ACUPUNCTURE ALERT: Treatment #8

I continue to have treatments in my arms, legs and tummy, as well as my back. I continue to be migraine-free and look forward to having less intense cramps. The cramps have been fluctuating these months. I wonder if it can help losing weight?

It's a movie marathon!

I kicked off my movie marathon week on Tuesday! Becky and I went to dinner at Ruby Tuesday before catching the click-flick New Year's Eve. Mr. Duhamel is one handsome stud in it.


On Wednesday, Michael and I caught the animated flick The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn starring Mr. Craig as the voice of Rackham. What was bothering me during most of the movie was hearing the voice of Mr. Butler as well. Only he wasn't in it! This was a great action packed movie! The cartoon looked so real!


Aaron finally joined me on Thursday. We met up with Michael and Luis and saw Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. This flick was also filled with action and mystery. Loved it! RDJ too!


Next on my movie list... Mission Impossible IV and the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Oh and don't forget the DVD's that came in from the library... Glee in 3-D the Concert and Midnight in Paris. I just love PJ days under the covers and watching more movies!

Christmas 2011: Holiday after-party

Love, Keala and Ikaika

Everyone should be taking their lead and relax on this beautiful holiday!

Christmas 2011: Chury dinner

Aaron and I had some time to clean up before Kyle, Becky, Cookie and Ken arrived. I made some sausage and cheese crostini while the second pot roast finished cooking and everything else warmed up in the oven. I also made Michael's famous truffle oil asparagus in the microwave. I was so full from the first round that I only had some asparagus.

After a half hour wait, we digged in. What's left of the pot roast and gravy...

The cupcakes were a hit!

Thank God I bought a cream cheese pumpkin roll from Kiedrowski's Bakery in Amherst. I ended up not making the Boston Creme cupcakes after all.

Gift exchange time! I am excited -- I got a GPS and rubber mats for my Trailblazer, my spa gift certificate as well as a cast iron dutch oven and several gift cards.

Christmas 2011: Brlas' dinner

Aaron and I had Grandma Brlas and Rick over for the first shift. This year Aaron made pot roast with a tasty root vegetable gravy (ono!) and a creamy herb potato casserole. We branched out from mashed potatoes! I made my first ever country style chicken pot pie with biscuits and candied carrots. I was stuffed after one serving of everything!

We broke tradition and had our gift exchange tonight since Aaron has to work tomorrow. Even the dogs got their annual big bones. Rick had to work at the church at 6 p.m. so we didn't even have dessert. Time to get ready for the next shift...

Christmas 2011: Cooking da feast

It seems Aaron and I will be taking shifts at cooking this year. I started making my first ever pot pies at our 10 p.m. tonight. I plan to also make two kines of cupcakes for dessert. We'll see if I'm up to making the vegetable side dishes after that. I may run out of steam. Aaron will be cooking his main and side dishes tomorrow morning...

I made too much chicken filling! I had to use all three ramekins that Michael loaned me. It's all cooked! I just need to place the biscuits over it tomorrow.

Next I'm making chocolate cupcakes with a caramel filling. It's going to have a marshmallow layer in the middle, and chocolate frosting, cocoa and coconut sprinkles on top!

OK I'm not sure it's suppose to look like this. And it doesn't feel cooked yet. I'm throwing them back into the oven...

Since my chocolate cupcakes are turning out to be a disaster, I'm going to make my veggies next. Oh boy the bunch of carrots we bought didn't have as much stocks as we thought. That's not much for 8 people. But it smells ono!

What's next, the other cupcakes or the asparagus? It's 8 a.m. now and I'm finally feeling beat. I'm going to bed since Aaron's up now. Next chef is on duty!

Christmas 2011: Decorations

The lights look nicer with snow...



We went for simple this year. We placed our big bulb lights on our mantle and beautiful tree.


I found a new way to hang the Christmas cards!

Another end...

Today was my last day of work for the year. It was also the day before Aaron and I planned to finally take a pregnancy test, and the day I started spotting --- even though it was 14 days after our attempts and a couple of days after my usual cycle. My hope was what carried me through my busy and stressful last week of work. I was in such good spirits even though we had to let a couple of workers go from my crew. I thought everything was falling into place, that Aaron and I may have good news and whip into the Christmas and new year holiday on a high. Everything felt so right this time. But it wasn't meant to be yet.

