Adjusted Reality

Tag: wedding Page 4 of 5

Things on my head, things in my head…

On September 14, 2009

Things In My Head:

So normally every Monday I post this mathematically anal and precise summary of what I did last week and what I am going to do this week. There are calories in, and calories out. To be honest, Friday it started to drive me crazy. I’m not making the progress I want anyway. 4 day workout weeks were interesting, but just not working for me as well as they used to. I’m still hanging out in that silly little 153-155 (ignoring the scale today because it is mean and way outside the norm) range I can’t shake, no matter how much the numbers say I should be moseying away from it.

So I’m going to, for at least this week, do it a little more organically. I am going to eat (mindfully) what I goddamn feel like, and focus on what my body is trying to tell me it needs. Focus on good whole foods and fruits and veggies and good proteins and fats and the like. I took the entire weekend off working out (Friday, Saturday, Sunday) minus walking pretty close to 1000 miles shopping (ok, so maybe only about 8 or so but still). When your friend asks for his birthday present to relax and not workout, you oblige. I am adopting a workout plan for this week, but only because I am racing (just a little local unofficial one) on Saturday morning.

Today: 5k easy run, weights

Tues: 5k for pace (26 minutes plzplz?) and yoga

Wednesday: DDR and weights

Thursday: 5k run with timed mile #2 (7:10 plzplz?) and yoga

Friday: Rest

Saturday: Race!

Still a pretty kick ass week, but spread out a little more, and no long run. Will resume distance next week because I really enjoy that long run, but this week it’s all about trying to prep for a PR!

Still things in my head:

So we’re in a all wedding, all the time stage of the game here at La Tete de Quix, considering in 2 weeks and 4 days I’ll be on a plane to Vegas. We are making huge strides in finalizing everything, but I still have these main things to deal with:

The reception details. The coordinator is just impossible to get ahold of and we have a lot of questions. I think it will be a pretty quick phone call because we have all the main stuff dealt with, but I feel a little ill at ease not having some of the stuff like decorations, dance floor, audio setup, and cake stuff dealt with.
Final touches on my ensemble. I need to finish figuring out my makeup and do some more trial runs. The first run I loved at first but then realized it was a little too dark for a day tropical wedding. Also, I’ve been researching how to get my hair to do what I want (beachy waves, mostly down, maybe some braids, flowers, etc). My maid of honor was going to do my hair and makeup, but she said she was nervous about getting it right, so I’m looking into doing it myself, or at least knowing EXACTLY what I want so I can enlist help getting the curling iron around the back of my head and such. Also, still kinda want some sort of tropical flower brooch possibly to go on the front of the dress. I think though… that’s it!
Reception timeline and playlist. We’re not going with a DJ or band – we’re bringing the mp3 player loaded with a playlist and getting a friend to sorta be “master of ceremonies”. So that being that, we need to spend a bunch of time downloading songs and figuring out what of the traditional things we want to do and when.

Geez, I think that’s about it. After all the things still outstanding last week, I feel much better about everything.

Finally, things ON my head:

So after doing a bunch of hair research (did I really just say hair research? heh) I found a freaking awesome little tool on the In Style site. Seriously, make sure you have an hour or two to waste and give it a click. Some highlights:

This one is actually one of my favorites. I don’t necessarily want this cut for the wedding, but it’s pretty close to that “I’ll have this look someday” picture in my head with the dark hair with red highlights, bangs, and a little longer than shoulder length. I’ll have to make sure that this one doesn’t make me look horrid if I do my normal bedhead hairdo (which, perhaps, if I looked that nice with some effort, might happen less often but let’s be honest, priority #1 in the morning is my workout, not the curling iron), but I might go for it later this year. The nice thing about hair – it grows back (and mine grows fast).

Ok, enough of that, onto wedding ideas…

Here are some of the styles that are just about almost right. The far left has braids like I was playing with, but I think I want a little more of my hair up. Middle – I can ALMOST get my hair to do that, but I can’t quite get the volume and it just doesn’t look as nice. That one would be fun too because I could probably get away with an extra flower in back. Also, if this could be my natural color, I might possibly give my left arm. Right, I like the waves at the bottom better than the one before it, but I like the top part of the other one better. Bottom – I like the curls but it needs something else to it.

