Well, it has been quite a fun-filled month! I have personally always LOVED the month of February, mostly because it's my birthday month (and my brother's)! Now I love it even more because it's Robert's birthday month, Rachel's birthday month, and I know I will always have a Valentine for Valentine's day <3
I know I blogged earlier this month about wanting to make positive changes by eating healthier and joining a new CrossFit gym. I was hesitant to do so, because once you put it out there, I feel like people are waiting for you to give up and fail. Well, I am proud to say that Robert and I have stayed strong, and are still successfully staying on track. Even with SuperBowl, Rob's 30th Birthday, Valentine's Day, and other random events occuring, we haven't let that hold us back. Now that I am almost 25 I truly do feel like I am finally becoming a grown up. I know I still have a lot to learn about life, but lately I have been having epiphany after epiphany about what life is really all about. I don't feel like I always have to go out and drink and party all the time to have fun, but can save that stuff for truly special occassions. This was the first year for SuperBowl that Robert and I didn't get totally hammered and eat 10x the normal amount of food we should be eating. OK, I'm not gonna lie, it was definitely a challenge, but I felt so great after it was all over and I stuck to my plan!
This was a big SuperBowl for us, because FINALLY the 49ers were in it! We were so pumped to finally have our team be competing in the biggest game of the year, so normally we would have told ourselves we DESERVE to overindulge and celebrate. Well, actually no. You can still have fun celebrating by eating in drinking, but in moderation. I don't want to ruin a whole week's worth of eating good and working out for one football game on Sunday. Even if it is the biggest game of the year. How did we still celebrate and stay satisfied? Well, we still ordered a pizza from Pizza Hut (major indulge there) but we stuck to healthy toppings, didn't get stuffed crust like we wanted, and only ate a couple pieces each. We only bought a 12 pack of beer (instead of the normal 24 pack) and made a deal that once it was gone, it was gone. Truth is, we didn't even end up finishing the 12 pack. I realized that once I had a couple, I could still enjoy the game by being coherent and knowing what was going on! I know this make me out to be an alcoholic, I swear I'm not! I just normally have beer after beer for these kinda days. I also wanted to have healthy snack options instead of the normal chips and dip, so I decided to make a fruit salad. I even rode my bike to the store to get the fruit, and got a workout in before the big game! It's funny how conditioned people (especially Americans) are to make something as healthy as fruit salad unhealthy too. I simply cut up a bunch of fruit and tossed it in a bowl. When telling my dad of this healthy appetizer he asked me, "What did you sweeten it with?" I laughed to myself, because before I probably would have made homemade whipped cream with tons of sugar, to add to my already naturally sweetened fruit. I told him, "Nothing, fruit is sweet enough already." It was so nice to have that option of being able to "splurge" on as much fruit as we wanted, instead of our normal splurges of beer and pizza. Even though the Niners lost, it was still a great game, and I felt really proud of us for making it a healthy one.
The next weekened was Robert's 30th birthday weekend! I had been looking forward to this weekend for so long, because I wanted to make my husband feel so special. I had gone back and forth a lot about what to do for his birthday. Extravagant plans like surprising him and flying back to Sac, or Palm Springs, or LA were definitely in the works, but when it came down to it, Rob is in law school and we just can't afford trips like that right now. It is also difficult for him to take off a few days from studying, because he truly spends time everyday reading or doing homework. What we decided on was having a romantic dinner for two at our favorite restaurant around the corner from us, followed by a beer tour the next day when Rich came into town.
Before going out to our special dinner, we went to CrossFit and did a killer WOD. This was a true testament to our new lifestyle. Normally we would have decided we deserved a rest day, but now we know if you want to be able to indulge, you need to work hard first. FELT GREAT! It was fun to go home and get cleaned up and have something to get dressed up for too!
