February 2010

Meet my high maintenance dog, Indy

by Courtney on February 26, 2010

My high maintenance dog just puked – for the second time tonight. I’m talking big (smelly) chunks. TMI? Maybe, but I wanted you to feel my pain. I felt bad watching Jeff clean it up – twice. It did look disgusting. Of course we’re thinking; what’s wrong with him this time? Hell if we know. This is just a string of issues we’ve had with this little red dog since bringing him home in December 2008.

I’d like you to meet Indy, our little short bus puppy.

I say that lovingly, because this little guy is my baby. And he’s such a BAAAAAABY. Indy is a highly exuberant 16-month old Vizsla who loves to play games, such as stealing your underwear or socks and playing “catch me if you can”. He’s a major attention monger, a smart ass cookie, and he’s so full of emotion that I swear he’s part human. I’m not even kidding! He’s unlike any dog I’ve ever had growing up. We love him like a child, but damn, if it isn’t one thing with him – it’s another!

This week he’s already been to the local vet school at the University of California, Davis for his allergy problems. He’s currently on a “food trial” of rabbit food and potatoes. Back in December he caught “kennel cough” from the local dog park, and before that it was eye problems, a thinning coat, a bumpy coat, and the list goes on and on.

I should mention that Indy was the “pick of his liter” among his puppy liter of seven other Vizslas. To the unknowing, that’s a big deal for people who care about that stuff, like our breeder. She wanted us to have Indy because she thought we’d be total suckers and let her turn him into a show dog. And we did.

But with all these problems Indy’s been having, we haven’t heard from her in months! So my question is; can we chop off his dingle berries now? Seriously, my dog has embarrassingly big balls. Beyond six months or so people start to judge you for not having your dog neutered. Like, “What a bad dog owner for not taking care of that! They are the reason we have so many unwanted stray dogs in this country!” So naturally, every time we introduce Indy to anyone we immediately call attention to his balls and explain that it’s not our fault that they still exist. In case you didn’t know, show dogs have to be “fully in-tact”.

Anyway, my point is; Indy is a handful and a half. He’s always got something wrong with him. He may have been the pick of his liter, but Indy definitely has the runt’s genes! But you know what; I don’t want the “show dog”. I want my little runt. High maintenance or not, this is the coolest dog I’ll ever have.  And I just wanted you to meet him. He’ll be a reoccurring character in my blog story!

Oh look who it is! Somebody’s been hiding under the bed upstairs for the last hour all shameful for his barf-athon tonight. Now he wants to make amends. He just crawled up next to mama as she writes a blog about him. What a wittle sweetheart…

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Getting in shape for “thirty”

by Courtney on February 23, 2010

A year ago I told myself that I would be in the BEST shape of my life come March 19th, 2010. This monumental date is of course the dreaded 3-0 for me. I say “dreaded” because when I turned 29 I was quite melancholy about exiting my twenties. But these days I’ve grown to see it as a positive thing. I feel like you really come into your own; you know yourself more and you’re more confident. That being said – I still wanna be in the best shape of my life within the next 3 ½ weeks!

And you know what? It ‘aint gonna happen. Like most people, I use the scales as my barometer of how successful my weight loss plan is going. I think back to my wedding day and I want to be that number. But that number is still 6 lbs. away! That might sound doable, but I’ve already lost 6 lbs. since Christmas! And now I’ve hit a plateau.

It’s quite frustrating considering all the exercising I’ve been doing since January. As you know now, I’ve been training for the “Cinderella Classic” 65 mile bike marathon, otherwise known as my “30th birthday challenge”. Since early January we’ve progressed from 17 mile rides to 25, 27, and a couple of 35s.

I even joined a new gym that I consider a “magical place”. It’s the kind of place where people just want to be. I think that’s half the battle – getting you there. And I want to be there like, all the time. During the week I go to the gym three nights and mix it up between jogging on the treadmill, the elliptical, and the stationary bike. I do no less than 45 minutes of cardio and then I lift weights. I also attend an hour long weight lifting class once a week! So shouldn’t fat be sliding off of me like butter on a hot knife? You’d think!

But maybe it is. Maybe the fat isn’t my problem on the scales – maybe it’s the buildup of muscle! You know the saying; “muscle weighs more than fat” and I think that may be why I’ve hit my plateau. All this biking and stuff has bound to be building me some serious quads! I mean, just check out my thighs to the left.

