Carina the Blogarina, one of my favorite bloggers that I stumbled upon at 20 Something Bloggers, tagged her readers to show their 10th photo in their 1st album.  The idea is to use your library on your computer, but like Carina I am not at home so I'm using Facebook, too.


My first album only had 7 photos in it so I chose to take the 10th photo I am tagged in.  Here it is!

This is at Jenn's Wedding (see her blog here) This photo was so fun to take!  The other girls (left to right) are Gigi, Erin (she has a blog, too), Kari, and Tiffani.  I was so happy to be a part of Jenn's wedding and create some really great friendships!

Photographer is Lizzie Kimball - she rocks!

You're suppose to tag 10 people to this, and I tag YOU! Show me you 10th photo in your 1st album!

Read more: http://ablogette.blogspot.com/#ixzz0kcr2sa7d

Thought for the day

My random epiphany for the day: 
Surround yourself with people that have good attitudes and habits.  We naturally mimic the people we are with the most.  I quit negative, rude, annoying, impatient, short fused, illogical, arrogant people.


In other, unrelated news....


Great party at The Golden Barrel!  It was a great success and a wonderful time!


Simon's birthday was yesterday so when he got home from work we decided to go out for a couple drinks.  I was still going from working the party and how could I say no to the birthday boy!  50 cent Coronas, shots of Patron Silver, and a late night dinner at Philadelphia Sandwich Company.  Cuddled on the couch watching I don't even know what and fell asleep in his arms (your queue for "awes" or "blechs").  Prepare to read some sappiness... I love waking up with him!  It's so hard to get out of bed!  Soft smile and giddy heart, I'm a happy girl!


It's Friday!  Working both jobs again today, then it's home to work on a playlist for tomorrow night.  Can't wait till the party!


And in more unrelated news (but possibly related to my random epiphany)...


This guy that couriers product to us from Tucson is annoying and a bit creepy BUT he always smiles and leaves saying "God bless you."  Normally I cringe when he comes to my desk for me to sign for a package because ever time he says "I love that beautiful smile."  This is a wonderful compliment and I love to hear it, but every time you see me??  But today I welcomed his played out compliment and repeatedly asked question "Where did you get that smile?"  I always say my mom and dad, forgetting the answer he wants which is one of two - "It comes from either the Lord above or it comes from within."  Gonna remember that for next time!

Week 4, Doctor Visits, and the Worst April Fool's Joke in History

Get comfy folks, I have a lot for you to catch up on.  I'll give each headings to help you along the way 

Couch to 5K - Week Four
And the struggling has begun...  Ugh!


It has been a busy week so my days have been more spread out than I would like.  Day 2 was supposed to happen Friday but Zipps happy hour just sounded way too tempting.  But I knew that I would be going with Sarah on Saturday so I decided I would rather do Saturday and Sunday than Friday and Saturday.


Saturday sucked.  I sucked.  Big time.  It was 2 in the afternoon and probably 85 degrees, no breeze, no clouds, no relief.  I was really active all morning running around and working on projects so I was already pooped.  Chilled out by the pool to try and recoup for a bit but it clearly did not help.


My knees were KILLING me!  And I was terribly out of breath.  No bueno!  So of course I was in no mind set to do day three of week four on Sunday.  I about died this time!  


But you'll be surprised and I am proud to say, I ran Sunday morning despite the pain.  Now it wasn't the program, but it was about 5 minutes or so (I didn't keep track).  You see, after the terrible experience I had, Sarah and I went and rewarded ourselves with cheeseburgers and beers at Saddle followed by more beers at Giligin's.  Being the responsible adults we are, we walked home.  On my way to get my car Sunday morning, I walked long enough to eat a banana and then to challenge myself I committed to running the rest of the way.  I think I got at least 2 full songs out of it so I had to have gone at least 5 minutes.  yay for me!


Monday, was supposed to be day 3 since Sunday wasn't but I finished up my day too late.  (I decided today I need to get over my fear of running at night stat - blistering heat is very near).


So here it is Tuesday, and I have completed day 3 of week 4.  I have been running 3x a week for a month!  A huge accomplishment!  Whoah! I just realized I'm 1 1/2 runs from half way.  Yippee!


