Picture Pages...

So, it was my goal to post my instagram pictures each Monday for Miscellany Monday, but I was in Denver playing with the sweetest babies (after my nephews) on Monday so we're running behind...

(Cheyenne - I will try to maybe break up the pictures in future weeks to make it easier to comment... :))

9/365

fortune telling

Had a work lunch at PJ Fangs and this was my fortune. As Tela would say back in the day in Spanish class, "Ah, que suerte!"

10/365

got mah hurr did

 I am apparently addicted to getting my hair done now... I did want to go a little darker so my new hairdresser complied. You can't really tell in this picture, but there are some red tones in it as well. I'm loving it so far!

11/365

movie shoes

Right after Christmas, Match and I headed over to Sissy's house for a dinner party with BIL's family. I was wearing these shoes. BIL's mom walked up to me and said, "Oh, wow, I have only ever seen those shoes in the movies."

Can someone tell me what that means?

12/365

leaving on a jet plane

This was the view out my airplane window when we hit 10,000 feet. Leaving Phoenix headed to Denver.

Did you know there is a whole conspiracy theory about the Denver Airport being the headquarters for the NWO? People are crazy!

13/365

beading and baking

Went with PR to the bead store in Denver to make some jewelry. Despite being totally overwhelmed, I was able to fashion the earrings you see on top there. I was pretty impressed!

Then it was home to bake German Chocolate Cake for her hubby's birthday. I'm not much a fan of German Chocolate cake - I'll just take the frosting, please.

14/365

fountainhead

I am trying with all my might to read this book and it is just not happening. I keep falling asleep.

15/365

pedis and mimosas

Sunday morning we headed down the street for pedicures and mimosas. I'll have to tell you about the adventure we encountered in my detailed Denver post.

16/365

shadytown

Seriously, is there anything more shady than an old school briefcase?

I used to work with a guy who carried one of these and I couldn't help but giggle during our annual convention when he would sit in our committee meeting and put it up on the table and open it up. I always thought it would be full of piles of money.

17/365

injured list

I really truly have no idea how I did it, but can you see how swollen my left ankle is in the pictures? It didn't hurt so bad yesterday, but it was super swollen so I wrapped it when I got home and elevated it. I managed at the gym this morning with no pain and a little ice and advil dulled the pain this morning. I'm hoping that since it just randomly swelled, it will just randomly heal too...

Ranting and Raving

Alright, I’m going to get up on my soapbox for a moment.

Please forgive me, but I can not hold this in any longer!!!

Yesterday, at a luncheon, I was sitting behind a coworker. This particular woman is a high-ranking official in the City and by all accounts, well-educated.

She seems to be a bit of a fitness nut, and partakes in the lunchtime yoga and pilates that are offered for employees of the City. I also happen to know that she is a vegetarian, though I’ve never had a conversation with her about it. It also should be known that she drinks decaf coffee. (I don’t know why it should be known – I’m just trying to give you all of the background that I have.)

I do know that she is a “horse person” (forgive me if you are one – I generally try not to stereotype), so I am unable to discern if her vegetarian tendencies are for “nutritional reasons” or because she thinks that animals deserve the same rights as humans.

So, back to the lunch…

My back is to her so I can not see what is in front of her, but I can hear her.

The waiter brings out the salads, they are of the Ceaser variety and the dressing is already on them. She tells the waiter that she does not want a salad unless he can bring it without the dressing. I figure it is because there are often anchovies in Ceaser dressing and she doesn’t eat those.

(To be fair, I also did not eat the salad because I figured that the dressing contained gluten and there were also croutons on it.)

Then, they start bringing out the meals. She has ordered the vegetarian option which includes grilled vegetables and a small dish of pasta with some kind of cream sauce on top.

(I won’t get into how angry I am that the gluten-free option was again a fruit plate. Though I was prepared this time and brought back-up snacks to the office in case of emergency.)

