Yaya

ummm... i moved

After all the crazy spam I've been getting lately i decided to move my blog.

You can now find me here http://fixitwithwine.wordpress.com/

Hope to see you there!



P.S. Don't forget to change your Google Reader settings.

What Gives?

For the last month I have been going to the gym regularly 2-3 times per week and trying my best to eat right and small portions and taking alli.

I lost the 3 lb’s I had gained over what I usually weigh and now I’m stuck. The scale is the same every morning.

I’m totally frustrated now.

I only want to lose 10lb’s in the next 4 months. I think it’s a reasonable goal. But nothing seems to be working.

I know that muscle weighs more than fat so that could be the case and I know it’s really about how I feel, and I have definitely been feeling better, but at some point I want to be able to loose the weight and I want to know that when that time comes it’s not going to be insanely difficult.

I blame some of the weight on my birth control, but that’s not something I plan to stop any time soon.

And I’m not sure that I can handle the no carbs thing.

So anyone have any good ideas?

A wedding and a funeral?

The other day I was in the car with my mom on the way to do some shopping and she said “what if we have to cancel the wedding?”

i'm thinking is she kidding? and then she says...

“What if we have to cancel the wedding because your grandfather dies?”

First of all my grandfather has been in the hospital because of surgery and physical therapy and a bit of dementia but currently it’s not serious.

Because of this I am already planning on not having my grandparents at the wedding. It makes me terribly sad but there is nothing I can do to fix it.

Second of all if he dies on the same weekend as the wedding I think that sad as it may be the show must go on. I could get wedding insurance but if it’s that weekend half the people will already have nonrefundable tickets to fly into town and hotel rooms reserved and there is no insurance I know of that will cover that. If people have to go through all that trouble will they come when we reschedule? I’m thinking not. and on top of all that i don't think he would want me to cancel.

So what do I do? Do I get wedding insurance? What if he dies the weekend before? Why does she think this is even a possibility?

200!

My last post was my 200th for this blog. very exciting.

I am still receiving Japanese spam comments so for now the comment moderation will remain.

I'm starting to think that my blog needs a purpose or i should stop blogging. but i have no idea what i would focus on. what do you all think?

updates and stuff.

So the paella turned out ok. My mom was too lazy to go get the chorizo so it was lacking a bit in flavor. also i was not as happy with the arborio as i was with the La Bomba rice from La Tienda.

lunch yesterday was fun and worth the calories, but dinner was a bit awkward.  we were a table for 6 at the melting pot we had two burners. the waiter put beer in one pot and wine in the other for cheddar and swiss cheeses. but when he put in the cheese he put the swiss with the beer and the cheddar with the wine. i told him nicely that he had made a mistake and he insisted he had not. it took several times to convince him to re-do it. after that my mom was upset because he was very slow. we were there for 3 and a half hours. And on top of that my cousin was sick and did not want to eat.

also between eating out, decorating my cube (pictures soon), and buying gifts for people, i have spent WAY too much  money in the last two weeks. so now i need to try my best to not buy anything for a few more weeks. wish me luck, i'm going to need it.

ACK!

I have been very good the last 3 weeks and finally lost the 3lb’s I had gained and today I’m going to ruin it all.


I promised a few co-workers I would take them to The Counter Burger for lunch.

It’s a build your own burger place and I have decided on the following

A beef burger 1/3lb (I know it’s higher in calories than their turkey, chicken, and veggie burger but I need the real thing) 450 calories

Horseradish cheddar – 80 calories (less than most of their other cheese options)

Red onions, pickles, mixed greens. All are 0 calories!

Ginger soy glaze – 45 calories (not bad at all, and I won’t use all of it)

And an English muffin for a bun. 190 calories. It’s fewer calories than the white and wheat buns and I will probably take off the top half anyway.

That’s 765 calories for lunch and does not include the fries.  :(

I had figured I would be bad at lunch and then go to the gym and eat a light dinner and all would be ok and then my mom asked if we could take my aunt and cousins to dinner at the melting pot for my cousin’s birthday. CRAP.

The average 2 person meal at the melting pot is 1400 calories.

So I plan to take the salad home for lunch tomorrow, and eat more veggies than meat.

But even with all me pre-planning I’m going to be way over my allotment for today.

Sad.

And I had a mini bagel for breakfast at about 200 calories when you add the cream cheese.

