Day 24 - A travel story

A travel story.

I will keep this brief because no one likes a super long, boring blog post ;)

Mr. B booked a 7 night Mediterranean cruise for us at the end of November 2008. Mr. B's parents decided to go along as well. The cruise left from Barcelona, Spain and stopped in:

1. Villefranche (Nice), France
2. Livorno (Florence/Pisa), Italy
3. Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy
4. Naples, Italy
5. Sicily, Italy 

We flew into Paris first, then flew down to Barcelona. We arrived at the hotel in Barcelona to discover my passport was gone. I panicked, called the airlines to see if I left it on the plane and then proceeded to lose it. The hotel helped me call the Embassy. Thank goodness Spain has a US Embassy in Barcelona! And they stayed open just for me to come in! The ship was departing the next day (a Saturday) so I am very lucky with the timing of it all.

The first stop was France. It was only a half day at port, so by the time we figured out the train, it would have been too late to go anywhere and get back in time. Next stop was to see Florence and Pisa. We decided to do our own "tour" instead of purchasing one from the cruise line. We joined up with some other people on our ship and had the taxi drop us off in Florence and Pisa. It was beautiful. We did the same in Rome. Rome was amazing. In Naples, Mr. B and I took a train to Pompeii. I did a report in school on Mt Vesuvius & Pompeii, so I was especially interested in visiting the site. It was my favorite part of the entire trip!!! Last stop was Sicily. Mr. B is half Italian (and half Vietnamese), and his Italian side is 100% Sicilian. It was fun to explore his "roots."

All throughout this trip, I was secretly hoping that Mr. B would propose. All of my family and friends were expecting it too. As each day ended without a proposal, my heart sank. Heck, we had been dating for the most part of nine years! But I didn't say anything.

We flew back up to Paris. Our flight left the next day, so my Mom had booked us a hotel at the Charles de Gaulle Hilton. We went up to our room, with plans to eat dinner and take the train to see the Eiffel Tower. Right before we are about to leave, I lose my patience. I should have just waited a while longer because Mr. B says "well, if you would have just waited until we got to the Eiffel Tower..." Oops. I almost didn't believe him, so he told me to look in his camera bag. There it was, the ring I always wanted. He asked me to marry him and I said "of course!" We had dinner at the hotel and took the train to the Eiffel Tower. It was around 20 degrees. But I didn't care. I was a happy girl :)

Nutrisystem Update!

I can't believe this, but I have lost 5 lbs!!!!! I haven't lost weight in years. This has been a weird week. I realize now that I was addicted to food, like some people are addicted to smoking or drugs.  I constantly thought about food and my life revolved around my meals. The biggest problem was that I comforted myself with food. Nutrisystem changed everything. I know, so dramatic. But honestly, I am serious. This was the best decision I have ever made for my health! And the food is good too, especially with their new fresh-frozen items.

It has been five days so far and both of us are feeling great. Nutrisystem is all about small portions and balancing what you eat. We felt starving all day long the first three days. I would eat lunch and literally feel hungry 10 minutes later. It was hard, but at some point my will power kicked in and I did it. I won't lie; I contemplated giving up several times. Then I saw changes on the scale and realized how motivating that is. There is no turning back for us! I also walked uphill at a fast pace on the treadmill on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, and this weekend we are going on a bike ride. It feels so great to know we are losing weight, improving our health and will soon see a physical difference.

25 lbs to go :)

Okay, enough about me.... Is anyone else trying to lose weight? What are you doing? How is it going? Share with me!

"Success isn't a result of spontaneous combustion.  You must set yourself on fire." Arnold H. Glasow

xoxo,

Mrs. B

Day 23 - A video

A video.

This is my Grandpa Ruch hosting the Shoe Game at our wedding <3

 

A Blogger Award!

I won an award! I never win awards! YAY!

Thank you Ashley, so much :) I am always wishing you the very best <3

Now that I have been given this award, there are some rules that I am to follow.

