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our first baby Benjamin James 11 lbs 7 oz Born: 12/15 |
| carrieann on twitter |
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other than the wind tunnel that is currently going on outside, the weather here has been spectacular! near 60 degrees and sunny. perfect running weather! i even took lily with me last night for a run to the capitol and back. i can't wait until spring gets here. i'm sick of wearing my coat already. i know, i know... it's not even february yet. but almost!
poor joe overworked his arms yesterday at the gym, and had a rough morning this morning when he got up. i hope moving around helps ease the pain a little, otherwise he might need some help in reaching anything higher than his waist. but i feel his pain... i was that sore not too long ago. it sucks. but i've been careful ever since then, and am working my way up slowly. i'm seeing improvement... on sunday i was able to complete most of my exercises with energy to spare... might be time to up the weights soon. at the 8 week mark, i'll post before/after photos... and then again at 12 weeks. if that's not motivation to keep going, i don't know what is!
oh, and i got joe an early valentine's day present... we're going to see billy joel at the mci center in april. should be a great time! i like billy joel, but not as much as joe does. but he has some fantastic songs, and i hear he's great live. so i'm really looking forward to it!
poor joe overworked his arms yesterday at the gym, and had a rough morning this morning when he got up. i hope moving around helps ease the pain a little, otherwise he might need some help in reaching anything higher than his waist. but i feel his pain... i was that sore not too long ago. it sucks. but i've been careful ever since then, and am working my way up slowly. i'm seeing improvement... on sunday i was able to complete most of my exercises with energy to spare... might be time to up the weights soon. at the 8 week mark, i'll post before/after photos... and then again at 12 weeks. if that's not motivation to keep going, i don't know what is!
oh, and i got joe an early valentine's day present... we're going to see billy joel at the mci center in april. should be a great time! i like billy joel, but not as much as joe does. but he has some fantastic songs, and i hear he's great live. so i'm really looking forward to it!
| posted at 9:09 AM |
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we were really productive this weekend! i finally got in to see a dentist, and found out i have six cavities that need to be filled. oops. no big deal... i go back on the 20th for that. then we got my car inspected (and it passed) so now i can go once i get my paycheck to get my license plates. then joe cleaned the bathroom, i did the laundry, and by 11am, we both realized it was a beautiful day, and we should take a walk outside to enjoy it. so we walked up to eastern market, and had lunch at a little mexican/salvadorean place nearby. then we came back home and took lily to the park, and then since we were both tired, we took a nap :) then we wound up going out to eat at a different mexican place near our house, which is my favorite for chips and salsa. i could literally just eat that as my main course. yum! then we toured down pennsylvania for a while, and went to the pour house and hawk and dove for some dancing. but that didn't last long, and we made the trek back down to trusty's to play some board games :) then sunday we woke up and went out for brunch to the capitol lounge, which was rumored to be back in brunch business after the big fire. but the rumor wasn't true... the following weekend they planned to continue with their full menu. so we wandered back to hawk and dove, and ate there instead. it was good, and i liked the bacon i had :) we came back home, and after a quick lunch, i went out to finish the workout at the gym that i had planned for the previous day. it felt great, and we spent the rest of sunday relaxing :)
so it was a great weekend... couldn't have asked for better. this week is busy, but manageable. nothing crazy coming up... i'm happy february is almost here and spring is right around the corner! lily will be turning 2 years on the 18th... i'm planning on celebrating with some nice treats and a few new toys :) no cake... but some homemade stuff from the doggy bakery might be in order...
so it was a great weekend... couldn't have asked for better. this week is busy, but manageable. nothing crazy coming up... i'm happy february is almost here and spring is right around the corner! lily will be turning 2 years on the 18th... i'm planning on celebrating with some nice treats and a few new toys :) no cake... but some homemade stuff from the doggy bakery might be in order...
| posted at 9:39 AM |
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so no one came yesterday to fix the shower. damn. so the kitties (who it seems were not even phased by the car ride yesterday) are snuggled back in my car again today. we have word that the maintenance guy is coming by this afternoon to fix it... let's hope he can really get it done today!
i made it to the gym last night, and got in a good run and lifted some weights. so tonight i'll be back again, only doing the lower half this time. exciting, i know :) this weekend we might go to the air and space museum to watch "mars" on the imax theater screen. it looks really good, but joe commented that it might be packed with people, since it starts this friday. so we'll see... maybe just a trip to the museum would be fun. saturday i have to spend the morning at the dentist, and then the rest of the day getting my car registered. saturdays are crazy busy at the dmv... i just hope i have everything i need to get it done finally.
january is almost over... one more month of crappy weather, and in march, we'll start seeing signs of warmer weather and spring! i can't wait. then i can start taking lily on some runs with me again! she's been driving us crazy, since i have been a wuss and not taking her out as often. only a few more weeks...
i made it to the gym last night, and got in a good run and lifted some weights. so tonight i'll be back again, only doing the lower half this time. exciting, i know :) this weekend we might go to the air and space museum to watch "mars" on the imax theater screen. it looks really good, but joe commented that it might be packed with people, since it starts this friday. so we'll see... maybe just a trip to the museum would be fun. saturday i have to spend the morning at the dentist, and then the rest of the day getting my car registered. saturdays are crazy busy at the dmv... i just hope i have everything i need to get it done finally.
january is almost over... one more month of crappy weather, and in march, we'll start seeing signs of warmer weather and spring! i can't wait. then i can start taking lily on some runs with me again! she's been driving us crazy, since i have been a wuss and not taking her out as often. only a few more weeks...
