Unskinny Bop Anyone?

I don't feel like I've been busy the past two or so weeks, but looking back I guess I have.  My dad is currently in Alaska on a fishing trip so I've been hanging out with my mom more.  Both this past Saturday and the Saturday previous we met up and did some hiking/trail-walking.  It was nice having some one-on-one time with my mom, as well as getting some exercise out of the deal.

The rest of my weeks have mainly been spent at work, including our Employee Appreciation Dinner at Newcastle Golf Club a week ago last Friday.  It was nice to catch up with coworkers outside of the office, and the food was pretty dang good too.  The hubs and I had to leave a bit early as he works really early on Saturdays, but that was okay as I kept yawning through the night - not out of boredom, just out of tiredness.

Other than work and work events, things haven't been too busy (thankfully) - though this weekend was a bit packed.  Friday night I went with a friend (we'll call her PV) to go see a seriously awesome concert - Bret Michaels!  Oh yes, that's right, we went to see the lead singer of Poison, and it was really really fun.  The concert was at Emerald Queen Casino in Tacoma, which is quite a long way from where PV and I live, so we had to skeedaddle around 6:30pm to be sure and make it for the start at 8:30pm.  Once we got there the people-watching was quite entertaining.  I had a beer and PV and I took our seats.  The concert started a slight bit late, but not too bad, and lasted a little over an hour.  We got to hear lots of Poison songs (Unskinny Bop anyone?) and some covers of songs I love (like Sweet Home Alabama).  The great thing was, the concert was over around 10pm, we left right away, were able to get out of the EQC parking lot really easily, and I was home by 11pm.  I feel old saying this, but I was really glad to get home early and get to bed.

Saturday was hiking with my mom, then the hubs and I spent some time together.  We went out to dinner at Claim Jumper's, then went to see the movie Iron Man with Robert Downey Jr.  I had heard it was pretty good, and indeed it was.  And today has been spent working around the house and running errands - overall a pretty productive day and fun weekend.  Now to gear up for the work week starting tomorrow.

Me Mosaic

Since my friend Weathergirl always knows how to do things right, I'm copying her idea...

Instructions:

1. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.

2. Using only the first page of results, pick one image.

3. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into Big Huge Lab's Mosaic Maker to create a mosaic of the picture answers.

Questions:

1. What is your first name?

2. What is your favorite food right now?

3. What high school did you go to?

4. What is your favorite color?

5. Who is your celebrity crush?

6. What is your favorite drink?

7. What is your dream vacation?

8. What is your favorite dessert?

9. What do you want to be when you grow up?

10. What do you love most in life?

11. What is one word that describes you?

12. What is your flickr name?

The only zip code that matters

I found out that one of my all-time favorite shows, Beverly Hills 90210, is making a come back.  The CW is doing a remake of the 90's classic scheduled for this fall.  After I found this out, I noticed that the SOAPnet channel is rerunning old 90210 episodes - twice a day at that!  I confess, I have been DVR-ing the episodes and reliving my middle and high school days watching them each night.  And another, even bigger confession - I enjoy them I think even more now than I did then.  I swear 90210 has got to be one of the best shows ever, even when the gang went to college and Brenda went to "Europe".  It almost makes me miss middle school...almost.

Time to update

It's definitely been a while since I've blogged, and there has been quite a bit going on.  Here are some updates:

South Beach - I made it through Phase 1 (barely) and am now working with Phase 2.  There have definitely been some not so good food choices, but overall I'm still down (weight-wise) from where I started.  I still need to work on eating more veggies, but I'm definitely eating more fruit and less bread/rice than I used to.

Friends - there has been some fairly serious parties going on lately.  There was a birthday bash w/ dinner at Umi Sake house and karaoke at Ozzie's and a baby shower - with the baby due in just a couple weeks!  And there have been many a little get together here and there, mainly at The Jones.

House - something major has been happening with our house.  We finally put in (fake) hardwood floors!  My dad and my hubbie's dad and brother came over and helped us install things and man was it a pain in the ars.  Unfortunately we couldn't do the stairs as the stairnosing is on backorder, but at least the ugly blue carpet is gone.

I'm sure there are other things I'm forgetting, but that will have to wait for a different post.  Today I will be busy celebrating my husband's birthday and trying to regain feeling in my mouth after having cavities filled at the dentist this morning (bluh).

