weddings and babies - now a best friends job

So there are many weddings and babies on their way for 2011 and 2012.  My brother and his girlfriend, now fiance, are getting married.  Tomorrow is Melissa and Fred's wedding - she is 2 months pregnant, so her trumpet dress that she bought back in September or October will still fit and she will be all kinds of happy!  Molly and Kai will be be married September of 2012 in Colorado Springs and just heard that Brittany, my mom's best friends daughter, will be getting married this year.  Well a few months ago I found out that my best friend from college is pregnant and getting married!!!!!!!

I thought and thought about how I wanted to be at the shower for her - either baby or wedding - but also going to her wedding is a must do.  Then you add in all these other weddings and i was a little panic stricken.  However, i then realized this is one of my best chances at being a great friend and giving Ariel a day to remember!  So I just got off the phone with her and after talking we are going to do a baby shower in August when her sister Ciara is here.  Her sister lives in Turkey right now, and I just feel like she HAS to be here for the baby shower.  She might not be at the wedding and she CAN NOT miss a shower for her sister.  Especially considering she will be in the states for 6 weeks - and in Chicago to be with Ariel for some of it!  So August at some point is a shower in Chicago and it's time to get started.

So it's on like donkey kong - consider this Day 1 of My Favorite Ariel's Baby Shower Planning! :o)  Time to make some lists and call everyone I know for ideas - mostly Momma Rupke for any help ideas she can offer up!

Okay no more writing - must start looking.  Have you ever seen all the invitation options?!?!?!?!  Holy crazy!

beastly legs

Okay so there are plenty of things in this life we can't change and we have to learn to live with and love.  I have some seriously beastly legs.  I mean the calves are perfect hunks of pyramid meat coming off the lower bone on each leg.  Once above the knee the thighs have this mind of their own.  They shoot out around 1.5 to 2 inches from the knee in shear muscle.  Now I have to say I have not always enjoyed them, but it doesn't seem to matter what i do they will not go away.  I played soccer and skied as a young child, then add hours of wall sits while training for basketball and somehow I think my legs think we are a line backer and not a chick in skirts.  So I have decided over the last few months that I must learn to love them and not think I can get rid of them.  These 24 - 25 inches of thigh muscles are here to stay.

This change in mind set has made me fall in love with my legs in the last week and I am now enjoying every time I look down and see these beastly legs of mine.  I am now working on the arms to see if I can learn to love them and see if I can create arms I have always wanted.  You know the chicks you see just standing in line and they are as relaxed as can be, yet they have perfect muscle distinction.  Not so much you think they are flexing, but enough to know if they did you wouldn't start a fight with them :O)

still at 9 lbs, but with two weeks of vacations - i am glad I have maintained so onto the next 5lbs. 

9 lbs and counting

It's been 2.5 weeks since I started tracking every piece of food I put in my mouth, even drinks, and been working out as much as I can.  I have been at the gym from 30 mins to an hour and 30 minutes every night, unless I have been out hiking or playing softball.  On Ash Wednesday I gave up soda for the 40 days (which by the way its actually 46!) for Lent (its a Catholic thing).  The good thing is all I drink otherwise is water and Gatorade.  I am not a tea drinker or really any other treat drinks.  I even stopped drinking hot chocolate because it said the Swiss Miss was 120 calories.  BUT if i want I drink it - i just took it out of the routine.  That took about a week to get it out of the routine.  The soda was cold turkey and it's just the catholic guilt that has gotten me through a solid week so far. 

I had also talked to some people who said they have changed what they eat when.  They eat like a king for breakfast, queen for lunch and servant for dinner.  A few really good things for me is that I LOVE LOVE LOVE lunch.  So I eat what I want for lunch, with the calorie count in mind and as the weeks have passed I make slight adjustment.  A great thing is the combo deals all include a soda, so instead I don't do the combo and end up with just an entree and one side - not two that combos seem to give.  Then I just have water to drink.  I come home from work and work out, which makes it later in the night before I would be ready for dinner anyway, so at that point I eat some fruit, or some veggies and call it a night.  The other best part about this is that if I am eating out dinner I have filled my body over the day with other foods that at dinner I am not starving and I enjoy my food.  The leftovers become lunch the next day.  I go over on the calories some, but I am staying under 1,700 every day and more around the 1,100 to 1,300.  I will say once a week I get to that 1,700, but I do it consciously and enjoy it.  I am still working out and trying to burn 300 - 500 calories 3 days a week and 200 - 300 the rest.

