Friday, December 31, 2010

Decade Ends

plumeriaImage by ruurmo via FlickrI'm looking back at 2010 and I don't quite know whether to tell it to #suckit or to feel some nostalgia. It was both the best year of my life, and one of the shittier ones.

The Good: I was hired at the job of my dreams doing health education.
The Bad: Contract finances ran out and I was laid off in June.
The Ugly: I was laid off from a second job in November.
The Resolution: Find a job I excel at.

The Good: I made a lot of new friends.
The Bad: I didn't get to go to BlogHer10 and meet them in person.
The Ugly: I lost a close friend due to drama.
The Resolution: Continuing working to avoid the drama and remember what a mutually respectful relationship is.

The Good: I moved in with A in October.
The Bad: I was laid off in November (hrm, think this has been a bad thing for me?)
The Ugly: Being together 24/7 with the man has put a strain on our relationship.
The Resolution: Find a job and continue having a social life to keep us flowing more smoothly.

The Good: I finally have health insurance, even while unemployed.
The Bad: I had to go to the ER once this year.
The Ugly: Healthcare coverage is fucking expensive.
The Resolution: Find a job I excel at that has health insurance coverage.

The Good: I continued to learn more and more about who I am and what I want from life.
The Bad: Sometimes the things I learned about myself weren't as positive as I could hope for.
The Ugly: Those things that weren't as positive have been heavy on my heart.
The Resolution: Start one-on-one counseling ASAP, couple's counseling follows shortly thereafter.

The Good: Toward the end of the year, my chronic pain seemed to have slacked a bit.
The Bad: The days of pain that I *do* still have feel worse than they did before.
The Ugly: I am still undiagnosed.
The Resolution: Continue treating my body well and researching what can be done to help.

The Good: I lost weight!
The Bad: I didn't lose much weight.
The Ugly: Me in a swimsuit.
The Resolution: A membership to The Y was a Christmas gift from A and I plan on using it daily.

Ultimately it was a good year. I grew, I fell more in love with A and we've progressed further into our relationship (even when things were hard). I got to see my family and friends in Oregon more than once during the year, I made new Bay Area friends who have become bastions of support in my life. I have been loved, supported, hugged and kissed more this year than ever before. I have smiled, laughed, guffawed, grinned and danced with joy more in 2010 than any year previous.

2011 promises to bring a Golden Birthday, trips back to the Pacific Northwest, a new place of employment, the longest bike ride I've ever taken (Cycle for Sight) and a hotter Inoculatted - she'll be happier, more fulfilled and feel better about herself a year from now. Just you watch.

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Tuesday, December 14, 2010

She won't let you fly, but she might let you sing

Day 09 - A picture of the person who has gotten you through the most 

Mom.
Decorating a Christmas tree in Alaska in 1986.


She has turned into my biggest rock, willing to support me in anything I choose to do.


I love her.

Monday, December 13, 2010

Ai yi yi yi!

Day 08 - A picture that makes you laugh
 


A photograph taken of my friend @Ewokmama during my first visit to San Francisco ... we had a margarita party ... and there was a sombrero involved. How does that not make someone laugh?

Saturday, December 11, 2010

Hope over Fear

Day 06 - A picture of a person you'd love to trade places with for a day



Oh how amazing it would be ... a public health advocate, the First Lady, a beautiful woman. AWESOME.

Friday, December 10, 2010

Memory - all alone in the moonlight

Day 05 - A picture of your favorite memory


I like that so many of my positive memories involve the same people in my life. I think that's pretty awesome.

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Because the night belongs to lovers

Day 04 - A picture of your favorite night 



I met the love of my life on August 6, 2009. This is that night.

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

You gotta have friends

Day 02 - A picture of you and the person you have been closest with the longest 


Internets, meet @AdmiralBOH. We've known one another for 16 years now. We have the kind of relationship where we pick up after not seeing one another (we haven't lived in the same town since we were 15) and we haven't missed a beat. 


I can bring TheAdmiral anything without fear she'll think less of me. She, too, knows that she can bring me anything and I will love her just the same. That's an awesome relationship to have.

Monday, December 6, 2010

Who are you? Who who? Who who?

Day 01 - A picture of yourself with ten facts 

1. I'm the girl in that picture.
2. I drink a lot of tea.
3. I get paid to photograph weddings.
4. I have two Bachelor's degrees.
5. I am currently unemployed.
6. This is week 3 of unemployment and I have read 6 books thus far.
7. I like the word forthcoming.
8. My favorite color is peacock-blue.
9. I watch a lot of reality TV.
10. "Baby, for a pretty girl, you make a lot of ugly faces," is a regular statement at my house. (I'm okay with that ... it's true.)

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Liquid Silk from Eden Fantasys

Sex toys - EdenFantasys adult toys storeFor a couple of years now, I've been involved with a review program at Eden Fantasys, and I've always been very pleased with the process. I've blogged a few times before about the sex toys and products they've generously supplied me with, and I have another to share with you.

This time around, I was lucky enough to be able to sample the Liquid Silk. The many lubricants offered on the Eden Fantasys website were a little overwhelming at first, but upon reading the 300+ reviews, seeing the super-high safety rating, and knowing that all of my customer service experiences with Eden Fantasys has been positive (in case I hated it, yanno), I tried something new.

Unscented, clean feeling, and without residue, Liquid Silk added even more comfort and pleasure to my already steady sex life. With the easy "pump-action" topper, using this lube didn't take away from the intimacy or the spontaneity of sex. Clean-up was unneeded, and I noticed that on the parts of my body the lubricant soaked in were supremely soft.

I would recommend both Liquid Silk and getting any of your favorite lubricants from Eden Fantasys. Their customer service is quick, motivated to please and easy to deal with. Their products are high quality, rated for safety and stand the test of time.

