Rocky and Clubber

So, it is fun having two kittens in the house.  Clubber has had a little cold the last few days so has been sleeping a lot.  He is still sneezing and has a little runny nose, but seems to be getting better.  If he isn't bettr by tomorrow, I may have to take him to the vet again.  Since Clubber is sleeping most of the time, most of my observations come from watching Rocky.

Here is a list of what I have observed:
* Rocky likes to hide, however, he isn't really good at it.  His hiding is fine, but as soon as you walk into the room, he starts to purr and gives away his hiding spot.
* When kittens sleep, the fall...A LOT.  Almost every time I have see them sleeping at least one of the kittens falls off of whatever they are sleeping on (the couch, cat tower, chair, etc).
* Rocky is a little ADD (or maybe ADHD).
* Zeus thinks Rocky is a dog, or at least he treats him as a dog.  He doesn't quite understand why Rocky doesn't want to smell his butt.
* Zeus likes to push Rocky off of stuff.  Earlier, Rocky was on my lap and Zeus nudged him off with his nose onto the floor so he could sit on my lap.
* Rocky likes to sleep on his back.
* Every time I am on the computer, Rocky attacks the screen.  He also likes to attack mirrors, my feet, Zeus, the fringe on my afghan, etc...

Here are a couple pictures I have taken in the last few days as well as a link to the video I took of Rocky and Zeus playing.

A cute video of Zeus and Rocky playing.  There are a couple other videos I posted on YouTube, but this one is the cutest in my opinion.

Patty's Burgers

Last week a lady in school was telling Andrew and I about a burger place in Tacoma that had a four patty burger.  So, today since we had some other errands to run in Tacoma, we decided to try it out.  When we got there, they had an even BIGGER burger.  On the menu, there was an eight patty burger with cheese, bacon and all the other traditional fixings.  We decided to share the burger and boy, was it BIG.  To say the least, we both ate a lot and brought home two big boxes of leftovers.  It appears that I will be having leftover burgers the next few days.  

Dad's Birthday!

Last week was my dad's birthday.  I know, I have been horrible at blogging.  I am going to blame it in midterms last week and promise to try harder in the future to stay up on my blogging.  It's amazing that the quarter is already halfway over and I can't believe I was actually looking at my the course schedule for the spring quarter.

So, back to my dad, last week was his birthday, so I headed up to Ferndale with Zeus for the weekend.  On Friday night, my mom had made reservations at the steakhouse at the Silver Reef for us, grandma, Ed, Jimmy and Sheri.  It was the first time we were there and really fun.  My dad and I both ordered the baseball cut steak which was really good.  For a starter, I had lobster bisque and the best dessert was banana foster that they flambéed table side. And, for coffee at the end, they provided freshly pressed coffee with two types of crystal sugar stir sticks, cinnamon sticks and two types of grated chocolate to customize your drink.  The coffee in itself made for an amazing dining experience. Overall dinner was really good and I would definitely go back there again for a yummy steak.

The rest of the weekend was spent hanging out with my parents.  I had some homework I had to to as it was midterms and I needed some things on my car fixed that my dad took care of for me.  The best part of the weekend came on the way home.  I had been thinking of getting a friend for Zeus as I spend more and more time out of the house and thought it would nice to get him a playmate to keep him company.  In Stanwood, I always see the place N.O.A.H. Animal Adoption on the side of I-5.  So, I decided to stop and see if they had any dogs that would be a good playmate for Zeus.

Long story short, I adopted two 12 week old kittens.  They are brothers who recently came to the shelter and had recently been neutered and had all their shots.  They were quarantined at first, but are now starting to be more comfortable at the house and with Zeus.  They love to play with each other and are super cute.  Rocky is more outgoing and Clubber is a little hesitant with everything, but they both seem to be adapting well to their new home.

1 week down, 51 more to go...

So, I have survived the first week of 2011.  It also happened to be my first week of school for the winter quarter.  This quarter, I am taking one online psychology class and two sociology classes on campus.  Due to the scheduling, I have to go to school every night (well, Monday-Thursday) for ten weeks.  At least I am getting my major requirements out of the way.  Andrew and I are taking the same classes again this quarter so at least I have someone to go to with questions and to carpool with when we can.

I like all my classes so far.  I am excited for one of my sociology classes as one of my favorite teachers is teaching it.  She is an amazing lady and I am glad that I am fortunate to get her as a teacher again.   This quarter may prove to be hard, but oh well, I like a challenge.

