A Wee Bit O' Surprise

Shumpy has informed me that Bennigan's is closed! While I didn't find myself there so often anymore, it does come as a bit of a surprise...where the heck will I get cheap beer and a Turkey O'Toole sandwich any more? That's just sad. And I know there was a crew of semi-regulars that spent many a weekend night there. It's like the end of an era. I wonder what will go in there next? It seemed to me that Bennigan's was the staple in the little Bedford Restaurant Row. Hopefully something good and with cheap beer. :)

I feel sorry for all the people who lost their jobs. It's just not a good time to be out of work.

And what will people do for St. Paddy's day next year? This is just sad.

Now would be a great time for the economy to look up. I don't know that either of our Presidential candidates can help with that. *sigh*

On that note, at least the day is coming to a close!!

TGIF!

I think the toll of the week caught up with me today. I didn't sleep particularly well last night, so I was dragging today. But I took off a half day and went home and rested. Actually, I went to mom and dad's and napped. They're out of town so I am feeding their kitty, Maddie. Maddie and I took a good afternoon nap and I felt much better. I went to sit in the hot tub at the gym with a girlfriend and then we grabbed dinner at Jason's Deli. Something healthy and inexpensive. (yay!) David has been busy all week with colleagues in from out of town for their big market meeting, so I am on my own.

Tomorrow would have been New Kim's birthday, so a handful of us are getting together to toast her and remember her. It's going to be an uplifting evening of snacks and drinks and remembering our friend. I'm looking forward to it.

My 13 year old cousin, Ashley, is coming in town next week and I am looking forward to spending time with her. We're going to shop for school clothes and hang out. I want to talk with her about internet safety..she added me to her MySpace page and she's got her first and last name out there for all the world to see. I think no one has had a talk with her about that, so I'm going to. i just don't want someone with bad intentions getting hold of her...she's a very pretty girl and I suspect a little naive.

I hope everyone is having a good weekend! Try to stay cool...it's hot out there!

Something Cute

Today needed somthing cute and fluffy, so for your viewing pleaseure I present...fluffy bunnies! I needed something nice and sweet for today's post. Life has been a bit of a downer this week, so rather than rehash that today, I just wanted a mental vacation. So bunnies it is!

I hope you are all having a wonderful day. Be sure to enjoy the cuteness and I'll be back with my usual blogging tomorrow.

An Unexpected Loss

I got the news last night that one of my friends had passed away very unexpectedly. She was one of those people that I didn't see all the time, but I really cared for her and was always happy when I got to see her. She was smart, funny, beautiful, and most importantly a good friend. I referred to her as New Kim, as I have another very close friend named Kim that I called Paris Kim (for obvious reasons), and New Kim was the newest Kim in our group. :) She had been a good ear for me when I had some dating debacles, she shared my passion for MAC, and she had a really deep love for animals. Over the last year she had to overcome some incredible health issues, but her passing was a total surprise and shock. Even now I just feel so hazy...like this news just can't be real. When Angela told me last night, I didn't even know what to say. I shared the news with Paris Kim and other friends, and none of us really had any words. We all liked New Kim so much, and we will most certainly miss her. She was one of us.

So here's to the memory of our friend...we'll be there together tomorrow to remember you along with all the others whose lives you touched in so many special ways.

(from left to right: Me, Paris Kim, New Kim, and Mia)

Hip Hip Hair-ray!

Christy is able to get me in to color my hair today, so I am leaving at 11 this morning. :) I woke up feeling blah and not really wanting to work today, so I am out of here in 18 minutes and off to improve my follicular appearance! Seriously, Christy has been so busy that I wasn't going to be able to get in with her, but she did have a 12:30 today, so I'm on it!

Nothing new to report. David is in New Orleans, Kim is in Chicago, and Mia is in Boston. I miss my posse when they're all gone!

I am not going to WW today because of the VERY important hair appointment, but I am going tomorrow. However, I am not getting on the scale. I am going for the meeting to get re-motivated and get myself in gear to do better. I've been slacking, and I can't do that to myself. No more. No excuses. I have to be a drill sargeant about this.

So that's my news for the day...hope everyone is well. And safe travels to all my peeps!

Back To It

My back is much better now after taking good care this week and not overdoing it. I can't believe I jacked it up at the gym...I know what I did. And no, I won't be trying to curl that much weight with my legs again. Ugh.