| posted at 8:52 AM |
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so at our current place, our building managers allow one pet. so of course, i noted the loud, most obvious one (lily) on our lease. but that means that the two cats we have must be kept pretty low key, or we risk violating our lease and being asked to leave. usually, they are not a problem, but of course, when something breaks, we have to make sure the cats are not noticeable. but with our small apartment, we don't have a way to just shut them in a room somewhere... there is absolutely NOWHERE for them to hide. solution? we smuggle them in the backseat of my car for a day. the poor cats are currently snuggled with blankets and towels in their carriers in my car while i am at work. i feel terrible. but really, i don't have much of an option. i called my vet to see if they could board them for a few days, but wouldn't you know, they don't board cats (no room). they can only house the ones that are there for treatment. there's one place that boards cats... but it's $30/day for the first cat, and then another $20 for the 2nd. $50/day! argh. plus they haven't been to the vet in over a year, so i'm sure they are overdue for their shots, which they'd need if they were boarded. sucks when none of your friends are animal lovers... or if they are, they own a dog that is not cat-friendly. i will be checking on them periodically throughout the day... but as most of you that work in a big city know... often your car is not just right outside the door. parking is a premium out here... usually you have to park in a garage or lot somewhere in the neighborhood and then walk a few blocks to work. which is what i have to do. so i can't just run out there every hour... *sigh* i'm sure they're fine. they survived driving for 14 hours in the back of my car when i drove from illinois to dc... i'm sure they can survive the 8 hours while i'm working. i even toasted some towels in the dryer to make it nice and warm for them... it still sucks. but i knew it moving in, that it was going to be an issue. but back then, my vet actually WAS boarding cats... they only recently decided they could no longer fit them all. so i didn't think it was going to be this hard if we did need to hide them. oh well... i just pray they can fix our shower today, and don't need to return at all. drama.
i did get to the gym last night. ran for 40 minutes and felt great :) however, the scale isn't budging... well, it is, but not in the direction i'd hoped it would. so i'm eating lower tonight... and still planning on working out, in the hopes that i don't show a gain tomorrow. what a motivation killer. i am eating better (not counting saturday's cheesecake episode) and i'm definitely working out more... so whatever gains i happen to make, i'm convinced are just temporary. or rather, i'm hoping. my weigh in date is tomorrow morning... keep your fingers crossed for me!
i did get to the gym last night. ran for 40 minutes and felt great :) however, the scale isn't budging... well, it is, but not in the direction i'd hoped it would. so i'm eating lower tonight... and still planning on working out, in the hopes that i don't show a gain tomorrow. what a motivation killer. i am eating better (not counting saturday's cheesecake episode) and i'm definitely working out more... so whatever gains i happen to make, i'm convinced are just temporary. or rather, i'm hoping. my weigh in date is tomorrow morning... keep your fingers crossed for me!
| posted at 8:39 AM |
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this weekend's weather was so great. we were in the 60's on saturday, and so joe and i took lily for a nice long walk, and to the park to play in the afternoon. then we went to workout in the gym, and though i was a little rushed, i got in a good 30 minutes of running and it felt great! i feel ready to bump up the time to 40 min on mon/wed/fri this week, and leave the 25 min short runs to warm up before my weight training exercises.
however, when i got ready to go out saturday night (we were celebrating one of joe's coworkers birthday) i discovered that our shower had no hot water. but all the sinks, and even the washer had hot water flowing... so it really confused us as to why only the shower was ice cold. so now we have to call maintenance tomorrow to get them to tear our shower apart, and figure out what the problem is :( argh. good thing i have a gym membership that has really nice showers. after my workouts this week, i have to make sure i bring my clothes to change into, so that i can shower there instead of at home. what a pain. but, it could be worse, i guess.
sunday we went over and had dinner with some friends and watched the two championship games. it was fun, even though joe was in some pain after injuring his left shoulder muscle. hopefully that has subsided today... he was able to sleep better last night, so that's a good sign :)
so nothing crazy going on this week. busy at work, and getting our shower fixed hopefully tomorrow. i have a dentist appointment on saturday morning, which i'm dreading. my top left teeth in the back have been giving me grief, and i'm scared it will mean lots of drilling and pain. i've also noticed some bleeding gums and soreness... so i don't think the diagnosis will be stellar. then once i'm done with that, i have to get my car registered, which means long waits at the dmv. yay, fun.
however, when i got ready to go out saturday night (we were celebrating one of joe's coworkers birthday) i discovered that our shower had no hot water. but all the sinks, and even the washer had hot water flowing... so it really confused us as to why only the shower was ice cold. so now we have to call maintenance tomorrow to get them to tear our shower apart, and figure out what the problem is :( argh. good thing i have a gym membership that has really nice showers. after my workouts this week, i have to make sure i bring my clothes to change into, so that i can shower there instead of at home. what a pain. but, it could be worse, i guess.
sunday we went over and had dinner with some friends and watched the two championship games. it was fun, even though joe was in some pain after injuring his left shoulder muscle. hopefully that has subsided today... he was able to sleep better last night, so that's a good sign :)
so nothing crazy going on this week. busy at work, and getting our shower fixed hopefully tomorrow. i have a dentist appointment on saturday morning, which i'm dreading. my top left teeth in the back have been giving me grief, and i'm scared it will mean lots of drilling and pain. i've also noticed some bleeding gums and soreness... so i don't think the diagnosis will be stellar. then once i'm done with that, i have to get my car registered, which means long waits at the dmv. yay, fun.
