The Bet

I recently got a free health screening at work and they sent me a 32-page “heath profile.” Although most of the blood work results were mumbo jumbo to me, the profile was still able to peg me pretty well.

Area of Interest: Nutrition

Generally, I’m healthy but I need to work on my nutrition.

No surprise there. I’ve known this for a while. I try to eat better each and every day. I pack my lunch for work almost every morning and I try not to keep ice cream in the house. However, if I have a craving or see any stray cookies in the office then GAME. OVER.

Packed lunch. This little lunch bag is the best thing I've ever bought. Ever.

Considering how much I work out, I should be a lot skinnier than I am. And this is not a woe-is-me statement nor am I fishing for compliments. I’m saying the truth; looking from the outside in. I need to build muscle and lose fat.

So, my sister-in-law and I---via text message---started a bet. The terms are:

• We both have to lose 20 pounds by Christmas (which is about 17-weeks away, calculating to a little over a pound a week)
• On the line is $250. Whoever doesn’t lose the weight has to pay the other person $250

This sounds impulsive, but it is all very strategic. Here’s our thinking:

• $250 is enough money to be damn good motivation. We can both afford to lose it, but not without a fight!!
• We are both good with our workouts, but where we fail is our diets. So, the goals are to focus on good dieting, calorie control, and clean eating while still working out
• We are both competitive. Very competitive

Everyone talks about clean eating. It shouldn’t be so hard, right? Right? Well, three days into the diet we have both been fighting headaches. I feel like I'm having a harder time than she is. Not fair! Processed food is an addiction, y’all!!! An addiction!!

And, to be honest, I’m really struggling this morning. I’m hungry. I want white flour. And salt.

But instead I’m going to eat my oatmeal with chia seeds and strawberries (really yummy, actually!), drink my green tea, and continue to repeat this mantra: $250. $250. $250. $250. $250.

Whole Foods salad for dinner last night

Random Updates

I know I'm not very consistent with posting and updating. Sorry about that!

So, here are some random life updates from the past few weeks.

First of all, it was recently Denver's 5280 Restaurant Week! This is where a number of top restaurants in the area create a 3-course menu that costs only $52.80 per couple. I've never done this before and to make up for lost time I went to four restaurants in a two-week period. I don't think I've ever eaten so much food in my life---and it was absolutely worth it. The places we checked out were:

John's Restaurant (Boulder)
The Cork  House (Denver)
Arugula (Boulder)
8 Rivers (Denver)

The winners? John's, by far, for their incredible food and 8 Rivers for the awesome company.

To continue on with my life, the rest of this presentation will be brought to you by my awesome Panasonic camera.

Adam's birthday party in Blackhawk. Here are all the handsome men.

My car on a snowy March morning.

Long hike outside of Golden. You can see downtown Denver in the distance.

You can also see multimillion dollar homes on this hike. Le sigh.

We FINALLY won our indoor league!! (We were able to pull this off even after forfeiting the first 2 games of the season. Holla!)

Kyle and I at DU's playoff hockey game. Go Pios! (Notice the cheap photocopy? This is what my $40k/year education paid for. Awesome.)

Team huddle.

We won 3-2 in overtime!!!

The team saluting their crowd.

I ran in Denver's St. Patty's Day race this weekend. I was slow as I haven't been training much, but it was still good to get out there.

And, as you know, a blog post of mine wouldn't be complete without pictures of food. Lots and lots of food.

French onion soup in the crock pot.

The final result of the soup. Yum!

Shredded chicken from the crock pot. Ridiculously easy.

This was supposed to be a artichoke ravioli-type dish. Obviously it didn't turn out quite as I had envisioned.

Homemade mac n' cheese! It's filled with crumbled bacon, shredded chicken, and topped with breadcrumbs. Artery-clogging goodness.

Focus

I feel like my life has been very much "in limbo" lately. I'm trying to figure everything out (whatever that means). What are my next steps? Where do I want to go from here? What are the opportunities that are available to me? What are the opportunities that I need to create?

My head is going to explode just thinking about it.

So, in the meantime I've been trying to take one day at a time. What are the little steps I can take? What are the things I enjoy?

For example, this weekend has been excellent. I've been able to cook, eat lots of food, spend time with family and friends, and also focus on myself (and focus on my growing pile of laundry).

Here are some great pics from my Saturday morning hike with family and friends. It was 60-degrees in Denver---in January! Heaven.

View from our hike in Deer Creek Canyon

My brother, Peter, his wife, Alissa, and their awesome dogs Dublin and Rowdy

Adam and his huskies, Deuce and Maverick

Peter and I

Adam and I

I also headed to Downtown Denver on Saturday night for a friend's birthday party. We started the evening with dinner and desserts at The D Bar (short for The Dessert Bar). Oh. My. God. The place was amazing. It's tiny and seats about 8 people, but the wait was worth it. Go there. Now.

