Wow, my last update was July. The only reason I'm blogging again is because Priya sent me a link to check our hers and she has my link on the side so it was easy for me to find. I still have almost another half an hour of lunch break leaf and have run out of things to do during it so I'll blog.

Lot's of things have happened since July. A quick recap of important events;

Sam and I got engaged the day before my 26th birthday. I suspected something was up but he did a good job of telling me lies and keeping me second guessing myself. After a few weeks/months of discussion we moved our wedding date from Spring 2011 to Fall 2010. And our official wedding date is 10.2.10. At first I had a lot of ideas and spent hours doing Internet research on photographers, djs, favor boxes and decorations, but now there's isn't much to do. Sam's parents area paying for the dj and photographer so I let them do the initial research and I get final approval. My parents are paying for the food and decor so I basically tell them what I want and Mom shops and pays for it.

These flowers are my color and decor inspiration. Sam approved of 'wine and gold' since they are Redskins colors. I bought my dress at Christmas because I knew what I wanted and didn't see a reason to hold off. Sam and I registered at a few stores the other weekend and I have been following my Washington Post checklist closely. Now I'm just waiting for the next purchase or decision to check off.

Just before Christmas, Sam found out that he was assigned to D.C. for his job so after being advised by Dave, my financial advisor, to look for a house since the tax credit was extended, we did. After offering on 2 houses and being in bidding wars and loosing the houses and then seeing another house we wanted to offer on but it was already over our budget and had 9 other offers on it, we finally found one with no competition and we got it almost $20k below asking price. People ask us if the part after 'winning' the house is hard, but the hard part was actually finding a house that we 'won'. Now we're just waiting till March 30, when we settle. Here is the last remaining link to pictures that I can find of the house online anymore. http://slideshow.mris.com/slideshow.cfm?ListingKey=90133435022

We get a few calls and emails now and then from people asking for information or money for house things like pests inspections or credit checks so we respond to them as quickly as possible so we don't hold anything up. It is a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom house with basement and large screened in porch. This is more rooms than I had already designed in my head so I've been trying to figure out paint colors and wood stains, metal finishes and decor styles so that it will all flow naturally. I have decided to paint the front door a 'pop' blue (I'll add some annuals too) so the front doesn't look so boring until I have enough time and more savings gathered to do a full blown landscape plan with curb appeal. Sam is all for my 'pop' of blue color which is nice because I assumed he would be against such a contrast. I have a good group of friends and family that are going to help paint the interior of the house before we move in.

With the wedding coming up, we're trying to not spend too much on the house for another year or so but that didn't stop me from spontaneously buying a chandelier and coordinating light fixture on Overstock.com this week. (oops!) We'll hold off on the couch and queen size bed and kitchen appliances for another year or so until the wedding is behind us.

Spring seems like it is back so maybe I'll take more pretty flower pictures like I did last year and post in another month or so. Would you like that?

I know it's been a while (to the music of Britney's Break the Ice)

Priya has started a blog and so I told her that maybe that would make me update mine. I'm currently waiting for Sam's mother to come over with their dog, Maggie, so Sam and I can dog sit her. We're supposed to meet outside at 8pm because she doesn't have a cell phone.

In the mean time, I'll see if I can catch you up on what has happened in the past 4 months.

I started to work part time back at LDI the week before my triathlon. The timing was pretty good since I had already done most of my training and the week before my arm was still healing from my crash so my training wasn't to intensive. I hadn't do two-a-days in a while.
I swam, biked and ran in my triathlon and almost cried when I finished because I was either so happy it was over or happy that I was able to make it to the end. My elbow had healed near completely about a week before the race so I had a little bit of time to practice in the pool again but shin splints had still been a problem. I was in the beginners swim group at the triathlon and the water was warm. Yes! There were people in there doing the doggy paddle and the back swim thing that is my usual swim. But I hadn't taken swim lessons for nothing. So I did the free style as taught to the end of a lane and then waited to catch my breath before continuing to the next lane. Race coordinators or whatever they are called would tell me that I could skip ahead a few lanes without being penalized. But like I told the guy who was resting in my lane with me; "I'm not giving up, I'm just resting." He agreed. Once the swim was over, I was happy. The biking wasn't bad but my nose was running constantly. Luckily I had a hankie with me so I had to keep it in my hand the whole time since tucking it back into my shorts wasn't efficient. I was just worried though that I would need my whole hand to break or turn hard but the hankie would be an obstacle getting a good grip of the handle bar. The run was last. I ran for a while but was tired and since shin splints had been common before the race, I wanted to make sure I would be able to run around the track to the finish line. So I took a break in the middle of the run and walked. I finished in about the middle of the pack. Ken-ichi was like 9th and Sam was 36th out of 400 and some.

