Archive for May, 2008

Weekend in Review

{ May 28, 2008 @ 1:32 am } · { baseball, dating, family, love, relationships, travel }
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I love a long weekend.

It was hard to go back to work today, but on the other hand, tomorrow is already Wednesday, and that’s not so bad. 

I had a nice holiday weekend.  On Saturday B and I went to see my boys play with my friend and her husband.  It was a nice day at the ballpark, but the game was kind of boring.  My Sox didn’t score at all and the Angels only scored twice.  But we had a good time. 

Here’s my favorite player:

On Sunday morning B and I went to his parents’ place, which is about 2 hours away, out in the sticks.  Prior to this weekend I hadn’t spent much time with his parents at all (we’re talking hours, total), so I was a little nervous.  We were staying the night and coming home on Monday.

It was kind of awkward.  B’s parents are kind of…….boring.  I hate to say that, I really do.  They are very nice people, but really.  Even conversation was challenging.  They don’t play games, cards, nothing.  We basically just sat around looking at each other for much of the time.  I was really trying to make conversation, but it wasn’t easy.  Now I understand why B doesn’t go visit for more than one day at a time. 

Also, I find the whole morning routine a little awkward when staying with someone new.  I didn’t end up going out and visiting with his parents while I had bed head and morning breath, because B got up and into the shower, and then I got up when he was done and took a shower.  But, being a girl, I took quite a while to get ready (I’m not a wash-and-go kind of girl), and I felt bad that they were all waiting on me.  But I am who I am, I guess, and that much hasn’t changed in 30 years, and I don’t think it will now. 

On Saturday B and I were talking about our jobs when B mentioned that he might apply for a certain job that is about 30 miles north of where he lives (which is about 40 miles north of where I live).  He said that he would probably want to move a little farther north, and talked about an area in which one of his friends lives.  But, he said, he would probably have to get a roommate.

“You don’t want a roommate,” I said, “do you?”

“Well….it could be you.”

Oh.  Well.  Hmmm…..

I told him that it could be me, but not while I still have the job that I have, because it would be too much of a commute.

Something to think about for the future, I guess.  It would be a big step, though.  To go from seeing each other only on the weekends to living together.  I usually think about moving up there closer when I get a new job (not that I’ve been doing much to make that happen), but still having my own space and ease into it. 

It is all in the timing, I guess, how every thing works out.  Depends on when he gets a new job, when I get a new job, or he gets a new place, because me moving into his current condo is not an option.  I would never fit.  So we’ll see.

On the other hand, I’m not getting any younger, so maybe I need to quit easing and start moving things along. 

Oh, and I got a new bedding set that I think is really pretty:

So now I’m going to have to paint my bedroom again, because that is not going to look too pretty with my blue walls. But it is so clean and fresh and just a lot less busy than my old comforter. And that makes me happy.

Stuff

{ May 20, 2008 @ 3:31 am } · { Blogroll, goals, life, random thoughts, size, weight loss, work }
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Do ya’ll use Google Reader?  Maybe you’ve all been using it forever and I’m just really slow on the uptake, but seriously?  If you don’t use it, definitely check it out.  I subscribed to all of my favorite blogs and it tells me when someone has published a new post, and I don’t have to go to 137 blogs 10 times a day (obsessive, no?) to see if someone has posted.  I just sit back and let Google Reader do the work for me.  I can’t tell you how much time it saves me.  And it suggests new blogs to me all the time, and sometimes I add those too, because why not?  Seriously, check it out.

Anyway, I’ll move on to the real topic of this post.  Except I don’t really have one. 

Work?  Has been super stressful lately.  The crazy (my clients) just seem to be getting crazier.  I mean, majorly.  They have been calling and calling everyday, and my patience is wearing SO thin.  People hire me and my firm to handle their problems and to give our best advice.  But still, they think they know better.  One of my clients told me “I know the law.”  Um, yeah, so do I.  I spend what is not an insignificant amount of time researching the law, reading cases, and writing briefs.  So as far as knowing the law goes, I’m pretty sure I have a leg up on my client.  But fine, don’t take my advice.  See where that gets you.

One of B’s friend’s wife, Emily, upon finding out that I am an attorney, said that she always thought that would be cool.  She likes her job in corporate America, but it isn’t like actually helping people like I do. 

The problem is though, that my job day to day is pretty fucking thankless.  There are rare moments when I am able to help someone, and they are grateful, and I feel the satisfaction of being of some use to someone.  But day to day?  It is like babysitting.  Like being a counselor or somone’s best friend.  But it can be very personally taxing.  I will listen patiently and sympathize while someone sits with me and cries about their problems.  But by and large?  I don’t have the ability to fix their problems.  At least not in any immediate way.   

I can file a lawsuit for you.  But I can’t help you pay your bills while you are out of a job and being a single mother to a little boy.  Maybe what I can get you eventually will make it all better.  But maybe I can’t get you anything or maybe it won’t solve all of your problems.  Sometimes it just feels like a heavy weight.

