Tuesday, March 1, 2011
New Blog and BIG news!
Since I was doing more blogging about health and fitness and not so much about the wedding, I decided to start a new blog focusing more on health and nutrition. If you want, you can now follow me at lavidasana11.blogspot.com. It means "the healthy life" in spanish. I've also just posted some big news on there, so you should definitely read it because I need some motivators!
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Weekend Update
Weekends always go by way too quickly, especially when it's jam-packed. Friday was a fairly relaxing night. LC and I watched Get him to the Greek. His pick, not mine. What a ridiculous movie.
Saturday I woke up early and started my day at The Bar Method. Great class and no crazy ex-girlfriends. Always a plus! After bar, I met LC at the local gym that I belong to. I've decided to dump the gym and pass my membership over to him. It just makes sense, and he's already gotten more use out of it in the pass two days than I have in the past two months! The rest of the day, we just relaxed and I started reading the book, Crazy Sexy Diet by Kris Carr. So far so good! Not going to go into too much detail about the book until I'm completely done with it, but I love it so far.
Last night, we had a date night and took advantage of Chicago Restaurant Week. One of my favorite times of the year :-) Many restaurants around the city offer a pre-fixed menu for a certain price. This year, we went to Duchamp in Bucktown. It can best be described as a French inspired, neighborhood bistro. For my first course, I had steak tartate. It was the first time I'd ever tried anything like that and it was different but good. We also shared a sauteed scallop with mushroom herb risotto. During the main course I chose fettuccine with herb pesto, roasted red peppers, grilled fennel finished with goat cheese. It tasted like a bit of heaven in my mouth. So amazingly flavorful. LC had the beef tenderloin with mushroom bordelaise, bacon wrapped asparagus and mashed potatoes. Also an amazing meal. We both really liked the atmosphere and the food and service were phenomenal. We will definitely be going back there again.
Today we made it to church, brunch at the Bongo Room, and grocery shopping at Whole Foods. All in all is was a productive little weekend. Tomorrow, I'm starting my week off with hot yoga! I'm in need of a good stretch session.
Saturday I woke up early and started my day at The Bar Method. Great class and no crazy ex-girlfriends. Always a plus! After bar, I met LC at the local gym that I belong to. I've decided to dump the gym and pass my membership over to him. It just makes sense, and he's already gotten more use out of it in the pass two days than I have in the past two months! The rest of the day, we just relaxed and I started reading the book, Crazy Sexy Diet by Kris Carr. So far so good! Not going to go into too much detail about the book until I'm completely done with it, but I love it so far.
Last night, we had a date night and took advantage of Chicago Restaurant Week. One of my favorite times of the year :-) Many restaurants around the city offer a pre-fixed menu for a certain price. This year, we went to Duchamp in Bucktown. It can best be described as a French inspired, neighborhood bistro. For my first course, I had steak tartate. It was the first time I'd ever tried anything like that and it was different but good. We also shared a sauteed scallop with mushroom herb risotto. During the main course I chose fettuccine with herb pesto, roasted red peppers, grilled fennel finished with goat cheese. It tasted like a bit of heaven in my mouth. So amazingly flavorful. LC had the beef tenderloin with mushroom bordelaise, bacon wrapped asparagus and mashed potatoes. Also an amazing meal. We both really liked the atmosphere and the food and service were phenomenal. We will definitely be going back there again.
Today we made it to church, brunch at the Bongo Room, and grocery shopping at Whole Foods. All in all is was a productive little weekend. Tomorrow, I'm starting my week off with hot yoga! I'm in need of a good stretch session.
Friday, February 25, 2011
What's Your Passion?
Last night, while I was doing the blog thing, one of my favorite bloggers did a post about The Hedgehog concept. This was the first time I had ever heard of it and it couldn't have come at a better time. It involves these three elements that come together in the middle: What are you deeply passionate about? What you can be the best in the world at? What drives your economic engine?
