Friday, May 30, 2008

Weekend Fun

Hi! Sorry I've been MIA for a week, no excuse, just not getting around to posting after we got back from our trip to the lake. We had an amazing time, I am sunburned, dehydrated and overall exhausted, but I'm slowly getting myself back together. It's funny, it's really hard to get back to my normal eating schedule after a weekend of craziness. Since we stayed in my dad's condo on the lake we went to the hilariousness that is Wal-Mart and got groceries for the weekend, meaning I was able to eat fairly normally, except of course of the massive amounts of booze that were consumed over the weekend.

In addition, I spent much time in a swimsuit, making me much more aware of what I was eating. Overall, it wasn't too bad. I had a few body image crisis moments, especially when I saw some of the pics, but it wasn't all bad. I decided I couldn't let those types of worries govern what I was going to do, and dammit I wanted to do water sports. And water sports I did. Wakeboarding (okay I never actually got up, but I tried like a mofo) tubing, and just playing around on the waverunners. I love love love going to this lake. I wish I could go more often.

Before we went to the lake, we went to see my dad, which was nice but probably too short. He's already talking about coming to visit us once again before we leave for Singapore, but honestly there is just no time. Every weekend through June is filled with events, not to mention the fact that we are seriously slacking on getting our shit together before we leave. I did call the phone company about putting our landline on vacation hold while we're gone. Does that count?

I know, I know, who still has a landline? But the boy works from home usually at least three days a week and he likes it for works calls. In fact he's talking (very loudly) on it as we speak.

In other news, I went to the doctor yesterday, was there for three freaking hours, to figure out my arthritis treatment plan, and I feel pretty good about what I'm going to do. I'm going off of my psoriasis medication for a while since that may be exacerbating the problem, then I'm going to try methotrexate for a while and see how I do on that. The one thing that concerns me is that this medication has been known to cause birth defects, and of course if I do decide to start trying (maybe in a year????) I'll go off of it, but it still makes me nervous. I also feel good about my doc monitoring me while I'm gone and working with whoever I find in Singapore, so that's kind of a relief. Thank god for email.

This weekend I should be able to keep it together food and exercise-wise. Tonight we're going to maybe see a movie - I'm dying to see Sex and the City but I don't know if the boy is up for that - or maybe just stay in and lay low, which would give me a chance to cook a healthy dinner and get a good night's sleep.

Tomorrow I have a shower/bachelorette party to attend, but since I'm still sort of recovering from this weekend (do I sense a theme on this blog? I swear I say this every week) I'm going to try to keep the craziness under control. Go, attend the party, have fun and celebrate with the bride, but maybe take it easy on the cocktails and appetizers. It's kind of a weird group of people so we'll see how it goes. I'll definitely get a workout in of some sort before I go.

Speaking of workouts, I better go get mine in for today. I'm thinking a run to the park with some lunges, squats, abs and plyometric type exercises before I run home. Yesterday I hit upper body weights hard, and I'm surely feeling it today.

I'll leave you with a pic from the weekend - me on the wave runner, with a nice shot of one of the boys with a beer in the foreground. Pretty much how the entire weekend went. :)

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Jean Pain

I know I said I was going away yesterday but I just needed to post my weigh in today. I'm down 2.6 lbs! Now that is based on my weigh in 2 weeks ago, because I skipped last week's weigh in. Two weeks ago I had gained a pound, so really, I'm down 1.6 from my weigh in 3 weeks ago. Which means it took me approximately 3 weeks to lose about a pound and a half. Averaged out to half a pound a week. Le Sigh. Sorry to bore you with all of that math.

Not really le sigh though because I am happy to see this number moving in the downward direction. I was just looking through my graphs, because you know I love the graphs, and I am down about 11 lbs for the year. That starting weight was pretty horrendous and I'm still about 10 lbs above my wedding weight, but I'm getting there.

