Ready for Thanksgiving!

11.1.13

Today:

• I got up early enough to workout before going to a study group, so I felt good about that.
• I watched an episode of Breaking Bad while working out. It's great to have a show compelling enough to make the workout go quickly.
• Jack taught Rachel how to change her oil, and it was a good refresher for me too.
• He also changed my oil.
• Rachel helped me wash my car.
• She also let me raid a bunch of clothes she's taking to Goodwill, and I found several tops I really like, which is so perfect as I was just telling Jack two days ago that I am really bored with my wardrobe but I don't actually need anything new so I wasn't going to get anything new. Ha!
• Jack & I had Panera Frontega chicken sandwiches for dinner, 
• while watching Ender's Game
• at the drive-in! I love drive-ins.

Seasonal Changes

10.31.13

Today:

• I did my workout first thing, which pretty much always sets a good tone for the day. 
• I was up at Starbucks for nearly six hours getting work done (okay, about 5 hours getting work done, and the last hour putting this blog together). 
• Jack came to hang out with me during his lunch break, which was a pleasant surprise. 
• A lot of the Starbucks employees were wearing Halloween costumes--Peter Pan, a butterfly, Pikachu--and some of the customers had costumes too. 
• I had a venti nonfat no-whip hot chocolate (delicious).
• It's starting to get a little chillier here, and feel like fall, which is my favorite.
• Once Halloween is done we get to start counting down to Thanksgiving, and then Christmas! I love this time of year. :)

Halloween

8.23.13 - The best of friendships

I had a dream the other night that a mysterious guide took me to another world, and in that world was a giant arena filled with people.

The guide told me these people were my friends, and I responded, "There's no way. I don't even know this many people, much less have this many friends." But then I looked closer and realized the people were divided into groups, and each group represented the friends I have had in a given year of my life.  This wasn't like a reunion--the friends were the age they were when I had friended them. So for example, there was a group of 9- and 10-year-olds from 1994 that I had been friends with in 4th grade. They looked exactly as I remember them.

What's more, the people I've been friends with over multiple years were present several times over. That is, if I was friends with someone for the first three years of high school, that person was in each of the three groups representing those years. He would be one year older in each group, and unaware of the other "copies" of himself, because the groups did not mingle.

I was able to go from group to group and revisit with my old friends. In particular, I was able to talk to people I am no longer friends with during the years when our friendships were the strongest. Each "copy" was only aware of the year in which they existed, so all they knew were the best parts of our friendships. It was great to see people before things had faded away (or worse, gone sour). The whole thing was surreal and amazing.

4.14.13 - Bows & Arrows brunch

Having a groupon to Bows & Arrows for brunch completed the weekend.

We had mimosas in mason jars and enjoyed the decor, such as a variety of cute, funky vases at every table. 

Every table was different, like the restaurant had just acquired a bunch of old patio furniture with no attempt to coordinate. There was also a wall made of old doors overgrown with vines, which was a cool effect.

My eggs benedict were wonderful.

4.13.13 - Ju Hachi, Riverfront Train, Trio

First we enjoyed a sushi lunch at Ju Hachi. 

 Then we went to the riverfront train ride. We had tickets that included open-air cars, a live band, and wine-tasting.

Too many chairs meant people would dance a bit in their seats but otherwise there was nowhere to dance, despite pretty great music and beautiful weather for it. The band was playing a lot of great music from the 60s & 70s. 

We moved to the part of the car directly in front of the band where there was a bit of room and we started swing dancing. Soon a few other couples joined us, and then it snowballed from there until there were so many people dancing that everyone else moved their chairs back to make room.

Everyone finally dancing. Having more time to drink wine seems to help. 

Jack had made reservations at Trio but the place was slammed so it took awhile for us to be seated and order. This worked out well because I was so full from Ju Hachi lunch that I didn't mind sipping wine and waiting a little while. 

