I’m Back… Again

So I’ve decided to dust off the ol’ blog. I can’t believe that my last post, hilariously titled ‘I’m Back!’ (from 2014?) was my last post. Oh well, you know, I’ve been busy and stuff.

I’m still at the awesome ‘new’ job, but the bigger news is that I had a baby. Yes, 7 weeks ago a baby came out of my body, AMAZING! So maybe this blog will turn into a baby blog? Who knows?!

Being a Mom has been great so far, but certainly with surprises. The top 3 surprises for me:

How smoothly my pregnancy went, but how rough labor was

Pregnancy was pretty great other than the lack of cute maternity clothes and constantly bumping into stuff. I didn’t have morning sickness and had enough energy to work out well into the third trimester. I was kicking butt at work and also had a valid excuse for extra long naps and eating regularly at Taco Bell. The worst day I remember while being pregnant was when I had a terrible acne attack and a melt down because I had no foundation or cover up. Once I bought some make up, problem solved.

Labor on the other hand was a different story. Everything was going great (the baby came on the due date!)… until it wasn’t. I won’t bore you with the details, but I learned that women who have a natural birth are probably super human and that a c section is indeed major surgery. Walking and using the bathroom for the first time after getting your stomach muscles cut open is extremely humbling.

How much I would love my baby <3!! and the craziness of hormones  

The hormones post pregnancy are crazy! The first time I saw my baby I completely understood the phrase love at first sight. For the first 3 weeks post birth I also cried at every commercial and/or show that featured Moms or babies. When you’re up at 3 am with your baby do not be tempted to watch the ‘A Baby Story’ marathon that will inevitably be playing unless you really love crying.

The crazy stuff you do as a parent even if you swore you would never do it

Pre-baby I laughed at the ideas of co-sleeping, going to insane lengths to breastfeed, etc… Of course I ended up co-sleeping with baby for the first couple weeks and am eating soy and diary free so I can breastfeed. A vegetarian diet free of milk and soy is crazy and so am I. Fantasizing about Olive Garden’s cheese ravioli with alfredo sauce and anything with soy sauce on it is now my new hobby.

Even with the ups and downs, 7 weeks into motherhood I’m feeling great and can’t wait to see what the next weeks bring!

 

Happy 2013!

It’s now the year 2013. Whoa!

2012 was a pretty good year for me all around. I think I made my same resolutions for 2012 as always: save more money, exercise more, cook more, travel etc… Funny enough, I actually followed through on some. Here are my 2012 highlights:

• Joined a gym. Prior to joining a gym I didn’t really exercise other than walking to places I needed to go to….like the computer or Tupperware full of cookies. Pretty sure I must be healthier in 2012 vs. 2011 even though I have little evidence of this.
• Visited some new countries! I finally got to go to Malaysia and Singapore. Definitely the highlight of 2012 and the first time I had been out of North America since 2001.
• I now own my car. No more car payments and it feels so good!
• Bought 4 new house/office plants and they are still all alive! I like having non-dead plants.
• Cooked more homemade meals more often. Now dinner doesn’t have to be a frozen Costco meal!
• Spent less money on takeout coffee. This was mainly achieved thanks to my new re-usable Starbucks cup (cost: $1). I just put office coffee in it and pretend it’s takeout coffee.

What will 2013 bring?

 

Long Hair Goal Update

I blogged in December about wanting long hair again and after not cutting it for almost a year, it feels like something is finally happening! Today I looked in the mirror and thought ‘Wow, my hair looks long!’

This in fact may be the longest that my hair has ever been! After having short hair for probably 90% of my life it feels really good to try something new.

Need New Things and A Possibly Ludicrous Goal

Although I am all about saving in 2012 I do need some new things, specifically wardrobe things. I desperately need a new pair of boots. My current pair is 4 years old and is starting to look worn, but not in a cutesy vintage way. The look is definitely more in the falling apart category. There’s a ton of cute boots out there, but I have one major complaint; the calf part is almost always too big (except for the priciest designer boots). My calves are smaller than average and most ‘fitted’ leather boots end up looking like rain boots. This is not the look I’m going for.

Anyways, the boot quest continues.

I also want to find some more cute silky type tops. I have a few from Banana Republic that I’m wearing all the time now. It’s such an easy way to dress up jeans and is just as comfy as a T-shirt.

