i wish it was friday

my foot is getting better but its still not 100% and its really bumming me out... and to make matters worse, my right foot is hurting more than it used too so the thought of surgery (hammertoes) is becoming more real every day... i need to talk to my boss about taking time off (1½ weeks) next year, maybe in january so its healed nicely by spring/summer... i'll have the pins in for about 5 weeks - nice huh... sorry if i'm not in a talkative mood, i'm just not having a good week... :o(

sarah tagged me on her blog yesterday so here goes...

4 THINGS ABOUT ME

4 jobs i've had:
window display, administrative asst, victoria secret, and graphic designer

4 movies i watch over and over:
willy wonka, alien, gladiator, and bladerunner

4 places i have lived:
scranton, pa; brooklyn, ny; and maryland

4 tv shows i watch:
csi, my name is earl, the office, and weeds

4 places i have been on vacation:
england, france, italy, and mexico

4 websites i visit everyday:
cnn, msnbc, craigslist, and perezhilton.com

4 favorite foods:
pizza, mexican, warm crusty bread, and brie

4 places i'd rather be right now:
southern cali, tuscany, nyc, and puerto vallarta

4 favorite bands/singers:
depeche mode, tears for fears, madonna, and paul oakenfold (dj)

4 bloggers i'll tag:
belladora, becky, trish, and jackie

happy thursday...

weigh-in wednesday

::: GAIN :::

i told you last week was a farce but that's okay, its only 1.2 pounds and i know it will come off again... i'm not sure how soon though, i twisted my ankle last night as i was walking to the metro... i didn't fall, thank-god, but it was enough to make me sit down and regroup... i was on the verge of tears and very flushed but managed to get home and put some ice on it... this was after driving a stick-shift, so talk about painful... its not bruised but its very sore and a bit swollen - i bought an ankle brace-thing this morning and will skip the gym today... at least i'll be able to do pilates tonight but i'm a bit upset that i can't do cardio... :o(

besides my foot drama, things are pretty mellow so far this week... i really should get out my christmas stuff and begin decorating so maybe that will be my goal for this weekend... i have a cute, skinny, artifical tree that i put a gazillion lights on a few ornaments but not many since max likes to play with them... he ruined about 10 glass balls the 1st xmas i had him so i tend to stay more 'pet-friendly'...

happy hump day...

p.s. i treated myself to a starbuck's gingerbread skim latte this morning and later found out, even without the whipped cream, it was 5 points... just kill me... and make it quick...

Q & A

anne had some Q&A's on her blog today, so i thought i'd respond here...

1) why are you trying to lose weight?
i'm trying to be healthier w/my food and exercise so losing weight is just a bonus... ok, truth: i'd like to see a weight i haven't been since college BUT i would also like to be in good shape before i start having children (yea, i need to get married first)... ;o)

2) do you have a reward for yourself once you reach goal?
i haven't really thought of anything in particular but i've pondered getting one of my tattoos enlarged...

3) What food do you wish had zero calories and zero fat?
that would be (a) pizza or (b) anything mexican...

4) as you lose weight, what do you find yourself enjoying more?
i enjoy jogging on the treadmill because a year ago, i could barely run for 5 minutes... now on some days, i can go as long as 45 so i find that pretty amazing...

5) what's your new favorite low fat food/treat?
i would say lite laughing cow cheese and wasa crackers... or lowfat peanut butter on a banana...

what about you?

60 degress in november

this weather is so crazy, not that i'm complaining, but its hard to listen to christmas music while its 60 degrees outside... my mom informed me last night that according to the farmer's almanac, we're going to have a LOT of snow this winter... don't they say that every year? either way, i'm enjoying the fall-like days because i know mr. snow is right around the corner...

i hope you all had a wonderful thanksgiving... the trip to state college was good, we had decent weather and fun was had by all... i didn't overdo it too much food-wise but i also didn't take advantage of the motel gym because i felt like i should spend more time w/everyone... stupid i know, how lame is that... the scale says i'm up 2 pounds but we'll see what the official reading is tomorrow... we took back roads up and coming home so that was nice, plus we got to see my brother on the way home while driving thru hanover (home of utz potato chips and snyder's pretzels)...

the rest of the weekend was pretty mellow - i had lunch w/a girlfriend on saturday and then spent the rest of the day trying to find short, black, leather boots... after 5 stores - i found a pair at kohl's, on sale, so i'm pretty happy... eric and i also caught up on some tv shows, hung out w/some friends, and watched football... oh, he went walking w/me on saturday (thank-you darlin) and then i got another walk in on sunday since the weather was so great...