1. Thank and link back to the person who awarded you this award.

2. Share 7 things about yourself.

3. Award 15 recently discovered great bloggers.

4. Contact these bloggers and tell them about the award!

So, a few (very random) things about me:

1.  I am tall. Nearly 5'10, to be exact.
2. Family is extremely important to me. I cherish every moment I spend with them.
3. My favorite color is purple.
4. I am a food addict and currently in "recovery" aka Nutrisystem ;)
5. I hate pictures of myself. I am not photogenic at all.
6. I am an organization freak.
7. I love to read, proofread, and edit.

 And now for my awardees:

1. The Coach's Wife
2.  Lindsey
3. HoulaMom
4. AmandaMqn
5. Megan
6. rxy5309
7. Brooke

Crazy People

I know there are lots of crazies out there, but dang. This week at work has really emphasized this fact. I thought I would share them with you :)

Let's start with Crazy Dude #1. We will call him M. M called in to our receptionist last Friday asking to speak to our hiring manager because he was looking for a job. Our receptionist explained that she was in a meeting, but that he could leave a message and send in his resume. He then proceeded to ask the receptionist if that was the hiring manager in the background, too busy laughing to take his call. Wha? Apparently someone at our office was laughing in the background and he assumed they were laughing at him on the phone! First signs of crazy = paranoia. Check! He also brought up this "laughing" on the hiring manager's voice mail. We aren't hiring right now and he sounded like a nut, so she promptly deleted that voice mail LOL.

Fast forward to this Monday. A gentlemen comes into our office, carrying a resume, and asks to speak to our hiring manager. Again, she is in a meeting. For realsies, not just to hide from these kind of people. He asks if there is someone else he can talk to and she says no, so he hands her his resume. You guessed it. M again. And as he walked out, he slams his fist into the wall and slams the door behind him. Now our poor receptionist is scared. I don't blame her. He leaves and she explains to me all about the phone call, his anger problems, etc. Now I am getting worried, especially with all the news about people flying off the handle.

Not one hour later, M walks up our stairs AGAIN!!!! We were all in our weekly meeting with shocked looks on our faces. At this point, everyone at our company knows what is going on. He hands the receptionist his resume AGAIN (crazy, anyone?) and then leaves. This time I watch and see that he drives away in a white Bronco. What's with white Bronco's LOL?! Our receptionist leaves for the day, escorted by two men to her car.

I know you are on the edge of your seat now. What happens next?! HE DRIVES INTO OUR COMPLEX AGAIN!!!!!!!!!! He goes around the round-a-bout and speeds away. At this point, we are frantically looking him and his previous employers up online. Does he have a Facebook? Is he on a most-wanted list? Is this psycho going to come back and kill us all? We were all very scared. I promised myself I would call the police the next day if I saw him again. With the shootings in the news lately, I wasn't taking any chances! He didn't show up, and we had someone call him & explain that we were not hiring and to please stop showing up at our office.

Then today, Crazy Dude #2. He is a temp we brought in to help in a department of ours that calls people all day long. Apparently he decided to make this dull work more exciting by creating a new name & voice every time he called another company. What the eff?! He also talked to himself in between each call and was making strange animal noises. We called the agency and had him sent home at lunch. Next thing you know, we have people calling in asking for random names of people who have never worked at our company. ::sigh::

Never a boring day at our office!

xoxo,
Mrs. B

Day 22 - A favorite joke

A favorite joke.

I don't really have any favorite jokes, so I decided to post two funny videos instead. Enjoy!

Watch this one first...

And the rebuttal :)

Day 21 - A favorite recipe

A favorite recipe.

