Thankful Thursday

1. Awkward moments. Always, always thankful for awkward moments.

About to plant a big wet one on Ms. Dale...when all of the sudden...



CAUGHT! Interrupted by a very embarrassed Logan's waiter. Obviously we snapped back as though everything was tooootally normal. Love akward moments!!

2. Jackie Evancho. Don't ask. When you're in a hotel in a foreign place against your will, strange things happen; in Odessa, I fell in love with peanuts and Jackie Evancho, this 10-year-old opera (?!) prodigy. Why do I love this? I don't know, but I listened to her on PBS for like an hour tonight. Here she is belting out Angel by Sarah McLachlan.  



3. Going home to boys in Christmas sweaters!

I really just want to kiss him on the lips right now!

Benny is busting out at the seams of his sweater. His is more of a cowl-neck. :) Hi squishy boy!

My mini-goal for the day - to eat a little less and leave a little food on the plate - was a success at lunch and dinner. For some semblance of a workout, I did three rounds of this Bodyrock circuit. It really did rain sweat!

Our flight doesn't land until around 7 tomorrow evening. This will be the first weekend in forever that I don't have to wake up at 5 am (or earlier) on Saturday morning for a run! Add that to the things-to-be-thankful-for list! My mom and I are going to do some work moving out of my apartment and then treat ourselves to something lovely and relaxing. A good weekend ensues, my friends!



Gone Again

Yesterday I hopped on another little plane and took off for Odessa. Work trip.

I was at the very front of the plane. I can't tell if pilots have an easy or a hard job - all those buttons look complicated but I wonder how many they actually have to push.

After a quick nap, we landed and immediately went to dinner.

Score. Love me some West Texas hick town!

I ate a thousand peanuts and then pulled my act together for dinner: small salad with fresh vegetables as a side. I was so proud of myself that when my travelling buddy asked if we could go to Sonic, I not only said we MUST but I downed a chocolate sundae...and then a chocolate chip cookie once we got to the hotel.

I feel I spat in the face of this woman with my late night snafu. I went to bed angry at myself and a little terrified of visions of Jillian reaming me out in my dreams.

Sigh. The food guilt lingers today, but I can't let it get me down. New day. New opportunities.

Eating right and exercising is always a pain on work trips, but my goal today is just to eat a little less. Make smart choices at lunch and dinner, and leave a little on the plate. Gentle goals. Kind goals. Any average Jane can do this goals. Fortunately I'm here only until Friday.

Since there wasn't a Post-It Wisdom Wednesday yesterday, I'll leave you with this:

Though much is taken, much abides; and though
We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven, that
Which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate,
But strong in will to strive, to seek,
To find and not to yield.

I don't know who wrote those lines, but I know they were important to this man:

Andre the Figurative Giant

A quick commentary about Open, Andre Agassi's autobio. I really, really enjoyed this book. I am amazed at people who are uber-talented at completely opposite things, like tennis and writing. There was a LOT of tennis-talk and match-recaps in the book, and I thought for sure I'd get bored, but he had the perfect amount of fact and emotion. It was the perfect blend of autobiography and memoir. Definitely recommend.

Okay, off to school some good ol' boys!

Chasing Wine with Froyo

I'm a very simple girl. I know what I like, and I don't really deviate from those things.

Froyo
Running
Roger and Benny
Girl-time
Manicures
Baking
Cooking
Yoga
Crafting
New/Different workout routines
Boys
Movies
Decorating
Shopping

That's my life...probably in that order.

This week was busy but satisfying. Yesterday marked winefest with THE LADIES #2.

This class: Thanksgiving Wines (who knew such a thing existed?!)

Correction: Thanksgiving Wines with that bozo in the background leading the crazy train.  

This class was heavy on the snobs, puffery and wine name-dropping (again, who knew this was even possible?). Ninja's outfit was super cute though, as evidenced by the no-fewer-than-5 guys who hit on her in the 2 hours we were together.

 The only possible way to rebound from wine hell was froyo. Enter Sweet Lola. Commence hallelujah chorus.

Sidenote: it wasn't really wine hell. I actually learned a lot and the biggest takeaway was that it'd be cool to have a traditional wine every Thanksgiving, so each year we can revisit it and note the changes. Despite my dislike of los patoots, I will obviously keep coming back for more.

On to the next, on on to the next...

Only four flavors, you say? Only four needed. Lavender? Pumpkin Cheesecake? Ohhh Lola.  



THIS is a froyo-eria! This adorable, boutique-y bohemian beauty! Sweet Lola I love you.

Even the froyo-ista is posh. OJ and Ninj making magic in their cups.

My masterpiece: pumpkin cheesecake (divine) + chocolate (wow) + pecan prailine nuggets. Froyo heaven definitely restored wine hell.

