i can't move my arms

i have decided that i'm officially done working for the day and the week so it's time to take a breather... i've been working on this logo project for what seems like weeks, and i'm still not 'there' yet - if you're in the design field, i'm sure you can relate to what i'm talking about... you can't force something to work - it either does or it doesn't - and sometimes, people just don't get it... anyway, i need to think about it some more over the weekend and come back fresh-eyed on monday - hopefully something will hit me soon... :o)

speaking of hitting, kickboxing was great last night though i am double-sore from both that AND doing weights yesterday afternoon... we had mr. gimme 100 squats and push-ups again but at least he switched things up from last week (i also realized this morning that he reminds me of peyton manning)... two weeks down and three weeks to go... :o)

i stopped by target last night to pick-up a few things and am always amazed when i get out of there spending LESS than $30... besides getting the things that were actually ON my list (ahem), i also grabbed one of their cute $5 halloween tshirts... it's a dark celery green and says, "witchy" across the front in script lettering - can't wait to wear it tomorrow at the craft show w/my mom and sister... happy birthday, sis! :o)

weekend plans include the above (craft show), getting-in some exercise, helping eric w/some much needed yard work, catching-up on several season premiers, maybe getting-in a motorcycle ride, and watching the steeler's game on sunday (skins are off this week)... what do you guys have planned? isn't it weird how next monday is october? how in the hell did that happen? september just FLEW by, right? and what's even scarier - christmas is less than 3 months away... ...

time for my weekly top 5 so enjoy... :o)

—hungrygirl.com shares some great 100-calorie snack ideas
—oatmeal is getting healthier, check-out quaker's new multigrain hot cereal
—according to calorieking.com, several new products hit the shelves in september
—even snyder's has come out w/their own line of multigrain snacks (might be a local brand)
—see what's new at the trader joe's near you

have a great weekend everyone and enjoy this awesome fall weather... get outside and take advantage of it... :o)

weigh-in

wow, another huge loss this week --> .2 pounds... it's good to see that i'm still making progress, though VERY slow, in the right direction... i had another good class last night, we had a different instructor (again) and this guy was all about the bag - kicking and punching - and jumping rope... it's not my favorite thing - just don't seem to be very coordinated w/the ropes for some reason... oh well, it's still fun and a great workout! i had a nice, sweaty glow afterwards... ;o)

i had my annual review yesterday and all went well... i should be hearing about the restructuring soon and my boss, said again, that she's trying to get a promotion for me... but along with this, comes more responsibility since she will be moving up as well - i'm both excited and scared so we'll see what happens... i really enjoy doing design and keeping to myself, so attending more meetings and dealing w/more staff will take some adjusting that's for sure... and probably some nicer clothes... :o)

i also asked my boss for some time off since i'll have almost 8 weeks by the end of the year (i haven't taken a real vacation in like 2 years, people!)... so i'm taking-off the week of thanksgiving and the week between christmas and new year's - i have no plans as of yet so i'm just looking forward to some R&R... and speaking of R&R, i'm going to florida next week with eric - he is presenting a paper with some coworkers at a conference and i'm tagging along... my daily goals will be to: exercise, eat well, and lay by the pool - shouldn't be too hard, right? ;o)

i didn't watch BL yet but i did successfully tape it... i'm also considering buying a Tivo since i'm tired of the whole VCR-thing and having to deal with tapes - i'm watching a few good deals on ebay so we'll see what happens with that... i DID watch law & order SVU though - love that show!

happy hump day...

mini-peanut better cups don't count right?

just got back from a great workout - 45 mins and 600 calories later, i'm feeling pretty darn good... it's always good to get back into the groove on a monday, esp. after a weekend-away and no exercise... well, i DID play in the pool for a while on saturday - we took eric's dad for some water therapy and it seems to be doing wonders for his leg... he's also walking a bit more and get more movement in his arm so that's good news... we had a good weekend in pittsburgh, the weather was great, and i made dinner for everyone on saturday night - made my specialty: lasagna w/homemade sauce... i wanted to do something for eric's mom since she's so overwhelmed taking care of his dad, and think it was a success (she had 2 pieces and eric said that was a good sign)... we got to play w/norman's sisters but didn't get to hang w/the cows or ride the go-cart - there's always next time, right... :o)

on saturday while i was helping eric put in a new light/fan in the bathroom, i got a phonecall from my sister about my dad - he fell out of his wheelchair and was being taken to the hospital... they had left him unattended, in a big room - which they know they shouldn't do because my dad is too weak to stand by himself... they use a 'lap-buddy' which is sort of like this padded tray that hooks around the arm of the chair to hold him in - he must've been agitated and got it loose... anyway, luckily nothing was broken but my sister had to deal w/everything AND ream-out the nursing home for not listening to her - i wish i was closer so i could help-out more... stuff like this just makes me realize that i really need to make a point in visiting more often - he barely recognized me last weekend so i'm not sure how long that's going to last...

