Success!

I have been planning a professional speaking event for nine months that happened this past Tuesday. This is one of the main reasons I have been so busy in the new year. I am happy to report that it was a raging success. I raised enough money to bring in five speakers (two local, three national) to speak on sustainability as it pertains to my profession, beginning the night with companies exhibiting their goods, and happy hour with free booze. Who doesn't love free stuff?

We sold out - 130 people. And to boot, the speakers that I had the privilege of entertaining while they were here were fantastic people. Staying up playing pool and having beers with one of your professional heroes - a guy that is WELL known throughout my profession - was just out of this world. I managed to make a few bucks on the event as well for the chapter. I came out of the event totally inspired to set some professional goals for myself and to reach out to a new contact about some insights and opportunities.

On the flip side, I'm feeling a little sad that it's all over. It was sort of like planning a wedding - you plan and plan and plan for nine months, all the people come out that you had hoped would be there, and then it's just over so quickly. And it's a little sad.

But I definitely think it's motivating me to take better care of myself. I really put myself and my health last over the past couple of months, and my body is really feeling the effects.

I'm up today to start the week off fresh with a trip to the public market and a little later, a trip to the gym.

I love the weekend!

All gushy inside

:)

Tonight I met up shortly with my friend Kelly. One of my oldest and still dearest friends. She was in town from Cleveland for her sister's bachelorette party, and is 6 months pregnant. I haven't seen her since she was very newly pregnant (and what's pretty funny is that I knew then that she was pregnant and she didn't know it yet!). Chris and I crashed the party for a bit to hang out with her. It was so great to see her. And she has got to be the cutest pregnant lady i've seen since the Nino's came to visit a couple of years ago! :)

It's been a great long weekend so far. Chris and I went up to Yellow Springs yesterday. We planned on hiking, but the rain kept us from that, so had lunch and then we shopped most of the day. I bought some really beautiful amber earrings and a hand-cranked flashlight/radio combo. I also bought a Christmas gift for my mother in law. Then we went to Young's Dairy for some fabulous ice cream.

For our anniversary, Chris and I went to the CAC. Then we went out to dinner at Riverside Korean. Wow, was it amazing!

Today I have been pretty worn out. I spent the morning relaxing on my front porch, enjoying the weather. I read and took a nap this afternoon, and Chris went out on a little-mini road trip while I went to church and then to the grocery store. I came home and tried out a recipe from a Rachel Ray cookbook that my Mom gave me last year for a Mexican Chorizo stoop. It wasn't bad, though I substituted the Tomatillos for tomatoes from my Mom's garden, and used chicken Chorizo from the farmer's market to lighten the recipe up. It turned out pretty well.

Tomorrow is a double baby shower for my two cousin's wives. And I'm sure I'll have to field the "when are you having a baby?" question at least a few times tomorrow, and it's very hard for me at this point not to get upset when people ask me that question and not have the urge to say "it's really none of your business!"

But I do plan to enjoy every last minute of that one last day off of work! :)

Getting Serious

With a newfound motivation from two of my coworkers, i'm getting more serious about getting in shape. I've lost 10 pounds or so since Christmas, just enough to feel comfortable in my favorite jeans again, but i've been doing much better this week with the moral support of two of my coworkers who are trying to get back in shape as well.
I hit up the gym again tonight, and felt the urge to work harder on the eliptical machine - hoping to drown out the cologne smell of the guy next to me. I even managed to duck by the guy at the desk and go unnoticed. The guy that always flirts with me and asks when i'll go out to dinner with him - which is just a little bit flattering and a a little bit creepy at the same time. I usually just smile and ignore the question. hah. The workout was TOUGH tonight. It was just one of those days where it was harder to get into the groove.
I stopped at the grocery store to stock up. My biggest problem is snacking so I needed snacks in the 0-2 point range, and some good lunch options for work. I spent an hour at the store looking at labels and comparing.
I'll pick up some chicken, eggplant and ground turkey from the farmer's market this weekend - and i'm banking on the prospect of some of the local farmers being back with the warmer weather. They start bringing out the spring plants. Oh I love this time of year.
My first composting class was really great last night. We've already started! I borrowed an old coffee can that Chris had saved and we've already started to fill it with our food scraps. I'm going to use my neighbor's shredder this weekend for some of our yard waste, and we'll be on our way. I can't wait to get the worms in two weeks for my vermicompost bin. They'll have plenty to eat just waiting for them!!
I am also proud to say (and a little embarrassed that i didn't do this earlier at the same time) that I purchased biodegradable and compostable waste bags for my dog. I really hate to think that i'm preserving my dog's dookie in a landfill for a couple of hundred years using grocery store bags...which reminds me, I need a couple more bags to take to the grocery store with me. The two I have to reuse is just never enough!