Friday Ramblings

First off, I think you guys are just swell. Yes, swell.

Let's bring that word back, shall we?

I "met" a lot of new people yesterday about button swapping and I'm excited to have a new little extended family on my sidebar. Thanks for giving two shits and not leavin' me hanging!

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On to other news, I took a Zumba class last night.

And let me just tell you. I'm pretty sure that if I had a past life, I was a Zumba Guru.

And if that isn't the case, then I think I should strongly consider quitting my life and dedicating it to becoming one.

I was pumping my hips like it was nobody's business!

The great thing about that class, is you can basically wiggle your body back and forth, hop all around the room, wave your arms like you just don't care, and you'd still look like everybody else.

It was also great because the songs only lasted for about 3 minutes each.

So they were little 3 minute bursts of energy. Definitely doable. Definitely enjoyable.

Just you wait. Soon, you'll see MY face on one of these bad boys:

{via}

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Got any fun and exciting plans for the LAST WEEKEND OF JUNE???

I'd REALLY like to go to the fair. I just heard on the radio this morning that they have deep fried beer.

Which, actually sounds kind of gross. But I'm intrigued. Because it's an excuse for more drinking, obvi.

But V Dizzle said he has a surprise day date for me on Sunday.

Let me tell you how hard it is to surprise me. Very hard.

So kudos to The Dizz for making this happen. Can't wait to find out what he has up that sleeve of his!

I hope you all have great weekends!

See ya on the flip side ;)

xoxo

July Button Swap

Four more days till July!

How the heck did that happen? Where has the time gone? This year is flying by!

{I feel like everybody feels the need to make this known every.single.time a new month comes; 

Myself included.}

Anyway, about a month ago, I asked if you guys wanted to swap buttons for the month.

And fortunately, I didn't look like a loser because a lot of you did! Hoorah!

And hasn't this been the BEST month of your lives? ...Me too.

Anyway, to keep with my promise, I only committed you to one month.

So, now. If any of you would like to swap for the month of July, let me know!

**ALSO**

If we're currently swapping and you'd like to CONTINUE for July, 

you're going to have to let me know as well.

Otherwise, I'll figure you're sick of me and no longer want my button splattered all over your blog.

And that's okay too.

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Happy Blogging, friends!

xoxo

If I can't complain here, then where can I?

I've gained four pounds since the marathon. Four pounds!

Which, okay, whatever, it's not the end of the world, no.

But on my 5 foot 3 and a half inch frame, four pounds is noticeable {to me}.

Fortunately, my maxi skirts and loose tops have been coming in handy.

Unfortunately, my jeans have still been a bit snug and I'm pretty sure the only muffin tops I want to be seeing are those yummy things from the Panera bakery. Ya feelin' me?

So yeah, I've quickly realized that eating Big Macs, In n Out, and Whoppers on the regular doesn't mesh with your body well, ever really, but especially when you're not running a bajillion miles a week training for a marathon. It's really hard to break that junk food diet thing. I feel like that guy from that one McDonald's documentary. He actually said he started getting addicted to the food and when he ate it, he'd literally feel so much happier after being depressed without it. I feel ya man. I really do.

But anyway, I realized this muffin-top-fast-food-gravy train needed to come to a halt.

So I said, "Verner (that's his name btw, but you know him as V Dizzle), we are becoming GYM PEOPLE!"

It's been a little bit of a slow start, going from nothing but power lifting a french fry to my mouth to now working out about 3-4 times a week in the gym.

I like to do a quick "Power Hour" - 30 minutes weights/30 minutes cardio. Boom. Done.

The other day I took a kickboxing class. Which, I really thought at one point I might die as I was trying to keep up with my cracked out teacher. I really wish I had the energy for a vlog so I could show you what this woman was doing to try and kill train us.

"UP HIGH!!!! DOWN LOW!!!!! JUMP!!!!!! AGAIN!!!!! WHOO HOOO!!!!!!!!!!"

That enthusiasm the.entire.60.minutes.

Which, sure, I appreciate the support. It really did help me.

But now I feel like my back has been beaten by a baseball bat. And that part is not so fun.

...

Anyway, there's really no point to this post other than to remember this time in my life of saying goodbye to junk food and kind of feeling a little sad about it.

But also saying hello to a new workout regimen and kind of feeling a little excited about that.

