Well three months ago I vowed I would start working out again, I did work out today. And very few others between then & now. I've lost 75 lbs!!! Totally kidding, that would be gross anyway :) What have I been doing the last three months? Clearly I've been way too busy to blog to the universe...

I honestly don't know what I've been doing. Work, sleep, repeat. The American Dream! Brett has been all over the country doing stand-up and I've been doing my best to schedule myself the days he's gone so we can hang out when he is in town, but this fall a lot of the gigs were last minute.

I ended up going home in November, unexpectedly. One of my BFF's from a million years ago, lost her mom to cancer. It was a short trip, and not for a fun reason, but I did get to see quite a few people and catch up. I saw all three of my brothers, my sister-in-law, my three nephews, one of my nieces, my grandma and my aunt and a few friends. My oldest brother decided it was his duty to make me a bottomless vodka + something else that must have been alcohol filled because this girl was (a) DRUNK & (b) so hungover on my flight home. Thanks, bro.

I was seriously so hungover, even though I vomited an insane amount the night before. My flight was direct, and for that I was thankful. I flew Allegiant Air, which is so cheap & always direct, which I love! But you know, as a typical American business they try to add on costs to everything... priority boarding (who wants to be the first person on the plane?) ... seating... baggage... etc. So anyway, I was the person with a carry on, no specific seat and one of the last on the plane. I found an empty aisle and parked myself next to the window to nap off the hangover. Until a larger lady, who required a seatbelt extender, decided to sit in MY aisle. Still, there was a seat between us, so I figured it couldn't be too bad.

I dove into my Oprah magazine to learn all about everyone's favorite things when the beverage cart came around. I desperately needed that $2 Sprite so I wouldn't vomit all over this woman. Then she says to me, "When did they start charging for drinks?!" Now, I could have taken the easy way out and said, "I don't know?" The end. But instead I said something about how it probably started around the same time they started charging for bags and isn't it ridiculous and whatever else my numb brain said. This statement seemed to open the flood gates, I learned way too much about every single person in her family and their problems. No nap for me. Pounding headache upon landing. Empty gas tank when arrived to car. All of this = sick call to work. I still feel hungover almost 3 weeks later. Blah...

Anyway, then I worked a whole bunch more and then my mom came to visit me!! She happened to have a terrible flight experience in June when she last visited and received a $200 voucher from a certain airline. We had such a great time. We shopped til I dropped, I don't really care if I don't shop for 6 months. We had a girls day (which was her Christmas gift) that started with a trip to the Farmer's Market, then had a fantastic brunch followed by a spa day. Mani, Pedi, Facial and hot stone massage, all of which she's never had! She deserves a day or 30 of pampering :) We spent an entire day at the beach, and did a lot of lounging/relaxing. It was great! It was sunny and 70-80* here and she missed the Midwest's first blizzard!

Now we're just a few days away from Christmas. I can't believe it. Time is flying! Brett and I are spending another Christmas together in LA. Last year was so nice. It's nice seeing LA as a ghost town, it doesn't happen often.

Tomorrow I'm back to work, then we're having what should be a super fun Christmas party through my work that Brett is performing at, and then I'm working for a few more days. Looking forward to my stretch off around Christmas! I know one gift I'm getting, a much needed camera! Soon I'll be able to post photos again!! I think I might superglue this one to my hand so I don't drop it in the ocean or get it stolen!

Happy Holidays!!

Here I Go Again

Alright, I'm getting on the exercising/eating right wagon again. Oh Joy! So I weighed myself today, Tuesdays will be "the day."

Official weight: Overweight.5 lbs. (You didn't actually think I'd reveal that number, did you?)

So I guess maybe I'll just be posting my progress, my diet and exercise plan. Possibly photos. Someone has to hold me accountable!