I’m leaning towards this explanation because I’ve had multiple people at work tell me I look like I’ve lost weight, and my clothes have been fitting way better recently. I even went dress shopping for Cabo the other day and I didn’t even flinch at my reflection in the dressing room mirror! I thought I looked pretty good actually! So maybe I’m getting leaner. And you know what; that’s what I’m going for!

So I’ve decided that I’m not going to live and die by the scale. I’m going by how my clothes fit. I’m going by how I look in pictures. If I feel lighter on my feet and firmer to the touch, than I’m happy.

What about you? Do you have any weight loss goals this year and if so, how’s it going? What are you doing? Any good tips to share?

Oh I have a good tip: stop drinking diet soda! Supposedly you’ll lose weight. And if anything, you pee a lot less!!

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This bugs me (Part 1)

by Courtney on February 21, 2010

I like to consider myself a really positive person. I can’t help it; it’s just how I’m wired. I have a knack for getting over stuff really quickly too. I think my husband has helped me perfect this skill over the years.  But despite my cheery demeanor, I certainly have my share of “fingernails on the chalk board” moments. And so I thought, what better way to blow off steam and clear my head of life’s simple irritations then to purge them in the form of a blog.

I’m not going to sit here and only rant about major doozies though. This is an equal opportunity blog and even the baby doozies will get their chance in the spotlight!

Here goes…

I hate how the Olympics dominate my TV for two whole weeks (or however long it is). I’m just not that into it. It’s ok, but only for like a week. I find it interesting how “The Today Show” team goes on location in Vancouver and their entire three hour show each day is nonstop Olympics coverage. It makes me wonder; did real news stop for the Olympics? Are there no political sex scandals this week? No big abduction cases to cover in explicit detail? Oh well, I’m sure when Matt, Meredith and Al are back in Studio 1A we’ll pick up right where we left off with fledging healthcare reform and a “much needed” update on Casey Anthony’s ongoing murder trial.

I can’t stand starting a book and not being able to finish it. I’ll carry a book in my gym bag every day for six months because I can only force myself to read three pages a week. At an old job all the girls were gaga for “Harry Potter” so I decided to read the first book. GAWD it took me forever. I just couldn’t get into it. The worst is when it takes you six months to read a book and the book’s ending was totally not worth the work. One time someone suggested a book called “Lucy Sullivan is Getting Married” and it was a major snooze fest. After six months and 600 pages (in tiny font) later – Lucy freakin’ Sullivan never got married! WTF?

It bugs me that Hollywood producers think the public is so easy to please that all they have to do is put 25 major celebs in a movie such as “Valentine’s Day” and they never have to bother much with a plot. This thing was too long and had too many storylines going on for my taste. It was one giant cliché. None of this stuff ever happens – at least not in my life. I can’t imagine my husband ever being up for swinging side by side on a swing set gazing lovingly at each other. Ever.

It bugs me when I’m peddling my ass off during one of my 35 mile bike training rides and women that seemingly look like they haven’t stepped foot in a gym in a decade are passing me left and right with virtually no effort. What.Is.Up.With.That? I mean GEEZ, I work out three days a week, lift weights, AND do these stinking training rides and I’m getting passed up by HER! Is the 75 mph wind not affecting those beyotches like it’s affecting me? GAH!

I hate when AFTER those whopping 35 mile bike training rides I’m the only one bitching about a sore ass and shooting pains in my thighs. I just want someone else to feel my pain. I wanna know I’m not the only one having to ask my husband to massage my butt when I go home. Yet when I ask around, people kind of shake their head like; “no, my butt really doesn’t hurt too much”. DAMN IT! Shoot me now.

Alright, that’s enough negativity for now.

Feel free to share your rants too. Think of it like therapy… I already feel 5 lbs. lighter!

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My BIG Lent sacrifice…

by Courtney on February 18, 2010

Being the good non-Catholic that I am, I’ve given something up for Lent every year since 2008. You see, my husband Jeff is a shopping cart strict Catholic and so I do this for him. Last year I even gave up chocolate and I only cheated a couple of times in 40 days, so that’s not bad for a non-Catholic. But this year I think that it’s time to step it up a notch. It’s time to give up something that’s seriously going to hurt.  After all, it’s not a sacrifice if I’m not bitching about it daily, right? Well my friends, I’m giving up Diet Pepsi. I should say Diet Coke too just to be clear.

