dance

I was never a dancer growing up, and I'm as uncoordinated as it gets.

CJ is still young, so I figure I'd start her early and give her the chance to enjoy dance/ballet.

The fun part is when little girls put on pale pink leotards, slip on the little white tights and those tiny pink ballet slippers. And how cute is that when they dance and twirl around the floor with no care in the world? Sigh, I love it!

And that's just what CJ did during two dance sessions with EVOLVE. (12 weeks total)

It wasn't easy for her to get acclimated to the other girls in the class and to participate when asked to do so. It took some serious hand holding on my part to get her comfortable and warmed up with everyone, but she eventually did. We watched her learn to do pirouettes, tip toeing, stretching, tumbling, hopping, crawling, skipping... and she even brought some of those moves home into the living room.

Week after week, it seemed the classes were the same and the girls were getting bored.

At the start of class they listened and complied with whatever Miss Christy asked, but towards the end of class they did their own thang and ran around like mad.

This weekend was the last of her ballet classes, and we were a little sad about it.

We got to know the girls and their parents pretty well over the last few months so we are probably more sad that we won't get to see eachother every Saturday morning.
But the girls are growing up and we have birthday parties and hopefully play dates to look forward to. Isabel's party in Jan.

Followed by Mateja's party in Feburary.

Madison's party is in a few weeks, so we'll all be seeing each other again soon.

Ballet/dance will definitely be in her near future again, I don't want her to miss out.
So for now, we will change it up... soccer perhaps?!

Here are pictures of the girls over the last few months in ballet/dance.

The girls all wore pink!

chocolate 15K run

Yum, chocolate!

But it was not the reason I ran this race. I needed some reassurance that this out-of-shape body can still run.

I need to know that I still had that in me. And though it wasn't the greatest results, I did it!

The last time I ran anything close to a 15K, was last year. 

Hazel, Glen & I ran the Earth Day 10K in Carlsbad.

Before that was Carlsbad's half marathon in 2008.

For this race, I complained a ton before the race about not being able to train much.
And honestly my training schedule (for running) sucked.

Here is how it went:

6 weeks of Insanity, 5-6 times a week

5 weeks of 2-3 miles of running, 1 time a week

1 five mile run with Glen and Cloie at the lake the week before the race.

My time: 1:48:51

Not great, but not bad...considering the lack of training.

But I owe it all to Insanity! That is what kept my endurance going. Thanks Shaun T, awwwh yeeeh!

The hills sucked- the gradual hills are always challenging, a slow torture. We hit that between 2-4 miles and it was rough, I found myself stopping to walk a few times. 

And the damn hill at mile 6.5 was ridiculous, there was not one person running up it. I hated that hill so much I had to run up the last part of it, just to get it over with and out of the way.

At mile 8 to the end, it was easy...yet hard at the same time.

Knowing that I was so close to the finish line made me want to stop. Although seeing the finish line made me run faster, and also made me want to beat the annoying gal that kept passing me through out the run. :)

After all the complaining and a year long running hiatus, it felt great to put that one down in the books.

I'm ready for my next race. 

April 29!

run check

The chocolate race is done and I can check a 15k off my bucket list.

Other than the 2 nasty hills, the race wasn't too bad.

9.3 miles is not an easy run, but I would consider doing it again.

I know there is a 15k over the Coronado Bridge coming up soon, which would be an awesome run, but maybe next year. I'm tired, and I need a rest.

Between my training program (which wasn't much), last night's Over the Anaheim Hill party and getting up at the butt crack of dawn, I'm spent.
Although now I'm in search of an upcoming run.

5Ks are fun, 10Ks are manageable, 15Ks a little more challenging, 1/2 marathon..yikes, who's in???

over the anaheim hill

I thought I was far from celebrating "Over the Hill" birthdays with my family and friends, but it seems I keep inching closer and closer to it. We celebrate birthdays each year as we get older...imagine that!
I guess that's how it works, right?

I remember feeling a bit down turning 20- no more 17,18 or 19. Never mind that I was 1 year away from being legal age to drink, big deal...so over it! I was depressed putting a #2 in front of my age.

When 30 rolled around, I was at the prime of my life (at the time)...owned a condo, got engaged then married (8 months later) and celebrated being 30 with all my family and friends.
Such a big deal, I was reeling!

