weigh-in

i haven't seen a gain in a while - 1 pound - but i'm okay with it... i knew i went a bit overboard this weekend so it's only fair, right? some may think i'm weird when i say that it doesn't bother me but it's true - i know this weight loss process includes gains as well as losses so there's no use being upset about it... :o)

i started feeling under the weather yesterday afternoon, sore throat, etc. so when i woke up this morning, i decided - for the very FIRST time - to call in sick... yes, i'm one of those 'miss never take a sick day' and though i felt incredibly guilty - i knew going to work would be the worse thing for me... so i went back to bed and used the day to rest and work on my website - i used this as a mental health-day as well and made great progress... my goal is to have it up and running by the weekend and then the job-hunting begins...

i haven't seen any halloween'ers yet but carved my little pumpkin and put it outside my door, just in case someone actually knocks later... i saved ONE peanut butter cup for myself and stuck in the freezer for later enjoyment and right now - i'm roasting some pumpkin seeds... smells divine in here so i'm going to go and enjoy the rest of my night and hopefully, i'll be back to myself tomorrow...

happy halloween hump day...

i love you trader joe's

PRODUCT REVIEW: just wanted to let you know about two wonderful things i found at trader joe's on friday... i went after work and yes, i was hungry (which is never a good idea) and while there - i found these... one was a french-style flatbread pizza w/ham, carmelized onions, and gruyere cheese - OMG it was so good! the crust was nice and thin and very crispy - point-wise it wasn't too bad (4 pts per serving)... second, i picked-up a box of their pumpkin bread/muffin mix and though NOT very WW friendly (5 pts. per muffin), i made them to take to work (cus i'm nice that way!)... i drizzled them w/icing and topped them w/walnuts - mmm mmm... i wouldn't normally make this kind of thing for around the house but they did make my apartment smell really good... :o)

FOOTBALL: it wasn't just hard watching the redskins get their asses beat last night, it was utterly painful... 52-7... are you kidding me? at least the steelers won - 1 out of 2 ain't bad...

SHOPPING: after getting my haircut saturday morning, my mom and i proceeded (yet again) to go shopping all day - so much for helping her around the house... i started off looking for navy shoes but then i found a few long skirts and some new tops - i told her that i can't go shopping w/her anymore and she just laughed... we had dinner at the diner and split a gyro and open-faced reuben samich - mmm mmm... we also hit the goodwill and after searching all day for a long black skirt, i found one there - by old navy - for $4... i hate when that happens... ;o)

WEEKEND: i didn't make it to the gym yesterday because i slept-in and then was up at 8am anyway - i hate when that happens... i proceeded to clean my entire kitchen and bathroom, do laundry, hem some pants, swap my bathroom rugs and shower curtain, meet a girlfriend for lunch, finish the harry potter book (very good indeed, i'm glad to be done but also very sad!), and make some chicken taco soup for dinner... my mom stopped by to watch the game for a bit and then eric was here, to pick-up norman, on his way back from pittsburgh... it was a busy and productive day, so i was pretty pooped by the time i went to bed...

FOOD: i totally felt like i overdid things this weekend - first it was the pizza on friday, then dinner on saturday, and then lunch w/my girlfriend yesterday... i never eat out that much... yes, my choices could've been better and maybe if i had exercised, i wouldn't feel like such a loser but what are you gonna do... i was back OP today and had a great, 40-minute interval hill workout on the treadmill so i'm feeling much better... :o)

happy monday...

i need a raincoat

it's been raining for two days now and even though we desperately need the rain - it's a bit depressing... it's been colder in the mornings too, so that's just yet another sign that fall is here and winter's right around the corner... eric made fun of me last night at dinner (we went to baja fresh) because i had on jeans, a hooded-sweatshirt, AND a fleece jacket... me too warm? never in a million years... ;o)

this week has been hard and i'm glad it's over - i spoke w/another coworker this morning and she's going thru the same thing as me but much worse... she actually asked for more money (because of her workload) and they turned her down, so her job-hunt is beginning too... it's amazing how much we (the employees) are praised in staff meetings and thanked for all our hard work, and yet when it comes to compensation - they suck... anyway, i'm tired of complaining about this so i'm moving on...

