Sneaky Sneaky

I'm sick of my image-less posts :(

My camera up and decided to crap out on me, so I'm in the market for a new one. I'm eying the Nikon D3000. It's definitely bulkier than what I'm used to, but I'm determined to get some quality shots of this year. Videos, also! Like this one...

This was awesome! Let me give you the background on this video.

I wanted to get Jeff a gift that would knock the air out of him, but in order for me to do that, it would have to be car-related. The thought of even ATTEMPTING to buy car parts makes my eyes cross, so I decided I needed to send it a spy for reconnaissance. I messaged his friend Rommel on Facebook and told him the situation. Rommel started texting Jeff and relaying the information to me while I searched on-line. The sites I found were legit, but I figured I needed a little more help.

Queue the folks at Vision Performance (Thank you, Mike, Crosby, Jimmy, Kevin). They're actually friends with Jeff and Rommel and were happy to help me order the gift: a pair of Sparco Torino II racing seats. There was more messaging on Facebook, phone calls, and visits to the shop. Basically, they did the work and I put down the cash :P

The seats came in and I plotted. I usually work on Saturdays, but took the day off. If Jeff had gone by the pharmacy, I had an alibi ready to be delivered by my co-workers. I went to the shop to look at the seats at around 12, then had Jimmy call Jeff to come by to help him with something after work (heheheh). Jeff gets off work at 1, so it was good timing. We decided to take one of the seats out of the box and hide me inside. Crosby manned the camera.

What was on the video was basically my favorite part. :) I wanted to edit the video because there area actually 5 parts to it, but Movie Maker is acting up. It was priceless because he was not expecting it AT ALL. In fact, Jeff told me that he was skeptical even as he was opening the second box. He seriously had no idea what I was doing behind his back.

I love surprises!

So Far, So Good

My resolution this year is not to work out more. It's not to lose weight.

It's to connect.

Or reconnect.

Basically, I want to spend more time with people. Meet new people. Hang out with old friends. Add more folks into my contacts list. Because of my home situation and the fact that my time is never really MINE... I've lost contact with folks... missed out on opportunities to get to know great people... just generally been trapped in a bubble. Don't get me wrong. I love spending time with Jeff and my family, but those are the ONLY people I've been around (outside of work).

I get so lonely and feel seriously isolated because of the way things are. Even Jeff told me over the phone, "You're always by yourself." Pretty pathetic. This year, I'm going to try hard to put myself out there and connect before I go insane. :)

Things are going very well so far. On new year's DAY, I went out for ice cream with a friend from high school who I haven't seen in I don't know how long. I know. "Big deal. You got ice cream." But it meant so much more to me than that.

I'm trying to set up events where I can get together with people and it's great. Rock climbing. A day in the snow at Tahoe. Working out with co-workers. Tomorrow night, another friend from high school is going to be in the city to visit and I plan on having dinner with her after work. I haven't seen her in yeeeaars.

Why now? Because they cut my hours at work and shifted the hours that I DO work, so I have a little more free time. Turn a negative into a positive, right? I plan on using that time wisely.

PS: Updating my blog more regularly will be another way to connect :P

First of The Year!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYBODY!! I hope you all had fun celebrating. I also hope that your hangovers aren't too bad and are easily remedied :P

I don't party on New Year's Eve. It's not really my cup o' tea. I've always ushered in the new year with my family and enjoy it. My mom says her prayers. Lola give us all change to put in our pockets. My dad... well, he goes to sleep and has me wake him up at the countdown. We also bang pots and pans and yell :P Mariel loved that part. The, we feast. Noodles for long life! Last night we had shrimp lumpia, pancit, so much crab, ham, and cake. And I had Taco Bell :/ Why? Because my dumb ass ate before I got home and I was too full to eat the good stuff. So it was fun and low-key. We all sat in the living room and watch the Las Vegas performances and ate. I fell asleep on the couch for a little bit with Baby (my Bischon) laying on top of me, her head under my chin.

As for my resolution?
It's a secret. Let's see how it goes :)

All Over the Place

Relationship Ramblings...

Many times, I believe that people enter a relationship and forget that they function completely fine without their "other half." Actually, I don't like that term. My boyfriend is not my other half. I am whole by myself. He doesn't complete me. I love him to the core of me and if he ever walked away from me, I'd feel as if he crushed my soul in his palm... but I wouldn't be DESTROYED.