I went ahead and tried their makeup generator too, and it left me looking about 10 years older. Do please ignore that part of it, but I think the flower will work. I wanted them all over my hair but I think that more than one flower/clump will be overkill. I think I want more of a “half up” type style more than what’s going on here, but I like the wispy, fresh from the beach style that’s there. For some reason, this picture screams glamour shots. Remember those? I never got them but I was always jealous of the girls who did…

Anywhoo, here’s more fun! Man, I wish I could be as cute as Zooey in her do (fourth), but I’m actually amazed I can pull of Charlize’s (third) as well as am there. Enjoy, but don’t tell your bosses where you got the idea. In fact, don’t tell mine. Have a great Monday – how’s your hair today? Should I go for that first cut? How’s your hair? What would you do with it if you could just have a stylist appear?

So Much To Say…

By Quix

On September 9, 2009

In Uncategorized

…but it’s not flowing. So it’s a FIVE RANDOM THINGS day and a short one at that.

1. I haven’t taken my measurements since July, and apparently gaining some weight also meant losing an INCH on my waist and half an inch on my bicep (which I am still deciding if that’s a good thing or a bad thing). So crazy. So even though I’m up a bit, I am still making some progress. I may not be in the normal BMI category, but I am now in the low risk hip to waist ratio (by .01! Take that, inverted triangle body!)

2. I did my best mile ever again on Monday afternoon – 7:18. If you’ll remember, my best mile time before about a month ago was 7:50 – a record I set in 8th grade. I beat that and have been whittling the time down each week – 7:35, then 7:27… now I just have 19 seconds to shave off to beat my goal of a mile under 7 minutes. I want to try to do it by the end of September. What’s NOT going as well is whittling down my 5k time. I wanted to get under 25 minute but the best I’ve run so far is 26:40. I just haven’t been able to really find the right pacing so I don’t die by the end. I’m targetting a little unofficial 5k in a week and a half so I can put myself to the test then.

3. Three weeks from tomorrow I will be getting on the plane to head to Vegas, and three weeks from Sunday we get married. It feels like there is so much left to do, but I think it’s just me freaking out. There’s not that much left to do. I mean, we just have to finalize the guest count and finalize the flowers/decorations/ceremony/music and make a playlist for the reception and get Zliten his shirt and order the favors and…geez, this isn’t making me feel better AT ALL. Moving along…

4. Work is going well so far with the new and crazy. Still a lot of unknowns but I’m feeling less like my brain is moving at the speed of molasses and operating at 2 year old level. Sad to say that I can’t talk specifics for a LONG time, but I’m really looking forward to the day when I can. I do have my hand in 3 different projects right now but I like rolling like that.

5. This week and the rest of the weekend stand to be pretty mellow, but Friday night is both the next Yelp Elite party (this time, it’s a cocktail contest!) and a good friend’s birthday. We are heading to Fogo De Chao. Yeah, that’s unlimited meat on swords you see there. I am still debating between splurging it up good or just ordering the salad/sides bar which looks super yummy too.

5b. I’d talk about my bachelorette party but I don’t have any pictures yet! Most of the pictures were taken on disposable cameras so waiting for someone to develop and scan them might take a while. Let it be known though that it was a blast! There was dancing and drinking and penis cake and lingerie gifts and great times with great girls. Oddly enough, I felt just fine the next day and I think everyone else was more hung over than I was (lots of water between shots and dancing the liquor out = ok next day).

Happy hump day! Tell me something random about your week!

Better Today

By Quix

On August 26, 2009

In Uncategorized

Just wanted to give a quick update, as now that I’ve spewed the vile stuff out, I feel purged of it. I’ve been in a much better mood today. It might also be that I’m finally wearing the skinny jeans that haven’t fit since vacation and the scale put my back into the 153’s, but whatevs. I’ll take it any way I can get it.

4-day work (out) weeks. I had much success doing them. Those 4 days were hell on wheels and I spent literally 2 hours from changing into and out of my gym clothes, but I did see some decent progress. Zliten was kind enough to remind me of that. While I am enjoying the 30 mins here, 20 mins there I’ve been doing (and it certainly added up to just as much if not more than I was doing in my 4 day plan), maybe my body likes the marathon sessions and more rest days. Something to ponder if I’m still not seeing results, though that goes out the window as soon as half training starts.