That got me to thinking, what I am truly passionate about? I could think of things that I like to do or that I like to talk about, but are those things really my passion? And if so, how can I turn it into a career? So I asked LC what he was passionate about. He thought I was asking him a trick question :-) I re-worded my question to be, "If you could do anything in the world, no matter the amount of money, what would it be?" His response, "I'd open up my own brewery." LC and his father both love beer. His dad actually brews his own with a home brew kit LC bought him a few years ago for his birthday, and he has made some very tasty brews.
Sometimes it's hard to look at ourselves as others view us. I decided to ask my sister today what she thought I was passionate about and her response was fitness, nutrition, blogging, family & friends. I liked her response and I know that she was being completely honest with me. I do feel that I am passionate about fitness and nutrition. I truly believe in staying active and eating as healthy as possible. I'm always telling her about new healthy recipes or going on and on about how much I love bar method and my helpful tips for running. But on the other hand I love to eat, and not always healthily. I'm a sucker for Chicago-style pizza, I'm not a size 4, and some days I'd rather lay on the couch with LC and watch movies than work out. So does this mean I'm still passionate about eating healthy and working out? I don't know, I'm still trying to figure it all out.
That got me to thinking, what I am truly passionate about? I could think of things that I like to do or that I like to talk about, but are those things really my passion? And if so, how can I turn it into a career? So I asked LC what he was passionate about. He thought I was asking him a trick question :-) I re-worded my question to be, "If you could do anything in the world, no matter the amount of money, what would it be?" His response, "I'd open up my own brewery." LC and his father both love beer. His dad actually brews his own with a home brew kit LC bought him a few years ago for his birthday, and he has made some very tasty brews.
Sometimes it's hard to look at ourselves as others view us. I decided to ask my sister today what she thought I was passionate about and her response was fitness, nutrition, blogging, family & friends. I liked her response and I know that she was being completely honest with me. I do feel that I am passionate about fitness and nutrition. I truly believe in staying active and eating as healthy as possible. I'm always telling her about new healthy recipes or going on and on about how much I love bar method and my helpful tips for running. But on the other hand I love to eat, and not always healthily. I'm a sucker for Chicago-style pizza, I'm not a size 4, and some days I'd rather lay on the couch with LC and watch movies than work out. So does this mean I'm still passionate about eating healthy and working out? I don't know, I'm still trying to figure it all out.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
How about some Cheese to go with that Wine?
I'm so happy that tomorrow is Friday, it's not even funny. This week has been weird, crazy, and disappointing. First of all, I can't remember the last time I worked a full M-F (this has been the slowest week of my life). Also, my mom has been feeling sick the past few weeks and no one can figure out what the heck is wrong with her. Her illness has been lingering on and off for the past year and not one doctor, out of the many she has seen, has been able to give her an answer. She's hopeful though that they're getting close to an answer and hopefully a cure. After all, she has a wedding to help plan :-)
After not working out for 9 days, going on food tastings, and eating Lou Malnatti's, I stepped on the scale Monday and saw that I had gained two lbs. Lovely. So off to Bar Method I went. Monday was a great class. It was taught by the owner, whom I've never met before, and she definitely kicked our butts. It felt great to workout after taking such a long break. I went again on Tuesday. Also a great class, but at the end of the class I noticed someone who looked really familiar to me, and then the instructor called out her name...it was LC's crazy ex-girlfriend. Chicago, is by far the biggest small city. I was under the impression the girl moved to Spain, what's she doing back in Chicago? And is she staying? And why is she at my Bar Method Studio, I was here first! These are thoughts all going through my mind in one split second. I told my mom about it and her response was, "Oh honey, you won, you're engaged to him". So not the point. The girl hates me and it just makes for unnecessary awkwardness. So we both saw each other, knew who each other was, and turned away. So on Wednesday, I'm back in class again. This time I made sure to check the sign in sheet for who was registered for class and her name was not on there. I could rest easy. Until about 5 minutes before class I heard her tell the instructor her name. Are you kidding me right now? And in a half empty room, she has the balls to sit directly in front of me. And I did I mention the room is full of mirrors? Weeeeeeird. So for one full hour there we were, the fiance and the ex-girlfriend, working out together. I will say that it definitely motivated me to work harder and I am determined to kick her ass at Bar Method for as long as she keeps going. I called my mom and told her I saw her again and her response this time, "Is she stalking you?" ha!
