7 Random things...

I was all prepared to tag myself to play along with this game, but I've since been officially tagged by Briy! Yay!

So here goes nothin':


Rules of the game:
1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Share seven random and/or weird facts about yourself on your blog.
4. Tag seven random people at the end of your post, and include links to their blogs.
5. Leave a comment on their blogs so that they know they have been tagged.



1). I have four older brothers and sisters (2 and 2), one of which happens to be my identical twin, Marissa, who's two minutes older than me. We've grown up living the stereotypical twin lives that consisted mainly in doing everything together. We wore the same outfits. We've worked at the same jobs starting at 16 and going all the way through college. We got our driver's licenses on the same day. We've got matching BA and MA degrees from the same universities. We even dated identical twins once! At one point in our lives, our circle of friends consisted of "just the two of us." (we even dedicated that song to ourselves!) There were people who criticized us for being so close because, as they said, the day we had to separate from each other we'd be heartbroken. That day came last year when I moved to Spain, and I'd say it's one of the hardest things I've had to go through. But, in spite of the difficulty, I see how much richer our lives are now that we have embraced our individuality. Riss now lives and works in LA, and will be getting married this year (close enough, right??!). I am SOO excited about all that she's got going on in her life right now!!

2). I like to think that my husband Chechu (his real name is Jesús) and I have a story-book romance. In 2005 Marissa and I chose to study abroad in Spain (Granada) for a semester prior to beginning our graduate studies in California. One of the first things we did to prepare for our trip was finding a church in Granada, which took no time at all. (we both like to say that we knew where we'd be going to church before we knew where we were going to live!) On February 20th we walked into our new church for the first time. I saw Chechu on stage, playing the guitar and singing his heart out to God. That's when it hit me, and I knew that he was the man I'd marry. After a 2-year long-distance relationship and many trips back and forth between the US-Spain on both our parts, we got married last October here in Spain. My immediate family made the trip over, and Marissa was the star interpreter since the ceremony was officiated in Spanish.

3). I've stumbled across several career paths that I've been seriously interested in pursuing: A) Veterinarian B) Concert musician (I play saxophone) and C) Ventriloquist. (My sister and I to this day put on "shows" with our stuffed animals!). Since I love Spanish so much, I decided on Translation and Interpretation, and that's what stuck.

4). My nickname is Nan. Apparently "Marianna" was too much for my sister to pronounce when we were little, and all she got out of that big long name was Nan. And man, did it stick. No one in my family calls me by my full name- in fact, I'm sure that I've got a few relatives who don't even know what my actual first name is.

5). I love naming things: animals, cars, utensils, furniture, etc. According to my husband I'm pretty good at it too. Our car's name is Gustavo. There's a white-haired stray kitty who can constantly be seen roaming around our complex, and I call him Moses.
And then there's Nacho, a Joan Miró painting that resembles a dragon. Check him out!



6). I am a soul food junkie. Even though I was born in PA, my family roots are from the South. Mom's side is from Virginia, Dad hails from New Orleans. That means loads of collard greens, candied sweet potatoes, chicken, ribs, made-from-scratch macaroni and cheese and Dad's all-star gumbo.

7). I'm not a big shopping fan. I get burned out easily going to malls or shopping centers if I A) don't have a clear idea of what I'm looking for or B) if I haven't mentally prepared myself to go in the first place.


I'm almost positive that I'm the last person to do this, but I tag anyone who wants to play along!

Insert Foot Here

Ironically enough, I had some punctuality issues of my own yesterday.

