The Outer Banks - 2010 edition

This spring has been a wonderful but busy time. Work is going wonderfully, Scott is amazing, my dieting/training is right on track, and my brother moved in with me!

Yep, after not living with Reid since freshman year of college, (specifically, ahem, summer 2001) he decided to spend the summer with me working in Virginia and preparing to enter the military in the fall. It was great having family to come home to.

Needless to say, keeping up with everything was a full time job, and on top of my full time job, I was in need of a little time away doing ... nothing!

Enter the outer banks of NC. I was introduced to this little piece of heaven last year right after Scott and I started dating. It is a wonderful place to relax, and thanks to some planning, I got to spend five days there last week with forty of my closest friends for relatively little cost.

Enjoy the pictures from the trip. There are a whole lot more you can check out on Facebook.

Wouldn't this be a great spot for a wedding?! ;-)

Reflections on 29

April 12th I turned twenty-nine years old. When you think about your life as a child (which I classify as any time before 19) you picture where you'll be in 5, 10, 20 years, etc. I have to say that I pictured a very different life for me when I was a kid. I thought that I'd be living in Texas, like all my relatives. And married with a family, again, like all my relatives who are in their late twenties.

With all the expectations one has for their life, it's a very transcendent place to be when one is peaceful at every point along the path. Which is a verbose way of saying that man, I never thought I'd be here but I'm so glad I am. Who would have ever thought this Texan would end up in northern Virginia selling pacemakers and dating an artist at 29?! I am so blessed to have my employment, my health, my friends, my family, my boyfriend, and most of all, my relationship with God. It is the only thing that makes me special and has gotten me through the darkest times on my journey. Thank you so much, readers of this blog, for supporting me along the way, it means the world to me!

These are a few pictures from my party, where the theme was ... TEXAS!!

Update 3

Hello folks! I'm happy to report that training is going well! I ran in the Cherry Blossom 10 miler about two weeks ago and I'm running in the GW 10 miler this Sunday. The last race went ok. I didn't do it for time - which was good, since I ended up stopping with a friend to use the restroom. I'm hoping to do the race this weekend in 100 minutes or less. I've come to enjoy running more as my weight has gone down. Not only are my runs easier, but I actually feel good at then end of the run and some days even look forward to my runs (some days).

My diet has been going well using WeightWatchers. I'm trying to convince one of my girlfriends to do it with me , which will make it easier to stick to. My weight right after the last race was 133.2, today it is ... 134.4 lbs. I've gone up a bit, which is normal considering my training schedule. I have to be honest, it's a bit dissapointing. I try to focus more on my overall weight gain/loss since I started and I'm still consistantly losing. My body fat percentage has gone down 2.5%!

More to come.

Update 2

The Cherry Blossom 10 miler is this Sunday! Pray that I run a good race and that my knees and hips have minimal pain. My training runs have been really great, no doubt due to the awesome weather we've been having here lately. Today's high is in the 90's and I love it! Bring it on spring allergies, I'll take you over blizzards any day.

The diet has been going really well. I feel like I've finally hit my groove with my eating habits. My 10 year high school reunion is this July, followed a week late by my dear friend Noelle's wedding (where I will be a bride's maid) so I've got sufficient motivation to be in good shape this summer. Not to mention pool and beach time ... bikinis, ugh!

So my current weight is ... 132.8 lbs! This is the lowest I've been since before Scott and I started dating. Ironically, I think he's gained about 15 lbs so I guess there is something to that physics law "matter is neither created nor destroyed, just transferred from one form to another". Ok, I feel like a nerd now. My goal weight is still a good 15 lbs away, so continued prayer for my motivation hit plateaus.

When all this is over I'll put up some before and after photos, that's where I can really see a difference.

Regan's 30th on the River

My dear friend Regan turned 30 this past week. He's one of my aggie friends that I've kept in touch with up here in DC. In addition to turning 30, he also is leaving the marines to start grad school at ... Harvard! I'm so proud of Regan although I will miss him dearly when he leaves this summer. I told him I'd visit him in Boston, but only when there isn't any snow on the ground. Here are a couple of pictures from the boat.