And last but not least, I have been on 3 interviews in the past month. Two internally and one outside my company. I like the company that I work for and I would like to stay there, but I can honestly say that I do not like my job. This past interview was for an internal position and it was a job that I wanted so badly. It was my shoe-in to the advertising/marketing side of the company. I prayed to God every night that I would get this job. The man who interviewed me even wrote my current manager an e-mail on how much he liked my personality and my work ethic. And then today I get an e-mail of rejection. It was nothing I did wrong, they just chose someone who had more experience. Heartbroken. But on the up & up, I came home to flowers, wine, an inspirational card, and cheer me up cupcakes. That put a smile on my face. So, thank God tomorrow is Friday. The weekend never looked so good and so well deserved.
After not working out for 9 days, going on food tastings, and eating Lou Malnatti's, I stepped on the scale Monday and saw that I had gained two lbs. Lovely. So off to Bar Method I went. Monday was a great class. It was taught by the owner, whom I've never met before, and she definitely kicked our butts. It felt great to workout after taking such a long break. I went again on Tuesday. Also a great class, but at the end of the class I noticed someone who looked really familiar to me, and then the instructor called out her name...it was LC's crazy ex-girlfriend. Chicago, is by far the biggest small city. I was under the impression the girl moved to Spain, what's she doing back in Chicago? And is she staying? And why is she at my Bar Method Studio, I was here first! These are thoughts all going through my mind in one split second. I told my mom about it and her response was, "Oh honey, you won, you're engaged to him". So not the point. The girl hates me and it just makes for unnecessary awkwardness. So we both saw each other, knew who each other was, and turned away. So on Wednesday, I'm back in class again. This time I made sure to check the sign in sheet for who was registered for class and her name was not on there. I could rest easy. Until about 5 minutes before class I heard her tell the instructor her name. Are you kidding me right now? And in a half empty room, she has the balls to sit directly in front of me. And I did I mention the room is full of mirrors? Weeeeeeird. So for one full hour there we were, the fiance and the ex-girlfriend, working out together. I will say that it definitely motivated me to work harder and I am determined to kick her ass at Bar Method for as long as she keeps going. I called my mom and told her I saw her again and her response this time, "Is she stalking you?" ha!
And last but not least, I have been on 3 interviews in the past month. Two internally and one outside my company. I like the company that I work for and I would like to stay there, but I can honestly say that I do not like my job. This past interview was for an internal position and it was a job that I wanted so badly. It was my shoe-in to the advertising/marketing side of the company. I prayed to God every night that I would get this job. The man who interviewed me even wrote my current manager an e-mail on how much he liked my personality and my work ethic. And then today I get an e-mail of rejection. It was nothing I did wrong, they just chose someone who had more experience. Heartbroken. But on the up & up, I came home to flowers, wine, an inspirational card, and cheer me up cupcakes. That put a smile on my face. So, thank God tomorrow is Friday. The weekend never looked so good and so well deserved.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Happy Homecoming
Last Monday, I got the best Valentine's gift ever...LC came home from his 6 month deployment! For a girl who doesn't believe in celebrating this Hallmark holiday, I couldn't have asked for a better gift. Since he's been home, we've been doing nothing but wedding planning and catching up with his family and friends. We registered at 4 different stores, did our food tasting (sooo good!) and met with the pastor who's marrying us. I'm having a lot of fun planning our wedding, but this past week has been so busy with wedding stuff, I'm looking forward to a date night that doesn't involve the talk of bar packages and meal options.
