So Fresh and So Clean

My favorite time of the day is the morning...preferably the early morning. There is nothing more refreshing than waking up, the sun low in the sky or barely breaking over the mountains, you walk outside and it smells fresh. Birds may be chirping, but the world is quiet, restful, renewed, and almost pondering. It renews me, strengthens me, shows me that everyday is new and clean and full of possibilities.

Yum Yum

Tonight I went to this really fun and scrumptious restaurant, maybe you have heard of it "The Melting Pot." I highly recommend it, but be prepared to spend several hours there and to have it make a slight dent in your change purse. One thing that is crucial...go there with some one fun. I went with my friend Josh, and it was perfect. He decided the cheese and main dish...I got to decide the dessert dish (because it was my birthday celebration). Yum!

Side note: there is nothing like talking to a friend you have had for awhile, and discovering that you like them more than you thought you did. Amazing, and even better talking to that friend while eating great food! (Dark Chocolate...I think I am in love with you!)

Things That Must Go...really, really far away

I bet everyone who reads this will agree. The top thing that must go is LYING. This really really annoys me. Lately, it seems that every time I turn around someone is lying. Okay that may be exaggerating a wee bit or a lot. But even when you discover one person is lying to you...it seems HUGE! I also do not like lying, because sometimes it makes me want to cry...and I don't want a liar to make me cry!

Disclaimer before I go on: No one is perfect and everyone has told some sort of lie in their life...we are human.

This is what really gets me. People who lie to you about things that are:
a. Really dumb and insignificant
b. Make you more upset or make things a bigger deal than if they just told the truth
c. Things that you can easily find out if they were telling the truth about

2nd Disclaimer: I am sure I have done all of the above in my 29 years

So here are my requests. Regardless of what you think my reaction will be, do not lie to me and if you have lied and I find out...don't try to continue the lie, just fess up and lets move on.

The Great **m**88

***This post has been moved to the Secret Life of D'Nell...to protect the Guilty***

Don't Cry...It Will Be Okay

Sad news friends...my computer is not working. I am having every expert around look at it, and hopefully it will make a full recovery. This means that blogs might not appear as regularly as they have in the past. Please send good Karma "RaLphs" way. (In case you didn't know, RaLph is the name of my laptop. Sniff, sniff....

(Update 3/27/06: RaLph it seems is quite testy these days, and will work if the printer is not plugged in when he boots up. So Yay! No more broken computer!)

Educational learning oppurtunity: Word of the Day

drub: Verb
1. to beat severly
2. to berate critcally
3. to defeat decisively

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to me! Happy Birthday to me! Happy Birthday dear Princess D'Nell! Happy Birthday to me! Happy 25th Birthday to Me! Yay! Above is what I would like for my birthday...LOADED. It's a nice dream isn't it?

How do you feel?

Isn't it amazing how art invokes different emotions in us? I am continually surprised what stirs strong emotions in me. For example, the above statue makes me feel happy, adventurous, and unrestrained in my desire to accomplish all the goals I have set for myself. I took this picture while in Paris at The Louvre. I just wanted to stare at it for hours. I think it would be fun to be in a class that just discusses emotions that people feel when they view different pieces of art. Maybe they teach a class like this in college...I didn't take many classes in the art department...dang it...I should have!

Things that Must Go...Thursday Edition

My favorite morning radio show (X96 Radio from Hell) on Wednesdays read their or listeners lists of things that must go. Well I want to get in on the fun. In my very first edition I want to tell you about something that even thinking about makes me crazy! I can not stand these...and when I drove my Explorer...I had visions of ramming them and squishing them like an annoying Mosquito! What am I talking about. Any car that looks like Geo Metro's or Ford Festiva's. Seriously...they are ridiculous...and ugly...and irritating to me! I don't know why I feel this way, but I do...I really don't like them. Usually if I stated my opinion I hope that no one gets offended...but this time...please be offended! Does anyone else feel this way? No one I am sure feels as strong as me...so today...my list of things that must is short: Ford Festiva's and Geo Metros.

It is not a ***** if I tell you I did it after...it is just a TRICK!

***This post has been moved to the Secret Life of D'Nell...To protect the guilty***

Life Long Quest

If you have arachnophobia, do you seek out opportunities to let spiders crawl all over you? If you have a crazy fear of public speaking do you volunteer to speak in public often, or if you detest tomatoes with your whole being, do you purchase them and eat them everyday? No? Really? Oh, well then.