This is going to be mucho difficult because I don’t drink coffee. And, I NEED THE CAFFEINE! Hell, I usually go to bed at midnight because I’m constantly up late blogging or screwin’ around online, so what else is going to get me through the AM? I’m just going to have to suck it up and get used to flavored water or something.

To lay it all out there; I have between three and four Diet Pepsis a day. I feel like a total sloth just admitting that. The facilities manager at work told me today that he’s thinking of signing me up for a 12-step program to wean me off of Diet Pepsi. Basically, he’s sick of calling the vending machine guy to refill the damn machine! Oh I’m so embarrassed!

It’s not my fault really. My mom put Pepsi in my baby bottle. JUST KIDDING, MOM! I know she’s going to call me as soon as she reads that. She didn’t put “Pesi” (what I used to call it as a baby!) in my bottle, but I believe I started drinking it around age 3! In fact, around that age I remember begging my Granny to let me have some Pepsi as she stood firm in front of the out-of-my-reach cabinet saying a definitive “N-O!” And then we heard my brother scream bloody murder from outside as he had just stabbed a giant tree trunk with a humongous construction nail causing a pack of bees to come out and swarm his head. Granny raced outside and I raced up the countertop to grab the Pesi. Hmm…victory never tasted so good!

And so the story goes; my name is Courtney Rice and I’ve been a Pepsi-holic my entire life. And I know it’s SO not good for me. I drink diet to avoid the calories but then there’s Aspartame which is supposed to suck for you. Of course we’re always hearing about how researchers are claiming that diet soda intake can be linked to cancer and stuff, etc. etc. But the most compelling reason to quit diet soda is that I hear you can actually lose weight! Imagine that! I guess you eat more when you’re drinking it and you also feel bloated from the carbonation.

So anyway, I’m blogging about this because I feel like if I say it to the world (or my three readers) then I’ll have to stick to it. I’m going to hate it and I might be pissy here and there, but I’ll deal. I like a challenge – never tell me I can’t do something because I’ll show you I can!

So alright all of you Catholics out there, whaddya giving up for Lent? Now come on, it’s got to be something good. No, it’s got be something that’s going to suuuuuuck for you! I don’t want to see anyone cheating and giving up something they never do/use/eat/drink. For example, Jeff told me he was giving up ice cream. He probably eats ice cream like once in a blue moon. What happened to his usual 40-day ban on hard booze? So c’mon, if this non-Catholic can do it, then surely the real ones can! But hey, I encourage all the other “nons” out there to do what I’m doing. Give something up that’s going to be a healthy change for you and just blame it on Lent! The good ‘ole Catholic guilt will pull you through!

It’s going to be a long 40 days and 40 nights, but we can do it people. I’d love to hear what you’re giving up if you are indeed participating in this annual sacrifice!

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30th Birthday challenge: 65 mile bike marathon

by Courtney on February 16, 2010

On April 10th, 2010 I’m riding in a 65 mile bike marathon that will take more than six hours to complete. Am I crazy? Or, am I crazy? At this point I can’t really wrap my head around this notion of being on my bike for six hours. So for now I just focus on each Saturday training ride as they come and I’m sure eventually this reality will sink in. But after this past weekend’s 35.6 mile ride my “ass” is begging me to quit.  Oh Lord, how did I get myself into this predicament?

Rewind to three months ago…

One of the things I’ve noticed from day one of living in the San Francisco Bay Area is that bike riding is engrained deep into the culture.  We’ve got the hippie bike riders trying to save the planet from unnecessary car exhaust and we’ve got the avid cyclists who wear the skin tight biking clothes and think they own the road in their riding packs. Up until a few months ago, the former REALLY annoyed me.

So it’s pretty ironic that when a woman from work sent a mass email asking who would be interested in riding in the Cinderella Classic 65 mile bike marathon that I would raise my hand. Being a few weeks after my big milestone birthday I figured it would be a great “30th birthday challenge”. So I ran straight into my girlfriend’s office and begged her to do the ride with me. I reminded her that her 30th b-day was only five days after mine and she needed a challenge too! Much to my delight, she reluctantly agreed to do the ride.