Interestingly enough, I am fitting fairly well into a pair of (size 32) Lucky jeans I bought a couple of months before the wedding, when I probably weighed at least 6 lbs more than I do now. Now I know that 6 lbs may not sound like that much, but I swear each lb really impacts my body, the way I fit into my clothes, all of that. I was working out like a fiend at the time too, but I wonder if I was working out in a different way or this time around I've lost more inches in different places (e.g. my BUTT). I don't know, but I've decided to keep using these jeans as a barometer. (I've also been in a pair of Old Navy 14's for about a month).

Speaking of jeans, it's always been my dream to fit into some hot ass, really expensive designer jeans. Over the years I've continued to try them on, whether I'm at a higher or lower weight, and over the years I've been frustrated beyond belief by the sizing. I have never, ever been able to find a pair that works for me. So, Nordstrom is having their women's half-yearly sale right now, and I decided to do a little research on the jean situation.

Based on my current pair of Lucky's, a 32 is equal to approximately an American size 14. This sounds about right to me. But looking at the sizing charts of various designer jeans, here is what I found out.

Hudson's are similar to Lucky's - a 32 = 14

Citizen, Seven's, and Paige Premium Denim size 32's = 12

Meanwhile, Rock and Republic and True Religion are just plain mean. Size 32 for them = 10.

To me, this is crazy. Of course the designers are free to size their jeans however they choose, but how upset am I going to be when I finally feel like I can fit into a pair of designer jeans, and I go to get my True Religion's and find I can't even pull them up over my ass. Because really, I still have to go down two more sizes to fit into them!

I know it's a status thing, and to have these jeans you have to be two things: rich, and thin. If you don't have the money, or the size 10 or less booty, you just can't have them. I guess that's how they keep them just out of reach of the fat masses like me. Assholes.

One of these days I'll fit into some designer jeans. In the meantime, I'm just going to take my size XL workout pants to the gym and do kickboxing before I head to the airport. Bye!

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Procrastination City

I am having a major problem getting the things done that I need to get done. I think it's a function of me not having enough to do. It's like I only have a few things to do, so I keep putting those few things off. Like I want to stretch them out throughout the week or something. But I'm leaving tomorrow for Texas and I need to clean, organize files, and start cleaning out the guest room, blah blah blah. I guess it's more than a few things, but I just can't seem to get started.

My friend H. is going to rent our house from us while we're in Singapore, which is nice because we'll have a trustworthy person here, and double nice because we're going to leave almost all of our crap as is: furniture, dishes, etc. and she's just going to use it all. Of course we'll clean out closets and that kind of thing so she can move her stuff in, but for the most part we don't have to move too much. One thing is for sure, we won't be taking very much to Singapore. Mostly just clothes, computers and some personal items to help us feel at home.

I think I'm still sort of in denial that I'll be in this other country for six months starting in about six weeks. I'm excited about it, but I don't know that it's really hit me. In fact I don't know if it will until I get there. One thing that isn't helping is that we still don't know where we'll be living. The boy's company is working on that, but I just want to see pictures, that kind of thing. I think it will help things become more real for me.

I just have so many questions. What will my day be like? What will I have for breakfast? I assume they don't sell Thomas Whole Grain Light english muffins there. ;) Will I be able to work out normally? Will I make friends? Will I be lonely?

I know I'll be lonely. I'm sure of it. But I think I'll figure it out. I have to. In the meantime I guess I just have to take one step at a time and get organized. Oh and also enjoy the fun events I have going on until I leave.

.............

So tomorrow I leave for Midland to see my dad, where I'll be for two days with my sister and her BF. Then we'll drive up to the lake on Friday, and that's when the boy flies in with two of our best friends and we'll party like we're 21 again. I haven't even thought about the pain that will be being in a swimsuit around this couple, but honestly, they are our best friends, they know everything about us, and seeing me in all my glory is just one more thing. I may not be a size 6, or 4, or whatever the new perfection is, but I'm not going to let that stop me from having a good time on the lake.

