Challenge Accepted

Our original Friday night plans to hang out on the couch, including me more than likely falling asleep super early becuase I'm lame like that when I get too comfortable, went completely out the window when the opportunity to explore a new place and see a new long distance friend came into the picture. 

Patrick likes to photograph candids. Then he saves the pictures on his phone and never tells me about them; that's how I found this gem.

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Grapevine is merely a 30 minute drive from us, but we've never had much of a reason to visit, so we were just as clueless to the little-big-country-town-next-to-the-Metro as Will. With that in mind (and the fact that trying to make last minute plans with our temporarily car-less friend through Facebook in order to communicate around a dead cell phone battery who then "accidentally" game me the wrong telephone number to text causing me to annoy the crap out of someone who responded to me in all capitol letters seemed to throw us back to our ill prepared college days) we decided to go someplace that had a little bit of everything, including a cantina with a patio on a fake San Antonio Riverwalk. The Gaylord Texan Resort and Hotel is what I'm calling Vegas meets Texas; a pretty darn tootin' cool place, but a tad pricey. 

I had a failing photography moment and only took a single photograph, compliments to the grace of ol' blacky's handy dandy self timer and a to-go container delicately balanced on a light pole serving as a tripod, which all things considered, could be re-classified as a winning photography moment. 

I'll let Sir William make the final call though, who requested we take a picture in front of something to represent the essence of Texas (challenge accepted and conquered), since he's the fancy photographer who was in town to be on the news and talk about backpacking. As fun as it was to have a chance to get to know him better, we surely missed our friend Heather who is talking about both subjects (backpacking and her hunk) today on her blog.

Oh yes, and then while driving home, we took a wrong turn getting on Bush and drove 20 minutes in the opposite direction of our house. 

Pat: Man, everything looks different when it's dark outside....

Me: Yeah, I was thinking that too. Let me just check my map to make.......Uh. Oh.

And when we finally made it home, I went upstairs to take my makeup off, only to realize I never finished putting it on.

Me: Hunny, did you notice I didn't have on mascara tonight?

Pat: What's mascara again?

One day we'll get ourselves together......

What's your Friday night preference: try something new or glued to the couch?

Cheers to Muscle Confusion (Project Pretty Week 21)

(Project pretty is a personal commitment to share my weekly journey of keeping my non-New-Year's-Resolution: staying fit to improve quality of life while inspiring others to do the same. Let's all jump on the endorphin wagon!)

Working on weekends makes driving to and from work much less complicated, but on weekdays it's a different story. I've had to develop special routes and timing is of the essence. As a delivery nurse, my goal is to get out of the hospital by 0630, so I can cruise through all the school zones before the super slow speed limits take effect (when I'm dead tired, 3 zones can feel like driving 50 miles going 3.5 mph). But when I have an assignment or a super busy night, I'm lucky to leave by 0715 at the earliest, inevitably cursing me to creep home in the middle of morning chaos. Partially due to sun shock, and partially from unwillingly losing an internal battle to fight against the exhaustion, I try my hardest to keep my eye lids from creeping closed.

The latter scenario of the two is exactly what I was faced with this week, except when the signs for the school zones started to appear, no one slowed down. I was the weirdo who put on the brakes, but immediately sped back up to avoid getting run over by the eager drivers who were probably late to work because they hit their snooze button one too many times after staying up late to watch the NBA finals. I thought we were all being school zone rebels, or that I was too tired to comprehend the signs, consequently forgetting how to follow them.

But actually, as rumor has it, school's out for summer!!

Duh. Silly me.

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At the gym, I've been taking it easy all week on the stationary bike, followed by some upper body weight training and a few of my go-to core exercises. There I was, sucked deep into my book, when I was interrupted by a trainer who was asking if I wanted to come to his body pump class in T-4 minutes. He assured me he'd include safe modifications for my calf strain, so I agreed to show. 1 hour later I found myself driving home with arms so fatigued I could barely raise my longest finger high enough to pick my nose. It was nice to be back in a friendly competitive, by comparison, environment with someone to hold me accountable for reps, making me push myself harder than if I was solo. And now I can't move a single muscle in my body without grimacing.
Cheers to muscle confusion!