My cooking conquests also continue. I love cooking because it's a challenge for me. I started not long ago knowing nothing. I could barely boil a pot of pasta. With every new recipe I feel like I've accomplished something... I learned something... I grew in a small way. It's all about baby steps.

Since the weather is getting colder again, I dusted off the Crockpot and made some homemade chili and cornbread.

Steaming chili

Skillet cornbread

Yum!

I'm trying to take one day at a time and celebrate the little accomplishments as they come. So far, it's working.

Clueless with a Camera

I haven't posted in a while; since around the new year---obviously. And, to be honest, I have nothing new or informative or exciting to write about. Everything's good, just, ya know, nothing new. I've been busy with work and family and friends. All positive, just not blog-worthy.

Since I have my fancy new camera, here are a few things that have been going on:

My gorgeous new car!

Emily scored some 4th row tickets for the Avs game! Opening faceoff.

At the Mammoth game for Em's bday!

Union Station, downtown Denver.

2011 Denver Stock Show! Some cowboy booty.

Colorado sunrise

Family fun at the Brewery Bar II

Kitchen conquest! Skillet pork chops with apples and red onions.

Yummy!

Babysitting the kiddos! Ava and Andrew.



The Holidays

Now that Thanksgiving has come and gone, I have to say that the holiday season is my favorite time of the year. I love Thanksgiving and Christmas. Love them! And yet, I hate all the minor holidays. St. Patrick's Day? Halloween? New Years? Blugh. Hate.

I'm a minor-holiday Scrooge.

But, back to the joyous part of the season. Things I love:

1. My family. All of our family events are (mostly) low-key. Nothing stuffy about it. Eat lots of food and have fun---that's it! This year's Thanksgiving involved a number of games in which the boys killed the girls on "Catch Phrase." I also got annihilated in Checkers. Boooo.

2. Friends. We're all busy with the season, so whenever we're able to carve out some time to get together it's even more meaningful. Besides, everyone has a great stories about gift-buying mishaps and office holiday parties.

Speaking of gifts, what in world am I going to get my boss??? She has a little BMW Z3 which she loves (understandably). Maybe I could get her a BMW scarf? 

3. For some reason, the colors of red and green say Christmas to me in the month of December. A car's tail lights under a green traffic light? Christmas. Weird, I know.

4. Food. I heart food. In fact, I haven't shared my recent kitchen adventures... so here's what I've been up to:

Oatmeal Cookies

Chickpea and peppers stir fry over basmati rice. Yum!

I was too lazy to go to the grocery store, so I made this "Kitchen Sink Spaghetti." Whole grain noodles, sauteed onions and spinach, cheesy marinara sauce, and red pepper flakes. Get in my belly!

On another note, here are some random, fun pictures on my phone:

I saw these cards at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science when I went with my niece & nephew a couple of weeks ago---a fun time! Anyway, even though these pictures are of trout and not bass, I still love the idea. I should have grabbed a box to use for Christmas cards. 

Avs game!! We played the Minnesota Wild this weekend and killed them 7-4. Great seats and great company! I heart hockey.

So there's my brief holiday update. I hope to have something more meaningful to post soon. (And I'll post more frequently, promise!)

Atlanta Post-Op

View from my hotel room

I got back from Atlanta late Tuesday night.

Yesterday I played catch-up at work. Today, I'm playing catch-up at work. Tomorrow, I'll be playing catch-up at work.

I love traveling.

No, seriously. It was actually a great trip! I really enjoyed visiting a new city and enjoyed Atlanta more than I thought I would. The conference went well and I was able to have a lot of good conversations with our authors.

Funny stories:

1. I could understand my Ethiopian cab driver just fine. But the guy at the hotel front desk with a Southern accent? Clueless.

2. When it's cloudy and rainy in Colorado, it usually means that it's chilly and you'll want a jacket. In Atlanta, it means that it is, in fact, hotter. One night when I was able to escape the conference hotel for dinner, it looked a little dreary so I changed out of my suit and put on a light jacket. And then I almost died of heatstroke. Some young college kids were catcalling and then, soon after, yelled something like, "Why are you wearing a jacket? Aren't you sweltering? It's hot as hell out here!" I quickly scurried off in embarrasement because, well, they're right. Lesson learned---no jackets.

3. Andrew, our acquisitions editor, and I went nuts at the book exhibit with our own money. $3 books, how can you resist? We bought so many books, we had to ship them back with the rest of our company materials.

