Tag You're It!!

I have been tagged by my friend Beth and the rules for the game are posted above. You have now been invited to join in the game of tag on your blog! It's an interesting way to get to know your friends or at least your blog readers!!

7 Weird/random facts about me:

1. I am an avid reader and have been since my parents read me books at bedtime! I can easily spend half the day reading a great novel, if I had the time. I don't have time for that now BUT I do read every night before I go to bed. In fact, I can't really go to sleep without reading even a couple pages of a book first!

2. Many of my friends know that I love to cook but I love baking more! Ok, so they probably know that too! I definitely need to follow recipes when I cook or bake but I LOVE making substitutions or additions to see how I can improve the dish. I love making different dishes for other people - it's not as much fun when it's just for me!

3. I cannot stand make-up! I think it may have something to do with a boyfriend I had in college. He made the comment that many girls wear a lot of make-up to hide their flaws but if you end up going home with them and see them in the morning without make-up, how scary would their face be?? Also, the base I used to use made me break out and my dermatologist told me to stop wearing it. Ever since then I am just not into make-up. Most days I wear NONE! If I feel the need to dress up, I might put on mascara and eyeliner....maybe eye shadow if I really want to dress up. But that is it!! If I had to put a full "coat" of make-up on now I would feel like my face was suffocating!!

4. I am conflicted about moving out of San Diego. I have been missing four seasons for many years now and have never felt like San Diego is a place I'd want to settle down and have a family. But it seems the longer I am here, the harder it will be to move. I have many great friends here and they will definitely be hard to leave. It's an ongoing conflict....

5. I LOVE watching movies!! I watch the news every morning while getting ready for work and I definitely get my dose of reality through that and my work. Movies (and books) are a great way for me to escape! I am easy to please and enjoy almost every genre except horror. Mainstream action flick - yes! Romance - yes! British comedy - double yes! Disney movie - yes! Drama, comedy, action, independent, etc.....all good! :-)

6. I do not believe in organized religions. Before you get offended, realize that I am not trying to talk you out of your beliefs. I just feel like a lot of people use religion to guide them when they are lost and some people can lose themselves in their religion. This does not apply to everyone. The religious fanatics who are killing in the name of religion scare the hell out of me!! And I've met some people who seem to be just a few steps away from that level.... I do believe in a force that connects all living things on earth.....I'm a strong believer in nature and Mother Earth. I saw a fabulous bumper sticker the other day that I think really articulates my point of view well. It read: "Evolution is fact - God is just a theory" I LOVED IT!! We have plenty of evidence of evolution and yet God is just some story that some men created centuries ago to gain order within society (my opinion).

7. Ok, so this last one may be somewhat political (which I am normally not at all - and it gets a bit more serious than I normally am in my blog) but the upcoming election keeps showing commercials on TV about this and it bugs!! Gay marriage is just fine - leave it alone!! If two men or two women decide they are in love and want to spend their lives together - why do people feel the need to prevent it? Just leave them alone and let them get married!! It's not hurting anyone in any way. These commercials keep talking about how children are having to learn about gay marriages in school. Really?? So now you're afraid to teach your children tolerance? Huh....that is scary to me!

That last one was a doozy!! ;-)

Ok, the tags are supposed to be random but I don't know that many people with blogs!! So you are now tagged!! Christine, Tertia, Laura, Nathan, Debbie, Julie, and Jeanie. I hope you play!!

Economic help....

We are all feeling the hardships imposed by the recent changes in our economy and the news stations are all bringing us information on how we can save money in various ways. I was watching the Today Show this morning and they had a segment talking about trading items instead of purchasing - trading online is becoming much more popular now that people are all having financial troubles. So for those of you who may want to check it out....I have three listed below that seemed the most interesting and useful.

Zwaggle - This site is a national network of parents who have come together to share items they have from their kids. So if you have a car seat that is too small for your child, you can go on this site and post it as available. If someone "purchases" it, you get a certain number of points which you can use to "purchase" something that you need. They have all different categories - clothing, furniture, toys, DVD's, sporting goods, etc. Great site for any parent but especially new parents!!

Swaptree - This site swaps similar items but is not just geared towards kids or parents. With this site you actually list everything you plan to trade and they calculate what you could receive in trade. You mail in your items (almost everything can be mailed for less than $3) and then you get to look through the site and choose what items you now want. Aside from the minimal mailing fee, everything is completely free. It's an outright trade...no bartering or fees for products.

Bookmooch - This one definitely caught my eye!! I am an avid reader and love getting new books but it can get expensive if you keep buying new books. This site also uses points to trade. You just list the books you are willing to trade and wait for interested people to contact you. Then you mail your books to the interested party and use the points to go shopping for books that you are interested in adding to your collection!

Well, I am going to go check out the book site and see what they have available!! I hope you get a chance to try these sites out and I hope they help you!! At the very least you can save yourself some money while we are going through this economic rollercoaster!! Happy shopping!

