Waiting To Exhale

So, I have been very consciously absent from blogging lately. I kept kind of waiting to have something exciting to share, but nothing has happened!

I had a pretty exciting job opportunity developing, but I squashed that at the 2nd interview. I have never blown an interview but I am pretty sure that is exactly what I did on this one. I was over-prepared for the interview and wasn't natural at all. I had researched the agency and client so much I didn't have any questions and I had very artificial and prepared conversation ready. Oh well, I guess these are the times I benefit from taking rejection abnormally well. And by that I mean that I am well aware that there is nothing wrong with me and clearly it's the woman I met with that has the problem!

On the weight loss front I am still just hanging at my 10lb loss. With bathing suit season basically here I hope to kick into gear again. The half bag of jellybeans I ate today should be a good start, right?!

Other than that not much to report for now. I'll be back more this week, I just wanted to drop a post so you didn't think I had forgot about you Kelsey readers.

Bouquet Toss Update

Since my blog did kick off on this subject, I thought I'd give an update. Here are pics from The Toss at Ashley's wedding. As you may remember from this post, I was drunk off cajun seafood and who knows what else.

I don't know how large or clear this pic will post, but in the pre-toss I am up front staying warm with a black wrap and bourbon and diet. The other girls look ready and I am pretty sure wandered to the front of the crowd because I felt like that was the bridesmaidly thing to do.

Now, I need to preface this action shot and let you readers know what I already knew at the time, THE TOSS WAS THROWN! Obviously it was literally thrown, but also Ashley had promised to bouquet to a damsel that believed this might be that little push she needs to get a ring and have a wedding in time for 2009 tax breaks. I knew I didn't have much to reach for so it looks like I did my best "Oh, it's not coming this way, but where is it gonna go, darn it I wish it had come this way, not really, that was a lie!" Clearly I also took an unconscious reflex step back as I seem to disappear into the crowd and the girl that was behind me is now in clear view.

So there is that. I went to another wedding last weekend and there was no bouquet toss, that or I missed it as the bars were set up in the foyer to the main room.

But, don't you worry I have another wedding this Sunday night. Yes, third wedding of 2009 and it's not even April. What's even more strange is that all three of my 2009 weddings have been Christian/Jewish unions! AND, the only half-official date I've been on this year was with a nice young Jewish boy. What is God, or should I say G-d trying to tell me here?!?

I Guess This Makes Taffy A New Millennium Mom?

When I was about 15 years old I came home with a second hole pierced in my left ear . Once my mom noticed, she told me I looked like I belonged in an African tribe and, for at least two weeks, proceeded to give me looks of utter shame every time I entered the same room as her.

Last week my youngest sis, Kassidy, celebrated her 15th b-day on St. Patrick's day. She had a hair appointment that afternoon and unbeknownst to her, or myself, our mother had set up a little b-day surprise. Kass has talked about coloring her hair for a while. So she was excited and confused when McKenzie, our lovely hair lady, rolled out a coloring tray with a huge Happy Birthday balloon and told Kass, "You get to pick the color!"

Here is the result.



Umm, I know it's been about 13 years but seriously isn't that a lot of progress from the same woman that shunned me for a pin point hole in one ear? As 15 year old Kori would say, WHATeveeeerrrrr!

*Doesn't she look a little stoned? Are her eyes dilated, a little red. Doesn't she look a little too giggly??? I know the smiley face shirt that says "World Peace" makes her a little less hard core, but I'm just sayin'.

Stairway to Heaven???

I swear I will write about other stuff soon, but I am really not all that exciting right now.

Part of my little weight loss journey has been trying to work little workouts into my day. I work on the 7th floor of a 10 story building and for pretty much the whole twelve months I have been here I’ve always thought doing the stairs would be a great little thing to do for myself. But that’s as far as it every got, thinking about it. About a month ago I finally put the thought into action and I have followed through with it about 4 out of 5 work days since then. I'm lying, really about 3 out of 5 work days.

I know what you're thinking, big deal, right? 10 flights, that’s not much I could probably end up doing them twice. HA! That has yet to happen, but is still a goal. These are huge flights of stairs, I work in a building that houses furniture showrooms and has very high ceilings on each floor, I’m pretty sure the 10 flights are more like 15 to 20 normal ones…or at least this is what I tell myself.

