Washington Update

Only three and a half days left here in Washington. Here's what's been going on since my last post.

First, the bad news.

True

Yep - my phone fell in the toilet that I had just peed in. Somehow the combination of pulling up my underwear while turning around and bending over to flush the toilet caused my phone to fall out of my bathrobe pocket and straight down to the bottom of the bowl. I hesitated for a second, completely grossed out, and then dunked my hand through the pee to rescue it. My phone then lived in a bowl of rice for over a day... after some disinfectant and a trip to the Apple Store for them to clean out the insides, it is finally working! I am amazed!!! That rice saved me $200.

Moving on - Having crossed off a dress for Sheena's wedding, it was time to focus on my own wedding. My mom and I spent an entire day at Ikea (for decorations), JoAnne Fabrics (for table runner ideas), and QFC (for flowers). I had always dreamed of an all white wedding with lots of natural greenery, so that's the feel we were going for...

One idea...

And another idea...

After lots of stress, anxiety, and consultation with Sheena, Nicole, and Sarah... I changed my mind. A white on white wedding would be beautiful on a grand scale. But I don't have a grand budget... so perhaps I need a little color. I've been so afraid to choose a color because what if I get sick of it? What if I change my mind?? White is always safe. Sheena reminded me that I've always like the colors in the coral/salmon family, so with that in mind and reviewing my Pinterest wedding board for the things I liked best.... here is the new scheme!!! Sunset/Desert colors.

Shown next to a plant for greenery haha.

I really like this new scheme, my only concern is having the wedding look too girly. Hopefully I can work with these colors just to make it feel summery and warm rather than super girly.

My other project has been going through old boxes and getting rid of things and figuring out what I really want to keep. Talk about a blast from the past. I found these gems... enjoy.

8th grade band dorks - Sheena and I are facing each other in the middle

Yes, I did pageants and played steel drums

A really weird poem I wrote - like the old-school computer print?

The highlight of everything I went through was a letter I had written to my parents from "horse camp" that I went to for two weeks out of the summer when I was about 10 years old. It was three pages long and very sweet about how I miss them, my dog Phoebe, how I made a bracelet, that my horses name was Cotton.... I signed my name and then wrote, "PS - I also made a basket. Please send money." LOL. Please send money. Classic.

Alright, the sun is finally shining again here, so my mom and I are headed outside to take advantage of the good weather. I'll make sure to update once more before I hop on a plane to head back to the East Coast. I'm actually excited to get back because I will get to start packing to move into our new apartment (yay!!!!) but also really sad because with the wedding next summer and Christmas not really planned for Washington.... it'll probably be over a year before I get to come back. :-( Hopefully I'll be surprised and find myself back here sooner though. We'll see!

Slug Fest and Dress Success

Day five in Washington - time for an update.

The weather here has been typical Pacific Northwest weather... gray, cold, and rainy. But you can't wait for good weather to do something here - otherwise you could wait forever, so on Sunday we grabbed our raincoats and headed out to Northwest Trek.

Northwest Trek is a wildlife park featuring animals that are indigenous to this area. There are some exhibits (kind of like a zoo except they are much larger and completely "natural"). My favorite parts of the exhibits were watching two raccoons play with each other, and also hearing the bears growl and then seeing two of them lumbering around. The main feature of the wildlife park is the tram ride. There are thousands of acres for free roaming herbivores - elk, moose, deer, caribou, bighorn sheep, bison, swans, etc, and the tram takes you through the entire park in hopes that you can spot some of the animals. We actually saw at least one of every animal in the reserve!

Now before we get to the pictures there's one other thing I have to add. To our surprise, Slug Fest was going on at NW Trek the weekend we were there. Slugs are pretty darn common in this area, and the park was making an effort to teach the public about these little guys - showing that big or small, all animals in this area are "interesting." I learned that slugs move at .007 miles an hour. I also learned that if you lick a banana slug, your tongue will go numb. Who in the world ever figured that out... gross.

Time for pictures!

Slug races during Slug Fest

A tram with slug antennae 

A Bighorn Sheep leading the way

This part was actually funny. This bighorn sheep saw us coming and just got in front of the tram and followed the path for awhile veeeeery sloooowly, which meant we had to slow down and just wait for it. It's almost like he did it on purpose. :-)

Can you see the bison?

