Farewell Luncheon

Today back in Cincinnati my Aunt Phyllis hosted a farewell luncheon for my Aunt Susan and Uncle Loren who are moving soon to South Carolina. I'm sad that they're moving there since it means that I won't see them often, but I know they've been looking forward to moving there for quite a while so for them finally getting to get down there, I am happy. I wish I could've been there for the luncheon to spend time with my whole family. I hate being away when there are things like this.

Being here in New York seems close, and it is close, but not close enough to go Cincinnati as often as I'd like. I went 3 or 4 months in a row near the end of the year this past year, and I was beyond exhausted from doing it. This year, there won't be as many trips and I hope that no one holds that against me.

From Snow to Rain

We have officially gone from one extreme to the next. Tuesday it started snowing early in the morning and didn't start sticking until 5 in the evening. At 5:30 in the morning on Wednesday, the phone rings and 10 minutes later, I hear John come upstairs. I asked him who called and he said it was work and that they told him he didn't have to come in. When I got up at 9, it was obvious that it had snowed all night long, a wet, heavy, snow. So John and I shoveled the driveway and then around noon, the snow gave way to drizzle.

From then until today, we've seen nothing but rain ALL day long. It's highly annoying. I'd much rather this all be snow. Now, an hour west of us they got a crazy amount of snow. Needless to say, I'm jealous. It was great on Wednesday, but didn't even last long enough to go out and enjoy. Boo!

Winter Storms

We are forecasted to get one winter storm after the next this whole week. No real predictions yet on just how much snow we will be getting but after looking at weather.com, it looks like it's going to be too warm to even snow. Just when I had accepted the idea that our winter was going to be nonexistent and thought about spring they forecast winter storms. Maybe I should have wished for spring long ago in order to get my snow!'

Toodles

Ha ha! Toddles! I'm laughing because this is what my friend Leigh Ann called my tofu noodles I was telling her about today on the phone. In my Hungry Girl cookbook there is a recipe for a fettuccine Alfredo that you make with tofu noodles, Laughing Cow Swiss cheese, Parmesan cheese, and sour cream. I thought it sounded good but I always kept forgetting to look for the noodles at the store, but when we went yesterday, I noticed them in the refrigerated section by the organic foods so I picked them up.

John couldn't believe that I was going to eat tofu noodles since I am pretty much the pickiest eater on Earth. I just kept saying, "they're noodles" to forget the tofu part. And you know what? After I cooked it all, I liked them! Granted, they seemed a bit crunchy (I guess more al dente type) but with the cheese on them and the broccoli and chicken I added, they just tasted like noodles. Tofu doesn't really have much of a taste anyways (as I'm told) and will take on the flavor of whatever you add with it.

So now, I am friends with tofu noodles....or toodles as I think I may call them!

Albany Pump Station

Tonight's dinner date was at the Albany Pump Station. It's a brewery down in Albany that my neighbor told me about a month or two ago. We checked out the menu online and decided we'd go.

We left the house around 5:15 which got us there a little before 6. The wait was an hour and fifteen minutes! Thankfully, there were 2 bar seats open so we took them and just ate there. The downfall to this was that these seats were next to THE most annoying and loud women I have ever come across...one more so than the other. We learned that this girl likes to run marathons and wants to run the one in Bermuda and is willing to spend $1000 for the weekend to do it. Then she didn't get her period until she was after 17, she swears she is starting menopause but shouldn't be anywhere near that, she doesn't feel the need to birth her own child, she was a late bloomer, wanted big boobs as a kid but now squishes the ones she has...and the list goes on from there. It was highly annoying.

The food on the other hand was good. John got a burger and I got chicken, even though it was pricier than I would have liked it to be, and I honestly didn't think it was worth $18, but it was good. We'd definitely go back and make sure to make reservations before we went to ensure we'd have a table.

So Pale

Ugh! My mystic tan has worn off for the most part and I am SO PALE!! I don't care how healthy it is...it's ugly and I do NOT look good pale. It's funny how in a weeks time that the mystic tan lasted that I honestly forgot just how pale I am. I am convinced that while the mystic tan was working it's way out of my pores that it sucked any real pigment out of me that my skin may have been holding on to.

My Favorite Commercial

I absolutely love the Kia Sorrento commercial where they show a little boy's toys come to life and the adventures they have driving around in a Kia. I think it's just really clever and super cute. If you aren't familiar with it, check it out. Just copy and paste the link below into your browser.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJqs3D2vv4I

My favorite part is when the sock monkey gets a "mom" tattoo sewn on! Love it!

