still living.

I'm still alive. At least I'm pretty sure I am.

Life has been crazy busy! I mean CRAZY busy! The best way to sum up the last month is by bullet points.....

• Sadly, the world said goodbye to a great man whom I considered to be like a granddad to me. His funeral was beautiful and he will be missed by all!

• I survived some crazy snow! {It took me two hours to dig my car out of the first storm and I broke my ice scraper...}

• I had dinner with a fabulous friend who was in town, Meggi. Although we have weekly catch up chats, it was great to finally get to see her in person!  After dinner we went to visit Emily and her fiance at the hospital. He had a hip replacement just the day before and was in great spirits! It was fun to catch up and keep them company for awhile!

• My boss knows how much I love OU football and gave me this

{That's an autographed picture of Demarco Murray, one of our running backs for the last 4 years}

• I went to this craft fair, "Affair of the Heart" with my mom and picked up some really great finds!

• I spent Valentines Day with pizza and brownies {is there really a better way?}

• I crossed something off of my bucket list and saw the Beauty and the Beast Musical. Our seats were super far away, but it was a great night!

• I signed up for the Fundraising Committee at work and have spent COUNTLESS hours working on posters! Next up is our hair/fashion show scheduled for April 14th. OMG I'm stressing about it already!

• I made the decision that I am giving up sweets for Lent! And also that I'm running the OKC Memorial 5K!

• I climbed a rock wall for the first time. {funny story}
          - The rope that holds you for rock climbing is like a retractable cord. Basically when you get to the top of the wall, you are supposed to just let go and drop while you repel. I got to the top of my first climb and couldn't do it...so I climbed back down. The second climb up was a race. I hesitated at the top {resulting in a loss}, screamed, and then dropped. I'm sure the rest of the gym really enjoyed my 6 am squeal! The 3rd time was a charm; although I hesitated, I closed my eyes and kept my lips sealed as I fell to the cushioned matt. It was a great experience! I thought rock climbing was so much fun {even though my forearms didn't think so for days after} and I hope to do it again very soon! Maybe even on a bigger scale!

• I got my annual spray tan {why is that you feel so much better about yourself when your tan?}

• I was fortunate enough to celebrate my birthday with some of the most amazing people in my life!

{this picture is missing Emily}

• See that BEAUTIFUL necklace I'm wearing above? Two of the most important people in my life {D & Ev} gave me that as a birthday present. Is it not the most amazing piece of jewelry? Here, let me give you a more up close look.

{That still doesn't do it justice!}

• My hair is the longest it has been in 5 years and I am having MAJOR MAJOR urges to chop it all off!

• I finally picked up my business cards!!

{my number is directly under my name and my email for my events is in the bottom right corner}

{erinsanchezevents@gmail.com}

• I spent my actual birthday eating lunch with some great friends, shopping with my mom, and eating dinner with my parents. The night ended in receiving a Red Velvet Cheesecake from Cheesecake Factory. OMG heaven!

• Emily asked me to be a Bridesmaid and I am SO FREAKING excited! I feel so honored to be a part of their special day! Bring on wedding talk galore!!

• Most weeks this month I haven't been able to keep up with my DVR or my blogs in G-reader {I once reached 658 unread blog posts...that took a good few hours to go through!}

• I celebrated my birthday with my brother at dinner where everyone who waited on us thought we were dating. {this happens to us often since we don't look that much alike}

• I worked the most consecutive days since I've been employed at my new job {that's 2 weeks out of the 7 weeks I've worked there!}

• I went out on a limb and have tried some new things recently:
          • Blood Oranges - not a fan
          • A new kind of coffee at Starbucks {White Chocolate Mocha} - OMG. delicious
          • A new sushi roll. It had cream cheese on it. {That's VERY daring for me...it's a texture thing} -
             the roll was pretty fabulous!
          • I bought a grape fruit to try - that's happening tomorrow morning

• I finished Bootcamp!!! I'm actually really sad about this. People think I'm crazy for that...that's fine. But I'm kind of dreading having to work out on my own now. Someone telling me what to do and for how long and counting/timing me was really nice! My post assessment is on Monday....I'm anxious to see my results!

• Did I mention that I had sushi 3 times this week and am having it a 4th time on Tuesday?! L-O-V-E it!

I'd like to say I'm going to be a better blogger, but honestly I've ran out of blogging steam. I just don't have the time or energy to think of creative things to post everyday! I'm afraid, for the time being, I'll be spotty!

Hope your February was fabulous!!

too cool.

I've been absent I know. Bad blogger. It's just been way too crazy around my neck of the woods. But I saw this video this morning on Jenna's blog. You have GOT to watch it! Sooooooooo cool!

{via}

happy and sad.

I didn't get carded tonight at Blu. It might have been the first time that has ever happened there becuase they are hard-core about carding...It's quite depressing to think about...but this makes me really happy!



I LOVE Ellen and secretly love Tony....

ends, beginnings, and changes.

END

Finally I have recovered from the flu, not a full 100%, but close enough.

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BEGINNINGS

Close enough to start Bootcamp this morning! I'm crazy. It's at 5:30am 3 days a week {one of which I don't work on} I just about died this morning during the cardio portion {thanks flu}, but the rest of it wasn't bad {minus the push ups}.

I had my pre-assessment this afternoon and was ok with the results. I had to do 1 minute push ups and sit ups and was pretty impressed with how well I did considering how much I have NOT worked out in 2011.

The trainer set what I think is a pretty steep decrease for my body fat percentage....little nervous bout that.

The class is 4 weeks long, ending just in time to look fabulous for my birthday! {Did you know the countdown has already started? 28 days}

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CHANGES

I didn't really set any resolutions for 2011, I never stick to them anyways, but I did decided I wanted to make some changes.

