Once Upon a Michelle

Though not consistent... it's moved.

http://michellecassidy.wordpress.com/

I can't stop thinking about the way the sea salt tickles my tongue as I consume the dark chocolate covered almonds from Trader Joe's. They are that good. They're like little morsels of heaven.

You'd have to appreciate salt like I do though I think.

Let's talk finances.

I for one am NOT in any position to be preaching, however there is such a thing called common sense. It seems of late, that's gone by the way side.

A friend posted a link (http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_14734665?nclick_check=1) which talks about no toys in fatty foods. So - no toys inside happy meals, right? This is brought forth as a LEGISLATIVE idea! I'm sorry but what happened to parenting?!
One of the quotes from the article is "They want the toy and have no idea what's in the food," Yeager said Monday. "You can't expect a 3-year-old to say there are too many calories in that hamburger." REALLY?! As an "ADULT", don't you have a duty to your child who DOESN'T understand, and only learns from what you TEACH them, to provide them with a healthy lifestyle? Last I checked, you could not buy you child a freaking toy (which they saw on tv) and instead take them to a park and let them PLAY and use their IMAGINATION. SO what if your kid cries because they don't get a toy? Tough shit.

On another note: I just watched one of the most disturbing videos of some nanny beating/mistreating an 11 month old. I mean, seriously bothersome. Which makes me believe that if you can’t afford to stay home with your kid – maybe you shouldn’t have one. Seriously. Don’t be so damn selfish. Yes, selfish. “Ooh, I want a little me!” “Ooh , I want to do what everyone else is doing” Well, not everyone is in the same financial situation. Short of leaving your child with your parents (and even that could be sketchy – remember your childhood?!) only you are able to raise your child the way you want.

… At least invest in a nannycam (I guess), but even if you “catch” someone doing something awful – the damage is done.

Ugh. frustrating.

Another weekend in San Jose means it was spent relaxing and with close friends; In this particular case, with family too. I was able to visit my two best childhood friends who married each other (how crazy is that?), their precious baby boy and my parents for dinner Saturday afternoon/night. Normally, I’d post a picture of the cutie patootie for you to see – but something I’ve learned from Kristine is that you really shouldn’t put your kids online. You just never know what creeper is out there lookin’, ya know? So – take my word when I say he has a smile that can light up a room, the cutest little sounds that emanate from him and a disposition that would make you think twice about the fact that he’s teething.

After the visit, my suspicions of babyhood were confirmed. They are a LOT of work! Lord knows I am barely able to manage my own life let alone be responsible for another. So, while there’s the tug (every once in a while; don’t get any ideas!) of the biological clock which – is more peer pressure than anything, I’m definitely not ready and confident in that notion. I’m supposed to be married first – right? ;) One step at a time.

Instead, I'll continue living my life figuring out who I am, who I want to be and where I'm going. I'm not doing being selfish yet. And when I have a "craving" - I'll visit my married parental friends and play with the baby a bit, returning him at the end and being on my merry way.

This weekend was not what I expected - but I'm good with that. The plan to see Alice in Wonderland fell through not once but twice. Clearly, not meant to be. Instead we saw Shutter Island, which I found to be incredible transparent and therefore boring. C'est la vie.

It was however, filled with corned beef. :)

Thank Heavens! This was seemingly a quick week that just couldn't move fast enough. Why? Because I really miss my recently transplanted LA boyfriend. This weekend marks my 6th flight of 2010, with 7 more already booked through April.

Beyond all the travel; which is both fun and a nuisance; what I find interesting is that it's forcing me to become more regimented. I've always been big on planning things (though never too far in the future) ;) but this has pushed it to the extreme. I find myself following a more strict schedule in order to allot gym time, shopping, friends & family, packing, etc. If I didn't - my life would be a mess.

That said, I look forward to seeing my PIC this tonight until late Sunday evening. The other nice thing about LA is that the weather is always at least 5 degrees warmer than NorCal. And then I got curious. Here's the comparison for this weekend. Campbell will be 58 on Saturday, LA 64. Sunday: Campbell will be 65 and LA 70.

Saturday will bring my most favorite meal and Irish tradition - corned beef and cabbage. Yes, with potatoes and carrots. I can't wait! Plus, I get it AGAIN on the 17th at my parents' house for St. Patty's day. Note: my mouth is salivating just thinking about it!


Sometime during the weekend, I'd also like to see Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland in 3D(again). I saw it on Tuesday with two friends and enjoyed it immensely. I was skeptical as it is a Disney movie with a PG rating - but I feel Tim Burton pulled off a dark (enough) Alice to hit a broad market. I loved the costumes, the scenery, the storytelling and the subtle references to other Johnny Depp movies (Pirates, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Finding Neverland, Edward Scissor Hands). Needless to say, Alice is one of my favorite stories and I look forward to seeing what the bf thinks about it.

Yeah, right. Though I think that might very well be the only way I update this thing! You would think for how technologically savvy I am, this would be a top priority. Alas, I neglect this like it's the plague.

Maybe it's that I have a myriad of other web items I find myself busy with (fb, twitter, email, chat, etc) On top of that, my workload has been increasing... along with my focus. SORT OF. When the ADD isn't running my mind, (not really, but I'm very easily distracted)I can get a lot done and implement ideas to concrete results. Other times, I've got multiple screens open and multitasking is a joke. For instance, I have 8 tabs open in Mozilla, 1 site up on Explorer, 3 Publisher files, 1 Excel spreadsheet, 2 Windows Explorer screens and 3 Outlook emails open, not to mention the cell phone (on silent) in front of me. Talk about trying to do too many things simultaneously.

Back to the "matter" at hand: me. I've finally made the shift of consciousness where I am paying attention to what I imbibe and consume AND work out. Novel idea, but one I ignored since '98. It feels good. I look forward to when the weather gets better and I can incorporate swimming into my exercise routine.

A very good friend of mine and I are heading to Las Vegas this summer (her first time!!) and so it's proven to be an excellent motivator for getting back in shape.