Weigh-in Friday

So here's the thing, since about, oh, January - I totally was half assing all exercise and eating right. One week I'd be all salad & shredding (JM's 30 day Shred) and the next week I'd be like, Salad?, nah, hook me up w/ that cheeseburger - and don't skimp on the fries, bitch. (I probably never said that, but definitely thought it).

So now that vacation is over (and I've basically run out of excuses to not be good anymore) I need to get back into it. I'm going back to weight watchers each week, I'm loving the crap out of spin class, and I'm going to do the damn thing.

So I weighed in today - and even w/ a 5 day vacation in there AND friends in from out of town (which def means I did not eat well and DID over drink (see previous post about being old)) I am down one pound! That makes this girl quite happy. That one little pound over came a lot and I'm pretty proud of him for doing so.

So here we go...1 down, plenty more to go.

You Spin my Head Right 'Round, Right 'Round

You totally just sang, "when ya go down, when ya go down, down." didn't you?!

So, as I mentioned a while back - I tried Spinning. Spin Class. Cycling. Whatev. I spun. And I really liked it. All thanks & credit goes to Rachel from Sheddingit.com for her non-stop chatter about how incredibly awesome, life changing, sweat inducing, rainbows&butterflies Spin class is. I finally got over my fears (what if I fall off the bike? What if my ass hurts so bad I can't walk the next day?!) and went for it. I REALLY liked the first class. It was a beginner class, I rode for 30 mins, my ass only hurt minimally (honestly, it was more so the crotchal region than my actual ass cheeks - just to be clear and help you know what to expect).

Then a couple weeks ago, it was the ending week of the session of classes through my office fitness center and there was a bike available for free. So I went to that class. Not a beginner class, totally different than my first one but I also really liked it! (she had super random song selection which totally fed into my random song / music ADD nature).

So now I'm pretty much hooked. I'm to the, "Hi, my name is Angie, and I'm a spinaholic." It's the ONLY exercise I've found where I don't constantly want to scream F*ck! (seriously - ask my former trainer). I actually enjoy it while I'm doing it. And not enjoy like I enjoy walking (which is for totally different reasons - like I don't get sweaty and hardly lose my breath). This is a kick-ass workout. My face was BRIGHT red last night, I was dripping sweat and I was loving every minute of it!

I think I've said, "the best part is..." in regards to 50 different things about spin. But seriously - here's some of the best parts:

• You're in control. Sure the instructor tells you when to do what, but you control speed, resistance and intensity. If it's too much, slow down, lessen the resistance and then join back up when you can!
• You're in competition. I am my mother's child (which at just 1/2 of her genes, it still makes me crazy competitive). It's kind of fun to be in a room full of people to compete with - I won't sit if she doesn't. I'm going to move my legs just a little faster than him.
• You're working. I actually really like sweating - it's really the only gauge I use when exercising to know if I'm really utilizing that time wisely. (Sidenote: a lot of the guys in the class sweat so hard the sweat drips to the floor - this is secretly one of my competitive goals...to drip sweat to the floor).
• Every class is different. Seriously. Each instructor does things TOTALLY different. And even if you get the same instructor twice, no two rides are exactly the same - so you're always on your toes and refreshed w/ something new. Again, I'm ADD - I need this.

So if you're bored and need something new - seriously, give spin a try. Oh - and you're crotchal region really only hurts the first time, you get used to it w/ practice. (that's what she said).

I am old. Or at least getting there.

This weekend was a fantastic reminder of this.

After returning from our wonderful vacation - which I will actually blog about soon - I had some friends down to visit for the weekend. We go back almost a decade (first time we realized we were getting old) and met in college. We determined this weekend one in which we would "party like we did when we first met." (Oh to be 18 again!)

We have made an annual event of this (this being the 2nd annual). They come down to visit and we spent Saturday morning at the spa and afternoon at the outlet malls. It's a perfect girls' weekend and always ends up being "exactly what we needed."

Saturday morning we had begun a collection of things we said that made us realize we're old. Some of the highlights being:

• I LOVE the Mr. Clean magic eraser!
• Can I just say how happy I am with my health insurance Flex Spending?!
• Having ENTIRE baggies of the various vitamins / fish oil / etc we take to keep future selves young
  

We also all realized that even in just one year - we're carrying FAR more stress than before, as our massages were very hurt so good (slightly heavier on the "hurt" as we're all still sore).

