did i ever tell you about...

...my 30th birthday?

Of course not, it was just yesterday. :)  But since I decided my birthday afternoon was best spent being lazy I didn't get on to blog or get ready for the week in anyway.  I'm paying for that not getting ready for the week thing today but I leave a lot of flexibility in my Monday for that very reason.  I can still be productive and not feel like I'm 'behind' all day.  Anyway, here is the weekend fun run down and an update on my 30 by 30 goal.

So really it was like a four day celebration.  And there will most likely be more pockets of celebration since my dad will be coming to visit in just about 5 weeks (YAY!) and I like to milk my birthday as much as possible.  On Thursday night our friends came over to watch the boys so Stan and I could go out on a Anniversary/Birthday date (our anniversary was on the 20th, I'll post about that later).  We had a nice big dinner and just relaxed.  Then we came home, put the boys to bed and watched a movie.

Friday we had a sort of lazy start to the day, since we finally had worthy internet, and just hung out that morning.  After lunch I met 3 ladies and we got facials (that include a back massage).  We finished with just enough time to come home, shower and get ready for our night out.  At 5:30 they came to pick me up and we went to Old Town to have dinner.  We went to our favorite western restaurant, The Tower (I had chicken tenders and caesar salad), and then to our favorite dessert shop, The Sweet Tooth (E arranged for us to have fondu with all sorts of yummies to dip in chocolate), and then on to a guest house, The Sleepyfish, for our slumber party.  One of the other ladies' birthdays was on Thursday so we made it a joint party.  When we got there and checked in the other three ladies made the two of us stay in the lobby while they went upstairs to get 'things' ready.  We were a little scared.  Finally we went up and they had decorated the room with lights, streamers and balloons.  The music was going and we had a good old fashioned dance party.  It was so much fun!  We laughed so much.  It was a complete blast.  E even gave me a french braid side ponytail. :)  Finally by midnight (even though we were tired way before then) we settled down and when to sleep.  

Saturday morning we got up and headed to breakfast.  We chose a new place to try out and besides the food getting out kinda slow (that is something that I'm sure will get better as they get used to business) it was really good.  The waffles were so good that I decided to get some wraps to bring home and have for lunch.  Also good.  We had a pretty lazy afternoon and then I made pizza for dinner.  Sunday morning we hosted our Sunday morning group and afterward had a hotdog cookout (I love hotdogs on the grill) and cake. Followed by of course another lazy afternoon and evening.  It was a weekend full of fun and relaxation.  Just perfect.

I weighed myself for the final time on Thursday morning cause I knew when we went on our date through the rest of the weekend I wouldn't be counting calories.  I didn't make it quite to 30 pounds but I did lose 26.  Even though I didn't reach my goal I am still super happy with that and since I don't have plans to stop I know I will be down that 30 in a couple of weeks.  Through all the set backs I still accomplished a lot.  Since I have another 20 or so I would like to lose I'm going to work on another goal, so stay tuned for that!

Well, back to normal, non celebratory life.  Not as much fun but it is the way it goes.  It was great while it lasted and now I get to push through and head to 40! ;)

internet woes

We have been having some serious internet issues.  There are already issues that are just a part of our normal service but for the last few weeks it has been ridiculous.  Luckily we were on vacation last week and could connect at the apartment we were staying in.  But I have to say that not having internet really makes me feel disconnected.  Although on the plus side of things, I am much more productive without the distraction of blogs and FB.  But yay, things seem to be back to 'normal'.

Before our internet issues I had started a post about some things that God was teaching me, but I just couldn't formulate it into the right words.  There were a lot of feelings and revelations that I couldn't express fully and every time I reread what I wrote it just seemed silly and unimportant.  So, I may continue to work on it or start over but God is doing some wonderful things in my heart.  I love how GREAT He is!

As and alternative, just for some fun Friday reading, I thought I would give some funny confessions.  Despite my attempt to be deep at times my mind is very often filled with silliness and things that would make most of you remember just how absurd I really am.  So here it goes.

1.  I quite often dream of starting the boys learning musical instruments.  Now.  This is in my hopes of them becoming a 'Hanson' type brother band and earning their own money for college.  I even sometimes try to think of catchy band names.  Nothing good yet so suggestions are welcome.

2.  While we were in Bangkok one of the three English TV channels would play episodes of One Tree Hill.  That was never a show that I was interested in before but I kinda liked it.  Last week we found the first 5 seasons on DVD.  I'm now watching season 1.  It's exaggerated High School drama but for some reason I'm enjoying it.  If you watch now, don't ruin it for me.  Although I have looked at the Wikipedia page on the show and know a little bit about what the future holds for these Tree Hill, NC teenagers.

3.  I turn 30 in exactly 2 days and I feel like a little kid.  I'm celebrating all weekend in several ways and milking it to the max.  Stan says I'm getting carried away.  To be honest, I don't care.  Let the fun begin!  

vacation

We are currently on a little mini vacation.  So I have a few minutes to just pop in and say a quick hello.  I'm still trying to figure out how to work in time to blog, because I really like doing it.  Here and on the Angel's blog.  Between the very slow internet we have been experiencing at home and me trying to stick to the new schedule I've worked up I haven't figured out my blogging time.  And loading pictures has been absolutely frustrating.  Anyway, I haven't completely given up.  I know there are a few of you out there that check in here and there to see what's going on.  So don't forget about me.

