The Apartment Hunt, Dawson's Creek, and Las Vegas

Sorry I have been M.I.A. for a while. Things here have been crazy. I have started searching for my new NYC apartment, which, simply put, is hell. There are tons of apartments available, but few offer what we are looking for--and since thousands of other people are also looking for apartments, most are taken by the time you have a chance to even inquire about them. It's very stressful! Hopefully, we will find something soon and I'll be able to relax a little more. We are receiving photos of one apartment today, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it will be absolutely perfect and tonight everything will be settled.

Then I'll just have the whole job hunt to worry about. :(

In celebrity news...I read that Kelly Osbourne said that she got more shit for being overweight than for being on drugs. Isn't that insane? People hassled her more about a few extra pounds than for being addicted to drugs. Crazy! Oh, and what is up with these Dawson's Creek girls dating (or having the baby of) these huge movie stars. I'm happy for them---but shocked. Heath Ledger and Michelle Williams? Katie Holmes and TOM CRUISE?!? Very random pairings if you ask me.

In friend news...Melissa and August are getting married on my and Damien's two year anniversary. So our anniversary will be spent partying away in Vegas! Not too shabby! Now, if anyone has some gambling tips, please send them my way...

And the Weight Loss is...

Hooray for Monday and the end of the detox diet! And the official weight loss is (drumroll, please)...five pounds! Not bad for one week of starvation...oops, I mean, not bad for one week of DETOX.

I am going to continue drinking my 2 liters of water a day. I think I might also stick to the diet for breakfast and lunch, and then try to eat something normal but healthy for dinner. We'll see how that goes. Either way, you know what they say, "Eat right. Exercise. Die anyway."

Sweet Sixteens and Sleepovers

There we were, sitting in the parking lot of Jewel Osco in Tinley Park. We were probably around 9 years old. Her mother asked us to come inside with her, but we were determined to stay in the car. After a lot of begging, she finally agreed but warned that we couldn’t change our mind because she’d be turning on the car alarm. She went inside and, in just a few minutes, we realized that staying in the car was not as interesting as we thought it would be. But, how would we get out? We decided to crawl out the windows. Amazingly enough we managed to get out of the car without setting off the alarm...but, needless to say, her mom was not as impressed with our feat as we were.

Yes, I remember that. I also remember the surprise “Sweet Sixteen” birthday party I threw for her when she ended up covered in silly string. I remember sleepovers when she'd undoubtedly make me watch scary movies. I remember taking gymnastics with her, running around the playground with her, choreographing dances to Paula Abdul songs with her...

Basically, whenever I think of my childhood, I think of her.

There is another dear friend in my life. We were in Mrs. McGuire's G.A.T.E. class together. I still swear Mrs. McGuire saw that we would be inseparable before we did—that’s why she sat us next to each other in class. We were both having trouble with our some of our friendships and ended up finding a friend in one another.

With her I remember football games and Speech tournaments. I remember how she was always late picking me up, but also how we always had a blast riding around in her car. There was blue moon ice cream from Sherman’s, horseback riding in South Carolina, and, of course, my insane surprise sixteenth birthday party and its second installment, which got busted by the cops.

Both these women have taught me so much. They have taught me about confidence. They’ve taught me that taking risks can be fun. They’ve taught me how to let loose and how to overcome serious personal battles.

Most importantly, they’ve taught me that true friendship means never having to apologize for who you are—that no matter what your flaws are, you are still beautiful and worthy of love.

They are both amazing women. And, they are both lucky enough to have found men that recognize that. So, I would like to congratulate…

Andrea & Casey
and
Melissa & August

on their engagements. I love you, I thank you for the years of friendship and support we’ve shared, and I wish you the absolute best that this world can offer!

The Detox Diet---Anger Sets In

There we were sitting at the table. I was munching on my bland veggies. Damien was eating his weight in lasagna and garlic bread. He told me about his day. I kept staring at his food. Then, before I knew it, I was suddenly laying across the table, face first in his plate, chowing down on lasagna. (No hands, like we used to do during cake time at my birthday parties!)

I really don't know how it happened. I think as I watched him put bite after bite of delicious pasta into his mouth, the anger just took over my body. I thought, "Why can't I eat that too?!?!" And then, there I was. Eating it. And it was damn good!

Okay, that is all a lie. But it is what I WISH had happened. I'm so bitter watching him eat great food while I eat all this gross healthy stuff. Oh how I long for Monday!!!

Healthy Food Not As Available to Poor?