the boss is out today so things have been pretty quiet... not sure what i'll do this afternoon but i'm going to enjoy the peace and quiet - maybe i'll catch up on all my BB's... :o)

happy tuesday...

weigh-in wednesday

::: LOSS :::

the scale decided to be my friend this week and a show a loss of 1.4 pounds... of course, i think this is an evil trick considering tomorrow is thanksgiving but i'm close to my goal for the holidays (160) and i feel pretty damn good... visiting my sister always throws me for a loop because their house is full of stuff for the girls, chocolate for my sister, and then we usually eat out at least once so trying to stay OP is difficult... i stayed within my range and ate in moderation so that must count for something... knowing this, i feel better knowing i can have a TINY piece of pumpkin pie tomorrow without feeling quilty... AND as long as i get my exercise in (already checked the motel has an exercise room), i'll be in great shape... pardon the pun... :o)

what do you mean you like my other glasses better?

that's what eric told me last night on our way home from work... i think they're too mod for him and yea, i was a bit upset when he said that (because i'm silly and take things very personally) but realized i'm the one that has to wear them and i love them... he tried to get out of it by saying, "honey, i DO like your new ones, i just like the old ones better"... go figure... he made up for it (sort of) by making dinner: pork tenderloin, grilled asparagus, and cous cous... :o)

anyway, i've been finding a lot of good posts today so i thought i'd share what i've come across...

-- avoid blowing your diet at thanksgiving by following these approaches
-- mygrocerydeals.com allows you to search for food bargains in your area
-- here's a low-point stuffing recipe
-- make your own meals at supersuppers

work has been pretty quiet again so i can't image what tomorrow will be like...thank GOD i'm leaving at noon since eric & i need to hit the road for state college... weather looks like it will be snow-free (compared to last year's blizzard!) but it may be rainy, which i'm totally fine with... we may take some back roads and enjoy the countryside since we won't be a huge hurry...

if i don't post tomorrow, have a great and safe thanksgiving everyone..

and remember ~ stuff the turkey, not yourself... :o)

could someone please turn up the heat

happy monday, everyone, hope you all had a great weekend... i drove thru my first batch of snow already, the weather is so crazy where my sister lives and its in the same, damn state (high elevation)... go figure... my mom, sister, nieces, and i had a good time hanging out, shopping, and eating - i think i did okay but nothing stellar... i didn't exercise sat/sun but made a point of going to the gym on friday before i left so that's good... i noticed that the earlier it is, the harder it is for me to jog for longer periods of time - anyone else go thru that? i just couldn't keep up a steady pace for some reason... perhaps i was preoccupied w/getting on the road...

i posted my clothing on craigslist last week and have two potential buyers stopping by tomorrow night, so that makes me happy... i'll probably donate whatevers left OR find a consignment shop, depending on the brand, some places are very picky... and speaking of brands - i almost bought this incredible pair of low, pointy-toed boots on saturday by ralph lauren for $50 but they were a ½ size too big and a bit too narrow... one of these days i'll find THE pair so the search continues...

i'm happy this week is going to be short because i'm in NO mood to work... good thing there's not much going on so that gives me time to read what my BB's have been up too... it also doesn't help having friday off because it was incredibly difficult to get up this morning - i just wanted to snuggle in bed with eric and the kitties... i woke up when it was still dark and had pushed him to the edge of the bed, with no covers, and both kitties were laying behind me... pretty funny...

happy monday...

tornados in DC?

my coworker ordered the new dominos brooklyn-style pizza today and i only had ONE slice... ONE... good thing because according to their website, there's over 450 calories and 22 grams of fat PER SLICE... sometimes it really sucks finding out this information but i think in the end, it helps put things in proportion... like for 450 calories i could have X, Y, and Z or one slice of pizza... it really makes you think about what goes into your mouth...

i had my glasses adjusted last night and they are STILL too tight, maybe i'm just being overly sensitive since they don't have hinge-arms... either way, there's a location right down the street from me so i'm going to stop by after work... at least they haven't seen me there and won't think i'm crazy... i also saved a praying mantis' life last night, so i was feeling pretty good after my pilates class... not sure how i saw him but he was walking across the parking lot and i thought he would get run over, so i moved him to the grassy bank... it made me feel good and yes, i'm a silly animal lover...

i'm taking tomorrow off so my mom and i can visit my sister in western maryland... i'll also have a chance to see my dad who's in a nursing home out there, its always good to see him but difficult because he suffers from dementia and isn't always with it... he still recognizes me but i'm sure he won't for much longer... i got my sense of humor from him but you could never tell since he barely talks anymore... and i also have his blue eyes so at least we can still share that... :o)

hope you have a great rest of the week!