On (what I think is) a HILARIOUS note, last night I was digging around under my bathroom cabinet and found a pregnancy test... I'm sure it was expired, but I took it anyway because, really, how have I gotten this fat? Well it's negative. Big shocker, I mean I use the Nuva Ring. It's pretty idiot proof, unless of course I happened to put it in my butt, but I think I'd notice that:)

fall 2010

So far it's September 13th & I have yet to get homesick! This time of year is always so difficult for me. I miss the colors of the leaves changing, the brisk fall air, the bonfires, etc. SoCal has had a strange summer this year though, and we're already down to the 70s, which actually is feeling a lot like the Midwestern fall. Now, I'm not an idiot, I know it'll likely reach 100* again before October is over, but for now I'm taking it all in! PS This morning I'm sipping on Starbucks coffee with Vanilla Chai Spice creamer that is absolutely delish! Try it!

Unfortunately for me, I stepped on the scale today and now can't help but notice it has 35 calories/tablespoon. It's time to get back on the diet train. OMG I disgust myself. You all know I lost 15ish pounds earlier this year. I'm sad to say, I've found it again. Boo! And my friend Dave just reminded me this is "Weight Gaining Season." AKA Football Season, AKA Way Too Many Beers in my Belly Season. Hmf... be happy and chubby or skinny and hungry, but also happy and in cute jeans.

I'm feeling like I'm going to start my eating right again and *maybe* keep track here. Yikes! Online for all to see. I'm still pretty squeamish about this idea.

That's it for now, I have butterflies in my belly and really need to consider & reconsider this.

& PPS, THE CHIEFS WON TONIGHT!

... The Cleanse ...

Oh boy. So many, many months ago Brett & I were in GNC and decided to buy a body cleanse. The guy at GNC explained to us that this one was wonderful, we should follow a pretty strict diet, don't drink, etc and we'd would feel SO MUCH better and probably lose 5-10 pounds. Sweet deal right?

Well, the boxes were neatly tucked beneath our bathroom sink for many months. Then they were moved to the bathroom organizer thingy, where they collected mountains of dust. I looked at them every day, but just wasn't ready. We almost did it before Brett's sister's wedding, but then decided we would be having a "lot of fun" in Milwaukee (aka drinking our faces off) so we might as well wait.

Not wanting them to expire, we finally started the cleanse about two weeks ago. I told Brett I would do the best I could to make him compliant since he's a very picky eater. I decided not to strictly follow the diet because I eat pretty healthy anyway. The first day, breakfast called for the following:

Rice cakes

2 tbsp yogurt

1 c. raspberries

8 0z. water

Probiotic Formula

Sounds simple enough, but I knew Brett would not eat raspberries if I just handed them to him (the man hates fruit, what the hell? Even raspberries? The best fruit on the planet? YUP.) So I piled some yogurt on a rice cake, smashed up the raspberries (even added a packet of splenda) and topped off the rice cake. OMG. You should have seen his face. He was doing that weird swallowing thing, like before you vomit, before even tasting it. He said "It's just seeds! I don't eat this sh*t! I thought you were going to make this food that I liked."

ME: C'mon, quit bein' a baby. Just try it. Jesus, it's delish!

Brett: Ugh. (Eats one bite, gets up from chair, runs to bathroom, and "throws up")

Whatever. Baby. So there goes Brett's diet, however he will still participate as long as he can eat what he wants. I'm not really sure how that works, but whatev.

The first night was absolute hell. Not because I was shitting my pants, but because I had the.worst.headache.ever. Yeah, this body went through caffeine withdrawal, bad. So bad that I took Excedrin (which I HATE taking meds) and texted Brett, who promptly left what he was doing to comfort me (what a sweetheart!).

The whole week, we had planned to be feeling great, eating well, hiking, spending time together in the sun and just loving life. Not the case. We were SO exhausted. Sleeping every chance we got. Honestly, I would have quit after two days, but I was so proud of Brett for not smoking, that I stuck it out.

I don't know that I lost any weight. I certainly didn't feel amazing like I thought I would. I definitely enjoyed my first margarita, followed by a Skinny Vanilla Latte the next morning. Moral of the story: Don't do cleanse(s). Waste of time. No real benefit. Just try to be healthy every day. :)

Wowza, really didn't realize how long it had been since I updated you strangers about my amazing life! Let me try to quickly recap, starting with January!

JANUARY:

* I started a new diet! I got an iPhone for Christmas and downloaded My Fitness Pal, a free calorie counter/exercise tracker. It has done wonders for me! I lost 12 pounds within the first 2 months (quite an accomplishment for a girl my size with my frame!) I'm so proud of myself!