Does anyone else think it's really cool to watch their hands under the xlerater hand dryer transform into a loose flappy mess of skin, like for that moment, it belonged to a 112 year old person, because I am fascinated with it?

My Calf had a Heart Attack (Project Pretty Week 20)

(Project pretty is a personal commitment to share my weekly journey of keeping my non-New-Year's-Resolution: staying fit to improve quality of life while inspiring others to do the same. Let's all jump on the endorphin wagon!)

Once again, I'm a cripple...

Well, not totally crippled in the politically correct sense of the word, but I have been limping around for 5 days now with a bum calf, again. Huge knot. Lots of pain. Tight, tight, tight. Remember when I thought I may not get to participate in the Dallas Rock 'n Run due to a calf strain? 

It'sssss Baaaaaaaaaack.

I can't believe it. Two months of almost complete running rest (just a few 1-2 mile runs here and there), then one 3.75 mile run with the husband and our puppies and BANG; I'm down for the count. I never felt a twinge of pain until about 30 minutes after the run was over.

On the verge of going crazy with frustration, I started searching the web in hopes of finding out more than I already knew (R.I.C.E.). Unfortunately, when I found the answer it was bittersweet. Apparently I've had a "Calf Attack" with a Grade II-III tear (based off a very educated self diagnosis), and there's no easy fix, but at least I have more knowledge about how to prevent this reoccurring sports injury. I'm already ahead of the game and have been using The Stick, which was recommended to me by a physical therapist at the last Expo I went to. But the irritating road to full recovery is never easy and tends to be time consuming in an annoying way, especially when my workout plans of going to boot-camp and doing Insanity with Patrick disintegrated before my eyes.
INJURIES SUCK BUTT HAIRS!

It's all my fault, really......Patrick never even wanted to run; I had to talk him into it. Little did I know forgetting my water bottle at home would be the least of my worries. Nevertheless, if I was going to hurt myself, I did it on a beautiful day having fun with the family in the park.

Have you ever dealt with a reoccurring calf strain?

My First Time.......(Peanut Butter Jelly Time)

I've invested in a seriously different direction of cookbooks than I've ever been exposed to. Overcoming the habits of southern eating is a huge challenge when your family thinks a balanced meal consists of meat with a side of starch and another starch, followed by dessert. Growing up, the only way I'd even think about eating a veggie is for it to be smothered in cheese or deep fried and dipped in ranch. Even after dramatically improving my eating habits through Weight Watchers last year, I still don't think I ever had a meal that didn't include wheat/legumes/dairy. 

But with a goal in sight, and a supporting husband by my side, I'll now be dedicating extra time in the kitchen to consume a Paleo friendly diet. A ratio of 85/15 is our goal, that's 3 cheats per week based off 3 meals a day, and so far (a little over 2 weeks into it) we've been sticking to it.

It's been time consuming so far, learning new ways to prepare things, bringing along extra food when we visit family so we can be successful at rejecting temptation, but I HAVE to change what is happening with my body. I refuse to let the statistics capture me. I don't want be blind to my future and 10 years from now cry because I've been diagnosed with Diabetes and wished I'd done something sooner to change my fate. And hopefully by adapting this new style of eating, the improved insulin levels in my body with have a positive effect on my hormones as well. 

We've been eating really good food, like chipotle wild caught salmon with mango salsa, avocado slices, and asparagus. Or sesame crusted tuna steak with tangerine carrots. Or apple-cider vinegar brined country ribs with sauteed apples and bacon and a side of brussel sprout coleslaw. Or homemade spaghetti using veggies from my mom's garden with spaghette squash as a noodle substitue. Or dijon honey mustard chicken with a pecan crust in a lettuce wrap and curry sweet potato fries. Or eggs over easy with seared avocado. 

