo. We were so blessed to have Matt's mom offer to drive up and stay with Hunter for the weekend, which was also nice because we got to spend some extra time with her on Thursday, Sunday, and Monday. 

So Matt landed from China late on Wednesday night, went into work Thursday, and we flew out at 6am on Friday morning. We took part in the rehearsal and dinner, and headed to bed at 11pm where we slept soundly until 11am. Yup, twelve whole glorious hours of rock hard slumber. Matt ran out to grab lunch with some friends while I got ready to head to the church by 2pm. We were excited to be included in the service by giving the Offering for communion. Afterwards there were a couple of hours before the reception so we headed out with friends for coffee and drinks. By 6pm we were at the reception where we enjoyed more time with friends, eating, and celebrating Brandon and Julie! By 11:30pm we were headed back to bed to grab a few hours of sleep before getting on another early flight home to San Francisco. Poor Matt, by this time he had been in four different time zones in about 4 days, and he headed back to China again on Tuesday morning- yes, you read correctly. Not even a full week at home. As we figure, he's spent less than 10 nights in our bedroom since the spring. We can only hope his travel schedule slows down in the Fall and be grateful for the points and miles he's accrued which have allowed us to travel for free this summer and attend both weddings we were invited to. 

We'll also be using miles to travel to Cayman Island in about a week. We have rented an oceanfront villa with my parents and sister's family and cannot wait to unplug, snorkel, explore, and rest. You can be sure I'll be posting lots of pictures from that adventure! Until then, this is what I'm looking forward to!

Cayman Island

Rum Pointe, Cayman Island

Secrets of a Self-Confessed Neat Freak

Be prepared to have your mind blown. This self-confessed "neat freak" is about to share some of my Anti-Dirt Campaign secrets.

Now, I'm not an overly concerned organic or natural person, in truth, I'm more about a tight budget and results. I came to these findings via some research and experiments and thought I would share because they work so well for those who are thrifty spenders or chemically concerned.

When I started out, I researched using steam because so many people recommended it as a way to sanitize floors and surfaces. But it turns out that it's actually not a great idea to use steam on hard wood or laminate floors (such as Pergo) because it gets in the seams and can cause buckling over time. Mopping isn't good either because the puddles of water sitting on the seams can also cause damage. What I discovered was that spraying a solution on a surface and using a microfiber cloth was the best way to clean and prevent damage. Since the solution I came up with is natural, I can strip the cloth off of my mop and throw it in the laundry with my cleaning rags and I don't have to worry about staining other items. Here's the basics of what you'll need to have your whole house spic and span:

Spray Bottle: you can recycle an old, empty bottle or you can purchase a new one. They're easily found in a cleaning aisle at a local store, or sometimes even in the travel-sized bins for a buck or so. You might want a few depending on what you are going to make. You can label them with a Sharpie or stickers.
Vinegar: depending on your preference you can use white or apple cider. Either is a natural disinfectant and works to cut through grime and grease.
Baking Soda: all baking soda's are not made the same so I stick with Arm & Hammer and I buy a big box of it because it's going to go a long way, which is ultimately better on the budget.
Dish Soap: sometimes you need to boost your cleaning power. A little bit of dish soap will do the trick and I'm pretty sure everyone has some already next to their kitchen sink. Hopefully.
Natural Oil (optional): most people don't love the smell of vinegar (as noted by the lack of vinegar scented candles and sprays on the Glade and AirWick display shelves) but as you clean with this mixture you'll begin to associate it with a sense of cleanliness. Until then, you may want to add a few drops of a natural oil to your mixture. They come in scents such as Lavender, Tea Tree, Eucalyptus, Rosemary, and more.  You can buy them at specialty stores like Lassens/Whole Foods, or even Target/Walgreens/CVS. Because you're cleaning with it, it doesn't have to be top-of-the-line (that's more for putting on your skin) and a little bottle will last you quite awhile.
Water: a typical recipe ratio is 1 to 4, or 1 to 3. In your spray bottle you'll be mixing 1 part vinegar to 3 or 4 parts water.
Hydrogen Peroxide: weird, I know, but I'll get to this later and explain.

Part of the reason I like using these products is because with pets you can't use ammonia and most people with children prefer not to use bleach. It's also great because most of these are items you already have in your home so you can try it without purchasing a thing!