Maggie is here now. She's panting hard trying to adjust to the new surroundings.

I started back full time at LDI on June 1st. People ask how many people are left but its hard to say because physically there's 6 full time but one of them is admin and another is IT and 2 other people above the 6 are part time. So you can say there's between 4 and 8 people. We've been busy until this week, I thought. But there are many little tasks this week keeping me on edge that my days are chaotic and I cant wait to go home and clear my mind. I kind of miss being laid off during the summer. Being laid off in winter didn't have many perks because I couldn't spend my time outside. Summer is flying by now and I still haven't had my fill of it yet.

I moved in the end of May or beginning of June. I was supposed to move out of the town house in the middle of June but Megan made me mad so I moved in with Sam early on a weeknight. Sam and I moved me in by ourselves. It was spread out over a few days and weeks so no one day was too hard for just the two of us. Living together is going great even though people don't believe me when I say that. Our only issue is laundry. I cant do his because I never do it right. That's fine with me then, I was just trying to be helpful. Since I work during the day and he works in the evening, our lack of actually spending time together in the apartment might be making living together easier than it would be if we were both here at the same time. He will be home around 10:30, typical as every other night. His days off are Sunday and Monday so we try to spend Sunday together and I leave work at 5 on Mondays so I can come home and play with him. We go to the gym together on Mondays so that is 1 hour we aren't actually together.

I go to BodyJam at Golds where I joined when I moved in to the apartment. Fitness First didn't have BodyJam so I'm glad to have some variety other than BodyPump and Pilates. But the Pilates schedule at Golds isn't good so I have yet to be there. BodyJam has been challenging but I'm hoping that in the 6 weeks a routine runs, I'll be able to pick up some moves like Priya. The last routine had Buttons by the PCD and a song by the BEP and this one has Womanizer by Britney. I cant remember the other two too well and Womanizer is more of a bee bop move/dance which I wouldn't be able to use in the club. There's only 4 weeks of this routine left so maybe the next routine will have a good song and moves so I can pull it out on the dance floor. But I haven't been out dancing in a while so even if I do pick up some moves, I don't know when I'll be able to use them. I found that having a boyfriend makes me less likely to go out or stay out late because I'm not trying to pick up anyone and if I'm not out with Sam, I don't want to stay out long so that I can come home to see him.

Sam and I have been to the beach twice this summer. The first time in June it rained for 2 of our days there and the day we were leaving it was nice so we got some sun then. And then we just went for the day this past Sunday with Dave and Gina. Sam and I waited till Saturday evening to make our final decision on going since the weather had a 30% chance of t-storms for Sunday afternoon and we didn't want to have another rainy day at the beach. We got plenty of sunshine and are now satisfied with the beach for the year. But I forgot my camera so we're a little upset that I didn't get any pictures of our trip besides the ones we took on Sam's cell phone. We have a pool at our apartment so we can continue our tan there.

Maggie is snoring now so I guess she has calmed down enough to sleep.

I'm going to take the multiple choice sections of the LARE in September so I have been focusing on studying in the evenings when Sam is working. Wednesday is a good day for that since I don't have a gym class except that today, one of the companies leasing space in our LDI building hosted a BBQ after work and I had 2 margaritas so that wouldn't make studying very productive.

Crash!

