Man, I must getting old...

I know the suspense must be killing you folks about what has been going on in my life this week. Wait no more my pets.

The biggest news I have is about my right foot. Approximately 7 years ago, my foot swelled up and looked like a softball. Seemingly spontaneous. I didn’t do anything about it for quite some time, and when I finally did, the doctor gave me a cortizone shot and told me to come back for x rays some other time. Long story short, I never did, and my foot never got better.

Now, usually the pain is one of those pains that is just kind of always there but you learn to deal with it… what makes it hurt, what makes it feel better, etc. However, this particular pain chooses to flair up on its own will, mostly likely just to complicate my life.

So, finally I’d had enough. I made myself an appointment to see a doctor in Orthopedics. Little to my knowledge, it would be a month and a half before said appointment was available, and the excruciating pain I endured anytime I took a step would be gone by the time I finally had my appointment. Oh well, better late than never.

So, I go in and have x rays done, and finally see the doctor. He takes one look at my x rays and says “whoa?! When did you break this foot??” and when I told him that I had no recollection of said incident that broke my foot, he goes on to tell me that I suffered some sort of severe trauma. Aside from that, my second and third toes are the exact same length, meaning that my joints in my foot are right next to each other and slam into each other like some sort of bowling pins on a regular basis. PLUS, as a result of the break 7 years ago, I have multiple little bone spurs just chillin in my foot.

Oh, and I have arthritis in one foot joint. How’s that for impressive? One arthritic toe at the age of 24. Son of a…

So, what I was told at the end of the appointment, I was told to get supportive shoes, and set up a time for surgery. Surgery to not only remove the bone spurs, but to also shorten one of those toes so the joints aren’t knockin together like bumper cars.

I wish I had gotten the disc of the regular x rays, but here is the image of my foot from when I got my cortizone shot (that little line blocking the joints in question is the needle in my foot). You can see where the two joints are right in line with each other.

The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid

I apologize for being so absent from the blogosphere this week, but I have been a bit preoccupied with the real world, involving work, working out, dieting, and a wonky foot that needs dealing with. But, I am going to make a solid comeback by linking up with Heather for Book Club Friday.

I just finished reading The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson and I was pleasantly surprised. Honestly, I wasn’t sure if I was going to like it at all. I snagged it at my church rummage sale because it caught my eye, but I was worried it might be a dud. This is the little synopsis on the back:

“From one of the most beloved and bestselling authors in the English language, a vivid and utterly hilarious memoir of growing up in the 1950s”.

There are some people who are such good writers that they can write about ANYTHING and make it entertaining, and that is exactly what Bill Bryson did in this book. It is almost a history lesson in the form of a funny, entertaining story. I learned more about American history during this book than I remember learning about in my whole high school career. Granted, most of the information in the book is about Des Moines, Iowa, but it touched on a lot of big things that happened in that time frame.

I would recommend this book to just about anybody. I give it 5 stars. It was entertaining, it was educational, it made me laugh out loud at some points, and I was sad to have it end.

Come again soon to hear all about what is going on in my messed up little life.

Fall Blog Challenge: Fall TV Shows

I can’t even keep up with all the new TV shows this season that I am trying to watch. My DVR is working overtime right now!

The TV shows that I am stoked to have starting up again are…

Pretty Little Liars: After the cliff hanger of the summer finale, I NEED to see what is going to happen next.

Biggest Loser: This show gets me so motivated. I LOVE to work out while I watch it because I look at all those people who are seriously obese with bad joints and how they are working their asses off, and it just makes me want to work that much harder because if they can do it, I can do it. I always look forward to the seasons so I can get that little motivation boost.

Glee: I am a bit of a Gleek, my friends. So I am excited to see how the show is going to be changing with some of the kids graduating and whatnot.

Kitchen Nightmares: I love to see Gordon Ramsey yell at people about their disgusting restaurant. And I love even MORE seeing how they manage to make them over and recreate these peoples dreams. I love me a good restaurant show.

Law & Order, SVU: This is a show that Chad and I can agree on, and I have never seen an episode that disappointed me. They always have really good  guest stars too!

The new shows that I am trying to catch are as follows…

The Secret Circle: I LOVE Britt Robertson. I would really like for Life Unexpected to come back, however I fear that it may never return. So, imagine my happiness to see that Britt is returning to the CW with a new show. Especially because it has a bit of magic involved, and takes place in Washington! Such luck!

Two Broke Girls: I watched the series premiere of this show with The Chad and I am officially hooked. It is quite funny. I love the sarcasm that is involved.

New Girl: I LOVED Zooey Deschanel, so I think this show is going to be a good one. I may be biased, but whatever. Can’t wait to catch up, since I am already behind!

