new friends…

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I ran in the Freedom Run this morning. I finally did a 10k (funny that I’m running a marathon in October). I was just going to do it on my own, but then I was reading Cropstar’s blog and saw that she was planning on coming up from Vegas to run the same race. I have done races on my own before, but it’s so much more fun when there’s someone there with you at the end. Someone who understands how tired you are, who knows what you mean when you say, “Wow, that hill was a killer.” So, an idea was born…and those of you who know me know that once I decide to do something, that’s it. So, I emailed Cropstar to see if she would mind if I tagged along with her.

I’m so glad I did. She was running it with her friend, Stacy, so I met up with both of them this morning just before the run. For whatever reason I was really nervous about this 10k. It’s not that I can’t or haven’t ever run 6.2 miles, but it was new for me and I had this idea in my mind that most people who do 10k’s are serious runners. While I run, I would never put myself in that category. So, because of the nerves, it was especially nice to have some people there to talk to before the race and people to run with during the race and people to whine to after the race. I loved it!

The best part, other than finishing the darn thing just a bit shy of my goal…which really was the best part, is that I can move Cropstar’s blog from the “blogs I stalk” list to the “people I know” list and that is super fun. Yes…I’m a big dork and I’m totally fine with that.

dear you…

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Dear Justin’s neighbor,

Who taught you that it’s okay to stop by and ask for my brother to help you hang your wine rack on a Sunday afternoon? Without calling? And who didn’t teach you that when you see that your neighbor has company (aka me), you should retract your request? And who taught you that once my brother was at your house and had finished what you originally asked him to do, that it would be okay to ask him to do a few more things? Just curious…because I’d like to teach that person a few things.

A seriously concerned and irritated sister of your way too nice neighbor

Dear Justin,

Who taught you to be so nice and to always be willing to do things for others? Okay, so it was Mom. But seriously, you were sick and I was in town. You really can say ‘no’. I promise, it’s okay. Having said that, I really do love that you are like that and hope that I will be so lucky to someday marry someone who possesses that quality.

Love,

Your favorite sister (I won’t tell if you won’t)

Dear Chocolate Tuxedo Cream Cheesecake,

Thank you for being worth the majority of my FLEX points for this week. I debated for a while when we were at The Cheesecake Factory, but finally gave in because you have never once let me down. Saturday was not different. All of that chocolatey, creamy goodness did not disappoint. If I had to marry a cheesecake, it would be you! My taste buds thank you and I thank you!

Sincerely,

A serious chocoholic who needed a little fix

Dear loud, drunk people at the back of the plane coming back from Vegas last night,

SHUT UP!!!

Thank you,

Someone who has to work for a living

Dear Southwest Airlines,

Thank you for almost always being late. Especially when I’m already on the late flight and I’m not scheduled to get to SLC until 12:15 am. Those lost thirty minutes of sleep last night made for a great nap today during my lunch hour and I always have the best dreams when I’m napping (best, as in funky, weird, scary and altogether unnerving). Without those lost minutes of sleep, I might not have napped, or dreamt that I was dating a Japanese Scott Baio. Yeah, don’t ask me. Seriously. Thank you.

Sincerely,

A newly situational insomniac

And last, but not least…

Dear Spike (the fish who sits on my desk while his owner is away defending his dissertation…a fish who will be mine when said owner finishes his internship…a fish who will then be called “Stanley” because I have always wanted a pet named “Stanley”),

Thank you for being a beta fish who will fight with his own reflection so that when I put my Diet Coke can up to your bowl, you get ready for battle. This provides me with minutes of entertainment and “show and tell” for any visitors I might have at work. You have no idea how helpful you are, or how happy I am to fish-sit for you.

Sincerely,

A happily employed office manager who occasionally needs a little distraction

weekend update – in photos

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I spent the weekend with my brother, sister-in-law, nephew and their two dogs. I took way too many pictures, so when you look at these, realize that I’m sparing you the whole slide show. He’s just so stinking cute and both my brother and I were having a lot of fun with my camera.

These two boys certainly love each other. I think this is one of my most favorite pictures of the two of them.

“That was good whipped cream. What’s next?”Boogers?



I would love to tell you that this face was a reaction to my nephew realizing that I was leaving, but really, he was just sick of me taking his picture…and he had just been sucking on a lemon.

www – week 4

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Another week down…and it was a good one!

First, a few little tidbits about the things I am learning and loving.

1. Skinny Cow Cookies and Cream Ice Cream Sandwiches. I am loving these. They are three points, which may seem like a lot. But, for a girl who LOVES ice cream, I think these are fantastic.

2. My salad spinner is my new best friend. Oh, how I miss the days of my Williams-Sonoma discount. And yes, it is just Williams-Sonoma, not Williams and Sonoma. The salad spinner makes washing all types of lettuce (or herb) über convenient and ensures that you won’t have water logged produce. Every household in Europe has one, so I’m not sure why they haven’t caught on here…although I have a few theories, most of which include fast food.

3. Good knives are also hi on my friends list. Seriously, they make such a big difference. Since I’m cooking a lot more than I have in the past year, and cutting up lots of vegetables, herbs, etc., having good knives is key. Even if you can only afford one, do it. And then guard it with your life and whatever you do, do not wash it in the dishwasher. No. Matter. What. As a first (and possible only) good knife, I highly recommend a santoku. The link takes you to a particular one, but really, Henkels, Wustof, or Global are all good brands. I also recommending purchasing that knife at Williams-Sonoma, not just because I worked there. Their customer service is amazing. I’ve had two knives that had some rust issues, and they exchanged them, no questions asked. And it wasn’t at the store where I had worked, either.

