World Series Champions

Hooray Phillies!

I am feeling, for perhaps the first time, a twinge of homesickness for Philadelphia. Obviously there have been times I have missed my family and good times had in PA, but not really the City of Brotherly Love. Tonight, as I sat on the edge of my couch, dressed in red and gray with my purple Phillies cap, watching the end of the World Series... I felt it. A little gnawing at my heartstrings for Philly. On the other hand, I am extraordinarily glad I am not working at Methodist tonight... South Philly is not a place I would want to be right now, as I do not trust crazy Philadelphian sports fans!!

But as I sat at my computer this evening, watching WPVI streaming live coverage of the celebrations over the internet, I felt this connection. It's been a long time since I watched Cecily and Gary Papa and Jim Gardner... granted, I am happy to have broken free of the superhype extravaganza that is local news in Philly. Yet I am reminded that things really are different there, particularly compared to Seattle. The culture is SO different that it shocks me, really, to be reminded of it again! I like it in Seattle, and moving back to Philly wouldn't be my first choice. (Actually, what I would really enjoy would be someplace that is a combo of the two!)

That said, I am really craving a cheesesteak and a Yuengling tonight. :)

Halloween Cupcakes

It all started when I saw these cute cupcake paper wrappers at Target... and before I knew it, I was baking (and decorating) 4 dozen Halloween cupcakes!! Thank goodness both Rob and I work in large offices! :)

I have no idea why these pictures are turned sideways... and can't figure out how to fix it!! But you get the idea. :)

Turkey Day!

It's tough to type with a cat sitting between me and the keyboard!! Reminds of the old Mavis Beacon days when we weren't allowed to look at the keyboard in typing class. :)

Last night I finally roasted that turkey that has been in my freezer for like 10 months! It seems like just yesterday that Rob told me he was bringing over a surprise, and I opened my front door to discover him standing there holding a frozen turkey with a big grin on his face. :) Here are a selected few pictures from last night's Turkey Dinner:

This picture makes me look like a Stepford wife!

Rob carving the turkey

Smokey had too much tryptophan!

Bullet List Mania!

I haven't posted in forever. I've been busy, but lazy, too. :)

My body clock is all messed up! Yesterday I came home from work at 8 am, went to bed at 10 am, woke up at 3 pm... went back to bed at 12:30 am and then woke up this morning at 6 am. Not sure what that adds up to, but I'm pretty much wide awake so I will take it! Of course, I will probably crash this afternoon, as I am prone to do. :) Earlier this week, Rob and I rented the movie "Leatherheads", and I dozed off... woke myself up by my own snoring (how embarrassing!) and discovered that the OPENING credits hadn't even finished. Yikes.

As I like to do when I haven't posted in a while, I am going to revert to the ever-popular bullet list...

* Last night we went and saw the new Oliver Stone movie "W", which I highly recommend. It was actually Rob's idea and although I was initially reluctant, it was surprisingly good. I really enjoyed the scene where Junior chokes on a pretzel. :) Haha. Seriously, though, James Brolin was frighteningly good! The movie definitely made me think about the last 8 years. I remember standing in my college dorm room, watching Colin Powell's speech to the UN about WMDs. And the anti-war protests when we were in Vienna. Anyway, I really liked the movie!

* Yesterday was the one year anniversary of my first date with Rob. We enjoyed reminiscing last night about that... how we stayed at Starbucks talking, long after the coffee was finished, and eventually they had to ask us to leave because they were closing!! :) Fun times.

* This week I purchased plane tickets! I am headed to Philly in mid-November for my friend Lauren's wedding. It's going to be a quick weekend trip, but should be fun.

* I am definitely in need of a vacation. Work has been taking its toll... Thursday night was one of the worst nights I've had in a long time. Yuck. Really glad that I have a 4 day weekend off!!!

* This morning, I finally broke down and installed the new version of iTunes. Of course, I had to mess around with the Genius feature. I've been pretty impressed with some of the playlists it has come up with. But also completely baffled by some of the songs it picks!! I tried it with the Michael W. Smith song "A New Hallelujah", and they picked ones from artists like Newsboys, MercyMe, Switchfoot, etc. Ok, great! But right in the middle is... "I Need You (That Thing You Do)" from the movie soundtrack of TTYD. What?! Totally wacky. Made me laugh, though.

* Speaking of iTunes, I found myself dancing around the room a few minutes ago to that Steven Curtis Chapman song, "Dive". Reminded me of that awesome concert we went to a couple of weeks ago, and hearing it live with all the people dancing. :)

* I really, really want one of the new Mac laptops. But that would mean working some overtime and saving up a bit of money. Hm. Not sure yet whether I am going to try to work extra to get one faster or whether I will try to save up from my regular paychecks (which will take much longer but doesn't require more time at work!).

