New gym goal:

3 miles of cardio every day.
I've been trying out the treadmill again, not sure how long that'll last. I feel the elliptical won't get the job done....like I need to add another mile to the goal.
I did purchase a new sports bra. I tried it out today, and it seemed to control the nonsense slightly better. I have to wear 2, but it's still uncomfortable for me.

I've also started dieting.
Bleh.

CA 2009

So this last week Neil and I made our way to good ol' California. We had mixed feelings going into the week. Very excited to have the time off of course, but dreading all that comes with visiting CA. The traffic, the dry heat, the chaos of driving too and fro. We love, love, love being in CA - visiting our friends....we just look at it differently now. Now, about the trip:

FYI style - sorry.
Night 1...
Late night fly in, pick up by Mr. Dunn. (Excited to be hanging out w/this guy)
Donut Corner, then Albertos (diet out the door at this point).
Day 1...
Rental car pick up.
Visit Transducer Techniques, my old work place.
Pedicure at my most favoritest nail salon: Instyle Nails.
In 'n Out for lunch. (Mouth literally watering right now thinking about this place)
Temecula Mall - saw the upgrades. Jealous that it's so AWESOME now!!!
Stir Fresh for dinner w/dear friends. (Jenny brought her b/f Ryan, so happy for my Jenny).
Donut Corner - again.
Day 2...
San Diego/La Jolla/Seaport Village/Downtown San Diego...yummy Mexican food!!
Neil had a guys night at Claim Jumper. I had my Jenny come visit me. Lots of girl talk!
Day 3...
Lunch w/some of my girlfriends at Red Robin.
Said bye to Jason, so sad.
Drop off luggage in Menifee. Spent some time w/the Q's & Nat...and finally met Baby Elsie! (She is absolutely precious!!!)
Headed to Redlands to visit my love, Natalee who is 7 months pregnant.
Market Night. We love us some Market Night :) Especially on such a beautiful night, and especially when you add Cucas to the night.
Back to Menifee. Davey joined us for Santanas mexican food. Super Nachos!! (again, no diet).
Day 4...
Vegas. My girlfriend Brooke tagged along for the weekend. So glad she did. :)
Arrived in Henderson where Eva now lives w/her husband Tony. Saw family.
Got our nails did.
Roasted in the 105 degree heat.
Brooke & I got some amazing blended fruit drinks next door to the salon. (Mine came with Red Bull blended right in. I needed this...soooo good!)
Checked into hotel. We stayed at Hooters - come on, it was cheap. Don't judge.
Dinner at Hard Rock.
Dessert in my room.
The other girls continued on partying it up Vegas style. Brooke & I were out. So tired.
Neil came back from walking the Vegas strip & we enjoyed some 25 cent wings downstairs in the Hooters restaurant. Wings + quality time w/the husband = nice relaxing way to end the night.
Day 5...
Lay out by the pool.
My friends Liz and Beka came to join us.
Eva & Tony's reception at the MGM Grand. (This hotel is super impressive! And fancy)
35th floor penthouse. Balcony that will make anyone dizzy.
Day 6...
Morning lay out by the pool. (Brooke & I were desperate for a tan...)
Drive back to CA.
Joined the Q's and E's in their backyard.
Portillo's for dinner. (Cheese fries, sooo good. Thanks to Bea for reminding me!)
Day 7...
Goodbyes at TTI.
In 'n Out for lunch.
Juice it Up!
Hang out by the pool w/Nat and Baby E..
Met Virginia in Murrieta at Los Primos. (So awesome to finally see her!!!)
Quality time with Virginia :)
Back up to Menifee for our last night in CA.
(Neil made his way back to In 'n Out w/DQ. Thankfully he brought some back to me! And a chocolate shake...)
Day 8...
Shannon and Bea took us to the SD airport. We were very happy to be heading home, but dreaded the travel time that came along w/it. We didn't roll into Erie until after 2:30AM. Being able to see my baby doggie was so great! I missed her so much!!!!!!
This time in CA was a reality check for us. We have a love/hate relationship with Southern California. We were always right in the middle with how we felt about moving back there. It seems less likely that we'll ever end up back in CA. In 2 or 3 years, we'll see how we feel.