You have to be able to stand on your own.
Have your own security.
Realize your worth.

I've been in relationships that, through the course of the whole thing... I felt worthless. I truly believed that what I was getting, what I was being put through... was what I deserved. I guess I slowly evolved and hardened my shell. You could say that a bad relationship saved me from the worst relationship and helped clear my heart and mind up for my current relationship.

3½ years of hell... a few months of emotional boot camp... then I found The One.

I feel stronger in this relationship than I ever did with anybody else. I feel more cherished, wanted and loved than I ever have. I found a good man with a kind heart. I found a man who can also stand on his own. He's a hard worker. He's focused. He handles his business. When he sees his goal, he follows that path until the end. He has a wonderful personality and has the power to draw people to him. He is a great friend and truly cares about people. Of course, he's nowhere near perfect, but neither am I. Perfection is boring and is not what I'm looking for.

I know for a fact that he'd be fine without me.

That is my point. I came into this relationship knowing my own worth, which is a first. Toward the end of "hell," my now-ex-boyfriend accused me of thinking I was better than him. You know what? I told him I was. I had a job. I took care of my family. I cherished the people I cared about. I handled my business. I was a good person no matter what he did to me, how low he tried to bring me, or how badly he tried to make me think of myself. A little slow in the realization, but I got it eventually.

The second relationship was slightly better than the first. Went into it with my head high because of what I knew then. When that went badly, I was sad, but I walked away without looking back because I deserved better. He agreed to that and we remain friends.

Failed relationships sometimes mess with your self esteem. I felt very different in the months after "boot camp", but not in a negative way. I was happy. I felt that I had become stronger and more myself without somebody smashing me down at every turn. I became more secure with myself. It was an incredible feeling and I still feel it.

I enjoy my relationship because I don't have the insecurities I had when I was younger. I know who I am and what my positives are. I know what I bring to the table and what I'm worth.
I also know my faults and I'm still working on those. I know how to stop and think. I realize when I'm over-analyzing something simple (that was something hard to learn, by the way).

Mostly, I don't take it too seriously. Obviously, I'm serious about being with him, but the relationship itself... I think that life is already stressful enough without analyzing your partner's tone... posture... vague gesture... relationships... texts... random phrases... facial expressions. It'll drive you insane! For example, my boyfriend has many female friends that he's close to (and a few that he used to have crushes on, but I'm not gonna bust him out in case one of them is reading this :P). They hang out, talk, spend time together and it truly doesn't bother me. These people are important to him and are a part of his life. It's that simple to me.

We drew our lines in the beginning. What we'd put up with and what would be crossing the line. Cheating means no second chances. No "breaks," just breaking up. We don't want to hear that the other person needs a break from the relationship. Time alone is different, because sometimes a person just needs space to breath. But a break from the relationship? No.

Where am I going with this?
I'm all over the place.
These are just thoughts rattling around in my head, looking for a place to spew.
There's more, but it's 1:17 am and I'm sleeping.
Bye!

Say It Ain't So!

I am an admirer of pretty girls. If my boyfriend tells me he just saw a hot girl, I HAVE to see her. Can't help it.

That being said, there's an import model by the name of Tokki that I came across and I was in awe immediately.

Gorgeous!

This is where Jeff and I butt heads. I think she's hot and he doesn't. Well, I THOUGHT she was hot... until I saw her recent photos. At first I thought it was just the thumbnail messing with me, but no.

What happened to my goddess?? I actually prefer more curves (Beyonce... Alicia Keys... etc...), but she was fine the way she was. Now... she looks like she's wasting away! *sad face x 10,000* I seriously hope that this was Photoshopped.

(Sorry about the random post out of nowhere, but I had to put this up because it upset me.)

Quick Sick Tip

If anybody else is out there, sick out of his/her mind... and blowing your nose like crazy: Apply Polysporin (or Neosporin or WalSporin or any variation thereof) twice to three times a day. It really soothes the skin around your nose and above your lip. Also, I've BARELY seen any redness at all in the area.

