Since dan's been gone the last two nights, I've gotten extra snuggle time with el fitz-o. He definitely thinks he's entitled to all the rights a human has. He's very spoiled. It's gonna be a problem at some point.
Friday, July 1, 2011
New bed mate
Since dan's been gone the last two nights, I've gotten extra snuggle time with el fitz-o. He definitely thinks he's entitled to all the rights a human has. He's very spoiled. It's gonna be a problem at some point.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Oh pioneers!
Dan is going with the youth of our church on a pioneer trek the next few days. Here he is ready for the hiking in "authentic pioneer gear."
One thing's authentic...
That's right, a chin strap beard.
Soooo handsome : )
One thing's authentic...
That's right, a chin strap beard.
Soooo handsome : )
Friday, June 10, 2011
Weight Loss
Wouldn't it be nice to have that tummy?In January, Dan and I declared it the year of preparation. Next year is looking to be a fairly big life changing year with family, jobs, living location...etc. So this year we were going to do everything we could to prepare. I wanted to get more healthy and loose some weight. I don't think I was big by any means, but I was at the very tip top of the healthy BMI for my height and I didn't feel all that good about my body, so I did something different.
First I joined Weight Watchers online. I'd done weight watchers with my mom one summer and got down to what I think is a healthy natural weight for my body type and height. So I joined the new online program they have and started tracking points on the application on my phone. I really like the new program because 1. you get more points for the day and extra points during the week=not hungry if you work it right and 2. most fruits and vegetables are 0 points which made me turn to them much more often for snacks and having larger portions of veggie sides for meals because I could fill up with fewer points. Apparently some people say that they don't loose weight because they overeat on fruit. I don't know how this is really possible but ummm don't overeat on fruit.
Anyways. I've been following the plan pretty well since January. For a month in there I plateaued but I was okay with it because I knew I was eating healthier and didn't feel like I was on a diet. I still ate out as much as we ever do, and for the most part got what I wanted, but the rest of my meals were so much healthier, it balanced out. And I felt good! So I wasn't worried that I hadn't reached my arbitrarily chosen "goal weight." I started loosing again, and then went to Cali for vacation when I was 1.5 lbs away from my goal weight, only to gain 2 while on vacation and then get stuck trying to get back down again. Finally this Wednesday after my GWB morning run, I weighed myself and I was at my goal weight!
I was a little shocked. I couldn't believe I'd finally gotten there. I told Dan and he said he was excited for me. He's really been a cheerleader about us being healthier in general and has put up with all of my more vegetarian and lighter meals. Doing weight watchers and focusing on eating more fruit and veggies has allowed us to eat more in line with the Word of Wisdom and I think we both feel much healthier and are more in tune with how our bodies feel when we eat certain things. When we went to Cali, we ate a lot of meals based around meat and our stomachs hurt! Our bodies are just not used to eating a lot of meat all at once any more and I think that's good.
After I told Dan, he had me hold two 5 lbs weights in one hand to help me understand what I'd done. I lost a little bit more than 10 lbs and it was amazing to hold that weight in one hand and know I had worked hard to not have that be a part of me any more. I know it wasn't much, but I'm proud I took charge of my life and did something different so I could feel better about myself and dropped a pant size to boot!
*disclaimer: I know some people hate weight watchers and I will admit that I wish I understood the nutrition behind the point system better. But I'll be honest, I'm liking it the easy way right now, and I don't feel like I'm sneaking around trying to beat the system. I truly have a much better understanding of what a correct portion size is, I eat more fruits and vegetables, some whole grains, little meat, and while I sneak treats pretty frequently, I know that a couple are okay but a whole sleeve of cookies or pringles is not. I feel okay with my more minimal understanding and how it's impacting my life at this moment.
First I joined Weight Watchers online. I'd done weight watchers with my mom one summer and got down to what I think is a healthy natural weight for my body type and height. So I joined the new online program they have and started tracking points on the application on my phone. I really like the new program because 1. you get more points for the day and extra points during the week=not hungry if you work it right and 2. most fruits and vegetables are 0 points which made me turn to them much more often for snacks and having larger portions of veggie sides for meals because I could fill up with fewer points. Apparently some people say that they don't loose weight because they overeat on fruit. I don't know how this is really possible but ummm don't overeat on fruit.
Anyways. I've been following the plan pretty well since January. For a month in there I plateaued but I was okay with it because I knew I was eating healthier and didn't feel like I was on a diet. I still ate out as much as we ever do, and for the most part got what I wanted, but the rest of my meals were so much healthier, it balanced out. And I felt good! So I wasn't worried that I hadn't reached my arbitrarily chosen "goal weight." I started loosing again, and then went to Cali for vacation when I was 1.5 lbs away from my goal weight, only to gain 2 while on vacation and then get stuck trying to get back down again. Finally this Wednesday after my GWB morning run, I weighed myself and I was at my goal weight!