* Brett got a new agent. He is now signed with Joint Venture Entertainment.

* And then he shoots a promotional video for Toy Story 3, which you can check out on here

* He was also called back for a Nascar commercial but I guess he just wasn't redneck enough :)

* Lucky boy Brett also got to attend the Late Show (Conan's) wrap party. Where the heck was I?!

* Then Mother Nature roared her ugly head and dumped rain on us for a week, there were even tornado warnings. In southern California?! What the???

* Brett performed at the Jon Lovitz Comedy Club @ Universal City Walk for the first time

* We went to lunch & a wine tasting at the San Antonio Winery in LA to celebrate my

coworker's husband's birthday. That same night we went out in downtown LA for another coworkers birthday party. We ended up going to HWood and then did some after partying at yet another coworker's boyfriend's bar. Oh what a day!

* Did I mention we joined LA Fitness? And Keith kicked both mine & Brett's butts. Ouch!

FEBRUARY:

* I left the boy at home and headed up to Paso Robles for a girls weekend/Marcia's birthday party. Marcia, Mandi & myself headed up to the wine country for a fun-filled wine adventure!

We stayed at the Marriott and drank way too much wine! We had a fantastic dinner at McPhee's (my favorite restaurant there!) and took a wine tour on the Grapeline. Highly recommended. No worries of drinking and driving and we met the most awesome people!

* We were soooo tired when we got back to LA but still made it to a coworkers SuperBowl Party, where I was a crabass. Hind sight is 20/20? Sorry Brett, I was an ass.

* Brett set up a comedy show at the Blue Palms Brewhouse, which was a good time, but not a good comedy venue. Still one of our favorite bars though. Thank you Brian for the opportunity!

* Brett did a clean comedy set for Comedy Time and gets a copy of the DVD

* We headed back up to Paso, where Brett did a show for the locals.

* Then Brett quit smoking!!!!!!!!!!! ... For a few days. Dang it!

* Aaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnndddddddd we're talking a lot about marriage:)

MARCH:

* But then March rolled around and we actually broke up for a week. Brett moved out and lived with a friend for a few days. We actually got along amazingly when we weren't living on top of each other. So we decided to make it work.

* We got our taxes done. Boo. I owe $2300... WHAT?! And Brett owes in too? How is that possible?!

* I became a crazy worker-outer girl because I had to be in a wedding at the end of this month, and stand up between two size two girls. Not fair! Thanks again Kaitlyn! So I hiked, nearly

every day, either Runyon or Fryman.

* We helped our friends celebrate their baby's 1st birthday! Happy Birthday Baby D!

* Brett headed to Vegas to his future brother-in-law's Bachelor Party (& it was Brett's Birthday weekend). From what I'm told, nothing too crazy happened.

* The next weekend our dear friends Eric & Kaitlyn Kambestad were married at Rancho Las Lomas - aka the most beautiful wedding venue I've ever seen! We somehow managed to have after hours in our hotel room, with the bride & groom present!

* Brett advanced to the finals of Uncle Clyde's Comedy Contest @ the Ice House in Pasadena.

* Brett also auditioned, and made the top 13 of LA for a new show called "The Greatest Show in the Universe!" Which he would be perfect for, but they are still auditioning the rest of the country.

APRIL:

* I begin working a buttload of overtime trying to getmy taxes paid. GRRR.

* Then my beautiful mother sent me a monetary gift that brought me to tears to help me out. Which I proudly didn't have to use because I worked my butt off, but the money comes in handy next month.

* My car continues the cycle of breaking down every two weeks. It causes me so much stress and costs me lots of money. So not worth it. My great friend Marcia becomes my personal taxi. Thank you Marcia!!!!

*Brett WINS Uncle Clyde's Comedy Contest!!!!! Which includes money, he gets to perform in the main room at the Ice House & he is entered into the Boston Comedy Festival which will take place in November!!!!!!!

* We celebrated our 5 year anniversary with a wonderful dinner at Spark in Beverly Hills. YUM!

* Brett's xbox poops out (tragically), but he replaces his baby with a PS3, Oh Joy! I hope I'm not that replaceable!

