And One More Makes Four

Yesterday, hubby and I completed the PF Chang's Rock 'n Roll half marathon in Phoenix. Overall, the race was fine. I was determined to run most, if not all, of the race- which I did- but my time left much to be desired. Oh well, I finished!!

The morning started at 5:15 am when hubby and I got out wake-up call at the hotel. Hubby was not happy as our race didn't start until 8:30 am but our hotel was only running one shuttle to the race- and it left at 6:00 am!!

So we arrived at the starting line village where it was dark and FREEZING. Luckily, I had talked to someone who had run this race before and she warned me about the early morning frostiness. Hubby and I had brought pants, jackets, hats, and gloves but we were still cold. I had "borrowed" (ok, I stole it) a blanket from our plane trip to Phoenix so hubby wrapped up in that. I then discovered that Saturn was sponsoring a heat garden!!! A what? An area that was designated for stretching that was filled with space heaters. God bless Saturn- those heaters saved us. The pic is of me snuggled up with a space heater.

Our race finally started and hubby made the mistake of saying, "If you want to run, go ahead." I took off and didn't see him again until the finish (sorry hubby)!! I ran my little heart out and earned three blisters, a finishers' medal, and a lousy time. On the other hand, I also earned enough Weight Watchers activity points to feast on a cheeseburger AND ice cream.

In the end, it's all good because I am now certain that I am capable of running a full marathon. And that's what I plan to do. In October 2008, I plan to complete the Nike Women's Marathon in San Francisco. Stay tuned to hear about my training!

Oh and the prize for THAT race? A Tiffany's necklace. If that doesn't motivate me, nothing will. Trust me.

Things I LURVE

In the spirit of my obession with "To Do" lists, I thought it might be fun to make a list of things I cannot live without. This could be fun- more fun than waking up with you head stapeled to the carpet, at least! :)

I love:

1. Office supplies. Yes, it's true, I have an obsession with buying office supplies. I love to look at calendars and planners, markers and binder clips. OOH BINDER CLIPS! Those are my favorites- keeping everything clipped together so nicely. I generally buy a whole bunch of cool office supplies and throw them in a drawer where they sit, unused and depressed. I'm sorry office supplies.

2. Lip gloss. Hubby can attest to this- I have approximately a billion lip glosses, most of the "pinkish-brownish-nude-ish" persuasion. My lips are very thin and have very little natural pigment so I'm always on the lookout for the perfect color and consistency. The hunt continues- sorry hubby.

3. Vanilla/any food scented body products. My BFF/ex-roommate thinks it's ludicrous to want to smell like food. I think it's charming. So, I buy any and all "angelfood cake/cotton candy/ cherry soda/ baked potato (just kidding)" scented lotion/body wash/body scrub. I figure that if I slather it on my skin, I'll be less likely to want to eat the "angelfood cake/cotton candy/ cherry soda/ baked potato" in real life! This brings me to...

4. Body scrubs. I am obsessed with soft skin and what better way to get soft skin then to scrub to crap out of it with sugar/salt/sand/pumice/jojoba/wood chips (gotcha again!). I use body scrub every day and no one can ever convince me that this is a bad idea. So there.

5. Shoes- especially pointy toe high heels. Damn the man who brought back the flat. While comfortable and practical, the flat makes everyone look like they have cankles. Really, take a look the next time you sport some flats. Not that this had dissuaded me from jumping on the flat bandwagon- I've purchased one or two or fifteen pairs. I live in San Francisco! You have to have something comfortable to march up and down the hills in. Anyway, my original point is that pointy toe high heals are SUPER SEXY. So sexy, in fact that they should design a superhero whose super power is sex appeal and who runs around is the highest, pointiest, awesomest heels. Yes!

6. My new cell phone. Hubby and fam got me a Palm Centro for Christmas. First, it's sparkly black. Who doesn't appreciate a sparkly phone??? Second, it has an application for blogging built into it. Pure genious. Third, I can email, get on the internet, and keep my appointments on it and it fits in all of my purses. Swoon!

7. Diet Coke. Ok, this is a no brainer for anyone who knows me. My worst habit, healthwise, is that I love Diet Coke. I used to down several trillion gallions a day until I realised that it was very unhelpful in my weight loss pursuit. I still drink it but limit myself to one, MAXIMUM TWO, per day. Once, at Dairy Queen, I chose to have a Diet Coke as my desert. Weird, huh?

8. Books. You thought I was just a high heel wearing, lip gloss loving, body scrubbing air head, right? WRONG! I am a book worm. I will read just about anything and usually have three or more books going at the same time. In fact, over the weekend, I read one and one half books. One of my favorite activities is sitting in the bathtub with a book and a Diet Coke. Go figure.