Update

I'm happy to report things are going well on the dieting/training front! My current weight is 134.8 lbs. Of course we would all like to lose 2+ lbs a week, but since I'm in training, that really is unlikely, as I'm pretty sure I'm retaining water from muscle recovery. Anyway, the diet is going well. It certainly helps that Weight Watchers is online and so easy to use. I also have a ton of support from Scott, who always supports me and tells me I look great no matter what (isn't it awesome to have a guy like that?!).

My training schedule was awesome this week. I ran 15 miles total, with all of my running outside since the weather has been so great. My IT band isn't giving me too much trouble, which was a welcome change from training last fall. I hope to incorporate more weight training as my schedule allows.

What worked this week:
- Fruit! having fresh foods around totally helped satisfy cravings, especially mid-morning and late-afternoon
- Water, I drink at least 64 ounces a day and more on my running days. Did you know that drinking cold water speeds up your metabolism by as much as 30% even after you're done drinking? Water is essential to weight loss and long term weight maintenance
- Sticking to my training schedule, even if I didn't go as far as I planned, just getting out there got the endorphins going and helped me make better diet decisions

What didn't work:
- keeping candy around! Having snack food in big bags made it that much easier to grab something when I got hungry, especially when I was out of my fresh foods and didn't have time to prepare something
- Grazing, one of my biggest challenges to weight loss. I don't really eat when I'm stressed, I eat when I'm sitting around the house and I'm bored. A few M&M's here and there add up to a lot over an entire day
- Sadly, eating with Scott. We're getting better about this since he wants to drop a few pounds too, but I definitely find it harder to stick to my diet when he wants to indulge. Since he can naturally eat more than me, he doesn't always understand that I really can't share a decadent dessert with him every time we eat together. I hope this gets easier as I adapt to new eating habits.

Please feel free to share your weight loss trials and triumphs.

A Little Rant and New Goals

It's been a couple of months since my last post. I made it through the winter blues and Snowmageddon 2010 relatively unscathed and I'm looking forward to a sunny spring. (You're listening, Mother Nature, right?!)

One of my goals of 2009 was to run a marathon. I accomplished this goal, however, my performance was definitely lacking. Part of this was due to the diagnosis of IT Band syndrome. Basically, this syndrome is diagnosed when a piece of tissue that runs along the outside of your leg becomes stressed and causes knee pain. According to my orthopedist, I have knees that are prone to this because of the angle my knee caps are in relation to my hips. IT Band can be exacerbated by weight gain. For every pound of weight one gains, FOUR pounds of extra pressure are put on the knees. WOW. I had no idea!

That brings us to my little rant. I think I'm the only person who GAINED weight training for a marathon. And I'm not talking a little - I gained 15 pounds between Jan-Oct 2009! With my training schedule, I felt hungry ALL the time. And I didn't reach for carrots and fruit, I enjoyed peanut butter and cookies and whatever else was in the pantry. It was very depressing. My friends tried to tell me, "Oh, it's probably just muscle", but I knew better and got irritated that I couldn't seem to get it under control.

I'm happy to report that I've lost several pounds since the marathon in October. I feel pretty good about it, especially since I enjoyed myself a lot when I was home for the holidays in December. But I definitely wish I could get back down to my ideal weight. Let me be clear, however, I don't view myself as fat or unhealthy (my physical was actually really good this year) but I do feel better and my clothes fit better when my weight is lower. Blogging about this familiar journey would help keep me accountable and hopefully encourage me when I want to reach for those Girl Scout cookies or Cadbury Mini Eggs (my kryptonite).

I've already started training for my next two races - the Cherry Blossom 10 mile on April 11th and the GW Parkway Classic 10 mile on April 25th. I've been successful doing WeightWatchers before so I've started tracking my points again. Along with my running schedule, I'm hoping to be down to my ideal weight range by the time I head to the Outer Banks at the end of May.

