Wishful Wednesday

'I wish' .... I had ______ store as my personal closet and could shop from it daily.

I am going to have to say Nordstrom's. I swear I grew up shopping at Nordy's and it rarely disappoints. They have EVERYTHING a girl could need as far as a wardrobe goes. Fancy clothes, casual clothes, workout clothes, lingerie, shoes and accessories galore. I have put my Nordy's card to good use over the past 10+ years I have had it. I just loooooove that store.

Join in on the Wishful Wednesday fun by going to Kelsey's blog

Pic from Google Images

Lemon Drops

Last night I went out to dinner with my mom. I don't usually drink that much on the week nights (because I am usually super busy after work), but if I do I tend to drink a good Cab. Last night, it was HOT (like 98 degrees) and I just didn't feel like drinking wine. So I had an all time favorite, a Lemon Drop...

I love these drinks because they are the perfect combination of sweet and sour and also very refreshing!! Another drink that I like, but have to be in the mood for, is a mojito. I am partial to the flavored mojitos like raspberry or pineapple. Mmmmm.

What are your go to summer drinks?

Picture via Google Images

Weekend Review

What a wonderful weekend!!

I had the day off on Friday. I slept in, worked out, got my hair done, got my eyebrows waxed, went shopping and relaxed. Such a wonderful day off.

I had planned to sleep in a bit on Saturday morning, but AT&T found it necessary to text me at 6:40 am letting me know my auto pay for the month went through. Of course the one day I could fall back asleep for a while I wasn't able too. Damn AT&T. So I was up and moving by 7:15. I took my grandpa out to breakfast and went to visit the cemetery (Saturday would have been my dad's birthday). After running a few last minute errands for the nights festivities, my friend and I were off to San Francisco to celebrate my best friend's 30th birthday. I was in charge of the planning and I think everything turned out perfectly!!

We started off at a Tres Agave Mexican restaurant for a yummy dinner, then City Beer Store for some beer tasting and then to Butter (the white trash bar) to drink and dance the night away. Of course no night out is complete without a trip to Mel's for some greasy food.

Waiting for the birthday girl to arrive

The cake I got made. Picture is from her first birthday. She had NO idea!

I made her a shirt with a bunch of pictures from the last 30 years with the caption "It took 30 years to look this good". We all signed the back with fabric markers.

Me and the birthday girl

The dinner group

Beer tasting

The bar group (minus a few)

Showing off my new shoes

Birthday girl dancing on the bar

Birthday girl and her sister

Sunday was a much needed rest day. After going out to breakfast, I headed back home and took a three hour nap.

Can't wait for another three day weekend this weekend!!

30 by 30 Thursday

Time for my first check in on my 30 by 30 goal.

I haven't weighed myself this week so I don't know where my actual weight stands. However, I did work out six of the past seven days for at least a half hour. I would like to see the intensity and time increase, but I also want to ease into it so I don't end up with an injury.

Eating healthy has gotten better, but there is definitely room for improvement. Besides being a total sweets addict, I find that I don't feel full until like an hour after I eat so I end up stuffing myself. I know this has a lot to do with how I put on the weight in the first place.

I didn't do too well at planning my dinners (maybe two for the whole week), but I now know why that is so difficult for me...I have standing commitments every day after work except one (which usually ends up being the day I run errands, go out with friends, etc.). If I am eating dinner at home, I usually don't even get home until 7:30 - 8:00 and the LAST thing I want to do is think about what to make for dinner and have to clean up after that. I like being ready for bed by 9:00 so I can fall asleep by 10:00 not leaving much time once I get home for everything I have to do. Anyone have any good tips for these situations?

This week I am going to continue to work on planning my meals. I did find that when I had fruit already cut up in the fridge I would go for that rather than chips. I am soooo loving all the fresh fruit that is available this time of year. I will also continue to work on getting in at least 5 days of exercise. I am also going to try to drink more water.

Love to hear any one's input or tips if you all have any.

Til next week!

Wishful Wednesday

'I wish' .... I hadn't lost ______!!

There are a few material things that I have lost over the past years, but nothing compares to losing a loved one. Of course it is sad when someone you love passes on, but it can be equally upsetting when a friendship is lost.