9. The Colorado Rockies baseball team. In 1992, I was in ninth grade and a huge nerd (see above- the bookworm nerd thing runs deep). What was cool about me, though, was that my mom was obsessed with baseball and decided to buy season tickets to the expansion Colorado Rockies inagural season. That meant that virtually every night during every summer of high school, I was off to the ballpark with my parents. I never had to worry about not having dates with boys because I had dates with MEN- the men in pinstripes, that is. This year, the Rox went to the World Series and my deep love for this team was renewed. It was just like high school- except the team was actually good and I get dates now- with my hubby, but dates nonetheless.

10. Las Vegas. When I turned 25, I had blond hair, a fake tan, and spent my birthday in Vegas with my mom. I know- "with your mom??" Seriously- my mom knows how to get down. Anyway, the best thing about Las Vegas is that NO ONE CARES about what you look like, how much money you have, where you are from, or how many degrees you have. You can rock your fanny pack, and sandals with socks and you will still have a blast in Vegas. You are expected to eat too much at the buffet and make a fool of yourself on the dance floor in the club where the band plays Stevie Wonder and Billy Ocean covers. Some mght think Vegas is tacky (it is) but I can't help it- this nerdy, office supply addict will gladly pack up her lip gloss and new cell phone and hop a plane!!

Home Alone!

Hubby went to visit his fam in Iowa so I am home alone. How have I been keeping myself busy? Let's find out.

Friday: I only had to work a half day because they closed my University due to a huge storm. I came home and then I had a scheduled two hour power outage!! I spent my time taking a long bath and I read Janice Dickinson's newest book from cover to cover. She's really REALLY funny. There were three new shows on Lifetime- the best was "How to Look Good Naked" with Carson from Queer Eye. Definitely check it out!

Saturday- I went to Weight Watchers (see my post from yesterday!!! Woo-hoo) and then grocery shopping. Then I came home, gave myself a manicure, facial, and a pedicure. I went downtown and spent my Sephora giftcard. Then I went to the movies with my friend/coworker V. We saw Juno- YOU MUST SEE THIS MOVIE. It is so clever yet very deep- really, you might tear up a little bit.

Sunday- I slept in (hubby will be ticked when he reads this because I usually wake up really early on weekend and he wants to sleep in). I washed dishes, I spilled an entire Lean Cuisine spaghetti all over my pants, and then I took another bath. Now I am watching a marathon of True Life on MTV.

Moral of the story?? Hubby I miss you! Life is really boring when you are gone- except for the spaghetti incident, that was slightly exciting...yet disgusting.

50 Pounds- See Ya, Wouldn't Want To Be Ya!

Today was the day. I went to weigh in and I was down 1.2 pounds for a total of (wait for it)...50.8!!! YES!!!

Obviously, I follow the Weight Watchers program but I thought I could list some tips that helped me get here.

1. Measure your portions. Almost every day, I eat a cup of cereal with a half cup of skim milk for breakfast. You'd think I'd be able to eyeball how much to put in the bowl. No way Jose, I get out the measuring cups everyday and measure my food. Then I always know how much I am eating.

2. Write down everything you eat. I have notebooks worth of daily menus from the past 15 months. It keeps me accountable throughout the day so I am sure to not overeat.

3. Drink water!!! Here's a story for you- one week I worked out three times a day and followed Weight Watchers to the letter- or so I thought. When I weighed in, I was UP three pounds!!! How could it be? I realized that over the course of the week I had drank very little water and was probably extremely dehydrated. When you don't give your body enough water, it clings to the water it does have- thus you retain water, making you heavier. The next week when I did drink the water, I lost 5 pounds and exercised far less.

4. Don't drink soda- even diet. Or at least cut down. I was on a very LONG plateau (the scale didn't move) and when I cut back on my soda intake, ot started moving again. Soda is just a bunch of chemicals anyway- you might as well throw back a few bottles of nail polish remover. It would probably be better for you.

5. Enlist allies. I have lots of people on my side when it comes to Weight Watchers. Hubby is naturally thin yet he eats all of the healthy foods that I eat and has improved his own health. I have several friends from work who have joined Weight Watchers which makes for an awesome support network.

6. Find an activity that you think is fun. I really get into competition so I started training to walk races. I get really pumped up when I train for an event and it boosts my weight loss as well. Also, hubby has joined me in participating in races so it's a great couple activity for us.

7. Be patient!!! It took me six months to lose my most recent five pounds but I didn't give up. I've recognized that I'm changing my life here, not going on a 12 week program after which I can "go back to normal". This is my new normal and it's a good normal.

I don't know everything about weight loss (clearly- if I did, I'd be some celebrity's dietician) but I've learned a thing or two...or seven.

PS- If you are a celebrity who needs a dietician, CALL ME!

I LOVE Work So Much...

...that I've made a list of my favorite websites that I like to visit. Certainly, I'd never surf the web at work ;o). Here are my favorites!!

