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30 January 2012

Running Update

{found on pinterest}
Today I repeated Week 4 of the Couch to 5K program.

Repeated because inadvertently took a 3 day rest break and when I went running yesterday, I could barely do the first 4 minute run.

Of course, while taking my 3 day running rest, I did a 4 (make that 5) day 30 Day Shred rest.

Yay for lack of motivation. I'm trying to keep it up. The hardest thing is time. I can wake up early and Shred, Shower and Work. Or I can Work, Gym, Shred. But either way it's just taking too much time away from me prepping dinner or taking care of the rest of my chores. So which is more important? Do I focus more on me, or do I try to be a good wife?

Finding this balance is difficult.

At least I know that it's paying off. People are telling me I look much trimmer and my clothes seem looser!

29 January 2012

in which laura is open and frank

"You should probably expect a heart attack or a stroke by the time you're 25."

To most people, those words are terrifying. They cause trips to libraries to stock up on information and trips to the grocery store to replace all the food that was in the refrigerator.

But when those words were said to me at 16, I laughingly blew them off. "Well I'm not dead yet," I told my family. "I'll change my habits when I get older. 25 is forever away."

I said the same thing when I was 18 and in college. "25 is years away. I'll get better in shape later." I had also reverted to 2 meals a day, if I was lucky, and usually at least one of those meals was pop tarts and rice krispie treats.

Eventually I started to wise up. I remembered how tasty broccoli with cheese can be, and how good it feels to get out and run after work for just a few moments. Now I'm 23. I have a full time job with an attempt to always eat better and to work out more. I'm also a 23 year old with a Lipitor prescription.

I have the fab fortune of winning the genetic lottery with Asian genes with a tendency towards bad eyesight, diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. I can practically see my genes getting picked on at the playground.

The doc tried to put me on meds before. I had a -unique- reaction: I tended to burst into tears at the most inconvenient of times. After I had time to "re-stabilize" myself, as it were, doc suggested Lipitor. I was skeptical. Lipitor commercials seem to always have older gentlemen as the star, not a mid-twenties gal. But it wasn't a bad option, considering.

I'm still terrified that one day I'll wake up to find myself In a hospital bed recovering from my first heart attack. Sure I'm alive and kicking for now, but what about next week? Next month? Next year?

So I take my meds. I try to workout regularly. I make smart and sometimes healthy food choices. And I have the almost-hubs cheering me on every step of the way.

------------------------------

I wrote the above when I went to the doctor and he put me on Lipitor. I was terrified to put it out into the world, as it were, and absolutely refused to make this my first post when I restarted my blog. Eventually I adapted to the fact that I was taking Lipitor, and I got so comfortable that I could joke about it. Besides, there's this weird twinge that makes it seem so hilarious to watch peoples faces when I tell them that my triglycerides, which should be at 150, are at 400.

I've learned to be very open about my health. I have genetically HIGH cholesterol. I make healthy choices in what I choose to eat and I work out. In fact, I've been working out quite regularly lately. I am working on making my way through Couch to 5K - I'm on week 4! And when I was out at Sam's Club last weekend, they had Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred for like $8. So now I'm doing 30DS as well. And man, is it kicking my butt!!! But I'll be in awesome shape for the Disney Royal Family 5K in February. and hopefully the Tower of Terror 10-miler Weekend.


Wednesday morning, I went to get some blood work done. I'll find out Friday when I go back to the doctor if the Lipitor is really working. And believe you me, I'm terrified. I want to be healthy and live forever and ever. Positive thoughts y'all.

25 January 2012

Happy New Year!

{source}
Welcome to the Year of the Dragon! 
It's my year too! I was born under the Dragon sign, and weirdly enough every "fortune telling" that utilizes the Zodiac is right on the money.


The following descriptions are courtesy of US Bridal Guide:
Earth Dragons make great managers because they are practical, levelheaded and demonstrate a knack for organizing. They still have the need to dictate and be admired, but they are affable, congenial and supportive. Compared to other Dragons, Earth Dragons are less likely to breathe fire at the least irritation. They will work diligently to complete their life goals. The Earth element adds a greater portion of self-control to the Dragon's personality and usually the Earth Dragon is deserving of the respect he or she desires. These Dragons take their life and romantic responsibilities quite seriously.
Taurus brings the Dragon back down from the clouds and adds a purposeful strength to his character. Taurean Dragons will work consistently to achieve material comforts and high standards of living essential to their well-being.  
If you know me, you know how crazy accurate that is. Same with everything else they have listed; it's really awesome!