and speaking of things not lasting - WTF redskins... you had that game in the first half and then blew-it, esp. in the fourth quarter... i really thought you could've tied the game and won so i'm just going to chalk this game as a 'mistake' and move on... you better not let me down next weekend... ;o)

happy monday...

f-f-friday

i'm enjoying today because both my boss and coworker are out AND i finished all my work before leaving yesterday... so, i've had time to enjoy my bagel & coffee and catch-up on everyone's blogs... this afternoon, i plan on going to the gym and then (discreetly) leave at 3:30 so i can make a hair appt... after that, eric and i are heading to pittsburgh for the weekend so it should be a good few days... doesn't hurt that the weather looks to be spectacular so i'm sure we'll be spending a lot of time, sitting on the porch, looking out into the countryside... :o)

i had several people ask for my enchilada recipe - i don't really one that i follow, i just use what i have on hand... i grilled-up some chicken breasts but you could also use ground beef, ground turkey, black beans, or refried beans - it all depends on your taste... i combined the chopped-up chicken with some green peppers, onions, and corn (microwave for 2-3 minutes first), about 1 cup of lowfat shredded cheese, and about 1/2 cup of salsa... spoon this mixture onto a flour tortilla, roll-up, and then place seam-side down in a 13x9 casserole dish... cover with a large can of enchilada sauce (and maybe some more cheese), cover with foil, and bake at 375 for 45 minutes... i served mine with some chopped up lettuce and tomatoes - it gives it an extra crunch! :o)

class #2 of kickboxing was hard but i'm not sure as hard as tuesday since there was a different instructor... i think he made us do at least 100 squat/kick combos, 100 pushups, 100 arm lifts, and god knows what else... then we punched and kicked the bag for a while so it was a definitely a workout - just not as 'sweaty' as tuesday's class... when i got to eric's, i warned him that i would be stinky - he didn't really care because it was just another excuse to take a shower (yes, together people!)... ;o)

i haven't had much time to prep for my weekly top 5 so i'm just going to list some things that i am thankful for - you should too! :o)

—my health and making better choices w/my diet
—the courage to try new things like jogging and kickboxing
—all the friends i have made thru blogging
—my friends, my family, and esp. eric who is my biggest supporter
—the season of pumpkin spice lattes

have a great weekend, everyone... see you on monday... :o)

weigh-in

one of these days, my weekends are going to catch-up with me - i know i shouldn't say that outloud but really... and all i can say is, thank god for kickboxing last night because i think it helped the scale show a .6 pound loss this morning... i really liked the class but it was HARD - like 50 minutes of leg lifts, squats, pushups, and then there was the whole boxing part which meant even more legs and arms... i was sweating big time and it felt great - the instructor at one point asked me if i had ever taken a class... when i said no, he was like "wow, you're doing a great job!" so yea, maybe i should keep taking it... ;o)

work has been crazy busy and it will be even busier so i apologize for the ocassional posts and lack of commenting... i had to leave early today because i had 2 doctor's appts. - one was the dermatologist for my annual mole check (all clear) and the other was for my 6-month check-up at the dentist (no cavities)... i still get fluoride treatment (vanilla this time) and a toothbrush and mini-floss on the way out... good times, people, good times...