Whitney: I enjoy Whitney Cummings, who I first learned to love on Chelsea Lately. And she is one of the masterminds behind Two Broke Girls, which I am already enjoying.  The previews for this show look pretty funny, but I will have to wait and see if she is trying to hard.

Hart of Dixie: I love that this story takes place in Alabama. I love storylines that are about a city girl moving to the country and learning to love it. It almost feels like the plot may be a bit shallow, but I am definitely going to be giving it a shot.

GFA 2011

Let me just tell you about my EPIC weekend.

It consisted of a lot of working out, some cleaning, and then the GFA of 2011.

For those of you not in the know, GFA = Great Flea Assassination.

If you remember, I told you a little bit about our little flea infestation here. So, this weekend, we decided that it was time to launch a legit attack on these a-holes. Particularly after I discovered that my poor little baby beagle guy Buck had scratched a gash behind his right ear because those bastards (excuse my language) wouldn’t leave him alone.

It started on Saturday morning. My mother went on a mission to purchase bug bombs. She came back with 12. Next, we set to work hiding all the things we DIDN’T want bug bombed. Toothbrushes, fruit, dishes, etc. Chad took off to go jet skiing, and my mom and I set off those foggers like there was no tomorrow. Picture the guy in the movies running just two steps in front of the massive explosions and you have me and my mother exiting the house to our awaiting getaway car.

(Replace his face with mine, and the gun with my purse, and this is what happened. Almost exactly.)

Whilst our house was under nuclear attack (the furbabies were safely isolated in my dad’s prior man cave), my mother and I decided to go on an outing. Cut to me and her in Target, with me frantically filling her cart with everything in sight that I wouldn’t want to buy myself. Such as skeleton hand salad tongs, new work shoes, nail polish, and Halloween sticky notes. $175 later… I offered to pay for lunch. Sounds fair, right?

(Bahama Mama)

(lilacism)

After two hours, we returned home, and it felt like I had entered some sort of ghost house. We opened all the doors and windows, turned on fans, and retreated back to isolation to let things air out. Once we were clear to spend time in the contaminated area, I promptly took myself a nap with Buck. Then, I deemed it was time for the dreaded flea baths.

I started with Buck. I filled the laundry tub with warm water with flea shampoo mixed in, then picked the little fella up and plopped him in. Lucky for me, he does pretty well in the bath. He certainly doesn’t LIKE the bath, but he deals with it. After thoroughly scrubbing him, I freed him to go crazy in the kitchen, rubbing all over the bamboo floors. Next up, little Jasper. He goes to the groomer all the time, so you would think he would be okay in the tub. WRONG. He whines and cries like I am trying to drown him. After a good lather with the flea shampoo, I send him off with my mom to be dried and fluffed.

Break for tacos. Then comes the dreaded moment.

The cat bath.

Now, for those of you who don’t know Chad very well, you should know that he thinks he knows EVERYTHING. I told him that I didn’t think giving my cat a flea bath was a good idea. He says “we used to do it all the time with my cats”. Well Chad, your pet cats weren’t miniature panthers and only domesticated enough to bug you for food. So, we don our long sleeves and I head off to snatch my kitten face from her innocent nap in my mom’s good chair.

Chad meets me at the laundry room and takes her by the scruff of the neck and promptly plunges her into the laundry tub. ALL THE WAY IN. So, naturally she goes into fight or flight mode… which for her is both. She is flailing around and trying to get the hell out of dodge, and chad is screaming “I’m losing my grip, I’m gonna lose her!” So, I intervene, get a better grip on her, and try to calm her down. This is when we finally got a chance to see the extent of her infestation. The fleas were just SWARMING her head. My mom casually walked by and says “oh, yeah, she’s not happy”. Gee, thanks for your help MOM!

(Picture this, with only 3 legs, and flailing around going batshit crazy)

So, I finally had to call for her to come out and just start picking the fleas off poor little Freaka because there was no way we could let go of her at all. Finally we decided she’d had enough, and I held her completely saturated body close to me to keep her from completely losing it. Chad was like “just put her down!” Yeah, because I am going to put my 9 pounds cat, that now weighs 20 pounds with all the water on her, down to go apeshit all over the house. No thanks. So I sit on the bathroom floor with her in front of the heater and try to dry her off, all the while picking fleas off of her head.

She eventually forgave me, and let me put her flea collar on. So, it’s all good in the hood. Added bonus: she smells like Pert Plus and oranges.

After the full frontal attack yesterday, today was pretty mellow.

Woke up early, went to the gym, took a nap, went to bell choir rehearsal, and now catching up on my Jersey Shore episodes. (Snooki and Deena, WHAT?!)

