Girl Drama

I can't help it, meet (one of) my guilty pleasure(s)...

I actually was more into it when Lauren was on, but I just can't stop watching the bad acting, the cat fights, the predictable hook-ups, etc. I guess it is a good thing the show is in it's last season (starting tonight) because then I can move on to better TV that mature women should be watching like America's Next Top Model, Keeping Up With The Kardashians and all The Real Housewives series.

Are you going to watch the last season? Are you ready for the show to end or are you falling into a slight depression because the end is near and don't know what you are going to do with your life once it is no longer?

Image from Google Images

Weekend Review

Another busy, fun filled weekend for me!!! I actually had a three day weekend, but that didn't mean I sat around and relaxed all weekend. To be honest, I hardly had any down time, but I am not complaining because it was a great weekend.

Friday morning I woke up early to exercise and ran some errands before heading to San Francisco to spend the day with my sister. We went out to lunch and went to see The Back Up Plan with J Lo. It was good but it wasn't great. We were entertained, but won't be buying it on DVD when it comes out or feel the need to see it again. It did have it's funny moments though. Friday night we met up with some friends for a girls night. We watched Sex In The City (to get prepared for the sequel), munched on some snacks, had girl talk and worked on one of the girls wedding invitations. It was a fun, yet productive night!!

Saturday morning I work up early again to exercise (seeing a pattern?!?!) and then got ready to go to Modesto to see my friend's beautiful baby. She has actually changed a bit since I saw her just two weeks ago. She is just ADORABLE and again, didn't make a peep the entire time we were there.


After visiting mama and baby for a few hours, we met up with another friend for dinner and more girl talk. It was so great to get to hang out with the girls all day. We had a wonderful time catching up and planning future events.

Unfortunately, my car wasn't ready to head back to the East Bay when we were. Something happened to the steering column and I actually had to get it towed 80 miles to my mechanic's shop. Luckily my mechanic is my best friends' (pictured below) dad so we were able to meet the tow truck driver at the shop and have him unload it into the shop as opposed to outside the shop since the tow truck driver got all my windows down but couldn't get them back up. Yeah, thanks for NOTHING, I mean seriously we were dealing with some MO-rons!! We were totally planning on hitting up the bars, but once all was said and done it was around midnight and we were too tired :( Next weekend!!
Sunday morning Mr. Pickle and I went to brunch with his parents and one of our friends. Mr. Pickle's parents actually live in Modesto so I was able to drive his mom's car home on Saturday night. Therefore, it was a great excuse to meet up on Sunday for brunch since we had to return the car!!! After brunch we came home so the boys could relax while I went to exercise. Once I was all showered and done with some Sunday chores we took my grandpa dinner and visited with him for the evening. He was really tired from being out late at the Harlem Globetrotter game the night before. We came home and finished our Sunday chores and went to bed early.

Hope you all had wonderful weekends!!

Back to the grind today :( I am wishing for another fast week and that the beautiful weather continues (rain is in the forecast and I am VERY upset about it).

Earth Love

I thought I would show the Earth some love since it is Earth Day and all. Now I know that I could be better at doing good for the Earth, but I have made some adjustments to help out.

I started recycling a while ago and have made Mr. Pickle more aware and even got him to throw his cans in the recycling garbage can instead of the garbage garbage can. Up until a few years ago I was lame and didn't recycle because it wasn't convenient. However now it is just second nature, plus it is easier to recycle when you live in a house vs. an apartment.

We drink a lot of water, so we were going through a ton of plastic water bottles. We purchased a water dispenser that we fill up for $1.75 for 5 gallons and use reusable water bottles. I am in love with my Insulated Camelbak water bottle. It keeps my water cold for hours.

I do still get plastic bags at the grocery store because I use them all the time at home to clean up dog messes, but about once every three months I take a large amount of bags back to the grocery store so they can reuse them.

I have gotten a lot better at keeping the lights, heater/AC and other electrical items turned off when not in use or not needed. I get so frustrated when Mr. Pickle is watching TV downstairs and then comes upstairs and doesn't turn off the TV or the lights. Ummmmm hello, you are obviously not using it anymore, so turn it off. Plus, HE pays that bill so you think he would be smarter about it.

Let's see....I only do dishes or laundry when I have full loads and I air dry a lot of my dishes and clothes. Plus I clean the lint filter after each use (this allows the dryer to use less energy) and I wash most of my clothes in cold water.

Mr. Pickle and I have started carpooling to work. Well he actually takes BART (public transportation), but I drop him off at his station on my way to work and pick him up after work. Plus I am hoping to ride my bike more places.

At work we have all done our part in trying to print less and recycle paper. I couldn't believe the amount of paper that was just being thrown away at the office. It really doesn't take that much of an effort to recycle paper instead of throwing it away. We also stopped using Styrofoam coffee cups. Now we bring in our own mugs.

Like I said, nothing too major, but it is a start!!

