MyFitnessPal.com

I decided I want to get in the best shape of my 30s so I took a cue from my FAVORITE sister-in-law, Joni, and downloaded the MyFitnessPal app. I've been keeping much better track of the food I eat and I'm feeling great so far! It's not so much about the weight loss but more about overall health (which will result in healthy weight loss and a better BMI).

I hope I can count on lots of support from all my blog buddies!

MyFitnessPal - Nutrition Facts For Foods

Gardening in the City

Just thought I'd post a couple pics of my gardening adventures! It's been really fun.

Mom and Dad made me this SWEET planter out of redwood from an old deck...so fun! I put Hibiscus plants to give it an "island vacation" feel and put it under my bedroom window in the front yard.

These Mexican Zucchini are really doing well despite the extreme heat.

Going "GREEN"

So, my roomie got a little crazy with the green paint and look how fun it turned out! Totally fits in with the little-Mexico theme in our barrio (neighborhood).

Going "GREEN"

My New Home

I MOVED! And this time it's not an apartment! I haven't had time to take new pictures but this gives you a basic idea of the new place. Just imagine it with the lawn mowed, a couple arm-chairs out front and cute curtains in the bedroom window. The whole thing just came together perfectly because I was looking for a new place and my next door neighbor in the apartments found this house so we decided to be roommates! His name is Justin and he's great.

The house has some serious character. It was built in 1945 so it has that old-fashioned charm. For example, the mail box is built into the wall with access from inside the house. Also, there is a little hatch at the back of the house where the milkman would deliver milk and pick up the used, glass bottles. Sometimes I imagine that I'm a 1950's housewife as I'm washing dishes and doing chores...just kidding!

This house is flush with security features including this scary owl atop a post/motion-sensor light protruding from the roof of the detached garage. The owl basically says "don't mess with this house" to passers by (in the alley). It's super classy!

We decided to take some extra precautions with safety because Justin's apartment got burglarized a couple months ago. My brother (Jacob) works for ADT and he hooked us up with a great deal on a security system. It's pretty incredible. I also installed a photo cell on the front porch so the light goes on at dusk and off at dawn. On the side of the house I installed a motion sensor light. All of that PLUS the owl PLUS Justin's Chihuahua and I think we're pretty safe. It is probably overkill because the neighborhood seems really tranquil LOL!

I really like the place so far and feel a little more settled in every day.

Top Ten

Okay. I'm a baby about being sick...I know this. Here are the top ten reasons I'm mad about getting an awful cold this week:

10  It's way too early in the month to be walking around looking like Rudolf, the red-nosed reindeer. I sure as heck don't plan on leading a world-wide (minus the Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu and otherwise non-Christian countries) aerial sleigh ride for some fat guy with my "nose so bright."

9  "Plop plop, fizz fizz..." I think I have an Alka-Seltzer Plus hangover (if that's even possible).

8  Watching the Alka-Seltzer tablets "fully dissolve in 4 oz of water" has been among my highlights of the last couple days.

7  Shaving hurts for some reason.

6  I haven't spent this much time on Facebook in a LONG time.

5  When I start laughing I begin to cough! And let me just say...there's some funny stuff on YouTube these days so this whole laughing = coughing scenario isn't helpful!

4  Kleenex cool touchtm tissues are a work in progress...don't waste your money on them. I'm going with those Puffs w/ lotion next time for sure.

3  I miss my MidFirst family when I'm at home sick. I'd much rather be at work than this!

2  I'm missing an Ornament Party with my friends as I type this post. I even have a cool, Jack-in-the-Box elf ornament to place on their tree. Guess I'll have to pay them a visit some other day.

1  I CAN'T GO SEE MY NEW BABY NIECE, Autumn Renae Osborn. Isn't she cute!

 

It's not all bad news...

I must say that I'm happy to have a lot of wonderful people looking out for me. My roommate made me some nice soup. Jamba Juice (a quick walk across the street from my apartment) whips up this amazing warm drink with all kinds of herbs and vitamins.  Also, my work has been really understanding about me having to stay home. 

Overall, life is grand and I should be back to my normal self in no time!