Happy Hump Day, friends!

xoxo

I am not a baseball fan.

So you're probably wondering why I got all decked out for the Padres game with The Dizzle last week.

Well, my answer is simple: I won free tickets. 

And we all know I'll go against many dislikes so as not to turn down a free opportunity.

{See: traumatizing Sea World trip.}

 Last year, Victoria's Secret had these tops. And I figured, well, I am a San Diegan, so I guess it wouldn't be waaayy out there to represent a San Diego team on those rare occasions I actually go to a game. {I can usually muster the enthusiasm about once a year.}

So to the game we went!

Turns out The Dizzle doesn't care much for baseball either!

So the three innings that we were actually there, we spent that time doing the following:

Enjoying some brewskies....

{because what's a ball game without beer??}

Making awkward faces for one another...

Then, spent several minutes perfecting The Mish Mustache...

...

And then you know...we had some deep, serious, grown-up talk too...

xoxo

You know what I like?

I like having my Sundays back.

I like that, for once in quite some time, I get to be the lazy fatty, walking along the boardwalk, wiping grease off my face from my just eaten lunch watching people run and exercise,

instead of actually being the one to run and exercise.

I like being back in the normal club of Americans who can do whatever they damn well please 

just because it's Sunday.

You want a mimosa? Great. In fact, order a bottle!

You want a beer with your lunch? Awesome, get two!

You want some wine with your afternoon snack? Pinot Grigio, please!

{Yes, I am fully aware I just gave 3 examples all relating to alcohol. Let's move on.}

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This past weekend, The Dizzle's mamma flew in from San Francisco and we had ourselves a bliggity blast. Since we're on the subject of things I like, I would also like to mention that I like cool Moms.

Moms who know how to have a good time.

Moms who know how to throw a few back and stay up past 10pm.

And also Moms who will split that bottle of champagne with me in the middle of the day.

{There I go with the alcohol talk again.}
It was nice being around a cool mom because my own cool mom lives across the country and I miss those moments with her.

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Yesterday, we spent several hours at Mission Beach, walking, talking, people watching...

You know, just the usual things to make it a grand day.

I would tell you more, but now I have to go...The Dizzle just brought me a Bud Light.

...

xoxo

Forget the dolphins, what about the sea lions?!

The Dizzle and I went to Sea World last weekend because we got free tickets for running 26.2 miles that one time long ago that I no longer like to talk about.

I was a little excited because V Dizzle had never ever been to Sea World in his whole life. His whole life! Weird, right?
So I told him that he can't be a San Diegan and not have gone to Sea World at least once in his life.
Me? I've been going since the days I wore a leash around me so I wouldn't run away from my parents!

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After watching the dolphin killing bloodbath of a documentary, The Cove, V Dizz and I had slight reservations about Sea World and basically anything that didn't let animals be in their natural habitat!
But I guess we got over our animal rights phase long enough to get on over to Sea World.

The first thing I took The Dizzle to when we got there was the Sea Lion & Otter show.
And oh what a sensitive soul my man is.
He gave it a chance, he really did. But I think just seeing those sea lions prance around a little 15 foot stage didn't make him so happy.
...Even though, I mean, come on, look at this talented little fella!

When the show was over, he kind of sat there silently for a moment or two, taking it all in.
I gave him a little hug and said..."I understand, Boo. Let's go see Shamu instead!"
As if seeing a 30 foot killer whale in a swimming pool would be better?

...

Anyway, on our way to the next show, we came across the sea lion feeding area.
Though, at first I didn't know what people were supposed to be feeding because they all looked pretty uninterested and or d-e-a-d.
Am I right or am I right?

But then.
A quick turn around the corner and there they all were.
Hungry and VOCAL.
Just sitting there in this shallow pool of water, being stared at by these funny looking people pointing and laughing at them. And okay, fine, maybe I was one of those funny looking people pointing, but still. How rude.

...

Then I spotted this little one. He seemed so sad and alone.
I just wanted to reach out and pet him and let him know everything was gonna be okay.
We made eye contact and I felt as though we were communicating on a deep level right there in the heart of Sea World.
Okay, not really, but he was definitely staring at me. Though looking back, probably because he just wanted food from me.