Megan did ride my bike along with me while I ran my run yesterday morning. But my run didn't go well. It was hotter out that I thought and so I overheated probably half way through so I stopped and walked for a bit and then ran again but I stopped running short and walked the rest of the way home. Long sleeves was a bad idea. Megan didn't stay with me the whole time so she was waiting for me by our house and we went over to Giant to get some groceries for supper.

Annette came over in the early afternoon to help make cookies and then Sam came over a little later. I had supper prepped so Sam and I went on a bike ride to 4 mile run and then the Mt. Vernon trail. It was delightful except for all the people on the trail. I had many issues passing people on the trail. I wasn't as aggressive as Sam because I'm still getting comfortable with my bike. The weather was beautiful and the flowers and trees were blooming and it seemed like summer because I was wearing shorts and a tank top.

We had planned on riding by the new apartment on the way home. We had lost most of the crowd on 4 mile run trail on our return trip and nearing where we would cross Glebe to go see the new apartment. But we didn't make it there. Sam was in front of me and we both were looking to our right at where our future shopping center and Sam's Golds Gym would be. Sam decided to slow down to turn to go see the shopping center and I ran into him and flew off my bike. I landed with my hands but nothing seemed broken. Just some scrapes on my left side and a jammed left arm. I had my helmet on but luckily, it wasn't needed. A guy who lives next to the trail heard the crash and brought me water and band aids. Nothing seemed broken and the sky was looking stormy so we had to continue the ride back to my house including the hard hill. I took Sam to an alternative hill in hopes that it would be easier. I made it to the top without stopping but I couldn't put pressure on my left arm and hand so changing gears was hard.

When we got home I put frozen veggies on my arm and we had supper. After supper we watched a movie and I sat on the couch with my arm wrapped in some frozen veggies, ace bandage and a sling. My wrist seemed to hurt the most so I put the ice towards my hand. But when I tried to get ready to shower, my elbow was really hurting. After my shower I applied frozen shrimp to my elbow since it was slightly swollen and in pain. Since I don't have insurance anymore, Sam and I decided that if it was worse in the morning, he would take me to the doctors. I slept on my back and right side last night and this morning it wasn't worse. I put some more frozen veggies on my elbow and my wrist was feeling better this morning. As the day goes by, my elbow is extending its range of motion. I can use my arm more but can't extend it too far. I'm glad its doing better because I didn't want to repeat my broken collar bone again. Sam looked up my injury online and determined that I sprained my elbow. I wont be able to go swimming for a few days but might be able to run tomorrow. I hope my triathlon training doesn't suffer because I'm getting down to crunch time.

Game night

Yesterday morning I went to the pool. It wasn't as crowded and I expected but there also weren't any babies to watch. I got in a shallow lane with another dude and once I got in, he stopped so we could discuss if we were going to swim in circles or each take a half of the lane. He was trying to find out how long I was going to be swimming so I told him that I'm just a beginner and doing the mini tri. So then almost each time I got done a length or lap, he would have a tip for me. Most of it was the same as Chuck but I was getting frustrated because I cant keep my butt and legs up higher because they are meaty and heavy and stuff. I swam for almost 45 minutes but was done so I got out and thanked my lane partner for his tips and told him that they are all overwhelming. He gave me his email address and told me he would give me a private swimming lesson free of charge. I told Sam this when I got home and he told me to never talk to him again because he is just trying to get in my 'pants' (I like to use 'suit' instead since I was wearing a swimming suit and not pants). Oh, and I got water in my ear...again.

I was going to go up to see Steph yesterday afternoon once she got home from a funeral. But to get a head start, I left my house before she called to say that she was on her way home since it takes probably an hour to get up there. I was about 15 minutes away from my house when she called to say that it wasn't going to be a good day to hang out. So I immediately called Megan to see where she was because she was going to play with Melanie. I came back to the house and put on some make up and did some of my hair and then we left for Mel's. After Megan and I got to Mel and Roy's, we went over to Sarah and Matt's to play games and have supper. Usually I don't like to play games because like Monopoly and Risk, they take hours to complete one round or like some card games, they are boring. But the rounds went fast and they were fun so I enjoyed it. We also watched Mel and Roy's wedding video since I didn't attend it. It was a long video but I can now pretend like I was there. Megan and I expected them to be done socializing at like 9 since they are all old and married now but they aren't like that and apparently stay up late on Saturday nights.

