Day 4: Bake + Redding + Shoes

Afternoon,

It is heating up here. Only 100 right now though so I guess I can't complain that much. Yesterday I tried to plan out my day. I was going to get up, run, shower, then sit at Starbucks till it was time to pick up Schatzi from work and head to Redding. Did it go that way? Of course not. I was really dragging my feet about the run and that's when Schatzi sent me a text saying he had to take something the following day for a work potluck. So we went back and forth trying to find recipes for a decent enough looking dessert. After deciding on one, I made a shopping list and hopped on the treadmill.

When I was at the store, I realized that that was probably the first time I have ever been grocery shopping alone. Crazy right? I'm 21, an adult, yet I haven't been grocery shopping on my own! Given my luck I probably chose the loudest most annoying shopping cart. I ended up shopping at two stores to get all the ingredients we needed. There's most of what I used for the cake.

Did some dishes and started on the cake. I thought I wouldn't need to turn on the swamp cooler when I was baking but oh was I wrong! I survived though. After the cake came out of the oven I poked holes and poured the caramel sauce over the top. Yea I didn't need to bake it for him, but I was thinking if I took the time to bake it before he got off work we could have more time together in Redding and it would save some headache later. Glad I baked it ahead of time.

I picked up Schatzi and off we went to Redding. He and I have both been in need of running shoes for far too long. Our goal of the night was to find running shoes! I get pretty picky about my shoes, and to be honest he does too. We stopped first at Dick's and didn't really find any winners. Off to the mall where we walked through a handful of different stores. He got me to go into JCPenny to look at shoes and guess what? I found shoes! I couldn't believe the search for my running shoes was finally over! He didn't find anything he really liked at the mall so back to Dick's we went. He found his winning pair!

By that point we were both pretty hungry so we made a few quick stops and headed to dinner. Red Robin for dinner. We didn't realize how late it had become. It wasn't until maybe 10pm that we finished dinner! I don't know why but I was pooped. I couldn't keep my eyes open on the drive home. Luckily I wasn't the one driving. Although, I did feel guilty about keeping him out and up so late.

We had to finish up the cake before going to bed so Schatzi put the finishing touches on the cake. I was so out of it so I zombie walked to the shower and got ready for bed. I went into the bedroom and knocked out face down (seems to be a theme here) on the bed. I didn't realize I had knocked out util he came into the room. Both of us were exhausted, yet neither of us slept very well through the night.

-ALG

Day 3: Dollar Tree

Hi yet again,

You'd think that since I don't really have anything pressing to do during the day that I would have blogged, yet here we are. Day three, Wednesday, I decided I would face my fear and leave the house! I planned to go to Dollar Tree to pick up a few things. Plus Dollar Tree is always fun to go to! Making it my routine I sat outside with Cesar and ate my breakfast. Someone wanted some of my yogurt!

As I was cleaning up and getting ready for the day Schatzi's mom sent me a text asking if I wanted to go with her to run some errands. Figured why not? We went to get her tires rotated, the pool vacuum looked at, drop off his sister's phone, the bank, the Tractor Supply store, and Dollar Tree. It was a lot of in and out of ac and heat. I did not plan to pick up the same color items, but I did! While we were out, I got a special comb for Cesar, flossers, rubber slipper, chip clips, and a few other items. Oh and a toy for Cesar! I will admit that I knocked out face down on the floor by the time Schatzi got home from work.

He asked how my day was and I his. He had a funny look on his face and that was when he said he got the second job he's been after. Good news because it will help financially plus he wanted it and got it! The not so great news is that this is going to be the first weekend we have together and he works Friday and Saturday nights. Along with the following weeks. Poor guy said there was a knot in his stomach since he got the news at 3 that day. I'm happy for him, honestly, but I am not going to lie and say that I am not a little down about it. I was really looking forward to being able to spend time with him other than the few hours after he gets off work. But can't change it and I will be supportive. Plus you can tell he is excited about the new job! Which is nice to see him happy.

We did the usual, dinner and sat outside and watched the sprinklers and called it a night. I find it very relaxing to simply sit and look at the grass, butterflies, horses, cows, water, and sunset. It's nice to be able to think of absolutely nothing every once in a while. Not to mention at night it tends to be cooler outside than it is in the house.

-ALG

Day 2: First Page Completed!

What's up?

It's hot again. That is what's up! Not sure if this counts as day one or two because it's my first full day but my second day in town. Anyhow, Schatzi's phone went off a handful of times in the morning. After he was off to work I grabbed my breakfast and ate outside with this big baby. The faces he makes at me!

