5/31/2011

The Kayak...

I had quite an "adventure" over memorial day weekend and this kayak is to blame for most of it.
Almost 2 years ago I got Joe a kayak for his birthday.  But because his birthday is in September he didn't get to use said kayak for the first time until last summer.  Mostly he would take the boat out on his own for fishing but occasionally I would join him.  The only issue was that we always needed to rent a kayak for me.  After a few trips Joe realized it would be more cost effective for me to buy my own instead of constantly renting, thus started the search for the perfect kayak.  After almost a year of searching he found a suitable boat at a suitable price and suggested I stop out & buy it this past Saturday.  I knew it would make him really happy so I made sure to work the store into my plans that day. 

One of the errands I had accompanied my mother on that same morning was having a rack installed on her car for her kayak so what better time to try it out?!?  We met Joe at the store, looked over the boat & decided to buy.  I also picked up a package of straps to secure the boat to the rack with.  Once the money had been drained from my account we moved out front to load up and head home.  Joe worked to get the boat on top of the car while I used a pocket knife to cut the zip ties on the package of straps.  Unfortunately I slipped and cut my left pinkie & ring finger.  Now if you read this blog with any regularity you may have noticed I'm a little accident prone...  I didn't panic when I saw the blood, just put the cuts in my mouth hoping to stop it.  After a few tries I realized this may be worse then I thought.  I grabbed a handful of napkins leftover from our breakfast and applied pressure, so much pressure that my finger tips turned purple, lol.  I asked my mom & Joe to finish up with the boat and not to worry but after they saw my hand all loading ceased.  My mom announced we were going to the emergency room and Joe said "jesus dear, it's to the bone."  Thankfully things weren't as bad as they could have been.  All that pressure stopped the bleeding and by the time I saw a nurse in the ER the cuts didn't look so bad.
Instead of stitches they used glue.  I've had stitches in my pointer finger on that hand before (if you look closely at the pictures you can make out the scar) and they're no fun.  The ladies in the ER took pity on me, I was supposed to wear 2 splints, one of each cut finger but because my fingers are so tiny we made them both fit in one (way less embarrassing & awkward).  It felt like we were there forever but from the time I cut myself until the time I got home was only 3 hours.
The bigger issue for me was that we were hosting a BBQ that evening and I hadn't cleaned the house or taken anything out and we were now only 2 hours away from our friends & family showing up.  Thankfully I have the best neighbor in the world!  When I told Nicole I was in the ER she immediately offered to go to the house, straighten up and get things ready.  Seriously she's a lifesaver, I owe her like my first born or something. 

I ran into another issue when I got home though.  I hadn't showered yet that day and was feeling super gross after everything that had happened but wasn't allowed to get my hand wet.  After debating whether or not to shower I decided go for it & outfitted myself in a Home Depot bag and duct tape.  Worked like a charm.
I bet you thought that was the end of my story...  Not quite, remember we hadn't gotten the kayak home yet.  On Sunday morning my mom and I returned to meet Joe at the sporting goods store.  We tried to strap the kayak to the rack again but just couldn't get everything lined up correctly.  I was pretty sure we could make it fit inside the car so we gave that a try next.  Everything was looking good until Joe slammed the gate closed.  Why is it that men find it necessary to slam & punch things?  The force of the door closing pushed the kayak into the windshield and cracked it!  We were all pretty frustrated so I asked Joe to just go back to work while my mom & I figured out what to do next.  We tried to close the door again, but this time gentler and it worked!  We got in the car and hightailed it out of there.  On the ride home I called Safelite & my mom's insurance company, I believe her new windshield is being installed today.
We drove back to my house, unloaded the kayak & relaxed on the couch for a while talking & joking about the events of the past 2 days.  You see, my mom and I have a different way of dealing with unforeseen circumstances, we tend to stay very calm instead of panicking or getting angry.  It's obvious Joe and I handled this situation differently and we did take some time to talk about it and get back on the same page.  I really think it was a good growing experience for us.  I'm not thrilled that the "great deal" kayak has now cost me close to $800, but such is life, that's what the emergency fund is for I guess.

My hand is feeling better everyday.  I even took the splint off on Monday afternoon (it was getting pretty gross).  I'm hoping to change the dressing tonight with Joe's help and maybe even give my fingers some breathing time not taped together.  It's harder then you'd think to live and work with only 3 working fingers on your left hand...
 ps...I'm sort of loving that my kayak is bigger then his, even if his is fancier :-P

What a Weekend!