1. www.yelp.com- Hubby would go so far as to say that I'm ADDICTED to yelp. I may, in fact, be addicted. I love to check out this site and see what other normal (and some not so normal) folks in the city of SF are saying about restaurants, clubs, shops, etc. I've found so many new places to check out thanks to yelp- you should try it, you might like it!

2. www.pinkisthenewblog.com- Trent is a celebrity blogging genious. In the decade of Perez Hilton, I find Trent much less annoying and far more clever. Bulk up on celebrity gossip each and every day with pinkisthenewblog!

3. www.makeupalley.com- I spend HOURS, literally, on this site. You can check out product reviews on any makeup product, perfume, bath and body product, and home fragrance product that exists. Not sure if you should get that new miracle skin cream? Look it up on makeupalley first- see if some other sucker wasted their money and then you don't have to!

4. www.dailycandy.com- I actually get a daily email from Daily Candy but there's also a pretty sweet site you can visit as well. Daily Candy updates you on events in your area as well as new boutiques, salons, restaurants, bakeries, candy shops, etc opening in your neighborhood. You can look at posts from your city or from across the country.

5. www.weightwatchers.com- Anyone who's ever tried a "diet" and failed should go straight to this website and never look back!!! Based on a system of couting points for food consumed and earning extra points for exercise, Weight Watchers is the best weight loss program I have ever tried. Trust me, I have tried many! This website will get you started and also serves as a great tool if you do join the program. You can look up virtually any food and find out what points value it has. You can also use the site to track your daily points. There's also a message board feature and inspirational stories from members who are reaching their goals. If your resolutions unclude "lose weight", you NEED this site.

6. www.gmap-pedometer.com- I participate in half-marathons and have to complete some LONG distances while I'm training. I use Gmaps Pedometer to create routes of various distances. You simply enter your starting address and a satalite image appears on the screen. You can then create your route and even save it as a bookmark. Anyone who runs, walks, or bikes would lurve this site!

7. www.delivery.com- Somewhat contradictory for a Weight Watchers member, delivery.com allows you to order various types of take out without ever speaking to an actual person. Hubby and I order chinese and an occasional pizza from the numerous restaraunts listed on this site. It even lets you create an account and store a credit card number so you can just sign in, order, and wait for your food to come to you. Now, if only we could figure out a way to avoid having to get off of the couch when the deliveryman arrives...

8. www.sephora.com- Sephora is actually my homepage, which makes most, if not all, of the people who see my computer die laughing. I used to have a pretty severe cosmetics addiction- which has given way to new bath and body product and internet addictions. Nonetheless, Sephora is the ultimate makeup retailer and I still get a kick out of perusing it from time to time.

9. www.hotmail.com- Who doesn't have a hotmail address these days? This is extremely cliche to list hotmail as a favorite website but, in all honesty, it is one of my faves. I get several e-newsletters each day (Daily Candy, The Biggest Loser, Real Simple, Jillian Michaels, etc) so checking my email is like Christmas- but without the alcohol fueled family akwardness.

10. www.meetup.com/www.craigslist.com- I like to check out both of these websites in order to try and meet new people. Meetup is a great site for joining special interest groups and I currently belong to about ten different groups that hold events once a month or so. While I've only been to a handful of events, you still feel super popular just to get so many invitations for social gatherings. Craiglist is a cool site for buying and selling items but you can also post ads for friends or activity partners. Another priceless part of craiglist is the "best of craigslist" section. Here the most absurb and hysterical posts are higlighted. Check it out but be warned, you might snort coffee through your nose.

So, there they are- the ten reasons why "Be More Productive" can NEVER be one of my New Year's Resolutions. Enjoy!

Leaving On A Jet Plane

Today, Hubby and I fly back to the city by the Bay. In the spirit of travel, and in honor of New Year's Resolutions, I thought it would be cool to make a list of places that I have not traveled to but will before the end of my days on this planet. Here we go...buckle up.
1. New York City. I have been heavily influenced by Sex and the City and Gossip Girl and I am dying to check out NYC.
2. Paris. Remember when Carrie Bradshaw went to Paris with the Russian? What a sexy city!!! And the women? They don't get fat. What better motivation to visit??
3. Hawaii. I would visit any island in Hawaii- I don't discriminate.
4. LA. Crazy, right?? I live in Cali and have not been to LA. In reality, it's kind of a far drive but now, Virgin America flys for cheap. This one might be crossed off sooner than later.
5.Greece. Any country that celebrates feta cheese is ok in my book!
6. Rome and Venice. My brother used to live in Italy- jerk. Wine, pizza, leather goods, and fashion? Yes please!
7.Japan. I don't know anything in Japanese except how to count to five. I'm sure that will come in handy!
Now to figure out how I am going to finance these trips...I am taking donations. They may or may not be tax deductable.