I will probably go on a run today. I told Megan that she can ride my bike while I run around the hood. Megan is currently prepping cookies and Annette is coming over later so we can finish them. I then have to go to the grocery store because I'm making supper and having a movie night with Sam, Megan and maybe even Annette.

I can hear birds chirping so even though its cloudy, it still seems spring like out. And as I write this, I think it is getting sunnier out. Yay!

Trip to Costco

I met Priya at Costco this morning. It was very busy for a Friday morning. We were both expecting it to be less crowded than it was. It was a successful trip. She kept me from buying too many things that weren't on my list. My list only had Gatorade and 10lbs of chicken on it and I ended up buying like 6 items including a Birthday or Christmas present for Megan. After I checked out, my receipt said that the Vitamin Water that I got is for kids. But the ingredients said 'electrolytes' and that is what I was looking for. When I got in my car to leave, I was hot and put the windows down and opened the sun roof.

It felt springy out so when I got home I went through the fridge and freezer a bit and started some laundry. The smell of spring put me in the spring cleaning mood. After lunch, I got ready for my bike ride. It was warmer but still partly cloudy so I wasn't sure if I should wear shorts or not. Aaron responded to my invite to ride along with me but he was going on a hike today so he didn't want to go on a ride. I looked up 4 Mile Run trail online. It wasn't too clear but I got the basic gist of where to get on it and where to go. I went the opposite way to the trail today that I took to get home last time. It was nice to ride on the trail because I didn't have to worry about cars and intersections and stuff. I could even see the new apartment from the trail. So whenever Sam and I move, we will have easy access to it. I hit a few swarms of bugs along the way but luckily my sunglasses kept them from getting in my eyes. I just had to make sure I kept my mouth shut. The trail met the Mt. Vernon trail and I had the option of going north or south. So I went north along GW parkway and stopped at Gravelly Point where I watched a few planes take off and gave my head a break from the helmet. I did the reverse trip back. The same hill that got me last time, got me this time again. I had to get off my bike and walk it for a little bit so I could catch my breath. I have to look for an alternate path to avoid it next time.

Tomorrow morning I'll have to go back to the pool. It will be crowded but hopefully there wont be any parties and I wont be involved in any collisions. What I do in the afternoon is still up in the air. If Steph responds to my email, I might hang out with her. Or I might go with Megan to Mel's to play with married people. We shall see.

Last Class

Yesterday I woke up with a major crick in my neck. Since I already knew I was skipping body pump, I decided to go workout in the afternoon to allow time for my neck to loosen up. So I picked up some heat pads at the store and put it on my neck for a few hours until I went to the gym around 4. I wrote Megan an email about my neck and ironically she had a kink in her neck too and had a heating pad on hers at work also. Suck a twin thing. I did a brick run at the gym not knowing if my neck would allow me to do both the bike and the run. My neck was fine but my run was rough.

I had planned on making curry when I got home from the gym but I thought about a McDonald's fish fillet sandwich so I had no craving for curry anymore. After I showered I headed to McDonald's and then onto Evening Star for 'Screw the Economy' Smack down with my fellow laid off former co-workers. Come to find out, Megan also stopped at McDonald's and got a fish fillet sandwich too. Yesterday must have been a high twin connection day. We didn't stay out too late and Priya was disappointed because she was ready for a major smack down.

Since I did a brick run yesterday, I wasn't sure what to do for a work out this morning. So I went to a Core and More class. I hadn't been to pilates in a while because of my stroke clinic class and I figured Core and More would be a close substitution. And I think it was. I made my curry today since I didn't yesterday and then I prepared myself for my last stroke clinic class. Chuck was back tonight but didn't realize that it was our last class until we thanked him at the end of the night. I re injured my blister on my big toe from the flippers and Chuck gave me some tips to improve my stroke but some of them are hard to actually do while in the water. I also told him about the pool being short but he said he didn't know and that it is only slightly shorter than 25 meters.