| posted at 10:03 AM |
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ok... what the hell have they done to the skinny cows??? they are definitely not the consistency that i remember. when i used to get them (it's been a really long time since i bought any... these suckers are expensive), i remembered them to be very creamy... but now they have this weird consistency... almost like "icey". i thought maybe it was just my imagination, until i decided to look it up and found this. nooooo!!!! damn you trans fat! *sigh* i definitely think you should limit trans fat products... but damn, i only had these things once in a while. honestly, now i think they taste like crap. oh well... maybe it's time to try edy's light brand of ice cream. i've heard their slow churned stuff is great!
i got to the gym last night, and apparently there was either a group there celebrating something, or my gym has a "happy hour" on thursday nights. seriously, there was a huge group there, drinking wine and eating appetizers. it was odd walking around and finding people hanging out with drinks in their hand. i really hope that's not an every week thing. it was annoying. i know it's a nice gym, but come on. there are bars and restaurants less than a mile from the place. or at least confine the group to one area.
but i was there :) i got in a good run and some weight training. let's hope it pays off soon! :)
i got to the gym last night, and apparently there was either a group there celebrating something, or my gym has a "happy hour" on thursday nights. seriously, there was a huge group there, drinking wine and eating appetizers. it was odd walking around and finding people hanging out with drinks in their hand. i really hope that's not an every week thing. it was annoying. i know it's a nice gym, but come on. there are bars and restaurants less than a mile from the place. or at least confine the group to one area.
but i was there :) i got in a good run and some weight training. let's hope it pays off soon! :)
| posted at 7:25 AM ~ comments (0) |
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well at least i got up at the right time today. i'm still a little tired, since i didn't get a full night's sleep, but i feel better than i did yesterday. hopefully i can pep myself up to get a great workout in tonight. if i make it today and saturday, i'll have made it 3 times this week again :) aimin for 6 days eventually, but 3 is a good start :)
i need to relax this weekend... i didn't really get to much at all when i went home to michigan. saturday and sunday i plan on catching up on some major sleep. i'm happy to say that i've finally gotten everything into storage that should be stored... now we just have to really find a place for everything. but that's a continuous work in progress... there will always be something new that we have to make room for somewhere. but for the most part, things are settling down. i'm actually enjoying the fact that i have no plans for the next two months... just quality home time. maybe i can finally get into a real routine. anyway, i'm just looking forward to the weekend... is it friday yet?
i need to relax this weekend... i didn't really get to much at all when i went home to michigan. saturday and sunday i plan on catching up on some major sleep. i'm happy to say that i've finally gotten everything into storage that should be stored... now we just have to really find a place for everything. but that's a continuous work in progress... there will always be something new that we have to make room for somewhere. but for the most part, things are settling down. i'm actually enjoying the fact that i have no plans for the next two months... just quality home time. maybe i can finally get into a real routine. anyway, i'm just looking forward to the weekend... is it friday yet?
| posted at 2:31 PM |
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ok, i know it's been posted on a lot of sites lately (like christie's), but i had to post it on here for those of you that haven't found it yet. i love this site. sparkpeople is a site for you to track your diet, weight loss, fitness goals, and much much more. for FREE. plus it has a great community board, articles, etc. i filled out all my stuff, and i love it! i used to use fitday, but this is FAR better :) i can't wait to start charting progress. it has small, mini goals, so that you can see yourself improving almost right away :) it's really great motivation... we'll see if i stick with it...
| posted at 7:08 PM |
not having been to a real gym in a while, and never having gone to one that's co-ed, i forget that people can be pretty entertaining. guys, you'll have to tell me, when in the locker room, do you frequently have men walking around nude? now, it's one thing to have someone undressing in front of their locker to change clothes... but i have witnessed on many occasion girls just flat out naked walking around, combing their hair, etc. now, i'm not prude, but jeez! i feel like if i glance over their direction, i'm staring, so i dart my eyes around or just look down the whole time to avoid catching their glance. oy. and i've never heard so much grunting and groaning in the weight room before. it's possible that the females that i saw training at my old gym (it was females only on seperate days) just weren't training that hard... but the men in this gym crack me up. yikes. i'm sure i'll have much more entertaining stories to tell as i get used to things... but it made me laugh last night.
in other news, i got an email regarding my 10 year high school reunion. apparently it's taking place in august this year. i'm conflicted as to whether or not i want to go. all of the girls that i was friends with back then, i've kept in touch with, and don't need a reunion to see. i'd be interested to hear about where people ended up or what girls are doing, but to meet up with everyone in person, especially the girls i couldn't stand, would just be uncomfortable, and completely fake. i have a friend who is a teacher there now, and i just laugh at all the typical 'ladywood' type of antics that still go on. i am glad to be OUT of there, and really don't know if i am ready to go back and remember those days. not yet.
in other news, i got an email regarding my 10 year high school reunion. apparently it's taking place in august this year. i'm conflicted as to whether or not i want to go. all of the girls that i was friends with back then, i've kept in touch with, and don't need a reunion to see. i'd be interested to hear about where people ended up or what girls are doing, but to meet up with everyone in person, especially the girls i couldn't stand, would just be uncomfortable, and completely fake. i have a friend who is a teacher there now, and i just laugh at all the typical 'ladywood' type of antics that still go on. i am glad to be OUT of there, and really don't know if i am ready to go back and remember those days. not yet.
