October 11, 2010: Mission: FitBitch: Weeks 7 through 9

So I'm a little behind on posting my progress from the last few weeks.  If I had kept up with it, here's what I would have posted.


Week 7 Progress (September 12 - September 18):
Only one more week until our Nags Head, VA vacation! I ran 3 miles this week and then laid on the couch for 4 days after having 2 of my wisdom teeth pulled. It was awful and wonderful at the same time.

Week 8 Progress (September 19 - September 25):
Sunday I was still on the couch; Monday I flew to Oakland to work up there for the day; Tuesday and Wednesday I was absolutely exhausted and started to get a cold; Thursday I did jack shit; Friday I finally forced myself to pack an hour before we left for the airport; Saturday we were in Nags Head, NC on vacation.

Week 9 Progress (September 26 - October 2):
After 3 or 4 nights of cold medicine not working and getting not much sleep, I finally realized it wasn't a cold but severe allergies. So I started taking benedryl every two hours around the clock. Which meant no alcohol for me, which I was okay with. Once I started feeling better it started raining so hard we couldn't go outside. For days. Needless to say my running clothes went untouched the entire 5 days in NC and 3 days in VA visiting my loverface's family.

BUT guess what...I didn't gain an ounce on this vacation!

Photos by ChuChulainn

September 15, 2010: Mission: FitBitch: Weeks 5 & 6

Week 5 Progress (August 29 - September 4):

I LOST ONE POUND!!! I've got 2 more lbs to go to my ultimate goal weight and I can't believe I've come this far. I'm so so so excited. I also ran a little over 5 and a half miles this week.

Week 6 Progress (September 5 - September 11):

So this week I unexpectedly had to travel for work. I flew from the west coast to the east coast for 4 days in the DC area. It was absolutely exhausting, but besides working my ass off and getting up at 3am my Cali time, I was able to have some fun while there. 

Tuesday night I was able to meet boyfriend's new nephew (only 6 weeks old!) who is absolutely adorable. I call him "Bean" because he's about that big. We had dinner in DC, not far from the White House I'm told, at a place called Birch and Barley.  It was great to catch up with boyfriend's brother and his wife; they're on our Top Besties list for sure, and we started planning our vacation to Turkey next year.

The Bean

On Wednesday the future-in-laws had dance class, so my co-worker and I had a drink at the rooftop bar in the W Hotel, DC. It has views of the White House, the Washington Monument, and Lincoln Memorial all from one spot, which was seriously amazing. The pix didn't come out well since I was staring into the sun, but maybe you get the idea. These very drunk but very polite older men bought us our drinks as we chatted about lobbying in DC and health care reform. Very sexy. So we hurried with our drinks and popped over to Georgetown for dinner. Of course, before dinner, we had dessert at Georgetown Cupcakes (which is apparently famous and has tv show or something? I'm so under a rock).

Thursday night after work the future-in-laws, the Bean, and my girlfriend who lives in Georgetown all met up for a drink at Lima. I loved that she had "a baby in a bar" and couldn't resist the Sweet Home Alabama line. Then we had dinner reservations at Georgia Brown's down the street from Lima (and my hotel) which was super yummy, except for the part where my crawdad thingy still had its eyeballs in. Yuck! After dinner they took the Bean home and us girls went to play in Georgetown. It was so fun meeting all her "DC friends" at the college bar and watching the Saints/Vikings game. Love, love, love those girls; we definitely became fast friends and I can't wait to go back.

Saturday was back home with my loverface and off to celebrate the 7th wedding anniversary of our friends with a huge party on the bay. I also took a moment to pray for the families who lost someone on September 11th; my heart definitely hurts for the friends and family affected by that terrible day. 
 

I'ma be a SnowBunny!

This past Saturday I put together a girls trip to Big Bear Lake to go snowboarding. On the way we picked up our personal guide/instructor Jimmy (yes, he's a boy, but it wouldn't have been as good without him). Last season I finally learned how to board and only went 2 1/2 days.

So this is my 2nd season and I want more! My next challenge is to be able to go straight/vertical down the hill, whilst being in control, and then J curve (b/c I'm goofy foot) back out of it to a standing stop. Jimmy says once I can master that I'll be able to learn a C curve to ride toeside. YAY me I can't wait!! Here are some pix from the day:

Julie and I

Me and Jen - we forgot to wear our Charger jerseys :^( But we still wore blue haha

Me and Cara on the lift for Summit Run

Julie shreddin da gnar on her very first day to the snow!

