Best Friends Trip!

How could I forget the big news?!

Val and I are going to NEW YORK!!!! Girls trip in October to visit some friends. I've never ever been and have been dying to go. I'm so excited. I can't wait to see some of the fall colors, visit Central Park, Times Square, and hopefully see a broadway show. After hearing about the trip, our other BFF Moni might come too!

Would it be lame if I sing "Oh Happy Days" now? Ok, ok, admittedly I don't exactly know the words to that song, but if I did, you can bet I'd be singing!

Jillian made me do it!

I came to the realization last night that I wasn't going to burn any calories simply by owning a copy of Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred. Funnily enough, I was a-thinking I was going to have to actually work out and get off the couch and do it. Huh!

Anyway, so I did it. I did L1, D1 (Level 1, Day 1). My arms felt like they were going to die. My neck was straining, my knees were shaking. It was humbling how out of shape I was.

It felt great.

My New, Old Best Friend

Inspired by many of the blogs I follow, this morning I decided to get out and enjoy the fresh air and get me some exercise. Pulled out my trusty old mountain bike, who hadn't seen any action in years, wiped her down, gussied her up with some new gizmos (my fav is the wireless spedometer) and was off for a day of creek trail riding.

It was the perfect morning. It's been in the 70s and 80s today with a gentle breeze. At first I was huffin and puffin a little bit, but by about 10 minutes into the ride, I was more interested in counting the number of turtles sunbathing in the creek than feeling like I was going to die. My cardio came back to me. I was golden. Yay!

My first ride was about 6 miles. When I got home Eric decided he'd join me on my afternoon ride (yes, I was jonesing to go back out and 'discover' more of the local terrain). So, off we went in a different direction. This one was less creek, more vineyards and farmland.

I swear the next time, I'm bringing some cash and my ID and we're stoping at one of the hundreds of wineries in Sonoma County. Eric brough along a Twisted Lemonade...lol.

We ended up going 6 miles round trip. 10 miles in all today. Not bad for my first time out in years, and for being as out of shape as I am! I think I've found a new hobby. Eric had a great time too, you could tell. Lots of goofing around and we had fun chatting the whole time. We took a few rest breaks. I think the highlight was riding a long the trail at a leisurely 8 MPH and being passed by a runner! LMAO! I can't wait till next weekend. I'm setting my sites on another local trail to try out. I promise to bring my camera next time, too.

All in all, a great day, good exercise, and actually pretty romantic once Eric came along.

I'm a happy girl. All thanks to this girl. :)

Shout out!

My first offical shout out to an awesome blogger. Ellie, over at Vintage Victuals, does amazing things with food. I've been cooking up a storm thanks to her. Warning: The pictures alone will make you hungry.

Tonight, the hubster will be treated to the Taco Burgers. Perfect Friday night dinner, doncha think? Maybe even with some garlic fries. He has been a good boy lately. He deserves 'em.

Costa Rican Goodness

I've done great with certain things on my to do list (let's keep it simple from here on out. To Do List = TDL, mkay?). So anyway, I have given up coffee. Haven't had a drop since April. :::cough:::

Ok, well thats not entirely correct.

My coworker just got back from her honeymoon in Costa Rica (awesome honeyoon locale, dont you think?) and presented me with a kick ass bag of Costa Rican goodness (aka Cafe de Costa Rica). Which automatically made my sense of smell 1000% heightened.

I sit maybe 12 feet from the coffee pot at work. The smell is incredible. (I sound like a junkie! lol!) After nearly 2 months of no coffee, no caffeinated beverages of any kind, I had about an inch of coffee in a little papercup this morning.

It was divine. It was a perfect amount. So maybe I'll ammend my goal and just lessen the caffeine in my diet. I was up to 2 cups a day, which for me was way too much.

In other news, I talked my gym into lowering my outrageous monthly fee to a reasonable amount, so I'm headed back tonight. I am so so so tempted to start tanning again there, too. It made me feel so good physically, and mentally. But I'm defintely wary of the whole you-could-get-skin-cancer-dummy risks involved too. Oh yeah, there's that.

And as I promised more pictures, I'll leave ya'll with a pic of me and the BFF a girl could ever have. That's Val on the left, and yours truly on the right being the nerds we are.

I've got another one!

Another "to do" to add to my list...

Remember to freaking blog once in a while! Sheesh.