* Brett was asked to be in a new movie (not yet picked up), he taped all day for two days. And his part was substantial.

* Brett does a show in Santa Barbara on a Friday, we getpulled over leaving the parking garage. We may or may not have pulled out in front of a cop. Oops! Just a warning, thankfully. Then we run out of gas on the the 101 Freeway, awesome. Brett pushes us to safety (He's superman!). The next night he has a show in San Diego, and I fall in love with that city all over again. During & after the show we got to hang out with two of Brett's friends from high school! It was a blast!

* Brett finally got a portion of his tiny settlement. He went out and bought an old boat of a Cadillac... this was not something we discussed. Um... it was a lemon & now we have to figure out what to do with it!

MAY:

* It's my birthday!! I spent it at the car dealership because my stupid car broke down again! This is where that gift of money comes in handy, I bought myself a new (to me) car for my bday! A 2007 Honda CR-V, that I'm in love with.

* Then my great friend Marcia packed up her belongings and followed her heart to Alaska. While I'm very sad, I wish her well! But I miss you friend!

* Brett's sister Melissa celebrated her bachelorette party in Miami, but unfortunately I'm too broke to go. Sadness.

* I'm still working 5 nights a week. Ew.

* My mom is coming to visit next month! WooHoo!

*** And that's where I stop for today. I'm tired. I know I still have a month to go. As if anyone is really interested:P

Tuesday: The day before the fun ends

Alas it was the day before the fun ended, Tuesday. We actually had intended to go to the Getty Center, but I felt like my mom needed to rest at least one day of her trip otherwise she'd be exhausted when she got home. So instead, I woke her up early and took her on a hike with my friend Samantha. This hike is pretty intense for the first half, and by pretty intense I mean straight up. It took many, many grueling times before I could make it to the top without panting and stopping one hundred times to 'take it in.' I am very proud to say that my mom made it all the way up (& down) with no major accidents or injuries and no complaining! She was a champ! I'm not sure if she still loved me afterwards, but I have a feeling she does.

We really did nothing on Tuesday. We went to Target to get her photos developed. We went to a few stores because I've been searching for a smaller outdoor grill and a small high-top patio set so that I can enjoy some sun... but no such luck. Mom did some laundry.... yawn.

We went out for one last dinner, to Wokano, where Samantha works. I tried really hard to get my mom to try "just one bite" of sushi, I even purposely ordered a Philadelphia roll with cream cheese, but nada. She wouldn't try it. Do you know how many things I had to try as a kid? Without the option of saying no? Apparently there is no such thing as role reversal. So my mom enjoyed her cooked chicken & shrimp, while Brett and I devoured raw fish. YUM! I tell you what, I'm getting really good at eating sushi. I just have this feeling that I'm going to only crave sushi when I'm pregnant.

We headed back home for one more night. Brett gave Mom the bed and we spent our last night watching TV in bed. The next morning we went to Portos for a yummy breakfast and then off to the Burbank airport. It's always sad to see my mom go, this time especially because I don't have any set date to see her again. Usually I'm planning a trip home, but this year we have to head back for a wedding in July that doesn't involve Iowa. I'm sure we'll get home over some holiday this winter, but it's just a little odd not knowing. I'm so glad she got to come out for a whole week! I had a blast and will cherish these memories forever!

I wish that I could say my mom had a safe flight home and had one day to relax before she headed back to work, but that's not exactly how the story goes. She tends to have terrible luck with flights & layovers. Well, this trip was no different. She left Burbank, headed towards Dallas, knowing she had a four hour layover. Well, they changed the gate five times and then pushed the flight time back, a few times and then finally decided to cancel the flight. The next flight to Des Moines would be Friday (two days later). Luckily, someone was looking out for my mom that day. A couple from our hometown (who we know quite well) were in the same situation! The airline put them up in a hotel for the night and paid for dinner & breakfast. They ended up catching a flight the next morning (which was delayed, shocker!) to Kansas City, rented a car, drove to Des Moines and then drove home from there. I'm sure she's exhausted. Oh, and without luggage of course! I have a funny feeling that American Airlines will be getting an earful in the near future. Maybe she'll get a comped flight and can visit again sooner than expected!!!

Sunday: San Diego!