I was a little shocked. I couldn't believe I'd finally gotten there. I told Dan and he said he was excited for me. He's really been a cheerleader about us being healthier in general and has put up with all of my more vegetarian and lighter meals. Doing weight watchers and focusing on eating more fruit and veggies has allowed us to eat more in line with the Word of Wisdom and I think we both feel much healthier and are more in tune with how our bodies feel when we eat certain things. When we went to Cali, we ate a lot of meals based around meat and our stomachs hurt! Our bodies are just not used to eating a lot of meat all at once any more and I think that's good.
After I told Dan, he had me hold two 5 lbs weights in one hand to help me understand what I'd done. I lost a little bit more than 10 lbs and it was amazing to hold that weight in one hand and know I had worked hard to not have that be a part of me any more. I know it wasn't much, but I'm proud I took charge of my life and did something different so I could feel better about myself and dropped a pant size to boot!
*disclaimer: I know some people hate weight watchers and I will admit that I wish I understood the nutrition behind the point system better. But I'll be honest, I'm liking it the easy way right now, and I don't feel like I'm sneaking around trying to beat the system. I truly have a much better understanding of what a correct portion size is, I eat more fruits and vegetables, some whole grains, little meat, and while I sneak treats pretty frequently, I know that a couple are okay but a whole sleeve of cookies or pringles is not. I feel okay with my more minimal understanding and how it's impacting my life at this moment.
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Korean time!
I should have written about this a month ago when it happened but better late than never! For Dan's belated birthday celebration we went to the Spa Castle in Flushing, Queens.
It. Was. Amazing!!!
We went with my NYC BFF (who is leaving me!!! tears!) and we had a blast! It's a Korean style spa which means nakee time! The naked parts are separated so you're just hanging out with other women. Now before we went, I was freaked out. I was acting all crazy about packing things for the spa and nervous because I didn't know what to expect. BUT! it was awesome. It was amazingly relaxing but in addition to that, I feel like I let go of a lot of body image stuff.
Cue tangent!
We all know society is crazy and puts an emphasis on being skinny (not healthy, skinny). This gets stuck in your mind and you think that it's what everyone else around you must be. Even when you can see that fully clothed people are all shapes and sizes, it didn't sink in for me until I got naked and hung out for 2 hours with a bunch of other naked women. Everyone is naked so you just shrug your shoulders and think "oh well, I can't pretend to hide anything now!" cause you can't sit around sucking in your stomach and pushing up your breasts while trying to relax. It just was so liberating to realize that this is my body, I feel strong and in control of it, and other women have other types of bodies and that's what's normal. DIFFERENT IS NORMAL!!!!
Anyways down off my soap box. It made me feel really good and chill about what sort of expectations I have of my own body within society and I liked that.
Now the rest of the spa castle is large and also awesome. The 2nd floor is co-ed (wearing uniforms) with a food court and dry saunas that you could hang out in. 3rd floor had a beauty salon/massage area. And 4th floor had an indoor and outdoor pool. It was very fun and very relaxing and I would highly recommend it no matter that it takes forever and a day to get there.
Afterwards, we had to go and get legit, legit Korean in the for reals Korea town in Flushing. And we did it BBQ style. YUUUUUUUUUUM!!!
They're building one in Manhattan... this could be dangerous.
It. Was. Amazing!!!
We went with my NYC BFF (who is leaving me!!! tears!) and we had a blast! It's a Korean style spa which means nakee time! The naked parts are separated so you're just hanging out with other women. Now before we went, I was freaked out. I was acting all crazy about packing things for the spa and nervous because I didn't know what to expect. BUT! it was awesome. It was amazingly relaxing but in addition to that, I feel like I let go of a lot of body image stuff.
Cue tangent!
We all know society is crazy and puts an emphasis on being skinny (not healthy, skinny). This gets stuck in your mind and you think that it's what everyone else around you must be. Even when you can see that fully clothed people are all shapes and sizes, it didn't sink in for me until I got naked and hung out for 2 hours with a bunch of other naked women. Everyone is naked so you just shrug your shoulders and think "oh well, I can't pretend to hide anything now!" cause you can't sit around sucking in your stomach and pushing up your breasts while trying to relax. It just was so liberating to realize that this is my body, I feel strong and in control of it, and other women have other types of bodies and that's what's normal. DIFFERENT IS NORMAL!!!!
Anyways down off my soap box. It made me feel really good and chill about what sort of expectations I have of my own body within society and I liked that.
Now the rest of the spa castle is large and also awesome. The 2nd floor is co-ed (wearing uniforms) with a food court and dry saunas that you could hang out in. 3rd floor had a beauty salon/massage area. And 4th floor had an indoor and outdoor pool. It was very fun and very relaxing and I would highly recommend it no matter that it takes forever and a day to get there.
