Cardio Barre

Like a great many of my peers, I struggle with my weight/self confidence. I'm not overweight, but I want to look/feel awesome. So, there's a constant struggle for me between choosing cheeseburgers and cake or a chicken breast and a side of broccoli for dinner - between working out every evening or taking "a night off", which inevitably turns into a week, month, or sometimes a year. 

For the past few months I've been really good about the working out part. I'm still struggling like crazy with my food choices... because I love food with high fat content. I can't help it. But here's the kicker. I am getting married this year. (Duh) And I went out and ordered this dress that I absolutely love, but may not be so good for hiding...well, anything. So, I've been working out 5 days a week (sometimes more if I can swing it) and really trying to cut back on the stuff that is going to cancel out all the hard work I've been putting in. 

Last night I attended my very first Cardio Barre class. After weeks and weeks of doing the same P90X DVDs every night (which are awesome, by the way), I decided I needed to spice it up. And I just bought 10 classes for  $40 via LivingSocial. (Shazam!)

N-E-ways. (looks like Northeast ways) It was totally awesome. I really pushed myself and ended up sweating like crazy and loving my workout. I am so excited to have 9 classes to go. 

Also, I love that it is like 3 blocks from my house. If I allot the time for it, I could start walking over there. 

So, tonight is back to P90X. I'll be working my legs, back, and abs. My favorite exercise in tonight's program is "Sneaky Lunges". They go on forever, but really work your legs and butt, and are kinda fun. I mean, they're called Sneaky Lunges. How could they not be?

Rainy Days Again

This rain is out of control. We had a nice day and a half long break and it's back. So, here I sit, towards the end of the day, watching the rain come down outside my window, wondering if I should even bother going to Nordstrom to try on this headband, which is hopefully as pretty in person as I think it is online.

I also plan on doing yoga in the living room tonight. I just hope Panda doesn't think it's playtime. She likes to try and crawl underneath me while I lower into chuttarunga. She's so thoughtful that way. It must be like Limbo to her. 

That, or she'll bat at my face. It's out of love - and that she has no clue that she's almost as tall as I am when she stands on her hind legs. I hope it's not raining like this tomorrow or she won't be able to go play with Blue at my parents' house and she'll most likely destroy something in our bedroom due to pent up energy. 

In other news, we had engagement pictures taken about a week and a half ago. The fabulous Nicky and Eric of Eight20 Photography met us at the corner of Mulholland and Las Virgenese. We took some (hopefully) really neat side-of-the-road shots and then headed North on Mulholland to Paramount Ranch, where they filmed Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman. (HA!) 

We had a lot of fun. I think we really embraced the awkwardness of it all - having two near strangers take pictures of us as we walk around and do nothing in particular. 

But I really need to work on my patience because they told us we'd be able to see them in 2-3 weeks, and I am damn near tapping my foot waiting to see these images. I have such high hopes for them. I have been dying to get some nice photos of Tim and myself to put up since right now all we have are the ones of us making goofy faces. We are pros when it comes to goofy faces. 

Green 17

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Tim and I are getting married in 6 months! :)

Yay!

Sharing the Gross

Yesterday there was a very large spider on my desk. I noticed it, made a comment, and then decided I would go get some tissue to kill it or throw it out the window. When I got back he was gone, so I thought the better of it.

Unbeknownst to me at that time, it appears as though Mr. Spider was on the hunt - and when I wasn't looking - attacked my left hand. It's kind of hard to see because it looks like an elevated bruise, but the red arrows are pointing to [what I believe is] the spider bite.

It's also possible that I thwacked my hand on something really hard and just don't remember, but when I discovered this while washing my hands last night, I was a little confused and freaked out.

Who knows though, I'll keep you posted if I start developing super powers.

I Found It! Let There Be Bathroom Pictures!

After weeks of searching, having convinced myself that the usb to connect my camera to the computer was lost forever, I HAVE FOUND IT! The whole time it was sitting in one of the cleanest places in the house - the end table next to Tim's side of the bed. It had been there so long I'd thought it was Tim's old phone charger that he just hadn't taken the time to get rid of, but ALAS! It was my long lost USB cord! Now that I have found it I can share the lovely new color of the downstairs bathroom.

Before

After

Panda likes it better too.

Almond Mocha Cake + House = Success!

We'd been trying to have a sort of house warming shindig for months. We moved into our house in October and have been struggling to get the place in acceptable condition for having people over pretty much ever since. It has been a topic of much stress in our home, since I was pushy mcpushypants and Tim was the only one tall enough and strong enough to do all the things pushy mcpushypants wanted done.

FINALLY, the living room, dining room, and downstairs bathroom were in nice enough condition that we could successfully entertain a small crowd of family members. So, on Saturday, March 5, 2011, we had a awesome little pot luck (with a birthday cake for my big sis). 

As I mentioned below, I wanted to try out this awesome recipe for a pistachio cake, but had no luck finding pistachio extract. So, I opted for one of my favs - almond; delicious and available in extract form at any supermarket you can think of. 

I also followed the guidelines to create a absolutely delicious mocha buttercream. I did not think it was going to be as marvelous as it was. 

My method for baking is a little unconventional  - only because everyone says baking is a "science". I believe in the use of measuring cups/spoons, but I also believe that it's perfectly acceptable to fill a cup roughly 3/4 of the way when the recipe calls for 3/4 cup. 

Because of this [awesome] technique, each cake I bake turns out a little different than the last. This one came out almost like a pound cake. It was so good. It may have been the most delicious cake I have ever made. Easily my favorite so far. 

Last night after we got home from dinner, Tim and I polished it off. There was only about a sixth of the cake left, so it was easy to split. 

I am quite pleased with my new recipe. I would very much like to make it again. 

I burnt the almonds, so I had to use pecans to decorate instead. Oh well.