I'm trying to figure out the best way to sum up the last 4 days.  My goals pretty much went flying out the window, mostly because of my broken fitbit.  Do you know how hard it is to calculate calories on days without scheduled activities when you're not wearing a pedometer?  It's hard!  In reality I don't think I did that bad but because I don't have any real way to calculate the numbers it looks super scary!  Here are the basics for my goal review...


1. Eat out less then 25 meals:
Friday: Joe was off on Friday but ran out of time to make dinner so we had Wendy's.
Saturday: I stopped for breakfast at McDonald's with my mom while we were out looking for lawn chairs at yard sales.
Sunday: Since I had already failed my goal I wasn't super concerned about eating at home anymore so Joe & I went out for breakfast across the street.
Monday: I went to Monday Nitro with Joe & Tim at the Library.
 Goal total for the weekend: 4 meals out = 28 meals total, goal failed.

2. At least 25 days with a 750+ calorie burn:
Friday:
     Breakfast: oatmeal w/milk, brown sugar & banana = 310 calories
     Lunch: greek yogurt, fuji apple & smartfood = 331 calories
     Dinner: Chicken BLT Cobb Salad = 570 calories
     Snacks: Jr Chocolate Frosty = 170 calories
     Totals: 2179 burned - 1381 eaten = 798 total burned, 17 days total
Saturday:
     Breakfast: egg mcmuffin & yogurt parfait = 460 calories
     Lunch: 5 chicken mcnuggets = 238 calories
     Dinner: hot dog wrapped in proscuitto with aged provolone & cheddar/sour cream chips = 548 calories
     Snacks: smores & ice cream sandwiches = 510 calories
     Totals: ???? burned - 1756 eaten = ??? total burned, 17 days total
Sunday:
     Breakfast: tomato, onion & cheese egg white omelet with home fries and rye toast = 595 calories
     Lunch: 0 calories
     Dinner: cheeseburger, potato salad, coleslaw, pasta salad, merlot = 1018 calories
     Snacks: smores & ice cream sandwiches = 510 calories
     Totals: ???? burned - 2123 eaten = ??? total burned, 17 days total
Monday:
     Breakfast: cereal bar = 130 calories
     Lunch: ham & cheese sandwich, fuji apple & G2 = 464 calories
     Dinner: 1/2 patty melt, 2 potato skins, 3 scallops wrapped in bacon = 808 calories
     Snacks: ice cream sandwiches = 353 calories
     Totals: ???? burned - 1755 eaten = ??? total burned, 17 days total

As you can see I really don't know what my burn was most of the weekend.  I did a lot of walking but it's hard to know what I burned without my fitbit.  Luckily it shipped on Friday so I'm hoping to get it tomorrow (fingers crossed).  June is a new month :-)

3. Complete 1500 fitness minutes: 
Friday:  I went to group power at the gym with Christina & Joanne.
Saturday: I didn't do any formal exercise but there was a lot of walking at the mall while shopping for a new bathing suit & all over the house/yard during our BBQ.
Sunday: Another day without formal exercise.  I did a lot of housework which I know burns calories though.
Monday: Nicole, Christina & I went for week 1 day 3 of their C25K program.  We made sure to head out early but it got hot fast and we were all dripping by the time we got home.
1195 minutes total.  Doesn't look like I'm making it to 1500 this month...

4. Drink 64oz of water every day:  Friday - check, Saturday - check, Sunday - nope, Monday - check, 27 days total.

5. At least 25 days with 30 minutes of house work:  We did a lot of entertaining over the weekend so I was always straightening up.  I also spent most of the day Sunday doing laundry so I'm counting 2 of 4 days.  20 days total.

5/27/2011

Goal Progress 5/26

1. Eat out less then 25 meals:  I'm bound to go over because I don't see how I'm going to make it through the holiday weekend without eating out more then once but so far I'm holding strong.  24 meals total.

2. At least 25 days with a 750+ calorie burn:
     Breakfast: oatmeal w/milk, brown sugar & banana = 310 calories
     Lunch: greek yogurt, fuji apple & smartfood = 331 calories
     Dinner: turkey meatloaf, mashed potato & spinach = 462 calories
     Snacks: the candy dish on my desk now has m&m's (bad idea) = 180 calories
     Totals: 2085 burned - 1283 eaten = 802 total burned, 16 days total
3. Complete 1500 fitness minutes:  It was time for day 2 of Nicole's C25K training.  I know we waited almost a week in between but it was a busy week!  We're definitely running twice over the weekend so that will catch things up.  Plus I just registered for another 5K in July so I really have to keep the running going.  1087 minutes total.
4. Drink 64oz of water every day:  Didn't finish at work but knocked it out with dinner.  24 days total.