Moose

Ok you get the gist. Sort of like a forest safari.

Yesterday was bridesmaid dress hunt day two. After maaaaaaany stores, I actually finally found a dress that Sheena had previously suggested as a dress she would like one of us to choose. They only had one left, and thanks to several Nordstrom gift cards I had, I only had to pay $15 out of pocket. Score!!!

Dress for Sheena's wedding!

It's definitely tight, but her wedding isn't until November and I am confident I will be somewhat smaller by then so the fit will be better. I'm so relieved to have that task crossed off my list. I knew my options would be much more limited when I got back so I was determined to take advantage of being in Seattle where there are more places to look.

Operation healthy has also been going well. We've been making a lot of different foods at my parent's house, and I have some new ideas to bring back with me. Last night was shrimp - I like shrimp but never make it myself, and was happy to learn how easy it is to do.

Cilantro/lime shrimp, quinoa w/veggies, and asparagus

And now you're all caught up on my trip! Today my mom and I are headed to Ikea in search for potential wedding decor. Good thing I left my suitcase half empty... I have a feeling we'll be filling it up soon!

Back home on the West Coast!

Hello from the West Coast! A lot has gone on in the past few days - time to catch up.

Wednesday night was a final farewell for Bipul. Anna, Lisa, Andy, Will, and I had dinner with Bips... he decided on Thai food. Probably a good choice as I wouldn't think that would be terribly easy to come by in Omaha.

Family style thai dinner

After dinner we made an obvious last trip to Menchie's for frozen yogurt. Then it was time to say goodbye. Andy and I are going to miss Bipul so much - our calendars are already marked for the next time he'll be in town, which thankfully, is not too far away!

Over the next "24" hours I did 4 loads of laundry, packed my suitcase, went to Physical Therapy (I was having pain so instead of running a mile as planned, we just worked on stretching), went to work, and got on a plane! Busy day.

Flight to Newark

My flight to Seattle had a connection in Newark...stupid because it means I fly an hour in the wrong direction, only to turn around and go back. I was nervous when I booked this flight because the layover was only 30 minutes. My flight pulled out from the gate on time so I thought it would be ok.... and then they announced we were going to wait on the runway 20 minutes before take off. ?!?!? To make a long story short, I ran as fast as I could carrying two bags while wearing flip flop sandals and was the last person on my flight. The lady at the gate said they were about to close the doors but when they saw me running they thought I might be the last passenger they were waiting for. Thank goodness I ran!!!

I spent the majority of my flight reading the new Dan Brown book "Inferno." Even though it follows the exact same outline of all of his other books, I'm really enjoying it. By the time I finally got off the plan in Seattle, my knee was KILLING me. Advice to knee surgery people: don't run when you're not supposed to and then sit in a cramped seat for 6 hours. Bad combination.

And now I'm in Washington!! So far there's been a healthy mix of exercising, shopping downtown, and spending time outside. My mom and I are trying a new thing where we drink a glass of warm lemon water every morning. I've read in several places that it's good for you.

Our new morning friends

We've also been making a real effort to eat healthy. It sure is nice to have a grill!

Chicken sausage, salad, and cantaloupe

I am also happy to report that yesterday my parents and I went to my old Junior High's track, and my dad and I ran a mile straight!!! I finally can run a mile pain free!!! It wasn't a fast mile, but it sure felt good. :-)

Oh, also yesterday we did yard work. I only lasted about an hour because it was hard and I got bored and just wanted to take a shower, but I used a pick ax for awhile and it was hard! My triceps are sore today. Forget a gym membership... I just need a yard! Also no need to go tanning if you do yard work. I got a lot of sun... unfortunately a little too much sun. I'm veeeery red now.

And lastly my mom and I spent time shopping downtown trying to find a bridesmaids dress I can wear to Sheena's wedding. No luck - but we did see this guy...

He was actually pretty good... haha

All in all, two good days so far. Stay tuned for more West Coast updates!!

Bed/Bike Bonanza

Well it's been a few days... since I last wrote there's been several instances of hanging out with friends, Father's Day, a little bit of exercise, and some yummy but not so good for you food. I haven't been disgustingly unhealthy, but "bad" enough that the scale is no longer going down - at least for now.