Stress. I like to discount it, because while I love plans and schedules and lists, I also am usually pretty low on the stress-0-meter. Whatever happens at work, usually stays at work. My home life is awesome sauce. But since the three pronged attack on my psyche came into focus, dust has been kicked up around here and I guess I am feeling a little more tense than normal. I find occasionally I can’t go back to sleep and sit up thinking about shit. Which is very, very not normal for me, especially since I started running. Running = sleep like a baby all night. So once Zliten is back to work and the wedding is done, things will calm down to about normal and I can relax.

Stability. I was an idiot and starved my way through my half training, at least I think. Zliten thinks I am also eating now more than I did then (except a heavy meal once or twice a week before long runs) and I am running 6 miles a week to my 25 then. My body is probably trying to figure out what the heck is going on and is just getting readjusted to having enough food.

I am going to take my skinny jeans wearing, mood-swinging, stressball ass to the bridal shop for my dress fitting now. Ciao, bellas. More later.

Overcompensation?

By Quix

On August 18, 2009

In Uncategorized

Things are still about 85% cuh-ray-zee at work but wanted to check in and make sure y’all knew I wasn’t going off the grid here. Hopefully I can resume a semi-normal posting schedule soon but hey, what IS a normal posting schedule up in here? I was aiming for at least M/W/F. Oh well. I am here now, and should probably stop wasting precious words blathering about posting in my post. Oooh, recursive.

Anyhoo, a recap of last week, and what’s shaking in Quix-life this week.

Last Week Wrap Up:

Hello, dinner course on Sunday. Dont you look delicious. Hey, those are half taters and caliuflower, so dont judge me (too much).

Hey there, dinner course, you look delicious. Hey, those are half taters and caliuflower, don't judge (too much).

Last week, I ate an average of 1825 calories tracked per day. I’m going to go ahead and tack on an extra 100 per day with the nibble of this, sip of that habit I have and say 1925. This was not on accident. Iput things in my mouth such as an 800 calorie sandwich, 3 servings of potato/corn chips in ONE DAY (and with dip), a sugary alcoholic beverage or 2, and a 3 course filet and crab meal dripping with butter. So much for after-vacation repentantance, huh?

However, I increased my activity. Instead of my 417 per day I aimed to burn, I was all the way up at 742. I did 6 full workout days with at least 30 mins moderate/intense cardio on 5 of them. I did 3 full weights sessions. It was a good workout week.

1925 – 742 = 1183 calories. Oops. Considering I should be ingesting just over 2000 calories to sit on my butt all day, that might be a little too much of a deficit. 1000 calories is the absolute line, but 800 calories per day is pretty close. Before I added up the numbers, I was thinking “geez, why did I eat so much, I had a horrible week, I should have busted my butt in the gym more…etc”. It’s becoming apparent that I must have mistreated my body during half training if I feel like I’m eating too much NOW when I’m training way less. Next time I will track food but it will probably be a matter of making myself eat more healthy food than I feel like I should.

This week the goal is a little LESS food and a little LESS workouts. I’d like to bring the ratio to 750 or less also (that is, in theory, 1.5 lbs lost in a week).

The zone ratio this week – epic fail. Closest I got was 27/26/47 and the weirest ones were 6/19/63 or 12/50/38. I don’t think it’s in the cards anytime soon for me to eat 40/30/30 effortlessly, but it’s not a horrible idea to work towards it, the way I naturally eat is very carb heavy because I love my fruits and veggies and starches and think meat should be used in between bread/tortillas/etc or on top of salads, stir fries, curries, etc. I love beef jerky and turkey pepperoni as snacks, and it feels rather sinful to mow down almonds and pistachios, but I find that while I’m satisfied, I’m not satiated and want something carby with it as well. It’s all about finding a balance.

Last week’s high weight was 157.6 and last week’s lowest weight was 154.6. I’m going to start tracking both.

Non-Obsessive Fitness Related Stuff:

As for the other stuff in this here post, things have mostly resolved themselves. Zliten got his offer letter today and starts on August 31st. The salary, though not the ridiculous money he was making before, is better than expected so that’s a bonus! It is a relief and came just in time. It will suck a bit to have to wait about 1 month to get a second income coming in so the savings will take a small hit, but considering it’s temporary – I can’t complain. And we can finally work to replensh it after that!

