Confession Wednesday

Sometimes on weekends when I wash my hair, rather than combing conditioner through it while still in the shower and drying it with a blowdrier, I have my weekend hippie hair. No, it's not a funky name for a cool laidback hairstyle I sport on weekends. It consists of me shampooing, slapping some conditioner on it, toweling it then letting it air dry. At no point does it encounter a brush or a comb. It's just crazy ass tangly hair that gets kinda pulled back if I have to leave the house. If I wasn't wearing a JCrew lounge suit, I'd look homeless. Weekdays are for hair brushing. And yes, I know that this is probably a sign that long hair isn't a good choice for me at the moment. Going to do some hair rehab to length and color this weekend, I'll keep you posted.

Confession Monday

This weekend I pushed it pretty hard with the workouts.  Friday night (after a week where my brain had been totally converted to a mushy goo after 50 hours of business tripping, project budgeting, and general workyness) I ran, which was a nice little stress relief and Saturday I did a leg and swimming work out.  I had to stop half way through my weight training because I pulled a ligament in my knee.  Darryl was on the machine next to me and was trying to coach me on how to do the exercise.  I knew how to do the exercise, I just put too much weight on the machine and was in a lot of pain.  But Darryl kept going on and on about how to do it, which was sweet and I would typically appreciate this sort of input from him, but he wasn't hearing the key issue at hand so I practically yelled at him "WHAT I AM TRYING TO TELL YOU IS THAT I'M HURT, SO BAD, THAT WE MIGHT NEED TO STOP IMMEDIATELY AND GO HOME."

That seemed to get through to him, so he suggested I try walking it off, which I did, successfully.  So then we swam for 40 minutes.  It's a good thing I didn't finish my leg workout, because Sunday, I was pretty sore from what I did do.  Now, a normal person would probably take the day off, but instead I went back to the gym Sunday morning, worked my upper body, and then did a bike/run brick.  My quads were so sore, I could barely stand stretching them before starting. 

So my confession for this Monday?  My quads are so sore, that I can no longer sit on a toilet seat without the help of a grab bar.  I will be using the handicapped bathroom at work because at home, I have no handle and I have to A) stretch before attempting to pee and B) lower myself onto the toilet seat by grabbing onto it and doing some sort of acrobatic move to lower myself down that would rival things I've seen in a Cirque Du Soleil show.  And this is how I'm faring AFTER Advil. 

Confession Monday

#1.  I'm kinda pleased with my cooking skills.  Behold my chicken in white wine sauce.  It simmers as we speak.

#2.  This morning for breakfast I crammed lunch meat and cheese (none of which was low fat) into my face while standing at the kitchen counter, then washed it down with a Christmas chocolate.  Then went to work with a tummy ache, wtf was I thinking?  At least I stayed on track the rest of the day...unless you count the second chocolate and 3 Christmas cookies I ate after work.  But I went to the gym and swam laps, I don't need your judgement!

#3.  I briefly considered blogging at work today, a big nono in my book because I was so bored.  I have stuff to do, it's just kinda dull.  So instead I made a cup of tea and gossiped with a coworker met with a coworker for 30 minutes instead.

Confession Monday

We haven't done this one in a while. Here are my confessions as of late:

1) Went to see Avatar in 3D with the hubs. Was expecting to be about the same demographic you'd find at Fry's on a Saturday night, the general population reeking of BO and virginity. It wasn't as bad as I was expecting, while I don't think the movie lived up to Darryl's hype (ie this movie will change movies forever), it was good and will certainly be up for many awards. Not a complete waste of my evening and I think seeing it in IMAX 3D was pretty clutch. While I may not recommend running out and seeing this movie, seeing it in IMAX 3D is definitely worth it. Why do I not see more movies like this? Do it. If you must be dragged into this film, it's the only way to do it.

2) I've been contemplating a trip to Thailand since Darryl seems to have a business trip coming up there in the spring at some point. I figure we'll bum around for about a week after he's done with his business? But I know very little about Thailand and have no idea how to plan a trip of find a travel agent or tour package, etc. Anyone have good ideas on where to start?