I've decided to put my weight loss efforts on hold for the next two days. Tonight we are going out to dinner one last time with Bipul before he moves to Omaha :( and tomorrow I am hopping on a plane after work and have a looooooooong flight ahead of me. But when I wake up Friday morning on the West Coast... oh baby, it's back on like Donkey Kong!!! (sorry that was really stupid)

The most exciting thing that's happened since I last wrote are two purchases Andy and I've made. On Monday we headed over to Katie and Scott's and bought their bed!!! Obviously this is very sad, because the reason they were selling their bed was because they're moving to Texas. :-( The positive part is now we have a second bed for people to use when they stay with us! I'm sure this will come in handy, especially during wedding time.

And now.... the second purchase....

I BOUGHT A BIKE!!!!!

It all happened so fast. Andy was on Craigslist this morning looking for a bike for himself. We've both wanted to have a bike for awhile - we live so close to work and this area is relatively flat so it makes a lot of sense to have one. Well while searching for bikes, he stumbled across a lady bike - and now it's mine!!! Currently it's disassembled (we had to take the front tire off to fit it in the car) but once it's put together I will take a picture of it. Or of her I should say. Her name is Rosey (she's red).

Basically like this, but in red

Now I just need to get a helmet and a bike lock! I'm already envisioning riding around on my bike this summer getting tan and skinny. SO EXCITED!!!!

Baddie Fail

Well... I went to the graduation party - ended up just eating dinner there. I made healthy choices but still took a bite-sized portion of mac n cheese and cornbread jesus that I really wanted to try. I count that a success: being healthy while not completely depriving myself.

Then it was time for the front desk meeting. I didn't eat the pizza. Win. I did have a big piece of (delicious) chocolate cake. Fail. I wasn't proud of my decision, but I had also brought my workout clothes so I thought I would at least get to exercise a bit to counteract some of the cake. After the meeting I changed clothes... but instead of exercising I ended up sitting and talking to Anna, Lisa, and Vanya. Win/Fail. Win because I got to hang out with my friends. Fail because I had a 100% sedentary day. But spending time with Lisa was more important than working out - she had a very sad day because the time had finally come to let Mitten go. Lisa, you are so brave and strong. I know Miss Mae feels a lot better now.

Anyway... I feel almost embarrassed to even confess this next part because compared to what Lisa is going through I have nothing to complain about, but... as soon as I got in my car to drive home last night I completely lost it. I just started SOBBING. And I could. not. stop. I cried while I brushed my teeth. I cried while I put my pajamas on. I cried while I laid in bed playing Candy Crush. It wasn't pretty.

And so it goes that this morning I woke up feeling completely drained. I got to job #1 still feeling down, and then got an email that there would be birthday cake in the conference room for the guy that collects our recycling at 11:20am. Which I ate. Cake before lunch. Fail.

I've managed to resist eating a second piece of cake. I've managed to not go out and buy any coffee shop baddies. I've managed to stick to the lunch/afternoon snacks I packed for myself, so I really shouldn't be too terribly down on myself, but I am. Why? Because I'm scared I'll go home and lick the jar of peanut butter clean. Andy is hanging out with his grandmother in Buffalo so I'll be all alone and no one will be there to witness the damage. I wish I could convince myself that I am on a hidden camera show at all times, but I know that's not the case. Why do I write all of this? To tell you all that it is my goal to go home, eat an early/light dinner, change clothes, and get out of the house. I'm hoping to go to the gym, the grocery store, and tanning. Hopefully tomorrow I will be able to write again... this time with a more successful update of what I accomplished.

Weight Loss Challeng(ing)

This weight loss challenge is turning out to be challenging. Why? Because every night this week has been a food related activity - don't get me wrong, I'm having a good time, and I'm also proud to say I've done a good job making healthy choices. But I can feel my will power being chipped away. The scale hasn't budged in three days (better than going up though) and I'm feeling a little sad/defeated already.