1. Rocío and I agreed to set the time for our GOE back at 4pm on Wednesday. However, there was a misunderstanding on my part as to the actual start time for this week. I had understood that she'd be picking up one of the ladies who's been coming regularly at 4:30 like she'd been doing, and then from there the two of them would come back to the church for our study. She told me to be at the church by 4 to wait for them, which didn't make any sense to me. So rather than showing up at 4 to waste a half hour sitting by myself, I rolled in at about 4:15. To my surprise Rocio was already there waiting for me, and was pretty irritated herself about my tardiness. Before going out to evangelize she prayed for the meeting, and also started praying against apathy and indifference. So that obviously struck a personal chord with me, and I got more irritated. As we walked outside I apologized (between clenched teeth) for the obvious misunderstanding. We briefly talked about it all, and then agreed to move on. I was still pretty pissed though. And I'm sure that shone perfectly through my stellar 'tude the whole time.
2. Our weekly Bible study is on Wednesday evenings at 9PM. Last night after work I ran back home, and by 8:15 I was back in the Turbo Jam saddle again. I knew I was going to be late to the Bible Study if I stayed and exercised, but I didn't care. After all, I'm not the one with the time issues, right? And besides, I thought, the meeting would start late like it usually does every week. So I kicked and punched away for 35 minutes, stopping the workout early to grab a quick shower before heading out the door. I got to the church by 9:30, just in time to catch a couple worship songs before beginning the Bible study. To my surprise, one of the first things discussed during the study was the issue of punctuality and our responsibly carrying out the tasks which we've been assigned within the church.

The tone wasn't accusatory by any means, but it still stung. And it woke me up to the reality that I'd been sporting a pretty stank, I-don't-give-a-crap attitude all week. I've been moody, irritable, quick to fly off the handle and the general tune I've had to sing over the past several days has been none other than complain, complain, complain. About everything.

After talking about this with Chechu last night, I finally stumbled on what's been bothering me all week: I have PMS. For most women that won't sound like big news but in my case, given that I usually don't suffer from the phsycological aspects brought about by PMS, I was finally able to put a name to my problem. After starting birth control at the end of last year, I see how my body has been going through some minor changes, particularly with more frequent-than-usual bouts of moodiness and sensitivity before my period.

At least now I've been able to recognize this new pattern for what it is, and being aware of this (theoretically) should help me control my emotions more instead of allowing them to drag me all over the place. I called Rocío this morning to apologize for how I acted yesterday, and she graciously understood. On the whole, I feel better about how this week is ending-- much better than how it started, that's for sure.

Positive

My 30-second rant: PUNCTUALITY

I have the greatest Mom in the world. But to put it mildly she's not the most punctual person. I suppose that growing up with that has turned me into the exact opposite-- having an overly-sensitive concept of time. Living in Spain has tested me in this area on more than one occasion. Last night was a prime example.

I ended up leaving work last night well after 8:30PM for no good reason other than the fact that my boss was chatting it up with a co-worker about a couple operations they're doing now. Apparently there's an unwritten rule that as long as the boss is here we all have to leave the office together, even if that means twiddling your thumbs until he's done rambling. When 8:38 rolled around and we were finally walking out the door I swear you could have seen the smoke billowing from off the top of my head. I couldn't even look my boss in the face to say goodnight to him, and I barely eeked out an "adios" to Christina before bolting down the sidewalk to head home.

If this were a one-time occurrence, you wouldn't hear a peep out of me. If it happened once or twice a week with a prior announcement, no problemo. Better yet, if I actually had a reason to stay later than usual, to catch up on work or whatever, I certainly wouldn't be dedicating this much time to write about it. It just irritates me to no end feeling like other people are wasting my time. That isn't just a work thing. It's a Spain thing. People here love love love love love love love love love love love to TALK. Talk about nothing. And that talk about nothing can last an hour or more if no one steps in. Granted, I got home last night just a half-hour later than what I normally would have had I left the office on time. Other than working out I didn't have any big plans made that I missed out on. But that was my half-hour during which I could have done productive things or just sat on my couch watching TV had I so desired.
I guess I can just chalk this whole issue up to my American "you're-infringing-on-my-time" mentality. And since I'm the one who decided to move to here it's up to me to adapt, and I'm fine with that. It's just taking a bit longer than I anticipated :P

That was definitely more than 30 seconds!

I have to add that last night, in all my furor, I finally broke through my exercise barrier. I actually wanted to exercise in order to let off some steam, so I grabbed my Turbo Jam CD and turned on. I actually surprised myself with the initial energy I had. I was nailing my punches and my kicks were higher than they've been in a long time, hehe.. Surely I was a sight to see! Unfortunately after blasting through the first few sets I burned out after 25 minutes, drenched in sweat.

