No restaurants for us...

I just asked Nicole if it's been a week since we've gone out to eat, or had any meal outside of our home, and the answer was yes. It's probably been longer than a week by now.

I like the life we're building for ourselves; it's healthier in many ways. I'm glad to be home with her at night, eating whatever is left over or something new or a bowl of Golden Grahams, and just talking with her, playing with our dogs, or getting ready to work out together.

I have no desire to eat at a restaurant, either, which is VERY strange for me. I love food. Hence, I have plenty of weight to lose. But I am not craving restaurant food or fast food or anything of that nature; I just want to go home, make a salad, and run for thirty minutes. Not bad.

Week 2 of training

Nicole and I started week 2 of Couch to 5K training yesterday; we both had that "oh my goodness, I want to die" look on our faces. I am baffled as to how I'm going to work my way up to 3.2 miles. Yesterday was 1.75 miles, and heavens, that was enough.

My body feels differently, though. I have not stepped on a scale to start the working out process, but I can notice a difference in how my body looks. I worked out four times last week, and am planning on at least four times this week (resting is important, too).

Tonight, our plan is to jog around the track once, work on strength through machines, and then go in the pool and hot tub. Sounds like a good evening to me!

Also, I marked off number 47 from the list because I have officially driven the car successfully -- which, in my world, means that I shifted gears without thinking. It was a great drive to the store!

Pumpkin Cupcakes sans marzipan

Okay, so we cheated.

And Nicole said it's okay, and since she is the boss, I defer to her on this one. So Martha Stewart, in all of her glory and baking goodness, expected us to make marzipan pumpkin candies, which would be placed on top of the pumpkin cupcakes.

Nicole and I looked at the recipe and she said, simply: "No."

So we cheated. We didn't make the marzipan pumpkin candies.

We used, ahem, store-bought candies.

Gasp!

But allow me to tell you, readers, that the pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting are, in fact, delicious. And since we're becoming regular cupcake-makers, we had many ingredients on hand. All we had to buy was butter, cream cheese, pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling, which is what we had in the pantry), and, you know, the cheating candies.

The process of making the cupcakes gets smoother every time. Nicole, however, is not keen on using the mixer anymore. Apparently, and this has gone unnoticed by me, she mixes every time. And it's tiring. And not as fun as sifting? I can only imagine. So next time, it's all me on the mixer.

And don't tell Nicole, but I have a little plan to buy a standing mixer in the near future. Not because I don't want to be Ms. Mix-a-lot, but because the one I've been eying is pink and adorable. And perfect for us.

We've reached the end of our night, we shared one cupcake (hey, we ran today -- why sabotage ourselves within twelve hours?), Nicole is cleaning up, and I'm writing this. It's been a good day.

Couch to 5K

I'm starting the Couch to 5K program, which I downloaded on iTunes as a podcast. Essentially, it's a 9-week program designed for couch potatoes...like myself.

I'm starting it today at the gym; I went to the gym three times last week, and felt great about it. I hopped on the elliptical for 10-15 minutes each time, and then the treadmill for 10-25 minutes, briskly walking, with sporadic running for one minute at a time. It's not much, admittedly -- but it's more than I have done.

On our list, number 72 is to run a half marathon. I have a long way to go before that's possible, so I need to start now. Maybe we'll run a full marathon after a while.

All I know is that I've been craving working out. So now I wait for Nicole to get home so that we can go to the gym and get started on the nine week program. I hope it works!

Look out, number 47

The true test will be on Monday when Nicole sends me to work in her car.

But last night, I drove from our house to her mother's house (about ten-ish minutes away, if not more) in Nicole's car -- a stick shift.

I realize that I'm turning twenty-seven on Saturday, and that I shouldn't be so excited about driving...but the idea that I've never learned how to be fully comfortable driving a stick shift -- and that I did it last night -- is amazing to me. I shifted gears, I am learning to "feel" the engine, I didn't stall the car.

Okay, I stalled once. BUT! It stalled when I was pulling into OUR driveway after the whole trip. Nicole called it a fluke. It's no wonder I love her.

I never learned because my parents never had a manual car when I had my license. I remember way -- WAY -- back in the day, my dad drove a little white Subaru, and I remembered him shifting and all of that when he would drive. But my mother NEVER drove the car. Actually, I believe that my mom was supposed to take the car for inspection, and she had to call Aunt Jeanne to drive. My mom never learned how to drive a stick shift, and therefore, neither did we. My brother and I feel a little cheated by it.

A while ago, Sean started teaching me how to drive. Sean may in fact be the best driving instructor one can imagine. He let me stall that darn truck a thousand times, and he was patient through the whole process. Great times. I drove around parking lots, I drove by elementary schools (when school was NOT in session), I stalled on a hill, all because he just let me. And explained how to do it in language that made complete sense. Now, with Nicole's help, I'm getting the basics and more under my belt.

