The haps.

This morning, Aaron, the doggies and I went over 17 to Henry Cowell State Park for some hiking.  We did the same route I did two weeks ago.  It went well.  It was pretty cool, maybe around 60, but it was nice.  We all came home and crashed.  I'm sure I'll be sore.  I really don't get enough exercise.

Last night we had a date night.  We got dinner at Chilis, and saw The Avengers.  I had an agoraphobia attack at the beginning of the movie.  It calmed down a bit.  The movie was meh.  I'm not sure why everyone is going coo-coo-bananas over it.

I'm doing a new "diet"  Not really a diet, but I'm trying to change the way I eat.  Sugar is out.  No white sugar, brown sugar, high fructose corn syrup(HFCS) etc.  Natural sugars are ok (eg the ones already in food, fruit sugars, milk, etc).  I have a serious sugar addiction.  And the best way I can think of fixing it, is just cutting it out entirely.  (Plus my blog-friend, reduced her sugar intake to one treat a month, and has lost 10 lbs over two months, without any other changes).  I've also been reading about the glycemic index.  And I want to lower the foods like spike glucose (without doing "low carb").  So aside from no more sugar, I'm cutting out more white starches.  No white flour, white bread, potatoes, white pasta, corn etc.  I found some whole wheat pasta which looks appalling, but I'll give it a shot.  So that means reading a lot of ingredients.  Sprouted wheat or wheatberry bread seems to be a good choice; as is rye or barley bread.  Cereal has been harder.  I eat a lot of cereal.  It turns out it's really hard to find cereal without added sugar.  Most all mainstream cereals are out, no Wheaties, Cheerios etc.  I found a Kashi granola that's ok.  Something called Uncle Sam, which is not very tasty.  And some flax flakes I haven't tried yet.  I also found it's difficult to find salad dressing without sugar or HFCS.

These are my current staple foods:
Low fat plain Greek yogurt
fresh fruit (mainly apples, but also apricots, nectarines and mangoes)
Dark/ dense breads (rye, and Daily Bread from TJs (no sugar, HFCS, or white anything)
TJs all peanut peanut butter (the only ingredient is peanuts, no salt, oil etc)
Eggs (mostly hard boiled)
Raw Almonds
frozen blueberries
salad (and various veggies: carrots, celery peppers etc)

I'm not weighing myself to start, but I know about what I weigh.

I'm also going to try to get in more exercise.  It's hard because I'm still tired all the time.

God Bless You.

I was on my way home, after work, and after stopping at Trader Joes.  As I pulled up to the intersection, I saw a man with a sign.  I didn't actually read the sign, the only thing I saw was "HOMELESS".  And by some miracle, I actually had cash.  So I pulled out a couple dollars.  Then I asked him if he wanted a piece of fruit (since I just came from the store, and the front seat was full of groceries).  He seemed surprised that I'd offer.  I wanted to give him an apple.  But the light changed before I found them, so I gave him an un-ripe nectarine.  (At which point I felt really bad, because aside from it not being ripe yet, he also didn't have a lot of teeth).  He said "Thank you!  God bless you.  Have a good night".

All I could think as I drove away was that God has already blessed me.  I'm able to give to people.  I have an abundance of food.  I have enough money that I can be picky about what I buy and eat.  I have a home.  I have wonderful pets who only want food and love (not always in that order).  I have a wonderful, hardworking husband.

Then as I drove on Let My Love Open the Door came on the radio.  Perfect, no?

Yoie

We'd been out a little over an hour.  Visiting grandma and baby Isaac.  When we came home, Yoie was acting like she was having a seizure.  There was a lot of vomit around.  She was convulsing, and her mouth was foaming.  I scooped her up and squeezed her for a couple minutes.  (Some months ago, something similar happened, but it only lasted five minutes, then she was ok, just tired.  When we mentioned it to the vet, he said, since it hadn't happened before, she'd likely eaten a spider or bee.)  But after a couple minutes, she wasn't any better, so off to the emergency vet we went.  It was 3.45, and I was pretty sure our normal vet closed at 4.  She was very unsteady in the car.  Still drooling, still shaking.

When we got there they whisked her to the back.  After a while, they said they'd started her on an IV to replace her fluids, and given her some Valium (Vicodin?) to help her.  When the vet came in to talk to us, he wasn't sure if it was a toxicity issue or a neurological issue.  They're going to keep her overnight, and do some other stuff.

Aaron went to visit her again.  I can't do it.  I hate that I can't.  But we saw her before we left.  And she was just so sad.  She had this look that said "please, please, please take me home.  Please."  It felt awful to leave her.  So I didn't think I could do it again.  It sounds weird, but she's my dog.  I sort of consider Zelda to be Aaron's dog, and Yoie to be mine.  And she's bonded more to me, she's my little baby.  I'm her mommy.  She's always super protective of me, and I feel like I can't do anything more to help her.

