*Yawn*

I'm sooo sleepy! Jon and I went to the drive-in tonight. I've forgotten how much I enjoyed this environment for movie watching! I mean, how long ago have you all been to a drive in movie? My last time was sometime in high school, but the good memories are from my childhood. Back in the day, you didn't listen to the movie through your car radio. There were speakers which you could mount inside your car. I remember walking to the snack stand and being able to watch the movie the whole time because the sound was audible anywhere you walked in the area. The nachos and the popcorn were the best! We would sit in our cars with the windows rolled down, watch our movies and enjoy the cool summer evening. I remember battling heavy eyelids through the duration of the second movie....sleep always won out! Anyways, tonight seriously was a nostalgic trip for me! 

It was an awesome date, and very economical too: $6.00 per person for two movies. The movie snacks were cheaper than in a regular movie theater as well. It was great....we watched Escape to Witch Mountain and Confessions of a Shopaholic. I wanted to see both and Jon wanted to see Witch Mountain. Can you guess which movie he liked better? That's right...my very dear husband preferred the chick flick! To be fair, Witch Mountain wasn't all that great and was a letdown to the both of us. In all, the experience was a very good one and we will be going back!

Since I got home so "late" (I have Jon's sleep schedule now) I'm not doing the drawing for the giveaway until tomorrow. I've already got everybody down, but the actual drawing is taking place TOMORROW! It will most likely be in the afternoon because I'm going to try out my cardio kickboxing class in the morning (!!!) Check back to see if you won! 

A little something about the giveaway

I'm getting ready to pick a winner--I'm doing it tomorrow actually! However, before I do I just wanted to mention a few things about the items to be won.

With the exception of the bear and the glittens (which I knit myself), all the knitted items are just examples. They are simply there to show the outcome of the pattern and the appearance. So it's not going to look exactly like in the picture. The elephant for example, isn't necessarily multi-colored, but it can be if you really want it to! Like I said before, the winner will be able to pick the color she wants. I tend to stick with what works so I was planning on getting the yarn for the project from Knit Picks. I love this website--the yarn is super cheap and really good quality!  I think for the cloche hat, though, I'm going to try to find a similar yarn that is shown in the picture because I love the effect--but it's ultimately up to you of course!

So the way I'm going to do this is to enter everybody that commented on that post, regardless of whether or not you specifically said you wanted in. I noticed I have a few new followers as well and to you all I say WELCOME! I love "meeting" new people and having more blogs to read! If any new followers want in, you have until tomorrow at 11 pm Arizona time to enter. Just click on the little button on the right and leave me a comment under that post

With that, I'm off to enjoy the rest of the evening with my wonderful hubby. Good luck everybody!

I'm game: I love me some etsy!

Since I borrowed this cute little button from Becca I thought I should participate!

I pretty much took some of my favorites from my favorited etsy items. I tried to mix it up some because 80% of my favorites are jewelry! And much like the pretty things I posted about yesterday, these won't be going in my shopping cart anytime soon, save for the earrings, which I already purchased.

The first item comes from muntedkowhai. I didn't used to like crocheted jewelry, but I can't get enough of it now!

Next up is a gorgeous cup set I've been coveting for quite a while now. I can't help but think twice about getting these with the $107 price tag, but I've got to give props to bailey doesn't bark....these are the prettiest cups I've seen! I love the gold touch!

Now if I had $675 to spend on a whim, this dress from Makool would be top on my list! I don't care that I would have hardly any ocassion to wear it....it's just soooo pretty!

These earrings are beautiful! I've been wanting some feather earrings for a while and didn't want to go the peacock route because that's all I was seeing for a while. These macaw feather earrings from Global Goddess Goods were just what I was looking for. They even have a little Peruvian seed so I feel like an Amazonian princess when I wear them! :P

Last is a print from Ancient ArtiZen. The photo is of the rooftops of some houses in Cusco, my mother's home town. Well, she's actually from a smaller town, Limatambo, which is about 2 hours away, but close enough. Anyways, Cusco was by far my favorite city on our trip to Peru back in 1999. I really want to go back and this print is a nice reminder to myself. Jon has even expressed interest to visit, so it's definitely on our travel list!

