stitches are out

well my stitches are out and i go back in another 3 weeks to see how things are progressing, nothing like seeing the actual pins on the xrays they took - talk about strange... i completely forgot to ask about exercise but am pretty sure i can't do anything that will put direct force on the toes, like the treadmill or eliptical, so i'm going to start weights tomorrow and then see if can manage the bike on thursday... i did my pilates workout last night too so things are going as well as can be expected... :o)

work has been quiet so i'm finding it hard to stay busy, esp. with the boss being out this week... i need to bring a book or something and i know that sounds terrible but seriously, there's nothing for me to work on... the only thing breaking up today is a going-away party at 3:30pm where i'm sure they're going to have some fattening cake... at least the pants i'm wearing today are baggy so that's a good thing... :o)

and i know i haven't posted many tidbits lately but hungry girl has listed a bunch of new stuff on her site, including 100-calorie pack granola bars and bumblebee chicken breast...

happy tuesday...

p.s. i forgot to mention that i ordered 'you on a diet' and can't wait to read it - has anyone else read it? i'm not really looking for a new plan but i've just heard great things about it and am curious to see what new info i can learn... i believe it was revealed on oprah last year but i could be wrong...

back to work

my first day back and has gone pretty well though i've realized that none of my shoes are going to be the same height as my medical boot... which means, i'll be limping AND bobbing up and down in the hallways but that's okay, at least i'm here... i couldn't fall asleep last night til almost 1:30am and watched 2 interesting shows on TLC - one re: the largest people in the world (700+ pounds) and the one re: the smallest people in the world (16 pounds)... both were sad in their own kind of way, esp. the one about small people - they so much want to be 'normal' and yet, its society's fault for making them feel 'abnormal'... they just want to live happy lives and yet because this condition is so rare, there's not much known about them - i just wanted to hug each one of them...

i was going to take the bus this morning but managed to get ready quicker than planned AND it was FREEZing outside... the metro station is less than 2 miles away and i managed just fine in the car, course it just takes me longer to walk and i about froze my ass off by the time i got into a train... what happened to the 50 degree weather we had on saturday? i so hate winter and its only just begun...

my stitches come out tomorrow so i'm very excited... hopefully i can begin some sort of exercise on wednesday - need to create a new weight routine too since its been two months... my goal is to go home tonight, do some pilates, make a nice dinner, and watch 24... :o)

happy monday...

sunday

i did something this morning that the doctor would probably frown upon - i drove to the store and was quite thrilled to be independent again... considering the store is like 1/4 mile away, i figured i would see what happened and in all honesty - it was fine... i know i drove last time i had this surgery and that was more severe since 4 toes had pins but since i only have 2 pins, it didn't seem as bad... granted, i have to walk a lot slower but i can't tell you how great it was to be doing something for myself and not have to depend on anyone... i'm just very uncomfortable with being 'taken care of' when i'm so used to being the one taking care of others... anyway, the trip was well worth it and i also made a stop at 7-11 for some york peppermint patty cappuccino - mmm mmm... :o)

i'm anxious to be back at work and can't wait to be on a normal schedule again - this goes for food and exercise especially... most days, i did pretty well but there were others where i could've been a lot better... this "i'll be more strict once i'm back at work" way of thinking probably hasn't done me any good so i hope i haven't reversed all my hardwork - time will tell when i officially weigh-in a few weeks from now... i'm also not sure how much i'll be able to do at the gym, if anything, so i'll have to ask the doctor on tuesday when i get my stitches out... i plan to continue w/my pilates at least so i'll do what i can for the time being...

i hope you're having a great weekend... happy sunday!

thursday

call me miss organization - i got both my bookshelves done AND went thru my portfolio samples (i have a tendancy to keep everything so it felt good to let some things go)... i got up around 10, had some breakfast, flipped between 'ellen' and 'the view,' and then started on my projects... the maintenance guys were also here - i've been having some issues w/my tub faucet so i think its finally fixed... yee haa!