Jack keeps his hands off his food so I can take a picture of him with it first.

2012 Dates

1. January 6 - Steelhead Brewery
2. January 9 - Baywatch Cafe (breakfast), Mission Impossible 4 (ugh)
3. January 13 - Elephant Bar
4. January 18 - Chez Saigon
5. January 29 - Baywatch food to go, picnic in the park
6. January 31 - nightime picnic, Twin Peaks
7. February 8 - Joy Sushi dinner and then O'Neil's Pub
8. February 12 - dinner at the Odom's
9. February 19 - Chronicle (great movie)
10. February 22 - Steelhead Brewery
11. March 4 - Safetway sushi picnic
12. March 7 - Lahmacun Pizzeria
13. March 18 - Steelhead Brewery (hey, if it works, go with it)
14. March 31 - Barney's (Gourmet Hamburgers)
15. April 8 - Paddy Flynn's Irish pub
16. April 13 - 15 - wine-tasting anniversary weekend
17. April 28 - 21 Jump Street (eh)
18. May 6 - Golden Gate bay cruise
19. May 15 - 5 Year Engagement (enjoyable)
20. May 26 - picnic at Fillmore park (homemade salmon salad)
21. May 31 - Chez Saigon (last hurrah before The Bet)
22. June 6 - The Avengers (ehhh)
23. June 9 - Amici's pizza
24. June 17 - Elephant Bar
25. July 1 - Il Fiorno (Gluttony Day!)
26. July 11 - The Amazing Spiderman
27. July 21 - Barney's (Gourmet Hamburgers)
28. July 28 - Tokyo Go Go
29. August 5 - Panera Bread Co (in Sacramento!)
30. August 11 - Dark Knight Rises (good)
31. August 15 - Tokyo Go Go (we had accidentally bought two Groupons)
32. August 22 - Bourne Legacy (psh)
33. August 26 - Steelhead Brewery
34. September 4 - Big Spoon frozen yogurt (first official Sacramento date!)
35. September 21 - Panacea (bar) and Burgers & Brew
36. September 27 - Starbucks and long walk around Davis
37. October 2 - Olive Garden
38. October 9 - Drive-in: Looper (excellent)
39. October 14 - Monsoon Cuisine (endless mimosas)
40. October 21 - Firebird Russian River restaurant
41. November 1 - Elephant Bar
42. November 6 - Drive-in: Wreck It Ralph
43. November 15 - Roma's Pizzeria
44. November 21 - Starbucks and walk around autumn park
45. November 26 - Ju Hachi sushi
46. December 4 - Trio mediterranean restaurant

Chocolate Fudgy Cookie Bars

Oven at 350.

CRUST -- 1-3/4 c. flour, 3/4 c. powdered sugar, 1/4 c. cocoa, 1 c. butter/margerine, cold. Blend dry ingredients, then cut in butter with fork or pastry blender until crumbly (pea-sized). Press into 13 x 9 pan. Bake 15 min.

FUDGY MIDDLE -- 1 can sweetened condensed milk, 1 c. chocolate chips, 1 t. vanilla (optional). Pour chips into milk and heat in microwave until warm. Maybe 30-60 sec. Stir till smooth. Pour onto baked crust.

TOP -- 1 c. chocolate chips, 1 c. chopped nuts (walnuts, pecans). Pour over and slightly press into fudgy middle. BAKE 18 min. Cool 1 hour. Cut into bars.


This picture doesn't even begin to capture the fudgy goodness.

10.15.12 - Senses Record

See

Rabbits in the field outside the FSC.

Sculptures along the roads of Davis.

My reflection in my laptop as it boots up.

Taste

Equal in my iced coffee.

Caramel Apple Pops

Parmesan on my pasta/veggie lunch.

Smell

Sizzling turkey bacon.

That’s all I can think of (my nose doesn’t work that well).

Hear

“Bad Day” on the radio.

Barista chatting with customers.