I vow to blog once a week. At least. And to add more pictures. No pictures=boring blog.

Hold me to it!

There outta be a word!

I'm just geeky enough to be amused by this website.

I looked up my word, trafficky, to no avail. Ok, how about trafficy? Nope. I should email them, dontcha think?

Trafficky - ie "Let's take the back roads, it's too trafficky right now on 101." Get it? You know you love it.


In other news...

I'm working on my 30/30 list. Haven't had any caffeine (#1) since Thursday. Woot!

Working on #12 "Walk 10,000 steps everyday" one. Got my trusty pedometer. Been wearing it all morning and *gasp* I've walked a total of 158 steps! That's it?!?

Better wear my running shoes tomorrow.

My big @ss to do list!

Thirty things to accomplish in my 30th year, in no particular order:
(a work in progress)
1. Drink more tea and water, less coffee and soda.
2. Do something active every day.
3. Learn to knit
4. Bake an Apple Pie for DH.
5. Go tent camping (sans tent if necessary)
6. Have a garage sale
7. Practice my Spanish
8. Eat healthier
9. Lose weight and then maintain a healthy weight
10. Go mountain biking with the hubster
11. Stretch more
12. Walk 10,000 steps each day
13. Run (ok, jog) a 5K
14. Go to bed earlier, wake up earlier
15. Try a new active hobby
16. Blog more
17. Host a BBQ or party (or both!)
18. Watch less TV
19. Be a tourist at home
20. Volunteer
21. Keep my car, house, yard clean and organized
22. Have a date with the hubster at least once a month
23. Embrace new friendships, nourish old ones
24. Listen more, interrupt less
25. Forgive
26. Spend money wisely; learn to be cheap and proud of it!
27. Learn to drive a stick shift once and for all
28. Stop and smell the roses
29. Suprise the hubster with something fun
30. Think about "Be the change you wish to see in the world" and work towards that end.

And then she was thirty...

Today is my 30th birthday! Woot! I'm blessed to have made it this far in life, relatively unscathed and healthy.

I'm thinking of 30 Things to do in my 30th year. What do you think? I'll post back with the list soon. :)

Más cerveza por favor!

Oh Cabo! It was fan-freaking-tastic! DH and I were there last week for 5 days. It was my first time there. Between the awesome weather (90s, low humidity, gentle breeze), the friendly people, the cheap food and drink, and the beautiful scenery, I didn't want to come back!

I practiced my Spanish a little bit. It was getting easier and easier to catch on. We spent a lot of time on the beach just eating, drinking (2 for 1 drinks all day!), and people watching. We went took a water taxi which toured us around to the Arch and dropped us off on Lover's Beach.

We got a lot of sun. I felt the winter blues literally melt away. : )

We can't wait to go back next year!

Be grateful

So many people are struggling financially now. They are losing jobs, they haven't had a job in months... Be grateful if you have one. Hold onto that fact. It may not be perfect, but you have a job.

Someone complained to me that they didn't understand why their company cutting back on raises this year... they were still giving raises, just a lower percentage.

In a recession I think to get any kind of a raise is extraordinary. This person seemed like they were being jipped by not getting as much as expected.

BE GRATEFUL for what you have.

Grrr.


That is all.

It's passport time!

I'm going to Cabo in a week!!!! I'm going to Vegas next month!!!!

Eric has been going to Cabo monthly for a while now on business (his life is so rough, eh?) and I'm finally able to go with him. It'll be a nice long weekend spend in beautiful Cabo San Lucas. I can't wait!

We're going to Vegas a few weeks shy of my 30th (but hey, I can say its for my bday, right? Yeah, let's go with that) with another couple. Both DHs are treating us wives to Vegas as belated Valentine's present. Nice!

I can't wait and will definitely post a pic (or two... ok, or three) up on here.

Gah! I'm such a follower...

I've become a blog following whore (don't believe me? take a look at all of them!). Mainly decorating, cleaning, weight loss, newlywed, and some other just random ones I've stumbled upon.

I spend more time following than blogging. What can I say? At least I'm blogging about following. ;)

Vegas baby, Vegas!

Vegas for my 30th?!?!

Yes, please!

Got News?

I came across this website today. You can click on any dot and see the headlines from the local paper. It also gives you a link to that website to read the full stories. I think it's hecka cool! Check it out!