weigh-in wednesday

i saw a TINY gain this morning (.2 pounds) so that's two weeks in a row that i haven't seen progress... again, i'm not going to be upset and continue what i'm doing but sometimes its hard to accept the reality of weightloss... we all know the high you get when you're doing everything right - eating and exercising - and seeing the scale go down as a result... you feel invincible, powerful, and that you can accomplish anything... but on weeks where you don't lose - its easy to feel beaten down, weak, and like a failure... granted, not everyone goes thru these emotions but i bet most of us do and we can't help it...

we WANT to succeed and lose weight but damnit, its really hard sometimes... that's why i love my BB (blogger buddies) and enjoy reading about what THEY are going thru because you know what? we aren't alone in this weightloss world and reaching out for help is okay... whether its by doing your own thing or following a specific program, we need each other in some shape or form... maybe someone is sharing a recipe or workout routine or interesting article they found online... and even though i may not lose every week, i still feel like i'm helping someone out there and that my friends, is pretty damn cool... :o)

oh, and my cool-ass glasses are too tight and giving me a headache so its back to hour eyes this evening to have them adjusted... and the bare minerals is feeling pretty good today, its like wearing nothing on your face - very strange... :o)

happy hump day...

voila

well, if i can't be thrilled about my weigh-in tomorrow (i was up a LOT this morning), i can certainly be happy about my new glasses... check 'em out, not bad huh... :o)



i made the mistake of making enchiladas last night, should've known better, and boy was the scale not my friend this morning... i now have a whole pan in my refrigerator and even though they came out to be 4 pts. each, who can eat just one? i may have to save them and bring 'em over to eric's on thursday night - they sure were good though, god i love mexican food... :-o

question: have any of you tried bare minerals? i've been thinking about trying it for a while now and finally broke down this weekend and bought a small, starter kit... i'm pretty excited about using it since its 100% natural and claims to be better for your skin... i also purchased a few other items on ebay so i'll have a nice set to play with... i've also been a marykay user since college so we'll see what happens...

see you tomorrow for weigh-in (gulp)...

clothing for sale

so i finally got all my good clothes together tonight, took some pics, and posted them online... most are hardly worn, in very good condition, and sized 10-12... i'm selling most things for $5 minus the coats and a pair of satin pants so if you're interested in anything, please let me know... i will accept paypal and can ship via USPS or UPS, whichever you prefer and will figure out shipping once you tell me what you're interested in...

happy shopping!

clothing for sale

i hate the smell of burnt popcorn

when i first started this weight loss journey, i was new to the whole blogging and message board thing... i had done research online about various plans but never really knew anyone else that was going thru the same thing i was... one of first blogs i began to read was reneegetsfit and for those that are familiar w/that site, know about the struggles she's been going thru... over the weekend, renee posted some very heartfelt and pretty inspirational videos, discusses what's been going on, and what she plans on doing to get back on track... i have to say, she's one of the few bloggers that got me into all this so i just wanted to say thank-you... so if you have the time, please check out her site and say hello...

another blog posted this really great list of things we do when we self-sabotage our weightloss efforts... some of these really hit home to me, esp. how old habits are comfortable, how making a change is hard, and how terrifying it is to not know what's going to happen... interesting read...

my weekend was good, eric and i hung out at home on friday and watched 'thank-you for smoking' - it was excellent and i highly recommend it... i did fairly well food-wise at my friend's party on saturday but i did have 2 mimosas and 2 small cookies... everything else was pretty healthy like pasta w/shrimp and asparagus, humus, baked pita chips, spinach dip, dark bread, and cheese... and i didn't have ONE brownie that i brought (yay me!)... sunday was pretty relaxing - i watched football with eric and then played a few racing games on the xbox... i didn't exercise sat/sun but made up for it today - my treadmill routine was 5 mins at 5.5 and then 5 mins on a small incline at 5.0... talk about hard, OMG! i'm not much of a sweater but today, that was not the case (and it felt pretty good, is that gross)...

hope you all had a great weekend! :o)

end of another week

the stupid VEIP place was closed this morning, for veterans day, but that's a good thing because i found out i can get an extension and NOT have to pay the $15 late fee... yaa hoo, that's good news.... i took my time getting ready since they didn't open til 8:30, got some coffee at 7-11 and was all ready to read my USAToday while in line... but i didn't have too and was here by 9:15 anyway...oh well, maybe i can sneak out early instead...

i had great success with finding new glasses last night, they are cooler than cool and should be ready by tuesday... i had tried on several pair and kept coming back to the same ones so i took that as a sign - you know when you know, right? they were having a 50% frame/lens sale but surprisingly, my insurance came out w/a better price and i ended up paying under $200... that leaves me with some extra money in my flex account so now i can use it for drs. appts. etc which is another good thing... :o)

i finally made my turkey meatloaf last night and it was super tasty, here's the recipe if anyone would like to try it... you can add whatever veggies you like, i thought spinach would be a good addition...

