Fair warning, I don't think I'll be able to walk tomorrow

Just before lunch, I went to the gym with Anil, my co-research resident-in-crime. He had been talking about CrossFit workouts so I figured I was game. I asked, "Are we going to go for a run too?" Silly, silly me. Anil was kind and said, "Well, these workouts are sometimes longer than you think."

Holy heck. The workout was 15 hang cleans, 15 box jumps and 15 kettleball swings x 7. I started out slightly behind since my attempts to do pull-ups during warm-ups had already put the hurt on me. I was whipped! It was so hard. I did all the sets, mainly because another guy who was there had little self-motivating phrases such as "Don't be a bitch" as he was working out. Well, I didn't want to be a "bitch" then either! Hey Mister, I can do this workout too. Ok, maybe with a lot less weight but still.

So, that was my first day of Cross-Fitness madness. I think it'll be an ok workout to do now and then. Some of their daily workouts are require really esoteric equipment that would be difficult to find outside a gymnasium. Also, I really don't want to bulk up at all. The workout today was good b/c of so many sets but I'm going to stick with Bar Method as my primary means of strength training.

Super Bowl...of chili!

Mechen and I hosted a great Super Bowl party yesterday. It was fairly mellow but we did end up having less beer than when we started, which is the sign of a party not completely for grown-ups. Although that might be offset by the fact that if the three people who brought wine actually brought a six-pack each, we would have been pretty close to a zero sum event.

I went to foodandwine.com and raided a few recipes from their Super Bowl party guide. I now have a new and awesome go-to cornbread recipe, a delicious chili recipe that I modified heavily but left the secret ingredient (oh, ok...BACON!!!) and mojito jello shots that were simultaneously disgusting and captivating. We also had black bean sliders, steak tacos, salsa/guac/chips and 7-layer dip. Brady and I had a brownie-off which she may have won but that's because the people I invited have no taste. But that's ok- that's why we're all friends.

The BEST part about yesterday is that it finally gave Mechen and I the motivation to finish unpacking and cleaning. I love our house now and it feels so awesome and homey. Hooray for our new place!

Link
http://www.foodandwine.com/articles/super-bowl-blowout

New Year, New Resolutions, Blog more...blah di blagh

So, blogging isn't working out too well, which seems to be the first sentence of almost every other post around here. Fortunately, I'm my only reader- hooray! Ok, self, let's get it together, 'k?

First, Mechen is finally here. It's better than I imagined and after a fairly dramatic misunderstanding this morning (resolved!), I realize how much he means to me and how my life is permanently and totally altered now that he and I are together and so in love. It's amazing and I feel so lucky each and every day that I've been graced with such a gift in my life.

He came out on the 17th of Dec and hung out while I worked at Kaiser (boo!) and hung out with him any moment I was off, which was never enough for me! But it was a little bit of an adjustment having him here in everyday life, rather than another datecation that we had enjoyed for the last two years when we saw each other. It's also difficult since we live in San Diego where people DO come for vacation but both of us have jobbie jobs that intrude on those lady-who-lunch fantasies I have of working out at 10 a.m. and daily beach visits, more than likely during peak sun hours.

ANYWAY, I did have Christmas and the day after off which was awesome. We were getting ready to move from my cute place on Banker's Hill up to Cardiff. He loved the apartment (phew!) and we were ready to move in with the one small exception of all his stuff still in Norfolk. Cue: road trip!

We left 27 Dec on separate flights due to previous booking and it turned out to be a very good thing b/c I made it to Norfolk while he was stuck in Houston. He made it to Knoxville while I landed in snowy Norfolk and got his truck and drove overnight to Knoxville where I crashed for a few hours. Fortunately, no crashes while driving although a fence fared poorly against Sweetpea when I was backing her out of the 6 inches of snow covering the driveway. But I didn't hit the house, garage or parked cars so I think I picked the appropriate target!

After a few hours of sleep, we back tracked to Dunbar, WV and visited with his grandmother. She was really sweet and had lots of great stories. We spent the night and then decided to push on our long haul leg, which ended up being 30+ hours and we made it all the way to Arizona! That was a little crazy but doable thanks to switching out driving responsibilities.

At that point, it was the 30th and we decided we wanted to make it back to San Diego for New Year's so the next day we left, stopped at Sedona (awesome!) and arrived in San Diego around 6. We went out to Hotel Solamar in a repeat of last year and it was really, really fun. The rest of the weekend, we recovered and moved.

January was a busy month with more Kaiser goodness but Mechen and I still had a good time. We went out to dinner at Starlite. In Cardiff, we've hit a few Italian spots, the local "excellent" Mexican food spot (it was ok- I'm forever spoiled by the Mexican Grill in Annapolis), The E St Cafe and my new favorite local bar, The Lumberyard. Delicious food, good beer and a really mellow atmosphere with an eclectic crowd.

I also went out in North Park last Saturday to celebrate Brady's birthday with a few girlfriends. And Brady! Couldn't leave her behind. Brady and I also went out to Cafe Chloe on her actual birthday for brunch followed by mani/pedis, which was a luxurious treat!

This weekend, we're getting ready for our Super Bowl party Sunday. I'm very excited and as a bonus, the house is almost put together. Finally!

I miss my sister!

Whah! I am so sad! My sister moved out today after sharing my teeny studio for the past four months. It has been so!much!fun! with her here, my live-in bestie! In all seriousness, I think my sister is one of the coolest people I know and we've always gotten along but living together raised to another level of sisterly bonding. Although we shared rooms in the Summers when I was home from college, I left home when she was 13 so there are definitely some formative years that our living situations didn't overlap.

Bonus: she thinks it's HILARIOUS when I dredge up stories that she barely recalls and usually features her in some embarrassing way. Especially when I tell them multiple times! But it's always to her- I rarely try to embarrass her in public although I'm sure I inadvertently do it all the time.

