No Treats For Me!

My husband and I are trying to be healthy.  Yes, it's true, we already eat organic everything, almost everything homemade, whole grain, and I exercise 4 days a week.  But we have a huge weakness: TREATS!  My gosh, even now as I typed that, my mouth started watering, like mad.  We LOVE to eat treats.  In fact, we will eat a very light dinner so that we can have more ice cream later.  I'm so not kidding.

So this week, my husband has decided, in a secret pact with himself, to not eat treats.  I know this because each time I ask him if he wants one, I am really telling him in code that I want one but I wont have one unless he has one. He is fully aware of this, because when we don't want treats at the same time, we get so frustrated and guilt one another into having a scoop of ice cream, or four. But he just keeps saying no.  Which means I keep saying no.  

Another something I must bring up is that carbs make me sleepy.  I have no idea why, but I can't eat carbs for breakfast or during the day because about 20 minutes after I am in a coma and I have to inject caffeine into my veins or I will find myself in my bed.  So, I have been eating lots of fruits and proteins.  Now because I claim to be very healthy, and really I am besides the treats, I know that according to avid dieters, proteins are good for you, and carbs are not.  And because my metabolism is crazy fast, then I insist to myself in my head that I need treats to make up for the lack of carbs that are going to my hips.  Besides, doesn't ice cream and chocolate look so much prettier under my jeans than a loaf of bread?  

So I am really trying to only eat treats three times a week.  I already had one, the day that I made the pact, so I only have two more and this week is a big week: Halloween.  So tonight, I asked my husband if he wanted a treat, and because he is in a health conspiracy against my treat longings a great encourager of my goals, he said no.  So, I grabbed a glass of water and pretended that it was no big deal.

But do you know what?  It WAS a big deal!  I want a treat!  I just bought mint hot cocoa from Trader Joes and it's taunting me.  No matter that I am causing the temptation because I did not put it in the cupboard, I placed it right by the hot water boiler.  So I sat there and watched it, and today I thought of smelling it.  No. Can't.  I have decided that Thursday will be the day to break it out.  Why Thursday when Halloween is Friday, you ask?  Well, I babysit on Thursdays and if you frequented their couch, you would call it a treat couch too.  There is just something about how you sink in, and can watch TV without being at the gym, that just SCREAMS treats!  And then, of course, I know I'm at a breaking point, especially after tonight's stunt so I will not be able to have a treat and then not have it again the next day.  Better to get them both out at once.

I feel better now, and I also feel better that today at lunch, I stuffed two JUMBO marshmallows in my mouth while I was waiting for my tea to heat up.  I'm not counting it as a treat though cause they had sand on them from the bonfire.  

Baby Bug

No, no baby for me.  At least not to keep.  I am an avid babysitter because seriously I just can not get enough of those cute little ones.  But I say "Baby Bug" because I am surrounded by them, think about them, and worry about having them all the time.

This weekend I saw two friends that both had twins, and was overwhelmed with how precious those little babies were.  But we all know that it's exhausting, at times frustrating, completely joyful, and everything in between.  But I must say, what I love the most about babies, is how much I love moms.

Go ahead, call me emotional, call me nuts, you can call me any name you want, but I have to confess that when moms get together and they talk and share and be a part of one another's lives I just start crying.  I can't tell you the amount of times that I see mom's out on a walk together, or mom's that I know personally talking and laughing and their kids playing, and it takes every ounce of strength in me to hold in my tears so they do not stamp "CRAZY" on my forehead and never let me babysit again.

But there is something special about women getting together and powering other women.  No, this is not a feminist rant, but instead a tribute.  To all the mom's I know in my life: you are amazing.  Starting with my Mom and followed by the rest...you inspire me.

I had a dream the other night where Cy and I had a child.  We only had one and we were so poor that we had no shoes to wear.  (Real life fear?  Yes.)  Anyway, this child of ours came running out of the other room ( I almost can not believe I am sharing this crazy dream) and ran to me when she saw me.  I seriously loved that girl in my dream so much, and I woke up thinking about how much I loved her and I loved being a mom and that I loved having no shoes.