eric wanted to know if i wanted a change of scenery so i'm going to take him up on the offer and go over to his place tonight and stay til saturday morning... this will be AFTER we go to red lobster for dinner - i don't go there very often but won a $25 gift certificate for the pumpkin-carving contest in october and want to use it (shrimp fest, here i come!)... max will be coming along so i'll have both kitties to keep me company during the day - might as well enjoy my last day off before the weekend cus its back to work on monday... funny thing - i'm actually looking forward to getting back into my routine and being around people again... :o)

food has been good for today but i skipped pilates since my abs are pretty sore from yesterday's workout... i AM bringing it w/me though and will do it tomorrow so at least i'll have gotten in 2 workouts this week... :o)

happy thursday...

wednesday

i felt much better today - started the morning w/a 45-minutes pilates workout and then had some breakfast... my mom came by after her aerobics class (so i could dye her hair) and then eric called to reschedule his visit from weds to thurs... fine w/me, i said, so i convinced my mom to go to lunch at baja fresh (fish tacos, mmm), then to target for a few things, and then to kohls where i got a new pair of comfy dearfoam slippers... it was great being out and having someone to talk too but it was hard on crutches - i'm happy to be home again and resting...

since i have nothing planned for tomorrow, i'm going to start tackling my bookshelves and see how far i get... since i watched way too much tv yesterday, i decided to organize my hoosier cabinet and unpack all my fiestaware... a few years ago, my mom and i went to the homer laughlin factory in ohio and stocked up on a ton of pieces - probably more than i will ever use but it was incredibly cheap (course, two of my colors have been retired so i'm glad went when i did)... anyway, tonight i need to finish my book 'marley and me' and then possibly watch 'unfaithful' (i've already seen it but its really good)... :o)

happy hump day...

tuesday

today was the first day i felt like cabin fever was taking over... my two girlfriends and their boys stopped by this morning so that was fun, i also got another surprise - my best friend sent flowers and her hubby (who delivers flowers for a living) dropped them off... i don't think he was expecting a living room full of babies but all was good, it was nice having some attention other than max for a change... the only other thing i accomplished, besides taking a nap, was finding some cute document storage containers online... i ordered 2 sets so they should be here next week - just wish i could work on it now so i may go thru my bookshelf anyway and then when the boxes are here, it will be easier to organize... :o)

on a different note, my neighbor above me decided to play his music pretty loud around 12:30am last night so i took my crutch and banged on the ceiling... all was good for a while until him and his girlfriend decided to have sex, so i had to listen to that for almost 2 hours... who has sex for that long?!?! not that i could hear EVERYthing but you'd have to be pretty stupid to not know what was going on... so needless to say, i was wide awake and pretty pissed off - last time i glanced at the clock it read 2:30am... i hate nights like that esp. when i knew i had to be up early and bathe, which takes a bit longer now, before my friends came... i hope i'm not wide awake again tonight or it won't be pretty...

i'm beginning to feel a bit blah as well but that's expected for being home i guess... i haven't done any exercising so my goal for tomorrow is to do a pilates workout... food has been okay but am noticing an urge to snack more and i'm off my normal schedule too which doesn't help... today i had cereal for breakfast, a skim cinnamon dolce latte from starbucks, one xmas cookie, a WW lasagna for lunch, some triscuits and cream cheese for a snack, and then a great chicken salad for dinner... i'll stick to my popcorn for later when i watch 'dirt'... i haven't been counting points either and will probably not weigh-in tomorrow - i may save that for the wednesday after i get my pins out... the next 6 weeks are going to be so hard esp. since i can't go to the gym and kick-out 45 mins. on a machine...

happy tuesday...

monday

my doctor's appt. went well this morning - he changed the bandages, took some xrays, and i have to go back next week to get the stitches out... i'm guessing after that, it will be another 5-6 weeks til the pins come out and then i'll be good to go... it felt good to be out of the house for once, yesterday's snow was in the process of melting but many spots were til covered and quite pretty...

i also had my mom take me to office depot - i'm on a mission to find some cute storage boxes so i can organize my bookshelves but had no luck... i haven't had much luck online either so maybe i need to look for something else... two other girlfriends will be visiting me tomorrow - one just had her 3rd baby in november so i'm anxious to finally meet little joseph, as well as see ryan who turns 2 next month... she told me they're stopping at starbucks on the way so i'm also looking forward to my sugar-free cinnamon dolce latte... mmm mmm...