A few months ago a restaurant called The Patio opened up a couple blocks away from us (where Lamont Street Grill used to be) and we absolutely love it. Since we haven't been eating out lately, it was SUCH a treat to go there and have a really special dinner. We actually had never sat inside the restaurant before, usually just having drinks and appetizers at the bar or the patio area. Still being somewhat conscious of eating healthier, we ordered the filet mignon and the special of the night, which was swordfish. We had both never had swordfish, and were excited to have our favorite meal, filet mignon. We shared them both, and they were AMAZING! Not huge portions, but so decadent and fulfilling. It felt great to not have to order an appetizer and other extra stuff, but just to get our entrees. We even just drank Vodka/soda drinks with extra lime juice in them instead of tons of beer or fruity drinks with heavy syrups and soda. It's the small changes that really do count! Robert was so cute when it came to dessert, too. I asked if he wanted to order dessert since it was his birthday and he said, "No, lets not, we don't need dessert. We already indulged with dinner and drinks." It was so nice to see him being so strong, even on his birthday. A couple minutes later our server brought out the oreo ice cream cake I got him at Baskin Robbins hehe :) Even though we did end up having dessert, it was a special occassion and he deserved it! I ordered the smallest cake they had, which was still huge for 2 people, so we gave half of it to the server and told her to take it to the back to let the waitstaff enjoy it. (This is a huge thing when you work at a restaurant! Such a treat to get goodies from guests) Overall, it was such an amazing night, even without having it be over the top and crazy.
Ok, the next day did get a little crazier, but it's his 30th right??! A friend that I work with at BJ's told me about a brewery tour company that he works for. He told me they take you around to different breweries in San Diego, and you do tastings. I signed us up for the public brewery tour (along with Rich too) and we went into it excited, not really knowing what to expect. We got picked up at Mission Bay close to our house the morning of the 9th, which is Robert's actual birthday. The van had 6 other people going on the tour, plus our tour director. We ended up going to 3 different breweries: Ballast Point, Alesmith, and San Diego Brewing Company. We each had a bracelet that showed the bartenders at each spot that we were with Brewery Tour of San Diego, and then you could basically taste any beers you wanted. We started at Ballast Point, and got to go on a tour of the actually brewery and learn how beer was made. This was our favorite brewery because the atmosphere was so fun, and the people were amazing. Alesmith was nice too, but felt more like a wine tasting room. It was quieter and not as laid back, but still had amazing beer. One of Rob's favorties was the seasonal My Bloody Valentine. Our tour guide was really awesome and knowledgeable. San Diego Brewing Company was probably our least favorite spot, mostly because it was just an outdated restaurant, and we sat at a table with our group, instead of a fun bar atmosphere. We did get to eat lunch here, which was really yummy and much needed, but the atmosphere wasn't as fun. The tour ended in the afternoon, and we were really sad it was over. Being pretty buzzed, we ended up walking to The Patio for some food and more drinks, and had a great night! It was nice to have Rich down from LA to celebrate with us for Rob's big birthday! Even though I know we over did the beer and food that day, it didn't discourage me from getting right back at eating healthy and enjoying our new lifestyle the next day. Afterall, how we ate and drank that one day is how we used to always eat and drink for no reason at all.
Since February has so many special events, we decided to just lay low for Valentine's Day, and not do anything too fancy. We each got one another a special card, and had a yummy (yet healthy) dinner. We show each other everyday how much we love one another, so Valentine's Day doesn't need to be extreme, plus we both wanted to stay on track by eating healthy and saving money. I DID manage to burn the S*** outta my hand while making food that evening though. I don't know what I was thinking... I had a pan in the oven, grabbed it out with a pot holder, and set it on the stove. Then I put the pot holder away, and a minute later grabbed the metal handle of the pan that was still close to 400 degrees. Luckily I dropped it a second later, but not after SERIOUSLY burning my hand and fingers. I knew not to put cold water on it right away, but just luke warm water, so I did that and tried not to freak out until Rob got home and few minutes later. Then I burst into tears and freaked out lol. Rob took great care of me though! He went and got me this awesome burn gel and all sorts of bandages and stuff, and offered to take me to the doctor. I decided not to go, since there isn't much they can do for a small burn. After a couple hours of serious pain, we wrapped it up and went to bed, and my hand turned out better than we expected! Lesson learned, and I also learned how hard it is to just have one hand to use! It's very difficult explaining to a man how to put your hair up in a bun! HAHA.
