Golden Girl?

Posted by Amanda:

I finally caved. I've been travelling (admitedly sporatically) from the new apartment to 24 hour fitness for over a month now. It really hasn't been too bad. I even started going in the mornings (complete with showering and getting ready for work at the gym). However, the time had finally come to bid the 20 minute (40 round trip) drive to 24 hour fitness goodbye.

I printed my 1-day trial pass to Gold's Gym and took the 4 block walk to Gold's. I used my trial pass and did my usual workout.

Pros:

Not very busy (and I was there during the busiest time of day)

Individual TVs on the cardio equipment

Lots and lots of classes to choose from (I'm definitely going to do kickboxing and step)

No college student traffic

Cons:

Small, cramped cardio area (although because the machines weren't all in use, you didn't have to run too close to the strangers)

Indoor tennis court access NOT included in membership

Not open 24 hours (at least not this facility)

A locker room straight out of the 1970s.

So, I'm officially a Gold's Girl now. Tomorrow I have a meeting with a personal trainer for a fitness evaluation and planning session. Great, I REALLY love it when strangers weigh, measure, and evaluate my fitness.

I hope to reach my final goal weight (and have at least a shadow of a 6 pack) by my anniversary in August.

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3 down...

Posted by Amanda: Well, three doctors later and I'm not feeling any better. In fact, Geoff was kind enough to share his most recent cold with me - so, if anything, I'm feeling worse. At least this time my illness has a name. I guess shingles had a name, too.

Anyway, the dizziness (vertigo), nausea, blurred vision, and trouble speaking (at times - still rare) are all still present and accounted for in my life. My lastest doc has me on another 2-week experiement. I'm skeptical that this one will work, either, but at least it buys me two weeks before I have to go back to the docs office.

Outside of my newfound love (scoffs) of the inside of a doctor's office, I don't have much to report.

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iPhone - technology's gift to man

Posted by Geoff: I have been experimenting with some new software as of late and have been really enjoying this simple yet complex piece of work. Blogging from the iPhone may not be the quickest means of getting ideas accross but it is certainly the most mobile. I am trying to figure out what goes in my blog and what goes in twitter, it's a tough cookie, becuase everything feels long when you are typing it on a phone yet I am certain I have surpassed my 140 character limit for twitter.

So the wife and I watched Valkyre last night with tom cruise. I was suprised how intense it was, considering we all knew the outcome of the movie, and how much I couldn't atop watching. Tom looks pretty good with an eye patch on, maybe he should be in the next pirates, Pirates IV: A Newer Hope - perhaps the pirate story will live on.

Blog over.


-- Post From My iPhone

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Long Weekend

Posted by Amanda: Oh, how I love a long weekend. Geoff and I had a fun one. Friday night Geoff's usual softball game was canceled because of the holiday, so he went to see Star Trek on the IMAX with his dad and brother. While they went to the movie, I decided I wanted to try my hand at cake decorating. I've been interested in it for quite awhile now, but had always wondered what the heck I'd do with the cakes. I decided that I didn't care what happened to the cakes, I just wanted to give it a try! I baked two cakes an Ice Cream filled (homemade ice cream), buttercream frosted "funfetti" cake and a 3-lawyer chocolate cake covered with marshmallow fondant. Stephanie came over and helped me for a few hours (which was much appreciated, considering sometimes it takes two brains to solve the problem of how to pick up fondant circles after they are cut out).

Saturday we had our niece's (Kate) 1st birthday party. Unfortunately Geoff got called into work early so we didn't get to stay for very long, but we brought along Rubio and he had a great time. We got him an extendable leash so he can have some free reign when we go to parks and such. He's adapting to it nicely.

Sunday was our other niece's (Hayley) baby blessing. It was the first time we got to see her and it was great. The whole family was there and it had been awhile since we'd gotten to see everyone all together, so it was a nice day.

Monday Geoff and I got up and went out to check out any Memorial Day sales. We didn't find much, but did buy a few things here and there. Then we came home and Geoff worked on repairing his desk and I made another cake (not photo worthy, but I'm learning!).

So now we are back to normal life and I've got a pledge drive starting this weekend. Hopefully it will yield good results! I love my job and I hate it when I'm not reaching my fundraising goals.