There are my contributions! Sorry they're so late in the day, but this is pretty much the only time I can blog. Having Jon home makes it a lot harder to find time to do this and keep up with reading! Have a good night!

More fun, courtesy of JLC!

1. What were you doing before you started this post?
Watching Grey's Anatomy/Private Practice and (already) getting nervous about my interview.

2. What is the last thing you read/are currently reading?
A book that one of my bloggie friends wrote :)

3. Do you nap a lot?
No way....my job doesn't pay me for that! 

4. Who was the last person you hugged?
Does Sammy count?

5. What is your favorite TV series?
Right now I'd say The Bachelor or Desperate Housewives. It use to be Grey's hands down, but I've been disappointed these past two seasons.

6. What was the last thing you said out loud?
"I love you. 'Bye" (Talking to husband on the phone).

7. What websites do you always visit when you go online?
Work email, Gmail, Blogger, Facebook lately.

8. What was the last item you bought?
Some macaw feather earrings with Peruvian seeds from etsy.

9. What is your most challenging goal?
Getting through my interview and getting into nursing school!

10. If you could have a house totally paid for, fully furnished- anywhere in the world, where would it be?
I can't answer that question right now....I haven't traveled enough :) I guess I'd move back to Seattle.

11. Favorite Vacation spot?
Anywhere tropical with nice warm water to swim in!

12. Say something to the person who tagged you:
JLC, you're always so upbeat and cute! You are my motivation to keep a sunnier outlook in life! I also love whatever you're wearing in the pictures you post on your blog! :)

13. Name one thing you just can't resist no matter how bad it is for you:
French fries!

14. What is your favorite item of clothing?
All my boots! 

15. What would your American Gladiator name be and why?
OMG I don't know...

16. Name one thing you can not live with out:
Moisturizer!

17. Has a celebrity's haircut ever influenced you on your own hairstyle?
I love a particular picture of Lucy Liu's hair.

18. What is your drink of choice.
Water! Can't get by without it here! Almond mochas if I want something warm, and I've been obsessed with Three Olives cherry vodka lately.

19. What would you eat for one meal, if you could eat anything and not gain the calories or fat grams, etc?
Plain ol' spaghetti and meatballs at the awesome local restaurant, Mamma Louisa's (it's all homemade)! 

20. What are you wearing right now?
My whale t-shirt and grey leggings (dressed for bed!)

21. What's your favorite room in your house?
The bedroom....I don't get as much sleep as I want!

22. If you were to have a baby boy and girl tomorrow, what would you name them?
So easy since I've had them picked out for a while now: boy would be Samuel and girl would be Amelie...like the movie <3>

Now for the 8 tags:

Navalgazing

R&R Adventures

Afloat in a Lonely Sound

The Ever-Changing Life of a Military Wife

First Comes Love, Then Comes Marriage...

The Life of the Wife

Lovely Yellow Ribbons

When in Rome

What I did on a Friday night

Thanks for the comments on the previous post girlies! DAR, I can't believe you didn't get numbed up first! Ouch! And yes, that's a huge needle! I couldn't help but wonder how big the needle would be for an epidural! You still amaze me with how much you run what with all the injuries you had to endure in the past! That's part of the reason I'm so stubborn with keeping up with running--you still manage to keep up with it even after the setbacks. Tough girl!

Well, I still haven't picked up those darn knitting needles. I was half watching 20/20 and was intrigued by anthropologist, Helen Fisher and her theory of why we pick the people we do for our life mates. She attributes it to certain "chemical factors" that are distinct among four different personality types: the Explorer, the Builder, the Negotiator, and the Director. Naturally, after the show, I immediately went this website to take her test. (Warning: it's a pretty long test, but hey, I had nothing better to do!) Here are my results.

 

I had to take screen shots, hence the little print. I thought it was pretty interesting, and it did a fair job in describing me. Now if only I could get Jon to take the test!

To be honest....

Sara tagged me to dish 10 honest things about myself. These are getting harder and harder to do! What more do you all want to know? :P

I'm not going to tag anybody because everyone has done this already!

So here goes!