| posted at 11:55 AM |
i can't remember the last time i did this. alarm goes off, i'm tired, but i have to get up and into work before 8am today, to start getting back on schedule. so at 7am, i roll out of bed, get ready and showered, eat breakfast, and check my email. i glance at the clock and it says 5:50am. ??? i wonder if my computer clock is way off, and go to the kitchen clock. nope... i had accidentally somehow put the alarm clock ahead two hours. oy. i could really have used that sleep!! but now i guess i'll be in work early :) i actually got in my workout last night... and it looks like it may take a bit before i'm in a schedule. it took me an hour and a half to run and get the weight lifting in. so i didn't get back home until almost 9pm. i think it will work if i only have to do that on tues/thurs... but we'll see. i'm on the right track at least :)
| posted at 6:05 AM |
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oh my god am i behind. i come back and i feel like i've been gone a month! i'll start with the weekend... it was great! remembered my camera only to forget it in my bag. doh. so no photos. one from laura of joe and i, so i'll post that later. but let's see... thursday night we got in around 3pm, and hung out with my family playing 'mexican train'. why it's called that, i don't know. but it was fun :) friday we woke up and went shopping with my mom, visited my grandmother, and joe met my neighbors down the street. we then came back to get ready to take my sister out to dinner for her birthday. we attempted to go to johnny rockets (across from comerica park, down the street from where she lives), but it was closed at 6:30 on a friday night. wtf? so we wound up going to xochimilcos (i think that's how you spell it) in mexican village... that was an adventure :) but the food was fantastic, as always. we made it back to her apartment and stayed until 3:30am playing poker. and me being the beginner, won :) always works that way :) then saturday we woke up and went out to lunch with my aunts and uncle, who had not met joe yet. yum... uno's pizza! i think everyone had a great time. we then went out to visit jackie and craig, and baby allie... and then met up with laura and mike out at mike's house. joe definitely got the tour of detroit :) we wound up back downtown at a new bar opening called "proofs". it was nice, and probably will do well at it's location across from the detroit opera house, next to the fox and state theaters. we finally decided to leave that place and headed over to the greektown casino... it was fun, but having been to vegas, i wasn't that impressed. we were up $100, but left down $180. oh well, it was a fun night :) sunday we woke up and went to brunch with my parents, and then were back on the road by 2pm. the traffic was fine... but i missed the exit to get on 70 from the pa-turnpike, and that added an extra half hour to the drive. oy. so we were really glad to finally be home :)
luckily i had the day off yesterday for mlk day, so i could get the house back in order, and get things put away. i even made baked ziti last night! ate too much of it, but at least i got it right this time. poor joe picked up a stomach bug sometime over the weekend, and was in a lot of pain sunday and yesterday. just as laura was complaining of a virus that gave her fevers and sharp pains in her stomach, joe came down with the same thing. so far i haven't shown any signs of catching it, but it may just be a matter of time. poor joe... he's been miserable. i've been taking extra vitamin c and drinking juice to ward it off... hopefully that works :)
work is crazy busy, and i forsee some longer nights this week, to catch up and get things finished that our coming up quickly. as for fitness... i managed to not eat total crap this weekend, but i didn't count points, and i didn't exercise at all. so i wasn't surprised when the scale was up another half pound this morning. but i have no more trips or big events coming up for many months... so i can really get on the ball and get this weight down! i took yesterday off from the cardio kickboxing class... i didn't want to be sore again for today's weight lifting. so i'm doing that tonight, and hopefully get it in the rest of the week without too much trouble. we'll see how sore i am tomorrow :)
so that's it... now it's just a matter of getting things straightened out with my car (i have to get new plates by the 30th), and getting all the dog hair vacuumed out. lily sheds like a maniac when she's nervous, which she was the entire 9 hour drive there and back. yikes. plus a few other small things to take care of, and a birthday party for one of joe's coworkers this weekend. should be a fun time :) now back to work i go...
luckily i had the day off yesterday for mlk day, so i could get the house back in order, and get things put away. i even made baked ziti last night! ate too much of it, but at least i got it right this time. poor joe picked up a stomach bug sometime over the weekend, and was in a lot of pain sunday and yesterday. just as laura was complaining of a virus that gave her fevers and sharp pains in her stomach, joe came down with the same thing. so far i haven't shown any signs of catching it, but it may just be a matter of time. poor joe... he's been miserable. i've been taking extra vitamin c and drinking juice to ward it off... hopefully that works :)
work is crazy busy, and i forsee some longer nights this week, to catch up and get things finished that our coming up quickly. as for fitness... i managed to not eat total crap this weekend, but i didn't count points, and i didn't exercise at all. so i wasn't surprised when the scale was up another half pound this morning. but i have no more trips or big events coming up for many months... so i can really get on the ball and get this weight down! i took yesterday off from the cardio kickboxing class... i didn't want to be sore again for today's weight lifting. so i'm doing that tonight, and hopefully get it in the rest of the week without too much trouble. we'll see how sore i am tomorrow :)
so that's it... now it's just a matter of getting things straightened out with my car (i have to get new plates by the 30th), and getting all the dog hair vacuumed out. lily sheds like a maniac when she's nervous, which she was the entire 9 hour drive there and back. yikes. plus a few other small things to take care of, and a birthday party for one of joe's coworkers this weekend. should be a fun time :) now back to work i go...
| posted at 9:57 AM |
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and everywhere else that i forgot had muscles attached. the pain is actually subsiding, considering i took an aleve about an hour ago... but good lord did i hurt last night, and when i woke up this morning. i could not even toss or turn, it was that bad. i tried to take it easy with the personal trainer last night, and i warned her i was sore after that crazy monday class... but i pushed myself anyway, and now i'm paying dearly. oy.