1 lb. ground lean turkey
1/2 c. bread crumbs
1 chopped onion
1 egg
1 package of chopped spinach, thawed, and drained
splash of worshestire
1 tsp. oregano
1 clove garlic
salt/pepper

preheat oven to 375, combine ingredients, form into loaf, and bake for about an hour... for those doing WW, i calculated it to be 4 points per serving (based on 8 slices total)...

my weekend plans consist of hanging out w/the boyfriend, going to a 'toy' party at my girlfriend's in baltimore (sorry but i don't think i could EVER pay $80 for a vibrator!), relaxing, and watching football on sunday... hopefully the skins will have another win and since they're playing the eagle, that should be easy... :o)

here are some friday tidbits, enjoy...

- yahoo has launched a new food site
- new lean cuisine cafe classic bowls
- for runners, here's a list of 15 foods you need each week for better performance
- and just for fun, this is the funniest cat picture ever

have a great weekend everyone... TGIF...

little boxes made of ticky tacky

blech, i just had a crappy lean cuisine (macaroni & beef) and had to supplement it with a WW yogurt smoothie, which are pretty tasty... nothing worse than being hungry and not being satisfied, at least i have some good snacks in my drawer for later... i WILL be making turkey meatloaf tonight, come hell or high water, so at least i know i'll be having a healthy dinner... oh, i stepped on the scale this morning and was down a pound... figures right...

i was a bit disappointed in last night's LOST finale - i liked the whole kate story but think the sex scene w/sawyer could've been left out... i'm no prude or anything but do they really want us to believe they had sex in that cage, with cameras all around? when was the last time they took a shower anyway... it couldn't have been very romantic either and we all know, she doesn't LOVE him... my hope is to see her w/jack again but now i'm not sure if that will happen. esp. after he saw them on the monitor (eww)... i can't believe we have to wait three f-ing months for it to come back... they should just do it like '24' does, run the whole season from jan - may and be done with it...

there's not much else going on today... i may go and find some new glasses after work, i have money left in my flex-spending acct. and even though my RX hasn't changed that much, its time for some new, cool frames... my boss and coworker are also out tomorrow (veterans day) so i plan on coming in late - not because i can but i forgot to get my car's emissions thing done and now its overdue (and i have to pay a damn late fee!)... i'm usually not the type to forget things but going back and forth to eric's gets me frazzled sometimes - i forgot my cellphone AND my coat last weekend... :o)

anyway, hope your week is going well... happy thursday...

weigh-in wednesday

::: MAINTAIN :::

so such luck this week but i'm okay with it, really... i've had a great few weeks and knew my body would catch-up eventually - i'm not going to be upset because i know i'm doing the right things... i'm eating well and definitely exercising so i'll keep doing what i'm doing and let my body decide what it wants to do... of course i WANT to keep losing but i'm trying to be realistic knowing not all weeks are going to be losing ones and that many will say, "some weeks you lose and some weeks you don't"... its a fact of life, end of story, and i'm moving on... my goal is to get under 160 by the holidays and then maintain til the new year - if i lose more, then great but if not, i'm okay with that too... :o)

and speaking of maintaining, here are some tips to keep your weight in check...

i've been thinking about posting some clothes on here, sort of like how michelle did... i have a lot that i'm getting rid of and though some are definitely goodwill quality, some are pretty nice and i wouldn't mind getting something back for them... is that totally cheesy??? i still haven't decided yet plus i have to take pics of everything which isn't something i look forward to doing after work... sometimes i just want to chill out and do nothing...

anyway, happy hump day...

she's a brick... house

for those of you that were able to see kirstie alley's bikini reveal yesterday, what did you think? here are some things she said after coming out on stage and talking w/ms. oprah...

“... i don't think we ever feel like we're good enough. we don't feel like we're thin enough or pretty enough or smart enough or work hard enough. and we are good enough,” she said.

“the bikini thing is neither here nor there, other than the fact, you know, I am 55 years old. so I thought — come on, we are all good enough. and we look good enough. we are not our bodies.”