1. I've been insecure with my body ever since the fourth grade. A little Mexican boy, Sergio, and his friend whom I ended up graduating with made fun of me at recess one day. They were laughing and pointing at me, saying "Panzona!", which quite literally means "large-bellied girl." I vaguely remember looking down at my stomach and thinking to myself, Hmm....I guess I do have a big stomach. Starting then, I started to suck my stomach in. I did it for years so I have some pretty strong abs now! :) I don't suck it in anymore, but for the most part I'm always contracting those muscles when I'm upright, or riding in a car (for balance). Is that weird? Oh yeah, Sergio's friend confessed to me our senior year that Sergio had a huge crush on me back then, hence the teasing.
2. I have a horrible memory when it comes to movies. Somebody will ask me if I saw X movie and most of the time my answer is no. They go on to describe the movie to me, and sometimes somewhere during their description I'll realize that I did, in fact, see the movie.
3. The furthest distance I've run is 13 miles (that close to half marathon distance). I have yet to run a half or full marathon, although it is one of my goals.
4. I understand a lot of Spanish, but have a hard time speaking it. The words just get stuck in my head! My vocabulary is mainly limited to that of my parents. They also threw in a little vocabulary in Quechua so I grew up thinking words such as chuma and karkas (sp?), were Spanish. I found out later they weren't. My aunt can speak Quechua and goes off if I ask her to. :)
5. Milky Way Midnights are my favorite chocolate candy. I usually buy the bag of fun size and can be satisfied eating 2-4 of those for dessert.
6. I'm a contributing author of four scientific articles. If you knew my last name you could look me up on PubMed.
7. I played the flute in high school. I picked it back up my senior year in college to play in the SU orchestra. I was a little rusty!
8. I have super dry skin so living in the desert can be torture. Lotion is a must after every shower. If I do a lot of cleaning with hot water, the skin on the palms of my hands will start to flake, but not all the way off. I have to use a pumice stone to slough it all off. Yuck!
9. I only call Sammy by his name when I want his attention. His more often used nicknames include Babe, Cham Cham, Sam-mutt, Chammy, Chamo, and Bubbo.
10. I'm so excited to see what our kids are going to look like. They will be half-Peruvian, one quarter Thai, and one quarter Caucasian. Well, almost. My grandmother on my mom's side was (?)% Japanese. Half of Jon's lineage is Jewish. That's about all I know. We're all mutts, right? I'm hoping for some blue eyes in the mix: Jon is definitely a carrier because his dad has blue eyes and my grandfather had blue eyes. Hopefully my mom passed that on to me and we'll get a surprise.

It's all about me!

When isn't it? Just kidding! Lindsay over at And we'll just laugh along the way... tagged me!

Here are the rules:
1. Link to the person that tagged you

2. Post the rules on your blog

3. Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself

4. Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs

5. Let each random person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.

6. Let your tagger know when your entry is up.

Ahhh! This is going to be hard, especially since I have a whole list on the sidebar. I want to try to list out some different ones. Oh well, here goes!