Sunday morning my mom and I got up bright and early, yet again and headed over to the Westminster Presbyterian Church for Sunday service. I love this church. Brett & I attended a couple of times post-wreck and haven't really made it a weekly habit, but I'd love to. It's is the cutest little church, and so California. And by that I mean, so laid back. I'm sure some (traditionalists) would probably hate it. People come in fashionably late, Starbucks in hand. The minister is wearing jeans. There is a 7(?) piece band set up in front. The music rocks! For me, it is a place to worship God comfortably. I don't feel like I have to be super quiet and introverted and dress a certain way. It's great, as was the sermon.

After church, we came home for a quick lunch and to swoop up Brett before we headed to San Diego. This would be my mom's first trip to SD. And I just knew she'd fall in love, because it's impossible not to. We checked in to the Ramada in the Gas Lamp District. Holy Old! This hotel was built in 1913 and has the original elevator! Let's just say I preferred to walk down the eight flights of stairs rather than get in that thing! The hotel had a nice little rooftop patio (it was only missing a bar!) so that we could check out the sites. After we got settled we walked around a little bit and stopped by the Yard House for drinks and dinner. Brett had a show that night in La Jolla, so Mom and I were on our own. Two Ladies loose in the city! But we stayed in because there seems to be a lot of crazies in SD and neither of us felt like dealing with them in the dark!

So the next morning we woke up, had breakfast, let Brett sleep in and we wandered around downtown SD. We made our way down Martin Luther Kind Jr. trail and to the beach, we even saw the USS Midway. We wandered around for a few hours and then woke up Brett, checked out and went to La Jolla.

La Jolla is beautiful! We got to see seals and walk down a million stairs to see this crazy cave thing. It smelled like sh*t so we didn't stay down there too long! Again, we just kind of wandered around the shore and the shops and then headed back to good 'ole LA. Made ourselves some tacos, of course because I needed to be continually eating...

Saturday: Am I in an eating contest?

So now it's Saturday on this little vacation of mine. My mom loves her a Farmer's Market and I must admit that the FMs out here are a million times bigger & better than the little one back home. We bought fresh asparagus, zucchini, yellow squash, avocado, some kind of cheese and the sweetest nectarines on the planet! And my mom bought me this beautiful orchid! The guy said they're super easy to keep, we shall see!

After bumming around the Farmer's Market, we decided to head over to Pasadena. We checked out what Colorado Blvd. had to offer. It was packed! There was some sort of gigantic sidewalk chalk artist contest. I don't know how to even describe how amazing the artwork was! With Chalk! On the ground! Pretty awesome actually. We stopped at a Michael's to find a pot for my beautiful new orchid, but instead decided to go to Color Me Mine and I would paint my own! It was fun and something I've wanted to do but my boyfriend doesn't seem to think it'd be all that fun, but my mom did! Could I have just bought the $5.99 pot from Michael's? Yes. Did I instead spend $50 for a one of a kind, amazingly unique pot of my own that created a bonding experience with my mom? Yeah. And here's the final product:

I don't plan to quit my day job anytime soon.

When we got back to the apartment, mom, Brett & I watched the Book of Eli. Brett & I really liked it, mom thought it was stupid. I guess she's not a fan of the violence. I'd watch it again. We got to put our fresh veggies to use and had a pretty yummy dinner of Garlic Herb Pork Loin, Fried Potatoes with Cheese, Asparagus, Zucchini & Squash sauteed with onions and biscuits. (I know I haven't told you this yet, but I ended up gaining 5 pounds on this little vacation of ours! Weird, right? Eating a crapton & sleeping way too much...)

And then we watched more movies and crashed out early yet again!

Friday: The fun continues

Friday morning we woke up and headed to downtown Burbank. I really wanted to take my mom to Granville for brunch because it's delish & who wouldn't want Sangria for breakfast?! But it turns out they are only open for brunch on the weekend. At my job, Friday is considered weekend...

