New Toy

I got a bike this weekend! The BF & I had a little impulse purchase(not so much impulse over time because we've been discussing buying them for months - but impulse in that we were at Target for shampoo, carpet cleaner and toothpaste and we walked out w/ 2 bikes, a couple helmets and a bike pump).

Here's my new toy:I took it out twice this weekend despite it being a bit cold out (that wind gets chilly!) I really enjoyed riding it and am looking forward to finding some fun paths to ride on (cars scare me) and getting more comfortable switching gears. Seriously, I struggle hardcore w/ that.

Crap-ology

I got this from Kim's blog and even though I know 90% of what I say in it doesn't matter... I used to LOVE me some meme's back in high school. And while I'm waiting on some things that will be keeping me late at work - I'm going to fill my time with this.

FOODOLOGY:
What is your salad dressing of choice? Poppy Seed Vinaigrette (the kind Connie made w/ the strawberry salad back at AXO).
What is your favorite sit-down restaurant? La Merenda...and Sabor...and I love Mexican (Mi Concina) and Japanese..any Japanese.
What is your favorite fast food restaurant? Qdoba or Chipotle...oh and Ian's!
What food could you eat every day for two weeks and not get sick of? I used to think Japanese, until I did eat it almost every day for a week and now I'm sick of it. Probably something Mexican..because you get chips and salsa too :)
What are your pizza toppings of choice? either veggie or meat lovers. I know, I'm an anomaly. Oh, unless I'm at Ian's...then it's Chicken Alfredo Penne all the way...(damn, I want some Ian's).

BIOLOGY:
Are you right-handed or left-handed? Right.
Have you ever had anything removed from your body? Yeah 4 1/2 lbs worth of boobs.
What is the last heavy item you lifted? Probably some groceries.
Have you ever been knocked unconscious? No never. I'm okay with that.
Have you ever fainted? Yup, whenever I have blood drawn. And I'm told I get VERY cranky right before I do.

BULLCRAPOLOGY:
If it were possible, would you want to know the day you were going to die? Absolutely not. Well maybe...No, I don't think so.
If you could change your name, what would you change it to? I've grown fond of my name, though I'm excited to change it when I get married.
How many pairs of flip flops do you own? Probably 10. I love cheap Old Navy flip flops.
Last person you talked to? My co-worker

FAVORITOLOGY:
Season? Fall! For some reason I always forget how much I love it so I'm always double excited by it when it finally comes.
Holiday? Christmas...I LOVE Christmas.
Day of the week? Saturday. It's the only true "day off" in my mind. I don't have to work at all and I don't have to worry about going back to work the next day.
Month? December - there's so much holiday hoopla!
Color? Blue
Drink? Diet Coke.
Alcoholic? Wine and sometimes Beer

CURRENTOLOGY:
Missing someone? always, I've grown used to it I suppose - it's what happens when you move away for school and then move back for life.

What are you listening to? the sound of my keyboard keys clicking but then I just realized I'm the only one in the office this afternoon so soon I will be listening to my "Glee Cast" station on pandora...without headphones!?
What are you watching? My computer screen.
Worrying about? Not too much right now...which kind of in turn worries me.
What’s the last movie you saw? I think it may have been Alice and Wonderland...and get ready - I hated it. Yeah, I know. How uncool and unhipster of me, but I thought it was a total let down.
Do you smile often? Yes...very often.
If you could change your eye color what would it be? I like my blue eyes.
What’s on your wish list for your birthday? The b-day is so far away so I have no idea..but if my b-day were tomorrow, a bike! I want a bike so bad!
Can you do a chin-up? Ha! Unless you're referring to that amazing machine at the gym where you can subtract body weight in the form of actual weights, no. But if you are, then yes, I can do lots of them!
Does the future make you more nervous or excited? Super duper excited. I've always had issues with being too excited about the future that I don't totally soak in the present.
Have you been in a car wreck? Yes.
Have you caused a car wreck? Yes but in my defense, the roads were sheer ice, there were 29 other accidents all w/in the hour of mine...and the only other "wreck" was the concrete median I hit.
Do you have an accent? I'll concede. Yes, I have a Wisconsinite accent.
Last time you cried? Today...at Christian's joke of the day. I laughed so hard I thought I was going to pee myself.
Plans tonight? End of the Season cheerleading banquet. I'll probably cry tonight too, if you're wondering.
Have you ever felt like you hit rock bottom? Sure thing, who hasn't.
Name three things you bought yesterday? A bright yellow sweater (I'm totally incorporating color into my primarily black wardrobe), a baby shower card, and those awesome square black & white magnets at Barnes & Noble w/ the super inspiring quotes on them (love those!)
Have you met someone who changed your life? Yup, lots of people. Without them, I wouldn't be who I am today!
For the better or worse? Better.
How did you bring in the New Year? With one of my best friends and my man, dancing to reggae music.
Would you go back in time if you were given the chance? I am tempted by the idea, but also a firm believer that your past & the events that occurred in it, the people who existed in it, shape you present and create your future...so no...I'm okay with how my past played out.
What songs do you sing in the shower? Whatever is in my head at the time.
Have you held hands with someone today? Nope.
Who was the last person you took a picture of? Probably my nephew Jack.