So then, that's when V Dizzle walked up, breaking our eye contact, with a tray of fish to feed him.
Little Olly (that's what we'll name him) couldn't give two shits about me once he smelled those little guys. Dinner was served.
He then proceeded to make a very loud roaring/barking noise, to which I reacted with a very loud scream.
It was unexpected, okay?

...

We managed to make it through the Shamu show, but then it seemed to me that removing V Dizzle from the park would probably be the best plan of action.
I didn't think his little heart could take much more.

As we were leaving, hand in hand, I looked up at him and said,
"So we're probably never going to come back here, huh?"
He looked down at me, shook his head and sadly replied, "Probably not."

So that's all. Not your most exciting post about Sea World.
And no judgements for the rest of you who like those kind of places!
Just don't go expecting to see The Dizzle in the front row with a Shamu hat on his head.

...

xoxo

Bean dip and Potlucks.

Wanna know why I hate potlucks?

Because I feel like it's basically a silent competition between all of those god-gifted women on who can whip up the better roast or pasta salad with a snap of their fingers and a flick of their wrists.

Then they flaunt their creations around and revel in the "oohs" and "ahhs" from all the roast eaters,

exclaiming, "oh it was so easy and so last minute!" when clearly it looks as though hours of preparation were involved.

I am clearly not that kind, can you tell? 

Somehow the cooking genes were lost by the way side when I came around.

So when potlucks come up, I usually just try to avoid them altogether.

However, if it's a situation I can't get out of, then I'll buy something lame at the grocery store.

Something like a tub of sour cream, throw in some onion mix and call it my homemade chip dip!

It's highly creative, I know. But somehow I don't think people believe it was homemade when I was too lazy to even take the dip out of the sour cream container.

Anyway, today we're having a company potluck.

I had an urge to eat some bean dip. 

I had an even bigger urge to purchase said bean dip from the grocery store, already made, already awesome.

Then something came over me yesterday.

Maybe it was my slight intoxication from all the beers that were had at the baseball game.

Maybe it was the slight smile of pride on V Dizzle's face as I entertained the idea of making it myself.

Whatever it was, I decided to tackle this head on.

I consulted with The Google Gods.

Then I threw some ingredients in my cart based on two different recipes I thought were easy enough for me.

And we're talking 6 steps or less easy because I just don't think I could handle anymore than that.

I got home, whipped up the beans (aka put the two cans together in a bowl and stirred),

whipped up the avocado (same step as the beans),

cut up some tomatoes,

opened a can of already sliced olives (my personal favorite step),

mixed some sour cream and cream cheese,

and lastly, sprinkled a butt load of cheese on top with a flick of my wrist!

Voila!

A Six Layer Bean Dip, because I just couldn't figure out what the 7th layer was supposed to be...

...and might I add that The Dizzle said it was the best bean dip he's ever had.

I'm going to pretend that he wasn't just saying that to be nice and actually meant it!

xoxo

...and then that happened.

 Alright, listen up.

I had every intention of making a great blog post on why I would probably never visit Sea World again.

In fact, I picked out my pictures from this past weekend, and was all ready to edit them for the post.

And then, Roomie and I decided to crack open a bottle two bottles of wine and watch The Bachelorette and make it our life purpose to comment on each and every man left standing.

And then somehow two more hours passed with talks of other current life happenings.

So you can see why wine (and two bottles of Bud Light) could interfere from scheduled blog posts.

So let's just come together and celebrate this opportunity(??) for such events.

I promise my dislike towards trapped sea life will come soon enough.

...

xoxo

BIG NEWS!!!!!

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EFF NO, I'm not preggers. But I bet for just a split second you thought I was. Don't lie.

And V Dizzle, you can breathe regularly now, too.

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BUT. I am very excited to announce that my brother and new sister in law,

you know, the ones that were the cause of all this wedding and korea talk as of late,

are having a baby girl this November!

My very first niece, and I couldn't be more excited!

Because well, let's just be honest here, I can relate much better to girls.

No offense to my nephew, Bryson. I love you man. But there's only so much Thomas the Train talk I can get excited about.

So that's all. I'm excited! :)

And yes, for all of you trying to count the months...Only 4.5 more to go!

{They were some naughty little bees prior to their wedding. ;)}

...

xoxo

Father's Day.. Done in Style.