So here it goes: As of this week I weigh ... 136.0 lbs. My goal weight ranged is between 116-120 lbs (which I haven't weighed since high school!). At 5 feet 4, this is a healthy range and I've already discussed my goals with my internal medicine doctor. I would also love to get my body fat percentage down to 20-22%.

Please keep me in your prayers that I stick to my training and diet plan. A few words of encouragement would be great too! I'll try to update weekly on how things are going along with tricks that have helped me get through the tough times. More to come soon ...

Christmas in Texas

This year I went home for the holidays. I wasn't able to go home last year because of work obligations so I was really excited to be in Houston this year. Not only was Scott coming with me, but my step-brother and step-sister had flown in for Christmas so it was extra-special to have almost all my family around to celebrate together.

We flew down a few days before Christmas and were there for almost a week! After going through the blizzard before we left, it was so nice to have weather in the 60's, although Scott said it didn't really feel like Christmas.

Scott got to meet a lot of my family while he was in town and he fit right in! We played lots of poker (and lots a few bucks in the process) and enjoyed my family's Christmas traditions.

I hope all of you had a wonderful holiday and wish y'all blessings in the new year.

Let It SNOW!

A few weeks ago we had a mammoth snow storm. They were predicting record snow fall and for once the weathermen were right - when the weekend was done we had a total of 24 inches on the ground and snow drifts as high as three feet in some places.

For those of you in colder climates, this might seem like no big deal. But in DC, and specifically for me, this was huge! Scott is more accustomed to snow than I am so he graciously stayed with me to weather the blizzard. He even dug my car out three times so that he could go help people whose cars were stranded in the snow.

My friend Jenn was one of those unfortunate people who got caught and ended up staying with me Saturday night until the roads were cleared by the snow plows. We went out after the snow had stopped falling to take pictures, enjoy!

Movin' Out, Movin Up

There comes a time in a woman's life ...

Some times it's clear that things need to change ...

When one realizes that roads are diverging ...

Oh, what the heck, I moved out! The reasons are fairly simple - basically it was just time for me to have my own space. I lived with my former roommate for over two years, which is the longest I lived any where in ten years. I was getting restless and realized that it was negatively affecting my relationship with my landlord/roommate. I found a great place closer to my work with an awesome floorplan and decided to make the big move.

The new place is a 4th floor walk-up loft with a fireplace and balcony. I can have my dog, Diego, there, and it's gated with awesome amenities.

My only fear was getting all my furniture up to my new apartment and all those stairs! Enter Scott - my wonderful boyfriend (who has great guy friends!). We packed the UHaul last Friday night in four hours ... it's very odd seeing all your possessions fit in a box, by the way. And then Scott and his parents coordinated the big move the next day. The UHaul was unloaded in just under an hour! Thanks to Scott's friends and my friends for making it possible!

I can't wait to have everyone over once my place is set up.

Pictures to come once I find my camera :-)

I love Johnny Depp!!

"I mean... Edward Scissorhands ... I love Edward Scissorhands." This is what I kept on saying Saturday night, when Scott and I went out in Georgetown for Halloween. Coincidentally, he was dressed as the sharp-handed one himself. It was an amazing costume; he made it himself. He even won a prize - third place! (I still say he was robbed by the 1st place winner - Lady Gaga and a guy dressed as the MTV moonman).

We could not walk down the street without someone asking to take a picture with Scott. I felt like the girlfriend of a celebrity, it was pretty surreal. I was so proud of him though, he really did a great job!

Scott's Friday night costume - 1920's gangster, to my flapper

And for the record, I heart Scott more than Johnny. ;-)

The Marathons Of Life

My medal - finisher!

About ten months ago I was blogging about my resolutions for 2009 and decided that one of them should be to run that infamous 26.2 miles known as a marathon. I don't know what possessed me make that a goal, except that I'd run in several 10 mile races and figured that 26.2 wouldn't be unachievable if I trained for it.