Tonight was incredibly better than Saturday.  The sun was setting and the breeze was refreshing.  I stretched more than usual and really took my time with it.  Minimal knee pain this time!!  Had some mild shin splints, though.  Will never ever have a pain free run though so it's time I learn to just deal with it rather than let it criple me.  I find I do best when I love the song, it's loud, and I focus on my breath and a smooth, slow, springy, stride.  It is when I obsess over how my feet land on every step and how short or long my stride is.  I start to get frustrated, push too hard, and get out of breath and stiff.


Baby steps.  I am not going to be able to keep up with people who are runners.  I'm not a runner.  I'm training to be one and have to be patient with myself to get there at my body's own pace.


Now I face the dilemma of scheduling week 5.  Tomorrow is ideal, but it should be an off day, then Thursday I work 7:30 until 9 or 10p.m. and Friday 7:30 until 9.  Saturday morning will be no problem and Sunday is out because it is the day after a party we are throwing. So it looks like I'm going tomorrow and Saturday because we all sure as hell know I will not get up and do this before work.  I'm pretty excited because I have thought out a new route since I'll be running more and will need a slight bit more distance.  Brace yourselves - day 3 of next week is run 20 minutes.  Pray for me!


Doctor Visits
I had contemplated even writing about this because I simply don't want this to be a forum for me to cry "woe is me."  Well, woe. ;)


For probably the past ten years I have had "episodes" that I could never really pin as anything specific and they have scared the shit out of me.  Based on my family history with all the ladies on my mom's side, we self-diagnosed it as high levels of estrogen and aura migraines.  (Fun fact: my mom is sure that all of the Howard women were/are over sexed aka are sex kittens due to high levels of estrogen)


My solution was to stay away from BC with a lot of hormones.  It seemed to work, most of the time.  But I still had them, just not as frequent.  They were more often prior to '06 and since then I had one last spring and then now again on Sunday.


I briefly described them in a previous post.  Doc advised that I take notes next time it happened so I did just that.  I focused on every little detail that I possibly could.  I am so frustrated with the incredible challenge of communicating how I feel.  But it was a good experience.  I remembered that lights don't flash, the numbness only exists on the left side, and I was better able to describe the "whoosh" as if heat is gradually spreading underneath my skin and that my head feels as if it is moving backwards.  My motor skills are slowed, but I can still function.  I took deep breathes, analyzed what was happening, and it went away.  for about 15 minutes afterwards I was still out of sorts, but the disorientation was gone.


She is still puzzled, but doubts it is a migraine.  One of the possibilities is mild seizures.  So, now I get to have an MRI and an EEG.  Please, dear God, let this just be defensive medicine and a way for her to rule it out.  I emailed her today asking if I should have my estrogen tested first; if she thinks that or any sort of chemical imbalance is the likely culprit.  We'll see what she says tomorrow...  


In the meantime, I stress that I either a) am wasting time and overreacting or b) I have something wrong with my brain.  I'm just embarrassed about all of this - that it's all nothing and I'm just a crazy worry wart.  I welcome humility with open arms!!!


Worst April Fool's Joke in History
My brother is a very mean, twisted person.  He is NOT moving here.  End of story.  Jerk.


And I leave you with a positive update...
Thursday is Simon's birthday!  We are having a housewarming party on Saturday for some of our friends and will be celebrating his birthday, too.  I ordered an amazing cake and I can't wait until I can speak freely about it!  (I promised Simon I wouldn't bring it up anymore)
48 days until England/Lanzarote!  Lindze brought her beautiful daughter Sadie in today after work so I got to see her for a little bit.  Oh, and Lindze and I had ice cream today.  Definitely a sunny day!


Good night all!  Tomorrow is a clean slate and new opportunity for betterment - I leave you with this quote to learn and live by!  


"Each morning we are born again. What we do today is what matters most." - Buddha

My first award!

I've always wanted a blog award, ever since Ugly Betty won hers.  It's so exciting and makes me feel great that I'm actually contributing in a positive way to the blogging world.


It's a reminder that people read what I type AND enjoy it!  This is such a fantastic compliment!


Thank you so much, Ana from far away!  Everyone should check out her blog, Something Good in Everything I See!  The title grabbed me and her story has kept me coming back. 