1. I'm in the process of applying to nursing school right now. The fact that I can complete a BSN in 14 months and that it's free are large motivators! That being said, I'm scared I won't like my career choice when I finally get into it. I am a person who gets bored by routine. I can't listen to the same type of music for so long, I don't order the same things off of a menu like my husband always does, and I hate relying on only a few techniques that my focus of research relies on. I'm afraid that it will be the same way with my career. I've also looked into pastry school since I've discovered a new love of baking. I love creating pretty things for people (not me) to eat. The more challenging, all the more fun for me as I try to figure it out! I'm afraid that a degree in this field would be far too much money out of pocket--money I don't have.
2. I am working on being a more laid-back person. I am easily flustered, am impatient, and get worked up easily. I'm happy to say that I've made significant progress in this area. Although you can't exactly call me laid back now, I'm scores better than I use to be. I give credit to my regular workouts and, surprisingly, my dog, Sammy, who happens to be the most high-strung, un-confident dog I've ever encountered! He taught me patience--A LOT of patience. When Jon first left, I would call him (back when I could) in tears and at one point I seriously considered getting rid of the poor baby. I couldn't bring myself to do it, knowing that he would probably be put down because he is so fear-aggressive to all strangers. I took Cesar Milan's advice and demonstrated calm and assertive leadership and found that this worked way better than yelling at the top of my lungs. Sammy respects me now, but I'm still working on the fear-aggression.
3. I'm obsessed with The Bachelor right now and even before it started! I think it has more to do with the fact that he is from Kirkland, a suburb of Seattle. Once hating reality TV, I find myself watching more of it. I think I can blame the writers strike for this one.
4. I want to do something like the Peace Corps, preferably in a South American village somewhere. I don't see this happening anytime soon. I'm almost 28 years old, still wanting to go back to school and switch careers while still wanting children before I get too old. I would want to take Jon with me, of course, but he has zero interest in going abroad again after his two tours in Iraq.
5. I get irritated when the phone rings too much, especially at work and I'm the only one in the lab to answer it and I'm in the middle of something. It's more annoying than a buzzing alarm clock.
6. I like to scratch raised letters and smell books, magazines, newspaper....any paper products really. I'm glad to say I'm not the only weirdo that likes to do these things! I have a friend that once scratched the letters off of a page and my sister shares my love of smelling books. I got her the second and third books in the Twilight series for Christmas and her boyfriend got her the second book as well. She decided on which book to keep by smelling them and keeping the best-smelling one!

So there you have it! I maybe included facts that weren't non-important and I have a repeat from my perma-list, but it was hard!

Now for people to tag. I'm trying not to re-tag anyone who's done this recently.

Rebecca at [Almost] A Designer

Loqui at Loquita's Blog

Sara at When in Rome

Melissa at New Girl on Post 

Miss Rae at Raecatherine Almost on the Water

Oops that's only five! I think everyone's done this already! Oh well, looking forward to reading responses!

Slightly inappropriate, but hilarious

I love those SNL digital shorts. I also love how Justin Timberlake keeps popping up on the show. As much as I hated his music while in N'Sync (and I must confess, I love his newest stuff), I totally respect him a lot more now and want to see him more on SNL! 

Remember this one?

After that angry post I needed to laugh. This is perhaps the first YouTube video I saw.

My first award!

Thanks, Loqui!

1. Where is your cell phone? purse
2. Where is your significant other? Sandbox
3. Your hair color? brown
4. Your mother? resilient
5. Your father? strict
6. Your favorite thing? snuggling
7. Your dream last night? none
8. Your dream/goal? family
9. The room you're in? living
10. Your hobby? creating
11. Your fear? regrets
12. Where do you want to be in six years? happy
13. Where were you last night? home
14. What you're not? pushover
15. One of your wish list items? baby :)
16. Where you grew up? Walla Walla
17. The last thing you did? ate
18. What are you wearing? sweats
19. Your T.V.? background
20. Your pet? Sammy
21. Your computer? MacBook
22. Your mood? relaxed
23. Missing someone? YES!!!
24. Your car? fast
25. Something you're not wearing? bra :P
26. Favorite store? Anthropologie
27. Your Summer? fast
28. Love someone? Jon♥
29. Your favorite color? blue
30. When is the last time you laughed? today
31. Last time you cried? yesterday

I read several blogs, but I haven't really "gotten close" to a lot of bloggers and I don't want to tag somebody that has already been tagged. The others that I read loyally seem to have dropped off the face of the Earth! So I'll leave it to my former college peeps and others to hopefully jump start the posting again!

Drea from Un Rollo Repollo--Fellow science nerd. She stands apart from the rest, though, in that she's actually one fashionable chica. 

Rae from Raecatherine Almost On the Water--She's such a sweetheart and brings in a different perspective to certain issues. Although I've never seen her in action, I know she's a wonderful nurse!

Cheryl from Cheryl and Greg--Fellow knitter who is seemingly busy now with pharmacy school. She hasn't posted in months and I'm afraid the blog is on it's last legs!

Jaime from Mom Around the Clock--I loved reading about her daily life with her four kids, when she posted regularly. She tells things how they are and doesn't hold back! Thank you for introducing me to the Twilight series--can't wait for the movie!

Kim from Seattle Daily Photo--I'm so glad I found this blog full of beautiful pictures from home. I'm a regular visitor, as I get homesick pretty frequently. 