As we sat around reminiscing and enjoy coffee Saturday before our appointments (ding: woke up early enough to grab a light breakfast and coffee BEFORE we had something to do), we decided we were going to be so much fun that night that it would rule out any of the "old" things we did / said. (ding: having to PLAN being drunk). We also all realized that even in just one year - we're carrying FAR more stress than before, as our massages were very hurt so good (slightly heavier on the "hurt" as we're all still sore).

And I certainly did my part (and then some). I did enough of my part that I was glued to the couch until 4:30 p.m. minus the occasional trip to vom. Enough of my part that though I hardly moved the majority of the day - I was in bed by 7:30, SLEEPING.

However - we did accomplish what we set out to do (Gina - all these years and we're still setting and achieving goals!). Get drunk? Check. Stay up late? 5, I repeat FIVE a.m. (birds were chirping as we finished our last beer). And party like we used to. Check, check, check. Damit we were fun! The only part we failed on was taking pictures to document it - and that's only because we were too busy having fun!

Decide.

Yesterday, because we have one person that comes from Hispanic roots, our boss decided we should celebrate Cinco de Mayo. So instead of spending hour two of our usual bi-weekly meeting in a conference room, we did so at a bar. So there I was, drinking with my co-workers. (Scary, I know. Especially when, among many other side effects, alcohol greatly lessens what little filter I have on thoughts turning into words).

We got on the topic of how everyone met their current date / boyfriend / man friend / husband / etc. Which then led to the conversation about marriage and when we’ll all get married, when the married ones got married…you get the drift. (Doesn’t it seem like once you hit 25 everyone is super curious as to when you’ll have rock-laced fingers?!)

I figured we were on track for the same ol’ conversation about being married…yadda yadda. Then one of my co-workers said something so thought provoking I am still thinking about it almost 24 hours later. I think it just might be one of best nuggets of relationship advice I’ve been given.

There are some days where you have to decide you love that person.

She was referring to being married. And then did add on, that when you have kids, you have a few more days where you have to decide that. But I think it’s pretty applicable to being in a serious relationship in general.

It may sound harsh at first but it’s my favorite kind of relationship advice. It’s legit. It’s not sugar coated. It’s not rainbows and butterflies. It’s like a relationship.

There are days where life is hard. Days where work sucked, traffic was heavy, dishes aren’t done, house is a mess, dog crapped on the floor (what? Oh, that’s just my house?) Days where it’s not rainbows and butterflies. Days where you have to actively choose to love that person. And in thinking about those days, by the end of them, you know you’ve made the right choice. It might not always come naturally. But when it’s the right person – you can always decide to love them and make it happen.

Pretty good advice if ya ask me.

Cowboys & Love Songs

Say what you will about country music...I know it's a love it or hate it kind of thing, but those cowboys sure do know how to sing a song to make a girl's heart melt.

I mean LOVE songs...not "have a baby by me" songs.

Since 90% of the people in my life are anti-country, I rarely listen to it. Every now and then though, when I'm having a Pandora day at work, I put on my country station and I'm immediately reminded of how romantic country music can be. (And no, not in an "achy breaky heart" way).

If country has a general vomit inducing affect on you, might I suggest the following. It's mild country (little twang, could possibly be mistaken for pop)...and it's adorable. And it makes my heart melt.

My first day!

I had intentions of posting this yesterday - but it was a total whirlwind. I am officially (as of yesterday) no longer a temptress. I got full time permanent employment with the company I've been "temping" at for almost the last year.

Essentially very little actually changes. Yesterday was my first day so I had to go through training....which was strange. They gave me a building tour? (again, worked here for a year now, if I need a tour, I'm in trouble!).

It also means that NOW they have to teach me what harassment is and why I can't do it in the workplace (apparently it's okay for temps to harass..If only I had known that for the past year!)

I get a new badge w/ a fancy blue stripe at the bottom...as opposed to the orange one I was previously sporting.

I have health insurance...and benefits...and fun stuff like that. OH! And I'll be getting paid for things like vacation and holidays! (hooray for that one, knowing I was just opting to not get paid kind of took the wind out my sails last year during holidays! Merry Christmas, this celebration is costing me 8 hours of work! - not really how I was on x-mas...but you get the idea!)

And because I spent 6 hours in training yesterday, it meant I got to work 10 hours so I could actually get done some of the 4 projects I've got on my plate.

But at the end of the day, I'm still very thrilled to have permanent employment and to be working for a REALLY great and strong company (the rah rah training session yesterday worked!) I'm looking forward to continuing on in my position here and seeing how things are different now that I'm a real person!