Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Home

So the last blog post I had written on Wednesday of last week but never got published for some reason. I still felt the need to publish it because it is SO beautiful there.  Like, amazingly beautiful.  Whenever I come home, however, I always remember that I also live in a place of beauty.  I almost wish I didn't grow up with the redwoods so that I could know what it feels like to see them for the very first time.  To me, they are just trees, but to people who haven't ever seen them in real life, they are a thing of magnificence.  And I can't even imagine living in a landlocked state, never having seen the ocean.

The rest of the trip was awesome.  Boy FINALLY got off work Wednesday morning and rolled into town around 1am on Thursday.  That was the longest we have gone without seeing each other since we began dating almost 10 months ago.  So, we stayed up talking for a couple of hours and just hung out loving each other.  I finally fell asleep at 3am.  The next morning we had to be in Bellingham at 10 for the bachelorette breakfast which is an hour drive from where we were staying.  So, needless to say, I did not find time for a run in the morning.  We had a delicious breakfast at this cute little local cafe and then moved onto the manicurist.  I got my very second manicure (I was going to say first, but I forgot that I had gotten them done for 8th grade graduation) and did squats and pushups in the bathroom.  Then the boys came and got me and we went to my very favorite clothing thrift store where we got the boys some dress shoes and I got myself a pair of boots.  Then we went to the venue where they were setting up for the wedding the next day but ended up getting sent off to run errands for his sister (like picking up her wedding dress).  We finished the night off with the rehearsal dinner which was held at the couple's close friend's house and was pulled pork and salad.  So, so delicious.  We drove the hour back home and I was out like a light in 10 seconds flat.  Boy went downstairs to hang with his brother in law and sister and babies and thought I was going to follow him.  Little did he know that I was fast asleep.

He's seriously the most adorable baby ever.

Hanging with the three year old, waiting for the boy to arrive (Uncle Bean).

Figuring out how to fit him in my suitcase to take home.

The ladies getting pedicures.

My finished product.

This is how I try on clothes.

Running errands.  Terrified that I was in charge of the wedding dress.


The next day, boy and I spent a leisurely morning with the kids and his brother-in-law.  I did some body weight exercises and stretched.  Then I took a shower and got ready for the wedding.  I found a hair style on pintrest that I really liked and tried to recreate it.  I actually didn't do too poorly.  I had gotten my hair cut on Wednesday, so I had some extra layers I wasn't used to working with.  Then, we all piled into the car and drove the hour back to Bellingham where the wedding was.  We helped watch the kids and finish setting up the venue until the wedding started.  It was one of the best weddings I've ever been to.  Boy's sister reminds me SO much of my older sister, like to the point where I will begin to joke with her in a way that I would joke with my sister and then remember that she's not my sister.  She is also one of the most beautiful people I have ever seen.  She and her new husband are so stunning, it's hard to look at them.  Not to mention that their hearts are just so pure and kind.  Their friends are amazing too.  We danced for about 3 hours.  We danced so much that my legs were sore the next day.  That was my fitness for the day.

Uncle Bean surrounded by nephews, teaching them about technology.

Dressed all fancy, in navy blue.

The ring bearer practicing his speech.

Even Blueberry had a tie!

Love, love, love this baby.

The most beautiful couple in the world.

Our photo booth pictures.

The first dance.

Mother-in-law/father-in-law dance.

On the dance floor.

Brother and sister dance.

Perfecting our duck face.


Saturday morning was the morning after brunch at the same friend's house.  We were all exhausted from the night before and the rest of the wedding party was getting reading to head up to Whistler to ski and snowboard as an after party.  We couldn't go because I had to be back to work on Monday and boy had to go back to work today.  So, we said our goodbyes and then headed to a late lunch with boy's other sister, the kids, and his brother-in-law's family.  I adore boy's family.  They are so caring and hilarious and have accepted me into their family as one of their own.  I appreciate that so much.  We headed back to my favorite thrift store where I got three pairs of $200 jeans for only $45 and a sweatshirt.  I'd say I had some good luck.  Then, we headed to coffee with one of my brother's friends who lives in Bellingham.  She is super sweet and I would have felt awful if I hadn't made time to meet up with her since we were so close.


