It's Already September!!!

I can't believe how fast the year has gone by! It's been awhile since I've last blogged as well. I had some great adventures this past summer. I went camping on the beach, attended a family reunion and enjoyed a great week with my son, Zach! I've also worked a lot.

I've totally been avoiding going over my budget and setting a strict spending plan for myself. I finally sat down this morning and tackled it. I've been avoiding it because I've actually been a little afraid to find out how little money I have and how much debt I have. It took me over three hours, but I finally now have a plan and know where I stand. I feel much better and have tools to help me get to my final goal. I am doing the Dave Ramsey Debt Snowball program. This plan uses the envelope system, so I downloaded a very cheap, .99, app to my iPhone to help me track the money. I was thinking that I didn't have very much money for the month, but when I actually sat down and told the money where to go before I spent it, I found I have quite a bit of money and all of my needs are being met :)

Work has been the same. I'm very excited that we might hire more Flight Attendants with the purchase of new 737-800 series aircraft. I hope to gain some seniority. I may also get displaced to Oakland in November. That won't be any fun at all and will set me back on my Debt Snowball because I'll have to pay for a hotel in Oakland. Hopefully it will be temporary. I will find out September 30th.

This weekend I am going to see Zach in a band competition in Castle Rock, CO. I'm very excited and I know he is looking forward to visiting me!!!

Chocolate Cake!

I really want to make a yummy chocolate cake. I have a great recipe for a chocolate bundt cake that has a chocolate ganache as icing. It is extremely yummy and I really want to make one!!! I haven't yet because I've been busy working and then I think it's a whole cake, which I know I would devour in a couple of days! Not good for my waistline or my hips, as that is where chocolate cake tends to end up on my body. I also get chubby cheeks when I eat too many sweets.

It would also sabotage my running results! I start week 5 today! I'm very excited about this because on my last run I was kind of annoyed that I had to walk 1 1/2 minutes between the 3 minute and 5 minute run, so I know that is progress. I feel like I need new music though. My workout music is getting a little old since I've been listening to it so much the past couple of weeks.

I have also been working a lot lately. I am on Reserve this month, so I'm basically on-call. I run the risk of people calling in sick so they won't have to work with certain people on the scheduled trips. So, I get the less appealing people to work with and it has made for a VERY long month. I hope my 3 day block of Reserve will change my luck and I hope and pray for a good crew :)

Maybe I will make that cake and take it to my crew.....hmmmm...at least the part I don't eat ;)

Camping on the Beach

I am writing this blog from inside my tent. I am camping on the beach at Carlsbad, California. I am going to sleep with the sound of waves crashing behind me. It is quite relaxing. I am a little sunburned from being on the beach. The sky has been overcast with clouds and today it was freezing!!! I think the high was 67! So, I am snuggled in my sleeping bag, all toasty and warm.

I am on week three of my running program. I really am enjoying the run. I can't tell a difference on my scale, but just the accomplishment of running has been worth it. I've found some great places to run at some of the hotels I've stayed at. I will be amazed when I can run for six or seven minutes!!! The longest I run right now is three minutes. I was able to run on the beach today. I can't wait to do that again!

Goal: Running!

I just got back from a vacation at Disneyworld with my Mingwa ( Boston for friend) Leigh. We were roommates in Flight Attendant training and have been close friends ever since. We had a great time! I will post pictures later. Leigh has lost a ton of weight over the past six months and she did it by running. I kept admiring her super sexy trim legs. She told me she got them running. So, I want that and I am starting to run.

I bought an iPod app that is a 9 week 5K training program where I train three days a week. I started today and ran by the bay in Tampa. I had to run for 1 minute and walk for 1 1/2 min. I repeated that 8 times. Well, I did it!! It was a nice run and toward the end I was happy it was over and very proud of myself for actually doing it. I will probably blog about this running goal once a week. I hope I get those stellar legs I'm wanting. I may post pictures at the end if 9 weeks, but I'm not promising anything :)

Flying High!

I can't believe that I haven't updated my blog for almost a month! Let me just say in my own defense that I have been extremely busy with work and my social life. Two very great things!

I have been working a lot to make up for all the time I was off work sick. Right now I'm updating from Norfolk, VA. It is beautiful here and I wish I had more time to check the hotel and the area out. Note to self though, the food at this hotel is NOT very good. I will have to pack more food to eat next time I roll through here.

Yesterday I was in Oklahoma City. I was working out in the gym and the tornado alarms went off. Everyone in the hotel was instructed to go down to the basement. We were down there for about ten minutes and allowed to go back to our rooms after the storm passed. I read in the paper that there were five deaths in the neighboring counties from the tornadoes. Sad.

I did go to Huntington Beach Single's Conference. It was a blast and I will go again if I have the opportunity. I made a couple new friends and had a great time with old friends.

Zach came to visit me for Mother's Day Weekend. We had a great time! We hiked at St. Thomas, a town that was purchased by the Boulder Dam Project in the 1930s and flooded out for Lake Mead. The recent drought has uncovered the ruins, so we went and explored. It was kind of freaky because it was in the middle of nowhere and we were the only ones there. FREAKY!! Good thing I had my strong son there to protect me :)

We also went shopping, checked out a great pizza joint at Town Square and he took me to dinner at Kabuki Sushi! I loved it! We also went to see Barry Manilow!!!! He was a great sport for going and it was a fun show.

I love it when he visits and I really hope he can visit again soon! I miss him already.

Those 5 Pounds!

I have returned back to work after a six week absence due to having Pnuemonia and facturing a rib coughing. It's really nice to be back. I have no complaints about that. The only complaint I have right now is the five pounds I gained while sitting at home getting better. I want it to be gone RIGHT NOW!! I worked out today, a very wimpy workout because my rib still kind of hurts, but I am very proud of myself. I had to wear my "fat pants" for work and I barely fit into my jeans. I know that I will lose some weight just walking around at work, but I am very impatient about this. I want those five pounds gone!

Advice from a Friend

Today I spoke with a friend who gave me some advice. He asked about my dating life and I told him that it is nonexistent, which is 100% true! I told him that I thought it was because I'm at a weird age, 36, where guys my age are looking for younger girls and guys older than I are looking to not have any more kids or are just weird if they haven't been married yet. He asked me what I do to throw my interest out there? I replied that I throw parties and invite the guys who I'm interested in or I attend functions and make sure they are going to be there. He told me that I need to flirt to show my interest. He also told me that if I wanted to ask out a guy, to just do it. I then told him that I am fearful of rejection. He told me that guys get rejected all the time and it's no big deal. I then quoted the line from the pig on Toy Story, "I just don't know if I can take that kind of rejection!" He laughed, then got down to business.

He suggested for the flirting that I do "The Elbow Touch." He wasn't the first guy friend of mine to suggest this. I couldn't believe that this is a real flirting tool! I don't even know how to do this! I guess I'll have to try it at HB Single's Conference in a couple of weeks. There will be a ton of men that I will be able to experiment on.

As for asking out a guy, he suggested I ask him out of ice cream. He compared this to asking someone to have coffee, but since we are dealing with Mormons, he suggested the ice cream. He said if it is enjoyable, then try for another date. I admit that this sounds easy enough, but I really don't like the fact that I may have to ask the guy out.

This all feels a little weird and I guess I will have to force myself to do both things because I don't want to be alone all my life, even though not getting involved or dating would be easier. Ugghh!!! Here it goes...