Dear Ohio, (Part 2)

Thank you for allowing us to have some of your snow that you've been hoarding for the past week. Granted, the 3 or 4 inches we got aren't nearly enough, but we'll take it for now. I've heard lots of bitching and complaining from almost everyone I know who lives there and they'd appreciate it if you'd forward all future snow up this way to New York, and frankly, so would I. So, keep that in mind the next time you feel the urge to snow. Hold it, and bring it north to dump on us.

Love,
Me

Dear Ohio,

Could you please send some...correction...ALL of that snow you are getting to us up here in New York? Some of us do enjoy it and would like to snowshoe this year, but can't without a good dumping. Your greediness has caused Old Man Winter to neglect us this winter and I am feeling sad because of that neglect. With that being said, I would appreciate you not hogging it all.
Love,
Me

Happy Valentine's Day

As I walked down the stairs this morning, this is what I saw on the wall of the landing.



I couldn't help but laugh. My super creative husband. I'd rather have a post it note like this versus a Hallmark card any day. Massages come far and few between from him, so I'll take it!!

Last night's dinner was fantastic! And the pina colada cupcakes were even better! Have a look see!

They were so yummy that I think I am addicted to them. They are SUPER moist! And the fact that they are low in fat and calories makes them even yummier!! I'm a big fan of cold, refrigerator cake and the fact that you have to keep these in the fridgerator is another added bonus. I could probably have one, heck two a day for the next month or two and not be tired of them.

With all that being said, it was a good Valentine's Day. Some of you may be all mushy gushy about your flowers and candy, but this girl likes her hand written post-it note.

Deliveries

I finally got the deliveries I have been waiting for. My Chai shipment and valentines from my nephews! Nothing makes my day better than when I get things that my nephews make. A week or two ago I got 3 pictures that Ben painted at school and now I have these valentines. All are now hanging on our refrigerator.





I've decided that I am going to make the Pina Colada cupcakes for tonight's dessert. I think the major reason I picked them is because I had a dream about them and I have a small feeling they will come out just as good as the pineapple cake one of the girls I used to work with made for me on my last day at the bank up here. THAT was one hell of a cake.

Now it's off to the grocery to get all the ingredients for lasagna and cupcakes!!

Decisions Decisions

Since John and I don't do Valentine's Day because it's too close to our anniversary, we decided that we would just do a nice, something we don't have very often, dinner at home tomorrow (since Saturday is usually out eat out/splurge day). We'll be having lasagna, garlic bread, possibly some wine, and a dessert. The problem is that I can't decide what to make for dessert!

Here are my choices:
Chilly chocolate cheesecake nuggets
Dreamy chocolate peanut butter fudge
Yum yum brownie muffins
Death by chocolate cupcakes
Swirls gone wild cheesecake brownies
Pina colada cupcakes

All of these come from a cookbook I got a few weeks ago called Hungry Girl, and all the recipes are low fat and low calories. So no matter what I make, I'm not going to feel guilty about eating any of it!!

Graduation

Today, I graduated from physical therapy!! Since I've been 95% pain free for the past week, my therapist told me she was graduating me and that I didn't have to come back anymore...unless I start getting pain that doesn't go away after 72 hours. If that happens, then I have to go back to therapy. I'm praying that I'm healed, but I'm afraid that I'm not completely.

Last week after my appointment Tuesday, I was pain free, so Saturday, I figured I would try and jog super easy slow and see how my hip took it. I successfully jogged a mile (even though it was a slow one) but then afterwards, my hip hurt a little bit. So the next day, or maybe 2 days later, I did a kickboxing video and only got halfway through it because my hip started bothering me again. Thankfully it didn't last for more than a day and a half.

So, with all that being said and to my therapist too, she said I could return to all normal activities which is exciting, but at the same time, I'm afraid. I'm so excited to be able to jog/run again, but I don't want to do too much and hurt myself again. Heck, I'm not even really afraid of doing too much because I know I won't, but I'm afraid that I'm going to jog for a half hour or something and then be screwed and back where I started. Hopefully that's not the case, but it looms in the back of mind.

Our 3 Year Anniversary

was yesterday and what a great day it was! We decided a few weeks ago that we'd go to Connecticut and stay at the Mohegan Sun Casino and Resort for the night. That way, we could have a nice dinner, drink, gamble, and neither of us would have to worry about driving home.

We had dinner at Michael Jordan's Steakhouse which was good. We both enjoyed the atmosphere and our table was very intimate and what I wanted. The wine...WAY overpriced. I'm pretty particular sometimes about getting a brand that I like, and unfortunately the bottle they had that I like was marked up almost 200%. It's only $20-25 in the liquor store and there, it was $69. I hated to get it, but John said we know we like it, and what the hell, it's just this once. So we got it. Scary enough though, that ended up being the most expensive thing on our bill which just doesn't seem right. We enjoyed ourselves though which is all that matters.