I wish I knew if I was maybe pregnant for a little while. Maybe I have a problem of holding a baby. This cycle was very different. I had pains in my upper back and only on my left side, not my usual pelvis cramps. Maybe I wouldn't try so hard to get pregnant and go through the heartache each month if I knew the actual problem. This guessing is not good. Maybe the fertility doctor was right... my eggs are too OLD!

ACUPUNCTURE ALERT: Treatment #7

I had Aaron drop me off to my appointment while he went to Best Buy to "browse" and buy Christmas gifts. It was a good session. Dr. Caruso treated the front points on my arms, legs and tummy, as well as some back points all down my spine. Dang I'm ticklish on my back! I was able to take a much needed nap and woke myself by my snores! Once the treatment was done I was refreshed and ready to finish Christmas shopping.

This is the last treatment before I suppose to start my next cycle. I'm crossing fingers that we are lucky this time around!

GIRLIE UPDATE: Playing the Field poster

What a cutie pie surrounded by beautiful women, as usual. The Butler's new flick is scheduled to come out on March 9, 2012. I can't wait!

Christmas 2011: Da tree

Aaron and I picked out our Christmas tree last night between our errands and dinner with Tina and Mikey. It's a beauty! And it smells so good!

I wonder what color/theme I'll dream up this year to decorate the tree and house?

New energy efficient windows

Finally! No more winter drafts coming into our living room. Nice!


I almost forgot about the ones in the guest bedroom and kitchen!


Three more windows left to replace in the spring. And hopefully the back sliding door too.

The lights are up!

Snowmen on my mind...

No snowflakes at Circulation this year. My crew is making snowpeeps.

Do you see mine?

16 more to make!

I got a happy face!

Yes, I ovulate! I've been taking the ovulation test every morning and this cycle I finally got a positive reading. I didn't get one last month. Perhaps I have one faulty ovary. I plan to see the doctor about it.

Welcome to the special girl club, Tina

Being 40, I mean 29, is not a bad thing at all! Now we can do what we want, when we want to, with no fear or regrets! Stay young at heart!

ACUPUNCTURE ALERT: Treatment #6

Dr. Caruso worked on a different part of my body today -- my back. I knew I was ticklish but man was I jumpy each time he would touch it! There was one needle that hurt a little but it was because it was touching a muscle. Not sure what's more uncomfortable, lying on my back for a half hour or on my side. If I had a pillow to hug I think I would have been OK but I didn't and I caught myself stiffening up at times and not relaxing. But I survived! Let's see how I feel now... oh I feel like having lunch and doing some shopping!

Let the busy end-of-semester madness begin!

Now that the short holiday has passed, it's time for my busy work period to kick in. 3 schedules, interviewing and hiring, meetings, and my fav (not)... work evaluations for my 26 workers, are due in the next couple of weeks. Although I love the challenge, I'm getting too old for this "stuff". Oh and don't forget the winter decorations I decided to do after our successful Harry Potter Halloween. Guess what we're making?

Happy 44th!

Well I had a delightful birthday this year! First my student workers surprised me by covering my evening shifts so I didn't have to go to work. Then Aaron agreed to take me shopping at Aurora Farms Outlet Mall to buy my birthday gifts!

Sadly I didn't find my Fendi sunglasses I wanted but we found a nice pair of Gucci ones that looks hot. I didn't find a pair of waterproof boots I liked but I did get a nice black winter coat for a price steal. I can finally say goodbye to my Landsend coat that I had since 1991! It's still in good shape but it just doesn't fit me right. I think I'll donate it to someone who needs a coat.

We ended up not having dinner as we planned because I felt really tired all of a sudden and got nauseous while riding home in the car. When we got home I took a pill and passed out on the couch for an hour. Aaron was nice enough to finish our errands while I rested and I woke up to a nice bowl of saimin for dinner. I felt better. I even went to sleep EARLY! Thanks Brlas for a nice day out!