For general cleaning of floors and counters, use a ratio of either 1 part vinegar to 3 or 4 parts water. Add a few drops of dish soap and sprinkle in some baking soda (you may want to use a funnel). Beware! The baking soda will react and begin bubbling! This is perfectly safe but can be messy so leave room in the bottle and add it a little at a time, preferably over the sink. You can add as many drops of oil as you wish depending on how strong you want it to smell. All that's left is to gently mix it, start spraying, and wipe! I use old dish towels but paper towels are fine as well.

You can use the items individually as well. Baking soda on its own is wonderful to sprinkle in a sink or tub as a scrub instead of Comet or Soft Scrub. An old dish sponge will do the trick and then rinse it down. I've also heard of people using baking soda to clean their toilets! A big pan of boiling water and baking soda will clean grease right off your stove vent/filter. Putting a few drops of natural oil on the inside of your toilet paper roll will release a nice scent every time you use it.

Carpet stains = Yuck! When we moved in to our apartment there was a huge, blue stain from where a bottle of Downey was dropped on the carpet. Even the professional cleaners couldn't get all the blue out, but I found a simple solution that made it disappear. In a spray bottle I mixed hydrogen peroxide (see, told you I'd explain) and baking soda. I sprayed it on the stain, blotted with a towel, and like magic the stain is GONE! Even my friend commented, "Hey, what happened to the big blue spot?!" Hunter has vomited on the couch while we were out and, while I can wash the cover, I couldn't wash the cushion. I found this solution worked on the stain and smell in the cushion as well. This same combination can be used to clean old baking sheets and bring them back to looking like new. This magic potion also works to unclog drains. Impressive, right? You can water down the solution if you like, too.

As if these weren't amazing enough, I have more. Want to freshen up your vinegar but don't want to run to the store for a natural oil? Peel an orange or lemon and throw the rinds in your vinegar and over time it will take on the citrus smell! You still want more?! Fine, but now you're getting greedy. Soak your laundry in a solution of water, baking soda, and hydrogen peroxide. Then wash them to get out impossible stains.

I bet you're so glad I've enlightened you to the world of natural home cleaning on a budget. You may be thinking that you can buy products for all these uses at only a few bucks a piece, and yes, that's true. However, some of you prefer to not use chemicals or would like something that, overall, is a lot cheaper. You may spend $10 to $20 upfront for these items but they will last you such a long time and work for so many things that overall they end up being a better value.

Of course, as with anything, PLEASE test a small portion before you clean a whole area. You never know exactly how something will react and it's better to be safe than sorry. Happy cleaning!

A SLO Weekend

I'll always remember the first time I met my friend Kristi. 

Matt and I were in SLO and he had planned for us to go to sushi with some of his friends. I was a little nervous but, of course, willing to give it a go. Then I found out that Matt's friend was bringing his girlfriend, which sounded great- right up until Matt added, "and oh yeah, she's super athletic. You're gonna love her!" 

Uhhh, super athletic??? Do you know me??? While I appreciate a good workout, I am in no way "super athletic." 

"Oh great," I'm thinking. "She's gonna be super buff, wear nike shorts, probably a sports related men's t-shirt, walk like a football player, and we're going to have NOTHING to talk about. AWKWARD." And that's right about the time she walked up. 

Next to Matt's friend was this petite, slender, beautiful- no, make that, stunning- brown haired girl with these big eyes and an even bigger smile. And she just radiated this warmth, sincerity, positivity, and friendship. And I loved her just like that. 

Dang it. Matt was right. 

While we don't get to talk a lot, and we've actually only hung out a handful of times, I would absolutely say she is one of my dearest friends. I can tell her anything and know confidentiality is a given. She is always uplifting and yet somehow also knows just when to be empathetic. No matter how much time goes by between our visits, it feels like only days have gone by when we see one another again. Kristi is really one-of-a-kind. 

So a few weeks ago, when she invited Matt and I to come visit, I quickly found a date on the calendar that worked and booked it. Unfortunately Matt had to go to China shortly before the trip, so Hunter and I packed up and hit the road. We arrived and settled in on her couch to chat and catch up. 

Later that night we headed out with Paul, Kristi's seriously sweetie-pie boyfriend, to downtown San Luis Obispo. Our plan was to attend a free concert in the plaza, grab some dinner and drinks, and stop in at Art After Dark which is a wine and art event held at a local jewelry store. To our surprise, the Damon Castillo Band was playing! Score for us! I also ran into one of my old FCNI and SLO friends, Matt, at the concert and grabbed a quick hello hug! We enjoyed the concert, some fire brick pizza, wine, cookie ice cream sandwiches, and pet inspired art. We ended the night by renting a movie and then headed to bed. The rest of the weekend we did a little wine tasting, thoroughly enjoyed ourselves at the Wine Shed, stuffed ourselves at Black Sheep (where I have a serious addiction to their mac n cheese), and spent more time chatting and laughing. Before heading out this morning, we grabbed muffins and coffee at Black Horse Coffee, and then I loaded up the car and left with a good hug. 

