Recap and a Movie Review

So, this weekend really wasn't all that exciting. Here's how it all went down.

Friday:

Had my weigh in for Weight Watchers. Down another pound, which is good, but not as good as the past two weeks. Oh well, must do better this week.

I thought Chad and I were going to go to a friends property and hang out, have some beverages, and enjoy life. Didn't happen. Chad was kind of feeling lazy I guess, so we stayed home and rented The Hangover II on Demand. My thoughts? Not as good as the first one. I mean, it was funny. But I think at some places it was taken too far... such as the she-man hooker scene. It wasn't all that funny, and ended up just kind of taking the whole thing too far. Maybe that's just me though, whatever.

Saturday:

Got up and went to the far with Chad and Buck to check on miss Princess. This was Buck's first farm experience, and he may or may not be terrified of the livestock. Oh well, at least I know he'll be staying away from them, haha. 

After that, Chad and I went in to run some errands. You know, Target and the like.

That night, we went to our friends' house to hang out for a bit. I was really too tired, so I was kind of a party pooper and didn't really socialize that much.

Sunday:

We slept in way too late. Then we got up, I went to the farm again, and that was when I made the decision I posted about yesterday. My poor sweet girl is just not getting any better and I couldn't deny what I had to do anymore. 

Then I came home, worked out, and cried about it. Ugh.

The day concluded with a  nap, dinner, and Law & Order.

Hopefully this post isn't too long and boring. I know there aren't any pictures to hold your attention.

Sad Day

Today, with a heavy heart, I put my horse on Craigslist to find her a new home.

This is something that I had a serious internal struggle with. I love my horse. I adore her.

But I can't give her what she needs.

This horse is high maintenance. REALLY high maintenance.

She has bad feet. She's allergic to bugs. Overall, she is really suffering from being on a farm. She needs a home with a stall, and a dry paddock. Not 30 acres of marsh and mud and cow poop. 

I've always had the mindset that a horse is a pet, just like a dog or cat. They aren't disposable. But a horse is a heck of a lot harder to keep quarantined. When my cat had her leg amputated, I could close her in the bathroom, keep an eye on her, and it was easy to get through it. Same thing with my dog... if he's not feeling well, I can keep an eye on him, monitor and regulate his activity and food and clear up whatever it is that is ailing him. It's not that easy with an 1100 pound animal. I don't have a place available to me that I can keep her to make her better. I don't have a barn with a stall or even a paddock that will help her. 

I go the farm every day, get her out of the field, clean her up, do my best to address the issues that are becoming so rampant. I. JUST. CAN'T. KEEP. UP. It makes me feel like an awful person. These things aren't comfortable for her, it's not healthy to have these problems and not be able to resolve them. And even if I could somehow alleviate the problems to where they aren't at an unhealthy level, it will always only be a temporary fix.

Anyways, this post is hard for me. As was the Craigslist post. I've been crying all day since making the decision, but I know it is the right one to make. There are other horses out there that CAN thrive in the environment that I have to offer, but unfortunately Princess isn't one of them. 

Sad day.

Housekeeping

I hope you guys are ready for some random subjects today because I have a few things to talk about, but none of them really mesh together. But I don't really care that much.

First of all, this is for all you Seattle (or Washington State) bloggers. My homegirl Kristine and I were chatting a couple weeks ago about how we would like to have a blog party for those of us here in Washington State. And then, being the nice lady she is, Kristine decided to get the ball rolling.

So, I urge you to go and check out this post and RSVP and BE THERE. June 16th (tentatively) at the Hard Rock Cafe in Seattle. Even if you don't live in Washington and want to come visit, you are more than welcome!

Next up, I have something to confess. I like mayonnaise. It's true. I don't eat it a lot, since I know that it's all fat and completely unhealthy. But I'm not one of those people that is like "Eww, mayo, that's disgusting". Just so you know.

Have you guys read Serious... I'm Kidding by Ellen Degeneres? I bought it because I enjoy Ellen and thought for sure this book would be amazing. 

I was wrong.

