The Scoop

I know some people feel completely out of the loop on what is going on with my life.. for that I must apologize. I've worked almost 2 weeks straight so as time went on the less sleep I got. I feel like so much has happened. I know all anyone really cares about at this moment is the new Guy in my life. :)


Here's a re-cap. An Engineer w/ Cal Fire got married in April. Him and his new bride asked me to do the cake for the party they were throwing in June. The engineer told me he wanted me to meet his step son. Between the months of april and june I had a guy say some not-so-nice things to me and it hurt a lot. Eventually I just became what I like to call "boy bitter". I basically felt every man (yes even you dad) was scum and I seriously disliked all of them. At that point I had no desire to meet any of the guys that people had mentioned to me.

I was briefly introduced to Jared at the party then promptly avoided him like the plague the rest of the day. Although.. I did think he was really cute.. BUT he was a guy, therefore he was a jerk. He emailed me on facebook that night. He told me he was sorry he didn't get the chance to talk to me at the party but he definitely wanted to get to know me.

We started talking more and he asked me to coffee for the following wednesday. It was a long wait til wednesday and the nerves almost got the best of me on wednesday morning. All nerves were gone once I got there. Well , maybe not ALL of them. I did knock my tea off the arm of my chair and it landed in my lap. Thankfully it was upright when it landed..

Thursday we went on a picnic at a park near my work. It was a relaxing few hours under a big shade tree. We talked, laughed, joked. It felt very comfortable and like I have known him forever.

We have talked every day since and I made him dinner last night. It was my first attempt at a homemade lasagna. I think it turned out pretty good. Only a few minor mishaps along the way.
Before he got here I was doing stuff in the kitchen and smacked my forehead on the corner of the cupboard. I had a nice little bump by the time he got here. While opening the salad dressing I squeezed the bottle a little too hard and a glob fell on the counter... To which he laughed and said "way to go". After cleaning up that small mess I attempted to get the tongs out of the utensil holder on the counter. Apparently they were burried under every other utensil in the container because I had to take all of them out just to get the tongs. Of course the stack of utensils on the counter didn't go unnoticed so I got a "everything ok over there?" and a chuckle. As if that hadn't been enough I started tossing the salad w/ the said tongs and flung salad across the counter. He had no words that time. Just lots of laughter. What a way to make an impression..
Just after that he said "just dont drop the lasagna". It was at that point I decided to leave the lasagna on the counter instead of taking it to the table.

It was a relaxing evening chatting and watching a movie. Tonight he is taking me to his favorite place to eat downtown, The Mandarin House. Yes folks.. a chinese food place..where he INSISTS I use chopsticks. aww man! Look how big salad tongs are and I can't even do that gracefully.. chopsticks + rice + shannon= disaster

more stories to come..

Excuse me Maam..

So I walked into the men's bathroom at the fair today. There were two separate doors. I saw the first sign and it was men's and I simply assumed the second sign was for women's. Not so much. Thankfully I got just inside the door when I looked up. Funny thing was at first I thought a man had come into the women's bathroom (ha!). Then I heard " I think you have the wrong place". Only then did I realize there was more than one man in there. I didn't say anything, just turned around and walked out. That's what happens when I assume the second sign is for women's. It makes an ass out of you and me. Well, only me this time. OOPS

My Bestie

I remember as a kid thinking how crazy it was that my parents had friends for 20 years or more. Never did I think I would have such a friend. Once in a lifetime you are blessed with that one friend that "gets" you more than anyone else on the planet. Don't get me wrong, I am beyond blessed by all the friends and family I have surrounding me..more than words can say. Yet there is one person that has been in my life for the last 14 years and I can honestly say I could not function without her in my life. No matter what happens, she is always there. I love how we can talk for hours about a hundred different subjects. We still turn into 12 year old girls while watching the American Idol finale. She's beautiful, smart, creative, kind, loving, honest, funny, talented, a great wife to her hubs and an incredible mom to her 3 precious children. I could honestly go on forever about how wonderful she is but I will leave it at this.. Jessica I love you so very much. I am so blessed to have you as a friend. Thank you for all you bring to my life. (I meant to write this on your birthday but time go away from me.)

I Think I can, I Think I can..

Slowly the cars began to move. Slowly they climbed the steep hill. As they climbed, each little steam engine began to sing:
"I-think-I-can! I-think-I-can! I-think-I-can! I-think-I-can! I-think-I-can! I-think-I-can! I think I can - I think I can - I think I can I think I can--"
And they did! Very soon they were over the hill and going down the other side.
Now they were on the plain again; and the little steam engine could pull her train herself. So she thanked the little engine who had come to help her, and said good-by.
And she went merrily on her way, singing:
"I-thought-I-could! I-thought-I-could! I-thought-I-could! I-thought-I-could! I thought i could - I thought I could - I thought I could - I thought I could - I thought I could - I thought I could I thought I could..


