Tis the season.... To diet!

I'm Back!....... Again. Finally. You poor souls. What on earth did you do without me?

The last couple months have been a complete whirlwind. Wes and I found a place and as of 15 days ago we are Roomies! It's been really fun, but moving in together has been taking ALOT longer than I thought it would. We both have so much stuff, combining it and getting rid of some of it and figuring out where it all goes has become a pain in the ass. So even though we are 15 day roomies, our new home is only have unpacked. The downstairs is looking really nice. The upstairs....MMmm, not so much. It's a work in progress and to be honest, I don't really care if it takes another month, living together is fun!

With all of the moving and living without a fridge for a week we were forced to eat only quick greasy fast food 3 times a day. And lets not forget, Thanksgiving just passed and even though it was only the two of us and my kitchen was not completely unpacked, you better believe that I made a whole thanksgiving spread. And together we ate almost all of it. Except for the stuff that I put in the freezer for a rainy day. I literally watched Wes eat a whole apple pie to himself in 3 days. While I find that disturbing, I practically did the same thing with the pumpkin. And lets not forget all the eating and drinking that we took part in for dear Andy and Alana's wedding in October. After the last couple months, my jeans were starting to get tight and shirts weren't looking how they used to. Infact, although its been building up for the last 9 months, Wes and I realized on Thanksgiving day that we had built relationship guts. Gasp!

It happened. We turned into Robin and Barney!

So that night we did some research on a couple diet plans and found one that we thought we could handle. The GM diet. I had actually heard about this diet before from Jesus Jugs. So Wes and I agreed that the Monday after the holiday weekend we would defeat the diet together!

The GM diet is a strict 7 day meal plan that is set to help you lose 10-17lbs. Here is what you do:

They give you a cabbage soup recipe that you can eat as much as you want throughout the week. If you would like to see it, it can be found here. The rest of the diet is as listed.

Day 1. 

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All fruits except bananas. You can have as many fruits as you like. The most recommended ones are melon and cantaloupe. This day prepares your body for the rest of the days. You can also eat the soup, although I didn't make this until day 2.

Day 2.

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Vegetable day. You can eat as many raw or cooked vegetables as you like. It is best to avoid dressing entirely or stick to lemon juice. For breakfast, you need to eat a large baked potato which may be flavored with one pat of butter.

Day 3.

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Any fruit and veggies that you like except bananas.

Day 4.

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Bananas and milk day. You can eat as many as 8 bananas and have up to 3 tall glasses of milk. You may also have the GM soup. By this day, your sugar cravings should be dramatically reduced.

Day 5.

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Is all about beef and tomatoes. Eat two 10 oz. portions of lean beef in the form of steak or burger. You must eat 6 whole tomatoes and drink one more quart of water. The water will help you purify your body from within.

Day 6.

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Eat as much beef and vegetables as you like. According to the diet, by day 6 you should have lost a considerable amount of weight.

Day 7.

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On this day you can eat brown rice and vegetables, and drink juice fruits.

I started the diet at 116 lbs. Currently, we are on day 5. Beef and tomatoes. Day 4, the bananas and milk day was the one I dreaded most but it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. I'm not a milk person and before this day I could not imagine drinking 3 whole glasses of milk. But being deprived of any dairy for 4 days it was actually really nice to have the milk. for dinner I combined milk, ice and bananas and made a smoothie which was very easy to drink. I also had some of the soup. This morning I weighed myself at the scale came in at 111 lbs! 5 lbs lighter than I was on Monday! Wes is down 10 lbs. 

We have followed the diet very strictly, doing everything exactly as the diet states. It has not been easy, however it has gotten easier as the days go on. I actually think that today, beef and tomatoes will be the hardest. Plain hamburger isnt really my thing and 20 oz. is alot for me to eat. We got steaks for dinner so that should be good. After today, the rest should be a walk in the park!

I'll let you know how it goes!