So instead we went to Barney's Beanery. Hello world's best hash browns, please enter my tummy now! Then into Hollyweird we went. HiHo! My mom wanted to go to the wax museum, there happen to be two in H.Wood... about a block away from each other. I had coupons to Madam Tussuad's so that's where we went. We met a lot of celebrities that day, they didn't really have much to say, but still nice to have met them. Actually they really are kind of creepy. Again, wish I had pics but they're on my mom's camera for now. I distracted Tiger Woods from golf, let Robin Williams grab my boob and I grabbed Michael Jackson's crotch. All in a days work. We strolled around Hollywood for awhile, checking out the sites. I don't know if I'm gaining more tolerance or what, but I wasn't all that annoyed by the thousands of pedestrians. Then, back to Burbank.

We didn't really have a whole lot planned for Friday, but I had hinted that I wanted to clean out one of my closets and organize it a little better. I know what you're thinking, "What an amazing vacation idea!" Luckily, my mom is a good sport and gladly helped out. We went over to Target and picked up a DIY organizer thingy. We put it together and now the closet looks fantastic, only a couple bumps and bruises along the way.

Brett finally made it home from his whole Paso ordeal, thankfully since he had a show that night in Inglewood. I didn't think Inglewood would be within my mom's comfort zone, so we opted to stay home and watch a movie. Avatar! She hadn't seen it and I love it so I will watch it again & again. But first, margaritas at Don Cucos with Brett. OMG, how I love me some margaritas! We had some good talks over chips & salsa and then parted ways. Again, lame ass over here was asleep super early. I'm quite the hostess =D

My Mommy Came to Visit!

Hey! Long time no blog. How've you been? I feel like I should be so relaxed since I haven't worked in 11 days, but I'm not. I'm so not. I'm also so not ready to go back to work tomorrow night. But I will, mostly because I have to;)

So I know I haven't blogged for a million years, but that's because I've been working my freakin' tail off. Seriously, I no longer have a tail. Let's talk about now and then we'll recap the year thus far in another fairy tale. Since about... March(ish) I've been putting in a lot of overtime. By a lot, I mean I am required to work 3 nights (or 36 hours) a week and I've been doing 5 nights (or 60 hours) a week. Why? Well I may or may not have gone exempt too many times last year and I had to donate $2300 to our government this year after my taxes were done. Awesome. So that's that.

Moving on... my mom came to visit last week!! Oh what fun:) Here is what we did, sorry the pictures don't have faces, they are all via my iPhone until my mom posts hers on FB.

Wednesday night she flew in just in time to stop at Menchie's on the way home. All I've heard about for the last year (since her last visit) is how badly she's been craving the FroYo @ Menchie's. That was obvious by the amount she filled into her little cup! YUMMY! And then to bed, after all it was already midnight back home! She got to join me in my brand new bed (!) because Brett got himself stranded in Paso Robles for a few more days than expected. *That's a whole other story, seriously I should be writing a sitcom*

Thursday we headed over to USC so I could show off my new workplace. She's been there before, but not since I've moved into ICU. Plus I had to run an errand and we browsed the bookstore for USC souvenirs. She bought me two super cute shirts because I guilt tripped her since she didn't send me anything for nurse's week:) Bad daughter... After our pit stop at USC we went to explore downtown Los Angeles. I found this really cool website www.downtownlawalks.com I have always kind of been afraid of downtown, but this website provides multiple walks that you can go on, from Arts & Culture (the one we did) to Parks (coming soon!). So you can download maps and the coolest part, a podcast from iTunes. It tells you where to go, what to look for and a bunch of information about each site. The best part... it's FREE! So we started at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. Absolutely beautiful. I mean "Wow!" I didn't take any photos of the inside, but it is a must see.

From there we traveled to Music Center where we were able to check out Walt Disney Concert Hall, Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Mark Taper Forum and Ahmanson Theatre. The podcast says it'll take a couple of hours depending on your speed, um we were 4 hours in and only half way through the list. We had a quick bite to eat at California Pizza Kitchen and decided to call it a day. I'd love to finish that tour and complete the others someday soon, too! And I'm not even kidding when I say I was asleep by 6PM. Lame!

We actually rushed to get out of downtown because the final Lakers v. Celtics game was about to begin and I did not want, in any way, to be part of that chaos. I can't believe I didn't even watch the game though. I woke up to confetti falling from the sky and that was that. My body wasn't quite ready for days because I was then awake from 2am-5am. And then it was Friday....