Blue skies, smilin' at me

Spring has been lovely so far. Last weekend was sunny and in the 70's, and the O.R. is once again full of people who have broken themselves while enjoying the sunshine. There are rumors that temperatures may reach the low to mid 80's this weekend, and the entire city seems manic about it. Paroxysms of joy, even. It's like the universe making amends after last year's truly dismal summer (I think it only reached 80 degrees about six times total).

Here's my tiny friend Max, enjoying a swing at one of the best parks ever (it still has one of those merry-go-rounds that have nearly been litigated out of existence everywhere else).

Me and Max on a walk. That look of disgruntlement on his face is from the fact that he wasn't feeling so great (cutting teeth is the worst!), and because I insisted on using my phone to take a picture instead of letting him eat it.

Last weekend I went hiking with a friend of mine from work. There's a really nice trail about 45 minutes from the city, by a big lake, that is absolutely packed on nice days in the summer. We got there around 9 am and it wasn't too bad. I wanted to try out my Vibram Fivefingers on the trail for the first time, so it was a relatively short hike (2 miles) with a modest elevation gain (1200 feet). But the payoff at the top is pretty awesome.

Vibrams don't keep out water, so I had to air out my feet at the top.

Stephanie and I had pbjs and enjoyed the view. We ran part of the way back down, and I think I might have to start trail running. It's fun (and I felt a little bit like Tarzan), and challenges different muscles than I'm used to working.

PSA

Dear anonymous crackhead who broke into and ransacked my car last night,

I'm not really sure why you targeted my 1997 Corolla with its various nicks and dents, and four tires without hubcaps. Had you inspected it closely before prying open the front passenger door with what I can only assume was a crowbar, you might have noticed that the back passenger door was, in fact, unlocked. I guess you also assumed that I was hiding something really great by your thoroughness in emptying the glove box and CD nook (I am shocked that you couldn't fetch something for that Glee: Volume 5 CD on the crack market). I also take offense that you left my 5-year-old FM iPod transmitter plugged into the cigarette lighter, and ignored my 5-year-old Garmin Nuvi. I am thrilled, however, that when you moved on to the trunk you didn't want my Trader Joe's shopping bags, my very nice Sam's insulated grocery bag (which allows many a carton of ice cream to make it home from the store without melting in the summertime), or my fabulous hot pink and zebra waterproof picnic blanket (because I love it!). It would have been nice of you to take the bags of clothes I've been driving around for months with the intent to donate to Goodwill, instead of just strewing the articles around my trunk.

You, sir or madam, put a real damper on my morning.

I love vegetables...

Because they are the reason I saw a number on the scale this morning that I haven't seen since high school :)

I had hit a bit of a weight-loss plateau for months and months and months. I couldn't 'find the time' to work out more, and am totally against "dieting" because I'd like my weight loss to be part of a lifestyle change that's sustainable for the rest of my lifetime. So I was just hovering around the same weight (and jeans size) feeling discouraged because I lack the willpower to give up things like cheese and sugar.

So I found that blog on Pinterest that I mentioned in my last post; written by a young woman who lost half of her body weight and cultivated a healthy relationship with food after two decades of having an unhealthy one. She eats a huge salad for lunch every day, and wrote a post about it. I thought, "I could do that" and it would save me standing in line for the microwave at lunch.

The influx of massive amounts of (tasty) vegetables into my diet, in concurrence with 30 days of drinking water (no juice, creamer, soda, or alcohol), was instrumental in busting through the plateau. I have more energy, somehow find the time to work out more, sleep better, and feel great. And my current weight is now nine pounds below the number that's been taunting me for all those months.

Wahoo!

2012 Catch up

I wish I was more diligent in updating this blog. Maybe it would motivate me to pursue more exciting activities if I knew I'd have to update you all, bimonthly, let's say. Anyway, here's an update, it's linktastic!

- I'm back at Bethany Community Church (churchbcc.org). The reason I stopped going there a couple of years ago was that the congregation was so big it felt impossible to connect with anyone. That's still a struggle, for sure, but one I feel better equipped to deal with this time around. If you're a blog person, check out the pastor, Richard's blog: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/richarddahlstrom/

- I LOVE Ingrid Michaelson's new album, Human Again. She is such a talented singer/songwriter. She's definitely on my 5 people I'd invite if I could invite anyone (living) to have dinner with me. Already got my tickets for her concert in April :)

- Although we've had an unseasonably dry winter so far, I'm kind of a wimp when it comes to running outdoors. Below 45 degrees, and any precipitation falling from the sky will keep me from hitting the trail. So my (indoor) winter workout this year has been the Brazil Butt Lift. I both love and loathe this hyperactive, smiling Brazilian man who has led me to discover several (apparently totally atrophied based on the amount of pain felt with exercise) muscles I never knew existed, while encouraging me with phrases like "never settle for less!" in his charming Brazilian accent.

- So, I may have spent just a few minutes here and there investigating Pin-interest. While I don't feel the need to make a profile and/or pin things, I will grant that it's full of great recipes/blogs/crafts/etc. I found this blog there (which inspires me in a thousand ways), and have tried several of her recipes already, with great success. And while I'm sharing things I like to look at online, check out theawesomer.com sometime. Trust me, it's got lots of awesome stuff.

- My nail armor. I use nail polish as a sort of barrier against all the chemicals my hands are exposed to at work (as in, I have to wash or gel my hands every time I enter or exit the O.R. or touch a patient or just when I haven't done it in awhile...would estimate I wash them at least 100 times during a 12 hour day). I'm allowed to do this as long as it's less than three days old, and doesn't chip. My new favorite polish is Butter London If you're a nail polish person at all, try this stuff!