but the good news is, i now have a workout schedule, and despite the pain, i'm looking forward to working out next week, and going back to the class. i had a fitness test done and i'm in better shape than i thought i was, but i definitely still have some work to do. i have this weekend to take a mini-break, as joe and i leave tomorrow morning to head back to michigan. should be a fun time... lots of visiting to do. but that's what i get for moving far away. i'm going to have to start bribing people to come visit me, so that i can avoid the rush of trying to cram everyone in, in a weekend. my parents are scheduled for a visit in the spring, once the weather warms up and it's good walking weather. cherry blossom festival time is always insane, so i might wait til after that is over... maybe around memorial day, or later. i think may and october are some of the best times in the city, weather wise. but really, we never have a horrible time of year to visit. snow sucks, but there are plenty of indoor attractions available :)
so tonight will be busy running errands around town... last night i was in too big of a rush to get home and let lily out to really get anything accomplished. i did manage to take her to the park after my workout session. she had a great time, and i discovered what a gymnast she was. well, she would be if she were coordinated :) there's a drinking fountain at the park, and joe taught lily how to put her paws up so that she can drink from it when she's thirsty (which i'm sure the other people must love). so yesterday, she of course is running around like a crazy person, and decides she's thirsty, so she makes a beeline for the fountain. I see her put her paws up to drink... only she's still going WAY too fast to stop, and winds up catapulting INTO the fountain! luckily she was fine, and didn't hurt herself... and once i figured that out, i couldn't stop laughing. what a crazy dog :) the other girl that was there was dumbfounded, and also could not contain her laughter :)
anyway, errands tonight, and driving early tomorrow. then returning sunday, and i have monday as a holiday! woohoo for sleeping in :)
but the good news is, i now have a workout schedule, and despite the pain, i'm looking forward to working out next week, and going back to the class. i had a fitness test done and i'm in better shape than i thought i was, but i definitely still have some work to do. i have this weekend to take a mini-break, as joe and i leave tomorrow morning to head back to michigan. should be a fun time... lots of visiting to do. but that's what i get for moving far away. i'm going to have to start bribing people to come visit me, so that i can avoid the rush of trying to cram everyone in, in a weekend. my parents are scheduled for a visit in the spring, once the weather warms up and it's good walking weather. cherry blossom festival time is always insane, so i might wait til after that is over... maybe around memorial day, or later. i think may and october are some of the best times in the city, weather wise. but really, we never have a horrible time of year to visit. snow sucks, but there are plenty of indoor attractions available :)
so tonight will be busy running errands around town... last night i was in too big of a rush to get home and let lily out to really get anything accomplished. i did manage to take her to the park after my workout session. she had a great time, and i discovered what a gymnast she was. well, she would be if she were coordinated :) there's a drinking fountain at the park, and joe taught lily how to put her paws up so that she can drink from it when she's thirsty (which i'm sure the other people must love). so yesterday, she of course is running around like a crazy person, and decides she's thirsty, so she makes a beeline for the fountain. I see her put her paws up to drink... only she's still going WAY too fast to stop, and winds up catapulting INTO the fountain! luckily she was fine, and didn't hurt herself... and once i figured that out, i couldn't stop laughing. what a crazy dog :) the other girl that was there was dumbfounded, and also could not contain her laughter :)
anyway, errands tonight, and driving early tomorrow. then returning sunday, and i have monday as a holiday! woohoo for sleeping in :)
| posted at 8:57 AM |
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know someone who is depressed? want to help them, but can't figure out how? i go through this often with my family and friends, and know the hurt it feels to see them upset, knowing i can't do or say much to change how they feel. so keep this in mind, for those of you who are not depressed, but are trying to help someone close to you that is:
You cannot cure someone else's clinical depression. It is not just sadness which can be waved off with a few kind words. It goes far deeper than that. If you are going into this with the heroic notion that you can somehow "fix" it for your friend, spouse or relative, then you need to disavow it immediately. Operating on this assumption will only frustrate you and does no one any good.
There are ups and downs in depression recovery. It is neither swift, nor steady. Your friend or relative is going to go on the decline, now and then. Don't think it's because you are failing them or they are not trying hard enough. The "roller-coaster" effect is just a part and parcel of depression.
Please don't tell a depression patient that "you understand." Unless you, yourself, have experienced clinical depression, you don't. And your friend, spouse or relative knows it. It's not a bad thing; since understanding depression means having it. I'd rather that no one, anywhere, understood it. The point here is to be honest with your friend or relative and don't profess things that aren't so. Sincerity will help him or her a great deal; it will engender trust, which every depression patient has a problem with, at one time or another.
No one wants to make your life miserable by being depressed. Try not to view someone else's depression as your own affliction. Rather, be grateful that you don't have clinical depression and try to realize what the other person is going through. Don't take the things your friend, spouse or relative says/does, personally. They aren't meant that way.
Recovery from depression is not just a matter of taking anti-depressant medication and going to therapy. Both the depression and recovery from it can totally change a person's life. Treatment involves a lot of fundamental changes in a person. At times, you'll wonder if it's the same person you've known for so long. Believe me, it is--the depression probably hid the "real person" from your view, up to the point that he or she was diagnosed and began treatment.
