Ch-ch-changes

The job search is officially on. Back to the old grind of scouring the classifieds and sending out my resumes. I hate this part. Hopefully, I should have a full time job within the next couple of weeks. The paychyecks will be NICE. I am hoping to get a job that pays well enough to have HammieLove quit his second job of doing maintenance at the apartment complex. We could live comfortably on what I used to make but if I could get a little bit of a raise, it would make paying rent again a lot easier on our bank account. I want him to be able to relax when he gets home instead of having to rush off for another three hours to do maintenance.

Getting full time work is going to slow down my recently acquired partying bug. I was out util four in the morning on Friday night (saw Constantine --which was AWESOME-- and went to the beach with Meg and some friends) and was out until 5 am on Saturday night with Meg and Travis. I am getting too old for that shit! :) It is lots of fun but I think I am looking forward to my old homebody routine. Plus, my training regimen is going to get a lot more intense in the two months before Nationals. Two nights of karate, two nights of Krav Maga, Fight Club on Fridays and Sparring and Nationals Practice on Saturday. Crazy...

To celebrate the fact that I am officially OVER bronchitis and the fact that is finally NOT raining, I am going to go buy a new bikini today. *yay* Hopefully the weather will cooperate wenough for me and Meg to hit the beach a couple more times before my full time schedule kicks in.

TiVo is going to be working overtime this week with Amazing Race starting, and America's Next Top Model. I am such a junkie for reality TV. It's a sickness.

*stomach growling*

Okay, off on the hunt for food. Later!

If You Could...

Please send prayers and positive thoughts to HammieLove's best friend, Rico. He crashed his dirt bike pretty badly yesterday and sustained severe injuries to his leg, including a ruptured artery and internal bleeding. He is under observation after surgery right now to make sure that artery repair worked. If it didn't, they may have to amputate. Please keep Rico and his family in your prayers! Thanks guys...

Rainy Days

Mother Nature is once again soaking Southern California. I like the rain and we need it so it has been very welcome. Except for tonight because the black belts that are testing had to run in the rain. Since I was at the studio and they were odd numbered (buddy system!) I ended up running the two mile course with one of the girls that hurt her leg during fighting. I figured that I could use the exercise. :) The fighting was brutal with a couple of people getting bloodied up and a couple others getting injured. Nothing serious (thank God) and the poor black belts still have another 12 hours. This is the first time they did an overnight testing and I know that they still had some fighting left to do when I left at 8 o'clock.

I have been training super hard this week and I think that I will continue at this pace. I have been taking Krav Maga on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Krav is a really intense hand to hand combat style of fighting that is used by the Israeli Special Forces. I am hoping that it will help with my fighting. The whole time I was in class on Thursday, as I was hitting the bags, I was thinking, "That [my ass whooping at testing] will never happen again. I will never let that happen again." I am ready to fight, ready to go and I can't wait for sparring class next weekend.

In other aspects of my life, things are going well. I went and got pictures done at the mall yesterday as part of my V-day present to HammieLove. Meagan loved them -- I am just okay with them. I'll be happy to send a copy to interested parties! I figured out what I am going to wear to dinner and I think it is going to knock his socks off. I'll try to get pictures of that too. HL has been down for the past couple of days with the flu but I think he is still planning on taking me to this nice steakhouse downtown.

Well, I'm off. It has been a long day and I have to be back at the studio tomorrow morning. All the brown belts have to show up to cook the black belts breakfast.

Au revoir!

I Got The Blues

In a good way though! I tested for my blue stripe in karate on Saturday and passed! So now I am a brown in belt in tae kwon do and blue belt in karate. The test had to be the hardest thing I have ever done in my entire life! Five hours of getting my ass kicked - my sick, broken toe, tired ass. We spent the first two hours doing warm-ups and forms, along with take downs and throws. Then we were fed a bowl of rice and a cup of tea before we ran about four miles. THEN we got to fight. I. HATE. FIGHTING. I am very into the whole art part of the martial arts--I like making things look pretty. The fighting side has never really appealed to me but my new studio is very much a fighting studio so I had to get with the program. I thought I was holding my ground pretty well until I got paired up with one of the black belts. A black belt that I am five inches taller than and a good fifty pounds heavier.

SHE KICKED MY ASS.

