Feeling Fortunate

I'm feeling extremely lucky, blessed, fortunate, thankful whatever you want to call it this week and wanted to put it in writing. This way the next time I don't feel this way, I will have something to remind me - ha!

Sunday I was able to spend Father's Day with my Dad, my husband and kiddos, and the rest of my family. We had a great brunch and everyone is happy and healthy - what more is there in life ;-)

Monday I got to play in a charity golf tournament with 3 of my work colleagues. It was followed by a dinner, door prizes and donations. I won a brand new office chair. Most people may think this is a silly gift, but when you sit at your desk all day, a good chair makes you happy ;-) The charity event was awesome and you always leave with a feeling that you did something for someone less fortunate.

Tuesday I was awarded over $700,000 worth of work. Praise God! Needless to say it has been a slow year, so I am super excited to have some construction projects to manage.

Wednesday I got to see Lisa, Sharon and Baby Jonah. It was a great dinner and so enjoyed seeing the Jonah - he is super cute!

Today, Chris comes home from the east coast. I believe he feels like it is starting to be his second home. I am super exicted to see him and enjoy your weekend together. He has been extremely busy at work, so I will take care of him this weekend so he can relax.

Tomorrow I get to sleep in a litte because I don't have to be anywhere until 9:00. We are also having a BBQ at work so that will be fun. The evening will be dinner with my former trainer Julia and her boyfriend. I miss her and am excited to see her!

Aside from those great things, I also got to chat with my mom yesterday and I went for a jog today in the sun.

Oh happy days, oh happy days..................

Follow Up on New Years Resolutions

Back in January I had two New Years' resolutions I set out to obtain. One was to exercise more and get more healthy, and the second one was to practice patience. One out of two isn't bad I guess - ha!

Actually, I've discovered the first one affects the second. I have consistently (since November) worked out at least 4 times a week and most weeks 5 or 6 times. My goal is weight training 2 hours a week and 4-5 hours of cardio. I feel like I'm finally in this adictive mode - not bad, but last week I had Friday off and I went to a Cardio Burn class at 6:00 a.m. I have to give two peole credit, my husband and my personal trainer. Chris is always willing to go workout with me and Julia is always willing to give me a good ass kicking in my training session. She doesn't let me get to lazy, which is exactly what I need.

So the question is, have I lost any weight................................only 5 pounds, but I feel great, and I still eat great food and drink my share of wine. I have become a little more discplined the past couple weeks to try and up the anti. We'll see how it goes, but so far, so good.

Chris is right along with me when I want to work out. I think he has started to enjoy to run. I've done 5Ks for years, but it so much fun to do them with him. We are doing one this Sunday at Green Lake. It is fun to cross the finish line with him cheering for me (he finishes before me). We've also decided that we need to go back to more hiking, like we did the first year we met. We will do our first hike of the season on Saturday - just Little Si, but this is always a great hike with a great view at the top.

This leads to the second resolution about patience........................why is this so hard? I don't feel like I'm the most impatient person (thanks to my husband) but I could stand to relax a little. Of course I'm striving for perfection here, which means this will take to the end of time - ha!

In summary, I feel great, and feel good about working on the resolutions or character flaws or whatever you want to call them. If I work out, I feel good, I feel like I look good, I am not stressed (therefore I have more patience) - the benefits are endless. I hope I can keep this up and when December 31st comes around, I'm have new resolutions to strive for.

Life is great.....................live, laugh (uncontrollably hard on the floor), love!

Michael Buble Concert

This weekend was so fun. Friday night we went to Red Hook with Jake and Heather for Happy Hour to unwind after a long week. Saturday morning was spent lounging and finally got a work out in late morning. We headed downtown Seattle to watch the basketball game, had dinner at T.S. McCughs and went to see the Michael Buble concert at the Key. This was my Christmas prepent from Chris and probably the best present I've gotten, (next to my wedding ring - ha! The concert was amazing - the opening act was Naturally 7. They don't use any instruments to perform, which is the amazing part. Michael Buble put on a great show - he sang for almost 2 hours. Sunday we had Easter brunch at my parents. It was great to see them - it had been a long time since we've seen them so it was great. Thanks Babe for the great gift and another fabulous weekend!

1st Anniversary!

I am shocked at how time flies. I feel like I was just in the middle of planning a wedding and now Chris and I have been married for a year. How sweet it is!

We were lucky enough to be able to spend a weekend away at Alderbrook Resort on the Hood Canal. This place forced us to do nothing for a whole weekend. It was very relaxing and we felt like we were on our Honeymoon. We enjoyed the spa, a good work out at their gym, great food and wine and even caught the UW Basektball game.

I am so excited for another year of great adventures with Chris. He makes everything fun.

A New Year!

This is a great time of year - everyone is planning resolutions and starting out the year fresh - better ideas, better attitudes, improvements galore. Sometimes we even bite off more than we can chew ;-) but the intentions are always good.

My resolutions this year are two fold. I will be healthier - more exercise, less eating out, more exercise. I have already visited the doctor, and have hired a personal trainer (for the last couple months). I will tap dance on Tuesday for exercise and get at least 1 or 2 more days of cardio in on top of that.

The second part is to learn to practice patience better. This has always been a struggle for me, as my Mom has all the patience in our family and I received zero :-( I don't have an exact plan on this resolution yet, but will develop some little things to help with this over the next couple weeks. It may be as simple as counting to 10 sometime when you want something done "right now."

So let's see how far I get on these. Anyone feel free to email me in May and ask how I am doing - ha!

Oh, The Sweetness of Fridays........

Sometimes I feel like I wish my life away, because about Wednesday I find myself saying "I can't wait until Friday." Kind of silly since I like my job, my life and everyone in it. Life just is a little sweeter on the weekends. Chris is home, we have the kids this weekend, I get to spend time with my sister, see my Mom and Dad - what else is there!

I started personal training this week (two days a week) and I love it. I'm hoping it will motivate me :-) Last night when I came home after my workout, Chris had a bouquet of roses, bottle of champagne, dinner, music. What a way to start the weekend a little early! Chris has had a stint of travel - trying to get things done before the Holidays so it was great to have some QT before the weekend with the kids.

Italian Honeymoon!

Our honeymoon in Italy was the most amazing experience. It was filled with planes, trains, boats, busses, sunshine, hiking, pizza, pasta, vino, gelato, walking, stairs, laughs, more laughs, museums, churches, shopping, history, enjoying, observing, relaxing and just loving our time together. Everyone needs to go to Italy!