Wedding festivities, NY edition

One of the best things I got out of my time in DC was a wonderful new friend, a constant during the crazy who was always there for sanity checks and explorations of the city.  Yeah, basically we ate out a lot, but we also did awesome things like explore Annapolis and enjoy Labor Day outings in New York and get up close with cherry blossoms.  We also both happened to meet the crazy guys who decided they wanted to marry us (a little weird, right? just a little?), and I was more than happy to head back to the East Coast for a New York weekend to celebrate the union of the fabulous Dana Duffin and Rex Holmes. 

Craig flew up from DC + I flew in from Dallas = reunion in JFK, once I actually figured out which terminal I landed in.  Poor guy was confused when I told him I was in Terminal B and he informed me the terminals are numbers, not letters.  Oops on my part.  We worked it out, though.  Totally found each other.

We didn't have any real plans for Friday night - we just set out to have some fun in the city.  I LOVE NYC.  I really do.  I have a coffee mug that says so.

After navigating the AirTrain and the LIRR and the NYC subway and a couple of blocks (phew!), we checked into the Belvedere and promptly headed out to start our evening at Casellula for a little food and a glass of wine to fuel our bodies for some serious Times Square strolling.  This place was extremely cute, extremely delicious, and EXTREMELY busy by the time we left to do some walking.  We stopped by the TKTS booth about ten minutes before the shows kicked off to see if we could snag bargain tickets to a Broadway extravaganza, but the only half-price tickets were for the pricey seats, which means they were still a little pricey for our liking.

So instead, I bought a $5 scarf/wrap/pashmina-thing from the crazy street guys.  And we were just confused by sheep.

Our chilly-ish night needed an injection of fun, so we headed back to base camp and formulated a plan around "tiki bar."  Oh yes we did.  And that's where we went.  Look for the big yellow surfboard and you'll find yourself at Réunion in Hell's Kitchen.  It was FUN.  And I think I'm now addicted to mai tais.

Follow up mai tais with a late dinner at Becco and it was a pretty stellar NYC evening.

Saturday: fairly ridiculous driving adventure through Queens with a WAY lost shuttle bus driver on our way to the church, beautiful wedding ceremony, epic and beautiful and touching and fun and amazing reception at Westbury Manor in Long Island.  Fantastic day with Craig celebrating this wonderful event.  The boy even tore up the dance floor a little bit. THAT is how you know it was a good time.

Note to self: I've resolved to go ahead and take the beast camera to weddings.  And everywhere.  I had this silly idea to rely on Craig's little camera for pictures so I wouldn't have to bring the giant purse and my giant camera and worry about its well-being with drunken revelry all around.  I deeply regret this idea.

I'm sad about this picture. =(

Congratulations to Dana and Rex!!

Busy much? Also, adventures in weight loss

The last three weeks had just a touch of whirlwind to them.  You know, moving back to Texas.  Into an actual house.  And starting a "new" job.  In the middle of busy season.  And having Craig here one weekend and my parents the next and then Craig again.  And I'm going to NYC this weekend for a very dear friend's wedding.  And did you know that I've spent more time in Home Depot in the last three weeks than I have in my entire life?

And I don't want the blog to die.  Poor neglected blog.  It's had a whole lot of zilch going on the last few weeks.  I'm back, little blog, I'm back.

Especially since I need to document the latest step in the healthy living plan...

I could stand to lose a few pounds.  For health's sake.  And vanity's sake, of course - I don't want to worry AS much about my arm flab in a wedding dress here in about eight months.  I've put on about 15-20 pounds in the last year or so (I totally blame Craig taking me on all these amazing dates and cooking for me...plus I'm also buying into the theory that falling in love makes you gain weight...it's possible!), and I'd like to take it off.  Plus another ten on top of that to get to a healthy, stable place.  And Trinity's kinda in the same boat.  Well, not the wedding dress thing, but the "could stand to lose a few" thing.  So he offered up a weight loss challenge, pitting us against each other, sparking the competitive spirit in both us.  Motivation!!

Plus it makes it more serious if you give it a logo with Harry Potter font.  How could that be anything but motivational and awesome?

We weighed in a week ago, set our goal weights, and are going to check our percentage lost every two weeks - the winner (who's really the "loser") gets some kind of prize from the other.  And the ultimate winner (whoever hits their goal weight first) gets something awesome.  We just haven't decided quite what yet.

So far...I'm not off to a stellar start.  I mean, I just got back to the land of Tex-Mex.  What am I supposed to do, say no to shrimp taquito day at Chuy's (Wednesday, of course) or fried chicken taco day (Thursday, if you're interested) at Taco Joint?  Maybe I should also think twice about making a triple batch of homemade oreos (I took them all to work, don't worry - not a single one left in the house.  But of course I still ate plenty during the baking process...).  And I should actually join a gym and actually go there.  Getting on a consistent workout schedule would really help.  Which is where a 9-to-5 schedule would come in handy.  But no excuses!  Time to do this thing!