(I don't have many pictures because I ate everything so fast.....) And I'm loving almond butter now. But we still miss some of our favorite staples. 

Just before we started this adventure, some of the girls I work with found out I'd never in my life had a PB&J sandwich, so they planned my first experience and popped my cherry. Everyone had a different opinion of what my fist time should be like. Crunchy vs. smooth, strawberry jelly vs. grape jelly, white bread vs. wheat bread.......To be honest, I'd never even had a desire to try one. I always thought it would be kinda gross. But come to find out, now that I'm not suppose to consume any of those ingredients any more, I actually liked it. I think I'm a crunchy girl with a mixture of the different jellies, definitely wheat. 

Delicious or not, with hopes to be healthy and functioning properly, PB&J's are going to have to once again take a back burner in my life, but the good news is I'm not in it alone!

P.S. Did you know there's a whole world out there for PB&J's on Pinterest and Google search? I even found a blog entry from a girl who tried her very first one last year at the ripe age of 28, just like me!!

Is there an American Staple food out there that people think you're crazy for never trying or not liking?

Always Always Always

I'm really behind. 

Like so behind, I never mentioned how fun our Memorial Day weekend was. 

Aside from all the driving we had to do to get to where we were going, it was filled with water volley ball, crawfish boils, and peaceful lounging on the river. 

After donning one of my dad's famous sleeveless shirts he's been sporting since before they ever "came back in style", Patrick was ready to rumble.....

And by "rumble" I mean, help my dad move a million pounds of cement bags from the top of the hill down to the bottom of the hill to protect the river bank....... 

.........because a day in my life hasn't gone by where I actually saw both my parents relax for an entire day. Not even on a holiday......

But we managed to squeeze in a fun wardrobe photo shoot with the puppies.....

And there's always time for a little guitar playing. 

And fresh catfish?? Yes, please......

There's always room for beer and butterflies....

And cuteness. We're always surrounding by this cuteness. 

I'm pretty sure Callie and Sumo love the river. It takes them two days to recover when we get back home!

Fly Trapped and Cattle Trained

When I grabbed by fanny pack to run out the door as not to be late, the pups thought it was time for a walk and I couldn't turn down their sweet eager faces......CRAP.

When I got stuck in traffic on the way to my brother's house and knew he'd be watching the clock........SHOOT.

When our last chance of getting on the tollway became non-exsistant due to an entrance closure, meaning we'd have to go through time burning hoops in morning traffic.......DANG.

When my peer pressuring brother basically forced me to go to straight from a right-turn-only-lane and I get pulled over immediately by a train of cops handing out tickets to 7 other vehicles who just did the exact same thing......SONuvaBITCH!

What's worse is knowing all those cops were just meeting their end of the month quotas (that they pretend to not have) by basically hanging a fly trap.

We drove straight out of the fly trap, and directly into Six Flags.

Amusement parks.....where humans actually pay money to be cattle trained and have their brains jumbled like lab rats. 

We started the day off pretty strong, hitting all the big rides right off the bat. 

Now that the Texas Giant has been redone, it's officially my favorite ride in the park, besides the pirate ship that makes me squeak out a shrieky giggle every time it sways because my stomach does a flip-dy-do.

The rides actually never "scare" me; the feeling is more like an elevated thrill. 

The only time I was scared was when one of the ride attendants came up from behind me to check my safety belt and took me completely off guard. I slapped him; really...I did. His coworker on the microphone made silly noises every time the ship passed through the bottom, which sounded hallarious. We literally laughed the entire ride. 

As much as I love rides, my body just can't handle the all the centrifugal force like it used to. 

After lunch, I was ready to take it easy. I got Dusty to ride a few "sissy" rides with me, but no matter how much coaxing, couldn't manage to get him on the carousel.

I, apparently, need to improve my stallion picking skills. I should have known the sweet looking pink horse would be a lazy ass.  

