Car

I got my car in 2001 and it has been the best car I have ever had. I have rarely had any problems with it and even paid it off a few years ago. My plan has always been to just run this car into the ground before I get a new one. My car has 105,000 miles on it so I knew it was bound to start having a few problems. Well a few weeks ago it started to idle a little funny and my check engine light came on so I ran it into Auto Zone for a diagnostic test. While I was there I met a guy who is a mobile mechanic and he gave me his card in case I had problems. The test said that it was probably a gas cap so I replaced it. It continued to idle funny and I am starting to get paranoid about breaking down in the middle of insane Las Vegas traffic, plus the fact that I HAVE to have a car here. About a week later the engine light came back on. I had a good feeling about the mechanic (Wayne) and gave him a call. I figured I could use a tune up as well and $250 bucks later I had a bunch of new parts in my engine! It was actually a pretty good deal for everything he did. So I left, still idling funny, light came back on, met with Wayne, ordered some parts ($100), and will get it fixed on Monday. I just keep telling myself that it is cheaper to do this than make car payments every month!

With that being said, here is my pool....


Man I love the sun!

I also picked up these books so that I can start exploring a little bit. I really miss the mountains of Utah but decided I can love the Nevada desert just as much! Sandy and Ben have been my inspiration!

Hives

This is what I have been dealing with for the past 3 months........
As you can see it is not your typical round hive. This happens because I feel a bit of an itch and scratch. Well that scratch turns into raised welts that just continue to itch worse. I only scratched this twice before this happened. I think I have narrowed it down to tomato based things and strawberries. Dairy was ruled out, which is what I thought the culprit was to begin with. All I can say is it is driving me CRAZY!!!!!!!!

I have found a new place to do my grocery shopping and it is AMAZING! It is called the Fresh and Easy Market and they just started popping up in Arizona, Nevada, and California. Picture Wild Oats or Whole Foods but affordable! I just bought a huge things of Strawberries for $1.38! I also bought this huge Basil plant for $2.99! So cool! I have been eating so healthy for the past couple weeks and this store has made it possible for me! Who would have thought one would get so excited buying a bag of baby carrots for 98 cents!

Favorite Things

I was sitting and drinking my coffee this morning and started thinking about how much I love my coffee mug so I decided to blog about a few of my favorite things.

Since this is what started this post, my first favorite thing is my coffee mug.
Jamie made this for me and I love it. I don't just mean it's a great mug, I really LOVE it. My biggest fear is breaking it and I take great steps to make sure that never happens. I drink my coffee out of it whenever possible. I will even wash it first thing in the morning, even though I have other mugs, just because it is my favorite.

You all know I love to read, so my second favorite thing is this series.
Of course, this changes over time but right now it is this series. When I was a kid, it was Anne of Green Gables. I don't think I have ever got caught up in a book the way I did with these. Combined time of reading all 4 of them was 8 days. Soooooo good!

I will group the next 2 as they are food related. Of course there is the Pickles, but also my new favorite.....mmmmm Coconut popsicles! I think I could live off of these!

Moving to Vegas has given a new found appreciation for these......They are EVERYWHERE! I am in Heaven!
Even though it is very hot here, and I will probably have no use for anything I can make, I still love to crochet. I can just send things to my loved ones in Utah, where they can use it!
Last but not least is of course my love of the sun! I just spent 3 hours by the pool and am just loving all of the Vitamin D. Of course I use this....my favorite sunblock!

Here is my tan line!
So there are a few of my favorite things. Stay tuned, I may post 2 today as I want to show you a picture of my hives!!!!!

Booooring

I think I have the most boring life right now. Again my compulsion to blog and I really have nothing. The heat here has really not bothered me too much but today I swear it was 200 degrees. I usually don't use the AC in my car because I am in such stop and go traffic (trying to economize my fuel!) but I HAD to today, I felt like I was melting to the seat!

I took my car into Auto Zone to have a diagnostic test (check engine light came on) and the guy who helped me called me beautiful multiple times! ALWAYS nice to hear, lol! Luckily I apparently just needed a new gas cap. He also hooked me up with a mobile mechanic that is honest and has the cheapest rates in town. He is an older guy and reminds of someone my dad would like, so I had a good feeling about it. It is hard being in a place not knowing anyone, and trying to figure out who you can trust. Especially when your really optimistic like me (dripping sarcasm).

I am working my butt off, close to 10 hours a day and then I come home, make dinner, and read. SOOOOO exciting! I did read the last book in the Twilight series in 1 day though (755 pages) because I just could NOT put it down! Seriously great series! I have read more in the last 2 months than I have in awhile. I probably go through 3 books a week.

My job has kept me pretty busy and they keep adding responsibilities on me, but of course I am up to the challenge. I like to keep really busy at work. I had a good conversation with a co-worker who is in charge of all the practicum at UNLV so I think I have a good in there. I am still doing crisis calls and had to call 911 on a guy the other day who was going to shoot himself. It ended up in this big police standoff at his apartment with hostage negotiations there. He did give up though, so it had a good ending. Just another day in my world!

I have been really hesitant to start any kind of exercise program because it is so freakin hot. I did hang out at the pool all weekend though, worshiping the sun and workin on my sunblock tan, and had the bright idea that I could swim for exercise and stay cool in the process. Duh! Of course, I have not been able to pull my butt out of bed early enough to do it. These things take awhile for me!

I got the results of my allergy test back and it was nothing new. I still have problems with grasses, trees, and animals but all of the food tests were clear. So now I am totally confused as I am still breaking out in hives on almost a daily basis. I would have sworn that it was dairy but I guess not. The only thing it did not test for is fruit, so I guess that is a possibility. I need to call the doctor again I guess. It is really driving me crazy though and I am getting concerned that I may be getting an addiction to Benadryl. Sometimes I suffer just so I am not taking it every night. I really don't know what else to do. Maybe I am allergic to myself!

That's it, that's all I got. I will try and seek out a funny and entertaining story for my next post. Wish me luck!

Book Club

So I went to my first book club meeting today. I think it is going to be really good and there is a variety of people so that should make the conversations interesting! We met at the "Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf". There were 5 people there but the girl running it said she had a few more men and women that just couldn't make it today. We just went over the types of books we like to read and settled on one from a list that sounded interesting. The girl who runs it is from Maryland and is around my age. There is an older lady from Maine, another girl from Sandy (woo-hoo) and a fella from Ohio. Kind of funny we all meet up in Vegas! I have been going a little crazy not really knowing anyone here, so I am really excited for this!

I did go out with the girl I work with and we went line dancing! Not really my cup of tea but desperate times call for desperate measures! I really like the girl I work with but am not too sure about her friends. I don't judge people but they are barely in their twenties, so we really don't have a lot in common. They were all very nice though and they do this every week, so I at least have some people to go out with regularly. Maybe I will become a world famous line dancer.

I also treated myself to a massage yesterday. Talk about Heaven! There is a local place that had a $40 hour massage special for people that had never been there. It was great! They give you this plush robe to put on and then put you in this meditation room while you wait. Very Shi-Shi! It was a much needed thing and really helped to relax me!

That was it for my weekend. I really miss everyone and will probably be coming home for a visit soon. I need to see something green and not flat! I am starting to think there is no color left in the world!