Besides that, not much is going on.  I am trying to focus on working out more and eating healthy and that is helping.  I can feel myself having a better day when I workout and know that I made healthy choices throughout the day.  I also hope when I become a healthier person in general everything will improve.  We shall see as only time will tell...

Happy New Year!

 Happy New Year!  I tried to get a normal picture with Andrew, but that proved impossible.  I rang in the new year hanging out with him at work and people watching.  It's nice to know people because some drunk lady tried to get in my face about something (I still don't remember what) and the next thing I knew I had a big native and a Samoan by my side.  They said no one should mess with Andrew's girl...how cute.  Overall it was a fun night.  I did realize that I missed the memo to wear red and dress slutty.  Now, it's time to start a new year and see how things turn out.  I will just try to live one day at a time and word towards making the most out of everyday.  The agenda for today: pick up prints at Walmart for scrapbook, walk Zeus and make a healthy dinner.  That shouldn't be too hard, right???

Goodbye 2010...hello 2011!

It's weird looking back at the year.  I can't believe how quickly 2010 has come and gone.  A lot has changed in the last 365 days.  For me, 2010 had some great highs and some horrible lows.  It was a memorable, life-changing year that I will always remember.  Right now, thinking back, I remember 2010 for the lows that I suffered.

It sucks that the bad times stick out so much more than the good times.  I hope that someday I will be able to remember the good times better than the bad times.  But, right now, I am not in that place.  When I think about the last year, it is the bad things that stick out.  I guess it is my thinking though and I should focus on the good, and try to learn from the bad.

For the good, I can say that 2010 changed my life in many ways.  For one, I have learned that it is okay to lean on your family when needed.  They have been there to support me through all the changes I have been dealing with and haven't judged me for choices that I have made.  Also, I have grown closer to my family members as we have completed runs together.  The first was in June when I crossed the finish line in my first half-marathon with my dad.  It was a great run with my mom waiting for us at the finish line and Greg, Debbie and Trinity there to cheer us on.  I also was able to cross a few things off my bucket list including skydiving.

As the new year begins, I don't want to make any new year's resolutions as they always fail, but I want to make a new year's life style change.  I want to focus on working out more and eating right.  When I do that, I feel better about myself.  I have another half marathon in March to prepare for and know that exercise helps my moods as well.  I know in order to survive another year, I need to figure out what makes me happy and do that.  For now, my only goals will be to focus on my training, eat right, walk Zeus more and scrapbook my memories.  That shouldn't be too hard, right?  And hopefully by figuring out and doing what I love, I will be able to have a better 2011! And when I write about the year in review in another 365 days, it will be easy to think of all the good and hard to think about the bad...

Reading List

I have said it before, and I will say it again, I read a lot!  I am always looking for new books to add to my to-read list and am asking friends for recommendations.  I recently was browsing through free books that amazon.com offers for my kindle.  I noticed that many of the classics that I have never read are offered for free...this got me thinking.  I have run across the BBC list of must read books before but never paid much attention to them, so I have decided to make that my new reading list when I need a new book.  Not only will it make me well read, but they are free and they must be good if they are classics.  I still want to read some newer stuff in between the classics, but it will be nice to get an appreciation for the classic books (and the next time someone sends the BBC list around facebook, I will be able to mark off that I have read them all).

Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas

For an early birthday present, my mom and I spent the weekend in Las Vegas.  In San Jose, we signed up to do the Rock 'n' Roll 1/2 marathon in Las Vegas on December 5, 2010.  We decided to fly out on Thursday and then come home on Monday after the Sunday run.  Our flight out of Seattle on Thursday morning was uneventful.  Upon arriving in Las Vegas, we took a cab to our hotel, the Luxor.  After checking in, we decided to get lunch and walk around a little bit.

We ended up having a Mexican lunch at Tacos & Tequila in our hotel.  There, we both had our first margarita.  After eating, we walked around the strip.  We checked out Mandalay Bay, Excalibur, New York New York and MGM among others.   For dinner we shared a pizza at the Wolfgang Puck restaurant inside the MGM.  It was kind of cool as the National Rodeo Finals were also happening that weekend so there were tons of cowboys walking around.

On Friday, we decided to walk down to the Venetian for check-in.  There was not a coffee pot in the room so I went downstairs to Starbucks first thing in the morning and got my mom and myself a coffee.  The walk down to the Venetian and back ended up taking the better part of the day.  We took our time getting there and enjoyed walking through the booths and check-in.  We wondered through a few casinos down at that end of the strip and found a spot along the canals in the Venetian for lunch.