Leopard Sharks

Snorkeling with the leopard sharks in La Jolla is something I have been wanting to try for awhile but hadn't gotten around to in the past 8 years. So this summer I decided it was time! I had my adventure snorkeling with the leopard sharks awhile ago but it has taken me a long time to get my pictures developed!! Sooooo....I went out with friends in August and we snorkeled with the leopard sharks off La Jolla shores (photo to the left). I wasn't exactly sure what to expect although I knew they were harmless.

Well, apparently the sharks have a season when they are in the San Diego area and we hit the tail end of the season. So when we got out into the water, we really had to search for the sharks!! The conditions weren't ideal....water was a little on the murky side (as you can see from the photos). The sharks are bottom feeders, so we had to stay in an area with water around 10 to 20 feet deep in order to be able to see the sharks. On top of that, the sharks are a little shy....which meant that in order for me to get any pictures, I had to dive down and chase the sharks!! LOL It was too funny! I probably saw a total of 20 sharks during the 2 hours we were out there. It was a great experience but I wish that there had been more to see! So I got kind of bored when I couldn't find anymore sharks and I will leave you with my very awkward self-portrait!!

You Never Know

A young man stabbed to death is just another story in the daily news when you live in a huge city like San Diego. This incident happened on the San Diego State University campus, right next to the gym on campus where I work, which brought the story much closer to home. It was a very surreal scene on Saturday morning when I walked to the gym for work - the street had been blocked by police cars but I had no idea what had happened. As I walked into the gym, I ran into a co-worker who informed me that a stabbing had taken place around 2am and it was fatal. When I walked to the back of the gym where I normally train my clients, I was able to see the crime scene. The police were in the middle of investigating and collecting evidence still - this was now about 7 hours after the stabbing had occurred. The sign for the parking lot is clearly visible from the windows at the back of the gym and it was on the corner of this sign that was covered with blood. The young man who had lost his life was still at the scene (out of sight from the gym) - his body had been covered with a bright yellow tarp. The police were still photographing the scene and collecting as much information before his body was taken away to the morgue.

It was a shocking scene to see and the investigation continued for hours after that. The next day, the sign had been painted so that you could no longer see the blood and the whole area had been cleaned up. As the story came out, we discovered that a group of four young men had left a party on campus around 2am Friday night (Saturday morning) and encountered another group of four young men. An argument broke out between the two groups - apparently the second group of men were attempting to pick a fight. The news has said that the men in the second group had weapons and stabbed all four in the first group...actually we don't even know if it was just one person doing the stabbing or more than one. All four men in the first group were injured with stab wounds but one was fatally stabbed. Luis Watson Dos Santos was a 22 year old student at Mesa College (a local community college) and has been described as someone who would rather joke around with people. He was not one to get into a fight with anyone. I spoke with a girl who knew him and had talked to his friends who had been injured - she said that Luis had run from the men and yelled that he didn't want to fight them. They stabbed him to death.

These pictures are the memorial that local students and friends of Luis have put up in his memory. He was a fun loving kid who was much loved and had many friends. His father has said “It's totally senseless,” said Santos' father in a telephone interview last night. “Somebody was out looking for trouble, and somebody's dead. I don't wish they would get the death penalty. A second tragedy would be waiting to happen if the family of the people who did this have to suffer. There's nothing anybody can do to bring my son back.”

It is definitely a senseless tragedy and he will be missed by many people. It just goes to show that these things do not always happen to others or in someone else's area. They can happen in our own backyard. Keep an eye out for yourself and your loved ones, neighbors, etc. You never know when you can make a difference.

The Size Issue

There is nothing like going to buy a bridesmaid dress to deflate your self-esteem! I am in a wedding in November and the bridesmaid dresses were picked from David's Bridal. I've been putting off getting the dress because I HATE clothes shopping...that and I had to save up for the dress. So I went into the store today....dreading every moment...and the girl asks me for my size. I give her my normal size which she writes down along with a size larger. She explains that their dresses tend to run small....yippee. So I get two dresses, one in each size, and go into the dressing room to try them on. I decide to try the larger one on first, thinking that maybe my recent weight loss will make this dress fit too loosely. Maybe it will give me a little self-esteem boost - you know? HA! Fat chance of that! The damn thing was too tight....well, the girl was able to get the zipper up all the way but then I went to take a deep breath......so much for that! Either I spend all night at the wedding doing shallow breathing and continuously fight off passing out OR get a larger size. So I asked the girl for a size larger (I'm not into the passing out idea) - now we are 2 sizes larger than my "normal" size. This one fits (much to my disappointment) - it would have been nice if it was a bit too big, but no, it fits perfectly. Damn the fashion industry and their sizes!!

What are the Chances?!