My Grandma's Melt in Your Mouth Chicken

6 boneless skinless chicken thighs (or breasts)
1/2 package Buddig beef lunch meat or Leo's Spicy Chipped Beef
1 can cream of mushroom soup
3 tbsp sour cream
4 slices bacon (optional)

Cut beef into small pieces and spread in bottom of a lightly greased deep casserole dish. Place the chicken on the beef. Combine soup and sour cream, and completely cover all chicken. Put bacon on top.

Bake at 300 degrees for 3 hours. Serve over rice. Enjoy!

Day 20 - A hobby of mine

A hobby of mine.

Horseback riding is my main hobby. I have blogged about it before, so I will keep this short and sweet :) I have been riding since I could walk! There is nothing that makes me happier. I hope to one day have a horse again and my dream job would be to have my own horseback riding vacation B&B. Riding is also a bond I share with my Mom and that means a lot to me. I hope to share this passion with my children some day.

My Blake.

My pee stick stuck it's tongue out at me....

...and said "yeah right lady! you are not pregnant. what else would you think?!" SIGH.

My hope just flew far, far away. I cried all morning. I tilted that damn test over and over again, begging a line to show up. But there was nothing. Aunt Flow should be here by Thursday. I am planning to call the doctor this week since I haven't been in more than a year and I want to discuss our next steps if cycle 10 is another Big Fat Negative. I don't know what else to say, except this sucks.

"Tears are the safety valve of the heart when too much pressure is laid on it." Albert Smith

xoxo,
a sad & frustrated Mrs. B

Day 19 - A fun memory

A fun memory.

My trip to France with my Mom was one of the most fun memories I have. We spent one week driving and one week on horseback in the southern parts of France. We stayed at adorable B&B's and beautiful chateau's. My Mom drove and I navigated with an old fashioned map! We laughed, we ate delicious food and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. And then for a week, we rode our horses through the most beautiful places I have ever seen. It was a dream trip. Everything was perfect. I think about our trip every now and then, and I almost cry at the thought that it is over. I thought I would share a few photos too...

Photos from our first week, driving around:

One of our hotels.

A Roman aqueduct.

My momma.

Driving along the cliffs

We went to Roquefort, France where they make Roquefort cheese. Yum.

The Millau Viaduct, the tallest bridge in the world!

Horseback riding photos:

Riding past beautiful chateaus.

Me on my horse.

Our guides' sweet horse.

My horse, peeking at me.

The Group. It was just us four for the week :)

Day 18 - A baby photo

A baby photo.

Grandpa R and me. I still have those big ears too hehehe.

I kinda cheated with this photo. It's a cell phone picture of a picture :/ It's all that I have here at our house. My parents have all of my baby photos. My Grandma let me have this photo after Grandpa R passed away unexpectedly in June. It's so hard to look at this photo, but I keep it on our fireplace. I miss him so much, it hurts.

Tomorrow is the day!

Our freezer.

Tomorrow is officially day one of Nutrisystem for Mr. B and I. I am so excited! Mr. B is much less excited than I am, but he knows this is good for both of us and he told me he is ready. I put together all of our fruits, veggies and proteins that supplement our pre-packaged meals, so we are ready to go in the morning. We keep a log for each day, including our weight and exercise. Since we have both recovered from being sick, we will begin exercising again tomorrow too. I also cleared our frig of foods we cannot eat. We are ready :)

My motto: "I am eating to live, not living to eat."

xoxo,
Mrs. B

Day 17 - A photo of my family

A photo of my family.

I picked photos from some of my favorite memories with each family member :)

 My Mom and I in France

My Dad and I dancing at our wedding

My sister and I at our wedding

The latest introduction EVER.

So I just went back to the beginning of my blog and realized that I never introduced myself or Mr. B or our furkids. I just jumped right into posting. How embarrassing. I don't know that anyone cares at this point, but I guess I will make a very late introduction post now...

I am Mrs. B. I turned 27 in June. Mr. B turned 29 in October. We met in 1999 in high school. He was a senior, I was a junior. We dated off & on (mostly on) until November 29, 2008 when Mr. B proposed in Paris. We were married at my Grandparent's ranch on April 10, 2010 and started trying to get pregnant on our honeymoon at the end of April. We are on our 9th cycle now.