“we can decide to change anything — at any age,” alley said. “what I hope for all women is they feel good about themselves, they look the way they want to look.”

i really like the last quote and am trying to focus on THAT instead of what the scale says... even though i was up 2 pounds this morning when i peeked, i have to remember being able to jog 4 miles is WAY more important than what i see number-wise... i DO feel good about myself and how hard i have been working-out... i DO feel good that i said “no” to dessert on saturday night when eric and i went out to dinner... and i DO like the way i look esp. when i wear clothes that fit me and not hide my body (which we're all guilty of)... so what say you, my blogging buddies, what do YOU feel good about these days?

i had a nice weekend and accomplished something i've never done before - i went for a walk on sunday before the redskins game (which was AWESOME!!!) and ended up jogging... granted, i walked up the hills but i didn't give up and kept going til i got back to the house... i also had eric drive me around in the truck so i could clock how far it actually was, granted it was under 3 miles but still - i did it and it felt great... and yesterday, instead of stopping at my usual 30-40 mins. on the treadmill, i kept going for 45 mins. and that my friends, was pretty awesome... its taken me a long time to get to this point and yea, i still have to stop once in a while but i'm doing it and i plan to keep at it... perhaps doing a 5k in the spring is actually feasible now... :o)

happy tuesday...

TGIF

sorry i didn't post yesterday, my boss was out so things were pretty busy here... i did update my photo last night so you can see a current pic and know what i really look like (sans mr. wolfman)... i think i will wait til my next goal to take some full-body shots - it will be interesting to see how i've changed since weighing 179 a year and half ago... and speaking of losing, i heard that kirstie alley is going to have her bikini-reveal on monday's oprah, i may have to tape that one... since doing jenny craig, i think she looks awesome so good for her for keeping her word... :o)

i'm glad its friday and am looking forward to spending it w/eric, i haven't seen him all week since he was sick and i was busy... we are having 'date' night on saturday and plan on going to our fav. cuban restaurant for dinner, and perhaps take a trip to the national zoo during the day... i feel we should spend more time doing couple things and thought having monthly date nights would be good for us - he agreed... we also agreed that going to therapy every other week would be good so it allows us to actually apply the techniques he is teaching us to tackle problems and communicate better... all in all, i think things are going very well so i'm happy... and of course on sunday, the skins play their rivals the cowboys at 1:00pm - i may have to wear BOTH my lucky shirt and hat for the game... GOOOO SKINS!

i met some really cute golden retriever pups this morning, nike and tigger - OMG they were the most adorable puppies ever... eric and i have discussed getting a dog (when we live together) and feel retrievers would be a nice, mellow breed and get along better w/max and norman... she gave me the name of a breeder in PA so i looked them up online and about died looking at all the litter pics... what is it about puppies anyway, how can you not feel all happy and gooey after seeing them (go here if you don't believe me)... nike gave me a nice kiss when i knelt down to pet him and i swear his legs were the size of redwoods... yikes...

well, that's all i got for now ladies... hope you all have a great weekend... :o)

weigh-in wednesday

::: HOLY CRAP :::

the mistress of weightloss must be on my side this month because, once again, i saw a loss this morning AND i've made my first goal of 5 pounds... i can't tell you how happy i am and to see progress, after so many months, is very very encouraging... i knew my problem was that i wasn't getting enough cardio and switching to 3-4x week has helped, plus upping my jog-time on the treadmill isn't hurting either... i'm enjoying it now which is strange, i used to think it was hard and boring but its made me push myself harder (and longer) and that's what i needed... maybe someday i'll actually try jogging outside - HAHAHA! i've also been pretty careful about my points and haven't been using all my flexies so maybe that's helping as well... either way, i think shaking things up once in a while is a good thing so if you're in a rut, change your exercise routine or what you're eating and i bet you'll see the scale move in the right direction... :o)

one of my daily reads posted a link about a new diet plan called 'cinch' and after checking out the website - i found it to be nothing more than shakes, bars, special vitamins, special tea, customized menus, and wow - a tape measure... it reminds me a lot of another plan (slimfast) and even though that may work for some, i just can't see it being anything more than quick weightloss and not very long term... i like how the site looks but that's just my designer-voice speaking...

angry fat girlz has a great post about the holidays and how to really think what you like to eat and why... can we avoid everything? probably, but do we want too? is there ONE dish that you must have every holiday and it wouldn't be the same without it? for me, it would have to be either my mom's sweet potato casserole w/marshmallows OR the coconut cookies she used to make for my grandfather... neither are very healthy but oh, are they tasty...

and kudos to other weekly losers... belladora, duenneschen, jackie, trish, pastgirl, hali, and mucho congrats to hilly on losing 8.2 pounds this week... great job ladies!

happy hump day!