this weekend i will be solo (eric's heading to pittsburgh) so my list of 'things to do' is growing by the second... after my hair appt. tomorrow (messed-up the date last week!), my mom and i are going to go shopping for a bit - more her and than me - then i'm going back to her place to help her organize some things around the house... i'm not sure what i'm doing tomorrow night but having a quiet night home, w/the kitties, sounds good to me... on sunday - i'm going to the gym, meeting a girlfriend for lunch, doing some cleaning, grocery shopping, website stuff, AND watching the redskins game... *whew* i'm tired already...

i'm sure most of you have seen 'bladerunner' so have you heard they're rereleasing the director's final cut? it's playing at an old theater in DC beginning this weekend (the kind w/a balcony and huge screen) so eric and i will be catching that for sure... i've seen some great movies there, including the director's cut of 'alien'... hmm, i'm seeing a trend here... ;o)

haven't had time to do much top 5 research so i'm just going to list some of my favorite movies - feel free to share yours as well...

—alien
—bladerunner
—true romance
—willy wonka and the chocolate factory
—gladiator

have a great weekend everyone, stay dry! :o)

weigh-in

considering my work-mood as of late, seeing a .4 pound loss this morning was most welcome indeed... after having such a great loss last week, i was afraid that i would slip back into the old pattern of, "i can have a little bit of this and a little bit of that" and not worry what would happen... but i'm slowly beginning to realize that even though i may FEEL like i'm eating more than i should - my portions are a lot smaller than they used to be... and that's a good thing... if there's anything that i've learned on this journey, is how important moderation is to your success... :o)

so onto the work thing - yesterday was another horrible day and my boss pretty much sealed the deal for me re: finding another job... without going in to details, there were just a few things that happened that i feel were handled inappropriately and it made me realize, even more, that i deserve a lot better... i'm not at the point where i'm miserable but it's beginning and i really don't want to leave here on bad terms - it's just time for me to move on... and in order to do that, i have much work to do on my personal website (portfolio) and resume - nothing a good 2-day weekend can't handle but i hate sitting in front of the computer sat/sun when i've done so all week... once those 2 things are complete, i can then decide what/where i want to go - stay tuned!

personally, there' not much else going on really... tonight i'm dropping-off MORE clothes and shoes to the consignment shop and whatever i make - i'm putting towards the new stuff i bought in reading... i can't tell you how good it feels to be getting rid of these things - i'm not only helping someone else have nice clothes but i'm adding space to my closet... yay!

happy hump day...

stick it up your...

i just had to share some pics of our awesome dinner last night... eric had been talking and talking about this 'beer can stuffed-up a chicken' thing for ages, so we finally did it... though i was a bit skeptic - it was THE most amazing, juicy, and tender chicken i've ever had... he coated both the inside and outside w/some cajun seasoning, stuck it over 1/2 can of budweiser (on a special rack we picked-up at home depot), and grilled it for about 90 minutes... along w/that, i made some garlic mashed potatoes and green beans - totally delish and pretty healthy considering all the fat dripped in the pan... after all was said and done, i cooked the bones w/some veggies and made two containers of chicken stock - can't wait for a cold day and some homemade, chicken soup! :o)

saturday, we took a long motorcycle ride and stopped by an orchard to pick-up my fav apple right now - mutsu - they are so darn tasty! good news! i went to kohl's and found some boots that fit AND they were on sale for $30... figures i would find them somewhere local, right? i picked up a black and brown pair, a pair of cute jeans, and silver earrings as well... then i stopped by to see a girlfriend for a while, ran to the store, then home to make some dinner - eric's neighbor brought over a container of pesto so we had that over some tortellini with a nice salad and red wine... mmm mmm... we tried to watch 'borat' but couldn't get past the first 15 minutes - it was too uncomfortable to watch... :-o

on sunday, i ran to my mom's to take her some flowers for her bday and then we watched both the skins and the steelers games (yay for the redskins and boo for the steelers)... it was a pretty relaxing weekend plus the weather was gorgeous! love days like that!

