Tuesday, November 8, 2011

I'm back!

Well, gee!  I've certainly been MIA for a while.  But, I've still been trying to broaden my horizons!

I've taken up, well, weight-lifting.  Allen may scoff at my workouts (he doesn't really, but I feel pretty inadequate, compared to his P90X and big muscles!), but I've been following The New Rules of Lifting for Women.  I've been an avid cardio freak for the past 7+ years, and it's taken over a year to convince myself to do weights + minimal cardio on weights days (although I still have one full cardio day a week full of the stairmaster, elliptical AND stationary bike-- and love every sweaty, miserable second on it).  On the other hand, my extremely flabby arms have, gasp, muscles!  They're just starting to show, but they're really there!  As someone who went from overweight to underweight, and now in the middle of the "healthy" range, my poor arms are a extra flabby-on-flabby.  So, this is exciting!  On the other hand, I've also gained a few pounds (and my pants are noticeably tighter, so don't go starting that "you're gaining muscle!" business), but I'm pushing through.  New experiences!  Branching out!  Time to re-shape my workout and my body!

Allen and I have both been playing around with our new DSLR camera.  Xyla has been our main focus for experimenting, but the view from our apartment also makes for some fantastic photos!  Here's a couple:

Happy Halloween!
Love her face!
DOUBLE RAINBOW!  It actually was the entire arch, too.  Beautiful!
Love the contrasting colors.  On a side note, that kid that went missing from the car in Bellevue?  That apartment is where the mom lives.  It's just down the street from us!
Taking a walk on the trail
Ohhhh, I miss riding my bike!  (The trail is on the right)  Way too cold, though.  I'm not that hardcore.
I also had a Halloween party with entirely too much food!  Which is always a good thing.  Also, awesome costumes by all!  The menu included (all homemade, I might add!):
  • Mini pumpkin pies (made in little 1" tart molds)
  • Chex mix (featuring as much orange as possible-- cheez its, cheetos, doritos...etc)
  • Baby mummies (ie: 'lil smokies, wrappen in pillsbury dough, with a slit cut in it to show two little mustard eyes peeking out!)
  • Chocolate cupcakes (mini and regular-sized) with orange buttercream frosting
  • Pretzels (lessons learned: read through the recipe thoroughly, and multiple times, so that you aren't surprised when you realize you do not, in fact, own a dutch oven.  Still turned out wonderfully, though!)
  • Pumpkin chocolate bars
  • Rosemary flatbread and spinach artichoke dip
Whew!  Needless to say, my kitchen was a MESS!  But, well worth it.  Also, one more concoction:


Let it be known that jello added to any fizzy drink is pretty awesome.  Not only does it look cool, but it makes your drink kind of...squishy!  Just a fun way to change things up.

Let's see, what else?  Saving up and planning to (FINGERS CROSSED!) buy a house sometime next summer/fall.  So, we've been researching.

I have my Christmas cards all planned out.  I just need to make the final cards!  That's my goal this weekend-- have them done (or at least have all the supplies together and set up so I can start, and finish during the week next week)!  Then I can focus on everything else I want to do.

Sorry guys, but that's one thing I won't be branching away from.  I love, love, love Christmas!  And that's not going to change.  Sadly, there's only so much our small apartment can handle, so I'll have to pick and choose when it comes to Christmas crafts-- but now is the time to get them all started!  I'm so excited to have my own place for the whole season.  I moved into the apartment last December, so I was jointly unpacking and decorating for Christmas!  This year, the focus is 100% Christmas.  WOOHOO!  It's not called "the most wonderful time of the year" for no reason!

Anyway, there's that update.  I'll be better in the future, I promise!

3 comments:

  1. What a life filled with new and exciting things! I got into weights last summer and really noticed a difference! I was a cardio crazy too! Unfortunately being a first year teach has taken priority over my working out. :/

    House shopping?! What wonderful news!

    What camera did you get?!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Amber - Thanks! Back in the day, I wanted to be a writer. I should try actually writing again, one of these days..

    Lena - Understood! My mom was a teacher for years; I don't know how she did it! I don't think nearly enough people realize how much time and effort and hard work teachers have to put in AFTER hours! I definitely have WAY less time for workouts now, too, so I'm just trying to find a good balance now. And, the camera is a Canon Rebel T2i. It's fun!

    ReplyDelete