i'm on a roll

i got suckered into doing the company's pumpkin for the halloween contest in our building this morning... i searched in my office and found a bunch of pencils and thought, "hmm, i could do the pinhead guy from hellraiser"... my coworkers were like, "who is that?" which tells you, they weren't even born in the 80's... who doesn't know who pinhead is? anyway, after being laughed at and questioned - guess who won the damn contest? moi and i got a $25 red lobster gift card to boot... notice how the pencils are organized by color - god, could i be anymore anal about things?



i peeked at the scale this morning and was down from last week, so i'm crossing my fingers for tomorrow's official number... last night i was on a mission to find brown, stretchy boots and after going to two macy's - i found a pair, on sale, PLUS i had a coupon... talk about a deal, i can't wait to wear them w/all my new brown stuff... seems to be my new color for some reason, do you guys do that too? buy a lot of new stuff and tend to stay in one color range? maybe i'm just weird... :o)

tonight its off to target to return some shirts and to buy some tights, they better have them cus i'm desperately in need of some black ones... i need to be careful though, target's a dangerous, dangerous place... muh ha ha ha...

happy halloween...

put your hands up where i can see'em

as promised, here are some pics from saturday's costume party... so how do you like the wig? not bad for $19.99 huh - my hair stylist even chopped into a bit when i got my haircut saturday morning... i may have to wear this out sometime (wink*wink)... since the whole taping-for-cleavage was too painful, eric had the grand idea of putting water balloons in my bra - i joked about that must be what implants feel like... i shaved his head and put on some fake tattoos, the power went out right before we left so i had to put them on in the dark by candlelight... all in all, the party was pretty fun - people were singing karaoke and playing pool... i only had 2 drinks and snacked pretty minimally so i did great in the food/drink department (eating before we left helped a lot)... anyway, here we are in our halloween-glory - no laughing please... :o)


prisoner ben d. over...

and officer anita lay...

happy monday...

frightening friday

i told my boss yesterday that she should call in sick today since she's been working nonstop on the annual report... well, she must've taken my advice because she's not here... yee haa, how great for a friday, huh... not that its really different when she's out, it just means i can take an extra 5-10 minutes at the gym or leave a bit early w/out getting the evil eye... wish there was a target nearby or i'd pay a visit and try to find a wig for my costume... it arrived yesterday and ladies, it is super super short... its also pretty 'roomy' uptop so i'll have to make some adjustments w/the sewing machine... i'm excited though, i think eric and i are going to be really cute...

anyone see the movie 'the machinist' with christian bale? holy cow, talk about skinny, he was ematiated... i read that he lost over 60 pounds for the role and then had to gain it all back, plus some, in order to play batman... anyway, the movie was pretty good, kinda weird but interesting...

i'm looking forward to the weekend, i'm getting my haircut tomorrow even though i've been toying w/growing it out again... i know i'll be miserable so why try, right? i'll make sure to get in some exercise and then will head over to eric's and start prepping for the party... on sunday, my mom and i are going shopping to some outlets near the bay bridge, i haven't been there in ages and i could use some brown boots... and new bras... and maybe some pants... tights would be good too... ;o)

and in honor of halloween, here's an oldy but a goody...



have a good weekend...

weigh-in wednesday

:: WOW ::

that's all i can say right now - i saw a loss this morning so that makes 3 weeks in a row... i finally feel in control and like i'm making progress with the whole weight watchers thing, so i'm feeling pretty good right now... could it be the extra cardio i'm doing? or the spin class on saturday? or not using all my flexies this week? who the hell knows but damn, i am happy... :o)

i've added a weight loss graph to my side bar, i know its a bit geeky but i'm using it to track my daily weight - i will update once a week... i think its interesting to see how much it can vary day by day, and week by week... i also updated my blog list so feel free to check some new ones, if you have the time...

since i like to support other bloggers, check out michelle's clothing sale - i found some really nice things and maybe you could find something as well... its worth looking into, all sizes are included, so happy shopping! you deserve to treat yourself every once in a while... ;o)

another blogger, roni, has a great list of food finds that are WW friendly... do you have any you can share? i've tried the new crave control yogurt (vanilla + cereal) and have to say, its pretty filling and only 2 pts...

happy hump day...