We have one Mastiff named Apollo, who I talked about here. We love him so much. We call him Man Bear Dog. South Park, anyone?!

BG (Baby Girl) is almost 8 years old now. She was our first cat together. She is a total sweetheart who always pesters our guests for love. She loves to talk to us. We always say "beeeeeg" and she meows back, we say "beeeeg" again and she meows back again. That can go on as long as you want it to :)

Norman, or Normie as we like to call him, is our lazy tabby/Bengal mix. He loves to lay in his cat tree, snore loudly and rub all over my legs when I get home from work. He will be 4 yrs old in May. My, how time flies!

And last, but certainly not least.... TOM (The Old Man) He is a 75 yr old Desert Tortoise. He is an endangered species. Once a Desert Tortoise is picked up and brought to rescue, they cannot be released back into the wild. They can be "adopted" to families with the proper set-up though. He came to live with us a few years ago and we adore him. He has the funniest personality. He is hibernating right now, but this is a photo of him from the summer.

There you go! An introduction to our little family :)

xoxo,
Mrs. B

Day 16 - A favorite food

A favorite food.

If you can't tell from my other posts, I love food. I love it way too much! I am trying to cherish everything I am eating lately because our Nutrisystem is on the way. I literally just got the email with my tracking number for the ready-to-eat items and a note that the fresh-frozen items will be here Friday. It's going to be so hard eating that food every day. Anyways, back to the challenge. I have to go with sushi. Nothing makes me happier than good sushi. Hopefully the Nutrisystem plan will allow me to eat some sushi still :)

My specific favorites:

• Salmon
• Albacore
• Tuna
• Philadelphia cut or hand roll
• Red Eye Roll (crab & cucumber wrapped in tuna in a sweet soy sauce mixture. no rice)
• Scallop roll
• Baked lobster roll
• Cucumber roll (tuna, salmon, avocado, etc wrapped with cucumber. no rice)

 Mmmmmm, salmon with lots of wasabi. Delish :)

Day 15 - My celebrity crush

My celebrity crush.

James Franco.

I had to include the last one because his sense of humor makes him even more attractive. I love a man who can make me laugh and he did a great job of that in Pineapple Express. Swoon.

Hello Nutrisystem, welcome to my life!

This weight thing is getting ridiculous. I am up to 185 lbs. One hundred eighty five. I never would have imagined being that weight. Ever. I can't see most of my feet when I look down over my belly. I could pass for 5 months pregnant right now. That is not cool. I know I have talked about my weight before and all my "plans" that have obviously gone down the drain. But now I am serious. This is my life we are talking about. If I continue on this path, I am going to have serious medical problems. It's not good for me, not good for our family and most certainly not good for my fertility.

I think Mr. B's doctor appointment today sent us both over the edge. He has been coughing up a lung and had a fever, so I sent him to the doctor. They gave him antibiotics for bronchitis, but they also told him he has high blood pressure and will "die at 40 if he doesn't eat better & start exercising." Geez. I wonder what my doctor would say to me right now?! :(

So tonight we are ordering Nutrisystem. My sister lost 50 lbs on it and is down another 15 lbs on her own. My Mom lost 40 lbs on it. I know it works. It's not easy, but it works if you follow it. It teaches us about portion control and that food is for nutrition, plain and simple. This will be very difficult, but we need it. Cheers to our healthy road ahead!

"About the only time losing is more fun than winning is when you're fighting temptation." Tom Wilson

xoxo,
Mrs. B

Day 14 - An old photo

An old photo.

These are my great-grandparents on my Mom's side. They are my late Grandpa's parents.

Day 13 - Something I want to buy

Something I want to buy.

A new watch. This Michael Kors one is pretty. Just need to save my pennies.

