Four Day Weekend!

The world is right with a coffee...

Today I managed to duck out of the office a little early. This was due to my desire to begin my four day weekend as well as the fact that I was running out of things to do...and things that my mind could handle. In the middle of the day a terrible migraine popped up and almost took me out. But after a ton of water, some queso and carrots, and Advil, my migraine was disappearing and I was a functioning member of society. Well. For the most part.
So I ducked out, in my rain boots, that were purchased yesterday due to total soakage while walking around Seattle the past few days, grabbed my signature drink (Grande Skinny Caramel Macchiato) and waited for the 252 to show up. The picture pretty much sums up my wait. Relaxing because the four day weekend I have been dreaming of has arrived.
In college, four day weekends were pretty normal. There was always some holiday the school was close for. In the real world, though, those days are few and far between. So four whole days...is like magic. My weekend is already planned! Aside from Thanksgiving my plans consist of lounging around in pajamas, eating at our local breakfast place, playing video games, and spending quality time with my husband that I see so rarely, or so it seems.
I know that this is also a time to be thankful. And believe me, I am thankful. I'm about as thankful as I can be....for the four day weekend.

Some weight loss tips

Due to my plan to lose some weight and be healthy again, I'm posting some great weight loss tips that I've managed to find via some Googling. Applying a few of these tips to your life can help shed lots of weight.

1. Take the stairs. My office is a very old building in Pioneer Square in Seattle, so taking the stairs scares me just a bit. But you can lose up to 300 calories if you go up and down the stairs for thirty minutes. I think I can manage that a day.
2. Prepare your own meals. Thankfully, this already happens for me for all meals except for breakfast. To combat this, I'm going to be waking up at an insane hour to assure that I can get to gym, get a shower and eat a good breakfast.
3. No pop. Ever. Empty calories. So not worth it.
4. Drink water before a meal. Anyway that you can make your brain go "Oh! I'm full!" much earlier than normal is going to be helpful on the weight loss road.
5. Eat five, small meals a day. Simple logic. The more snacks/small meals between meals, the less likely you'll be to gorge yourself when your next meal comes along.
6. Stay positive.

Getting my fitness on!

My life has been a whirlwind since I married my husband. Graduating college, moving in with my in-laws, receiving an awesome job, best friend getting ready to have her first child, husband struggling to find a job, economy taking a royal beating. It's been stressful, to say the least. And since I got married I have gained about...well, far too much for me to be comfortable with. But today, after stepping on the scale, I made a vow that I'm going to try to keep. I'm going to lose the weight.

Maybe it's my vanity that makes me want to lose the weight so I can attempt to be what society sees as beautiful. Maybe it's the fact that struggling to breathe because of asthma that wasn't there prior to the weight is starting to get to me. Maybe it's my desire to never have a freak out that sounds like omgimsofathowdigetthiswayihatemyselfnothingfits. More than likely, it's an accumulation of all of these things. No matter what, though, it ends here.

As many of my friends and Facebook friends know, my major in college was in accounting, which requred a large amount of business classes. In laymans terms, I'm a planner. So, below is a management plan for my weight loss. My management professor would be insanely proud, I'm sure.

Mission Statement: To become healthier through daily exercise and losing forty-two pounds, thus returning to a pre-wedding weight.

1. Maintain a daily exercise regimen
1. Wake up at 4:45 in the morning on Mondays through Thursdays for one hour exercise sessions at the gym
2. Either Fridays or Saturday require the gym, but one must be a rest day
3. Yoga sessions on Sundays
4. Train to start running long distances to help build up strength with lungs
2. Maintain a healthy diet
1. No. More. Fast. Food. (Everyone should now sell their stock in McDonalds and Jack in the Box)
2. At Starbucks, one of my greatest weaknesses due to me being a Seattlite, nothing with milk. Straight coffe and tea are okay.
3. Introduce more fruits and veggies as snacks
4. Eat a healthy, hearty breakfast each morning
3. Stay on top of plan
1. Work with husband, as he's going to be trying to lose weight too
2. Monitor food consumption and exercise daily
3. Report to this blog every Sunday regarding the progress of the plan

This will take me at least six months to accomplish, but with determination and hard work my husband and I can make it work.