I mean, it's not TERRIBLE. But it's not what I was looking for. I feel like it doesn't have a point. As I read it, I can hear her saying these things in my head. And it does make me laugh sometimes. But overall there isn't a lot of point. She will go on with random things for 30 pages before she comes to her point that she dislikes tardiness. Or littering. Or that she thinks people should be happy. I was looking for more of a story about HER. I don't know if i will finish it. 

It's an easy read, and like I said there is some funny parts. But it's almost too much. My favorite parts are when she talks about her and Portia's relationship. Just because that is something I don't hear much about.

Anyways, sorry if you LOVE this book, but it's not for me.

Next up, for those of you who don't live in the Snoqualmie Valley, you may not know the story about this fracking maniac running around.

His name is Peter Keller. He's on the run because he is the prime suspect of a double homicide. Of who, you ask? Oh, just his wife and 18 year old daughter. Yeah, he shot them and then set his house on fire. Not just them though, no no. The family cat and dog too.

It doesn't end there. Apparently he's one of those "End of the World" loons. Friends say that he made himself a fort in the woods and has, over time, been stockpiling things in it for the end of civilization.

Cool. Just what I need, a psycho out there on our hiking trails.

Umm... other than that, it looks like I have FINALLY reached 50 followers! Sweet. I know that blogging isn't about follower numbers (if it was, I would have given up a long time, ago, ha), but it's kind of nice to know people read my blog.

WAIT! I forgot something else. I'm getting a real blog design. Neat, huh?

ANDDDDD Julia at Home is Where the Army Sends Us awarded me with the Liebster Blog Award. I was quite happy about that and think it was just so sweet of her. Go check her blog out! 

I swear, that's it. I hope everybody has had a good work week and you all have beautiful weather over the weekend (and don't get massive burns such as myself... I'm still in pain and it's been almost 6 days).

That's Okay with Me

I know, I know... I've been doing maybe too many link ups lately...? Sorry, but sometimes I am just too busy to sit down and write something witty and entertaining. And sometimes I am just not feeling very entertaining. I know I touched a few weeks ago about my depression and how I was going through one of those "dark" periods. I promise I haven't fallen back into that kind of a funk, but I have had a few days where I haven't been quite "perky". Plus the fact that i have been spending more time catching up on everybody else's blogs than writing on my own. Whoops.
Anyways, without further adieu, here we are for It's Okay Thursday,

It's okay to have a couple days of no workouts, as long as you hop back on the treadmill (or elliptical or stationary bike, or whatever) and keep your eye on the prize.

It's okay to halfway welcome the rain back because it means that the flies might leave your poor horse alone for a few days

It's okay that I am just now getting my first REAL blog layout thingy. It's true friends, it's coming soooooon!

It's okay to be real mad at yourself for getting sunburnt on Saturday. The kind of sunburn where you can't put clothes on over it or sleep on it. 

It's okay to spend $150 at the grocery store every week as long as you are buying "real" healthy food.

It's okay to be a little confused by the new Blogger layout. What was wrong with the old one?

It's okay to LOVE sneakpeeq, even though I never have the disposable income to actually buy anything.

It's okay to be continuously irritated by Chad's lack of motivation when it comes to purchasing a house. 

It's okay to just want to sleep all day.

Anyways kiddos, that's all for today. I'll try to be more entertaining from now on.

Everybody's Favorite Day...

This weekend I somehow found some time to pin some good stuff. Allow me to share it with you.

Source: someecards.com via Carly on Pinterest

Best friend tattoos... "To Infinity..." "...And Beyond"

Source: hannahlynnn.tumblr.com via Carly on Pinterest

A walrus reacting to getting a surprise birthday cake made of fishies. So cute!

Source: Uploaded by user via Carly on Pinterest

Love the thought of turning an old log into a planter box. 

Source: whattopin.com via Carly on Pinterest

Source: cynthia335.polyvore.com via Carly on Pinterest

Avocado Chicken Parmesan. Enough said.

Source: ellenaguan.blogspot.com via Carly on Pinterest

Source: polyvore.com via Carly on Pinterest

Source: pinterestin.blogspot.com via Carly on Pinterest

Cauliflower that tastes like french fries! (I pinned this from The Chronicles of Ruthie Hart)

Source: ruthiehart.com via Carly on Pinterest

Source: Uploaded by user via Carly on Pinterest

Source: bstowe87.polyvore.com via Carly on Pinterest

Pancakes baked in muffin tins and they make these little cups!