On that note, I guess I should try to go get my shit together. Peace.

Monday, May 19, 2008

Panini Monday

Hello. Hope everyone had a fantastic weekend. I did, really enjoyed not having too many plans. The boy and I spent a good chunk of Saturday doing yard work, which is of course not that exciting but very fulfilling. It's always nice to see the fruits of your labor. Yesterday we saw Iron Man, which I actually really liked, even though I'm a movie snob, and then hung out at the park with some friends just playing volleyball and chillin'. Overall, an excellent couple of days.

This morning I ran down to the park, where I did some boot camp style exercises. Up downs (also known as burpies) push ups, tricep dips, squats, lunges, etc. I didn't push it quite as hard as one of those boot camp instructors probably would have, but it was a tough workout nonetheless. Felt good to sweat out all of the beer toxins from the weekend. ;)

I'm making dinner for a friend tonight who may rent our house for the six months we're out of the country. On the menu is a spinach salad and chicken pesto panini's. I cheated and went and got rotisserie chicken for the panini's to make it a bit easier, but my plan is to do chicken, pesto, mozzarella, and sliced tomatoes. Not exactly diet friendly, but I'm fitting it to my daily calorie allotment and I think I'll be fine as long as I keep my portion small.

Also, I know I'm not a teenage girl, but damn I'm excited for Gossip Girl tonight. What can I say, I'm a sucker for the dramz.

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Vegas Hangover

Back from Vegas and definitely a little worse for the wear. I guess I just need to accept that I absolutely cannot party like I used to. We had an amazing time, how can 8 girls in Vegas not have an amazing time really, but the 40 hours I was there was more than enough. I drank way too much champagne and generally just partied like a rock star.

Sunday night I got back and all I wanted to do was go to sleep, but of course I had to do some writing that I had put off. That was a dumb idea. But it got done, and then the boy and I hit the couch to catch up and watch a movie. Ratatoullie. It was cute but I know why I put off watching it for so long. It's a cartoon. Duh. I know I totally missed out on Mother's Day, so I hope all of you mothers out there had a great day.

I hadn't worked out for five whole days until today, which I hated, but my ankle needed the rest and after five weeks of boot camp, I think I'm okay with it. I don't want to train my body to think it's going to burn 700 calories every day either, because I know that is going to head me down a road I don't want to go. My ankle is feeling close to 100% now, which is nice.

I did hit an abs class and then a kickboxing class at the gym today, which they just added, and might I say it was quite the workout. The abs class was just okay, but kickboxing was phenomenal. Of course this guy walks in, he has maybe 4% body fat, and he is just ready to rock. He was so ripped, but in a hot, not gross way, and man, did he know how to work it out. I'm so freaking uncoordinated and I'm sure I looked like a fish out of water flailing about, but I got a great workout and had lots of fun. He kept saying "yes you can!" the entire time, which I kind of liked because even though no one said it, I'm sure we were all thinking in our heads "there's absolutely no way I can get my leg to kick that high." It was great, I'll definitely be going back next week.

I'm skipping my weigh in this week because I still feel a bit bloated and out of sorts from the weekend, and I know it won't be what I want to see. I'm leaving for Texas to see my dad for a couple of days and then meet some friends at the lake near Austin, so I have one more week to get in gear before that trip, on which I'm sure I'll party like a rock star again and completely forget how hungover and gross I felt on Sunday. And Monday. And yesterday.

Tomorrow we are going to see Flight of the Conchords! I hope they play their song Jenny in honor of me. :)

Thursday, May 08, 2008

Stupid Hose

Hello. It's Thursday morning and I have a crapload to do before I head to Vegas tomorrow, and I don't know if I'm going to get to post again before I go, so I thought I'd check in and say hi. I'm already having a shitty morning because I forgot to get coffee yesterday so we're out, and when I don't get my caffeine I am not a pretty picture.