It's good to be back in Texas, y'all, even if enchiladas tempt me at every turn.

Adventures in moving

"Adventures in moving" is just a little broad.  Let's also file this one under (1) the poor kitty who couldn't fly (Harrison was supposed to fly out Wednesday...and then Friday...and now MONDAY!  Poor little guy) and (2) what happens when a door seal is broken during Snowy Icy Disaster Times (bazillions of cold air molecules rush into your home, creating a thermostat reading of...freezing.  Not good to see your breath in your house.  Heat is now on and the door seal is now fixed, phew). 

Possibly also file under (3) North Texas goes Super Bowl crazy (but at least the Pittsburgh and Wisconsin fans know how to drive in ice and snow, right?) and (4) reacquiring your four-wheel drive vehicle in place of rental car on the day The Great Melt begins (although in its defense, the little Nissan Versa did just fine as long as I went slooooowly - driving on the frozen equivalent of a Slip 'n Slide isn't exactly my idea of a good time.  Glow sun glow!  Melt that snow!).

Who would have thought that I'd need to worry more about snow and ice blanketing North Texas than attacking D.C. this time of year?  After powering through Snowpocalypse 2009 and Snowmageddon 2010, I sent up little prayers to Mother Nature for her to please go easy on the East Coast during late January, early February this year.  Too bad I forgot to account for crazy Texas weather.  Dallas has been blanketed by ice ever since Tuesday...and another six inches of snow fell on Thursday night.  At least I was fortunate enough to be traveling on one of the few flights that actually made it from DC to Dallas on Wednesday.  Egads!

However...I'm remarkably impressed that both the movers with my giant truckload of stuff AND the car carrier got here TODAY.  Thanks for battling the elements, guys!  And thanks for unpacking my ridiculous amount of stuff while I spend the day tethered in, knocking out things like address changes.  And blogging.  And wondering how the heck to arrange the living room.

It's starting to actually feel like I'm back here now and not just on a short visit.  Phew.  Now, if we could just get poor little Harrison here...

You might be moving REALLY soon if...

...the only things in your fridge are Diet Coke, milk (for cereal in the morning, obviously), and half a bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips.  Don't ask why the chocolate chips made the cut (have you met me?) OR why they're in the refrigerator.

...your walls no longer have anything on them.  They look so naked and sad with their gaping nail and anchor wounds.

...you think "whatever!" about random carpet stains rather than try to actually get them out.  That's what the deposit is for, right?

...the DVR is only 16% full because you've been cleaning it out, trying not to miss those INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT shows you've had recorded for the last six months.  Which obviously weren't that important.  Oh, wait - I disconnected everything an hour ago, those shows are now GONE.  I think I'll live.

...you WALKED home from work for the last time on Friday.  Time to go back to the land of plentiful highways and gaz-guzzling cars.

...the thought of not sharing walls with ANYONE is consuming your every thought, given the noisy new neighbors who've moved in next door.  WHAT are you people DOING?!?

The movers are theoretically showing up at 8 AM tomorrow.  And I'm giving them a walkthrough, a rundown, a once-over, and then hustling Harrison over to the vet for a round of shots and a couple of days of boarding, which I'm sure he'll be THRILLED about.  So hopefully a lot of my stuff will magically disappear into a giant truck during that time.  Yipes.

One-way flight back to Dallas on Wednesday - a lot sure has happened in the last two years.

Challenges to the "eating well" portion of the healthy living plan

When it comes to the "hey, perhaps choose a vegetable over mac n' cheese!" debate that goes on in my mind, trying to figure out what to put into my body on a daily basis, it really helps to limit the whole eating out extravaganza.  Much easier to control myself and make healthy choices when a crisper drawer full of veggies stares me down.  However, there's a ploy out there from the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington known as Restaurant Week that kinda gets in the way.  It's hard for me to resist three course, relatively reasonably priced meals at some of DC's finer dining establishments.

• Masa 14 - Wednesday night helping of shrimp ceviche, pork buns, meatballs, and chocolatey goodness
• Cedar - Friday night helping of butternut squash soup, short ribs, and chocolatey goodness
• Oceanaire - Saturday night helping of clam chowder, pollock, and chocolatey goodness (I'm not predictable AT ALL when it comes to desserts)

Tack some wine onto all of those, of course.  Back on the wagon again shortly.  You know, after I finish this pizza for dinner.  And live without a kitchen for a week and a half or so as soon as this move commences, which is coming up remarkably soon.  Holy schmoly.