Wrapped up for CrossFit
Also this month, we decided we want to start doing more activites outside, and had never tried hiking before. Turns out, there are a bunch of places close by! For our first hike, we wanted one that was fairly easy, so Robert found this place called Cowles Mountain. It is the highest spot in the city of San Diego, and is about 15 miles from our house. This past Saturday we finally got to use our Camel Baks and hiking shoes, and headed over there. I don't know what Rob was expecting, but I thought we would be some of the few hikers that morning. Boy were we wrong. There were seriously hundreds of people, and the trail wasn't that wide. But it was still really fun. I also didn't know what I was expecting as far as it being called "easy," but I definitely didn't expect to get so sweaty and out of breath! We ended up using our MapMy Run App on our phone to see how long it would take us, and how far we went. We wanted to use this time as a benchmark to beat next time we did it. Reaching the top was such an amazing feeling! I feel like I am actually living life and getting out and doing things that are not only healthy, but exciting and fun. You could see all of San Diego from up there! We had a small snack and then headed back down. Some people ran up and down the mountain, which is a future goal of mine. We ran down part of the hill, which was challenging and exciting, because of the rocky terrain and people to dodge. Later that night at home, we decided we wanted to do the hike again the next day. Well, when Sunday morning rolled around we were feeling PRETTY lazy. We both didn't really feel like doing it, but know we would feel better about sticking to what we said we were gonna do. SO, even though we were sore from the day before, we headed back to Cowles Mountain on Sunday in the late morning. It was a bit warmer this day, but at least we knew what to expect this time. It definitely was a painful trip up, but we did it! AND beat our time getting to the top, and our overall time by almost 10 minutes! This felt amazing. We even brought Chloe this time too, after seeing all sorts of dogs doing the hike the previous day. We were a bit concerned she wouldn't be able to make it the whole way, but after our bike rides we have taken, and seeing other small dogs do the hike, I knew she could do it! SHE KICKED OUR BUTTS! This little 9 pound dog who barely ever goes on regular walks, was jumping and hopping up rocks, steps, and this mountain at a quick pace. We ran almost the whole way down this time, and Chloe had no problem keeping up either! Everyone made comments like "Look at that little dog!" and "AWWW how cute!" She was a champ, and I was so proud of her and us! She definitely fell fast asleep on the car ride back. We want to tackle some longer hikes, since this one was only 3 miles round trip. So who knows which one we will do next, but it will be exciting!
This month has been sooo great! I have rekindled my love for cooking, and really have surprised myself with some of the recipes I have come up with. It is fun to see a yummy looking recipe and make it healthy by substituting better ingredients! I am excited to stay on this journey, and to have Robert to keep me motivated and uplifted! OH! I forgot to mention that we decided to give something up for Lent this year. Me, not being Catholic, had never done this before, but I wanted to challenge myself further, and also do it for the meaning of Lent. Robert and I decided to give up all sweets, candy, and desserts for the 40 days of Lent! We wanted to choose something that would be difficult, but not IMPOSSIBLE. We thought of maybe soda, but we both rarely drink that anyway, so we decided that dessert would be a good choice. I thought it would be pretty easy, since I don't normally crave sweets, but I swear, once you tell yourself you can't have something you want it! I am proud to say that neither of us have slipped up and cheated, and I plan on continuing it all the way until Easter. Even though that means no birthday dessert, oh well! It feels great to test myself and stick with it! Hope you all are having as great a month as I am! Love and miss you all back home in Sacramento!!! OH! Another thing I forgot to mention, Robert joined a softball team at school! So that is another new healthy activity that we have to do (even though I just cheer him on).