The answer that solves all problems

See more Natalie Portman videos at Funny or Die

This would be Jon's response as well. He's such a softie when it comes to dogs!

Keeping on the happy note, we now have a date for R&R! The countdown begins...and so does the rush in perfecting red velvet cake in my yellow ribbon cake pan, maybe losing some weight to give me more room for gaining some when he comes home, and various other jobs around the house. Can I take time off before he gets here to prepare?

About me, according to Flickr

Saw Loquita's last post and wanted to make my own mosaic! Here are the 12 questions and my answers that I typed into the search field on flickr to get the mosaic tiles:

1. First name? Tania
2. What is your favorite food? Pasta with white wine sauce
3. What high school did you attend? DeSales Catholic School
4. What is your favorite color? Cadet blue
5. Who is your celebrity crush? Brad Pitt (I really don't have one so I typed the most generic thing. The picture isn't of him, but I love it!)
6. Favorite drink? Agua
7. Dream vacation? Tahiti
8. Favorite dessert? Chocolate truffles
9. What do you want to be when you grow up? Pastry chef
10. What do you love most in life? Learning
11. One word to describe you. Dreamer
12. Favorite interest? Knitting

Trying to give credit where credit is due, but most of them aren't available

1. Not available, 2. Not available, 3. Not available, 4. Not available, 5. Not available, 6. Not available, 7. Floating in paradise8. Not available9. Not available10. Not available11. Not available12. Not available

Oops...sorry about the image not showing up. It showed up on the Mac when I first posted!

Friday Fun Questions

Fun brought to you buy New Girl On Post, one of my newer blog reads. OK, this is my first time posting answers to these questions and I know it's not Friday anymore but here they are. I will try to get it on the right day next time!

1. Three websites you frequent the most?
   
   Hmmm...I'd have to say Gmail, my work email, and ravelry. That, of course, is all aside from the various blogs I read, but it just asks for just 3, right?
   
   
2. What's one thing you really want for Christmas?
   
   This is going to sound really cheesy, but the only thing I really, really want for Christmas would be my husband at home. We'll be missing our first 2 Chrismases as a married couple and I really want to start our own traditions for the holidays and feel like a real family! Other than that, I'd like various kitchen utensils or appliances, such as a marble slab, a nice set of knives that actually cut my food without smashing it, maybe some money to go to pastry school (it's expensive!)
   
   
3. Any shows this season you are already addicted to?
   
   I've been a loyal Grey's Anatomy viewer since it first aired. I still can't stand to miss it. Other shows I like are Dancing with the Stars, Biggest Loser, Medium, House, Desperate Housewives, Army Wives. Some shows I'd like to get into are the Sarah Conner Chronicles, Ace of Cakes, and others I can't think of at the moment. Wow, that looks like a lot.
   
   
4. Are there any foods that you were hesitant about trying, but then did and loved them?
   
   Oysters in a half shell, but they are sooo good!
   
   
5. What room in your house is your favorite and why?
   
   Kitchen, hands down. I love to bake (and cook sometimes). I found it to be very therapeutic and it's a great way to kill time while waiting for husbands to come back home, while at the same time learning how to make delicious creations for said husband to enjoy when he finally comes home!

Well, there you have it. Hope everyone enjoys their weekend!

For those of you who couldn't get enough...

...a follow-up video to "The One Semester of Spanish Spanish Love Song." Runawaybox (the guy who posts these vids) left me a comment a while ago to let me know he made the "Second Semester of Spanish Spanish Love Song." It's pretty funny (I especially like the "No leavo" part), but I still think the first one is funnier because it was way more ridiculous. Give this one a try and let me know what you think!

Your opinion please

I had too much fun tonight uploading my picture and "test driving" various haircuts. The resulting haircuts are what I narrowed my choices down to. Unfortunately, with the website I was using, I was limited to celebrity cuts, but I love these nonetheless! I'm just having a hard time deciding what I like better! I've been wanting to try bangs out for a while now, but have been scared to take the plunge considering they would take a while to grow out if I hated them. I actually like the way they look though! I'm so sick of my current haircut and miss pulling all my hair back into a ponytail without the aid of bobby pins or headbands. Plus the last "real" haircut I got, the hairstylist done f%#ked it up and I'm in the process of growing it out--the result is a shaggy nasty mess. I feel so ugly right now!

