Confession to myself.

I haven't been being honest.

See this pretty little weight tracker from my Spark People page?

It looks pretty great, right?  I'm so close to the finish.

If only I was being honest.

I was honest when I logged that beautiful 133 back in, oh, October.

I even managed to get down to 131.5 for a few glorious days.

And even better than that, I stayed put at 132 throughout the ENTIRE holiday season.  I call that an accomplishment.

Somewhere along the line in January, though, I got horribly off track.  In my own defense, I had a very busy social calendar. 

And as previously discussed, I don't do well when I'm walking through life tired and hungover.

I still went to boot camp once or twice a week and played volleyball a few times but other than that, I got almost no exercise for a full 6 weeks.  I have no excuse other than pure laziness on my part.  I also ate like crap.  Those six days in St. Louis were brutal... mexican and margaritas, way too much wine, late night drunk-sledding followed a trip to White Castle, etc, etc, etc...

Somewhere near the end of January, I reluctantly stepped on the scale.

137.

Oh.  My.  God.

I mean, I guess I wasn't truly shocked.  5lbs isn't all that much when you consider the crap I put in my body, but damn.  I was so happy at 132. 

Enter February and slightly warmer weather.  I got back on the exercise train with a couple outdoor runs and I've been going to spin class at least twice a week and playing volleyball every Thursday.  And I've gotten my eating back on track.  For the most part.  I eat so well Monday-Friday then blow it every weekend with multiple course meals and far too much alcohol. 

So explain to me why I was surprised when I stepped on the scale Saturday morning to see it read 137.8. 

Surpisingly though, I don't feel all that bad about myself.  My clothes still fit, only some pants are a bit tight and I think I look pretty damn good.

I've come to a conclusion though.  This high-maintenance, calorie-tracking, exercise-fiendish lifestyle I try to live really isn't condusive to my wine-loving, social-hostessing, all-around-fun life.

So in an effort to be honest with myself, I'm changing my weight-tracker to reflect this weight gain and I plan to be fully honest with how well (or not well) I'm eating and not let a few nights of fun hinder my progress.

Ah, honesty... be nice to me please.

The day my dog pooped on the computer.

M & B.  Cute, right?

Super excited to be out for their first walk since, um, October?  They loved it, I loved watching them love it.

This, however, I did not love. 

Yes, that is dog poo on my computer.  Thankfully I saw it before I felt the need to use an exclamation point.

Bella gets a tad over-excited at times.

Like when she's sitting next to me on the arm of the sofa and sees someone walking down the street.  She immediately turns into protector-of-the-neighborhood and goes ballistic.  This particular time, she felt it necessary to leap over the computer sitting on my lap.  Mid-leap, a dangler dropped out of her hairy little behind.  Thank God my lap was covered. 

Oh, the joys of dog-ownership.

You're welcome for that fun little story.

What I Wore... v2.0

I'm more than a little obsessed with fashion.  If I had endless amounts of money, I'd most likely spend most of my time shopping.

Too bad that's not an option.

For now I'll make due with numerous outfit repeats, as shown below.

First up, Wednesday and Saturday.

Outfit 1: 

tank, cardigan and pants:  Express

boots:  Macy's

necklace:  um??  This is what I get for taking such crappy pictures.  I can't see it well enough to tell which one it is, nor can I remember what I wore that day.  Sad.

Outfit 2:

tank:  Van Maur

(faux) leather jacket:  Marshall's

pants:  Express

boots:  Macy's

belt:  NY&Co.  (sidenote:  wearing a waist-cinching belt to the Mac & Cheese Bowl was a horrendously bad idea... it came off as soon as I got in the car)

Next up is Monday, Thursday and Monday.  Let's call this series "What Carolyn looks like hungover". 

'Cause that's exactly what it was.  Note the unwashed hair, ponytail and hat.  Sad that there were three days last week where I wasn't feeling up to par.  'Tis the story of my wine-loving life.

