Lately, I have found myself day dreaming about our upcoming trip to Hawaii. It's four months away. Right around the corner. Not quite. I wish it was tomorrow. We've got a lot going on before we'll find ourselves drinking POG in 20E and 20F the day after Thanksgiving. This is the "busy season" at work for both Ty and I and most evenings we find ourselves dragging and counting down the minutes until we can hit the sack. We both have jobs where we have to be "on" all day, everyday so when we get home we're talked out and sometimes our relationship gets the short end of the stick until the weekend. This trip crosses my mind everyday. It seems to be my little stress reliever (and "get your ass in shape" reminder). I think about hammock time, palm trees, beautiful beaches, and sunsets and know that we have 9 days of pure relaxation coming our way.

Staycation

 - Photo courtesy of www.time.com - 

Last week, I took a little time off... a "staycation" if you will.

I did quite a bit last week. You'll be proud of me. I worked out everyday! I also ran a ton of errands and got to see a few friends in there too! Ty and I hosted a "co-ed baby kegger" at our house on Saturday for the Dumond's so we did have a few home projects on the list as well.

Ty and I decided it was an absolute must that we Ty stain some shingles on the outside of our house before the party. (Obviously people spend several hours staring at the front of the person's house they are visiting so this was critical.) At one time, these shingles I speak of were freshly stained. When we bought our house last year, I obsessed over the fact that they were no longer brand new looking so I have been talking to nagging Ty about them ever since. Husband of the year award goes to.... TY, FOR TAKING TWO DAYS OFF WORK TO STAIN SHINGLES THAT HE COULD CARE LESS ABOUT!

It doesn't end there. We stained a teek bench the weekend before and it turned out awesome. We thought that the color looked great and assumed (stupidly) that it would stain the same on cedar shingles. I know what you are thinking. I could have told you that! Rookies...

Yep, you were right. We made a HUGE, VERY TIME CONSUMING mistake. We stained the shingles on Thursday. By "we" I mean Ty stained and I supervised. By "supervised" I mean I watched him stain the dang things too dark and didn't stop him. (Good boss. I just went ahead and let him fail.) It was really dark. I knew it the whole time. I kept saying, "Looks good right? "A little dark, but it's just wet right?" "It's not going to dry that dark right?" As if it wasn't bad enough after one coat, we thought that if Ty painted on a second coat it would get lighter. Smart.

Let's flash forward to Friday morning. Around 9am. Ty and I agree it's too dark. Right as I am about to burst out into tears, Ty says he'll take a quick trip (take note here) to Lowe's and I'll get out the electric sander and start sanding it off. Good thing we bought the expensive oil based mahogany stain because it only took twelve hours to get it off. Ty's quick trip to Lowe's lasted about 2 and a half hours. By the time he got home, I had only gotten done with the corners of each of the two pillars. Just. The. Corners!

During the time Ty was gone our neighbors on all three sides of our house had spotted me. They didn't have to say anything. I could read it in their eyes. Poor fools. It was obviously too dark from the get go. It shouldn't have taken two coats and 10 hours to dry for them to realize it.

By 9 pm, Ty was done.

Lesson learned. Staining is fine. However, don't stain the whole thing until you know it's a color you actually like. And for God's sake, don't let your husband keep staining them when you know you hate it.

For all you new homeowners out there, this one's for you!

Summer Sweaters

There's nothing better than putting on a nice, warm and cozy sweater. In July. I actually wore a sweater to work today. While I can't believe that I actually have this wool frock on, I am secretly very thankful. You see, I don't actually FIT into any of my summer clothes right now. I know what you are thinking.  

Get some clothes that fit. It's not hard. Get over it. You're married. You're happy. You don't need to obsess over a size you once were. You're getting older. Your body is changing. Ty loves you no matter what your size is.

OR  

Get off your chubby butt and work out already. Stop complaining if you aren't going to do anything about it. Take the stairs at work. Stop eating loads of carbs. Use your treadmill more than three times a week. And for longer than 30 minutes. 

I will tell you that I have been working out for the past three weeks. I'm still frantically trying to squeeze into things from last year with no luck. Shocking. I thought that for sure it would only take three weeks to work off the weight I have so stupidly gained over the past 9 months.

My situation is unlike that of Ty's. What I wouldn't give to be a guy that can just think about going on a run and lose a few LB's. Ty gives up pop for a day and is back in his skinny jeans. I will say that Ty does go to the gym. He spends an exhausting 4 minutes on the treadmill doing "cardio" and the remaining 20 staring at himself in the mirror as he lifts weights. He then gets home and scurries up enough energy  to make himself a celebratory cocktail - or two.

- Case in Point: This was last night at about 9:45pm, 

a mere 2 and a half minutes after he got home from Gold's - 

He may be onto something, but I think he has it backwards. I am starting to think I may need to begin each workout with a cocktail. I've done some running under the influence before and must say I am quite good at it.

There was this one time. In college. When I embarrassed myself in front of Dumond by running aimlessly down a busy street without the sense to look both ways through several intersections.

I'm lucky to be alive.

There was another time. In Cabo. When I ran back to the resort mad after Ty was tired of me dancing on the stage at Mambo's.

I'm lucky to be married.

Both times I was quite sore afterward, yet had zero recollection of the actual mental strain workouts tend to have on me. I may give it a shot this weekend. I could end up with a chipped tooth, skidded up knees, a broken limb, or all of the above in the end but at least I am one step closer to stepping foot into seasonally appropriate clothing again, right?

Is it too late to ask Ty if he likes teal?