Things I learned this week

My friends are awesome.  Blog friends totally included. Thank you all for the comments on my break up post.

Eating your weight in junk food will not heal a hurting heart, but it will piss off your tummy and your whole digestive system in general. You’re welcome.

Mike’s an idiot (okay probably not really, but work with me here!) My heart is hurting and he just seems like…oh well onto the next one (okay, again probably not really, but he doesn’t seem upset at all).

Boys react way differently than girls to heartache.

It pisses me off that he was so quick to run to MY sister-in-law’s aid this week when she was having internet issues, but I don’t even warrant a damn phone call.  It also pisses me off that she sought him out for help.  It has only been a week, don’t I get dibs on my own family and friends?

Also, I totally purchased “It’s called a break up because it’s broken” based on several recommendations from my lovely bleeps.  Along with “How to heal a broken heart in 30 days” we’ll see how it goes.

I have become one of “those” Lost people.  I started watching the show earlier this summer to see what all hoopla was about.  I was unimpressed for the first few seasons and then toward the end of season 3 is when I really became hooked.  I am now like a junkie looking for my next fix. I just finished season 5 and I am trying to get my hands on disc 1 of season 6. I MUST KNOW WHAT HAPPENS!

And I might be going back to school real soon…eek!

Oh and did I mention you are all awesome?!

Breaking up is hard to do

I suppose from the title you can guess what this post is about…

Mike and I ended our relationship. It would have been three years on Nov 1st.  It still doesn’t seem real.

It turns out we want different things for our futures.  I want children and he doesn’t.  Back in February he told me that his hesitation with getting married wasn’t the marriage, it was knowing that if he said yes to marriage he was also saying yes to children.  So, I told him he would need to make a decision.  I was willing to wait for awhile, but that I wasn’t willing to hang around for years hoping he would finally decide in favor of children.

Since February I have been living in limbo, waiting for Mike to decide.  Last week the stress and anxiety were just getting to be too much so I told Mike I needed a decision.  He ultimately said that he doesn’t want children right now and doesn’t know if that will ever change.

And I told him our relationship was over.

How do you start over after 3 years?  Who do you talk to about your day when the person you talked to everyday is no longer around?  How do you just stop it all?

A part of me hopes that Mike will change his mind and realize he has made the wrong decision.  But I also know that I can’t spend my time waiting for this to happen.  I know I want children and if Mike truly doesn’t then I need to move on and find the person that I am meant to create a family with.

I am 29.  Not old by any means, but since I know I want children, I can’t waste my time on someone who doesn’t.  Unlike Mike, my fertility is on a time table and if Mike is not meant to be my life partner then I need to start my heart healing so I can find the person I am meant to be with.

The hardest part is he was such a huge part of my everyday.  We would talk everyday. Go to lunch during the week.  Spend whole weekends together.  We had plans for this weekend and this fall and even Christmas.  All those plans are no more.  I haven’t spoken to him since Saturday, not quite an eternity, but it feels like it.

My heart is hurting a lot.  There have been lots of tears.

My friends are amazing though.  They listen to me cry.  They keep me company and make sure I have eaten.  And they remind me how awesome I am.  And that I really am a great catch and that I will find the person I am meant to be with.  And how strong I am for knowing what I want and actually doing the hard thing and not simply settling.

Living la vida loca!

I went to Vegas two weekends ago.

It was my first trip there.

When we first arrived in Vegas it was hot (duh!), late, and I was tired after having worked a full day before catching the plane.  I was traveling with my mom and my dad and Mike.  If you know you my mom you know that this was stressful already.

I was less than enchanted with this fabled city.  But the next day Mike and I hit the town and saw the sights.  We started the morning (or in some parts of the world it would be considered afternoon…whatevs) like this:

And in no time at all I was digging the city and looking like this:

Vegas at night was definitely something to see.  I am already planning the “E is turning 30, let’s party in Vegas!” celebration :) (that’s this coming June if you're keeping track)

Several of my aunts and uncles and a few cousins were there (my cousins were 9, 7, and 5 so we didn’t party it up per se).  It was great to see family I hadn’t seen in awhile and just have a weekend away from it all.

My dad with 4 of his 8 siblings. They are in birth order with my dad as the oldest on the left.

The whole gang after dinner.

I really enjoyed the Freemont Experience and the Strip was fun to see at night, but since I was there with family I wasn’t all about the clubs and stuff so the strip was just “meh” during the day.

We also went to see the MGM lions (totally dug it) and of course the famous white lions and tigers at the Mirage, and the dolphins too.  They had baby tigers.  Smooshy and cute and cuddly baby tigers!

Overall I had a great time!

31 years later and she still has it!

Pat Benatar = Awesome Sauce!

She was so amazing and has been rocking for over 31 years. She knows what the fans want and she gives it to them. She is also teeny tiny but a total rockstar.

And now for the REAL reason you all stopped by to read this post today...The Winner of my giveaway!

Lucky number 10 is the big winner.



And lucky number 10 is Jodey/Fat Chick Biker! Congratulations Jodey.

**And I promise to get pictures of the purple hair for everyone :)

A little bit of this and little bit of that

Today is the last day to enter my GIVEAWAY! Come on you know you want to! All the cool kids are doing it. Come on, pretty please...