As promised by Fasha himself, the limo promptly arrived at 5:30pm, ready to take us to The Poseidon in Del Mar for Father's Day dinner. But not before Fasha emailed us one last time to remind us to "dress to the max" as he'll be wearing his tuxedo and also to not forget our list of "10 Reasons Why We Think He's So Wonderful."

So anyway, upon entering the limo we were greeted with a multi-colored "CONGRATULATIONS" banner complete with bright red balloons. I'm not quite sure what we were congratulating, but I'm wondering if Fasha also had that arranged.

It really wouldn't surprise me if he did.

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The restaurant was right on the water with a great view of the beach.

But probably not as great of view as it was for the other patrons who were in flip flops and shorts watching a herd of dressed up Asians (and one tall black dude) come waltzing in to the center table on the patio for all to see.

Yeah, we were those people. So what.

Then came time to read Fasha our lists.

Me, being the ever so prepared one, had them all written out on a Father's Day card.

My brother, on the other hand, completely forgot about our homework assignment (though, I don't know how after 800 email reminders). So he busted out 10 reasons on the fly.

I thought I would cry at this moment of the day being as emotional as I am.

However, when Fasha had to translate every.single.sentence to Princess Sophia in Korean,

it sort of broke the mood a bit for me.

That and also when Princess took a personal phone call at reason #8.

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After dinner, Fasha asked the limo driver to take us to Baskin Robbins for some ice cream.

It was quite the scene trying to watch him maneuver this long ass car through the parking lot, just barely avoiding side-swiping a parked car.

Once we got our ice cream, we all hunkered back into the limo for our drive home.

It was quiet and getting late; we were all tired from the day's activities.

I looked over at Fasha and he seemed lost in thought, when out of nowhere, he says to me,

"Hey Shella. What if I practiced Michael Jackson's 'Beat It' for karaoke. Wouldn't that be cool??"

Yeah, Dad. It would be cool. You cool son of a gun, you.

Happy Fasha's Day!

xoxo

I don't support dolphin killing, I promise.

So several months ago, V Dizzle and I watched a documentary called The Cove.

Which was basically 92 minutes of a dolphin bloodbath. 

Brutal.

Once the documentary ended and as I was wiping the tears that had been streaming down my face,

I vowed to never visit Sea World again!

Those poor dolphins with perma-smiles on their faces but really are just crying salty tears of sorrow!

We must fly to Japan at once and set.them.FREE!

...

And then remember how I ran that marathon?

Well, it turns out they thought running 26.2 miles deserved a free ticket to Sea World to use for the month of June. And it also turns out that I really love free things.

Aaannd that I can't deny my love for Sea World and those cute little animals trapped living in small pools of water.

Plus, I mean, they just opened a new ride there called Manta Roller.

How could you not be enticed?

And I'm pretty sure I've never heard of a roller coaster that killed a dolphin.

So yeah...we're going alright?!

We're going tomorrow and we're going to be first in line at the Dolphin Discovery show!

...

Go ahead...judge me. I know I am.

See? Here's my judging face:

...

xoxo

R.I.P. Little One

I lost a dear one tonight. It was unexpected and I thought we were in the clear.

But I knew. I knew deep down it couldn't have lasted forever.

The way her coloring got so dim and lifeless.

The way she seemed to have the life shrivel right out from under her.

So tonight...I looked at her long and hard and I said my goodbyes.

Rest peacefully, little one.

You fought a good fight and got me through 6 months of training and a strong 26.2 mile finish.

No matter who comes along after you, know that you were always my first and forever favorite.

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P.S. To all you feet haters out there: This post must have been traumatizing for you. And for that, I apologize. You may close out and never look at this deformity again.

xoxo

What goes around comes around

I really don't mean to make every post about Fasha, 

but the things he does just makes it so difficult NOT to these days!

...

Remember yesterday's heartfelt post?

How Fasha "randomly" and selflessly wrote 20 reasons why he thinks I'm sooooo wonderful?

Well, ladies and gents, it appears Fasha had an ulterior motive.

Please see below email from him written to his children:

"Hey, Father's Day is coming up.

I'd like to hear from everybody about 10 reasons why you think your dad is so wonderful.

Those who attend the party can write it on a piece of paper.

The rest can just send it to me via email on Father's Day."

Direct and to the point!

First off, I like how he tells us precisely how to present these 10 wonderful reasons. I was hoping to do a Power Point presentation, but I guess written on a piece of paper will have to do.