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Family Photo

Posted by Geoff: Apparently I have some good ideas in my head. I have been asked by a few anonymous sources to blog about my ideals and interests. While I do have some interesting ideas floating up and around there, I often feel a bit confined about expressing them. My writing is fairly mediocre and my spelling is boardering upon ignorance (-ance, -ence, who knows... probably someone out there) but the masses may have what the masses want... I am pretty sure however, that the masses just want to be stable (octuplet... or I used to think that was the most stable until one electron ran away) to gain or lose that excess electron holding them down. There is no other electron here, no answers to life's deep questions, no affixing of desire or stability, just some non-sensical, non-realistic rantings and ravings. So I digress. Or perhaps converge... you can never be sure what is the real meaning. Topic line? I suppose it could elude to what adventure you might be participating in but it could never really hold the whole truth just something to pull you in with.

So I was watching some cnet.tv this morning as I do fairly regularly, that techy stuff puts shivers down my bones, when they said what the website of the week was. They showed some pictures that gave them dramatic effect (effect, affect, another one of those writing conundrums) and it pulled me in like a plant to sunlight. Well, I must have not been the only sap pulled in by the suggestions of the tech bound media because there servers were down and I could not log into there site to fullfil this need I never knew. Welp (this is a word I use from time to time when I am getting bored of the idea or concept and you can imagine it is like until a very quick 'well' or a lengthy awkward 'well' [the kind you use to sum up the end of a conversation]) persistance pays off, at least this time it did, (often it only lengthens the pain of waiting) and I was visually stimulated that erupted some course laughter from deep within my belly. We all have them, those photos that make you sweat looking back on them, the ones that leave a sore spot in your mind, or perhaps something that never leaves the developer envelope because they were all just that bad. I think if we could all just stop time and look at how our families interact it would be hysterical. When we are at our either most relaxed or most stressed out moments we are around family. Imagine family gatherings where Uncle Jim makes his famous 'fart' joke and the expressions on everyones faces at that moment, Aunt Sandy makes the face that discribes how many times that dumb joke has left her husband's lips, or Jim's older brother letting out a belt of laughter encouraging Jim's immaturity, or perhaps the most insecure of all, the visiting cousins girlfriend who makes a face of hesitant jest. These moments are what define a families relationships... or not... All I really know is that I need to go now... visit the website... http://www.awkwardfamilyphotos.com/ - There are some pretty funny ones...

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Fashion or Function?

Well, I think I've finally discovered the real reason behind all the dizzyness, blurred vision, and headaches I've been having for the last month - my eyes! I've been wearing my glasses (a very old pair) for the last couple days, and the dizzyness has nearly stopped. Granted the prescription is old and therefore not going to fix everything 100%, but I'll be thrilled to find out it's something that simple.

HOWEVER, glasses bring on a whole new set of issues. I'm far-sighted (or was) so I need glasses for up close work. This means it's perfect for me when I'm at the computer working, but when someone comes into my office doorway and I look up, they are a blurry mess. Does this mean I'm stuck taking my glasses on and off all day? And what if I'm looking from a person to a computer or paper? Some people look better blurry, I suppose.

So, I was discussing this all important topic with my mom who asked if I would be willing to wear one of those things around my neck that holds my glasses and I replied emphatically, "NO! That is not fashionable." To which she replied, "Me, neither. That's why I don't wear my glasses."
So, thus the question - sight vs. fashion faux paux. Is that even a real question?
I'll keep you posted after my visit to the optometrist on Friday. Should be fun.

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Thanks a lot, Al.

I helped Geoff with an essay last semester about whether or not technology would takeover the world. One futurist suggested that one day humans will become so relient and combined with technology that neither would really exist independently. I had an experience today that made me realize I'm almost there!
Stephanie (an awesome co-worker of mine) was telling me a story. It was at this point that I glanced next to me and realized I had an open yogurt that I wanted to be eating during the story, so I said "Pause" and left the room. I got my spoon off my desk and returned to the room and said "Continue." Stephanie and I both thought nothing of it and continued the conversation.
From a desk a seat away I hear a voice asking, "Did you just TiVo a conversation?"
Why, yes, yes I did.
Where would I be today if Al Gore hadn't invented the internet? Finishing conversations without yogurt? Please...

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Ahoy, Matey.

Well, after a stress-filled day on the phone making and breaking doctor's appointments, I finally ended up at the doc's office yesterday to discuss my recent bout of symptoms - primarily the painful and ichy rash on the left side of my chest.

The doc confirmed that it was, indeed shingles. Even better, he informed me that there is pretty much nothing they can do at this point. I just have to wait it out (a 6 week to 3 month waiting period). Fantastic.

What do people do when they find out you have shingles?

Well, my brother seems to have gotten it confused with scurvy and asked if it was that disease that pirates get. No, I'm not a pirate. Although if I did have to get a disease from a pirate, is Johnny Depp an option?