I love having him back home, but I'm not going to lie, it's been a big adjustment for me. For the past 6 months it's been me, by myself, coming and going as I please. No one else to clean up after except for myself. And if I want to eat cereal for dinner, I'm more than okay with that. Also, we only have one T.V. which means I had to sit through the slam dunk contest as well as the NBA All-Star game. However, it is nice to have someone to cook nice meals for, go on date nights with, and make Saturday morning brunch for. I'm truly happy and can't wait for our wedding. I pray that there will be no more deployments in our near future. Since LC and I have been dating, we have yet to spend a full year in the same city/state. Hopefully, this will be our year.
Pics to come! I tried uploading them tonight & my internet was being really slow and/or I was being really impatient :-)
I love having him back home, but I'm not going to lie, it's been a big adjustment for me. For the past 6 months it's been me, by myself, coming and going as I please. No one else to clean up after except for myself. And if I want to eat cereal for dinner, I'm more than okay with that. Also, we only have one T.V. which means I had to sit through the slam dunk contest as well as the NBA All-Star game. However, it is nice to have someone to cook nice meals for, go on date nights with, and make Saturday morning brunch for. I'm truly happy and can't wait for our wedding. I pray that there will be no more deployments in our near future. Since LC and I have been dating, we have yet to spend a full year in the same city/state. Hopefully, this will be our year.
Pics to come! I tried uploading them tonight & my internet was being really slow and/or I was being really impatient :-)
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Home Sweet Home
The Vince Lombardi trophy is back where it belongs, and I cannot be more thrilled!
The Green Bay Packers are SUPER BOWL CHAMPS!!!!!!!!! I love Aaron Rodgers. So much so that I frequently tell my fiance, that Aaron will one day his children's stepfather. What? That's all I got for today :-) I'm also self medicating myself through this week (aka lots of wine nights). FI comes home sometime next week!
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Holy Snow!
Chicago got pounded with a shit-ton of snow this week. It started on Tuesday night and I left work around 4 pm. Luckily, I didn't have to take the bus home. I had heard horror stories about people getting stuck on buses that took Lake Shore Drive. I read a tweet where a person left work at 3 and didn't get home until after 9pm!!!! A commute that should take about 45 minutes tops ended up taking 6 very long hours.
It was so windy that when I went to turn the corner heading north on Michigan Ave, it was physically impossible. The wind simply wouldn't let me get home. I had to turn around and take the alley. I woke up around 9pm from a much needed nap and seriously looked like a white tornado outside. I thought to myself, we definitely won't have work tomorrow...
Wrong. As soon as I woke up on Wednesday morning I called our company weather desk. "Company name here" will be open February 2nd for regular business hours." FAIL. Off to work I trudged. I was in at 8am and then I got sent home at 10:45am...what a waste of time.
Here are some pics that I took on my iPhone of the Great Blizzard of 2011.
Michigan Avenue the night of the blizzard
The same view the next day...
Wabash Avenue, on my way home from work Wednesday 10:45am
It was so windy that when I went to turn the corner heading north on Michigan Ave, it was physically impossible. The wind simply wouldn't let me get home. I had to turn around and take the alley. I woke up around 9pm from a much needed nap and seriously looked like a white tornado outside. I thought to myself, we definitely won't have work tomorrow...
Wrong. As soon as I woke up on Wednesday morning I called our company weather desk. "Company name here" will be open February 2nd for regular business hours." FAIL. Off to work I trudged. I was in at 8am and then I got sent home at 10:45am...what a waste of time.
Here are some pics that I took on my iPhone of the Great Blizzard of 2011.
Michigan Avenue the night of the blizzard
The same view the next day...
Wabash Avenue, on my way home from work Wednesday 10:45am
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