Too good to be true!

I can't get into too many specifics here as this involves Jonathan's Christmas present, but what seemed like such an easy way to take care of a problem on Thursday, turned out not to be the case today. So, I went to a website and ordered his present. Let's say it's a dog. So, I decided to go with the purebred instead of the mutt...even though the purebred was more expensive than the mutt, this site didn't offer the mutt. However, it did offer the purebred with no shipping or taxes! So, that's why I chose it.

I bought the purebred dog. Approximately 2 hours later, I was showing off the purebred to a co-worker when I see that this site had knocked another 30% off! I was mad because I had JUST bought it! I called the customer services line and prepared my arguement. Turns out, I didn't need it. They said, "Oh, no problem! We'll credit your card the difference and you'll receive a new statment with the adjusted price when we ship your purebred!" Wow...that was easy!

Today, in my email, is an email from this site saying they have shipped my dog. And what do you know? At the original price. I go to my AmEx account and see if they just messed up the email and they really did take off the 30%. Nope. Charged the original amount.

I knew it was too good to be true! So, now I have to call them. I also have to call my mortgage company because my property tax statement was sent to me and didn't say that it was sent to my mortgage company. Which it should have been! It's a fun, frustrating Monday.

My Ghetto Compact

A couple of weeks ago, I decided that I hated mineral make-up. Not only did it not provide the coverage I needed, but I felt like it showed off all my blonde peach fuzz and made me look really hairy. It probably didn't, but go with me. Even though I love, love, love MAC, it was really making me break out the last time I used it (thus, the switch to the mineral stuff). So, I decided to try something new. I read a ton of reviews at Sephora's site and decide to give Lorac a try. I LOVE the Break-through Foundation! It's great. However, for some reason I bought the translucent powder. I have never like translucent powder (I'm a bigger fan of the powder foundations as my regular powder) so who know what I was thinking. I've decided to use it as my "purse powder" for touch-ups. For some reason, Lorac didn't put much thought or effort into the applicator for it. It was basically a piece of toilet paper. So, while I was at MAC getting some eyeshadow (because 30 colors are not enough!), I bought one of their sponges that come with their foundation powders. Ha! That doesn't fit at all! So, now I have a rubber band around my compact to keep it closed. Ghetto. It gets better. I have been, continue to be, and will always remain un-dexterous (it's now a word). So, almost every time I try to put the rubber band back on, the compact goes flying out of my hand and lands on the hardest surface it can find. Luckily, the powder has not been broken. But, the case is slowly getting chipped away. Ghetto, again. So, now I have a compact, that wasn't all that cheap, wrapped in a rubber band with chipped plastic all over the outside. Nice. Really nice.

The Omnivore’s Hundred

I saw this today and thought it was interesting. I am still vegetarian, but am back on seafood now. I got over that oog factor. But, I only eat it once a week, at most. And most weeks, I still go without it. Obviously, I have only been veg for a few months, so there's lots of non-veg items I have eaten...let's see how I do! (Here's the original post http://www.verygoodtaste.co.uk/uncategorised/the-omnivores-hundred/)

Here are the instructions:
1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating. (I don't have that feature...mine are red)
4) Optional extra: Post a comment here at www.verygoodtaste.co.uk linking to your results.

Amie's Omnivore’s Hundred:
1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu (only because if cut wrong, it can kill you)
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal (once when I was a kid...and never touched a Big Mac again!)
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine (although I love fries with cheese, the gravy kinda freaks me out!)
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears, or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost or brunost
75. Roadkill (Ok, this is weird because a guy at work brought squirrel meat that he killed in his own backyard for all of us to try today! Pretty much everyone was so grossed out that we all left for lunch while he ate alone in the break room.)
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie - LOVE THEM!!
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate (I don't know if I've had it...but I want to try it!)
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

64%! See, mom? Your relentless efforts to get me to try at least one bite of everything as a child has carried over into my adult life! I still was totally grossed out by the squirrel sitting next to my peanut butter in the community fridge at work though...it's days like this that make me glad I have the excuse of vegetarianism on my side! :)

A New Beginning

Wow! It's been over a month since I have blogged! I have been such a slacker. Well, as our country embarks on a new beginning, I will, too. I'm not going into anything political here as I was already yelled at in a very public place about my opinions...therefore, I have learned my lesson...but I am getting another start in life. Kind of. That really doesn't make sense. At all.

Anyway, what I mean is, I am definitely going to try to blog more now as my life will (hopefully) start to become more interesting. First things first...I start grad school in January! I am really excited as I always knew as a kid that I wanted to pursue my Master's. And although there were about 6 years where that desire waned (starting about mid-college until about 6 months ago), it is back full force! I know the next 15 months are going to be hectic, stressful and great all at the same time.

Secondly...well...hmmm...there's not really a secondly.

But, hey, really getting on the blogging bandwagon and starting grad school is enough of a new beginning, right? I say so. And off we go!

I hate allergies!

This past month or so has been the worst allergy season ever! Ever since last week, I have been battling with another sinus infection. I went ahead and self-medicated with my leftover meds from May's sinus infection (yeah, I realize that I shouldn't self-medicate...and take all my medicine the first time), and it kinda worked, but I am still really stuffy. I also think I might be allergic to Amoxicillin now, too. I already have severe sensitivites to Bactrim and Erythromycin, but those usually are stomach issues. This is the second time I've barely taken any Amoxicillin and my lips have swollen up, turned really red, dried out and cracked. Weird.

In other (not so medical) news, Monday was our last day at CrossFit. Kinda sad...kinda not. Now I don't feel so obligated to be somewhere right after work every day, but then again, I'm not so motivated to go to the gym either. But, I have taken yoga the past 2 Tuesdays and really enjoyed the teacher! The first time I ever tried yoga, it was taught by a crazy person who made us quack like a duck. True story. I tried it a couple of times after that (with a couple of years inbetween), but never really liked it. Until last week. I was actually sore for a few days after! Which I like! Plus, it helps stretch out my back and has relieved some of that daily pain that I have in my middle back. Which I like! So, I am going to try to go a couple of times a week now. Now if I can start to end my junk food cravings, it will be all good...

Lastly, here's a funny text convo between Jonathan and I today that shows how much I don't know about Catholicism:
Jonathan: Saturday is canceled. (Nephew's b-day thing)
Me: Why?
Jonathan: My brother-in-law's grandma was given her last rites this morning and the whole family is coming up.
Me: Is she going to jail? Or does that mean she is dying?
Jonthan: Dying.

Yeah, I'm an idiot. I know this.

Oh yeah...

...we did put in our notice to cancel our CrossFit membership. It's kinda sad, but we are hoping to start doing Jiu Jitsu. I pretty much have Jonathan convinced that it would be the best. I think he is still a little shocked that I actually liked Jiu Jitsu in the first place! I am really girlie as an adult. I was a big tom boy as a child and can still hang with the guys...but bugs scare me more now than they did before! Anyway, I always wanted to take wrestling as a little kid (like 3rd grade) but my mom wouldn't let me. She was afraid I would get hurt. Well, at that time, she didn't realize all the injuries I would go ahead and get as a result of clumsiness (and just sheer stupidity at times...ok, most of the time)! So, when I got to college and had to take a PE class, I randomly chose Jiu Jitsu, not really knowing what it even was. And I loved it! It's a lot like wrestling, basically, and I was good at it!

Anyway, kinda off track there...but this is our last month at CrossFit and while we are going to miss it, I think we are going to get ourselves into something a lot more fun. :)

Lasting Relationships

What does it take to create a lasting relationship? Should it have to be a lot of work? Should you get mad at everything that person says? Should you question their motives all the time? I know I have the capacity to keep my relationships for a long time. My closest friends are relationships that have been 13+ years for the most part. I don't see these friends that often, but when we do see each other, we pick right back up where we left off. It's easy. Natural. And surprisingly doesn't take that much time to make it work. Is this a bad thing? Should I be putting more effort into it? Am I offending them that I don't talk to them every day...or even every week at times? Am I a bad or uninterested friend because often we might only talk once a month? Truthfully, I am pretty much unavailable Monday - Thursday except by email. My weekdays are full with 11 hour workdays, an hour commute (total) and trying to get to the gym. And, apparently the older you get, the more your weekends book up, too! So, yes, I am busy. They are, too. Getting together is getting harder to do. (The Dr. Seuss ryhme was NOT intentional! LOL!) I don't want to have foot-in-the-mouth disease here, so I don't really know where to go with this one. It's just what's been on my mind today.

A day to remember...

Words always fail me on this day. I personally do not know anyone that lost a husband, wife, child, daughter, son, aunt, uncle, cousin, etc. in the attacks 7 years ago. But, this day affects me. Always has, always will.