Monday was busy from the time I got up to the time I went to bed. It was actually Andy's brother's birthday (Happy Birthday Chris!). I left immediately from Job #1 to drive with Andy to Buffalo for his birthday dinner. We went to an Italian restaurant. I was proud of myself for getting a cup of soup and a big mixed greens salad with dressing on the side, but it was kind of tough watching everyone else eat pizza and chicken parm (they looked so good). Then we went back to his parent's house for pie... peanut butter/cream cheese/whipped cream pie. It was delicious!!! I only had a little tiny sliver so I got to experience it without going overboard. Overall - proud of my choices and that I didn't entirely deprive myself, but still a challenge.

Tuesday was the same thing, busy from the time I got up to the time I went to bed. After Job #1 I rushed home to change clothes for the first group workout through the weight loss program. This was only a 30 minute workout, but Andy and I got stuck in terrible traffic and ended up missing the first 10 minutes!!! I was so so so upset because I had even gone through the trouble of getting my shift at Job #2 covered just to be able to do it. :-( The workout was ok, but they has us do things like squats and lunges that I had to modify because it hurt my knee (and by modify I mean, just stand there and not bend much at all...). I'm glad I went, but it was kind of depressing.

Anna and I doing a wall sit against a tree. Cheezu!

After Urban Fit (the name of the workout) we headed to Will and Rose's apartment for a rainy BBQ. Anna and I made a pact to help each other eat healthy while we were there. I'm so glad we did that because otherwise I would have had tons of chips - instead I had TONS of veggies. Again, I was proud of the foods I chose to eat, but I still feel like I ate too many of them.

Andy, Will, and Bips - grill masters

Andy, Rose, Anna, and Bips - enjoying appetizers

It was really fun hanging out - certainly better than working Job #2. I just wish I weren't constantly worrying about what I'm eating in situations like that. Oh well.

So here I am today. At Job #1 again. Honestly I'm feeling pretty down. After work I have to go to a graduation party for my intern (being catered, so lots of food), and then to the front desk meeting (where they always have pizza and cake). Once again, I won't get home until basically bedtime, I won't have done any exercising, and I'll be surrounded by unhealthy food temptations. I should feel lucky that I have so many things going on... I do like to be busy. But I just wish there was a pause button so I could go buy toilet paper, put my laundry away, make a meal (I haven't had dinner at home in a week), and you know... exercise or something so that I might be able to lose a freaking pound one day. Or I need a pause button and a thousand dollars so I can go to the mall and buy new clothes that actually fit the size I am now. Either way, I'm not happy with my current status of size and available clothing - and I'd prefer to change my size rather than my clothing. But I feel like that's never going to happen unless I can get all of this bad party food out of my face. Or maybe I just need to say screw it and gain a bunch of weight and stop caring. Except I will always care. I feel like I'm going crazy.

Blah. I need to stop writing because it's just making me feel more sad. I will update again tomorrow. Hopefully I'll be able to report that I resisted temptation at both fatty events tonight, and then since nothing is scheduled tomorrow, maybe I can have a sane day. Wish me luck...

FUNdraising + Weekend Fun

Hi all - I've been meaning to update since Friday but my weekend was so busy/fun that I didn't have a chance. Before I get to the weekend, I have to tell you guys about my Thursday night!

Job #1 asked for volunteers to participate in the public television station's pledge drive - the tie-in was that if callers pledged a certain amount they got tickets to see one of our concerts this summer. Anna and Andy both agreed to do it with me. The pledge drive was from 7:30-10:30pm. We were in "Studio A" - there were several cameras, and then there were also television screens that we could see so we knew when they were showing us in the background of the people asking for money.

After a crash course on how to take a pledge, we were answering calls! I actually felt like I was working at Job #2, having to talk on the phone and be extra chipper and nice, but it actually was a lot of fun. We got to take several breaks and during that time we took advantage of all of the goodies they put out for us - chips, cookies, candy, pop... good thing the weight loss competition hadn't started yet!

Andy and I kept track of how much money we raised - he beat me by about $50! But Anna won the "call of the night" award when some guy called just because he likes talking to customer service people and ended up singing her a song - how weird!

Here are some pictures from our adventures in Studio A...

My view of Studio A

Andy and I ready to take some pledges

Anna's staying hydrated while Michael powders his forehead lol

We had to change seats - here I am in the #1 spot!

