Three Recent Reads

1. Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple

I have had this book on my to-read list for a while. This book is just the type of fiction I love, it centers around a neurotic character (an agoraphobic mom who uses a virtual assistant in India to run even her most basic errands). Plus, it has a mystery element, so you have to figure out why and WHERE Bernadette disappeared to. The story is told through e-mails, text messages, and letters. It is an interesting approach and an utterly charming read.  

2.  Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed

This is an non-fiction book about a woman who lost her mom, became disconnected from her family, and got a divorce in a short span of time. She decided to hike the the Pacific Crest Trail, that runs from Mexico to Washington, to reboot her life. I think I love this book because it is so outside the realm of anything I would ever want to do. I admire her courage greatly. The transformation she goes through in the book, from self-destructive to empowered, is incredible to read. 

3. The Call the Midwife Trilogy by Jennifer Worth

I adore the show Call the Midwife, so of course I had to read the real stories behind the series. It was interesting to learn about Midwifery in the 1950's, and Jennifer Worth is such a great story teller. The characters she meets in the East End were so entertaining. And the stories she tells about Sister Monique Jones are a riot. FYI, in my opinion, the first book is the best.  Be forewarned, some of the stories are so heart breaking, they will make you cry.

House Hunting & Hoping

Adam and I have made a big step in our lives, we have begun house hunting. It is about time. We had originally planned to buy a house last summer, but after a lot of soul searching, we made the choice to wait a year and save up some money. You have no idea how much we did not want to wait a year. We were so tired of living in small place after small place. But it just made sense, so we did. 

I truly believe everything works together for a reason. If we had not waited, we would not have been approved for the type of home we really want. We would not have been able to pay off some credit cards, and I certainly would not have been able to have weight loss surgery.

Timing is everything. 

But lately, apartment living is really started to get to us. We are running out of space. New neighbors just moved in right above us, and they are super loud and do obnoxious things like jumping off the balcony. And recently the couple on the third floor got into a huge fight, and the wife started hurling TVs and his clothing over the balcony (evidence here). That was quite the shocker for a Sunday evening.

We met with our relator the first time on Friday, and we went to see three homes that evening. The next day we met up with her to see a couple more. We walked into one that we fell in love with. When we first walked in, we started picturing ourselves living there.  We imagined where we would put our furniture, how we would decorate.

It was 2,000 square feet of perfection. A fireplace, a spacious back yard, beautiful trees surrounding it! It has enough space for me to have my dream home office/craft room. I plan to call it the Petit Trianon (after Marie Antionette's Mini Palace she used as a retreat to be alone and escape the pressures of Versailles-History Nerd Alert). 

It just felt like home. 

It may have been somewhat impulsive, but we went straight to the mortgage company, and got our loan in gear, so we could make an offer. We were immediately approved.

We were so pumped to make an offer that night. But when we met with our realtor, we learned there was already an offer on the house. But it was shaky offer, and the buyers had not gotten all their financial information together yet. The agent representing the sellers felt the deal was likely to not go through, and it was worth making an offer anyway.

So we did. We have officially signed a contract with the sellers as a back up offer. The other buyers have till the end of the month to close on the house or we get it.

Patience has never been my virtue and two weeks seems so far away. Adam and I alternate between feeling hopeful about getting the house to feeling defetaed about it all. We just want it so bad, it will hurt to lose it.

We have decided to put our search for a home on hold for now, as we feel we will always be comparing it to our "dream home." At least if we lose this home, then when we renew our search, the home we put an offer on won't be in the back of our minds, making us unable to evaluate the home properly.

All there is left to do is hope, pray, keep the faith, and try to convince ourselves that if it doesn't work out, it is because there is something better for us out there. 

Four Month Surgiversary

I cannot believe it has already been 4 months past my surgery. Four months after years and years of wanting to have surgery. I am currently down 107 lbs. That is astonishing, I couldn't be happier. People comment on my weight loss all the time, which I love and hate all at the same time. Sometimes it makes me uncomfortable when the same people ask me over and over how much weight I've lost, I don't even know why. And yet sometimes I love when people ask!