I was 20 years old. It was my first day of biology lab. I woke up, turned on the radio and hopped in the shower. The DJs were talking about this situation and I couldn't figure out what they were talking about since I had joined in the middle of it. I almost thought it was a joke at first. But the more they talked, and the tones of their voices, I knew it wasn't. I got out of the shower, grabbed a towel and ran to turn on the tv. Words failed me at that point. I called my dad, crying, asking what was going on. He said he didn't know but he knew it would definitely be in the history books of his grandchildren.

Then the second plane hit. It seemed like it was slow motion as the plane came in from the side of the screen. All I could say was, "There's another plane! It's going to hit! There's another plane!" And it did. And I was shocked into silence.

I fought with myself over whether or not I should go to class. The responsible side of me won and I rushed to class. I was distracted by the images in my head. I couldn't pay attention. Some of the students didn't even know what was going on! Did they not own a tv or radio? Our lab assistant said we would be there half an hour, tops. We were there the full 2 1/2 hours! After about 30 minutes, all the students became restless. There were whispers about how disrespectful they thought she was being. I just wanted to get a tv.

On the first anniversary, I got on a plane. Two days later was my grandparents 50 wedding anniversary and my aunts and mom were planning a big surprise party for them. I wanted to come home to help. I remember people asking me if I was scared to get on a plane that day. I joked, "No. Who would want to hijack a plane from Lubbock to Dallas??" But, when I got to the airport, I was terrified. This next part might sound a bit racist/judgemental/stereotypical/whatever you want to call it, but it's the truth. There was a Muslim man dressed in full Muslim gear boarding my very same plane. I knew he had gone through the 2 hours of security I had gone through, but I was still scared. I heard him on the phone talking to someone about how just because he was dressed like that, they practically strip searched him in the back. But, I was still uneasy. As was everyone else at the gate that day. Most people were looking at him out of the side of their eyes. Some were just flat out glaring. I was looking at everyone else's reaction.

I now understand why I had my fears. But, I feel like a total hypocrite for having them. Anyone who knows me knows that I am one of the most accepting, understanding, sympathetic, whatever to everyone in this world. I know several Muslims that are the sweetest, kindest, most giving people in the world. I knew it was a small majority...kinda like the Nazi's...that decided to terrorize our country that day. But, I still judged that man in the airport. I still felt frightened.

Six years after the airport incident, I no longer feel that way. I am no more frightened of a Muslim person now than I was before the attacks (which was none at all). My boss is Muslim and he is the best boss I have ever worked for. Calm, mild-mannered, extreme family-man...generous.

I still haven't forgotten that fateful day, and I never will. I am a proud American...and am proud to still be able to embrace people for who they are. But I will always remember this day for all the thousands and thousands of people that died...and the families that still suffer.

Never Forget!

Scared of my office!!!!!

Yeah, if I could sit on top of my desk right now, I would. I got to work at 6:45 this morning (sadly, that's only 15 miutes early in my world) and there was only one other person here (luckily!). I walk into my office and as I am getting stuff out of my purse, I hear a kind of scratching and rustling sound. Well, there was a slight mouse/rat problem when we first moved into this building, but traps were set and we haven't had too many problems in the past year. About a month or so ago, I did happen to see a rat outside and I have been hearing noises in the walls again, but I choose to think that they can in no way get inside. Until this morning. So, I go running down the hall to get the other person here (luckily, it was a man). I have him look for something but the noise stopped and we couldn't see anything. He goes back to his office and I start to hear it again...only louder! I walk to the front of my desk and a giant cockroach (waterbug...whatever...doesn't make it any less disgusting!) crawls out from some boxes I have sitting in here and up the wall! Needless to say, I scream, run down the hall, and get the guy to squish it. All day I have felt like bugs are crawling up my arms! And, we have someone here working on our AC and I didn't realize this. So, yep, I heard something crawling up the wall (my back wall is the side of the building where they always put the ladders up) and I screamed. REAL professional! :) LOL!

About the lack of CrossFit postings...I just suck. That's all there is to it. We go, but I am so busy that I forget to write about it. So, I'm giving that up. And we are giving up CrossFit as well. When we first joined in December, it was great! The workouts were hard and effective, the gym was run somewhat efficiently, we liked everyone. Well, we still like everyone, but the gym doesn't seem to be run as efficiently anymore. The workouts are sucking (not in the good, push the limit way) and we generally just go in and do our own thing. Plus, I want the hard, CrossFit, cardio/weight classes. Not so much weightlifting which is all it seems to be lately. So, what's the point in paying them still? I get a free 24 Hour membership and Jonathan can get a great discount through our work, so we might as well just do that. Plus, we want to learn self defense. He took self defense for a few years, but he wants me to know some just in case the need ever arises. We are most interested in KFM as it is the most encompassing. We are checking out several places right now to see what fits us best and what is the most bang for the buck.

Anyway, that's about it lately. I'll try to get better about posting more often. :)

UPDATE: Yeah, KFM is weird. Not going for that so much. Probably either Krav Maga (cheapest and good workout) or Jiu Jitsu (I took it in college and loved it!).

I suck this month!

I just realized that it's nearing the end of August and I have posted once this month. Oops! I have been going to the gym, but work has been picking up so much lately, that I haven't had any free time at all to post my workouts! In less than 4 weeks, we had 8 proposals due! That's a lot more than usual.

Anyway, I am going to try to get better about posting my workouts again and posting about random thoughts in general. But, here's a quick update:

- Vegetarian...still going strong! I feel a lot better and not nearly as bloated as I used to be. Plus, I've dropped weight and am back to wearing my size 4 pants comfortably! Woo hoo!

- On a new thyroid medicine and that has me feeling wonderful! Of course, that's probably what helped me more than anything to lose the weight.

- Olive oil...still using that as a face wash and loving it! My skin looks better than ever!

- Sent all my stuff in for graduate school...hopefully I hear something soon!

That's about it for now. I will try to update again Monday!

Wall balls, pull ups, endurance

Yep. Still slacking! We did make it to the gym last Wednesday...it was wall ball shots and pull ups. My shoulder has been really bugging me lately so I did front squats instead of wall balls. We had to do 5 rounds of 25 wall balls (squats) and 30 pull ups. That took me 22:47. I was definitely one of the slowest (go figure with the pull ups).

Saturday was called "I'm an endurance athlete, too!" IT SUCKED! My version was:
Run 1/2 mile
25 kettlebell swings (12kg)
Run 400m
50 v-ups
Run 200m
25 ball slams (12lbs.)
25 burpees
Run 1/2 mile

That took me 34:05. My asthma was kicking in high gear on Saturday so I walked for about 1/2 of the runs. The real workout was double that plus 5 rope climbs, 5 weighted pull ups and 5 renegade row man makers. Since my shoulder has been bugging me, I opted out of those 3 exercises just in case. I would have had to do 3 of each.

My mom's friend is having a jewelry party tonight so I won't be working out. I need new jewelry anyway and I am hoping my mom will buy me some! :) I am on a big budget crunch right now as I am planning on starting graduate school in January. I am fortunate to have parents that spoil me rotten and will help me pay for it, but I am going to pitch in as much as I can. Which also means I have to get a laptop for it. I am excited about a laptop, but not so keen on the whole paying for it thing. I am trying to save big time right now so that I can get it in December without having to reach into my savings. But, if memory serves me correct, we get our bonuses around Christmas time...so that will help! Plus, raises are in September...woo hoo! Anyone who knows me, knows that I hate being on a budget and I love to spend money on stuff I don't need. :) So, it's hard right now. Really. Hard.

Oh yeah, and the olive oil as face wash is amazing! I have not had to use moisturizer at all, my face feels tighter...but in a good way...and it has cleared up completely! Who woulda thunk it, huh?

Workout

Jonathan and I are slacking lately! Well, he's at least running, but I am slacking! I have been fairly busy lately, but I need to start making more time to at least move. Yesterday, we did our own workout. It was hot as hell in the big D yesterday so I sucked! Of course, skipping out for 4 days doesn't help either. We won't be going to the gym today as it is just CrossFit total...which basically just measures where you are and your progress. It's too much of a rush for me on Tuesdays and Thursdays already since I work until 6 and class starts at 6. Plus, getting up at 5:30 in the morning is starting to catch up with me. And I'm in an artsy mood today so I want to do something crafty. I am in a mood to paint tonight. We'll see if that happens.