1. To be more positive. 2010 was rough and I found a lot of reasons to be negative. But I wiped that away on January 1st and have found a positive work environment and am doing a great job of looking at the positives in life!

2. One of my biggest challenges with being single is cooking for 1. I was the queen of Lean Cuisines for many many years, but now that I have a knack for cooking I want to use my stovetop more than my microwave!

I haven't always been much of a "leftover eater" which caused me to make huge meals, eat one serving, and let the rest go bad in my fridge throw the rest out. Impromptu dinners with friends and cravings for certain restaurants also curtailed my leftover eating.

SO in 2011 I decided that on Mondays {my last day of the weekend} I would cook 1-2 meals and those would serve as my lunches and dinners throughout the week. {Yes this means getting over my fear of leftovers, but also learning to make things that make for good left overs or have quick and easy single serving preparations}

One of these recipes is usually on my menu twice a month. Ratatouille. I never really knew what it was until a friend of mine made it for me and now I'm hooked!

Here's how I make it!

Pour Extra Virgin Olive Oil {EVOO} into a Large Pot. Finely chop a 1/4 of an onion {I just use whatever color onion I have in the fridge} and place in the pot. Turn the heat to medium and cook the onions until they are fragrant {a minute or so}

Thinly slice 1 zucchini and roughly chop 1 Roma tomato.

Pour 2 cans of diced tomatoes, zucchini, and Roma tomato into the pot

Pour water into the pot until the vegetables are mostly covered

Turn heat up all the way and bring to a boil

Boil for another 20-30 minutes until most of the water has evaporated and looks like this

See how its thick?!

That's it! Suuuuper simple!

I'm a pretty picky eater and get nervous to change food if I like it the way it is, but you could add all sorts of different veggies to this {squash and some black olives would be yummy}.

Once it's done, I use a 1 cup measuring cup and divide the ratatouille into individual serving sizes.

When I'm home for dinner I usually cook up some whole grain pasta and sprinkle some parmesan with it to add substance or I bake some chicken the night before, add it to the tupperware, and then take it to work and heat it up for lunch.

I'm sure it'd be a great side dish to any meal! 

I'm also making Chicken Tamale Casserole. Hopefully it turns out good!

whirlwind.

It sure has been one whirlwind of a last month and a half.

- I lost my job
- Christmas & New Years
- I planned a wedding that turned out better than I could have imagined
- I interviewed for a job and got it

But I guess amidst all of that craziness I forgot to take care of myself bucause today I was told I have the flu!

What me? The one who NEVER gets sick, the one who hasn't been sick in 3 years. How? NO!!

I caught it really early so I'm hoping to be up and back running by the end of the week....however, the symptoms are starting to get more intense! Since I've never had it before, I'm a little scared.

But besides that, I had a great weekend. Mostly for 1 reason.

One of my longest Best Friends got engaged over the weekend! I was so excited when she called that I cried {can we say dork}!

 It had been much anticipated for awhile, especially the last few weeks and I think it was the perfect proposal for the two of them.

Jump over to Emily's Blog to wish her congrats!

Let the wedding festivities begin!!!!

unlike anything before.

SO amidst all of the Holidays and the last two weeks of Wedding hoopla, an interesting opportunity dropped in my lap.

A friend recommended me for a job opportunity.

I must first say a few things:
I had only been unemployed for a few weeks and honestly hadn't really thought twice about finding a new job.
I was in the HEART of wedding planning and felt that preparing for these interviews on top of my "wedding brain" was incredibly stressful.
I got sick in the middle of both interviews.
I like the job, but wasn't as excited as I felt like I should be.
In all honesty, I could have tried harder to get this job.

But...God's plan was different for me. I sat down for my 2nd interview and was hired within the first 30 seconds. I was so caught off-guard. It was 5 days before the wedding and my brain couldn't process it all.

I kept getting asked if I was excited and I was {even though I didn't show it}, but I couldn't think of anything besides wedding stuff.

The wedding came and went and I had 2 days {I now work Tuesday-Saturday} to gather myself and my life before I started the 9-5 life again {my schedule is actually pretty close to that...it's fabulous}.

I've now been through the whole first week, and although I haven't REALLY gotten into what I'll exactly be doing, this job is unlike anything other I have ever experienced.

It is THE MOST positive and happy place, like seriously, all the time. I was there for 5 days straight and never saw a frown...not once! A few employees who have been recently hired vouched for this happiness and said it is seriously like this all the time.

I felt more wanted, appreciated, and loved in these last 5 days than I ever have at a job before. I was praised every day and told when I did a great job on something. It was insane. I didn't even know how to respond...I ended their comments with a nervous laughter and a shy "thank you".

SO what exactly am I doing?

You're looking at the newest Financial Aid Counselor {at least that's the best way to describe it} at a local cosmetology school!

It's really just craziness!

I prefaced this post with a few things, ending in that I wasn't that excited nor did I try my absolute hardest for this job. I regret that. HOWEVER, I am so blessed that God, despite that, still chose for me to receive this job.

It's funny how God's plan works...I've seen it so many times in the last few weeks.{another story coming  this week!} I lost my job just as the wedding planning got intense {looking back I'm not sure how I would have done both} and then was blessed to start a new job just as the wedding was over. Ironic?

 

This is just what I needed...to work in a happy environment, to be around happy people, to make new friends! It just couldn't have been more perfect. I'm excited to see what's next in my life!

I really truly believe that everything really does happen for a reason!

omg.

How could I have been doing this for a whole year already?!

INSANE!

I've come so far since that day,

And going even further as the days continue!!