So of course, you can see the many fallacies in this story, especially that I loved not having shoes.  I have two on my mind right now that I want if I get any extra babysitting jobs.

But also, I woke up thinking how cute this little tike was.  Seriously I was overwhelmed with joy about how cute my kid was.  Sometimes I think we are doomed cause we both have very pronounced features and so for sure the child will have a big forehead, HUGE eyes, a receding hair line, and be really long and lanky.  But this girl, she was ADORABLE.  Funny thing though, she was a carbon copy of me when I was a child.  Oops...guess I am not so mommy-selfless yet after all.

But just so you know, Mom and other moms in my life, I love you, appreciate you, count you as heros, and you make the miracle of being a mom something to pray and hope for.  You are strong, you hold to your convictions, and you have more love than I knew possible.  Thank you.

In this post:  Mom (best friend, and the best mom)  Gail  Mendrop, Lori Lewis, Ali Bray , Kristen Howerton

Mac Tip #3: Hot Corners

This is perhaps one of my favorite features on my Mac.  It's very simple, and once you use it, you will never go back.

"Hot Corners" is a feature that allows you to assign each "corner" or your screen to perform a different function when your mouse pointer goes to that corner.  So for example, you can have the top right corner show all the windows that are open, the top left corner bring up your dashboard and so on.  It's a great shortcut that will save you time, and stay organized.

So let's get started!

1.  First, click on the "System Preferences" icon on your dock.    If you have removed it from your dock, then simply click on your hard drive icon, and it will be in the "Applications" folder.  

2. Next, click on the icon that says "Expose and Spaces".  Make sure, that once this open, you are on the tab that says "Expose"(it will be highlighted blue as shown).  Spaces is another great organizational function we will get to next week.

3. The screen should look something like this:






The four pull down screens  represent the four corners of your desktop.  Each pull down menu has a different option to assign to each corner.    Let me briefly explain each option:

All Windows- If this is selected, when the mouse is placed in the assigned corner, then all the windows that you have open in any application will be shown on your desktop.  This allows you to pick and choose which window you want at the front of your screen simply by clicking on it.

Application Windows- If this is selected, when the mouse is placed in the assigned corner, then all the windows that you have open only in the application which you are working in will show up, allowing you to see what you have open and click on the window that you would like to work on.  For example, if you have six windows open in Safari, and you use this feature you can see what you have open and which one you want to access.

Desktop-  If this is selected, when the mouse is placed in the assigned corner, then all the windows on the desktop will disperse, allowing you to see a clear view of your desktop.  You can even click on an icon on the desktop and it will bring all the previous windows back to the front of the screen, but the most recently clicked item on top.

Dashboard- If this is selected, when the mouse is placed in the assigned corner, then the dashboard will appear on your screen.  The dashboard icon may or may not still be in your dock, and is a place with little applications such as the weather, white pages,  or stocks.  We will learn about the dashboard function more later.

Spaces- If this is selected, when the mouse is placed in the assigned corner, then the "Spaces" function will begin.  Spaces is a great organizational tool that allows you to essentially have up to 16 different desktops.  It's perfect if you are doing numerous tasks at once.

Start Screen Saver- If this is selected, when the mouse is placed in the assigned corner, then the screen saver will start immediately.  Good way to leave your desk with the screen saver running if you are in the office and do not want anyone to see what you are doing, you know, highly sensitive material.

Disable Screen Saver- If this is selected, when the mouse is placed in the assigned corner, then it will disable the screen saver from starting.  This is a great feature if you are in a meeting or watching a movie but your preferences have your screen saver set to go on after a certain length of time, then this will stop that from happening.

Sleep Display- If this is selected, when the mouse is placed in the assigned corner, then your display, or screen, will go to sleep.  It's a great way to save energy!

