Got the worst Sunburn of my life.

My friends and I decided that since it was finally starting to feel like Summer in Massachusetts that we would hit the beach! We left early in the morning and found that Nahant beach was pretty empty and quite. I was all set to relax and enjoy this warm Summer day!

Those are my pale little feet. I didn't bother to put any sunblock on because it really wasn't that sunny. It was more windy then sunny. I only put alittle on my face. Besides I wanted alittle color from the sun.

Yes, life was grand. We left around 1pm (we spent 5 hours at the beach total) and I was doing good. I napped, I relaxed and I got to hang out with my friends.




Then it happen. I was in the car on the way home and I started to feel sick. Then my skin started to sting a bit. It wasn't until I got in the shower to wash the sand off me that my sunburn started to come out.

It was getting worse and worse. This was my leg about 3 hours after the beach. Due to the fact that I was wearing capri pants, I had a nice little farmers tan forming.

My arm was fried too. Again a nice farmers tan because I had my arms crossed over me. I need to learn how to rotate my body when I am in the sun.

The next morning I woke up and got out of bed. My legs felt like the skin was going to just tear apart. It was painful to walk, to sit and to lie down. I used up 2 bottles of Aloe just to get some kind of relief but nothing helped the sting. But I also wake up to this sight.

Saturday (three hours after the beach) ---------------------------- Sunday (1 full day after the beach)

Holy cankles Batman!!

Not only did it hurt from the burn but it felt like I was walking on water balloons. My shoes at work needed to be removed at any chance I could just to let them breath. I felt and looked like Miss Piggy. I weighted myself and found out I gained 5 lbs from those suckers. I never will complain about how fat my feet and ankles look again. You can see from the picture above that my shoulders and collarbone was pretty fried too.

I searched online for ways of getting relief. I tried taking baths with tea bags, rubbing my burns with lemon, and every burn relief cream I could find in Walgreen's. But the best treatment was taking a cool shower and then I would pour Vinegar over the burns. Then I would cake on Noxzema and sit on a tower on my couch. It helped so much but I smelled like a salad for a week.

Said Goodbye to a Music Legend

Michael Jackson

August 29 1958 - June 25 2009

Michael Jackson was truly a music icon for me growing up. I was born the year Thriller was released and remember watching his music videos growing up. I really want to remember Michael Jackson for being so talented. I hope that my kids one day will know him as being the King of Pop and not Wako Jacko. But Despite his crazy, sad and weird lifestyle he had a beautiful voice which provided us with fantastic songs that we all enjoy. Michael, thank you for incredible voice and all your dance moves that you left us.

I adopted a cat!

Looking around my apartment, all I could think was "This place sure is lonely." So I went on Petfinder.com just to "look". That's when I saw the most beautiful cat I have ever seen in my life.

He was a tabby cat with big green eyes. He was HUGE. I loved him instantly. I had to go down and see him in person. So that weekend I drove up to the New Hampshire Petsmart to see this cat. I knew that if he was there I was going to instantly put my name down for adoption. I even knew what I was going to name him. When I first saw him the name 'Troy' just came to me.

When I got to the pet store I saw they had several cats available for adoption. When I was waiting for someone to help me I went over to glass wall where all the cats were. I went up to where I saw two giant white paws sticking out of a box. I have never seen paws like that. They were massive and so furry. But as I was admiring that cat, the woman from the shelter asked if I needed anything. I asked to see the cat that I feel in love with online.

"I'm sorry he has been adopted already."

Not going to lie, I was heartbroken. I was going to just leave but then she asked if I was interested in any other cat. I thought about the large white paws and asked about that cat. I have never seen a cat like that and was curious.

"Oh, that is Topaz! She is a such a lovable cat! She is calm, sweet and loves to cuddle!"

I wasn't sold on the idea to adopt a girl cat since I grew up with all male animals. But then the woman told me that she was found alone on the streets during the Winter and was not eatting because she was afraid of the other cats. I went in to pet her and she was so unbelivably soft. I am afraid of cats bitting or straching me but she was very gentle and purred. Having felt abandomed by someone I loved and feeling afraid of my new life, I knew I wanted her. We needed to stick together in this crazy world.

So the papers where signed and I got to bring her home! I renamed her Aerith (air-ith). She soon came out of her shell to be one of the most loudest, sweetest, irritating, loving, hyper, and craziest cat I have ever met. But I love her and no matter how much she annoyes me, I wouldn't give her up!

Details

Petfinder.com: This is where I found her. There aretons and tons of animals there that need a good home

Petsmart: Where the shetler brought the cats for adoption and where I purchased all her toys/food/accessories

Kitty The Cat: Aeriths Blog

Said Goodbye to Gene

Gene

October 19, 1940 - May 27, 2009

I found out today that one of my co-workers passed away last night. He was 68 years old and battling leukemia. I guess the battle was just to much. We all knew he was very sick but we thought he was getting better.

So today has been a very quiet day for all of us. I knew him since I started working here at the bank (8 years ago) and can't imagine him not coming in anymore to visit us. He was such a nice guy.

May God bless his family for going through this rough time. Gene is no longer feeling any pain or suffering anymore. May they always have casual Fridays up in Heaven.