I'm still a little ways from turning 40 (ugh!), but having my older sis celebrate her 40th over the weekend was a simple reminder that I am not far behind.

Because I had my run early the next morning and because I would end up being the DD from OC to SD, I didn't get my"party on" with Mfe. I suppose we have many a days ahead of us to do that.
One thing is for sure, this girl partied and had a lot of fun.
Her house was packed with a lot of family and friends who wanted to welcome her into her forties.
There was plenty of food to go around, more than enough drinks to go around, and the cake was massive. It was massively delicious I might add. Susie's Cakes killed it!


Over the Anaheim Hill was a success and although it is an indication that we are getting older, it also adds to the memories that we all can share and cherish.
Happy Bday Mfe, you are no where close to looking like 40 my milf sis!
xoxo

my little frenchie

In preparation of H's upcoming trip to Paris, the little girl has learned to introduce herself.

I only hope that we can go on a trip to Paris (or just a Euro trip in general)...one day, one day.

And I'll make sure she brushes up on her French a little bit more.

flower power

Nothing says SPRING like beautiful flowers.

Tulips used to be my favorites, but after my cousin's peonie filled wedding I fell in love with those.

Roses are always classic and play the fun or romantic role, depending on the color.

I've always loved hydrangeas and how full and vibrant they are.

And nothing says simplistic beauty like orchids, which are my mom's favorites.

What are your favs?

In honor of the first day of Spring, here's to beautiful flowers.

birthday brunch

I'm trying to figure out what it is about the month of June or July that makes people get busy.

You know busy...like carnal, sensual, horny, etc... LOL!

I say this because March is filled with birthdays, and to this day I am still trying to keep up.

Mom, sisters, brother, nephew, friends, dogs, etc...

For my family, we implement a date within the month to get everyone together and celebrate all March birthdays. And that usually works.

Then I have the other family... enter Hazel, the only March baby on hubby's side of the family.

The one person who loves birthdays, special occasions and just being festive in general.

She chose the place and we were there...Karl Strauss Brewery for Sunday Brunch.

Hello Mimosas!

The brunch was pretty good too- a lot to chose from and all fresh food.

The scene was pretty diverse with the majority of the crowd being hipsters.

Delicious brunch and being a brewery (for Glen's sake) it was a win- win for all.

Happy Birthday H!!!
XOXO
 

CJ is amazed by her braid. :)

green eats

Someone thought it would be a great idea to have a little cube party/happy hour at work, the day before St. Patty's Day. A cube party wasn't big enough, so we resorted to the empty area that runs along our side of the office. Besides everyone decided to contribute and the spread turned out to be more than what we expected.

Okay so the rolled tacos weren't green, and neither were the Doritos or the beans, but we did have green veggie dip, broccoli, celery, snap peas, guacamole, green cookies, green licorice, green beer, sprite & 7 Up with a drop of dye and Guinness - not green either, but fully acceptable.

To top it off, we had Riverdance on repeat to entertain us.

Happy St. Patty's Day!

apps, apps and more apps

Have you heard of that app Draw Something?

Geez, I get sucked into these app games, find myself glued to the phone and wasting time away.
My own fault.
My day was being sucked away by attempting to guess AND draw whatever it was that Draw Something came up with. Take that times 6!
Fun and super funny at first, but I started losing patience as it took me almost 30 minutes to get through all the guessing and drawing. Then it became dull and annoying.
Same thing happened with Words with Friends.
Angie and I had 19 games going at one time, no kidding. Our 6-7 letter words turned into 3 letter words and the points we were accumulating were dwindling.
To us it became a joke so we ditched it.

App games are fun at first, but I honestly don't have time to play games on my phone.
I purchased my phone to communicate, take pictures, surf the web and maybe watch a video here and there.
So now I know... games are just not my forte.
It's not to say, I love discovering new apps!
I especially love the photography apps, shopping apps (dangerous), health/fitness apps.

