Hello Sunny San Diego!

I returned from such a lovely trip to San Diego last Monday. I traveled to the west side of the US all by my lonesome (I so wish Gary had come with) and was jumping with excitement the whole way over. I COULDN'T WAIT TO MEET ARYA. That being said, we went out to lunch at an adorable little restaurant and I had THE best salad ever, a spicy caesar salad with chicken. Mmmm Mmmm Mmmm. Made waiting a little longer to meet her not so unbearable.

Seriously, it was so good. I've had dreams about this salad.

From the moment I first laid eyes on little Arya, I was in love. All I wanted to do was stare at her or hold her. I would have taken her with me had Amanda not been holding her when we left. She was the sweetest little nugget I have ever seen. She burps like a little angel and cries like a little chipmunk. Arya is soooooo adorable. My favorite moments with her were when we were snuggled up on the couch together and every once in awhile she'd lift up her little head and try to snuggle even closer to me. Seriously. THE cutest thing ever. Watching Amanda and Neil with her was really sweet too. They are such good parents; patient, kind, and loving. These are the very qualities every child needs.

Here are some of my MOST favorite photos from my very short weekend with the Heller family

Can't wait to see her again! Love you all sooooo much :)

Update Quickie!

It has been way too long since my last post. Sorry, folks. I've either been working, busy with Supernatural, or being lazy. Oh, or eating pasta. Yes, I decided that it was a real waste of day to NOT get excited about what I was eating. I do eat too much pasta, but replacing it with other bread items was simply not worth it. I just need to tone it down and limit how much I'm eating in one sitting and possibly, if I can manage, limit how many times per week I eat pasta. Seriously, how hard could that be? Well.....a little harder when you are lazy. Go figure.

Anyhoo - I started my new job last week. I.love.it.sooooooooo.much. I feel that my training was so thorough and worth my time. I'm new to the healthcare system and what better way to learn about everything than reading. (I'm not even kidding.) I got paid to sit and read for 3-4 days. It was really interesting for the most part too which helped. The people I work with are all really sweet and are taking the time to explain things to me and answer any questions that I have. I couldn't ask for more. I feel like this is a really good fit for me and that is so satisfying. I can't wait to get more comfortable with my daily tasks and know what I'm doing more innately.

Lastly, I am beyond excited to go see Arya, Amanda, and Neil in CA. Working in a hospital and seeing little babies every once in awhile has made my emotions be a little up and down lately with losing Emma but I know that seeing Arya is exactly what I need to keep me really happy and excited for the next few months. I keep getting scared that we are expecting again and to be quite honest, I am NOT ready for that. I don't want to be in a state of mind where I freak out and burst in to tears just thinking about what could go wrong with development and what not. I want to be cautiously nervous but excited and we're just not there yet. And besides, my maternity leave benefits won't kick in for a year. That works for me :)

That is all! I'll be busy/gone the next few days so I'll check in next week with PICTURES GALORE of the Heller family. I.CAN'T.WAIT.

No-Pasta Challenge = so far so good!

It is day two of my no-pasta challenge and so far so good. I'm not yet craving pasta but am having difficulties thinking of easy lunch recipes on the fly. Pasta has always been my go-to for those days where I wasn't really in the mood for anything but or just am plain lazy. It's so easy to whip up some pasta and add just about anything to make it good. Seriously, one day I added olive oil, tabasco and mozzarella and it was darn tasty. And with pinterest giving me fun new pasta recipes, there are just so many I want to try.

That being said, I'm also not a soup, salad or sandwich girl. BUT I think if I'm going to succeed in this no-pasta challenge, I'm going to HAVE to be a soup, salad or sandwich girl. I am hoping to put smoothies in that list but I don't have access to my blenders. Yes, ALL my blenders are tightly packed away in the deep dark trailer in Strawberry Village. Until Gary and I find a place, that is where they will stay. Sad.

Here's a recap of my days so far:

Feb 1
B - none
L - Turkey & Pepperjack Grilled Cheese sandwich
D - Tomato Bisque and some leftover meatballs

Feb 2
B - none
L - Bubba Gump Shrimp (!) So lovely! This would make an excellent addition to some cajun pasta...

Clearly, I'm seriously lacking in fruits and veggies. I plan to make sure I eat some of BOTH in each one of my meals. Tomorrow? I'm really excited about the cucumber and kiwi I bought :)

Bucket List {5} - Epic Fail!

To say I slacked off this month is an understatement. I really didn't follow any sort of schedule and had zero motivation except for one day where I made up 9 missed days in one night. I'm not quite sure what happened but I'll try to ease my way back in this month. Something I am SO VERY excited about it the free use of the WMC gym that I get with my employment. I want to utilize that to the highest degree!

Here's how my month ended up:


CRUNCHES *
12,000 GOAL
    3,864 COMPLETED as of 1/31
8,136 LEFT TO COMPLETE by 10/31/12

Jan Average/Day = 29.0 Ouch. At least it wasn't my lowest average!
Dec Average/Day = 41.7
Nov Average/Day = 27.8
Oct Average/Day = 39.5


PUSH-UPS
10,000 GOAL
     2,961 COMPLETED as of 1/31
   7,039 LEFT TO COMPLETE by 10/31/12

Jan Average/Day = 17.4 Epic Fail
Dec Average/Day = 30.2 SO CLOSE! I'll beat it next time.
Nov Average/Day = 22.1 Boo.
Oct Average/Day = 30.4


SQUATS
  10,000 GOAL
       1,935 COMPLETED as of 1/31
   8,065 LEFT TO COMPLETE by 10/31/12



Jan Average/Day = 23.2 Not bad considering...
Dec Average/Day = 25.5 KILLED IT!
Nov Average/Day = 12.3
Oct Average/Day = 20.4


WALKING
  5,200 GOAL (in minutes)
     1,427 COMPLETED as of 1/31
   3,773 LEFT TO COMPLETE by 10/31/12

I had to get a pre-work screen/physical for my new job at the Hospital. I weighed in at 128. I'm happy that I've maintained a weight below 130 but disappointed that it wasn't closer to 125. I did slack off quite a bit this month so that's what I have to show for it I suppose. February is now my month to get back on track and to rev it up. Like I said before, I want to utilize the free gym at work and will devise a weekly workout plan to do just that. I'm excited!

My goal for February is to maintain the attitude of trying to beat my best average. To do that I will need to do at least the following each day:

Crunches - 25 reps twice a day (50 total)
Push ups - 20 reps twice a day (40 total)
Squats - 15 reps twice a day (30 total)