So, everyone eats their meals while the Mayor is giving the wonderful speech that I wrote for him… sorry I got distracted for a moment. J

The waiter comes to begin clearing the plates and I overhear the following conversation:

Waiter: Would you like me to bring you the fruit plate instead?

Vegetarian: No, it is just that this was made with eggs and I don’t eat eggs. When you get a chance could you please bring me another Diet Coke?

HOLD. The. Freaking. Phone!

Let me get this straight: You won’t eat the pasta because the sauce was made with eggs, and God forbid you eat an egg. BUT, you’ll go ahead and drink another Diet Coke. Do you know what is in Diet Coke?

Which brings me to my point – I know, it took me a while to get here, but I know you all are trying to waste time by reading my blog so I didn’t want the fun to end too soon.

We, as Americans (and perhaps as Canadians, Russians, or whoever else is reading this blog from parts unknown), have become so inundated with information – nutritional and otherwise – that we can not even make logical choices.

We don’t eat eggs because the yolks have too much cholesterol, but we will drink 44 ounces of soda – diet or regular – a day. Do you know how much sugar is in a 44 ounce soda? How about how much aspartame in a diet soda?

Lord help me, I sound like my mother…

But I am serious.

I am not saying that everyone should eat Paleo (although I would enjoy it because I wouldn’t have to modify every dish at a restaurant and you would all feel as great as I do), but I am saying that we need to stop for a minute and understand what we are eating.

And understand that the information that is being fed to us by the media and others may not always be the exact truth.

If there is one thing I learned in college (don’t worry Match and Papa, I learned more than one thing…), it was in my statistics class and it was this: Researchers can make the data say anything they want. Someone pays for those studies to be done and they are certainly not going to be releasing information that is detrimental to their product/profit.

So don’t take this as my edict to swear off all soda and aspartame. I honestly don’t even have an opinion on high fructose corn syrup – not because I think it is good or bad, but because I haven’t learned enough either way to say for sure.

Let’s just agree to be smart in our decision making – if everything you are eating has HFCS in it – I can guarantee you, you are going to see some negative effects of that.

Just like if you ate a dozen eggs a day your cholesterol would probably raise.

So go ahead and have your treats, but pay attention to how much of it you are having. And what you are giving up that might actually be good for you.

Instagram Miscellany

2/365

bacon-wrapped chorizo-stuffed dates

YUM!

I made these tasty Paleo treats on Monday and snacked on them all week. They were D-LISH!

Next time I think I'll try a balsamic vinegar reduction on top.

3/365

packing up and moving out

An almost nightly sight in my room.

My clothes and bag packed so I can leave for early CrossFit and then head over to AuntPat's house to get ready for work.

I can't begin to tell you the stress of choosing your clothes the night before you wear them with no option to change the next day.

4/365

centennial

This beautiful lady sits on top of the Arizona State Capitol building. She lives on top of the copper dome that you see peaking above the building.

When we were kids and we would drive down the I-10 freeway with Papa, he would inevitably say, "Kids, see that copper dome over there? That's the State Capitol."

I honestly can not see that dome without thinking those words.

On February 14, 2012, Arizona will celebrate her 100th birthday. 

5/365

veggies

These are the delicious veggies that I sauteed for my chicken and veggie paleo curry.

It was wonderful! When I get some free time in the next couple of weeks I will make up another batch of curry sauce for the freezer.

6/365

hub

On Friday night, Tiger and I went out to eat in downtown Tucson at the most delicious restaurant EVER!

We shared some delicious french fries, salad, and salmon. Then we each got our own ice cream.

It was worth every calorie!

7/365

hell has no fury

On Saturday, I went to cheer on my CrossFit Fury peeps at a competition in Tucson.

It was amazing! Seriously, if you haven't watched a CrossFit competition, do it!

My gym took home the Silver in the women's competition and swept the medals in the men's.

