Lollipops and Roses

Not everything is always lollipops and roses in life.

Lately the stress has piled on top of me and it's time to get it out.

Maybe it's the working until 2-3am and getting up at 8am and starting all over again that's finally catching up.

Maybe it's that the harder I work -- the more I get behind. The more I get behind the more I see no end in sight.

It's like quicksand -- the harder you work at getting out of it -- the more you sink.

I feel like everything in my life right now is out of control.



The house is a mess.....no wait -- a DISASTER

My workload is too much -- and I'm WAY behind in some things that need to be done.

I have too much stuff to do and not enough time.

Everyday is spent putting out the most important fires and the daily task list is just too long.

Am I in a slump? Is this going to pass?



Okay.....enough of the pity party -- let's get to work! Wow......I feel better.

Today's agenda

Busy, busy, busy......it's that time of the year

We're full of ideas -- just not enough time to get them all done



Today's agenda:
1. Fold, stuff, stamp and mail 250 envelopes (marketing)
2. Catch up on daily paperwork and make bank deposits
3. Catch up general journal entries in QuickBooks
4. Pay Pizza Bills that are due
5. Mail out new customer packets
6. Fix both my printers (they both crapped out in one day)
7. Get boxtoppers printed and cut for both stores
7. Laundry
8. Something for dinner

This is an aggressive list -- and not likely to get done in one day.

How lucky I am that I have so much to do and don't have to worry about sitting around all day crying how bored I am.




Anyone want to come and help?

just posting

Have lots to post about -- but not the creative energy to put it together and get it on here.

Just feeling fabulous today and want to record it. Life is good, I'm the happiest I've ever been in my life, and I feel so lucky.

Paul and I are busy working on things for the business -- got lots of projects coming up like our Food Drive, Halloween Contest, Comic Book Day, next Pizzas of the Month, new menus and new pricing, and lots of marketing......but we feel good and ready to tackle our tasks.

I'm so fortunate to not have an 8-5 job, owning our own business (with TWO locations), getting to work side-by-side building our life and our future with my husband, and all the other things that make my life wonderful.

Wow........is this great or what?

Sprouting - Day 4

Yes.....success!

The sprouts are ready. We've rinsed them, drained them, and bundled them up and they're chilling in the refrigerator all ready to top a fresh salad or delicious sandwich.



It was so fun watching their progress every day. They went from some seeds soaking in a jar to these lovely green sprouts! In fact, everyone that came in the house was always checking them out and marveling at something so simple could grow so quickly.

Well now that it's all over......there's already a new jar set up and ready for the new crop!

Sprouting....Day 3

Wow....didn't realize how much change happened from Day 2 to Day 3 until I looked at the pictures.

Day 3 we will be doing the rinse and drain two times today and putting them in indirect sunlight so that their little leaves turn green. If you look closely at the picture you will see that the greening process actually started today!

They are looking yummy and delicious and we can't wait to eat them......which should be tomorrow!

What do you think?


(click on picture to enlarge)

We're now talking about buying another jar so that we can have sprouts growing continuously......our next career -- SPROUT FARMERS!!

Sprouting...Day 1 & 2

Well we're off on another adventure. This time we're sprouting! That's right -- we bought a sprouter and growing some yummy sprouts for our salads, sandwiches, and whatever else we can come up with!

Actually blogging our progress with the sprouting was Paul's idea. I'll bet when he's up WAY before me in the morning - he's downstairs catching up on our life with my blog :) The sprouting was Paul's idea as well.

So here we go............

Day 1

We buy our sprouting jar and a bag of seeds.



Our seeds of choice were the Zesty sprout mix blend: Crimson Clover, Fenugreek Seeds, Radish......yummy!



First step is to soak the seeds overnight.

On Day 1 we will drain all the water. They will get a rinse job later in the day and drained again.

Day 2

Woke up this morning to rinse the seeds and here's how they looked this morning:



(If you can't see the seeds very well.....just click on the picture and it will enlarge and you can see all the "wormy" little seedlings)

Today they'll get two good rinse jobs and be left to do their little thing in the jar.

After the progress we saw overnight -- can't wait to see what they look like tomorrow!

Leaving L.A. :-(

Tuesday - September 14

Last day in L.A. -- need to get in lots of fun things to do today before we head off for the airport.

* First stop - LaBrea Tar Pits. Isn't it amazing that there is a bubbly smelly puddle of tar right in the middle of the big city of Los Angeles?



Peterson Automotive Museum. This is a world class auto museum with a great collection of unique cars.



Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Lucky us - the day we picked to go here all the museums were FREE! This picture is an exhibit of street lamps lined up and placed in a group. Very unusual!



and the famous Farmer's Market. What a sight to see with aisles and aisles filled with food vendors (every cuisine you could imagine), fruit stands, fresh meat markets and some other unusual vendors. Must be a popular place to eat -- because the place was packed!





* Lunch was a fabulous Greek meal at Ulysses Voyage at the Farmer's Market. We had a sampler platter and had some of the most amazing flavors of Hummus and the BEST Spanokopita we've ever had. The weather was beautiful and we enjoyed our lunch on the patio.



* Sadly, all good things must end....so we left Los Angeles at 5pm and arrived back home at 10:30pm. A fabulous trip with my most favorite person in the world!



Can't wait for the next adventure!