As far as food and exploring the city, the hotel was in a pretty bad location. There wasn't much around except the CNN offices, the Coca-Cola exhibit (which unfortunately I didn't get to see) and the Hard Rock Cafe (blugh). You had to walk at least 20-minutes to get to some of the unique and fun parts of the city. Luckily I ventured out Saturday morning and found Babs in a neighborhood they call Midtown (the area reminds me of the Highlands in Denver).

Relaxing outside of Babs.

Baked hashbrowns with turnips, green onions, and lots of cheese, topped with a fried egg. Heaven!

Overall, a good time. I wan't very excited to get back to my own bed. Weird. Next up:

This weekend is the Warrior Dash on Saturday and the Outdoor Diva's Sprint Triathlon on Sunday. I am horribly beat-up and out of shape. This is going to be terrible.

Lake Powell in September. Woo hoo!!!!!!!! Now I just need to start planning my menu and dishes (aka, anxiety attack).

Vistiting my best friend Christy in Houston in October. Dates have yet to be set, but I'm going, damnit. And I can't wait.

First, though, I need to get through this weekend without drowning.

I’m a Grumpy Mo-Fo Today

I have to admit that I hate blog/Facebook/Twitter venting. But today I’m a grumpy mo-fo.

It’s been forever since I posted and I’m sorry! (Not that I have any readers, but the whole point of a blog is to keep up with it.)

So, a brief highlight of my last few months---which, despite my grumpiness today, have been pretty stellar.

May:

Soccer, soccer, and more soccer.

We sent off one of my good friends, Abe, to his medical residency in New York. I already miss you, dude!

Abe and I

I did a kettlebell session with my friend, Scott. I was sore for days. As in, more sore than I remember being for a long, long time. It was amazing.

Ran the BolderBoulder with my newly-engaged friend, Amber. We were slow, but we finally caught up with every minute detail of our lives. Girl talk while running is the best. thing. ever.

June:

Soccer, soccer, and more soccer.

My birthday month! It all seemed to fly by.

My best friend Christy and her husband Josh stopped into town on their way to moving to Texas. They bought a ginormous house for the cost of a one-bedroom condo here in Boulder. I can't wait to go visit!

World Cup! Despite the fact that I'm a player myself, I know nothing about international soccer. I choose teams by how cute their players are. True story. It's like choosing wine by its label or judging a book by its cover. All infallible methods.

Went to a “Cooking While Camping” course/session/whatever. This man made the most amazing Thai Green Curry off a freakin’ camp stove. I can’t even do that in my kitchen at home.

Signed up and started training for my first triathlon ever. Biking and running? No problem. Swimming? I’m going to drown. By the way, this shiz is still expensive.

Won the co-ed Crested Butte soccer tournament. Had a great time with good friends!

Champions!

July:

Soccer, soccer, and more soccer.

Went hiking with my amazing friend from Australia, whom I affectionately call Baby. It’s been two years since he’s left us. I miss him.

First camping trip and first 14-er of the year---my ninth ascent total. A great weekend with friends, the outdoors, and lots of good food.

View from the top of Mount Bierstadt (14,060 feet)

Emily and I at Guanella Pass

This past weekend consisted of Guns and Garters and fishing with my amazing family. I’ve never shot skeet with shotguns before and it was surprisingly a lot of fun! My shoulder is a little bruised from the kickback but it also makes me feel like a badass. And a day spent on the boat is always good for the soul.


So that’s the quick and dirty of my life right now. All-in-all it has been amazing. So my grumpiness is totally out of line. Maybe I just needed to spew this all out so that I’d realize how lucky I am.

Maybe we all just need a day to pout and then get over ourselves.

Probably both.

Harrumph. Grump. Poop. Frown.

Weighing in on Chicago

I'm literally weighing in here. In 5 days I have managed to gain 5 pounds. And my god, it was worth it.

I was lucky enough to travel with my fabulous friend and coworker, Karen, who is a complete foodie. Before we even got there, she had a list of places to visit.

I didn't get pictures of everything with my crappy camera phone, but here are some of the highlights.

Hello, Chicago!

Water. Yacht. Yes, please.

The Bean!

Playing around under the bean.

Navy Pier.

It's playoff time!

Cupcakes! I'm not a huge cupcake fan, but these were that good.

Car bombs for Karen's birthday!

Karen, post-bomb.

Some of the other restaurants and places:

Exchequer

Garrett Popcorn

Trader Joe's (this place needs to come to Colorado. Pretty please?)

Russian Tea Time (instead of tea, we had their standard 3 shots of vodka.)

Cafe Iberico (oh my god, this is the best tapas place in the world.)

Oh, yeah. We also worked. We worked a lot. As in my cheeks are sore from talking and smiling for three days straight and my feet don't want to see my heels again. Ever.

The booth.

A red beacon of light, inviting people to come buy books---and to 

write more books for us to publish.

I loved Chicago. I want to go back. Now.

If only....