HammieLove said that the fight turned when she caught me good across the jaw and followed up with some nice shots to the body. The body shots took my wind and I never had a chance to get it back. I got whooped. I couldn't breathe, I couldn't think and when the round was over, I collapsed to the ground. Apparently, collapsing is the worst thing in the world to do at my studio. My sparring partner hauled me up and then my sensei made me fight another round. I made it through and passed my test but I am so disappointed with myself for falling. My sensei said that I impressed him with everything but my fighting. I was trying to get nominated for the Black Belt Club, which is the elite team at the studio, and I fell short because, well, I fell. My senior (the black belt that is in charge of helping me train for my black belt) says that she is pretty sure I didn't make BBC because I fell. I am disappointed but it gives me something to work harder on. I never liked fighting but now I want to be the best and I am going to train as hard as necessary to make that happen. Not making BBC is secondary now -- I want to make the World Team and I am not going to do that if I can't fight.

*grrrrrr*

Not much else going on...hung with my friends Travis and Meagan this weekend. We watched The Grudge. That movie scared the CRAP out of me!! I was yelping and screaming the whole time. I hate scary movies!

HL and I are supposed to make each other something for V-Day and I have no idea what to make. The quilt I made for Christmas was pretty extravagant and now anything I do is going to pale in comparison. Anyone have any ideas?

Oh, and...

I didn't have time (or the thought processes) to comment on everyone's blog but I did catch up and I just wanted to say...

I missed you guys!

It made me realize that I need to deal with dial-up and AOL more often and keep up with things. My cyber-buddies keep me in good spirits! :)

Reality Wrap-Up

Amazing Race

I really want Kris and Jon to win. Last week was the first time we ever saw them lose their tempers and I think they are lovely -- especially when compared to Aaron and Hayden (or really just Hayden. I like Aaron.) Freddy and Kendra have grown on me because they are really not that bad. Not really that smart either, using the Yield as revenge, and Kendra needs to stop using the word "ghetto." I think she uses it mostly as slang (which I do too) but it really comes off as derogatory. Rebecca and Adam just need to shut up.

The Apprentice

Is it weird that I hate mostly everyone? I like Stephanie tonight but all I think when I see her is "Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!" NBC is casting in San Diego at the end of the month and I thought about just going down and applying...

Then I remembered that it is the "Apprentice" Not "The Apprentice's Assistant." I would make a great Robin though!

American Idol has been okay so far. I wish they would spend more time on the good auditions but I guess that is what the Hollywood episodes are for. I wish that they would keep both Mark McGrath and LL Cool J as judges permanently. They seemed to fair and funny.

I don't know if anyone else watches Project Runway but I am totally addicted to that show! I hope they do another season. Also, Wickedly Perfect is a new guilty pleasure. Though Joan Lunden is super plastic-y.

That's it! Can you tell that I have spent the past week on the couch?

Naughty School Girl Slideshows

Someone found this site by searching that. Yeah, I have no idea...

This week has been total karmic retribution for my braggery about being in a bikini in January. I have been FLAT on my back since Saturday night. The whole on/off being a little under the weather thing went full blown ON and decimated me. No work, no karate, no fun. HammieLove has been an absolute angel. Taking care of me (which consists of keeping me doped up on Nyquil, letting me hog the couch and the remote and going on taco runs to Del Taco because that was the only thing that tempted my appetite for three days.), taking care of the house. I was achy, coughy, had swollen glands, feverish, had the chills...I was a wreck! I am feeling better now but the cough is lingering and is definitely going to get in the way of testing for my green stripe on Saturday. TOTAL BUMMER. I have been busting my ass and I get sick (and break my toe again-whole 'nother story) the week before testing.

A temp agency that I sent my resume to in August of last year called me with a couple of awesome opportunities for work. I haven't been looking for anything since I am pretty happy at the gym but these jobs are offering up to $20/hour. SWEET. I told my account executive to get me the interviews and I would see where it went from there. HL has been extremely patient with my part time routine but I feel like I am screwing around. Leaving to go party when he is going to bed at 9pm feels a little wrong. I have it out of my system and I could still go out occasionally but I think I am ready to re-enter responsible adulthood. Besides, if paying for my meds out of pocket didn't impress the need for medical insurance on me, the fact that I couldn't go to the doctor this week because it was too expensive and the wait at the clinic was four hours sure drove the point home.

A high point of the week was that my mom and dad came down and brought me a present...my very own Smith and Wesson 9mm semi auto handgun. I LOVE THIS GUN! I have been begging my dad for it for years and he finally relented. It's a beauty. I can't wait to get to the range.

Stay tuned...