I thought I'd share how much of a process this 15 minute work out is for me. It starts at lunch. While I am sitting alone in the kitchen I think about the 1 point soup or 6 point Lean Cuisine I am eating and remind myself of what the scale said that morning. And at some point convince myself that doing the stairs will accelerate the process and I won't have to count points forever.

So around 3pm I fill up my cup with water and turn off the space heater at my desk. These two tricks took me a couple of trial runs, but they make the cool down process much better. My system is that I go down the first 7 flights as the warm up, get my heart rate going stage. Then I climb straight up all 10. This is obviously the hard part and it is usually the 6th floor that I start getting dizzy and can’t breathe right and start convincing myself there is mold in the stairwell and the workout is hazardous to my health. I also think about how embarrassing it would be if someone else used the stairs and saw me wheezing my way up them. Fortunately Houston is lazy and I have never actually seen anyone else in the stairwell.

So once I have run through all of this in my head I usually suddenly find myself on the 8th floor and I think about the girls on the Weight Watchers message boards that have stats in the 200's and figure I can go ahead and do the final two flights. At this point my gross motor skills seem to fail me, I keep having to turn right to go up and my legs are in a groove but every now and then when the dizziness gets to me I kind of miss a step or hover my foot above the step to make sure it's there. Seriously, how out of shape can I be...mentally and physically?? I blame it on the repetitive-ness of watching the little green skid strips passing me by with each step I climb.

Once I'm on the 10th floor, I slide back down to 7 and make it back to my desk with wobbly legs. I chug my water, fan myself down the front and back of my shirt and hope I don't have to answer the phone before my panting subsides.

I do actually like this routine, and today I am going to try to do it twice, once in the AM and once in the PM...but if you have any ideas on any other mini workouts I'd love to hear them!!

Four More Pounds and Misc.

I have been procrastinating on this post because in my head the next post was going to be my end of the month weight loss progress. And that is still what this post is, I was just trying to edge out a little extra time for the results.

So in Feb I lost 4 lbs, which I’m ok with because I changed my routine quite a bit. In January I had kind of holed up and really focused on getting the whole thing going which did result in a bigger drop, but I couldn't live like that forever! In Feb I added adult bevs back into my routine, I worked out on more of a set schedule and I didn’t eat the same things over and over. So for that to balance out to 4 lbs is fine by me. Plus I mean Feb is SUCH a short month. That means my total is 12 lbs, which averages 6 per month which I am totally good with. This also leaves me 6lbs from my goal. Which is exciting!

The downside is that this is generally where my 20 year old metabolism resurrects itself and tells me I can get rid of it in 2 weeks so it’s ok to cheat a little until right before that wedding at the end of the month. So I am doing my best to look at it through the eyes of my 28 yr old metabolism and say Look how close you are, you go girl, stick to it! Totally not as fun. Also, when I do hit this goal that is seemingly so close, there is of course a follow up goal. But, there is not a follow up to the follow up, you follow?

Other than that the last week or so has been fairly low key. Oh, except for a couple of interviews, a night out and almost getting laid off. The run down on those events are:

Interviews: I forgot to mention in my last post that I had an interview that Friday, it was all very last minute and in the end was a bust because yesterday I got an email that they filled the position. It is def for the better, bc while I didn’t have any major drawbacks to the position, I also didn’t have any major pluses about the position either. It was just..a job.

I have also had 2 phone interviews this week with a new opportunity and tomorrow morning will go in for a face to face interview. If I pass that round there will be yet another interview and then a decision made. So there will be nothing major on that front for at least another week. As with a first date, there is no point in giving details on the jobs unless something comes of them.

Night Out: Last weekend was pretty nice because I didn’t have any mandatory major events to attend, host, dodge, etc. I usually have grand plans for weekends like that. Doing all kinds of things for myself, but then they all turn out the same. I go out Friday night and I’m a little too excited about the 48 hours of nothing, I have a little too much “garlic” and I’m down for the count the rest of the weekend.

So this weekend was no different. Friday I has sushi at Blue Fish with a couple of peeps, drinks at Zimm’s and then ended the night at, where else, Kay’s. Saturday I had a hangover lunch with a friend, and that night I watched Nick & Norah’s Infinate Playlist with my mom and Glamma Pat (formerly known as Granni Pat). Sunday I don’t remember, must have just hung out doing nothing telling myself not to get so rowdy the first night of an open ended weekend.