Okay, enough for now. Next time, pictures of my tiny friend, Max! (He's my friends' and former roommates' baby boy, and he is cuuuuuuuute.) You can visit him here.

You would think I just discovered the hyperlink, right?

Is anyone still reading this?

Things I'm loving lately:

- PBS Masterpiece Classic Downton Abbey. A british period drama set at the beginning of the 20th century, follows the lives of an earl and his family and their servants. I find it fascinating to see how people in different times/countries/social classes lived. There's something particularly enjoyable about the language and manners from that time. For all the advantages of living in the modern age, I do wish we were a classier bunch.

- Chocolate-covered banana slices from Trader Joe's. Why did I not know about these before now? They are delicious.

- Classical music. I'm enjoying the works of Chopin right now. I think it's a sort of musical rebound; born out of listening to entirely too much pop/radio music. Not sure how many hours of classical piano will purge "Pumped up kicks" and "Moves like Jagger" from my brain, but it's a pleasant process. As someone who literally always has music playing inside my head (and which spills out in the form of humming or whistling if there isn't music audibly playing outside my head), classical music as a background to whatever mundane thing I'm doing makes me feel somehow...classier :)

- Jigsaw puzzles. I seriously enjoy puzzles more than someone still in their twenties should. It's probably the false sense of accomplishment you get finishing one. Really? Congratulations, you just put a bunch of tiny random cardboard pieces together to make a picture which, let's face it, isn't very impressive (artistically speaking). But it feels like you just climbed Mt Everest or something.

- Queen Anne. The current neighborhood I'm living in. It feels like the best of many worlds. I can walk down the hill and over the bridge and be in Fremont (artsy, hippy, free-thinking types...although it fills up with your typical college crowd on weekend nights) for shopping, coffee, lots of great restaurants and bars, a Sunday farmer's market, and the trail I like to go running on along the water. Or I can walk up the hill to Queen Anne and find more great restaurants, boutiques, several grocery stores, and lots of big houses that I'll never be able to afford, with spectacular views because you're at the top of a giant hill. I may have to stay in Seattle longer than I thought so I can finish my tour of all its neighborhoods. Where shall I live next? Perhaps a high-rise with a view of Puget Sound and the Olympic mountains...

- Cooking. One of my favorite things about the gray season. I overdid it on quinoa (eating it for lunch every day for a year, until one day my brain would not let my hand move the forkful of quinoa to my mouth), and now I'm enjoying coming up with new and creative menus for lunches. I also loooooove my new pizza stone, which allows me to make a gluten free pizza that almost tastes as good as the original. One of these days I'm going to try and make a gluten free focaccia on it.

Catch up time

Here are some pictures from my visit in Minnesota with Jeremy, Shannon, Irene, Isaac, and Swiffer. I had a lot of fun hanging out with all of them! Highlights: playing in the 'cover cave' and other fun silliness with Irene & Isaac; attending a Christian rock concert with Jeremy; just sitting on the couch catching up with Jeremy & Shannon; and Shannon's stellar crock-pot chili!

Brave boy only wanted to go down the tallest slide!

Generation tech. It's scary how much better with technology this 3 year old is than me.

Cupcakes are delicious! This picture is my the new screen saver on my phone :)

Youtube videos are like kid crack. Seriously, Isaac would casually sidle up to my laptop when it was closed and sitting on the side table, and just start touching it while keeping one eye on me to make sure I was looking somewhere else. It was funny.

Reading is fun!
Swiffer and Isaac enjoyed a lovely stroll around the backyard.

Thanks for having me, brother!

Other stuff:

- Haunted houses are not as scary (or as enjoyable) and they were when I was younger. I went to one with some friends from work a few weeks ago, and was underwhelmed by it all. Perhaps it's because the things I fear now are traumatic brain and/or spinal cord injuries, fractured pelvis(es? pelvices? pelvii?), burns, and necrotizing soft tissue infections. A scary clown with a chainsaw just doesn't bring on the adrenaline anymore. I guess I could try skydiving if I really wanted a thrill, but I have no desire to...

- Bank of America is losing me. I've put up with their sneaky little fees and assorted annoyances for years because of the convenience of having branches everywhere. But this $5 monthly fee to use my debit card is the end of the line. I'm in the process of switching to a credit union, and the inconvenience factor is completely cancelled out by the (anticipated) satisfaction of walking into BofA and closing my accounts :)

- I love autumn!

- I never thought I would enjoy going to the beach and needing to wear a sweatshirt, but I actually like the beach more when it's cold out. At least in the Pacific Northwest, where the water is too cold to swim in regardless of the air temperature.

Things I'm thankful for

1) Airplanes, which allow me to travel to far-off cities like Chicago for family picnics. Where I get to see...

This baby boy:

And this baby boy:

And this little girl:

And these two goober boys:

And my three lovely sisters-in-law:

And the rest of my big, crazy, wonderful family. (Thanks to Sandy who took most of those pictures.)

2) September in Seattle, which is the best month in this beautiful city. I've gone for two long runs in the past 3 days, and stopped to pick blackberries on my way up the Doom Hill back to my apartment. Fun fact: blackberries are both delicious and full of antioxidants, and help reduce inflammation (which my body appreciates after I force it to run 5 miles).

3) Boats! I took a ferry to the Bremerton Blackberry Festival with some friends on Saturday. My favorite part of the day was the hour-long trip each way across the water. The festival itself was fun, but also hot, crowded, and crowded. And I got poisoned with gluten by the fair food, in spite of my best efforts to avoid it.

Sunlight on the water is bliss.