Sometimes… (Round 2)

…I can’t help but be completely enthralled in the NASCAR race being watched by my friendly seatmate on the commuter train. I didn’t even understand what was going on, but it lulled me to a nice state of relaxation as I stared at the cars going around and around and around and around- oh there I go again….

…when I make an honest effort to clean, I only make it worse. Like when just a weeeee bit of pledge was used to assist in dusting the spiraling staircase to my room. Walking down said stairs in my knee highs will be the death of me. You heard it here first.

… I’ll attempt to get a head start to all of my errands by going to Target at 8:30 in the morning. “Ma’m, it’s Sunday. We don’t sell liquor until 11 on Sundays.” Sigh. Nothing like being judged first thing in the morning.

…I’ll insist on loading up on veggies and being über healthy at the beginning of the day:in order to load up on the roomie’s crockpot creation of loaded baked potato soup at the end of the day.

Perfect Sunday family dinner. And I didn’t even have to do anything.

…it’s truly unsettling to see signs like this. Because I just don’t understand who could not love that song. It makes me weep for the patrons of this mystery bar.

…it’s a struggle to force myself to break out the Christmas decorations. But when we’re done, it’s always worth it.This is the reason we will have glitter on EVERYTHING until at least May.

…I don’t really want to get up at an ungodly hour to go to the gym. But after some quality time with the elliptical and stairmill, my booty feels much better about life in general.

…it’s ok to wish away the week when all I can think about is HOW EXCITED I am for a holiday pub crawl this weekend. So, let’s hurry up and get through this Monday, shall we?

Laters, kids!

Untraditional

Thanks for all the encouragement to keep up the morning workouts, guys!

So far it hasn’t been that much of an issue. Granted, I’m usually not at 100% mental capacity until maybe 30 minutes or so after waking up. And by that point, I’m either mid-run or mid-ellip (I guess?), so there’s no turning back. Pure trickery. Muahahahaha.

Plus, the nice thing is, since I’m getting home later, I can collapse onto the couch with no hesitation.

Or, in last night’s case, other things get done…Like get into the holiday spirit!

Or at least pretend. Still not there yet. But the roomie and I both happened to have free time. Seemed like the efficient thing to do.

This is the third year I’ve had this Christmas tree and I tend to make it look the same every year. Why fix it if it’s not broken?

My lovely friend Annie got this tree for me a few years back. She said she knew I’d never get one on my own like I kept saying I would, so she just bought it for me.

Annie was totally right. I kept saying I’d get a nice tree on sale after Christmas, but I’m cheap as bleep and would have had a hard time parting with cash for something that wasn’t happening for another year anyway.

Her thoughtfulness is always much appreciated at this time of year.

Hilariously enough, we did not play holiday music while trimming the tree. Nor did we watch a Christmas movie.

Instead, we watched the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show.

Clearly we’re not the most traditional household out there.

But hey- that show is probably what powered me through my 4-mile run this morning.

Health is important and I won’t discount it as a reason to stay physically fit. Let’s make that very clear.

But let’s also get real. Vanity, whether we like to admit it or not, is a fantastic motivator.

Don’t think I’ll be strutting my stuff down any runways in my skivvies anytime soon, but whatev. I can pretend if it’s gonna make me run that much faster…

Waiting For My Senior Citizen Discount

Thanks for all the compliments about the Christmas tree, ya’ll.    But I have a few things to wrap up our convo from my post yesterday:

-The tree is plugged in when people come by and for pictures. That’s about it.  I’m stingy like that.  So it doesn’t always look as nice as it does in the picture from yesterday.

- I’m so stingy, in fact, that it was my friend Annie who bought the tree for me last year.  I believe her exact words were “well Amy, I just bought it for you because I know you won’t buy one at the after-Christmas sales like you keep swearing you will.”  Very true, Annie- you know me too well.

- The cookie (for all who asked) was a mix between a regular cookie and a brownie.  Otherwise known as “a piece of heaven”.  And if there were another one, I wouldn’t share it, either.  At least I’m honest.

Ok.  I think we’ve wrapped that one up pretty well.  Moving on…

It was another rough day of getting out of bed early to hit the gym yesterday.  But I did it.  Slowly.  Cursing the temps the entire walk over.  Reminding myself how happy I’ll be after I get it in and done for the day…

3 miles on the treadmill at an 8:37 pace and walked for the remaining 10-12 minutes at an incline. 