Are most of the friends in your life new or old? Both...

Do you like pulpy orange juice? No.
Last time you ate peanut butter and jelly? I eat peanut butter english muffins every morning, but no jelly.
What were you doing at 12 a.m. last night? Sleeping. I went to bed at 9:00 p.m.
What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up? EFFFFFFF...then I got up to work out, put my work out clothes on, and went back to bed for a half an hour. go me.
How many televisions are in your house? ugh, this number disgusts me sometimes - but it should be said, we regularly only watch one or two. There are 6 televisions in my house.
What color cell phone do you have? – dark red.

There now wasn't that fun?

Six?!

Hold. The. Phone.

I have SIX followers!? This whole time I've been thinking about how I really could just send this blog as an e-mail to my 3 loyal readers (what up Rebecca, Gina & JT?!) instead of taking up room on the interwebs.

Imagine my surprise when I look at my list of real live followers and there are SIX of you!? And two of you are strangers!?! (what ups out to Amy Z & Sugawilla too!) My reader following has more than doubled since I last looked, how exciting!

When I started the blog, it was mostly for me (selfish, I know). I just wanted a place to document things and the 45 journals that I've started at home all have about 3 days worth of information before I got all "ugh, writing is hard. I don't have time". (Fact: handwriting is being phased out by typing. Fact #2: The "I don't have time" should really be read as "I like watching TV more" Sad? Yes. True? Also, yes.) I did want somewhere I could document stuff that happened. And because the interwebs is with you, any and everywhere you go, I figured a blog would be just the spot.

I decided when I started it, it will just exist. I put it as the website on my twitter account and left it as that. And I figured anyone who found it, found it. I wouldn't publicize if, but if someone managed to stumble upon it, so be it. (I also grossly underestimated Rebecca's stalking ability - damn. that girl is good.)

I'm thrilled that six whole people have found me entertaining enough to actually follow the blog. And, as I myself am more of a lurker, I know there's probably another FOUR whole people out there, lurking about the blog, who read but don't comment / follow. (Hi Lurkers, what up to you too!) That may sound sarcastic - that I'm excited about 10 people wanting to read what I wrote. But it's totally serious - I'm so excited! (and also feeling a little more pressure to be funny and entertaining...)

Oh, and my mom knows about the blog now...Hi Mom! :)

Losing my Virspinity

Today's the day.

I've been trying a number of different methods of movement all in an attempt to find that thing. The exercise / method / class / movement of my ass that I love. The one I wake up before the sun to do because I love it THAT much. The one I say, "What, wine? And apps? No, I can't, I've got that exercise / method / class / movement of my ass today and I just would die if I missed it!" (this is serious. I LOVE me some wine & apps...I better love the crap out of said exercise / method / class / movement of my ass in order for this to become a reality.)

I've been intrigued by Spin Class in the past. When I was working out w/ Trainer Tyler, I used to walk past the spin classroom and it always looked like it was filled with people who just recently had their ass kicked and loved every minute of it.

Then I started reading Rachel's blog. And I stumbled upon this post. And I was all, "ooh, ooh, yes please! That's totally me. I'm all intimidated about spin class. I want to try but am so worried my ass will feel like I rode a mule up and down a mountain!"

Here's the thing, after spending 26 years with myself, I know me pretty well. I know that even if I find something I really like doing that simultaneously causes shrinking of my ass, I still have a relatively short attention span. I'll like doing it for maybe an hour and then I'm so over it. So I have realized that I need to find something that can do some shrinking in a short window of time. It sounds like spin REALLY does some ass kicking and most classes are around an hour of time. See I thoroughly enjoy walking, I even walk pretty fast so I do break a little sweat and feel a raise in my heartbeat. But in order for it to cause the results I'm looking for - I'd have to do it for like, thrice as long of periods as I'm currently doing. (And I know enough (again, after working w/ Trainer Tyler) that running / walking / biking alone isn't going to do IT. I need to incorporate strength / weight training of some sort...yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.)