The Last Well group from church who handed out water - Scott is far left

Yesterday was the day of the race - the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, DC. There were close to 30,000 runners, so I wasn't alone in my madness. My sweet boyfriend, Scott, came to hand out water and run with me at the end. I started out the race thinking, OK, this isn't so bad, as long as I run slow enough, I should be able to make it!

WRONG... At mile 2, my right knee started hurting. And I don't mean, 'Oh, this is uncomfortable' kind of pain, I mean, 'Why are there knives stabbing the back of my knee cap?!' kind of pain. Thankfully, Scott was at mile 4 handing out water and I had thought ahead to give him a bag of Advil so I stopped and took four of those. That helped for about a mile and then the pain came back.

So tired and sore - mile 25

As if that wasn't enough, at mile 8 both of my hips started hurting. Again, this was legit, OMG pain that would normally stop me in my tracks. I really thought I could pull through it so I kept on going. At mile 14 the pain of all my joints overtook me and I stopped and told a marine that I needed the medics to look at me. As I was jogging to the medical tent, I was thinking about how long I've trained for this race and that I never want to run it again and if I had to crawl across the finish line, I wanted too just so I could have it in the rear view mirror of life. So I kept jogging past the medical tent and thinking that I just needed to make it to mile 20, where Scott would be waiting to cross the bridge with me to the finish line.

I loved my shirt! Finish line under the arch

Scott was there and ran with me to mile 22, where the pain was overwhelming to the point where I had to walk. Walking itself was so painful, but I wanted to at least jog across the finish line at the end so Scott took my hand and walked with me the rest of the way. He had my camera and was able to get a few shots at the end. I completed the race in about 5 hours and 30 minutes. I wanted to do it in under five hours but with all the walking I had to do because of my joints, I'm pretty satisfied with my time.

Scott and me at mile 23

I came home and took some prescription pain killers, which took the edge off the pain of my aching joints. My victory meal? A tavern in Seven Corners called Dogfish Head. I had amazing buffalo chicken dip and macaroni and cheese.

I slept like the dead last night, I don't think I've ever been so tired. If any of you out there are thinking about running a marathon, DON'T. Well, I guess it's a worthy goal, and I think I'll be more happy about doing it when I'm healed. If you want to run a marathon, make sure you train outside, stick to your training schedule, and listen to your body. Most people aren't designed to run that far. If I had been more diligent about training my joints for hours and hours of running, I probably could have performed a lot better yesterday.

Collapsing after the race

Cheers to another resolution completed and to never running that far ever ever again!

Um.. I'm still a blogger, I promise!

It's been a long time. This is why I've been MIA:

His name is Scott and he is amazing. More to come :-)

Twitter

I realize I might offend some people with the content of this post but hear me out.

I don't get Twitter.

Oh, I know some people say it's just like updating your Facebook status but I beg to differ. I mean, I don't have a problem with the occasional tweet or the play-by-play during a life-changing event such as a birth, but to have entire conversations through a microblog ... I mean, seriously? Who has time for this?? Does every tweeter have a very forgiving boss???

What I want to know is when texting went out of style. And what about that very archaic practice of actually CALLING someone and TALKING with them on the phone... so last year, right? And frankly, I don't really care if Kim Kardashian just got a latte at Starbucks or Ryan Seacrest has deep thoughts about a sandwich. The worst is when a person doesn't have the guts to tell someone what they're actually feeling and so instead tweets it so everyone can know their business. Um, soo 7th grade.

To me all of this passive-aggressive communication is a sign that even as we as a society find new and different ways to connect through technology, we become more inept at face to face conversation and thereby less socially adjusted. Misunderstandings and unintentional offenses abound when one's sole communication is a few sentences into the Internet abyss.

