I've got the fever...

You guys, I have a serious (spring) fever going on here, and the only cure is more cowbell spending every possible waking moment outside. Walking to class yesterday at 9am is was already nearly 80 degrees. My inner child had a big fat tantrum knowing I'd have to spend 5 hours of a gloriously sunshiny day cooped up inside with a bunch of cadavers and random body parts carefully preserved in Tupperware. I mean, come on! Who cares about the histology of liver lobules?? I should be out hiking! Or going for a bike ride!

Today started out a little more promisingly. The hubby's been out of town for a few days doing some training, and this morning I managed to drag my butt out of bed early enough (seriously, me getting out of the house before 10 am on a non work/school day is pretty darn rare) for us to have breakfast out at a restaurant downtown at a nice little outdoor table. 

And then, before I could decide what to do with the rest of this gorgeous day, disaster struck. Okay, not disaster exactly...but I've been called in to work a mandatory shift, which  -when you are jonesing for some outdoor time-  feels dramatically terrible. (Insert sad pity-party face)

Ah well, on a cheerier note, I am totally obsessed with coral lately. I can't get enough! And this outfit seemed perfect for a casual breakfast. What colors are you loving for spring?

Sweater: F21, Blouse: TJ Maxx, Shorts: H&M, Sandals: Target

this and that

Happy Thursday guys! I'm super excited today because we're finally in the countdown to the end of the Spring semester. (If you're in class too then I'm sure you're with me on this one!) Anyhoo, 27 days! Less that 4 weeks and I can put Anatomy behind me forever and get to enjoying a stress-free summer!

Yesterday I finished the 3rd of 5 major exams so I finally feel like I can take a breather and think about other things (like blogging!) for 5 minutes.

Now don't get me wrong, it hasn't been 100% work and studying lately...maybe only 90%. I've still had a little time for this:

https://www.lulus.com/categories/179/shoes.html

online shoe shopping! How did we survive before that was a thing?? You know, back in the olden days of the late 90's and early 2000's? Anyway, now I just need to find someplace to wear these babies!  (Like dinner with the girls tonight...Happy Birthday Chris!)

And of course, with the weather being so beautiful and sunshine-y lately I've had to put my notes down and make some time to pimp out the back yard (aka plant flowers, pull weeds taller than my husband and hack down trim the gigantic rosemary bush going rogue in the side yard). And I happen to be a firm believer that any and all manual labor deserves a celebratory glass of bubbly!

We had a little sitch in our laundry room the other day when I found a puddle of water on the washer and we realized our in-home sprinkler system had sprung a leak. Oops! We (and by we I mean my husband) had to fix some plumbing and replace a huge chunk of moldy sheet rock. Yuck! Lucky one of us is good with tools (hint: it's not me.)

I've also made time recently to scare the bejesus out of Travis (and now maybe you!) trying out one of my fave new beauty products: Origins Clear Improvement active charcoal mask. Works like a charm (looks terrible)!

Okay, okay back to the books! Hopefully soon we'll all be spending our days more like this:

<3 you guys!

devil dog

Blog world, meet Harley...

the devil in a chi-weenie suit. 

I can imagine what you're thinking...that cute, innocent sleepy little puppy is the devil?? No! And, okay I may be exaggerating a little bit. He can be pretty adorable sometimes. At other times...he has me considering full scale dog-acide. See, Harley is a chihuahua/dachshund mix, the stereotypical spoiled only fur-child belonging to my dad, and this week Travis and I have been pet-sitting the little guy. You know those people who think their own children are angels and everyone else's kids suck? Yeah, that's me, but...you know, with animals. 

It's just that Harley has a different way of doing things. He likes to investigate. Everything.

He likes to stick his nose in your mug and drink your coffee. A caffeinated chi-weenie is not a pleasant chi-weenie. And an un-caffeinated me is not a pleasant me.

He likes to bob for tennis balls. Gross, Harley.

And he likes to sing for joy when I arrive home from work. Only, his singing sounds like screaming, and his screaming makes Eddie howl, and the howling makes Ella bark. So basically it sounds like I'm running some kind of doggy water-boarding torture in my garage at 12 am. My neighbors love me right about now. (Sorry neighbors!)

Ultimately, will I be sorry to see devil dog return home today? Nope! Will I pet sit again? You betcha! Cause who doesn't like to hang out with the devil now and then? For my dad, anything!

