Lazy Sunday at the Beach!

It's been very hot and dry here in MD lately and frankly, Dave and I are sick of it! So today we decided to take 20 minute ride to Sandy Point State Park, for some fun in the sun that included time cooling off in the Cheseapeake Bay. Here's our view - kinda cool to be swimming and seeing the bridge and all the ships going by.

 

My love/hate relationship with Jillian Michaels

Look at this face. Good? Evil possibly? Depends on who you ask I guess. Lately I've developed a sort of love/hate relationship with Jillian. We've been meeting nightly, when I cue up my 30 day shred dvd and get the blood pumpin'. By the end of the 20 minute workout we're usually friends again, but during the shred my in-through-the-nose-out-through-the-mouth breathing is usually accompanied by grunts and curses at my virtual trainer, Jillian.

Why do I put myself through this nightly torment? It all started when I realized I'm in the worst shape of my life! I'll take a little of the blame, but a lot of it is just circumstance. Full-time work, part-time grad school, a sprained ankle, and a nasty flu/respiratory infection all conspired to get me into this predicament. I was shrugging it off and planning workouts for "maybe next week" when what seemed like overnight, some of my pants were snug, then just flat out didn't fit at all. Frustrating. Gross. Unacceptable.

Enter Jillian. I purchased the 30 Day Shred dvd back in January in anticipation of having no time once school started, but didn't really get serious about it until recently. The dvd provides 3 20 minute workouts that combine strength, cardio, abs and a good way to sweat when time is not on your side. As an added bonus, the workouts also totally kick your butt (well at least mine). I also think I am seeing some results!

So even though sometimes I think I hate you Jillian, I guess that's an idication that you're doing your job. When you're spouting off a bunch of crap about a "false message of lethargy" and how I have to put my body through stress to really see it change, and I in return am say a few things to you, we'll both know it's coming from a good place...and hopefully taking me to an even better one!

Weekend Updates and BCEs

I had a very productive weekend, hence no blog. To summarize...

Friday: Home from work, delicious dinner at Allison's Restaurant in Crofton with hubby, night of music listening and updating ipod while Dave worked on school stuff. Noteworthy: The food & service at Allison's was great! I had a Yuengling. I decided Bobby Weir should cover I Dig a Pony someday. Got sad news that a good friend's dad died.

Saturday: Did a bunch of chores to help Dave out so he could finish up some school work - grocery shopping, lawn mowing, bathroom cleaning, laundry, etc. Made a bangin chicken scallopini w/capers and all. Noteworthy: Jogged down the street with Dave; first time running since April when I badly sprained my ankle.

Sunday: Morning bike ride to pick up the paper, awesome salad for lunch, off to the Fells Point's Waterfront Hotel to see Dave play, off to PA for a night with Lesley & Gerry. Noteworthy: Enjoyed reading the paper in the shade on the front porch. Half of the salad ingredients came from our own backyard - literally! Dave's gig was fun, had some Blue Moon, a great grilled cheese & tomato, and met some nice people. Fun as always with Les & Ger, even though we unfortunately weren't there for too long.

Monday/Today:
Today was tough. Dave and I attended the funeral of my good friend Shaun's father. I've known Shaun and his family since the 10th grade (that's almost 15 years in case you lost count)and they've always been so kind to me. Although I really hate funerals, I knew I had to be there to show my support and respect for a man who opened his home to me for so many years, and raised some truly great people. I also got to catch up with some familiar faces I haven't seen in ages, a bonus on a sad day.

Dave and I had to leave immediately after the funeral because Dave's final paper for class is due tonight by 11:59 pm mountain time. To help keep him motivated, I finally baked the BCEs I promised. What are BCEs you might ask? These are BCEs:

In layman's terms, BCE stands for Best Cookies Ever, at least according to Dave who coined the phrase. They're my white chocolate macadamia nut cookies that he drools over. So even though it was nearly 100 degrees today, I fired up the oven, put an apron over my shorts & bikini top, and began to bake. Oh the things we do for love. :) Although these cookies weren't my BBE (best batch ever - I suspect the butter got a little too soft), they still tasted good and were appreciated by the harried student. While I hope he doesn't have to stay up too late finishing the paper, I do hope he has an appetite. Like most recipes, you can't make just one, so Dave got a whole bucket of BCEs!

Tomorrow is back to work, well to training actually, so I'm not sure if I'll have anything interesting to say for a few days, but we'll see. Perhaps OPM's Delegated Examining training will rock my world!

RIP John Hughes and craziness

To summarize my day in a sentence, the sad news of John Hughes' passing was book-ended by encounters with crazies.

John Hughes (or "John Huggies" as my sister used to pronounce it before she fully learned to read) is dead? WTF? I love that guy's movies. In fact, that man wrote my favorite movie - Uncle Buck - plus all the Brat Pack flicks, Home Alone...cripes! That really blows.

Besides that crap, it was back to work for me today and thankfully, the transition from vacation was pretty smooth. Except for the fact that true to form, I immediately attracted some weirdo on the train who decided to strike up conversation with me despite the ipod in my ears, my f-you glare, and my complete lack of interest. Yes, the man did continue to speak even with the ipod still in my ears...for the entire ride into DC. Awesome. I knew I was home.