Speaking of heavy weight…..I’m finding that I SUCK at the weight loss.  Seriously bad at it.  Turns out I’m not good at deprivation of any kind.  I always let loose on the weekends.  Then I’ll get to Monday and tell myself that I’m going to be more serious about it.  Then IMMEDIATELY  I start whining (in my head) about how much it sucks that I can’t eat whatever is the current object of my craving.  I start feeling sorry for myself, thinking about HOW LONG it has been since I got to eat anything good.  Then I come back to reality and think, oh yeah, that was just yesterday. 

I need to step up my game.  And get over the fact that it is going to require some sacrifice. 

Any suggestions, dear readers?  Any good low cal/fat recipes?  Anything you like to do to keep in shape? 

But Corner Bakery and their 800 calorie chopped salad can fuck me. 

Good night!

Guilty Pleasures

{ May 14, 2008 @ 3:19 am } · { is it just me?, lists, random thoughts }
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Ok, we all have guilty pleasures.    Things we are embarrassed to admit in mixed company. 

Here are some of mine:

*The Hills

*Keeping Up With the Kardashians (because this flat-ass girl is intrigued by such nice big shapely asses). 

*The Bachelor (this is probably the one I’m most ashamed about)

*UsWeekly

*Cheetos

*Cold Stone Cake Batter Ice Cream with oreos and caramel

*Purse parties (ie fake bags)

*Smutty romance novels (as long as Fabio is not on the cover)

*Sleeping in the nude

*The hip abductor/adductor machines at the gym (it just feels good)

*Singing at the top of my lungs in the car (seriously, I’m good)

That’s all I can think of right now.

So what are yours?

Weight just a minute….

{ May 12, 2008 @ 4:25 am } · { goals, size, weight loss }
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So as I’ve said before, B and I are doing this biggest loser couples edition weight loss competition against my mom and stepdad.  We just finished up our first week.

I was getting frustrated with B because he didn’t seem to be modifiying his eating habits.  During the first week I know he had pizza at least twice, I personally saw him eating a ginormous burrito, and his friend Ben told me that he has not been behaving (food-wise) at work.  So I was kinda riding his ass like Zorro. 

Meanwhile, I was really trying to eat healthier foods.  I spent nearly twice as much as I normally do at the grocery store stocking up on fruits and a vegetable.  And other good choices.  I (following the advice of SELF) made salad dressing with cornstarch-thickened vegetable stock instead of oil (that one needs some work – it was not so tasty).  I made chocolate cupcakes using pumpkin to replace the oil and eggs (also not that great because the texture was off and there was no frosting).  Certainly I was eating perfectly (no thanks to Cold Stone), but I was trying. 

We weigh in on Thursdays, so when B and I were eating dinner on Sunday night (me eating a Thai Salad, B eating a huge cheesy burrito), I very casually asked him what his weight loss plan was going to be for the week.  He told me that he was going to give up drinking soda at work.

I sat there quietly, nodding my head encouragingly, waiting for the rest of his plan.  But no, that was his entire plan.   Um….we are not going to be winning any competition with him just giving up soda, I thought.  But I kept it to myself because I didn’t want to nag him.

But in my head I was all self-righteous.  I am trying to eat healthier, to lose weight.  Clearly I am going to have to carry this team.  Maybe if I can get off to a good start, B will get his act together. 

B and his no soda for 4 days?  Lost 5 pounds.  Me?  1.8. 

Yeah.  Guess I’ll shut up and just worry about myself. 

Oh, and perusing cooking blogs with beautiful food pictures all day every day while in self-deprivation mode?  Is torture.   But I’m just that kind of girl. 

Death Wish

{ May 6, 2008 @ 3:51 am } · { aging, family, friends, random thoughts }
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Today I had a conversation with my friend Jaded that really bothered me.  That is not an unusual occurrence with Jaded, but this one bothered me more so than the others. 

She says she wants to die young.  Now, she never did tell me what she considered young.  But she kept saying “retirement age”, but that is still a pretty large range.  She figures that once she is no longer “useful”, she doesn’t want to be around anymore. 

I think that is a pretty insulting way of looking at retirement-aged and older people.     Also?  I think it is a slap in the face to all the people (at any age) who died before they felt it was their time.  Case in point – my grandfather died when he was sixty-nine.  He was diagnosed with lung cancer, had surgery, and died within 6 months.  Prior to his diagnosis he played golf everyday, went out fishing on his boat frequently, loved to play games, goofed around in church, and was pretty social.  We all loved to spend time with him – he was strong, he was fit, he was fun, he was smart, he had a sense of humor.  He loved life, and he always had a twinkle in his eyes.  His life was not sad or wasted or lonely.  Even now, eight years later, I cry on the spot everytime I think about the last time I said good-bye to him.     He was not ready to go, and we certainly were not ready for him to go.