Source: realmomkitchen.com via Carly on Pinterest

Anybody else find some good Pinterest finds this week??

Things I Dislike

Okay, so I saw this over on Brittan's blog A Babbling Brunette and thought it might be a good idea to let you guys in on this.

These are some things that I really DON'T like that other people do.

Beer.

Tomatoes.

High heels with swimsuits.

Shopping with other people.

Going out to "clubs".
Toms. (although they are growing on me, little by little)

And then there are some things that I DO like that make other people think I'm crazy...

Bologna.

Writing checks and paying bills.

Rolling coin.

Getting rid of things.

Folding letters.

Anyways, there's just a few things about me that you may or may not have known. 

Dear Diary...

Dear blog friends: I realize I have really left you guys hanging lately. I'm really sorry. I feel like I've just been really busy trying to work out a lot and keep myself busy rather than just being a freaking bump on a log all the time.

Dear Weight Watchers: Thank you for coming back into my life. I've only been back with you for 2 weeks, but I've already hit my 5 pound mark and that makes me feel good. I like having these guidelines back to help me get to where I want to be.

Dear fat: why can't you disappear from my problem areas first? I mean, 5 pounds of fat is 5 pounds of fat any way you look at it, but I would prefer that it disappear from somewhere like my thighs or my stomach, rather than just around my face and from my right boob. Yeah, I said it. RUDE.

Dear Buck: you are just the best little beagle in the whole wide world. However I would appreciate it if you would stop randomly throwing up. it makes me worried that someone has tried to poison you.

Dear children and young adults everywhere: Please please PLEASE stop resorting to suicide to make your hurt go away. There are so many people out there that I'm sure would be so willing to help you through whatever hard times you are going through in your life... you don't have to fight these fights yourself. 

*A student at Mount Si High School (my alma matter, if you will) committed suicide last night. This is I think the 3rd one in the past few years. He was a sophomore.

Dear Weekend: Holy crap balls I'm glad you're here! This week has been really weird for me... I forgot about my doctor's appointment on Monday, slept through my alarm on Tuesday, remembered at about 11:30 on Wednesday night that i had a 7 am dentist appointment the next day... it's been a rough week! I am ready to take naps, workout, do some chores and hopefully enjoy some sunshine!

Dear housing market: Please stay good for a while. I am really itching to get my own place and things are really picking up around here so all the good houses are being snatched right up. Just leave me one good place in my price range in Fall City... please?

Dear Chad: Please don't make me take away the new Glock 20 SF that I bought you for our anniversary. I know you want to play with it, but spending $100 a week on ammo and new accessories is making me VERY frustrated. Remember that house we're trying to buy? I don't think you can build it with 10mm shell casings, mmmkay?

There you have it my friends, some letters to get this weekend going. I am really going to try to be a little bit more present in the near future. I've just been feeling really overwhelmed the past couple weeks. 

Sigh...

Sorry I haven't been telling you guys much lately. I know you must be devastated. But, alas, I haven't been that interesting. But I do have some things that I want to tell you about that I am loving right now.

1. House hunting again!

That's right kids, Chad and I are back on the prowl. He has been working steadily and I've noticed that a lot of the properties around here that I've been watching have been getting snatched up by buyers. I don't know if people are using newly acquired tax refunds for down payments or if the economy is just taking a huge upward turn, but my favorite houses are selling left and right! So Chad and I went and looked at a couple yesterday afternoon and there was one that wasn't perfect, but it was nice enough. Good location, nice layout, good yard (not a perfect kitchen, but definitely doable). Now to convince him we need to put an offer in on it...

Nothing too fancy on the outside (or the inside, really), but in pretty good shape and has potential.

2. Nice weather!

As most of you know, the Pacific Northwest is notorious for rain. Truth. However, contrary to popular belief, we DO get some sun. And the past couple weekends have been beautiful! Sure, I was cloaked in layers sucking Nyquil through a straw on Saturday, but I did get to enjoy some of our nice weather on Sunday. And I am hoping for more nice weather this weekend. Great for hiking, biking, walks with Buck... you get the drift.