The Rules for accepting the Happy 101, Sweet Friends Award are to list 10 things that make you happy and try to do one today. Then, I get the pleasure of passing this award along!  Here goes:

1. Sunshine & a slight breeze
2. Laughing
3. Water! Drinking it, swimming it, looking at it!
4. Praise and acknowledgment of a job well done
5. Spending time with my favorite people, whether it's relaxing or causing trouble
6. A post-workout high
7. Dancing
8. Painting or doing anything creative
9. Gardening
10. Morganizing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My most favorite thing to do!

And I pass this award onto....

LaMidge

Real Life, Simply Put

Star's Pink World

Sara's Organized Chaos

Daily Love

This quote really spoke to me this morning:

Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work at hand. The sun's rays do not burn until brought to a focus."  - Alexander Graham Bell


I am most of the time incapable of doing one thing at a time.  I was thinking this morning about how I envy a horse that pulls a carriage because they are given blinders to be sure that they are not distracted.


Now a lot of the time my distractions are out of my control.  The universe drives my work load, and no matter how hard I try to structure my day, I am usually working on a handful of things at a time.


Interruptions are so common for me it's as if I am the interruption and outside forces are the norm.  We don't have a receptionist, so I answer almost every single phone call.  Granted, a lot are for me, but it would be nice if I didn't have to deal with those that aren't or would ever have the opportunity to not take a call every once in a while. 


If I'm working on the computer (which is 75% of my work day or more), I will do something else while waiting for software or websites to load.  It's as if I cannot sit idle for more than 30 seconds!  


But mostly, I am pretty sure I am the root of my problem.  If I stop for 2 seconds, my eyes glance elsewhere and if they are caught on something that could be done, I'll do it.  What is wrong with me?  I'm like the dog in Up that every time he sees a squirrel, he stops mid sentence and runs off.


I have broken down my day into sections - assigning certain common tasks for certain times of the day.  I use my Outlook calendar to remind myself that I should be working on certain tasks at that time, and then when times up I move onto the next.  So far it's mostly working out but it is proving difficult when my reminder shows 30 minutes, an hour, or more past due and I haven't had an opportunity to attempt at the task at hand.

Does anyone else have this problem?  What do you do?  

One may say, Morgan, stop blogging at work but I don't get any official breaks since we're short staffed.  All I've seen are working lunches for the past few months so I take back the time I am owed in small increments throughout the day.  =)

Goodbye Cal Neva, a tribute to your legacy

It's a sad week in Tahoe as the famed casino once owned by Frank Sinatra and always the Rat Pack's favorite hangout has closed its doors.  Hopefully temporarily...

The owner does hope to reopen one day but word on the street is that it is not likely.

Competition with Vegas has gotten too high and for this tourist spot, all bets are off.

Not only was Cal Neva famous because of its regulars, but it was built right on top of the California/Nevada state line - hence the name "Cal Neva."

The pool!  One summer, my dad and I snuck into the pool area so I could go swimming.  What a thrill it was to swim from California to Nevada and back again!  Probably one of the coolest things I did as a kid!

Marilyn spent her last weekend here before her death.  The cabin that she stayed in is still there and is part of the resort tour. 

I remember daydreaming about her lounging by the pool, wearing dark sunglasses, sipping on a cocktail and having the time of her life.  I wanted to be her.  

R.I.P. dear, beautiful Marilyn.  

I have a lot of great memories with my Dad at this casino; it is by far my favorite that I have ever been to and that is a lot!  While he would go place his sports bets I would hang out in the lodge, in awe of the ginormous stuffed bear and being in two states at once.  I was extremely fascinated by the glamour of this lodge in the mountains that was loved by the coolest people of its time and wished I could go back in time to when it was hot.  

Will miss ya, Cal Neva!

You can read more by clicking here.  

Today is the best day ever!

Just got news that my brother and his family are moving to Phoenix!  Matt got a new job that starts in May.  That is only a month away!  Can't wait to get to hang out with them and see the kiddos grow up!  I miss them so much!  Put away those sweatshirts and bring out the bathing suits & flip flops, guys!

So now I've got my mom and Lee here for the winter (some day full-time) Brian in California that visits often with his family, Matt and his family as of May - just need to get Jon here from Wisconsin!

We're like a gypsy family! haha From California, to Wisconsin/Minnesota, to Arizona.  Hopefully it's the last stop.  I love it here!

I think a party is in order...