My Crazy, Obsessive Love for Pumpkin

Ok, It's that time of year again!!!! ♫♫♫  It's pumpkin season and I am absolutely in love with it!!!

So, lets be honest, there really isn't anything that can make this time of year bad for me.  I love FOOTBALL!!!!!  I get pretty crazy and obsessed about it, as well as the colder weather, the leaves starting to change (soon) and soon night will be getting here earlier.  Also, lets not forget about the extra hour of sleep we gets when clocks change. :)  Who doesn't love an extra hour of sleep?

well my other obsession is Pumpkin.  I cook and bake with pumpkin all year long but what makes me so extremely happy is how readily available it is in EVERYTHING this time of year.  and I must try EVERYTHING!!!

I buy Everything Pumpkin that I can find and even have the assistance from my friends too.  They grab me everything they see that they think I haven't had yet or I would just like to have.

I thought I would share with you a few of the things I have found or at least just enjoyed again so far this year.   Keep in mind.  This is just a few of the things that I have found and purchased. :)

Yes I am VERY aware that I am obsessed with pumpkin.  I can't help it.  It is the best taste and flavor in the world to me.  So I stock up on as much as I can so I can enjoy it all year long.  I even special ordered 6 boxes of the donuts so I could freeze them and enjoy them all year.  By the way.  They are pretty good frozen too.  LOL

I have more than just this but it's all I had pictures of. ;)

New Treadmill

Well for about a year now I have been planning on buying a treadmill.  It's pretty much all I have been talking about for quite a long time now.  Ask any of my friends.  I think I was driving them crazy about it.  Problem is I have this issue with actually spending money.  I have all these great plans to buy something and I work hard and save up for it but as soon as I see the money in the bank account I feel this rush of financial comfort and security and I can't bring myself to actually spending it.  So....  I kept putting off the treadmill.  well....  I finally decided to just go for it.  I found a decent one on sale at RC Willey and purchased it online to be delivered next Saturday.  Well...  to be completely honest, I was still having panic attacks about hitting the purchase button so my friend "M" actually had to come over to my desk to hit the purchase button for me.  LOL  I know.  I'm a freak! But now I will actually have one at home and I can do my walks and jogs anytime I want instead of always having to go to the Marina and rearranging my schedule for the weather.  In Reno it gets very very cold in the winter and very very hot in the summer so I'm not always able to go when the time permits me to.  Now it won't matter.  I'm sooooo excited!!!!

Europe 2012

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Channeling My Pain

The past several months have been a whirlwind of emotional ups and downs.  What started off as great, even though I was very skeptical turned out to be crushing.  I had chosen to purposely stay out of the dating world for a very very long time and when I veered from that, I was shown why I should have stuck to my instincts.   Now I have to recover from the heartache that allowing myself to open up to someone caused.  Ugh...  Some days are better than others but I still hate the pain and the hurt that stays lingering around all the time.

Anyway, So this is why I have taken such a hiatus from here and my writing in general.  I am working very hard to get myself back to normal but I can't promise how fast it will be. I have been trying so hard to be strong in public and around my friends but when I'm alone I tend to fall apart. I haven't wanted any of my friends to know anything has been wrong or that that I'm possibly not as strong as I let them all believe I am.  Without using my writing or my singing as an outlet, I haven't given myself much of a chance to heal.  So I am getting back to the pen and paper and hoping for the best. I have several short stories I need to complete now and stop sitting on them, not to mention I need to work on this series some more.  They aren't going to submit themselves and I'm getting tired of dodging my publishers calls,  so it is time to channel my emotions and pain to work for me.

My Journey To Find The Skinny Me!