Marcus, my co-worker got clever, telling me that, "if KBYU was a building, I'd be the roof. The shingles, if you will." That was good, admit it.

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Mother's Day Weekend

Well, I had a nice weekend. Friday night Geoff and I finally purchased a kitchen table. We've been living without one since we moved. We were having his parents over for dinner on Saturday night - so it was crunch time. We ended up buying a counter-height square table that opens up into a circle. It's beautiful and we got a killer deal on it. We then rushed over to Ikea and bought 4 stools which we put together and painted black before we head off to bed.
Saturday I had my laser hair removal consulatation in the morning, shopped for all the ingredients I needed for dinner in the evening, cooked and cleaned. For dinner I made:
Appetizer: Baked Zuchini Chips, Crostini Bread, and Sundried Tomato and Chive Dip
Main Course: Baked Halibut with red, yellow and orange bell peppers, roma tomatoes, capers, parsely and fresh lemon juice
Dessert: Strawberry Shortcake Jellie
Sunday was a lovely, beautiful day. Geoff and I joined his family for a trip up to Bountiful to see his grandma and have a picnic up in the mountains, kinda. It was delicious and although it was a little chilly, we had a good time.
Hope all the mothers out there had a lovely mother's day. I didn't get to see mine, but I hope she knows that she's the fairest of them all. :)

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Footloose and Hair Free

Well, color me surprised. When I came out of work yesterday, my phone informed me that I had a plethora of missed calls. Most were from the hub and my mom, but one number I didn't recognize. I listened to the voicemail and it said, "Hi Amanda, this is AJ from 97.1 ZHT. I need you to call me back as soon as possible on this direct line: xxx-xxx-xxxx." I remembered that I had entered a contest a few weeks ago, but had assumed the winner had already been picked. Nonetheless, I hurriedly called back.

He proceeded to inform me that I had indeed won the grand prize. What did I win, you ask, and how did I win it? Well, I had to write an essay on something in my life that I always thought would be permanent but turned out not to be. I chose to be kind of creative and write about Rubio's eyesight. Apparently it worked for them and they have awarded me with $1500 toward laser hair removal. lol.

Now I just have to figure out how to get to Salt Lake City to pick it up between the hours of 12:30-5pm. Great.

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Bloggin', Snoggin', Joggin' and Belongin'

Bloggin': Well, I'm convinced that I must have the world's most boring blog. And, thus, the most boring life. Ha. But, at the same time, I'd rather be boring then having to deal with some crisis or another (i.e. dogs going blind). Nonetheless, I really enjoy the good ol' blog, so I'll continue to post. Hopefully at least and handful of readers find a little amusement from it. I think I'm funny.

Snoggin': Last Wednesday was the two-year anniversary since Geoff proposed to me on a breezy spring afternoon on the beach in northern California. Saying 'yes' was easily the best decision I have ever made. We are building such a wonderful life together - and he's the perfect one to be building it with. He puts up with all the craziness I can put out, and I put up with whatever he can dish out as well, and in the end, we love each other more for all our quirkiness.

Joggin': At the gym for the last few weeks (I go 6 days a week), I have been trying to wean myself off the elliptical and onto the treadmill. Mostly just to mix things up. I've been doing the elliptical 6 days a week for a year now and my body just can't seem to find it challenging. The treadmill, however, is proving itself to be the challenge I need. I'm slowly decreasing my time on the elliptical and increasing my time on the treadmill until I've replaced my 30 minute elliptical with 30 on the treadmill. Right now, my hour-long workout consists of 10 elliptical, 20 treadmill, 15 stair climber, 15 bike. It's been great. Although I'm dead tired after it's complete.

Belongin': Me and Geoff went to our first full day of church in our new ward this week (we'd been attending the old one because I was singing a solo with our ward choir last week). It seems to be a great ward. Everyone was warm and friendly (we got told where to go for classes at least 3 or 4 times). I think the biggest difference was me, though. I feel like a whole new person after my makeover (both inside and out). I'm ready to be more outgoing, more involved, and more...well...me. I feel like the "real" me has been scared to come out and play for awhile. I was telling my mom the other day that I just felt like I have very few people in my life (VERY few) who really know ME and that was starting to make me feel kinda lonely sometimes. A lot of that, though, is my own fault! When's the last time I put myself out there? Anyway, I'm gonna do my best to put my real self forward, because I'm awesome. Geoff, my dog, and my mom told me so. :-)

Happy Monday!

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