And speaking of Vegas...

We weren't though, were we? But that's okay, cause I love me some Vegas!

Travis and I decided a little Spring Break relaxation was in order this year and since Sin City 

is only an hour's flight away -and there are tons of great deals online- we thought, why not?

We decided to try out Vdara, a newish hotel at City Center, and booked our package through Travelocity. The room was gorgeous, and I think the view proves it was a good choice!

I found a little lace party dress on Amazon for $25 and it needed only minor alterations to get it

Vegas-fied (win!)

In two and a half days we managed lots of window shopping, gambling (I freak out -sick to my stomach, seriously- if I lose more than $20. My husband does not have that problem...which may be why he wins and I don't. Lol) and saw the new Cirque show Zarkana (loved!) We stuffed our faces ate at some great restaurants: Julian Serrano at Aria for tapas was one of my faves this trip, and we celebrated our anniversary a teensy bit early at Nob Hill Tavern, where we had our wedding reception last summer. 

The only bad was our flight with Spirit Air. Have you heard of Spirit? Neither of us had, so of course my dramatic hubby was convinced we were going to crash and die somewhere over the Sierras. That didn't happen, obvi. Thank goodness. But oh em gee, those flights were so bad it was comical: late both ways (6 hours for the return trip...patience is not a virtue of mine and that made me really cranky), a $100 charge for carry-on bags (say what??) seats so tiny it was like squeezing into a 5 year old's booster chair...and the kicker? The lady in the row behind me asked for a glass of water, to which the flight attendant responded, "Ma'am, we don't offer complimentary beverages." 

Really? You don't offer complimentary water?? 

So yeah. Next time no cut-rate airlines.

Other than that little glitch, I couldn't have asked for a better mini-vacay! If only 

we didn't have a billion and twelve weeks of school left until summer...

Listen all ya'll it's a sabotage...

Okay, so I realize I'm kind of dating myself here, but "Sabotage" by the Beastie Boys is probably one of my all-time favorite music videos: the toupees, the faux mustaches, the ...er sexy trench coats...so wrong. And yet so right. Don't believe me? Watch for yourself!

                               

Eh, maybe it's just me. But this video seemed fitting for today since sabotage just happens to be what I've been doing to myself lately. (How's that for a segue? Subtle, right?)

Time to catch up on what has become one of the biggest parts of my daily life lately: Revolt Fitness. The fifth week of our "Uprising" is coming to a close and wow, has it ever been a challenging few weeks! 

First, the good stuff: at this point we've had a total of 24 scheduled workouts, and I've managed to stay almost completely on track with that, missing only one. Yay me! This might not necessarily seem like a big deal, but I have serious exercise ADD and eventually quit most programs out of boredom. (I'm looking at you P90X and Brazilian Butt Lift) For me to have stuck with something on a regular basis for 5 weeks speaks volumes about what an awesome job Nicole does of keeping the workouts fresh and interesting. Not only am I not even remotely bored, but I feel stronger, and I'm starting to see some muscle definition, especially in my legs and bootie. Woot! Buh-bye muffin top!

Okay, so now for the bad: this is where the sabotage comes in. Although I did awesome with the diet for the first nine days (totally sugar free!) then, then Travis and I took off to Vegas for a little spring break R&R. If you've ever been to Vegas,  you know my dilemma...that whole damn city is wall to wall with amazing restaurants (it would be cray to skip dessert!) and the casinos pretty much shove free drinks down your throat (far be it from me, apparently, to say 'no thank you' to gratis cocktails.) Anyhoo, you can imagine I fell -or rather jumped- off the wagon and headfirst into a loaf of jalapeno asiago bread for a few days. Since we've been home, I've managed to get back to clean eating...mostly. I'm all about the fresh meats and veggies and  haven't had a Lean Cuisine in weeks but with my weird work/school schedule, following the Revolt diet to a tee has been next to impossible. And my biggest problem, my biggest issue, the bane of my existence is my terrible sweet tooth. My self-sabotage in the form of indulging candy cravings is definitely keeping me from reaching my full potential. I need to get a grip you guys!! Seriously, I need some kind of restraining order for any and all chocolate related goods. 

Yup. That's pretty much how I feel. Like a crazy whacked-out candy monster. 