I have many wonderful friends, but there are a few friends that I have let slip away either on purpose or on accident. As I have grown, I have a better understanding of what a friendship should be. I tend to put a lot into my friendships and expect the same back. I have found that some friendships are more one-sided and as much sadness as it has brought to me to distance myself from a relationship (and ultimately let go) I have found it is necessary to do so in order to give to those who deserve it instead of those who take advantage.

There are also those friends that I have simply lost touch with for one reason or another. Although it is easier to get back into contact or stay in contact with these people (now with Facebook and such), sometimes the relationships simply are not the same.

I am happy to have had these hard experiences because I feel it shows me how I can be a better friend, but it will always be hard to accept when a friendship is lost.

Join in on the Wishful Wednesday fun by going to Kelsey's blog

Where does the time go

Nothing too important to share today. However, while driving home on my lunch break I heard The Next Episode by Dr. Dre from his Chronic 2001 album.

This album came out at the end of 1999/beginning of 2000 when I was in my first year of college. When I was listening to it on my drive I realized I was just a spring chicken (a ripe 18) when I would listen to this album on repeat while driving all around town!! Now I am in my last year of my twenties. The thing that is really hard for me to wrap my head around is that I honestly do feel like that was just a few years ago...but nooooo, it was over 10 years ago!! Holy schnikes!!!

Does this ever happen to anyone else??

Pic from wikipedia

Weekend Review

Another weekend that went by too fast!

Friday night I met with a Realtor and put one of my homes on the market. Before Mr. Pickle and I got married I bought two homes and he had one home of his own. Right before we got married I found renter's for the my house (that I was living in) and moved in with Mr. Pickle in his house. Both my houses have been rented with great tenants, but I feel like Mr. Pickle and I are ready to move in to a house we can call OURS and that just isn't possible while we have all these mortgages! It was bitter-sweet being back in the house I lived in before I moved in with Mr. Pickle. I had not stepped foot in the home in 3 years and it was different seeing it with the tenant's furniture and knowing that I was putting it on the market, but I know it is the right decision. I CANNOT wait until this process is over!!!

The rest of the night Mr. Pickle and I relaxed at home. Him and the boys had a BBQ Competition on Saturday so he was preparing for that most of the night.

Saturday morning I went to visit the boys (Starvin' Marvin's BBQ Team) at the competition.
Their dry ribs placed 4th place and their wet ribs placed 8th place. Not bad for some beginners going up against 20 other professional teams!!!

Unfortunately I didn't get to stay long enough to taste their ribs because my sister, friend and I were on our way to our other friend's wedding. My sister was hired as their photographer and my friend and I were her assistants. We were doing double duty as guests and photographers, so it was a pretty intense day. We had a wonderful time with the bride and groom (hello beautiful couple) and ended up on the dance floor for the last couple of hours. People that didn't know we were friends with the bride must have thought it was pretty weird that the photographers were crashing the wedding after we finished taking pictures. Hahaha!

Sunday morning Mr. Pickle and I headed to Modesto to visit with his family for Father's Day. Not only did we get to spend time with his dad, we got to meet our new (3 week old) niece for the first time. She is Ahhhhh-dorable.

Once we got home, we were pretty tired so we did a few chores and relaxed. I think Mr. Pickle fell asleep at like 8:00!!!

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. I am already looking forward to the next one!!! At least I only have a four day work week :)

Family Friday - Dad

Since Father's Day is this weekend I thought I would pay tribute to my dad. As I have mentioned before, my dad was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer when I was around 13 and passed away when I was 14. Our time was definitely cut short.

Although I was a mommy's girl at heart, I have a lot of great memories of spending time with my dad. Yes it is true that I was worse than your typical teenage girl and my dad was the one who enforced the rules in the house, which lead to a few arguments here and there. However, looking back I have a lot of respect for him being so strict because he was only looking out for me.

My dad was always my number one fan. He was a very kind, very loving and very loyal person. I remember him as a big teddy bear. He cared for his family with all of his being.

I always enjoy the stories his friend's tell me about what kind of person he was. Since I was young when he passed away we never got to that phase of a father-daughter relationship where I actually became friends with my father. Yes I loved him because he was my dad, but I feel like a lot of who I am today is due to the way he raised me and the morals that he instilled in me and I would have loved to have been able to have that kind of relationship with my father where we were truly friends. The kind of relationship I now have with my mother.

