Par-Tay Time

Surprisingly, I woke up without a hangover (this would bite me in the ass later), made coffee and we (Kerri and her main squeeze and Kim and her hunka hunk of burnin' love, my better half was in the field all weekend so I was flying solo) all got ready to soak up some sun and hit the beach.

After grabbing some beach chairs and reconfiguring them so we could get maximum sun exposure, which was short lived because the weekend weather was a wash (read it was over cast, yeah it’s not perfect everyday in Paradise).

Cloudy skies didn’t stop us. Kerri had a hair appointment, Matt talked shop with Jerry, and Kim and I opted to swim laps in the lagoon. During my swim, which I haven’t done in FOREVER, I thought to myself, “this feels great!” I was in the middle of my third lap when I stopped to tread water so I could fix my fogged up goggles. Thank the baby Jesus I was deep enough and no one was around me because my tots had fallen out of my suit and I was free boobin’ it!

No wonder why it felt so great =P Again, real classy Lynch.

Work out now complete and boobs secure, I made my way back to shore and propped myself up on a lounger and read some of my new mags.

Did I mention I am spending the weekend with infamous Team Farns? I’m a lieutenant’s wife and I am chillin’ on the beach with a lieutenant colonel and his wife. This is kind of a big deal folks.

For some reason, sitting by a beach/pool makes me hungry 24/7. Lucky for me my company also has the same problem and we took a break from cloud bathing to get our lunch on.

I had some more one on one time with Team Farns. They are such a fun and approachable couple and lunch was not awkward at all.

Refueled, we parted ways (they had a couple’s massage) and I met up with the Long’s and hung out with them for the rest of afternoon. Kerri and Matt finally joined us pool side and we all lounged in the lazy river, went down the water slides, and relaxed in the double decker infinity hot tub until it was time to go back up to the room to shower for the party.

With three full bathrooms, plenty of getting ready space and lots of mirrors, we all get ready hella fast.

Not many other people came to the gathering, but the crowd we did have was perfect. Real intimate.

The drinking ensued and since we were all three sheets to the wind, we got the bright idea that we would walk around the hotel and take pictures planking in various locations!

Did I mention we are all grown-ass women!?

After our adventure, we stumbled back to the room, devoured three bags of popcorn, six orders of French Fries and passed out.

Remember that hang over I didn’t have on Saturday, yeah, it found me hard on Sunday!

So we are ballers…

When it comes to throwing a party, you either go big or go home, and this weekend’s shindig was no exception to that rule.

In true baller fashion, the Chase’s rented out a three-bedroom, grand villa at Disney’s Aulani Resort and Spa for his after command par-tay.

After a hair and nail appointment and dropping off my fur baby at the kennel, I made my way over to Aulani, for a what would later become an epic weekend.

This hotel room was bigger than most people’s homes! It was just massive. The room sleeps 13, has a giant kitchen, a dining room table that would make King Arthur blush, three full baths (more about this later) and an oceanfront lani (balcony).

The men went to the movies to see, “Act of Valor,” while the ladies stayed in for a girl’s night. No girl’s night is complete without libations, so after empting two bottles of wine, Kerri, Kim and I headed down to Off the Hook for grub, and of course, cocktails.

Full and feelin’ it, we went back upstairs, changed into our PJs and had girl talk over looking the lagoons until the guys came back.

With their blood pumpin’ from the movie, we (girls in PJs mind you) made our way to another bar/lounge on premise, Olelo’s, for some more beverages.

Do you see the pattern emerging?

I was already at my limit when we got to this bar and wasn’t going to have another, but the Farns peer-pressured me into a Long Island. Can’t really say no to an LTC, so yeah that concoction did me in.

For some odd reason, despite the late hour and the amount of booze in my system, I was NOT tired. Everyone else was ready for light’s out except me and when Kerri broke the news to me that everyone was hitting in the hay, in true drunk girl fashion, I had a temper tantrum, lost my bones and collapsed on the floor.

Classy. Real classy Lynch.

Determined to stay up and watch Disney movies (I’m 26…), I climbed into my bed, turned on my iPad and put the TV on.

10 minutes later, I was out.

Laissez les bons temps rouler!

Happy Mardi Gras!

Mardi gras is French for Fat Tuesday (look how cultured I am), and it refers to the practice of the last night of eating richer, fatty foods before the ritual fasting of the Lenten season.

So, one would presume that I am indulging in some artery clogging, stick to your ribs delicacies this evening. WRONG. I’m three weeks into my Weight Watchers program and I need to keep my momentum going this week’s weigh in. So far, after my weigh in last week, I am down four pounds!

With that in mind, I am passing on sweets (gasp!) for the next 40 days and 40 nights. Hey, if the big guy upstairs can do without food and water in desert, I can go without dessert. Well, that’s what I am telling my sweet tooth and inner fat girl at least.

Kaena Point

With our time in paradise coming to end (sometime this year), and a few things left to do on my bucket list, the hubby and I are stepping up our game and are spending every last moment enjoying what Hawaii has to offer.