I will be back for more today!

HYC update

1. I've lost 0.8 pounds this week, putting me at 219.6! I'm so happy to finally see a number below 220. Since I began weighing myself in February I think the lowest I had gotten down to was 218, so I'm ear-marking that as my next mini-goal. I feel confident that if I can just stick to this faithfully between now and the end of the month I'll surely reach a solid 215.


2. I didn't meet my exercise goals for this week, as I only worked out two days. I am really struggling with this. I find it so difficult to wake up early in the morning to exercise, just like I find it difficult to come home after work and do it then. I suppose getting started is never easy no matter how much one tries to plan. There's always an excuse to put it off another day. So for this week, my goal is to just get excited about exercise again. I have to break through this barrier! Does anyone have any suggestions?


3. I think the "cheat weekends" are definitely going to have to be put on the back burner at this point. It'd be one thing if we could actually stick to having just one off-plan meal, but since we struggle to keep it at that we'll be better off staying on plan for the entire week. In spite of my weird cravings that come up every now and then, staying on track during the work week isn't as much of a challenge anymore. The weekends, however, are my weak point. My goal for this coming Saturday and Sunday is to stick with the plan and see where that gets me next Tuesday.

Here's to a great day all!

Oh Monday..

I can't believe how fast weekends fly by. As I was writing my posts last Friday I could just blink and see myself back here at my desk on Monday morning. And here I am, ready to face a brand new week.

As expected, Saturday and Sunday were non-stop. We woke up super early on Saturday to meet the other young adults at the church by 7am to organize the carpooling plans. After a minor, yet costly fender-bender we began the drive up to Jaén. I was admittedly in a sour mood for almost half the ride there-- I was tired, but mostly I was angry about the accident we had, which, with a little more care, could have been completely avoided. Thankfully no one was hurt.
After a much-needed trip to the bathroom when we finally arrived in Linares I felt a lot better. The concert was actually a day-long event with different activities during the morning hours, lunch and then the concert was held afterwards. It was quite a big event with teens and young adults from different churches in attendance from all over Andalucía- those of us from Almería and Granada and others coming from Córdoba, Cádiz, Málaga, Sevilla and Jaén. Needless to say I ended up having a great time there, after all the prior headaches.

Yesterday afternoon we drove up to Granada for church with Charo. We had dinner (and dessert) afterwards, and ended up arriving back home around 1:30am.

So I'm a bit tired this morning, needless to say.

No exercise this weekend, and eating wasn't that great either. Our "cheat meal" turned into another cheat weekend, which neither of us are thrilled about. Weekends are so tough for me. After a full five days of staying on track I feel like I deserve at least a meal to eat what I want. While that sounds reasonable, it never turns out that way in my case. One meal leads to more snacking, and then just blowing it all together. In retrospect, however, things could have been a lot worse in terms of my food choice. Yes, I snacked on cookies and honey-roasted peanuts. Yes, I indulged last night, savoring a white chocolate/strawberry cheesecake ice cream bar. But it was all controlled, and I didn't go overboard once in spite of the intense cravings I had last week. Progress is progress, and I'll take it as it comes!

So here's to a brand new week. Tomorrow is my weigh-in, and I'm really hoping to see a number below 220. Between now and the end of the month my goal is to reach a solid 215. April is half over, as hard as that is to believe, and I really need to focus to reach this goal.

Just Two hours..

...between me and the WEEKEND!