Just as predicted, I felt pretty damn good afterwards as I was walking back home.  Now it’s just a matter of remembering that feeling every time the alarm goes off.  Because this morning was a struggle, too. I didn’t run, but pulled an A.D.D. move and did 15 minutes on the elliptical, 15 on the stairmaster, and 15 walking on the treadmill with an incline.  Whatever- not every morning workout is going to be (hold on- insert sarcasm here) epic.  I’m just happy with getting some movement in my morning before I’m chained to a desk for 8ish hours.  Weeeee!

Last night, I had dinner plans after work.  With these classy broads:Danielle and Monica had a little spa night with the lovely Elle at Mario Tricoci (while I was at work- can you believe it?!?!), so we just decided to meet up at Walker Brothers Pancake House afterwards.

Sometimes breakfast for dinner is just awesome.  Scratch that- it is ALWAYS awesome.

Thirsty Thursday has definitely changed from how I remember it from college, huh?  I got there first and was unsure what to do with myself.  Where was I to wait?  There isn’t a bar.  Next to the coffee machines?  Hmmm…

Either way, a little indulgence on a Thursday night is almost always necessary.  If that’s pancakes instead of wine, so be it.Being a first timer eating out with a food blogger is rough.  Danielle learned this.  But I tried to make the picture of her potato pancakes a quick one so she wouldn’t eat her arm off in frustration.

Monica went with one of my favorites (the baked omelets at Walker Brothers are to die for!).

I wanted pancakes.  But knew I should balance my dinner out a little more.  So I added a little protein.Bacon pancakes anyone?  These were by far the best I ever had.  Other places never get the bacon to pancake ratio right.  As  in, the amount of bacon they use is WEAK.  This was perfect. 

All in all, we were happy with the food.  But turns out, unlike the bars, this place is ready to shut down by 9:00.  No last call.  Which makes sense.  We were the youngest table of people in there by about 30 years.  And one of the last groups to leave.  Bed time, I guess…

Oh and I apologize for my horrific-looking nails.  They need attention.  Probably should have joined in on the spa date, huh?  That’s what my Friday night will consist of.  No need to worry.

Yeah. Wild and crazy up in this joint tonight! 

Sigh… maybe I’ll hit up a buffet of some sorts on the way home.  Somewhere with an early bird special if I can.  Get into an intense debate over Benefiber vs. Metamucil and reminisce over the good ol’ days when “the programs” where much less scandalous than the smut they put on television these days.

Yep.  Busy weekend…

What’s the best story you’ve got when it comes to feeling old?  Sadly, I think I used the phrase “kids these days…” in a serious conversation once. Maybe twice.  Eek!

Not Until December

That’s what I said over and over.

I refuse to put up my Christmas tree before December.  Not sure why.  Maybe because when I was little, we didn’t put the tree up until two weeks before?  Who knows…

So anyways, here I was swearing against it.  Over and over.

What did I do last Saturday?

I put up my tree.

My thought process was this…  Clearly, I have time.  I am not going out tonight.  There’s nothing else to do while I watch this movie.  I’d rather not throw it up in a rush if for some reason I’m crazy busy the next week (doubtful, but anything’s possible).

So I put it up while watching the movie Grown Ups.  Errr… tis the season?

Sad tree:Yeah, I have to straighten it with a magazine… shhhhh!

Bedazzled tree:It looks pretty much the same as last year, just in a new spot due to the acquirement of bigger furniture.  With a few extra ornaments.  And lights.  Because I live on the belief that the more glitter there is, the better.  This applies to every aspect of my life but my hair.  In my opinion, glitter does not go in one’s hair unless you’re on the way to prom.  Or if your place of employment involves a curb. 

There are exceptions to every rule.

Speaking of Christmas, this is an example of the goods that have been coming in:I considered sharing it.  But then I took a bite. 

No. I’m not sharing this one.

I had a permanent smile for the rest of work.  And even when I entered the gym later on.

The sugar was most likely the fuel for my decent 2 miles at an 8:20 pace.  And then the 25 minutes on the elliptical. And ab work. 

Maybe I should have cookies like that every day.  Even if it cancels out the time spent at the gym.  Worth it?  Very likely.

I’m so happy it’s Thursday.  It feels like last weekend was AGES ago, but at the same time, this week of work has flown.  How is that possible?  Let’s hope it continues.