It's Okay... giveaways, hikes, and emotionally closed off boyfriends

It’s Okay… to not have a Fall Blog Challenge post today.

It’s Okay… to promote my dear friend Kristine’s giveaway in order to get more entries. Even though blogging about it means more people will enter and my chances of winning are smaller. Oh well.

It’s Okay… to feel right at home being back at Gold’s Gym after a long hiatus.

It’s Okay… to feel slightly bitter that other people are getting married/engaged/closer to those things when I have been with the Chaddilac for 6+ years and he seems to have no intentions on popping the question anytime soon.

I don't really see why this is so much to ask for?!

It’s Okay… to be more productive at work when the boss is out of town than you are when she is sitting right next to you. Odd…

It’s Okay… to love that the fall weather has arrived!

It’s Okay… to require any house you look to purchase to have either a) at least an acre of land, b) have an amazing kitchen, or c) a lot of trick or treater potential when Halloween rolls around.

It’s Okay… to not feel sorry for your boyfriend being sick when you are annoyed with him (see ‘It’s Okay’ number 4 above).

It’s Okay… that this week has flown by! That's SUPER Okay!

It's Okay... to be excited for another hike this weekend, even though the last one left me partially paralyzed for a few days.

Fall Blog Challenge: Fall Trends

Today’s topic for the Fall Blog Challenge is Fall clothing and whatnot. So here are some of the cute outfits that I am loving for fall right now.

And who can forget cute boots for fall?!

Not a whole lot of writing involved in this post, but who needs it when you have cute clothes?

Halloween Tradtions!!!

This MIGHT be my favorite post of the Fabulous Fall Blog Challenge because it is about HALLOWEEN!!!

For the past 5 years, I have centered my Halloween around throwing an epic costume party at Chadillac’s house. It had a HUGE lot for parking, it was right on a river, and it was a TOTAL bachelor pad, so it didn’t matter if the place got trashed. We would get kegs, I would make jello shots, witches brew, and various goblin goodies. Alas, Chad no longer lives at the crazy party pad (since he moved in with me about 6 months ago… YAY!) so I am going to have to make new Halloween memories. But, before I move on to other Halloween traditions, let’s take a little peeksie back at some of my Halloween memories:

The first party, Halloween 2006. Rainbow Brite and the Beer Keg.

2007… cute little witch on the left

Ah, the year of 2008. I LOVED this costume. It helps I had slimmed down a bit the months before Halloween.

2009 you can see I was ballooning back up again. But it was the first time Chad agreed to matching costumes!

Finally, and most recently, Dorothy!! We repurposed Chad’s keg costume to be the Tin Man, and then Kristine was the scarecrow. And that sneaky bugger is Texas… our cowardly lion

You can definitely see my weight fluctuations over the years in these pictures. Blech. Let’s hope I start slimming down in the costumes to come.

My next favorite Halloween tradition has to do with the weeks coming up on Halloween. I absolutely LOVE taking time off from work (with the excuse of getting ready for the aforementioned Halloween party) and sitting home all day, in bed, watching Halloween movies and TV shows. Some of my favorites? I’m glad you asked….

Hocus Pocus. Who DOESN’T love this movie?? I could watch it EVERY DAY, for reals. No play play.

Scariest Places On Earth. Nothing creeps me out more than sitting in my room in the dark watching stories about haunted places and stuff. Usually I watch this at night time before bed. Hopefully Chad can deal with that.

The Little Vampire. I didn’t see this movie for the first time until I was a senior in high school (pathetic, I know). Now, I insist on seeing it at least once at Halloween time.

Harry Potter Marathon!!! I always feel the need to watch all the Harry Potter movies around Halloween. I guess it is just the magical aspect. Any excuse to watch them is good for me.

Next up we have pumpkins! My friend Jamie’s birthday is about a week before Halloween, so she usually has a pumpkin carving party. We go to their house and carve, and then set them all up on their front porch for the trick or treaters. And THEN, we do ANOTHER pumpkin carving event a few days before Halloween for the Halloween party decorations. This year, things will be a little different. I will still be doing some carving, but I also plan to use some of these new techniques for pumpkin decorating, and we will be putting them outside OUR front door for Halloween.

Use black tacks to make designs in pumpkins. Mess free!

Put a pumpkin in a designed stocking for a SUPER quick decoration.

Spray paint pumpkins black and scratch out designs.

There are SO many things I could say about Halloween, but we don’t have all day. Cheers to Halloween!think I may go get my count down blocks out RIGHT NOW!!!

Fall Traditions

I am going to be linking up for the next couple weeks for Amber and Neely’s Fall Blog Challenge. Today’s topic: Fall Traditions.