5. At least 25 days with 30 minutes of house work:  I cleaned up the kitchen while making dinner & unloaded/reloaded the dishwasher.  18 days total.

Janey's Wedding

Now that's it's been almost I week I've finally caught up enough to tell you about Janey's big day.  We started off the morning with a 9am hair appointment which meant no sleeping in for me that whole weekend.  Joe came along to take pictures of all the getting ready excitement.
Janey & Megan finished first then headed to Macy's for makeup.  The timing worked out nicely because Joe and I arrived at the venue only minutes before they did.  I was pretty shocked by the size of accommodations for the bride and groom.  I've included a picture of the guy's locker room but not the girl's because it was so small I couldn't get a picture of the whole thing.  Literally it was like a closet, you'd think they'd switch things around for events like this.
The weather on Saturday had been beautiful and while it didn't rain on Sunday there also wasn't much sun to be found.  The ceremony took place on the green in front of the gazebo.  This was the first wedding held at the gazebo so maybe they'll end up in an advertisement or something!
It's so funny being in a wedding because you don't get any pictures of the actual ceremony.  Suffice it to say nothing went wrong & they're married, lol.  There were a few jokes and a few missteps but all in all it was quick and painless.
The photographer took a few family portraits on the green and then the wedding party headed out on a few golf carts to another area of the course.  After a few minutes of almost being killed by my crazy boyfriend's driving we reached a small pond and took bridal party portraits.
It was pretty chilly by this point so once the photographer took the bride & groom off for some alone shots I grabbed Joe's jacket.  We were all dismissed to cocktail hour a few minutes later.  This was the 5th wedding I've been in and definitely had the fastest photo session.  At the entrance to cocktail hour was their card & guest book table.  Janey made sure to include pictures of their deceased grandparents.
And here's the place card table.  There was a slight snafu in the printing leaving Joe and I without a table.  It only took a few minutes to straighten out though and we got to spend the reception getting to know some of Bernie's friends & family at our new table.
The centerpieces were a glass vase with a floating purple orchid and flower petals scattered around.  Each place setting had 2 favors, a white chocolate lolly pop and a candle.
Dinner was served shortly thereafter.  We started with a caesar salad, the main course was chicken francese with au gratin potato and string beans.
I did quite a bit of dancing, had to work off all those calories.  The DJ is a friend from high school and did a great job for a fantastic price.  They had the traditional bouquet and garter tosses.  While I guess you could say I "caught" the bouquet it was more like picking it up off the floor when she overshot the group of us, lol.  I made sure to request that Joe try his hardest to catch the garter because this is probably the 4th bouquet I've caught and I've had my share of creepy cousins & weird brother in laws touching my leg...  Luckily Joe made a quick grab and I was safe.  This is the first time I caught the bouquet & him the garter...wonder what that means...
As the evening began to wind down it was time for cake.  I was pretty surprised when Bernie didn't behave & shoved some in Janey's face.  I haven't seen that happen at a wedding in a while.  But a least is was delicious cake to have to eat off your face...vanilla with butter cream.
The party wound down pretty quickly and everyone was heading home by about 7pm.  Joe & I made plans to meet his cousin at a local bar and invited everyone else to join us.  I'm not sure what they all did but we didn't see them again.  I have to say when I get married I totally plan on going out in my wedding dress, you only wear it once, might as well get as much time in it as possible!

Outfits of the Week 5/24-27

You probably remember that I took Monday off from work, I didn't wear anything particularly exciting to the doctor's office (where they gave me a shot) or cleaning up around the house so I don't have a picture...

Tuesday - I knew it was moving day in the office so I wanted to be professional but comfortable for running up & down the stairs carrying boxes.  Pink top - BJ's, grey cami - NY & Company, skinny black pants - The Gap, patent leather lavender ballet flats - The Gap.
Wednesday - The weather has really been heating up lately, we've been in the mid 80s all week.  But they keep my office freezing, it's so hard to balance the two climates.  Necklace - K Amato, top - The Limited, cami - NY & Company, pants - Ann Taylor Loft, shoes - Aerosoles via The Dress Barn. 
 Thursday - Can't think of anything interesting, I just really wanted to wear the sweater so I grabbed pants I thought would flatter it & me, lol.  Necklace - Premier, top - Express, pants - The Limited, shoes - Naturalizer.
Friday - I was freezing a few times of Thursday so I knew I had to be prepared today.  Cardigan - The Limited, tank - H&M, cropped pants - NY & Company, shoes - Aerosoles via Boscovs.