By the next Earth Day I am hopeful that I can add the following things to my list:
- Replace our old windows in our hours with new energy efficient ones.
- Replace older appliance with new energy efficient ones.
- Use cloth napkins and hand towels instead of paper towels. I am a big paper towel waster.
- Bring reusable bags shopping. (I have them, but ALWAYS forget them.)

Even the little changes can make a difference!

Pics from Google Images

Sunshine Where Are You?

This is just what the doctor ordered. Today is a rainy, cold and windy day. It feels more like January than April. Too bad I am actually at work and being productive today, because all I really want to do is curl up on the couch by the fireplace with the pups and sip on some some hot chocolate (or a glass of red wine) and relax.

The weather this weekend is supposed to be a lot better than the mess we are being hit with right now. I live in California for a reason people, SUNSHINE!!!

Pic from weheartit.com

Life As Pie

While reading Real Simple the other night, the activity of taking stock of where your time is spent was brought up. I thought it would be interesting to see where I spend my 'free' time. So here you have it my friends...Although it is rather difficult to read this is my life and where all my time goes.

I know I have a horrible habit of parking it in front of the TV once I get home from work or if I don't have any plans over the weekend. I hate that I am so addicted to TV. Honestly, I don't even start watch a lot of popular shows because I don't want to get sucked in. In an attempt to start making exercise a part of my every day routine, I am going to have to carve out some time from other arenas and TV is definitely one of them.

It is obvious to me some adjustments need to be made. For instance, the green section is the typical amount of time I sleep a week (I aim for 9 hours a night) and the blue & maroon sections are the typical amount of time I work (both full time in blue & part time in maroon). Those three combined equal 67% of my time every week allotted for work and sleep. Ridic!!! I think it is about time I retire :)

In addition to adding in exercise, finding more time to spend with family and friends is a MUST. It was nice sleeping 9 hours a night (or at least trying) but if I get in good exercise I feel like I may not be so sluggish anyways! Plus even though I like catching up on sleep over the weekend, I have been enjoying having fun filled friends & family weekends!

Any helpful tips you guys have to offer? What changes would you make?

Weekend Review

I didn't take many pictures over the weekend, well actually I did, but not for personal use.

Friday night our friends from LA were coming to stay with us. Since Mr. Pickle had to work late and our house was a mess, I pretty much spent Friday night like all the rest of the cool kids do and cleaned for a few hours!! Yes, I do live a pretty exciting life.

Saturday we all headed to Napa. As I have mentioned before, my sister is a professional photographer and has been for some time now. Our friends that were visiting from LA have hired her to photograph their wedding in Newport Beach in July 2011. Therefore, this weekend she was taking their engagement pictures. Since I am very interested in photography, I brought along my own pro-like camera and took some pictures with my sis. I am hoping I got a few good shots and I know my sis got some excellent pictures.

While we were taking pictures Mr. Pickle and my sister's boyfriend were wine tasting. Lucky bums!! We ended the day at Bell (aka one of our favs) and had a few tastes before we continued taking pictures all around the winery. SIDE NOTE: If you are ever in Napa Valley, I highly recommend Bell, the wine is tasty and the staff is wonderful.

After a long day on Saturday we went to sushi for dinner and headed home to play some Scene It Guys vs. Girls. Yeah, the ladies didn't do too hot, but it is better to let the boys win anyways since they are big babies when it comes to losing!

Sunday morning I headed to my Grandpa's house to take him to church. After church we went to lunch and then I dropped him off at home and went home to take a nap. After some Sunday chores, Mr. Pickle and I made dinner and had a relaxing Sunday evening watching America's Funniest Videos, we LOVE that show!!

I am hoping my four day work week goes by fast because I have another fun filled weekend coming up!!!

Family Friday - #1 Mom

Ever since I was little I was a mama's girl. I wanted nothing more than to be with my mom at all times, and why not, she was fun, she was energetic, she was silly/wacky and she always told me how much she loved me, plus she was the one who taught me how to "shop til' you drop"!!

My surprise b-day party at the skating rink. Ahhhh the 80's.

My mom has always been an example for me, someone I strived to be like. On top of being an involved mother, she was a go-getter, a very successful business woman, a great friend, a loving wife and knew how to throw the best parties.

At a sorority event

There were times growing up that I put my mom through hell. We are able to look back now and laugh at those times, but at the time she was truly worried about me and my well being. To top it off, I had an older sister that liked to push the envelope and was always up to something.

Spago in Beverly Hills

My mom has faced a lot of struggles throughout my life. And while some people may have crumbled from the pressure and/or heartache, my mom was strong enough to power through and be the wonderful person she had always been. Now that I have grown up and understand more of what she went through (one being my father being terminally ill for several months before passing away at the same time she was struggling with her own medical problems and recovering from a kidney transplant) I am amazed at how she was able to stay so strong all while raising two children.

Hot air balloon ride in Napa

I truly am blessed with having such a wonderful mother whom I have a great relationship with.

Christmas in Hawaii

Thanks mom for being who you are and putting up with me on a daily basis!!!