Yesterday went exactly as planned. I worked on my article for a good chunk of the day, dropped the boy's kidney stone (yes, the one he got two years ago and has done precisely nothing about) off at the doctor for testing, and then met my mom and my sister for lunch at a new Mexican restaurant by my sister's office. I got the shrimp tacos, but only ate about half. It took everything in my power not to order a giant bean burrito the size of my arm, but I persevered. Mexican food is hard though. It seems like everything is loaded with cheese and sour cream and the tortillas are terrible too. I thought shrimp tacos on corn tortillas was a good choice, and I took off most of the cabbage and sauce goo goo they had on there.

Last night at boot camp we did all indoor stuff, a lot of boxing and "learned" how to jump rope. Well I thought I knew how to jump rope, but apparently there is something of an art to it. And, believe it or not, I'm a "natural" according to the instructor. That just makes me laugh my ass off. It's the way you tap your toes and move the rope around I guess that makes jumping rope such a great exercise for boxers. Think Hillary Swank in Million Dollar Baby. That's exactly how I looked. Oh except with about 40 more lbs on. Yeah. It was a nice, sweaty workout and I felt great afterward.

So when I got home last night after girl's dinner what did I do? Promptly tripped on the hose (that I left out) and turned my left ankle. Hard. Like I was writhing around on the grass in the dark trying not to cry. It hurt so effing bad. I iced it last night and mainlined some advil, but it is still pretty swollen and hurty this morning. Which means, unless it gets better throughout the day, I might be missing the last day of boot camp. The day we test to see how far we've come. And I'm pissed dammit! I don't want to miss it.

But, as the boy said last night, I better not push it if I want to avoid really injuring myself. The other thing I'm pissed about is Vegas. I do not want to be walking around in ugly supportive shoes if we are going to clubs and what not. Not that I'm a big club person, but I'm just going to go with what the ladies want to do and I'm sure we'll get dressed up and go out. It's not really that bad right now, but it certainly hurts, so I'm just going to see how I feel this afternoon but I doubt I'm doing a whole of activity for the next few days.

Today is lunch with another friend (I'm really lunching it up these days but now that I'm not working in an office it's one of the only ways I get to connect with some of my friends) maybe or maybe not boot camp and then shows with the boy. I love Thursdays, so much good TV, so little time. We usually save Lost for Saturday morning so we can rewind everything about a million times, but I guess we'll watch it tonight since I'll be leaving.

Vegas here I come!

Wednesday, May 07, 2008

Weigh In

Up 1 lb this week. Boo! I lost 1 last week so the last two weeks have been a wash I guess. I know working out doesn't give me a license to eat crap, and that's what I did a couple of days this weekend, even if it was in smaller amounts, so I just have to take this gain for what it is. It's funny, every night at boot camp my heart rate monitor says I burn at least 700 calories, but I know I could completely cancel that out with one tiny little blizzard at Dairy Queen (the boy's new obsession - why oh why?!?) or some spinach dip out with friends or a million other yummy foods.

This is the last week of boot camp and I'm kind of sad to see it go, but I'm also really excited to get back to doing the workouts I want to do. I think I've mentioned this, but this is the first camp at the new downtown location and they've been trying out different instructors on us. While it's nice to have lots of different types of instructors, sometimes I don't think they talk enough about what the person did the night before. So last week we did tons of cardio and not enough weights for my taste, and this week we've done shoulders both on Monday and Tuesday. Don't get me wrong I know my shoulders need work, but we've barely done any biceps at all this camp and I want to do that too.

Last night was another really tough workout and I'm feeling it today for sure. Lots of push ups, dips, and shoulder presses, along with running around the park 5 freaking times and jumping rope for a year and a half. After the workout the boy and I went to get sushi for dinner, which was yummy, but today I feel sort of bloated and puffy. All the soy sauce I guess. I've always considered sushi a really healthy meal, but salt really does do a number on me as a get older. Wow even just writing that made me feel old. And now to talk about my arthritis, which isn't an old people disease at all, right?