I am proud to be a member of such a great gym!

8/365

well-deserved

On Sunday I had the most well-deserved cup of coffee of my life!

I picked Granny B up at 10:30am and headed into Phoenix to meet Banana, Bunner, and SuperFan at a restaurant that was previously chosen.

We got there and discovered that it wasn't open on Sundays.

So Granny B chose another restaurant.

We drove there and discovered it didn't open until dinner on Sundays.

Banana and I chose another restaurant.

It was an hour and a half wait.

Finally, after making a few phone calls we ended up at Windsor and this delicious cup of coffee was there to greet me!

Now head on over to Carissa's blog and link up.

No Time To Think

Man, I'll tell you what - this week has been CRAZY!


Between work events and birthday dinner, I feel like I've been going, going, going with no time to think.


We did have Monday off of work, and I started the day/week/year off right with CrossFit at 6am. The WOD was Helen - which consists of three rounds of a 400 m run, 21 kettle bell swings (35 lb), 12 pull-ups (I do jumping). I finished that workout in 9:49, which I was super proud of!


Then, as we were resting the CrossFit class was getting ready to run a mile for time. So my coach decided we would do that. Not having run a mile for time in a while, I really didn't have an idea of how fast I could do it, but I knew that my fastest run was in the 10:40/mile range for a 5K so I thought it would be in that area. I was feeling a little silly because the CrossFitters were talking about doing 5- and 6-minute miles. But I thought that all I can do is my best, so off I went.


As I was finishing the first 800, the clock was around the 4-minute mark and there was one CrossFit lady not too far in front of me. As I ran by my coach whispered to me, "Catch her, Airplane." And catch her I did. I beat her by about a minute and came in at my fastest mile ever in 8:28. Super stoked! I will try to run a couple more throughout the year to see how I'm doing.


Wednesday was Dirty's birthday and Thursday was Munchkin's, so on Wednesday night Diddy and I took them out for the 2nd Annual Birthday Sushi Extravaganza! It was a riot! I'm telling you what, that Munchkin is hilarious! And she promised Diddy and I that for our birthdays we can take her to a Little People convention - we are STOKED!!


Friday afternoon I headed down to Tucson to stay the night with Tiger (formerly Peach), so that I could be a spectator/cheerleader for my CrossFit peeps at a competition on Saturday morning. 


Then it was home last night to meet up with Diddy, Dirty, and some others for a night of dancing.


Birthday lunch with Granny B this afternoon wrapped up the week and I am exhausted!


I hope to post more in the coming week...

2012 Miscellany

Warning: Lots of iPhone pics ahead...

one

my favorite elf

Still catching up from Christmas, but if this isn't the most adorable kid you've ever seen, I don't believe you.

Tiny wasn't feeling so well on Christmas Day - leading to the rosy cheeks. I don't know why he has an ET light on his finger.

two

a long time ago

Every year Match and Papa clear off the refrigerator and put up pictures from Christmases past. 

Check out how cute Sissy and I were back in the day!

Speaking of back in the day, SBS and her neighbor two doors do

wn (in Salt Lake City) became Facebook friends last week. When the neighbor was checking out her page, she noticed that we were friends also. So she asked her husband if he thought it was the same Airplane he used to babysit. This particular picture happened to be my profile pic at the time and he took one look at it and realized that it was, in fact, me!

How strange is that? I haven't seen him in over ten years and he lives two doors down from my sorority sister.

three

hangin' tough

Check out the retro gem that JP found for me when cleaning out her grandpa's house.

I've never been happier for a present that cost less than $5!

four

pajama party

Papa and I got all comfy in our jammies and settled in to watch UFC 141 on Friday.

Match and Dirty were there as well, but they just came for the wine - they aren't into the fights.

five

full-time fancy

In a last minute change of plans, I ended up at the Fiesta Bowl Gala on New Year's Eve.