Confession Monday

Maybe it's just me, but as a child, I found Where the Wild Things Are to be effin' S-C-A-R-Y. I was like, hey little boy, maybe you're a badly behaved little turd and deserve to get eaten by monsters. And where do you get off claiming that you're a king? Seriously. You deserve to be eaten. Hard.

Now, I thought it was just me that had this strong aversion to this story, but one day the hubs and I were sitting on the couch and they were showing a commercial for the movie and he turns to me and says, "I didn't like that movie as a kid, it frightened me." It was the first time I'd heard another human being admit to not liking that book, I was like THANK YOU! That is why I married him. And that is why we will never read that book to our children.

Confession....Friday?

Kanye's Stronger + Kelly + booze = The irrepressible urge for Kelly to do the robot in public

I am powerless against that song....

Confession Monday

In college my girlfriends all referred to Darryl as "rugged sexy", well, because, he is. ::sigh:: And he had such great long blond hair! Can't wait for him to get home from work tonight!

Confession Monday

I am up WAY past my bedtime and badly in need of a cold shower after reading how Pioneer Woman met her husband of 10+ years. And I'm only half way through, she writes really well and captures all the romance of her and her husband's courtship. Swoon times one billion! Now a girl's gotta get some sleep! My husband used to drive a King Ranch F150, there is just something about a man that picks you up for a date in a great big truck...

Confession Monday

I think it's been quite some time since I've done this feature of my blog, but I have a lot to confess as of late, so pour yourself a cup of coffee while I spill.

I dance around to Cobra Starship's Good Girls Go Bad and sing Leighton Meester's part into my hairbrush on almost a daily basis.

It's a great song, she looks smokin' hot in the video and I kind of want to be her.

I finally hit my goal weight!

It has been nearly half a decade since I've seen the number 2 as the second digit of my weight! I'm finally there! I may or may not have spent Sunday afternoon stuffing my face with guacamole, chips and salsa to celebrate, heh.

I've decided flying coach is played out

I made Darryl snap photos of his seat in business class before he took off on his business trip to China this morning. The seats recline a full 180 degrees, which is rare in business class, and since it's a 15.5 hour flight, being able to lie down is awesome. I've done the transpacific thing a few times in coach and although coach on long haul flights can be pretty posh, I think I need full relination (I think I made that word up). Also, what does the person in the window seat do in this scenario if the aisle person is laid our sleeping and they need to use the lavatory? Do you vault over your seat buddy? I would. We flew first class on our honeymoon too. And on our engagement trip. Seriously, I cannot go back. I've even gotten Darryl all into using the airport club lounges. Soon he will be hooked like I am, MUAH HA HA!

Confession Monday

1. I totally didn't work out last week I'm so freaking burned out, I think it was working out last week with my raging bladder infection that killed it for me. So I lifted on Monday and took the rest of the week off. I think it was a good move, I'm ready to start back into it this week with new resolve.

2. I cannot stand watering restrictions My lawn needs water more than 2 days a week. Plus one of my designated days is Saturday which means I need to get up before 10 AM to get the sprinkler going, or hang around after 7 PM. I hate coming home at 11 PM Saturday night and having to put the freaking sprinkler on and then sit up for an hour until it's time to turn it off. So I'm devising a plan. I think I'm going to do an intricate grid of soaker hoses on my front lawn and run that bad boy whenever I want because as I understand it, it's legal. Yes, my yard will look like a hot mess, but it kind of already does with a half dead lawn. I also plan on watering my back yard however and whenever I want. I dare my neighbor's to report me. I might need to follow in suit about their kid's backyard pot habit.

Confession Monday

We spend every night fumbling through the foxtrot, trying to get ready for our first dance, which we taught ourselves to do by watching YouTube instructional videos. Dancing with the stars, we are not. I've decided that Darryl will walk away angry because I will be laughing so hard and the rest of the guests will think we're just staggaring around drunk. Get ready for a show people and for the love of God, if anyone can teach us to do this blasted dance come over and teach us.

Wedding Checks and Confession Monday

Confession Monday

I once dated someone who played jazz flute...in public.