(Disclaimer: I provided this review in return for a free product. Eden Fantasys allows me to share my honest opinion openly and in no way influenced how I truly feel about this product. Mom, this blog post is fake, I don't have sex. I am pure and innocent.)

Happy Holidays, you have no job

I lost my job last week. I'm coming to terms with the fact that it's ultimately not my fault, and that I was miserable at the place anyway, but after a vacation to Portland (I will never move back), I am coming back to the "real' world and remembering that I don't have a job. I also used half my income from my project management job to pay rent & living costs and the other half to pay down debt. I have some small debts left, but I have hardly any savings.

*sigh*

I have a $30/week writing offer, which I will accept, but other than that, I'm applying to jobs all over (ALL OVER) and trying not to let the money-based stress overtake me. I'm taking my medications, trying to keep my depression at bay, but I'm worried. I have no appetite, I only want to sleep, I feel like losing myself in reality TV, and I'm striving not to pull away from everyone and everything. A and I have talked about rejoining a gym together (thank you to The Biggest Loser, perhaps?) and have a few creative outlets I can use to help.

*sigh*

Money is tight for me. A knows it and is going to be supportive, I have faith in that. However, I don't like to depend on someone for help in just keeping my head above water. So I apply. My goal is another 100 jobs before the weekend ... which will make almost 250 jobs in the past two weeks. 250 jobs and I've not received a single call back from them.

*sigh*

I need my friends right now.
I need my friends to remind me that it will get better.
I need my friends to support me as I pull away and get quiet.
I need my friends to share more love with me now than ever before.
I need my friends right now.

Friday, November 19, 2010

Likes & Dislikes

Thanks to MrsHeatherMe and Ewokmama, I feel the need to share some things I really like with ya'll. But first? I'm gonna share some things I really don't like.

Dislikes

  • stomachaches (heartburn, indigestion, ugh ugh ugh)
  • not being able to sleep in, yet wanting a nap two hours after I get up
  • headaches
  • not being allowed to have milk products regularly
  • my job (and the subsequent need to apply elsewhere)


Likes

  • A ... he's keeping me sane right now
  • Brussels sprouts (see yesterday's dinner)
  • strong coffee (yes, I'm back on the coffee)
  • reality TV
  • feeling motivated to go to yoga classes and get back to the gym
  • having California plates
  • pumpkin
  • the excitement of traveling back to Oregon for the Thanksgiving holiday
  • straight teeth
  • a good burp

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Roasted Brussels Sprouts & Fennel

Last year about this time, I learned that I love Brussels sprouts, and I've had them at least a dozen times since them. (I love vegetables in general, but these are damned tasty things!) I've only eaten Brussels sprouts that someone else has made me, though, so tonight I braved my own Brussels sprouts recipe. It turned out so very tasty I knew that I had to share it with you.

We got three bulbs of fresh, organic fennel in our produce box last week and I  had heard from a coworker that fennel it was an amazing edition to Brussels sprouts. I had a goal in mind. I bought a bag of Trader Joe's Brussels sprouts that were "microwavable in 3 minutes" but opted not to follow that path. Instead, this is what I did.

Preheat the oven to 450*F. 

1. Wash the sprouts. Talk lovingly to them.
2. Put sprouts into a bowl, and drizzle with olive oil.
3. Sprinkle generously with sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper.
4. Shake bowl to cover all sprouts with seasoning.
5. Put sprouts into baking pan (or cookie sheet) and roast in oven for 8 minutes.
6. While sprouts are roasting, cut up fennel bulbs, rinse, and talk lovingly to them.
7. Put fennel into a bowl, and drizzle with olive oil.
8. Sprinkle generously with sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper.
9. Shake bowl to cover all bulbs with seasoning.
10. Remove sprouts from oven, add bulbs to the mix, put back into the oven for 10 to 12 minutes.
11. Take pan out, put sprouts on plate, insert sprouts into mouth and let your belly be happy.

Two things I will change for the next recipe, though, include buying absolutely fresh Brussels sprouts (just because I can) and cutting them in half before roasting them so that there is more seasoning on them.

Tomorrow I try my hand at Caldo Gallego as well as old-fashioned baked apples. If the recipes turn out well, I'll share those, too!

Monday, November 8, 2010

Inoculatte-ing You

I've moved. Again. If this annoys you, I'm sorry. (Well, I'm not really, but I'm saying it hyped up on caffeine knowing that I'm doing the right thing for myself.) I go through phases like this, and I'm pretty sure it's how I lose people in my life. I'm good at losing people, things up, moving things around, backing off and pushing forward, just to give myself some solace. It's probably not the most healthy way of doing things, but sometimes you just need a little kick-start to recharge yourself and move ahead.

It's not that I'm ashamed of who I am, at all, but it's that sometimes a fresh start is the best way to make a big change and it's time to realign, rework and renew who I used to be, who I want to be, who I am.

Welcome to Inoculatted. [ih-nok-yuh-lah-teyd] Inoculatte is defined (by the oh-so-lovely Urban Dictionary) as the process of taking "coffee intravenously" (when you are running late). I rarely run late, but I love the idea of being inoculatted and OMG coffee coffee coffee. I metabolize coffee slowly (thank you genetic testing) and so any sort of coffee in the morning keeps me going all day long. Coffee in the afternoon, well, that's probably part of the reason I take a sleeping pill at night.

To me, being inoculatted can also happen when there isn't any caffeine in my system. Feeling refreshed, energized and ready to go are things I constantly strive for, but oftentimes fail to reach. I am rethinking my life choices at this point in time to create a continually (but not caffeine-based) inocullated state. I hope you'll pour yourself a cup and skip beside me.