Once we made it back to the hotel, it was time to clean-up and get ready for dinner.  Aunt Barbara and Earl had driven down to spend some time with us and planned a special dinner for my birthday.  My mom and I took a cab to the Golden Nugget where they were staying and had a nice dinner at an Asian bistro.  It was really good food.  After dinner, we gambled a little and enjoyed the Fremont Street experience.  It was fun being down there.  We spent some time with my aunt before heading back to the hotel.

On Saturday, we headed over to the Hoover Damn and see the new bridge with my aunt and uncle.  My mom and I wanted to have an easy day without much walking so we would feel good for the run on Sunday morning.  The damn was fun and so was the bridge.  I walked to Arizona and back!  On the way home, we stopped for lunch and at a store that sold metal work before heading back to the hotel.

Sunday was the big day. We got up early and had room service breakfast before heading out to the race. It was nice staying at the Luxor as the start and finish line were next door at the Mandalay Bay.  The totally shut down the strip for the event.  It was neat at the beginning as all of the hotels were showing live coverage of the race on their big screen billboards.  I started out doing good, but then ended up bad. It was a bummer, once I realized I wasn't going to beat my previous time, I gave up.  Overall, I really enjoyed the course as it went down Las Vegas Blvd from the strip to downtown and back.  It was fun running in front of all the casinos,  but I am bummed I didn't get a better time.  My mom also felt the same way.  After the run, Bret Michaels performed and then we headed back for showers.

For lunch, we ate at Dick's Last Resort.  The food was good and the atmosphere was a lot of fun as the draw for the place is the rude waiters.  We eventually made our way down through the Bellagio to the Forum Shops at Caesar's Palace.  The Bellagio was amazing!  I loved their displays.  After some window shopping, we made our way back to our hotel and got ready for dinner.  We eventually made our way back to Fremont Street to have dinner with Barbara and Earl.  This time we ate at a cafe in the Golden Nugget.  My mom and I were both tired after the long day, so didn't stay out too late.

Our flight left Monday morning and we had to get up early to head to the airport.  It was funny there as you could see people wobbling around and knew they did the run the previous day.  Our flight amazingly ended up landing early in Seattle.  Andrew picked me up at the airport so my mom could head directly home.  Zeus was very happy to have me home and it was nice sleeping in my own bed again.  We did have a good trip and am looking forward to my next trip to Vegas which will most likely be in May for my cousin's wedding!

First Snow!

This morning I woke up to our first true snow.  Yesterday morning, we had a light dusting, but not much.

 Backyard on Sunday morning 

The weatherman had predicted some snow flurries today, but I was surprised when I woke up to see a couple inches on the ground.  On top of that, it snowed all day today.  Luckily, the roads weren't too bad.  But, it is suppose to get cold and stay cold all day tomorrow so that will be interesting.

 The view from my bedroom window this morning!

 Backyard this morning

 The pretty roads. Luckily they weren't bad at all

Playing in the snow

What I find interesting is how much of a big deal the snow is for everyone.  I mean the news is going crazy with "storm coverage".  But, it snows every year, so I don't really get what the big deal is.  I mean I know the snow is early, and we are expected to have a hard winter, but come on.  A couple inches isn't that  big of a deal.  

I have to admit, I do love it though.  It is fun living in a place where we actually have seasons.  And, having the snow makes it feel more wintery.  It is really pretty too to see everything covered in white and being able to bindle up and feel the crisp air.

Hobby Time

My mom recently told me that I need to do something besides lay around reading all day.  She recommended me finding a hobby.  I always liked being crafty.  I enjoy putting together scrapbooks and doing needle work.  However, even though I love scrapbooking, I have lost some motivation.  It's hard to want to put together a book of memories when right now isn't the best time of my life.  Don't get me wrong, there has been some great moments recently, but overall, I feel a constant turmoil that I don't necessarily want to remember.

Anyways, I decided that I do want to start doing something.  So, I decided to make frames with the recent 1/2 marathon events I have done so I can display them.  I thought it would be a fun way to display my accomplishments (and gave me a way to use the ugly green shirts they gave us). Here is what I have created:

I really like them and can't wait until I can find a good place to hang them in my house.  I am also going to try and scrapbook more as it is something I enjoy.