Almost getting laid off: Well, I thought Friday, 2/27 was my last day, then around 2pm I was told that they had worked some things out to keep me around. And, well that's really it on that story.

I have yet another weekend on the horizon and I am looking forward to it. Tonight (I think) I am meeting up with a friend that just moved to Houston. Tomorrow night the plan is to keep it low key, but I depending on how the interview goes I may need to go out. Well, really either way it goes it will be a solid argument to go out. See how quickly low key gets thrown out the window?? Saturday night I am celebrating my friend's bday. There are 4 of us all trying to organize it and we can’t get it together. Last I heard it was El Pueblito and Karaoke, but that is the 4th version of plans, there is easily time for 2 more revisions to be made by Saturday. Sunday, well Sunday I don't know. I just checked the weather and it may be rainy, which is ok, actually it's good. I know that Sunday patio sitting weather is coming and this will hold that off one more week. Not, that I don’t like the patio sitting, it’s just that every Coors Light is 2 points and that is not easy for my new mature metabolism!

Week In Review

Ok, so I have about a week to catch up on. First did anyone catch who commented on my last blog post? JAIME from Marathon Love!?!!? I feel famous. Actually, I feel very honored that he took the time out of his day to read my blog and even leave a note. I think he must have found me through some kind of reverse link thing. I really have no idea what I am talking about, but it sounds like something that could exist out there in the world wide web.

Ok, so Wednesday was the date, it went well. I wore a plum sheath dress with a black cardigan with a matching plum belt over the cardi with black alligator skin pumps. We met for drinks at 6 and we were going to figure out dinner from there. We ended up getting some appetizers and hanging out at the bar for a while. By 8:30 we had been there for a while but it was still kind of early so he suggested we get a change of scenery. I was down with that. We were getting along fine and there was never a lull in convo. He lives right by a strip of bars and lounges and suggested we park at his house and walk to one from there. This is not my first rodeo and I knew that was really a pretty convenient way to end up at his house. I was down with that, he was harmless. So we got to his house, it was nice, we had drinks outside, then inside. After a while I pulled the good old, well it's getting late line and that was that.

I know I didn't give any details up front, but things were basically exactly what I expected. The things that I thought would be good were good and the things I was a little wary about, were worth being wary about. We got along fine and had plenty to chat about, but he is very Prada, Mercedes, Pellegrino and I'm just more Gap, Nissan and Canada Dry, you know what I'm sayin? Oh, and as young children he was rockin the Torah while I was being dedicated the Good News Bible at confirmation. Not a deal breaker, just something to be noted. As for any kissy-kissy details, well, a lady never tells!

We've emailed a few times since then. He is on a major case at work right now (mmhumm). I'm sure we'll hang out again, but I think it will be on more a friendly level.

Thursday I had dinner at Collina's with some girlfriends from high school. We try to get together once a month and it's always a good time. When we started doing this a few years ago we had one married girl, one engaged girl, one girl in a serious relationship and me. We have since gone through all the stages that led to one girl married with a baby, one girl married and pregnant, one girl married and me.

Our waiter was totally strung out on something and put our order in twice. After about 2 hours we ended up with 4 huge pizzas, several baskets of breadsticks and only a $15 tab because they comped most of it. This was very exciting to the preggo girl. Between the feast, wine and few laughs that resulted in tears, it was a fun dinner.

Friday night I was going to go home and rest, but I was offered a spare ticket to the House of Blues (thank you again Amber & Nathan!). They are members of the Foundation Room so we got to hang out in the private club upstairs. It was very nice, fun people watching and clouded with incense. There was supposed to be a New Orleans funk band there in honor of Mardi Gras, but they cancelled so it was just some random reggae band. It was nice being able to come and go from the main music area.

I felt a little bad because Nathan brought a friend and I don't know if I was supposed to be chatting it up with him, but Amber and I had some juicy stuff to get caught up on and I barely learned his name. (I would appreciate it not being pointed out that "this is why you're single")

Saturday night I had a lingerie shower/bachelorette party to attend. It was fun. We had a limo and hopped around to a few loungey bars that we had a hook up with, we got free bottle service and champagne toasts, so that was nice. Lingerie showers are interesting, earlier that week Kelsey called me while I was shopping and asked what I was doing. I had to explain the whole lingerie shower and our convo ended with him wishing me good luck on shopping for other people's underwear.