Five for Friday 5/27

1. When you heard I only had one more meal out left before failing my goal you made sure we found something to eat at home.

2. You cleaned up the kitty's accident because I was running low on time, even though it's "my job."

3. You're really going above & beyond for our BBQ this weekend.

4. You came up with our spinning, dipping, kissing entrance at the wedding.

5. You said Saturday was one of the top 20 days we've had together.
Heart Walk 05/2011

5/26/2011

Longest Day Ever

I know I'm almost a week late writing about this but it's been a long week!  Really though last Saturday was the longest day ever!  I've been involved in weddings before so I knew there could be a lot going on in the days leading up but this wasn't even all wedding stuff.  We started the day with the American Heart Association 5 mile walk in Ocean City.  A coworker of mine's husband had a quintuple bypass at age 32 so this is a cause dear to her heart.  We were asked to be at the field by 8:45 and because I'm an overachiever Joe and I were there by 8:30.  Well it turns out the walk doesn't start until 10:30 so we had a lot of time to kill.
We met with the electric company mascot, I got to meet Brittany's fiance for the first time and we hung out with Carol & Chris.  Turns out Chris' brother died from a heart related disease and this was the first year they were doing the walk in his memory.
We were all gathered for a team picture after a while.  My employer always has a few teams so we buy close to 1000 t-shirts for the event.  It's a nice gesture but also make it more difficult to tell who's on your team.  Our captain bought headbands and other heart themed stuff to help distinguish us from the masses.
We finished the walk around noon and found out that a few of our friends were bringing their kids up to the boardwalk to take advantage of the nice weather.  We decided to meet them for lunch and a couple of games before heading home.
Luke was too small to play most of the games on his own so we let him cheat a little.  After the quarters had run dry it was time for some rides.
Joe and I were planning to have dinner at his parent's house with some other family members that were in town for the wedding.  We said goodbye to the beach around 2 and went home to shower & change but little did we know we wouldn't be gone for long.  It was fun to get to meet some of Joe's cousins that live out of state and we learned that their kids had never seen the ocean!  Once dinner was finished we decided to head over to the beach again so they could check the experience off the list.  Janey & Bernie also joined us for a last minute photo shoot before the wedding.  While Janey was drawing a cute message in the sand Bernie joked around...
It was getting cooler as the sun went down so we headed back to the car but Joe's cousin had other plans.  He was ready for some more adult fun.  His wife & I were both exhausted so we headed for bed while the boys went for a night cap at a local bar.  I'm glad Joe took the time to reconnect with family he hasn't seen in years but I was glad to be off the hook and able to lounge around the rest of the evening!

Goal Progress 5/25

1. Eat out less then 25 meals:  Almost used my last meal again because Joe wanted to ride our bikes to custard hut for $1 hot dogs.  Luckily I convinced him it would be better use of our time for him to go to the grocery store while I cooked pork chops.  24 meals total.

2. At least 25 days with a 750+ calorie burn:
     Breakfast: oatmeal w/milk, brown sugar & banana = 310 calories
     Lunch: greek yogurt, fuji apple & smartfood = 321 calories
     Dinner: pork chop, au gratin potato & broccoli = 621 calories
     Snacks: 0 calories
     Totals: 2176 burned - 1252 eaten = 924 total burned, 15 days total

3. Complete 1500 fitness minutes:  I like to go to step class on Wednesdays but the weather was so beautiful and Joe was out early from work so we decided to go for a run.  I haven't gone for full on run since Shirley Mae (2+ weeks ago) and I could tell.  It wasn't terrible, it only took like 32 minutes which is a great time but my legs were bitching and moaning all the way.  Definitely going to have to work more running into my workout schedule.  1027 minutes total.
4. Drink 64oz of water every day:  Being back to my normal routine definitely helped, I had all my water down before I left work but still drank more at home.  23 days total.

5. At least 25 days with 30 minutes of house work:  I was a woman on a mission when I got home from work.  First I picked up downstairs and then it was time to vacuum!  And then after our run I cleaned the kitchen while making dinner.  17 days total.