The first item on our agenda this long weekend was to tackle Koko head but I was feeling super crummy and opted to sleep away most of Saturday and Sunday. Refreshed and renergized but not feeling 100 percent ready to conquer Koko Head we decided to do Kaena Point instead.

Accessible from both Wainane and Wailua, this hike (2.7 miles one-way) takes you along volcanic coast with tide pools, small natural stone arches and fine views of Makua coastline.

The trail to Ka‘ena Point follows an old railroad bed and former dirt road that ran along the westernmost point of O‘ahu. The trail leads to Ka‘ena Point Natural Area Reserve, a remote and scenic protected area harboring some of the last vestiges of coastal sand dune habitat on the island, and home to native plants and seabirds. Whales frequent this shoreline during the winter months. We saw several spouts during our trek!

We also saw two monk seals taking a snooze.

The weather is usually sunny and hot *read there is zero shade*, and it can be windy - a hat, sunscreen, and plenty of water are recommended. Allow 1 to 3 hours depending on your pace. We did it in a lil over two hours, but I was busy taking in the views and snapping pics of the mountains and shore line.

Thar she blows!

The last time I went on a whale watch I was probably 16 years old and vacationing in Cape Cod with mi familia.

During the winter, which is prime time for Humpback Whales in these parts, you can see them spouting in the distance from pretty much anywhere on the island.

Even thought I have lived on the rock for three years I had yet to go on an actual whale watch. Since we are probably leaving (alas) sometime this yeark, I had to get 'er done.

Chris doesn't like whales (c'mon, who doesn't like whales!?) and I wasn't not not going to go, so my friends Kerri and her hubby (Chris's old boss man) opted to keep me company =)

Kerri and I were SUPER excited to see some whales!

BUT we were scared they would tip our ship over.

The only "whale" we thought we were going to see.

Can you spot the spouts?

Wait for it...

Here it comes..

A whale tail!

Goin' back under.

Shot of the day!

To-tailey worth gettin up early on a Friday for!

Weighing in

I was a little apprehensive about my first official Weight Watchers weigh in last week because I didn’t think I lost anything thing yet.

Like the program mandates, I tracked all my food. Some of it was easy to track, others, well let’s just say I did some guesstimating.

Weight Watcher’s has a tracking and a scanning app that I downloaded for my iPhone. I really like the scanning app because I can use it on the go, especially when I am at the commissary.

Tracking my food really helped me stay on track my first week because I was paying more attention to what I was putting in my mouth. For me, it’s all about accountability. I was also shocked to find out what I thought was okay to have (tall, nonfat, no whip, peppermint hot cocoa)  was worth a lot of points (7! That’s a meal!)! And when you only have so many points in a day, it makes you reprioritize and rethink your entire day’s food consumption.

Man, Weight Watchers gets in your head fast.

With the scanner app, you just scan the barcode and it pops up with how many points an item is. If the product isn’t recognized, a points calculator pops up and you input the amount of fat, carbs, proteins and fiber said product has and it will generate a points amount for it. A message pops up asking if you want to track said item and then boom, it gets added to your tracker.

Pretty snazzy.

Per day, I am allotted 26 points and I get a weekly 49 point allowance. 26 points goes pretty fast so my usual breakfast is between 5-7 points, my lunch is between 5-9 points and the rest goes towards dinner.

For breakfast I have been having a Light and Fit yogurt (6 ounces=2 pts), a Thomas’ Thin Whole Wheat Bagel (3 pts) with 2 tablespoons of light cream cheese, which equals 7 points. At home I have been making myself a breakfast sandwich with eggs whites and a piece of cheese. Very filling and satisfying.

For lunch at home I’ve been eating Oroweat Multi-Grain Sandwhich Thins (3 pts) (They are pretty good and filling and I don’t miss actual sandwich bread), with ham (1-2 points depending on how many slices), a slice of reduced fat Kraft Cheese slice (1 pt) and 2 teaspoons of light Mayo (1 pt), 100 calorie pack of Pringles (3 pts) (I gotta have chips with my sammys) and a can of diet 7-up (zero points! I am getting sick of WATER!) for 9 points.

My lunches have been pretty filling, but if I am still hungry I either grab a banana or an apple because they are zero points and they fill ya up =)

My at work go-to had Weight Watcher’s endorsed frozen Smartones. I had the creamy rigatoni with broccoli and chicken pasta one on Monday (7 pts and it was pretty good), and the slow roasted turkey breast one on Wednesday (5 points and it was meh). I’m giving the chicken parmesan one (7 pts) a whirl today.

Next week I am going to try the 0-1 point Progresso Soups. Soup! In Hawaii? I know, but my office is SUPER cold and I need something to keep my warm and focused.

The first week I didn’t tap into any of my 49 points and I still managed to lose 2 POUNDS! When I stepped on the scale I held my breath because I was in utter fear that I gained some poundage. I breathed a sigh of relief when he said, “You lost 2 pounds this week. Great Job!”

Whew!

But that was last week…

With a co-worker’s office birthday and Valentine’s Day this week, I used all my extra points. Damn you mini sausage biscuits, blondies and red velvet cream cheese brownies.

Now, I am scared to weigh in today. 

The Life of a Military Wife

Saw this on the WWW and just had to share it...