Livestrong.com My Plate has become a great tool for me at this point.  I am down 9 lbs and hope to hit the 11 or 12 sometime next week.  The goal was 2 lbs a week, so I am still at that goal and not going to worry if the 3 lbs a week goes away and it gets to 2.  As long as I am losing that's all that matters at this point.  I am wondering when people will start noticing though - I have wondered about that.  I am betting around the 20lbs mark before anyone says anything.

I love having a goal and this is a great one!  More later!

Livestrong - tracking

So when I woke up a few weeks ago and was a weight I never wanted to be in my life I went straight to the gym and worked out for a solid hour.  I came home and decided it was time to track everything I eat to be honest with myself and figure out what needed to go and what could stay.  I found the livestrong.com My Plate application that is free and started instantly to figure out what to do.  I gave the goal of 2lbs a week, figuring I would at least be able to get a pound a week and go from there.  Well it's been a week and 3 days and I have lost 6 pounds.  Of course I lost that 4 days in, but I have been holding steady and working hard.  I am no longer taking a day off from working out - I work out at least 3 times a week for a solid hour or more, and the other 4 days are 30 minutes or more.  I work at a pace that gives me slight pain, and keep that consistency up.  The good news I am find is that I do not eat much sodium or foods with very much cholesterol.  I get plenty of protein, but need to work on the fat grams.  It's not too high, but being that I do not enjoy fish, chicken is my major source of protein.  I am going to cook up some tofu this weekend and see how that goes.  Maybe tofu tacos will be my new addiction - like turkey tacos are right now :o)


I'll keep you updated and give my little hints as I take a few more weeks to get this all figured out.  I will say I am getting obsessive about this - good thing I use my addictive personality for good haha!


O and tomorrow I will be fingerprinted so that I can teach the financial ed classes to some kids from the Kyrene School District.  Nice to know that they do a detailed background check on the people allowed to be around the kids on school property :O)  Here's hoping I pass - I don't remember any nights in the clink.  Here's hoping that wasn't a weird night I never remembered haha!

RODEO!

Started the day off with a 2 hour hike up into one of the preserves.  Then came home and started some cleaning - talked to the parents and have been enjoying the fabulous air breezing through the house.  I have just noticed the clock and realized I still need to shower and change to get over to Michelle and Dan's house so we can head to the rodeo.  Should be a blast!  More later.

getting better - met a boy, it was fun if nothing else

Saturday day was not super exciting, but to jump start the weight issue I went to the gym for a 400 calorie burn.  Came home and got ready to go out for the night with friends.  It was ladies night out and Michelle and I decided that 4:15 pm was a great time to start.  Really we were all meeting around 5, but when Michelle got out of work early I was there like a good friend to meet for some drinks.  We ate, we drank and we met some new people.  Some guys came in around the 4:30 mark and we unfortunately became a reason they weren't getting served very often.  Michelle and I were feeding off each other and giving our cute server a hard time.  Turns out that would get him all flustered and he'd take off without checking on the table behind us.  Well around 6 pm the other 4 girls joined us, so they had a little catching up to do.  While they got some drinks and food - we had already ate - Michell and I decided the bag game was in order.  We had terrible aim and when I finally got one in the hole we pretty much called it a night on the game.

Well announcing the the world I won - or table of three guys and demanding the Duke basketball game be put on a TV I could see got their attention and over they came.  I mean who can resist 6 chicks drinking, laughing and having a ball?  Well I met Eric, in his 30s, has 6 siblings, parents still married, lived here most his life, but has seen other places and lived there.  The attraction was there, the girls could tell.  I wasn't entirely convinced, but when we left for the Coyote Ugly type bar, the boys said they would not be coming.  Turns out an hour later they showed up at the bar for a good hour of more fun and dancing.  O and Eric can dance :)  That's about all I have because really it was just fun.  Made me feel good that after a horrible day I could still attract a decent guy and have a great night.  The 4 margaritas and 3 shots helped along, but what a blast of a Saturday.

He has my number after we asked him to also join our softball team.  So if he calls or texts great - if not we will contact him next season for softball.  All in all it was a great weekend and much needed girls night out  :o).

