Weight Loss Challenge--Final Weigh In

The final weigh in was yesterday. I officially lost 12.6 pounds over the 12 weeks and won the challenge (and another 75 dollars.) I didn't work out the last 4 weeks. Sad really. But I did keep the eating in check. I'm happy with how far I've come, but I want to lose another 4 or 5 pounds. It's nice to be able to fit into my skinny jeans again. I've lost 2.5 inches in my waist. I need to get back to working out and actually counting all my carbs and protein grams. I'm not planning a beach vacation this year, but I am planning on going to California in May. We will most likely visit the beach and I want to look good in a swimsuit. And I'd love for my skinny jeans to fit a little more loosely.

I think this weight loss challenge has changed how I eat and how I will continue to eat. I eat a lot less bread and a lot more protein than I used to. The diet has really been integrated into my life. Now I have to integrate the exercise....

Odd Incentive

I heard an ad on the radio today for vasectomy. It basically said get your junk snipped now so that you can watch March madness while you recover on the couch.  Really? I just can't imagine a guy thinking geez, I want to watch some B-Ball, so I'm going to have my ball-cords cut so that I can legitimately skip work and lay on the couch. I'm baffled. 

Unfinished Nightmare

I have recurring nightmares. The one I keep having recently is a variation on the math/school dream. I dream that I'm one class away from finishing something. Like my medical degree, and if I don't pass, then I can't graduate. Sometimes I find out that I never graduated from high school or college, despite the fact that I finished medical school. Last night I dreamt that I had never finished high school. Going back to finish high school--that's a nightmare. And who cares....no one ever asks to see your high school diploma. I'm not sure why I feel the need to go back and finish. I have no idea why I'm so worried that I might fail the class.

This is all probably related to the fact that I don't finish a lot of things. And deep down that does bother me. But high school? I did finish that, and way more. In real life I'd never go back to high school, missing diploma or not.

My Ginkgo, Gingie

A ginkgo bonsai was high on my birthday wish list. Ross bought one for me and I named it Gingie. Right now it looks like a stick stuck in a fancy pot. It does have a few buds on it and I've been watering it, talking to it, and petting it in hopes that it will sprout some leaves and look like a little tree. It is an outdoor bonsai, so I'm keeping it on the balcony and praying this nice Spring weather will encourage it to grow.

See...just a stick.

I'm hoping it will look like this some day.

Denver Eats

We ate out a lot in Denver. Every place we went was great. We started off at Annie's and ended up at Del Frisco's.

In between we went to a couple of other restaurants. Fruition was by far the best. We met up with Ross's cousin Aliza (whom we had never met), and had a full-on 3 course meal. I'm not sure how to describe the restaurant. It is fancy, but you feel like you're sitting in someone's dimly lit dining room. It is frou-frou, but not hoity-toity. It's seriously good food without a serious attitude. Ross had the duck, Aunt Judy had the vegetarian option, and Aliza and I had the veal cheeks. Ross says his was the best, but mine was nothing to scoff at. The meat just fell apart. We shared 5 desserts. Yes, 5! I actually had the cheese plate. I'm not sure which I liked best, my cheese plate or the espresso bean pot de creme. Everything was heavenly. I even had tea with dessert. I'm sure if you check out the menus you'll find yourself drooling.

At Del Frisco's we had steak and cake. We shared the lemon cake for dessert. We came up with a new name for it--death row cake. If I was on death row, that's what I'd want for my last meal.

Overall Denver seemed like a really cool place, a place I could see myself living in. Like Aunt Judy said--if we can't get straight back to Texas we might have to consider moving to Denver.

Denver Zoo

We took a 4 day weekend this past weekend and went to Denver to visit Aunt Judy. On Saturday the weather was beautiful. We walked to Einstein's for bagels in the morning, then we spent the afternoon at the Denver Zoo. We were at the zoo until they kicked us out. The zoo was impressive. We saw animals we'd never seen before--like an anteater! 

I love peacocks. One day I will have a peacock. I don't care what my neighbors say.

At the end of the day the lions were all relaxing. This guy looked so soft I just wanted to pet his wrinkly face and bury my hands in his big mane.

This is a pygmy falcon. Tiny little bird of prey. When we first saw him I thought he was stuffed, but nope. He puffed up and slimmed down and looked around for us.

 The anteater!

The cutest thing at the zoo--the arctic fox. If that doesn't get your oxytocins flowing, then you are an awful, cruel person.

Happy Spring!

It has been warm here for a while, and now it is officially Spring. I've been thinking about things that I'd like to get done before the Summer.

1. Get back down to 142.5. I was very stable there for a very long time. I have 4 pounds to go.

2. Go to the drive in.

3. Complete at least 1 sewing project.

4. Be more productive with my downtime at work. I need to practice my Hebrew, knit, do something other than surf the web.

5. Go on a couple of excursions. This one will be easy. We will probably do the cherry blossoms this weekend and Longwood Gardens next. I'll have to figure out one other place we can visit this Spring.

