Click Chicks Photo Challenge // Water

 I live less then 30 minutes from the Pacific ocean so you might think my water photo challenge would be something awesome like the beach with a beautiful sunset in the distance.  I would have loved that but my weekend outings did not quite take me all the way to the coast and with gas prices being just over $4 per gallon and all I went with what was in my own house. My own refrigerator to be exact.  I'm probably going to feel really lame when I check out other awesome water shots on the link up.  Maybe I should have gone back to the archives from our trip to Europe where we spent 7 days on a ship in the middle of the Mediterranean Ocean.  I got plenty of breathtaking water shots but that was last year and this is this year so I'm gonna go with what I got.  And what I got is the water that I strive to guzzle as much of as I can every day in my lovely Tervis Tumbler.  I like my water cold and I love it that these cups don't sweat and leave annoying water rings all over the place and have handy lids for travel.    

60% of the human body is water so I guess it's kind of important that we keep it hydrated.  I used to be terrible about it but about a year ago I made it my mission to drink more and I think I've done pretty well.  It helps a lot that it comes right out of the refrigerator.  I still don't understand how that happens but it's nice not to have to keep running to the store to stock up.  It feels like an unlimited supply so I drink it accordingly.  I do not get in 64 ounces every day.   Sometimes I barely make it to 32 oz but every single day I have a giant water bottle by my side most of the day and have definitely increased my intake a lot.  I'd like to say that I'm experiencing all of these wonderful side benefits from it but I really can't.  Maybe I am internally in ways that I'm not specifically aware of but overall the only side effect has been that I sweat a little more at the gym and to be honest I really could do without that one.  I haven't seen a change in my skin, energy or anything else but if everyone says I'm supposed to drink it up then drink it up I will.

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Oh, Monday's

Oh Monday's. I try not to hate you but you just make it so hard. Yesterday was crazy. I felt like I was rushing from one thing to the next all day long. Nobody wants to get out of bed on Monday after a nice weekend of sleeping in to your heart's content.  I hit the road by 7:20am and sat through a 1 hour 40 minute commute to work that normally takes 30 minutes. You know those trucks that carry sheets and sheets of glass? Well one of them got into an accident and there was glass all over the road causing a morning commute nightmare. I got to work about 40 minutes late, rushed around getting my breakfast and coffee, then took a moment to read a few blogs dove headfirst into work.  There is so much work right now with no end in sight that I wanted to cry!  Things are just really busy for us right now and the database that we use to facilitate all this work is perpetually broken so it's a little bit overwhelming.  I barely took a lunch break.  Work, work, work.  Eat a granola bar, drink some water.  More work.  The upside is that the day flew by.  Then I realized I hadn't even taken the time to get up to use the bathroom all day and I had to go BAD.  I rushed to the bathroom then rushed back to my office and locked the door so I could do a quick change into my Pilates gear.  It's always weird taking my clothes off where I work.

At 5:01pm I was running out the door.  I have 30 minutes to get there but if anything goes wrong traffic wise I'd be screwed because there are no refunds on missed classess.  It's Reformer Pilates so it's just a tad bit more rigorous then the regular kind.  It felt good to stretch out those stiff muscles in my back and neck from sitting at a desk all day.  Definitely the highlight of my day.  Fifty minutes later I jumped into the car and headed home.  I rushed into the house and put my things down so I could start making dinner right away.  It was 6:45pm by then so I wanted to get it going.  I'm no chef on a good day but especially on a busy Monday it was just Mexican Pizza on Flatouts.  Tasty and easy.  I popped them in the oven and set the timer for 10 minutes then rushed upstairs to take a quick shower.  No shaving involved so I could get back downstairs and eat while it was still hot.

At 7:45pm I finally got to sit down.  I started watching Teen Mom 2 and everyone except Chelsea was annoying the hell out of me so I found myself talking yelling at the TV.  Which is weird because normally she drives me crazy too.  Maybe I should have picked a different show to watch.  Maybe I should just quit watching this show altogether but we've already discussed my addiction so that's probably not going to happen.  Whew.  There was some cuddle time on the couch with Mj while he watched one of his shows then before too long it was time for bed.  And that was my long busy exhausting crazy Monday. 
 
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Click Chicks Photo Challenge // Nature

I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to find any nature in time for this blog post since there isn't anything all that beautiful and nature like outside my front door.  Then we were driving down the street on the way home from football on Saturday and I saw these beautiful trees all lined up and blooming just waiting for me to snap a picture.  I don't remember seeing them before but then again I don't remember exactly when I last drove down that street.  Wendy's and Save-A-Lot kind of spoil the tone of these pretty trees so I cropped them out. I love the bright blue cloudless sky in the background.  It was a perfect 80 something degree day.

  I have no idea what kind of trees these are but the flowers on it look really pretty up close.  In the immediate area where I live I can see beautiful mountains looming in the distance.  There are trees here and there but not a whole lot of greenery so it was nice surprise to discover these.

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Four Day Weekend

I heart four day weekends.  I slept in and went to a 10:30 am Yoga class on Friday.  Then I came home, relaxed and started dinner.  I rarely make dinner so this was a big deal and for some reason I actually enjoyed doing it.  It was very strange, but I liked it.  That night we watched a movie (Stolen).

Saturday morning I got up early with Mj and went to his flag football game.  I started out in a sweatshirt drinking coffee and ended up sweating.  The sun was blazing and by the time we left it was in the 80's.  I got some really great action shots of the game using the zoom lens.  He's the organizer for these flag football games and I was unofficially hired with no pay to take shots for his group Facebook page. 