South Beach - Day Four

Okay, I'm not gonna lie - this is hard.  I hadn't realized I was so dependent on carbs until I started this diet.  I do know it's working though, because already I've lost about 3 lbs.  But the meals are quite different than I (or the hubs) am used to.  I am comforted by the fact that I only have a little over a week to go with Phase 1.  I think the meal planning is what's hardest - I really have to plan out what I'm going to eat ahead of time.

On a separate note, I'm really glad it's almost the weekend - for some reason this week has felt really long.  I've got a lot of fun things planned.  Tomorrow night I'm going to see My Fair Lady the musical with some of the knotties, then one of the knotties has a baby shower Saturday afternoon, and a different knottie is having a karaoke birthday celebration Saturday night.  Fun times!

South Beach - Day One

Day one of South Beach was a difficult day, I have to admit.  The mini quiches I made for breakfast were not so hot, the dressing I made for my lunch salad was really quite gross, and I started feeling queasy in the afternoon as my body was going through serious carb withdrawals.  I'm better for the moment as dinner was something I actually made before starting on SB that I really like.  Plus I'm about to have a sugar-free fudgesicle, and chocolate always makes things better.  But man, I would kill for some brie on a baguette.  

Time to gear up for day two.

Welcome to Miami

This Sunday the hubs and I are gearing up for a major undertaking starting tomorrow - we're going on the South Beach diet.  It's time for both of us to lose some weight and get healthier.  I read the book yesterday, picked through all the recipes today and developed a meal plan for this week. Then came the shopping - surprisingly it wasn't as difficult (or expensive) as I thought it would be, though it still was not cheap.  And it will definitely take more time than I'm used to putting in to my meals, but if that's what it takes to get the hubs and I to lose weight, then I'm willing to do it.  Wish me luck! 

What a tweener

It's fairly rare that I buy CDs - I mainly listen to the radio or buy singles for my iPod.  However I got a giftcard to Target for my birthday last month and decided to get not one, but two new CDs that came out fairly recently.  The first was the Mariah Carey CD, which a friend told me was really good.  The second was the new Danity Kane CD - their second album.  I didn't purchase their first, but after watching the most recent Making The Band season on MTV I really wanted to get their album.  

I had a brow appointment this morning with the best esthetician ever - Christina at the InSpa in Woodinville - and decided to stop by the Target just nearby afterward.  It's a decent size Target, though not the biggest by any means.  I found the Mariah Carey CD with no problems, but couldn't find the Danity Kane CD.  I ended up having to ask a sales associate (a guy probably a little younger than me - not by much) if they had that CD, to which he replied "who?"  I then repeated myself and he was like "Danity Kane...hmmm, let me see".  He looked for a moment and said "Are you sure it's out yet?" forcing me to reply with "yeah, it came out before the Day 26 album and you guys have that", which made me sound like the biggest tweener on the planet.  He said "ooooohhhh...Danity Kane" as in he suddenly understood who I was talking about - and the fact that I have the musical maturity of a 12 year old.  They ended up not having it and I got it at a different Target (where I called to ask to make sure they had it before going - another embarrassing situation, at least not in person though).  I haven't listened to it yet, but I'm sure I will be bopping my head up and down in the car when I do - like the tweener-in-a-nearly-30-year-old-body that I am.

The Big Numero Uno

I can't believe it's been a full year since my husband and I have gotten married.  It's definitely been an eventful year, full of both ups and downs.  The hubbie and I celebrated our anniversary this past weekend.  I told him I would plan this year's anniversary and he would plan the next, and we would continue alternating the planning.  I put together a tour of Qwest Field, a trip to the Seattle Aquarium, and dinner at The Brooklyn (where we had our first dinner out as a married couple).  I also wrapped up some clues for the hubster to guess where we were going next.  The first clue was his Seahawk hat, the second was some swedish fish, and the third was a Baby Ruth (I couldn't think of anything else that would carry well and represented NY).  The day ended up being really nice, and fairly cheap thanks to a coupon for the aquarium and an off-hour happy hour at the bar at The Brooklyn.   So here's to a successful year of married life, with many more to come.