I am thinking one in a billion, but you tell me. I was driving home from work today and had my windows all the way down - I do live in San Diego and air conditioning is not often needed. Anyway, I was minding my own business and all of a sudden I felt a stinging/burning sensation on my chin! It felt like a hot ember had been thrown at my face!! So now I'm driving down the road and brushing my hand frantically against my face to get rid of the sensation...then I notice a dead bee on my seat. That's right, a bee!! Apparently the bee ricocheted off my side mirror and went into my truck, hit my face and stung me!! OUCH!! What the hell are the chances of that happening?? Check out the pic! Ok, ok, so maybe it's hard to see here (even though I circled it for you). It's not that bad really - if it had been my friend Christine there would have been a problem - she's allergic to bees!! But I still thought it was pretty random!!

Recession?? Inconceivable!

Like most of the US population, I have also been feeling the effects of the economy's downturn but last weekend I had a chance to take a mini vacation from the economic woes....someone I knew had free tickets to the Yacht Fest in San Diego!! Normally it costs about $30 per person to get in, so if it wasn't for the free tickets I would not have gone to this decadent display. Apparently this event allows people to display yachts that are for sale and/or available for charter. Well, who wouldn't want to check those out?! This picture was taken at the beginning of our tour...they had a red carpet tacked down on the boardwalk throughout the entire area along with fake Greek statues, silk plants/flowers, and fountains!! No paparazzi though.....very disappointing.

This was held in San Diego, so of course you have the "normal" natives strolling around in casual wear and flip flops (like me). But then, we are also at the Yacht Fest, so there are more people strolling around dressed up - women in their high heels (because that's what you wear when climbing the steep stairs in yachts and walking around the boardwalk) and men wearing their yacht club polo shits and linen pants. The smell of money was definitely in the air....competing with the sea salt scent. No scent of economic depression here!!

My friend Dawn and I checked out a couple of the smaller yachts first - only 50-60 feet long. These were mainly available to charter for fishing expeditions. We had our eye on the bigger yachts - especially the one that won the Best in Show award. So off to the Piano Bar we went...

This was definitely my type of yacht!! Amanda was our fantastic tour guide...and one of the deckhands on the crew for the Piano Bar. She started our tour on the top deck pointing out the inviting jacuzzi. There is a full service bar just 4 feet away from the jacuzzi - it is WAY too far to go down a flight of stairs to the bar inside - and of course the spectacular view you can see from being on the top of the yacht.

Amanda then took us downstairs to check out the entertaining areas. Of course we had to check out the full service bar here as well....very nice! The yacht was not named the Piano Bar without reason!! Not only is it well equipped to entertain a large crowd with two full service bars, but there is in fact a full size piano as well!! It's an all digital player piano that include s a CD player. Dawn and I had to stop for this great photo opportunity!! The doors to the left of the piano in the photo lead to the upper deck of the yacht. This yacht comes with plenty of toys for anyone who has a more adventurous side. As you can see in this next photo, there are jet skis (4 total), an 18' powerboat (under the tarp), and deck chairs. Also available but not shown in the photo are water skis, wake boards, a 22' powerboat (sometimes 18' just isn't enough), and gear for snorkeling.

Of course the yacht had a lovely dining table inside for formal meals. There was also a dining table on the lower deck that would be used for less formal dining. Dawn and I continued our tour down another deck and were shown the kitchen (galley in nautical terms). The kitchen on this yacht was twice as big as my kitchen at home.....just a little reminder that I was a tad out of my league here. But it was VERY nice to drool over it!! This is Dawn and our tour guide, Amanda, posing to give you an idea of the size of the kitchen. It wraps around behind Amanda where there is more storage, a full size industrial refrigerator and freezer, along with a huge pantry! Apparently a chef is part of the crew - how could there not be one? - and this is his domain! Amanda spoke very highly of his culinary skills.

The living room area....lounging area...family room, whatever you want to call it, was very nice! Not too stuffy looking, but huge!! Check it out...I had to take two pictures to get the full width of this room - it just wouldn't fit in one photo! So on either side here, you can see the two halves of the living room area.....not too shabby!!

This yacht came with six cabins, plus quarters for the five crew members, and I think I counted about six bathrooms as well. I asked what the sale price was...a mere $14.5 million! Pocket change!! And if you wanted to charter the boat, it would only cost you $140,000 per week (plus expenses and 10-15% gratuity for the crew, of course). And I left my checkbook at home! How foolish of me!!

The rest of the yachts looked just as decadent from the outside but hadn't won the award for Best in Show. We were going to tour some of the other large yachts but they want a salesperson to escort you on each one. Charging $30 at the door apparently isn't enough screening for them - they really want to make sure you are interested in at least chartering a yacht before showing you one. Another reminder that we were out of our league was when we were walking along the boardwalk and I said hello to one of the salespeople who was standing on the deck of a nearby yacht - she looked at us as if we were something she stepped in!! WOW! That kind of brought our illusion to a shattered end and we began our trek back to our vehicle. It was an amusing adventure though - the luxuries we saw were unbelievable - we even saw one yacht that had a helipad! So....did someone say recession? Pshaw!! Not here!!