Day 12 - Something I bought recently

Something I bought recently.

 2005 Infiniti FX35

I love this car! And shortly after Mr. B bought a G37. We are an Infiniti family :)

Day 11 - A photo of me taken recently

A photo of me taken recently.

 Mr. B and I last week at CES in Las Vegas

Day 10 - A photo of me taken over 10 years ago

A photo of me taken over 10 years ago.

That's me on the far left, about 40 lbs lighter LOL. 

All of my old photos are on my parent's computer, so this is one of the few I could find. My BFF will love this one :) I am hoping this is in fact 10 years ago because I can't remember. But close enough. I was visiting her up in Sacramento and we went out to celebrate a birthday.

Day 9 - Pet peeves

Pet peeves.

Oh boy, I have lots of these :) I often think to myself that I am not a very tolerant person. I can find so many things that bother me. But I do my best to put up with as much as I can and surround myself with people who don't drive me batty!

• Bad drivers. You know... the ones who don't ever use their signals, who almost run over pedestrians in the crosswalk, who wait until the last minute to cut everyone off to get off at their exit. Those ones. They make me crazy. I turn up my music and start singing before I start yelling obscenities at them.
• Leashes on kids. I put a leash on my dog. Enough said.
• Rude people. I hold doors open when someone is behind me, I pick a pen up if someone drops it near me, I smile at people who make eye contact with me and I let drivers in when they are trying to merge (as long as they signal ;) ) Don't be a jerk.
• Arrogant men dicks. I cannot stand cocky guys. The ones who think they are hot sh!t. You are not better than everyone, you are just a douche bag.

"Manners are a sensitive awareness of the feelings of others.  If you have that awareness, you have good manners, no matter which fork you use." Emily Post

Day 8 - Something I crave

Something I crave.

 Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

Or anything chocolate + peanut butter, really. I always crave that combination!

Unrelated to my blog challenge, but related to something I talk about a lot... I am still waiting to ovulate this cycle. Hopefully soon. Mr. B has been really sick, so his England/Netherlands trip for work was cancelled. Maybe we can make a baby instead? Who knows. My stress + my pessimistic mindset = probably not.

xoxo,

Mrs. B

Day 7 - A favorite photo

A favorite photo.

Mr. B holding Apollo as a baby. 

We were remodeling our house every night after work and he kept us company :)

Day 6 - A fun fact about me

A fun fact about me.

I had a very hard time coming up with this one. I could think of several facts about me, but they weren't all fun. I settled on one: I love to travel. I have seen the Western part of the United States on road trips with my family growing up and some of the East Coast. Then I traveled abroad for the first time with family. We went to London, stayed on a canal boat and saw the total solar eclipse. Including that trip, I have been to the following places outside the United States:

• England
• France - three times. I love France :)
• Germany
• Ireland
• Northern Ireland
• Italy
• Spain
• St Thomas
• St Maarten
• The Bahamas
• Colombia
• Aruba
• Panama
• Costa Rica
• Jamaica
• Mexico

Future Travel Plans:

• Safari on Horseback in Africa
• China, to see the Great Wall
• The Amazon river and jungle in Peru
• Australia and New Zealand
• Canada

I am determined to visit every continent before I die!

"The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page." St. Augustine

What happens in Vegas, hopefully won't stay there!

Mr. B and I are off to Las Vegas tonight. Yay for vacations! We are flying out and driving back with the in-laws. CES is the main reason we are going, but we also have some delicious dinner spots picked out. Like this place. Brazilian BBQ is a favorite of mine and the Mr.'s.

My other plans for this weekend? Hopefully, ovulating. I find myself trying to hurry it up because Mr. B is out of town this month again for work. Come on body, pleeaaassseee ovulate before Jan. 11th! Maybe we can make a Vegas baby :)

  

"For me, Vegas is a vacation from being overinhibited, in the highly overinhabited yet uninhabitable city of complete uninhibition." Tammy Bloemzaken

xoxo,

Mrs. B

Day 5 - A favorite quote

A favorite quote.