Last week when I got my arthritis diagnosis, they took a ton of blood to run a bunch of tests. Yesterday I got a call that my complete blood count (CBC) test came back low, so they want me to come back in and have it redone. I'm going on Monday for an MRI of my foot anyway to see if I have any erosion in my joints, so I'm just going to have it done then, but I'm wondering what that means. My mom said (and the Internets confirmed) that they use CBC as a test for anemia sometimes, which could make sense given I don't eat red meat. But I eat a ton of spinach, so I don't know, that sounds sort of weird to me.

I guess I'll find out next week.

Today it's rainy and gloomy, which I secretly love. I've got a lot of writing to do this morning, taking the dogger to the groomer, lunch with my sister and then more writing before boot camp and girl's dinner tonight. Should be a fun-filled, rainy day!

Monday, May 05, 2008

Back to it Monday

I feel like crap-o-la today. I wasn't totally off track this weekend - did pretty well up until yesterday, but my body is just so much more sensitive to what I put into it and this weekend I did not give it lots of fruit and vegetable and water love.

Especially yesterday I guess - we did an early Mother's Day lunch. I had a Bloody Mary (hey, vegetable juice, right?) while sitting out in the sun, and along with my Avocado Benedict (delicious, and I only ate half) I thought I wasn't doing too bad. But then I had some crappy snacks, some beers, and we ended up going to a crappy pizza joint (really crappy, I've had frozen pizza a million times better) and now I just feel crappy. I didn't even eat that much, stayed under 1500 calories, but it was 1500 of the wrong calories. The worst part about eating gross food is that you know you just put all of these gross calories and fat into you, and the food wasn't even that good or worth it. I'd much rather gain weight from eating things like high-end cheese and gelato. But I do still like the beer.

Anyway, couple all of that with a weekend of poor sleep (having guests always does that to me) and no working out for three days and I just feel bloated and gross. I'm trying to chug water, reintroduce the veggies and just have an all-around good day - just like most of my other Mondays, especially because I know I've got another really tough weekend ahead of me.

A bachelorette party in Vegas. I know there will be lots of drinking and probably not good eating, and I'm preparing myself for that, so I want to stay in my really good place before I go.

This is the last week of boot camp, and I'm prepared to kick major ass this week in both the exercise and the food arenas. When I get back from Vegas I have lots of doctors appointments to figure out how to treat this arthritis, a lot of stuff to do to get ready for our move, and only two weeks before we go to the lake with some friends.

I'm still not so sure I'm ready to be in a swimsuit, but I am glad that I've dropped at least five or so extra pounds. I'd like to say I could drop five more by that trip, but I'm not sure. I guess a girl can try, right? Hope everyone has a nice Monday.

ETA: By the way, my mom is doing much better. I think she just had food poisoning. That's what she gets for eating at a place called Chubby's. LOL.

Friday, May 02, 2008

Mom to my Mom

Happy Friday! I'm super duper tired this morning because I didn't get to bed until about 1:30, and even then I didn't sleep well at all. Last night was hectic and crazy, but I'm hoping it sets the stage for a good weekend.

First: boot camp. Last day of week four, and it was brutal brutal. So brutal I almost puked. We ran the entire time. It's no secret here that I'm one of the slowest in the group, but on the way back from our run out (it was kind of staggered and interspersed with some squats, lunges and sprints so we all kept catching up to each other) we ran together for the entire 30 minutes home. Now I'm no stranger to long runs - I did that half marathon in October and I know how to manage that. But I am a stranger to running fast, and running without any walking breaks at all. I had to keep pace with the group, and the instructor decided V. and I (another one of the slower girls) were going to do it come hell or high water.