The work stuff – while there are still fires burning, things are settling down well. Coming in at this stage of a project is actually nice because I’m more involved and can contribute to the direction, instead of just feeling like a secratary while the big boys get to play. It’s nice. It’s – as always- a work in progress I’ll have to keep vigilant about, but I think this is going to be a good learning experience here for me instead of a disaster, which my initial reaction was last week.

What Now?

This week, she is a busy one. I’m plowing through insane amounts of documents at work (trying to archive 3 years worth of stuff). I posted my second best mile time EVAR today at 8 minutes flat. I could have done it in less time (I wasn’t completely wasted after), but I miscalculated (I start slower at the beginning and then work up – so while I should have started around 8:15ish I started at 8:30 pace). Next time! Today we are going out after work for the August Yelp Elite party (organic BBQ and organic Vodka and live music? Yes plz!) and going to pop the champagne and celebrate Zliten’s jobiness.

Then – it’s all wedding all the time. 47 days until it. Yikes! We are working on registry stuff at Penney’s,

These shoes are the trifecta of awesome, just cross your fingers they work with the dress...

Target, and Amazon. You’d be surprised how hard it is to do this – I decide, “Ok, I want some luggage.” Then it takes me an hour to pick out the one piece I want and read reviews and such. Zliten during this time has added 40 things. So it’s been a long, slow process.

Sunday, I was fortunate enough to find shoes. They were cute, comfortable, and on sale. Now, I’m crossing my fingers that they match the dress and we’re solid. I also grabbed some silk flowers from the craft store and am trying to wrap my head around how I want them in my hair. I’m hoping to make them myself because they are so freaking expensive online. Clip+silk flower != 50 bucks in my world. I have a bracelet, I need a necklace and earrings, spanx, and am looking for a tropical-ish brooch possibly to go on the front of the dress. I think I’ve nixed the veil idea although I wouldn’t mind something similar/in place of it. Maybe a colored, super short veil? Maybe I go with a flower crown and do ribbons? Lots to think about, but it’s getting put together. Next month we start talking with the site and getting all that dealt with – though they assured us they do tropical themed weddings all the time so it wouldn’t be a problem. Hope that’s as easy breezy as they say it will be.

Beyond that, I’m just going to try to get through the week alive and enjoy the ride. I miss your blogs, and hope to catch up on them soon. Any wedding tips? Doing something cool this week?

Resolution Round Up

By Quix

On July 31, 2009

In Uncategorized

So considering the year is half over (or over half over, as I had INTENDED to post this closer to July 1st rather than July 31st), I figure I should do a little bit of project management on myself and see how this year is shaping up. I believe dietgirl was the ohwise Guru who posted this in a more timely manner. I’m glad I’m finally getting around to it though…

Here are 2009’s Resolutions…

1. Body: Will continue to eat in a manner that is mostly healthy as I do now and improve when I can, continue improving my fitness, and work on reaching my goal weight, whatever that ends up being, in 2009. While I’ll always work on improving my muscles and endurance, I’d like to get to the point where the scale is just a double check a few times a week that I’m not way off track, and food journals are a thing of the past, by the end of 2009.

Yeah, I would like to say I was done. I think I’m close, but I just can’t seem to find the secret sauce formula that gets my weight going downdowndown again. However, I am definitely a healthier eater and person in general than I was at the start of the year. I’ve cut down a heck of a lot on my nicotine consumption (I regularly go days without it and barely notice until I get a random craving or it’s party time). I’ve cut down my alcohol intake. I regularly sleep 7-8 hours per day and wake in the mornings without too much complaint. I went from 6 miles max to running a half marathon. I’m whittling down my 5k time. I’m increasing my weights/reps/pushup counts. The pullup still eludes me but I’m ever so close.

I think the “problem” is I’m getting a healthier attitude about it all. It frustrates me to no end some days, but I care so much less about the scale than my running times and how dance class is going and if I’ve gotten my fruits and veggies for the day. I think I look and I know I feel pretty awesome and as long as I keep up what I’m doing, I’ll just keep slowly and steadily looking and feeling awesome-r.