it was a beautiful day here and since i didn't do my usual lunchtime work-out - i opted to go for a nice jog when i got home... after what felt like 2 hours, it only ended up being 26 minutes - ugh, i need to work on that... it's SO much easier to jog when there's someone with you... either way, i was proud of myself for going and for not stopping so yay me! :o)

as for biggest loser - for some idiotic reason i only taped the first 1/2 hour (yes, i'm 36½ and still can't program my VCR apparently)... i missed who won the challenge and how the weigh-in went so maybe i can find the episode online somewhere - i did hear that the black team won which is great... jillian is an awesome trainer because she doesn't take shit from anyone - wouldn't be great to have someone like her, all to yourself? :o)

since i haven't participated in sarah's photo challenge yet, i decided to take one of my dinner tonight... i made chicken enchiladas with corn, green peppers, onions, and lowfat cheese - talk about tasty! eric was supposed to come over tonight and that's what i had planned to make so when he canceled - i made them anyway... yum yum... :o)

one more thing - last week, someone from the weight loss tips website contacted me and i was asked to fill-out a questionnaire and submit before/after photos... i felt kind of silly doing it esp. since my 20-pound loss is nothing compared to some of you (who have lost 30, 40, or 50+ pounds) but i'm glad i could share my story nonetheless... regardless of how much you've lost or how much more you have to lose - i think it's important to share your journey with others because there will always be someone else, just like you, going thru the same thing... anyway, check it out here... :o)

happy hump day...

halftime

the redskins just scored an awesome touchdown before halftime so let's hope they can keep it up and win the game! go skins, go skins, GO SKINS! :o)

i had a good time out at my sister's and as you can see by the picture, thanksgiving is just around the corner... we went to an amish nursery on saturday and stocked-up on mums - they had just about every color you could think so i chose deep purple and yellow (complimentary, you know)... after that, we hit some yard sales, a few goodwills (it runs in the family!), a craft show that was pretty lame (sorry, mom), and then got some frozen custard at this cute cafe... eating was okay for the weekend, nothing steller, so i'm not going to worry about it... i did manage a short jog along the lake sat morning so at least i got SOME exercise in - it was early and the temp was pretty brisk but well worth it... on sunday, we did the church thing and then had lunch before going to see my dad - he's doing as good as can be expected in his condition so all in all - the trip was good... :o)

tonight was my only night to relax this week so after making dinner (grilled veggies and brown rice), i did some laundry, painted my toenails, and caught-up on everyone's blog... i've been too busy at work to keep-up w/everything so it was nice to see what everyone's been up too... tomorrow night my kickboxing class starts - i hope i like it and i hope i like the instructor - i'll give you a full report on wednesday... :o)

well, i need to run - the game is back on... :o)

happy monday...

p.s. final score: 20-12 --> THE REDSKINS WON! YAAAA HOOOO! :o)

mun-chi-chi, mun-chi-chi... oh so soft and cuddly...

happy friday, y'all... i'm so glad the weekend is here, i feel like i've been robbed a few days because of my ongoing headache and backache issues (except for today, go figure)... i should make an appt. with a chiropractor and have thought about trying acupuncture - has anyone tried it? i could give them a laundry list of things to 'fix' so maybe i need to decide what my main complaints are first... ;o)

work has been quiet today and i'm hoping my boss leaves early, so i can leave early too - my mom and i are heading to western maryland to spend the weekend w/my sister... the weather yesterday said cloudy and in the mid-50s - WTF man, it's only september people... it's like a different world out there, i swear - it starts getting cold in september and they get snow up until april... anyway, we're going to run around tomorrow and probably stop by to see my dad - it's been a while and i feel i should go see him... my goal is to go for a walk/jog at least once and make healthy choices with my food (unless she makes homemade ice cream and then all bets are off!)... :o)

speaking of food, eric and i went for thai last night - neither one of us ordered the usual curry dish and though what we had was good, it just wasn't the same... i hate when that happens... plus, we were the only customers in the joint which was weird because it's usually crowded - perhaps not a good sign... :o(

on behalf of september being National Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, my weekly top 5 will be related to that... :o)

—loreal's 'color of hope' jewelry collection will donate $5, from every purchase, to the ovarian cancer research fund
—do you know what the 4 early symptoms are?
—show your support by wearing a LIVESTRONG item
—or wear a teal ribbon
— a great tshirt for those that have battled and won their fight w/cancer

enjoy your weekend, everyone... go steelers but i'd rather say, go REDSKINS (yes, i know the game is monday night)... :o)

happy friday...