It's funny, I didn't even really feel that we were in that small of a space. Mostly because our timing didn't overlap all that much- I have worked a lot this Fall so it wasn't like I was just chilling on my awesome Ikea sofa. It actually would have been fun to cook together more, but we still had a great time hanging out and talking.

Poop. I miss her! And it's so funny because her moving out signals that the time for Mechen to move out is very, very close and I couldn't be more excited about that! But I'll definitely treasure our sister, sister time as two adult women who think the world of each other!

Time flies!!!

I feel that a lot of people have been commenting about how the end of the year is flying by. I, for one, love it because it means Mechen and I are that much closer to him coming out to San Diego. I am so excited! I really miss him this month! I won't see him until mid-December when he's set to move because I can't make it out there and he's really busy settling things out back in Norfolk. Although he has roughly 4 weeks before the move, he's going to be underway for just shy of two weeks during that time.

But I haven't been good at ALL about updating. Halloween was a lot of fun. Brady and I went out to a Halloween party in Golden Hill which was held in the most amazing house. It had gilded wallpaper! Although it was fun, we left early so we could meet up with people in the Gaslamp. It was an awesome people-watching seen. We went to Jimmy Love's and listened/danced to a great cover band. After the bars closed, it was almost as bad as downtown was on New Year's Eve, but we managed to get home.

I went as Rosie the Rivetor which was a great costume although I felt sort of butch-y, mainly because I wasn't totally skanked out which, while ridiculous, was something I was borderline self-conscious about. DUMB! Who's self-conscious on Halloween? Unless you go as a nudie- that might attract a little too much attention.

November has been a pretty good month so far. I started at Kaiser for a three month rotation. I've already gotten some amazing cases and I really think I'm going to get a great operative experience, especially with neck dissection and oncologic surgery. I can't wait because I definitely haven't seen enough of that yet in my residency.

Things are going well with Brady here although those days are ticking down too. She's heading to Copenhagen and Zurich for December and early January. She's coming back to San Diego but then she's getting her own place and I'll be with Mechen! Which of course is great but this has definitely been the best sister time! Who else can I sing "You smell!" songs to as an adult?

Meet the Fockers!

I just came back from the best weekend. I got to meet all of Mechen's brothers along with their families. Everyone was really welcoming. It's a really sweet family that, like mine, is able to pick up where they left off even though it had been FOREVER since Mechen had seen them (6 years! Way too long!).

Best of all, even though everyone was really nice, it was also very real. It wasn't like we were insta-family right away (just add water!), but they were happy that Mechen was happy and we all got along really well. I remember one ex's family was so overbearing- "Call me Mom!"- and it was really off-putting. I HAVE a family and even though over time we'll all be closer, it's something that happens over time. I guess I'm just a little sensitive to people insinuating that my family couldn't possibly be close since we don't live near each other, but that couldn't be farther from the truth. I love my family!

We hung out in Hagerstown for the weekend. Mechen and I hung out on our own a little bit, but it was mostly family time. He has the cutest nephews!

Also, vegan month is dead like the cow in the burger I ate on Sunday. Although I'm not going on a crazy meat-eating rebound since I didn't eat much to begin with, the strict veganism thing is not for me. It's WAY too much thinking about food and tracking it which I don't think is healthy, at least for me. Becoming compulsive about food is not enjoyable and since I really do love a good meal (balance is key!), I really didn't want to sap away the social interaction and pleasure that food can bring.

Wiped!

OMG. I went to Bar Method class tonight- toodle-dee-doo- thinking it would just be an ordinary class. I was happy since I went home and had some oatmeal since I was close to being "hangry" but instead, I was set for my workout.

Oh.my. The Bar Method San Diego just started to break out level 2's from 1's on Tuesday and Thursday nights so I braved a Level 2 class. It kicked my butt. I have never had such uncontrollable shaking in my legs before. While I love the Bar Method (I almost typed "BM" but changed my mind), I've always thought their emphasis on shaking was kind of stupid. It's always encouraged as it's a "sign" of reshaping the muscle and calorie burn. Maybe. I guess I can buy it in relation to forming longer, leaner slow twitch muscles fibers (Type 1 to 2, or vice versa?) but it still sounds slightly ridiculous to me. Tonight, however, I don't care what shaking means, all I know is that Jessica led a crazy-tough class and I loved it! It was definitely quite a challenge!

I'm also trying to do a vegan diet for 3 weeks. I've heard so many benefits from veganism that I want to try it for myself. It's fairly easy for me since I'm not the biggest meat eater although I'm going to have to REALLY benefit from veganism in order to give up cheese and fish long-term. I'm also meeting Mechen's brothers in a week and I don't want to be his crazy California girlfriend. I'm going to try and stick at least with vegetarian options, but I'm not going to make a scene about it. I've also been trying to avoid gluten which I think will also be tough to do that weekend. But I will plan, bring some snacks and try!

I also consider myself a "born-again" vegan since I started on 1 Oct, but ate a huge rack of ribs on the 3rd during the Chargers game tailgate. It was delicious! I bought the tickets before I decided to do this so I didn't really care about my new-found diet fad. But now, I'm back on the wagon!

The Chargers/Cardinals game was so much fun. Five of us went on the Pizza Port party bus which meant we got a ride to the game, beer on the bus (yay!)(and gluten-avoidance what?), a great tailgate, awesome seats (not really but the stadium is pretty small), and a ride back. I also went with some awesome girls so it was a really great time. One of my friends posted 190(!) pictures on Facebook which is crazy! I'll try and get one on here at some point. That's about all I can handle trying to coordinate.

Ok, off to prepare for pre-op tomorrow and sign some dictations. Snooze!