Here are a few of my favorites that I'd like to share.
Instagram
(of course. this is my go-to app)
Frametastic
(love this app for posting multiple pics)
Snapseed
(its not free anymore :( great tool for a little photo editting, but I need more practice)
MyFitnessPal
(a pretty accurate fitness tool. I hate that I forget to use it everyday, like I should)
Pandora
(of course)
Kayak
(I don't travel a lot but I like to dream where I can possibly go...)
Kindle
(I love having this on my iPhone & iPad)

What are your favorite apps? Please do share!

rough night

Last night could have been the toughest time I've ever had putting Camille to sleep.

It was meltdown after meltdown and it was definitely an emotional roller coaster ride for all of us.
Even Cloie.

This was an evening that definitely needs to go down in the books.

Let me preface this by mentioning that she didn't have her normal nap at Grandma's.

Possibly the reason for meltdown city.

7:45 pm

I had noticed her cranky antics while we were checking out at Target, so it was actually good timing.

We were 3 minutes from home and I noticed that she had already conked out in her car seat.

We unloaded the car and I brought her up to her room, hoping her sleep would continue.

Big mistake. This is probably where I went wrong.

I should have left her to fall into a deeper slumber.

She woke up, was no longer in sleep mode and started talking up a storm.

She was told, "Go to sleep" 50 times before I gave up and realized that she was not going to listen to me.
I changed her diaper, brushed her teeth and turned off the lights.

I threw out idle threats of leaving the room a few times, so she can fall asleep by herself and she kept begging me not to leave her.

At this point she was so tired, and started to cry and whine. And cry. And wine.

"Mommy, hold me."

"Mommy, stop talking!" (I'm not saying a word)

"I'm sick and sad."

"I don't like you."

Then I couldn't handle it anymore, and needed to get away from all the noise and her constant crying.
I brought her downstairs to Glen, which didn't help.

I went upstairs and apparently Cloie didn't want to be around the noise either; she came running upstairs.

I heard things like this from upstairs for about 20 minutes.

"No, no, no!"

"I don't want you, I want Mommy!"

"Mommy is my best friend."

That crying episode went on for a about 30 minutes, until I came down and got her a cup of milk to calm her down. After consoling her and calming her down, she was asleep within minutes.

11:05 pm

Can you believe that 3 hour ordeal?

Even as an infant, it was never too hard to get her down and keep her down.

So looking at the bigger picture, this is nothing and I hope these kind of nights happen far and few between.
I don't know what it was that got her acting up, but it was definitely a challenge.

This morning she was just fine, as if nothing even happened last night.

Pretty amazing, huh?
My little girl is amazing.

6 days old

hawaiian happy hour

I don't do happy hours like I used to, and I miss them! 

On the rare occasion that I stay downtown on Friday night to have a drink with work friends, I feel like a virgin to the bar scene. I'm not in with the scene.

Well, we've been talking about it for a few weeks now, so I jumped at the chance to meet up with H for HH at Roy's in La Jolla after work. 

My glass of wine was divine, but I'm not sure why I didn't order one of their yummy specialty drinks?! Perhaps I forget how to even do happy hour anymore. I'm such a rookie these days.

But the sample sips that I snook in were just enough to make me want to come back.

We indulged in some delicious apps- sushi rolls, slider, potstickers.
It was all good. And each item was only $5.
I will be back...

monday blues

Monday is panning out pretty well, despite my "Monday Blues" this morning.

I need to figure out a way for my Sunday night depression to pass. There is nothing more annoying than that feeling of a work week coming up in a matter of hours on Sunday nights.

But once Monday morning goes by, I'm good to go...

Happy Monday!

bollywood bday

 
Excuse my fat hands, they look awfully swollen and I don't know why.
Anyway...
My sis, Angie celebrated her birthday the other night --- Bollywood Style!

Indian food, Indian gear & Hennas.

Its rare for me to eat Indian food, like "my-second-time-ever-to-eat-it" rare, and I thought it was good.
Very spicy and rich tasting dishes.

I don't even know what the names of the food I was eating.
It did however, give me some tummy issues the next day, so that could be why Indian food doesn't make my list of things to eat.

Like many of us there, I've never had henna done my hands, feet, etc... so it was a fun experience.