Wildcats Like Water

I've been doing some research to figure out what school I should attend. I have pretty much decided to go into the field of hydrology. Every time I mention this to people I get a lot of questions about what a career as a hydrologist would look like. I think Matthew C. Larsen, associate director for water at the US Geological Survey put it best when he said: “Hydrologist is a fairly broad term, but generally, any research or problems having to do with water, there’s a hydrologist working on it.” For my purposes, I would like to work in the field and assist in providing data regarding water sources such as rivers, lakes and oceans. I would also like to be a force for good in cleaning up water that has been affected by pollution.


Though my research, I have found that there are only three major universities offering undergraduate and graduate degree programs in hydrology--University of California (in Davis), University of Nevada (in Reno) and University of Arizona (in Tucson). I had initially considered going to a community college to get a certificate in hydrology but the more I research I am finding that the best educational experience is found at these three universities.

I was thrilled to find out that UofA is the leader when it comes to hydrology programs. First, Tucson is a beautiful city and I would enjoy living there. Next, I am an Arizona resident so the tuition will be much lower than other options. And finally, I won't be too far away from my Phoenix friends and family. I have an interview scheduled with an adviser to find out more about how I can get into their program and become a water-loving UofA Wildcat. I'm getting excited!

Halloween 2011

I just wanted to post a couple pics of our Halloween adventures. Overall, it turned out to be a really fun Halloween with friends and I didn't even have to spend very much time/money on my costume!

The Crew...and, yes, that is a dog dressed as a soccer ball haha!

Veronica & I at Amsterdam

We all hung out at Veronica & Kara's house before we headed out to Amsterdam to see what kind of craziness we could feast our eyes upon. Let me just tell you...people are so creative! I wish I would've snapped a few photos of the costumes I saw but I was too busy dancing and having a good time (plus my iPhone 3G dinosaur doesn't have a flash LOL). I really like to see people dressed up and especially love it when folks think of something unusual or come up with their own interpretation of a popular costume.

One of my best friends, Octavio, got off work at 11 (he produces the nightly news for Univision 33--the Spanish TV station) and he met us out. He did a great job on his costume which he modified from a real sailor uniform he found at a thrift store. We found another guy in the original, unmodified version of Tavo's costume and took a quick pic.

It was a spooktacular night!

Seriously Random Post

It's almost Halloween and I finally figured out what I wanna "be!" I'm gonna be a glammed out British officer ala Kazaky (www.kazaky.com). I ran into this Ukrainian dance music/fashion group a while back on YouTube (they're pretty popular with over 8 million views) and they're really talented.

<---------- When I saw this outfit something just clicked and I decided it could be a fun Halloween costume! I think it will be something that nobody else will do so I won't look cookie-cutter.

On another TOTALLY random tangent. For some reason I've been paying extra close attention to street names lately. I like to wonder where the names came from and how they make up the character of a neighborhood. I was down in Tucson last weekend and really enjoyed the prevalence of street names in Spanish.

This sign really caught my eye --------------->
"Calle Sin Nombre" translated means street without a name. It made me laugh so I made a quick u-turn and snapped a photo. The other funny thing about this particular street name is that most English speakers would think "sin" is something bad and possibly choose to avoid this little path of sin.

Feeling Loved

I know it's not Thanksgiving yet but I'm having a moment of gratefulness so please bare with me! I've had a few trials lately (nothing big) and it's been a little taxing on my emotional well-being but these are the times when I really seem to notice all of the wonderful people in my life. These are individuals who probably don't even realize the positive impact they've had on my life recently.

First, my parents. Nobody loves you like your folks and anyone who knows my parents knows what amazing people they are. Just yesterday my dad was nice enough to come visit and bring lunch to me at work (on his way to work). An amazingly simple act of kindness was just what I needed after a restless night. Chicken sandwiches (made with chicken canned by my sister and mom), an apple and a couple York peppermint patties brought a big smile to my face.

Yesterday was doubly good because I got to catch up with by beautiful friend Jessie. We sat and chatted over some great Mexican food out in Ahwatukee. I am so grateful for her!

Another person who's been such a blessing in my life these days is my roommate Shane. Some of the stress I've been experiencing has been related to our housing situation and he's been so supportive and positive about the whole situation. He's such a great friend and we have such a great time whenever we're together!