I think that's enough for now.....

Flying Trapeze

The best part of Trapeze School? The flying trapeze! In a word it was--FAST. Once you jump off the platform you are flying and there is no way to undo it. We had a brief overview of what to do on the ground, and I wanted to get things (timing) exactly right so that I would have a chance to try a catch.  

Ross was actually the first to go. We were both really pumped. When I took my turn I really concentrated on doing everything Megan (lady on the ground in charge of safety and yelling commands) said (shouted). I had training on the ground with Elliot after my first fly. He said I just needed to do catch hands (which they hadn't shown us before). I went over the catch with him several times, and he was so patient with me. The bottom line is that you just have to do it. It goes so fast that you don't really have time to think through all the steps, you just do them. Letting go of the bar with your legs just happens. We got to do two solo flies, and then a catch. It was totally awesome.

We totally got sucked in. We purchased a second class---trapeze only, and got a third class free. We will go back next month for our next class. In the mean time I need to work on my shoulders--they are weak and loose. Oh, and I thought I got away with just a rug burn (maybe from the net) on my hand, but nope, I have a killer bruise on the back of my left calf from the bar. And as with snowboarding, I'm sore all over.

A great big thank you to our catcher, Donovan.

Aerial Silks

The second part of our class was silks. The whole reason I signed up for the class was because silks were offered. Ross thinks silks are super cool. Our group for partner balancing and silks was only 2 couples, and the guy in the second couple wasn't really into the silks, so there were just three of us, and we were really enthusiastic, so the teacher taught us how to do a foot lock. Well, first we had to learn to climb. That was tough! The silks were a real work out. Tough on the upper body and core for sure.

Ross wants to install silks in our house. I'm all for it. I had fun doing the aerial yoga and fun spinning on the silks.

Haircut 2.0

I'm still not sure if I like the haircut curly. I feel like it looks like a helmet. I'm sort of getting used to it. Still, the front is very short, and I have to use barrettes to keep it out of my face most of the time.

Partner Balancing

Yesterday Ross and I went to the Trapeze School of New York---in D.C. for a Living Social adventure. We got to try partner balancing, silks, and the flying trapeze.

I wasn't excited at all about the partner balancing, but it turned out to be really fun. Turns out that the base is really where the balance is. The person on the bottom has to be strong and still.

Posts and photos of silks and flying trapeze to come. Oh, and video too.

Birthday Shoes

I got three pairs of shoes for my birthday. And yes, I've already chosen 3 pairs of shoes from my collection to get rid of. I'll donate 2 pairs, and one pair will become my dirty/mud shoes for hiking and stuff.

The top and bottom ones are the ones that Ross bought me at Miz Mooz. I bought myself the Guess shoes in the middle. I'm wearing them at work today. I don't care that it is cold outside. I have my little space heater on next to me to keep my naked legs warm.

9th Birthday in NYC

We took the bus up to NYC to celebrate my 9th birthday. This is a great panoramic shot of the hotel room that Ross took. Man, the hotel was whack. The color combinations were awful, lamps in our room were broken, and the carpet was so ugly. It didn't really matter though. We were just there to sleep. Still, the white patent leather headboard was funny.

Our first stop in NYC was Ess-a-Bagel, where we got some breakfast. I only ate half of my poppy seed bagel with scallion cream cheese because I wanted to save room for everything else I had on my list of things to eat.

This photo is of one of the ceiling paintings in the New York City Public Library. The library was really cool. I like that it isn't just a beautiful old building, it is still in use.

After the libro we had some hot chocolate at Lily O'Brien's cafe. We got a dark hot chocolate and a milk hot chocolate. I think if we had mixed the two of them together it would have been perfect. I think the milk was a little too sweet and the dark was a little too flat. We also got some chocolates in a box to go. I had a ganache last night and it was pretty good.

Still full from hot chocolate we walked back up to Del Frisco's for steak and cake. My salad, steak, and cake were fabulous. As you can see we dug into the cake before I remembered to take a picture. This cake is so good that every time I eat it, I say I'm going to write an ode to it. I need to get around to that. This is my favorite cake of all time. It was wonderful with my cup of tea. I really didn't want to share with Ross, but there is no way I could eat it all myself.

We took the subway downtown after lunch and I bought some flavored green teas at Harney & Sons. I had a couple of cups of their Bangkok blend this morning. Mmmmm. Yummy.

We ate churros at La Churreria after we finally managed to find it. The churros were fresh and came with a chocolate dipping sauce, but I really didn't think they needed the sauce. They were better without it.

Then came shoes. We spent a while at Miz Mooz shoes. I left with two pairs. A pair of short lace-up boots and a pair of flats. I love them both. The boots were on my birthday wish list. I'm so happy I got them. I'll do a separate post with photos of all my bday presents.

Cake, shoes, and tea. I'm happy.

Hair 1.1

This is what my hair looks like straight. I like it. The front is a little short, so I had some barrettes in. I like it. I still haven't seen what it looks like curly.