Brooklyn Ikea
Nola and Sheila are scared at the amazingness that is Ikea. Shopping!
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Project Training
Taking a neat training this afternoon about project management. On the second module today.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Pushing thru the pain
I've been hitting my body hard five days a week, taking the weekends off from weight training. After 3 weeks, I'm seeing some nice results. Of course everyone has advice, even though they don't exercise, but I'm trying to be focused, keep to a good routine, and change things up ever so often. I'm also yearning to run every day now, and have even been known (like last night) to run a second time at 11pm. It just feels good to feel alive.
Schedule
Monday, Wednesday and Friday
30 arm curls
40 pushups
50 crunches
50 situps
20 upright body curls
30 tricep pulls
Tuesday & Thursday
30 dumbbell squats
10 dumbbell lunges
20 walking lunges
10 flat-back deadlifts
20 upright body curls
I plan to add more soon to keep it challenging. But I've gone up 3-5 pounds each week on each of these exercises to keep it challenging.
A frustrating day
(Ashley as a kitten, circa Sunday, May 30, 2004, 1PM)
Ugh. So our work is having biometric screenings for all employees to go get checked (sort of anonymously so it's not connected to your health insurance). They do weight, height, cholesterol, blood pressure, sugar, bmi, etc, etc. And after working so hard, I'm thinking.. OK, let me go get checked.
My body has it out for me.
Not only did she recommend I lose some weight, but to exercise more. Bitch! Do you know who I am?
She recommended I do the following things (NOTE: I already have this all checked off..!)
Daily aerobic exercise
Lose weight (10lbs)
Stop or quit smoking (if applicable)
Cut out the trans fats
Cut out or reduce alcohol consumption
Use the good oils like olive oil
Take a daily omega 3-6-9 pill
Um, DONE? Next? So now I have to go see my doctor for my blood work. You'd think losing SEVENTY pounds in 12 months would be enough. I thought I was doing so well. Always something else.
Monday, January 25, 2010
A ride (wild or not)
(blast from the past -- photo of one of my baby finches in 2004)
This weekend was wonderful. Concluding a horrible work week, I ended up going shopping (surprise, surprise) on Friday night at a couple stores.. more so because I had gift cards and coupons, and not because I feel the need to keep spending. I think I'm DONE with clothes for a few months. Seriously. But I was able to find a couple great buys, a new long-sleeve Tek shirt for running, and several more dress shirts. I also ended up checking out a free meal and drink from Taco Bell, did some browsing at Big Lots, and in general had a very quiet and fun evening with myself out and about.
Saturday, I had a big day planned of fun things. You may not think so, but I had fun. I'm getting the whitening gel and trays again for my mouth... so I had to go to the dentist for that first thing. I ended up skipping breakfast so I didn't have anything in my teeth for the appointment, and it ended up being a whole 'nother 7 hours before I got to eat. Hmm. But I got the impressions done, and headed to Barnes & Noble in Pittsford to hang out and read for a few hours. I intended to just browse, but found myself in a big comfy chair. It was quite impromptu, but I found a fascinating book called Living Low-Carb. I ended up reading 3/4 of the book, and finally had to put it down so I could get to my next event. But I've bought the book online, and I cannot wait to finish it. It was so informative about living your whole life in the food manner that I've decided is right for me. Can't wait.
But right next door, I had a wine tasting at Century Pittsford Wine. It was kind of last minute, but I signed up on Thursday, and made it into this little random event. They flew in this winemaker from Napa Valley, and we tasted 5 different amazing wines from Steele & Shooting Star Winery. Loved it. LOVED IT. I rarely.. RARELY ever like every wine from a winery. And I even more rarely find a white wine I really like. But this winery put up 5 terrific wines that just spoiled my tongue. I bought 5 bottles. :) By this time, I was quite weak and dizzy, and headed home for the evening to eat and phone with a friend.