It means so much to have good friends. Sincere, sweet, and positive friends. People that I cherish and appreciate more than I can express. I'm looking forward to the next time we get together and thankfully, since she's also my coach now, I know we'll get to talk often! 

Remembering Joy

The world is full of images that we perceive as beautiful, and it's hard to make your way through life and the clutter of propagandized messages. It's easy to turn your eyes to others and try to measure your worth, but the problem with that method is that you will always find yourself failing.

"I should be thinner. I should have more defined muscles...and oh yes, no cellulite. Beautiful girls don't have cellulite. My hair should look like a professional came to my house and did it, except that I did it myself. And of course my make up too. That should be perfectly applied and I am supposed to look like I stepped out of the pages of a magazine. All of my outfits should be cute and accessorized, and I should probably have some ridiculously expensive bag. That's what real girls have, right? And I should be able to run for miles- without sweating because that's gross and of course my makeup has to look spectacular- and look like I belong in Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition..."

Of course I know these are unrealistic ramblings, but I have to admit they constantly run through my mind. As I pulled out my point-and-shoot to document my 30 day workout results, I found myself really struggling with comparing myself to unrealistic ideals and feeling like I had failed. Why wasn't I looking perfect? I had 30 days after all!

I wondered if I should follow through. If I should even take the photos. I began to doubt the changes I was seeing, and even question my ability to reach my goals. Yet I knew that I had decided to make a change. I had committed to getting stronger and working out. And I knew that with those two steps taken, I was going to succeed. I just needed to remember my joy. I needed to turn my vision from comparing myself to others and instead focus on my own accomplishments.

So I gave myself a real talking to. "Young lady," I told myself, "you have a broken vertebrae and yet you just completed 30 days of exercise! You went from sitting on that flat fanny to working out 5-6 days a week! That's something to be proud of!" I pulled out my measuring tape, scale, and camera, took a deep breath, and then I started with the facts.

My weight was the same. Yet I couldn't look at that as a failure- hey, I didn't gain any weight, right? And my goal wasn't to lose weight. Good. Moving on. I lost half an inch on each thigh. Okay, well that's not a huge difference but it is a difference and if I keep working then that number can only grow. Even if it's growing slowly. My other measurements weren't too changed so I put on my bathing suit, grabbed my camera, and faced my fears in the mirror. And then like any girl I had to study the pictures closely. Slowly yet surely, looking at the body I knew so well, I began to see the slightest of changes. And I decided to claim them. I wasn't going to get bummed on myself about not seeing drastic changes, I wasn't going to tell myself they weren't good enough to acknowledge or celebrate, and I wasn't going to disrespect my hard work by telling myself I was a failure. I had committed to something and I was going to follow through. Which meant I had to write this and post the pictures. Like it or not.

I have to constantly remind myself to look at my own path and accomplishments instead of those messages the world keeps flashing left and right of me. I rob myself of the ability to be happy with who I am and what I have every time I allow my eyes to wander and my mind to desire something that someone else has. I am finding that, along with my commitment to my health, I'm learning to be content with myself and my life. And that's a stunning result I didn't expect to find! Here's to the next 30 days of my 60 day challenge!

30 days: front

30 days: back

30 days: side

San Diego Wedding Weekend

After my whirlwind weekend in Ventura, I had a few days at work, awaited Matt's arrival from China on Tuesday night, did loads and loads of laundry, packed again, and headed to SFO for a late night flight to San Diego. After a delayed flight, we landed, picked up our Subaru rental car, and headed the one block to our room at the Sheraton in the San Diego harbor. We wondered why we didn't just walk to the hotel after waiting 20 minutes for the rental car shuttle at 1:30am. By 2:30am we were fast asleep and dreaming about our day at Sea World!

Thursday morning involved applying a lot of sunscreen, grabbing a bite to eat, and heading to a day full of Shamu and friends. Yay!!! We caught a couple shows- Shamu, and the Sea Lions- both were entertaining and fun as usual. Matt had booked Dine with Shamu as a surprise so we headed there at noon, ate our fill of a delicious all-you-can-eat buffet, and had an up-close experience with Shamu's friends.