My sister-in-law being a hair stylist = best thing ever! I got mah hair did today. There are purple chunks and I love it. I am also pretty sure I will be the little old lady with bright purple hair one day. I will rock it.

Speaking of purple hair, I am going to see Pat Benatar in concert tonight. Woo hoo! It will be glorious, I have my big hoop earrings and fingerless lace gloves all ready. Now if I could just find my blue eye shadow...

I just heard a snore, I think my cubie neighbor is sleeping. That's not fair! I want a nap too.

This Friday is Relay for Life in my region of the world and I am co-captain. It is exhausting and stressful, but I know the day of, it will be worth it. I have had several people, friends and family start fighting cancer this year and I have even lost a friend to cancer just a little over a month ago. Even if you don't donate to my team, please donate in some way to any number of teams or even just to the American Cancer Society. Everyone needs more birthdays!

Oh and AND a week from Friday I will be in Vegas! I have never been before and am really excited to go. Not to gamble, but just to see all there is to see.

I'll be back tomorrow to announce the winner of my giveaway. If you haven't yet, enter ALREADY! Geez.

A recipe and a giveaway!

Remember that post from oh…forever and a day ago where I talked about doing a giveaway? Well this is it!

I hope you’re wearing your party hat, because not only is this a giveaway, it’s my VERY FIRST giveaway ever. Ever.

The people at CSN Stores were kind enough to give me a promotional code and this is what I chose from cookware.com:

Aren’t they lovely and that color is definitely my color. The bigger dish is 9” square and the smaller on is 5” square. Sigh Le Creuset

Since I live by myself, the 5” dish was perfect for making a meal for one.

Asparagus Chicken Bake:

*Preheat oven to 375

1 chicken breast (I had chicken tenders, I used 2)
¼ cup chicken broth
1 cup chopped asparagus
Minced onion (I had some dried minced onion and just sprinkled some on until I thought it  was good for me)
Garlic (yes please!) (again, it calls for 1 clove minced. Being the garlic lover that I am I have a Costco size jar of minced garlic in my fridge…I used about a tsp, but really can you have too much garlic?)
Small handful of croutons

I crushed the croutons up and then mixed it with the minced garlic and onion. Place the chicken and asparagus in the baking dish, pour in the chicken broth, and top with the crouton/garlic/onion mix. Put in the oven and back for 30 minutes.

It was super yummy. In fact I liked it so much I made the next day for dinner too :)  I am in love with my new baking dishes!

Now for the giveaway…CSN would like to offer one of my readers their very own $30 promotional code to any of their sites. www.allmodern.com, www.luxebycsn.com, and cookware.com are just a few of many. The code is only good once and cannot be split between orders. It also does not cover any shipping costs.

To Enter:

Simply leave a comment. Yep, really, that’s it. One entry per person. The giveaway will end Wednesday August 4^th at 11:59pm.  And it is open to all US and Canadian readers. The winner will be chosen using random.org.

Good luck!

***CSN Stores offered me the promotional codes in exchange for a review of their product***

The month in review

Well looky here…I am actually posting!  Have you missed me?  Where you wondering what had become of me?  No, let’s just pretend that you have. Mkay.

My last post was one month ago to the day.  Geez, and I call myself a blogger.  Well, I am a blogger but I guess I have a “real” life too, who knew.  I promise the contest I mentioned will be happening.  I just got sidetracked with life and haven’t been able to get to it just yet.  Stay tuned!

What has happened since my last post:

*I turned 29! Woo hoo. So far so good.  I kind of like 29.

*I celebrated the 4th of July.  My neighborhood had a block party and where my friend Jen lives is an excellent spot to park my camping chair and have front row seats for the fireworks.

*I worked and worked and worked…meh

*I found out my job rotation is going to end early and I will be returning to my regularly scheduled programming effective July 26th.  I was more annoyed with how the news was delivered than anything else.  And the confirmation that politics are alive and well.

*I completed my second knitting project, a grocery bag

 

Are you impressed? ‘Cause I am!  And I swear I did all the work myself. Don’t listen to anything Jackie says. He’s trying to take all the credit.

*I took a staycation and spent a fabulous week at home not doing anything.  Just snuggling my dog. Watching the World Cup and le Tour de France.  It was great.  And BIG BROTHER started!!!!!!!  Yes, I watch Big Brother and I love every insane minute of it.

*I booked my first visit to Vegas! I am going in August and I am so excited.  But I do realize that it will hotter than…well you get the idea. I am still so excited.  I will be there from the 13th through the 16th. If you are there and want to meet up for drinks…

*I have been working for my Relay For Life team, trying to get ready for our Relay which, is August 6th and 7th.  Figuring out the details and having a garage sale and other fundraising activities.

*An amazing woman lost her fight with cancer after a long and brutal battle.  I am lucky to have gotten the chance to call her friend.  And it has just reinforced my passion for Relay.  I know there will be a post dedicated to her really soon, probably after her service that is this weekend.  I miss you Carole.

If you can, please donate to my Relay for Life team because every breath someone takes after hearing “You have cancer” is a breath they take as a survivor.

How have you been?  What have you been up to?