Speaking of friends, its so fun when people will just text you randomly and make your day a little brighter. Such was the case today with my friend Jorge. We had lost touch and he randomly texted me to see how I was doing and see if I wanted to grab a drink real quick. We got to catch up and talk about life. It made me happy! Oh, and his new puppy is the cutest thing ever...and super mellow (unlike his dad haha)!

Lastly, my work family. I am very lucky to work where I work and with the people I work with. I had a training class today and I got to see some people I don't see on a daily basis. It just reminded me of how many great people there are in this world. One of my dearest friends at work is Adriana. She is a spunky Romanian girl with a big heart. We really enjoyed working together in the Downtown office where we would constantly tease each other and pretend like we were mad at each other just for fun. We have had some amazing times together and I know she would do anything for me and I would do the same for her (and her wonderful husband).

I guess I could keep going and going with this post. So many people help make my life amazing! I'm so grateful...even if it's over a month before Thanksgiving.

9-9-9 plan...not so simple after all:

I've been keeping a close eye on the group of candidates seeking the GOP nomination and I thought I'd have a little fun and do a facetious, political post.

I have to admit, when I first heard about Herman Cain's 9-9-9 tax plan I thought it sounded pretty smart. I like the idea of making the tax code more fair (although upon further observation I would say 9-9-9 is anything but fair). But, like Michele Bachman recently said, "the devil is in the details." Yes, I did just quote Michele Bachman people...get over it! LOL!

I found this article very informative:

Taxes you'll still pay under Cain's 9-9-9 plan

Also, being a HUGE SimCity buff (back in the day) I thought this article was really funny:

http://www.theatlanticwire.com/politics/2011/10/herman-cains-9-9-9-plan-works-well-simcity/43659/

Maxis (the makers of SimCity) Response:

  "We encourage politicians to continue to look to innovative games like SimCity for inspiration for social and economic change," said [Maxis senior producer Kip] Katsarelis. "While we at Maxis and Electronic Arts do not endorse any political candidates or their platforms, it's interesting to see GOP candidate Herman Cain propose a simplified tax system like one we designed for the video game SimCity 4."

Let's just hope Michele Bachman's über-intelligent comment about 9-9-9 acutally being flipped to become 6-6-6 doesn't result in some SimCityesque disaster!

Maybe Michele is right???

Life in the Suburbs!

My "Silver Limo"

Something unusual happened today...I departed from my typical Monday morning light rail commute and actually DROVE TO WORK! And you know what was weird? I really missed the ten-minute, earphones in, zoned out ride to work. It's crazy how you actually have to pay attention while driving down the I-10...no texting for me on this morning's commute!

Anyway, I'm excited to report that I have taken on a new challenge at work and I am now working as a part of what my bank refers to as their "Float Team." It basically means that I'm supporting staff at banking centers as they are short-handed or when new staff is undergoing a training period. It's an exciting new opportunity.

My Temporary Home

Today I had the chance to work at the bank located at 48th Street & Chandler Blvd (in the Ahwatukee neighborhood of Phoenix). This beautiful neighborhood is located at the base of South Mountain and is well known as a haven for raising a family. It was such a change of pace from my usual Downtown Phoenix office. In Downtown the typical clientele are professionals working as attorneys, bankers or city/county/state workers. At the office in Ahwatukee the clientele was mostly small business owners and families. It was fun to watch parents come in with their kids and use the free coin counter to teach their kids about saving money. So, although I missed my friends (coworkers/clients) Downtown, I must say that I really enjoyed my day in "the burbs!" I can tell this is going to be a fun new experience as a "floater."

$4.99 Twenty Piece McNuggets...WHY?

Half of my 20-piece order.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, it's hard to believe but I turned 30 this year! Determined to make this a year of smart decisions I made a goal to start eating healthier and preparing more meals at home. As you can see from the photo above I've run into some trouble--$4.99 Twenty-piece McNuggets are ruining my life!

For some reason I've always had a special place in my heart for McNuggets. The tasty, "golden and juicy, all white meat" morsels have an iconic taste that is hard to beat. I have never been totally sure of what I'm eating when I pop one of these nuggets into my mouth and bite down. It has a texture similar to chicken; however, the consistency of the "all white meat" center doesn't break apart like any "real" chicken I've ever encountered. Nevertheless, I can't let a little thing like that ruin my appreciation for a savory staple of American diet.

