I LoVe My PErsOnaL StALker

I love my personal stalker. I ask him what or where I want to eat on any given night, he looks at me very intently and guesses....he's right 99% of the time. I give him a look and in two seconds he comes closer or he runs away. He knows when I feel fat, when I need extra encouragement, when I need to be told I am a good person or I am beautiful or my efforts were more than enough. He knows when our family needs to be closer to the spirit. He knows when I am struggling with life and what makes it better. He knows how to get me to roll my eyes in laughter or smile just so. He knows how to remove the weight of the world from shoulders. Sometimes he knows me better than I know myself. The way I see it....the only way this guy can do and know all these things is if he is my personal stalker. :)

I Really Hate KARMA!

Wow, it's been the evening from HELL! Yup that bad. However it's also been a lesson in humility & compassion. Well here is the story.....For those of you who don't know I work at an insurance agency. We do everything from auto, home, ATV's, boat insurance to life and health insurance as well. Working in that line of business you become very detailed oriented and tend to over read everything. So after almost two and half years working there I had determined everyone should read all items that come to them in the mail on the insurance policies. Anyone who doesn't is going to be sorely disappointed one day. For example, I always have people call about getting a rental car after an accident and have to inform them it's not listed on their policy. And as they scream and yell, I am rudely thinking you have received renewal declaration pages and it hasn't been there for 3 years. (now you can see why I got a lesson in humility and pride, huh? I was a big time brat about this subject, yup a miss know-it-all). About a month ago I went to the doctor and had some labs done upon my request (I promise I'm totally fine, just wanted to check on a couple of things). Really didn't think anything else of it after I got my labs and everything came back fine until tonight...the night from HELL. I was opening mail and found an envelope from IHC Labs. I opened it up and it said I owed over $400. I went straight into panic mode, grabbed my cell phone, insurance card and started dialing. Was informed by a well meaning lady at my insurance company that the labs I had done were specifically excluded under my employer handbook. And then it hit me like a load of bricks, I never read that dang thing. Needless to say I started bawling and hung up the phone. So now I am stuck with a $400 bill and way bruised ego. I guess the jist of my blog is this lady got a huge lesson in humility and compassion tonight. We all lead busy lives and we are well intentioned on reading every piece of mail/policy that comes through our door but sometimes shiz just happens. Now more than ever I understand that. I'm so sorry for every time I had a rude thought about someone that forgot to read their policy and hate that I had to become one of those people to feel compassion for them. I hope to do better :) Because really that's all I can do.

How Many Hours?!!?!?!?

So Jon, Kati (one of my BF's, also Jon's cousin), Heathbar (Kati's husband) and I decided to head down to California for a quick weekend trip and boy was it a quick trip (Thursday PM to Sunday PM). The running joke is that we spent more time the car than anything and it might actually be true. Here is the recap we had in the car on the way home to Utah.

Drive to California (Thursday)
Drive time: 9 hours
Arrive at Jon's parents @ 4:30 am MST Friday

Magic Mountain (Friday)
Drive time: 2 hours each way
Time in park: 7.5 hours
Roller coasters rode: 5 (Riddler's Revenge, Goliath, Tatsu, X2 & Viper)
We were all pretty much torn between our two favorites: Tatsu and X2, they were both awesome and well worth the wait!
Pro's: Riding the coasters, people watching (blue underwear), adrenaline rush, the awesome warm weather during the day & Chipotle's on the way back.
Con's: People cutting in line (I mean like 20 people one ride, wanted to have them kicked out of the park), Stupid Flash Passes, really cold temps after the sun went down and forgetting a jacket.




By the end of the night we were freezing and had really tired feet but all and all it was a really fun day. On the way home, we had my favorite to eat.....Chipotle's. I dream about their steak burrito....SO YUMMY!

Little side note, can I tell you how much I HATE "Flash Passes" at Magic Mountain. This a pass purchased in addition to your park admission that allows you to go to the front of any ride line. Now the reason I hate them so much is because we decided not to purchase the pass. This is how things go down at Magic Mountain on a Friday.....You wait in line for an hour and half or MORE. With relief in sight, excitement finally coming back and the whoosh of the ride brewing in your bones you finally reach the front of the line. Then out of now where....bam, a group of kids walk up, flash their stupid passes and get on the ride in front of you. You consider screaming at the top of your lungs or throwing a tantrum like a 3 year old but then you realize a little green monster has kept up and bit you with the jealously bug. Next time I don't care how much that freakin pass costs (Anywhere from $30 for the basic one, which really doesn't get you on anything up to $70 per person), I'm getting it! Wow my little side note was really long :) Oh well, hopefully it was little entertaining because it was not so much in the park.