After coffee, we made our way to some of boy's family friends who have a place on Waldron right next to his.  They are known for throwing the best parties.  The dad asked me what I wanted to drink and when I told him water he stared at me dumbfounded and said, "WATER?! WATER?! Okay, you can have ONE glass of water, then it's alcohol."  We had an awesome dinner of steak, sausage, and cheeses, then he turned on the music really loudly in the living room and we danced for an hour, again. Boy and I had picked up a dance move at the wedding the day before, so we worked on perfecting that (which is basically just squatting over and over and I can't do it for more than 20 seconds).  I also tried to learn how to do the worm, which is way harder than it looks.



Boy and his mom dancing in the living room.

No water allowed in this house.

Balancing.

He fits inside his duffle bag.


Sunday, we had to eventually start our trek home.  We listened to about 9 hours of podcasts and stopped at Trader Joe's for dinner.  At every rest stop, I did 25 squats, 20 lunges, and about 45 seconds of cardio.  Being cooped up in a car all day really hurts.  At the last gas stop in the middle of nowhere tucked in the redwoods late at night, I was doing sprints across the parking lot to get my heart rate up and my blood flowing so that I didn't go nuts.

It was so, so great being back at work yesterday and back into my routine.  I couldn't wait to get home and start lifting heavy metal again.  I did shoulders and added tabatas to the end of my workout.  I am so sore today that I can hardly walk.  Tabatas are awesome.  Then, my mom, boy, and I went to the store where I spent WAY too much money on produce.  Never go shopping after a workout.  But now there are tons and tons of veggies in my fridge for me to snack on.  Dinner was a collaborative effort between the boy and me.  I made some chicken soup and salad.  Just what I needed on the cold day.

Yesterday's workout.

Chicken soup.


Today was much the same.  Since it's Tuesday, I went and worked out with my cousin and her friend.  We did our usual circuit routine which killed me because my legs were already sore.  It feels SO good to be lifting again.  I know my body needed a rest, but it's not going to be getting one for a long while now.  I came home, cooked dinner, and decided I was WAY past due for a blog.

Tonight's dinner.  Turkey breast, salad, and roasted veggies.


Tomorrow is the child that I technically one-on-one for's last day.  This is bittersweet.  He has been in the class, obviously. since I started.  He was the reason I got hired on as a regular aide to begin with.  His sense of humor is also so awesome and I enjoy joking around with him.  I will miss him, but he was going to be moving on next year anyway.  Change is inevitable, and I've got to get used to it.

Speaking of change, while I was doing my hair, I had to use a hand held mirror to see the back of my head.  I was wearing a tank top and noticed that I could see my shoulder blades sticking out.  I've never been able to see my shoulder blades!  Then I flexed and I have quite a good amount of muscle back there.  I was dumbfounded.  Since I have to live with myself and see myself in the mirror everyday, I focus on the aspects I don't like, that probably no one but myself sees.  I am constantly degrading myself and this is not good.  So, when I saw that in the mirror, I was so excited I called boy in to look at my flexed back.  All he said was, "I told you."  Then, at the wedding, someone who hadn't seen me since August asked how much weight I had lost since summer.  I said I don't think that I have lost any and he said, "Well, you look like you have lost a significant amount."  That was another ego booster.  It just proved to me that my body is changing, not as fast as I would like, but it is, and I need to begin treating it with more love.


Washington

It is absolutely beautiful here. Cold, but beautiful. I love the mountains so much.

It's still be a whirlwind trip, complete with very little sleep and a lot of picking up a three year old and swinging him around. I have made time to go running almost every morning. There was only one day I didn't run and I found a 35 lb weight and began doing squats and lunges and a few sets of rows. I also did 100 push-ups. I think my body needed a rest week. I've been feeling really good and well rested for my runs even though I'm not well rested. I also have been SO hungry which means my muscles are probably needing nutrients because they finally have a break to repair themselves.

Back to Washington being beautiful. I am staying at boy's sister's house way out in the middle of nowhere, which makes for beautiful views. It hasn't been super, duper cold, which is nice too.

I'm on my phone, so I will leave you with beautiful pictures of this beautiful state.











Monday, February 18, 2013

Whirlwind

Goodness, my life has been a whirlwind since I last blogged.  Wednesday was totally normal.  Went to my gym class, made dinner, hung out and knitted while watching TV shows.