I guess it depends on what type of mood I am in that day. 

I feel like I've begun to find a type of peace with food that I've never, ever had before. Sure, I have more self-control now, because I have a tiny tummy that keeps me out of trouble, but I am finding myself disinterested in all the foods I used to obsessed over. I also like that people have stopped tip-toeing around me when they want to eat items I can't eat. Adam used to only eat fast food if I wasn't around, and he would then try to hide it from me. Now he asks me to pick up food for him on my way home from work! 

I have also had a little bit of an epiphany. Recently, I have struggled with going out to restaurants because I eat so little, so to me, it feels like wasted money. I was talking about this with my wonderful therapist that I've seen off and on since I was 14 (fun fact, when I met her she was working at the same place I work at now). She talked about how I needed to just focus on the social aspect of going out to restaurants. She is so right! I think in the past going out to eat was all about the food and any socialization was secondary to that.

I also shared with her, that since I am still a fat girl, I feel embarrassed that I eat so little when we are eating out. I think the wait staff will judge me for being on such an extreme diet. Then it hit me, I used to be embarrassed about how much I ate, and now I'm embarrassed by how little  I'm eating.

When do I give myself a break? 

That was a turning point for me, I can't let food cause me so much anxiety anymore. That was the problem in the first place.

Love Book

This little video teaches you how to make those gorgeous and delicious looking courtesan au chocolat pastries from "Mendl's" in the movie, The Grand Budapest Hotel. I'm seriously considering making this just so I can try a bite. 

Beautiful photographs of what Venice would look like if the Canals were frozen over. 

Pictures we did not take before the onset of Digital Cameras.

I still love Sex & the City. Everything I need to know I learned from Carrie Bradshaw, Everything I need to know I learned from Miranda Hobbs.

10 famous people who actually missed the Titanic.

A little bit of a history lesson on Cinco de Mayo,  Pinatas, and some seriously modern Pinata designs (I love the ampersand).

One Author Recreates and Photographs Famous Meals from Classic Literature. I believe I need this as my new coffee table book.

The real photographs and people behind some of the wildly popular & original pin up girl posters.

Cherry Blossom vodka, any takers?

I had no clue that the voices of Mickey & Minnie were a married couple in real life, nor did I know most of these 63 other magical Disney Movie Facts.

Adam's 30th Birthday

I really tried to put together a big ole' surprise this year for Adam's birthday, since 30 is such a big one. But Adam really wanted to keep it simple this year, since so much is going on this Spring, so I decided to honor his request.  

We really kicked off the celebrations, with the cutting and the blowing out of the candles of the 24 cake in honor of the premier night of 24: Live Another Day on Monday. And yes, we watched the entire show. Adam even insisted on watching it live WITH COMMERCIALS. I haven't watched commercials since I dunno, 2004? He said it is all part of the momentum of the show.  The show was fantastic though, almost worth the commercials. It is great to see Jack Bauer back in action (if only because it makes Adam so happy).

This morning for Adam's actual birthday, I had gotten up a little early to arrange some treats I've been sneakily buying and storing in my closet like a squirrel with some nuts. Not pictured is the delicious Panera bagel, I left him in the fridge for breakfast.  And of course,  no celebration with Adam would be complete without a Lego set. 

When I got home this evening, I made Adam a spaghetti dinner. It is his favorite dinner, and it used to be our favorite meal to fix together.  But since surgery, I have not really been eating pasta, so I haven't made it for him in 5 months. I was happy to do that for him, even though I couldn't eat a bite. 

I guess his 30th birthday was really about food and 24. He was pleased, that is all that matters. 

The Weekend Report

Usually when I write one of my weekend recap posts I will say this weekend was absolutely fantastic/refreshing/fabulous or other various, positive adjectives. But this weekend was both good & bad, with equal part ups and downs.