1 week count down begins. We leave for our trip to CA a week from tomorrow. I'm getting really, really excited. It came out of nowhere. I love that. Neil and I are really looking forward to spending time with friends, and eating at the following restaurants:

Los Primos
Albertos (or an affiliation of Albertos)
In 'n Out
Portillos
Stir Fresh

I need to also include major work out sessions into this vacation due to all this wonderful eating...

I've been meaning to post a blog about my life in PA versus the life I lived in CA...I'm literally writing down pros and cons of each, and I'm almost done.

So stay tuned...

My weekend

This past weekend is going in the books as one of my favorites. Friday and Saturday were full of running errands, and time in the sun w/a good book & music. Mind you, I didn't get far in my book because I can only read it when I'm laying on my stomach. What's funny about my new living situation is just how much I take advantage of the sun. When I lived in CA - my whole life - I loved being outside, but I could spend a good-weathered day inside, no guilt. But living in Erie, the moment the weather gets to be about 70, I make my way outside. I have to be out there. I don't care what I'm doing, as long as the sun is hitting my skin, I'm happy. I even hate being in the gym I've grown to be obsessed with... (Friday I had plans to get my butt kicked w/2 work out classes, and bailed because I wanted to remain on my jumbo towel out in my backyard).
Friday ended w/the playoffs on the television, and our good friend Dave over to watch. We grilled burgers and enjoyed the Cavs coming away w/a win! (Sorry Dave)

Saturday started off with my friend Ali & I driving around town looking for good yard sales. We found a lot of them, which was awesome. But, 3 hours later we only ended up w/a few items. We made our way to Peggy's (a diner by my house I frequently eat at) for breakfast, then headed home. I hit the backyard w/Cali, a book, and our local radio station blasting in the background. When I finally came around to reality, I got cleaned up and Neil & I made our way to Wegmans for some grocery shopping - which if you dont know us, it's one of our favorite things to do! Just having a house filled w/food is so comforting. The night ended w/the Lakers game against the Denver Nuggets. I have pure anxiety when I watch them in the playoffs. They came away with a WIN!

Sunday, breakfast w/Neil at Crackel Barrel. We made our way to Buffalo to pick his mom up from being in AZ for the last 3 weeks. (We've had her dog Andy this entire time by the way. Pure chaos is all I have to say.) Came home to watch the Cavs lose against Orlando. Not a good night for Neil.

Monday - my favorite day of the weekend. We decided to have friends over, those who didn't have prior engagements. It was a lot of eating, grilling, basketball shooting, basketball fetching when it bounced over the fences (2 separate yards it can go over), playing catch w/a football, chasing Cali, some xbox playing, ice cream from Connies (literally 2 blocks away, we walked), lots more basketball shooting...Sean and Neil decided to go inside & watch a movie. Adam & I decided to go play tennis.

Good weekend. Great friends. Feeling totally blessed...
**Side note: Didn't take any photos of the weekend, not sure what is wrong w/me!

Sneak vs La La

Sneaky Cali versus La La Neil = a chubby baby doggie.
We are watching my mother-in-law's dog, Andy for the next 3 weeks...and he's a full grown, adult dog that requires a pretty good helping of dog food daily. Where as Cali, gets 3 separate feedings of 1 cup increments. Andy has had his bowl completely cleared out by this little one more then once, more then twice...I'd say around 4 times since Saturday. She is SUPER quiet and sneaky about it - she doesn't even chew, so we can't hear the crunching - just swallows. Pure gluttony. I had a discussion with my dear husband - please watch out for Cali, she'll be sneaky. Do NOT put Andy's food out unless you can keep an eye on her. The last 2 days I've come home to a swollen belly of a puppy. La La Neil explains "I was sitting right there, and I didn't hear her!" Right there, is the kitchen table. The kitchen table is a turn-around arm reach away from Andy's food/water bowl. La La.
Oh brother - Cali is on a diet.

1 Year ago today...

...Neil and I left California.
Cannot believe it's been an entire year.
Time has just flown.
We've had some incredible experiences here so far, and know there are many more to come.