At times, it may seem that the person is actually pushing you away. This is very likely true. Most depression patients believe that they unduly affect those around them and will do anything to prevent that from happening. Thus, they isolate themselves from others. This kind of self-sabotage is actually a symptom of the illness itself. Don't let it overcome your relationship. Try to understand that this is often involuntary and irrational, and act accordingly.
these words were taken from this site. they ring true, no matter how hard it is. please be patient with the person you care about, and realize that they KNOW they are depressed, and just let them know you are there if they need you, without trying to "fix" them, or try to make them happy. they will get better... it just takes time. a lot of time.
in the meantime, please, please read this list of best/worst things to say to someone you know is dealing with a downward spiral of emotions:
best/worst things to say to someone who is depressed
You cannot cure someone else's clinical depression. It is not just sadness which can be waved off with a few kind words. It goes far deeper than that. If you are going into this with the heroic notion that you can somehow "fix" it for your friend, spouse or relative, then you need to disavow it immediately. Operating on this assumption will only frustrate you and does no one any good.
There are ups and downs in depression recovery. It is neither swift, nor steady. Your friend or relative is going to go on the decline, now and then. Don't think it's because you are failing them or they are not trying hard enough. The "roller-coaster" effect is just a part and parcel of depression.
Please don't tell a depression patient that "you understand." Unless you, yourself, have experienced clinical depression, you don't. And your friend, spouse or relative knows it. It's not a bad thing; since understanding depression means having it. I'd rather that no one, anywhere, understood it. The point here is to be honest with your friend or relative and don't profess things that aren't so. Sincerity will help him or her a great deal; it will engender trust, which every depression patient has a problem with, at one time or another.
No one wants to make your life miserable by being depressed. Try not to view someone else's depression as your own affliction. Rather, be grateful that you don't have clinical depression and try to realize what the other person is going through. Don't take the things your friend, spouse or relative says/does, personally. They aren't meant that way.
Recovery from depression is not just a matter of taking anti-depressant medication and going to therapy. Both the depression and recovery from it can totally change a person's life. Treatment involves a lot of fundamental changes in a person. At times, you'll wonder if it's the same person you've known for so long. Believe me, it is--the depression probably hid the "real person" from your view, up to the point that he or she was diagnosed and began treatment.
At times, it may seem that the person is actually pushing you away. This is very likely true. Most depression patients believe that they unduly affect those around them and will do anything to prevent that from happening. Thus, they isolate themselves from others. This kind of self-sabotage is actually a symptom of the illness itself. Don't let it overcome your relationship. Try to understand that this is often involuntary and irrational, and act accordingly.
these words were taken from this site. they ring true, no matter how hard it is. please be patient with the person you care about, and realize that they KNOW they are depressed, and just let them know you are there if they need you, without trying to "fix" them, or try to make them happy. they will get better... it just takes time. a lot of time.
in the meantime, please, please read this list of best/worst things to say to someone you know is dealing with a downward spiral of emotions:
best/worst things to say to someone who is depressed
| posted at 9:34 AM |
ouch. so i did a new class at the gym last night... cardio kickboxing. i knew i was out of shape... but oh my god, i had no idea just how out of shape i really was. that class kicked my ass. but in a good way... i'm sore... really sore... but that just means i worked really hard, and that i really needed it :) so i'm hoping to stick with it every monday night. i did however, make the mistake of scheduling time to meet with the personal trainer tonight. i don't know how i'm going to make it through her session. my legs hurt. but my arms and abs are ok. so maybe i can just walk through the leg exercises, and have her work out my upper body. oy.
i attempted to bake some salmon last night. sprinkled some fillets with fresh dill and salt/pepper... and then squeezed some lemon on before serving. yum! joe was there to make sure i cooked it thoroughly, and showed me how to tell when it's done (i didn't know what "flaking" meant). it was pretty good! it has a sweet taste to it, and i didn't even need tartar sauce, which i'm used to smothering my fish in. next time i'll have to leave the skin on... it didn't look appetizing when i pulled it out of the deli package, so i removed it from the fillets. i'm still trying to get used to eating more fish... but the whole scales thing really turns my stomach. but once i got it off, i could handle it, no problem. :)
today is a busy day... lots of work, a dr. appointment, run some errands, a personal training session, and then getting back home to do laundry so that we can pack. one more day, and then we're michigan bound!
i attempted to bake some salmon last night. sprinkled some fillets with fresh dill and salt/pepper... and then squeezed some lemon on before serving. yum! joe was there to make sure i cooked it thoroughly, and showed me how to tell when it's done (i didn't know what "flaking" meant). it was pretty good! it has a sweet taste to it, and i didn't even need tartar sauce, which i'm used to smothering my fish in. next time i'll have to leave the skin on... it didn't look appetizing when i pulled it out of the deli package, so i removed it from the fillets. i'm still trying to get used to eating more fish... but the whole scales thing really turns my stomach. but once i got it off, i could handle it, no problem. :)
today is a busy day... lots of work, a dr. appointment, run some errands, a personal training session, and then getting back home to do laundry so that we can pack. one more day, and then we're michigan bound!