Of course, the kids even got a piece of the action.
The funny thing about henna that Ang and I chatted about...it's very much like indoor tanning.
The smell, the application and process, the coloring that it leaves on your skin and the amount of time that it stays on your skin before it fades away...JUST LIKE INDOOR TANNING!
We were blown away by our very insightful discovery.
One thing that indoor tanning doesn't do that Henna does...the glittering to finish it off.
Now glittering all over, after tanning---that is a different story.

As my sister, my best friend and my confidant, just want to say life would not be the same without you.

 A very Happy Birthday to Angie!

my little boyfriend, VJ

Meet Vincent James.

I've been best friends with his mom, Pam since our mischievous days of middle school.
And now look at us...we are moms!
Who are we?

Vincent was born almost a year ago and I only got to meet him once when he was a few weeks old.
How sad is that?

If only babies could stop growing so fast, I wouldn't fall into my moments of depression.
He is such a sweet and playful little baby, always smiling and moving around.
I see so much of Pam's personality in him and he is a spitting image of his Grandpa.

I'm so glad that we got to meet up with Pam & VJ for a quick lunch and at least I got to see him before he turned ONE. Let's hope that its not another year that goes by before I see him again.

Here is a pic of Pam & I at Camille's first birthday, a year and a half ago. (!)
L O V E her!

excited: kicks

Excited indeed!

I've been waiting to find a good pair of running shoes for the race and my search might be over?!

These shoes actually caught my eye mainly because of the colors, so I thought it would be nice to have for casual wear and not so much for working out.

I'll get a "real" pair of running shoes as well, I thought.

But when they came in the mail yesterday and I tried them on...

not only are they pretty ass running shoes, they are super comfy.

I couldn't contain my excitement about these shoes.

And their only shoes.

Geez, calm down.

I'm a little hesitant to admit this, but I'm going to buy a second pair.

Yeh seriously, I need to calm down.

photo

Photography/photographs has been a hobby I've always enjoyed, but never really to the fullest.

Glen bought my first real camera for my birthday in 2002, I was so so so excited to own a Canon.

But what was even more exciting was to get the film developed and see how "great" my pictures turned out.

No one else in my family had a "nice" camera, so everyone turned to me to take pictures at birthday parties or special occassions. It was ridiculous how "pro" it made me feel, thanks fam! :)

Fast forward 10 years and my how things have changed. Imagine that!

I now have a new and improved digital Canon and need not worry about running over to Longs Drugs or Target to get my film developed. In addition to collecting a gazillion memory cards, I have photos saved on discs, portable hard drives and my computer.

When I take pictures, I will keep clicking & shooting until I have 10-15 of very similar photos.

My intention is to pick out the best one and delete the rest off of the mem card...eventually.

Who do I think I am, a Annie Lebowitz or Jasmine Star?

I would love to create cool pictures like this guy, that is who I'd like to think I can be like...

Kristin & Kayla's Dad's Site

Pretty cool, huh?

nutella marshmallow crescents

Like most of the blogs I follow, I don't know where I find them, but I'm glad that I found this blog:

Picky Palate

Her recipes are easy, delicious and fun.

I especially enjoy her sweet recipes, over her savory.

Every once in a while, I get an urge to try to bake something different & something new.

So I made these yummy little treats, but I used Nutella instead of Biscoff.

I have yet to taste Biscoff, but I've heard good things about it. 

Biscoff Marshmallow Crescents

Sorry that this is a pictureless post, but they must've been consumed faster than I can pull out my camera.

Pictures on next post--- I promise!

monday, monday

BLAH!

disney sunday

I'm very happy to report that we are proud owners of Disneyland passes again.

I know, I'm cheesy!

But our passes had expired in October and we had to hold off on making this purchase.

At the time we had paid for the winter trip to Mammoth and we couldn't do both. 

Disneyland tickets are just too expensive to make a one-time purchase and at the same time, the park is just too close for us not to go a few times a year. Thus, Annual Passes are the best solution!

This time, our outing was a little different, in that we went to California Adventure, not Disneyland. 

We also went on a Sunday! We would never subject ourselves to the mayhem on the weekends, but Sunday mornings may be an exception with these passes.

  

We raced to the Ariel ride once CA Adventure opened, as we had promised Camille during our 45 minute wait for the park to open. Here she is in front of one of the posters by the entrance gate. 