3. Weight Watchers.

I know, I'm a liar. I told you guys a few weeks ago (or was that a couple months ago...?) that WW didn't work for me when I tried it out before. Well, I'm finding that it is the best "diet" for me. Sure, you have to be dedicated enough to stick to it. But that's the same with any diet program. I like the freedom to eat what I want, when I want. All I have to do is plug it in to my little tracker deal. And I've found that if I plan ahead (which I need to do anyways), it's easy to put the numbers into my tracker the day before. Then I just have to worry about whatever additional things I may have (like a soda or an unexpected snack). It's also motivating me to get the little extra exercise points.

4. TV shows.

Even though some of my favorite shows are on hiatus right now (Pretty Little Liars/The Lying Game) I still have plenty of others that are keeping me on my toes. Such as GCB. Sweet Baby Jesus that show makes me laugh (get it...? the Jesus reference?). I also am glad that Hart of Dixie is back from it's little break. Same with The Secret Circle. Great shows to watch online while working out.

That's all. I love way more things, but a) I can't think of them off the top of my head, and b) I have to get ready for work. 

Weekend Wrapup

I know I haven't exactly been writing a lot lately. Sorry.

Anyways, as I posted about, Friday was Chad and I's 7 year anniversary. Holy cow.

I had a lot of people talking to me about the "7 Year Itch". I assure you, there is no itching going on in these parts, haha.

Anyways, so Friday night Chad and I went to dinner at Red Robin (yummmm!). My pick. Usually we go to The Keg and spend lots of money on good steak. But since I've been back on Weight Watchers and eating well, I was REALLY craving me some steak fries. I had the teriyaki chicken sandwich (bomb.com). In case you were wondering. After dinner, we went to Dustin's house to play with Mason and chat and whatnot. Good times.

Saturday morning (earrrrlllly morning... I'm talking 4 am) I woke up and realized that I was sick. DAMN. So I ended up getting up around 7:30, doing a few things, then climbing back in bed right when Chad was finally getting up (around 9:30). I mouth-breathed myself to sleep and woke up at almost noon. I spent the day trying to nurse myself back to health and ignoring the fact that it was GORGEOUS outside. Then we went to a friends birthday party. 

The end.

Today, I got up feeling much better and decided to workout. Even though I'm not 100% back to health from my little cold, it felt good to get some exercise in, since yesterday I was useless. Then I went to the farm to try to check on my horse. Who laughed at me from the lower field because she knew I couldn't get out there without hip waders on. Bitch. Anyways, after that adventure it was back home to walk Buck, take a nap, and get ready for bell choir rehearsal. 

That's it kids, that's all I got.

Happy Anniversary!

Well kids, Chad and I have made it 7 years together. 7 good years.

So today I want to take a minute to just talk about how much I love him (since a lot of my blog posts don't really touch on that... they more so talk about his strange obsessions with Jet Skis, bears, and other such manly things).

Anyways... let the fun begin:

He always let me throw Halloween parties at his house (before we moved in with my mom... of course). And he dresses up, even though he claims to hate it.

He buys me beverages without me having to ask (sometimes).

He loves my dog just as much as I do. He gives him massages after we go for a long walk or bike ride (not sure why I don't get massages after these long walks and bike rides, but whatever...)

He occasionally tries to include me in his man activities. While I sometimes don't appreciate it (since I'd rather he be doing what I want to do) I do know that I am lucky to have a guy who wants me to love the things he loves.

He comes on trips with me, even though he doesn't think he will have fun.

There are a million other things I have to say about him, but there is no way I could get them all down on this blog.

So with that, I say 7th anniversary to the guy I fell in love with when I was merely 18 years old...

Um, side note: notice how Budweiser is represented in all but one of these pictures? I think it's safe to say that he loves Budweiser as much as he loves me...

Afternoon Hike

It was another beautiful day here and after work today, Chad and I took advantage of it by going on a little hike with some of our best friends. 

We met up with Dustin, Hayley and little Mason and went up to some of the old logging roads where Chad and Dustin hunt during the fall and winter. 

It was a good workout, especially going up, but the view at the top was AMAZING.