Things to consider the next time you go out to eat:

So, I have been a little lazy in the job finding department, but I have some good reasons! First one, unfortunately I make more money waitressing than I would at any Design job I've seen out there. Second, It's easy, stress free and when I go home I don't have to think about it at all until my next shift. And lastly, I'm taking quite a few vacations this holiday season, so it doesn't make sense to get hired somewhere and have to ask for a bunch of days off.

That being said, while I like waitressing I have some pet peeves that I think people who haven't worked in a restaurant NEED to know.

Never tell your server that you want a round of waters for everyone after you've all already ordered beverages. If someone wants water, that's fine, I'll get it for them. But unless someone specifically says they want it, there is no need to speak on behalf of the whole table. You better believe I'm cursing you out in my head when theres 9 people with 9 drinks and then some ass-hole says "and a round of waters for the table." That's 18 drinks for me to get! As if I am not busy enough!

That being said.... If you order a diet coke and a water. Drink the effing water. So many times I see the water untouched sitting on the table and yet you're asking for your diet coke refills! It's frustrating to say the least.

If you've already ordered a cheeseburger and then five minutes later decide that you really want the fish and chips, suck it up and stick with the cheeseburger. Do you know what a bitch it is to have to run and tell the cooks not to make your 'already in the process of being made' burger, ring in your fish and chips and then fix the bill just because you can't make up your mind? Seriously! It drives me mad!

Don't come to a restaurant with a party of 5 or higher and then ask for separate checks. Come prepared with cash, have a volunteer payer to pay and then reimburse them later or split it equally. I have better things to do than fix 8 different transactions so your cheap-ass can have a bill that's the exact amount to the penny.

I understand that in your restaurant adventures you will run into some pretty poor food service. I get it. I myself have experienced this too. But you should know that if you are going out on a Friday night at dinner time, you might not always get the best possible service. Try as I might there will always be that one table that has the curse. Anything that can go wrong will, and I'm sorry for that. It sucks for both parties involved. But please try to be a little sympathetic, the nicer you are to the server, the more likely they will be to try and keep you happy. However, there are some servers that are slow, stupid and just plain rude. In that case I say call for the manager!

If you are in a fowl mood stay at home! I don't want to serve bitchy people as much as you don't want to be served by a bitchy waitress!

If your host seats you in a section never ask to sit in the corner booth surrounded by a sea of empty tables. That means that section is closed and the tables are clean. If you sit there that means that some poor kid (me) has to go back and re-clean that table. No one wants to do that. If you don't like the booth given to you totally ask to be sat in a different section. I'm guilty of this too. But if you want the private booth alone with no one around, than you should probably be staying home and ordering a pizza. Just sayin. Also keep in mind that the hosts are not seating you nilly willy. There is in fact actually a rotation going on and by moving seats you are messing up the rotation.

Do not get mad that there is a wait even though there are empty tables. The reason there are empty tables is because the hosts don't want to overload the servers. Getting "triple sat" and then having to get drinks for everyone and then food orders while keeping control of the already down tables gets tricky. Even if you did get sat it will probably be another 5 to 10 minutes before you get service so either way you're waiting. What's the difference?

Although you may think your kid is cute, I don't. You should be ready to give me all of your kids orders at the table when we are ordering. It is not necessary to give your child 10 different options. And then let me stare at them while they stare into blanks space (probably thinking about my little pony- NOT what they want for dinner.) I am busy. Give them two options. If they can't answer, you decide for them. Or better yet! You order for them! It's much appreciated. Although, I sometimes do get very polite, well mannered children who know what they want and behave. I love those kind.

Don't rack up a fifty dollar bill and then tip three dollars. That's just rude.

That's all I've got for today folks. Enjoy the rest of the weekend, and for golly sakes please be kind to your server!

It's the F**king Catalina Wine Mixer!

This weekend was mine and Wes's Birthday weekend! Yup. On Sunday I turned the young age of 27 and the old man turned 31. To celebrate our birthdays being on the same day, we took advantage of the free ferry rides to Catalina, (for birthday people only) and spent the night on the beautiful island. It was our first romantic getaway weekend alone and it was wonderful. One of the nicest weekends and definitely best birthday I've ever had.

