Things that don’t suck about Sacramento

Tree of Life, maybe?

La Belette Rouge did a series of lists relating to things that were “good” about living in LA.  So, I’m stealing borrowing from her and will attempt to highlight the good parts of living in Sacramento (this may be short-lived, but I will try to remain positive).

When The Fella initially said we were moving to Sacramento, I thought…WHY?  Why the heck couldn’t we go to Denver as I so hoped and prayed?  Well, cuz…so you can either do a long distance thang or move with me. He didn’t say that last part, I totally imagined it. Neither of us wanted a long distance relationship.  But really, when you tell people that you are moving to California, everyone oohs and ahhs over how great it is to live in sunny California. Well that’s because everyone thinks that there are only 3 cities here – San Diego, LA and San Francisco. And at times, Napa and Palm Springs are tossed in there…but those are the major 3 cities.  Honestly, I don’t think most people even realize Sacramento is the State Capitol.  Even after visiting, I could see why it’s forgotten…but again – remember – positivity.

So when you tell people you aren’t moving to 1 of the 3 biggies, that it’s actually Sacramento – the reaction is more along the lines of: Where?  Is that near LA? 

And I had to go into my short list of why it’s so great to move to Sacramento: (1) Low cost of living if you choose to live in California. (2) Proximity to San Francisco, Reno, Tahoe, Yellowstone, Mt. Shasta, Napa (notice, no mention of the great proximity of anything IN Sacramento). (3) The weather – no humidity (that’s a plus but I have to use TONS of lotion now that summer is actually here). (4) Outdoor activities such as rafting, biking, hiking.  This really isn’t a short list, it’s the only list.

And as I said in my previous post, I don’t really want to spend my Sundays driving hours away from town to have a good time.  Well, that’s what we did Saturday (at least it wasn’t Sunday).

I talked The Fella into heading to the Amador Flower Farm in the Shenandoah Valley (which also has a slew of vineyards in you’re interested in wine tastings) to see the daylilies in bloom. I know – a total girl trip, but hey – he was game to go!  So with map in hand and a tank full of gas (never go on a road trip, no matter how short, without a full tank of gas) we set off on an hour or so drive Northeast.

Even with buckets of rain this region has had this year, the country side wasn’t green, as I expected. But the drive was beautiful. We did take a wrong turn that sent us a little further east than we were supposed to go and I turned in a little old lady driving super slow up the side of a mountain. I guess I really need to get used to driving in the mountains if I plan to explore.  We did finally make it to the flower farm and had a great lunch under 150-year old oak trees surrounded by fabulous color. All the while, I was watching out for rattlesnakes as the many signs suggested! 

 So, while the list of things that do suck about this area is long, I can add this to the list of things that don’t: Amador Flower Farm.

*All photos taken by The Fella

We made the paper...

We trekked to a galaxy far far away aka Woodland, CA Friday night to the Gibson House to do one of my fav things - watch a freebie movie outside. Star Wars was the feature film. LOVE Star Wars. You can tell by my Wookie-like hairy arms. Wow - never thought about having those waxed but photos generally make you think of things you ordinarily wouldn't. I even had a Chewie Lego key-charm (that's a funny story I may tell you at another time).

Even Princess Leia made an appearance

Weight loss, the quick and the easy…

Let’s face it - that’s what most of want - To take a magic pill at night and wake up being a size 4 the next day.

In the short span of 2 hours, I have received 1 FB message promising that I would lose 15 lbs in just 2 weeks by drinking some all-natural shake and a Living Social e-mail promising a 4-week weight loss program using a prescribed medication, supplements, nutrition plan and exercise regimen for the low cost of $90 (I didn’t inquire on the cost of the shake diet and I highly doubt the 4-week program is supervised by a real physician).

Yes, I am an exercise DVD junkie (just recently bought Zumba from QVC). I’ve purchased the Nike+ for my shoe, a heart rate monitor, 2 kettlebells, and slew of other fitness accessories. I do this as a form of motivation (and it also aides my desire to shop).

But I know that by just having these items will not make my thin overnight. I also know that doing a shake diet and taking diet pills will not provide long-term HEALTHY weight loss.

 And isn’t that the point of all this?  Maintaining the weight loss long term and being healthy?

I can’t say I haven’t considered options like Quick Weight Loss, Jenny Craig, FitFoods. I can’t say that these programs aren’t beneficial to some. They do work – for some.

Call me hardheaded and stubborn, but I want to do this the old fashioned way. Maybe I will be stuck at 170 (yes, that damn 7lbs weight gain is sticking around) for a bit longer that I truly like. But I am working on eating right and working out (I restarted my gym membership) and as long as I don’t see 203 again, I can be happy.