Discover

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” Mark Twain

Marriages are made in heaven. But, again, so are thunder, lightening, tornados and hail. ~ anonymous

 

 

How I meet the man I love. 

 

 We had met online through Match.com.  That picture above is the one he had on his profile page on Match.com and of course, that picture just begged a question.  He was in training and working for an exotic vet.  The sheriff's department brought this alligator in knowing that it wouldn't survive in the wilds of the Arizona desert.  So seeing this photo, I emailed him and we began exchanging emails, then we exchanged phone numbers and talked for awhile and then we decided to meet.

We met at a mall for coffee and we ended up walking around the mall, several times.  We -- well, actually 'I' talked alot because he was so shy he didn't have much to say.  He was also much cuter in person than he was in his photo.  We ended up going out to dinner because we spent so much time in the mall, it ended up getting late. I really had a great time.  He had heard of a little street fair activity that was half way between us (we lived on opposite sides of Phoenix about an hour away from each other) that he planned to go to the next day so he asked me to join him.  After spending the day together again, I still wasn't sure he liked me and he definitely wasn't one of those hands-y guys either.  We went out to many activities together, movies, street fairs, plays.  I remember the night I fell in love with him.  We had gone out to a play - Little Shop of Horrors - (this was after many dates) and for the first time he put his arm around me.  Afterward, he took me home and started kissing me and I realized that it was leading somewhere, but I wasn't sure how I felt yet and told him that.  He immediately stopped and said, "maybe we shouldn't then." and he -- actually --- stopped!  Unfortunately, I haven't had that many dates that respected me enough to just stop without having to be thrown out or ushered off and then never spoken to again.  After he left, and thinking about him and us and everything, I realized I did love him and I enjoyed his company more than any other I had ever been with. In fact, every day was more fun than the next.  He was just so easy to be around.  The next date, I had him over for dinner, and we had a wonderful time and the rest is history.  We dated more often, saw each other as often as our schedules permitted and by Christmas Eve we were engaged.

He is the first man in my life that has ever put me first - before, I have always been second.  Even after a couple years of marriage, he still puts me first.  He always does what I want to do and I often have to force him to make a choice so he has his fair share of things that we enjoy! lol.  Actually it's not that hard, because we both enjoy many of the same things.

We are both very good at crafts.  He is starting a new thing of sand blasting which he hopes to turn into a lucrative business.  He can etch on any surface: glass, metal, stone etc.  He also makes chainmaille jewelry (chainedbychoice.com if you want to see some of his work) and he is wonderful at making stain glass. He also works in wood - has made cat trees and other things.  He is a wonderful writer also. I love to sew.  I have made many wedding dresses, costumes for various things for myself and the kids and I love to quilt.  I also crochet, cross stitch and write.

We both have played baseball/softball.  I used to play catcher, he was always the pitcher.  He has a black belt in Karate (got it in Japan when his father was stationed there in the Air Force) and I want to work at getting my black belt.  Both of our father's were military so we understand that.

We both love to travel.  I like to just find things to do, be spontaneous.  He likes to plan and look up things etc.  So he does that, I get the surprise and it works out well.

We both do health care - he works with animals as a vet tech, I work with people as a nurse.  (He reminds me that he is smarter because he has to know more species).

We have a sense of humor that matches.  We get each others jokes.  Life is just fun now because we are together.  I never could understand widows that said they would never remarry because they had the best and couldn't ever do better.  Well, I understand that now.  I doubt I would ever remarry if something happened to my husband, because no one could ever hold a candle to him and I wouldn't accept anything less.

So that is my Randy.  The man that I would die for - if necessary.

Think Geek

the tricorder broke
communicator is dead
and my shirt is red
-Jeffrey in Dallas, Texas

---

Use the Force, Malcolm
Gorram reavers on our tail!
Oops, wrong universe.
-Taylor in Montgomery, Alambama
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
I hate dungeons, but
I guess beauty's in the eye
of The Beholder.
-- Kat in Virginia Beach, Virginia
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Haiku's from ThinkGeek.com

Couldn't pass up posting these here.

Ninja Grandma

30 days of blogging - I saw this from another blog and thought I would try this format so:

Day 1- A recent picture of you and 15 interesting facts about yourself.