I'll share how I was a little scarred by the first lingerie shower I was ever invited to. It was a courtesy invite to the shower of the fiance of a friend of the guy I was dating at the time. I knew her and her fiance on a social level, but not very well. I got the invite in the mail and I logged on to her Victoria's Secret wish list and the first outfit that popped up was this skank-tastic, raunchy elastic, lace, and satin thing. The lingerie thing was a whole new world to me and I didn't really know that people actually wore the stuff, much less stuff that looked like that. I ended up skipping that shower and not sending a gift. I haven't seen them in years and really think I saved $40 out of the whole thing. From what I hear she is pregnant, so clearly they were able to work things out in the bedroom without the stripper suit.

I have since warmed up to the showers and I think have picked out a few nice things over the years. In October I threw one for a friend and not to leave her husband out, I found this,
Soooo, needless to say I was exhausted by Friday morning and was really just going though the rest of the weekend on auto-pilot. I actually kept thinking I had been out 5 nights in a row, then I learned to count and realized it was only 4. Still way too many for this old lady!

This week I am going straight home and working out Mon- Thurs, no happy hours. This coming weekend I actually have zero obligatory commitments, no bday parties, baby/bridal/lingerie showers, bachelorette parties. NOTHING and I couldn't be looking forward to it more!

4 Weddings And A Funeral (Minus The 4 Weddings And Plus An Almost Date)

I don’t have much to write about today, but I also don’t have much work to do right now so I’ll just run through a few things.

Saturday was Valentine’s Day, I watched Marathon Love and after crying for the last 30 minutes of that show I decided to pop in The Notebook to really top it off. So cheesy I know, but I hadn’t seen it since the theater and it was given to me as a gift a couple of Christmases ago (thank you Christina). I wanted to watch it again because I remember making a pact with the girl I saw it with that we would not let each other get married unless it was “The Notebook Love”. That movie came out in 2004, I was making childish marriage pacts at the age of 24. Seriously, Kori? But for whatever reason I always think of that pact when The Notebook comes up so I figured I should remind myself of what that great love was. And it was SO good. I still stand by my “Notebook Love” pact. I should also mention that I think Ryan Gosling is a hotty-bo-botty and that very well may be what I’m so intrigued by.

This week is a sad one because my dear friend lost his father to a terrible disease on Friday. So I’ll be attending services tonight and tomorrow. I’m very sad for what he is going through and it a reminder of what stage of life I'm entereing. This is the second close friend of mine to recently lose a parent as an adult. I really don’t like to think about being at the point in life :(

I do have a tiny issue that I am selfishly concerned about. See, I have an almost date on Weds night and I am trying to figure out my schedule for the day. The funeral is at 10 and then I’m sure there will be lunch/reception. By mid-afternoon I’ll need to come up to the office to check in on things. Then I’m supposed to meet almost date for drinks at 6. Problem: I’m going to be wearing funeral clothes. I don’t think I should go to an almost date in funeral clothes. I have toyed with the idea of bringing a change of clothes, but that is a huge pain and I won’t want him to think I wore some cute date outfit to a funeral, but I also don’t want him to think I went through the trouble of changing just to meet up with him because it’s just a casual meet up thing. The dress I’m wearing tomorrow is cute and I have also gone through all of the “go from day to night” wardrobe tricks, but I think I am still going to look funeral-y. Any suggestions?

I’m also thinking it’s going to be a lovely kick start the evening when the convo opens with “So how was your day” and I get the respond with “Oh, um, well I went to a funeral this morning, then …” I am not going to explain much about the almost date guy because I know how these things go and I’m not going to waste anybody’s time just yet. Plus my mother and other family read this and I don’t want to get asked about one detail of one date that I went out with (possibly) once.

He wears glasses? All the time? Sometimes? Has he tried contacts? What about Lasik? I think you should wait til your 30 to get Lasik. A guy I know got Lasik but still has to wear glasses. Did he wear glasses as a kid? Do you like his glasses? Didn’t David wear glasses? You must really like boys that wear glasses. You know my co-worker son that we want to set you up with wears glasses, you’d really like him.