After the amazing start, the day really wasn't too bad. I found that after a truly relaxing few days off I felt better than I have in weeks. I've decided saving leave is overrated and I need to take vacation time more often. Or at least I need to take chunks of vacation time more often. In any event, when I got home, crazy bike girl was outside of our house. Because this is her first reference on my new blog, let me elaborate...

Several months ago now, I was cleaning my bedroom when I happened to notice a young girl riding her bike on my street. I didn't pay too much attention, but when I looked out the window again, there she was - off the bike rummaging through her purse and talking in a very animated way, including laughing. I assumed she was wearing a blue tooth or something, but because I'm incredibly nosy, continued to watch. She emptied and packed her purse 2-3 times and continued her conversation, only there was no cell phone and no blue tooth. She was talking to herself.

At this point the analyst in me kicked in. Surely I was missing something. This wasn't what I thought. I ran downstairs to get a closer look and confirmed this girl was bonkers. I also noticed she kept staring at our neighbor's home. I started to think this was one of the weirdest things I'd ever seen, and thought "Maybe I'm hallucinating?" I called Dave to look, and he confirmed what I saw was real and very strange.

Since that day, crazy bike girl has visited our neighborhood many times, always staring at our neighbor's home and either laughing out loud or talking to herself. Just last week our neighbor remodeled a bathroom and crazy bike girl lost it at the sight of the old toilet and sink out for trash. Dave's convinced she's got some sort of disability - I think she's looney and she gives me the creeps.

I have no photo of crazy bike girl, but you know if I get one I'll post. If you need a mental picture - probably between 13-15, long brown hair always in a ponytail with a big ribbon, squinty eyes, kinda chunky in an early teenager way. I'd actually love to get video b/c you really have to see it to believe it. If I ever get really crazy myself, I may walk out there and ask if I can help her. We'll see.

Vacation - all we ever wanted!

For almost the last week Dave and I have been enjoying the glory that is vacation. Time away from work & responsibility, time with friends, family, and each other; what could be better?

We began our road trip last Friday with a trip to Dunkies for some much needed coffee and were off to start our journey north. We decided to try a book on cd for the trip and it was great! We got caught up in the book Atonement and before we knew it had reached our first destination, the Bacon Hill Inn in Saratoga Springs, where we'd stay with Keiper & Eric for a few nights (photos included in the slideshow below). We'd all recommend this place - the beds were comfy, the food was good, and the owners were very personable.

It was so good to see our friends and to enjoy lots of laughs, relaxation, and great food! After an enjoyable rooftop dinner and impressive sports trivia showing by Eric on Friday, we hit the track to play the ponies on Saturday. Dave and I had never been to Saratoga before and it was quite an experience. I won't say we "got the fever" or anything, but we did enjoy betting and especially using our winnings to buy things like funnel cake. We actually hit a trifecta, but since we had only bet $1, our winnings were nominal. I was still pretty excited though! Saturday evening we continued the fun by hitting up a local Mexican restaurant and enjoying some margaritas. Let's be clear; no Heller-Stein relaxation is quite complete without a margarita or two. :)

Sunday we sadly said our goodbyes (but not before enjoying ice cream from a local creamery) and headed in our separate directions. Keiper & Eric headed east towards Boston; Dave & I headed north towards VT and the second leg of our roadtrip. It rained for most of the drive, but again we had Atonement & each other's company, so we didn't mind. It felt great to see green stretches for miles and sometimes a cow or two. Moreso, it felt great to be on the road and not at work! After a few hours in the car, we arrived at the home of Dave's aunt Nancy, a place we hadn't visited since our roadtrip with Fenn in 2001. To say we were overdue would be an understatement! We enjoyed great conversation & food at Nan's, saw the newest Johnny Depp movie, and enjoyed a lovely day in downtown Burlington. Dave and I both agree we could live in a place like this...in the summer at least! We were again sad to leave Nan, but happy for having some time with her. Before we knew it we were back in the car, back to Atonement, and on our way home - but not without a stop to another favorite Dawson - Grandma!

It was just a quick visit that broke up our ride home, but we were so happy to see Grandma in her knew apartment. We hadn't seen her since she left Maryland, and remembered very quickly how much we had enjoyed the times we visited her down here. It was great to catch up and discuss some current events but alas, once again it was time to go.

So here I am, home now, trying to give words to what will always be described best by my memory. In case the words didn't do it justice (I'm sure they didn't), here's a little slide show of the trip:

Why do mosquitoes always bite me and only me?

So this is officially my foray into blogging. I think I may be too busy or not interesting enough for this, but then again, maybe not. Everyone needs to procrastinate sometimes; I write, you read. Deal.

I have wondered for quite some time why I always get bit by mosquitoes. Seriously! If there is a crowd of 10 people outside at a BBQ and 10 mosquitoes around, I'll end up with 10 bites and 9 other people will walk away unchanged. This has recently gotten to be especially annoying because I sustain at least 3-5 bites in the 10 minutes I take each evening to water my garden. Why does my relaxing garden time become a feeding frenzy for the revolting creature that is the mosquito?

(ps. whoever posed for this picture is out of their flipping mind!)

I couldn't let it go, so I checked trusty old WebMD and found that some scientists were also perplexed, but doing something to figure it out instead of venting on a blog. Turns out it may be due to the fact that I very efficiently process cholesterol (proud to say my levels are impressively low), or perhaps I produce lots of acids or carbon dioxide, or maybe I'm just so hot the mosquitoes can't control themselves. Whatever the case may be, this is by far the one huge downside to summer for me.