2. Fitness: I will do at least one new exercise-y thing a month. This cannot include running, DDR, yoga, traditional weights, or Cybil the arc trainer. By the end of the year, I would like to transition 1-2 days per week to something like dance classes or volleyball or some other competitive sport OR seriously start training distance running/triathalons. By my 30th birthday, I need to pick ONE of these to focus on and concentrate on it (and make ancillary resolutions/goals based on what I pick). I guess what I’m trying to say is to start working out for a reason that is not just to make the scale go down.

Oh yeah, can you say knocked this out of the park? I would be going nuts without a non-scale goal. Maybe the problem is I am too focused on the non-scale stuff so the scale feels ignored? Heh. Poor scale. You have so much less power over me than you used to. I’m pretty sure the entire internet by now knows that I ran a half marathon. I’m also rockin’ the partner dance classes this month and discovered Zumba = love. I even got the courage to do some crazy moves on the roller skating floor and throw a one-and-a-half off the diving board. Between the impending relay/5k in September and half marathon #2 training starting after the wedding, I am super happy with my progress here.

3. Soul: I will pick something creative and establish a plan by my birthday to complete a concrete goal by the end of the year. Decide if I’m going to pursue writing (maybe actually giving a novel or book of some sort a go), songwriting/recording, pick up drawing/painting again, acting, or work on selling my necklaces. Maybe take up web design and flesh out this site into a pretty one like I used to do and really give blogging a go beyond just using this for personal theraputic purposes. Realize that I need to pick ONE of these and focus on it or I’ll feel as lost as I did in 2008.

Well, here is a neglected part of my life this year. I have blogged a lot though, so I’ll call that a bit of success. Between the wedding planning/being active I just haven’t had much time. I thought summer would cure the incessant need to be outside and playing but it’s just taken the playing indoors. Dance lessons are pretty creative though, no? Perhaps? Errr…yeah.

Also, the purpose of this resolution was to solve the fact that I was creatively frustrated at work. This year, I got a bit of creativity added back into my tasks, so I didn’t feel so punishingly left-brained all the damn time. I still would like to find a not-directly-fitness creative thing to do though… I miss my artsy side.

4. Get married sometime this year! That’s about all there is to say on this one…

Well, I’m not married yet but the invites are out, dresses purchased, and venue booked. It’s getting close….

5. Allow work to be on the back burner one more year. Of course, be open and receptive to any wonderful opportunities that fall into my lap, but work on enriching my personal life and hobbies instead of focusing on promotions, raises, extra responsibility, etc. Realize that having a 40 hour per week stable job right now that I can pretty much just leave at the office when I walk out the door is a blessing that is giving me opportunities to further the work on my body, fitness, and soul.

By the year, I am getting better and better about leaving work at work. The new move is potentially good for personal growth and perhaps later salary/position growth (but I’m being incredibly optimistic here). The climate out there is still pretty frigid so I definitely think I’m sticking where I’m at for a while and I don’t think I mind so much.

Other goals I made:

1. Run a 5k. Check.

2. Get a check up from a doctor. Eep. This is seriously on my to-do list. Like next. After booking vacations. And wedding stuff. And/and/and… Someone reprimand me about this in the comments please. It’s been about 4 years.

3. Make 10 necklace/earring/bracelet sets and sell them on Etsy. Fail. I’ve made 4 necklaces. It just seems like so much time and effort for so little money return. And I just want to wear them instead! Argh. They are just sitting in a pile, sad and lonely. Maybe I’ll get here in the next year or 3.

How does the rest of the year look?

1. Not go crazy before I get married. Seriously, I just want to get through all the planning and family drama and craziness and go look cute in my dress and dance at my wedding before I have to show up there in a straightjacket. It’s not too bad right now but the possibility is there.

2. Pick the 2010 Jan/Feb half marathon I want to do and start training 3 months before to peak at the right time.

I think that’s about it for the big stuff, I really gotta contemplate the rest. What are your goals for the rest of the year? Wanna yell at me for slacking off on doctor check ups?

Friday cuteness by icanhascheezburger.com.

Adjusted Reality

“Reality can be beaten with enough imagination.” – Mark Twain

Tag: wedding Page 4 of 5

Things on my head, things in my head…

So Much To Say…

Better Today

Overcompensation?

Resolution Round Up

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