I jealously watched all the other horses go up and down, while mine just stood static. In efforts to entertain myself somehow, every time Pinky and me made a pass to the front, I'd jump up and down and wave at Dusty like he couldn't see me. 

All the very tall rides that would have posed for a nice change, like Superman or the new swings on the tallest tower in Arlington, were closed due to high winds. Although that was a bummer, I wouldn't have exchanged the nice feeling wind for anything. 

What I would have exchanged for anything was my poor decision to ride in the Tea Cup with my brother. For whatever reason, this was his favorite ride of the day. He spun us in circles so fast I'm sure it violated safety laws. I couldn't see straight or stand up for numerous minutes after it was over, and my head/stomach never felt the same. 

Ruined after the tea cups, I had to surrender to my body's warning signs.

I guess I'm getting older, but considering we were surrounded by little kids and high school students, I can still hang pretty well. 

Do you like amusement parks? What's your favorite kind of ride?

Gas. Such is Life. (Project Pretty Week 17, 18, 19)

(Project pretty is a personal commitment to share my weekly journey of keeping my non-New-Year's-Resolution: staying fit to improve quality of life while inspiring others to do the same. Let's all jump on the endorphin wagon!)

My workouts haven't been anything to banter about lately. If anything, they've been one mishap after another. 

Like when I actually woke up early to go to yoga, only to remember it was the only day of the week that didn't have a morning class. Still determined to seize the moment, I headed to my gym for a pilates class, got to the room a little early and started stretching. Thirty minutes of stretching later, I realized no one showed up for the class......not even an instructor! Let me just say, it was extremely difficult to make myself get on a machine after 2 failed class attempts. 

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Or like when Jessica and I got all dressed and pumped to go out for a run one morning after work and was actually in transit to the park, but the run never started because Bobby wouldn't answer his phone (he was suppose to be her ride), and we were worried he wouldn't show. Forced to hitch a last minute ride home, she found Bobby passed the F*** out, not even answering the doorbell, dead to the world, which proved sending her home was a good decision, since I had to be back at work that night and couldn't afford the lack of sleep to drive her myself. It was Saturday morning, so I just went home, put my workout clothes back in my gym bag, and got in bed to cuddle with my husband, which is way more fun than running anyway.

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Another example would be getting an email from my gym to explain they were closing our current location and all the members were being sent to a different location a few extra miles across town. I go to the new gym, and totally feel like I'm on a first date.......a little cautious in the unfamiliar surroundings with new people, and reluctantly having to hold in a fart the entire workout because the new gym is just one intimate box......headphones or not, I was sure someone was going to hear the new girl blow a hole in her spandex. It's all about first impressions...... Revolving bubble guts are never conducive to a decent workout, especially not the abdominal focused ones, or a first date (thank goodness I don't have to worry about the latter of the two anymore). 

Sigh. 

Have you had any workout mishaps lately?? 

Agree to Disagree

Patrick and I disagree on something, but I'll get to that in a minute. 

No one disagree's that our nature outings our super fun. The puppies can barely contain themselves when they hear the keyword "park".

It's not a wonder why; with the Black-eyed Susan's out in full bloom and all the fresh bright green foliage, it's not exactly unpleasant on the eyes. 

Even a fallen tree has a way of looking graceful in the right setting. 

The puppies are definitely feeling the rising temperatures outside, though. After exhausting the supply of water I brought, they kept begging to take a dip in the spring every time we passed an opening.

As fun as it is to spend our evenings at the park, every now and then taking a sushi break is a must. For the first time, we bought a Groupon to try a new restaurant with a half price tab and it worked out fabulous.  

Fin Sushi was a tiny little place, and the drunk ladies behind us that started off loud and funny, continued to drink themselves into an escalating argument, eventually resulting in the table across from them pulling their "shade" down to give a subtle hint. We left before getting to know how it all ended, but had our own little disagreement as well.......a much more friendly disagreement.  