We might actually have been buzzing from Thanksgiving vinos and sugary delights. All in all, THE LADIES done did it again. Holla!

Hump Day

You.

Yeah, you.

It's only Wednesday.

BUT!

The weekend's coming, and it's gonna be a good one. Epic even.

So stay sane with a little of this.

Yoga with Jillian Michaels, 30 mins a day FTW. 

 Eyes on the prize.

November Goal Update:
$59.50 spent on food as of 11/16/11
41.5 miles+weights+35 minutes of cycling+plyometrics+2 yoga sessions as of 11/16/11
Food log in full swing. Apparently I cannot be trusted with Airheads, candied walnuts, Tootsie Rolls or pretzels-and-Laughing Cow cheese.

Post-It Wisdom Wednesday

Running will make you free.

Definitely loving this book. It's the kind that makes me want to get into bed way too early just so I can have a little extra time reading before I zonk out.

Unfortunately it's Wednesday, and I haven't done a lick of exercise since Sunday. Work has been cray cray and there hasn't been a free night yet this week. I caught myself thinking at the end of work yesterday, "Okay, now the second part of the day begins." Busy times, my friends! Busy but great.

May we all live with obligations that make us weary beyond comprehension but also free. 

Trip Recap

All in all, Villahermosa Round 3 was great. It had it's low moments, and there was plenty of forced positive self-talking going on, but I made it back in one piece, a better woman for the journey.

Here are some of my favorite parts of the trip...

I LOVE breakfast (favorite meal), and having breakfast on trips is always something I look forward to. I got really attached to this exact breakfast in 2010: Raisin Brain, bananas, watermelon, oats and plain yogurt. Yum!

I was really cultured and ate Chili's Margarita Chicken almost every day.

I worked out and flexed it up for you.

I ate DELICIOUS complimentary chocolate covered strawberries (two tuxedos?). I also enjoyed complimentary wine every night. Perfecto.

I watched my favorite blonde Bond while enjoying said strawberries and wine.

And my last day there, we had a massive barbeque, and enjoyed it...in the warehouse. Love these peeps.

Of course, these are my real peeps. Love their squishy little bodies!

November Goal Update:
$29.50 spent on food as of 11/8/11
41.5 miles+weights+35 minutes of cycling+plyometrics as of 11/8/11
Food log in full swing. Apparently I cannot be trusted with Airheads, candied walnuts, or pretzels-and-Laughing Cow cheese.

Recap Wannabe

Back in the comfort of my own home with my own doggies tomorrow! ALMOST made it.

Sidenote: I have horrendously bad luck when it's a full moon, so I might be jumping the gun with the previous declarations before the wheels have landed. It's not just superstition in my case,  y'all. It's real. Like, I got a $200 ticket one time for not using my right turn blinker in a right turn only lane during a full moon.

I was going to post pictures of all the reaons this trip has turned out to be exactly what I needed, but the internet is moving slower than Highway 59 in Houston, northbound, at 5 pm, when there's a wreck, due to massive construction resulting in lane closures. So, the pictures will come tomorrow when I'm settled in.

HEAR THAT, FULL MOON? I'm making PLANS, so don't try anything FUNNY.

I will briefly recap an epiphany I had this week on the treadmill.

It's no secret if you've been reading the last few days that this trip has emotionally hit me in a few tender places. Could be that last year when I was here, thoughts of a certain boy kept me going. Could be that I've been here enough times to know that I'd rather be home. Could be job woes. Could be the impending full moon, or any number of tricky factors.

So, I was on the treadmill, dutifully putting in my miles, and all the reasons behind the emotions flooded me at the same time. I was at minute 23 on the TM. Huge, huge lump in the throat appeared, and I wanted to stop running, go back to my room, journal, cry, call my mom, anything other than keep doing what I was doing.

But then I thought, okay, your throat is literally closed because you're about to bawl. It hurts. But doesn't your ankle hurt? Isn't there pain in your knee? Your left lung might explode at any second, yes?

And yet, you keep going.

You don't stop because your ankles hurt, or your knees are killing you, or your lungs are on fire. No, those pains indicate progress. You are getting stronger, faster, better, and those temporary growing pains are the result.

Why do your emotions and the physical repsonses to those emotions get a pass? Perhaps the fleeting tears are telling you you're doing exactly what you should be doing.

You feel pain. How do you deal with it? You. keep. going. So, go.

And that is what I did. I kept running - despite the knees, the ankles, the lungs, and even the emo-lump. I accepted them all as progress and promises of greater things to come in the future.

Just gotta keep going. :)

Book Clubbin'

The thought of travelling anywhere without ample reading material terrifies me more than the off-chance I'd board a plane being terrorized by some seriously pissed off reptiles, with Sammy-J nowhere to be found.