When do you start getting into the “holiday spirit”?  I feel weird saying that it really doesn’t affect me much until the week before.  Most likely because I celebrate Christmas in Missouri and so I don’t feel like it’s really here until I’m planning my trip…

The Illusive Hangover

Nothing like down to the wire- I’ve finally finished ALL of my Christmas shopping!  Last night I wasn’t sure if it was going to happen.  The hardest gift to track down was for my brother.  And I’ll talk about it because I’m 99% positive he doesn’t read this.  If he does- Merry Christmas, Marty- act surprised!  Believe it or not, I could not find a store that still had a copy of The Hangover.  Yes, now that I’ve bought it, I’ve seen it everywhere I’ve gone today (even the grocery store I went to during my lunch to grab a nice bottle of champagne for my boss had it).  Naturally…  Two Targets and two Best Buys.  I have never been so persistent about finding something in my life.  At some point, it became less about the movie and more about the quest.  When I finally grabbed a copy (one of ten left at the final Best Buy I went to), I felt victorious.  I would have leapt for joy in the store (but my doctor still advises against that for another three weeks at least).

Good news!  I had a monster salad today- thanks to the craving I had yesterday.  As I went by said grocery store, I was able to hit up the salad bar they have.  And I loaded up on fresh veggies which were soooo good.  That made me feel a little better, given my empty refrigerator situation at home.  I might have taken a pic of it for you, but I was starved by the time I got to eat, so it didn’t last long.

Bad news- check out this weather forecast:

My driving conditions are far from ideal.  I either get off of work at 6:00 tomorrow night and drive through the snow and the night and get to my parent’s house by 2:00ish.  OR, I can chance it, wake up super super early on Christmas Eve and possibly drive through snow and ice and wind to make it home before Christmas Eve mass.  I don’t really like either option.  Last year, my roommate and I chose the driving through the stormy night.  I was slap happy and simple-minded by the time I got there, but I made it.  It’ll probably be a last-minute decision.  Actually, I’m almost positive I’ll just say “fuck it” and go tomorrow night.  As long as I don’t almost die in Lincoln, IL like I did last time…

Tonight I went to the gym again.  Arms and abs, arms and abs, arms and abs….  It felt good, but my longing for the treadmill still made me pout.

At least I didn’t have much packing to do.  Most of it was still done from last weekend (I didn’t really unpack alot- and have been living out of my oversized duffel bag).  It’s just that this time I have all the gifts that need to go.

Sooooo…. here’s one last shot of the pretty tree and presents:

Yes, that is a mighty nice bottle of wine over there… it’s called Fat Bastard.  My mom’s gonna shoot me.  But in defense of mixing drinking and vulgarity, it’s supposed to be really good!

Ahhhhh…. Christmas vacation is right around the corner…. hooray!

The apartment is officially ready for Christmas!

I was finally able to get my tree up last night!  It took a little assistance (and he laughed a bit because the box I needed help with really wasn’t big or overly heavy by any means…).  The tree’s only about six feet tall, but it’s a nice addition in my place.  Perfect!  Notice the crutches in the background… I’m like Tiny Tim from A Christmas Carol!  Also, the tree skirt is just leftover fabric from when I made my Halloween costume- I overestimated how much I would actually need.  Turns out, that’s ok!

Not sure if you know this, but I have a thing for glittery/shiny prettiness in my life (I wish you could see all the lights in this picture, but the flash ruined it).  I found some really cute glitterfied poinsettia at a craft store by my house and couldn’t help myself.  I also found some awesome ornaments at Target!  These fabulous snowflakes were four for a dollar!

And these are also a Target find- not quite as cheap, but I liked the design:

So yeah, now my apartment is finally starting to get with the season… Just in time, too- it’s snowing like crazy!  And we’re supposed to get a crazy amount of snow in the next 24 hours.  Anyone want to make bets on how long my commute is going to be?  Blah…

Crutch Update: 

-My arms hurt worse than my leg ever did- that is something I’m almost positive about.  But I’m gonna be so toned by the end of this!!!

- Crutches on snow are dangerous.  I do a sassy one-crutch thing now in the mornings if the sidewalk isn’t shoveled.

- I’ve learned to really hold it when I need to go to the bathroom.  I have to sit and think, “is it really worth it to go through the hassle?  Or can I wait… another hour?”

Intuitive Eating Update:

- Turns out I’ve slimmed breakfast down to a perfect amount!  Yes!

- I still crave frosted animal crackers late in the afternoon.