Our ferry left at 7:45 Sunday morning, which is MUCH earlier than I cared for, but well worth it. After waking up at 5:50am and dropping off little Rox at her puppy hotel, we were on our way to Paradise. Literally.

The boat ride there is about an hour and a half and the waters were a bit rocky, but a couple bloody mary's and we were fine!

When we came in to port around 9:15am, the weather had cleared and Catalina was beautiful.

When we got off the boat we stopped and took a few pics of the town before dropping our stuff off at the hotel.

There were very few "normal sized" cars there. Original Mini Coopers and Golf Carts are the vehicles of choice.

See what I mean?

We stayed at the Glenmore Plaza Hotel. It was next to the beach and right in the middle of town. Very convenient, and it was super cute!

Just look at our sweet little beach cottage room! The magic totally happened here.

Once our stuff was dropped off we headed to the Pancake Cottage for breakfast. 

Apparently Catalina is considered 'Birthday Island' the whole town has special offers for your Birthday and they gave us ribbons to wear. It was extra fun being both our birthdays and getting to wear ribbons!

While Wes was busy planning out our day, I took time to show off his birthday present to me. They're Rayban Wayfarers fold ups. They fold to practically the size of the lenses and fit so cute in a tiny little leather case! I love them!

After breakfast we rented a golf cart and toured the town on our own!

There were so many pretty things to look at. I love this pink hotel!

There were also cactus galore!

The view we got from our golf cart tour. It seriously felt like we were on an island in the middle of the Caribbean and not 40 miles from home.

Another couple, also doing the golf cart tour stopped and took this pic for us.

And this one too :)

Wes wanted to look like he was thinking. 

Showing off our Birthday Ribbons!

Wherever we went someone told us Happy Birthday. I thought it was the locals just being nice but Wes insisted that there was some kind of 'plot' behind it. After some Google research it turns out he was right. The locals are encouraged to wish guests Happy Birthday. Interesting....

Beautiful.

We took a pit stop to watch some people zip line and take in the scenery and ran in to this little cutie. I tried to see what his name was but the only tags he had on were for rabies, so I guess his name is healthy.

After Golf Carting we went to the pier for some lunch. We had booked a tour on a submarine, so we had some fish and chips and beer while we killed time for our adventure.

I'm not a very good double fister.

I told Wes to pretend he was a Pirate and this is what he came up with. Arrrr!

Some of the fish that we saw through our little window. 

After the Submarine tour we did some more sight seeing. I thought this little courtyard was so pretty.

Then we went to Luau Larry's for some cocktails. Wes got his Wiki Wacked with a Wicki Wacker drink.

I went more subtle with a Pina Colada.

I thought it was hilarious that their parking spots were mini for their golf carts.

After Luau Larry's we went back to the hotel for a nap before getting ready and going out to a romantic dinner at Steve's Steak House.

You can use your imagination for how the rest of the evening went.

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The rest of the evening was Fantastic! We woke up refreshed the next day and did a bit more sight seeing before we hopped back on the boat to come home.

Bison are all over the island of Catalina so we had to take a photo in front of this jazzed up Buffalo.

Wes's Dream car....

On the boat to come home.

This is Catalina's Casino. You don't gamble there though. Its more of a theatre/ event center. Inside it is the world's largest ballroom. Pretty neat huh?

The boat ride coming home was much smoother than getting there.

This is coming back into Dana Point.

I loved this dog with his little life vest on, giving us the pirate eye!

On the car ride home I was kind of sad that our trip to Paradise was so short. I would have loved to stay another day. But after picking up Roxie from her hotel and heading back to Wes's, the sun was shining and the trees were glistening and we still had a view of the ocean. I shouldn't be upset. I freaking live in paradise! 

The rest of the day we napped and watched The Voice. A perfect Birthday Weekend!