Real Estate Transaction: Phase I

So in my previous post I mentioned that we are in the middle of trying to work out a Real Estate deal that could mean some major lifestyle changes for us. There's still a lot of loose ends to tie up, but the first part of the transaction is now underway- we have agreed to sell our rental property (our little 2 bed 1 bath starter home by BYU) to the local health mega-giant, Intermountain Health Care for an undisclosed sum. Yesterday we reached a verbal agreement with them. They are drawing up the paperwork, and we'll close in about 30 days. We're finally getting rid of that cursed piece of junk. Hoo-rah! (I will definitly NOT miss the snakes or the rats!)

Stay tuned for more updates. We're meeting with some folks on Monday to discuss Phase II of the whole operation.

Actual News?

I've been really bad at keeping up with the blog the last few weeks. There hasn't been much going on, and most of what is happening these days I have to keep under wraps- hence the excessive use of YouTube videos. I just thought you guys would be interested to know, however, that we have another Real Estate deal in the works. If this pans out, it will be the biggest thing to happen to me this year, but I don't want to go into too much detail because there are a lot of "what-ifs" and "maybe's" right now.
In the mean time, here's another YouTube video to keep you entertained.

Weekly Fitness Update

So this past week was pretty difficult for me as far as staying on track with my fitness goals, what with all of the birthday parties, driving, etc.
I was able to keep a level head throughout all of the non-stop eating and driving, though, and although I can't say I completed my entire fitness plan for the week or stuck to my meal plans exactly, I did end up losing 1 lb for a grand total of 5 lbs since January 1st. It's still slow going, but at least I'm working hard and I haven't quit yet.
This weeks goals are pretty much the same- to cut out sugar, stay off caffeine, and exercise 5 times this week for 45 or more. I will probably repeat last week's meal plans since I had to make so many last-minute changes that I really didn't stick to it much.
I'll check back in next Monday with an update.

ABC's

Stole this from Alisha and Melissa. It looks fun, and I love spelling.

A,B,C's of things that I love!

Animals- I love animals (except for the slimy ones!)
Beverages- I am usually drinking something because I am always thirsty
Chocolate- no explanation needed
Disneyland- but only when I go with Andrei. He is too much fun.
Emily- she's my sister and I love her.
Farms- I think they are cool, so there!
Gladiolas- I planted some with my mom when I was a kid. It was one of the best days of my life, so I think of it every time I see them.
Heather- also a sister that I love
Independence- I like to be able to take care of myself.
Jokes- who doesn't love a good laugh?
Kittens- this is a very important sub-group of the previously mentioned love of animals.
Lilacs and Lavender- two of my favorite flowers. I love LOVELY memories of my great-grandmother's house smelling of Lilac in the spring, and a warm, sunny summer day I spent with my older brother when he lived in a house surrounded by lavender.
Melissa and Money- let's be honest here. I really do. I also really love Melissa. She makes me happy.
Nerds- both the candy and the people, because both ROCK!
Octopi- because they are by far the coolest cephalopods
Purple Petunias, puppies, poppies, presents- Why do so many awesome things start with P!?
Question marks- they are my favorite of all punctuation.
Roses- Which is why I have literally like 20 rose bushes on my property currently. I love them so much that if I ever have a daughter, she might just end up being named Rosie, despite the fact that my step-dad once had a dog named that.
Sara and Sandals- I specifically prefer shoes that require no laces, socks, snaps, etc. I also specifically prefer Sara, because she is cool and nice.
Terra, Terri, Tiffany and Tigers- So many, many wonderful things start with T! Some of my favorite people AND my favorite animal. My favorite tiger is the one on my pink T-shirt (another thing that I love that starts with T!)
Umbrellas- you never realize how much you love umbrellas until you really need one and happen to find one on hand.
Valentines, Violets, Victoria's Secret- All pretty things that usually smell good- can't beat that!
Water and President George Washington- hydration is important, and you gotta love a guy with wooden teeth!
X-Box, specifically Guitar Hero. Fun for boys and girls!
Yakuza- in real life they're dangerous and I'd prefer to avoid them, but in fiction they are the BOMB!
Zebras- Black and white striped horses!? Sweet!

By the way, Blogger's spell check does not recognize the words "Octopi," "Cephalopods," or "Yakuza." Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. Shame on you Blogger. Shame on you.

Yowza.

I love dance. I think it is amazing how something as simple as dance is so very important to the identity of so many people. A good example of this is the Tango, known the world over as the iconic symbol of Argentina. I recently stumbled upon a KILLER musical group who plays Tango with a modern twist- Gotan Project based out of Buenos Aires, and this video of a Tangobar dancing the heck out GP's Amor Porteno.
Enjoy.

Family Search

I got this idea from my friend Amber's blog. She made a geneological map of her family, which I must admit is MUCH more diverse than mine. I thought it was a cool idea, though, especially since I've never heard of many of the places that my family comes from, so here, in all it's glory, is a map of 5 generations of my family, starting with me.


View Camille's Geneology in a larger map

Do you know where you come from?

Ahhhhhhh....

I met my husband 8 years ago today. Who would have thought that we'd be where we are now back then.