Afterwards, we had to go and get legit, legit Korean in the for reals Korea town in Flushing. And we did it BBQ style. YUUUUUUUUUUM!!!
They're building one in Manhattan... this could be dangerous.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Doughnut plant
We finally made the trek to doughnut plant in Chelsea. It was ah-mazing!
The creme brûlée of course. The crystalized glaze on top and the yummy filling made it a favorite.
The carrot cake. WOAH! I'm not a super fan of carrot cake but this was a favorite of mine. It has a surprise inside and was sooo yummy and moist!
The peanut butter and jelly. Heavenly! It was like they made a Pb&j with sweet bread and then deep fried it and put a peanut butter glaze on top. Excellente!
And we saved the black out (supposed to be like a lava cake) for last thinking it would be the best but we were disappointed with ours. There wasn't much filling and it was dry compared to the others. We'll try the basic chocolate cake doughnut next time.
In Cali there aren't really doughnut chains and I grew up getting Judy's doughnuts or whatever name the Asian owners picked (big overgeneralization but the best doughnut shops in Fresno are operated by Asians). These doughnuts are much closer to that style but of course kicked up a notch (or 10) a la NYC style. We definitely recommend it.
The creme brûlée of course. The crystalized glaze on top and the yummy filling made it a favorite.
The carrot cake. WOAH! I'm not a super fan of carrot cake but this was a favorite of mine. It has a surprise inside and was sooo yummy and moist!
The peanut butter and jelly. Heavenly! It was like they made a Pb&j with sweet bread and then deep fried it and put a peanut butter glaze on top. Excellente!
And we saved the black out (supposed to be like a lava cake) for last thinking it would be the best but we were disappointed with ours. There wasn't much filling and it was dry compared to the others. We'll try the basic chocolate cake doughnut next time.
In Cali there aren't really doughnut chains and I grew up getting Judy's doughnuts or whatever name the Asian owners picked (big overgeneralization but the best doughnut shops in Fresno are operated by Asians). These doughnuts are much closer to that style but of course kicked up a notch (or 10) a la NYC style. We definitely recommend it.
Monday, June 6, 2011
GWB
So I've kinda taken up running (running is a loose term for me). I downloaded the C25K application on my phone and absolutely love it. I'd been doing the 30 day shred with Jillian Michael's but nothing works the same muscles for running. But the first week of c25k is a manageable jog 60 seconds and walk 90. You do that for about 20 min. The reason why I like the app so much is that over my music a voice over comes on and tells me when to run, when to walk, when I'm halfway (so I know to turn around) and when I have one minute left. It's allowed me to feel really successful on all my runs.
This week I did my usual 6am George Washington Bridge run and it was gorgeous. While dodging the annoying bicyclists I took these pics a la iPhone.
I wish I had my other camera cause it was way my perfect and beautiful than these even come close to showing. It also probably helped that it was the first day in about a week that didn't have a high level of humidity. So it felt really nice and I wasn't drenched : )
This week I did my usual 6am George Washington Bridge run and it was gorgeous. While dodging the annoying bicyclists I took these pics a la iPhone.
I wish I had my other camera cause it was way my perfect and beautiful than these even come close to showing. It also probably helped that it was the first day in about a week that didn't have a high level of humidity. So it felt really nice and I wasn't drenched : )
Friday, June 3, 2011
Therapy ramblings...
That is a big ole impossibly still standing up rock behind me. It lives in Spain. People are like this. They do impossibly amazing things all the time and I get to witness it constantly. I love it.Anyways... I work there and I have some really great "this is what I went to school for, this is what I'm supposed to be doing right at this moment" moments there. The other night, I was working with someone and we were talking about weaknesses. He/she mentioned that he/she felt too much. Someone else is upset and he/she feels the same way and will become unreasonably upset. I talked about how I can't really do that and still be able to do this job. (I don't normally share about myself in therapy because it's about the client, but in this situation I was) But the thing is, I think that I do do that, and that's why I got into this job. But I've learned (slowly) how to take myself out of the equation so I can be a sounding board. And I like the visual of a sounding board, where they say something and it bounces back to them, because that's what I do... well at least try to do. A good therapist shouldn't just let you fill them up with your sorrows and pain and struggles, a good therapist should help you to understand and take charge of those feelings. I hold the feelings for a short time and bounce them back to you hopefully in a way that helps you gain some clarity.
More thoughts...
There are some crappy things that happen in this world. We all have to detach from it to keep from being pulled under. In my job, I see some of the most crappy parts up close and personal. However, I think I get to see some of the most beautiful, courage filled parts as well. That gives me hope that the good out numbers the bad. Which is why I keep going back.
Just some therapy thoughts...
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