My Name

What Amie Michele Brooks Means

You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection. You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive. You have the classic "Type A" personality. You are confident, self assured, and capable. You are not easily intimidated. You master any and all skills easily. You don't have to work hard for what you want. You make your life out to be exactly how you want it. And you'll knock down anyone who gets in your way! You tend to be pretty tightly wound. It's easy to get you excited... which can be a good or bad thing. You have a lot of enthusiasm, but it fades rather quickly. You don't stick with any one thing for very long. You have the drive to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. Your biggest problem is making sure you finish the projects you start. You are friendly, charming, and warm. You get along with almost everyone. You work hard not to rock the boat. Your easy going attitude brings people together. At times, you can be a little flaky and irresponsible. But for the important things, you pull it together. You are very open. You communicate well, and you connect with other people easily. You are a naturally creative person. Ideas just flow from your mind. A true chameleon, you are many things at different points in your life. You are very adaptable. You are truly an original person. You have amazing ideas, and the power to carry them out. Success comes rather easily for you... especially in business and academia. Some people find you to be selfish and a bit overbearing. You're a strong person. You are relaxed, chill, and very likely to go with the flow. You are light hearted and accepting. You don't get worked up easily. Well adjusted and incredibly happy, many people wonder what your secret to life is. You are full of energy. You are spirited and boisterous. You are bold and daring. You are willing to do some pretty outrageous things. Your high energy sometimes gets you in trouble. You can have a pretty bad temper at times. You are wild, crazy, and a huge rebel. You're always up to something. You have a ton of energy, and most people can't handle you. You're very intense. You definitely are a handful, and you're likely to get in trouble. But your kind of trouble is a lot of fun. You are well rounded, with a complete perspective on life. You are solid and dependable. You are loyal, and people can count on you. At times, you can be a bit too serious. You tend to put too much pressure on yourself. You are a seeker of knowledge, and you have learned many things in your life. You are also a keeper of knowledge - meaning you don't spill secrets or spread gossip. People sometimes think you're snobby or aloof, but you're just too deep in thought to pay attention to them. You are the total package - suave, sexy, smart, and strong. You have the whole world under your spell, and you can influence almost everyone you know. You don't always resist your urges to crush the weak. Just remember, they don't have as much going for them as you do.

What's" Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

Lynne

So, I didn't go to the gym Friday through Sunday. Monday was Lynne and I am still a little sore from it! Lynne is:
5 rounds, max reps
bench press
pull ups

Yeah, so my bench presses suck! I did 60lbs. and my rounds were 1) 3(at 65lbs)/10, 2) 10/9, 3) 12/10, 4) 8/7, 5) 8/7.

I hate doing upper body days. I am just not that great at it. :)

Michael and the Olive Oil Experiment

Tuesday we did Michael. That includes:
3 rounds
800m run
50 back extensions
50 situps

When we did this in April, my time was 27:16...Tuesday was 31:48. I haven't been running at all in the past couple of months, so that was my biggest downfall. But, I did finally find my inhaler for the 3rd round and I ran pretty much the entire way. I need to run more and stop skipping out on it just because I hate it. :(

So, one of my fave blogs, the Budget Fashionista, also has another blog called the Budget Ecoist. Yesterday, they talked about using olive oil to wash your face with. If you are oily and acne-prone, use castor oil. So, I am going to try this. If it works out well, that's a heck of a lot cheaper than all the money I spend on Philosophy! I used it last night and this morning...so far, so good. My face doesn't feel greasy at all, but I didn't have to use any moisturizer either! And my skin feels very soft today. They said that Mediterranean women use this technique all the time...and they are famous for having gorgeous complexions! Hopefully this doesn't cause me to break out. It would be so budget-friendly if it works! Keeping my fingers crossed...

Pull ups, dips, squats & big lips!

Yesterday we did:
4 rounds
15 pull ups
15 dips
35 squats

That was the puppy level. Of course, I was the last one done. But, to my defense, I was the ONLY girl in the class and all the boys did just 5 muscle ups and 50 squats. I know muscles ups are more tiring, but if I could do them, I think my time would have been cut down. Even with 50 squats. My time was 22:07.

As for my lips...I went from looking like the Joker to looking like Meg Ryan! I am having a bout of angular cheilitis and it sucks! The crap in the corner of my lips is almost gone (what made me look like the Joker), but now my lips are so swollen and red that I look like I have gone nuts with the collagen! I swear I haven't. I can see my lips out of the bottom of my eyes! It's getting distracting.

I've been on a Mexican food kick for the past week and a half. Every day, I have eaten something "Mexican" (some people don't consider Taco Bueno as Mexican food...but you catch my drift). I went to Wal-mart on a break yesterday to get some hydrocortisone cream for my giant lips and they had a display of Fritos and bean dip...my fave! So, I got some and ate the whole dang can of bean dip. For those who are wondering, a can of bean dip is 245 calories! :) I need to do better today. I think right now this new medicine is making me hungry. Which I have heard it can do at first. I just need to kick my self-control up a notch. LOL! Let's see how long that lasts...

JT

OK, this is a bit late posting this, but on Thursday, we had skill practice day with an optional workout. Of course, we did the workout. This was not one for the ladies. It was all arms! JT is as follows:
21, 15, 9 reps of:
Handstand Push Ups
Ring Dips
Push Ups

I can't do handstand push ups, so I did shoulder presses with 15lb. dumbells...can't do ring dips, so I did band-assisted bar dips, and yes, girly push ups. My armpits killed me after the first set! My time was 25:48...not so great. :)

I am on new thyroid medicine and I am 4 days in and feeling so much better! I am not nearly as swollen in the morning (my fingers would look like stuffed sausages!) and the hoarseness I have been experiencing for about the past year or so is pretty much gone. Not to mention the sore throat...no more! I also have more energy and my muscles don't feel as fatigued as they used to. I am only on half a dose for the rest of this week and then move up to the full dose next week. The half dose is more than what I took before so that's why the doctor wants me to only take half the first week or so. Hopefully I will soon start to lose weight! My mom was put on the same medication a couple of weeks ago and she has already lost 6 pounds without even trying! Her dose is a little less than mine, so this should work, dang it! I have tried EVERYTHING lately!

Anyway, that's all for now.

Push Press

Yesterday we did 7 rounds of 3 push presses, increasing our weight each time. My PR was 80 lbs., but since we have been skipping out on the weight lifting days lately...and just skipping out in general last week...I wasn't expecting to get close to that. Especially when I thought 55 lbs. was heavy! But, I hit 80 and did all 3 reps. So yay!

OK, off to clean out our marketing closet. Fun times.

Ugh! Legs.

So, yesterday it was back in the gym after a 5 day rest period. (OK, it was actually a 5 day "Screw the Gym" period, but whatever.) We thought the workout didn't look so tough. We thought wrong. It was:
3 rounds
100ft. walking lunges
50 squats
25 back extensions

Normally they like to torture us with like 100 - 200 METER walking lunges...so I thought 100ft. would be easy! Yeah, no. That sucked, which made the squats even suckier. The back extensions weren't too bad, though. I'm usually pretty decent at those. I did this in 16:33. The walking lunges really screw over us short people! It takes me about 30 lunges at 5'1" to go 100 feet while it takes only about 15-20 lunges for those that are 5'7" and above (and everyone was). And that makes a difference! Yep, butt and legs are really sore for me today. Thank goodness the workout today is just push presses!

Tuck jumps, V-ups, Supermans

Yesterday went pretty well for me! It was supposed to be double unders, glute-ham sit ups and back extensions, but since I can't do double unders very well, I subbed the tuck jumps instead. And, since we only have one machine for the sit ups and back extensions, I decided to sub those as well. I did pack level which was 30-20-10 reps in 10:07.

So, after yesterday, I have figured out it's more my legs than anything that are wearing out on me. That's interesting. They are usually my strongest area in the workouts and now they are becoming my weakest. Hmmm...

Chelsea and Rowing

Saturday was Chelsea. I am still sore from that one! I didn't fare so well. The workout was:
Every minute on the minute for 30 minutes -
5 pull ups
10 push ups
15 squats

I did 3, 6, 9...and pooped out after minute 15. I did 3 more rounds, but that was it for me. My muscles are just quitting on me! Luckily, I have a doctor appointment in 3 weeks (the earliest I could get) for my thyroid. It's ridiculous. Yesterday was a rowing practice day. We had an optional workout of 5 rounds of 500m row/400m run. Since it was a bad ozone day and I was worn out enough already, I wanted to do kettlebell swings instead of run. I lasted one round. That's just sad. Hopefully I can kick my butt into gear today and just push through and finish a dang workout! I'm extremely tired but I'm gonna do it!

Monday & Wednesday's Jackie

So, I was aiming for 6 rounds on Monday...and I got 8 rounds in! Woo hoo! I still hate thrusters, though.

Tuesday, I was going to pick a friend up from the airport so we skipped the gym. But, she ended up not coming in to Dallas. Which was fine...I was exhausted and needed to sleep. I am convinced my Hashimoto's is acting up on me in the worst way right now. I am in a big search for a good thyroid doctor that will look at more than just my labs. I feel like crap...all the time...and I'm always tired. That's not normal.

Anyway, so on Wednesday it was supposed to be a 10k run. Since we go to the gym in the early evening, running in 97 degree heat just didn't sound like a bright idea. So, Jonathan and I got there early and did Tuesday's workout: Kettlebell Jackie. It was:
1000m row
50 KB snatches (25 on each arm)
30 pull ups

We didn't time ourselves, but it took me a little over 5 minutes to do the row, the snatches went pretty fast (I used 8kg as it was my first time to do these), but I slowed a lot on the pull ups. I am pretty sure I did it in under 15 minutes...but probably not by much. :)

We aren't going to the gym today...we have passes to see a sneak preview of Mamma Mia! And I'm so excited! My mom and I saw this musical on Broadway and I'm so glad that we ended up choosing this one. It was SO good! And funny. Plus, I love Meryl Streep. So, no workout tonight. I might try to get to class tomorrow night. I really need to.