Wedding Checks

• Completed OOT guest bags
• Purchased dress and undergarments for Sandal's White Night
• Got pre-wedding dye job
• Had second dress fitting
• Paid balance to caterer, delivered final head count
• Picked up D's ring, it doesn't fit, am out of town on business until Thursday, oh shit. No idea what to do.

Confession Monday

My pretty little wedding invitations should have arrived at all their final destinations by now and we are only 5 little days away from the RSVP deadline. Although the deadline is eminent, inexplicably I've only gotten responses on 50% of the invites. Most of the lagging parties are our friends who live here in town. I'm not going to panic yet, but my confession this Monday is that a rant about people who don't RSVP is slowly boiling in my blood and will probably be unleashed around this time next week once that deadline has lapsed.

Anyways, back to folding laundry and fretting about the ceremony song choices, part of me couldn't be happier about them, the other part thinks they're dreadfully cheesy....argh.

In other news, I'm down 12 lbs. Three more to goal weight!

Confession Monday Responses

Alright ladies (and gentleman), thanks so much for your questions! Here are my responses:



What Made Me Become a Geologist

It sort of just happened, my senior year of high school I took both geology and environmental science and was in this nerdy little club called Academic Decathlon where we studied a lot and took quizzes in front of people. The theme for that year's competition was related to environmental science, plus I visited UT and spoke with a professor in the geology department and he urged me to enter into the environmental side of geology because of projected career growth (as compared to the oil industry). I also used to be a space camp counsellor and I learned that a geologist got to go to the moon on Apollo 17 and I really wanted to pursue planetary geology in the hopes of going to Mars someday. So then I went to UT as a geology major and ADORED my intro class, so I was hooked! The next 1.5 years were pretty heinous and I wanted to defect to law school to practice environmental law, but I changed my mind my senior year of college and decided to go into environmental consulting instead. And here I am.



Favorite Book

Jane Eyre, pretty sure I'm the only one who likes it. I am so enthralled by their love story. I also enjoyed Marley and Me, I was really stressed out and suffering from insomnia for weeks. Reading that book before I went to sleep at night helped me to unwind and solved my insomnia!



Have I Killed Anyone at My New Job Yet?

No, I had a close call on Monday, but David, you are correct sir, this is not appropriate blog fodder. I would say I'm much happier overall at my new company.



Serena VS Vanessa

Serena, I want to be the IT girl. Young, skinny, blond, and fabulous.

What Time Period Do I Belong In?

Lately, I've really been identifying with the 1970's. To me, the 70's represent the last decade before excess really took over. I live in a house built in the late 70's, it is tiny by today's standards, but was probably pretty common during those days, nothing was super sized yet, the pace of life was slower, there was still a lot of discovery happening in American society as they recovered from the disillusionment of the Vietnam war, pushed for women's rights and saw the rise of the adult entertainment industry. In many ways, I see the 70's as the time where America truly "came of age, " and I wish I could have seen it.

How Did D and I Meet? (and where did I grow up)

I grew up in the suburbs of Houston, which is also where D grew up. We went to neighboring high schools, I even used to shop at the record store where he worked, but I never knew him. Sometimes I wonder if he rang me up for some CD I bought in high school, kind of makes me think.

Anyways, we both went to UT, I dated one of his fraternity brothers and was invited to become a little sister to their fraternity. We had a lot of mutual friends and I knew of him, I even found photos of us out to dinner with friends but at different ends of the table, he was always there but I never paid him any attention, I DO remember my girlfriends talking about how sexy he was and coming running excitedly into my apartment when he and his college girlfriend split up. I still didn't care, I had a boyfriend, whatev.