Well, that picture isn't most recent (it's a year old), but it's my favorite.  That is my grandson just a few minutes old and already smiling at his Ninja Grandma - this child has many grandma's including great grandma's so each has a unique name, since I was studying martial arts, they call me Ninja Grandma. It's interesting because my son called my parents GI Joe Grandpa and Grandma because my father was the AST (administrative supply technician) for the Army National Guard in Abilene Ks, so he always saw my father in fatigues. So I continue the tradition of unique grandparent name lol.  I had been up for over 24 hours waiting for this little man to come into the world when this picture was taken and it was so well worth it. Her mother and I as well as my son were able to attend the birth.  What a wonderful experience!!

15 interesting facts: (#1 is that above)

2) I was born in Los Angelas, CA - my father was stationed (Army National Guard) there but when I was 6 months old, we moved back to Kansas and lived close to my mother's parents all my life.  I grew up on a farm and I am so glad that I did, but I always wanted to leave and live in the city.  I blame that on being born in LA lol.  I moved to Phoenix when I was 22 and have lived here ever since.

3)  I have always wanted to be a nurse.  In those little school journals that my mother got for each of us, there was a place to write what you wanted to be when you grow up.  I wrote "nurse" on each of those except one (that was back when ERA was starting and my teacher was saying women could now enter what was considered "men only" fields and I wanted to be an airline pilot that year).  I was surprised to learn that being a nurse was so ingrained in me from so young.

4)  I am married to my third husband.  I adore him and love him very much.  My first two marriages were not good at all.  My first husband divorced me and that was very painful, but he ended up being diagnosed schizophrenic about a year later and I figured he did me a favor, because I believe in marriage and I would have stayed with him and cared for him and been miserable my entire life.  My second husband was very abusive, verbally most of our marriage, when it became physical I left.  I learned a lot from these experiences and this has made me cherish my current husband all the more.

5) I have written a novel.  I have always wanted to do that, have had an idea for a novel since I was 20ish, but never did anything about it.  My husband got me involved in something called NANOWRIMO which stands for National Novel Writing Month which is November.  Google it if you are interested.  Not sure if I will ever publish it, but I have done it.

6) I always wanted to be a martial artist, since watching David Carradine in "Kung Fu" but growing up in Kansas in the 70's, a girl just didn't do something like that.  I have gotten to green belt, and when I have lost about 100lbs, I am going back and getting my black belt!!

7) I feel so much better about myself, I have started wearing makeup and fixing my hair again.  My supervisor called me in the office this week to ask me if I am out interviewing.

8)  I love sci-fi, adventure and I really dislike romance/chick flicks.

9) When I was in my teens, I was in a horrible tornado in Kansas - we had an enclosed porch which contained the cellar door, but that side of the house blew off in the tornado so we spent the night under the piano because dad was to afraid to open the door from the house to go to the cellar

10)  I love to sew. I quilt (and will put up more pictures sometime) and I have made wedding dresses.

11) I also love to crochet and I am making market bags out of those cheap plastic grocery bags.

12) I have been an orthopedic nurse.  That lead me to being a trauma nurse for many years.  I am now a hospice nurse and that is my calling.


13) I have walked a half marathon in 2007 and I plan on doing one again in 2012 (if not sooner).


14) I love dogs, and my husband has 2 rescue dogs (a boxer that was found in a ditch and almost died and now a long hair chihuahua with one eye missing)


15) I love horror movies and my favorite involve either vampires or zombies.

14th Pitch: 5% gone!

 Buffy, my chihuahua.

I made my 5% mile marker today when I had weight in!  I have joined and dropped out of Weight Watchers so many times, but this is the FIRST and ONLY (and last) time I made my 5% goal!  7 more lbs and I will have made the 25 lb mile marker! 

I have lost and gained weight (the same weight) more times than I can count.  I have generally not changed my eating habits, only increased my activity which caused me to dump a lot of weight but I never kept up the activity and without changing my eating habits as well, I failed.  This time I am doing BOTH! Novel idea (joking).

I love the new Points Plus system (P+).  Because of P+, I am eating more fruit.  Before this system, I would choose low point **** food (100 calorie packs, Fiber One bars that contained chocolate etc) that wasn't REALLY nutritional, but served to satisfy a craving.  Why have a 2 point banana when I could have a 1 point Kellogs Fiber Bar with CHOCOLATE! CHOCOLATE! CHOCOLATE! CHOCOLATE!!!!!!!! (picture that cartoon dog on that bacon dog treat commercial).

Now that I am finally eating in a much healthier manner, I found something very interesting.  I don't crave chocolate any more!  I am absolutely flabbergasted!  I am eating apples, bananas, raspberries and to my astonishment, that craving for sweet (which my brain has fixated on chocolate) is now gone.  I even lived dangerously one day and ate a Reese's Peanutbutter cup (my favorite).  Before, I couldn't eat just one.  If I had one, I would want one daily, twice a day, three times a day etc. It was very hard to stop.  That day I had one package (you know, the 2 cups that come in that package) and I didn't have the return frenzy of needing more.