I rested last night and watched TV. I got excited to find out that iTunes now offers applications for the iPod Touch! So I went online and downloaded some free apps and a couple of not-so-free ones, only to find that I have to download an upgrade for my iPod. No problem, but it wasn't available until after midnight, and even this morning I can't locate it on iTunes, so I guess I will have to mess with it more tonight.

In other cool news, Joseph is off to work in Europe for a week, and he will be spending a few days in London checking out their office there. If he likes it, he may be moving there permanently. While I will miss him, it will be a very cool thing to have a friend living there that I can go visit sometimes!!

Nothing too big going on this weekend. I am having dinner with Mom and Dad tonight, and I am looking forward to that. It will be nice to relax with them. :) David is gone until Sunday night, so it's quiet at home right now. I had trouble sleeping without him there...I got used to him being home! He'll be in New Orleans next week, and he's looking forward to it since he's never been there. It's been a VERY long time for me. He'll be in the French Quarter, so I told him to enjoy but be very careful out there.

I think that's about it. It's been a busy week and I am happy to have some time to relax this weekend. I am going to South Padre Island in September, so that will tide me over until Cruisemas! (I was going to Salt Lake City in August, but AA has changed their Advantage reward policies, so I would have been able to get there but not come home. I'll pass, thanks!)

Everyone have a great Friday!!

Yeah, I'm Some Kind Of Gym Rat...

So I was working out yesterday and managed to strain my lower back. I know when I did it now, but didn't know at the time...should have. I was overdoing it a little. Ugh. Anyhow, sorry for the lack of posts. I'll get back to it in a few days.

Now I'm Hungry

Next month is the big Restaurant Week in Dallas. August 11th starts the fun, and now the hard part is waiting to see who will be on the list so I can make reservations for David and me. I love getting to go to these very upscale restaurants for reasonable prices! N9NE was on the list last year but we didn't go, and I really want to try them this year. I'm also interested in Abacus, the Mercury Chop House, Silver Fox, and Dragonfly. We can't do them all, but as long as we make it to N9NE, I'm good. I'm hoping we can pick two places, but as I have found before, sometimes David just does it better when he grills. (As much as I love Kirby's, their pork chops have NOTHING on David's!)

So yeah, all the restaurant talk is making me hungry. I ate breakfast and it's not even 10am yet. Ugh!

Nothing else to report, really. Just a busy week so far. I am planning to relax and have fun this weekend. We are going to David's parents house on Friday for a family BBQ. David is making ribs for the family...they haven't had the pleasure of his ribs so they don't even know what they're in for!! YUM! Great stuff! (Seriously...I am starving this morning!)

I hope everyone has a wonderful Tuesday. I think I am going to get a cup of coffee and try not to think about lunch for at least an hour. What's my deal today???

Someone's Got A Case Of The Mondays!

Yeah, I don't want to be at work today. But only because I was sleeping so good when the alarm clock rudely interrupted my sleep! But it is a short week, after all, so I will just suck it up and be here. (But I'll be dreaming of being warm and toasty in my soft, comfy bed!)

It was a good weekend! Friday night I picked David up from the airport and we had dinner at our favorite little sushi place. YUM! Saturday David had to work, but Kim came over and we went to water aerobics class. Since she is officially hired by the gym, she was checking out the Aqua class and getting some info from the instructor that does this class. We had a great time, and I have been sore this weekend from the workout!

Saturday night, Craig came over and David grilled and we played Wii...that was some serious fun! David had to work Sunday, and after that we went to his parents and had dinner. It was a lovely weekend!

David is home for about a week and a half, and I am very happy about that! I am also happy that it's a short week...did I mention that already??? :)

Everyone have a good Monday!

Weigh In...Not The Best, Not The Worst

Well, I went to WW today instead of yesterday and the news was as expected. I enjoyed my birthday quite a lot! I didn't weigh in last week, so I got my little shock on the scale and the worst is over. Now I am back on track and ready to get the few pounds that are visiting back off. I have slacked off on the exercise over the last two weeks, and I think that was the biggest part of why I gained. But next week will bring better news for sure! :)

See? It's different this time. I faced my fear of the scale, got on, and now I have a plan. Lots of exercise!!

That's it for today. David is out of town and will be home tomorrow. Yay!!

Birthday in Review

So back on Saturday we had my birthday pool party, and it was a blast! :) Good friends, tasty drinks, and yummy food all made for a lovely day. Thanks to Tom and Angela for letting us enjoy the pool!