The vet said she seems to be improving.  But they still don't know what's wrong.  I just want her to come home.

Bullets!

• Aaron's been sick all week, but only missed one day of work.  I've been sleeping in the guest room to avoid his germs.  I made him go to urgent care, to make sure he didn't have strep.  (He didn't).  And fortunately, urgent care is only $50 with his insurance.  But we need to find him a GP.  
• I got up at 6am today.  Not sure why.  But I have gotten a lot done.
• Yesterday, after work, we went to Ikea.  It was like a date.  I guess.  We love Ikea.  We got some gifts for Isaac's baptism next week (though we're not certain if you bring gifts).  Then we looked in the GPS and found an Il Fornaio nearby.  But the wait was an hour, so we went across the street to California Pizza Kitchen.  That was very yummy.  But neither of us had pizza.  Then we wondered around Oakridge for a bit.  We were going to go to Cheesecake Factory for dessert, but the wait was 30 minutes (at 8.45), so we got some gelato and went home.
• I did 15 minutes of yoga earlier this week.  I'm still sore.  Guess, I need to do it more often.
• In the end of July/beginning of August, Aaron has to go to Dallas for 2 weeks for training.  Bleh.  Long trip.  
• On Thursday, I turned too sharply and quickly going into the parking lot at work.  And I hit the curb.  And heard a huge boom.  I thought I killed the front of my car.  It really sounded like I hit the bumper, or grill.  I actually only killed the tire.  There was a quarter-sized hole in it.  Aaron came and picked it up (that was the day he was sick), and took it to the tire store.  Fortunately, the tire was still under warranty from America's Tire Co.  And I didn't do any other damage.   

End of an era...

For our whole marriage, (nearly seven years) Aaron has either been in school, or applying for/working towards school.  (Our first year he finished his BA at SJSU, 2006-2009 we were in Utah at BYU while he worked on an MA, 2009-2012 JD from UC Hastings).  Now, for the first time in our married lives, neither of us are students (though I was only a student the first 6 months, then I started my hiatus).  It's a weird feeling.  He's not commuting to San Francisco every day.  There is no studying for tests, or writing papers.  It's nice.

It just keeps on coming.

More good news.

I'm getting a promotion at work!  Well, the office manager called it a lateral move.  But the big boss/owner called it a promotion.  So I'm going to go with that.  Starting July 1, I'll be doing the billing for work.  We were/are currently out sourcing our billing.  So I'll have a separate office, near by.  And I'll get to learn cool new things.  I'm pretty excited.

Good news for people who love good news.

Aaron got a job.  Aaron got a job before graduation.  Aaron got a job he's excited about.  And one I think he'll be good at.

It started about a month ago.  He got a mass e-mailer about a job working as a professional scouter, the email was sent to all the local eagle scouts.  So he talked to his friend Dylan who works as a professional scouter.  Sent in a resume and cover letter.  It seems like it took a while to hear back, but they set up an interview.  That seemed to go well, he did a lot of research.  Then it took a while to hear back again.  Then a second and third interview were set up.  And we found out it was between him and another guy from San Diego.

Thursday was the final interview, they said they'd let him know by early next week.  They called him later the same day, to say, if he wanted the job, it was his!

So he'll be a district executive for the Boy Scouts of America of Santa Clara County.  The office is about 5 miles from our house.  The job includes full beneys, and extra pay for driving, and phone.  He's going see if it would be cost effective to have me on his insurance, since I have mine through work.

He starts Wednesday.  So that it definitely a load off my shoulders.  And I'm really proud of him for having a good job before graduation.  He's a rock star!

Bullet Post

• I just took my last dose of pills for the day.  Hmm, I wonder how many pills I take daily... 1+4+1+...  22!  That's the base, not including if I take allergy meds, sleeping pills, or Tylenol.  Yikes.  
• Work has been stressful this week.  No particular reason, aside from me having more things to do, than time to get them done.  I'm mostly caught up now, I think tomorrow I can fully catch up.
• It's bird season, or something.  We've been sleeping with our window open, and there are birds that sing all night long.  It's odd.  Though I like listening to them sing.
• I had my dental check up today.  No cavities!  I thought for sure they'd find something, since I had x-rays this time.  And I usually have at least one thing that needs fixing.  There's one spot they're watching, but if I brush well, it'll be ok on it's own.
• Aaron's biological grandma passed away on Sunday.  Her funeral is on Thursday.  I won't be able to go, but Aaron is going to try.  (He has a job interview in the morning, and the service is in Dixon, about 2 hours from here).  
• I'm watching the Biggest Loser finale.  I'm glad it's the last episode.  It's been a long season, but I had to see it through.  :-P