Back to Blech

Good morning and happy hump day!  I'm starting to feel like I belong in my New York life again, though just barely.  Let's catch up on the rest of my visit home, shall we?

Sooo Britch's Scottish boyfriend proposed to her on the Wednesday after Xmas, which was thrilling for all of us. Hike's highly-anticipated arrival was on Thursday, then home for fam dinner, then out with the friends, and we all got silly at Mutz (a bar) and he met the whole crew.  I think he did really well for being surrounded by strangers, most of whom were related to Britch.

Friday aka New Year's Eve, we laid around watching TV all day since we were hungover and had stayed up late, then went to a house party with the friends at Britch's house.  We had lots of fun though we were a lot calmer than the night before.

Saturday we drove around town for the afternoon so I could show him little stuff, and we stopped at B&J's house to meet their boxer (and my other boyfriend), Cash, and then at night we double-dated with my parents -- we went out for steak dinner and then to the local Walleye hockey game.  It was nice and very comfortable (though I think we were still low-energy from recovering from Thursday night.  We are so old.)

We all went to church on Sunday morning and then ate dinner in front of the Steeler's game in the den (to humor my dad and brother).

Oh, and Hike met my Grandma before she left on Friday, and she thinks he's a "nice young man."  He really got along with my brother, too, so all in all it went as well as it could have.  My parents are huge fans. The only embarrassment was caused by my friends telling him all my high school stories, of course.  ("Stephanie used to spit out milk at lunch all the time when she laughed, Stephanie has no butt crack," etc.) 

All in all, it was a relaxing and calm vacation, and I'm still adjusting to being back.  I think I'm a bit homesick still -- or maybe just relaxation-sick.  But I hate leaving my family at first, and knowing I won't see them until the summer, especially with my parents getting older, not to mention Grandma.  I mean, it's the only option, but it's hard right now.  Soon I will be fully back into the swing of my life here and feel fine, but I'm in that January funk right now.  Hike says we should plan something else to look forward to, and I agree.  It won't be CHRISTMAS, of course, but something on the horizon would be nice!

So Monday morning I flew in, went to work, then met the Harpies for dinner with our dearly departed member who now lives in Ireland!  She's visiting so it was good to be fully reunited and eat tons of great tapas.  Yesterday I grocery shopped to stock up the fridge and make some healthy stuff again (I think I gained 4 pounds at home, but I can feel that,) and then cooked.  Weight Watchers Cream of Broccoli Soup with garlic chicken sausage (for protein) and then I put together a butternut squash pasta bake for dinner tonight, so tonight I just have to bake it for a bit.  Hike's coming over for dinner, yay!  I'll also saute some spinach with mushrooms and onions for a hearty and healthy winter meal. 

We've made some plans, too, since it seems like the calendars are filling up.  I love having a boyfriend who will make plans!  We're going out Friday night, then he may join me for a friend's bday party on Saturday (tbd), we may go to Long Island to see his mom, and then next Thursday I'm going to meet his college friend and we're going to see a drag showing of Sunset Boulevard in Chelsea.  I am inordinately excited about this.  Apparently his friend was a bit concerned about how draggy it is, like I might be offended or uncomfortable, and Hike told him that I'd "get a kick out of it."  I was like Honey, those are my people.  It's going to be awesome.

I do have to reflect more on the New Year and what I want to do with my brain, so that will be another post, but this was the big catch-all.  Happy 2011, lovers!

Misc and What I Ate: Wednesday, December 30

Good morning, world. Are you all indoors and warm today? I finally opened up the valves on my radiator in my bedroom last night, so of course was awakened at 5 am by the clanking sounds and the stifling heat. (Granted, I went to bed with multiple layers on, under all the covers, with an extra fleece blanket on top. There was a 0 degree wind chill last night, people, and my windows are drafty!) At least tomorrow should be warmer for New Year's Eve revelry.

That said, I'm laying down the law: NYE is off limits, WW-wise. I will eat, drink and be merry, and maybe even extend that into New Year's Day, as I may need recovery time. And by recovery time, I mean tacos.

Still, today is today, and here's the plan. It's pretty much identical to yesterday's, but one must form habits intentionally:
Breakfast -- coffee, Honey Bunches of Oats, skim milk (4)
Lunch -- turkey and swiss on sandwich thin with L&T, Miracle Whip light and mustard; apple (5)
Dinner -- brown rice with vegetable tomato sauce and cubed chicken (7); romaine salad with tomatoes, cucumbers, feta, homemade vinaigrette (2)
Snack -- low fat yogurt (2)
TOTAL = 20 points

What's especially exciting about my sandwich today is that I am using non-expired mayo. The last time I bought a jar (of Low Fat Hellman's), I only realized after getting home that it had just expired. My grocery store is a fresh hell every time you enter, so rather than try to take it back, I just figured it'd be fine for awhile after the "best by" date. So I used it...until yesterday. That's when I realized how many months had passed, and how it tasted a little weird, and decided to WASTE the few tablespoons in the bottom of the jar (I know) and buy a fresh condiment. So I got my Miracle Whip Light at Target, and this will be a good day.

In other news, I spent a good chunk of the last 30 minutes attempting to track down my work crush on Facebook, but was unsuccessful (though I did think I had a lead, but after looking through that person's friends and work connections, I decided he wasn't my target.) Oh, I should mention that none of the matching FB profiles had his picture clearly visible--obviously that would've made my job easier. As I'm cyberstalking, who should call into the office to ask me to transfer him into his voicemail, but Work Crush himself. I felt like I was caught red-handed...though we played it cool. Actually, I asked if he was going to be in today (as phone-answerer, I get to know these things) and he said maybe tomorrow or maybe not until next week. Lies! Before Christmas, he told me he'd be back from vacation yesterday! Also, I felt like it was awkward because I wished him safe travels back...I think I was trying too hard. Anyway, we're still deep in Phase 2 of my romance plan: Awkward Flirting. I can't wait for Phase 3: Skilled Flirting.

Otherwise, the day is uneventful. I've not really done any work yet, though there isn't much to do, and not many people are in the office. I'm looking forward to prepping some appetizers tonight for my shift at hosting our Progressive New Year's Eve party tomorrow, and I'll do some cleaning around the ol' apartment.

Also, I just ate 4 bite-sized chocolate candies: Twix, Snickers, and 2 Reese's. I'm not counting those points, just chock 'em up to Flexies.