I love P+!! I love what is happening to me now!  I know this time I am going to make it!  Thanks Weight Watchers!

13th Pitch: 5K! I won!

Did I finish first? Not by a long shot.  I came in 3rd from last, but I finished and to me that means I won! I made it all the way.  Sore? A bit.  Psyched? Definitely! and ready to do my next one!  I would encourage anyone to do this.  I remember when I started doing events in 2005.  If someone hadn't encouraged me and walked a couple of events with me, I wouldn't have done this.  Do you think you weigh to much? Trust me, I am huge.  Are you afraid to be looked at funny?  What I have experienced is that before the race, I get quizzical looks (as if to say: is she going to need an ambulance before this is over?).  During the race, I often see looks of surprise, but also I get comments of concern and encouragement.  People will say something such as:  "It's just a short way"  "You are going to make it!" and when I get to the end, there are many people that cheer me as I come up.  It's as if for the first time I feel recognized for my accomplishment not disdained for my size.

So my advice, DO IT! 

This event honored fallen law officials of 2010 in support of their families left behind.
Lt. Eric Lewis Shuhandler, Gilbert, AZ Police Department.  1/28/2010
Officer Travis P Murphy, Phoenix, AZ Police Department 5/26/2010
Detective Carlos Ledesma, Chandler, AZ Police Department 7/27/2010
Deputy Sheriff Brian Harris, Kane County, AZ Sherrif's office 8/26/2010
Agent Michael Gallagher US Border Patrol 9/2/2010
Agent Brian A. Terry US Border Patrol 12/15/2010
Officer James "Dutch" Lister Arizona State University Police Department 12/16/2010

(These names were on our event shirts and I feel comfortable posting them here)

May their families have peace and comfort and solace knowing that others care.  (This is the 7th annual event and it has drawn the largest crowd since its inception.)

Cindi

12th Pitch! Walking my butt off!

 My three children and I.

I walked 3.3 miles today and the grand total is 10/500 miles!  I figured out that I have to have 9.6 miles a week to make my goal, and I have decided to get in at least 10 miles a week to give me some lee way for vacations and illness, etc.  I am a day early (since January 1 was Saturday, my weeks are Sat - Fri).

I didn't do anything last night, I was so tired I couldn't keep my eyes open when I got home from work.  My feet are also very sore.  Since my one pair of shoes is killing me I don't have shoes to alternate to give my feet a different workout.  I had to take my car into the shop today and that wasn't cheap, so now I don't have the money for shoes until I get paid next week.  Oh well, that is life :)

I think I might rest tomorrow.  I am up 2 lbs on my scale.  Since I have been following plan I know this is inflammation from all this work out.  I am going to take ibuprofen tonight and 2-3 times tomorrow.  My feet are really killing me so I think they deserve a rest until the 5K on Sunday.  I may walk a mile on Saturday.  We have a bike also, and I may try riding that next week since the challenge is walk/hike/run/bike. There is a really cool T-shirt designed by the owner of the challenge at this web address: 

http://www.customizedgirl.com/design/e73e74e7c652ff32cdb4d0fc7f952b0a_1467652

I am going to order this shirt in next payday and when I get a new one for 2012 I am hoping to be at least a couple of sizes smaller by then!  Well, that is it for now!  Keep on Trekkin' on!

Cindi

11th Pitch. Walking my butt off --- literally.

Well, I started a challenge of walking 500 miles in this year of 2011.  So far I have made it to 6.7 miles and this is day 4 of the new year.  I think I am doing well.   I also have scheduled myself for a 5K this Sunday. "Run to Remember" 5K run/walk to assist the families of fallen police officers in Arizona.

‎7th Annual Run To Remember 5K Run/Walk and 1 Mile Fun Run/Walk

www.active.com

‎7th Annual Run To Remember 5K Run/Walk and 1 Mile Fun Run/Walk | Chandler, Arizona 85249 | Sunday, January 09, 2011 @ 8:30 AM

So, for 500 miles in a year, that is 9.6 miles a week or 42 miles a month. Yep - my butt should walk off by itself along come November.  Sheese!  I plan an 8K then.  Did I mention I am going to do the PFChang half marathon in Jan 2012?  and the full marathon Jan 2013?

Yes, some might call me crazy, but by then they damn well better be calling me skinny too!!!