Here is part of a story from the Santa Cruz Sentinel that they quoted over on Diet-Blog:

"There are some poor neighborhoods where you can walk into a grocery store and you'll have a hard time finding fruits or vegetables or milk," said Gonzalo Coronado, director of the diabetes center. "But it's packed with junk food and alcohol. Overall, poor neighborhoods don't have the same accessibility as other neighborhoods might."

Although he is only 7, Jason Jimenez knows what he likes: Fritos, Cheetos and Doritos. His father, Isaac Jimenez, 45, said many children often resort to junk food because their families sometimes can't afford the staples, like meat and potatoes, especially when they're working at minimum wage.

"When you're only making $6.65 an hour, and you've got a family of four to support, it can be difficult," said Jimenez, a manager of a convenience store on East Beach Street in Watsonville. "And if you're away from the house and your kids are left alone, they're going to buy the fastest food they can eat: junk food."

I think this is really interesting. I have long said that eating healthy is really expensive. If you have a choice between a Lean Cuisine meal for $4.00 and Mac & Cheese for less than $1.00, and you're only making $6.65 an hour, which would you choose? I know that fruits and veggies are not that expensive, but when you're buying enough to fill up the entire family, it can get pricey. Especially when a lot of the unhealthy foods--like fast food--fill you up quickly and for very little. When I was at my poorest, I always resorted to things like Kool-Aid, Mac & Cheese, Speghetti O's, and fast food. They were cheap and made me feel full. And when you're concerned about when you'll be able to eat again, feeling full it top priority--not health.

Day Two: Detox Diet

This is day two of my diet and let me just say that I hate healthy food. Alright, I know, some of it's good. I love apples and oranges. And certain veggies are quite tasty. But plain oatmeal is like mushy cardboard. Rice cakes are just like normal cardboard. Not that I've ever really eaten it, but you know what I'm saying. Does anyone have any ideas for healthy snacks that do, in fact, taste good?

In her comment, Lisa asked me to say how much weight I've lost by the end of the week. When I weighed myself yesterday I was 138lbs. So, I'll check again next Monday and we'll see how I've progressed. More so than losing weight, I'm just hoping to get used to putting better things into my body--like all that water each day. I know I'm constantly running around dehydrated. Actually, I recently saw a report that said somewhere around 70% of Americans are chronically dehydrated. Isn't that insane? I'm hoping this diet will help me get on the healthier side of that statistic.

Detox Diet: Day One

Okay, I have survived day one of the detox diet. I tried to have plain rice cakes for breakfast--but I caved in and put honey on them. I wasn't breaking the rules since honey is allowed by the diet, but I still felt like I was cheating a bit. Maybe just because it tasted sweet--and I was prepared for everything to taste like cardboard. Anyway, for lunch I had two small baked potatoes and an apple. I really wanted pasta, but I figured if I cracked on the first day I stood no chance of ever getting through the whole week, so I stood strong. For dinner I had a random type of tuna salad: tuna, sweet corn, and natural yogurt. Yes, yogurt. There is obviously no mayo allowed by the diet, so we used the yogurt as a substitute. It was surprisingly not half bad. Oh, and I had more baked potatoes with dinner. I think potatoes are going to be my saviors this week. Thank god for Idaho!!!

Detox Diet

I started a detox diet today. Some of you may already know, but I've lost a good 25 pounds in the last six months or so. I'm skinnier than I've been since, well, before the freshman fifty (I know it's supposed to be fifteen, but for me it was more like fifty). Even though I lost a lot of weight, I have still been putting a lot of horrible things into my body. Coca-Cola being the worst. I love Coke! I've definitely cut down the amount of it I drink, but I still drink way too much.

Anyway, the detox diet doesn't allow any fizzy drinks. It also doesn't allow meat (besides fish), dairy, wheat, chocolate, or chips. Basically, I'll be starving for the next week! Ha ha! I'm sure fish will end up being a main part of each dinner. Oh, and the diet allows potatoes (but no butter). I love potatoes and can get so full from them, so I'm happy their allowed. What else? Fruits and veggies are allowed, of course, as well as unsalted nuts and popcorn. And, I nearly forgot, you have to drink 2 liters of water each day! Right now I NEVER drink water. (I know, I know--I'm horrible.) Hopefully this will get me used to drinking it though. I've included the link to the diet. It's less restrictive than some other detox diets, and it's only for a week, which is good since these diets can often leave you low in certain vitamins and minerals. Anyway, I'm off to have some rice cakes! Wish me luck!