work is picking-up again so i apologize for the lack of posts... in other news, my boss finally gave us our increases today - though i didn't get promoted, i'm okay with the result (for now anyway)... eric says she should have never said anything to me, because even though i was trying not to count on it - i was anyway... the other designer was given a 'senior' title, like what i have now, and i feel gipped (though i do have more experience and make more money)... is that wrong of me? i mean, she's worked her ass off and totally deserves it - yet i find myself wondering, "what am i still doing here?"... my boss said that maybe in a year, i could move up to director and then manage the other designers (if we get more) and i thought to myself, "do i really want to be here a year from now, doing the same thing, over and over?"... life sucks sometimes... :o(

happy monday...

ride like the wind

can i get a WOOT WOOT... so glad it's friday, people - what a crazy week it's been (at least for me anyway)... work has slowed down a bit but that only means, it will pick-up again soon and i'll be back to complaining about something... ;o)

the gym was finally open today so i put my sneakers on and ran a 4-mile interval - felt light as air, for some reason... i always tend to have great runs when it has been a while - does anyone else experience the same thing? i also made it to kickboxing last night and had a good workout - i'm on the fence about the next session so i'll think long and hard about it over the weekend...

speaking of the weekend - eric and i are going for a nice, long, motorcycle ride tomorrow, after i get my haircut - the weather is supposed to be nice but much cooler... time to break out the leather jacket i guess, whoo hooo... we might grab some lunch (bbq or mexican?) and then my other goal is to finish HP - i'm tired of talking about it so i'm just going to do it! eric's been away for the last few days (he was part of a panel-discussion in VA) and will be home tonight... norman's been staying w/max and i since monday so it's been a joy having 2 kitties running around - they are always so funny when they're together... as for sunday, i'm going to watch redskins/cardinals game and pray they win - GO SKINS... what are YOUR plans for the weekend?

check out my top 5 for things you can do with pumpkin - enjoy! :o)

—bake some pumpkin cream cheese muffins
—enjoy some spiced pumpkin soup
—how 'bout a pumpkin pie martini?
—don't throw the seeds away, try roasting them instead
—why not try pumpkin ravioli with gorgonzola sauce for dinner

have a great weekend, everyone... :o)

too good to be true

i'm too busy for a real post today but just wanted to let you know DO NOT ORDER THOSE BOOTS... i received both pairs today and they are a piece of crap - they're too wide in the foot and ankle and seriously - there's so way they are 100% leather (can you say pleather instead?)... i was SO excited to find them online and even more excited when they arrived but i should've known - the deal was too good to be true... so my search continues... :o(

dinner w/my girlfriend was great last night - we went for vietnamese so i had a nice, big salad for an appetizer and then ordered their 5-spice chicken in coconut/ginger sauce... it was SO good but i stopped myself halfway thru and took the rest home (and had it for lunch today)...

no gym today (it's still closed) but i'm going to kickboxing tonight so 1:2 ain't bad... work is killing me today, my boss is in a pissy mood, and she's taking it out on us - i hate when that happens... :o(

happy thursday...

weigh-in

can i get a drumroll, please... this week's weigh-in was the best i've had in a very, very, long time...

--> 3.2 pounds <--

i couldn't believe my eyes so i stepped on it like 5 times, just to make sure... that means i'm only 6.6 pounds away from goal which is just amazing esp. since i've been on this weightloss roller coaster for almost 3 years... i can't even fathom what that is going to be like so this should be interesting... will i be happy when i get there? will i want to lose more? will i be okay if i gain? who the hell knows but i'm pretty excited about it either way... if i can do well at losing, i can definitely handle maintenance (i think)... :o)

work has been busy, as usual, i skipped the gym yesterday and then was in a bad mood so i skipped my kickboxing again... i have ONE more class on thursday and i will be going, come hell or high water... and then today, the gym was closed because of a water heater repair so i put on my sneakers and went for a nice walk... to filene's basement... and there i got some tights, pantyhose, and 2 pair of spanx ($11.99/each) even though my goal was to look at shoes... didn't find any so i'll have to search elsewhere - need some navy heels to go w/one of my wrap dresses i got this weekend... :o)

i watched biggest loser last night and was surprised at who they sent home... he was one that i knew was going to look pretty cute when he lost weight, and i was right... love that little chin patch too! meow! ;o)

tonight's plans include dinner w/a girlfriend that i haven't seen in ages and then home, to continue reading harry potter... i swear i'm going to finish this book before then end of the month, if it kills me... :op

happy hump day...