Thrusters & Pull ups

On Thursday, we did as many rounds possible in 20 minutes of:
15 thrusters
21 jumping pull ups

I decided to push myself and use 45lbs. on the thrusters. Yeah, I got 4 rounds out of that (not a lot!)...then I squeezed in one last round with the 22lb. bar in the last few minutes. Classes were cancelled on Saturday so that all our trainers could get certified in Olympic Weightlifting so we didn't go...and of course we never really go on Fridays...but guess what today is? More thrusters and pull ups! WTF? But today is supposed to be weighted pull ups and it's only 7 reps each. Looks like I will be a buttercup and do the 35lb. thrusters (no more 45lbs. for me for a while!) and pink band pull ups. I am shooting for AT LEAST 6 rounds. If I can't do 6, then I need to get to the gym every day for a while.

Olympic weightlifting & fun with rings!

Yesterday, I got to the gym before 6. On Mondays and Wednesdays at 6, they have Olympic weightlifting. I used to go about once a week and then got lazy and stopped. I decided since yesterday was a skill practice day on the rings, and I was there, I might as well start back up with the Olympic weightlifting. I am sore today! I did a lot of squats...overhead, back, front...but not so sore that I want to skip out on today's workout. Although, it's gonna be a tough one for me after yesterday...today is thrusters! Yay! Everyone's favorite! (Please note the sarcasm.) But, I want to work on strengthening my inner thighs...maybe I can thin them out. :) RIGHT!

Anyway, so vegetarianism isn't that hard so far. Although, today I went to Taco C for lunch and ordered a Burrito Ultimo with no meat. They didn't get why I didn't want meat on it. They finally figured it out and all was good. But, it did have sour cream and cheese and I have no idea if those were made from animal or plant-based products. More than likely they were animal. But hey, it's only my second week! One step at a time. Also, in the two weeks that I have been vegetarian, I have not lost any weight, but my body fat has gone down while muscle has gone up. So, that's a plus!

Nevermind on the fish...

I decided that if I am going to be a vegetarian, I should read up on it so I know what I am getting into. I found this website: http://www.fishinghurts.com/fishFarms.asp

So, nevermind on the fish now...except the fish my dad catches at the lake! And I am so sick to stomach on all things meat from everything I have been reading and seeing. Obviously, the treatment is absolutely horrible...but the conditions that our meat is coming from! I don't want to eat chicken that lived covered in poop...gross!

OK, I'll stop now.

Dedicated Vegetarian

OK, so as you know, I started the blood-type diet which started me on a mostly vegetarian diet. Well, I ended up liking it so I kind of decided to go as vegetarian as possible as a lifestyle change. Last night, we watched 30 Days. This is a new(ish) show on FX (I think) by Morgan Spurlock (the guy who did Super Size Me). Last night's episode was a guy who was a gung-ho meat eater and hunter who moved in with a vegan family from California. Now, I have seen the videos and the pictures and Fast Food Nation...but for some reason, I always thought those were the rare and extreme cases that PETA is known to play up. It bothered me, yes, I am an animal lover...but I didn't really think all that much of it. But last night's episode of 30 Days had me in tears. Here's a fact about me that very few people in my life know: before I decided on advertising/marketing as a career-path, I wanted to be a farm vet and rescue farm animals. In fact, that was the reason I transferred to the high school I graduated from. They have an awesome agriculture program that I wanted to be in...but, I made cheerleading and the first ag class I had to take was also the same period as cheerleading. We begged with the ag teacher (who my dad knew because he had previously taught at my high school) to let me take the first class over the summer or something, but the school wouldn't allow it. So, I never took my ag classes and then decided on advertising as a career because I also liked to write.

Anyway! Got a little side-tracked there...but it's relevant. I promise. So, Mr. Hunter/Meat Eater fought all the vegan people for the longest time and he did have some good points. I grew up with a farm and we raised cattle and my family does hunt...well, my dad has turned all our deer into his pets now, so we don't really hunt anymore...so I could completely understand where this guy was coming from. He, like my dad and I, always killed the animals as swiftly and humanely as possible. My dad always taught me to not go for big trophies just to have a deer head on the wall, but to go for the ones that were obviously sick, or weak, or what are called "spike" deer. Spike deer don't grow big antlers, only two little spikes. Because of this, they will never mate and reproduce (as the females look for the biggest antlers to reproduce with). Therefore, in the circle of life (sorry about getting all Lion King on you here), they are just here to die out anyway. I don't know a better way of putting it, but it's almost better to kill these deer as they will just contribute to over-crowding...which leads to starvation. Which is why I am ok with some hunting. For some species, if they are not hunted, they will crowd themselves out and completely starve to death...which is cruel. So, I guess let each man judge for himself, but I would rather feed a family than let an animal starve to death. And, let me just add, my family always uses every part of the deer we possibly can. We always eat all the meat and use the skins for various things. Even my mom would use the antlers for stuff!

Anyway, sorry for the second long explanation. But, eventually, Mr. Hunter/Meat Eater started coming around. They gave him a job with a farm animal rescue! See? Told you the first story tied in. He did not like the woman that ran it from the beginning and I could see why. She had such canned answers for everything that it just was the same stuff regurgitated over and over. But, one night at 3:30am they went and saved a calf from a farm. Basically, when calves or cows become lame, farmers put them "out to pasture" and separate them from the group and let them starve out and die slowly instead of rehabbing them. The site of this sick calf was so heartbreaking. I have raised calves that looked just like him (only not sick)! But, they rescued him and rehabbed him and Mr. Hunter grew very attached to him. At the end, they introduced the calf to the general population of other cattle and the little guy, who was scared at first, started playing and head-butting all the adults. It was pretty cute and funny.

Another thing they had Mr. Hunter do was go to a dairy farm. I have been to feed lots before and thought they were appalling but again, didn't think much of it. My dad hates feed lots...even though we would sell cattle to them to make money...but that's a story for another day. I had never seen how the workers treat these animals before. They were showing how the babies had grown up in a stall for the first six months of their lives, sitting in their own excrement, and then the boys get shipped off to be turned into veal (that sounds like some good eating, huh?) and the girls go on the farm to spend the rest of their lives pregnant (that's how we get milk). To get these calves out of the stalls, the guys were grabbing them by the tail and just yanking them out as hard as possible! They were falling on the ground, and obviously scared, then these guys were just shoving them into the back of a truck. They were tackling them to the ground for no reason and just grabbing whatever part of the body they could to literally throw them in the truck. I have been around cows...you don't have to do that to get them to go where you want them to go. It was so horrendous. The babies who got sick and died were just lying there rotting waiting for the dead animal removal guy to come pick them up. Those dead animals get turned into "by-product"...yep, the stuff found in most (cheap) dog food...and we wonder why there are so many recalls on our pets' food! My dog's food does not have animal by-product in it, but I am even considering starting her on a vegetarian diet as well. Unfortunately, cats are carnivores and actually need meat, so Beast will stay on his food.

So, yes, this episode got to me. When we had cattle on our farm, I turned every single one of those babies into my pets. It got so bad that my dad would keep me from playing with the babies he knew we were going to sell at 1 year. Also, watching this episode, really made me wish I had stuck to my original career goal. Although, not sure I could have been able to handle seeing abused animals day in and day out...knowing that half of them weren't going to make it despite all my efforts. That's a hard reality.

But, after watching this, I am definitely a vegetarian now. I will probably still eat fish every once in a while (in the form of sushi), but definitely no meat, no eggs, no milk. I like soy milk anyway, so I will stick with that. I am going to try to go as dairy-free as possible...but sometimes you just don't know for sure if a restaurant used butter for your meal...and when my company orders us pizza for lunch, that's hard to stay away from cheese. But, when I have complete control, I will use alternatives.

I am pretty positive I can do it. Jonathan has been very supportive in my efforts thus far and when I made my declaration last night, he was very supportive of it. So, as long as he is supportive and doesn't try to force me to eat meat (and I won't force vegetarianism on him either...it's his choice), then I think we are good. It's worked out well so far. Except now Jonathan is responsible for his own dinners...our house has been filled with smoke a couple of times in the past week. LOL! Maybe we will have a cooking lesson one day. :) He's usually a pretty decent cook...just a little out of practice. You know, it's funny...not all that long ago, I would have argued why you needed meat as a source of "good" protein and how soy protein is crap and this, that, and the other. I always tell myself to never say never...somehow as you grow up, your thoughts and attitudes change...LOL! Guess this is another reason why to never say never! :)

Deadlifts and V-ups

I thought I would do really poorly for yesterday's workout. I suprised myself and did it in 9:10. Not the greatest time, especially considering I went really light on the weight, but not the worst either. My shoulder was bugging me and I think my muscles are still hating me from Saturday, so I was happy with what I did. The workout was:

21 deadlifts
30 v-ups
15 deadlifts
20 v-ups
9 deadlifts
10 v-ups

I used 88lbs. for my deadlifts, but considering my max is only 160lbs. (I am REALLY bad at deadlifts! I can squat more than I can deadlift...weird), then I think that was ok. All in all, not too bad.