til tuesday

ever have one of those days where you can't get warm? i think i've been cold since last night - i laid in bed thinking, "i really need to put on my flannel sheets"... perhaps i can switch to flannel pj's first since that would require less work...

i peeked at the scale this morning and its down but i won't count it officially until tomorrow... lets hope that number sticks, ladies... i had a good weight workout today and i even got in 10 mins. on the treadmill so i could add an extra AP for the day... i don't think i've used half of my flext points for the week either so maybe that's what i need to aim for instead of knowing i can use all 35... anyone else not able to use all 35 in order to lose? and to think, i had not one but two pieces of cake this past weekend and both on saturday (mine was better, of course)... i probably just jinxed myself...

i'm sure most of you have probably already seen these but if not, here are some additional weight loss communities you can join...

anyone watch the show 'weeds'? lemme just say, that show is f-ing halarious... the writing in genious...

happy tuesday, y'all...

these covers are so warm

another weekend gone and another monday is half over... had a productive day on saturday, went to spinning for the 1st time in months but there was a sub instructor and he wasn't very good... the music was okay and the workouts weren't very challenging BUT i still stayed for the whole class... then it was home to finish decorating the chocolate bundt cake for my friend's baby showers, jump in the shower, stop by to see my mom (it was her bday), and then over to my friend's house to help get things ready... we had a nice time, there were only 5 of us and allyson was surprised, so that was good... this is her 3rd baby in 4 years and like i said, my girlfriends are just baby-making machines!

saturday night eric and i went to blob's park which is german beer hause/polka place outside of baltimore... friends of his were having an anniv. party so we hung out for a while and i TRIED to polka but was told to quit leading... for someone that is pretty coordinated, i wasn't so much that night... i also ran into the guy who's office is next to mine, now THAT was pretty funny... he asked me this morning what we were doing this weekend (as a joke)...

sunday, we relaxed and watched football most of the day... got in a good motorcyle ride since the weather was nice but it soon turned cold and the ride back was freezing... i made baked fish w/panko breadcrumbs, long-grain rice, and broccoli for dinner and dessert was a reese's caramel peanut butter cup... anyone try these yet? they're okay, i think i prefer the standard ones though...

foodwise i did pretty well this weekend - i wasn't able to weigh myself properly this weekend since eric doesn't have a digital scale, so i'll see how i did when i'm home again... andy, the guy at the gym, asked me if i was losing weight on friday and i said, "no but i think this jogging stuff is changing my shape"... he said i was looking good and to keep up the good work... okay, so maybe i am making progress but can't really see it...

i think i may buy a heart/calorie monitor watch - does anyone have one? if so, can you recommend a good brand? i'd like to see just how many calories i'm burning on my weight/cardio days...

we have an offsite-staff meeting (at the willard hotel) to hear about our company's goals for 2008 so i need to hit the gym early today...

have a good one...

TGIF

well, we made it to friday, whoo hooo! the sun has finally decided to come out and it looks to be another beautiful, fall day... i decided that i really need a new coat, wearing my leather just seems too premature for the season so perhaps i will go shopping this weekend... i also need to return a sweater i bought last weekend and get a new, black shirt - mine are pretty faded... i also may to do a kitten-run for my sister on sunday (who is pres. of the western maryland humane society) which means, take a bunch of adorable kittens somewhere so they can be fostered and hopefully adopted... :o)

how many of you hop on the scale daily? i know there are some of you that struggle with this and i've never been one to do so but i decided to try it for a few weeks to see what happens... i even created an excel sreadsheet so i have a visual graph (geek, yes i know)... so the only thing i've learned so far is that even when i think i've been OP, that doesn't automatically mean i'll see a loss the next day... i read on someone's blog yesterday that she took a 'rest' day from exercising and saw a 2 pound loss the following day... what about days that you do cardio or weights, is there a difference on the scale for you? just curious, its always interesting to see what other people are doing...

regarding weightloss, here's a list of 64 excuses - which ones have you used? i think i can be honest and say i've said: i'm tired, i'm stressed, start tomorrow, not motivated, slow metabolism, and i'll start on monday...

are you planning on eating out for breakfast this weekend? if so, here are some tips from hungry girl...