weigh-in

"please maintain, please maintain, please maintain"... that's what i said when i stood on the scale this morning but instead, it showed a .6 pound loss... how that happened, i don't know because i had not one but two frozen pizzas this week and several (small) servings of my mom's peach cobbler... i suppose getting back to exercising has helped and i feel so much better, even if i'm a bit sore from yesterday's weight workout... wonder how i'll feel after my 1st kick-boxing class which starts next tuesday, probably pretty sore in places i haven't felt for a long time... i can't wait! :o)

today, i dropped some fall/winter clothes off at the consignment shop and was given a check for $33, not bad right? so, like any good consignor would do - i turned around and spent $24 in a matter of 30 minutes... i found a great pair of grey banana republic pants, a black wool coat, and 2 cardigans which is pretty darn good... i'm not ashamed to say i shop at these kinds of stores - you can find some very nice stuff for the fraction of the price and yes, i still shop in normal stores but usually only when there's a good sale... i have decided to focus on buying quality things this season and not worry so much about how many pieces i have in my closet (which is hard to do when you're a bargain shopper like myself)... just in the past week alone, i have already made a good start at revamping my wardrobe for fall and still haven't spent over $100... :o)

so how many of you watched the biggest loser last night? i thought it was pretty good, considering this is the first season i've watched - i tend to wait til the last episode when they do a recap but think i will enjoy watching everyone's progression... i like the new host but perhaps that's because in college, i was a big days of our lives fan (shhh)... anyway, i have made some mental notes about who i think is going to do really well, one of them being phil, the captain of the red team - you can just tell he's going to look hot when he loses all that weight... ;o)

happy hump day...

has it really been 6 years?

i just want to say a few, simple things, regarding today... be THANKFUL for what you have, be THANKFUL for who's in your life, and be THANKFUL that we live in this great country... remember those that lost their lives today, remember those that have helped rebuild, and remember to tell the people closest to you, how much you love them... :o)

the weekend seems like a blur since i was still in my funk til about sunday morning... i can't really tell you what made it go away, but i'm glad it's gone because i hate being in that place... anyhoo, i had a good spin class on sat morning and then hung-out w/my mom for most of the day, doing the yard-sale and the comm fair-thing... i wasn't expecting to see eric sat night but his original plans changed and he asked me to come over, so i went, bringing my mom's homemade peach cobbler with me (mmm mmm)... we grilled outside with some of his friends and had a good time...

sunday, he made his usual eggwiches for breakfast and then we headed over to the unique thriftstore to see what goodies they had... i found some high-end clothes (eddie bauer, ann taylor, gap, harve bernard, and aerosoles) for cheap, cheap, cheap so that made me happy... i then headed home to finish the website and watch the AWESOME redskins game - gotta love overtime and watching the winning field goal! i also went thru some of my magazines and started a notebook of inspirational quotes and websites that i'd like to check out... :o)

i'm a little late to be commenting on the whole VMA thing but renee has a great post on her blog today... personally, i think britney looked a mess and her routine sucked BUT i certainly didn't think she looked fat... she looked, well, sort of healthy to me (as much as you can wearing a bikini and fishnets anyway)... you'd have to pay me a LOT of money to get up there and do what she did (and i'd probably need some alcohol too)... ;o)

i'm sure most of you are already geared-up for the new, fall shows but just in case - i found this link last week that lists them all and when they are premiering... i will be watching the biggest loser this season (starts tonight, don't forget!) and am looking forward to some old favorites: CSI, my name is earl, the office, and scrubs...

what about you? what are you looking forward too this fall?

happy tuesday...

poo poo headache

i wish my headache would go away, nothing seems to dull this achy pain for some reason... and because i'm not feeling well, i have decided to skip the gym today and not feel guilty about it... even if i DID go, it would not be a good workout because i would doing everything half-assed and what's the point... and besides - i'm going to spin-class tomorrow and i can always do weights afterwards so there's nothing to worry about... and if for some reason i wake up w/a headache - i'll just pop a double-dose of pills and suffer thru it... :-p

eric came over last night and took me to staples, so i could buy a new desk chair... i've been having major backaches - both at work and home - and contribute it to my crappy chairs... i found one for $25, on clearance, and its perfect - good color, good height, so i'm good to go... as for work, i've readjusted the back to see if that helps and if not - i will be buying one of those pillow-things to lean against... getting old sucks, that's all i have to say...

weekend plans are pretty low-key... eric has some guy-thing going on saturday night so i'm going to hang-out w/my mom and do the community fair thing (she likes to enter canned food and actually won a few ribbons last year)... its nothing huge or exciting but its my hometown and i like to support my local-peeps... sunday plans consist of finalizing my sister's website and watching the game - GO REDSKINS... :o)

time for my weekly top 5, you know the drill - enjoy! :o)