Why do I suspect that doubles as both his "I'ma Cut You" and "Let's make-a Love" face?

 Herego, I'm never without ample reading material because I don't LIKE being that terrified.

I finished "Sybil, Exposed" and found it fascinating. It makes me wonder how many illnesses have been almost entirely fabricated by our "most trusted sources" for money, status and fame. It just reminds me to always ask before believing, question before jumping. Please know I'm not making light of anyone suffering from ANY illness, mental or otherwise; I know too many people struggling with pains, concerns and the like that I wish I could remove entirely, totally, now. 

Alright, moving on to things I actually know about...

Joan Didion - Blue Nights

 I was first introduced to Joan through "The Year of Magical Thinking." Wow, I loved that book. It was definitely a life-changer. Extremely sad (I think I was already crying before leaving the B&N parking lot. Don't worry, Moms was driving.), but very touching. While TYOMT was about her husband's death, "Blue Nights" was written as an expression of her grief about her daughter's death, which occurred almost simultaneously with her husband's passing. How's that for a heavy as hell dose of life's propensity to just suck...and then suck some more?

This book did not speak to me like TYOMT did. Maybe because I've never had a daughter, but I feel like this book - more than the other - Joan wrote for herself, her healing and her clarity than for anyone else. She just happens to be an author with a deadline, too. She fixates on little details of her daughter's life and repeats them over and over throughout the book, details that weren't explained or given meaning, just repeated. I don't fault her; I just don't understand. She's grieving still, clearly, and this is a written expression of that process. I appreciate and cherish her honesty and rawness, even if I don't understand it. I don't think anyone could or should.

Looking back, I have no idea why I DL'ed this book, other than I once (c. 2002 maybe) saw an Ellen Degeners standup that was hilarious, and I've loved her ever since, despite not ever finding her that funny again.

 Ellen shares a similarity with Joan, as a matter of fact. They both don't care what you think or how you receive them. Again, respek, yo. I have a feeling this book would be much, much better - entertaining even! - in audiobook form, with Ellen reading. It's coming across very sing-song in my own voice, and I wish I could hear how Ellen imagines it in her own head. But then again, she doesn't care how she comes across, and that comes across in her book. Not my fave, but mildly entertaining still.

Well, my plan was to go running at lunch, but due unforeseen issues with the project we're working on coinciding with the siesta, doesn't look like I'll be getting to the hotel until 2, at which point I will have probably knawed both legs off anyways. I was snacking on some Sour Jelly Beans, but the ants got to them FTW.

How to Photobomb

Pug-Photobombing done right.

Well, the treadmill at the gym doesn't work, so I had to spend 30+ amazing minutes on a stationary bike (that barely worked), followed by plyo. BFE. At least I got a free glass of wine for staying on the executive level. 3ish more days.

November Goal Update:
$9.50 spent on food as of 11/8/11
18.5  miles+weights+35 minutes of cycling+plyometrics as of 11/8/11
Food log in full swing. Apparently I cannot be trusted with Airheads, candied walnuts, or pretzels-and-Laughing Cow cheese.  

BFE

Bienvenidos from BFE, Mexico - my home away from home until Friday morning!

Home away from home...

This weekend flew (ha! ha! see what happened there?!) by.

I babysat. We both emerged a little worse for wear but as survivors. I respect him in his own little one year old way, and he damn sure knows by now not to interrupt me while I'm reading "Esta No Es Mi Conejito" to him.

I brunched. Just when I've had it up to HERE with Houston and her traffic and her mosquitoes and her heat, a little place like Natachee's (don't try to pronounce it) pops up on the radar and my resolve to love this city refreshes.

I ran (5 miles). I churched. I packed. I ran again (5 miles). I flew.

The entire time I was cheering for OJ, who was running the ING NYC Marathon this weekend. If I could raise that mere - yawn - $4500 for charity to participate, I'd be all. over. that. $4500!

One of the (many, many) perks of trips to BFE is getting to ride in some of the tiniest, most unpredictable planes I've ever travelled on in my life. Sometimes I freeze the entire trip. Last night, boxed in by a Continental patron who needed not only his seat, but half of mine as well, I genuinely had sweat rolling down my forehead from the heat. Upon emerging from the plane, I waited in a swarm of mosquitoes for a customs representative to look over my travel documents for 20 minutes. All the while, my hotel taxidriver was wondering, "Where is this Still, Amy?" and decided he should probably go ahead and leave. Welcome to BFE. Please see babysitting comments above for references to me being a survivor.

A now, just another reason why Houston is one of the fattest cities in the country the world:

You know what's next, don't you? Shipley's+McDonald's merger. One stop shop for fried potatoes and fried bread! Seriously. Why does the AIRPORT anyone need a 24 hour Shipley's?

