A weekend recap

We had a great weekend, which is always a fabulous thing after a long week of school and work. Friday night we watched the movie "The Queen"; I would recommend it. It seems like good movies are harder and harder to find so when I actually enjoy a movie, I feel very satisfied.

On Saturday we visited Apple Annie's with our friends Brian and Alia. It was little over an hour drive to get there from Tucson. We have never actually driven that far east from Tucson before so it was unconquered territory for us. We enjoyed some delicious apple pie, a fun corn maze and picked pumpkins for Halloween. I should point out a fun fact about our friendship with Brian and Alia. Brian was with Troy on the night that Troy and I met. Also Brian and Alia came over to Troy's house on their first date to watch a movie with us. We happened to be in the same married ward at BYU and now they live in Tucson. What a small world, but we sure are grateful to have friends like them!

After our afternoon adventure, I was trying to be a good girl and do some homework. I was studying in the kitchen when I happened to look at the floor. There was a scorpion about 3 feet away from my feet. It was Arizona Bark Scorpion, which happens to be the most venomous one. 

On Sunday we enjoyed a fabulous dinner with Kat and Michael. There something wonderful about enjoying good food with fun people.  Many of our friends are not huge fans of Tucson (just like we aren't); however, I am glad that we have them to share our lives with and make the best out of this dirty, I mean desert place.

We also did try out "Zinburger" for the first time this week. Fabulous burgers! I highly recommend!

What a Wonderful Day (Minus 3.5 hours)

Today has been so enjoyable with conference. I feel like there has been so many things that apply to my life and I am very grateful to have the opportunity to listen to our church leadership. This week has been exhausting in many levels so I felt rejuvenated by the reminder about what really matters in life. I also loved the fact that we have more and more international general authorities. Though I did have to pay more attention to the French (at least he sounded French) speaker. Did anyone have any favorite talks so far?? I just love Jeffrey R. Holland's talks; he has a way of touching my heart every time he talks.

The excitement of general conference kind of died as I got home and started to take my literature class exam online. It is my last GE requirement so I have to take it. I have not had time to read 200+ pages of Whitman or Emerson etc as they are not light reading nor are they a genre that I enjoy. This made my test very difficult as it was 16 essay questions...let's just say that I hope she is not a hard grader. I spent more than three hours on that test...what a waste of my precious time. I should have been studying for the psychiatric nursing test that is on Monday. 

My healthy life style is going well so far--1.5 pounds down and few more to go:)

Slight change to Our Plan

Thank you everyone for your words of wisdom! I have to admit that it feels like forever since I started my new way eating. Yesterday as I went for a run, I thought "wow I'm so proud of myself for not eating anything sweet" and then I realize it's only been two days. Those two days were very busy and pretty stressful and usually I would have rewarded myself with something sweet. 

Since most people said that moderation is a good way to go. Troy and I decided that we can have something sweet once a week. When I was a kid (as opposed to being such a mature adult now), Fridays were candy days.We were allowed 5 finnish marks, which is equivalent to a dollar, for candy. So Fridays will be our candy days; of course there will be moderation in how much we can eat that day too.  We also noticed that we had some Skinny Cow ice cream in our fridge and Troy is like "it's not gonna be good in two months". :)

I woke up this morning without any desire to go for a run. Hopefully I can find some before the day is over. This is one of the pit falls of running by yourself;it's too easy to not go and run. I so wish I could find a group to run with.

Declaration for Change

Unfortunately, I have gained some pounds over the last three years(though mostly I think it's from last 9 months) and I have decided to get rid off them. So tomorrow Troy and I are starting "no sweets, no fast food" diet until Thanksgiving. I will be allowed to eat candy on halloween but that's it. One of my friends nicely pointed out that the amount of weight I have put on is like a "sack of potatoes". So no need for Russet potatoes around my waist or hips. If you see me touch anything that looks like cookies, brownies etc, slap my hand! 

Does anyone have any good ideas on weight loss?? I will be running about 4 times a week so that should help, but I would love to hear anyone's experiences on the issue. Or if anyone wants to join me on my challenge, it's always easier to have more people supporting you.

I do have to confess that Troy is kind of forced into this diet, but a girl can't be healthy if the hubby is allowed to have sweets around the house. I probably seem like such a dictator to people...

My Husband Loves Me

Yes, I can even prove it to you. I went to check the mail few days ago and there was the declaration of Troy's love for me. I pulled it out the mailbox with excitement. My first issue of Runner's World had arrived. As Troy and I discussed possible anniversary present options, I told him that I loved reading this particular magazine and it would be nice to get a monthly reminder that he loves me. Don't get me wrong, he does tell me that he loves me on daily basis, but more tangible reminders are nice too:)

I'm in a "I want to be a hardcore runner" mood again. Since high school, I have identified myself as a runner. Back then I did the sprints and now I'm doing the long-distance; however, all I needed was a pair of running shoes to feel good about things.

How do you identify yourself? Obviously we all have several things that identify us, but what is your favorite?

P.S I am signed up for Tucson Half-Marathon on Dec. 7th. If anyone is interested joining me or just training with me, let me know!

Inspiration

I am one of those people who reads strangers' blogs because I find some of these blogs so inspiring. Few weeks ago, I came across a blog by a woman whose sister had been in a plane crash. The sister and her husband were both burned quite severely. They have four little children. Some of you might have even heard about her; she seems to be quite the hit as "blogger mom".   This morning I happened to go and read the blog again as well as the sister's blog; I was amazed by their positive attitude, their faith and love for life. What a great reminder on a Sunday morning to count my blessings and show more love to those around me. 

Back to Blond

So I am back to being blond and I totally love it. I don't think I'll go dark anytime soon again. They say that blondes have more fun and I have totally noticed it. It seems like the last three weeks have been like a big party. OK, I'm so kidding. Life has been crazy since Troy's surgery and school started. Luckily Troy's mom came and stayed with us for few weeks because Troy wasn't able to drive and I wasn't able to drive him to all of his physical therapy appointments plus to classes etc. So Troy's mom really saved us and also pampered us. She made us breakfast in the mornings and cooked dinner. She even made lunches for Troy. We have never been spoiled like that before so we absolutely loved it. 

This is the sight that welcome me back one day after school. Homemade cinnamon rolls and dinner on the stove:)

So I got some layers going on with blond highlights. Troy wants my hair even lighter but this is as light as they would go since my hair was pretty dark. 

So I'm doing a psychiatric nursing rotation for the next 5 weeks and work one 12- shift a week while Troy goes to school 4 days a week, has twice a week PT appointments and works 35 hours a week. We don't get to spend much quality time together, but I sure love being married to him. We just celebrated our 3 year anniversary on Wednesday. Our celebration mirrored our lack of energy: macaroni grill take out and  watching Jane Austen's Emma movie. Also my friend introduced us to Skinny Cow ice cream. So now I feel better about eating an ice cream sandwich that has only 140 calories in it. Of course, I never knew how many calories were in other ice cream brands but now I feel like I have more self-control!