Monday, however, is the true test. There is QUITE the hill leading up to my school. If something happens there, I am -- not to put too fine a point on it -- doomed. We're going to take a test drive this weekend to practice. But Monday, alone, me and the Eclipse...that's when we'll see just how comfortable I am driving a stick shift.

36 Dollars, or Why Number 49 Matters

If we don't start managing our bank accounts IMMEDIATELY, we'll never save money for a house or a new car. We're chronic spenders; I wish one of us was a saver, but we're really REALLY not.

I checked my bank account this morning: $36. Yes, that's right. $36. Well, it's not right, but it's accurate. The thing is, though, I only get paid once a month -- so my next paycheck is twenty days away.

Where does the money go? I almost put two question marks there because I'm so desperate to understand why I have a spending problem.

So, I dusted off the old finances spreadsheet I made when we were trying to buy a house a few months ago -- I haven't touched it in two months -- and updated it. My new goal? Check every day to make sure my spending is marked on the spreadsheet.

Not that I have anything to spend now.

The List

Italicized = In progress

Bold = Completed (20/101)

1. Make 175 different types of homemade cupcakes. (6/175)

2. Wear every article of clothing.

3. Nicole: Wear every piece of jewelry.

4. Libby: Wear every pair of shoes.

5. Walk the dogs together at least three times a week for a year. (0/52)

6. Stay in Breckenridge for a weekend.

7. Nicole: Learn to speak German.

8. Libby: Learn to speak Spanish (again).

9. Make a new dish every Sunday.

10. Read ten books the other recommends. (0/10)

11. Not go to Starbucks for an entire month. (0/30)

12. Eat every meal at home for an entire week. (7/7)

13. Go to the movies once a month together. (2/12)

14. Grow vegetables.

15. Buy new couches.

16. Get massages once a month for a year.

17. Go to Mt. Rushmore.

18. Go to Coeurdalene, Idaho.

19. See at least five live music performances. (1/5)

20. Go to Rockefeller Center at Christmas time to see the tree.

21. Host a holiday dinner party.

22. Buy something for the other person once a month.

23. Have our parents over for dinner.

24. Visit Taos, New Mexico.

25. Visit Tiny Town (Colorado).

26. Have Krissy over for a sleepover.

27. Make smores.

28. Feed the homeless.

29. Knit a blanket together.

30. Take Nicole’s Mom to San Diego for her 60th birthday.

31. Remain smoke free for all 1001 days.

32. Go an entire month without buying anything except groceries.

33. Catch up on Lost.

34. Get real houseplants.

35. Get pedicures together once a month.

36. Sit outside under the stars and talk.

37. Donate blood together.

38. Visit our grandparents’ graves.

39. Ride bikes together.

40. Roller blade together.

41. Eat vegetarian for a month. (30/30)

42. Eat vegan for a month. (30/30)

43. Have game night once a month (host or attend).

44. Nicole will show Libby around Seattle. And Forks.

45. Buy a house.

46. Buy a new car.

47. Libby: Drive a stick shift comfortably.

48. Clean out the garage.

49. Manage our checking accounts.

50. Use all of Nicole’s perfume without buying any new ones.

51. Host a Halloween party.

52. Volunteer for Habitat for Humanity.

53. Find a church.

54. Go snowshoeing.

55. Buy a new Christmas tree.

56. Take a trip to the Grand Canyon.

57. Take a trip to Las Vegas.

58. Nicole: Go back to school.

59. Libby: Apply to graduate school and/or law school.

60. Libby: Learn to knit.

61. Nicole: See five foreign films.

62. Learn to make salt scrubs.

63. Buy a pink Kitchenaid stand mixer.

64. For one month, no chain restaurants – local and ethnic foods are acceptable.

65. Go bowling together.

66. Go miniature golfing together.

67. Stay up one night talking.

68. Read thirty poems to each other. (0/30)

69. Write a children’s book together.

70. Send out Christmas cards.

71. Go one week without soda.

72. Run a half marathon.

73. Participate in the Moonlight Classic.

74. Visit the Denver Art Museum.

75. Drive across the country.

76. See a concert at Red Rocks.

77. Go to a comedy show.

78. Make fondue for friends.

79. Use only cash for a month.

80. Attend a Denver Broncos game.

81. Stay in bed for an entire day.

82. Watch a sunrise together.

83. Go camping!

84. Join a bible study.

85. Keep our phones off for forty-eight hours.

86. Jetski!

87. Have a spa day.

88. Go to a drive in movie.

89. Write ten love notes to each other.

90. Listen to a book on tape.

91. Create soundtracks for each other.

92. Clean out our cars.

93. Go to the opera.

94. Go to the ballet.

95. Have a picnic.

96. Teach Nicole how to play chess.

97. Go on three romantic weekend getaways. (1/3)

98. After finding a church, tithe regularly.

99. Play a game of tennis.

100. Participate in Soldiers’ Angels.

101. Get married.