Hunnington Beach (Saturday)
Drive time: 1.5 hours each way
Time at the beach: 3 hours
Pro's: Fast Pass, people watching at the beach, laying out :)
Con's: Breeze made it a little chilly, I know shut up....it's snowing in Utah and me being the only one to not get color (stupid SPF 30).





Okay I know I just got done venting about the Flash Pass but I am such a hypocrite :). So in California on their highways they have a Fast Pass which allows you to avoid massive amounts of traffic by going in a special lane. Jon's friend, Troy, was amazing and let us borrow his electronic pass that charges you based on traffic for going in the "amazing lane" and I say amazing because it saved our sanity of sitting in more traffic. Now the cost is way minimal (like $3) compared to the stupid Flash Pass, so I have justified loving this pass and hating the Flash Pass.

Friends & Family
We got to spend time with our friends Troy and Garrett watching Deadliest Catch and Hoaders (that is crazy interesting show)..... it was like the good old days. It's always so fun and good to see them. Also Jon's parents had a BBQ at their house so we were able to see Jon's two sisters and their families, including Jeff and Janae's newest addition, our little niece Lauren, who is almost 3 weeks. Always great to sit around the table with family and have a good meal and laugh.

Drive to Utah (Sunday)
Drive time: 9 hours
Arrive home @ 6:00 pm MST Sunday
Last leg of our trip was the drive home.....no one was excited about getting back in the car. We pulled our already achey backs out of bed and made the long trek home. Once home, life began.....unpacked, did laundry and started to get ready for the work week.

Total time spent in the car: 25+ hours
Pro's: Spending time with friends and family, warm weather, fun adventures at the beach and amusement park and of course the CAR (thanks so much to Kati and Jon for driving their hybrid done).
Con's: TRAFFIC!!! (hate CA traffic, it's horrible)
Trip to California: Priceless

When Karma Hits......

So before I got married I never understood why people gained weight post marriage. I figured you get all kick a** hot looking for your wedding, why give that up. But now that I have been married a little over a year, KARMA has come and bit me in the butt....my bigger butt! Like with most weight gain it came gradually and then one morning I was looked in the mirror and thought what the hell happened?!?! My arms got bigger, my butt got bigger, my stomach got bigger, my thighs got bigger and my face got bigger, okay you get the point pretty much everything got a little bit bigger! Friends would say oh really I don't think you've gained weight but you could see that look that says "oh yeah she does look a little pudgy...I wonder if there is a baby in there." No there is no baby in there, it's just freakin fat. I don't have the excuse of birth control because it makes me crazy and I'm not on it. And no I have not been eating the same portions as Jon. I guess it's one too many treats and a lot of grilled cheese in the winter. Needless to say this lady is on a mission! I'm on a mission to get back to my glory days. So I have started doing P90x and eating healthy (5-6 mini balanced meals) and thinking a lot about my health. That brings me to my new favorite show.

I absolutely love this show. Jamie Oliver has an endearing way of showing America, as he has done with England, what we are doing to ourselves. The constant crap we put in our bodies, the chances we take with our health. I love the idea of being skinny, what women doesn't. However I would rather be fit and healthy than anything else. Jon and I both have health concerns on each side of our families and want to do all that we can to avoid future issues because of poor choices and habits created. Okay I feel like I am on a soap box a little but more than anything this is for me.....I want to be healthy and have a strong body for life :). Don't get me wrong I will still enjoy a treat but just learning moderation and portion size will be a great asset to me now and in the future. I hope by developing these habits now and I can pass them onto my future kids. If you get a chance watch Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution Friday nights on ABC, it won't disappoint. :)

Hmmmmmmmm

So tonight I was looking through my computer and stumbled on my old "single blog" (alyssabsworld.blogspot.com) and boy was I entertained. Looking through the posts and reading stories and comments made such a different impression than looking through pictures. There is something about reading the words you wrote during an experience rather than back tracking in your memory to recall. It got me thinking of why I stopped. I never had a big following and really in the end it was for me, friends, family members and my future kids. So this lady is bound and determined to start writing down her experiences and living a life where I want to :). If you happen to check my blog, I hope you enjoy the ride with me. And please in advance forgive any rants or raves, that's just the kind of girl I am.