4. Cold Stone makes me happy. I went twice this week. How can I go to Cold Stone twice in one week and think that I’m going to lose weight? I just adjusted. Cold Stone has these Healthy Indulgences, as they call them. I love the Sinless Sweet Cream ice cream with strawberries and coconut. It’s absolutely delicious. And now I get a “Like it!”, instead of a “Love it!”. It’s amazing how the little drops in the bucket add up…or, in this case, taking the little drops out, helps.

5. I tried really hard to stop eating at least two hours before going to bed and that seemed to work well. Plus, I don’t like going to sleep with food in my stomach.

6. Instead of making caramel corn when I was craving it, I made some light microwave popcorn and put a little (very little) butter on it (spray butter would probably have been ideal) and then tossed a couple Tbsp’s of brown sugar on it. I got the salty and sweet without all of the calories.

7. When I got home from the grocery store on Saturday, I went Sharpie happy. What does that mean? I went through every packaged food item and wrote the serving size and the point value on the package. That way, I don’t have to mess with my calculator every time I want to eat something. I can just look at the package. Very, very helpful.

8. I have learned that planning to eat out with friends is essential to my success. I think part of the reason I have failed in the past is that I have altered my lifestyle to the point that I am miserable. Not only am I an emotional eater, I am a social eater (pretty much, I just really enjoy food) and I love that social interaction. I love sharing a good meal with good friends. So, I make sure to plan at least one meal out with friends during the week. This helps both my waistline and my budget. How can eating out help my budget? I’m only doing it once a week (okay, sometimes it’s twice) instead of daily, or sometimes twice a day. And by making sure I have that experience, I don’t feel deprived at all.

9. Buying good ingredients and planning good meals has also been very important. Part of the reason I often like to eat out is that a meal at a restaurant is often more appealing than a tortilla and cheese, or whatever I can throw together. If I actually have meals planned and I make something from a recipe (I’m a good cook, but I struggle without a recipe), I get excited about them, which totally minimizes my desire to eat out. I actually look forward to the cooking experience, because I know my food will taste good.

10. Which leads me to my last tidbit before the reveal…Tandoori-Spiced Grilled Shrimp with Mint-Cilantro Chutney*. This was my favorite meal of the week, which I ended up eating on two separate occasions because it was so good. I just added some grilled tortillas (because I don’t keep a supply of naan on hand) and my meal was complete. It was delicious! As both an Indian and seafood fan, I loved this. And the chutney tastes just like what you get at the restaurants. So, so, so good. And yes, cooking is time consuming, and it feels even more so when cooking for one (which is what I am often doing), but it’s totally worth it when you make good food. Plus, all that time spent in the kitchen makes me feel like I’m doing more eating than I actually am and it allows me to construct new posts in my head and contemplate the meaning of life.

Okay, so now to the good stuff (although I think I lost this much partially because of the puking episode on Wednesday)…I lost 3.6 lbs this week! Bringing the total to…13 lbs in four weeks. I have to say that I am feeling pretty good about things and have not felt deprived at all…but maybe that’s because when the World Class Chocolate was calling out to me last week, I just gave in.

*If you decide to make the shrimp, don’t be intimidated by the whole toasting/grind of the spices. I substituted pre-ground spices for their freshly ground and it still tasted great. I like to cook, but I’m not crazy.

and the conversation went like this…

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Tracy* and I went walking up the canyon tonight. It was part of a church activity, but we were a little more hard core (and less busy) than the other girls with us, so we went a little farther than they did, which meant we had some quality chat time.

Lately, Tracy has not been my favorite person (incidentally, this figure of speech is called a litotes and it’s a personal favorite, in case you were wondering and yes, I am just that big of a nerd). The reason: we went to dinner a while back and we were talking about running and I was telling her my average pace and she did one of these, “Oh! Oh. Oh…hmm.” Exactly. We had talked about going running together, but after that incident, I had no desire to run with her. I didn’t say anything to her because I knew she realized her error, but when she called me to see if I wanted to run with her, I just didn’t call her back. (Yep, sometimes I am seriously immature). So, being left alone with her tonight was not my idea of a good time (litotes, again).

Funny how less than ideal situations often turn into exactly what we need.

After discussing how our ward (Mormon equivalent of a congregation or parish) needs a little help. We then turned to fitness and food addiction. Yes, there was a segue, but that’s not the point. Eventually we came to the topic of how best to support someone who struggles with their weight. Tracy, while heavier than she has ever been, is a petite size 6 and very cute. She was talking about one of her friends and how she, her friend, struggles with her weight and isn’t happy, so Tracy will sometimes try and get her excited about exercising by inviting her to run a 5k with her.

I told Tracy that I didn’t think that was necessarily the best approach…

Me: (very politely, but direct) You have to understand that the last thing someone wants when they are struggling with eating and exercise is some skinny, little thing who has never really struggled with her weight, to come along and be patronizing. And, I have to admit that, even with as much as I run, I don’t know that I would ever want to go running with you. I mean, you are much faster than I am and I would hate to think I was slowing you down.

Tracy: (equally polite, equally direct and very sincere) Did it ever occur to you that I might be a little lonely and just want some company on a run? Sure, in a race, I like speed, but sometimes I just want to run with someone. It doesn’t matter if it’s fast or slow.

Anyone want to know what humble pie tastes like? About like that.

*name has been changed to protect the innocent