So I have a secret....  For almost a year now I have been on Weight Watchers.  I have lost 50 lbs since the beginning of 2012.  I am extremely proud of myself although I have to say.  I don't  really see the difference in myself as much as everyone else does.  I still think of myself as the old me so it's awkward to get all of the compliments and be able to fit in smaller clothes.  But I am happy none the less.  :)  

Well as a reward to myself I have decided to finally go through with what I have been working so hard for and what I have wanted for a very very long time.  I am going to schedule a Tummy Tuck!  Yes.  Finally gonna do it.  Since, although, I have lost 50 lbs this past year.  I will be honest and tell you that since I quit drinking in 2008, I have actually lost a total of 70 lbs.  So that leaves a lot of not so attractive skin.  I am excited to finally feel good about myself for the first time in.... Oh I don't know how long... LOL

Check out my Weight Loss Adventure Blog!  My Journey To Find The Skinny Me

Back From My European Adventure

Greetings from the Charles Bridge - Prague, Czech Republic

Ok, so I know I have been gone for a while but I have had soooo much going on these past couple of months. I even have several blogs that I started, but just didn't find the time to finish and post. I'm sorry about that.  I have definitely been slacking. But it has been a whirlwind of excitement.  First as I mentioned before I went to Europe for 2 weeks in September.  OH MY GOD, what a fantastic time I had.  I have tons of pics but to be honest... I haven't even had a chance to get them uploaded from my camera yet.  Yeah... I've been that busy.  But I promise soon I will get them posted.

I went to Prague, Czech Republic; Vienna, Austria; Bratislava, Slovakia  and Budapest, Hungary.  Loved them all!!  I would have to say as far as city beauty goes, my favorite was Prague.  It was Gorgeous!!  Loved it.  Charles Bridge is magnificent.  I was in complete AWE! There really are no words to describe the beauty of the city and it;'s architecture.  The people were a little different than I am used to.  They weren't mean or rude at all.  They were very kind and pleasant just very different.  As an American of course I am used to 2 specific things. Smiling at people when you make eye contact with them and personal space.  Well these are two things they do not believe in over there. They don't do superficial smiling or hugs towards people they are not close with. At first they may come off as rude when you smile in their direction and they look at you straight faced and keep walking or going back to what they were doing, but you soon realize this is just how they are.  They are as kind and nice as can be, they just don't smile at random strangers they don't know.

Now for the personal space thing,  well that was hard to adjust too.  I am used to people moving to the side to not run into you.  Avoiding knocking people over in the street when they were standing in their spot before you got there.  In Prague, they don't seem to care.  If you are standing still in a place or walking down the street and someone feels you are in their way or path they will just run you right over.  They don't seem to care if you were there first.  That was something I don't think I would ever get used to.

Vienna was amazing as well.  It made me feel so at home with how similar it is to Germany.  The people, the language, the food.  I love Germany so much and Vienna gave me that same comfortable feeling.  Of course everything about the food was fantastic.  I liked Czech food as well, do't get me wrong, it was just much richer and heavier in the Czech Republic than it was everywhere else. Viennese food is very similar to German food.  Well at least to me it was in comparison to the other countries I visited this trip.  So everything about it was wonderful.  I didn't really try any food in Slovakia for the afternoon we were there but I do have to say that Hungarian food is AMAZING!!!!!  Their food appears to be rich and heavy fut it is actually light yet filing and soooo flavorful with their Hungarian Paprika.  That stuff is AMAZING!!!  So flavorful.  Nothing like anything we have here in the states.  So I don't have too many pitctures yet but I do have some food pictures on my phone.  So I will give you a little quick sneak peek. :)

 A Renaissance Dinner in Hungary.

Some MONSTROUS Tortellini in Prague.

A very heavy and very rich but VERY tasty traditional Czech Goulash and Dumplings dinner.

A pretty amazing Hungarian Fish dinner with a pretty tasty bread-like dessert. 

They do get pretty creative there with their weiners. :)

Yummy Viennese Wiener Schnitzel and Potato Salad with Pumpkin Seed Oil.

Some various European coffee.  Now they definitely know how to do coffee over there.  No comparison. lol 

Madonna was yet again... AMAZING!!!

Ok so again I know this is late...  I am trying to catch up on all my fun fulled events from the past couple of months.

As you all may remember, I went to the Bay Area a month ago for the Madonna Concert in San Jose for my SECOND time seeing her.  She was of course AMAZING!!!!!!! Nobody puts on such a theatrical and entertaining show as that incredible woman.

I would say it wasn't as good as the first time I saw her in 2008 but it was DEFINITELY a phenomenal Show and She freaking ROCKS !!!