Some random thoughts on this windy afternoon:

1. My co-worker has taken the rest of the afternoon off and her absences usually keep the boss at bay. For María and me, this means we get to leave the office tonight ON TIME!!!
2. I'm feeling a million times better right now than what I did this morning.
3. I spoke with my Mom before leaving for lunch. It felt good to have the chance to just talk- this time about her, how she's feeling and how I can be of help. She's supposed to be sending us pictures of Aunt Bertie to prepare a slide show presentation and a program for her memorial service. It feels weird talking about my aunt as if she were already gone, but since her passing is inevitable, it's necessary to plan for it. At this point, I'm just less anxious knowing that Chechu and I will be able to lessen some of the load for my Mom in planning and preparing the funeral. Marissa is going to speak with her supervisor about taking some days off to fly back home, and that has allowed me to breathe a huge sigh of relief, knowing that my Mom isn't going to have to go through all this by herself.
4. I made these awesome lemon-peppered fish fillets for lunch today just like how my Mama makes them, minus the bread crumbs and greasy goodness. Got rave reviews from the husband too :)
5. I get to talk to my Sissy tonight after work!
6. I'm starting to look forward to this concert tomorrow. I have a feeling that we'll have a great time after all.
7. We've decided on Sunday as our "cheat-meal" day. I'm still not entirely certain on what lunch will entail, but I have a sneaking suspicion that we'll be a lot less indulgent this time around since both of us are looking to see lower numbers on the scale.
8. It's been an intense, intense week of cravings, and I've managed to get through it without cheating once. I'd say that counts for a Non-Scale Victory.
9. I feel stronger and more agile. I'm building up my determination to plow through this weight loss and never look back.
10. I've spent about an hour on this post. There's no sign of the boss, and that means that I'm just a mere 60 minutes from the weekend!

Have a great one, you guys!

As of about two weeks ago I started coming into work at 9am instead of 10am like I had been since starting here. Inititally I thought it was going to be tough to adapt to the extra hour, but on the contrary I find myself to be so much more productive with an earlier start. Now I wake up to have breakfast with my husband every morning, and I usually have time to squeeze in a chore or two before heading out the door myself.

I'm so glad it's Friday. This week, to my delight, has actually gone by quite fast. I'm anxious for 8pm to finally get here, even though I know that this weekend is going to fly by. Tomorrow is going to be a long day for sure, as we'll be driving up to Jaén, one of the northernmost provinces in Andalucía, for the young adult Christian music concert I mentioned a while back. The concert will be held in the city of Linares, which is about a 3-hour drive from Almería. Since there are a number of us who will be attending, the original plan was to hire a bus. But for whatever reason, that idea has been shot down and we'll be carpooling instead. Chechu has offered to take the truck, and I'm really not excited about the idea of him driving six hours to Linares and back in one day. Obviously I'd help with the driving if I could, but since I'm just now learning to drive stick shift I'm not exactly the best candidate to be out on the highway. I suppose that'll be my next big project- getting my Spanish driving license together since US licenses aren't acknowledged here.

So I'm hoping that another driver will be able to accompany us on the trip tomorrow. Aside from that issue, when I was at Fátima's yesterday her son (who is helping to set up all the audio/visual equipment for the concert) informed us that the tent where the concert was going to be held has been damaged due to bad weather and now the idea is to have the concert in a 200m hall somewhere that only has a holding capacity of 150 people. Apparently there'll be an estimated 300 people attending, which obviously poses a big problem. So, needless to say, I'm praying that everything will be worked out. To be completely honest I was never that excited about going to this concert to begin with, and the fact that all these issues have come up at the last minute has dwindled my excitement down to 0.

Last Sunday my Mom informed us that our great aunt isn't doing well. She was diagnosed with Alzheimer's about 6 years ago, and given the degenerative nature of the disease she's now bed-ridden and completely unable to communicate. Over the past year she's been at a nursing home close to where my Mom lives up until about a month or so ago when my Mom decided to bring her home. Last Sunday my Mom got in touch with us to let us know that Aunt Bertie had taken a turn for the worse. According to everyone she's nearing the end of her days, and at this point it's just a matter of time before she passes on. At this point, I'm mostly concerned for my Mom and how she's handling all of this. For her, Aunt Bertie has been more of a mother than an aunt, and it's got to be devastatingly tough to have to come to terms with the passing of a loved one that close to you. I feel bad that my sister and I are so far away from home right now, and that neither of us are able to be there right now to share the load. All I can really do is pray and leave things in God's hands.

Diet-wise, things are continuing to go well. No workout yesterday though, hopefully I'll be able to squeeze one in today.