Long Day

Yesterday I was at the office just after 8 a.m. and didn't leave until just after 7 p.m.

It was a long day. I cannot even begin to describe how nice it was to walk in the door and have Hunter greet me with his warm tongue and sparkling eyes. Even better, Sam had BBQ'ed pork loin and made us a spinach salad.

Sam then gave me 45 minutes to continue to wrap up a few projects from work and then tucked me into bed to start reading Fat Chance: Beating the Odds Against Sugar, Processed Food, Obesity and Disease. He read it on the plane during his trip out to Philadelphia and thought it was right up my ally being that I'm so focused on health. While I was reading calmly in bed, he took Hunter down for a short walk and then joined me. It was just what I needed to calm down and unwind after a stressful day at the office.

I am such a lucky wife.

Massage

I am a sucker for a good massage.

Sam used to rub my shoulders for me when we first started dating, and my dad used to rub my back before bed during water polo season when I was tight and uncomfortable.

It wasn't until college and really after graduation when I moved to Orange County that I grew to appreciate a really great massage.  And we had massages at least once a week while we were in Southeast Asia three years ago.

Since I took my high pressure, high stress agency job, I have been meaning to book myself a massage... but like all the stuff I do for myself (ahem, blogging, the gym, etc.) I seem never to be able to find the time to make an appointment.

So I finally called up my former masseuse and was disappointed to hear that he's got a great gig working on the NASCAR circuit.  He did refer me to a colleague and I'm going to see her on Saturday.  I cannot wait.

Even Sam said earlier this week that my shoulders are off-center because I am holding so much tension in my upper body.  He must have taken pity on me because he did rub my shoulders a little bit for me that night.

I just want to be able to relax and actually feel my stress melt out of my body.

Hopefully after Saturday I'll be able to sleep better and feel more like working out!

Wedding Planning Compromises

It's funny, and probably a good sign, that I don't mind compromising with Sam on wedding details.  I am really, really proud of him and how involved he has been in planning things like our invitations (which he seriously was SO meticulous about I was shocked!) and meeting different officiants.

He's also been really involved with my family of his own volition, which is really nice.  Not that Sam wasn't supportive of my family, but he's been really tight on free time and he doesn't get to spend enough time with his family so my family sometimes ends up taking a backseat unless they come down to visit us in Irvine - which they do A LOT and we really do appreciate that immensely!  

But lately, since even before we got engaged, Sam's been doing little things as well as big things.  He's making the effort to see my family and celebrate big milestones with us the way I have done with his family over the last several years.  He came with me for Papa's 80th birthday when we got the entire Santi family together and he opted to stay at my parents' house one night when we were in town last weekend.  

He has been so great helping me manage my stress, too.  I was getting a little overwhelmed trying to please everyone and mediate every decision we made, so Sam stepped up and agreed that he would be the spokesperson for his side of the family regarding wedding stuff while I was the spokesperson for my side of the family.  That's reduced my stress a lot and makes me even more sure about making this huge commitment to Sam next year.  He is a great partner, teammate and friend.  I am incredibly lucky to spend my life with him.

Fitness Update

So here's a fitness update for those of you keeping track at home.  I am doing FitOrbit with my former trainer, Amanda, who is a total stud and one of my fitness heroes.

I started with her about 4 weeks ago and I have lost a whopping 3 pounds so far (which I promptly put right back on and am now struggling to lose again).  But hey, that's a start!  And actually I have been building mad muscle.  My calves are looking pretty stacked again and just yesterday Sam was complimenting my shoulders and told me how much more toned they look since I started swimming once a week.  Imagine how amused I was when I told him that it wasn't from swimming once a week, it's from all the days I left weights and do Amanda's crazy circuits.  Hey, if he thinks swimming does it maybe it's not my place to burst his bubble.

My biggest challenges are portion control, snacking, and stress.  I do not handle stress well- I am a terrible emotional eater!  And even when I'm not overworked, under-slept or emotional drained, I still have a hard time stopping myself when I reach my portion limit.

The stress is a double whammy.  I am emotional so I am very likely to overeat and make poor food choices.  And on the other side of the coin, I never feel like exercising when I am really, really stressed.  The thought of having another "To Do List" item that needs checked off can really send me over the edge.

Earlier this week I was strapped and spread too thin working on a hard deadline for a project at work that involved going live with 28 new website pages for one of our newest products.  Sure enough, I was eating like I had PMS for about a week and I was working long hours and not spending as much time being active.  Now though, that's behind me.  And I am recommitting myself to the cause!

The Battery

So I was cruising on iTunes checking out movies and came across yet another Zombie Apocalypse movie.  I would probably say I am a fan of the genre... I like The Walking Dead, I thought Warm Bodies was absolutely adorable, and I am looking forward to watching World War Z- eventually.

So I figured I would do a little research before I made any purchases.  I Googled the title and found out that one of the two protagonists wrote and directed (maybe even produced) the movie.  It was made in 15 days on a $6,000 budget and it's already won multiple awards.  Plus, the trailer (below) looked pretty freaking awesome.

So, naturally, I rented it.

I just finished watching it in fact.  let me tell you, it was pretty entertaining, very well written for an amateur film, and it certainly had an edge to it that was VERY real.  I would certainly recommend it to anyone who is interested in apocalyptic stories... and actually the gore was minimal considering the subject matter and plot.