"ABS"olute B.S. (it really was!)

Wow...Saturday killed me! Troy (my trainer) and a girl that I no longer like anymore (LOL! Just kidding!) came up with Saturday's workout. I can still barely move from it! Even though it about killed me, I actually kind of enjoyed it. It was:

Bear crawl 200m
Walking Lunge 200m
Toe Touches to Bar - 25 reps
25 V ups
Run 400m backwards
25 Floor Wipers
100 Situps
25 Overhead Squats
Run 400m backwards
25 Flutter kicks (4-count)
25 L pull ups
200m Walking Lunge
200m Bear crawl

Yep. It took me 1:21:30. The backwards run really slowed me down. I am slow enough going forward! And the 100 sit ups slowed me down as well. I can normally do fairly well on sit ups, but after the toe touches to the bar (you hang from the pull up bar and lift your legs up until they touch where your hands are), V ups and floor wipers, my abs were spent! So, the sit ups took forever. I went light on the weight and only used 35lbs. for the floor wipers and 22lbs. for the overhead squats. Even though this was my longest workout, I really enjoyed it. I think I might be a *tad* crazy. :)

Oh, and I did workout Thursday. It was just fun with rope climbs. I made it to the top on my first one, then got scared and didn't want to come down. Then I got stuck about 3/4 of the way up! After that, my arms were spent and my shoulder was hurting so I didn't attempt anymore.

Cleans and Pull ups

I don't know how I feel about yesterday's workout. I feel like I wasn't pushing myself that hard, but at the end of it, I looked like I had taken a shower with my clothes on because I was so sweaty! So, I guess I did work out pretty hard. The workout was:
As many round possible in 20 minutes
Hanging squat clean - 12 reps
Pull-ups - 7 reps

I did 7 rounds. I used the 35lb. bar for the cleans and did regular band pull ups for the first round then switched to jumping pull ups for the rest of the rounds. My hands were still hurting from all the pull ups and dips the day before. And since I have ripped the skin off my hands from too many pull ups before, I didn't want to experience that again! Of course, Jonathan ended up ripping his skin off. He did 12 rounds with 65lbs. for the cleans and real pull ups. He rocked yesterday...and the day before as well. He did 30 muscle ups in 5 minutes.

Anyway, I am exhausted today so we are not going to work out tonight. And it's been a bad day. First, my computer wouldn't log me on...that took me 30 minutes this morning. Then, I scalded the back of my hand with 190 degree water. That was fun. Then I was getting my lunch out of the fridge and hit the corner of the freezer door pretty hard. Then as I was fixing my lunch, my clumsy hands decided to throw it all on the ground! Yeah, it's been one of those days. Nothing a good glass of wine can't fix tonight. And going to bed early. Like 8pm early. Yeah, I'm that tired.

Oh and the diet is going pretty well! I only weigh myself once a week so I haven't weighed myself yet. I don't think I've lost anything, but I am feeling better physically during the day. I think I may just convert to being a true vegetarian for good...I kinda like it...

Speaking of which

In regards to my phone answering situation below...the office admin is supposed to be back at work in 2 weeks from tomorrow! She has been out for 3 months...so woo hoo to her coming back! I can't wait to sit in my office again and not have to answer phones every single day and do 2 jobs at the same time...it will be so nice. :)

Pull ups and dips

Well, the workout yesterday was 30 muscle ups for time. Since I can't do a muscle up...hell, I can barely hold myself on the rings for 5 seconds!...I had to do pull ups and dips. I did the puppy level which was 60 pull ups and 60 dips and I did it in 9:42. Not too horrible. I can't remember when we did them last so I can't find my score, but I know it was a heck of a lot longer than 9:42! I want to say I was in the 16 minute range. I do remember it was back when I really sucked at pull ups!

So, someone just called the office. I don't just say "Hello?" when I pick up the phone...I say, "Good afternoon...Civil Associates." Well, apparently to this girl that sounded like I didn't speak English! LOL! First question out of her mouth was, "Do you speak English?" in a really condescending tone. Ummm...didn't you just hear me? LOL! WEIRD!

Linda

Our workout on Thursday was Linda...and man did that make me sore! Of course, 2 days of shopping with my cousin and aunt worked out all that soreness...but I'm sure they loved hearing me grunt and say "Ow!" every time I...well, walked! My calves and hamstrings were not happy. Anyway, Linda is as follows:
10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 reps (55 total reps) of
Bench press (I did shoulder presses with the dumbells)
Deadlift
Cleans

Too bad I was still very weak from being sick and it was hot as hell in there. So, I did quit halfway through because the room was spinning...but then I realized that Jonathan was at the same point I was at (the 5 reps) so I went ahead and finished. It took me 28:13 and I did 76 lbs. on the deadlifts and used 15lb. dumbells for the shoulder presses and cleans.

So, starting today I am doing that blood type diet. I am A- so basically that means vegetarian. Well, as vegetarian as possible. I can eat some seafood and maybe some chicken...but definitely have to stay away from red meat. Which shouldn't be that big of a deal. I rarely eat that much red meat anyway. I got the books in from Amazon over the weekend so when I get some down time at work I'll read it and really know what I am getting myself into better. Hopefully I won't regret it. :)

Oh yeah!

AND, Jonathan and I did measure out what was supposed to be 1/2 mile for Murph...I was right! It was about 450 meters LONGER than a half mile! Basically, just over 3/4 of a mile. So, by the way I figure it, I can knock off a good 5 minutes from my time (yes, it takes me that long to run half a mile)...so we'll say I did a half Murph in 34:45! Woo hoo! Go me!

Wall Balls and Pull Ups

Yep. It's really been over a week since I have been to the gym. Yep. Yesterday's workout was HORRIBLE as a result! But, I did get really sick last week. I had full intentions on going Wednesday-Friday (Saturday was my best friend's wedding)...but I had a fever on Wednesday and Thursday and then a million things to do on Friday...and still wasn't feeling any better. So, yesterday was my first workout since Murph. It was:

50-35-20
Wall ball shots
Pull ups

Well, since it's been over a week and I have been extremely ill, I decided to go really light on this one. I used a 3kg medicine ball and did jumping pull ups. And it still took me 17 minutes! Ugh. Hopefully next week will be a better week. Tonight is going to be a hard workout as well, then I am going to Houston tomorrow so no Friday or Saturday workout. I will probably take some clothes to Houston and go to a park or something and do my own mini-CrossFit, Amie style! Ha! Yeah right. :)

Murph - The Memorial Day Challenge

Yesterday was the annual Memorial Day Murph Challenge at CrossFit. I am sore. Very sore. Murph is as follows:
Run 1 mile
100 pull ups
200 push ups
300 squats
Run 1 mile

Yeah, I did a half Murph. Although, I didn't think the 1/2 mile run was a half mile...so I drove it...my car says its 7/10 of a mile! That's about 320 meters extra for each run! I hate running so this really sucked! But, it also explained why my time was worse than a month ago and I felt like I was doing better. Last month, I did it in 38:18...yesterday I did it in 39:45. I have a feeling that had this been a true 800m run, my time could have easily been 36 minutes. Oh well. We had fun. Jonathan won the grand prize...he did the whole thing in a 20 pound vest in 47 minutes. The best out of 3 guys who dared to do it in a weighted vest.

Did I mention that I am sore today?

Helen

So last night's work out was "Helen". It's basically:
3 rounds
400m run
21 Kettlebell swings (24kg is Rx'd)
12 pull ups

Last time we did this in April, I came in last in my class (go figure) because, well, I hate running. And I'm really slow. My time was 18:38 then. I was using the 16kg kettlebell (that's pretty standard for me) and a blue band for the pull ups. Yesterday, they said we either had to do regular pull ups or jumping pull ups. So, since there's no way in hell I can do 12 regular pulls ups in less than 2 minutes and I am saving my arms for our Murph challenge on Monday, I opted for the jumping ones. And, on our scaling, the level that jumping pull ups start is with a 12kg kettlebell...so guess what I did? Yep! Went easy the whole way! I clocked in at 12:56. I was having major issues with running as it was so freaking humid and my asthma was kicking in. It felt like a 500 lb. man was standing on my chest the whole time! I hate running...

Fun with Rowing!

So here's my first CrossFit discussion...

