The Date is Set!

Chad and I have set the date for our wedding!
March 15, 2008

Lunch with Diana

Today I met my good friend Diana (and her 18 mo. old daughter, Brynna) for lunch. Last week, pre-proposal, we had lunch at Magnolia Cafe and talked about how a ring would be a great reason to do lunch again soon.

Jason's Deli was the place...we enjoyed talking details and being entertained by Brynna. Brynna is so cute with her little vocabulary and her observations of everything that is going on. She is one smart little cookie!

Recovery Week - Fun Monday

Last night marked the first run of our first recovery week. Instead of our normal 9-10 mile run, we only had to do 7. Since in my mind 7 miles is still pretty long for a weekday run, my mind played stalling games with my body all afternoon. I stalled until I absolutely could not wait any longer.

I got to the trail at 6:35 and started running the I35 loop counter clockwise from MoPac. I was trying to run as easy as possible until I could find my groove. It really wasn't as hot or humid as I was expecting, so after I took water at the 0 mile marker, I felt pretty good.

Lucky for me, I ran into Melissa running the opposite direction on Riverside drive. I was about 3 miles in, so I turned around and ran back towards MoPac with her. She was nice enough to let me talk (mostly blabbing) about the start of wedding planning for a good 20 minutes during the run.

As a big surprise, Melissa and I ran in to Dan! I was so excited to see him! (Dan has been so good all year asking when Chad was going to propose. We have really been predicting and guessing dates for over 6 months now, so it was fun to finally have a ring to show!) Dan reacted terrifically, giving both Melissa and I big hugs and admiring my finger. He seemed really genuine in his joy for Chad and I and it was so nice to see him out there.

In all, it was a great run. After a couple of miles I forgot about how I was dreading the run and just enjoyed the company and conversation.

Flucie and Muscat

After the internet debut of my ring with Ben and Miko, Chad thought it would be good to get pics with the other kitties as well. The first photo is of Chad's cat, Felicia (Flucie). She is gorgeous.

The orange kitty belongs to Chad's mom and Jim. His name is Muscat (perfect name for winemaker, huh?).

Engaged!!!

Chad proposed! We are engaged!

Last night was the 2 year anniversary of the day we met. We tend to celebrate events well, so we had planned to go out to dinner and skip our Thursday night workout. Chad made reservations at Cafe Josie, which was my favorite restaurant before he introduced me to Wink.

The dinner was delicious. From the menu, this is what we ordered...

We shared:

CRISPY GULF OYSTERS With Lime Cilantro Aioli and Honey Chipotle Sauce - YUM!!

bottle of Bottega Pinot Grigio

Bread served with butter, olive oil, roasted minced garlic, and probably some chili spice

we both ordered:

BABY SPINACH SALAD With Cajeta Glazed Walnuts, Manchego Cheese, and Passion Fruit Vinaigrette

made the wine taste so good!

Main courses -

I ordered PEPITA REDFISH WITH MANGO HABANERO BUTTER Pepita and Spice Crusted and served on Poblano Rice and Cotija Black Beans with Tomatillo Chile, Ancho Chile, Spicy Pepitas, and fresh Vegetables

Chad ordered MESQUITE GRILLED MAHI MAHI Mesquite Grilled with Mango Salsa, and served on Poblano Rice and Cotija Black Beans with Sunsplash, Ginger Tamarind, and fresh Vegetables

For dessert we shared a blackberry ginger crisp with ice cream. Delicious!

After dinner we had not already planned to do anything else, so we joked about walking over to the Treaty Oak and polishing off our bottle of wine. After we decided that public consumption was probably not a good idea, we though maybe just go home. I suggested as we were driving that we could go to Mt. Bonnell. Conveniently, Chad managed to position himself to not be able to change into the left lane at the turn off to South Mopac, so we had to continue straight on Lake Austin Blvd towards Scenic and Mt. Bonnell.

When we climbed the long staircase at the park, I had convinced myself that he was not going to propose. He did not have a plan for the rest of the evening and we just kind of walked around at the top of the mountain. We went over to the left side to get a view of the city and it didn't happen. When we wanted to head down, I was more convinced than ever that he wasn't going to propose.

I'll keep the rest of the details off of the internet, but Chad proposed at the top. I was surprised and excited.

What? You want to see the ring? It is beautiful! If you have ever taken a picture of your hand, you know that it just looks weird unless you are a professional photographer. I think the best shots of the ring and my hand are with me petting the cats, so here they are, proud accessories to the new engagement ring:

Weigh-in 6/6

As promised, I am weighing in each week to track my nutrition/weight goals.I intend to add to the list of dates every week at least.

Please feel free to comment.

Progress:
April: 150-152
5/14: 145
5/21: 147
5/29: 148
6/6: 145

Comments: Well, it is back in the right direction. I really feel like I am doing better. I think getting more sleep helps me control my diet, too. I have been focusing on sleep and hydration and it seems to be working.

Weekend Report

same ol' stuff...Went running, ate out, rented some movies, all in all a good weekend.

The highlights: We ordered 'Stranger than Fiction' with Will Farrell on Friday night from the ONDemand movies in the cable box. It was okay. We rented Babel on Saturday night from the $1 HEB rental kiosk. It was better. I thought there would be more to it, though.

Running: I did my 10 miles on Saturday no problem except that mother nature always decides that June is supposed to be filled with 100% humidity mornings. Our four miles at marathon pace felt kind of grueling. No matter. I did the 10 miles in overall an 8:39 pace. Very cool.

Chad raced The Maze 30k trail race today. I worked the water stop. He ran really well, especially for having a tendon issue in his shin. He said he just wanted to keep his time on each of the 3 loops even. There were a bunch of folks out there looking very hot and tired. I helped a gal out who was going through some obvious heat trauma and desperately needed electrolytes and some ice.