When/If I get back to Houston, there's going to be some fun craft-happenings as a result of this weekend.

Mother-Daughter trip.

Infinity scarves in the making!

And finally, gratuitous pictures of Roger and Benny from the weekend doing what they love to do: snuggling and kissing and being weird little lover-brothers.

Yeah, I know what's on your pervy little mind! On to you, little one!

Hi, Pugsley. You're not totally innocent either.

But y'all are both really so adorable it hurts! Be good til I get back!

November Goal Update:
$9.50 spent on food as of 11/7/11
16  miles+weights as of 11/7/11
Food log in full swing. Apparently I cannot be trusted with Airheads, candied walnuts, or pretzels-and-Laughing Cow cheese.  

October Recap/November Goals

October.

October was a really good, exceptionally trying month. All the rough patches were work related, and I'll leave it at that because as difficult as work can be, I am ever-grateful to be gainfully employed.

I spent a week in Villahermosa, Mexico for work and reconnected with a lot of people I worked with last year when I spent all of June in Villa. While I was overjoyed to see everyone again, when the trip was cut short, I was extremely grateful. My mom went through over six hours of surgery while I was gone, my boys were being boarded at a break-the-bank facility, and I was sick. On the plane ride back I thought about when I wanted to be a stewardess as a profession. How things change. It's pulling teeth to get me to leave these days. I thank God for a home I love, friends I cherish and a life I don't like to put on hold.

Back in Houston, the heat was making everyone a little crazy, the boys had a massive flea outbreak (accompanied by one tick), I put more mileage on my legs than ever before, I decided I'd spend Thanksgiving in Alaska, and I finally realized that nothing stands in my way of anything except myself.

November.

November's gonna be good. Like, silly, giddy, challenging, fulfilling good. Suffice it to say, my life looks a lot different than it did a year ago, and I'm so thankful and happy for the maelstrom of overwhelming pain and sadness it took to get me here.

Now, on to the fun stuff! Challenges!
1. I will not be spending more than $100 on food/groceries for the entire month. I read about this challenge on another blog; it's an effort to eat up all the pantry staples we accumulate, to each more fruits and vegetables, and to remember those who have to make-do all year long. This goes into effect tomorrow, and I'll keep you updated with weekly totals.

2. I will keep a daily food/exercise log. The truth is, marathon training has been amazing, but it hasn't been the fat-burner/muscle-builder I thought it would be. It's hard to change my diet/non-running-exercises at this point (the height of training), but I want to become more conscious/deliberate about the foods I eat and the ways I spend my gym time. (A subgoal would be to lose 5 lbs.)

3. Do yoga at least twice. Easy enough.

4. Read 3 books. I'm not quite halfway through "Sybil Exposed," and then I'm going to read "Once a Runner." Suggestions are always encouraged!

5. Take more pictures.

6. Have a blast in Alaska. Going to Alaska is a bucket list thing for me, and I'm so, so excited to be crossing this off! As soon as I get back, I'll cross off another line by running a marathon!

7. This is the fluff goal. Enjoy the end of this year. November and December lend themselves to tons of new memories, plenty of life-evaluating, and prepping for the upcoming new year. This year has been the most horrendously packaged gift, a precious blessing in the most terrible disguise. Though I'm ready to see it go, I want to honor the magical things that have come as a result of it.

Holy Bloomin' Onion, Batman!

This blog will be frantic, as I'm leaving for the airport in 4 hours. I just wanted to establish a single post before my world gets flipped completely opposite on its axis (literally).

I'm moving to Australia at 7:15 pm tonight. My two(!!!) suitcases are packed to the busted zipper point, and every five minutes I check to make sure I (still?....still?....still?) have my passport.

I work for National Oilwell Varco in a program that is designed to give me a from-the-ground-up perspective on the oil industry, specifially the distribution side of this fabulous company. Last week I met with the other 12 interns, and we had a blast surmising what each of our different rotations would be like. I'm not sure how I got mixed in with these brilliant, sophisticated kiddos, but I sure am thankful! Valerie and I are headed to Australia, but we've got others going to Dubai, Scotland, Holland, and Indonesia. After these six months, we'll all spread out again and relocated somewhere else. I'll be headed to Rifle, CO.

I'm googly-eyed right now. The internship has been SO generous to all of us, but even more importantly, everyone has been so patient and welcoming. NOV is massive (almost 40,000 employees worldwide); it would be so easy to feel like a tiny, floundering, DOA fish in a huge pond, but in reality the opposite has been true. I'm very excited for the things to come.

I will try to post frequently, and once I get a camera (meaning once I get a paycheck) I'll post some pictures. All my best, best, best.