Loving L.A. (Day 3)

Monday - September 13

* Had a full day of fun planned for today. But the first item on our agenda was to cash in the Traveler's Checks we had bought in Texas. We thought we were doing the right thing and instead of using cash -- we bought Traveler's Checks. Our first hint that this might not be a good idea was when the bank had to have every employee come and watch how to issue them -- since most of them had never seen them before. After a couple of days of people not having a clue what they were and the hassle of trying to use them -- the first thing we did this morning was find a bank and cash them all in. Lesson learned!



* 30 minute drive to the Nixon Library in Yorba Linda. The grounds where this library are were absolutely gorgeous, quiet, and serene. Not one of the bigger libraries we have visited.





Highlights: Marine 1 helicopter that President Nixon used and the house where he was raised. Amazingly enough this house is located in it's ORIGINAL place as it was when he was growing up.

* Next stop......Disneyland! Arrived at Disneyland about 1:30pm and stayed until 7pm. Hadn't been here in over 15 years and what a big difference it was going as an adult with no kids. Secretly, I missed not having any kids with us -- as it was always fun experiencing Disneyland through the eyes of a child. We rode, we ate, we watched, and we got tired! But what a fun way to spend the day and act like a kid again! We decided the next trip we take to Disneyland will include our grandchildren (someday!)





* Tried to play Live Team Trivia at a local bar in Fullerton, but they cancelled because of Monday Night Football. We hung out for awhile and watched the football game, but disappointed that we didn't get to show those California people how smart us Texan's are!

* Dinner was ham and cheese sandwiches that we made after a late night run to Ralph's Market. It was nice to take the food back and just relax around the hotel room and plan the last day's adventures!

L.A. Vacation (Day 2)

Sunday - September 12

* 45 minute car ride to Simi Valley to visit Reagan Library. Amazing place -- we loved it. You can learn so much more about a president and what was happening around the world when you visit presidential library. We were a little disappointed that most of the library was closed due to remodeling -- so we didn't get to see all the personal memorabilia usually displayed in the library.





Highlights of this library would be: touring Air Force One, piece of Berlin Wall, and a miniature model of the White House (detailed with accuracy and complete with every piece of furniture, computer, working lights, and pictures on the walls)

* Lunch at the Lazy Dog Cafe in Thousand Oaks. Yummy and very relaxing!

* Set the GPS to give us a scenic drive through town (instead of freeways) to our next destination: Hollywood! Beautiful day, windows down, and driving through the scenic hilly, curvy roads made it an adventure in itself! Parked the car at Hollywood and Vine and walked the Walk of Fame, saw the Kodak Theater, and Grauman's Chinese Theater, and of course bought the souvenir shot glasses for our staff.





Hightlight: Walking back to our car we stumbled across the entire side of a building painted like a movie theater with people sitting in the seats. The people in the seats were actually movie stars and it was fun to stand there and try to recognize everyone in the picture. What a unique treasure find this was!



* Comedy show with Jay Leno at the Comedy and Magic Club in Hermosa Beach. I haven't laughed so hard in years. The theater was a small venue and only held about 200 people -- which made it a small and intimate place. We saw two other comedians in addition to Jay....and we really had a great time.

* Guess what dinner was tonight.....pizza! It was late after the show and we saw a pizza shop on the beach. We stopped in and had a couple of pieces of Sicilian pizza and a couple of beers and then it was back to the hotel for a good night's sleep. We have another busy day tomorrow!

Leaving on a jet plane (Day 1)

Well this blog was going to be all on one document -- but we seem to be having some technical difficulties....so we're gonna drag it out for a couple of days.

Been hard to get to this, still trying to get caught up AND we've really been doing a lot of extra fun things lately that we don't normally do -- so some things just keep getting pushed aside.

But here you go. We absolutely had a fantastic time on this trip and wanted to share are adventure.

THE DETAILS

Saturday - September 11
* Leave Houston at noon and arrive in Los Angeles at 2:30pm. Spent our waiting time at the airport doing the Pizza Zone schedule for the next week. We got the whole thing done before we boarded -- so now we can have fun for 4 days and not have to worry about getting the schedule done! The weather when we left Houston...104 degrees - the weather when we arrived in Los Angles....63 degrees!

* First stop rental car -- Paul negotiates with the rental car company to upgrade our car to a Dodge Challenger -- it works! We love this car and this is the next one that we are talking about getting -- although, I'm having a hard time thinking about giving up the Mustang



This is Paul talking on the cell phone to Pizza Zone.......again! (Guess whose having to pump that gas?)

* Check in at the Portofino Yacht Club in Redondo Beach -- amazing place. The hotel had the ocean on once side and yacht harbor on the other. They had bicycles available to ride down the beach boardwalk -- which was at least 20 miles. Too bad we never had the opportunity to do that -- it sounded like fun.



* First day is spent walking around hotel, found a fantastic vegetarian organic restaurant and had our first taste of Organic Beer. The first evening was spent taking a car ride to Santa Monica Pier. Interesting fact: did you know that the Santa Monica Pier is both the beginning or the end of Route 66?



* Dinner tonight was -- of course pizza! Very different and interesting pizzas we tried, and actually Arugula on a pizza is very different indeed! Very late dinner (10pm -- so restaurant selection is very limited)

Wait until you see what day 2 of our California adventure included!