Fallin' in Love Again

So I feel like I haven't updated in forever! Two weeks ago we were still in our crappy little apartment in Williamsburg. Our landlords were great, but the space was just too small for two people. In the interim we hired a moving company, which is quite a process let me tell you. I called four moving companies and merely went with the one that quoted me the lowest price. It was the best decision I've made in a long time. They had us out of the old apartment and into the new apartment in 3 1/2 hours flat :-) Colin didn't help that much and I barely lifted a finger. It cost us less than renting a u-haul and hiring guys through their website. Once again, amazing decision on our part! Once we were done moving it was only 11 am, so we did most of our unpacking on Sunday after the move. Now it's Wednesday and there are a few boxes left, but not that many. We are working on getting rid of our desk because it's too big for our apartment. If anyone is looking for a desk that's 4 ft. x 4 ft. do let me know :-)

I've been doing well on with my dietician. The only problem is my old gym was so far away I never got there. So now that there is a gym in our building, I will definitely be going there more.

Short update....more to come this week.

Till I Get to You

So as most of you have heard me shouting it from the rooftops, we got the apartment that we have been waiting to hear about over the past two weeks! You can check out the building at www.tapestry124.com It's a really nice building and we're going to move in a little sooner than expected. Our move-in date is Sunday February 27th. I guess that's better than having to move-in on the 1st and take my vacation days from work. That is all for now! Can't wait to post pictures of our new place!!!

Song of the Day: Need you Now: Lady Antebellum

We R Who We R

We still don't know if we have the apartment yet and the suspense is killing me! I know they said Friday, but I'm nervous that it will take longer than Friday for them to make a decision. After requesting additional paperwork on Tuesday, yesterday they asked for a "landlord verification". Luckily my landlord is on her game and sent the paperwork back yesterday, the same day they asked for it. Hopefully they will have a decision for us by today or tomorrow at the absolute latest. We've decided to hire movers this year instead of going through UHAUL and hiring two guys on their website. I hear they are fast and efficient and although it's a little pricey at least Colin and me won't get hurt, exhausted and strain ourselves trying to move. At this point we are either going with flatrate movers or manor movers. I already have one person telling me to go with flatrate, but if anyone else has used either moving company please let me know.

I haven't been able to work out this week because I am sick again! I cannot believe I am sick. I was just on my deathbed a month ago and here I am again. Well, not on death's door, but I have some bad symptoms. I've been eating well, but I don't think I've lost any weight this week because I've either been working on my ARP or too sick to go to the gym. Last night I made stir fry with rice noodles. The stir fry had chicken, green and red peppers, onions, mushrooms and zucchini. It was pretty good, but I prefer when I cut my own vegetables than getting the pre made mix that I used last night. That will teach me to cut corners. I'm very proud that I cooked every day so far this week and ate leftovers for lunch! It's hard for me not to eat out, but I'm doing well this week. It's all about taking it week by week for eating.

Tomorrow night I'm going to my friends art show, which I'm really excited about. She's is uber talented and I can't wait until I can afford to buy a piece of her art. After the show I'm going to a house party with and for some old co-workers! I'm very excited because I haven't been to a house party in forever! It should be fun. The rest of the weekend I have plenty of work to keep me busy between applying to teachnyc (deadline is April 16th, not the 28th! oops), working and revising my ARP papers I've submitted so far and studying for my final certification exam which is next Saturday. Wish me luck on the exam!

Song of the Day: Luv to Luv ya by Timbaland and Magoo

Check It Out

My dietitian gave me new recipes so that I don't get bored making the same things. She also gave me the excellent website http://www.eatingwell.com/ Most of the new recipes she gave me were from this website. And I'm also getting better at making things up on my own that are healthy. Last night for dinner I made pan grilled tilapia, baked sweet potato fries, brussel sprouts and broccolini. Since it took about 25 minutes for the sweet potato fries, I took the opportunity to marinate the tilapia in soy sauce, garlic and pepper. It was delicious! Even Colin, who doesn't particularly like fish, enjoyed the tilapia. Then for lunch I used one of the recipes Samantha gave me; curried chicken pitas which can also be found at eatingwell. The main ingredients are chicken, yogurt, light mayo, pears, cranberries, celery, sprouts and almonds. I had a little taste before I put it away for lunch today. It was yummy and very different from the things that I normally eat. Colin liked it as well. Tonight I'm making Samantha's turkey meatballs and whole wheat pasta with chunky tomato sauce. I'm also drinking a lot of low sodium V8 to get additional vegetable servings in during the day. I have to say the salt made a difference and the low sodium does not taste the same! Oh well, it's still good.

We had our interview with the management company of the apartment building and they continue to request additional information. I hope they let us know by Friday either way. I hope we do get the apartment because I'm tired of looking at apartments, but if we don't get it, that's fine because we have our eye on another apartment about 10 blocks north of the apartment we're looking at right now. Or who knows, maybe we'll move back to Clinton Hill; big apartments for little money or maybe Astoria will be back on the table. The waiting is the worst part! I just want to know if we have the apartment either way. Keep your fingers crossed for us.