hope you all have a great weekend... :o)

what the hell

i ordered this costume today, eric bought an orange jumpsuit and is going as a prisoner so i decided to be the sexy policeman... yea, its a bit skimpy but what the hell - i also got a wig, some fishnets and already have the boots so i'm set... i'll take some pics from the party we're going too, should be a blast! i don't think i've ever bought a costume in my life and yea, i'm an artist, but who has the time... my ultimate costume one day will be an oompa loompa... :o)

and in other good news, my boss told me what my raise will be and i was totally shocked... i got both a merit AND a market increase which is awesome because that means they actually compare what other designers are making in the area... its enough to keep me happy for a while but i may keep looking anyway, you never know... my dream job still may be out there somewhere (2nd to motherhood)...

i made an awesome dinner last night, part from recipe, part from myself... i took a can of northern beans, a can of albacore tuna, some fresh cilantro, red onion, olive oil, and vinegar and poured it over some romaine lettuce... i only ate 1/2 and it came to 4 points! what a deal! its a perfect summer meal but i guess it can be enjoyed year-round... it was the perfect meal to watch LOST with...

last night after pilates, i returned my bi-colored sneakers and found another pair that are not only light as crap and comfortable, they were on sale for $29... just call me miss bargain shopper, i can't wait to try them out...

happy thursday...

weigh-in wednesday

i'm happy to report a loss of .6 pounds this week, it might've been more since i had a lot of sodium yesterday but i'll still take it (yay me!)... i went to the grocery store last night and stocked up on all sorts of tasty things like fruits, veggies, lite laughing cow cheese, mulit-grain wasa crackers, yogurt, cottage cheese & fruit cups, and weight watchers frozen meals were on sale so i stocked up on those too... its always nice to have a fridge full of healthy choices to come home too... i also bought the new multi-grain lean pockets and had one for dinner, it was pretty tasty but not very big (4 pts)....

our 2nd counseling session went well and i think its beginning to help our communication skills... my main objective is to be more forthcoming and vocal about things instead of just assuming eric knows what i'm thinking or what i want to do (part of his nature/type needs reassurance and validation in order to be happy)... the counselor also taught us how to discuss an issue w/out getting defensive or making it personal, with the goal being to understand or 'get' where the other person is coming from... it doesn't mean you have to accept it but understanding why they're feeling a certain way about something will make things much better... so we're making progress which makes me very happy...

here's an interesting read re: the new secret way to lose weight...

have you checked out the dare collage lately?

and just because i feel like it, here are my boys - norman and max (left to right)... how jealous are you?

happy hump day!

officially turned the heat on

morning everyone, hope you all had a great weekend... i am very disappointed in the redskins but am thrilled the steelers won yesterday - what a great game last night! watching football was about all we accomplished this weekend besides washing/detailing our cars and going to the grocery store... we spent the day w/his brother's family and parents on saturday, watched his nephew play soccer, and then had dinner at this local tex-mex place (yum!)... i had hoped we'd get in a motorcycle ride since who knows how long this weather will last but we didn't, perhaps next weekend will be just as nice... :o)

last night i tried a new betty crocker recipe, coconut thai chicken, and it was super tasty but not very low in points... my weight has been a tad up over the weekend but i'm hoping it goes back by down by wednesday so we'll see... i didn't do any exercise sat/sun which is probably a mistake but i slept in on sat and enjoyed every, single moment... and yesterday, well, i was just plain lazy BUT i did buy a new pair of jogging shoes on friday so i'm anxious to try them out today... :o)

anyhoo, here are some monday tidbits for you to enjoy:

>> angry fat girlz has a great post re: the 'safe' zone
>> fat bitch not only celebrated her bday but she lost 5 more pounds
>> sarah is down 3.2 pounds
>> weight watchn woman lost 3.6 pounds

happy monday...

afternoon update: i was so giddy to wear my new sneakers today but upon putting them on, i noticed one is discolored and one is bright white... WTF? i didn't notice that in Kohl's so now i have to return them... ugh! then again maybe its a good thing because 600 calories later, i thought they weren't that comfortable while on the eliptical... hmm...

why can't today be friday?

sorry i didn't post yesterday, i was extremely busy working on a tight-deadline newsletter... as for weigh-in, i was down a pound from last week so i'm happy... i'm also weighing myself everyday just for the hell of it, figured why not see how my body reacts to certain foods... i've never been a scale-junky so it should be interesting to see how my weight fluctuates...