Tết (aka Vietnamese New Year) was Monday January 23. I spent the weekend prepping for the New Year by cleaning as much as possible. It's this funny superstition that whatever you do in the first three days of the new year, that's what you'll be doing all year long. You're also not supposed to sweep or take the trash out as that will send all your good luck away. I even made Adam be the first person to come into the house/apartment so he could bring the good luck in with him.


May you all have the best luck possible this year!

19 January 2012

Movie Night


Adam and I each got REDBOX codes via text today. You know what that means! Movie Night!!!!!

We're curled up enjoying Cowboys & Aliens and The Help. So y'all have a good Thursday night. I'm gonna go back to drinking my tea.

ps: I may have bought some awesome corduroy pants from j. crew. Can't wait til they get here! I need new work clothes - badly...

14 January 2012

Saturday Shopping

Main Street Duo
Today was one of those perfect days. I had plans that wouldn't take all day, but I knew would. I had to visit the eye doctor this morning in order to get new contacts and then I had a lunch date with some friends from work.

We were adventurous and went out to this place called Little Saigon so I could get some phð aka the most amazing Vietnamese rice noodle soup. What with Tết (Vietnamese New Year) coming up, I've been craving some good Vietnamese food real bad for a while now. And boy did that hit the spot!


Afterwards, Adam and I went to Downtown Disney to see Beauty and the Beast in 3D (ps my fave disney movie of all time) and then did some shopping. Especially since our Vinylmation collecting obsession needed some fueling with Main Street Trolley and Animation Series 2.
Animation Series 2 Chaser + Topper
Somehow Adam has discovered that I have amazing luck when it comes to picking Vinylmations. I once picked up a box for Park Series 5 and it just so happened to contain the chaser Tom Morrow. So when we saw the new Animation Series 2 was out with a Jiminy Cricket topper, it was amazing to pull out the Headless Horseman chaser. We might have taken a double take when we first took it out and wondered where the head was.
The most beautiful coat ever
We also stopped in Curl by Sammy Duvall where I found this absolutely gorgeous houndstooth coat in the CLEARANCE SECTION! I've been obsession over houndstooth coats for ages and now I finally own one. It seems a little silly to be buying a coat when I live in Florida, but we've been having cold snaps and I need something other than my ski coat. I'm normally not one for impulse buys, but it was to pretty to pass up and Adam decided to treat me. Gotta love him :) Plus he did took pictures of me! I usually don't like being in pictures, but that needs to change.

I also may be slowly liking the idea of Vera Bradley bags. As much as I love my Coach purse, I need something that sits better on my shoulder and not fall off. Anyone have any favorite {style/color/other purse}?

11 January 2012

some gals have all the luck


The worst of the worst came to pass. Almost.

I was happily plugging along at work listening to the fantastic Peter Davison and Sarah Sutton go on adventures in Alaska (doctor who, dontchaknow) when SUDDENLY....

silence

Now I've had my iPhone 3GS for over two years now. it was a surprise christmas gift for my first christmas away from family. me being such a huge apple nerd, needless to say i was ecstatic. 

For the rest of the day, I lamented the loss of my iPhone. I wouldn't have a means of communication until this got fixed, whether by calling, texting, facebooking, etc. I pouted over the fact that i was currently music-less and couldn't do my run that night since I had no way to track without my Nike+. And most of all, I became actually distraught over losing all my Tiny Tower progress. (I've been playing since July! and I'm 4 stores away from having them all!!!)

I skipped my run and drove home as quickly as legally possible. I was all prepared to call my daddy back home and cry to him about how a new phone was needed and possibly sooner rather than later. Sensible Sally in my head suggested troubleshooting. after a bit of researching (like two seconds to search), I came upon the magic cure! AKA resetting the phone. lo and behold, it worked :) I charged it up, and for good measure I restored it as well (which involved more worrying over Tiny Tower progress loss).

So far, it works fab. I blame too many data-eating apps. I've had Adam streamline my interface for me, and remove any extraneous apps. Today is the real test. Can it survive 8 (ok more like 6) hours of audiobook playing + gym time? we shall see!

(no pictures, because how can i take a picture of a dead iphone when my iphone is my camera ??? riddle me this)

04 January 2012

New Years Resolutions


Every year I try to accomplish something. And about halfway thru February, I forgot what I set out to accomplish.

This Year will be different. maybe.