sorry if my posts are boring as of late, i'll try and be more creative w/the subject matter!

happy monday...

sunday

sorry i haven't posted, things are going as well as can be expected - i'm probably up moving around more than i should but i'm finding that being bored isn't something i'm good at, esp. while home... prime example: i finally got around to filling my spice jars yesterday and because i had to make room on my counter, i basically reorganized my kitchen and half of my cabinets... call it mild-OCD but i can't stand it when things aren't in the right place - i'm happy with the result and even got rid of half my cookbooks that were old or that i don't use...

eric came over, brought norman along, and made me breakfast before heading to the shop to work on his bike... other projects included setting up quicken on my computer so i can budget my money better and getting things ready for my taxes... two of my girlfriends will be visiting later today so the company will be well-received, they also say we're going to get our first snow but i'll believe it when i see it... figures it would happen when i'm home...

my foot is better but there are times when it really hurts - not sure if i'm feeling the pins or the stitches or both... i go back to the doctor tomorrow to get my bandages changed so i'll get my first glimpse of how my toes really look (hopefully straight!)... unfortunately, my left foot is slowly showing signs of the same problem so i just pray that it doesn't escalate quickly... it would be nice to not have two foot surgeries in the same year but if it comes to that, i'll deal as best i can...

guess that's all for now so i'll be back tomorrow with another update... thanks again for your well-wishes, it really means a lot...

happy sunday...

weigh-in thursday

::: LOSS :::

it was nice to see a loss on the scale yesterday morning, i'm down to 161 again and would like to keep it there but i'm not going to kill myself knowing exercise will be few and far between for the next few weeks... my refrigerator and freezer are full w/healthy things so at least i have good choices to make while home bound... eric took great care of me yesterday and this morning but is gone now and i'm on my own til my mom visits tomorrow... a couple of friends are going to visit over the next week so i'll have some company, plus i have a list of small projects i can tackle that don't require standing... then again, i may just watch the food network and other shows that i can't enjoy while at work - such is the life of being home...

surgery went well, i told the anesthesiologist to give me more happy juice since last time i was sort of awake - he asked why i didn't say anything i said, "i couldn't talk and if i did, it wouldn't have made sense"... he must've really given me a dose cus i don't remember anything after tasting the horrible meds in my mouth and drifting off to sleep... waking up was no fun and was quite out of it for about 2 hours, i was crying in the car on the way home and felt so silly... eric was very patient and quite helpful carrying me over his shoulders to my apt. since i was still too woozy for my crutches... he is my hero! i was good for most of the day, didn't get my vicoden RX filled since i feared it would only make me sick... by 9:00pm though, the pain came and was very unpleasant esp. when trying to fall asleep but its much better today.. i'd rather not take anything and just let my body mend on its own...

i just want to thank those who wished me well, it means a lot... i don't think i've ever gotten 13 comments on a post before so that made my day... i should probably lay down for a while and give my foot a rest, i'll try and catch-up w/everyone's blog later today...

happy thursday...

16 hours and counting

24 hours from now, i'll be home recuperating from foot surgery and being taken care of by eric and norman... he was asking me about pain meds and i said i usually don't take what the doctor gives me, cus it makes me sick in the stomach... the first day or so is the worst and after that, its just more annoying than anything since i can't walk on it... good thing my desk chair has wheels but its not easy rolling over carpet! i have a few last-minute things to take care of like grocery shopping and buying beer (for eric) but other than that, i'm ready... i even enjoyed my last run on the treadmill today, god knows when i'll be able to do that again...

in other news, i decided to watch '24' this season - i skipped season 5 because i felt overloaded esp. with watching LOST but am happy to be back on the jack bauer bandwagon... he IS looking quite hot these days, if i do say so myself (meow!)... there was an interesting cast interview on larry king last week, not sure how many of you caught that but it was really good... anyway, i thought the first 4 shows were excellent and am looking forward to what happens next week... if you watched it, then you'll know what i'm talking about...

guess that's all for now, not sure when i'll post again but hopefully i'll be feeling up to it on friday... maybe i'll post a pic or two...

happy tuesday...