Anyways, please vote for your favorite!

This should put a smile on your face

For those readers who many have not seen this video yet. I think this guy was on GMA or the Today show, both of which I used to watch when I was back in Seattle while I was getting ready for work. They would show brief clips of him dancing in a random part of the world. I also saw him on a daytime talk show, although I don't remember which one. I'm glad there's a compilation of his videos. The music adds just the right touch. I think it shows the beauty of the human race, and watching all the kids dancing with him was really touching! Makes me want to go see the world! Now why didn't he come to Tucson? :D


Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.

Weak in the knees

I sooooo want these shoes! *Drool* They're $110 at Nordstrom's and I will get them eventually. They're not practical and a lot more than I usually pay for shoes, but a girl's gotta buy crazy shoes every once in a while, if just because she wants them! Plus, they would be awesome for our trip to Vegas when Jon comes home for R&R in November. Aren't they awesome?

Ok......back to The Bachelorette now. She's going to Kirkland (Seattle area) to visit Jason's family! I'm really missing home right now.

"One Semester of Spanish" Spanish Love Song

One of my co-workers showed this video to me a long while ago, but when I went to look for it on my own,  I couldn't find it! I just found it on one of my radio station's web pages. I laugh my ass off every time I watch it, because it's mostly true. You only know so much Spanish after just one semester and he uses the most common phrases and words that students learn during this time to formulate a "love song."

My favorite part of the song is when he's counting. Enjoy!

Extroverted Sensing Feeling Judging

That's me! I've been curious about my personality type since one of my friends back home revealed her results after taking a test. Semper Fi Wife posted a link to a Myers-Briggs personality test on SpouseBuzz and I was inclined to take it! I looked up the definition of an ESFJ here. 

ESFJs at their best are warm, sympathetic, helpful, cooperative, tactful, down-to-earth, practical, thorough, consistent, organized, enthusiastic, and energetic. They enjoy tradition and security, and will seek stable lives that are rich in contact with friends and family.

One interesting point that I find to be true in my case, and that made me feel so flaky and indecisive

The ESFJ's value system is defined externally. They usually have very well-formed ideas about the way things should be, and are not shy about expressing these opinions. However, they weigh their values and morals against the world around them, rather than against an internal value system. They may have a strong moral code, but it is defined by the community that they live in, rather than by any strongly felt internal values.

For the most part, my values have remained unchanged, but there is a different emphasis on certain issues here in this "red" state than I experienced in the "blue" state of Washington. I feel like I've seen perspectives of both "liberals" and "conservatives" and seen both extremes, and I'm confused about where I stand more than ever. But I'm still pretty much moderate.

As I was reading the profile of an ESFJ, I was floored by how true the characteristics were to myself. I usually take these tests with a grain of salt, but then again if I read about this particular profile on a different website it might say something different. One thing that worried me, however

An ESFJ who has developed in a less than ideal way may be prone to being quite insecure, and focus all of their attention on pleasing others. He or she might also be very controlling, or overly sensitive, imagining bad intentions when there weren't any.

I'm not controlling, but I can be overly sensitive about things. I haven't gone as far as imagining bad intentions, but sometimes I have a hard time accepting that people genuinely like me and like being around me. I can get in the mindset that they're just acting out of pity. And really I just want people to like me so maybe sometimes I can get a little caught up on pleasing others due to my insecurity. The more I make them happy, the better they will like me, right? 

So, what personality type are you? Take the test and post your results in the comments!

This is what I do when I'm bored

Last night instead of going to bed early, I stayed up and watched youtube videos. I'm still recovering from Monday night, which was spent drinking Malibu/pineapple juice and playing drunken Guitar Hero. I don't know why I got the urge to look up camel spiders, considering I hate all spiders, but that's what I did.....pretty sure that's what I was dreaming about all night because I woke up with a sore jaw (teeth-clenching)! Well, I think this video is hilarious. Had I been that poor solider, I think I would have fainted! Glad to see there's some fun going on over there!