Mason, even though he's not even 3 yet, was SUCH  a trooper. Dustin and Hayley brought their little backpack deal to carry him, but he threw a serious fit when they tried to put him in it (Hayley had to carry him for about 10 minutes, which was an amazing workout for her, haha). Anyways, by the time we reached the top, he was ready for a little rest with his mama.

After the hike back down, we met up for some mexican food to replenish our bodies (since God knows Chad lost a lot of his gas on that hike... he clearly needed to stock back up with refried beans).

Overall, it was a great end for a Monday. I'm loving that the weather has been so nice all weekend and today, and I really REALLY hope it sticks around for a while. It's definitely boosting my mood.

The Great Depression

I'm gonna touch on something semi serious right now: Depression.

I know that there are a LOT of people out there that have suffered from depression. And I don't mean just the "wow, I stubbed my toe and ruined my pedicure" depression. I mean that depression that completely clouds your mind and practically paralyzes you.

I, my friends, am one of those people. I don't talk about it a ton on here because I have more interesting things to tell people (at least I think I do... you guys probably disagree, haha). But this past week and a half or so has been really bad for me. Bad enough that I decided the other day that i better start taking my medication again.

Yes, I know, typically a prescription such as this is intended to be taken on a regular basis for best results. But a) I don't like to rely on it, and b) I forget to take it anyways. So I only take it when I feel those really dark feelings taking over.

Lately I've been really upset about EVERYTHING. I've been upset about my weight, my relationships, my job, and my life in general. Nothing triggers it. There's nothing wrong with these things (aside from my weight, which is a legit issue), but my brain just can't wrap itself around the good. I've been really down in the dumps, and have been isolating myself a lot. I don't feel like hanging out with my friends. I don't feel like going places. I don't feel particularly like talking to people. Which in turn makes me feel upset about my relationship with Chad. Because he DOES like doing things. He likes to get out of the house and go talk to Dustin and his other friends about things. He likes to go drink socially. So when I don't feel like it because I am just being withdrawn, he still goes. I know it's not his fault, but in my mind I just want to scream "why don't you want to help me with this? why can't you stay home and be unhappy with me???" 

Ugh, what is wrong with me?! The worst part is that I see and hear it happening, but I can't seem to do anything about it. I can't just flip the switch that says "you know you'll feel better if you go out and have a couple laughs with your friends" or "it would really help if you went to the gym". Even though I KNOW those things would help, I can't do it. The depression just kind of snuffs out any desire or self discipline that makes me go out and do things.

Anyways, I wanted to get that off my chest because it's been holding me down like a ton of bricks and I am hoping that it will make me snap the eff out of it.

Easter Business

Hey kids! I hope everybody has had a great Easter! I know mine has been pretty good.

Let me show you:

I got up and went to the Easter church service this morning. Every year we have this wooden cross with this plastic mesh stuff stapled around it. When you come in to sit down, you get a flower, and during the service there is a time when everybody goes up and puts their flower in the mesh. It shows that the cross is no longer a place of pain an suffering, but a symbol of happiness and love (sorry for the religious moment, but I think it's a really great visual and way to look at it. It always makes for an amazing picture too).

After church, I headed over to Dustin's house where Chad was. Dustin's family was there for Easter breakfast, and his mom was nice enough to include Chad and I. After a while, it was time to go hide the eggs for the three little kids (actually it was more like two little kids and one kind of big kid). This is Mason opening his eggs. He was most excited about the candy, and the little plastic animals. He kept saying "Sharks!" or "more eggs!!!" It was awesome.

Last but not least was dinner with Chad's family at the farm. I snuck out after dinner to be in the sun and was able to snap some pictures of the horses. The paint is my horse Princess (aka Lad's Indian Princess, if you wanna get technical) and the other handsome guy is Jet (aka Idaho's Little Jet). They love each other.

Anyways, that's pretty much sums up my day. Now I have to spend some time doing chores, such as laundry, so I don't look like I just crawled out from under an overpass when I show up at work tomorrow. 

I hope everybody else has had a beautiful weekend and a relaxing easter!

Oh, PS: I clearly downloaded Instagram (thank God it's available for Android now!). My username is carly_ann_13.