Oh, and did I mention that he has personally booked a stretch limo for us all to go to dinner in??

{What the what?}

It's almost like if I were to throw myself a birthday party and make all the guests tell me how awesome I am.

No, actually, it's exactly like that.

But...whaddya gonna do? The man wants what he wants!

...

Maybe I'll make one of my reasons on why he's so wonderful 

is because I think he's way cooler than James Bond?

(Who, if you didn't know, just so happens to be his idol.}

xoxo

Makin' Fasha proud..

...and yes, before I get all sappy on you, that is me. With my shirt around my neck.
Why? I don't know. Let's just hope this post doesn't get flagged for child pornography.
Moving on.

I think most kids, starting from a very young age, strive for their parents' approval. 

At least to some extent, right? 

"Hey Mom! Dad! Look at me! Watch this! Did you see that?!" 

I was definitely no exception; constantly making up songs, dances, or skits and wanting to perform them for my parents, just so I could bask in their applause and pride at my amazing talents.

Being almost 26 now, I can pretty much tell you that not a lot has changed.

Except, instead of saying, "Hey! Watch me do a handstand in the pool for 30 seconds!", 

it's more along the lines of, "Hey! I got a promotion at work!", "Hey! I got this new apartment and I'm paying for it all by myself!" or "Hey! Meet my new boyfriend, isn't he great?"

...

Let me tell you a few things about my Fasha.
He is the most ambitious, goal-setting, over-achieving man I know.
When he puts his mind to something, he goes for it with every ounce of energy he has and he excels.
He has taught me that I am just as capable to do the same. Whatever that may be.
So throughout my life, when I accomplished something, however big or small, I always wanted to tell him about it to make him proud and in a way, prove to him that I too can succeed.

...

The other day, completely out of the blue, Fasha asked if he could take me to lunch,
just him and me.

I was a tad curious as we don't usually just go to lunch on a random Thursday.

We sat down and ordered, then Fasha pulled out his laptop and said he had something to say to me.

He began to read the following:

Dear Michelle,

Here are 20 Reasons why I think you are so wonderful and I am so proud of you:

1. I am proud of you because you are super-intelligent and smart. 

2. I am proud of you because you are beautiful and outgoing.

3. I am proud of you because you are funny and witty.

4. I am proud of you because you care about people.

5. I am proud of you because you are fun to be around.

6. I am proud of you because you care about our family so much.

7. I am proud of you because your personality is so wonderful and bright. 

8. I am proud of you because of your transformation.

9. I am proud of you because you are athletic: (i.e.) Cycling, Marathon, etc.

10. I am proud of you because you are so musically talented.

11. I am proud of you because you are more beautiful than Jennifer Aniston.

12. I am proud of you because you are a happy and joyful person.

13. I am proud of you because you can accomplish anything that you put your mind into.

14. I am proud of you because you are bold.

15. I am proud of you because you have integrity and keep your word.

16. I am proud of you because you appreciate Life.

17. I am proud of you because you have a boyfriend you love and like.

18. I am proud of you because you have good people skills.

19. I am so proud of you because you are authentic and straightforward.

20. I am so proud of you because you are full of vitality and energy.

Needless to say, I was leaking tears all over my cobb salad by the end of it.

Which then made Fasha leak tears and it was just a big tearful mess.

But it made my day. It really did.

Especially #11. Take THAT, Jennifer Aniston!

...

xoxo

Las Vegas

Meet V Dizzle’s papa.

The main reason The Dizz and I went up to Vegas for the weekend was to visit this sweet man.­­ He’s been in the hospital for 3 months now, can you believe it?

All because of a knee surgery gone wrong.

His spirits are high though and we’re all crossing our fingers that he’ll be going home this month!

Unfortunately, these were the conditions we had to be in for me to meet him for the first time. Fortunately, that didn’t stop us from having a great visit and some good laughs.

…

I know what you’re thinking, and yes, we fulfilled my Asian needs and hit the strip for some gambling. To which it could have been a complete disaster if:

A)   The Dizzle didn’t pry my fingers free from every single slot machine I came across and

B)   If I hadn’t accidentally hit the button on the Keno machine that one last time for a $150 win!

{Though, did that bring me back to even? …Not even close.}

...

So long, Vegas.

Until next time.

xoxo