  

"Never be bullied into silence.  Never allow yourself to be made a victim.  Accept no one's definition of your life; define yourself." Harvey Fierstein

Good thoughts for baby Scarlett

I follow a blog called Butterflies about a sweet baby girl with a very rare brain tumor. Scarlett is having surgery today. Please keep her in your thoughts.

"Beautiful and graceful, varied and enchanting, small but approachable, butterflies lead you to the sunny side of life.  And everyone deserves a little sunshine." Jeffrey Glassberg

  

xoxo,

Mrs. B

Day 4 - A favorite book

A favorite book.

Harlan Coben re-released Play Dead, his first book. I read it on our cruise in November. It was fantastic! His books always keep me on the edge of my seat, dying to read more. And this one did the same. If you like murder mystery type books, you will love Harlan Coben.

p.s. I went running last night! Woot!

Running = Complete Fail

Wow. I am pathetic. It's 4 days into the year and I haven't run anywhere. We just keep finding reasons not to. Mr. B and I have plans to run tonight right when we get home. It gets dark early, so we have to go quick. I have so much motivation and plans in my head, yet I cannot get that motivation in my feet once I arrive home! Maybe I should be running in the morning?!

We leave for Las Vegas Thursday night, so we have two days to run, a gym at our hotel, and then we can continue running when we get back on Sunday. Do you think we can do it? Odds are against us, but I declare this a challenge against myself.

I hope know the rest of you out there are doing a better job with your 2011 goals than I am :)

"I have to exercise in the morning before my brain figures out what I'm doing." Marsha Doble

xoxo,

Mrs. B

Day 3 - A favorite TV show

A favorite TV show.

Mr. B and I love It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. We even introduced it to my parents and they love it now too. I think you have to enjoy a certain kind of crazy to appreciate this show to it's fullest! The cast is hilarious and outrageous, just how we like our comedy :) And seeing Danny DeVito in skinny jeans?! What more could you ask for!

Day 2 - A favorite movie

A favorite movie.

I have so many favorite movies, so I decided to pick one of my recent favorites. Mr. B, some friends and I saw The Fighter over the holidays. I really enjoyed it. Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, and Amy Adams did an amazing job. At the end of the movie they show the two people that Wahlberg & Bale played, and you can tell they studied them well ;)

Day 1 - A favorite song

A favorite song.

"Blinding" by Florence and The Machine. I love Florence and The Machine more than anything, and this song is my current favorite. I looooove music, so it's hard to pick just one. But this one brings out so many emotions when I listen to it. Enjoy :)

30 Day Blog Challenge

This sounded fun - and slightly narcissistic LOL - but I decided to do it. And what better time to start this challenge than the new year. You just might learn something new about me :)

Here are the challenges...

Day 01 — A favorite song
Day 02 — A favorite movie
Day 03 — A favorite TV show
Day 04 — A favorite book
Day 05 — A favorite quote
Day 06 — A fun fact about me
Day 07 — A favorite photo
Day 08 — Something I crave
Day 09 — Pet peeves
Day 10 — A photo of me taken over ten years ago
Day 11 — A photo of me taken recently
Day 12 — Something I bought recently
Day 13 — Something I want to buy
Day 14 — An old photo
Day 15 — My celebrity crush
Day 16 — A favorite food
Day 17 — A photo of my family
Day 18 — A baby photo
Day 19 — A fun memory
Day 20 — A hobby of mine
Day 21 — A favorite recipe
Day 22 — A favorite joke
Day 23 — A video
Day 24 — A travel story
Day 25 — A favorite photo
Day 26 — A funny (true) story
Day 27 — A child I love
Day 28 — A place I love
Day 29 — A person I love
Day 30 — Hopes, dreams and plans for the next 365 days