| posted at 8:21 AM |
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what a fun weekend! friday night was spent lounging around, and we went over and played some trivia games at a friend's house nearby. i absolutely stink at trivia. i do not know anything about history, people, or sports... and i can only sometimes get some of the arts, nature, or wild category questions. so even though i warned my partner, i still don't think he realized we were about to come in last place :) but it was fun, despite my ineptness :) then saturday we were pretty productive, and went out to the mall to get the furniture piece we were talking about. it fits in great, and really helped us with our cd storage problem. i'll have to take more photos of it tonight. then we went to the gym and worked out for an hour and a half... it felt really good, and my calves were really sore after the run. i bumped up the time to 30 minutes, and once i got in the groove, i upped the speed for short spurts. so even though my legs hurt, it felt great :) then we got ready to go out bowling to the new bowling lanes in chinatown, and even though we were there at 8pm, the lanes were booked for the entire night already! so we wandered into fado's irish pub for a bit, and then headed back towards capitol hill. we went into lounge 201 and the union pub... but didn't quite like the scene at either place. so we then walked down to the other side of the capitol, and visited the new bar '18th amendment' to see what it was like. i wasn't that impressed... so we had a few drinks, and then decided to head back down 8th street, and check out finn maccool's. the music there was really odd... and it looked as though there was a big group celebrating something. so finally, we wound up next store at the mug, and had a great time laughing at the bartenders, and dancing around :) we closed down the night there, after completing my record night with the # of dc bars visited in a single evening :) what a fun time though... thanks to katie and dave for making it out there, and kudos to katie for walking around all that way with a sore ankle! :) sunday i woke up late, and still felt really crappy... so i laid back down and slept most of the day away. but man, when i woke up, i felt fantastic :) i really needed that. i spent sunday evening cleaning things up and relaxing... and now i'm ready for the week. it's a short one... we leave thursday morning, hopefully before rush hour in the morning, and should arrive in michigan sometime thursday afternoon. the only for sure plans i have so far is dinner with danielle for her birthday on friday night... i still need to talk with people to find out if we can organize something. then we leave and return sunday, so that joe can make it into work monday morning. i have it as a holiday for mlk day... so i can sleep in :)
but in the meantime, it will be a busy week, but should go by quickly. hopefully i don't go crazy trying to fit everything in!
but in the meantime, it will be a busy week, but should go by quickly. hopefully i don't go crazy trying to fit everything in!
| posted at 10:07 AM |
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getting in shape is not easy. i love the phrase 'if it were easy, everyone would do it' :) but it's not the doing it that is hard for me. well, it's hard, but the harder part i've found is the making time for it. by the time i get home from work, it's almost six o'clock. lily has been in her crate for almost eight hours. so i try to make time to take her either for a walk, or take a trip to the park nearby where she can run and play with her friends :) we usually stay out there for about a half hour (at least)... so by the time i get back, it's right around 7pm. joe gets home some days around 8-8:30, but on slower days he is home by 7:30. before i joined the gym, i'd take the time after the park to cook dinner, or get stuff ready for joe to cook. but now i'm wondering how we are going to work this out. if i wait til after the gym to make dinner, we'll be eating dinner at like 9:00. i guess i could go work out and then wait until after dinner to take lily to the park... if she doesn't drive us crazy by then :) she's usually much more relaxed if i've given her a chance to run like hell around the park. it will take some time before we get it figured out. it's times like these i wish we had a yard, so that i could throw her outside while i prepare dinner. but she's not the type of dog that plays well by herself. when i did have a yard in illinois, she'd just lay down outside when i left her out there alone... she wouldn't run unless i was out there too. and at the park, she can exercise with other crazy dogs. so a yard wouldn't necessarily work either. i did like going to the gym at a later time last night. i wound up getting there around 7:30, and most of the people who go there right after work were leaving. so it wasn't as crowded, and i wasn't as intimidated to use the free weights. i got a really good leg workout in, and i'm hoping to go back tonight for some more running.
other than that, this weekend is shaping up to be a fun one. joe and i are going to the gym tomorrow, running some errands, and then possibly over to his aunt's house to watch the redskins game (for those of you not in dc, the washington redskins are in the nfl playoffs, and this city is going crazy about it). then sunday we are going to r-e-l-a-x... maybe go out to the mall to pick up a piece of furniture we were eyeing before christmas. it's a really nice tall stand, with wicker baskets for drawers. it matches our living room, and would be the perfect size to stash all our cd's in, that our currently in a huge pile on top of the bookshelf. but we'll see... either way, i'm just looking forward to sleeping in on sunday, and then getting ready for the michigan trip next week :)
other than that, this weekend is shaping up to be a fun one. joe and i are going to the gym tomorrow, running some errands, and then possibly over to his aunt's house to watch the redskins game (for those of you not in dc, the washington redskins are in the nfl playoffs, and this city is going crazy about it). then sunday we are going to r-e-l-a-x... maybe go out to the mall to pick up a piece of furniture we were eyeing before christmas. it's a really nice tall stand, with wicker baskets for drawers. it matches our living room, and would be the perfect size to stash all our cd's in, that our currently in a huge pile on top of the bookshelf. but we'll see... either way, i'm just looking forward to sleeping in on sunday, and then getting ready for the michigan trip next week :)
| posted at 1:45 PM |
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feeling sleepy today... i'm not sure i got enough sleep last night. i passed out on the couch and joe woke me up at 3am to move to our room. but hopefully this caffine will work to wake me up. i paid the membership fee and am now free to use the gym tonight without worry :) i've got about 25 minutes worth of running, and some lower body exercises on the agenda. my legs are still sore from the run on tuesday, but i should be fine. then early to bed tonight, and back running tomorrow :) not sure what's for dinner tonight... maybe a big salad or some left over vodka penne. yum... it's good even reheated :) i don't know though... it wreaked havoc on my points for the week... so i might have to make that a once a week only meal. either way, it's time for me to head home to get to the pooch... and a trip to the dog park :)