Of course, I know that things get worse for people as they get older.  And some stories are much much sadder.  Some people die alone and lonely in nursing homes.  Some go slowly with diseases like Alzheimers.  Many people live for years with a very poor quality of life.  I get that. 

But to make a blanket statement that you want to die young because you don’t want to get old and no longer be useful?   I don’t know, it just seemed kind of…..luxurious to me.

Baseball, Flights, and Losers

{ May 1, 2008 @ 4:50 am } · { baseball, dating, family, goals, love, random thoughts, relationships, travel }
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So B and I took Friday off and went to DC for a long weekend. My mom, stepdad and sister live there, so we stayed with them. B planned the weekend because his Cubs were playing the Nats at their new stadium, so my mom got tickets through work for Friday and Saturday nights’ games.  Initially my mom had just gotten tickets for the Saturday game.  I had already told B, no, we are not going to both games – there are plenty of other things to do in DC, but my mom was really worried the game on Saturday would get rained out, so she got tickets for Friday so poor little B wouldn’t have to go an entire trip with no baseball.

Following is a bit of conversation between my mom and I at the game.  Keep in mind that my sister and I played softball for years, so she is not new to softball/baseball games.  But it has been a long time.  Here you go:

(Mom was complaining that baseball games are boring, and one of the Nats just got the first home run of the game):

Mom:  Oh, FINALLY somebody got a home run.

Me:  Mom, it is only the bottom of the first inning.

Mom:  Still, I’ve been waiting forever.  Hockey is way more exciting than this.

(And here, in about the 3rd or 4th inning):

Mom:  Hey, [J], how long are the halfs?

Me:  Huh?  Ma, this is not being timed.  

Mom:  No, I mean, when is halftime?

Me:  Are you new or something?  This is BASEBALL, there is no halftime. 

Mom:  Oh, that’s right.  This really doesn’t move as fast as hockey.

Me:  Mother, enough about the hockey already!

 

Anyway, we had a good time.  This is the first time that B and my family have been able to spend any real time in each others’ company (and now that I think about it, it is also the most consecutive time he has ever spent in MY company).  I think it went well.  B is very easygoing, and he is easy to please.  The weather is beautiful, so we were able to do some sightseeing, which I’ve done before, but it is always nice to do again.   Also we did some Wii playing (tennis and bowling), and I’m ashamed to say that I am too out of shape even to play the Wii.  My tennis arm hurt for a couple of days, which is pretty pathetic for a girl who was the captain of and the top seeded player on her tennis team.  But hey, I’m not as young as I used to be.  What can you do.

B and I had some tense moments at the airport.  As I’ve mentioned before, we have very different traveling styles.  B is a nervous flier, and he likes to be at the airport at least 2 hours early.  I, on the other hand, prefer to go at the last minute (partly because I don’t want to sit there and wait and partly because I’m just always late, everywhere I go).  Usually when we travel, I just go along with B’s plan, because both times we have flown, he has paid for my flight with his miles, so I feel like I should accommodate him. 

But on Sunday afternoon, I was just running behind, and as I was trying to get ready, he kept telling me, “babe, we really need to go”.  The second time (as I was packing), I said, “what the hell do you think I’m doing here, just fucking around?”  And I didn’t use my nicest voice.  So I was kind of irritated.  When we got to the airport, through security, and sitting on the tram to take us to the other side of the airport to the gate, I told him “[f]or the record (we attorneys are always concerned about “the record”), I have never missed a flight.  Not ever.”  He, in turn, told me “I just don’t like to cut it close….for the record.”  He didn’t use his nicest voice either.    So I silent treatmented him for a while (I know, so mature).  I don’t think he minded.

But by the time we got on the plane, we were both over it.

In other news, B and I and my Mom and Stepdad decided to have a Biggest Loser Couples Edition competition between the four of us.  All of us would like to lose some weight and just be healthier in general, and wanted to have an incentive to do so.  So tomorrow it begins and it ends on Labor Day.  I’m not so much looking forward to it, but being a little slimmer for summer would not be a bad thing.  Today I lived it up and I had a burrito for lunch (and the other half for dinner) and then walked uptown for some Cold Stone.  Mmmmmmm. 

So now I’m trying to dream up some healthy meals to cook.  This is tricky, since I’m not crazy about a lot of vegetables.  I’m better than I used to be, but still not that great.  If any of you have ideas, I’d love to hear them. 

Hopefully this competition won’t cause problems for B and I.  Already he told me that he thinks I’m the weakest link (note – I just read through this post about 3 times before I realized I had that written as “linkest weak”) ,  because I don’t work out regularly like he does.  I asked him what was so great about working out 4-5 times a week and never losing any weight (like he does)?  How does that make him better than me?  But I think it will be ok.  He and I like to cook together on the weekends when I’m there, so we can work on making healthier choices and think of some fun physical activities to do together (besides the obvious, of course).   And if we win, we’ll have a little more cash in our pockets!  I’m ready to bring my A-game, and hopefully B is too.   

Anyway, Happy Thursday!