Things I learned from the pledge drive: 1) They make the phones ring so it sounds like people are calling in, even when they aren't, 2) The training is minimal, so if you ever call to pledge money somewhere, BE PATIENT with the person taking your pledge, and 3) at least at this place, you could choose a different "gift" for your donation. I had one lady who could have cared less about getting tickets, so instead I was able to give her a cookbook that had been offered during a different program!

That wraps up Thursday. Friday was low key at Job #1 as several of us participated in the pledge drive so were up late the night before. After work, Andy and I went out to dinner. You know on the Biggest Loser how they have the "Last Chance Workout?" Well we had "Last Chance Pig Out." I had pasta, he had a burger and fries, and then we got ice cream! It was really fun. We also went to the grocery store so that we could stock our kitchen with healthy foods because...

Saturday morning was the kickoff of the "Tons of Fun" weight loss challenge at Fleet Feet!!!!! Andy and I headed to the store as soon as it opened to get weighed. He opted not to, but I chose to also have my measurements taken. I suppose there's no reason to be ashamed so here are my stats:

Weight: 179.4
Arm: 11.5"
Bust: 40"
Waist: 33"
Hips: 42"
Thigh: 24'

I don't think they will take measurements again until the end - I'm excited to see how those change! I honestly can't tell you how excited I am to be doing this, and honestly what makes me super super excited is that Andy, Anna, Lisa, and Sarah are all doing it too. I think it will be so much fun to be each other's cheerleaders.

After the excitement at Fleet Feet I went to Job #2 - oh a girl I work with there is going to do it also!! How cool! She wasn't going to weigh in until after her shift, so she had pizza for lunch, lol.

Anyway, that night Andy, Anna, Bipul, and I got together for a healthy hang. First we played tennis for an hour - Anna and I ended up playing with a special ball that doesn't move very fast... perfect for me since running around on a tennis court would probably not be good for my knee quite yet. Then we went to the grocery store for dinner (I know it sounds weird but I think everyone who's reading this knows what I'm talking about). This is perfect because there are a lot of healthy options, but we can each have something different. I had soup and salad, Andy had salad and sushi... you get the idea. Then after dinner we went out to Menchie's for frozen yogurt. Instead of getting brownie chunks and cookie dough toppings I went with blueberries and raspberries. Much better! Day 1 of the challenge was a big success.

Onto Sunday! Andy and I spent our Sunday morning baking about 70 cookies. Haha I know! Weight loss challenge begins and we surround ourselves with chocolate chips, icing, sprinkles... but it was for a good cause. Andy's clarinet studio had a recital that afternoon and the cookies were for the post-concert reception. The best part is the kids ate them all - no leftovers! Andy did a really good job with the recital, and all of the students played very well. He should be proud!

Mr. Brown and his students :)

Once the recital was over it was time for more active fun! We changed clothes, picked up Will, and headed to Corbit's Glen to meet Anna and Bipul. We walked for about an hour (roughly 2 miles). It was a nice day to be outside!

Babs and Anna :)

Will and Bips

Sadly Anna and Bips already had dinner plans with another friend, so Will, Andy, and I headed to the lake - we packed sandwiches, fruit, etc and ate up there. I brought some velcro paddles and a ball and we gave that a go too.

Andy throwing "some heat"

I like being by the lake. Water always reminds me of being home on the west coast. After our trip to the lake we called it a night and watched a few episodes of Arrested Development before going to bed. I'd never seen the show before... it came highly recommended and I'll say it's growing on me but I'm not obsessed yet.

All in all, a really fun weekend. I hope everyone's enthusiasm about the Weight Loss Challenge keeps up - I really enjoyed our weekend of fun activity.

Things I hate: my mouth, this year

Did any of my teeth fall out naturally as a kid? No. Either my parents or dentist pulled them all.

Have I had any cavities? My teeth were riddled with them as a kid, and I have a few small fillings in my adult teeth as well.

Did I have braces? Yes. For 3 years.

Do I have my wisdom teeth? No. Those came out over Christmas break of my Freshman year of college.

Have I had any other oral surgeries? Yes. Yes I have.

By junior high I still had my baby canine teeth... they weren't going anywhere, which was a problem because my adult canines wanted to come down. The fix? Pull two molars to make room for the grown up canines, cut the roof of my mouth open, attach brackets with chains to the impacted canines, attach the other end of the chain to the wire on my braces, close up the roof of my mouth....and then every month go to the orthodontist so they could pull the chain down 1mm and sloooowly and incredibly painfully guide the teeth into place. It. was. awful.

