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02 December 2012

12 Things

I found this list on ...unSimply Celia who is an adorable newlywed who's blog I found recently. And seeing as I've been needing some self-motivation/self-appreciation, this is a good jumping off point. Original post found here.

12 Things You Should Be Able to Say About Yourself

1. I am following my heart and intuition.
I truly believe I am. I've learned to be very flexible with all the changes that have happened in my life, and while I didn't always come out on top, I'm in a good place.

2. I am proud of myself.
Yes. Undoubtably. I've accomplish a lot. Just within the last year, I've "climbed the ladder" at work with two different changes to my job.

3. I am making a difference.
Not as much as I'd like. I donate to charities, but I used to be much more involved. I'd like to do that again.

4. I am happy and grateful.
Very much so! I don't know what I would do without my family, my friends, my furbabies, and of course Adam.

5. I am growing into the best version of me.
I certainly hope so. There's always room for improvement, but I'm very content right now.

6. I am making my time count.
eeeeh.... Not so much? My to-do list is long and I'm avoiding it all. This needs work. But when I'm focused and everything is in sync, then.my time is used very wisely.

7. I am honest with myself.
No - I've adapted too well to hiding things from myself. Actually writing that is step one. Hopefully I can stay honest to myself from here on out.

8. I am good to those I care about.
Oh yes. I have a mother hen mentality. If someone needs help, and I can be of help, you can be sure I'm there.

9. I know what unconditional love feels like.
yes :)

10. I have forgiven those who once hurt me.
A few years ago, my answer would have been no. But the longer its been, the more I realize that holding on to those feelings doesn't help me. I'm learning to let go and to forgive.

11. I take full accountability for my life.
Yes. I am this way because of what choices I have made. They weren't perfect choices, but they were the ones I made.

12. I have no regrets.
No. Surprisingly no regrets.


What I can say is that my choices made me who I am today. I'm talented, dedicated, dependable, trustworthy, caring and most of all, I am me. No one else can do things the way I do them. No one can replace me. Believe in yourself and dreams come true.

19 November 2012

Thankfulness

Do I care that this picture is 2 years old? Read my face....
There's a lot to be thankful this year:
the support of my family and friends as I've transitioned to different jobs
that my health is in a much better place
my Disney wedding planners who took my ideas and are making it a reality
that Adam and I have a place that we can call home
that the budget allows some room for frivolous spending!
working 15 minutes away from home vs 45 minutes by way of the interstate
softball! Go DRC All Stars!

Other silly things I'm thankful for:
Lady Earl Grey
Arnold Palmer Half and Half Zero
coffee, coffee, coffee
automatic timers on the coffeemaker at work
my crockpot
Hulu + Netflix
Shiny Sinks (thanks FlyLady :D )
fitbit + myfitnesspal
that while I haven't been dedicated to NaBloPoMo, at least I know it's there?

Oh. And this:

04 November 2012

day 4

Obviously I'm kind of terrible at writing daily. Missed day 2. Missed day 3. try try again right?

so mini-goal: make the post longer than a tweet. that can be do-able, right?

Friday: Adam and I saw Wreck-It Ralph. we may be seeing it again today.
Saturday: caught up on the DVR. then Party for the Senses at Epcot.
today: hulu-ing. lots and lots of hulu. why is my love of television so great???

photo-a-day - hasn't happened yet. 30 day shred - might start that today... we shall see.

01 November 2012

--commitment--


Well... I'm going to try it. Maybe if I work the two of them together I might actually get somewhere with all of this.

I like my blog. I really do. And if I can make it a regular thing - well, that can't hurt right?

14 October 2012

Touch Base

It's been a month and a half! So what do I have to show for it?

24 Big Finish Doctor Who audios listened. 239+ to go.
Caught up on Nerdist podcast and starting to listen to The Jillian Michaels Show
Got hooked on new TV shows: Revolution, Last Resort, Nashville, The Neighbors, Arrow.
Watched all of My Lovely Sam Soon and Magic Knight Rayearth.
Read: A Feast of Crows, Entwinted, A Dance with Dragons, The Lost Hero, The Son of Neptune, The Mark of Athena, A Princess of Mars, Cinder, Glitches, Mary Poppins, The Lost Years of Merlin, The Seven Songs of Merlin
Completed the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror 10-Miler in 2 hours and 42 minutes.
Started a new role at work.
been sick. then not sick, then sick again.
Qualified for my $300 wellness rewards for being healthy for work's healthy pursuits program
And uber prepping has undergone for my Wedding Planning sessions.