Shopping for an Audi

Now that the S4 is gone, Aaron needed a new car. After looking at the available used cars at Ianelli Auto Cars, he didn't get a hoopty or a new Chevy Aveo. Lucky him got an Audi A6.

It's not brand new but it's a few years newer than the S4. And it's more spacious and luxurious. And even luckier us, the insurance paid for it in full. Thank God we don't have to start paying on another loan again. Now, to get the Trailblazer paid off...

Aaron's new toy

After begging for one for two winters now, Aaron got a new snow blower! That thing is a monsta compared to our old one. I really think Aaron's looking forward for the winter and will not complain about clearing the driveway anymore.

MOVIE ALERT: Immortals

I was so happy that Aaron took me to see Immortals today! It seems like ages that I planned to see Cavill in a movie. And I was not disappointed! Now I'm not sure if the historical storyline was accurate but I was blinded by chiseled bodies and Cavill. He makes a fine god!

Lots of fight scenes and kicking ass. OK I thought about the Butler too since the movie is made like 300. If you like action, go see this movie!

Telephone pole vs. Audi S4

Aaron got into a car accident this afternoon. He thinks he got tired while driving since he spent the day mountain biking with his friends. Well his tire veered off the road and got caught in the rough that pulled him down into a ditch and rammed right through a telephone pole. The pole won. Thank God he was not hurt but the S4 is totaled.

Kyle picked him up from the crash and after dinner I met Aaron at the hospital. What a day for Aaron, started on a high after waiting so long to go out biking and ended it on a not-so-high note.

Girlie dinner at SB Eighty One

After my treatment I headed to Crocker Park to do some shopping. I thought I would take advantage of the coupons I got in the mail and buy some birthday presents for myself. Thank you Aaron! I was also killing time before meeting Megan for dinner.

We tried a new restaurant, SB Eighty One in Westlake. We had a bit of trouble getting someone to help us at the hostess station but once we got seated the atmosphere, food and company made up for it. I was going to bail on dinner when I found out what happened to Aaron but I was glad I ended up going. Megan was good company (and a bit of a good distraction) for me.

Now I'm ready to face Aaron at the hospital...

ACUPUNCTURE ALERT: Treatment #5

This was the first time Aaron didn't tag along to my treatments. I didn't have such a hard time with the needles pricking me. Maybe I am more relaxed without him watching. I really don't know. I asked the acupuncturist if he's been poking deeper each time I come in and he said no.

I guess my chi and organs needed a lot of help in the past and maybe this time it's getting better. We'll see!

GIRLIE UPDATE: The Cold Light of Day poster

Mr. Cavill has another movie up on queue! It's a drama and he's the lead actor. The Cold Light of Day is scheduled to premiere on April 6, 2012. Can't wait!

GIRLIE UPDATE: Skyfall

The new James Bond flick has been named Skyfall. Production has begun and I am excited! It's going to be a long wait for it... it's scheduled to come out November 9, 2012!

Mr. Craig, you are lookin' more rugged lately.

GIRLIE UPDATE: Thunder Run

OK the Butler is doing both movies, wow! It seems Hunter Killer is scheduled to come out next year and Thunder Run is due in 2013. Don't forget How to Train Your Dragon 2 in 2014!

I'm loving that the next on queue are military-action flicks! Got to love a man in uniform!

Fun for the Wild Circulation Bunch - Harry Potter Halloween

Hogwarts

Quidditch players

Jen (Ravenclaw), Yolanda (Hufflepuff) and Anrey (Gryffindor)

Tiesha, Joyce, Rachel and Helen -- representing all houses

Joyce being half Slytherin-half Harry Potter -- making the candles float

Where's my memory?

Hedwig on Privet Drive

Tiesha (Gryffindor), Joyce (Slytherin) and Chaela (Gryffindor)

Mail delivery and the Restricted Section

My favorite decoration -- the floating candles

The closing crew knows how to cast spells -- Piper (Slytherin), Anna (Ravenclaw) and Adam (Hufflepuff)

Harry Potter was a big hit this Halloween! Everyone's going to miss the decorations. Now what to make for winter...