Got my first apartment ALL BY MYSELF!!!!!

The divorce hit me pretty hard. Not only did I lose my husband and best friend, but I also lost the place I called home for 2 years. The apartment that I painted and decorated every single room perfectly to fit our personalities. The place I planned to hold Thanksgiving in and held my first dinner party with a few friends.

When my ex decided that he didn’t want to be married anymore, he took more from me then he knew. I was sent to live back with my parents who had no rooms available for me. I slept on a couch in the living room and had only a laptop to escape the world. I lost my privacy and a small piece of me when I moved back in with my parents.

My friend, Becca, told me the best words of advice that anyone could give me.

Becca: “You need to move out of your parent’s house and get a place of your own.”
Me: “What if I can’t afford it, then I will feel like a failure again. I think I will save up more money and then go from there.”
Becca: “You need to get out there and struggle in a small roach infested apartment. You need to live off Roman noodles and not be taken care of.”

With her kind words of advice I had the courage to go forward and start looking for an apartment. I figured out what I could afford and knew I wanted to live close to my parents. After looking at just 1 other apartment, I found the perfect one.

Yes it was a little bit more then I wanted to spend, but it was a mansion to me. Being only 5 minutes away from the house where I grew up in. I knew the area and I the apartment was HUGE! I put in an application and held my breath for news. Then I got a call that changed my life!

I GOT THE APARTMENT!!!!!!!!!!!!

I had no furniture and no idea what I was doing. But I went in the and just laid on the floor on my new place soaking it all in. I could not believe I was doing this!

I quickly furnished my apartment with furniture that I liked and decorated it to fit MY personality. This place has helped me heal more then anything. I am so proud of myself for taking this next step in my life. I take pride in the fact that I have moved out in a fresh new place and my ex is sitting in an apartment that has echoes of me all through it. My new furniture has no memory of our relationship. Just the memory that I am a strong woman who can get through anything thrown at me.

Just so you know. I am not living in a roach infested apartment eating Roman noodles. But I am starting to see how hard it is to live on my own and appreciate what has been giving to me. Even though I plan to only stay here a few years, I will always remember my first time living all on my own.

Moved into my first apartment!

Today I became a strong, independent woman.

Today I signed the lease of my very own apartment!!

That’s right, kids. No parents, no man in my life and no roommates. It is just going to be me, myself and I living in this great big space.

I knew the second I saw the apartment online that I loved it. It was open, clean and only about 5 minutes away from my family. So if I had any problems I was never far from home. I knew the neighborhood and the area was very friendly. Plus it is safe part of town. A perfect place where I didn’t need to worry about walking to my car at night or making sure the door was triple locked.

The first day I had my apartment, I had no furniture to go in it. I just laid out the carpet I bought and just took it all in. My first real place! I am so proud of myself!

Let me take you on a tour.

Here is the door to my first apartment!!! #11

See how open it is as soon as you open the door?

My dinning room which I actually don’t use at all. It’s more for a place to put trash ready to go out.

The shelf that divides the 2 rooms is perfect for keep all my pictures.
My fantastic kitchen!!! I love this kitchen and all the appliances are brand new!

My bathroom. It is nice and spacious. Not crazy over the color but I am not going to be here forever.

My LARGE bedroom!! Not very decorated but I got to choose the bed and covers. Nobody else had a say, just me!

My enormous closet. A large part of why I wanted this place. So much room I can’t even fill it…. wait I am sure I can.

The community backyard with a public pool!!

Thank you for visiting. I am sure I am going to have some great memories here.

Went on a hike in the snow and cold!

I was supposed to go skiing today (something I NEVER did) but due to the stinky economy, it was cancelled. :(

So a group got together to do a hike in the trails of Lowell. I believe it was a total of 10 miles. I was pretty excited about going because I heard that there was a planned trip to AZ to hike the Grand Canyon! How fun would that be!! So I figured that if I could manage this hike, I could train myself to complete the 26 mile Grand Canyon hike.

I had nothing to wear for this hike. So I went to Sports Etc. and bought really nice waterproof boots, pants (which ended up not fitting), a jacket and a backpack. I certainly looked like a hiker. I was all set!

We start the hike early morning, about 8am. It was freezing and snowy. I fell twice on patches of ice which wasn't too fun because I had so much in my backpack that I just feel like a ton of bricks. No one told me that I shouldn't wear brand new hiking boots without breaking them in, so my feet where developing huge blisters. I also had a hard time catching up with everyone.

It turns out that I may have looked like I knew what I was doing, but in reality I was too out of shape for this. This small hike kicked my ass. It didn't just kick my butt, it also knocked me down and proceeded to beat me up. It was so hard! I guess I wasn't in that great of shape. But considering this was my first real hike, I thought I did really well. I managed to get through most of it without passing out and dieing. So yay for me!

The group. I am the last one on the right. The shorty of the group. We were actually standing on a pond that was iced over. I believe this was halfway through our hike, so about 3 miles in. I was ready to go home and take off those darn boots.

Details

Lowell-Dracut-Tynsboro Walking Trail- This is good for people that are in decent shape. Lots of rocks, hills and branches to look out for. I wouldn't go when there is snow and ice on the ground again.