Dine with Shamu

Dine with Shamu

Shamu show

We opted out of sitting in the Splash Zone

Shamu show

After lunch we visited the aquarium and found some strange creatures along with penguins, napping polar bears, sharks, otters, sting rays, and dolphins.

Rock Fish...really? Who knew?!

I didn't even see them at first! 

Lion Fish

Flamingos!

We headed back to the hotel around 4pm to get cleaned up for dinner and meet up with our friends and fellow groomsmen, as well as the groom of course! We decided to visit a Yelp favorite, Phil's BBQ, and arrived to find a line around the building. Well, what else did we have to do? Nothing. So we stood in line for almost 2 hours, caught up, reminisced over college memories, and laughed a lot! We finally sat down to enjoy some awesome BBQ, ate till we were stuffed, and decided to head over to a local bar, The Silver Spigot- a classy San Diego joint. And by classy I mean, "Stay classy San Diego" Anchorman style. After a few pool games we headed back to the hotel for the night to rest up for the following rehearsal day fun.

On Friday the guys got their tuxes, and by the time they arrived back, we had all arrived at the hotel and were ready for some more fun: Tony and his girlfriend Phung, Cody and his girlfriend Alaina, Matt and me, Scott (groom) and his brother Keith. We headed to a deli for some sandwiches and then across the street to Miramar Speed Circuit for some go-kart racing.

Naturally we let the groom win.

Later that evening we got cleaned up, headed to the church for rehearsal, and then to dinner on the beach. Every night Sea World does fireworks at 10pm and we were able to watch them over the water after dinner. A great way to end a great day! Saturday was a non-stop day. We got up, Matt got his hair cut, the groomsmen came to get ready in our room, I got ready in Alaina's room, the guys left in the limo for the church, and the girls (Alaina and Phung) and I got in the Subaru to head to the ceremony. We made an emergency stop at Wendy's after the groomsmen called to say they hadn't eaten all day and neither had the groom. We arrived loaded with happy meals and snacks, dropped the food to the guys, and got our seats. After the ceremony the girls loaded up again, headed towards Balboa Park for the reception, and hung out with friends. I was able to catch up with our friends Forrest and Amanda, and met new friends too. During the reception we had dinner, dancing, and lots of laughter!

So happy to have some time together at the end of the day! 

New friends and fellow groomsmen

Laughing with Tony and Phung

After the wedding we went back to the hotel to grab some snacks at the hotel bar and then headed to bed after saying goodbye-for-now. On Sunday we grabbed a flight back to SFO and arrived home around 4:30pm where Hunter was awaiting our arrival after having a great few days with our friend Bianca (Thanks B!!!! <3) It's been a crazy week but it was a ton of fun!

Family Weekend

This last weekend I was able to take a road trip with Hunter down to Ventura to see my family for Ben's 4th birthday. I shuffled some doctor appointments around so I could leave Friday morning and we arrived by early afternoon. My mom treated me to a manicure, and in the evening my sister and the boys came over for dinner and a swim.

Little fishie

"Hey guys, I think this hat's too small!"

Trying to convince Hunter to jump in

Hunter has been in the ocean before but he had never been in the pool so I was eager to try out his water skills. We found that he can swim well but he doesn't enjoy it- he obviously doesn't take after my side of the family. ;)

On Saturday I had a visit with my good friend, Kristina, while she cut and colored my hair. Afterwards, my mom and I went shopping for a dress and shoes for some weddings coming up. We ended up finding a great dress (and great deal!) at Alexis Bridal in Oxnard, where my mom got her dress for my wedding. That night we headed over to my sister's for a dessert birthday party for Ben, and Hunter had lots of fun chasing- and destroying- any ball he could find. It was so nice to see so many family members that I hadn't seen in months!

Ben and Hunter play fetch

(The action shot)

Nathan playing with Hunter

Nathan and Hunter play fetch

A love-love relationship: Nathan loves to throw and Hunter loves to catch

Our athletic dog

Auntie Den and Ben drawing birthday balloons on the chalkboard

Nathan enjoys some birthday pie with Grandma and Auntie Den

Great Grandpa Al and Ben

Playing Peek-A-Boo with Auntie Den

On Sunday we went to church and then my mom and I headed to my grandma's house to have a coconut cream pie date (I don't know anyone other than my grandma who loves this pie as much as I do) with my Aunt Debra, who was visiting from New Mexico. Later that afternoon my sister, the boys, and my sister's friend came over for another pool party and dinner. On Monday morning we headed back up north to start the work week and get ready for our friend's wedding in San Diego this weekend!