It was a super fancy party and I had a blast! A big change from the past couple of years when I barely made it to the East Coast new year...

six

happy birthday!

Granny B and Shosh (formerly YogaHippie) share New Year's Day as a birthday.

(there is a faction of people who believe that Granny's birthday is the day before and there is a major battle about what year she was born, but I'm not going to get in the middle of it.)

Blowing out the candles.

seven

instagram

1/365

eight

muscle up

At the birthday party yesterday I asked Tiny to show me his big muscles.

He informed me that he had little muscles and then produced this pose:

.

Seriously - SO adorable!

nine

arizona weather

On Friday, Papa and I met up with Sissy and the boys to check out the Arizona National Livestock Show.

It was a beautiful day to be with the loves of my life and to enjoy some post-show ice cream.

 .

Now head on over and link up with Carissa.

Let's Do This, 2012!

Here we go with the obligatory "new year, new me" post!

I am typically not one for New Year's Resolutions. No particular reason, but I just don't like them.

However, for the last couple of months I have felt like I was kind of negative. A little whiny. Just not someone people would want to be around for a long period of time.

So, we're turning things around in 2012! It is going to be the year defined by me. I am going to make the decisions that are best for me. I'm going to do things for me. I am going to make positive changes and it will benefit everyone!

(And by "we" I mean both of the twins - I'm a Gemini after all.)

2012 will be the year that is defined by me. I will make the decisions that are best for me. I will focus on me. And I believe that this will make me a happier person. Which will benefit everyone!

You know how I love music, and I found the song that says what I want to say:

(Skip forward to the 2:15 mark to begin the song.)

First of all, can we talk about how adorable Johnny Cooper is?? I would like to see an official copy of his birth certificate because I don't believe for a second that he is 23 years old.

I guess that makes me a birther.

Ha!

I am also looking forward to a trip to Thailand! Dates have not been s


et yet, but I'm planning a trip to Thailand probably some time around my birthday!

SO excited!

Some gym goals I have for 2012 include:


- kipping pull-ups
 - 15 consecutive double unders
- rope climb


And I am setting a goal for myself to take at least one instagram picture a day for 365 days.


Wow, 2012 is going to be a busy year!


Finally, in 2010 I posed this from TD Jakes and I think it is a good idea to read it as we start this year.


(Ahem, Superfan, I'm talking to you.)

Behavioral Modifications

One of the girls at work had a few of us over for a holiday lunch yesterday.

Trying to stay paleo is difficult and I typically try to avoid situations in which I do not know what food will be served. But there are some dynamics at work that really required me to attend this particular lunch.

So I did.

It was a mix of former and current employees of the City and it turned out to be fun.

However...

At some point, and I'm not quite sure how, we go on the topic of pets. Now, I don't currently have a pet, but I used to have Ed-dog and I loved him a lot, so I thought I could hang in the convo. 

I was so wrong.

They started talking about cats. And I'll be honest - that's where you lose me.

So one of the women was talking about her new male cat and how she hopes he doesn't start spraying. And something about how they learn that from other cats so she thinks she is safe...blah, blah, blah.

Then one of the other women starts talking about her three cats. Two females, one male - all full-siblings. 

 I missed the part of the story where she told us how long she had them. But what I did hear was that the male randomly started peeing on things in her house.

So what does the logical person do in this situation?

Obviously takes the cat to the vet.

And the vet says that the problem is that the male cat wants to be in charge, but one of the females is in charge, so he is establishing his dominance by peeing on things.

The solution for this issue:

(And I quote,) "We have started using some behavioral modifications. We hold the male on our laps and pet him and love him and if the female cat comes up, we tell her 'no!'"

Seriously, I don't know how I did not start laughing hysterically right there at the table. More importantly, I hope that my facial expressions didn't give me away.

Because when I called Diddy immediately after pulling out of the driveway to tell him the story and he couldn't even understand what I was saying because I was laughing so hard.