Oh and other news? I signed up to do a weight loss thing at work (for prizes of course). I gained a few lbs over the holidays so it would be nice to have something tangible to work towards through exercise and eating right vs. my usual regiment of not working out then randomly losing weight during a stressful week. My end goal for April is a loss of 4 lbs. However, I’m starting to wonder, if I work out a ton will the muscle weight counter this out? Perhaps I’m aiming too high, but doing anything less felt kinda lame (that’s right folks my big goal is 1 lb!!! *eye rolls from all*). Anyone who meets their goal gets a pretty generously sized gift card and of course other freebies. First weigh in is tomorrow and I’m also doing a breakfast buffet, how convenient. Maybe I’ll wear some extra jewelry or wool clothing too 😉 Game on!

Happy New Year, it’s 2012!

Happy New Year’s everyone! Last year my husband and I did New Year’s big, staying at a luxury hotel downtown, eating sushi, watching fireworks, shopping, and consuming lots of champagne. This year we drank leftover port and enjoyed the fireworks from the couch 🙂 It was actually really nice having a low key New Year’s.

And of course I’ve already starting thinking of goals for 2012…

I want to be more organized and donate more items to charity. I’ve already fully redone my home office set up and parts of the kitchen. I’m feeling good on this goal so far.

Read more, learn more etc. etc. I read a lot during 2011 because I rediscovered this crazy thing called a library. The fact that I can get library books on my kindle also makes it easy to indulge in reading. As far as learning, R and SQL are at the top of my list. I have a good foundation of both, especially SQL, but want to take these skills to the next level.

Saving more money. Starbucks stock is up because of me, I just know it.

Lastly, and likely the most difficult is getting fitter! I don’t exercise much at all. Walking, that’s all I do. I’ve never had a problem maintaining my weight; however, I’ve gotten a lot softer since my high school/ college gym going glory days. I wants abs again.

For all of us that have goals, good luck in 2012!

2011 = A good year!

Well, it’s been quite awhile since my last post. I’ve been busy with my new job and Christmas shopping, card writing, and cookie baking. As the year is nearing the end, I’ve had a lot to be thankful for in 2011:

Amazing things that happened in 2011:

• 1 year wedding anniversary
• Great new job
• Finally using SQL
• Read a ton of books, some of my favorites: Hunger Games, Shanghai Girls, Room, The Psychopath Test
• Actually cooked a few decent homemade meals
• Have found time to play video games again (currently trying to unlock everything in Tekken 6)
• Finally did Seattle Restaurant Week, eating at not one but two places
• Visited multiple places: Honolulu, Las Vegas, Phoenix, and Toronto
• Finally, I won some prizes including this beauty:

 

 

 

 

Big Changes!

It’s officially my last week at work after being with my company for nearly 5 years. It feels like a really good time for a change and I am very excited to try something different. I’ve been putting together research projects for Microsoft since I graduated college, but now I’ll be analyzing game data. (and hopefully playing some games?)

Even small things like being in a different neighborhood and working in a different building are all incredibly exciting. The view from my new floor (lucky number eight) is stunning.

I’m nervous, excited, and ready to take on anything 🙂

Goals for when I have time

Lately I’ve been busy, so busy I barely have time to sleep it seems like! However, November will slow down… I think.

Goals for November:

Get rid of stuff I don’t need anymore:  My workspaces at both work and home need help. My desk and cube went from IKEA showroom to Hoarders in 3 weeks.

Do some real exercise (at least once): The Megan that worked at a gym (circa 2005) and would work her shift and then hit the gym for an hour or so is mocking me big time.

Make some art… that might be worth hanging up in the house: This will be challenging.

And just to round things out, cooking something from scratch is always a good goal. Yesterday I ‘cooked’ a garden burger and ate it on a piece of white bread with a chunk of unmelted cheese on top. The saddest thing was that it actually tasted really good. I don’t care how many people tell me that cooking is easy, I am terrible at it. I think my cooking gene was accidentally replaced by the being good at things that don’t really matter gene (juggling, hula hooping, trivia, and those quick time actions in video games).

First Post Ever!

Well, I’ve finally done it (with some help). I now have a blog which feels AMAZING! I can’t wait to start writing about all the things I love: fashion, marketing, technology, movies, food, and more 🙂

Everyone, please stay tuned for more!

btw: the picture is of me… feeling AMAZING!!

 

Winning! (and I knew I would get a blog one day!)