SO yeah, look forward to reviews in the future.

Staying home today to try and tidy things up. Then Softball practice at 7, and then it's the Sunday night television block. 6 shows-3hours.

03 September 2012

We're Okay

I've been putting a lot of things out of my mind lately. My tunnel vision has been in full force trying to keep me distracted from stressing about things. There's really no need for me to stress about exactly what I'm going to put into Welcome Baskets for everyone at the wedding. There is slightly a need for me to stress about my interview tomorrow.

There. I said it. I have an interview tomorrow. Someone think good things for me.

I don't like putting my business out into the world unless it is 100% guaranteed and secure. It's like anti good luck to me. Instead I keep it nice and quiet inside me and just bury my nose in a book so that no one will ever suspect.

But life is all about changes and growth. So I'm going to take a deep breath, put on my big girl pants and just... go.

Life is good right now. We're both employed making enough money to accommodate both our needs and wants; for that I'm very thankful.
I'm thankful that Adam is willing to miss meeting up with the Hokies to go over common questions that make me lose what little self-confidence I have regarding interviews.
I'm thankful that I'm in a place in my life that everything is no longer riding on this one moment in my life.
I'm thankful that iTunes continues to have that strange psychic ability to play the exact song you need to hear while on shuffle.
I'm super thankful for IcyHot patches for my sprained back.
I'm thankful for...

oh so many things and people in my life.

This is just another step along the road. I just have to keep moving forward and I'll be okay.

We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.
- Walt Disney 

29 August 2012

The Last Apprentice: Lure of the Dead

Goodreads info
I discovered Joseph Delaney's Wardstone Chronicles (or The Last Apprentice) series on accident. Books 1-7 were available for free on Amazon for the Kindle, and while I had no idea what these books were about, they were free. Nothing's better than free, right?

I normally don't read dark fantasy. Mostly because I read before bed and I really don't need those images in my head while I sleep. But Delaney takes the vivid imagery of the ghouls and witches and spins them into the fantastic story of Tom Ward, Spook Apprentice.

For a little background, Tom Ward is a seventh son of a seventh son. Meaning he's got an inherent magical ability to fight against the powers of the dark. When he is old enough to be apprenticed, his Mam works it out that he will be the apprentice to Old Gregory, County Spook. While traveling about the countryside, Tom meets Alice, a young girl wearing pointy shoes, as well as a cast of unsavory characters. Through the first 10 books you discover that Tom is the world's answer to defeating the Fiend (aka the Devil) once and for all.

Lure of the Dead (book 10) find us with less than 8 months for Tom to defeat the Fiend. He has been given two of the three weapons required as well as how to obtain weapon #3. But the question remains: is Tom willing to make the necessary sacrifices to save the world from the dark?

I cannot recommend these books more. It's very easy to get swept up into the action and you definitely care about these characters. Give these books a chance if you need some dark fantasy peppered into your life.

28 August 2012

Princess Academy: Palace of Stone

Goodreads info
Palace of Stone is the second book in the Princess Academy series by Shannon Hale and has been on preorder for me since the day I heard that there would be a sequel.

The fantastic thing of Princess Academy is that it ended in a good place. Life would continue on with all the new changes that the Princess School had brought about. Miri and Peder would get married, or at least be considered engaged. Life would be happy. So the thought of a sequel seemed unnecessary at the time.

Well Palace of Stone changes that. It's now time for Britta's wedding and all the girls from the school have been invited to attend. Unfortunately there is civil unrest in the kingdom and things don't go as planned. Miri is off to Queen's Castle to study more, while the other girls go off on their own social excursions. I'm not going to lie - I liked the group dynamic of all the girls. I may have actually missed them while Miri was off being political with her friends in the Salon.

Overall, it was an enjoyable book that shows that you pick who your family is and that it's right to stand up for what you believe in.

27 August 2012

Crown Duel

I've been seeing this book crop up on my Amazon Recommends a lot lately. So since my book budget finally could accomodate it, I figured I'd give it a shot.

Goodreads info
Can I give this more than 5 stars? I literally could not put this book down - in fact, my 50 minute Elliptical workout might have continued for far longer because I couldn't find a good pause point in this book.

This book is rocketing up to the top of my MUST READ list.