The last couple of weeks I have felt like the "Little Engine That Could" as she was trucking up the ginormous hill.. I feel like this weight loss thing has been an uphill battle and the harder I push forward, the more it seems I am going backwards. Don't get me wrong, I haven't gained any weight but the motivation to keep going has worn off just a little. Well, it HAD.. but not anymore. I had a good talk with my BFF and Drill Sgt. Both have been instumental in keeping me going and encouraging me. Last friday I finally hit the top of the hill and I made it over. I am on the downward side now. Only 23 pounds to go! I know I can do it. I WILL do it. Im finally starting to see the difference that others have been talking about.. take a look.. ( I didnt start this journey til january but the Nov/Dec pics show a good "before" image.)


November 2008

December 2008

February 2009

February 2009 again

May 2009

June 2009

Getting Organized and Other stuff

I finally gave in and ordered some business cards for my so-called "cake business". I also made up some order forms and a price sheet. I researched a lot of bakeries and came up with some reasonable prices (in my opinion). I will charge less than the bakeries but I feel that they cover my costs and time pretty well. So.. here goes nothing. I have 3 birthday cakes and 2 wedding cakes coming up. Crazy huh?

Life overall is good. People have been saying mean/stupid things to me lately. I guess they don't realize how much I take thing to heart. I do things for people because it makes me happy and I hope in some way it will touch their life. If someone sees it as "trying too hard" then so be it :) I'm not changing who I am and who God created me to be just because of someone's opinion.

I enjoyed my drive home this morning. I was listening to some beautiful classical music and letting it all go. Then the perfect line popped into my head "Good Morning Beautiful Day..".

Half Way!

I haven't talked much about my weight loss journey lately for fear of boring people to tears. Its been a long, trying journey but oh so good at the same time. I am just about half way. I have lost 24 pounds so far. I still can't believe it. I look at the scale and sometimes think it is lying to me. The numbers keep going down.

People keep asking me what diet I am on or what I am doing. The funy thing is that I eat whatever I want! I'm just a little more careful about it. I watch my calories and eat more fruits and veggies. I've also been working out a lot. Anywhere from 4-6 days a week. Occasionally less. I go to the gym even when I don't want to because I know when I am done, I will feel fantastic. I use www.livestrong.com to track my calories. It is a totally free sight. I also have a good friend, aka the "Drill Sgt." that asks about my weekly weigh-ins, gives me workout ideas and know which buttons to push to really make me kinda mad which in turn makes me work harder to prove him wrong :) He knows this, I know this.. and I always fall for it.

I have 26 pounds to go to reach my goal. The road looked long at the beginning but the closer I get, the more excited I am. I see small differences in myself but nothing too major yet. Except in a couple pictures I have seen of myself I swear my head is getting smaller?!?! I have more confidence and many of the self-esteem issues I had in the past have dwindled into nothing. I still don't want to see pictures of myself though. I am sure I will get there. I just can't believe this is happeneing.. it is really happening. Pinch me, I must be dreaming.

When bad things happen to good cake..

Well my worst nightmare (as far as cakes are concerned) has come true. I made a wedding cake for my friend, Erin. I made it at home and drove it to Yucaipa on saturday. It was warm outside and I had the A/C on full blast during the entire 2 hr drive.

I built the cake when I got there and it seemed ok. I checked on it occasionally and I could see it was starting to sag just a bit. I figure it was because of the heat. A little while later Erin's step-mom came to tell me the cake was leaning a little. I took off toward the kitchen and then I saw it through the window... the top two tiers had toppled over and they were sprawled out over the table.

A couple other ladies came in at the same time. I just stood there motionless. Then the tears came. I couldn't help it. I had baked for 5 days and frosted for 2 days. 2 dozen eggs, 15 cups or so of frosting, 4 different kinds of filling...I couldn't believe it. Erin's step mom and a couple of the ladies grabbed me some tissues and were mopping up my tears. When Erin and Travis came in I cried harder. Erin hugged me and said it couldn't have happened to two better people. Everyone shrugged it off and said it would be ok. I did my best to repair the damages.

I don't know what happened. It could have been a whole combination of things. Top two tiers too heavy and not enough support rods in the third tier? heat? someone bumping the table?... who knows.. Either way it happened.

Atleast everyone was raving about how good it was. Even the lady the doesn't like cake had seconds.

The camera guy was waaaayy excited about the whole ordeal because he was getting some good shots. Thanks dude.

The original:

After the fall:

The top couldn't be salvaged:

The final product:

Vacation recap.. Part 2

I can't believe that my vacation will be over in just a few hours. I've loved every second of this time off! It has been sooo nice. A very good break before fire season. I've been a busy little bee pretty much every day.

Day 5 cont: I took it easy on sunday. hung out at home, cleaned. Then I did something that I have never done before.. I went to the movies alone. Well worth it to see see this guy:

Hugh Jackman.. Holy crap that guy is hot ! I thought it was a great movie and of course the movie theater popcorn was super yummy

Day 6: I think a lot of people had a case of the "mondays". I didn't think I did until I got to walmart to get the oil changed in my car. My plan was to get the oil changed then head to sea world and balboa park. For whatever reason I became a crabby-patty about half way through the day. Thankfully I got a call from my BFF and we decided to grab some lunch and head to the park. It always amazes me how being around Jess and the kids can improve my mood. I loved watching Noah and Jack play on the slides as little buddies.