My phone beeping from texts.

Feel

Muscles protesting a workout.

Sweat down my back as I hurry to find Kemper Hall.

Water seeping through my shoes when I cut through the grass.

Artistic food

8.20.12 - When Jack cooks

8.8.12 - End of the Epic Summer Weight Loss Challenge

This morning I went ahead and finished up my STAY ON TARGET FB album because (also this morning) I weighed in on a calibrated scale at half a pound below my weight goal.

THE BET IS OVER. LONG LIVE THE BET.

I've basically been working on this since April 30, and I am ready for it to be done.  Thanks to everyone for ideas, encouragement, mutual inspiration, and, in some cases, really good listening skills. :-P  Particular thanks to Jen R. and Sarah O. for nutritional advice, Yvette for workout advice and a very encouraging Mutual Admiration Society, and Hugo for being my workout sponsor (which we can continue to do, Hugo).

But I would especially like to thank Julie.  Last spring I wasn't even thinking about trying to lose more weight, much less planning the longest endurance test I have yet experienced.  If it weren't for both stubborness/pride and a sense of duty to provide Julie with a true competitor, I never would have made it.  There were many times when I wanted to quit, and in some cases the only thing that stopped me was not wanting to let Julie down.  After all, the Epic Summer Weight Loss Challenge would not be epic if one of us just quit halfway through.  

So, dear sister, thank you for inspiring me as few people could.  I feel wonderful--and skinny!  Also, you owe me some money.

Family car.

7.29.12 - Smashed laptop and good friends and boyfriend

Last night I made an epic workout playlist on iTunes (it included "Scream" by Michael Jackson).  I had just perfected it so that it would be exactly one hour.  I turned to go change into my Pinterest-inspired workout tshirt, and in the process I tangled my foot in my laptop cord, causing the open laptop to fall from the fireplace mantle and smash onto the floor.  The screen is completely destroyed.  At first I just turned back around and rested my forehead on the fireplace mantle and wished to go back in time about 2 seconds, but I knew in my heart that time travel is impossible (that's right, Jack).

Then I thought about all of the upcoming expenses Jack and I have with our move to Sacramento, and how much this will add to it, and I started to get upset.  I texted Julie, Ellen, and Everett about it, basically to vent.  Jack immediately took the laptop carcass and some necessary tools to Neil to see if Neil could recover any data I haven't backed up yet.  While Neil worked Jack began searching online for pricing on new laptops similar or better to the one I had just killed.  It was sweet how the moment I got upset, Jack went into proactive overdrive to resolve the problem.

Neil took out the hard drive and announced that it would be easy enough to hook up to his computer to get the data.  That was a relief.  Ellen texted me back with sympathy and some information about her very similar laptop for comparison pricing.  Julie and I had this amusing conversation via text:

Julie: Someday it will be a memory.  Like the time my screen got crushed on the plane.
Me: Yeah, actually that's the first thing I thought of.
Julie: A small part of me died that day.
Me: Lol. But just a memory.
Julie: No, you don't understand, it was a horcrux.

Everett didn't give me helpful information or sympathy.  He just texted me "It's bad ya know."  This is a lyric from RL Burnside's "It's Bad Ya Know".  My relationship with Everett basically consists of texting each other parts of that song.  I believe I've mentiond this before...

I seriously lol'd when he used that song so fittingly for this situation.  Given I was on the verge of tears, laughing was a huge relief, and immediately I remembered that a smashed laptop is a first world problem and that it's not really that bad.  Good job, jerkface.

And of course ultimately I called Mike.  With his suggestions and Neil's help we hooked up the laptop to an external monitor and discovered that it's only the screen that's destroyed--the rest of it still works fine.  This may mean that I need only replace the screen instead of the entire laptop, which will be a couple hundred dollars cheaper.  So that helped lighten the mood a couple hundred dollars.