On Sunday, my friend Steven asked me to come and help him get his iTunes working with his new iPod, and to help transfer his music collection from an old iMac to his little netbook. I had sold him recently a tiny external hard drive, and we wanted to get his music working with it, so his netbook didn't have to carry all the music. Well, it was quite the experience, but a couple hours later, I got it working, got him set up, and his little ipod was working perfectly. Even taught him a couple tricks with his cell phone and facebook. ;)
After, Nola and I met up at Marshalls to do some clearance shopping. They're doing this major sale, and I figured it might be something. I tried on several lovely Calvin Klein shirts that I adored, but nah. They were still too much, and I have so many wonderful new clothes, I figure they'll still be out there if I should need something in the future. I need to experience all my existing new clothes before buying anymore. Right? RIGHT?! But to wind down a busy, fun weekend, and to catch up, vent and talk, Nola and I shared dinner at Longhorn Steakhouse in Henrietta. Love the place. We both had this amazing salad, and just chatted for hours. Had such a fun time, and to top it off, Nola came back to my house to watch TV and hang out for a couple hours. Was a great ending to a fun weekend.
Even got in two very long runs each morning. And I hit my fitness and weight loss goal for the week. Very pleased I'm seeing results in my arms, legs and glutes.. and that I'm still losing pounds. Couldn't be more pleased.
Last night, I hung out with Marni, whom I have not seen in ages. She made this lovely beef roast with cherry tomatoes, onions and carrots, with asparagus and mashed potatoes with greek yogurt. Was fantastic, to say the least. I brought a couple small desserts, and we ended up watching TV and chatting for a couple hours. Was a fun time catching up, hanging out and just chilling. I miss Marni most of us, in the recent busyness that has become my life. But I don't regret it. I've needed to shift priorities to find a new level of happiness and direction. But it's nice knowing my friends are there when I am available. Thank you.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Wine Tasting Day
I'm wine tasting at Century Pittsford Wine today. Love this place. Steele Shooting Star Winery
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Working Out
After the first of the year, I started lifting weights. Doing a lot of strength training on my arms, back, abs, chest and legs. Looking forward to a bit more definition and a lot more strength. Hoping to run a marathon this year.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Sinbad's & Nicole = Good Time
Tonight was Nicole's 23rd birthday... and a good time was had by all. We all met at Sinbad's for dinner and enjoyed a couple hours of laughs and jokes. We all got dressed up and had a fantastic time.
Nicole's Birthday
Happy birthday to the prettiest pregnant woman on Earth! We're out eating Lebanese. Yum Yum.
Friday, January 15, 2010
Tribune
Totally kicked ass tonight, playing this new game that Rik brought to game night. I won with my four victory conditions thinking I needed a 5th (which I was JUST 1 short of having due to Scott's wrangling). Had a ton of fun, even though only five of us were there!
Monday, January 11, 2010
Prioritizing Life's Pleasures
I really had a fantastic last few days. My brother has been in town all week for a little mini-vacation, and there have been a couple family parties spread throughout the week. We've been having a ton of fun, even if I didn't get to see them as much as I'd like. He brought his girlfriend Robin to meet the family, and in true New York style, it has been cold, miserable and snowy all week long. But all the better, since NY is gorgeous in the winter.
But I ended up taking Friday afternoon off. And "off" is sorta misleading, since I was at work until 2:30p. I made a small resolution that after the 1st of the year, I'd start lifting weights and doing some weight resistance training. So all week, I've been slowly introducing some new exercises into my routine. Well, I took 2 hours on Friday and worked out. And I could barely walk by the time I was done. It wasn't the Friday workout that did it in, it was a week of exercises. I knew I was done for the day when I almost fell over in one of my squats. Ha. But it felt sooo damn good... and I knew the aches and pains meant I was doing something right.
