08:
- Still haven’t posted a blog about the #NASATweetup #STS135, I have all the photos off of my memory card, but no wifi at my place to upload. It’s been a MONTH today. Talk about procrastination. You think with an event that was life-changing, I’d find a way to share my experience.
- This past Saturday night some friends & I had a complete fake bachelorette party. Pretty much the greatest night ever. Do this, trust me, it’s awesome. Gregg made us all dinner & then we hit up pretty much every local bar/club. Scavenger hunt, bar games, free drinks, suck for a buck… It was amazing.
- I got a new job, I start on the 14th. Kinda excited, kinda nervous. I’ve been having daily headaches, I wonder if the quiet atmosphere of my new place will help that? I am excited to dress up everyday, I’m over jeans/tees/flip flops. (I bet I’ll regret saying that!)
29:
(I can’t find source)
I feel like this.
25:
Last Thursday (June 23rd, 2011) my friend Oz texted me the above photo of my friend Bridget & this message:
“Bridget and I left you a gift. 27:56:53.20, -82:27:42.51, or there abouts. Rsvp”
I was immediately excited because Oz knows I love to geocache & those were GPS coordinates!
This morning we decided to find it on the way to Gregg’s office. The building in the background of the picture is of University of Tampa, so we knew to look in the park across from the campus. (Curtis Hixon)
We got to the park, and the cords were pretty far off. Gregg saw the fence that Bridget is leaning on, it was the only one in the park without a wooden top rail.
We to that spot, & wedged between the concrete there was an altoids tin. We had found the cache!
Inside was a note from Oz & two antique dice, which on one of them the 1 is a skunk! Also he typed up the directions to a game called “Mia”; which I am going to try to learn tonight. :)
This is probably one of the most awesome & creative things friends have ever done for me. I already am thinking of ideas of how to get them back!
18:
There has been a lot of tweets/mentions of Freshley’s Cafe that has just opened in Seminole Heights last week. Freshley’s offers breakfast & lunch Monday through Saturday, I woke up this morning knowing I wanted to stop by on the way to Gregg’s office to check out all the hype.
Freshley’s is located at the northwest corner of Florida and Hillsborough in Seminole Heights.
Have I mentioned I love airstreams?!
It is surrounded by a ton of newly planted plants, as well as a cute dining area with shade. (I wonder if they have wi-fi? ;)
I sneaked a picture of the inside. :) It’s a Mother, Daughter and Grand Daughter team!
Showing all the cute plants in bright planters. So cheery! Gregg has coffee :)
This is the specials board, condiments table, and tea! (Sweet & Unsweet)
Gregg got “Good Morning New York”
- Smoked salmon, light cream cheese, red onion, sliced tomato, and capers on fresh Pumpernickel bread. $5.95
It got raving reviews from Gregg.
I got the “Egg White Frittata”
- Baked Arugula, garlic, green onions and turkey sausage (salmon was a choice too), served on wheat toast, with fresh fruit. $4.50
Can I say how EXTREMELY OVERJOYED I am? Freshley’s food was amazing. They have healthy portions. Food is perfectly seasoned. Fresh. Good pricing. -There was BLUEBERRIES in their fruit salad. When have you ever seen that?
I will for sure be a regular at Freshley’s Cafe. :)
Find them online: Website | Twitter | Facebook
16:
The US space shuttle, an American icon for over 30 years, rolls out to the launch pad for the final time in preparation for STS-135, its last mission. The 3.4-mile trek takes about seven hours to complete. Atlantis will carry the Raffaello multipurpose logistics module to deliver supplies, logistics and spare parts to the International Space Station.
[Photo Credit]
★ Pretty much as soon as I got accepted for the #NASATweetup; it took over my life. I’ve spent a lot of time making travel arrangements, saying hello! to my #DiscoveryHouse-mates, checking out the Facebook Group to meet some of the other attendees, & watching the #STS135 & #NASATweetup feeds constantly!. :)
★ Diet is pretty much the same. Losing a pound or two a week. During the week I am pretty strict, I’ve adding eating some dairy, cottage cheese and Kefir. I’ll have it randomly, I’m trying to up my calorie intake slowly. Example: Yesterday I ended the day at 716 calories. That was after I noticed my calories were so low that I ate two of those 90 calorie Special K bars. Tuesday I ended at 947; because I had to try the dark chocolate from Aldi. (Had a friend rave about it.) This week I ordered Jillian Michaels’ Ripped in 30 DVD after seeing Anastasia’s results. Liz also did the same thing! :) I’m not sure about the meal plan, according to my calculations, I should be right at 1,000 calories to lose weight, the meal plan is at about 1,200-1,300 a day. We’ll see.