some of you have asked how the therapy session went, all i can say is it went very well and i'm excited about how much this is going to help our relationship... he didn't waste time and got right to why we were there and then filled in the gaps as we went along... he spoke to us as a couple and then made us talk to each other, face to face, which was hard... after discussing those, he started telling us about the enneagram which is a system that describes 9 types of people - we all have a type/number and this is crucial in relationships w/family, friends, significant others because it shows who we really are and why we do things... i know the types are generalized but after he told us what numbers we were, it was unbelieveable at how accurate some of the stuff was... eric is more laid-back and easy-going and i'm more reserved, have to think about things and very cautious... anyway, i am thankful that we're going and even more thankful that eric is willing to put effort into our relationship... the therapist said he can sense there's a pretty strong bond and commented that we're the first couple to sit next to each other on the couch, most men and women sit at different ends - i thought that was funny... :o)

here is a fantastic new website that i found on hungry girl - it brings you everything you need to know about the healthier food options available at restaurants in your area... its still being worked on but check it out!

here's another website that lists various free diet-related articles... enjoy!

happy thursday!

ragweed can bite my ass

i'm sad the weekend is over but had a great time w/my friend and sharing the whole 'wedding dress' experience... she didn't fall in love w/any that she tried on even though we narrowed down the style that looked best (empire waist, v-neck, wrap, and very flowy)... we did more research online sunday and found a dress she fell in love with - now she just needs to find it, try it on and then check the pricetag (cha-ching)... we also found a bridesmaid dress but in deep purple and not chocolate - the color looked awesome on both her cousin and i even though we have very different body types (curvy vs. thin)...

my friend and i had a lot of time to talk and catch up on things, including what's been going on w/eric and i and i come to find out, her and her fiance are going thru the same thing but its reversed... makes me just want to shake eric (jokingly) and say, "see! they're still getting married! what's your problem?"... this sort of made me feel better (in a weird way) and not so isolated like i was the only one... and when i paid a visit to my other girlfriend on sunday, i found out that her and her boyfriend are doing the therapy thing too... she told me, "you're not the only one w/problems" so that made me feel even more optimistic and hopeful about situation... i hate to keep talking about it but it helps...

foodwise, i did pretty well this weekend - i didn't exercise sat/sun but i made sure to hit the gym after i got back yesterday... i made healthy choices and didn't have any desserts so that's a plus for me... when i peeked at my friend's scale on saturday, i saw a loss but that was before my 800 calorie salad on saturday afternoon at chiles - WTF?!?!? should've known better...

work is boring, boring and more boring... this is what i've accomplished today: read my blogs, had lunch and applied to 2 job postings... and i'll be going to the gym soon... that's it folks, how sad... and they wonder why people are bored and look elsewhere...

happy tuesday...

gotta love long weekends

i am feeling much better and thank-you for the thoughtful comments... eric & i have our first session on tuesday night and we're both looking forward to having someone else make sense of what's going on... we continue to talk, shed tears and laugh - its painful to love someone so much and not know how to fix whatever's wrong... everyone that i've talked to thinks that we're doing the right thing and so far, i've had nothing but positive advice that i did the right thing letting him know how i feel... i have every right to be concerned about my age and having children, so much that i need to set a time limit for things to progress... it may sound stupid to some of you - setting a time limit - but in all honesty, i have too... if there's any goal in my life that i am determined to accomplish (over getting a new job or losing weight), its giving birth before i'm too old... if it comes down to me having one on my own, i'm completely okay with that as well but hopefully it will not turn out that way... i feel therapy will be good for me, him and as a couple so we'll just see what happens...

after a horrible wednesday, i caved in and had pizza for dinner... i counted the points though and still have half of my flex points which is good since i'll be in NJ this weekend... my goal is to keep at least 10 in the bank, just in case i miscalculate something so i'm going to try my best and stay within my daily range... i'm looking forward to wedding gown shopping w/her tomorrow and will try my best to keep it together, we have not talked about what's going on in my life but i don't want this weekend to be about me... its about HER and planning her wedding so that's what i'm going to focus on...

i will be out of pocket til monday so i hope everyone has a great weekend...