Shortly thereafter, Jack and I got a little dressed up and used a Living Social coupon for a really lovely sushi dinner at Tokyo Go Go in the mission.  We ordered miso soup instead of edamame and we didn't get any rolls with tempura, just to try to keep the calorie count somewhat reasonable.  It was delicious.  So was my Syrah.  I loved the tall table for two at which we sat.  I loved the multi-sized soft-glowing orb lamps all over the ceiling.  I loved that we were directly beneath the lone TV so that we couldn't see it, and that it had no sound anyway, and that it was playing, bizarrely, Independence Day.  I also noticed the restaurant music was loud enough to hear but not so loud you had to raise you voice to talk.  The staff were very friendly and the atmosphere was just great.  I'm so glad Jack and I always have a weekly date night, and I strongly recommend it to other couples.

Anyway, by the end of the night I felt perfectly fine.  I have good friends.

6.17.12 - My birthday

My favorite messages from my birthday this year were:

• FB post from Julie: "so how does it feel to be 27 and the lightest you've ever been in your adult life, hmmmm?"
• A 30 min call with Renata. Haven't gotten to talk to her in so long. So nice to hear from her.
• FB post from Scott: "Happy fathers day!!!"
• A brief call from Hugo! Never actually heard his voice before, so delighted to hear from him! Bonus: he called me just as he was about to workout and right when I happened to be working out. We are interstate workout buddies. :)
• FB post from Cody: "Hey, It's that one day. Dont die for another year."
• And my favorite, a text from Eddie: "Ooooh, my name is Monica, and today's my birthday! I'm so special because EVERYONE is gonna talk to me today! Happy birthday. don't think you're special because you're 27...I've been 27 for months now."

6.14.12 - Summer weight loss update

A few thoughts:

• I have decided I love oatmeal with banana.
• Also edamame.
• I seem unable to eat the right foods/portions based solely on a desire to be healthy/lose weight.
• Yet I am more than capable of doing the above out of sheer pride.

The regime is going well. I weigh less now than I ever have in my adult life, by a few pounds, and I'm excited about that.  I'm quite sure if I wasn't in a summer-long bet with Julie I would contentedly stop now and just try to maintain the level I'm at, but a competition is a competition, so the careful self-control continues.

Despite eating only 1500 cals/day for about a month and a half now, I'm still not entirely used to it.  I've gotten better at it, but I think hardly a night has gone by that I haven't fantasized about just letting it go and eating a giant bowl of fettuccini.  (My food fantasies tend to be about huge amounts of carbs.)  I don't do it, of course, but I can see how easy it is to fall off the wagon, even after having been on it for awhile.

Working out has been a bit easier.  I enjoy the sweat and the pride afterward.  And the music, and the adrenaline!  If I don't really want to work out I still do cardio for 45m-1h, but I don't push as hard.  I have only missed one daily workout since April 30, but we'll see if that can last the rest of the summer.

Lastly, I find lately that the most inspiring factor is when other people are inspired to work out/eat healthily and tell me about it, especially if I helped motivate them in some way.  Then I feel like we're in this together, and I have to workout so that they also know we're in this together.  I think it's awesome that I live in an age where people in totally different states can basically be my workout buddies.

5.19.12 - cherry pineapple snack

I have no better name for this.

Two pineapple slices.

Two tablespoons of fat-free cream cheese.

Two cherries (pitted).

Cream cheese on pineapples, cherries on cream cheese, and stack. :)

The one in the pic was about 120 calories of deliciousness.

5.6.12 - Getting healthy

Today I:

• Prepped two blog posts for SPL this week.
• Added more pics to my workout screensaver.
• Deep-cleaned, sanded, and taped the stairway in preparation for varnishing (next weekend).
• Bought some postcards to send to some people.
• Took a tour of the SF Bay with Jack for our weekly date.
• Worked out for an hour.
• Made an omelette for dinner (with edamame!)

I'd say it was a good Sunday.