Some of my fondest memories are of my dad being very involved in activities I was in. He came to every one of my softball games, giving me support when I needed it and yelling at the umpire when he thought the calls were unfair (no, he wasn't THAT parent, more of just a ball buster). I remember everyone telling me what a great guy my dad was from teammates to coaches to other team parents. I was always so proud to have him around.

Every year my family would go on motorhome trips. I remember my dad driving the motorhome and then once we got to our destination setting up camp and then taking my sister and I fishing or "bear hunting" (not really, but we liked to pretend) around the campsite. I am so glad to have such great memories.

I know that if my dad were here today we would be close. I know that he would be proud of the woman he raised and the success I have accomplished. And I am happy to say that I strive to be a better person because I know that he is looking down on me.

30 by 30 Thursday

As you probably know, I just celebrated my birthday a few weeks ago. What you may not know is that I am officially in my last year of my twenties. I am going to be the big 3-0 in less than a year!!!

I have seen several people (especially in this here blog world) compile a list of 30 things they would like to accomplish by the time they turn 30. I have a few things I wouldn't mind checking off my bucket list by the time I am 30, however one thing I am DETERMINED to do is loose these pesky 30 lbs. that have come into my life since my wedding almost three years ago!

On top of wanting to look great when I turn 30 (because I know inside I am going to be terrified), I have some health issues that my doctor's have advised would be better to deal with if I lost some weight.

I have already taken a few steps in the right direction by moving more and eating slightly healthier, but it is time to turn it into high gear for the next year. Therefore, I am hoping to keep myself accountable (and motivated) by blogging about my progress once a week. I don't have much of a plan other than to check in with myself and look at the past week and plan for the week ahead. As for now, I will not be posting specific details pertaining to my weight (ummmm...not even the DMV knows the real figure) or my before pictures, but maybe when I am a hot, skinny, 30 year old bitch I will be willing to share!

My plan for the upcoming week... Continue to get in 30 minute workouts 5 days a week (anything on the weekends is an added bonus at this point) and to plan at least my dinners (we tend to eat out a lot for dinner) during the work week.

Wish me luck!!

Shout Out

As you can tell, my blog recently got a face lift. I have the wonderful and talented Beth at Laugh Until You Cry to thank for the new look.


I won a blog makeover giveaway she held last month and was over the top excited. Being that I lack creative juices, I pretty much let her take charge. I think it came out GRRRREAT (channeling Tony the Tiger). Thank you Beth!!!!

Weekend Review

I had a wonderful weekend with friends and family!!! The weather in Nor Cal was HOT, HOT, HOT and I loved every minute of it. So glad it is finally summer.

Friday after work I met my mom and her husband at one of our favorite Chinese restaurants to celebrate my birthday (I told you my fam drags out the bday celebrations which is fine by me). Since Mr. Pickle was in Vegas Thursday thru Saturday and found it necessary to call me (totally sober) 3 times Thursday night, I didn't get a great night's sleep. Therefore, Friday night I went home after dinner and CRASHED.

My fortune

Saturday morning I woke up and went to my grandpa's for a bit. He took me out for lunch for my birthday and told me he would buy me the Mac computer I hinted at wanting!!! Isn't he the best?!?! After spending time with grandpa I went home and got ready for my friend's bachelorette party. We had plans to go to a nail salon for manis/pedis, dinner at her favorite Thai restaurant and drinking/dancing at a country bar (I had been wanting to go to this bar FOREVER). We had sooooo much fun. I uploaded pics this morning and was literally sitting at my desk hysterically laughing...good thing I am at work alone today.

Getting a pedi

Getting the party started

Naughty wrapping paper

And the inappropriate behavior starts

Tequila shots always start the night off right

More shots

Double Fisting

On the dance floor

Fun shaped straws

Good times

Sunday morning, Mr. Pickle and I got up and did some chores around the house. Later in the day we were sitting at lunch and received a phone call that his grandma was being taken off life support :( His grandma hasn't been doing well for a while, but it is still hard to hear. We headed straight to the hospital to say our final goodbye. It was very difficult to see his grandma in that condition. It reminded me of the way my grandma looked before she passed away. We spent some time with his family and headed over to our friend's house so Mr. Pickle could meet their new baby. We grabbed dinner on the way home and headed to bed early. It was an emotional day, but we got through it. I am glad we were able to make it to the hospital to see her one last time.