So give your texting thumbs a rest and call someone. Instead of tweeting all night, go out and spend some quality time in deep conversation with someone you care about. Try not tweeting about your bad experience at Subway and ask the person behind the counter how their day is going.

You just might make a new friend and learn something about yourself.

Upstate NY

As most of my friends (and most of the northern VA area) know, I am from Texas.  Born and raised in Houston, and my parents, and their parents, and their parents, are from Texas.  I'm proud of my heritage, and would have it no other way.  What few people know, is that I have a few clusters of relatives who live elsewhere.  My step-mom's parents and sister live in Kentucky, and my step-dad's kids live in Glens Falls, NY.  Their house is in the Adirondack mountains a short drive from Saratoga, where the horse races take place.  I've been several times to visit them, the most recent being this past weekend when my step-dad, mom, and step-brother were up there as well. 

The drive is long from Great Falls - it took me about eight hours total.  Diego made the journey with me and he was an excellent passenger.  With him and my iPod, the eight hours went by pretty fast and before I knew it, the New Jersey turnpike turned into 87 to Albany and the Adirondacks were rising out of the horizon in the distance.

While I was there this weekend, we played poker, shopped a bit in Saratoga, and Ralph (my step-sister Susan's husband) and I serenaded everyone on our guitars (or tried to!).  My visits with this side of the family aren't frequent enough and are always too short.  But, we always make the most of our time together, and this past weekend was no exception.

Here is a video of all the animals we had with us this weekend, sans Susan's African Gray parrot named Ivan (he's not into having his picture taken).

Legwarmers!

There is this great 80's cover band in northern Virginia called the Legwarmers.  I first heard about them five years ago when I was interning on the Hill, and I've wanted to check out a show ever since.  What's so fun about going to see the Legwarmers is that everyone dresses up, and there are some pretty incredible costumes, for sure.  

This past weekend, several of my girlfriends and I went to see the Legwarmers at the State Theatre in Falls Church.  It was so awesome!  I saw Madonnas, the Brat Pack, and even Dee Snider!  Not to mention the music - all the hits from the 80's that we know and love: Journey, the Go Go's, Michael Jackson ... It was awesome!

Again, I tried to capture our attempt at 80's garb; I'll let you judge for yourself!

Southern Prep

I have this great group of friend who love to throw theme parties.  A few weeks ago, in celebration of one of our friends who is moving south for grad school, we had a Southern Prep theme party.  Really, having a theme party is an excuse to show off how well you can dress the part.  I took some pictures of everyone who was there, and I hope we represented the south well.  See for yourself ...

Amanda's Birthday

This is a shameless post to highlight a cake that I made for my friend Amanda's birthday.  I made it from a tweaked strawberry box cake.  The frosting was homemade, as were the chocolate covered strawberries and decorations.  It wasn't perfect, but it tasted great and everybody loved it!

After we had dinner and recovered from our sugar comas we went out dancing.  It was a great time.

Dad's 4th of July Visit

Last weekend Dad came in town for the holiday.  I'm so proud of myself because we did so much while he was here.  We saw two movies, went to a Nationals game, and toured historic landmarks.  

The highlight for me by far was visiting Mt. Vernon on Saturday.  We toured Washington's home then visited the Grist Mill (a legit, working mill from back in the day), which was such a treat.  

Dad would probably say his highlight was watching NASCAR on Saturday night in lieu of fireworks.  The Coke Zero 400 at Daytona was an awesome race, definitely a photo finish.  Jeff Gordon, my favorite, leads NASCAR drivers with most wins in restrictor plate races, but he didn't do too well that night (28th place in that race, though 2nd overall in points for the year).  At least he didn't DNF.  Tony Stewart won the race when Kyle Busch lost control in literally the last few seconds before they passed the checkers.  It was a race marked by several intense crashes and lots of jockeying by the drivers.  I really wished I had DVR that night.

It was awesome having Dad here and I missed him the instant I dropped him off at the airport.  I can't wait to see my family again at Thanksgiving!