It's usually used to treat minor cuts... burns... etc... on the skin, which is why it's helped me out so well. All that redness and irritation is basically abrasions to your skin due to all the tissue/skin friction.

All right... gonna go back to the chicken soup and gargling with salt water. G'night folks!

(sorry that my only update in such a long time is a short one)

Mushroom Love

Jeff and I went to the Gilroy Garlic Festival a little while back and there was only ONE thing that I wanted to eat: stuffed mushrooms. Unfortunately, I kept putting off buying some until the very end and guess what... they were all GOOOONNEE!! -sobs hysterically- Then, afterward, I kept hearing about how good they were and how I missed out. Damn it! I might go to the festival next year just to get 'em... cause the rest of the festival was just alright for me.

(My condolence gift: garlic fries with crab)

Back on point, though. The craving never really left me, so Jeff and I decided to dust off our cooking skills and make some crab-stuffed portobello mushroom caps! (click here for recipe) It's Paula Dean! It's gotta be good. The woman loves everything delicious and heart attack-inducing! Luckily, Jeff's always down to tinker around in the kitchen with me. I just have to suggest a recipe I want to try ^_^

The ingredients!

Jeff removing the gills and stems from the MASSIVE portobellos.

Good job, babe!

I guess the mushrooms reminded him of me?

I got the hang of it after a while.

Bringing the stuffing together.

Seriously. The caps were huge.

Panko bread crumbs.

We made 2 versions. Jeff likes the ones with more bread crumbs on top because they were crunchier. I like the one with less and pepper jack on top. Nom Nom Nom.

I do believe it was a success. We didn't realize how filling they would be, though. We weren't able to finish the 4 that we made. :/ Hope you guys give it a try! So good!

My Main Supporter

Day 2! I warmed up with the radio for a little bit before hopping on You Tube. No, that's not the workout part. I subscribed to this on-line training series and... well, let me tell you right now that I'm sweating like crazy. That may be half due to the fact that I haven't worked out in a few months and fell out of shape, but sweating feels good! lol

Anyway, I had just finished doing this set twice:


After that, I was in the kitchen, trying to find out how to do the second part of this video (I did the first part on the table :P):



Lola walked in on me doing exercises on the kitchen table and just went on to wash her plate. When she saw me watching the second half, she asked why I wasn't doing it. I told her there was no room. The woman SIGHED! She sighed and told me to move the table. Before I even moved, she started moving it to the side. lol. Before she walked out, she said, "That one's easy, you should be able to do it 5 times." OMG! I just got challenged by my grandmother!

What more motivation did I need than that!? haha. I love her!

DAY ONE

I am officially starting my diet today. I'm not trying to really LOSE weight. I'm just trying to get myself nice and toned. I mean, I weighed myself this morning and I'm 100 pounds. Wait! Don't judge me before I tell you that I'm 4'9". I'm tiny and according to the body mass index (I think that's what it's called), 100 pounds is okay for somebody who's 4'll". I'd be okay with my weight if I was 3 inches taller, but I enjoy being travel-sized (Or conveniently kidnappable, according to friends and co-workers. Gee, you guys are the best :P)

However, I want those extra pounds to be toned muscle.

I won't go into detail, but I wanted to write about last night. I went to the super market to get some healthy stuff so that I can start this on the right foot. Tell me why, when I was in line to pay, the guy behind me looked at my stuff, nudged his friend, and I distinctly heard, "Pffft." Stupid fucker (sorry). So I looked right at him, looked at his 2 cases of beer, bottle of vodka, large bag of chips, box of donuts, looked at his gut, and rolled my eyes. I mean, I looked him up and down, focusing on his bloated-ass mid-section, then rolled my eyes. It looked like his friggin' stomach was distended. His friend was only half-way there, but I guess they were taking care of that last night.

Ugh.

Whatever. I'll be out enjoying my healthy new (and hopefully hot) body when your liver fails.

End rant.

Supergirl

"I'll fly one day."

This is going to be a quick one because I just took this picture of my 3-year-old cousin, Mariel and thought it was adorable. She wasn't posing, either. She was looking out that window for a good while (which is the only way I was able to get a good shot of her). Her shirt is perfect for the shot, too! She told me she liked the colors in the sky ^.^

Alright... alright... back to watching YouTube videos...
I mean, cleaning my room.