That’s going to put me right around 1600 calories for the day. Not horrendous, but not great.

Tomorrow it’s back to the gym with a vengeance.

Paella it's what's for dinner

On our way to Virginia Beach a few weeks back we stopped at La Tienda.

We bought wine, cheese, chorizo, paella rice, a clay paella pan and they gave us this recipe for paella.

At the beach we went to the fish monger and bought fresh clams, shrimp and some lobster we got the rest of the stuff at Farm Fresh.

It came out really well.

A few observations…

To keep cost down switch out the lobster with some kind of white fish that won’t flake too easily.

Instead of whole chickens just cube some boneless skinless thighs.

Of you can’t find La Bomba rice just use Italian Arborio

Use clams or mussels but both are a bit much.

Use more saffron

Don’t bother with both sizes of shrimp, one size makes life easier.

Tonight is our second attempt at paella, this time with some of these modifications. YUM!

Comments

I have had to turn on comment moderation because I have been getting odd spam comments with Japanese like characters and links.

I apologize. If the weird spam stops I will turn it off.

Let there be light!

Yesterday, after a year and a half of living with no real light source in our master bedroom, we took out the old ceiling fan and replaced it with this one.

I cannot tell you how happy I am that I can now see my things at night and don’t have to stumble to the other side of the room to turn the bed side lamp on.

It really is the little things in life.

Now if only I was tall enough to reach the cords. Damn vaulted ceiling. I need Russ to install the extenders.

You Can't go wrongo with Wrongo Dongo.

Wrong Dongo is my new favorite cheap wine. last weekend we bought and drank three bottles of it and today we bought two more.

I found it for $7.99 at World Market. It's a Monastrell from Jumilla, Spain.

If you want to try something a little different from Spain try this Grenache from Calatayud Spain. The bottle is pretty and my dad said he liked it a bit better than the Wrongo Dongo. I found it for $9.00.

One Line a Day

EmpressKate and I bought 2 of these yesterday and i'm super excited.

every page has the day of the year at the top, like "January 1" and then underneath that it has 5 lines that all start with 20__ and you fill in the year. so when it's finished that page with have what you did on that date five years in a row.

 I was thinking how cool this would be to give to new mom's so they could record the first 5 years of their child's life and guess what? they have one for that too!

I did so much today i'm not sure how to fit it all in one line. i have always tried to journal and i never stick to it but this i think i can do.

wish me luck.

Pretending

On Saturday I did something I never thought I would do again, I pretended to be Catholic.


In order to do the reading at Ryan’s funeral mass I had to be Catholic, and in order not to raise suspicions I said all the prayers, sang the songs, and took communion.

It’s nothing new for me. I was raised catholic. I received the sacraments of baptism, reconciliation, communion, and confirmation and for a period I went to catholic school.
Sometime around the age of 10 I decided it was not for me and for years I pretended to still be Catholic.
When I finally told my family I was met with resistance, anger, and sadness. But it is a decision I have never regretted.
The weirdest thing was seeing all the other people I know to be pagan do the exact same thing. It’s nice to know I’m not alone.

On Death

In the last few days I have had a lot of time to contemplate death, and boy am I still terrified.

It’s the kind of thing that I can be going about my day and then I will feel so overwhelmed by the idea of death that it stops me in my tracks.

Some days I feel at peace with the idea but most often I am paralyzed with fear.

Although I consider myself spiritual and have always believed in reincarnation there is a fear in my rational mind that says what if it just ends.

And then I try to contemplate nothingness and my brain cannot comprehend it.

Sometimes I get to thinking that at least through the children I may one day have I can live on through them, and then I wonder if my children will be just as scared as I am of death and should I even have them at all sparring them the dread.

I am amazed by people who have faith and can with all certainty tell me they believe in an afterlife, but I am not so sure.

And if this is all there is maybe I should do more with the time I have.

RIP Ryan "Bug"

September 25, 2010 - May 14, 2010

In September a close friend of mine gave birth to sweet Ryan. Sadly Ryan was born with congenital myotonic muscular dystrophy and PVL and on Friday after eight months of suffering he passed away. I was blessed enough to have met Ryan when he was just a day old in the NICU and last week i was able to say goodbye knowing that he was not long for this world.