So to keep us moving at a fast pace, he did this technique where he put two fingers on the small of our backs (he traded off every once in a while) and sort of "pushed" us along. It was only two fingers, but it really did help. He also talked to us pretty much nonstop about our breathing, our pace, etc. It was actually really nice to have someone help me out like that (this is not the instructor I was previously worried about) and I ended up running the whole way back MUCH faster than I normally run. I even sprinted at the very end, and that's what led to the almost puking incident. It was hard. Painfully hard. But I was so freaking proud of myself afterward. And honestly, I'd say we ended up running almost 5 miles when all is said and done. It was great. And if I have to do it again I think I will kill someone. ;)

After boot camp I came home to my clean house (love a clean house just before guests arrive), hopped in the shower, almost fell down in the shower, and realized I needed some food pretty immediately. So I went downstairs, made myself a protein shake, half a sweet potato and a delicious salad with mixed greens, goat cheese, craisins, and balsamic viniagrette and watched some Thursday night TV. I had to leave to pick up my aunt from the airport around 8:30.

The plan was to take her back to my parents, where she is staying, but since they were at the hockey game (umm, not so great) we decided to go have a drink while waiting for them and waiting for my cousin's flight to get in. Well little did we know that my mom was actually at home, throwing up, and had been for hours. When my sister called to ask how my mom was doing, I had no idea. I felt so bad, here we were sitting and chatting, when she was home alone so sick.

So we rushed to her house, then I rushed out and bought her some Pepto and 7Up. I think she had food poisoning, I swear, in all of my 28 years, I have never seen my mother this sick. I felt awful. It's so weird when it's turned around, this woman who has taken care of me so many times when I'm sick, and here I am taking care of her. I just talked to her this morning and she's finally feeling better so I'm glad to hear that.

I finally left to come home around 11:30, was home before 12, and waited on the boy to come home with cousin and her husband. He ended up taking a later flight and arriving at the airport around the same time they did, so it worked out that I didn't have to go pick them up after all. Everyone was finally home and in bed by 1:30, but it was a big night for sure.

It looks like everyone is just getting up and around, so I better run. Wish me luck on eating out this weekend. Hope you all have a great one!

Thursday, May 01, 2008

May Day

A couple of things today.

1. Last year - my toes were swollen and I had a couple of theories about why that was. Well some of the swelling has moved to my fingers as well, and it's becoming a major pain/inconvenience/worry. So I finally went to a rheumatologist this week and found out I do indeed have psoriatic arthritis, which is an extension of my psoriasis.

This sucks. Getting it so young means I'm going to have to closely monitor my joints, and be on some sort of medication (read: weekly shots) for probably the rest of my life. I'm getting an MRI in a couple of weeks to find out if I have any erosion in my toes already, and if I do that is going to be a very bad thing. The other thing is figuring out what I'm going to do to take care of this while I'm in Singapore. Getting doctors, finding out what kind of medication I'll have access to, etc.

It's funny, because I called my toes sausage toes, and the doctor said they actually do call it sausage toe. Like that is a medical term. I knew I should have been a doctor.

2. I also have something else called Ehler's-Danlos syndrome. It means I have a defect in collagen synthesis. I don't really know what that means. What it means to me is that my skin is more stretchy than normal, that my fingers are "double-jointed" (nothing to do with the arthritis) and that I have hypermobility in my elbows and knees. In my case it's nothing to really worry about, but it's interesting to know that I have this nonetheless.

3. Yesterday it was 80 degrees here. Today it is snowing. Big, wet sloppy snowflakes. WTF? Stupid weather.

4. My cousin and her husband are flying in late tonight to stay with us until Monday. I have to pick them up at 11:30 or something. I don't want to stay up that late. I'm so selfish.

5. Last night at bootcamp we ran probably about 3 miles, then we came back and did 30 minutes of abs. Ouch.

6. I have to vacuum. I hate vacuuming. This post is getting boring so I'm off now...