Better Late Than Never - Brian's Visit to Philly

And now begins my Better Late Than Never series... which could also be called, I Was Too Lazy This Summer to Bother Blogging.

Summer fun started almost as soon as Joe's classes were finished for the year. Our cruise was booked for June 22nd, and we had asked my brother Brian to fly in and watch Buster while we were gone. Since I don't get to see Brian often, he came a week before our cruise so we could hang out.

The three of us (Brian especially) are really into history and politics. Joe had never been to Washington D.C. before and, with it being only 2(ish) hours away, it was a no-brainer that we'd go while Brian was visiting. We booked a hotel near the city so that we could spend Monday and Tuesday exploring the sites.

We spent the first day looking at the monuments and other D.C. landmarks. It was incredibly hot and humid... nearly unbearable. Plus I made a stupid shoe decision and my feet started hurting literally 10 minutes after we left the car. It was still fun, though :)

Had to apply some bright red lipstick to distract from my sweat-drenched hair

After we were all too exhausted to continue, we decided to head to the hotel. Upon arriving, we noticed that many of the rooms had balconies with rocking chairs. Leave it to Joe, he somehow charmed his way into a free room upgrade. SCORE! The guys were thrilled :)

We ate dinner at the hotel bar. The food was cheap and surprisingly good.

The next day we focused on the Smithsonian museums. Joe is a huge fan of aviation and space, so he was most excited for the Air & Space museum.

I told you he was excited ;)

And, of course, the obligatory shot of Joe somewhere he is too tall for

I was just thrilled to see Dorothy's ruby slippers

After exploring the museums, we headed back to Philly and spent the next couple of days recuperating and playing The Last of Us. Actually, I should clarify. Brian played and Joe and I watched... we aren't that good at shooting video games. But it was a lot of fun to watch and to follow the story.

Thursday night, we had another fun thing on our docket. We were going to be trapped in a room with a zombie!

Yes, you heard me right :)

Trapped in a Room with a Zombie is this cool attraction (for lack of a better word) where you have 60 minutes to solve a series of riddles and puzzles to escape a room. There is a "zombie" in the room attached to a chain, and every 5 minutes the chain releases a little bit so that the longer you are in the room the closer the zombie gets to you. If you get touched by the zombie, you are "eaten" and you have to sit out for the rest of the hour.

Although it was just the three of us in the room, Joe, Brian and I were optimistic that we could solve the puzzles. We realized pretty quick that we were in trouble. It was tough! Being a fan of scary stuff, I really didn't think the zombie would phase me. But I was desperate to not get "eaten." So much so that I actually pushed Brian in front of me at one point when the zombie got close.

Yes, I am a terrible sister.

Luckily he did not get "eaten."

In the end, we did not solve the puzzles and escape. They walked us through how to get out of the room once the hour was up, and we would have needed more people, more time, or clearer brains (we were all exhausted) to have had any hope of getting out of that room. But it was still a blast. I would LOVE to go again when they change the puzzles (which they are supposed to do soon).

Our last major event was the Philadelphia Comic Con on Friday. We were really excited to go because there were supposed to be several actors from The Walking Dead in attendance. Unfortunately the two we were most excited for (Daryl and Maggie) were slated to be there on Saturday, not Friday. Boo :(

Before we went to the convention center, though, we hit up Reading Terminal Market for some sandwiches from DiNics. While known for their pork sandwiches, their Italian beef brisket sandwich is one of the most amazing things I've ever eaten. It's not pretty, but it is FABULOUS.

MMMMMMMMMMM.....

Comic Con ended up being fun, despite not seeing Daryl and Maggie. Lori, Shane and Herschel were there - so that was pretty sweet. I took a couple of sneaky pictures of Herschel, which is strictly against the rules so I won't post them ;) We didn't get any autographs or professional pics, because we are too cheap for that haha.

It was really cool to see all of the vendors, especially the artists. There were so many talented people! I ended up getting two T-shirts:

That's it for our adventures with Brian! Tune in next time for a re-cap of our cruise :)

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Our Summertime Plans

As of last Thursday, Joe officially finished his first year of dental school! I am so proud of all that he has accomplished this year and SO excited to have my husband school-free for the next 2+ months.

Well, technically it is here. But I couldn't resist a GoT reference.
Or that throne made of pool noodles.

It still seems unreal that he has time on his hands. We went out to lunch and shopping on Friday, and both kept thinking that we needed to hurry home so he could get back to studying. After every meal we eat, show we watch, walk we take with Buster, etc., we both expect us to have to part ways (him to study, me to try to entertain myself until his next - brief - break). I'm not sure how long it will take for us to adjust to his new, totally free schedule, but it is such a great feeling every time we remember that he doesn't have any studying to do that I don't mind this adjustment period.