I decided I would stay at the house the whole day. Partly because I didn't know where to go and the other part because I was slightly worried about driving his car. So After breakfast I did dishes and cleaned the counters, stove, microwave, window ledge, etc. He told me not to clean and I was getting super hot so I decided I would give my coloring a shot. Finally finished my first page! Not bad right? These things take FOREVER to complete! You wouldn't think so, but once you get into it you realize how many small parts there are to each image.

I didn't workout all last week so I changed and got my butt on the treadmill. Oh man I was just as sweaty after one mile as I am after four miles at home! So I called it quits after three miles total. Prepped and cooked broccoli for the first time ever! We just had leftovers for dinner. Keep it simple. Sat outside and watched the sprinkler go and then went to bed.

Oh and did I mention that once you turn the shower off and begin to dry off you find yourself sweating again??! It's crazy.

-ALG

Day 1: Off To NorCal

Hi guys,

I am currently sitting in a Starbucks in Red Bluff wearing a hoodie! Why would that be weird? Because it has been 110 degrees for a while now. Seriously I feel like I am melting when 3pm hits.

So let's rewind a bit. Monday I finished packing up my suitcase, said goodbye to the baby, and headed to the airport. Doesn't she look adorable in my suitcase? Or scaredish? As usual, I flew Southwest out of Ontario. From he drop off curb to the gate I had no problems. Security goes by incredibly fast for an airport. The problem came when we were supposed to be boarding. My flight was scheduled to board at 10 and take off at 10:30. It wasn't until maybe 10:15 that the A group got to line up. They stood there for quite a while might I add. When I finally sat down in my seat and we were ready for take off it was 11. I don't like when flights are late.

Anyhow, I arrived in Sacramento and Schatzi's mom was there to
drive me up. Kind of silly that the drive from the airport to the house is longer than the actual plane ride. When we got into town she took me to the grocery store so I could pick up a few things to hold me over for a few days. By the time we got to the house Schatzi would be home in a few hours. It was HOT so I had to change and sit in front of the swamp cooler and simply color. Once he got home we said hi and decided on dinner. Schatzi took me to a pizza place in town where we had a very fresh yummy BBQ chicken pizza.

When we got back home he had me clear off the dinning room table so he could give me something. He had baked me a cake! Chocolate cake with lots of sprinkles. It was adorable. He got the cake, lit a candle in it, and sang the happy bday song to me as he brought it and placed it on the table in front of me. The cake may have had a few hiccups, but it still tasted delicious! I love how we used the sprinkle containers like people use salt (which we both thought at the same time).

He prompted me to open the gift he WRAPPED. Can you guess what he got me?? I couldn't guess. He got me a Fitbit! Of course he spent too much money on my gift, but I do like my gift. Now I can check the time whenever I want at work, I can track my steps and miles, I can do a lot. Being as special as I am, I had problems trying to snap it on my wrist. As he was assisting me he stopped and asked "This doesn't count as jewelry does it?" Nice try! Sadly no it does not qualify as jewelry. Schatzi waters the lawn at night so I followed and sat outside with him. Pretty view right?

-ALG

Micro Donuts!

Hola,

My cousin has been trying to get me to go to her house for a good while now. I finally went to visit her yesterday. We started our day off by swimming in her mini pool filling up water balloons. I tried to see which one of us could throw a balloon in the basketball hoop first. Pretty simple but fun game! After that we played the Wii. Mario Party 8 is one of our favorite games to play. After that we played Just Dance which made me realize how out of shape I really am. I had a lot of fun playing the Wii with her!

We made this super cute micro donuts! Simple enough instructions. Only took 20 seconds in the microwave! Can't say they're as good as regular donuts, but not bad for a little mini baking kit.

I think they turned out rather nicely!

We finished our play day with a version f one of my favorite carnival games. I love the game where you throw the darts to pop balloons. You know which game I'm talking about right? My cousin is really creative and transformed regular Nerf darts into darts by putting thumbtacks in the tips! Smart huh? We blew up balloons and taped them to the blinds. That was a lot of fun!

I had a lot of fun hanging out with my cousin. She's growing up so fast! I'll need to spend more time with her before she turns into an adult!

-ALG

Not Enough Wind

Evening everyone!