Yesterday we rowed. And burpeed. And it sucked. And I sucked. Rx'd was:
Row 750 meters
15 burpees
Row 500 meters
30 burpees
Row 250 meters
50 burpees

Since this was an optional workout, there was no scaling (there is always scaling!). It was just a skill practice day...the skill being rowing. So, I scaled it myself and did:
Row 750 meters
15 burpees
Row 500 meters
20 burpees
Row 250 meters
25 burpess

Can you tell what part of the work out I don't like...therefore scaled back? :) I did all this in 19:21. And here's the fun part (as if it weren't fun enough!), we worked out outside since the owner refuses to allow us to have AC...and since my allergies are horrendous right now, I broke out in a rash all over my arms and neck. NICE! So, I downed 2 Benedryl, a glass of wine (antioxidants...don't judge!) and called it a night. Then, at 3am I woke up to a sneezing fit and took a Singulair. I hate my allergies more than I hate burpees.

I've been blocked!

So, they blocked us at work finally from what would be considered "Social Networking" sites. This means, the Yahoo! Group for working out that I am part of with my mom and her friends is now blocked. We have databases set up where we can put in what we did for exercise for the day. Well, since I am blocked from that and I am needing to really start keeping track of my workouts (since we try to improve them every time we do certain ones), I am going to start blogging about what workouts we do every day on here! Well, every day that I go. So, sorry if this is boring to you guys, but it will really help me stay on top of it. Now, yes, I can access the group from home, but I am usually so sick of seeing a computer all day that I never really get on my computer at home except maybe once or twice (or when I need something) on the weekends. So, here we go with the workout talk! :)

Oh yeah, I am going to try to get my comments to where everyone can leave one. I think right now it's only if you have a gmail email account...and not many people do. Feel free to leave me some comments if you can (all 3 of you! LOL!).

Exhausted

I had a long, long, LONG weekend! I am so thouroughly exhausted that I think my brain is asleep today while my eyes are somehow remaining open. It's almost 5 right now and I am going to go home, take a really warm shower and pass out!

It all started Friday. It was my cousin's 21st b-day so I went out of town to visit (more like party) with her. How we were so drunk by 10:30 is beyond me! LOL! That's just sad! Of course, we did start a little early. Had we gone out at the times I used to go out at when I was in college, the drinking wouldn't have started until 11 or so...then it would be perfect timing! Hahaha. Yeah, I am WAY to old to be drinking like I am in college again!

Then, on Saturday, after a rough trip back to Dallas (for more than just obvious reasons), I had a martini/bachelorette party for my friend that is getting married in a couple of weeks. I didn't drink so much that night, but I still managed to stay out late. Here's another thing I apparently can't handle anymore: eating past midnight! Yeah, I made myself sick trying to eat Wendy's at 1am.

Sunday I went over to my mom's to get my bridesmaid dress altered. It's more of a pain to do so than originally thought. And we were just chit chatting and I was helping her with a project for her mom...then realized that at 5:42 I was supposed to be babysitting for my friend at 6!!! Yeah, she lives about half an hour away. Oops! Luckily, they were running a tad late and I was only 20 minutes late. So it was ok. The cutie baby fell asleep (snoring, might I add) at 9pm. I thought that was great because that meant when Desperate Housewives was over at 10, I could crash! WELL, Abby had some different plans! She woke up about 9:45-10ish and was so angry with me that I dare put her to bed! Nothing could console her. She wanted to be held, right next to the tv, and when that bored her, she wanted to watch the kitty cat. Finally at about 11:15, she took a bottle...but stayed wide awake through it. Her parents got home shortly after that, but by the time I got home and got to bed, it was well past 1am.

So, here I am, almost done with work. And can barely even type this. But I need something to distract me these last few minutes so I don't fall asleep on my desk! What happened to me? When did I get so old???

My fat and lazy dog!

Jonathan just sent this picture of Belle to me. I trained her well. :)

It's been a while...

I have the usual to say...not much going on. My weeks at work have either been dead or crazy busy...my weekends have been taken up by parties, showers, family, etc. Sometimes I feel like I hardly have time for myself anymore! I am going out of town on Friday after work for my cousin's 21st (happy b-day Case!) and then have to rush back Saturday for a martini/bachelorette party I am throwing for my friend. Both events should be a blast, but I will be worn out! As soon as our office admin gets back from her sick leave, I am going to try to take a few days to recharge my batteries. I normally work 9 hour days Monday-Thursday so that I can have every other Friday off...which is nice...but since she's been out, I've kept the same schedule but haven't been able to take any Fridays off...which is not so nice. On top of that, it's hard to get anyone really willing to watch the front desk to give me a lunch break, so I have been working through the majority of my lunches. So, that makes for 10 hours a day staring at a white wall. Boring!

So, needless to say, because of all that, I'm a bit antsy to just spend some quality time at home...with nothing to do!

Anyway, so my body does not like technology. At the front desk at work, I have received the wonderful blue screen with "FATAL ERROR" across it at least 6 times and for some reason, every cell phone I get tends to just stop working after a month or two. Is it my wonderfully magnetic personality that does it? Do I have a crazy amount of static in me? What's the deal? I can tell you this much, I was so excited to learn that AT&T finally had a place where you can go in and trade in your phone that's still under warranty rather than having to wait for them to mail you one and then send your old one in. Too bad I wasted an entire lunch break, and then some, waiting for the 3 people working there to move a *tad* faster than a zombie to do what should have taken 5 minutes! It was very aggravating. Then, on my way back from work, there was a wreck on the highway. This poor girl was facing oncoming traffic and both the front and the back of her car were completely smashed in. She looked white as a ghost! Poor thing.

Oh, yeah, so how dumb do you have to be to ride your bicycle down the middle of a highway? Yeah, I almost ran over a guy on a bicycle(!) when I was on my way to AT&T. What the hell? I checked my blind spot as I was moving over to exit (a very busy highway, might I add) and realized I was inches from running over a guy on bike! After I missed him and got to my exit, I look over to see him riding his bicycle in the middle lane of traffic on a highway! One of the busiest in Dallas! What an idiot! I'm so glad I didn't hit him.

Yeah, my lunch was VERY interesting today...not at all frustrating...I didn't cuss once at other people...not me...


RIGHT!!!

Not much going on.

Well, there's nothing to report lately. Work was really crazy Friday and Monday...but before that and since then there has been nothing for me to do! Which always drives me up the wall. But, my bosses did give me a gift card to Macy's for helping out as our office admin has been out sick all month (yep, the same one). Which was nice of them. Monday, my friend sent me flowers because she forgot about my b-day last month...which was unnecessary, but they are gorgeous yellow roses with these beautiful fuschia spray flowers and they are so fragrant that the entire front of the office smells like roses! That's always a good thing, right? I am going to dinner tomorrow night with a couple of my girlfriends from high school. We are going to Agave Azul...and they have the best margaritas you have ever tasted! That should be fun. There's no major gossip with me lately...so I wonder what we are going to talk about! LOL!

OK, well, since there's nothing much to say, I guess I will post this pic of Jonathan and I from last June. We are standing on top of a waterfall at his friend's wedding reception in Washington (state) and it was gorgeous! You can see the drops of mist that was caught by the flash. I think it makes a pretty cool picture. Too bad I was freezing and pretty much stayed covered up in my cashmere wrap all night. My dress was cute. Anyway, enjoy!

Shopping is good.

Need I say more? I love shopping for new clothes! Well, on a good day. Sometimes you go shopping and it seems that everything you put on your body makes you look like either a bloated cow or an alien with the weirdest body known to man. But yesterday was a good day. Too good, in fact. I blew my entire budget on the first store! And I had allowed myself a good sized budget.

Let me start at the beginning. So, I've been in a great relationship for a couple of years now and we moved in together one year ago. I got comfortable. And what does that mean? It means I gained weight. A lot. When I met Jonathan, I was a size 2. Lately, I've still been squeezing into my size 4 pants but have been so determined that I was going to lose weight that I only bought about 4 pairs of work pants and held onto everything else. I faced the facts last weekend and decided to clean out the closet. I'm the type of person that accumulates a ton of stuff and doesn't throw anything out for a long time. Plus, the waist growth factor. So, I filled 2 garbage bags of clothes that didn't fit and/or were just not that cute anymore (the "What was I thinking?" clothes) to give away and then I have 2 bags of clothes that don't fit, but if I would buckle down and lose 20 pounds, I would have a cute, practically new wardrobe! Hell, if I just lost about 10 pounds, a lot of it would fit again! Those are now in the back of my closet. Unfortunately, this purging left me with very little to wear. Mostly t-shirts, 2 non-work skirts and a couple of shirts that were work appropriate, but most were a little on the young side. Oh, and those couple of size 4 pants that actually do still fit (I'm always an inbetween sizer).

So, now I have 2 issues: I need clothes that fit and I need a more "adult" wardrobe. I've been trying to get into this adult wardrobe routine for a couple of years now...but the funky early 20s style (and cheaper price) keeps calling my name. So, I have either boring work clothes or "going out" clothes...which I am doing less and less and now I find myself looking toward my more adult work clothes when I go out. I need something that will work for the office and for dinner with the girls.