So, on to my dilemma. My entire adult life I have always been satiated with a ten-piece box of nuggets. I have never even considered buying a twenty-piece. But McDonald's--in their marketing genius--has decided to flex their "we're the best value in town" muscle once again and lower the twenty-piece McNugget price from approximately $7 to the unbelievable, bargain-basement price of $4.99 (25 cents/nugget)! Of course, the ten-piece price remains $3.69 (37 cents/nugget). Being one to appreciate a bargain I can't seem to bring myself to buy the 10 piece! I always start out with the best intentions--rationalizing the logic of buying a twenty-piece meal by reasoning that I can stow one box away in the fridge and make two meals out of my purchase. It sounds like a good plan, but guess what? You guessed it...the second the scent of these golden devils hits my nostrils I just dig in and, before I know what happened, ALL TWENTY NUGGETS HAVE VANISHED!

I could go into a self-loathing rant about my lack of self control but I'm a grown man now and self-loathing is no longer an option. I need a solution to my little problem. I have determined to buck my value-conscious, cheapskate mindset and pay 37 cents/nugget with the ten-piece. McDonald's! Why must you make my life so difficult!?

Looking good...

I know Crystal already blogged about this on her photography blog (calartistry.blogspot.com) but I just wanted to put in my two cents. I had a great time the other day when I met for lunch at the Riparian Reserve in Gilbert with Mom, Crystal (my sister) and the kids. Eager to practice her photography skills, Crystal had requested that I be her "model" for a few outdoor portraits. I figured that I was blessed with beauty for a reason and it would be a sin to hide my talents from the world so I obliged ;-)
We had a really good time with the photo shoot and I tried to keep my laughter to a minimum while she arranged my poses. I think the best part of it was just being around Crystal. I've always felt a special closeness to her being that she is only about a year 1/2 younger than me. I've always admired her desire to develop her talents whether musical or some other artistic endeavor.



Anyway, here are some of the other pics:

This was decidedly the best of the shoot.This one was just funny. As you can see, it didn't turn out how we had planned but the idea was cool anyway.

My sister is always looking for willing victims...I mean individuals looking to assist her in her continued artistic development. Just let me know if you're interested and I'll get you in touch with her or check out calartistry.blogspot.com sometime.

So done...

I finally finished!!! I got everything up in the bathroom and it's now functional--not to mention stylin'! I'd like to take this moment to thank my dad for all of his expert advice directly related to this project and all of the skills he's given me throughout my life with or without even knowing it! I also really appreciate Justin's (my roommate) patience as he's been dealing with dust and debris for a solid three months now. Poor guy! I know he's happy to have his own space again. As you can see, I successfully mounted the sink on the wall and it's pretty darn sturdy thanks to some good IKEA mounts, solid backing and liquid nails LOL.
Here are some more pics:

I'm pretty happy with the way the shower turned out. The dark grout really toned down the blue while preserving the great reflective color of the glass mosaic tiles. Also, I got the tub pretty dirty from washing grout sponges and I was worried I wouldn't get the stains out but I had a geneous idea...After scrubbing forever with a brush, I used a 200 grit sanding block and some Comet to gently remove the stains. It worked like a charm and the tub is shiny white porcelain again!
The storage compartment in the wall proved convenient. As you can see, it has lots of room for all of Justins toiletries even if he does have more product than the average American girl ;-)I went with a staggered tile pattern for two reasons: 1. I like the way it looks, and 2. the bathroom is so out of square that a traditional pattern would have made the wacky angles look even more obvious. Oh, and the toilet has one effective, efficient flush...I've tried it on some heavy-duty jobs already! J/K
It's nice to be done with this project. I had a good time and learned a bunch but let's just say I'm not quite ready to move on to the next bathroom...that will have to wait :-)

Wedding Day!

It's official...Jacob and Joni are now married! It was an amazing sight to see how happy they both were on their special day yesterday. It was so nice to see so much of our family make it out and we had a great time. Joni's family is amazing too...I really enjoyed meeting them!
Congrats Jacob and Joni!!!

Cancún...