Neil and I have come across the topic of "do we see ourselves back in CA?" and we don't have an answer. We love both locations for different reasons. In the end, where God wants us, we'll go or we'll stay. It's up to HIM.

Happy 1 year PA.

Cali and Spring Cleaning

Cali is almost 5 months old, and she has the best personality. Here are some recent pictures of her:

She's a happy baby doggie!

We just love her!

Last Saturday Neil and I did some cleaning. He was in charge of outside duties, and I took care of the inside cleaning. It was quite fun. And very fulfilling. I mean, we've been living here since January, and haven't been able to take advantage of what it's really like to be homeowners. Neil made purchases of both a lawnmower and a grill - 2 very important things, don't you think? The hold up has of course been weather. We have been waiting, and waiting....and waiting for Spring to finally get here - and it has. However, after Neil purchased the lawnmower, he did say, and I quote: "Screw being a homeowner." Captain Negative in full effect. Deep down I know he loves it. I did take some pictures of this occasion...and check out that tree we have in our backyard....
Also notice how Neil is matching the lawnmower. OH! And the above picture, in the background you see that truck parked? ....somewhat behind him....that is his Grandfather's old house.
We were able to put the grill to use right away! We invited the Hamps to join us. The weather was absolutely perfect, and we had such a great time!!!
Afterwards we took a walk down the street to Connie's for some ice cream. Literally...its just a block away. Trouble. Trouble indeed.

54.5/60

As of today, the 29th day of April I have done 54.5 miles out of 60. I have 2 days left, including today - I'm pretty sure I'm going to surpass my goal. I'm pretty stoked about it. I did however switch from running on the treadmill, to the elliptical on April 13th. I was in too much pain. Not only were my shins being ripped to shreads, my knees hurt, my lower back hurt...and no matter how many sports bras I put on, there was no help in that upper department of my body. What is awesome about the elliptical is: 1-No pain, but sore muscles, and 2-I can work out my arms. I'm lovin' it!!!!! It's absolute heaven versus the treadmill. My husband seems to think that machine is pointless. I challenged him to get on one, and attempt 4 miles in 35 minutes....which is what I've been accomplishing...and he declined. He's scared.
I am trying to come up with a new goal for the month of May. I need to add lunges and sit-ups to my workout. Maybe 10-15,000 sit ups? 1,000 lunges? We'll see.

April Fools Not

I actually dislike that my birthday is the day before April Fools Day. I was supposed to be an April Fools baby - but like my typical self, I was early. No surprise there.

I need to blog about my crazy dog Cali. She is just nuts. She communicates with Neil and I in such a way, we just start laughing. She has a different grunt for when she's upset, when she is needing to go outside, a different more loud grunt when it's an absolute emergency (HURRY! I GOTTA GO!!), and more a whine-like-grunt when she's tired and she'd like to shnuggle with us. She even has a grunt for when she is cuddlin', and she's not comfortable...she'll give us this look like "Fix it". Precious.

I will post pictures up soon. As of 2-1/2 weeks ago, she weighed in at 17 lbs...I'm sure she's surpassed 20. We'll see at her next vet appt which will be this Saturday.

We love her.

I need to start shedding this weight. Yeah, yeah, yeah...I seem to be blogging only about this nonsense. But I feel the more I talk about it, the more motivated I am. I got in a text-arguement last night w/my friend Sean. According to him, there was no excuse for me NOT to work out yesterday...just because it's my birthday. I did however take Cali for a walk last night - which I thought would suffice, but no. I quote "doesn't count. do better tomorrow..." and "that's the neil in you talking; wake dawna up. dog walking is old lady stuff...." which I disagree completely. I love being outside, with a leash at hand. But I can see his point. If I want results, this working out business needs to get serious.
In the month of February, consisting of 28 days - Sean attempted to run 90 miles. (Note: I just edited that last sentence because I remembered it wasn't March he made the attempt, it was Feb..with only 28 days to accomplish the 90) He didn't succeed only due to a cold that lasted forever. Not that I'm a runner, it's the last thing in the world I like doing...but I figured I could do 60 miles in one month.


60 mile count down starts today...