I'm also driven by promises of a hot ass. One time Trainer Tyler made me do this exercise w/ one of the giant balls at the gym (get your head out of the gutter). As I was bitching (as I did for everything he made me do) he said, "I know it sucks, but you'll thank me when you have a rock hard ass". Seriously - I asked to do that exact thing every. single. time. All I could think about was my rock hard ass I'd soon have (turns out no matter how many things you do, when combined w/ cheeseburgers & quesadillas, your ass is anything but rock hard). I'm pretty sure that's what I think Spinning might do - give me said rock hard ass.

So anyways, I'm losing my virspinity (as Rachel fondly refers to it - and you know, I'm a sucker for any sexual innuendo in reference to something totally non-sexual). I've found a gym near by that offers a free pass for a week. They also have a Beginner's Spin class tonight.

At 5:30 this evening I will venture somewhere I haven't been in 10+ years...a bike. Only this one doesn't move. (I do wonder if I'll have a problem w/ working so hard to stay in the same damn place....)

Stagnant

I haven't posted in a while because I felt like I don't have any new news...especially on the home front. Literally.

We're still figuring out where we'll live and when we'll live there. It's been a very fluid, ever changing plan. I don't report news because I feel like we don't quite know what news there is. I'm not quite sure what the final plan is at this point. What I am failing to realize though, or at least have failed to realize up to this point....is that I have changed a TON in this process. And mostly in the last couple days / weeks. At the beginning of this process, I'm not kidding you, I cried daily about it. I stressed more than one person should. Who's going to buy my house? Where AM I going to live? What if I can't get a loan? What if I can't find a place? What if our neighbors end up being crack addicted hookers who beat puppies?! (As much as I hate admitting the last one, because, ya know, it makes me sound batshit crazy...I did in fact ask that question...aloud...to other people).

I'm sure I've said it once or twice before, I am a control freak. I know this about me. I say it frequently and with strong conviction. I don't ever pretend not to be a control freak. I also am far from bearing the title of "#1 fan" of change. Rarely do I welcome change with open arms. It should be noted that when the change is over and the dust has settled, I genuinely enjoy a change. I even like the bad ones sometimes. But in the midst of change, I struggle.

Moving = LOTS OF CHANGE. Selling my house = LOTS OF CHANGE I CAN'T CONTROL.

(you can see how this upsets me, yes?)

I'm not kidding. When my dad tried to uproot the family from WI to Oregon as I was just about to enter the incredibly tender period of my life known as high school (all for a promotion at a fantastic job with a major corporation - I know, selfish, right?!) I threatened to glue myself to the carpet...and I would say I was only about 15% joking. (We did not end up moving - though I'm about 85% sure that it had nothing to do with me).

Anyways - I've never really openly welcomed moving, except when I moved from WI to MN but that was for college. And don't get me wrong, I think I cried for an entire week before I moved.

So - nothing major has happened - except for the fact that I have not cried about it in a week. And for me that is huge. See me universe? This is me waving my white flag. You tell me what's going to happen. I'll just be sitting here. Waiting. In my 2 bdrm, 1.5 BA condominium, featuring fully remodeled basement, large master bedroom with expansive walk-in closets, 1 car garage set in a prime location within a coveted Condominium Development.

Maybe I'll get a fish

My worldly pal JT (you're still worldly to me) started a tumblr page and the first post that came up included the words "Maybe I'll get a fish."

It reminded me of one of my favorite memories of college. Between Sophomore and Junior year, 2 of my best friends, and one of my acquaintances (we needed 4 people) decided to stay on campus for the summer and sublet an apartment (the sorority house closes during the summer, FYI). (I don't know why you needed to know that...I like to give complete information in stories).

Within the first couple weeks we got kind of obsessed with getting a pet. We decided we wanted to adopt a kitten. Let it be known (in keeping with full disclosure) the sorority house does not allow pets. PERIOD. (except fish - I think). We figured, we could get a kitten and we could keep it in our room and no one would know. At one point we even figured we could get rooms next to each other, cut holes in the closet walls and let it wander in between our two rooms. (good thing this hair brained scheme was halted early - the walls were made of cinder blocks!?) I'm pretty sure we had a picture cut out of a magazine of what said kitten would look like. And if you ask either of my partners (with better memories) in crime in this plan, I'm pretty certain we also had a name picked out. (nothing like jumping the gun).

After we decided this plan had potential to end poorly, we decided we'd get something else furry and cute to fill the pet void.

We went to the pet store. Started with a hamster, except the minute we held it, the thing pissed all over us. It was then we decided we were NOT cleaning up piss off our hands all day every day.

Kitten? No. Hamster? No way. We decided we'd get a fish. That would be easy to take care of, it doesn't piss on you, and we were about 90% sure we could have it in the house. (100% sure we were more likely to be allowed a fish over a cat).

Except, when we went to go look at the fish...we realized, fish are kind of creepy looking. They're definitely NOT cute and cuddly like that kitten we were going to adopt. Sick, who even likes fish?!