I don’t really know where to start with my favorite fall traditions. I guess I will start with the obvious: Pumpkin Spice Lattes. I don’t get them often, but I HAVE to hit Starbuck’s as soon as they come out because that is what really means that Fall is here. My newest tradition-like drinks: caramel eggnog latte and salted caramel mocha. YUM.

I also insist on getting those pumpkin shaped leaf bag things. I don’t know why, but I find it completely necessary.

Last but not least, I will mention my pretend Thanksgiving. This is something I started probably 4 years ago because my sister and I were always running around so much with our boyfriends’ families on Thanksgiving that we barely got to spend any time with our own on Thanksgiving. So one year, I decided that I would just do my OWN Thanksgiving dinner a week or so before the actual holiday. Not only does it give us a chance to spend time together as a family, but it also gives me the opportunity to flex my cooking muscles. This tradition has become especially important to me because the last outing I had with my dad before he passed away was when we went out shopping together for the supplies for pretend Thanksgiving. He LOVED the idea because we would always make something that we didn’t usually have, like goose, or game hens.

Hiking and Zac Brown weekend

Good morning (or shall I say afternoon) my bloggy friends. I would like to tell you that I have had a jam packed weekend. It started Friday night when Chad and I went to look at a house. Long story short, this place was SCARY. Not scary in the sense that it needs paint and a repair here and there, I mean scary in the sense that a mass murderer may or may not have lived there. We are talking ceilings of different heights, 6 doors to the outside, and one door that leads to nowhere. Clearly we will not be calling that place home.

Then, yesterday morning I woke bright and early to go on a hike with my dear friends Kristine and Chelsea. We went to a place about 15 minutes from my house called Rattlesnake Ridge. I have done this hike once before and I remembered it being a little tough, but nothing too bad. Let’s just say that was about 40 pounds ago. This was ROUGH. I thought for sure they were gonna have to airlift me out of that joint. But we did it. It took about 2 hours total for me (the other girls beat me by about 10 minutes because they jogged part of the way down. I tried this, made it about 5 feet before rolling my ankle and slamming into a couple of innocent bystanders rather than roll down the mountain, and promptly called the jogging a failed attempt). According to MFP (which you should find me on… CarlyAnn13) I burned 1300+ calories. Whoa, baby! (Full House reference, anyone?). Not bad for a couple hours on a Saturday morning. Here are a few pictures I was able to snap. Don’t judge us based on our appearance, please.

Couldn't resist taking a picture of this little sign. I would like to say that there was a nice dog poo pile right below the sign.

About half an hour in. We had NO idea what we were in for...

This may not look like a huge incline, but let me tell you... IT IS.



Trees for MILES

We made it!!! Don't judge my hair, please. It was windy...

View from the top!

After the hike, I went home to shower and get ready to head over the mountains for the night. We had tickets to see Zac Brown Band at the Gorge. Luckily, rather than having to camp at the campground there (for a mere $60 a night… in a tent… when it’s raining) our friend Sam lives about 20 minutes away. So we went to his house, had some dinner and caught up, then headed off to the concert. We got there about 30 minutes early so we could find a good place to sit on the grass (note: we also forgot all our chairs. FAIL.) The opening acts came on, which was kind of exciting at first, because it meant we were that much closer to ZBB starting. But they played for about TWO HOURS. That was about an hour and a half too long for my taste. Then after they were done, there was another half hour of dead air before ZBB came on. No bueno. But once they started FINALLY, it was GREAT. We were on our feet and dancing and signing along. It was a lot of fun. I only got a couple pictures because my phone was dying, so the flash wouldn’t work.

After the concert, we left and went back to Sam’s house. I was POOPED from a combination of the hike, the driving (it took about 2.5 hours to get to Sam’s house) and the concert, so I went to bed while the boys stayed up and talked and had some (more) beers. Let me just tell you, that between the hike and then sitting on the ground for 2 hours, my butt was KILLING me. I literally was laying in bed not moving and my whole lower body was just throbbing. I tried to stretch a little bit, but it was awful. I had some ibuprofen in the truck, but I’ll be damned if I thought I could get up and walk that far to get it.

So, after a rough night of barely sleeping, we got up, went to breakfast at this little place that is a café/convenience store/liquor store, and headed home. This restaurant had the BIGGEST breakfast I think I have ever seen. I got chicken fried steak (the size of my whole plate) and ended up eating about 1/3 of it and being full to the brim. Anyways, we got home, and I took myself a little bit of a nap (aka 3.5 hours) and here I sit, telling you about it. I have about 45 minutes before I have to go to my handbell choir rehearsal, after which I will probably head straight back to bed to continue the recuperation process in order to be ready for work tomorrow.

I hope you all had a great weekend like I did!