Crown Duel follows Countess Melaria Astair as she and her brother as they lead a rebellion revolution for the kingdom from their backwater home. The first half of the book (which was originally published as Crown Duel) is your standard battlefields in the mud with swords and hiding in the bushes to escape getting caught. Part Two (Court Duel) pushes Mel out of her familiar home after their rebellion revolution right into Court - full of fashion, fans, and battles fought with words rather than swords.

It took me a while to accept that Mel is a Countess in the first half. She seems so backwards, blindly following orders without thinking them through first. But slowly you grow to love her - especially when she is thrust into the bedazzled world of Court where people say one thing but mean another. It's just the right amount of action, adventure, intrigue and romance. Read this book today!

26 August 2012

The Amber Spyglass

I've been putting off writing this review. The Amber Spyglass was one of my absolute favorites growing up. I used to read random chapters when I didn't know what I wanted to read. I used to take it as just a fantastically written fantasy novel; after rereading the trilogy, I'm astounded by my slightly narrow views.

Goodreads info
We come back to Will and Lyra after the battle. Lyra is off with her mother, Mrs Coulter, living in a cave in the Himalayas somewhere. She is being kept in a drug-enduced sleep and keeps having dreams about Roger, the kitchen boy she used to play with back at Jordan and subsequently lead to his death. Will, still adjusting to meeting his father and then seeing him die before his eyes, is joined by two angels who urge him to go to Lord Asriel. However Will is just as stubborn as Lyra and refuses to follow them until he is back with Lyra.

These two insignificant children forge their own path, regardless of what everyone wants them to do. They disrupt the "proper" order of how things should happen by letting the dead out, getting separated from their dæmons, and changing the essence of the world through their roles as Adam and Eve.

Now that I'm older, the heavy biblical significance is much more noticable. I still love this book, but there is now a deeper meaning behind it. I still highly recommend it, however, please take the symbolism with a grain of salt.

13 August 2012

The Subtle Knife


Oh my goodness. I don't think I've blasted through a book of this length this quickly before.

Goodreads info
The Subtle Knife introduces new characters and more importantly, new worlds. We left off with Lyra crossing into the city in the sky, only to find out that it is actually the crossroads to all the worlds and that someone from "our" universe has crossed over as well. Will and Lyra are thrown together with these strange and bizarre artifacts and they don't know what they mean or what to do with them.

Again, the religious symbolism is pretty heavy in this book. However, I feel it's more action-oriented than The Golden Compass. Maybe it's because the one-on-one combats read better than the massive fight sequences of the first book. While there is still some world and character building, the universe of "His Dark Materials" has now been well established so that the reader can jump right into the action without having to understand why choices are being made.

My only negative feeling towards this story is that it jumps around a lot. There are many different characters who are following their own paths that we're interested in. In the end, it all comes together cohesively, and ready to tackle the next big thing. The Subtle Knife is not a stand-alone book by any means, but a good solid second book in a trilogy that inspires its reader to pick up the third installment, The Amber Spyglass.

12 August 2012

The Golden Compass

I've been in mood to re-read all the books that I loved growing up. I recently acquired Philp Pullman's trilogy "His Dark Materials" and since I haven't read them since before the movie came out in 2007, my views have definitely changed.

Goodreads Info Page
The Golden Compass has a lot of religious influences. Like a lot. I remember reading this thinking that the Church was playing a role in why people did what they did, but it never became as obvious until The Amber Spyglass. It was just the adventures of Lyra, 12 year old bandit gutter rat who lived at Jordan College. But now that I'm older and understand more, it shows how much more of a driving force they were, as well as all the underlying symbolism.

On the plus side, some things never change. I still cannot pronounce dæmon. I still blasted through the fight scenes at Bolvangar. And I still love this book. It has the capability to stand on its own, but it is so much more complete with the other two books following them up.

So if you'll excuse me, I'm off to get in a few chapters of The Subtle Knife in before Weeds starts :)

22 July 2012

countdown

I have 69 training days left for the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror 10-miler race. 68 - because let's face it, the chances of me running today after lunch date and Batman with friends is minimal.

I have 96 days left until the planning session with our wedding planner.

I have 276 days left until our wedding.

Things I want/need to do in the meantime:
-Run enough to not have to slow down to a walk every other minute
-Find good decorations for ceremony location and reception location
-Flesh out what I want my wedding to look like
-Catch up to the current Big Finish Production audio dramas of Doctor Who and friends
-Finish re-reading the Five Hundred Kingdoms series
-Finish A Song of Fire and Ice series
-Re-read His Dark Materials
-Read A Princess of Mars and see if it is better than or equal to John Carter. (I'm hoping it can't be worse)
-Hash out other details of the wedding that I currently think are minor (fleshing out the website, favors, programs, dress fittings, etc etc)
-Finish EPIC TV rewatches (Doctor Who, Stargate) and begin others (Star Trek? BSG?)