Story ends with us not having any pets...which in the end was probably good, we couldn't even keep a plant alive that summer!

So there ya have it JT. At least you've started your pet search on the right end of the decision spectrum!

Gimmie no gimmicks.

I assume it's because I've become slightly consumed by aiming for a healthier lifestyle and changing some of my unhealthy habits that my skinny / diet radar is picking up on more than usual. Lately, whether it be at work, among friends, or just out and about, I'm hearing so many people talking about losing weight, eating right and getting more fit. The part I don't think I've noticed as much in the past is how, in general, we really do love a good gimmick. And I do say we, because I am SUCH a victim of a good gimmick. Quick result diets, 5 minute workouts, cleanses, infomercials, etc. We all want results and we all want them now. It shouldn't come as a surprise as that's how we function in the rest of our lives. Need a phone number? Google will have it to you in less than a minute. Need to speak w/ a friend? Call their cell & you can reach them immediately. We're constantly producing results in less than a minute and we've grown very accustomed to getting what we want, when we want it.

Unfortunately, breaking old habits, forming new ones, adjusting to a different lifestyle, all take far more time than a minute. In my own life, I'm breaking 26 years of bad habits. I'm trying to change 13,665,600 minutes of lazy influences and unhealthy choices. This, my friends, will be a journey with many different destinations and time frames ahead!

So...how exactly do you do that? I don't want a diet, I want a plan. I don't want a quick fix, I want a lifetime change. I want to revamp what I've been used to doing so that it naturally incorporates movement and healthy eating. I want it to become and second nature and habitual as all those bad habits I'm used to. I realize it's actually quite simple. Eat what you know is good for you and get your ass moving. Seems easier than doing long division to discover the "point value" of what I'm eating. Makes more sense than eating this simple carb with this complex protein roughly 30 minutes before you walk backwards around the block. Comes easier to me than cutting out carbs completely, or only drinking my meals for the next 4 days.

I think when it really comes down to it, we don't want to believe it's that easy. We seek out the difficulty of it because if it's difficult to do, then it's not shameful when we fail. We want it to be so hard to figure out so that if we give up, it's because we couldn't do it, not because we wouldn't do it.

So I'm incorporating more whole foods (not packaged, processed, or full of stuff I can't pronounce). I'm eating more things from the produce department than those aisles in the middle of the store. I'm trying new things (last night, I had a California Roll and liked it. Tonight we're trying Couscous instead of potatoes. I'm making home made sweet potato fries. I'll snack on Edamame). It's gradual...it has to be if it's going to last. And I won't give up Diet Coke. Just throwing that out there right now - screw off, you get your coffee, I get my aspartame filled, empty liquid, bad for me Diet Coke.

And I'm moving. Right now it's w/ 30 Day Shred and Couch to 5k. I'm also thinking about trying a spin class (because yes, I like a little punishment every now and then...I also need someone to yell at me in order for me to push myself - I'm acknowledging my will power and discipline alone won't get me there).

Eventually the healthier foods will help fuel my desire to move more. And my moving will make me want to keep fueling my body with healthier foods. It will become this beautiful cyclical cycle of healthiness.

Kumbaya, bitches!

Demanding & needy

Okay so I know I've just been all demanding ("Cross your fingers dammit!") and needy ("PLEASE KEEP CROSSING!!!") but I'm about to take both of those highly sought after characteristics and turn them up about a thousand notches.

I went and saw a house this weekend and I am so. in. love. I hate to use the P word, but this place is so damn fitting for the three of us (me, C, & Bella) that it's almost unbelievable...right down to the already in place underground electric fence. I can't even begin to tell you about the rest of the house...one, because I don't want to jinx it and two, because I'll cry every time I read this post in the future if I don't end up living in this house. But to give you a little morsel to keep you interested until I get the house (positive thinking)...the entire attic was converted into an entire floor of master bedroom suite-ness. Huge closets, a little sitting area, and (Christian's favorite part), the bookcases swing around to expose extra storage (or a secret cave). Seriously, this house was calling my name when I walked in the door. AND, I totally want to be best friends w/ the owners. They're awesome - and they said I'm one of their favorites (which immediately makes me like you more).

So, if you would please - I know your fingers, toes, legs & arms are getting a bit cramped from keeping them crossed for the past week - DO NOT UNCROSS THEM. Pray to whoever it is you pray to, rub the belly of your Buddah, talk to the stars, head to that giant willowy tree (you know, from Avatar - which p.s., check out this video of crazy Wisconsinites who pretend they're Na'vi - ridic...hoping it's a spoof but I also know people from WI and wouldn't necessarily put it past them), do whatever it is you do when you need extra luck, a little help from the big guy, that little ooomph to push the universe onto your side!