* I am wearing my purple Phillies hat this morning! But I am mildly concerned that doing so will serve to curse their World Series chances... since I seem to be bad luck for baseball teams.

* I'm currently contemplating roasting a turkey on Monday when I am off from work. Any thoughts?

Alright. I should probably get up from my computer now. It's a sunny morning in Seattle, but only in the 40s so far. Brr!

Rainy Day in the Rainy City

I just wasted like 45 minutes on Facebook. What a great way to spend a rainy afternoon!! I actually posted a new album of pictures on Facebook... a select group of photos from this fall. (Although a few venture back into August, but who's keeping track?) It was fun to look back over the good times I've had lately. I especially enjoyed reviewing the pictures from Jen's visit! Check out the album on Facebook... if you are not my friend on Facebook, then why are reading this?! :)

Not much new to write about. I worked a double shift Wednesday night... 16 hrs is a long time! But the extra pay will come in handy, so I can't complain too much.

Today is one of those typical fall days in Seattle. Highs in the 50s, rainy. A good day to stay inside! Maybe I will go work on one of my quilting projects... or take a nap. :) Smokey ventured outside when I was taking out some recycling this afternoon. It was hilarious! She ran out the door and got a few feet onto the deck before she realized that it was pouring rain... she then continued out into the grass and got all nice and dirty. I think she thinks she is a dog! Eventually I coaxed her back inside... and discovered she had a leaf stuck to her paw. It made me laugh so hard! What a strange cat.

October Already?!

I can't believe it's October already!! Man, where did the summer go? When I think back to a year ago this week, when I was researching to buy a new car... it seems to be practically a lifetime ago! Yet I can't believe that fall is here already. Today I went to Target and it really hit me when I saw all the Halloween stuff. Wow. Time sure flies.

I'm attempting to stay up late tonight. My sleep schedule is all messed up!! I slept for a few hours after work yesterday, then went to bed at like 1 am, only to be wide awake at 4:30 am... which meant I only lasted until 1 pm before I needed a nap! There's no real point to getting set on a schedule, because it SO hard to stay on "night shift" on my days off. If I did that, I would never be awake in the daytime and therefore would never get to see Rob or my friends or the beautiful city I call home!! :)

Even so, I am sitting front of the TV catching up on all the shows my Tivo has been recording this week while I've been at work! Right now I am watching "The Biggest Loser" while I blog. I love this show. Seriously. I haven't really been a fan of reality shows since the first season of "Survivor", but TBL is one that I watch religiously. Maybe it is because of my own struggles with weight that I feel a connection to the contestants. Or maybe I just prefer to watch someone else working out rather than me!! Haha. :) Honestly, though, I feel like the show has been pretty inspiring. At the very least, it is really tough to veg out in front of the TV and eat junk while watching a show like TBL!! So there are some benefits in my mind. :)

Speaking of weights/dieting... I haven't been very good lately. I realized last week that I've really just been staying in pretty much the same place, maintaining my current weight. And while it's been a nice break from the intense dieting, I want to lose a bit more than where I'm at now. Which means that I definitely need to get moving. And eating better! I haven't gone running in over a week, and even though I have never grown to love exercising, I do really like the way that I look and feel when I am in better shape. I've noticed the difference at work, for sure. Nursing is a really physical job sometimes, whether it's moving patients or equipment or even just walking and being on your feet for a 12 hour shift. This summer I really started to feel the difference... less exhausted, stronger, etc. And I might be a total dork for noticing this, but my resting heart rate is actually lower than it used to be!!! I often end up checking my own pulse/oxygen saturation (why, who knows!)... I used to run in the high 90s, but now I am almost always in the 70s... and sometimes even in the 60s. Wow!! That is cool. :) I just gotta keep that stuff in mind when I am tempted to eat chips and salsa for dinner!

So I'm putting it out there in my blog, because that has helped in the past. I don't know if it is the sense of accountability or what, but somehow posting it on the blog seems to really help solidify my goals. :) I would really like to run another race sometime, maybe in the spring. And it would be great to be a size 6 (or smaller, even!!) for my brother's wedding in December. Mostly, though, I want to reach the original goal that I set out to accomplish... sure, 50 lbs is a great accomplishment, but I'd love to be able to get that last 20 knocked out!!! :)

On that note, I better move off this couch! Maybe do some crunches... or at least clean up the living room. :)