So my senior year, shortly after my college bf got the big heave ho, the president of the frat (who was also my big bro) asked if I could put D down as my "husband" on my season football tickets since he was an alumni and wanted to get tickets at the student price. I thought that I would probably buy the tickets and then this Darryl character would be all lame about paying me back, but I figured since my big bro was the president, he could help me out if D turned out to be a deadbeat (he was excellent about paying me back, FYI). So since we were "married" our seats were together for the entire season. I was on crutches but went to a tailgate before the first game anyways and saw Darryl there, he'd grown his hair out long, which is TOTALLY my weakness so I immediately took notice. He was sweet and helped me clunk around on my crutches, one thing led to another and now we're going to legitimately be husband and wife, not just UT football spouses. My favorite part of our relationship is that it keeps getting better with time, D never ceases to amaze me :).

Our First NYE Together 2003/2004

Confession Monday

In lieu of our regularly scheduled Confession Monday, I am going to open it up to your questions for me. Respond with a comment about what YOU would like to know about me. I'm pretty nervous doing this because what if no one writes in? My whole universe might collapse, so I hope you're at curious about something. Happy Monday my lovelies!

Confession Monday

I am geeking out a little bit with the Mt. Redoubt eruptions, while I wish safety to everyone in Alaska, I kind of want to see that baby blow. I wrote a technical paper on Redoubt in college when I took Volcanology, so this is pretty much my volcano of choice.

Confession Monday

While I have tons of fodder for my Confession Monday, what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. Sorry my pretties :). Some edited photos coming soon....

I will share this nugget with you. So I had to go through my checking statement to figure out what kind of damage I did in Vegas (I will be honest, I didn't exactly keep track of my finances). I withdrew $240 from the ATM (and apparently paid $11.25 in ATM fees at the Playboy club, WTF? Good thing my bank reimburses for those...). There is $110 dollars in my wallet. I recall paying for a ton of taxis and my airport parking, all in cash and I recall winning roughly $235 in penny slots (yes, I continue to be awesome with the slots). So I guess I'm just wondering, what the ef? How'd I come home with so much money?

Brownies (and I use that term loosely) Round 1

FAIL

After visiting the supermarket and seeing a wide variety of available brownie mixes, I decided to go for the jugular and try my bean brownie's with the healthiest mix available. I bought Hodgson Mills brownie mix, made with wheat flower and flax seed meal and turbinado sugar. I did the bean puree thing, added it and baked. According to my calculations, this should provide me with essential omega 3 oils and fiber and protein to make me feel full all at the cost of 2 points.

However, taste and texture are a major issue. I can't really describe how they taste, but they don't taste good. I think the issue here is more about the wheat flower and the flax seed meal. I'm not willing to rule out the beans just yet. I judge them, inedible, although I just choked down 1. Blech. Waste of points.

Up next, I try the beans with Pillsbury reduced sugar mix.

Confession Monday

My favorite guilty pleasure as of late are The Closer and Saving Grace. I wish I was a detective. Not really, because in real life I bet it's scary and gross, but I wish I had a cooler job sometimes. Plus as flawed as the heroins of these shows are, there are some aspects of their personality that I really admire, especially their dedication to their jobs and how good they are at them.

I also wish Petey and Ginger could sniff drugs. German Shepards get all the glory, I bet a Cairn Terrier could root out some drugs like a champ. Criminals would be like, "Oh what a cute fuzzy little face, OH DANG YOU JUST FOUND MY STASH!"

Confession Monday

I have been a religious contributor to my retirement fund since the age of 12, thanks to my mother. I've been working at my new job for nearly 2 weeks now and I have yet to set up my 401K. On one hand, I lack a sense of urgency because they don't do a set contribution match. In fact, I can't even understand their matching program. I need someone to explain it to me about 17 more times and am too embarrassed to ask the HR lady to do it again. It's like nothing I've ever encountered before. I think they want to give me company stock or something? I'm so lost.

Also, I have had to dip into my emergency savings ever so slightly during my vacation time between jobs. I have to sit down and figure out exactly the damage, but I'm only expecting it to be a few hundred bucks and a lack of retirement contribution will allow me to replenish that borrowed money in no time.

And yes, I've read that now is in fact the absolute best time to be contributing to your retirement accounts, but it is so damn painful to watch my accounts tank every month and so much more rewarding to spend that money on pretty clothes and pre-wedding pampering. I'm allowing myself 1 month of irresponsibility, then I will get back to reality. Argh.