For the past two weeks, Little Mermaid has been her favorite. Next week will be Beauty and the Beast and the following will probably be Cinderella. She's indecisive...two year olds, I tell ya!

She has developed a BIG crush on Eric, all her giddiness comes out when I say his name.

 

 Being one of the first parties on the ride and knowing how crazy the line can get in the middle of the day (like 45 minutes crazy), we got the opportunity to ride again and we stayed on. Woo hoo!

After Ariel, we went over to Paradise Pier and jumped on the King Triton Merry Go Round. There is never a line and it easy entertainment for the little girl. 

We jumped in line for the Toy Story Midway Mania and it was ridiculous, so we scrapped that idea once we got to a point where we realized it was still another 25 minute wait. I had lost Glen (long story), my phone and snacks/water were in the backpack he was carrying, I was carrying a hungry, tired, 30+ lb Camille and it was frickin' hot! Screw that!

I found Glen, we walked around for a little, replenished with a little to eat and exited the park.

So soon, I know. The morning was fine but as the day went on, it felt like the number of people were multiplying and the sun was getting hotter...not really fun.

Hey, we are now pass holders again. So a short trip to the happiest place on earth isn't so bad.

Even though we did see Ariel, there was a little griping from Camille about not seeing the Princess Castle.

Oh my!!!

Our next trip is already being mapped out...

current addiction

Like most people who own one, I'm addicted to my iPhone.

It's ridiculous.

I don't and I won't use it while eating any meals at a restaurant or even at my own table.

I don't always need to check Facebook, Instagram, Draw Something, Words With Friends, email...(okay, my nose is growing), I just need to have it with me wherever I go, wherever I am.

It's my life line, as Glen calls it.

If Glen sees it upstairs and we are all downstairs, he makes sure to bring it down.

With out me asking for it.

Camille will see it sitting on the couch, and handle it like it is a precious metal and say: 

"Mommy, here is your iPhone." and hand it to me carefully so she won't drop it.

With out me asking for it.

This is definitely a sign...I need to break this bad habit.

the daily

Being a working mom and trying to make time for everything in a 24 hour period is tough.

Sometimes I'm able to get everything done successfully, and other times things just slide- which is fine!

I'm fortunate to have a work schedule where I don't even work an entire day. However, I do wish there were more hours/time to spend with the family. (I applaud you working moms!)

My home life with my family is what matters most and I do my best to make that QUALITY time.

Here is a typical day for the Bully household:

5:45am--- Get up and get ready for work (coffee, please!)

6:45am--- Take Camille & Cloie to Grandma's (hate leaving my babies)

7:30am--- At work and ready to start the day (blah!)

2:30pm--- Leave work, and head straight home (sometimes I leave as late as 3:00pm, which bums me out)

3:30pm--- Work out, on most days (if I don't have an errand to run after work and if I'm not lazy)

4:30pm--- Playtime! Glen and the girls are home (my favorite part of the day!)

5:30 or 6:00pm--- Make dinner or head out to grab dinner

7:30-8:00pm--- Bath time, milk and a little TV (every other night for baths)

8:45-9:30pm--- Camille falls asleep (since I put her to bed, I am sometimes down for the day, too)

10:00-12:00am--- My time! I like to try and use this time to clean or organize or jump on the computer (and shop!). But I often find myself sitting in front of the TV with Glen and use it as OUR time- watching our shows on DVR, watching the movie we rented or watching the news- woo hoo!

I can't imagine how life will be when Camille starts school and different activities. Luckily dance is on the weekends, part of the quality time we spend together as a family.

Of course, there are different variations of our day, and it will often change depending on appointments, errands, unexpected events, weather, etc... But our schedule is pretty straight forward and not too crazy and complicated as of now--- and I'm content.

Life is good.

march madness

I remember using this title in a blog post from one of my older blogs.

And it's the same every year...madness during the month of March.
So, not only does it apply to the college basketball playoffs, it applies to my life as well.

Hubs and I sat down at dinner and discussed the events going on in March.
It seems we do this every few nights because he's forgetful...or choses to be forgetful. :)

Appointments, parties, birthdays, cleaning, maintenance, work, training, etc.
It goes on and on...

A busy month ahead, and I will do my best to make it a very good one!