Outfit 1:

tank and cardigan:  Express (from like 3 years ago... eek)

jeans:  Mavi

boots:  Kenneth Cole

hat:  Nine West

necklace:  so old I have no idea where it came from

Outfit 2:

Sorriest excuse for a ponytail ever.

sweater:  Express

leggings:  Target

boots:  Kenneth Cole

Outfit 3:

Much better on the ponytail, Carolyn.

sweater:  NY&Co. from last year

jeans:  Mavi

boots:  Kenneth Cole (I shall now dub these my hangover boots, as the pattern is obvious)

Next group, well outfit, is Sunday.  We were headed out to dinner.  Husband requested a dress and heels.  It was like 10 degrees out.  I said "um, no.  Boots and pants."  Then I said, "you don't want me to be miserable because of my cold bare legs, right?"  And he said "I don't ever want you to ever be miserable."  Right answer, husband, right answer.

Outfit 1&2:  shown with and without jacket

sweater:  Target

skinny pants:  NY&Co.

boots:  Nine West

belt:  NY&Co.

adorably cute faux fur jacket:  Arden B.

hair:  curls!

Husband caught me taking the last picture and asked why the hell I was taking pictures of myself.  My (half-in-the-bag) answer:  "So I remember what I looked like skinny."  ha

This is embarrassing.

I conquered a fear today.

A fear that is rather embarrassing to admit.

I'm afraid of the car wash.

Probably not in the way you're thinking though. 

I don't mind going through a car wash while someone else is driving.  

The crazy-looking contraptions that attack your car don't scare me in the least.

My fear is the driving into the thing that you line your tire up with that takes you through. 

Literally driving into it.

I'm so afraid that I'm not going to line up my tires correctly and get yelled at by the minimum wage earning 16 year old who's trying to guide me through.

(This might stem from a Jiffy Lube incident as a young driver that we won't speak of.)

But alas, I have a shiny new car that I would like to keep shiny and new.

And husband bought me a car wash package for Christmas (even though he is VERY aware of my fear).

Something came over me yesterday though.  Maybe the dirt build-up on my pretty Jeep was speaking to me?

I sucked it up and drove to the car wash. 

This is the point where my heart started pounding.  The damn car in front of me was blocking the wheel-line-up thingie!  How am I supposed to line my car up if I can't even see it???

I tried to get a picture of it as the car in front was sucked into the wash and it finally popped into view but I WAS TERRIFIED.

Turns out I'm a big baby.  Somehow my car lined itself up properly and off I went!

Clean, clean, clean!

Tell me I'm not the only one who has (had?) a completely irrational, embarrassingly ridiculous fear?  Please?  Anyone?

Weekend (Food) Warrior.

I think I earned that title this past weekend. 

After a lovely dinner of mussels frites and wine at Garden Bistro 24, then drinks and dessert at dp on Friday, the Mac & Cheese Bowl on Saturday, and drinks at Cafe Capriccio followed by a ridiculously large dinner at Chez Mike on Sunday, I'm spent.

Yesterday was recovery.  I was basically non-productive all day.  The older I get, the more and more I need that extra day to recover.  Sad, right?

And true to form, I have almost no pictures from the weekend.  Even though my camera sat in my purse the entire time.  Fail.

I have a few from the Mac & Cheese Bowl, which was amazing, by the way.  dp and Yono's had a booth with their fabulous "Mac & Cheeks" (description in the picture below).  And I ran into Jen from Jen is Green!  When she walked up to the booth next to ours, I felt like I spotted a celebrity.  Guess that's what blog-stalking does to you ;)

Clockwise from top left:  Cup upon cup of mac & cheese... after about a dozen, I was done.  Nick and me behind the dp/Yono's booth.  More of the good stuff.  Chez Mike's cheddar -ale mac was my favorite of the day.  Mac & Cheese Bowl t-shirt.  dp/Yono's mac & cheeks. 