I had two collisions tonight in the pool, I guess to make up for not having any during the rest of the class. I was on a roll doing the back stroke with my flippers on and ran into the wall with the top of my head. My lane mate was there so I told him to let me know if I start bleeding. Later on then, he was on my side of the lane when I was doing the back stroke again and he ran into me. It didn't effect me too much and he apologized for being on my side and was out of breath.

I'm going to go over to Sam's in a bit and we are going to eat popcorn while watching HGTV. Sounds like a thrilling night. He asked if we were going to watch a movie since we were having popcorn, and I told him no.

Tomorrow morning I'm going with Priya to Costco. The only thing I have on my list is 10lbs of frozen chicken breasts and Gatorade. Shes going to take me back in a few months once Sam and I move into the new apartment to stock up on bulk items such as toilet paper, paper towels, Kleenexes and other stuff.

Now that I have my bike and tomorrow is supposed to be warm and sunny, I asked Aaron if he wants to go on a bike ride. But I'm still waiting for his reply.

My body is tired now.

Breaking and entering

This morning I went to the craft store to return and then repurchase picture frames that I bought like 2 weeks ago but I thought are cheaper this week. After I got out there and the cashier rang them up, we realized that what I paid for them the other week was actually cheaper than they are this week. So that was a wasted trip.

I then went for a bike ride today. It was chilly again so I waited till after lunch and I packed a bag with my keys and phone in it and took my bike outside. I started to ride down the street but realized that I needed my sunglasses so I returned to my house and realized that I didn't have my bag on my back so my keys were inside the locked house. I considered riding into Megan's office and getting her keys, that wouldn't have been a problem. But I remembered that the side window on the house wasn't locked. I plopped down my bike in the front yard and slid up the screen and then the window and fell in the house under the blinds. I didn't think it would be so easy to burglarize the place so I locked the window after I got in. I hope no one saw me climbing into the window. I got my keys and back out I went. I mapped out my route trying to stay away from dangerous roads. I wanted to go about 10 miles but my route was only over 6 miles. I started mostly on the sidewalk dodging shrubs and poles and when the road was wide enough, I rode along the shoulder. There were some actual bike lanes on the street that I rode in and felt most safe. And since I'm one of those people who are likely to hit a bicyclist, I considered what moves to make from that perspective. I went over to Aarons place to see if he wanted to ride with me but as I pulled up, he drove off in his car. So I called Priya to see if I could stop by but she didn't answer her phone either. I had drifted most of the way on the first half of my trip but started to sweat and work hard on the second half. That one hill was tough but actually made my ride into work out rather than a joy ride. When I got home I took a break and put some pictures into my frames and made some egg salad and waited for my stroke clinic.

We knew Chuck was going to be out of town today, but our sub who looked familiar and I think is a lifeguard said that Chuck was sick which is why he couldn't make it. They didn't get their story straight. The sub read our instructions from his phone and we started off similar to Chuck but after the warm up, we had to do 4 laps or free style, then back stroke then breast stroke. I think that was all Chuck told the sub to have us do so we were allowed to do whatever we wanted then. Obviously, I continued doing freestyle. I was at 4 laps and saw the sub standing at the end of my lane. I thought he was going to tell me they were closing but instead he told me I could continue swimming until they closed. Well, duh. I knew that and he interrupted my laps. So I told him I was going to do one more. I did my final lap and was considering doing another one but the lifeguard got down so I figured my time was up. I was feeling good about my progress for the triathlon until the sub said that the pool is only 20 meters long and not 25. I was trying to do the math in my head to figure out how many lengths that is but it was too much thinking to do while I was swimming. So when I came home I did the math and so now I have to do 12.5 lengths (6.25 laps) in order to get a full 250 meters in for the triathlon. I wish Chuck would have told us that weeks ago. Our last class is on Thursday so after that I'll focus on freestyle when I go on my own time. Tomorrow night I'm going out with the rest of my laid off friends to 'celebrate' so I'll be skipping body pump. I might try a brick run in the morning then.