So, I had four days off due to some schedule changes at work. As I contemplated all of the many things I could do with this little break and I decided to go to expedia.com to see if there were any travel deals. I'm soooo glad I did! I found an amazing deal on an all-inclusive hotel package in Cancún and it was AMAZING! It was beautiful weather and the food was fabulous!
I went with my friend Brent because it was his birthday and he had time. It was a really fun trip and I would highly recommend Cancún as a great place to escape the daily grind :-) Here are some pics:

They had a DJ by the pool so we were all dancing to Rihanna "Live Your Life" in the middle of the day! It was really fun! Nobody cared how ridiculous they looked...or maybe I'm speaking for myself!
Brent...stuffing his face...we did a lot of this :-) For some reason they used wine glasses for the water...idk why but it felt classy LOL
I think Cancún is obsessed with limbo...I've never been involved in so many limbo competitions in my life! I hate limbo because I'm so freakin' tall. Brent is a little guy so he's a natural LOLI blend right in :-)

New Year's Day!

Happy 2009!

So, yesterday I got to go out with Justin and our friend Michael on his quads! We went to a place just west of Lake Pleasant. It was a great time and I even got some air. I love spending New Year's Day outdoors!
Oh, it was cool too because I got to stop by Mom & Dad's house for dinner since they are out in the West Valley now. I have a feeling 2009 is gonna be an amazing year!

Phoenix Light Rail...

So, Saturday was the grand opening for the first phase of the light rail system which connects Phoenix, Tempe, and Mesa! I was so excited! My friend Jason (from Vegas) was here doing some CNN reports about the event so I took him around. We had a great time!

Here are some photos:

This was just part of the line at the Mesa end of the track. It was estimated that 150,000 folks got on the train on opening day!!!

Me and Jason as he was filming a CNN iReport.View of the Mill Ave Bridge as we crossed over Tempe Town Lake.

Bathroom update...

Ok, so I've been slacking on this remodel!!! So far I have all of the drywall up and most of the backing for the tile surround (around the tub). I decided on blue glass mosaic tile and I'm excited to see how it turns out! I'm gonna put black grout to make a dramatic contrast and I'll go with a light gray/blue wall color. I'm also excited about the sink. It's a wall-mount, porcelain sink from IKEA and it has the faucet coming from the wall. It's hard to explain and I don't have it up yet so I'll take a picture when it's mounted. It should be unique and it's also practical because it has a nice ledge to store soap and stuff. Another nice piece from IKEA is the cabinet that I installed into the wall. It will have a glass mirror and several shelves to store towels and bathroom supplies. So basically I have all of the sheet rock, plumbing, and tile backing ready (almost) so it's time to crack down on the finishing touches.

White Christmas Eve...

Merry Christmas!!!

No, It didn't snow in Phoenix but we had a very white Christmas Eve last night. I was on a budget this Christmas but I wanted to give Braden and Jade (my niece and nephew) something they'd enjoy so I found random small gifts and put them in boxes filled with paper from the shredder. We made a mess and had a "snowball" fight! LOL It was good because I saved money and the kids (including us adults) had fun and as an added bonus I shredded my bills ;-)
Here are a few highlights from last night:

Crystal made some yummy piesChelsea whipped up some mean mashed potatos!Braden and Jade love playing a game with dad (Spencer) where he keys a bunch of random numbers in the cell phone and then he recites the number to them (i.e. nine-million, two-hundred and fifty-four thousand, six-hundred and twenty-nine). They LOVE it! Who knows why?
As usual, Jacob and Joni can't stop staring at eachother...LOL!
Braden was excited to help vacuum up the the "snow" at the end of the night.

We also shared a nice time reading Luke 2 and remembering the true meaning of Christmas. My mom had a great idea to include Braden and Jade by using a felt board nativity set as we read the story. We also had music thanks to Chelsea, Darin, Jacob, Joni and the Lilly kids. Braden sang ("A Shepard's Carol") which, for some reason, made my eyes well up with tears. He's growing up sooo fast! We wrapped up the devotional with my dad sharing some of his personal feelings about the Savior and Jade made us all smile when she sang Jingle Bells.
It was a really nice Christmas Eve! I feel grateful to be part of such a loving family!