This summer will be his only sizable break from dental school during the entire 4 years. Next summer (between years 2 and 3) will be spent studying for his boards and in clinic. Once clinic starts, that is a year-round commitment until dental school is complete. 

Knowing this, we want to take advantage of these next couple of months and have some exciting things to look forward to. My youngest brother, Brian, is coming to visit next Saturday. While he's here, the three of us will head to Washington D.C. for a couple of days. Joe has never been to D.C. and is a big history buff (especially U.S. and Presidential history), so he is really excited. Brian and I have both been twice, but never together. I'm sure we'll be spending lots of time looking at monuments and visiting museums. 

The following Sunday (June 22) is our cruise! Brian will be staying at our place and taking care of Buster while we are gone. I am SO EXCITED for this cruise. Unless you count our road trip out to Philadelphia or trips to visit family, the last vacation Joe and I took together was our honeymoon 3 years ago. This is long overdue :) The cruise is a week long, and we will sail from New Jersey to Bermuda, dock there for 3 days, then sail back. I know that most cruises involve island- or city-hopping, but I actually like the idea of having a long period of time in one place. Most of the other cruises we looked at only docked for about 4 hours at each locale, which doesn't seem like nearly enough time. I've been on 3 cruises in my life (at ages 5, 9 and 22), so I know what to expect. Joe, on the other hand, has never stepped foot on a cruise ship, so it will be so much fun to get to experience his first time cruising together. 

Just 13 days after we arrive home from the cruise, we will be heading to Missouri for a little over 2 weeks so we can visit Joe's family. We don't want to leave Buster again, so we will be driving and bringing the dog with us. It's about a 15 hour drive and Buster hates the car, so that should be really enjoyable. Despite the dreaded drive, I am so excited for this Missouri trip! I love Joe's family and when we visited during our road trip out to Philly last year, I was SUPER sick. Like, the sickest I have ever been (I had to sleep on his mom's recliner for 10 days because I would have extended coughing fits if I laid down at all). I felt so miserable that we ended up cutting our road trip short and heading straight to Philly after Missouri (with a couple of short detours) instead of driving through the south and then up the East Coast as planned. I feel like I didn't get to spend enough quality time with his family, so hopefully this trip can help make-up for that a bit.

After we return from Missouri, things slow-down a bit. All we have planned for August is to see Book of Mormon and to go to a Phillies vs. Cardinals game. 

I know that I have been terrible at blogging lately, but I am hoping that all of these exciting adventures will give me something to write about :) Then again, maybe I won't want to waste a second of time that I could be spending with Joe. I guess we shall see...

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Allow Me to Fill You In....

It's been quite an absence - sorry about that!

Here's what I've failed to fill you in on lately:


SPRING BREAK

Going back to California for Spring Break was a lot of fun!

Joe joined me in California for the first 5 days of my 11 day va-cay. Since he was only in town for a handful of days, we had a pretty packed schedule because we wanted to visit as many friends and family as we could. It was so much fun to see all the familiar faces :)

After he left, things slowed down and I spent most of my time either working or shopping with my mom. I was so strange to be away from him for almost a week - it's the longest we've been apart since we've been married - but I'm still going to try to make it home more often in the future. Since I can work from anywhere, I should take advantage of that.

It was also fun to be home for two Sundays because I was able to watch two new episodes of The Walking Dead with my parents - who are obsessed (especially my Dad). My brother, Brian, was home for the first Sunday and is a big fan as well. He convinced me to read the comics, which I started a few days ago and am TOTALLY hooked on. They are incredibly twisted so, being me, I obviously can't get enough of them.

***Side Note*** This is the first comic I've read, so I don't know if this is true for ALL comics, but I am SHOCKED at how many "adult situations" there are! Now I finally understand why some guys are totally obsessed with comic books ;) ***End of Side Note***

While I ate too much on my trip and only exercised a couple of times, I was still down 0.4 pounds when I returned... so I consider that a win. And that's after TWO visits to In N Out ;)

Of course, I HAD to Instagram my first meal there :) And, yes, I do eat a ridiculous amount of ketchup.

BUSTER'S BIRTHDAY

One downside of staying in California longer than Joe did was that I missed Buster's first birthday with us. He's four now, and his birthday was March 14. Not only did his mommy miss his special day, but the poor guy had to go to the vet for some shots!

I made it up to him by bringing home some presents. He also got a special doggy cookie in the shape of a squirrel (he loves chasing them) and Joe made him some chicken and rice to eat.

I'm impressed - the dog knows how to open a present...

I LOVE this picture because he looks like he dropped his mouth in shock at his present. Really, he was just yawning - something he does approximately 15,324 times a day.

DENTAL SCHOOL

The second semester of dental school has brought a shift for Joe. Instead of being in lecture all day learning science stuff, he's now doing more hands-on stuff! He's excited to finally roll his sleeves up. Not only is he assisting 3rd and 4th year students when they work on patients, but he is in lab doing things like making wax teeth and filling cavities on dummies.