This year I want to:
1. Save more money! I'm getting married in 2013 after all!
2. Run at least 3 times a week in January
4. Run the 5k during Disney's Princess Half Marathon in Feb
5. Run the Expedition Everest Challenge in May
6. Complete the Tower of Terror 10 mile run in late Sept
7. Run the Wine and Dine Half Marathon in Nov. (and the 5k if i'm strong enough)
8. Find a fab FAB wedding dress
9. Begin the MASSIVE Big Finish Productions Audio listen thru
10. Read ALL the Wheel of Time books
11. Read 50 "new to me" books
12. Write reviews of above books and/or audios
13. Finish the Buffy/Angel watch-thru with Adam
14. Finish the SG1/SGA rewatch and convince myself to watch SGU
15. Be more mindful in what I eat (ie, fruits and veggies over that box of chocolates)

Obviously, I'm all about getting in shape for that wedding dress by run run running a ton. And I'm going to enjoy myself by rewatching some of my favorite shows and reading lots. Feel free to cheer me on! My friend and I will be running Sundays and Tuesdays together and then Thursdays on our own. Gonna be awesome!

01 January 2012

2011:rewind

This is a SUPER wordy post, just fair warning. I have this strange quirk wherein I don't like taking pictures. Hopefully with my goal of writing more, I'll end up taking more pictures too.

January
Nothing really exciting happened. I was still at the reservation center and Adam was still on his internship. We dreamed of bigger and better and slowly made decisions concerning our wedding.

February
We became parents to our very own AristoKitties. Two brothers. The Stately One and the Dog-Cat. Technically called Berlioz and Toulouse. We learned to adapt to feeding two more mouthes who cried so piteously when we don't feed them on time.

March
Adam and I tried to go on a mini-vacation to get away. It wasn't meant as a break away from my work to save me from a mini-mental breakdown, but it sure helped. I was starting to realized that I wasn't happy where I was and it was time to move on. However the whole idea got put on a major hold when I received a text from my dad the day our vacation started - my mom had a heart attack. A major one. We were all so thankful that she was at work at the hospital surrounded by people who could help instantly and who cared for her just as much as we did. My sister and I arranged it that she would take her Spring Break plus an extra week to go home from college and help out. And then I would go home for a while as well. There was lots of praying and thoughts of disbelief.

April
I went to Utah for three weeks to take care of my mom. She was doing so much better that it didn't seem as though she needed me. I was her personal chauffeur and did everything I could to make things easy on her. When I got home to Orlando, Adam got some fab news that he was offered a salaried position and could leave his internship early. It was job security and real money- and it meant we could finally get an apartment of our own.

May
We moved into our new apartment. The boys loved having more room to run about. We got in plenty of trips to IKEA to furnish our home. It's still a work in progress even now, but it's ours. We celebrated my birthday with dinner at Yachtsman Steakhouse. yum. Adam started his new job.

June
Adam's birthday! We spent the day at Disney's Hollywood Studios where we had brunch at 50's Prime Time Cafe, and then dinner at La Hacienda at Epcot. We had an absolutely wonderful time, and I renewed my search for a new job. I also got ridiculous addicted to the iPhone game Tiny Tower.

July
We celebrated 1 year together. I got bookshelves as an anniversary gift! I also got word that I was accepted into a new role, still at the reservation center but something new.

August
I started my new role within the reservation center, just as a temporary basis for now. The change was definitely what I needed.

September
Not even a month later, I got word that my temporary role was becoming a permanent one, with a second temporary role within the same department starting in just a few weeks.

October
We were horrible people and pretended we weren't home for Halloween so that we could eat all the candy on our own. We'll be better next year.

November
The GCWOK who introduced us had their commitment ceremony (aka wedding) at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa at the Wedding Pavillion. I ate a lot of fab food and then drank a lot when we Drank around the World at Epcot the next day. Brilliant me planned a doctor's visit a few days after the wedding so the doctor was concerned because I had gained 10 pounds. He also started me on Lipitor. That decision shocked me so much that I decided to blog+write again. I still have yet to post about my medical issues. I feel so confused about them.

Adam's mom came down for Thanksgiving and I cooked the whole meal for the first time! Last year was just preheating the Publix meal. We were also able to get our Black Friday deals on Thursday morning online while still in our PJs. Adam was finally able to get a PS3 and I've been starting to enjoy Blu-Ray movies over standard DVDs. I began listening to the Doctor Who Big Finish audios again. I've a lot of catching up to do.

We also met with the Sales Manager for Disney Fairytale Weddings to get the ball rolling and to start getting things settled for our wedding. April 24, 2013

December
I finally started to post something again. I revamped the blog and gave it a new name, going from .thunder.bolts.crash. to lemonlaiime. My aim is still most likely going to be a personal/lifestyle blog. I'm going to work on keeping my work life separate, just to save me embarrassment if it comes to it.

I ran a 5k for the first time ever! I did it in 45 minutes with barely any training under my belt and after I had been sick. I'm planning By some miraculous means, I had enough vacation time to make it back to Utah for the holidays for the first time in three years. We came home to celebrate Adam's mom's birthday and to have our own mini Christmas. I now have a sewing machine! I think 2012 is going to be a very crafty year :)