enjoying the long weekend

i'm enjoying the day off from work, seems weird that i have to go in tomorrow since its my last day but there are things that need completed... eric will be leaving shortly to work on the harley (putting in a new engine) and i will be watching 24 so i'm ready for tonight's episodes... we had a busy day yesterday - ran to my mom's to setup her new tv stand/shelf and then had dinner at our favorite cuban place in celebration of our 2nd anniversary... the evening ended w/watching 2 episodes of rome and the show extras - very funny... :o)

saturday, i made it to spin class and that's all the exercise i've done this weekend... i then helped my mom rearrange her living room which was challenging since her place is very small and she collects a lot of things (thank god i'm not like her!)... being motivated, i went home, finished packing up my xmas decorations, and then decided to rearrange my own LR to make it easier for tv watching when my foot is healing... it also allows me to enjoy the fireplace more since the couch now faces in that direction - just wish it was more cold so i could actually MAKE a fire...

for those that have today off, i hope you're enjoying the day and for those that had to work - nah nah nah nah nah...

happy monday...

TGIF

thank-you for the well wishes regarding my dad, he is doing much better and i actually spoke to him on the phone last night... i called to get an update from my sister and she was there with him in the room so that made me happy... the doctor told her that the hospital has been bombarded with dehydrated patients (because of the flu) and when you're on meds like lithium, a lack of water can be toxic to your system... they were still waiting for some tests to come back but for now, things are better... :o)

i'm so glad its friday, been a crazy week here and am looking forward to having monday off... don't have any plans really, i think eric and i are doing dinner at our fav. cuban spot on sunday to celebrate our 2nd anniversary... i also suggested seeing a movie, perhaps james bond or the new clive owen flick... he commented the other night about us going to jamaica or the bahamas in a few months and how that would be my anniv. present - okay then, sign me up! by then, my foot should be healed and if i play my cards right, i should also be a few pounds lighter... :o)

question: has anyone tried the new cinnamon dolce latte from starbucks? any good?

hope you all have a great weekend...

life is precious

the phone rang this morning at 7:45am and i knew something was wrong, it was my sister, who said my dad wasn't doing very well and that the nursing home called to say, "you better come see your dad"... i am thankful that eric & i stopped by to see him on friday but stayed only briefly since there was an outbreak of the flu and they had just put him down... i was able to say i love you and am so thankful for that... my sister said they didn't know what was wrong but he wasn't eating, his speech was slurred, and it could be anything from nothing to advance stages of alheizmer's... by 10:00am, i called my mom and she said she spoke w/my sister - they were taking my dad to the ER cus now he couldn't see and they thought he had a stroke... all i could think about was that this could be it, this was the moment i was dreading and there was nothing i could do cus i was here and he was there...

i tried to keep as busy as possible but its hard when you know something is wrong and you're just waiting for the phone to ring... after lunch, my mom called to say they ran a bunch of tests and confirmed he did NOT have a stroke but a combo of the flu, being dehydrated, and his meds... talk about a sigh of relief, i about cried... my dad is going to be okay, for now anyway...

nothing like a scare regarding a parent to make you realize how precious life is and how life can be too short... if you never say i love you, start saying it because you never know what's going to happen... if you do say it, say it more often... enjoy your time w/parents, siblings, children, friends, and coworkers... and remember: do the things you love and laugh like there's no tomorrow... :o)

happy thursday...

weigh-in wednesday

::: GAIN :::

small gain this week but considering what i put in my mouth while in pittsburgh, i'm glad its not more... someone from another dept. saw me in the coffee room and asked if i was losing weight, she said i looked really good... so regardless of my small gain, i got a compliment, and feel pretty good... i've been to the gym everyday this week and plan on making it to at least one spin class this weekend... i'm also going to try and drink more water, some days i hardly drink any and i know it would help flush things out...

question: since i'm going to be unable to do cardio while my foot is healing (6+ weeks), i will be doing pilates, yoga, arms, and maybe some leg stuff on the floor... do you have a favorite DVD that you use? i really like windsor pilates but wouldn't mind trying something else and oh yea, i can't stand denise austin - something about her voice makes me want to scream!

