Goodbye JUNE!

June has been a horrible month for me. I am so glad today was the last day of June and HOPEFULLY July will be much better. June is always a very busy month for me between birthdays and anniversaries. My sister and one niece have June birthdays, my parents and my sis and brother-in law have a June wedding anniversary (within 3 days of each other) plus numerous friends have June birthdays as well, and don't forget Father's Day! It seems whenever I meet someone new, I can almost bet that they either have a anniversary or birthday in June. So on top of my normally busy June, alot of things went wrong. June 14 was the worst possible day. That was day that my very close friend Zach called and told me that our friend Brandon was in a car accident and he didn't make it. My luck went down hill from there. I was stuck in the middle of rain/thunder storm on the boat with my sister, my niece Kalli got hurt on the boat and it took us forever to get out of the lake and I was freezing from the rain! My friend, Zach moved to Florida the day after Brandon's memorial so I said my goodbye to Brandon on Tuesday night and to Zach on Wednesday morning. At least I know I will see Zach again soon! I have had to get my car fixed twice because of a safety recall on my brakes and then I was informed I needed new front tires and my power steering needed to be fixed as well. So tomorrow the tires and power steering get fixed. I also found out that I will be unemployed in August once Ry starts preschool/daycare. I am at the point that I am almost scared to go anywhere because something bad might happen! My mom says all bad thing happen in 3's and that I have had my three things this year so I should be good the rest of the year, so hopefully she's right!!!

I have faith that July will be a much better month. I am confident I will find a job, hopefully sooner than later and I know that everything happens for a reason and that is what is getting me thru each day. To a better a month!!

Crazy Molly

For those of you who don't know, I have 2 cats, Molly and Twix. They make me smile when nothing else can. Molly is quite the show off. She loves it when other people give her attention and I am convinced that she poses for the camera. So everyday, I read the paper and everyday she plops on it as soon as I put it on the floor. This morning I had the Home and Garden on the floor and all of a sudden, she was chewing on it and all of of a sudden, she plops down on it and if Twix walks by, she swats him to let him know that its her paper and she's not sharing. This morning she was acting crazier than usual (without the help of catnip) and really chewing on the paper. She was flipping around and rolling on her back and swatting my hand. It was quite the show. Jill and I were laughing and Jill got out the camera and took some pictures. The blurry ones are caused by her moving too fast!!!

Molly getting started with the paper

Twix, this is my paper, stay away!

Really into it (Twix in background)

Mmm, this paper is good!

Playing with momma!



And of course, I couldn't forget about Twix. Twix is my cuddler. He only cuddles with me though. He does let Jill pet him but he will not let her pick him up. He is famous for showing off polka dotted belly. He is always has this look on his face like, "Please look at me because I am cute!" He also likes to cover himself up when he is cold. Many times I have come out into the living room in the morning and he's all snuggled up in his blanket that I keep on my footstool. He is definitely my laid back cat while Molly craves the attention from others.

I guess Twix is cold!

Showing off his belly!

Can you tell that my kitties are like my children?? HAHA!!!

On Vacation

So it has been a few days but then again I am not interesting enough to have something to talk about everyday. So I have been on vacation since Wednesday and I go back to work Wednesday morning. Even though I am on a nanny vacation, I am still working at Padoodles to earn some extra $$$.

This week has been a little better but honestly not much. I found out on Tuesday that Ry is going to start preschool/daycare in August for more socialization and structure so I will be unemployed. I have many options right now but I am still trying to figure out what is best for me. I have a few more classes to take this fall and then I can do my internship in January so the hard part is going to be finding a job that can be flexible with me when I begin my internship. I have been still looking at some nanny positions but also Health and Wellness jobs as well. I did have a phone interview yesterday but she needed someone to commit for 3-5 years and I just can't do that. It would be awesome if I could but I want to be working in my career by then and it would be nice to be married and have children in 5 years. So I am still looking and I have until mid August to find something. I knew me leaving Ry would come eventually but it came sooner than I expected. Boy, am I going to miss him and his parents. They are like family to me. But his parents need to do the best thing for him and honestly this is the best thing. He unfortunately needs more than I can give him. The past year has been awesome and I will never forget Ry. I still have 7 weeks left so I am going to enjoy every possible minute with him!!!

Nothing much going on this week. I am looking forward to June being over, it hasn't been the best month and July will hopefully be much better. School is going well but is crazier than ever because I am taking 3 classes right now. I have been taking 2 since May 19 and I just started my 5 week class yesterday. The good thing is my third class doesn't have any papers or projects at all!!! Just case studies and 2 exams...WOOHOO! Unfortunately my other 2 classes are filled with papers, projects and discussions but only 5 weeks left to go and then 4 weeks off!!! July 31 cannot come fast enough.

If anyone knows anyone who needs a nanny or any openings related to Health and Nutrition, please let me know!!