04 July 2012

Happy Independence Day!

Good Morning and Happy 4th of July!

Adam and I are planning on going to a Cast Member event at Little Lake Bryan today. They say there's going to be a food truck, games, crafts, music and dancing. I'm excited to go have fun.

No big plans for fireworks tonight -mostly because you can't pay me enough to go into the theme parks on a day like today. But we do have plans to go see The Amazing Spider-Man.

I hope you all have a safe 4th of July tonight! Stay healthy!

18 June 2012

Stop! Blogging Time!

I like this blog.

Shocking I know. I never call. I never write. But I like this blog. lemonlaiime

It's secretly me ya know. laii is the long sustaining nickname. Lemons are the current super crazy obsession. If I could eat just lemons I would. And limes! Basically anything citrus. Yum citrus~ except grapefruit... Silly Lipitor. I miss grapefruit. :(

I want to be more consistent with this blog. I want to write. I used to be a big writer (and by big I mean I wanted to write, but I could never be bothered enough). Well guess what- now I can be bothered.

Life is becoming 4 easy to contain buckets: work, running, wedding, and tv. I'm a whole person! I'm more than a bucket or four.

So let's write! Who knows where this will end up :D

15 May 2012

Addiction Has No Cure

About a month ago I mentioned something about how I was a week behind my television shows. I'm painfully addicted to TV. Need photographic proof?

this was me watching Community sometime last week. I think. obviously I follow so many shows that I can't remember if this was last week or not. Well look way down in the corner. See it? Here, let me zoom in for ya...
That's right. That shelf - just behind my weights - is Caprica, Castle, Chuck, Community, How I Met Your Mother, Life on Mars, Pushing Daisies, and Game of Thrones. And that's just the front row... Have you realized that I'm a nerd?

I think my count for this past season was up around 25 different shows. The full following is far far greater than that. There are fall season shows, summer season shows, guilty pleasure shows, shows that I plan epic re-watching sessions year after year. There are shows that I can pick up at the drop of a hat and shows that I have to start from Season 1 Episode 1 every time without fail.

I didn't used to be like this. Growing up, television was not a high priority. I grew up like every other stereotypical Asian child - the focus was on school and homework and my studies - work first then play. It's been drummed into my head for so long that its hard to find the time to switch off. So I went through junior high and high school focused on my school work. 

And then I found it - these glorious television shows. season upon season of detachment for me. Like any proper fan of the fantasy fiction genre the first show that became the all time favorite was Firefly. That poor poor show. How I love thee. I met the Browncoats and joined their ranks. In return, they introduced me to Buffy, Angel, Stargate, Farscape, Battlestar Galactica, Doctor Who, Torchwood, Sarah Jane Adventures... the list goes on and on and on and on!

College had me branching out into other shows that didn't necessarily fall into that nerd clique that I love so much. Weekends were spent with marathons of House, Deadliest Catch, Weeds, Pushing Daisies, Ace of Cakes, Chopped, and Avatar: The Last Airbender. Thanks to my new found love of shows from across the pond, I fell in love with Life on Mars, Ashes to Ashes and Black Books. And since shows change season after season, my tastes change time and time again :)


Alphas, Angel, Ashes to Ashes, Avatar, Battlestar Galactica, Being Human, Black Books, Bones, The Borgias, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Caprica, Castle, Chopped, Community, Dead Like Me, Doctor Who, Dollhouse, Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23, Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, Downton Abbey, Eureka, Farscape, Firefly, Food Network Star, Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, Futurama, Game of Thrones, GCB, The Guild, How I Met Your Mother, iCarly, Instant Star, Jake and the Never Land Pirates, The Legend of Korra, Legend of the Seeker, Life on Mars, Merlin, My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding, My Big Fat American Gypsy Wedding, Necessary Roughness, New Girl, Once Upon a Time, Phineas & Ferb, Pushing Daises, Psych, Raising Hope, Red Dwarf, Revenge, Robin Hood, Sarah Jane Adventures, Say Yes to the Dress: Bridesmaids, Scandal, Sherlock, The Soup, Suburgatory, Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis, Star Trek, Suits, Torchwood, Veronica Mars, Warehouse 13, Weeds, 6teen

65
I told you I was addicted.... So excuse me while I go and catch up on The Borgias.

13 May 2012

Happy Mothers Day

Happy Mothers Day to my mom and my grandma, as well as my future Ma and Mema!