GO REDSKINS, kick the giant's ass...

weigh-in wednesday

going for drinks (2 amstel lights) and dinner (lamb/couscous salad) was not a good decision, the day before weigh-in... i am making NO progress whatsover and with the way things have been going in my life as of late, i feel totally defeated and utterly miserable... i thought i was focused but i'm obviously losing direction, i thought i was working out harder but i'm obviously not doing it hard enough... i don't know what i'm doing anymore honestly and i'm tired... tired of trying and failing... tired of being hopeful and then being let down... tired of putting all i have into something, to only be smacked in the face... i feel like my life is slowly unraveling and i can't stop it... and in the blink of an eye, i'm on the verge of tears... i'm so tired of not being happy...

to be continued...

not weight-related

i'm really not in the mood to blog today, eric and i are having problems again and even though i thought progress was being made, apparently i was wrong... go figure... we are now seeking counseling because its obvious we cannot communicate to each other properly, i have no idea what to do when i don't know what's wrong... i read him this 1-page letter that i wrote about how i was feeling about things like sex, marriage, living together, planning a family, looking for new jobs, etc... i have a BIG concern about turning 36 next year because i want children MORE THAN ANYTHING and for every year over 35, women can suffer serious problems while pregnant... hell it may take a while for us to even get pregnant so i think that is a valid subject that needs to be addressed... plus w/my blood dissorder, there's a higher chance of miscarriages and god knows what else... if we were 30, i wouldn't be as concerned but we're not and its time to start thinking about it and i don't think i was wrong in addressing that subject...

this letter just opened another can of worms and that's when we agreed that something needed to be done... we were both crying because we know what we have is special and are so lucky to have it but at the same time, we are sad that something is wrong... what i don't know but perhaps the counselor will tell us... i cried to my best friend on the phone today and said i have put my heart and soul into this relationship and just feel so lost and numb right now... a sick part of me doesn't want to put anymore effort into it until i know where its going, if that makes any sense, but i know that is not being mature... i need to be patient and understanding and hopeful that something good will come out of this... if not, i will deal with it then...

even though i was tired and not feeling well - i forced myself to go for a 30-minute walk outside and then treated myself to a starbucks pumpkin spice latte (first of the season) and shape magaine... i'm going for a drink w/a coworker after work so we can talk, i really need some friends right now and am not very good at reaching out... i think i really need to do that more often...

happy tuesday...

could this day go any slower

i have to give a shout-out to myself for sticking to the 40-minute jog as of late, not sure what has me so motivated but it doesn't seem to be as hard as it used to be... granted, i am not admitting that i actually ENJOY it but there is something to be said for being in a groove for 4-5 minutes... i missed spin class by ONE spot on saturday and i was there 5 minutes after the damn gym opened - these people are nuts, waiting in line outside, like their trying to get tickets to a concert... so i did the eliptical and then treadmill and headed back to eric's to clean and help around the yard... it was a BEAUtiful day so i was happy to be outside, mowing grass and pulling weeds... we opted out of going to see 'little miss sunshine' because it was $9.25/each and eric has a ton of movies that we had to watch... we chose 'syriana' and i have NO idea what it was about - okay then... perhaps 'constant gardener' or 'the davinci code' would've been better...

all i have is four words: HAIL TO THE REDSKINS... yeee haaa, what an AWESOME game... :o)

on friday afternoon, i received a response from a resume i submitted from a small museum/gallery... with my design and web exp. and gallery exp. from college, i thought it was an awesome fit so i applied on a whim... i was thrilled and happy all weekend until i spoke w/their HR person this morning... after chatting for a while, she asked me the range i was looking for and i told her... she said, "oh i'm afraid that's a lot more than we're offering"... i'm thinking, "this is for a manager position, how is MY range too low?" so i asked what they were offering and she told me... maybe i'm spoiled by working in the nonprofit but damn, i felt like telling them to delete the 'manager' part out of their listing because its very misleading... as much as i think it would be challenging and look great on my resume, i can't afford a paycut... if i was married and didn't need a salary to support myself, that would be different...

weight-wise, i'm feeling good and am hoping to see a loss on wednesday... i wrote everything down this weekend including the margaritas we had on saturday night... and the baquette, brie and black pepper salami we had for dinner... oh i love saturday nights at home... :o)

happy monday...