This Week's Goal

Well, it's time for my weekly check-in. Still haven't lost much weight (only like 1/2 pound), but I did pretty well on my goals last week- to cut out soda pop and eat more veggies. I've had several completely soda-free days, and I'm definitely off of caffeine.
So my goal for this week is to work on cutting out sweets. It'll be tough because my birthday is this Friday and even though I'm not having a party or anything (Ick. Who wants to feel OLDER!? Not me, thanks!) I always use holidays, birthdays, and celebrations in general as an excuse to carbo-binge. In order to help curb a carb overload I already made my meal plan for this week.
I'm also doing pretty well with my work-out goals. I did some sort of exercise for 40-70 minutes every day this week except for Sunday and Friday. So I am also setting a goal to keep up with the exercise.
It's really frustrating because I've been working on my goals for 2 weeks now with literally no results so to speak of. This is the point in any fitness plan where I get discouraged and start self-sabotaging, but I've promised myself I won't freak out and then quit. I'll check back in a week with my progress.

Healthy Recipe

I hate eating veggies. This is no secret to anyone who sits down for a meal with me. I am pretty convinced that one of the major causes of my chronic health problems has something to do with the fact that up until recently I averaged about 1/2 of one serving of fruits or veggies a day for most of my life.
I'm usually okay with salads if there's lots of dressing, but just sitting down and eating celery? Forget about it. I don't eat cooked veg unless it's smothered in some sort of melted cheese, usually, and I can only gag raw vegetables down with ranch dip in excessive quantities... and then the all buttermilk and mayonaise in the dip starts to counterbalance the benefits of eating veg in the first place. I recently stumbled upon a marvelous solution to this quandry:
Low-Fat/Low-Cal Ranch Dip
1/2 cup low-fat cottage cheese
1 tbsp. pre-packaged ranch dip

Mix in a bowl (or ziploc baggie) and enjoy!

It's like the easiest thing on the planet to make- I just dump the ingredients into a plastic sandwich baggie and smoosh them up. Then I cut off a corner of the baggie and pipe the "dip" onto my veggies. Clean hands, nothing to wash up (except for the spoon). It's genius.

I've had no problem getting my daily servings of fruit or veggies since I discovered this recipe and as an added bonus I'm getting a serving of low-fat dairy to boot.
It's so good I had to pass it along.

Happy Eating!

Hard Ball

We finally got an offer from IHC and UVRMC to purchase our investment property. It was about $40K less than we really wanted and about $20K less than what we are expecting. The next few weeks will be kind of intense as we struggle with the difficult decision of what to do next. We're hoping we can meet somewhere in the middle and that we can end this transaction, which as been nearly 5 years in the making, as quickly and amicably as possible.

Product Plug

I don't usually like to plug merchandise on this blog, but I recently made a purchase that I am 110% satisfied with, and I thought I'd pass along the info for all of you who are working on your fitness this year.
I have always struggled with going to the gym because a: I am too lazy to get out of the house once I finally get home b: it is SOOOOOOOOOOO boring and c: I hate the way those gym rats look (okay for guys but too bulky and chunky for girls). On the other hand I have always, Always, ALWAYS wanted to learn how to dance. Therefore, in REevaluating (for like the 10 billionth time) my fitness needs and goals I decided that I was forever going to abandon the idea of me working out 5 days a week at the gym on the stationary bike and eliptical machine (yawn!) and I have officially changed my fitness routine to dance 5 days a week. It is the bomb dot com and I love it, mostly because I don't feel like a hamster and because I don't have to worry about schedules and cross-town drives. I still totally suck at dance, but everyone has to start somewhere, right?
Now here's the plug. In order to accomplish my goals I purchased 3 dance/cardio/workout dvd's about 2 weeks ago. I got DWTS Dance Body Tone, 5 Day Latin Dance System (with Lisa Nunziella), and Dance with Julianne Cardio Ballroom (That's Julianne Hough from DWTS). The first 2 are okay. I found that the DWTS is pretty good, but a little on the slow side. Some parts of it feel like old-school Jane Fonda Aerobics, done to dance music (although the section on Tango was fun). The 5 Day Latin Dance System was "dancy" enough for me but wow. It is hard. Definitely not for beginners unless you are totally motivated.
Cardio Ballroom was the best. It was fun, I felt like I was learning real dance steps, it had a good pace, and it was challenging but not impossible. I had to take it really slow the first few days and I was out of steam by the end of segment 1 (Cha Cha), but by day 3 I can rock my way through the Jive and the Paso Doble as well. I had so much fun that it felt more like 20 minutes instead of the 45+ billed on the box, and Julianne was surprisingly non-abrasive. For the $15 I spent (less than half of 1 month at the local gym) I have a workout that is fun, motivating, emphasizes flexibility over bulk, and that really worked up a sweat.
If you are in to the home workout video thing, I HIGHLY recommend it. Even if you are not a dancer, it's doable because there is a separate segment where she walks you through all the steps.
Anyway, that's my plug. Happy sweating!

All Hail The King

This is for you Emily, in honor of the King's 75th Birthday today.

Breakthrough

Major breakthrough today-
I still haven't lost any of the holiday weight BUT today was the first day since last April that I haven't needed a caffeinated beverage to get myself going at work first think in the morning. Didn't even feel like I wanted one. That's progress!

GLEE

I don't know why, but this just makes me SO happy, even if it is just to promote a so-so tv show.

Vacation Photos

I finally got around to uploading and semi-editing our vacation photos. I don't think I will have a lot of time to blog about our trip, which is just as well because you don't really need a blow-by-blow anyway. It was pretty much what you'd expect. 2 days at Disneyland and then about a week at my mom's house. While at mom's we divided our time between me being sick, eating doughnuts from Doughnut Queen, and hanging out with cousins. Good times.
Anyway, if you want to see the photos, you should check out my facebook page because I really don't think I'll get around to posting them on blogger, since blogger's photo uploader is a piece of crap.