Wish me luck!

A time to be thankful...

Lately, there have been many posts on my facebook regarding people being thankful for something each day. This is a brilliant idea, to state what you're thankful for, as it makes you realize how thankful you are for the things you take for granted. The only downfall is, I don't particularly care for some people's thankfulness...nor their terrible grammar. I decided to follow suit, because, like I said, I think it's important you vocalize what you're thankful for, but without spamming my friends' news feeds.

So, ten things I'm thankful for...
1) My husband. The man who is always on my side, makes me laugh, brightens my day, and loves me despite my problem...of being insane. He was crazy enough to marry me after four months of dating, and even though many people doubted our relationship would last without out any outside forces, let alone weather things like a terrible economy, financial problems, life changes, we still are trucking along. Me and him. Him and I. We're in it for the long haul. And I'm thankful that the man I'm going to spend the rest of my days with is him.
2) My family. The people who raised me and shaped me into the woman I am today. They have helped me accomplish so much in my life and have picked me up when I have fallen down. And I have fallen down quite a few times. They bought me my first car, pushed me through college, and were my emotional life lines. And while they make me insane sometimes, I love them with all of my heart.
3) My In-Laws. My second family, is what this should say. The people who took us into their home and have allowed us to live there while we get our feet under us. They have been understanding, patient, and loving. I love them both very much. And I couldn't be more thankful for them.
4) Sasha. Our little bundle of fur and urine. Thankfully she doesn't smell like urine as much as she used to! Sasha has been our little baby since we met her that day in January. She has grown up so much and is the sweetest, kindest dog I've ever known. When we have children, she is going to love to have someone that can play with her.
5) Stephy. When you've known someone since you were twelve and you're not twenty-five, to say you have some history is a grave understatement. This woman. She had loved me, when others have kicked me down. Always, and I mean always been there for me. She has stood up for me. Loved me. Protected me. And been one of the greatest friends in the world. I feel lucky to be her best friend and to be involved with her and her pregnancy. To be part of this life-changing moment. I love her so much and I hope she knows that.
6) Education. Having an education is, for sure, a good way to get a step up in the world. Which is why I'm so thankful for it. Thankful for having the opportunity to study something that will impact my future and my family's future.
7) A Job. With a capital J. Something that does so much more than pay the bills. I feel so blessed to have something while many of my friend struggle to make ends meet and fight the economy.
8) Friends. I'm thankful for those that have supported me and loved me through everything. Especially the ones that were there for all of my exciting moments in life.
9) Family Friends. In particular one. My mother's best friend. The woman who held me after I cried my eyes out after going to a friend's funeral even though she was having a dinner party. She kept my mother sane during the planning of my wedding. She has loved me and my family for as long as I've known her and I'm forever thankful for her.
10) Love. It really does make the world go 'round.

Achoooo!

Being sick is one of the most frustrating things in the world. You just want to roll over and die in a pile of Kleenexes and Nyquil. That's about where I am right now. The worst is when you're at work and you're sure you will be able to survive. And then half way through the day your cough is getting stronger, you're hacking up things that tasted terrible and your eyes are starting to do that watery-droopy-fever-induced thing. Add in an hour bus ride home and a group of thirty junior high kids taking the Metro on a field trip and you have my afternoon.
Thankfully, I'm now relaxing in my PJs while finishing some work related things that needed to be done.
While sick days are the bane of my existence, they also allow me to get a lot of things done. Especially work related things that I've been dying to get done, but just never have the time because I have so much going on.
I'm now going to settle down with my tea and this spreadsheet and make accounting magic.

Shall we sing together?

"I'm singing in the rain,

just singing in the rail;

What wonderful feeling,

I'm happy again." - Arthur Freed

Who doesn't want a kiss like this?

Living in Seattle, we're blessed, according to my mother the word to use here would be cursed, with about six months of rain. Keep in mind my mother lived most of her childhood in Nebraska while I grew up in the middle of the Tongas rainforest in Juneau and then transplanted to the Seattle area. So, it makes sense that our views are a little different on the vast amount of rain our area receives. My views are that it's a very strong blessing, and recently coming from a small farming community, that just happened to have a college in it, on the Eastern side of the state, I know the importance of the rain. But the importance of the rain to crops and livestock isn't what interests me about the rain.