Randomness

I have a lot to talk about but its all random and not related. The past few days have been ok. I am still trying to comprehend all that has happened in the last week. I have finally accepted Brandon's death but I still am feeling the loss of him in my life. I still cannot believe how much his death has affected me. I have finally realized the reason his death has had this profound affect on me...ZACH is the reason. Brandon and Zach were close friends and Zach and I are close friends and I hate when people close to me feel pain. I feel the pain with them. Brandon and I were friends too but not as close as him and Zach were. I am also feeling the loss of Zach and his move to Florida. Its weird but I feel lost without him and for the past 4 years we have lived 2 hours away but now we're 2 states away and that bothers me more than I could ever imagine. I am so afraid of him finding someone else and the weird thing is we haven't even dated since 1995!!! I did tell him (via myspace) how I feel and no response yet....So, I am just continue living my life and everything will turn out how its supposed too!

I have been somewhat productive this weekend but not as much as I would have liked to have been. I did get new running sneakers and I went to the gym both Saturday and Sunday, which is huge for me over the weekend. I usually tend to stay away from there on the weekend but I am determined to lose 5 lbs and the gym is a good place to start. I also did some homework and some laundry but not much else. I only work 2 days this week so I have plenty of time to do stuff around the house and finish some homework.

I made baked spaghetti tonight with eggplant, zucchini and shrimp and it was great! I even have enough left over for dinner for a few more nights...YEAH! I love just throwing ingredients together and when it turns out to be yummy, it makes it all the more better!

So I learned a valuable lesson last week at work. Ry is 21 months old and his mind is like a sponge, he repeats everything I say and is learning so much right now. So he was watching tv after his nap and I was trying to pick up some of his toys and I dropped one and I said, OH CRAP! Well, then Ry started imitating me by dropping a toy and said all of a sudden he said OH CRAP! OOOPS!!! So I tried to remedy the situation by trying to explain to him that Ms. Sara made a boo boo and that wasn't something either of us were supposed to say. Needless to say, I felt extremely guilty and told Michelle but she said it was ok. At least it wasn't something worse and I was able to hopefully nip it in the bud. He hasn't said it since so I hope that continues!!! BAD, MS. SARA!!!

I also want to say thank you to everyone who helped me get thru last week and I am truly grateful to all my friends. I am one lucky girl!!

Semi Vegetatrian

So for those of you don't know, I consider myself a semi vegetarian, which basically means I don't eat meat very often. I still eat fish, seafood, eggs and dairy products and some beef but no chicken (I don't really like chicken anyway). This is a fairly new thing for me. I took a vegetarian nutrition class last semester and learned a lot if disturbing information about meat consumption and it freaked me out. Plus, I want to be healthier and honestly, I feel better when I do not consume much meat. I also try to stay away from foods that contain high fructose corn syrup and partially hydrogenated oils. I try to only drink organic milk or organic soymilk and I try to only eat whole grains and lots of fruits and vegetables. I am not perfect and somedays I do eat something not so good for me but I always feel guilty afterwards and get right back on track.

I get so frustrated grocery shopping. You would not believe the foods that have high fructose corn syrup in them that are advertised to be healthy (ex: Skinny Cow ice cream sandwiches). I also hate when a food states that is has ZERO trans fat but one of the ingredients is partially hydrogenated oil...hello that is trans fat!!! Just look at the ingredients in Crisco and it is partailly hydrogenated oil, would you want to eat that stuff, let alone, have it in your food? I wouldn't!!!

Another thing that bugs me is eating out. For example, I ate out at TGI Fridays on Tuesday with Zach and friends Marty and Josh. They had items that were good for you on the menu but barely any choices for vegetarians. I don't expect a huge menu but at least a few things to choose from. Most place typically do. And its not like I am a vegan who does not consume meat, seafood, fish, eggs or dairy products at all. I do at seafood but all their seafood dishes had chicken in it as well. I did eventually find a portabella mushroom sandwich which barely had mushrooms on it but it wasn't too bad. If they can cater to people who want to eat healthy, why can't they put a few vegetarian options on the menu too? Eggplant is a great choice or even a vegetable stir fry or veggie burgers. Vegetarianism is much more common than people realize. This was my first experience eating out and not being able to find barely anything to eat. At least the other restaurants I have eaten at have had choices for me and I have left feeling satisfied.

Ok, I think I am done complaining for today. I just needed to get some stuff of my chest. I feel much better now:) So, no more TGI Fridays for me!!!

Goodbye Brandon

I have to thank my friend Melissa for introducing me to blogging. I have a lot going on in my life and I want to share it with my friends and family.

Unfortunately, I am starting off my blog on a sad note. On Saturday, I received sad news regarding a friend in Mooresville, NC. My friend, Brandon was killed in a car accident last Thursday and I just got home from the calling hours and memorial service. I mainly went for my very close friend, Zach. Brandon and Zach were tight and I was blessed to hang out with Brandon and get to know him. His death has hit me harder than I could ever imagine. You never think that you will have to say goodbye to a friend. I know as time goes on, my broken heart will heal but I will never for get Brandon. He taught me a lot in his short time in my life and I will carry those memories with me for the rest of my life.

Brandon is the main reason I am starting this blog, I have been thinking about starting one but Brandon's death has made me realize that life is full of uncertainties and you never know what day might be your last. Thank you, Brandon for being a part of my life and teaching me to live life to the fullest. I will miss you but I know someday we will meet again.

I have attached of picture of Brandon and I at Hanging Rock State Park in July 2004.