Sometimes, he can bring stuff home. And then I get to take pictures :)

He's carving a tooth out of wax for this project. I don't understand the point, but nearly every (if not all) dental schools require this. Some make you do the entire mouth! It's incredibly time consuming.

Hard at work

But happy to be carving instead of having his head buried in a book.

TRAINING

Upon returning to Philly, I've been really focused on eating right and hitting the gym hard with my trainer. Though I have been lazy and haven't made it to the gym on non-training days, three extreme workouts a week is definitely a step up from what I had been doing. I'm going to aim for 5 days a week next week (3 with the trainer, 2 cardio days) - which is what she wants me to do.

Although I am not a fan DURING training, I am LOVING that I made the decision to do this. I can tell that I am getting an incredible workout, and I am already seeing some arm definition that I haven't seen in FAR too long. I'm so dedicated that I've even starting drinking protein powder drinks after workouts to help build muscle!

I love my trainer! She knows how much to push to make me red-faced, sweaty and sore the next day
- but not in a ton of pain.

The only thing that really stinks is that she wants me to weigh myself just ONCE a month. This is going to be VERY difficult, and it also means that you'll have to say goodbye to Weigh-in Wednesdays, but I'm going to be a good trainee and listen to her.


Welp. That's really about it. Life has been crazy busy with work and training, and there haven't been too many exciting things going on. That said, I hate inconsistent bloggers, so I am going to try to up my game :)

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Our Cruise is Booked!

I am so excited to announce that Joe and I have (finally) booked our cruise for this June! We will be traveling from New Jersey (oh so convenient!) to beautiful Bermuda!

Okay. So if you are a weirdo like me, you probably read Bermuda and couldn't help but think of the Bermuda Triangle.

I found this when looking up pictures of Bermuda. That is absolutely terrifying.
This image may will haunt my dreams until June.

I have been petrified of the Bermuda Triangle since I was a child and went on some ride at Sea World that had a Bermuda Triangle theme. I swore I would never fly or boat anywhere near there. But, here I am: voluntarily boating to the actual island.

I must be growing up ;)

***Side Note*** Either that, or I liked the convenience of sailing out of New Jersey and the cheaper fare this specific cruise had compared to others. ***End of Side Note***

Joe and I have never been out of the country together (shoot! I need a new passport...) and he has never been on a cruise before, so this is going to be great :)

If you recall from the point system I started last month, I will reward myself if when I reach 3000 points, and that reward will be a shopping spree for clothes for the cruise. The cruise we booked is two weeks later than we initially expected, and I will certainly be needing every single one of those days to make up for some bad choices lately.

Ever since the last wave of snows started (almost 3 weeks ago), I haven't set foot in the gym. The thought of driving (let alone walking) in the weather we have had lately was seriously unappealing. Then there was the dental school formal where I ate and drank too much and the Super Bowl party where I ate and drank too much. I fully intended on getting back to the gym this week, but my broken toe from last Sunday has made that impossible.

***Side Note*** I have no idea if it actually broke, but it hurt like a mother and I couldn't do much more than hobble around for a week. It's feeling much better now, but it's still not 100% ***End of Side Note***

I plan to try Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred tomorrow as a test with my toe. If I can make it through, then I'm going to try to do the Shred most days and run at the gym 3-4 days a week. Lofty goals, but I need to make up points and lose some weight.

I only have 132 days until the cruise, and that means I'll need to average 17 points a day to hit my goal. Since I want to have time to shop for the clothes, I probably need to average something more like 19 a day. It's definitely do-able; I've averaged 18 points a day since starting (and that includes 3 weeks of no exercise), but it really doesn't allow me to lose focus.

And I don't want to just earn these points through great oral hygiene and keeping the house clean (some of my non-exercise / non-food-related ways to earn points). While these things are important and the point system is designed to help me improve in lots of areas, I need to lose weight. I am currently obese (according to the stupid BMI chart which doesn't account for how incredibly dense I am). This is not a label I want. I certainly don't want it when Joe and I decide to start our family, since obesity can increase the chance of miscarriage and fertility issues.

Speaking of starting a family... I'm going to share a juicy tidbit ;)

Joe and I have picked a month. An official "pull the goalie" month.

Now, before you get too excited - this doesn't necessarily mean that this month is in 2014 (heck, the specific month could be January 2042). And it CERTAINLY won't be before the cruise since we are getting the unlimited booze package (pricey, but worth it haha).

There are lots of things we plan to do and a certain place Joe needs to be in school before that month. We also understand that we aren't in control of everything and situations can change (especially concerning distant plans). But for an obsessive planner like me, I feel so at peace with an actual timeline in my head.

And, no, we're not telling you what that timeline is.

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