So our journey into the San Francisco cycling culture began. First let me say that this is an extremely expensive hobby. I say “hobby” because I don’t think I’ll ever become a true “cyclist”. I’m a Saturday rider. But it seems that just about every Friday I’m plunking down a hundred bucks at REI on some new gadget for my bike or article of clothing.

Well this past Friday my big purchase was a new – cushier – bike seat. I never knew how taxing bike riding is on your booty! But each week as our training mileage increases from 17 to 25 to 27 my poor little bum has been feeling the burn. But nothing could prepare me for 35 miles.

A beautiful – butt challenging ride

We had the most beautiful ride through the Livermore vineyards with the green rolling hills of the California countryside as our panoramic view. The blue sky 63 degree day and smell of fresh cut grass made for a spectacular ride. But by mile 25 I was gritting my teeth in pure agony! OH MAMA, my ass was grass. By the time we finally completed the ride and were packing our bikes up in our cars three hours later, one of my new riding friends made the comment; “Up until this point I’ve been fine with these rides, but this is the first time I’ve really been like, GET ME THE FUCK OFF THIS BIKE”. I laughed outloud because this was my nonstop chant in my final 7 miles! And to think I’ve got 30 more miles to ride to the actual finish line in April. Unnngh!!!

Two days later I’m still waddling. I have to shift a lot in my chair in order to get comfortable. Now this is freaking me out a bit because I have a 37 mile ride in just five more days. The pain may subside by then, but the memory is burned into my brain! So I ask that you please pray for me that I can get through this insanely crazy 30th birthday challenge schmallenge!

I have an idea for next week though. See pic to the left. You don’t think anyone will say anything do you?

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Eat Review #1: Angeline’s Louisiana Kitchen

by Courtney on February 15, 2010

One of the things I plan to do with this blog is try new restaurants as often as possible and then blog about the experience.  My absolute favorite thing to do is eat, so this is really just a selfish thing I’m doing in the name of sharing with others!

I figure I live in a super cool place that’s known for its food, so I might as well have some fun and bring the yummy food finds to you! So utilizing my husband Jeff’s stellar research skills on Yelp.com, we’re going to try a new restaurant (hopefully) once a week. I intend to do this for bars and wineries too!

Being that it was Valentine’s Day and we had Monday off of work, we decided to take a Sunday afternoon trip to a little beach town South of San Francisco called Pacifica. We saw it as a chance to check out some real estate, the beach, and best of all – have a great lunch somewhere cute! Unfortunately, this place turned out to be a total shit box with no place to eat (no offense, Pacifica).

So now what? I’m hungry! I guess it’s on to plan B!

On our way back to the East Bay I suggested we stop off in Berkeley and see what looks good. Being the eclectic little college town that it is there are TONS of little eateries to choose from. Thankfully, my eye just happened to catch a sign for Angeline’s Louisiana Kitchen and seeing as though we fell in love with New Orleans during a recent trip in November, we decided this would be a perfect place to eat.

Angeline’s is a small little thing with blues music playing over the speakers and great service. Right away we ordered a couple of beers (Abita for me, Purple Haze for Jeff) that are of course served with super frosty Mason jars to drink from. I mentioned to Jeff that these jars reminded me of my childhood and he said; “Ya, that’s because hillbillies used to drink out of them”. I prefer to call it a “Southern” thing actually. We’re both from Indiana by the way, so I don’t get the distinction he’s making – but whatever.

We started with the yummiest hush puppies and butter that you can imagine! Jeff is hard to please but even he marveled at their goodness! Who doesn’t love fried balls anyway?  I almost ordered the fried chicken and sweet potato mash for my entrée, but since I had a big dinner the night before I opted for a lighter meal with a fried shrimp po boy sandwich. To top it off we added a crusted mac ‘n cheese to share as a side.

The po boy looked delish and – Holy Creole mustard – it was HOT! My nose was on fire! I kept punishing myself however but chowing it down in its entirety. And let’s just talk about the mac ‘n cheese. Jeff and I were having fork wars trying to snag the last of the fried crusty toping left in the bowl! It definitely topped the crusted mac ‘n cheese that we had for dinner the night before!!

Then it was time for the ultimate Louisiana dessert – beignets! It was like heaven! I know it’s just a fried donut with powdered sugar on top, but it’s the kind of thing that just puts a smile on your face and makes you want to do a little dance in your seat!