the doctor's office called to discuss next week too - seems my appt. has been moved up to 9:00am so that means i'll be home sooner and driving eric nuts w/my grogginess... i can't eat after midnight OR before surgery so that means no coffee - might have to make eric stop at starbucks before we get home... i'm also excited about seeing norman, he plans on bringing him over to keep me company (as well as max)... i've also been told that he's bringing over the xbox so i have that to play with as well - boys and their toys, let me tell you... doesn't he know that i'd rather watch the food channel? geesh...

happy hump day...

busy little bee

ugh, the holidays are catching up with me and the scale isn't being very nice... i ate without abandon this weekend in pittsburgh so i shouldn't be surprised - i had cookies, carrot cake, pumpkin pie, wine, etc. etc... i am back on track today though and will try my best to stay that way until surgery... i will have to plan my meals carefully while my foot heals, esp. the first week since i won't be able to exercise... i saw that target had WW meals on sale (7 for $10) so i need to stock up on those, cereal, fruit, and lots of veggies... :o)

eric and i had a great time with his family as always, the weather was pretty mild but cloudy and rainy most of the time - hit rain going up and coming back yesterday... i'm not sure if i mentioned that eric has 5 brothers and sisters so its pretty crazy when everyone gets together at his parent's house (but not as crazy as thanksgiving!)... my secret santa got me the vera bradley 2007 planner as well as a beautiful creme hat, glove, and scarf set... as expected, eric's last present came on friday so he'll be getting one more christmas present and he surprised me with a dvd burner for my computer... yee haa! :o)

this week is going to be very busy for me at work so i'm apologing ahead of time if i don't post or comment as often... work is piling up and i have a few big projects to get done before i'm out for surgery including an e-newsletter redesign... i came in late this morning since i had my pre-op doctor's appt. so i skipped the gym and hoped i could make a class after work... no such luck - i had stuff to do so i just came home, made some dinner, threw some laundry in, and paid some bills... its kind of nice having a quiet night at home plus max needs some attention...

happy monday...

i could get used to short weeks

considering its a new year, i decided it was time for a new design... maybe one of these days i'll actually buy a domain name and do a real one but i won't worry about that right now... then again, that would be a GREAT project for me to work on while i sit at home w/my foot healing... hmmm...

eric asked me to help pick out my christmas present last night... after telling me that i gave him nothing to work with, as far as a christmas list, he kept talking about about diamond earrings... after going to a dozen stores, i think we both realized they were way too expensive and anything over 1/4 ct. was like hundreds of dollars... i told him i would prefer something more practical like a chocolate brown, mid-length, down coat so we headed to macy's and that's where we found it ON SALE... he told me to act surprised this weekend at his parent's house so i'll do my best to "oh" and "ah" when i open it... i'm totally bummed that his last present hasn't arrived yet so i'll have to think of something creative to give him...

thank-you, anne, for figuring out my WW points on the new system... same as before, 22, oh well - i just wanted to make sure that nothing had changed... i've had two good days at the gym and now i'll be off-schedule again starting tomorrow since we're heading to pittsburgh... the weather sounds like it might be decent so i'll make sure and take my sneakers for walking - better to take them and not need them over not taking them and wishing i had...

happy thursday and have a great weekend... :o)

weigh-in wednesday

::: GAIN :::

i'm actually thrilled that the scale only read a one-pound gain since last week considering all the food i've been eating and lack of exercise (and eating pizza for dinner last night)... one part of me was like, "why bother starting fresh when this is a short week and i'll be out of town this weekend" but the other part of me is back on track and it feels pretty good... i'll also be heading to the gym in a few minutes and am not looking forward to my workout sans iPod (at home)...

hope you all had a great new years... eric and i were dog-sitting for his brother until 5:00 and since we didn't have plans to go out, we spent the evening watching 'alien' and 'aliens' on his new tv and of course, dick clark's rocking new years special... after being single for so long, its nice having someone to kiss at midnight so it was a perfect night for me... he's still getting over a cold so i hope he feels better by the time we head to pittsburgh on friday for his family's christmas... and after that, the holidays will officially be over for me and the next thing will be foot surgery... ack!

happy hump day...

p.s. if i wanted to see if my WW points have changed, do i need to be a member of e-tools?