Personal Goals for 2010

I still need to check how I did on my 2009 goals and make an update, but of course I've already started my list for 2010 and what I plan to accomplish. Here's what I've got so far:

• Make a blog post everyday in January
• Pass French 101 (starts 1/25)
• Lose these last 5 lbs and maintain
• Be kidney stone free for the year
• Book and Pay for our first trip to Europe (in July!)
• Be credit card debt free
• Have 3 months salary in savings

2 personal, 2 health-related, 3 financial. What are your goals/hopes/dreams/determinations?

Thanksgiving Menu

Tomorrow my little family (me, boyfriend, brother) will be having lunch at our new condo to celebrate Thanksgiving. (My dad is at home in Sacramento & my mum is in Georgia taking care of my grandmother, but usually they come down to SD). Here's what we've planned for our menu:

• Rotisserie Chicken - Pre-made from the grocery story (We started this genius tradition last year)
• Mac n Cheese - Homemade in the SlowCooker (it's my first time, so if it turns out well I'll post the recipe)
• Corn on the Cob
• Mashed Potatoes & Gravy - From KFC. Oh yes, they're the best
• Pear & apple slices
  
• Stuffing - Just the easy peasy box kind
• Mimosas

My mouth is watering just thinking of the yumminess. And my favorite part is that I won't spend all day slaving in the kitchen, but spending it with my favorite boys.

Where have I been?!

It's been about a month since I've been on good ole blogger and boy do I miss it. I'm soooo behind on reading all my fav blogs and updating my own. Why, you ask? Well, as if life weren't stressful enough, I've had some pretty major things happen in the last month. In one month! Here's what I've been up to:

• Closed on our first home
• Moved out of old apt and into new condo
• Boyfriend and brother get flu at same time for about a week and a half
  
• Work in Oakland for 2 days
• My 28th Birthday - work in Oakland again all day
  
• Boyfriend gets promotion and moves buildings
• Halloween, 2 buddies in town, super fun
• Wedding in TN for 6 days
• Buy the wrong sized W/D and have to return it to Home Depot in my SUV
• Wedding in VA for 8 days
• Grandfather passes away in GA
• Dont catch my connecting flight home from VA to ATL to SD & instead rent a car in ATL to drive to Augusta to be with family for 4 days
  
• Grandfather's full military funeral and burial service
• Drive back to ATL, fly from ATL to SD on Saturday
  
• Buy & install new garbage disposal so that I can use kitchen sink on Sunday
  
• I get a new office closer to home & move myself in 1 day (Monday)

Umm yeah, I think that's about it...and this was literally in 30 days time. I'm amazed that I haven't pulled my hair out or gotten sick...yet :^) Looking forward to things calming back down and getting back to my blog, facebook, and twitter.

I get to use my passport!!

That's right folks, the passport I obtained 2 years ago is finally going to be put to use. For those that don't know, I'm a California girl born and raised. Until a few years ago (when I meant my amazing loverface boyfriend) I really didn't get out much. And by 'much' I mean never. I never left San Diego. Not that it isn't gorgeous and sunny and wonderful, but I always fancied myself a world traveler. Three or so years ago I started out 'small' (Vegas, Oakland, Virginia, New York, Seattle, DC - all places I had never been before) but now its time to go BIG!!

I hereby announce that I plan to go to Europe in August 2010 and my main 3 cities will be Dublin, Paris, and Prague. In the next year I will attempt to learn some basic French so that I don't have to be the dumb American tourist who only speaks English.

Yay me!!!

 

 

au revoir

Hawaii

So far my favorite Hawaiian island would be Maui. Good spot for a destination wedding. We stayed in Lahaina and had a great time. Lots of stuff to do but it was still quiet and laid back. Amber's wedding was gorgeous, the scenery fantastic, and the food was more than decent. We rented a car from the airport, which was not necessary as long as you stay in town. We did prefer the beach at Napili Bay however, so the car came in handy. The roadtrip up to Hana was amazing, but I will never in my life drive to Hana again. Unless they build a new road. Maui Babe Lotion gave me a tan that made me look like a local, loved it!

http://www.outriggerainanalucondo.com/?src=sl_worldweb_link