So needless to say, I loved Angeline’s Louisiana Kitchen! We will definitely be back. If you live in the SF Bay Area, I highly recommend it!

If you have any great restaurant suggestions for the San Francisco Bay Area, please leave a comment and I’ll add them to our growing list of places to try!

Bon appetite!

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My first spring break since college

by Courtney on February 10, 2010

In exactly three weeks I’m leaving for Cabo San Lucas, Mexico for a long girl’s weekend. I cannot freaking wait to be laying in 85 degree weather having a hot pool boy bring me a free pina colada upon command. I say “free” because we got a sweet deal on an “all-inclusive” resort and it’ll feel free since I won’t have to pay for anything on the spot.  

This isn’t just any ‘ole vacation by the way. This is the “kiss my twenties au revoir” vacation. Another girlfriend on the trip is saying sayonara to her twenties in March as well. But she already had her first kiss-off in the Dominican Republic in January (she’s my jet-setting friend with a charmed life), so I’m a little more excited then she is, I’m assuming.

This vacay has been in the planning stages for years. I believe around the age of 25 we girls talked about celebrating our 30th birthdays in Italy. But we’re now settling for Cabo (don’t cry for us). As I’m sure all girls do, we are of course comparing this trip to the one taken by Carrie, Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte in the “Sex in the City” movie. We already know who Samantha is (jet-setter) but we argue over who is Carrie. I get tossed Charlotte’s name but only because I’m the only married girl. I’m not like Charlotte, FYI. But instead of mourning a failed wedding day we’ll officially be celebrating the brand new engagement of one of the other girls who thinks she’s Carrie!

Now I haven’t had a “spring break” since college so this is going to be a little different. Aside from jet-setter, most of us haven’t had a girls trip since the good ‘ole sorority days (Vegas doesn’t count).  In Cancun back in ’01 we were doing booze cruises, making out with hot strangers, walking barefoot home from the bars by ourselves, and going to bed at 4am only to get up at 7am to be in the audience of Jerry Springer’s MTV spring break show.

Things have changed a bit these days. Our standards are higher. We’re essentially grannys who want to spend half our time at the spa and the other half eating at nice restaurants. We’ll probably get sleepy at the hotel bar around 10pm from too much sun exposure and one too-many daytime margs. We’ll be taking advantage of the early bird breakfast this time around because we’ll actually be awake for it. And we’ll definitely cringe at any spring breaker who comes up to us and tries to hump our leg.

Yes, we’re getting older and it shows. We want the finer things in life which include eight hours of sleep, no hangover mornings, and relaxed shoulders. Do I miss those spring break days of yesteryear? A little. Would I trade them for our granny “Sex in the City” vacation next month? Hell to the no!

I’m almost 30 and I’ve earned the right to be classy!

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Embracing the dirty thirty

by Courtney on February 7, 2010

As I sit here and type this I’m not yet 30. I’m only 29. The clock is ticking loudly though, which means the “dirty thirty” is coming fast and furious. It’s funny, because it doesn’t seem so long ago that I pledged to myself to get drunk often and live it up during my last year in my twenties. I guess I always thought once you turn thirty it’s probably a little frowned upon to get drunk often and act like an idiot. But you know, my husband is going on 32 and he seems to get away with it just fine. On second thought, I guess I do frown at him often.

The point of this blog has absolutely nothing to do with getting drunk though. Well, I mean sometimes it might come up in a blog if it’s a pertinent detail to a story, but the point of this blog is to embrace this new chapter in my life – with humor. I might not always be funny. Sometimes there might be a moral to my stories. But usually I want to make you laugh.

I plan to blog about everyday funny truths, ironies and irritations, but also about life milestones like turning 30, my 65 mile bike marathon that I’m doing in April, the decision to have little kiddies when the time is right – to work or not to work after that – etc. I feel like 2010 is going to be a big year for me. And I want to blog about it.

I hope you come back often and join in on the conversation. This will only be fun if you’re here too. I want to hear your stories. I might need your advice. I don’t pride myself on how many Facebook friends I have or how many followers I have on Twitter, but I do care how many blog friends I have. So don’t make me feel bad. Let’s be friends here (sign up for Google Friend Connect!).

Oh but don’t forget to friend me on Facebook and follow me on Twitter. I mean, I guess I kinda care about that too.

Alright, let’s get started…

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