Sunday was actually my birthday, and it was wonderful! I got one more of the Lolita martini glasses ("Celebrate!") and the promise of a fab new gym bag which should be arriving soon in the mail! Yay! Mom took us to brunch at the Blue Mesa Cafe - YUM! That buffet is huge and quite filling! Then we came home and relaxed for a while, played some Wii, and hung out. David made dinner reservations at my very favorite restaurant, Kirby's Steakhouse. We got there at 6:30 and had a lovely table. The service was spectacular, and the food was so good I can't begin to describe it. It was amazing! We got home after that and sat on the patio and enjoyed some wine. It was a perfect day! Turning 36 has been so wonderful, and I know next year it will be just as fun to celebrate again! (Thank you to everyone who made my birthday so much fun!)

Birthday Day 3 and 4

There was more birthday fun, and I'll have to update soon. I just ran out of time this weekend. I hope everyone had a great weekend!

Oh, and a very happy birthday to my blog friend Carmen!! Enjoy your Monsters! :D

Birthday Celebrations Day 2

Friday was day 2 of pre-birthday fun, and it started out with David making me a VERY yummy breakfast of French toast and turkey bacon. It was absolutely delicious!

After the best French toast ever, we did some cleaning around the house and then went to the movies to see The Love Guru. Do not go to this movie if you don't like potty humor! However, apparently we're like a couple of 12 year olds, and laughed at the silliness of the movie. I couldn't help it...it was just funny! (Check your brain at the door for this one...you won't need it!)

Then we came home and filled and frosted cupcakes. We injected them with cheesecake flavored pudding and frosted them with a bit of cream cheese icing. When mom and dad got here, we all shared what may be the best birthday cupcakes ever made! Oh, they were little cakes of heavenly joy!

Then it was on to D'Vine Wines for some wine tasting. We had some good stuff, and I love this little wine bar. We all shared a wine and cheese plate and sampled a few wines.

From there it was on to a very tasty little hole in the wall Italian restaurant, where we ate some amazingly good food! After that we called it a night, and after David and I got home we played the Wii for a few hours. It's the first time we've had a chance to just play together, and we played bowling, golf, tennis, and boxing. (I got smacked in the arm playing tennis...they are serious when they tell you to make sure you have room between you and the other player!) We broke a sweat playing boxing - it's physically involved with all the punching and jabbing and ducking! Then I finally had to call it a night. I was very tired!

Today is the day before my birthday, and it's pool party day! I can't wait! Almost everyone invited can come, and I am so excited to enjoy the day with so many good friends! I'm tomorrow will bring more pictures of all the fun! David has really made this a very special birthday!

Birthday Dinners

On Wednesday night we had a big birthday dinner with my whole family, and it was wonderful! Me and Dave, my parents, my freaking awesome cousin Craig, Grampa and his partner Ann, and her son Rick and his wife Jeannie. Let me tell you, a better time hasn't been had in ages! We went to a hibachi grill in Ft. Worth, and it was very good! It was so wonderful to get to spend time with family and new family! I really like Rick and Jeannie, and it's nice to have them in the family. :)

So that was Wednesday night...I decided to take off Thursday and Friday to enjoy my impending birthday, and David has been the king of making it special! I am being treated to pre-birthday fun!

It started out yesterday with breakfast and then running some errands, but as a pre-birthday gift I got a very cool martini glass:

I have started collecting these painted martini glasses by Lolita, and I love this! The matching bottle stopper is in the glass...it's really cool!

Next, David wanted to make me some special birthday cupcakes! So he made strawberry cupcakes with real strawberries in them!

We had a blast! Today they will be filled with cheesecake flavored pudding and topped with icing. YUM!

To round off the evening yesterday, David made my favorite dinner! He grilled big eye tuna, and we enjoyed it with avocado slices, and a salad consisting of scallops, grilled portobella mushroom, mixed greens and grapefruit. Seriously, it's one amazing meal!

So that was day one of birthday fun! I'll post tomorrow about the events of the day, and it's starting out great!!

Birthdays!

My mom's birthday was yesterday, and we got to celebrate with dinner out last night. We had a great time! My birthday is Sunday, and my grandfather's is Monday, so we're all having dinner together tomorrow night. It's going to be so cool...mom and dad, me and David, Grampa and his partner Ann, her daughter in law and son, and my cousin Craig. Having us all together like that is going to be wonderful, and I can't wait! :)

My awesome friend Angela is hostessing my birthday gathering this weekend, and I am very pumped up about that! It's going to be so cool!