The Convergence Zone

I have so had it with this weather.  Last Saturday the weather was fabulous - reminiscent of my time in California.  Nearly 80 degrees, sunny, no clouds in the sky, etc. etc. The hubby and I got some yard work done and just hung out in the sun.  This weekend was quite different.  Friday night I went out to one of my fave restaurants, The Jones, with a good friend.  While we were there it started snowing...in mid-April.  It wasn't sticking, so I wasn't worried.  Well, about an hour into dinner, it started to stick.  I was definitely getting worried.  We finished up, paid our bill, and I drove my friend home - with the snow really coming down.  I got home and there was already about half an inch on the ground, with more on the way.  When I woke up yesterday morning there were about 3 or 4 inches on the ground.  I honestly could not believe that it was almost May and I had to deal with snow.  What surprised me was the my parents, who live out in the Cascade Foothills, did not have snow.  This is really the first time we've felt the effects of the infamous Puget Sound Convergence Zone - gotta love that.  At least all the snow melted by today, but I swear if it snows again, I am going to go ballistic.  Summer, where are you?

A rare weekday night out

It is a rare event that the hubbie and I go out for dinner - on a weekday or otherwise.  Mainly due to our conflicting schedules, but also because we're tired and don't want to go out anywhere.  However, tonight we were both home from work relatively early so we went out to dinner and it was lovely.  We went to PF Changs and had some good Chinese food, including the always scrumptious lettuce wraps.  Then I took the hubs to fro yo at Red Mango.  Turned out he didn't like it - at all.  Which is too bad because it's really good.  Hopefully he'll learn to love it because it's a delish alternative to ice cream and we're both going to try and eat better.  Here's to keeping with the new year's resolutions!

Step by Step

I have been so busy lately I haven't had much time to blog.  Work has been absolutely crazy with this week looking to be just as crazy.  It's led to some seriously bad eating habits as I've been so tired I don't want to cook so I end up getting fast food for lunch and dinner.  No good for the whole weight-loss thing I'm trying to keep going.  Plus I haven't been able to make it to the gym as I've been pulling really late nights at work, so it's been a double whammy.

The weekends have been pretty busy too...this weekend a friend of the hubbie's got married and he was involved in the wedding party.  So I went to work on Saturday morning, then the rest of Saturday was filled with wedding-ness.  It actually was a really nice wedding - ceremony at St Mark's in Shoreline and reception at Bell Harbor downtown on Pier 66.  The food was fabulous and the bride looked amazing.  I was originally not looking forward to going as I've been to so many weddings I'm kind of on wedding overload, but I ended up having a really good time.  We sat with a bunch of couples we didn't know hardly at all, but by the end of the evening we were all tearing it up on the dance floor to NKOTB's Step by Step :)

Speaking of NKOTB, I am so so excited - they are getting back together!  I was in love with them when growing up and now I have a chance to relive the glory that is New Kids on the Block.  If they end up touring and coming to Seattle, I am so going to that concert.

Back to being a nearly 30-year-old...it's just about my bedtime as I have to get up early for the long work week.  Here we go again.

Pure Bliss

I just got back from Habitude, a fabulous spa in Seattle, and it was so so nice - indeed, pure bliss.  My hubbie got me a gift certificate to the spa for my birthday and I've been so stressed out lately that I decided I needed a massage now.  So I booked a river rock massage for tonight after work.  I was freaking out because it started snowing around Noon (that's right, snow when it's nearly April) and I thought I would have to cancel or leave at, like, 4pm to make my appointment at 7pm.  Thankfully it stopped snowing around 3pm, however I was still worried about traffic so I left around 5pm.  I ended up getting to the spa at 5:40 - way early for my appointment.  I was going to just hang around in the steam room and read magazines and such when the host person told me they had an open appointment for a manicure.  It was only about $25, so I decided to go for it since tomorrow is the big bday celebration and who doesn't want nice nails for their bday? 

As I agreed to the manicure I mentioned something about celebrating my birthday which she replied "great, we'll get you a free spa smoothie."  Nice!  I got my nails done (a sexy dark red) and I think it's one of the best manicures I've had - they look fab.  After my manicure I sat down and flipped through the latest InStyle, then off to my massage!  I was a little nervous as it was a guy masseuse (masseur?), which I've never had before.  Thankfully, I'm pretty sure he was gay, so no need to worry. :)  And truthfully, I think it was the best massage I've ever had (not that there's much to compare to, but still).  The masseuse recommended that I come back (of course) and that I do neck stretches three time a day over the next couple of weeks.  While that seems a bit excessive to me, if it will make my neck and shoulders less sore and carry less stress, I'm willing to try it.