There is nothing, in the world, more intoxicating than the smell of the air after a fresh rain. The water you breathe in. The dampness of the wood. The smell of wet grass. The fresh, crisp taste of it all. Rain nurtures the earth as it nurtures my soul. And after a great rain, the feeling of being renewed is all over. The rain has washed away all of our troubles, concerns, and questions about life...until Monday at least.

The months that bring the rain are, by far, some of my favorites. It was quite disappointing to move to the Seattle area in June and find that our summer was extremely dry and our Fall quite slow on the uptake. But the current weather is more than making up for the summer now. And thank goodness for that.

My life needs GPS so I can find it

Beautiful Seattle in the Morning

Sometimes a kick in the butt is all you need to realize you need to change yourself. I suppose my kick in the butt came yesterday. My husband has been trying to get a job that was pretty much tailor made for him. He'd been in for two in-person interviews and one phone interview. He was a finalist. And instead of choosing any of the finalists, they contracted out. It's been heartbreaking because I know my husband is angry. Angry at the company for not saying that was an option, at the general health of the world and nation's economy, at himself for not getting the job. And it's heartbreaking. Because none of it is his fault.

Marriage is a confusing thing. We all see our parents and their successes and utter failures. We assume what marriage will be like and once you're in it, you realize it's not at all what you imagined it would be. But you cope. And you try. You give everything of yourself to the marriage and to your significant other. And I know it's cheesy, but the saying "If you bleed, I bleed" couldn't be truer. And with that sentiment and disappointment, I have received a kick in the butt.

Today I woke up at five in the morning, a time that is unheard of, and managed to drag my sorry butt as well as my husband's cute butt out of bed and to the gym. I read somewhere that exercise will improve your mood and outlook on things. I hope it does. For him. For me. Because we're in this together. And if waking up at an ungodly hour is what it takes to help both of us through one of the worst economic disasters since the 1930's, I will do it everyday. 

I love my life. I love our opportunities. I love the family that has so kindly brought us into their homes and taken care of us. But most of all, I love my husband. And always will.

Mama Shower

Below are the pictures that were taken of the Baby Shower. As you can tell, it was a beautiful party and I am happy to say that the Soon-to-be-Mommy was very happy with with her swanky party.

Recovery and Restarting

"Where thou art, that is home" - Emily Dickinson

It has been a busy time for our little family. My friend's baby shower was beautiful. In the next few days I'll upload the pictures that we took and post them on here for all to see the decorations that came out just as beautiful as a field of lavendar swaying in the breeze. Okay, maybe not that gorgeous. But pretty damn close.

Our life, as I mentioned, has been pretty busy. Last weekend we had the family baby shower in Olympia. The drive wasn't too bad to Olympia, the food at Vick's Pizza was scrumptious (I always love pizza), the family members that I met were very sweet, but taking my husband to the city of his Alma Mater is always worth it. He always has this wistful...aura, which is a new age word I'm not fond of using, around him. Though, much like Ellensburg for myself, he has out grown the town and both the town and the man have moved on to bigger things to worry about. But I still love our occassional trips to that city as we do have some family there.

As mentioned earlier the baby shower that I was planning was wonderful. I didn't make cupcakes, thank goodness. I was running out of time on just about everything. Planning a baby shower and working and living a sane life do not go together. It reminded me of that joke diagram for college where you can only choose two options of three with the three options being good grades, social life and getting plenty of sleep. Thankfully, the end has been found and we are past the insanity that was baby shower planning.

This coming weekend has baby birthing classes, which exhaust me just to think about!

Today, though, I have been suffering from a bit of a cold and stomach ache (too much stress!). And have been in recovery mode. This week is also the beginning of what I hope to be a much needed self improvement start. My intention is to work out in the morning, eat healthy and wholesome foods, and overall take care of myself in the long run. Hopefully I'll be able to stick with it. Thankfully this bug is mostly gone it feels like. Now I'm going to take time to relax and hang with my husband.

Words to live by

"The most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud." - Coco Chanel