Everything we do now is thanks to your hard work. Thank you for everything :)

15 April 2012

-


There's a lot going on in my life right now. It's like I can feel a warning signal going off and counting down until my head explodes. So instead of dealing with it like an adult, I'm coping by withdrawing and distracting myself.

This weekend I've caught up on the DVR filled with two weeks worth of TV shows, gotten addicted to and powered my way through Revenge, and I plan on powering through The Borgias as well. Addiction thy name is television. And in case I need more distraction, there's always Netflix, DragonAge and my Kindle loaded up with books. Oh and don't forget my massive list of Big Finish Audios that require listening.

Keep thoughts of us in mind, if you're so inclined. I appreciate it.

11 April 2012

moving forward

Lordy - it's been almost a month! again...
Y'all who can blog weekly or even daily astound me!

LIfe for this gal is pretty straight forward. I work, I eat, I try to lose weight, I wedding plan, I sleep, and I rinse, lather and repeat.

We got to go up to the panhandle of Florida this past weekend for my cousin's salt ceremony. Good food, good people, and gorgeous location. They're getting sealed in the Salt Lake Temple tomorrow :D Best of luck, Scott and Megan!

Not only was it a blast with my cousins, but my momma also made it down to come visit. She was here Thursday to Tuesday. So not only did we get to enjoy the Panhandle together, we also went out and bought my wedding dress!! It'll arrive in July and then I can start picking out veils and shoes and everything else.

Tonight's now all about catching up from a whirlwind weekend with my momma. That might mean 14 hour long episodes from the past two weeks and as much reading of A Clash of Kings as I possibly can.

Have a good Wednesday night, y'all!

16 March 2012

back again

I'm back (maybe???) If you read the previous incarnations of this blog, this should be no surprise to you. I got bored with blogging. It happens. But then, as always, the urge to write something -anything- started to bug me again. I thought maybe if I get a journal and write everything down in there, it would quell the urge. It does, but I'm a girl well seeped in technology. If I can't do it from my phone, it's very hard for me to be bothered at all.

Things are routine as always. I work my forty hours, hit the gym, find time to socialize with friends and hang out with Adam. Work is the same. I was asked where I saw my career going, and realized I don't have any ambition to go elsewhere. I'm happy doing what I do now. I'm focusing on moving up where I'm at and doing good work while I'm at it. Things are good work-wise. Who am I to ruing something that works well?

 I've been really good about working out lately. I'm down 1.7 pounds last time I checked! I'm well on my way to getting my $100 reward from work for having a healthy BMI. Adam and I ran the Disney Royal Family Tangled 5K back at the end of February for the Princess Half Marathon Weekend. 3.1 miles in 40 minutes! That's better than my last 5K in December by 5 minutes. Not a whole lot of improvement, but it's better than nothing!

We're running the Expedition Everest Challenge on May 5 and I hope to run the Tower of Terror 10-Miler and possibly the Wine and Dine Half Marathon. It's weird to think that back in high school I refused to run, blaming my knees and the odd way that my bones grew in. But I've enjoyed running. Now I just need to get past getting bored. Usually I space out listening to my Doctor Who audios, but that's not really a safe thing to do.

Pretty good on my Resolutions so far, right? (except for me writing my reviews on books and audios and everything... but we all knew I wouldn't follow through with that)

12 February 2012

SLOTH

'

Just in case you haven't seen some of the best hilarity I've seen in ages :)

30 January 2012

Running Update

{found on pinterest}
Today I repeated Week 4 of the Couch to 5K program.

Repeated because inadvertently took a 3 day rest break and when I went running yesterday, I could barely do the first 4 minute run.

Of course, while taking my 3 day running rest, I did a 4 (make that 5) day 30 Day Shred rest.

Yay for lack of motivation. I'm trying to keep it up. The hardest thing is time. I can wake up early and Shred, Shower and Work. Or I can Work, Gym, Shred. But either way it's just taking too much time away from me prepping dinner or taking care of the rest of my chores. So which is more important? Do I focus more on me, or do I try to be a good wife?

Finding this balance is difficult.

At least I know that it's paying off. People are telling me I look much trimmer and my clothes seem looser!