| posted at 4:49 PM |
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love it! i went for my first time last night at the new place, and it was great. a little intimidating, but very motivating. when i first got there, i felt a little ridiculous... i had forgotten that they were debiting my acount for the month on the 2nd, and there were not enough funds in there to pay for this month's membership. oops. so i have to go in tomorrow, when i will have the funds, and everything will be fine. but jeez, talk about embarrassing on the first day. but they let me work out anyway :) i managed to figure out how to work the treadmill, and discovered that they have xm stations preprogammed in. so i could just plug in my headphones to the unit, and choose the dance station for fun dance music while i run (if i forgot my ipod) :) it's also how you listen to the tv's that are posted in the front... you just choose which number you want to watch (between four stations) and voila. that way, everyone around you isn't blasted with four different screens and music stations going on :) then i walked up to the weight room, and went to the free weights, where i had planned on lifting a little for my upper body exercises. i wasn't sure i could work the machines without someone telling me the proper form. but when i got there, there were four hulking guys surrounding the weights. so rather than embarass myself being a measly girl with little 8lb weights, i decided to find some machines to work the muscles i was after. i did a seated row, some bicep curls, a chest press, and then found a machine that lets you sit straight up, and push down, simulating doing "dips" to work the triceps. it worked great! i hate trying to balance on a chair or a bench to do dips, so this will be fun to use :) i figured out a schedule, and posted it to my former "running" blog. i still plan on keeping up with my running. i love doing races! however, i think i am going to forgo running a marathon. it's a lot of training and i don't have the dedication to go the long miles in the freezing rain. so i am going to build up to doing my 10k races faster... and maybe a 10-miler and a half marathon here or there. that way i don't wind up hating running all together, and those are still respectable distances :)
so i get a break tonight, which is fine... poor lily would probably like some good park time anyway :) then i'll be back thursday, friday, and saturday :) i get a free appointment with a personal trainer sometime either next week, or the following... so until then, my little routine should be ok. then i'll be all set!
in other news, things have been going really well. i'm still recovering from the weekend, and joe and i went grocery shopping last night to fill up our near-bare fridge. it's now stocked full of good stuff... and joe is cooking is vodka pasta tonight! i'm excited... it's one of my favorite recipes that he does. he's also going to show me how to bake pork chops, and i am going to try a baked salmon recipe i found. yum! :)
anyway, i'd like to add to my list of things to put on the site... and i think i may put up a recipe section. i've been bookmarking and emailing recipes i find online to myself, so for my own sake, i need a place to organize them all. this is where internet in the kitchen would come in handy. right now, i'm running back and forth from my desk to the kitchen, to read the recipes... someday this will be integrated. if not, there's an idea to pitch to someone. an electronic cookbook that's internet ready and you can mount under your cabinet. you heard it here first! :)
so i get a break tonight, which is fine... poor lily would probably like some good park time anyway :) then i'll be back thursday, friday, and saturday :) i get a free appointment with a personal trainer sometime either next week, or the following... so until then, my little routine should be ok. then i'll be all set!
in other news, things have been going really well. i'm still recovering from the weekend, and joe and i went grocery shopping last night to fill up our near-bare fridge. it's now stocked full of good stuff... and joe is cooking is vodka pasta tonight! i'm excited... it's one of my favorite recipes that he does. he's also going to show me how to bake pork chops, and i am going to try a baked salmon recipe i found. yum! :)
anyway, i'd like to add to my list of things to put on the site... and i think i may put up a recipe section. i've been bookmarking and emailing recipes i find online to myself, so for my own sake, i need a place to organize them all. this is where internet in the kitchen would come in handy. right now, i'm running back and forth from my desk to the kitchen, to read the recipes... someday this will be integrated. if not, there's an idea to pitch to someone. an electronic cookbook that's internet ready and you can mount under your cabinet. you heard it here first! :)
| posted at 4:52 PM |
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happy new year! i had a fantastic weekend on long island... the drive went smoothly with a little delay near nyc, but overall it went well. we stayed and celebrated new year's weekend with joe's friends chris and joyce, and their two girls, jordyn and cameryn. i found a little girl who is more obsessed with the wizard of oz than i was at her age :) i used to have a "dorothy" dress and red shoes that i would wear to watch the movie over and over and over... and so does she! so it was fun "playing" wizard of oz, and with joe as the scarecrow, me as the bad witch, and chris as the tin man, we did a pretty good re-enactment :) the little girls weren't there for the party, and they had a good turnout of about 25 people. i enjoyed lots of champagne and "toasted almond" drinks that chris made. yum! but i didn't get too drunk, and managed to stay awake til about 2:30am. everyone seemed to have a good time (as usual), and i really appreciate chris and joyce lending us their couch bed, and their wonderful hospitality all weekend! we came back yesterday evening, and are now taking a break until next week, when we make the drive back to michigan, for my sister's birthday. this weekend we are going to try to take it easy... i start going to the gym tonight (hopefully), and starting my 'get in shape' regimen. i started the morning off on a good foot, so we'll see how the rest of the week goes. work is super busy... so it will be interesting to see if i can get to the gym at a decent time in the evenings.
anyway, hope everyone had a good new year's! i unfortunately didn't remember to grab my camera at all, so i don't have any new year's photos to post. i'll try and remember for next week... especially since i didn't take any new photos of baby allie when i was home for christmas. she's growing like crazy, so it will be fun to see how much she's grown in a month :)
work is calling... need more coffee...
anyway, hope everyone had a good new year's! i unfortunately didn't remember to grab my camera at all, so i don't have any new year's photos to post. i'll try and remember for next week... especially since i didn't take any new photos of baby allie when i was home for christmas. she's growing like crazy, so it will be fun to see how much she's grown in a month :)
work is calling... need more coffee...
| posted at 10:29 AM |