In an effort to become more handy, I headed to Brian and Katie's so brian could teach me how to change the air filter in my car. Easiest thing ever!

Day 7: Girls day.. This was the day I had been looking forward to the most! The whole day with Jess, the kids and her sister in laws emily, amy and kristina. A day of chick flicks, american idol, talking and food. It doesn't get much better than that.

Day 8: I was heading to Carlsbad State Beach to meet up with Becki and TJ. I've been to that beach a ton but never to the camp sites. How hard could it be.. right? I drove up and down The road looking for the right parking lot. The guy at the guard shack wasn't very helpful and sent me farther south(probably a mile and a half or so) than what I needed to be. I finally parked then called Becki to meet up with her. After a short conversation I realized I was *quite* lost. I got back in my car and did a couple more laps around Carlsbad Blvd to find a good parking spot. I finally get INTO the actual camp grounds and I began my trek to find my friends... who were in space #6. I was at space 162. So I figured I just need to walk past 156 camping spots and I would find them.. until I noticed the numbers going up instead of down..?!? Thankfully about 3 minutes later I saw becki walking towards me! I was saved from be lost for eternity in the Carlsbad camp grounds! It was such a relaxing day on the beach. I had a great time hanging out with my friends and couple of their family members. On my way home I stopped by the strawberry fields and picked up the BEST strawberries I have ever had!

Day 9: Wedding cake madness began in a big way. I baked a couple of the cakes through out the week but this was the day I had to do the major shopping and running around.

Last week a friend of mine, who also works with the Burn Institute, asked me to be his assistant for the Fire Fighter Combat Challange at the Expo this year. Gee.. a day surrounded by good looking, buff, sweaty fire fighters.. twist my arm.. please. Is it just me or is that a no-brainer? I headed to the Del mar fair grounds for a meeting with the Fire Expo committee. Its going to be even better this year. New location and during the San Diego County Fair bring new challenges but everyone is stepping up with some great ideas.

I finished the day with a quick visit with my parents then headed home to continue a wedding cake.

Day 10: working on the wedding cake.

It's been a great vacation. I've done a lot of stuff but I am so relaxed and I have soaked up every.single.minute of it.

Vacation Re-Cap...Week 1

It's been about a year since my last real vacation. I've taken a couple days off here and there but not a whole shift.. which gives me 11 full days off. Originally I had planned on going to Seattle this month but thanks to our lovely state budget, it was cancelled. Thinking back, I am kind of glad I didn't go. Sure, it would have been an adventure but what I realized what I really needed was some down time to just.. do nothing (or something if thats what I chose).

Day 1:

What better way to start vacation than to have breakfast with a good friend. I've been dreaming of IHOP pancakes for weeks now.. soooo yummy. I sometimes wish I didn't get full so fast so I could eat ALL of the pancakes. Good food, great company.. what else could a girl ask for? Thanks Nick! I look forward to our next IHOP adventure and food critique.

Day 2:

Volunteering for the Burn Institute over the past year has been fantastic. I headed to Mesa College for a health fair and spoke with people about volunteer opporunities. Everyone has a story.. I met one lady that survived a stroke and now works with a brain injury recovery group to help people get back into the work force and such. We talked for a good 15 minutes. I just wanted to cry.. her story was moving. I've never had such a strong desire to reach out and hug a stranger. I am hoping she follows through and starts volunteering with the burn institute!

That evening I had dinner with Brian, Katie and Peyton. That little one sure loves their new back yard.. playing ball and looking for bunnies!

Day 3: Sunscreen, Chair, Book, Ipod, Towel, Water.... that's all I needed.

Day 4: A day of beauty at the Carlsbad Flower Fields followed by a second afternoon at Carlsbad State Beach.

Day 5: As much as I would like to avoid the responsibility of cleaning and housework, I know it needs to be done. Plus, I got a new mop and I can't wait to use it again! My floors are going to sparkle!! I'm also hoping to re-organize my closet... we will see how ambitious I am after I finish cleaning everything else!

I look forward to the next 6 days and the things I have planned and the things I don't have planned....

Beauty

I figured while I am on vacation I should do some things I have never done or haven't done in a while. A friend of mine, Corrin(along with her roommate and friend), was visiting from San Luis and invited me to go to the Carlsbad Flower Fields with her and her roommate. The flowers are breath-taking. I will let the pictures speak for themselves.

The sun was out and it was a beautiful day. We braved the Sweet Pea Maze.....We stuck together in the maze until the end.. when we got separated. I went one way, Corrin went another and the other two went yet a different way. On occasion I can be directionally challenged... so who do you think got lost in the maze? You guessed it folks. I was only lost in their for about 5-8minutes longer than it took the others girls.. not too bad right? Of course Corrin did come back through the exit to help me find my way out. Thank God for that because I may still be in there trying to get out :)

Me and Corrin