29 January 2012

in which laura is open and frank

"You should probably expect a heart attack or a stroke by the time you're 25."

To most people, those words are terrifying. They cause trips to libraries to stock up on information and trips to the grocery store to replace all the food that was in the refrigerator.

But when those words were said to me at 16, I laughingly blew them off. "Well I'm not dead yet," I told my family. "I'll change my habits when I get older. 25 is forever away."

I said the same thing when I was 18 and in college. "25 is years away. I'll get better in shape later." I had also reverted to 2 meals a day, if I was lucky, and usually at least one of those meals was pop tarts and rice krispie treats.

Eventually I started to wise up. I remembered how tasty broccoli with cheese can be, and how good it feels to get out and run after work for just a few moments. Now I'm 23. I have a full time job with an attempt to always eat better and to work out more. I'm also a 23 year old with a Lipitor prescription.

I have the fab fortune of winning the genetic lottery with Asian genes with a tendency towards bad eyesight, diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. I can practically see my genes getting picked on at the playground.

The doc tried to put me on meds before. I had a -unique- reaction: I tended to burst into tears at the most inconvenient of times. After I had time to "re-stabilize" myself, as it were, doc suggested Lipitor. I was skeptical. Lipitor commercials seem to always have older gentlemen as the star, not a mid-twenties gal. But it wasn't a bad option, considering.

I'm still terrified that one day I'll wake up to find myself In a hospital bed recovering from my first heart attack. Sure I'm alive and kicking for now, but what about next week? Next month? Next year?

So I take my meds. I try to workout regularly. I make smart and sometimes healthy food choices. And I have the almost-hubs cheering me on every step of the way.

------------------------------

I wrote the above when I went to the doctor and he put me on Lipitor. I was terrified to put it out into the world, as it were, and absolutely refused to make this my first post when I restarted my blog. Eventually I adapted to the fact that I was taking Lipitor, and I got so comfortable that I could joke about it. Besides, there's this weird twinge that makes it seem so hilarious to watch peoples faces when I tell them that my triglycerides, which should be at 150, are at 400.

I've learned to be very open about my health. I have genetically HIGH cholesterol. I make healthy choices in what I choose to eat and I work out. In fact, I've been working out quite regularly lately. I am working on making my way through Couch to 5K - I'm on week 4! And when I was out at Sam's Club last weekend, they had Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred for like $8. So now I'm doing 30DS as well. And man, is it kicking my butt!!! But I'll be in awesome shape for the Disney Royal Family 5K in February. and hopefully the Tower of Terror 10-miler Weekend.


Wednesday morning, I went to get some blood work done. I'll find out Friday when I go back to the doctor if the Lipitor is really working. And believe you me, I'm terrified. I want to be healthy and live forever and ever. Positive thoughts y'all.

25 January 2012

Happy New Year!

{source}
Welcome to the Year of the Dragon! 
It's my year too! I was born under the Dragon sign, and weirdly enough every "fortune telling" that utilizes the Zodiac is right on the money.


The following descriptions are courtesy of US Bridal Guide:
Earth Dragons make great managers because they are practical, levelheaded and demonstrate a knack for organizing. They still have the need to dictate and be admired, but they are affable, congenial and supportive. Compared to other Dragons, Earth Dragons are less likely to breathe fire at the least irritation. They will work diligently to complete their life goals. The Earth element adds a greater portion of self-control to the Dragon's personality and usually the Earth Dragon is deserving of the respect he or she desires. These Dragons take their life and romantic responsibilities quite seriously.
Taurus brings the Dragon back down from the clouds and adds a purposeful strength to his character. Taurean Dragons will work consistently to achieve material comforts and high standards of living essential to their well-being.  
If you know me, you know how crazy accurate that is. Same with everything else they have listed; it's really awesome!


Tết (aka Vietnamese New Year) was Monday January 23. I spent the weekend prepping for the New Year by cleaning as much as possible. It's this funny superstition that whatever you do in the first three days of the new year, that's what you'll be doing all year long. You're also not supposed to sweep or take the trash out as that will send all your good luck away. I even made Adam be the first person to come into the house/apartment so he could bring the good luck in with him.


May you all have the best luck possible this year!

19 January 2012

Movie Night


Adam and I each got REDBOX codes via text today. You know what that means! Movie Night!!!!!

We're curled up enjoying Cowboys & Aliens and The Help. So y'all have a good Thursday night. I'm gonna go back to drinking my tea.

ps: I may have bought some awesome corduroy pants from j. crew. Can't wait til they get here! I need new work clothes - badly...