 Apparently I always use the "wrong" end of the chopsticks. Wrong or right, my way seems much more practical, and my rolls never fall apart because they're better supported by more surface area.

After agreeing to disagree, there was one subject we we found ourselves on the same side of. Date night is perfected by FroYo, and there's only one "right" end of a spoon. 

Red Mango was calling our names so we gave in. Too bad there isn't a constant revolving Groupon for that place! I got super adventurous and put a new flavor in my bowl to keep my regulars company. It was like a gingerbread chocolate original tart pomegranate bowl of cold creamy goodness. Just thinking about makes my mouth start watering. 

However we spend our evenings, disagreements or not, as longs as it's together, it's the best time ever. 

Which end of the Chopsticks do you use: the skinny/pointy end or the wide/blunt end?

What In The World?

Mrs. Unproductive, that’s me.

I set my alarm clock for 7:30am for Friday morning, so I could get up and go to yoga, and finally gave up on the snooze button at 10:00 am. Yes; you read that non-typo correctly.  Pathetic. To continue to my streak, I got out of bed, crawled onto the couch, and wasn’t even successful at staying awake to watch a movie.

I’ve been a terrible writing slacker lately too, and the guilt is starting to set in. It’s been forever since I wrote my pin pal and actually had a dream a couple of nights ago that he sent me a message severing our friendship over my lack of communication.  I couldn’t even get excited about documenting our last Saturday’s front row concert Dave Matthews Band experience. 

Well, actually MY front row experience, Patrick was pushed back to second row, one of the negative side effects of being a restless person. The positive side effects, like having a high metabolism and the ability to actually stay awake for things, weren’t exactly helping him see the bright side of the situation, either. 

I really thought he was going to lose his cool so far off the deep end that he was going to start seeing spots and walk away as the Incredible Hulk, screaming and shredding the shirt off his chest, inadvertently missing the entire concert. 

Luckily for me and everyone else crowded around us, after a oddly unrelated-genre-opening Mariachi Band left the stage, all was okay when Dave appeared.

An incredible concert, and we both even got to shake Boyd’s hand. 

After the oncor, Carter walked up to the edge of the stage where we were standing, looked directly at me (I’m not talking about the kind of moment when you wave back at someone to immediately be embarrassed because you realized it was someone behind you or beside you that they were originally waving to) and tossed me a drumstick. 

Unfortunately there was a ton of greedy people with longer arms than me who snatched it from my grip. But at least I know it was meant for me.

Being upfront and personal in the pit is a priceless experience, but everything comes with it’s own set of sacrifices. After having the best time I ever spent waiting in line while simultaneously tailgating with our long-time-no-see-friends Leisha and Jason, we waited in another line inside the venue to be released towards the stage. From that point on, there’s no more drinking or peeing. Impossible. And after hours of being in the hot sun, all a body wants is agua. Instead, we stood in one place, surrounded by insulated warmth, and sweated until we were so dehydrated we had no spit to swallow.  

Watching the band members sip on their beverages was almost painful torture. Towards the end of the concert we even started replacing Dave’s lyrics with songs about how thirsty we were. It was all we could think about. When it was all over, we sprinted through the crowd, dove right into the cooler in the car, and grabbed our priceless possessions: bottles of water. I drank an entire bottle in less than 2 minutes. I’ve never, EVER, drunk an entire bottle of water at one time in the history of my life. Patrick doubled my record without effort.

Back to Friday, I finally made it out of the house, and head-first into a Barnes and Nobles to touch and smell some real literature with an Iced Soy Hazelnut Macchiato in my hand and found a corner to hideaway in, only to find myself extremely annoyed by a loudly speaking lady making her search for "organic" books extremely obvious and talking to her young daughters about how growing weed is illegal but mushrooms aren’t, and although most people talk about eating weed in brownies, its much better in 7 layer cookies or sautéed in butter. What in the world?

How do you feel about book store etiquette?