Get Me Outta Heeeeere

Wellll it's getting warmer out, and sunnier, and I am starting to walk around this fair city again. It feels good! And I feel less like this:




I think that's a sleeping bear cub. I want one! Anyway, work has been very productive since last week, when I got caught up and they officially changed the workflow so that I'm not project managing work for the incompetant staff -- now the staff get to hang themselves by their own rope, and I get more time to work on my own stuff instead of their paralegal stuff.  I'll help as needed, but I'm not the first go-to anymore.  (One lawyer was treating me as his personal secretary, basically, so this should improve things greatly.)  So good.

The weekend was lovely, but went way too fast again.  Friday night I talked to Britch for awhile, then Hike picked me up and we went to Bareburger.  I had the lamb burger with cucumber and tzatziki, and a side salad, and it was delicious and didn't make me feel ill afterwards.  Then home for some good conversation and listening to music together, and then Fraggles.  Saturday I went to Carroll Gardens for Harpie brunch, Mardi Gras-style, and it was delicious and very fun.  Plus I love that neighborhood, so just walking around made me so happy.  I cabbed it back so I could take a quick shower and be ready for Hike to pick me up at 4:30 for the Devils game.  We drove to Newark, met up with his buddy who helps the Islanders' broadcast team for a bit, then got some supper (pizza and hot dogs!) and found our seats.  The game was pretty exciting and went into OT, and then we drove back and were home around 11.  Sunday I was feeling motivated since it was so lovely outside, so we drove to his mom's for macaronis and gravy and hanging out, and then he took me to TARGET.  Swoon.  I stayed within my promised one-hour shopping time, and it didn't drive him away, so it was a success.  (I'm intense in Target, people.) 

And Sunday marked five months since our first date, so it was a nice day of hanging out and enjoying ourselves.  Five months seems like a long time!  In the beginning I'd be like "Ohhh I feel serious but it's only been x months," but now I feel like I can legitimately be in a serious relationship.  You know, in my crazy head, it makes a difference.  But only a little.

This week will be pretty full, but I'm so excited about these hints of springtime, plus with the clock change, I can get more done after work because I have more energy.  Last night I walked to the library and then ran some errands (and the walk was over 2 miles), then tonight I'll walk to book club, then have dinner with Schmate and Schmillie at Penelope, and I'm looking forward to catching up with my ladies.  Tomorrow night I'll see Hike again, then Thursday is open so I'll hopefully get more exercise, then Friday night Schmauren arrives and it's a munchtastic weekend ahead!  I can't wait.

So I installed a Weight Watchers point tracking app on my phone, and I'm going to try and adhere to the plan during the week and take the weekends off.  Obviously it'll still be tough with dinners out, etc., but I'm going to do my best and since it's this interactive thing, hopefully I'll be more interested in entering the data. 

I think this blog has gotten much more boring now that I'm not dishing on my love life, right?  I am welcome to any suggestions for spicing things up.

ALSO, in a daydreamy way I've started looking at apartments online.  You know how I love Astoria, but I love the Carroll Gardens/Clinton Hill neighborhood so much, I was also looking there.  Unfortunately very few of the Craigslist offerings were the cute brownstoney type that I'd want, but it's SO FUN to look.  I would also go to Long Island City -- I like the vibe there.  So right, I'm just putting it out there.  I suddenly have a real estate porn problem.

Well fine, I'm going to go figure out how to make a fillable PDF form.  My life is a whirlwind!



It's the Bare Necessities

Stevie: A Winter Portrait



I know we're deep in January with no end of this winter in sight, but man, I'm tired of feeling so low-energy all the time!  I know I'm not going outside in the cold for smoke breaks (which perk one up), and I'm not exercising like I should be, and I'm probably fighting some sort of germs since Hike seems to be a bit sick and I feel slightly off, but COME ON, self.  Can't I feel perky again?  My usual method for dealing with days like this is to coddle myself a bit, as in, do not go to the gym or feel guilty about it, and instead, relax and rest and feel better tomorrow.  In fact, I think I did that last week, but this week I have a sore throat, too.  So I'm going to accept the slight fatty feeling of winter and my substitute oral fixation (now it's ice cream) and my layers of bulky clothes, and I'm going to buy a humidifier on my way home if I can find one at Rite Aid, and then catch up on DVR under blankets on the couch.  I'm trying to fight the guilt about this, g-d it.  Also, why have I been pining for a humidifier for so long?  Why don't I just order one from Amazon?  New plan -- if Rite Aid doesn't have them, I'll order one online tonight.  Now I just have to decide which:

So how were our weekends?  I wasn't a hermit this entire weekend, I promise.  Friday night Hike and I went out to Smithtown, LI to hang out with his friends, another couple.  We had sushi and then went back to their giant, gorgeous condo to play movie trivia games and sit in front of the fireplace.  So lovely.  We got home rather late so slept in on Saturday, then Saturday night we went to Bareburger in Astoria and tried OSTRICH burgers, which were delicious.  They also were slightly overcooked, so the waitress gave us a free chocolate and peanut butter milkshake, which we smuggled into the theater to see The Fighter.  It was really good and really affecting!  (Both the movie and the milkshake, of course.)  I'm actually more interested in the great Oscar race this year, since there are a few contenders I actually support and enjoyed.  Now we just have to see The King's Speech while we still can.

Sunday we made pizza dough and sauce in the morning, then took our usual afternoon break.  I napped and started watching a chick flick, Going the Distance, starring Drew Barrymore and Justin Long.  It's pretty cute, and the best part is that Charlie (from Always Sunny) plays his best friend, and is as endearing as always. Then when Hike came back over for football in the evening I assembled our homemade pizza and we rooted on the Steelers to victory.  My father and brother are definitely excited about the win!  And we, as fair-weather fans, were too. 

And that was it, and it was really nice, but too short, as usual.  This week is fairly quiet, though I'm sure the calendar will fill up a bit.  I am going to try and weigh myself in the morning, but I'm definitely feeling a bit on the heavy side (see above), but also not going to freak out yet.  Oh right, as far as quitting smoking goes, I had two last week (one Tuesday, one Friday) and that was the last one for now.  I feel like I've quit, and I only very rarely have a craving that I indulge, and that's OK for now.  So that's good.  Next up, I'm going to use the teeth whitening stuff I got for Christmas for further motivation and prettiness.

UGH, now if 5:00 would just get here, I could go back to hibernating.