WW hasn't gone great this week. But I am still going and stepping on the scale. I am actually going on Thursday so that my WW buddy Sandra can go. She has a conflict tomorrow, so we're going to together on Thursday. But yeah, I probably gained a pound or two this week, but it will be gone next week, for sure!! :)

I am still mourning the loss of Tim Russert. For me, he made politics exciting. The elections won't be the same without him. I hope his family is holding together.

That's it for today. Everyone have a good evening!

And The Magic Number Is...

Three!!! I have now lost 10.4 pounds!

Yep, it's a great day in my neighborhood!

Weigh In Alert!

Today is my second weigh in, and I am feeling VERY good about it! I don't expect to lose another 7 pounds in a week, but I do feel like I lost weight this week. I can't wait to report in! I looked back over the last week and noticed I am actually not getting enough dairy in my diet, so I need to add in some more milk or cheese or yogurt. It's all about a balance! I have had many good workouts this week, so hopefully my body will reward me! I weigh in at 11:30, and I usually don't eat before then so you can bet I am starting to get hungry now! Actually, I am thirsty but I can hold out until after I get on the scale.

I am on an orange kick right now, and they have become my snack of choice. Mom picked up a box of Harry and David pears (if you have not had them, they are to die for!!) while in Austin, so I get to pick that up tonight. She also picked up some jerk seasoning for us, so now David needs to do some jerk pork! MMM! All this food talk is making me hungry!

In other news, Kim is now a 24 Hour Aqua instructor!! I am so very proud of her! She's going to be great, and I can't wait to take her class! I knew she could do it...she's a Rock Star!

So that's it for now...I'll post my WW news as soon as I get back from the weigh in. Please send good vibes out to me!!!

Until later...

Sometimes You Have To Give Yourself A Break!

I discovered that sometimes too much is just that: Too Much! I have worked out vigorously all week without a day off, and Zumba last night was it for me. I couldn't do the entire class because my body was just so fatigued. My muscles haven't had any recovery time, and because of that I just couldn't get through the entire class. I had to take it down a couple notches and stop for a couple of breaks. It's a tough class to start with, but I was just too tired to give it my all. I am not exercising at all today, and I think my body will be better for it. I am going to water aerobics in the morning, but today? It's nothing but rest for me. :)

David is in NYC until tomorrow. He saw those two guys that scaled the New York Times building. Do people just climb buildings because they can? I'm too afraid of heights to do something like that. The elevator ride to the top of the Eiffel Tower was scary enough for me!

I have decided that when I have lost a total of 10 pounds (hopefully soon!) I am going to treat myself to something I heard about on the radio. It's a lip scrub (www.thelipscrub.com) and I think it might be nice to treat my lips to something like that. I'm dying to try it so I thought it might make a good reward for my hard work. It's hard not to just go buy it, but I am making myself wait. The big decision will be which flavor to try! :)

Well I think that's about it. I hope everyone has a wonderful Friday!!

Reality Check

So with my WW success yesterday, I got to thinking about it all last night. My body is so tired from working out so much, and I found myself wondering if I would have to always work so hard at exercise. The reality of that is a big yes. I am always going to have to work this hard at it, but that's okay. All my muscles are so sore, which is a good thing, but it does feel overwhelming to think that for the rest of my life I have to work out at this intensity (or higher) to keep the weight off. I'll do it, but it's just a lot to think about. No worries...I'm not falling off the wagon! Just got to thinking about this stuff. It's all good!

I got up very early to take David to the airport this morning, and I am VERY tired today. I may need to go get some coffee!

Everyone have a good Thursday!

Oh, I Am SOOOO Back!

Okay, so first week back on Weight Watchers (WW) and I lost....brace yourselves... 7.4 pounds! Oh yes, you read that right! All the working out and making good choices paid off, people, and I am on track and ever so motivated! I am taking it a little at a time, and this was a pretty big step for me! I almost fell off the scale when I read my weight loss on my card. I'm still in shock I think! My WW buddy from work, Sandra, lost 1.4 and she'll be the first to tell you she put no effort into it at all this week, so I bet she'll be on top of it this week for sure!

So I am floating on a cloud today! Yes, it's a great day! I have taken the day off and am about to go have some (healthy!) lunch with David, and then off to the pool for a little relaxation. I think for my first 10 pounds off I will reward myself with a new lip gloss. :)

Everyone have a great day!