After dinner we hit the slots and were able to play for a long time which is always good. The casino itself was pretty empty and I figured it would be since it was a Tuesday night and the forecast was for some nasty heavy snow storm today. I was surprised that they don't charge you for beers if you're gambling, but the beers you get are in some little glasses. Everywhere is different, but I'd thought for sure it'd be cash for drinks even when gambling, but I guess a free little beer is ok by me.

The room was really nice and the bed was super comfortable. Our only complaint was forgetting to bring our own pillows which cause both of us to not sleep so well.

We got up and left about 9:45 this morning since it was snowing and the forecast was calling for a big storm today, so we figured we should get out and get home before we got caught in it. Luckily, it must have come later today because we had no issues getting home. After about 20 minutes on the road, we were free and clear of snow and didn't see any more until we got back to Albany, and even then, no issues.

Now it's back to daily life for us. I've got a busy day ahead tomorrow. Meeting a friend for coffee in the morning, spin class at 10:30, then physical therapy at 2. It's weird because today felt like Saturday, and it's only Wednesday. Oh well, we're only 2 more days away from the weekend!

Here's a few pictures we took of ourselves last night.

Mystic Tan

Ahhhhh to be tan again! Only this time, my tan is from the mystic spray tan and not the tanning bed that is bad for me. I would say that I am happy with it, but I can't give an honest opinion yet because I haven't worn any make up or real clothes besides workout pants and a tshirt. I'm one of those people that needs to be dressed in decent clothes, and look "ready to go somewhere" to determine if I like something or not.

I'm getting nervous because as the evening wears on I am getting darker, and looking in the mirror, my face looks frighteningly too dark. John thinks it's funny to call me brown sugar face, but he says he likes it and that I don't look orange. Time will tell and hopefully tomorrow for our anniversary I won't look like a freak show!

Zombieland

Today's movie was Zombieland. Surprisingly, funnier than I thought it'd be!

Funny People

Tonight we rented two movies out of the Red Box. Funny People, and Zombieland. We watched Funny People tonight and it wasn't all that funny and was entirely too long for my taste. I didn't feel like the message was completely clear until closer to the end, and even after that, I was like, "eh". Even though we only paid a dollar for the rent, it wasn't really worth it.

On another note...OUCH, my butt HURTS! I sat down on our steps to put my shoes on before we went out and my goodness, it feels like someone took a bat to my rear end. I'm hoping it won't last past today. Even though it hurts, I know it'll go away by Thursday, and I will be going back to class. I do plan on buying a gel seat cover though, to help with future potential pain.

Biker's Butt

I've been telling my neighbor for over a year now that I'd come to her spin class, and today, I finally fulfilled my promise and attended.


The verdict?


I LOVED IT!!!

The music is loud, the class is dark (she leaves the lights off except some Christmas type lights), and it's a really great workout. I knew we had similar tastes in music so the songs she had on her play list were all songs I liked and fit perfectly with what we were supposed to do. The lights being off really helped me shed some of my nervousness because I didn't feel like everyone would be looking at me (not like they would anyways, but it just helped).

Now, I'm curious to see how 1. my butt feels tomorrow because I've been told, "When your ass hurts tomorrow, please don't be turned off from the class." 2. how my legs feel. You get a pretty good burn going on in your legs so I'm hoping that when I go to get up out of bed tomorrow that I won't be paralyzed with hurt.

Regardless, I'm planning on going back next Thursday and making it part of my weekly routine!

New Therapy

Today was physical therapy and my therapist decided to try a different therapy than what I've been doing for the past month. I like to call it, electroshock therapy. What is it really called? I have no idea. It basically is 2 electrodes attached to a battery pack that she sticks to my hip, turns it on, and it tingles and burns for about 10 minutes until it beeps and it's over.

I had to mess with her when she was putting them on me though. She stuck them on and attached them to the wires and as soon as she did, I yelled ouch real loud and flinched like I was in pain. She jumped and I cracked up! I'm still laughing about it as I write this. She laughed after she jumped and said, "I knew you'd do something like that!" We have that kind of relationship where we mess with each other. Instead of coming out to the waiting room to get me today she beat on the window from the weight room so when I walked back I said, "What the hell? Your skinny ass is too lazy to come out and get me?" There was a guy who was interning or something and she said to him, "See, I told you she'd say something like that!"

So, I'm curious to see how this new therapy works for me. We'll see tomorrow. As of today, it feels pretty good. I'm just hoping it lasts!