February 12th, 2010 by Kateastrophe

I try not to be a lot of things on this blog.  Complain(y), braggy, political and sappy are a few on the top of my list.  I probably don’t always succeed, but I sure try.

That being said, get thee prepared for some sappy.

Matt and I spent our first Valentine’s Day together six years ago.  I had flown from Utah to Phoenix for the weekend and we got take-out from PF Changs and spent a wonderful, romantic evening at his aunt and uncle’s empty house.  It was one of the most memorable nights of my life.  He had paid so much attention to the little details.  I knew that day he was going to be my husband.  I already sort of thought so, but that day I KNEW.

Since then we’ve only spent two Valentine’s Days together, and it’s completely my fault.  Once I was promoted at my last job, there was a conference that always took place on Valentine’s Day.  We’d always make up for it, of course, but there’s something strange about celebrating a holiday on a different day.

This year, despite not having a conference, I’m leaving him again.  My father, who I rarely see due to his living across the world in China, is in the States briefly and begged me to come visit over the long weekend.  Matt and I discussed it and decided I should go.  So today I’m leaving the 70 degree awesomeness and heading into Snomageddon or, as one of my hilarious friends called it, SnObama Bin Laden.  (The fear forced me to buy Uggs for crying out loud.  I should note that they’re the knit ones so they’re not QUITE as muppety as one would think, and BOY are they comfy but seriously?  I JUST BOUGHT UGGS.)

Anyway, I’m leaving my husband alone AGAIN on Valentine’s Day.  I feel horrible, especially because we should have been heading to California this weekend for a much needed break for him.  Since his promotion a few months ago, I’ve barely seen him and he’s been barely breathing.  I can’t really make it up to him, but I can publicly declare his awesomeness.

I am married to a man who has made me the center of his universe.  He works 14-15 hour days for ME.  He does it so I can have the things I want and so we can live comfortably.  He does it so we can go on amazing vacations and play hard when we’re not working.  He is the kindest human I’ve ever met.  He never yells or even raises his voice.  He’s shy at first glance but once he’s comfortable, he becomes the most personable, hilarious man alive.  I laugh every day with him.  Words cannot express my gratitude for the things he does for me and I hope and pray that he knows how much I love him.  He is my everything and I’m so grateful he chose me to be his wife and best friend.

If I don’t freeze to death in Columbus, I’m coming back and making all of this worth his while, even if it takes my whole life.

February 1st, 2010 by Kateastrophe

So I didn’t want to talk about it too much (or really at all) because I’m the first person to get annoyed when someone starts talking about their fad diet, so shhhhh don’t tell my conscience but I’m on a diet.  And it’s working.

I was like a lost, scared puppy at first because the calorie intake is really low and I’m SUCH a foodie.  I was going to miss so many things.  Then someone sent me a cookbook for this particular diet that was written by a real chef and the heavens opened and angels sang songs of praise.  I am not lying when I say I’ve really enjoyed my diet food.  Granted, there’s a distinct lack of snacks for this habitual snacker (recently solved with organic, sugar free apple chips!  Aren’t you jealous??), but the food actually tastes GOOD!  I spend a good part of my Sunday prepping and cooking for the week ahead, which is sort of annoying but I’ve discovered if I don’t do it, I’m likely to have contemplated eating my arm by the time I find food/prep and cook a meal.  See, the portions fill me up once I EAT them.  And I’m full for a good two and a half hours afterward but if I go past that amount of time without my next portion of food I turn into a pumpkin and die.  Or something like that.  Yay hypoglycemia!  The point is if I take the time to prepare them ahead, I’m all set and am much less likely to cheat.  So far I’ve had homemade marinara sauce, meatballs, amazing marinades for fish and chicken,  delicious soups, and even some desserts!  The cookbook is almost 200 pages so the possibilities are endless.  And everything is truly healthy and on the low, low end of the glycemic index.

My one problem so far stemmed from the weekend and being home all day, close to the fridge.  And the pantry.  And the Costco.  And the restaurants.  I will admit to ingesting about two bites of chocolate cake, some extra Melba Toast (ok quite a bit of extra Melba Toast) and one Crispy Honey Shrimp at PF Changs.  I’d heard horrible rumors of immediate weight gain if any deviation was taken from the strict instructions.  I think the two hours of exercise that morning saved me because I still lost three ounces over the weekend.  Which is not a lot, but it’s a loss and I’ll TAKE IT!   Work makes things a lot easier because I have my neat little bag of pre-prepared, perfectly portioned food and if I eat it all for breakfast, my boss would most likely find me gnawing on the formica countertop in the lunch room while begging for quarters for the vending machine.  This weekend (and the next one) will be more of a challenge because I’m going on trips, but after some investigation I’ve found lots of places that have food that I can eat.  Memo to you guys; DON’T ASK FOR THE NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION AT PF CHANGS.  Doing so caused nightmares of 65 grams of fat/1400 calories per serving proportions.

I’m not going to pretend I don’t miss potatoes.  And pasta.  And bread.  And sugar.  I’m just having to get creative and find interesting substitutes and I’ve learned so many fun things!  Zucchini pasta?  IS DELICIOUS.  My Mom has been telling me this for years, I just refused to listen.  Sorry Mom.  As usual, you were right, blah blah blah.  I’m also getting used to more heat and spice in my food.  The incentive to burn more calories was just too tempting so I’m adding cayenne pepper to everything.  Sometimes I regret the decision, but the body is slowly adjusting.  Stevia is freaking awesome.  Protein shakes don’t taste so bad.  Mock-lemonade blended with ice and mint is unbelievable.  Strawberries are the fruit of the gods.  Squash is my friend. Buy a decent blender because the cheap one will light on fire in your kitchen on the first morning  Stuff like that.

The point of all this blathering is that I’ve already lost ten pounds.  And it seems completely possible to lose another ten to fifteen pound by the end of this madness.  Not just possible but doable!  Without death and vomiting or a tragedy to send me into a food deprived depression!  I would lie and tell you I just want to be healthy but my real incentive is that Matt told me if I lose the goal amount of weight, he doesn’t care how many new outfits I buy and everyone knows and outfit isn’t complete without shoes.  Scha-wing!!