14 January 2012

Saturday Shopping

Main Street Duo
Today was one of those perfect days. I had plans that wouldn't take all day, but I knew would. I had to visit the eye doctor this morning in order to get new contacts and then I had a lunch date with some friends from work.

We were adventurous and went out to this place called Little Saigon so I could get some phð aka the most amazing Vietnamese rice noodle soup. What with Tết (Vietnamese New Year) coming up, I've been craving some good Vietnamese food real bad for a while now. And boy did that hit the spot!


Afterwards, Adam and I went to Downtown Disney to see Beauty and the Beast in 3D (ps my fave disney movie of all time) and then did some shopping. Especially since our Vinylmation collecting obsession needed some fueling with Main Street Trolley and Animation Series 2.
Animation Series 2 Chaser + Topper
Somehow Adam has discovered that I have amazing luck when it comes to picking Vinylmations. I once picked up a box for Park Series 5 and it just so happened to contain the chaser Tom Morrow. So when we saw the new Animation Series 2 was out with a Jiminy Cricket topper, it was amazing to pull out the Headless Horseman chaser. We might have taken a double take when we first took it out and wondered where the head was.
The most beautiful coat ever
We also stopped in Curl by Sammy Duvall where I found this absolutely gorgeous houndstooth coat in the CLEARANCE SECTION! I've been obsession over houndstooth coats for ages and now I finally own one. It seems a little silly to be buying a coat when I live in Florida, but we've been having cold snaps and I need something other than my ski coat. I'm normally not one for impulse buys, but it was to pretty to pass up and Adam decided to treat me. Gotta love him :) Plus he did took pictures of me! I usually don't like being in pictures, but that needs to change.

I also may be slowly liking the idea of Vera Bradley bags. As much as I love my Coach purse, I need something that sits better on my shoulder and not fall off. Anyone have any favorite {style/color/other purse}?

11 January 2012

some gals have all the luck


The worst of the worst came to pass. Almost.

I was happily plugging along at work listening to the fantastic Peter Davison and Sarah Sutton go on adventures in Alaska (doctor who, dontchaknow) when SUDDENLY....

silence

Now I've had my iPhone 3GS for over two years now. it was a surprise christmas gift for my first christmas away from family. me being such a huge apple nerd, needless to say i was ecstatic. 

For the rest of the day, I lamented the loss of my iPhone. I wouldn't have a means of communication until this got fixed, whether by calling, texting, facebooking, etc. I pouted over the fact that i was currently music-less and couldn't do my run that night since I had no way to track without my Nike+. And most of all, I became actually distraught over losing all my Tiny Tower progress. (I've been playing since July! and I'm 4 stores away from having them all!!!)

I skipped my run and drove home as quickly as legally possible. I was all prepared to call my daddy back home and cry to him about how a new phone was needed and possibly sooner rather than later. Sensible Sally in my head suggested troubleshooting. after a bit of researching (like two seconds to search), I came upon the magic cure! AKA resetting the phone. lo and behold, it worked :) I charged it up, and for good measure I restored it as well (which involved more worrying over Tiny Tower progress loss).

So far, it works fab. I blame too many data-eating apps. I've had Adam streamline my interface for me, and remove any extraneous apps. Today is the real test. Can it survive 8 (ok more like 6) hours of audiobook playing + gym time? we shall see!

(no pictures, because how can i take a picture of a dead iphone when my iphone is my camera ??? riddle me this)

04 January 2012

New Years Resolutions


Every year I try to accomplish something. And about halfway thru February, I forgot what I set out to accomplish.

This Year will be different. maybe.

This year I want to:
1. Save more money! I'm getting married in 2013 after all!
2. Run at least 3 times a week in January
4. Run the 5k during Disney's Princess Half Marathon in Feb
5. Run the Expedition Everest Challenge in May
6. Complete the Tower of Terror 10 mile run in late Sept
7. Run the Wine and Dine Half Marathon in Nov. (and the 5k if i'm strong enough)
8. Find a fab FAB wedding dress
9. Begin the MASSIVE Big Finish Productions Audio listen thru
10. Read ALL the Wheel of Time books
11. Read 50 "new to me" books
12. Write reviews of above books and/or audios
13. Finish the Buffy/Angel watch-thru with Adam
14. Finish the SG1/SGA rewatch and convince myself to watch SGU
15. Be more mindful in what I eat (ie, fruits and veggies over that box of chocolates)

Obviously, I'm all about getting in shape for that wedding dress by run run running a ton. And I'm going to enjoy myself by rewatching some of my favorite shows and reading lots. Feel free to cheer me on! My friend and I will be running Sundays and Tuesdays together and then Thursdays on our own. Gonna be awesome!