Off to hop in the shower and get ready so we can get the boys out.  We've had a kinda relaxing morning and now we are off to take the boys to a play area and eat something yummy for dessert.  I'm voting for the Italian restaurant that is so good and since it's run by an Italian guy and not a Chinese person, it's authentic and delicious.  Unfortunately this vacation has hit right when I want to be hitting the weight loss front with full force but I'm practicing restraint while enjoying some Western food.

'C' date

Tonight we had our 'C' date.  We went to a new(ish) western restaurant called the Connoisseur.  It's a chain of a place located in KM so it actually has pretty good food.  They have tortellini on the menu, which is my absolute favorite pasta dish, but they have never actually had it when I've been.  A friend of mine ordered it once and said it was good so I will not give up on ordering it!  Since they didn't have that I opted for lasagna, also quite yummy.  Date night calories don't count, right?

Since the restaurant is a great atmosphere we decided to just hang out there and have coffee and dessert.  I was so full and didn't want coffee cause I knew it was strong so I opted for an iced strawberry thing (kinda like sorbet maybe).  And as we enjoyed our after dinner treats we played cards, Canasta Calliente again.  After I beat Stan twice it was time to go home.  It was so nice to have another night out just to relax and talk.  

I think for the 'D' date we will go out with D and E for a Double Date.  Should be fun!

30 by 30: 5 down, 1 to go

Just under one month to go!

The past few weeks have gone really well.  As I have been praying about how to make my schedule work with fitting in everything I want to do for myself and for my family I started to think about what has really worked for me in the past.  I became VERY aware that p90x wasn't going to be possible in it's full capacity.  I don't have time to work out for over an hour everyday and to be honest as I looked at the meal plan I simply laughed.  The amount of carbs it allows would have left me sluggish and cranky by 9:00 am. So the big questions, what has worked for me in the past and what can I realistically do while living here?

The 'program' I have had the most success with is First Place.  I did it in high school and I did it after Bennett was born, both times losing weight and being able to keep it off--well until a major life change got me messed up each time (college and moving to the other side of the world).  What I like best is that from the beginning it helps you learn portion control with real food.  So for me, especially living here where there are very rarely nutrition labels, I really felt that would be my best option.  So as I was checking out the website I found a link to CalorieKing--an online program that is very similar.  Right now online is a great option for me, plus they were having a great joining promotion.  It allows me to apply all the calorie counting and help me monitor the fat, carbs and protein I'm getting each day.  Also there are places to record exercise and weekly weigh-ins.  Not to mention the fact that it has a HUGE food database where all I have to do is click and drag into my online food diary.  And even better for me there is a great feature that allows you to do a custom food.  So by using this feature on the Calorie Count website I can analyze any recipe I have and get the nutritional information on it.  Seriously this has been so simple.  And with it being on the computer I can easily plan out my day, make sure I'm getting all the calories I need each day and monitor if I'm going way over on Carbs or Fat--which lets face it are my struggle.

So after just one week I have lost 3 pounds which puts me just 6.5 pounds from my goal.  And since I've been having back issues I haven't worked out.  So I'm hoping to keep up the motivation, and hoping my back gets better soon so I can get in my weekly exercise.  And speaking of exercise, I am planning to still use my favorite p90x workouts.  I have the DVDs, the cardio based ones are actually kinda fun and give me a great workout.

Please pray for my back!  Not only can I not workout but it just makes life in general difficult.  Thanks!

did i ever tell you about...

...how I met my husband?

In the Fall of 1999 the three ladies I lived with in college and I decided to finally start looking for a church in our area to attend.  It was our Sophomore year and we knew it was time to really get involved in a body of believers.  I spent the whole year before with the mentality that I had a great church at home so I didn't need another.  But as my relationship with God grew he spoke to my heart about finding a church family where I was living.  So, all of us being in a similar situation, as a foursome we decided to find somewhere to connect with believers and to be fed spiritually.

We looked around downtown Raleigh but at the time the churches in that area were mostly older people and young families (there have since been many wonderful church plants in that area).  No one that we could really connect with.  So Tara, who was from Durham, told us that her church was starting a college group.  We decided to give it a try.  The first Sunday we went we instantly felt welcomed and a part of the group.  After service we met a lot of the people in the group.  One of those people was Stan. I can remember meeting him in the pews toward the back on the left side of the sanctuary.  But that wasn't the most memorable part.

After small group we all went to lunch at the Hard Wok for the Chinese Buffet.  During lunch we got into a conversation about love (if you know Darren Russo you know that is not an uncommon topic at any point in time).  At some point I gave my opinion (as someone who was recently out of my first long term relationship).  Stan, in his way, countered what I had to say.  I got completely offended and at that point in time vowed to *hate Stan for all time.  That vow lasted for a good 6 months, too.

How we went from *hate to friends to dating is a story for another Monday.

*Hate, not really meaning hate but I definitely didn't want to make any extra effort in building a friendship.  Stan will tell you that he did not feel the same way.  I think at this point he was just completely neutral towards me.