Run before circuit.

Our card workout.  Not fun, but wonderful at the same time.

Wednesday night dinner.


Thursday was a normal day, except that it was Valentine's Day.  I absolutely despise it.  I totally forgot it was Valentine's Day and invited the ex to go see a play that my good friend was in and then I realized it was Valentine's day which was super weird, but that's okay.  Boy was working until Friday.  Boy got me a Kettlebell which hasn't shipped yet, but is the best present ever.  I only have one 15 pound one, which is getting way too light.  So he's the best.  Oh, I also ran 7.5 miles, so that was great.

Dad sent me this text.  It was so sweet!

I cannot force myself to run this far outside by myself.

Wearing pink for my Vday run.

The text from the boy.

Thursday night dinner.


Friday is when my whirlwind began.  I got up at 5am to workout because the boy's mom and I were supposed to be leaving for Washington at 5pm and I get home from work around 2:30, so I was only going to have a few short hours with the boy before I got whisked off for 5 days without him.  So, I got my workout out of the way, knowing I was going to be in a car for 12 hours.  Then I worked and met the boy at Target so that we could go to the university for me to put the final touches on my application.  I ACTUALLY TURNED IT IN!  I am so, so excited to begin this new chapter in my life.  Then the boy and I went to Mongolian BBQ for a belated Valentine's day dinner.  We got home and it turned out that his mom had a doctor's appointment and didn't get to me until 7:45, which was great because boy and I had more time to cuddle and hang out before I had to take off.  She got me and we began the long trek up north to Washington.

It's still dark and I'm almost done.

Our dinner.

Cuddle times.

I got about 2 hours of sleep in the car from 12-2am and was awake from 2am until 9pm Saturday.  I was dead.  We finally rolled into Tacoma around 6:30am and Yelped a place for breakfast.  The place we found was absolutely delicious and it was so good to have some coffee and protein after sitting in a car for hours and hours.  

Before.

After.

Then we went to the airport to pick up the bride to be (boy's sister) and headed to his other sister's house to relax and visit with their family.  Their two boys are the cutest!  I adore them.  I chased after the 3 year old for about 25 minutes, picking him up and tossing him over my shoulder.  I also did 20 squats each time I went to the bathroom and I stretched.  It was my first real rest day in a very, very long time.  We ate dinner and ended up watching this adorable pirate movie before I passed out at 9 and slept until 8 this morning, solid sleep.  

Playing "Surprise!"

I'm going to bring him home with me.

Took this picture to send to his uncle.

This morning after a leisurely breakfast, boy's sister asked if I wanted to go for a run with her, so I jumped at the chance.  The other sister lives at the top of a very steep hill that we ran down and into town.  We ended up doing 4 miles and then walked (more like hiked) back up the almost half a mile hill.  It was so nice.  The crisp mountain air was so much easier to breathe than at home and the views were absolutely spectacular.  

This was my run.

So, so gorgeous.  

Then we went and ran a few wedding errands and went shopping at the local co-op.  Afterward, we dropped our stuff off at the house we are staying at for the rest of the week and took off to her future father-in-law's house for dinner where we had an amazing spread of smoked salmon, salad, carrots, broccoli, sweet potatoes, and artichokes.  It was amazing.  He smoked the salmon in his smoker and it was perfect.  I was in food heaven.  During dinner he noticed that I was wearing an opal ring and I told him how much I LOVE opals.  He told me he used to make jewelry with opals and gold and silver and proceeded to bring them out of the closet.  He had so many big pieces of beautiful opal he picked up in Australia.  I was so excited.  I am a tiny bit obsessed with it.  He then showed me his gorgeous stuff and I drooled.  As he started putting it away he put the box in front of me and told me to pick one.  I thought he was joking.  He wasn't.  So, I got this amazing dinner and a beautiful (expensive) necklace and earrings.  It was pretty much one of the best dinners EVER.

This doesn't really show the beauty of the opal.

Then, we came back and sat in the hot tub and gossiped.  Then, I FINALLY got out my computer and connected to some wifi and decided to blog.  Now it is late (and technically Monday).  Boy comes in on Wednesday.  I can't wait.  I miss him so much and I wish he were experiencing the things I've been experiencing.    It will be good to have him with me in a few days.  It feels so far away, though.