01 January 2012

2011:rewind

This is a SUPER wordy post, just fair warning. I have this strange quirk wherein I don't like taking pictures. Hopefully with my goal of writing more, I'll end up taking more pictures too.

January
Nothing really exciting happened. I was still at the reservation center and Adam was still on his internship. We dreamed of bigger and better and slowly made decisions concerning our wedding.

February
We became parents to our very own AristoKitties. Two brothers. The Stately One and the Dog-Cat. Technically called Berlioz and Toulouse. We learned to adapt to feeding two more mouthes who cried so piteously when we don't feed them on time.

March
Adam and I tried to go on a mini-vacation to get away. It wasn't meant as a break away from my work to save me from a mini-mental breakdown, but it sure helped. I was starting to realized that I wasn't happy where I was and it was time to move on. However the whole idea got put on a major hold when I received a text from my dad the day our vacation started - my mom had a heart attack. A major one. We were all so thankful that she was at work at the hospital surrounded by people who could help instantly and who cared for her just as much as we did. My sister and I arranged it that she would take her Spring Break plus an extra week to go home from college and help out. And then I would go home for a while as well. There was lots of praying and thoughts of disbelief.

April
I went to Utah for three weeks to take care of my mom. She was doing so much better that it didn't seem as though she needed me. I was her personal chauffeur and did everything I could to make things easy on her. When I got home to Orlando, Adam got some fab news that he was offered a salaried position and could leave his internship early. It was job security and real money- and it meant we could finally get an apartment of our own.

May
We moved into our new apartment. The boys loved having more room to run about. We got in plenty of trips to IKEA to furnish our home. It's still a work in progress even now, but it's ours. We celebrated my birthday with dinner at Yachtsman Steakhouse. yum. Adam started his new job.

June
Adam's birthday! We spent the day at Disney's Hollywood Studios where we had brunch at 50's Prime Time Cafe, and then dinner at La Hacienda at Epcot. We had an absolutely wonderful time, and I renewed my search for a new job. I also got ridiculous addicted to the iPhone game Tiny Tower.

July
We celebrated 1 year together. I got bookshelves as an anniversary gift! I also got word that I was accepted into a new role, still at the reservation center but something new.

August
I started my new role within the reservation center, just as a temporary basis for now. The change was definitely what I needed.

September
Not even a month later, I got word that my temporary role was becoming a permanent one, with a second temporary role within the same department starting in just a few weeks.

October
We were horrible people and pretended we weren't home for Halloween so that we could eat all the candy on our own. We'll be better next year.

November
The GCWOK who introduced us had their commitment ceremony (aka wedding) at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa at the Wedding Pavillion. I ate a lot of fab food and then drank a lot when we Drank around the World at Epcot the next day. Brilliant me planned a doctor's visit a few days after the wedding so the doctor was concerned because I had gained 10 pounds. He also started me on Lipitor. That decision shocked me so much that I decided to blog+write again. I still have yet to post about my medical issues. I feel so confused about them.

Adam's mom came down for Thanksgiving and I cooked the whole meal for the first time! Last year was just preheating the Publix meal. We were also able to get our Black Friday deals on Thursday morning online while still in our PJs. Adam was finally able to get a PS3 and I've been starting to enjoy Blu-Ray movies over standard DVDs. I began listening to the Doctor Who Big Finish audios again. I've a lot of catching up to do.

We also met with the Sales Manager for Disney Fairytale Weddings to get the ball rolling and to start getting things settled for our wedding. April 24, 2013

December
I finally started to post something again. I revamped the blog and gave it a new name, going from .thunder.bolts.crash. to lemonlaiime. My aim is still most likely going to be a personal/lifestyle blog. I'm going to work on keeping my work life separate, just to save me embarrassment if it comes to it.

I ran a 5k for the first time ever! I did it in 45 minutes with barely any training under my belt and after I had been sick. I'm planning By some miraculous means, I had enough vacation time to make it back to Utah for the holidays for the first time in three years. We came home to celebrate Adam's mom's birthday and to have our own mini Christmas. I now have a sewing machine! I think 2012 is going to be a very crafty year :)