So we know Valentine's Day is a bogus holiday, but we still like to go out anyways. Every year since we moved to NYC we have attended an independent film festival called Love Actually: Short Films about Love, Sex and Romance. Since we started going three years ago we have loved it every year. Tickets are inexpensive ($15 pp or $25/couple) which is way less expensive than doing some of the other Valentine's Day activities in NYC. After the film series we are having dinner at Je'Bon, a sushi and noodle bar that gets pretty high ratings. So Monday is going to be a late night for us! But it's worth it because the films are always so good. What does everyone else have planned?


Song of the Day: F**k you by Cee-lo Green

Don't Tell Me

Colin and I went apartment hunting this weekend. It was interesting to look in Harlem, which is quite different than the neighborhoods we've lived in Brooklyn, including Brooklyn Heights, Clinton Hill and Williamsburg. So we found two places that we really liked and put in an application at one. The one we have an application in is located in East Harlem. I dare not give out the address in public yet, lest someone snatch the apartment out from under us! It's crazy all the documentation they want, you'd think we were buying the place, not just renting it. We pounded the pavement a lot this weekend looking from 114 - 140 on the East and West side. There is not question that the west side is nicer, but they are for the most part only building condos on the west side. Although I did find a 1 bedroom on the west side, which I'll put an application at if this place falls through. Colin and I have an interview on Friday with the building, keep you fingers crossed for us!

Chariots and Radar

I have not gotten to the gym this week. And although it may seem like I'm making excuses, I'm really not. Our gym is 1.1 miles from our house. It's the closest gym in our neighborhood, so we had no other choice. When I get off the train when I'm coming home from work it's 0.8 miles, so it's not quite as bad of a hike. But this week has been pretty unbearable. Monday was bitter cold, Tuesday it was raining, Wednesday and Thursday it was snowing. I'll try to go today, but I'll still have to trudge through over a foot of snow, which is highly unpleasant. Even though I haven't made it to the gym, I've been eating well. So although I haven't lost any weight (at least I don't think that I have) I am still sticking to my proper eating habits. I'll find out if in three weeks I've lost any weight next Tuesday when I see Samantha again. Or the next time I go to the gym, which will definitely be before that time.

Colin and I are moving again March 1. We were going to wait until March 15, but I don't think I can stay in the apartment we currently rent for that long. Plus there's no reason to wait if we don't have to and moving in on the 1st is a lot easier than moving on the 15th. Originally we were thinking about moving to Astoria because we like the neighborhood and the apartments offer more space for less money. But then either him or I got the bright idea to look in Harlem. We've always thrown around the idea to live in Manhattan, but didn't think that we could afford it. Some people wouldn't consider Harlem Manhattan, but we do, so we are trying to move to Harlem. The reason we like Harlem so much is that we can live in a nicer, new building for almost the same as what we're paying now. The buildings we are looking at this weekend all have a gym, laundry room, and other amenities for <$1600/month. If that isn't a deal in NYC I don't know what is a deal! We have three appointments on Saturday and two on Sunday. That should give us a nice selection and I plan to measure and take pictures of everything.

Other than that the weekend is open for paper writing and submitting my application to teachnyc!

Have a good weekend everyone.

Song of the Day: Radar- Britney Spears

Roses

So I fell off the wagon a bit this weekend. But to be honest, I'm 26 and sometimes I just want to have a good time and be a little wreckless. I had drinks on Friday night, Saturday night, and Sunday day. I over did it a bit, but it's one weekend and I will not let it discourage me and throw me off track any longer. I have good food's in my refrigerator and will start eating them again along with getting my butt back to the gym, I haven't been since Friday.

I have to go to DC for work, but I intend fully to eat well and workout, even if that means I have to get up early and go. Eating in hotels can be difficult, but I'm sure I will be fine or I can go out and find something around me that's healthy. I don't see my dietitian for three weeks, so this is my opportunity to do well and lose as much weight as possible in the next three weeks. I think my issue is that I got too discouraged that I hadn't lost more weight in a month. I know my previous post sounded excited about the 15 pounds, which I was, but for some reason this weekend I let myself get discouraged. I will do my best to not let that happen again.

I also need help at the gym. I do 1 hour of cardio every time I go. No weight lifting yet because all of my muscles are covered by fat, so even if they did get bigger, no one would be able to tell yet. I rotate four machines: 30 minutes of uphill walking, bike, elliptical and arc trainer. There are a few other machines that I'm intimidated by, but I want to try them eventually. What else can I do to get cardio exercise? I can't really run on the treadmill because I have shin splints. But I would like to initiate more cardio because the same four machines get boring and don't wok enough different muscle groups. If I had extra money I would go to a spinning class because the YMCA I'm currently a member of does not have spinning. Spinning is absolutely my favorite exercise. If I was a better swimmer I would swim, but I'm only a mediocre swimmer at best. Any tips or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I'm learning to love the gym again.