White House Black Market was apparently my answer. Granted I bought about 15 things in just black and white (and one pair of grey capris) but they are staples! I now have staples! A feat in and of itself because every time I set out to get wardrobe staples, I end up with a bag of trendy. Everything I bought yesterday I can wear to work, family functions, dinners, dates with Jonathan, etc. Plus, a couple of the things I still had left hanging in my closet will mix with them very nicely. Problem: even with everything being on sale, the 5% off the great sales lady gave me and my $50 off coupon, I blew my budget. I knew I would, but I couldn't help it! And, I still didn't have new work pants. I had bought a pair of black and a pair of grey capris, but I hate doing laundry so I needed more pants. I had a $30 off coupon for Express so I bought 3 pairs of work pants (LOVE the Editor...too bad the short sizes are never on sale!) in neutral colors: brown, grey and a faux denim (still work appropriate since it's not actual "jeans").

I bit the bullet. I went up a size, which is depressing. But, I still felt like I looked totally fab in everything, which is great! And, now I am very happy with the direction my wardrobe is going. Now as for my belly flab...

Slam!!

Here's my new question to the world...why do some people feel the need to slam everything I have and do in life? Does it make them feel better about themselves to tell me how when they do it, they are going to do it better than I did? Notice how I say when they do it...that says it all right there, if you catch my drift. I typically am pretty self-confident, independent and what have you...I rarely care others opinions of me. Not because I think I am better than them, but because I know what I am doing is what's best for me. I have not made too many big mistakes that have landed me in jail or major debt or something else that will mess up my goals and plans for the next however many years. I've kept my nose clean and have generally been pretty successful. I bought a house at 24, brand new top of the line car not too long ago, in a great and stable relationship, have supportive parents, make a dang good salary for my age, get to play and do what I want when I want...pretty much living out that good old American dream. Yet, there are people in my life that have slammed almost every one of those accomplishments of mine. Not in a direct way every time...mostly indirect things that truthfully, they probably don't even know that they are slamming me when they say it. But, still...it stings and it hurts. It makes me feel as if I am proud of something that I shouldn't be proud of. Which is total crap and I know it...but after a while, it does start to make you wonder if you really haven't accomplished all that much. Yeah, these people haven't accomplished near what I have so I should just say, "Screw it! I'm doing well and if you don't think so, then kiss my butt! What have you accomplished in life?" That's mean...but it's what I want to shout at the top of my lungs for everyone to hear!

ANYWAY! That's the soap box for today. It's been crazy busy at work lately...just the way I like it. :) And, I've started to get into scrapbooking and have somehow amassed a crazy amount of stuff in the past couple of weeks. Tonight, Jonathan and I are going to Sam's and if they still have that scrapbooking roll bag with goodies inside, I just might get it. LOL! Like I need more crap!

Fun with Quizzes!

Anyone who knows me, knows that I love to take these stupid quizzes! The only reason why I don't do them that often is because I am always tempted to forward that email or create a bulletin nobody cares about on MySpace. :) Well, this is my blog so I will do it anyway!

My new inspiration

A new girl started at my gym on Monday. She had some great arm muscles and is super strong. She is slightly shorter than me, probably about 4'11", and has never ending energy and enthusiasm. But, one of the first things I noticed about her was the excess skin under her arms. I worked with a girl who had gastric bypass several years ago, so I knew this type of sagging skin was the result of a huge weight loss. But, her positive attitude and quickness to make friends with everybody at the gym put a smile on my face. After our workout, a couple of the girls, the new girl and myself got to talking. I found out that 5 years ago, the new girl was 300 pounds!! I am guessing that she weighs probably about 140ish now, mainly due to excess skin. With that cut off, I would put her at 125. Here's the kicker, though...SHE DID IT NATURALLY! Now that is some commitment! Here I am complaining that I just don't have the will power to lose 20 pounds and this woman has lost more than 50% of her very obese body in the past couple of years! She said an average dinner for her 5 years ago was a large pizza and a couple of 2 liter Cokes. And she would do that easily a couple of times a day. She was (self-described) addicted to food. She has now replaced that addiction with working out and despite the excess skin hanging from her, you can see the crazy muscles she has developed! She said she did do cardio, but mostly weight training...which helped her to have the tone and definition after she got rid of the fat. She does admit she's a little crazy about working out (6 days a week at least), but in my opinion, a little excess in working out is a lot healthier than an extreme excess in weight!

So, no more complaining that I just don't have the will power to do it. There are days when eating right and exercising just don't seem that appealing...but all I need to do is think of this girl (well, woman...probably shouldn't call her a girl!) and her will power and commitment and the amazing goals she has accomplished! 20 pounds doesn't seem like all that much anymore and such an easy goal. I have 2 months to do it in as well! :)

B-day!!!

I had a great b-day this year. We all went out to this "Irish" pub place (none of us really have ever seen the Irish in it) that was offering me free stuff. Which is why it was chosen. Not usually my favorite, but we did have a good time anyway. It's been a very long time since I have stayed out until 2am and then get fast food after! Man that hamburger was so good! I would post some pics, but my stupid camera battery was dead...so I didn't take any. :(

I also got some great presents which included a panini grill, a Tech platter (super cute!), money and earrings (thanks, mom!), lots of flowers, a faux butcher block (I'm a nerd...I really wanted that! LOL!) and a sort of relaxing day. The morning wasn't so relaxing, but the afternoon was. That morning, I had a doctor appointment at 8am where they took all my blood. Ok, not all, but more than I usually like to give up! Then I got home and cleaned like a mad woman because I thought my mom was coming over...then went to the dentist at 10 to get a filling replaced. My mom delivered flowers to the dentist office...which was cute...and it also meant she wasn't coming over. But, hey! At least my downstairs is clean! Then I got to laze around the house the rest of the afternoon watching a movie and then get a massage. Man, I really needed one, too! I had a lot of knots still in my neck from my stressful week last week. I think I will start getting one at least once a month. Well, that's the plan, anyway.

That was pretty much my weekend and Monday (I make it a policy to never work on my b-day...but apparently I will go to the doctor). Oh yeah, also went to The Keg Steakhouse last night...super yummy as always! This was the first time we ordered the calamari for an appetizer and I highly suggest it to anyone else who might go there! Also, the warm goat cheese is a great appetizer as well. Jonathan and I go there often. :)

This week will be great because I also have this Friday off...so woo hoo! 3 day work week for me!

Other things that make me happy...

...is this picture of my cat. :)

...and this picture of both my babies. :)

Forgiveness

It’s a tricky thing, isn’t it? It’s even trickier when you are trying to forgive yourself. My mom, aunt and I are all in tough situations. They have one (that does affect me in a large way as well) and I have one (that does affect them because they love me). The three of us are such peas in a pod, it’s freaking ridiculous! My mom’s sister is 14 months younger than her so they pretty much grew up as twins…and as much as I hate to admit it, I am very similar to my mom. But, daughters should be somewhat similar to their moms, so I guess I will just accept it! :)

Anyway, back on track. The three of us have been presented with stresses that we have never encountered before. Almost at a level we have never encountered before. (OK, my mom has definitely had this level of stress (or more) before...but I haven't!) And, because of how we are as people, we have been constantly worrying, wringing our hands, pulling out our hair and adding wrinkles to our faces because of it. Here’s the kicker: there’s nothing we can do to change either of the situations! Both situations were 100% caused by someone else. These other people are messing up, they keep messing up, have always messed up and will probably mess up for the rest of their lives! No matter what we say or do or how much we love these people, it won’t matter. They will keep going on like nothing is wrong and the rest of the world is one big, fat, stupid idiot.

It’s ironic…yes. The ones that mess up in life are often the first ones to point out how everyone else in the world is wrong. Not them. They are right…everyone else is just too dumb to see it.

So, it’s not about my mom and aunt and I forgiving someone else. There is nothing to forgive. They don’t think they’ve messed up, they haven’t apologized, they won’t apologize and they sure as heck won’t ask for forgiveness. Because they are perfect and there’s nothing to forgive. Nope, the forgiveness I am talking about today is the kind that you give to yourself. We have been stressing out over situations almost completely out of our control…then beating ourselves up for stressing! It’s quite a conundrum. So, I emailed my mom and aunt this morning and told them that we are going to forgive ourselves for stressing about that which we cannot change. Then we are going to move on and live our lives happily. We will also let go of any resentment because that will get us nowhere fast as well. We aren’t judgmental people (well, not more than anyone else), but we are going to start aligning ourselves and befriending others that have more of the same kind of character that we have and/or would like to have. It’s healthier to live that way, am I right?