Now back to the grind and worked 9.5 hours today.  Probably to be followed by another 8.5 to 9 tomorrow.  If I can get my butt out of bed in time to get to work early to start on all the month end reporting.  Here is hoping everything balances - if I hear anyone say "o oops this went to OREO this month".  I might chuck something at their head - just saying.  Let's hope for some easy balancing and some great data manipulation in the first day :O)  Then I have to get all the invoice reports together for the other boss man by afternoon.  Well until we meet again - happy last day of February!  How did it get to be March 2011 already?

today oi

Today I woke up at a weight I have never wanted to be. So on a mission to change this - I do lots of things that would lead to me lose weight, but instead I gain it.  It's really rather ridiculous when I consider the situation, but I know my gene pool and as much as I cant fight a lot of it I have needed a new goal for a while.  This is it - no more.  There has to be a way to do this even if I have to spend an hour a day during the week in the gym and 2 hours a day on the weekends.  I have lots of other things I could be doing, but I think this has to be the most important right now so I don't hate the way I look anymore.  Game on.  The scale is going in the closet and coming out once a week.  I'll just be on the biggest loser weigh in schedule and see if I can figure out a way to beat this weight gain and actually lose some :)  until later!

Shopping Adventures

I try to avoid shopping because well its addicting and I just want to keep spending money, but I have to say I needed new tops for work.  I mean you can only wear the same 7 for so long before they look horrible, so I have added some new.  Here are three, I love all 6 I got, I just took pics of 3.

This dress was only $13.95 on the 70% off rack - originally $60.00 :o)  The belt is annoying, so probably why a lot of people didn't buy it.  No problem - take off belt!

Fun blue - fits grate and has a tie in the back to get the perfect fit.  $6.00 not $36 :O)

It's purple and has sequins - no explanation needed haha!

I bought a gray wrap, a black and white top and a slate and silver top.  Kohl's rocked my world!

Before this trip I wandered into the Coach store at Fashion Square with Gregers and well turns out they had just had a new line of their design come in and Gregers even said that it had to be mine!  I mean it was just meant to be:

Its just big enough to hold a debit card and on the other side you can slide in your ID in the clear pocket.  LOVE IT!  Who knew coach would get so colorful?!?!?!?

This is what happens when there is no softball on a long weekend.  I got my eyes tested and turns out the same prescription was given - which is awesome!  Then went on my Kohl's trek, some grocery shopping and now just enjoying a quiet Sunday night.  No work tomorrow in honor of every President ever, so if Ethan is feeling better then Michelle and I are going to take her kids, Trinity and Ethan to the horse show in Scottsdale.  Trinity loves animals so much and Ethan might just enjoy the sport of it - with the kids being free, adults are only $10 so we aren't out much if we don't stay long.

Well back to my quiet Sunday night - along with a chicken pesto sandwich.  Homemade!

Laters! *waving*

2011 filled with injuries

So far this year I have had some ridiculous injuries.  I have a bone bruise on my left ankle from softball and had a minor bruise on my left shoulder from catching the ball with it instead of my glove.  I pulled a butt muscle after softball one day - apparently 3 hours of softball means butt cramps.  Last week I half flipped over the handle bars of my bike, bike then fell on me and the concrete caught me.  So that means a serious knee burn on the left side from the spandex and concrete.  Black and blue left leg and black and blue right knee.  Minor hand bruise that seemed to go away after a few days.  This also was all in tandem with some elbow issues that have come on since biking around Phoenix and Scottsdale.  Then today I catch the ball with my left knee, which of course is only after a week of the concrete catching me.  So that pain ripped through my body and 20 minutes later my back went into spasms and I am now at home on the couch.

I have to say I haven't had this many injuries so close together, ever.  It really does seem to be a talent of sorts that I never knew I had.  Well the Grammy's will be fun while laying on ice! :)  Hope tomorrow the back is much much better!

Love 2011 - what great stories I already have!  Now for the Grammy's 2011!

Bikram and Vegan...just a little change.

Okay so when I started riding my bike again I rode 30 miles one week and gained 3 lbs.  I was not okay with this.  I mean how many times can you hear, "muscle weighs more than fat" before you hear "it's okay fatty, we know you are just that way".  So I hate diets because no one wants to do that, but I can do adjustments.  I saw Oprah last week and her whole staff, well 387 - ish went Vegan for a week.  I mean if they can go a whole week, again most stuck with it, I think I will try for Vegan Mondays.  Seems to be a good way to start off the work weeks.  So I looked some stuff up and I still need to go find the meatless meat and some of their "cheese" but I think I will make a whole foods trip in a bit.  So nothing animal or from animal, so it will be one day a week without cheese!  Or like I said at least without what I think of as cheese.