Blah...Monday

Due to unforeseen circumstances (read me being extremely sleepy - so much so that I forgot to wash the conditioner out of my hair this morning while I was in the shower and didn't really realize this until about 10:00 - and not capable of doing a full weekend recap) my weekend review post will be delayed until tomorrow. I know this may cause a huge damper in many reader's day, since my weekend review is what you look forward to every Monday. I apologize for any inconvenience and hope you will stop by tomorrow!!

FYI...I had a wonderful weekend and hope you all did too :)

Favorite Fridays

This week's Favorite Friday topic is:
Favorite Movie Soundtrack

I'm going to go waaaaay back and say Dirty Dancing. I remember listening to the cassette tape over and over and over again.

Baaaaby, my sweet baaaaby....you're the one :)

Head over to Jen's blog to join in on the fun!!

Pic from Google Images

Vow Renewal

Seems like the new trend in Hollywood is renewing your vows.

- Tori Spelling and Dean McDermott renewed their vows after 4 years of marriage
- Seal & Heidi Klum renew their vows every year for their anniversary
- JLo and Marc Anthony renewed their vows after 6 years of marriage
- Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon renewed their vows for their second wedding anniversary
- Josh Duhamel and Fergie renewed their vows for their one year wedding anniversary
- Romona and Mario (from the Real Housewives of New York) renewed their vows after 17 years of marriage
- Vicki and Donn (from the Real Housewives of Orange County) renewed their vows after 16 years of marriage

Some of the vow renewals are being used as a "second wedding" with a full on wedding ceremony and reception while others seem to be less extravagant.

I don't really know how I feel about this. I personally think that Mr. Pickle and I renewing our vows would be special after several years of marriage and done as a more intimate (read him and I) celebration rather than a whole second wedding. However, another part of me thinks it is kind of lame, for lack of a better word. I guess only time will tell!!

What are your thoughts on this?

Photo from USMagazine.com

Wishful Wednesday

'I wish' .... I had the opportunity to change careers and it would be __________!

This is a tough one. I always wonder what I would do if I could do ANYTHING (regardless of experience, pay, etc.) and I get to thinking about so many different things I confuse myself.

Let's see, I would LOVE to be an event planner...

but then I would love to have summer vacations so being a teacher would be nice too...

and I have always wanted to work behind the scenes for a fashion magazine

of course I wouldn't mind simply being a housewife either..shopping, lunching with friends, getting pampered, etc.

Join in on the Wishful Wednesday fun by going to Kelsey's blog

Pics from Google Images

Birthday Weekend Review

Hello friends!! Thanks for the birthday love :) I had a FABULOUS birthday weekend.

I got off work early on Friday and ran a bunch of errands and went shopping. Friday night Mr. Pickle and I went out for sushi (my fav) and rented a few movies. We tried to get tickets to Wicked but had no luck. We decided we will plan ahead and see it for our 3 year anniversary in August (wow, 3 years already).

Saturday was my actual birthday (along with the pants dropping hottie, Marky Mark). I slept in, went out to breakfast with Mr. Pickle and came home to get ready for the day's activities. First up was my dear friend's bridal shower in SF. Her wonderful mom and sister hosted a lovely shower on the 19th floor of the bride-to-be (and my sister's) apartment complex. The weather in San Francisco was BEAUTIFUL and we had great views of downtown. We chatted, played games, ate lots of food, drank lots of wine and watched the bride-to-be open her gifts. It was a great shower.

The View

Some of the lovely ladies

Bride-To-Be with her cake

Groom-To-Be came to help take home the gifts

After the shower, we hung out at my sister's apartment and got ready for my birthday celebration. My sister and a few of my friends pulled a fast one on me...some of my friends lead me to believe they weren't going to be able to make it and ended up surprising me, I am so blessed to have such wonderful people in my life!! We went to dinner and then headed to a nearby wine bar where my sister set up a wonderful celebration with dessert and champagne. We then headed to a bar/club and danced the night away. We all had a BLAST!!

My sister made the 'traditional' b-day cake

Dinner

Champagne

Brownie Sundae

College Friends

Me & Mr. Pickle

Some of the boys

Dancing

We had thought about going to Napa on Sunday, but Mr. Pickle wasn't feeling well so we just hung out around the house and enjoyed a relaxing Sunday at home!

It was the PERFECT way to start my last year in my twenties!! I have big plans for the upcoming year :)