If you're curious to see what this looks like, do a Google search of "surgical exposure of impacted canine" and check out the images. I did not post it here because I know some of you (myself included) get sick looking at that kind of stuff.

So why the history lesson of my mouth? Because today I went to the dentist for the first time in 11 years. I know I know... but for most of those years I haven't had dental insurance, and I haven't had a dentist, and I just didn't really want to go because I knew I had a problem and I didn't want them to make it official. Well, now it's official.

Referral to a periodontist :-(

The gum line on one tooth (apparently it's tooth #25) has really receded, and my referral is to talk about options for a skin graft on my gums. I knew that was going to have to happen at some point, but COME ON! I just had knee surgery... now oral surgery too? And haven't I paid my dues in the dental department with all the stuff I've already gone through? Now I have to do more???

I hate my mouth. I hate 2013.

I feel totally crushed, but in my miserable attempt to try to be positive here's what I'm grasping to...
- I didn't have any cavities. After 11 years, I feel like that's amazing.
- When my mouth is packed full of bloody gauze and I can't eat because the roof of my mouth is raw from where they'll harvest the tissue, I might finally lose weight.
- .... .... ..... that's all I've got.

WHHHYYYYYYY?!!???!?!?!?!

Weekend Wrap Up

It must be summer because the festivals have started. There is pretty much a festival every weekend here - and since there's not much else to do around here, we make a point to go to a lot of them.

Friday after work, Andy, Ran, Anna, Bipul, Lisa, Ben, and two other people from the orchestra that I don't know all that well hit up the Greek Festival.

Little Greek Dancers

There's really not a whole lot to do at the Greek Fest besides eat greek food. We all tried to get different dishes so we could try a little of everything.

Opa!

The food was good. What was not good was the temperature. It was 90 degrees outside, then sitting under a tent... eating hot food.... We were DRIPPING in sweat. Andy earned big points when he started fanning everyone with cafeteria trays.

Apparently the technique is all in the wrist

Even though it was miserably hot, the Greek Fest was still a success. After that I headed over to Alyssa's house for some "girls night" action. She, somehow, had never seen the movie "Mean Girls" so I brought that and we watched it with Katie, Kristin, and Lisa Shaw. I've seen the movie many times, but somehow it just never gets old!

Saturday I worked Job #2 in the morning. Once my shift was over I went to get my hair highlighted and trimmed. I love getting my hair done, not only because it looks nice afterwards, but because I really like my hairdresser. She is getting married in August so we talked A LOT about weddings. I'm very excited that she will be doing my hair for my wedding. :)

That night was the final concert of the season for the orchestra. I might have skipped the first half... sorry Leonardo Colafelice, but I just wasn't that interested in listening to a piano concerto. However, I was very excited for the second half because they played "The Rite of Spring." We studied that piece quite a bit in college, and this was actually the first time I've ever heard it live. It also didn't hurt that Andy had a few solos, which he played beautifully. After the concert there was an end of season reception - so that was fun to talk to people and eat desserts, even though it was disgustingly hot in that space too. I'm definitely not used to 90 degree days in May/June.

This morning Ran left. He was a very good house guest. :-) Then Andy and I met Will, Rose, and Ben for brunch. We braved sitting out on the patio even though it looked like it would rain at any second.

We strategically sat under 3 umbrellas

Amazingly it didn't really rain at all, and by the time we were done most of the clouds had blown over. Since the temperature was much more manageable, Rose suggested we take a trip out to the Lake (she hadn't been there yet). Good idea Rose!

Testing the water

We walked around and eventually got ice cream. :-) Remember... the weight loss competition doesn't start until next weekend, haha. It was great to spend some time outside with friends. 

And now I'm getting things ready for the week ahead. Laundry is in the dryer... dishes are in the dishwasher... which means I should probably head out to the grocery store. Andy and I ate out a lot this week with having a house guest and all of the fun extra things we did so we both are actually looking forward to eating some normal foods at home for a change. We can use this week to remember what it's like to be healthy before we go for our first weigh in at Fleet Feet. I can't wait!!!