—drink a lot of coffee? maybe you should get a designer cup sleeve
—fun things to do with your old coffee grounds
—ever wonder what type of coffee you are? (i'm a cafe latte)
—make your own flavored coffees at home
—spread the love and wear a coffee cup on your belt buckle

and that's all she wrote, have a great weekend everyone... :o)

happy friday...

complacent

com·pla·cent
1. Contented to a fault; self-satisfied and unconcerned

i'm wondering if this is what i've become, about my weightloss, because it seems as of late - a gain on the scale doesn't freak me out anymore... nor do i jump up & down or shoot-off fireworks when i see a loss (probably because i see the same pounds come/go these days)... weekends have pretty much become a free-for-all because i know come monday, its back on plan so might as well enjoy myself... and if i skip exercise, it's more like "so what" than "i need to work twice as hard tomorrow"... so what gives...

i'm sure i'm not the only one that goes thru this - pondering the whole "is this where i'm supposed to be?" question... just HOW important is it, to get to that ideal weight - the one stuck in your head for whatever reason... for me, 150 is only 9.4 pounds away and to some - that's a piece of cake... but looking over the last year or so, i've been around 160 and that was even during my 5K training where i was running 5x/week... i keep thinking, just how far do i have to push myself to get to a stupid number anyway... is going down one more size worth the effort? will i feel any different? will i feel more attractive? will people treat me differently? probably not but it's that (insert word here) that makes you want to keep going because you've set a goal and you want to achieve it... giving up just makes everything you've done in the past, seem pointless and who can live with that... as much as i want too, i just don't think i can but i'm going to need help...

i've been in a fog for the last few days (personal stuff) and its been hard focusing on anything but keeping it together at work... i haven't worked out since saturday morning and i fell back on a huge comfort food last night and made pizza for dinner (scale only showed a 1 pound gain, amazing!)... on the phone eric said, "oh no" and i thought, "yea, it wasn't healthy but its what i needed at the time"... and just thinking that made me realize that food isn't going to fix me - i need to fix me instead... i've lost my "uumph" somewhere i need to find it, and i need to find it fast or things are going to start spiraling out of control (i'm probably making this more horrendous than it really is, i'm just trying to put my thoughts on paper)...

what i really need is change, and i'm totally digging #5... :o)

change
1. The act, process, or result of altering or modifying.

2. The replacing of one thing for another; substitution.

3. A transformation or transition from one state, condition, or phase to another.

4. Something different; variety.

5. A different or fresh set of clothing.

happy thursday...

weigh-in

i'm not sure why the scale only showed an .8 pound gain this week - the philly cheesesteak i had on saturday night weighed that alone so i'm thankful the damage is easily undoable... i also was a big slacker w/exercise this weekend - the spin class started a 1/2 hour later than scheduled on saturday so i opted to do the eliptical for 45 minutes instead... it was a good workout but not as great as the class - note to self: check class schedules ahead of time esp. on a holiday weekend! grrr!

so as mentioned above - eric and i had an original, philly cheesesteak for dinner on saturday (mine had cheese wiz, onions, and peppers)... i regret not having him take a pic because it was huge and oh SO very tasty... the king tut exhibit was pretty cool even though they did not have any of his actual burial masks or sarcophagus in the show (maybe they are too fragile to travel?)... it was beautifully designed with each room painted a different color and though crowded, we had no problem viewing each piece after waiting our turn... someone was complaining outside that it was too crowded and they wanted their money back - i thought, "gee lady, its saturday night and a holiday weekend - get a grip! what do you expect!"... i hate people that are impatient...

sunday, was pretty low-key but i did try a new recipe for breakfast - it was a sundried tomato and goat cheese frittata (recipe here), mmm mmm good... after that, i washed and detailed both cars, went to the store, and caught-up on some tv stuff... monday, we took a nice, long bike ride and enjoyed the great weather we've been having here, i do hope it lasts a little bit longer... for dinner, i made some fresh pesto and we had that with chicken, stuffed with more sundried tomatoes and goat cheese... and for dessert - we had s'mores made w/peanut butter cups (and i wonder why i gained this week? ha!) and that's pretty much it for our labor day weekend...

my allergies have been kicking-in since this weekend, i've pretty much had a headache since saturday and my eyes have been watering... gotta love that ragweed... work has been quiet so i've been trying to catch-up on misc things, one being my sister's website... thank-god its a short week, i'm just not in a very 'work' mood...

happy hump day...