There were 30 restaurants at the bowl who were judged for best mac & cheese.  Sadly, we didn't win, although it was definitely one of the best there, in my opinion.  I ate some that I seriously couldn't force down.  More than one cup ended up in the trash after just one bite.  But some on the otherhand, were so good that I went back for seconds and thirds.  It was such a fun event... just please don't show me any mac & cheese for at least a month ;)

He's gonna live forever, right?

Happy 8th Birthday to my sweet boy, Miles Davis Purnomo.

AKA

Mr. Happy Pants

Pickle Face

Mr. Gray Beard

Monkey Butt

Bubba

Chicken Nugget

Mr. Smooshy Face

Etc, etc, etc...

We love this boy :)

Time to Get Creative. AKA What I Wore v1.0

Ooh!  A new feature! 

Well, technically the first and only feature on this blog.

Let's call it What I Wore.  Creative, no?

For the first edition of What I Wore, I put together a collection of my outfits over the past two weeks or so.  Not sure if this is how I'll continue to do it but it's kinda fun to see them all side by side. 

'Cause I have this problem.

Husband will concur.

I wear a variation of the same damn thing every single day.

This winter, that variation has included skinny jeans, skinny pants or leggings, a tank top, something to throw over said tank top and a pair of boots.  The other wardrobe of choice that you'll notice is my at-home attire... you know, fun pants and a hoodie.  Not sure why I felt the need to include these.  Maybe to see what my husband sees 90% of the time?*  Also of note is the world's cutest apron at the bottom center.  It's fun to look cute while cooking! 

What's even funnier than the matchy-matchiness of my day to day attire?  I just looked down and realized I'm wearing the. exact. same. thing. as picture #5.  I need more variation in my life. 

And also?  I swear I didn't pose for these.  Apparently I just REALLY like to stand with one knee bent and a hand on my hip.  And tilt my head.  Oy.

*Probably the reason I got a surprise package full of silky pretties from Victoria's Secret a few months ago. 

VDay in the Kitchen

Valentine's Day 2011 was celebrated on February 13th in my house. 

He's sad because we're about to pop the bottle of Cristal bubbly gifted to us over 2 years ago at our engagement party.  You know, Cristal.  The staple of every rapper or basketball player's fridge, according to MTV cribs. 

So classy.  Drinking $400 champagne out of a $100 Tiffany flute* while sporting $10 fun pants and unwashed hair. 

V-day was the perfect day to finally enjoy the bottle but I will admit that it's a little sad to open the fridge now and not see the pretty gold bottle in it's spot next to the 40 of Colt 45**. 

Husband, I mean Chef, kept careful eye on his well-thought-out meal.

I played Sous Chef.  And I made these delicious little balls of bacon-wrapped cipollini onions.

 

Quick pause to ooh and aww over the cuteness that is Bella.  And little Miles down there on the floor.  They are physically incapable of being anyplace other than the kitchen while we create culinary masterpieces.  Or microwave leftovers for that matter.  They're not picky.

Counterclockwise from top left:  Bacon Vinaigrette for the salad.  4 hour Syrah Reduction for the beef.   Um, beef... no idea what kind.  Err, cut.  Mushroom Risotto.

Bacon-wrapped cipollinis over Boston bibb lettuce with bacon vinaigrette. 

F-ing delicious.  I'm proud of this one.  All me, baby.

The finished product.  I, unfortunately, can take no credit for any of this.  Chef Husband is incredible.  Homemade mushroom risotto?  Amazing.  Beef with Syrah reduction?  Let's just say that I don't eat beef.  I ate beef this night.  Every last bite. 

So.  Spending a quiet Valentine's Day at home with my husband was quite lovely.  Cooking a meal together is one of our favorite activities.  As is drinking bottle after bottle of wine.  And tearing the living room apart looking for the shirt that mysteriously disappeared after being torn off during a certain amorous Valentine's Day act. 

Wait, what?  That's a story for another day ;)

*Another gift. If we had that kind of money to throw around I most likely wouldn't be sharing photos of myself in aforementioned $10 fun pants.

**I wish I was kidding about the 40. But you know, that's how we do it at Turner Lane.