Finally, the (-) means that you do not want anything to happen when the mouse is placed in the assigned corner.

Once you get the hang of it, and remember what function you assigned to what corner, you will use them all the time. Remember, to assign a corner, just simply select the desired function in the pull down menu.  It will be effective immediately, no need to click "save" or "apply".


Feelin' hot, hot, hot!

24th Birthday!

I recently turned 24, and I have a few photos to prove it.  My husband took me to dinner at wonderful Maggianos (of which I am still enjoying left-overs), and the next day was a beach bonfire with friends. It's one of the best things about SoCal: bonfire weather all year round.  In fact, we are toying with the idea of hot cocoa and smores on Christmas Eve.

Thank you for all your birthday wishes!!! I LOVE birthdays, and I am so blessed to be so loved.  I've been thinking though, on someone's birthday, shouldn't we thank their mom and dad?

Mom and Dad, thanks!

Tag!

Sweet Kristen tagged me!  I'm so stoked, it's my first one!  I really feel like I am part of the blogging world now.  All I need to do next is some free giveaways...but I dont have anything to give away.  So, here are my random facts:

1.  I have only been married for about 4 and a half months and I am so glad I got married young, because that is more time I get to spend with my husband.  I am so incredibly thankful for him.

2. Yesterday was my birthday and I turned 24.  I have no more sense in my head than I did when I was 23...or 12.

3. I LOVE banana and peanut butter.

4. I always think I am taller than I am.

5. Running is my biggest stress reliever.

6. I LOVE Starbucks Christmas blend.

7. I got new slippers for my birthday and I love them!

Alright, Shey , Kristen , Ethan , MaryBeth , Kali , Brianne , and Melissa , it's your turn!

Halloween Hair Disaster

1. It's not Halloween yet.  I'll get to that.  

2.  If you are reading this and thinking that I am so well put together, so on top of things, so graceful and tidy that I could never have a blog about a disaster, then you obviously do not know me well enough...or spent more than 5 minutes with me.

I am all about "fall colors".  I took a trip to Target last week and have been wearing "Hot For Chocolate", a very stylish nail color on my fingers ever since.

So, I decided today that I need a fall color in my hair.  Yes, it already is a fall color: brown.  But I decided that I needed a different one.  What I wanted and what I pictured was a beautiful array of browns and reds, both lights and darks, falling in perfect formation with my curls, creating a very fall look.  So much so, that if I were in the midst of a beautiful park filled with falling leaves, you may think that it was some sort of photo shoot for great curls. Or perhaps an environmental ad, assuring us that if we took care of the environment, we would become one.

But let's be honest, I'm just not that bold.  Curly hair has a tendency to look dry, and well, I have dry hair so that just makes it all the worse.  So when my hair is light in color, I feel like it looks like a stack of straw, super dry and ready to break.  That being said, I always go dark, but I still envision the light.  Today I left with "Soft Licorice Black" and pictured "Pecan", "Chestnut" "Paint the Town" (all titles of the wonderful fall colors I longed for.)

So my adventure began after dinner tonight, and I went in the bathroom and prepared for a new fall color.  Almost immediately it was disaster.  As I began squirting my head with the bottle, like an older person with no depth perception, I squirted right past my head and on to the wall, and the carpet.  I am sure I mumbled some sort of profanity and quickly wiped the dye off.  Coast clear.

No, not clear; black.  Cause Bonnie?  It's dye.  So it' dyes things. Stains things. Stays there.  I looked back no more than two minutes later and there are blackish purplish streaks running down the wall. Profanity again.  So I hurry up with my hair dye, which of course, is a really good way to make sure that you are getting every strand and that it's evenly colored.

At about that time, I hear Cy turn off the TV and I panicked.  Like a twelve year old who just spilled black emo hair dye on the carpet got caught on the phone late in the night, I just shut the door and locked it.  YES! I am a freak!  ( I am seriously dying [no pun intended] laughing at myself for doing that. What is wrong with me?)  Cy comes over to the bathroom and asks what I am doing in there, and of course I have no explanation so I open the door and show him the wall.  But he does not notice because he is pointing at the Dalmatian spot of emo on the carpet.  That too, does not come up with one little wash cloth swipe.