But my mother wanted to get a family portrait taken while Aaron was home, and she made an appointment with Target Portrait Studio up in Greece, NY for us to have a session. She also wanted to re-create a family photo we had taken 16 years ago when I was a weee little boy, and my sisters were really young. So we all met at my house, got ready, and made our way up for the photo session. We had a lot of fun having 30+ pictures taken in all sorts of poses.. and had an even better time narrowing down our choices for the full package. Everything is ready to pickup Monday, so I will post a photo ones I get my copies. The one we chose looked really good.. and I'm really impressed with how good looking my family is nowadays. For a bunch of hicks from Fayette, we clean up nice. :)
After, we ate at Olive Garden right down the road... something my mother also really wanted. You know, it's all for her. :-P But dinner was fantastic.. the wine we bought was amazing... we ate a ton of food, and laughed and joked for over 2 hours. We also were seated in amazing corner with a full windowed view of the snowfall. Was a perfect night, really. And I had this amazing citrus chicken dish with asparagus and broccoli. Left full and very pleased. We ended up going back to my place, watching a bluray movie, and just enjoying the calm, cool winter evening together as a family.
Saturday brought everyone together for breakfast. I got up, and made pancakes, eggs, bacon and such for the whole crowd. Was really nice to have the family together for one last hurrah, before Aaron and Robin left for the airport. After, mom came back, and my sisters and mom and I just hung out and watched TV and worked on some things mom is doing on her computer. Was funny watching "Jersey Shore" with mom, and just being laid back and doing nothing was really enjoyable. But the afternoon came, and Nola and I ended up going shopping at Greece Ridge for a few hours. I figured THIS weekend was the last big weekend for great deals on clearance... and I was right. But we could only stay a few hours, as both of us had evening plans.
So my friends got together and did a Poker Tourney Saturday night.. and I almost won! I was really proud of how far I got into it... as last time I got knocked out like an hour in and had to rebuy. This time, I didn't take as many risks, and ended up like 3rd. I finally got knocked out by Adam at 11pm (after 5 hours of playing) with what I thought was a rocking pair of Aces. but his King and 8 trumped me when the stream provided him a straight out of NOWHERE. Oh well, better luck next time.
Sunday was to be my relaxation day, as I was still really sore.. but I thought better of it as I can never sit still for very long anymore. So I ran a few errands, and ended up going back to the mall to finish up Saturday's shopping. I also had a couple coupons I wanted to try out, and try out I did. I got another couple hundred dollars in clothes... and I think I'm done shopping for awhile. My budget was $1500, and I'm just about there after 3 months. I'm so very pleased with the results too. I've never had so many nice, new clothes... that are fashionable and fit perfectly. A new pair of jeans I got on Saturday were *amazing* and just... ya. So I wore them on Sunday... heh.
My days.. my nights... my weekends... have all been a whirlwind. And I'm obviously leaving tons of details out... for reasons of privacy... but life is wonderful... and I'm happy in the direction things are proceeding currently. Onward....!
Saturday, January 09, 2010
Friday, January 08, 2010
Family Dinner
Tonight, my family got together and had a family portrait taken. Tons of fun! But after, we had a nice, lovely dinner together.. lots of wine, lots of laughs... I love these people.
Thursday, January 07, 2010
Monday, January 04, 2010
Morning... kinda
Been sick for four days. Sucks. In to work though. Hoping I can make it through the day. I'll put a smile on, just don't get too close.
Friday, January 01, 2010
New Years Eve
I had 9 people over for New Years at my house this year. We had a blast. I cooked pork ribs, pulled pork, baked beans, cornbread, coleslaw, greenbean casserole, four types of cookies, brownies and opened a couple bottles of wine. For appetizers, I made a chicken wing dip and a fresh salsa. Everyone got here around 8, and we had a grand old time sitting down to dinner, then playing Taboo, and then counting down the new year to champagne and M&Ms. Everyone had a great time, and it was wonderful seeing everyone again. On to a better 2010!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