★ Tomorrow is the last day to sign up to swap cookies! Go now! Go go go!
…Okay! That’s it for now. :)
13:
This past Friday was the Tampa Etsy Craft Party!
I actually can’t believe I didn’t blog about it beforehand. Quick summary, I saw the week before that no one was planning anything for the 2011 event, so I started contacting people, & before you know it, we were all knee deep in planning! There was an amazing group of people who made this possible. Thank you KC, Jenny, Sarah, Jess, Kaye, Amanda & everyone else who brought treats, crafts, or just their awesome self! Oh! & HUGE thank you to Mindclay! The lent us a super dope space. Photo explosion starts… now!
Haha me in close proximity to a computer, coffee, cutest baby & sister/bff … of course!
12:
Friday, while at work this popped up in my e-mail:
Dear Allison Barkley,
Congratulations, you have been selected to attend the NASA Tweetup on July 7-8 for space shuttle Atlantis’ targeted launch at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida! The event will provide you the opportunity to speak with shuttle technicians, engineers, astronauts, and managers, and to experience the launch of space shuttle Atlantis to the International Space Station.
… I can hardly contain my excitement!
I will be regularly updating! It’s overwhelming, & the whole community is AMAZING.
(STS-135 is the final planned mission of the American Space Shuttle.)
02:
Have I ever mentioned my boyfriend, Gregg, is an eagle scout? Often when I think of all the things I love/admire/respect about him, it always seems to be me compiling the Scout Law. :)
I found this article in a magazine while at the gym yesterday.
25:
At the weigh-in Monday I was down 2 pounds. I’m glad I hit a total of -15 pounds, but I am still hoping for a -5+ week soon. (My first two weeks were both 5 each.) I’m down 3% bodyfat, which means nothing to me compared to the scale numbers.
I’m actually out of HCG & not taking it anymore. I’m pretty sure my last injection was at least 4-5 days ago. I don’t feel any difference.
I talked to the nutritionist while I was at the doctor. She cleared up some questions I had, recommended not eating a 3rd fruit a day (I was eating apple/orange at 5pm on the way home.) because at that point in the day your body burns it for fuel, instead of using your fat.
I’m still having difficulties upping my calories. I really can’t get past 500ish with what the diet states. I started eating all my meals earlier too. (IE: Lunch is now @1:30, not 3.)The nutritionist said I should be eating 8oz of protein a day, but also said I needed more protein? It was confusing. We e-mailed back & forth.
Me:
I’m sorry to be e-mailing so soon, but I had a quick question. According to the meal plan sheet, it says 8oz. of protein a day, split between lunch & dinner. (4oz. each meal) A chicken breast is 6-8oz. correct? I should be eating a chicken breast a day?
Her:
It breaks it up into smaller portions to keep your metabolism burning steady throughout the day. You can add an additional veggie and 4oz of protein to the day if you are going to workout or do some type of cardio ie walking for 30 min. A chicken breast is about 6oz, but if you weighed it out it would be best. That way you know you are getting 4oz per meal.
Her (again):
How is the diet coming along now that you understand it a little better?
Me:
My friend gifted me a food scale yesterday, and tonight I am going grocery shopping. I think I am making it too complicated? I’m just going to try and keep it simple by eating 4oz. of chicken 2x a day w/ spinach & 1/2 a grapefruit in the morning. Is it okay if I don’t eat a 2nd fruit?
Her:
It is ok, but if you find that you need more energy during the day then eat it.
If you get hungry in the evening you could always have more veggies as long as they aren’t carrot, peas, or corn.
...then we talked about edamame.
I’m actually excited for this to be the last week at the weight loss clinic. I’m ready to switch up this diet & try something else. If I hit -5 pounds this week for the slight adjustments, I will be ecstatic. That would be a total of -20 pounds in a month.
I’ve been reading 4 Hour Body & would love to try some of the stuff it suggests. -Like, eating beans/lentils with meals & protein for breakfast. I’m thinking my body is stuck in a starvation mode w/ such low calories. Last time I did a very low calorie diet (VLCD), I did it for a month, lost 20 pounds & plateaued really bad. Which just so happens to be the weight I am at currently. My body LOVES being at 155, & I HATE it! (My GW is 125, I’m 5′5″.)