On Saturday, those of us that loved him most will celebrate his short life as we lay him to rest. My thoughts are with his parents who are two of the strongest people i know. Their strength is awe inspiring. I wish them peace in knowing that Ryan is now free from pain.

We miss you already! 

I've Been Busy

Sorry for the hiatus. I’ve been busy.

I worked a highland games in North Carolina a few weeks back and had a great time but was totally exhausted when I got back. I’m not sure how I ever had the energy to work the renaissance festival, go to school, and work 3 other jobs.

We did our engagement shoot a few weeks ago and I will post pictures at Domestic Empress Weddings soon.

The band played their final show on Friday at Bangkok blues and it was awesome!

They tried an encore on Saturday in the backyard and the police came twice and shut us down the second time. When I looked it up today the law says that a band cannot cause noise during the hours of 11pm – 7am (exactly what I explained to the second officer who came, he told me that that was not true, what a jerk)

My annual meeting at work is coming up and I have been insanely busy. I was so frustrated with the hotel we are working with that a few weeks ago I cried at work. For two weeks they sent me rooming lists with problems. I have over 200 sleeping rooms that I am in charge of and every time I sent them changes they either did not make them or made them incorrectly and then would resend me the list like nothing was wrong.

So I think posts will be sparse for a few weeks. But I’m still around, I swear.

A wonderful end to the weekend

Last night the guys decided that band practice would be outside. They spent half the afternoon bringing all the equipment outside. When the music started the neighbors came out to listen. The backyard wall full of neighbors sitting in lawn chairs and watching their kids play. Surrounding neighbors watched from their decks and yelled song requests.

The White Hot is preparing for their final show which will be Friday, April 30th at Bangkok Blues in Falls Church, 10:00pm-1:30am. Their singer Todd is being sent to Baghdad until November and by the time he returns the drummer (my brother) will most likely be away at school.

(The White Hot: My Dad on bass, my brothers on guitar and drums, my fiancé on lead guitar, and their singer Todd)

The outdoor practice went so well that even the police made an appearance. Apparently someone called to complain but did not leave a name. When the police arrived the neighbors all told them that they did not want the band to stop. so they told the band to end by dark, sat down to watch for a bit, and then left.

The neighbors have decided that before Todd leaves there will need to be a backyard blowout with several Bar-B-Q's going and the band playing and all the neighbors. I'm in!

Waking up is hard to do

When i switched jobs in July i was very excited because i could sleep in a bit, my new job was only 6 miles from my house instead of the 18 mile commute in heavy traffic i had before.

But as time has gone by it has gotten harder and harder to get out of bed in the morning.

I try to be at work by 8am so that i can take an hour lunch and still be out by 4:30pm but lately i have been getting up later and later. I've been getting to work around 8:15 or 8:30, which is fine cause if i eat lunch at work i can still leave at 4:30pm, but i miss having a lunch break.

My other problem is that i'm tired all day at work. I sometimes drink 2 and 3 cups of coffee or resort to diet soda (cherry coke zero is the only one i can stomach) just to stay awake and then when i get home i take a nap or lay on the sofa for hours.

What do you do to motivate yourself to get up in the morning and keep yourself energized throughout the day?

Bridal Blogging

Hi readers!

The Domestic Empress has started her own wedding blog, Domestic Empress Weddings!

I will be the first bride blogger for DE Weddings so all my wedding related posts will now appear at http://www.thedomesticempress.com/weddings/ please stop by.

and now this blog can return to it's regularly scheduled program...stay tuned.

Hallmark moment

Yesterday i went to Hallmark to get a card for my grandfather who was turning 77. my grandfather speaks broken English so i though maybe a birthday card in Spanish would be nice.

I asked the lady if she had any birthday cards in Spanish and she looked at me like i had 3 eyes and said that she might have one. I never told her exactly who the card was for.

We found the card but unfortunately it's the same card i gave him last year so i told her thank you and that i would just have to choose a card in English. she asked me if he was a citizen, and he is, so she said it was fine (weird, but whatever). So i picked a card about fine wine and having a fine birthday. I went back to the same lady to pay. she asked if i had a hallmark card and i said yes. I pulled it out and she scanned it. she looked at my last name and said "oh now i get it, your Spanish!" no shit sherlock! i told her that actually i was Cuban on both sides and left.

did she think i was buying a birthday card for my Latin lover? does this kind of crap happen to anyone else?