Thursday, May 30, 2013

Thankful Thursday

When I think of summer, I think of chlorine, iced coffee, the smell of alfalfa and apricots, bbq and corn, pedicures, and sunscreen. June begins the day after tomorrow, which means it's almost summer, which means 2013 is almost halfway over. I can't even believe it. I was thinking about this the other day and feeling excited that summer is almost here...until I remembered that summer no longer means long vacations and lazy days. Boo. But we do have 2 vacations coming up between now and Fall, so that counts for something, right? I'll just ignore all the work days in between.

Speaking of summer, this weekend we're going to be up in Pville and Reno. Along with plans for mountain biking, family get-togethers, business meetings (Nolan), and definitely sushi, I think we're honestly most looking forward to that evening where we eat delicious grilled meat, sip family wine, and enjoy the sunset over the ranch and then the stars from the hot tub. Best weekend ever!

1. I'm thankful for good times. Last night we had some couples over and had dinner and some laughs while playing "Cards Against Humanity". If you haven't played it, it's hilarious...but most definitely not family friendly. I would only play that game with family members if about 75% of the cards were removed. So much fun to just relax and laugh with good friends over a meal and drinks!
2. I'm thankful for plans to get away this weekend! Some nice time up at the ranch sounds amazing right now.
3. I'm thankful for a mostly healed foot. This morning I was watching the sun rise from the elliptical again - ahh! Lunchtime today will be my first leg weight session in weeks - exciting!
4. I'm thankful for fun connections! Randomly just found out I have a couple coworkers who attend Reality SF (our old church in SF that we loved). So fun to make those connections on a different level in the workplace!
5. I'm thankful for leftovers. No, really. There is nothing better than a tasty, practically free meal that's already prepared to take to work and enjoy for lunch.

What are you thankful for?

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

when the days all start running together

Wednesday? Shouldn't it be...Tuesday? Or Friday maybe? Holiday weeks always throw me off, man. Perhaps this is a small taste of what it's like to be Nolan. Or anyone without a 9-5 office job. Confusing!

After weeks of rest and sneaky yoga, I finally tested my foot on our elliptical on Monday with great success! The next day, I did a full elliptical workout + gym time at lunch like I was doing before and it felt GREAT. So other than the stiffness (and the Ibuprofen I popped just in case), I think I'm mostly back to normal. Still no HIIT or running for at least another week, but hey - at least I have cardio options and can do leg work again, right?

Today I went out for lunch with a coworker at a nearby spot I've been dying to try. I hardly buy lunch in the city - I prefer to bring my own - so when I do, I want to really enjoy it. So we went to Bamboo Asia and omg, I'm in love. It's like a bunch of asian food trucks dumped their contents into one big open room with tables. Indian, Vietnamese, and Japaneses in the same spot? With healthy options? SCORE! Check it out here. I got the Indian spice garden salad and it was to.die.for. I've already warned Nolan that we're going there the next time he joins me for lunch here.

Last night for date night, we grilled veggies + garlic, little polenta and tomato slices, and little filet mignons and then sat on our lawn and chatted and enjoyed our peaceful neighbourhood. Tonight is game night with some friends, and a bbq! I love this time of year.

Thursday, May 23, 2013

Thankful Thursday

Last Thursday I was hobbling down my stairs and thought to myself that it would be easy to write my Thankful Thursday post, since I had about a million things on the top of my head that I was thankful for. But then I forgot to blog. Such is life, eh? It's the (thankful) thought that counts.

While on our travels on the East Coast, I developed tendonitis in my right foot, meaning I can't do anything for a couple weeks. Hopefully I'll be able to test out activities again this Sunday, but we'll see. It's been really tough for me to do nothing - even walking a couple blocks makes it sore. Nolan (and my PCP both) told me that I can't even ride a bike or do the elliptical, much less run and do HIIT workouts. So I've been sneaking in yoga, and then working on mostly upper body and core. Never have I felt so lazy, but at the same time I can see that it's probably good for me to rest my joints and body a bit - sleeping an extra hour is helping too, and something I rarely get to do. Am I thankful for the forced rest? Undecided. But I do have an awful lot to be thankful for.

1. I'm thankful for opportunities. Tonight is our date night, and I was feeling antsy about having to wait until around 7 to eat (so late for me!) because of Nolan's schedule, but I just found out that a friend and her husband (who just had a baby) need a meal brought to them tonight. So I get to bless someone with my extra time instead of just noodling around, AND I get to meet their baby. Score!
2. I'm thankful for productivity. With the extra time I save from not being at the gym, I've been catching up around the house - cooking, cleaning, ironing, touching up paint on walls. I got to that coveted point last weekend where I ran out of things to do, and actually ordered our pictures from old trips that I can start scrapbooking. Bonus to all of this and not moving around much? Lots of time reading and napping in the sunshine.
3. I'm thankful for Nolan's schedule. Sometimes I whine about it, but it's actually been pretty great (in comparison to others'). I see him almost every day, and often have time to have a meal or do something fun together. Not too shabby!
4. I'm thankful for change. It reminds me that the future is ours, and with God's guidance, we can choose our own courses. We're very fortunate to live in such a place where that is even possible.
5. I'm thankful for my friends. It's always so energizing to share a meal and a conversation with a dear friend, or catch up during yoga, or even just over email.