Now I'm off to bed for hopefully a lovely deep sleep - and more importantly, a sleep-in tomorrow morning. Mmmm...sleep. 

Best of both worlds

Well, the trip is over, and despite the rainy weather it feels good to be home.  I'm back at work with lots to do, which is a bit stressful, but I'd rather be too busy than bored.  However, it makes me really quite tired, which is why I have spent my birthday doing a whole lot of nothing.  In light of the fact that I'm not getting any younger, isn't that the best way to spend a birthday?  Of course you have to do it up a bit too, which is why on Saturday a friend and I are having a big joint birthday bash.  Best of both worlds - and why not?  Here's to a week of relaxation in preparation for a fun filled Saturday night.

Houston - no no no no no, LA - yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah

I am still not impressed with Houston - and at this point, probably never will be.

Tuesday was a little better than Monday, but not much.  The conference was pretty good, and I met some interesting people.  I also did a little shopping at The Galleria and found some good jeans and a pair of shorts on sale at Macys.  So far, the day was looking up.  Then in the evening I went to the NASA space center as an outing with the conference.  I debated about going as I was so tired, but thought when would I ever get the chance again so I better. Mistake.  The center was not really a lot to see, there were kids swarming all over the place, and I didn't get to go on the tram ride to tour the facility, which is the thing I really wanted to do.  The up side was that there was a bbq put on in the space center which was good, but that was about it.  When they announced that the first tour bus was leaving the facility, I practically raced to the door.

Wednesday started out a bit better.  I found out my company won two awards for the maps we turned into the map competition.  Plus I was leaving the God-forsaken city of Houston.  However the day quickly got worse as the Super Shuttle service that was picking me up to take me to the airport was late, got stuck in traffic, and I almost didn't make my plane to LA.  I would have been livid, but thankfully, on the plane my suitcase and I went.  I arrived in LA, got my suitcase, got the rental car (after waiting in life for half an hour), and drove out to my friend and her husband's house - I'll call them Meadow and Rugby

My time in LA has been fabulous - really quite relaxing.  I've been lounging around their house, which has a lovely pool and a lovely view, reading the new Sophie Kinsella book, Remember Me? and getting a tan (hopefully).  On Thursday night we went to this place called The Velvet Margarita and woo-eee did Meadow and I get drunk.  We also got holla'd at - once in the bar (Whooooooa...rooooooowwwrrr) and the second time as we were leaving the bar (You ladies need a sugar daddy?  How 'bout a nice guy?).  Only in LA :)

Since then I've been driving around their little town outside of LA, went to Hollywood today to The Grove and the Farmer's Market, and have had fro you twice (frozen yogurt, for those of you not in the know).  I've also been able to hang out with some of Meadow's and Rugby's friends, who I had met before at their wedding a couple years ago but hadn't seen since.  It's really been grand, and sort of makes me want to move to LA, though I don't think I could leave my family back in Seattle.

Tomorrow I leave back to the Emerald City and am sad to leave my friend and the lovely sunshine.  But back to reality I must go.  I'll have to gear up for the weeks ahead at work as it's likely to be very very busy.  Wish me luck.

Not Impressed

I have to say, thus far, I am not impressed with Houston.  People are not nearly as hospitable as was the general impression I had, the conference has been kind of ridiculous (decent workshops, but there's just certain little things that have annoyed me), the airport is disgusting, the mall the hotel is linked to is so big I keep getting lost when trying to look for anything (which normally I would love a big mall, but even I can't take this), everything looks brown and flat, and to top it all off, it's in the Central time zone so all my shows are on a hour earlier, throwing off my schedule.  

I have to elaborate on the hospitality thing, because there is one thing that is bugging me the most.  When I arrived at the airport I waited over half an hour for my suitcase to arrive through baggage claim, then I went to a shuttle counter as I had reserved a ride to the hotel through them. They couldn't find my reservation.  Let me say that the first impression I got from the gal behind the counter was fabulous - hair all out of whack, a lazy/bitchy look on her face, and  a gold front tooth.  That's right - she had bling in her teeth.  Nice.  

I gave the girl a phone number and my first and last name and nothing.  Of course I didn't have a confirmation code with me because usually my name is enough - not a lot of people have my name, and combined with my last name it's really quite original.  So I call my husband and he gives me a code and I go back and they find it - it was under my maiden name.  Should I have possibly thought I put it under my maiden name?  Maybe, since I still haven't changed my debit card, but don't you think when this chick looked up reservations by first name for the time I specified, she could have said "the only reservation I have is for a (insert maiden name here)"?   How many people with my first name can there possibly be coming in at 5:30pm.  Give me a break.