Friday night was definitely the high point of the weekend! Adam and I decided to go to the Botanical Gardens to catch an outside showing of the movie, Alice in Wonderland. The Botanical Gardens is probably one of my favorite places to visit, not only is it beautiful, but they are always hosting fun events (such as The Scarecrow Trail & The Galaxy of Lights).  This summer's theme for exhibits and events is Alice in Wonderland's Garden of Wonders and this was the kick off.

We brought a whole bunch of blankets and pillows, and thank goodness because it got really cold, really fast. I hadn't seen Alice in Wonderland in years, I forgot how charming (& nonsensical it really was).  During the beginning of the movie, when the white rabbit appears, declares he is late, and runs off frantically, Adam leaned over and whispered, "He just realized his wife has the credit card." It was so hard for us to stop laughing after that comment, he really cracks me up sometimes. 

I will be going back to the gardens ASAP, to check out the other Alice in Wonderland activities!

We woke up early Saturday to head to the bank and get an pre-approval for a home loan. While the idea of buying a home is excellent, having to sit down and take a hard look at your financials & debt can be a little uncomfortable. It did not got as well as we had hoped, but we are still in a good position to buy a home this summer.

After we left the bank, Adam and I got in the most ridiculous fight, that does not even deserve rehashing, but it put me in a really bad mood. Like a silly, can't stop crying mood. We had plans to run a few errands together, but I decided to go it alone, since we were so annoyed with each other! I ran my errands and then stopped by Sonic for some water with mango flavoring (my current favorite). I was finally feeling happier, so I took a selfie of me with my Sonic water, right after that picture was snapped. I dropped my drink, spilling all 44 ounces all over my car. I don't know if I was more mad about having to clean out the car or spilling all my water!

I came home, Adam and I put together my niece's graduation party invitations to go out on Monday, took a long nap, and did the grocery shopping. We obviously got over the silly tiff, and we enjoyed each other's company, while watching the new show Fargo.

Sunday, I got up early to bake Adam's birthday cake (his birthday is Tuesday). It just so happens his 30th birthday coincides with the reboot of his all time favorite show, 24. So I made him a 24 themed cake. It says Live Another Day, kind of a funny double entendre considering that is the theme for the reboot as well can be age related.

This isn't the first time I made a 24 cake (the last one was much better, see that here on my old blog), and if you want the recipe for my famous Peanut Butter Frosting, see here.

I guess all in all, the weekend was not too lousy, and only seemed lousy in the bad moments. Heck, anything is better than having to work!

Three Simple Goals for May

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I really love setting and achieving goals, I don't even mind all that much when I fail at goals, because I still seem to learn something about myself in the process. I really loved the book, The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. I especially liked how she focused on one aspect of her life every month, instead of trying to do it all at once. 

I thought I would like to try a variation on this idea and try to accomplish a couple, small goals for the month of May. If this works, maybe I will try three more in the month of June.

So here are my goals for May:

1. Do a Daily Devotional Everyday for a Month

Adam and I aren't big church going people, sometimes I wish we did go more often, and maybe that is something we will start doing more in the future. But we really have strong faith, and I really enjoy my time praying and reading the Bible. I want to do more of this. So I plan to get up 15 minutes early in the morning, and I will do a devotional everyday in May. I think I'm going to try 30 words: A Devotional for the Rest of Us by Jarrid Wilson.

2. List Five Things to Be Grateful For Daily

I already stated that I want to start my day with a quiet moment of devotion, and I also want to end my day with the same type of quiet. So I plan to focus on all the things I'm grateful for. I tell my teenage clients they should be doing this all the time, and I really think it is an important part of being generally happy. 

3. Save 100 Dollars for Disney

I think this goal is pretty self explanatory. My trip to Disney for the Princess Half Marathon is going to cost of us a little money, and the more I can get put away before the trip, the better. By the way, I recently came across this article on one lady's experience at the Disney Princess Half Marathon. It really helped calm some of my fears, I so can do this.