Well, fortunately, tomorrow is a new day and a new opportunity to make good decisions. Hopefully, admitting and documenting my mistakes will be the catalyst I need to change...and put down the Reese's. I'd like the rest of my fitness challenge to have a new theme: less "Sabotage" and more Nelly's "The Champ."

            

Know what I'm really bad at?

Well, if we're friends IRL, or if you've been reading for awhile you may have one or two ideas: math, dancing, driving while having a conversation...yes, I do kind of suck at all of those. But what I'm talking about at the moment is a theme that seems to keep coming up over and over the last few months. What I'm really, really terrible at: balance. Not just the balance involved in getting from point A to point B (another flaw of mine which accounts for the sexy bruises and scrapes on my legs) mostly I'm talking about life balance.

She's clearly better at balance than I am...in every sense of the word.

Inevitably during the school year, between work/class/studying/blogging/fitness/socializing and my favorite: household chores... something -or several somethings- that are important to me start to fall by the wayside. At the beginning of spring semester it was physical fitness that got kicked to the curb. It was so easy to let that go in favor of studying while catching up on my DVR (hello, multitasking!) ...but of course on top of beginning to outgrow my favorite jeans, being a couch potato made me feel pretty generally like crap. Thankfully, joining -and actually committing- to the Revolt workout program turned that around: staying in shape can't help but be a major focus with 5 scheduled workouts a week plus a run or two. Physically I feel awesome, and my thinning hips are starting to show my hard work. But since school and the j-o-b are non-negotiables, and a girl's got to get out of the house once in awhile, it's blogging that's taken the hit the past couple weeks. 

I love checking in with you guys on the daily, commenting on your posts and throwing my two -sometimes five or ten- cents out there into the internet, so I hate not always being able to make this little hobby a priority. And blogging's not the only thing that's been on the back burner lately...if you could've seen the state of my house a couple days ago...em. barrassing. And Travis basically dragged my butt out to our "white trash" back yard yesterday to help him take care of our 3 foot lawn and some seriously dangerous looking weeds.

For the moment, I think I'm sort of getting back on track.  House is clean, Anatomy notes nearly caught up, workout for the day done and I've even managed to give myself a desperately needed manicure and order some adorbs new heels from Lulu's with one of my birthday giftcards. Oh yeah, did I mention I had a birthday the other day? Not such a big event when you're  turning 29 yet again, but the hubby surprised me with a new MacBook so he doesn't have to keep listening to me complain about my crappy old Dell because he's the sweetest, and I had a delish pre-work birthday breakfast with the girls, including a surprise visit from my out-of-town (and adorably prego)  bestie.

I can always count on Chris for a pic or two :-)

So...things are good, but things are busy!  I'm not complaining, but I am so ready for summer break!

How are things with you guys? Are you keeping your balance this spring?

Cheating Never Felt So Good

Nine days. You guys, I made it nine whole days sugar-free! Holy cow! 

This last week and a half of eating clean and doing regular workouts has me feeling sometimes sore and cranky -but mostly amazing- and weighing 2 lbs. less. Granted, that's not a ton of weight (I know some of the Revolt girls lost 7 or 8 lbs last week) but for somebody who has trouble losing an ounce it feels like a ton, and I'm that much closer to my goal. 

But today, oh today. Not only is it a "rest day," aka. a break from the usual sweat-sesh, but today is also my first "cheat day" where I get to eat whatever I want. Can you guess what that might be?? Let me tell you, I've been counting the hours. The minutes.

I started the day with a healthy breakfast and managed a low-carb lunch as well. But as soon as I finished the last bite of chicken I was on my stock of Reese's and Cadbury mini eggs like a fly on....well, you get the picture. I made it though one peanut butter cup and was halfway through my second when I started feeling...not so good. Kind of bad, actually. But I am not a quitter so that didn't stop me from downing a huge handful of the Cadbury eggs. (Great timing btw, since I was finally watching the Bachelor finale. There's nothing like ugly-crying while stuffing your face with chocolate. And seriously? I never liked Lindsay, but she handled that breakup like a champ.)

So, now I'm sitting here high on sugar, barely able to move, and wondering how I'm going to feel after eating out with my in-laws tonight. Because with the in-laws, dinner isn't dinner unless it includes lots of bread, appetizers, dessert and one or several bottles of wine. I may be in a coma by bedtime. 

At least it will be a happy, possibly drunk coma. 

Cheers!