After football we went to an open house in our neighborhood.  We're definitely not in the market but it's still fun to look and pretend like we are on House Hunters.  Then it was time for lunch  and we had to eat outside because the weather was so perfect.  We went to Downtown Cafe because it's in our neighborhood and they have a great outdoor seating area.  That sourdough cheesy bread was so delicious that I'm still thinking about it.  I'm such a carb junkie.  It's an appetizer but I ordered it as my entree.  It was only $4.95 so once again I was a cheap date.  Mj got a juicy burger with fries.  I couldn't believe I was wearing flip flops and shorts in February.  Okay, I can believe it and that's why I love living here so much.  But don't be too jealous because it's supposed to start raining any minute.

My husband's job clearly doesn't care enough about their employees so he didn't get Friday or Monday off.  How sad is that?  Monday I got up and hit the gym by 9am for some cardio.  Since I was in no rush I spent about 30 minutes afterwards stretching and working on my flexibility.  I ran a few errands, did laundry and spent the rest of the afternoon watching TV and blogging.

Not having to go to work is the life, I'm telling you.  I had time to exercise, relax and get stuff done without feeling like a chicken with it's head cut off.  Long weekends are the best.

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That Time I Got Ditched on Valentine's Day

I could have skipped this post altogether.  I mean, this isn't exactly the Valentine's Day post I expected to write but this is how it went down so I'm sharing it anyways.

My husband hates Valentine's Day.  I knew he hated this so called fake Hallmark holiday but for the last four years he's played along.  Special deliveries at work, a specially baked dessert, a dinner out.  It's always been very low key but we have acknowledged the holiday for my sake, but this year I got ditched.  He finally had enough and boycotted the whole thing altogether.  We didn't have plans together, but I certainly didn't expect him to leave me at home alone and go out to dinner with anyone else.  I find out that he's going to dinner with the guys for burgers after work.  Half the guys that went are married.  Sounds like the ultimate F you Valentine's Day if you ask me.

Am I hurt?  I have to be honest and say yes, but not mortally wounded since I was never really all that crazy about Valentine's anyways.  I've never placed much importance on what I got or what we did, but I did enjoy it.  I don't see anything wrong with an extra day to celebrate love.  He doesn't like the idea that there is a certain arbitrary date on which men specifically, receive a lot of extra pressure to do something that will show love.  My husband's tolerance for this day has clearly run it's course.  He wasn't having it this year, and while it's a little bit of a bummer, I'm okay with it.  And here's why.  I love my husband and I know he loves me.  I don't need Valentine's day to know this.  I don't want him feeling roped into doing something he really doesn't want to on my account.  If it's not genuine, there's no point and we didn't get married so we could force each other to do things we really don't want to do.  Sometimes we do things we don't want to in marriage for our partner, but Valentine's Day is just not important enough to me that it should qualify as one of those things he does anyway.  I see no need to force it upon my husband if he doesn't want to partake.  Marriage is about give and take, and it looks like it's my turn to be the one to give on this one.

It was like a parade of sweets, flowers, love notes and special dinners on Instagram, but I didn't have a thing to show off except these little conversation hearts I bought myself at Big Lots.  The upside is that I didn't get the chance to OD on sweets or gorge myself at a restaurant.  I spent the evening alone watching a movie on Netflix and eating Cheese Quesadilla's with carb stopper tortillas.  It was a little bit of a let down to be shut out of the V day festivities, but I realize that my marriage is more then what I did or didn't get on Valentine's day.

A tiny part of me wanted to pout and throw a little hissy fit over it, but I put on my big girl panties and sucked it up.  We didn't make plans, so in his mind Valentine's Day was a non thing, however it still meant something to me so I thought we'd just spend a cozy night at home.  I didn't realize we weren't acknowledging it all, since we'd always done so in the past.  Whelp.  I certainly know now.  I told him I felt sad and hurt that he went out, but that's it.  No point in getting super offended over something like this, when I have such a wonderful husband.  He's kind, generous, and he puts up with all of my crazy ways.  We do fun things together all the time, and show our love for each other on other days in other ways.  I felt pretty spoiled on my Birthday and Christmas.  Not getting this one day is no big deal in the grand scheme of things.  After you've been together for a while there comes a point where it just doesn't matter that much anyways.  He loves me for who I am, and I have to return the favor even if it means Valentine's Day is a thing of the past. 

And yes, I did get him something.  Just some football attire he needed.  It was not romantic in any way, but I did put a sweet handwritten note with it.  I can't really say I got nothing in return though, because I got him.

Click Chicks Photo Challenge // Hearts

Remember these little candy conversation hearts?  They didn't even taste that great but was always THE Valentine's Candy to give and to get and it was so much fun reading all the little goofy sayings on each one.  I saw a package of 8 of these little boxes at Big Lots for $2.00 and just had to get them.  I will say that these hearts taste much better now then I remember.  They bring back hazy memories of cutting out construction paper hearts and Elmer's Glue in elementary school.  Which reminds me of how we used to smear it on our hands and peel it off.  It was really creepy because once it dried up it looked like you were peeling off your skin.  I never had a Valentine in elementary or middle school.  Ever.  I was a late bloomer but it was back in the days when you handed out candy and cards to your entire class so it didn't matter.  Then in high school it was all about balloons, chocolate and exchanging little gifts with your group of friends.  I was jealous of my friends who always seemed to have boyfriends just in time for Valentine's Day.  Even then I didn't have a Valentine because I guess was still blooming.  I'm so glad those days are over.  My Valentine pretty much hates Valentine's Day but he's all mine and I love him anyways.

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