The work began, and an hour later, we have a wall that barely has streaks, and a patch of carpet that is soaked in Resolve, water, shampoo, vinegar, and hairspray.  (Can you tell I googled how to clean it up?)

In addition, I have black Halloween hair that is not at all like a London afternoon frolicking in the leaves.  Instead, I will fit in great when I go to the Twilight premier (ok not premier, just the regular showing with way too much excitement) next month, and in the mean time, I could sit in a dark room, and between my hair and the my googly eyes, people would genuinely think that I am a ghost.

Soft black licorice?  Try Tar in the Night.

Two Raccoons In One Night

Raccoons frequent our apartment complex a lot.  When it was summer and the sun did not set until 8:00, we would often see a mom raccoon and her four babies scampering across our porch in search of food.  I would scream with delight cause those little raccoons were so cute, and would beg Cy to leave Oreos out for them.  I have no idea why, it's not like Oreos and raccoons are a marketing technique that I have fallen for, I just seem to think those little thieves would get a kick out of that delicious treat.

One night, I left the sliding glass door on our porch opened as I was sitting out there doing some post-run stretches.  I left it open to give Cy some fresh air as he was diligently putting together our dining table.  (Do you see something wrong here?  Cy is doing the work and I am running?  You may think that I just don't want to help or perhaps that I am not skilled enough to do the table, and I get so cranky that Cy lovingly suggests that I go on a run to relieve my stress.  It's the second one.)  I got out of the shower, and I hear Cy clapping and making loud yelling noises.  Turns out, the raccoons were scampering across our porch, saw the door open and began to enter our house!  Cy looked up just as the mom was almost completely inside, followed closely by four little ones, and started to scare them off.  They ran away, cause they are all bark and no bite with those bandit masks on, and I got so sad because in all the confusion of the get away plan, one of the little ones ran into a wooden pole.  Poor guy.  However, I am sure he is fine, they have been back numerous times.

I love to see the raccoons.  They are so exciting and it's like a trip to the zoo but with the best seats in the house...and it's free.

So last night we are walking out of our apartment complex to return a movie when we hear a rustling in the bushes.  As we look over our right shoulders across the small "stream" of sorts, we see a raccoon staring at us!  In my excitement and fear I wanted to take a picture, but the fear won out, so we kept moving.  Shortly there after we arrived at Albertson's.  Still hyped about the raccoons, I was singing along to the 80's music they were playing and was insisting that we look at the hair dye to find ideas for "a good fall color."

Finally, we decided it was time to leave and started to make our way to the exit.  I heard a rustling, and again (like the friend at the "stream") looked over my right shoulder in the middle of the candy isle at Albertsons and saw another raccoon of sorts.  Expect the only thing these two had in common was their theivery.  That's right!  This bandit was placing a bag of Peanut M&Ms in his Jnco jeans.  We made eye contact, and he immediately took them out of his jeans, but kept them in his hands and walked down the isle.  I stared at Cy with wide eyes and explained what I had seen.  We then rounded the corner and there was the human-raccoon!  He saw us, no M&M's in hand, walked back down another isle and emerged with a bottle of Advil.  He then walked straight out of Albertsons.  I was in shock.  Did he steal it?  Maybe he just put the bag down in another isle?  We had no idea what to do.  We left, sort of saddened by this possibility and made our way to our car.

THEN, as we are driving home, we look to our right and there he is, in his truck, eating what seemed to be delicious candy covered chocolate in some sort of yellow bag.  We turned separately before we had time to do anything, and the rest of the ride home was spent in silence as I began to think of calling the police and then being met by him months later after he served his time for the M&Ms, in the middle of Albertsons with fire in his eyes.