Less of me

I want... no. I NEED to lose weight. I am fortunate to have excellent self-esteem so this decision is coming from a very healthy place. I can't believe what the scale says though. Changes need to be made.

I have struggled with extra pounds most of my life and I am ready to get rid of them. I have tried working out regularly, but something always changes and I stop. Or I can't stay motivated. Or it's too expensive to join a gym, etc etc.

Today I went to my first water aerobics class (in this town) and I loved it. Back in my last town, I loved water aerobics - it really is an amazing workout.

(it kicked my butt today, actually)

I plan to go 3x / week. There are also other classes that I want to try.

Wish me luck.

Send me an e-mail with your tips that work! I would be forever in your debt.

Warning, not a happy post: "Can I please order?!?"

I sat at a cafe for 20 minutes today before being asked if I wanted anything. The first 5-10 minutes were OK, but the last 10 I was just proving a point. I should have just got up and left - but then they would have won. Who? The waitresses who were trading hangover stories behind the counter (obviously on a smoke break.) I just came to this little cafe at the wrong time. Anyone younger than I, before noon, fails at customer service in this town. Once I did flag someone down to take my order, it took about 5 minutes to prepare - the special - I scarfed it down, looked at the menu to figure out my bill, calculated it on my phone calculator, left too large of a tip for such shitty service and walked out.

Argh. Sometimes I wish I was mean-er. I can name a handful of my friends that would have caused a scene. Perhaps I should have :)

In other news:

* Life is good. But it is super busy. I'm hovering around the 50-60 hour work week for the second week in a row. Sleep, grocery shopping, cleaning, socializing and all other parts of being a functioning member of society have gone by the wayside. I shower, I work, I eat and I clean out Toby's litterbox. OK so it's not that bad - I have had a TON of fun this summer....

1. I attended a friend's 30th birthday bash that featured a belly flop contest, 4 bands, camping, fireworks and blowing up a car.

2. I went to an Incubus concert in Kansas City with a car full of friends and obtained a press pass so I could be 10 feet away from the band.

3. I went to the Northwoods of Wisconsin and camped with 30 of my friends' closest friends for the town festival. As a group, we consumed 656 beers and won the beer trophy for the 3rd consecutive year, it was a fun fun time.

4. I traveled to see friends in the east, played in the ocean, road tripped, loved it. :)

5. I shot a couple weddings, also shooting one today and the next 2 weekends. $$ :)

6. I turned 27.

7. I'm going to a Twins game in a couple weeks with friends.

8. I kayaked, a lot, I fished, a lot, I saw a ton of small concerts, planted a garden and hung out with my friends - with whom I have a criminal amount of fun with.

....

After listing that, it doesn't seem so bad that I've had 3 weekends free all summer.

Hope you are all well. In this post, I've gone from a really bad mood, to a pretty good mood. Off to shoot bride and bridesmaids getting their hair done.

I'll try to post more, it really is theraputic.

:)

adieu to the east

Today, sigh, I fly back.

It may take a couple days --- (read: week) for me to sort through all of the fun photos I got, but I promise to post some here, or let people navigate through a Picasa album of the thousands.

While I am excited to see my friends, cat and familiar landscapes of home - this trip, my third consecutive trip out East, was amazing and I want to savor every last second of it. It doesn't help that today is a beautiful sunny but cool day. The kind that makes you want to walk around the city w/out having sweat drip down your face!

I wonder sometimes if I would be ok with being away from my family. I've heard both stories.... I've seen people do it, I just wonder if I could do it. Having to hear about my nieces and nephews instead of actually seeing them. And my grandparents, not being there for every single occasion. I know that my professional life needs some surgery - but I love my 'personal' life in sd. Despite the lack of eligible bachelors where I live. It's safe, cheap, fun - but it's not something I can put up with (my job) much longer. I know i'm there for the summer, and some of the fall - but then what?

stuff to think about on the flight home.

:)

if anyone wants to come to the airport - I land at 11:17 p.m.

mwha.

I love waking up somewhere new.

This time, it's a friends new apartment. The light hits everything and I just want to stay here all day and take portraits. I promised that the gushy-ness will wear off... you know - me thinking that everything is SO BEAUTIFUL SO WONDERFUL but I'm not sure it will. I love hearing commotion, sirens, people talking different languages.

M-hell is so drab. So very plain, boring, vanilla, safe and ugly in comparison. It feels like the world is in kodachrome after being in sepia :)

I needed a vacation so bad. I can tell now. The days leading up to it were very stressful and so now that I'm here I feel 20 lbs lighter. I don't have a lot planned this time - i'm just going to float around and see what I see - which is my favorite thing to do. I am very excited to see Jon in Virginia... another new place to wake up in!!

So far:

Great food, great friends

Today's agenda:

Explore till my legs give out or my camera battery dies... whichever comes first.

:) (there r - I blogged)

W.

My friends and I get together on Wednesdays and watch a 'Bad Movie'. The movies that we have watched so far range from Funland, to Howard the Duck and Snakes on a Plane. Some are better than others, but all share the common thread that someone worked really hard on making it - and now we get to mercilessly make fun of it. This weekly event is highlighted by adult beverages and homemade food. :)

Here is a poster I made displaying a character from each movie we have watched so far. The only one that we didn't make it through was Popeye. That movie is just terrible, awful and I'll never get that 30 minutes of my life back.

Good times had by all.

The Thin Mint Adventure of 2008

 After rolling out the dough, we cut out perfect sized cookies with a shot glass. 

Throughout the duration of the project, Mack and Chloe (Teresa's dogs) stayed on alert for any crumbs that dropped.

After about 12 minutes of baking, we cooled the cookies.

Note: we also tasted a couple of them... they were NOT good yet. Only cookie I've ever had where it's not good warm.

Then, we dunked them into a chocolate mixture and let them dry.

The chocolate mixture melted easily in the microwave.

The dunking process was not as easy... many cookies broke.

But there were still plenty to try. It was a very time consuming process - but it was fun! And while the cookies were alright, I think I'll stick to buying them from Girl Scouts.

Dissapearing act.

apparently, my co-workers liked the brownies my mom made in my new 'edge' pan. :)