What are you thankful for?

Thursday, May 2, 2013

Thankful Thursday

You know what? Tomorrow at this time, we'll be in New York City - no doubt eating some delicious pizza or something else we'd only eat on vacation. Can't wait!

But in the meantime, it's been a pretty great day. I got to work from home today (yay!), so that means I got to sleep an extra hour and start my yoga at 5:30 instead of 4:30. It also means I got to eat a slow breakfast and stay in my yoga clothes. And sip coffee at my own table. I've gotten a lot of the work done that I've meant to, so that makes me feel productive. And I went to Target on my lunch break to indulge in 2 guilty pleasures:
1. picking up a few new things for the trip (woohoo!).
2. picking up an ingredient so I could make my favourite dessert for tonight before our early bedtime. I "accidentally" made too much, so I had a smackerel of it for lunch, too. Excellent.

One of the items I got at Target was a pair of pants - they're white, and I noticed a small dirt spot near the bottom hem when I tried them on. But! They fit perfect! And they were the only pair in my size! And such a deal! So I bought them. Is it a faux pas that I bought a new pair of pants that I had to immediately go home and use oxyclean on? I don't know, but the spot is gone - so I'm not complaining!

Last night Nolan and I snuck in a little date (we went for a run and talked about our days) before meeting up with friends for dinner. Why is it that the world seems just so perfect when it's warm and sunny outside and the days are long? Or maybe it's just because I've gotten to see my soulmate a fair amount recently :) There's more where that came from, too - hello, vacation! With that:

1. I'm thankful for new clothes. It seems like such a stupid little thing, but I RARELY ever shop for anything besides groceries and birthday presents. So this was a special thing, and it made me feel extra thankful that I had a tiny bit extra to put towards a fun treat!
2. I'm thankful for 10 days with Nolan all to myself exploring fun new places! We travel really well together, and tend to enjoy the same things. So vacations are always, like, THE MOST FUN THINGS EVER. Plus he's just so fun! And travelling is so fun! FUN FUN FUN.
3. I'm thankful for forced rest. Tomorrow I'm not going to work out, because you know - I'm waking up at 3:30 to head straight to the airport, and there is no way I'm getting up any earlier than that to exercise groggily. Only in Atlanta, when I'm sleep-confused and wide-awake at that time anyway. Weird. Anyway: I hate not working out, because I feel antsy and "off", but my muscles have been telling me they need a little respite soon. So tomorrow it is. Next workout will be in NYC! And yes, I've already figured out which metro to take to my gym there :)
4. I'm thankful for our little air conditioner. It may be small and only really chill one room, but the general effect is that we can sleep at night, and SOMETIMES a little extra cold air even seeps into the living room. I'm telling you - I've been seeing some facebook friends posting pics of snow (they're in other parts of the country, obviously), and here it was almost 90 degrees today at 11am. Whew.
5. I'm thankful for our church, and for the pastor who makes us feel connected and cared for, even when our (or Nolan's) schedule doesn't allow any current involvement outside of Sunday mornings. And even then, we're gone a lot, so Sundays can be tough to be around for! It's so great to have a community to walk into and feel connected.

What are you thankful for?

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Scout Mom

When I was in Atlanta, one of my waitresses told me about an app for deals in big metropolitan areas, called ScoutMom. I was like, ok, weird name but whatever. I googled it and tried searching and figuring out what ScoutMom was, and it took me awhile to figure out that it was ScoutMob...not Mom. Hah. Turns out, it's pretty awesome - no purchase required to get the deal, like with Groupon, etc. Needless to say, I've already found several amazing deals for New York and DC while we're there next week. w00t!

Example of why it's great: last week, I decided to buy lunch on Friday. So I hopped on ScoutMob, found this deal I'd been eyeing, and headed over to Murphy's Deli after the gym.

 If you think it's bizarre that I get so excited about paying $4 for a salad like this, you obviously haven't had many meals in SF. Got to appreciate anything under $10 - it's a steal! And the Thai salad was pretty fantastically delicious. I don't even like cilantro, but since I'm liking all sorts of new things these days, I gave it a shot with it's cilantro dressing. Tasty!

This weekend, my in-laws came to visit, and we packed in all sorts of culinary delights (and a fantastic bike ride around our 'hood)! The weather was incredible, so we took full advantage of it. Even in Pacifica (gasp!), when we hit up Gorilla BBQ for the best meat I've had in months. So delicious! Nolan and I split a giant rack of ribs and I think that's going to be our plan every time we go there - you can't have too many ribs!

Of course, we also squeezed in some time at Philz, too. Best iced coffee ever!

Generally, this is the point before vacation where I start to feel really stressed and worn out, but I think I was SO productive earlier this week, that I've actually managed to outwit myself and get things done ahead of time (with social plans and cooking required every day this week, to boot!), so I don't have to worry about it and can just relax. I only have 2 things left on my to-do list before we leave, and one of them is dropping off our little monster at his playdate for the week. The other thing is packing - and I already have a very detailed list of what to pack, so that will be easy. In other words...I'm kind of already winding down for the next 10 days, and it feels AWESOME.