I'm hoping tomorrow is a better day.

The Land of BBQ and Bush

The first leg of my trip has begun...I am sitting at the airport waiting for my flight to begin boarding.  I always get nervous flying - not sure why, since I've heard it's actually more dangerous to drive a car then to fly, but I'm nervous none the less.  Plus I had to check a suitcase, which I don't normally like to do - an additional worry that I'm not going to have any clothes when I get to Houston.  At least the hotel I'm staying at is in one of the largest malls in the nation, so if necessary I can buy a whole new wardrobe - I'm sure my bank account would like that.  But I did pack all my shoes in a small suitcase I'm bringing as one of my carry-ons, so at least I won't have to buy any new footwear (darn it).

I have to admit, it was quite the task to pack for this trip, since really it's two trips in one.  I had to pack a bunch of work clothes for the conference I'm attending Mon-Wed, then a bunch of fun clothes and some beach clothes for the LA portion of the trip.  I even went so far as to write out a clothes schedule for each day - if I had a polaroid camera I probably would have taken pictures of each outfit, a la Kimora Lee Simmons.  Speaking of which, I think she is so fabulous, having watched her show, Life in the Fab Lane.  She definitely knows what she wants and knows how to get it from people, which I have to say I admire a bit as I am certainly not that way.  

Anyway, I digress.  Not much longer until I board the plane to the land of BBQ and Bush - hmmm, putting it that way doesn't make me so excited to go.  It's like going into hostile territory - hopefully I come back alive. :)

Darn you yahoo!

I am currently watching the results show for American Idol, which I think I like better than the actual performance show.  Usually I record it and wait until the last 10 minutes to watch it so I can skip through all the commercials and lame show filler.  For some reason, this time I am watching it live, which I don't think I will ever do again - and this is why.  When I watch TV I usually also check my email and surf the internet at the same time.  I go onto Yahoo to check my inbox and what do I see - a headline spoiling who already got booted off American Idol!  Hellllooooo - just because the results are done on East Coast time doesn't mean everybody watches it at that time!  So flippin annoying. 

Giddyup

Things have been pretty crazy at work lately, and they're only going to get crazier.  I have quite a few projects that have deadlines in early April with still a ton of work to be done.  Now mix into the pot the fact that I'm going to be out of the office all next week and it's the perfect recipe for stress.  

Despite the stress of leaving for a week, I'm really looking forward to the trip I'm taking.  The first part of the week I will be going to Houston for a conference for work.  While conferences aren't always fun, this one deals with GIS (Geographic Information Systems), which is what I use on a daily basis at work and also what my undergraduate focus was on.  Plus I'm entering some maps I created for work into a map competition at the conference, so I'm really hoping I win.  Maybe I would get a bonus!

The conference lasts only from Monday to Wednesday, at which point the second part of my trip (my actual vacation) begins.  I'm so excited to be going to LA to visit one of my best friends (and her hubbie).  They bought a house not that long ago and I'm excited to see it.  I'm also excited to lie on the beach, hopefully in the warm sun with no clouds or rain.  And I'm going to be a geek and admit I'm excited to try and spot celebrities (even D-list ones).  I need to make sure and charge my camera so I don't go to take a picture of, say, Alyssa Milano, and get the low battery flash.

How do you like dem Apples?

After quite an absence of posting, I am now blogging from my new MacBook. Yup, I made the switch from a PC to a Mac, and so far so good. It's definitely different - not bad different, just...different. It will take some getting used to, for sure, but I like it.

This switch came quite suddenly, actually. Yesterday I found out that my company has a computer purchase program where they'll buy the computer for you and you can pay them back interest free within a year. Considering the laptop I have now is about to crash, and I'm headed to Houston in a week and a half for work and don't want to lug that 15 lb brick around, I decided to just bite the bullet and get the laptop.

Other than that, not much has been going on. I've been working quite a bit, which probably explains why I haven't been blogging much. I also have been working out quite a bit - every day since Saturday in fact. It's been really good - it definitely helps to do it every day to keep my momentum going. And I alternate my workouts between running near my office and going to the gym (and doing a little DDR - Dance Dance Revolution - on my "off" days). Gold star under my name for "keeping New Years Resolutions"!