I know it's not quite my birthday, but this past Friday my family and I went down to La Jolla for my birthday. I've been wanting to paraglide since I attended UCSD so I decided that may be a fun idea for my birthday! We got up and I called the gliderport to check if they would be flying today. That's the thing about this sport, that it is very dependent upon the weather. They said they would be good to go so we drove down. When we got there we saw that the marine layer was extremely thick and didn't look like it was going anywhere soon. I filled out some paperwork basically saying I won't press charges if I am injured. Then I got to read this lovely set of words while being recorded by an employee. I didn't want to try to paraglide if I couldn't see a thing so we decided to go to lunch and give the marine layer some time.

I chose lunch. Of course right? The restaurant I chose was The Bistro at UCSD. They have these awesome wonton chips as a nice snack! The chips come in a nori (seaweed) sheet cone. I ended up munching on both.





My mom got this super tender braised pork ribs with some interestingly colored carrots. Such beautiful presentation, huh?








I got my favorite veggie sushi! I either can't handle as much spiciness as I used to be able to OR they made the sauce spicier. Either way it was still really yummy!

I had to check for my favorite cereal. What cereal? I discovered my favorite cereal when I was going to school at UCSD. Kashi Strawberry Fields is my favorite! It's so yummy and super super crunchy! As a bonus it's not terribly unhealthy either. The only downside is that I can only find it at UCSD and the prices are crazy high. Almost $7 a box!! Yes, you read that correctly. Mom said to just get some so I grabbed three.

While walking around the campus we could see the fog. Kind of creepy looking. That told me it would be the same at the cliffs. We drove back to the glider port and found out the winds died down so they wouldn't be flying. I was pretty bummed out because we had driven all this way so I could give it a try to only be faced with no wind and a thick stubborn marine layer.

Before leaving the area we went back to UCSD so I could grab a yummy chia seed drink and say hi to Sarah (remember her from the old UCSD blogs?).

Then to home we went. Took a lot longer than it should have. About two and a half hours instead of the almost two hours. We were all exhausted but needed dinner. I was wanting Taco Bell so that's what we went out and got. That's my usual there. A bean and cheese burrito no red sauce or onions and chips with cheese sauce!

It was still a nice little trip. Mom and I will go back in the next few weeks to give paragliding another shot. Fingers crossed!

-ALG

Is It Excessive?

Hi guys,

I had another therapy session this morning and I definitely needed it. I can't say that therapy helps me a ton, but my therapist is a nonbiased individual that may be able to help me with my tornado of a life. Most of my sessions are about Schatzi, school, and family. The last few have been focused on what happened with the relationship Schatzi and I had as well as what I should be thinking about.

If you don't know, I am always with my phone. Not as much lately, but I am usually always with my phone. I like to be able to take photos whenever I want and also it takes the place of a watch. When I am in a relationship I like to talk to the person. In this past relationship it was a good 85% long distance. In my head that meant all we had was our phones. You know, phone calls, FaceTime, and texting. Instant communication unlike the other option of mail. Although I did enjoy receiving letters. I thought talking throughout the day when time allowed was a way to show how much I cared and wanted to be involved. Turns out it may have simply been too excessive. I don't want to make up a bunch of excuses but I am used to always texting my partner through the day. I see where my therapist is coming from when he said texting five different times a day can be seen as excessive. It's just hard to stay away or not share something exciting right? Maybe I was too much. I need to learn to cut back.

I also told my therapist about my grandma, what she said, and how it made me feel. He told me that I need to focus on myself and what is best for me. I know doing nails makes me happy and I was feeling fine about that aspect of my life before she spoke to me. She has a huge impact on my life and I believe it has to do with how giving she was when I was younger. My grandparents have saved and given me a lot of money for college and I think that is a big part of why I feel guilty that I am not in college. It's not like I am spending that money, but it isn't being used. My therapist told me that I probably feel like I am being placed under a microscope where everyone wants to know my every move to scrutinize me. Of course there are other reasons why they want to know, but that is how I feel. It's as if they are waiting for me to step out of line or mess up again. This part of therapy hit me hard because I feel like that may have been what I have done to Schatzi in the past without even knowing so. I feel guilty for possibly treating someone in a similar fashion to how I do not appreciate being treated. I hope to never make that mistake again.

A relatively positive aspect of my visit today was when my therapist told me he's noticed over the months that I am very good at logically reasoning out situations. I tend to take a situation and logically reason both sides. Now whether I want to admit both sides or not is a totally different story. He said I may do this act of logical reasoning to push away the problem at hand. I took this to mean I turn to logic to avoid facing my feelings. I mean who wants to be experiencing any negative feeling?

I have almost four weeks to m next session to give this session some thought and decide what I would like to work on next. I basically have a lot to think about.

-ALG