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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Spring Break 2014

I always feel so guilty when I don't blog for a while. Generally the reason is because not much has happened, so saving my (few) readers a detailed play-by-play of the mundane goings-on of my life is actually a favor ;) But the past week has actually been BUSY. Which means I have things to report on, but no time to actually report.

Last week I successfully completed two more training sessions (on Wednesday and Friday). I'm a fan of my trainer so far. She knows how far to push me without making me so sore that I can't sit on a toilet (which has happened before, and I pray never happens again. It's not pretty). The weight room was also far less crowded on Wednesday and Friday (hmmm... maybe men also subscribe to the whole "I'll start again on Monday" thing?), so it was much less embarrassing.

***Side Note*** Apologies to my parents for using the phrase "popped my weight room cherry" in my last post. Apparently they were horrified at my choice of descriptive language. ***End of Side Note***

Joe and I left on Saturday afternoon for our Spring Break trip to California. It's been nearly a year since I've been home to visit my family, so I was super excited. What I was not excited about, though, was leaving my poor baby:

I mean - seriously - who could leave this adorable face?!

Instead of boarding him at the vet (which is what we did the last, and only, time we left him), we hired another dental student to stay at our house and dog-sit Buster. It was actually comparably priced to boarding, and I hate the idea of putting a former shelter dog back in a shelter-like setting. Reports from Buster's sitter have been good so far - much less crying than we expected.

***Side Note*** The lack of crying was on Buster's end, as I bawled before the sitter got to our house on Saturday. I am a legitimate crazy person. ***End of Side Note***

Coming home has been such a surreal experience. It certainly does NOT feel like we have been gone for a year, and it makes me realize how quickly dental school has been passing. This is definitely a good thing, as I am ready to ditch this chapter of our lives. While I like Philadelphia and am proud of all that Joe is doing, I miss living by family and I want to feel more like a grown-up and less like a college student. While it's Joe doing the studying, we live on a college student budget. The shopper in me cannot stand that ;)

Speaking of chapters in our life, I lately have developed an obsession: reading every single fertility / pregnancy book I can get my hands on. To be clear, we are not currently trying. After all, we have the unlimited booze package booked for our cruise, so that would just be crazy ;) Also, D2 (the second year of dental school) is the most difficult, so having a newborn during D2 would be pretty ambitious.  But, I am nothing if not a planner, so I am devouring everything I can in prep for baby-making and baby-growing.

To be honest, it is terrifying me.

But I can't stop.

I really had no idea that pregnancy was so horrific. I knew you got fat. I knew your boobs ached. I knew morning sickness existed. Little did I know that these things barely scratch the surface of the ailments a poor pregnant lady must endure.

Of course, it will all be worth it.

But WOW.

While there is more to say about the trip, I am exhausted and now I feel a little sick thinking about my not-too-distant future. Time to get back to my latest pregnancy book and hope that this one is a bit more positive ;)

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Sore Tuesday

Forget Fat Tuesday; today is Sore Tuesday.

There was no way that after busting my butt in the gym yesterday I was going to overindulge today - despite the built-in excuse ;) I was actually surprised that I wasn't in more pain, because I legitimately thought there was a chance I was going to barf, pass out, or die during my first official workout yesterday. But none of the above happened, so I consider that a HUGE win.

I DID Jillian, I swear!

I can't imagine how embarrassing it would have been if I actually puked or passed out. Heck, it was already an embarrassing experience because I had to train in the men's training area.

***Side Note*** By "men's training area,"I mean the co-ed free weight room that few women dare step foot in, either because they don't know what to do, are afraid of getting hit on, or don't want to "bulk up" (which is stupid, because weight-training is so important in slimming down). ***End of Side Note***

Instead of easing me into the "man zone," my trainer popped my weight room cherry by making me do lunges the entire length of the room and back. Twice.

I was SO MORTIFIED.

Not only have I just recently been re-taught how to lunge (I apparently forgot every single thing my trainer 5 years ago taught me), but my balance is terrible, and my endurance is pathetic.

This led to me huffing and puffing down the length of the room and probably appearing half-drunk. All the men watched, of course.

I WANTED TO DIE.

I told myself then and am trying to tell myself now that maybe they admired my moxie? After all, I was obviously out of my comfort zone and I was pushing through. But they probably were thinking, "What is this chubby chick doing? I really hope she doesn't have a heart attack. I have more reps to do and a crew of EMTs would disrupt that."

Tomorrow I get to go back and do the whole thing all over again. I am so not looking forward to it. But I keep browsing the internet for cruise clothes and I really, really want to feel more comfortable with my body before that trip. So I shall press on.

Only 35 more sessions left ;)

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