Here is a secret, so if you could keep this under wraps I would appreciate it, I am on a quest in life to overcome my fears and dislikes. I am not sure really when this started, but I suspect that it was right around the time that I decided to go to the other side of the world...with people I didn't know. Let me reveal some possibly little known facts about myself:

1. Doing anything that makes me stand out or makes people stare at me, scares me to death.
2. I am very shy, and going places by myself where I might have to talk to someone else is hard...even if it is to just go get a pedicure.
3. I am extremely scared of heights. Even standing close to the edge of a cliff even if there is a railing makes my heart beat really fast and all I can think of is what if the railing broke right now...and I can't wait until I get to move away and never have to see it again.
4. For most of my life I have HATED fish...to the point where the smell would make me dry heave.
5. I am afraid that I will discover that I am a fraud and that I am not really as smart or capable as I think I am...and even worse that other people will find out.
6. If you know me at all, this will not be a big surprise, but I am very STUBBORN and think my way of thinking is correct.
   

Why would I reveal such personal information about myself? To tell you something that I have known for along time. The biggest secret about myself is that I am not okay with any of the above statements. I believe that if I don't like something about myself I can change it...maybe it won't work, but I have to at least try.

Example 1: Take my hatred of fish. Several years ago, I decided this was ridiculous and that as an adult I should like fish. So, every opportunity I got I ate it and told myself I liked it. I even ordered it in restaurants. Today, I like fish so much that I love sushi.

Example 2: Fear of heights. When I went to Vegas for the first time with some family and friends several years ago, I decided I wanted to go on the ride on the top of the Stratosphere. I was anxious about it a lot...to the point that I had several nightmares about it, but I would not let this stop me. I wanted to do this to prove to myself that my fear of heights would not keep from experiencing life to the fullest. I am proud to say that I went on the ride...I thought I was going to have a heart attack because my heart was beating so fast, and I was happy to be back on solid ground. But, I did it. I beat my fear. Height - 0, D'Nell - 1. While, I still don't like heights, I know that I can overcome and not let them stop me from doing something.

Example 3: Stubbornness. I take every opportunity to talk to other people about how they view life, politics, religion, and the world around them. I love it. I know that I have the tendency to look at life with blindfolds on or to have tunnel vision. So, I step outside of what I fondly call "Delia's reality" and get a glimpse of other realities. I know that this can be a dangerous path to follow...but it has not only strengthened my most important beliefs, but has given me a love for other people and taught me to have compassion and empathy (qualities that I believe you have to continually work on). Also, it has helped me to see that life and people aren't robots, and that I am not always right...and that people are amazing and very interesting.

An Executive Vice President at the company I used to work for told new hires every time she came to talk to them, that she got where she was because of one reason: stepping out of her comfort zone and looking at it as an opportunity to grow. No matter how scared she might have been, she did it anyway.

I was on this quest long before I heard her say that, but it shed a light on the reason I have choose to step outside my comfort zone....to grow.

Blonde...Brunette...Who has more fun?

Have you ever heard people debate who has more fun? "Brunette's have more fun!", "Blonde's have more fun!", "Red Heads are crazy!" And we have all heard millions of blonde jokes, usually told by brunettes. Well, I am testing a theory. Up until Saturday I was a blonde, and I might add a very SMART blonde. Now, I am a brunette. I will once and for all prove that blonde, brunette, or whatever...if your name is D'Nell...you have the most fun...and you're smart!

Seriously, what do you think of the new color? I like it. I don't know how long I will be a brunette but it is fun for now. I think it makes my eyes stand out a lot more.

New hair color to get the "New Delia" off to a big start!

Training Log, Star Date 03032007

If you have been asking yourself how the training is going...well your questions will be answered. I am happy to say that the first two weeks have gone well. I do aerobic exercise for 45 minutes, 5 times a week and strength training 3 times a week. I usually do abs every time I work out. Strength training is kind of scary. At first the machines were intimidating...I mean really, am I supposed to guess how to use them correctly? Let alone how I even get into the machine to use it in the first place! Luckily, my roommate Kristen only really likes to strength train, so when I went to the gym with her that is all we would do. Thus, I am no longer afraid of using or trying new weight machines. I started out just using 4 machines, but now I am up to 8 different upper body exercises. Today there was a bonus, I added 3 leg machines. Yay for me, and also OUCH! Is it kinda of disturbing that I like to feel my muscles getting worked and that I am sore?