I also have been following the blog Healthy is Happy. Happy is Healthy. It’s about a girl who has lost over 100 pounds in a year. I enjoy the blog a ton, & find enormous inspiration there. She posted an awesome guide on how to up your calories slowly, which I’ll need to do after being so low for a month now.
It’s also time to get back to the gym. I have a membership which I pay ~$40 a month for, & haven’t been in AT LEAST 6 months! I have to start doing more cardio. I guess that’s the next thing I need to figure out… managing time, food & working out around a fairly active social life.
…& just for fun, these look awesome Low-calorie Microwave Protein Fudge Muffins !
23:
Like the title says…
I need a camera!
& I’m asking for some help from the internets. My ipod touch isn’t cutting it. It’s shaky & I always am posting blurry pictures. Also, it’s currently still in a bag of rice after it took a swim in my kitchen sink. :(
Requirements:
♥ Cheap (Like, under $200)
♥ Small
♥ Different light settings
♥ Flash
♥ Movie
Would be nice:
♥ Cute
♥ Fish-eye option?
♥ Cute (again)
Can you suggest anything?
18:
Monday of last week, Gregg asked me if I wanted to go somewhere that weekend. I suggested the beach, hotel was booked & we left Friday by 6pm.
Friday!
We got in after sunset, checked in, and decided we needed to find a bar within walking distance. We found a dive! of a bar & had some long islands while hearing some wonderfully fabulous karaoke. After we walked along the beach, & headed back to the hotel to get some sleep.
(The pier, so pretty!)
Saturday was beach day!
We woke up early, headed to a beach shop to pick up towels, an umbrella, and scuba masks. Once on the beach, we went right into the water & swam out to use the masks. The water was so cloudy! So we just hung out for a few hours. We walked down the the pier, I got soft serve ice cream. We left our flip flops two miles down where we had set up camp, so we bought some cheapie flip flops to walk back, lol.
(Beach Allie, lolz)
Once we got back, we packed up & went to the grocery store to pick up lunch. We had buffalo chicken lunch meat wrapped in iceberg lettuce. We then hit up a putt putt place that also had laser tag, go carts and arcade games. Gregg won everything besides putt putt. :)
We went & had dinner at an amazing sushi place. The rain had set in more, so we decided to go bowling…which turned into 2 pitchers of beer & cosmic! bowling. :)
Sunday! We went to Kennedy Space Center!
It was an amazing place. During the 2.5 hr tour, I definitely got misty a few times. It was nice to learn a ton & see the Endeavor before it took off the next day. I wish we had more time to spend there, it’s for sure an ALL day thing.
& that was the trip!
We stopped in for dinner & coffee in Orlando on the way back. It was a wonderful weekend, with an even more wonderful man. ♥♥♥ I can’t wait till our next weekend getaway, it’s just what we both needed!
****FYI: We have a habit of staying at really crappy hotels/hostels, because what’s the point of spending a ton per night, when you are only there to sleep a few hours? So we stayed at a very! basic motel six. For two double beds (one serves as luggage/clothing holder, lol) it was $60ish for each night. I’d definitely recommend it if you are looking for just somewhere to lay your head & spend your money doing stuff! :)*****
17:
At the weigh-in yesterday I was down 3 pounds. Kinda a bummer, but expected since Gregg & I spent the weekend at the beach.
I packed some healthy snacks- sliced veggies & tzatziki, fruit for morning breakfasts. But, we cheated at night.
Friday Night- 3 Long Islands (Ugh, well liquor… why?? Saturday AM was icky!)
Saturday Night- We got sushi, we each got a roll w/ brown rice & split a roll w/ cucumber as the outside. :)
Sunday Night- On the way back I was HUNGRY so we went to Uno (I have never been there before, pizza) & had a side salad, 3 hot wings, & half a mini personal deep dish pizza.
12:
Details:
Stila – Jade Eye Shadow (Pretty green color)
Bulgari – Mon Jasmin Noir
Erno Laszlo – Transphuse Night Serum
Archipelago – Pomegranate Soap
Treat – Tiny Prints Card
Extra – Oribe Beautiful Color Shampoo and Conditioner
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Thanks to Andrea for letting me know about Birchbox! Go follow her on Twitter!