I also went to Bikram Yoga, as known as Hot Yoga.  You do a 90 minute class of yoga in a room that is 105 degrees with 40% humidity.  I basically got my butt kicked by it and dehydrated to a not so safe level.  However, I am going to go ahead and fix that with some consistent electrolytes.  At least 8 ounces of G2 a day, and on days for the hot yoga i might try the Prime and Recover Gatorade's.  I have the electrolyte pills and think that will keep me going.  I mean if I play softball in 110 degree weather, surely I can get a little use to the 105 degree room.  Of course if not, I will go one more time and then I will have already saved $4 with the $30 for 30 days instead of $17 every time.

I have been bike riding the last 3 weeks, so that's not a huge change - again kinda the whole kicking this off situation.  But its been awesome and I am really enjoying it.  Tomorrow I will bike to the gym, use the weights, then get on my bike and ride for about 5 miles or so.  Should be a good follow up to the dehydrating in a room full of smelly people :o).

So if I gain another 10 lbs, you might hear me yelling off the top of a mountain I have hiked in the hopes of losing 1 pound :o)  Just sayin.

But seriously I am hoping this makes me feel even better, even though I feel good anyways.  If these little adjustments add even more greatness to my life that would be awesome!

I'll let you know how the next class goes and the first Vegan day.  Happy Super Bowl weekend and GO PACKERS!  No like Steelers. Ever.

Softball...Saved By The Balls!

Our new team is now officially Saved By The Balls!  Our team colors will be yellow shirts - and we will be puff painting.  That's right some of us don't want to throw down more $$ since paying $45 to play every 7 weeks - well for 7 weeks, but every like 9-ish is start of new seasons.  So Saved By The Balls it is and our shirt making party is next week.  Will have to take some pictures for show and tell :o)

Last night we did lose, but I tried to stop the 2nd base ball and with a less than elegant dive.  More like a diving save by Goldberg - 1st Mighty Ducks movie.  No grace.  Then I had to hustle back to 1st base because the fly ball landed a little short in middle outfield right into the crazy fast throwers glove.  So I had to MOVE and all I could do was get down as I was pretty sure the ball was flying directly at the back of my head!  I made it and got killer dirt smears on my running pants :)  AWESOMENESS!  We did end up losing in the end, but the other team gave us their beer tickets for winning and we went to Four Peaks for 2 pitchers of beer.  I had water, but the team bonding still worked :o)

Gregers left today, so that sucked, but it was a great weekend of fun!  Supercross was another blast, just like last year.  You cant go wrong with some motorcross bikes racing for some serious $$.

ARIEL'S BIRTHDAY!

It's my favorite Ariel's birthday today!  She is the big 28 and as fabulous as ever!  Here are some fabo pics of my Ariel since I met her 7 years and 5 months ago :O)

celebrating birthday fun :)

An Ariel face - life's not the same without random faces

My favorite barista! Now if I just drank coffee, but she makes me hot cocoa!

O the hilarity - you have to be there or be us haha!

We were roomies when this was takin!!!

Saying byebye to my roomie - I had to wear the shades because the eyes were all red

We meet again - AZ and we watched Chicago White Sox some spring training baseball!

This is one of my besties and she has made my life way more fun and entertaining since being in it!  We have great adventures and that will never stop! :o)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ARIEL! 

Love Always,

Sarah :o)

Hello 2011 - plus 8 days

Well Christmas was awesome and I got myself a fabulous 46 inch TV for the living room.  My parents are the best!  I have yet to get HDTV at the house, but you know what that is more money and with a car on the fritz and a possible $1,800 dropping into it for the fix.  Might not be bad idea to keep the cable bill as low as possible so I can still enjoy the TV, but just have to maybe forgo the HDTV world for a bit longer.  Sports are still amazing on it, so really who cares after that?  Well this cheapo depot doesn't.

Car went on fritz again and this time Honda is telling me its a head gasket after the same code has come up for the 3rd time.  The 2nd time it showed up they couldn't find anything and then this time they are saying its the head gasket.  Monday I am taking my car to a friends husband to look at and if nothing else if the gasket needs to be fixed he can hopefully fix it for less than the $1,200 to $1,800 they quoted me at the dealer.  I love the dealer, but seriously annoyed right now and it doesn't seem to be the best answer for the situation.  And even if its the best answer I am thinking it could be cheaper just with my own check.

A few ideas in the back of my head for what to do next - so we are going to get creative and see what happens :o)

More info soon...er then last time.