Eh, not so great

Dinner wasn't a total disaster for me last night. Notice that disaster is still in that line. Anyway, so I lied...about 20 minutes before my workout, I got super hungry. Of course, after running 1/2 a mile, that went away. But, I decided that I didn't want to cook last night and I was super sleepy...so Wendy's sounded a bit tastey. I got my usual #6 with no mayo. When I got home, I cut the sandwich in half with full intentions of eating slowly and only half! I ate slowly...but half wasn't cutting it. So, I ate the second half without the bread and dumped my fries on what was left of Jonathan's fries. I did eat slowly, and I did eventually fill up...but man was that hard! All in all, I was never stuffed so full I could barely move yesterday...which is a vast improvement. And I am pretty sure I ate significantly fewer calories than normal. And I feel fine. WEIRD! :) Also this week, I decided to start dabbling in the Zone diet. I spent forever on Sunday planning out my meals for the week. Which was a beating. But, I am noticing that the "2 block" meals are way too much for me in one sitting with the Paul McKenna technique. And, 2 block meals are pretty much as small as you can get on this diet. Hopefully, with the combo of both I will finally be able to lose a few pounds for the first time in a while without starving myself! What a concept!

On a completely different note, I just realized that I forgot to put in my Frizz Ease this morning and with the humidity at a million today, my hair is a 'fro! And I was going to look so cute today in my new skirt. Oh well.

I can make you THIN!!

So, I watched "I Can Make You Thin" with Paul McKenna on TLC last night. It was a major DUH! moment for me. He didn't tell me anything new. In fact, what he did tell me was how to go about losing weight...exactly the same way I did 3 years ago! Why did I stop? Everyone said I looked pretty good. I still got to eat what I want. Just instead of a big bowl of ice cream well past when I was full, I would have one or two spoonfuls. I have slowly slipped back into the bad habit of not wanting to waste anything so I will just eat it all...whether or not I am hungry. And, I will over eat the bad stuff because it just tastes good, dang it! That's what has made me put on 20 pounds these past couple of years more than anything. So, I implemented his words (with a cute reminder from Jonathan around lunch time)...and it worked. Yes, I did eat more frequently during the day, but I can honestly say that I have eaten a lot less overall today. And, I am usually kind of hungry by the time I leave work to go hit the gym...and today I am not. Which is good...class doesn't start until 7. Tonight will be the big test, though. On Mondays and Wednesdays I get home fairly late and am pretty dang ravenous by the time I get there. I have a bad habit of just shoving food in my mouth as fast as possible. This is where my self-control and will power will come into play. I will force myself to eat slowly and methodically and stop the minute I get full...not stuffed! Wish me luck! Off to the gym now...

The Beast!

So, the images wouldn't load in the other post. Let's see if they work here.

Woo hoo! It's The Beast!

Paradox

Today is my mom's b-day so first and foremost, a big shout out goes to my mom!!! In exactly 10 days is my b-day (the countdown begins) AND this is the year that I will be half her age exactly. Yes, I will the same age that my mom had me at. Which kind of gives away her age...sorry, Mom. :)

But, it brings up a good point. In fact, I have a couple of good points tonight after 3 rather strong margaritas. So, it's weird to think that on my mom's 27th b-day, she was 10 days away from giving birth to a wonderful daughter. :) In 10 days, I will be 27. I can in no way possibly imagine having a kid right now. True, if Jonathan and I were married, it would be feasible. We could afford it and there would really be no reason not to have one or anything, but I seriously think I am way too selfish to have a child right now. Don't get me wrong, anyone who knows me knows that I do want to be a mommy one day and am looking forward to that day. BUT! Right now, I like my alone time, I like being able to go out and meet up with friends for a nice, leisurely 3 hour lunch then meet up with other friends a few hours later for happy hour (this is how my day off was spent today). Granted, one of the girls I met up for lunch with has 3 kids, all are aged 3 and under, and she was able to bring them. But, they are great kids and we want her to bring them (we actually beg...no lie), but she was older than me when she started (don't worry, won't give away her age) and I know that when I get to be her age, I will have a kid or two and will love it!!! Just as she does. But, she didn't start when she was 27 and is so thankful she waited. I have some friends that had little "oopsies" early in life, and it really takes a strong person to do that. You have to be willing to give up a lot of selfishness to be able to have a child. My girlfriends and I tonight were discussing how we are just not there yet. We are all going to be 27 within the next couple of months, and we are all in that same boat. Really, if we had a kid at this age, it wouldn't be all that weird to the general public. But to us, it does feel weird right now. In some ways, I guess we just don't feel that we are old enough to be in that spot yet. But all of us do want kids one day. It's just weird growing up, you know? Becoming an adult is such a paradox...you spend 18-22 years wanting and dying to become a "grown up" with your own money and not having to answer to your parents if you don't want to, but then when you actually get there...you don't feel that you yet have the maturity to do so.

Which brings me to my next point. Maturity. I know that I am a very mature and responsible adult. I bought a house at the age of 24 due to good financial planning (a lot on my parents part...but trust me, I did take note!), I have a very nice new car, I have absolutely zero debt and do not live beyond my means...I'm not trying to brag by any means, but my point is, I still feel like I am a child! I have no idea why. My mom found a picture of me from 2 years ago. In the grand scheme of things, it wasn't a bad picture at all. Yes, I was drinking in it. Yes, I had a cigarette in my mouth in it (BTW, I do NOT smoke! Just to clear that up...but when I drink, yes, I do enjoy one every once in a while. Not so much anymore, but 2 years ago, I still did.). Really, it's not that bad and she and I both know that. But, I spent the entire day feeling like I was going to be grounded when I got home! I am freaking 26!!! Almost 30!!! (GAG!) But, I feel like a child at times still. It's not my mom's fault at all...she treats me like an adult and did not lecture me about it at all. She actually made a joke of it. But this is that paradox I am talking about. I felt 16 all over again and actually was scared of what my mom was going to say! It's so funny and weird. Anyway, this is not at all my point on maturity. My point was being that girlfriend A was telling us she got an awesome promotion at work last week and girlfriend L was telling us she has this wonderful opportunity that will help her with her Masters degree! And, I am looking to open my own business one day...soon. I do feel that overall, we are still very young girls (yeah, ok, we are "women"...but at times I feel like a girl still) but are accomplishing grown up things! I know people that are slipping down the slippery slopes and on the wrong paths in life...and they are our same age. My point is, I had this realization tonight that my girlfriends and I are much more mature than I feel like we deserve to be. Am I the only one that has this weird feeling about growing up like this? Or am I completely normal and will hopefully grow out of it? There are times I get home at night and still get this overwhelming feeling that I have homework to do. I started school at age 2 and went for 20 years, so it's probably just such a habit to me and that's why I get that feeling...but it's weird to think that I have been out of school for 5 years now and still feel like I should be studying for something! So, I concluded tonight that these girlfriends are the types I need to keep around...mature, ambitious, gorgeous, outgoing, going somewhere in life, NO DRAMA! And maybe there are others that need to go? I don't know. Just thinking out loud.

Anyway, the art show last night was totally fun and I ended up hanging out with 3 former co-workers that I love like brothers (and Jonathan really likes hanging out with these guys, too). The artist was Joey Seeman and it was his anti-consumerism work. Really good with a touch of humor. Too bad I didn't get the 70s cartoon references...but hey! I was born in '81...it was before my time! We stayed out way too late...well, not that late (12:30am), but way too many drinks late! LOL! I haven't really done that in a long, long time (I'll admit, I was a pretty good little partier not all too long ago... with girlfriends A and L, no less!). It was a blast and I love, love, love the art district on Exposition. Way fun!

I am trying to figure out how to post pics on this...so I leave you with a pic of my Mr. Personality cat watching tv (apparently contemplating a diet) and playing with the candle (our house smelled like burning cat fur for days!). Enjoy!

Like I know how to blog...

So, I figure that since I read blogs all day, why not start one? I'm not particularly interesting and have no idea if anyone will read this besides my friends, but why the hell not, right? I don't really know what I am doing or what I will write about from day to day...but I tend to be really long-winded anyway, so I'm sure I'll think of something. :) Hey, this will at least save my friends from long, rambling emails that I have a tendency to send when I am bored!

OK, so about me...in case anyone who doesn't already know me reads this...I am 26 (soon to be 27 in a week and a half! ahhhh!), native of Dallas (and proud of it!), currently a marketing manager for an engineering firm, have a great boyfriend (going on 2 1/2 years), am starting to become an avid CrossFitter (just started 3 months ago...but loving it!), always on a diet that I never stick to fully, have a puppy that is 5 years old named Belle and a kitty that is 1 year named Beast (get it? yeah, I'm a dork!), have a few really close, great friends, wonderful parents...well, life is just peachy, now isn't it? Actually, right now it kind of is. :) That's boring! Well, there is some drama...but won't get into that now. No need to air out all dirty laundry on the internet, now is there? ;) But, those who need to know the gossip...already do.

Oh, and for those who are wondering...the term "Amie-ism" is an inside family joke. I tend to say random things at random times and make up my own words. An old friend of mine in high school actually put together a little book for me and called it Amie-isms...reading it is pretty funny. I'm a bit weird at times, I'll admit it.

OK, guess that's it for now. Going to an art show tonight. Will write about it...well, later. When I get time. Maybe after happy hour tomorrow...that will be fun!