what are YOU doing for the environment

thanks to marie, i found out about blog action day and thought it would be fun to participate... i condsider myself to be a pretty 'green' person - i've always recycled and reused and think it's important that everyone do their part... regardless of how small it may be - i truly feel it CAN make a difference... so here's a list of some things that i do for the environment, please share some of your own (even if you're not participating)...

—i recycle all newspaper, junk mail, catalogs, plastic bottles, cans, etc.
—i reuse ziploc bags, unless i use them for chicken and then they are thrown-out
—i take mass-transit to work every day (metro)
—at work, i use a nalgene-type bottle for drinking water
—at work, i use my own coffee cup and silverware (not the throwaway kind)
—i use cold water when doing laundry (minus whites and towels)
—i set my heat at 68 and my a/c around 78
—i take VERY short showers
—i bring my lunch every, single day (but buy a bagel on friday mornings)
—at the gym, i use one towel for working out AND showering (i'm not a huge sweater, really)

now back to the weekend... the redskins lost yesterday and what a horrible game that was - i'm not even going to discuss it... after that mess was over, i made eric watch the last 1/2 hour of xanadu - do you remember that movie w/olivia newton john? god, it is SO horrible to watch now but i still like the music (ELO baby)... then we watched 'capote' which was really good, and THEN we watched 'willy wonka and the chocolate factory' (the original, mind you)... eric pointed out that 'snozberries' is probably another term for boogers - i never thought of it that way but it makes sense (in a sick kind of way)... leave it to a boy to think of it... jut kidding... sometimes i think we watch too much tv but there wasn't much else to do - he wasn't in the mood to take the bike out so there's always next weekend i guess... :o)

happy monday...

we closed the place down

my mom and i went to the vanity fair outlets in reading, pa, yesterday and did some serious damage (me anyway)... we haven't been there since i was in college and it was staple growing up to shop there for jeans and underwear... now, they have expanded and most of the major outlet stores can be found there - my goal was to find a nice suit, some pants, and some shoes... the most exciting part of the day, besides finding some great deals - was getting a pair of liz clairborne jeans in a size 8... i highly recommend this style esp. if you're full in the hips like myself - they fit wonderfully and include spandex, which is a girls best friend... the outlets close at 9:00pm and my mom were rushing thru the easy spirit store at 8:45 - talk about cutting things close... after stopping for dinner, i made it home after midnight and went straight to bed - shopping can really wear you out!

the only thing i did NOT find yesterday were some new black boots and heels - i have a hard time finding anything can fit around my huge calves (my right one measures 16.5" because of the bloodclot a few years back)... i tried on a pair at naturalizer, because they have a wide-shaft style, but for $79 and non-leather i thought that was a bit steep... so bright and early this morning, i went online and found these instead - i ordered a pair of black AND brown and hope they are as good as they look... talk about luck! :o)

i told myself i would sleep-in this morning but was wide-awake at 7:30 for some reason... max and i had a good cuddle in bed and then i got up, unpacked my shopping bags, started doing laundry, and made coffee... i'm heading over to eric's later to watch the redskins game and then we're taking the harley out for a nice ride... the weather has been gorgeous here lately so we're going to take advantage of it - i hope YOU are having a great weekend too... :o)

and for all you weight watchers, check this out... it can't help but make you smile! :o)

happy sunday...

weigh-in

as expected (or not!), i was up .8 pounds this morning (and 2.2 pounds since last thursday)... considering i had al-KEE-hol every day, and some more than others, that can take a toll on someone esp. if they're not being perfect w/points... BUT i'm really proud of myself for exercising while on vacation and can only imagine the results if i hadn't so, once again - i'm moving on... :o)

work was H E L L today - my boss is out until tuesday and most of the time, things are pretty quiet... well, not this time - i was busy from 8:30am to 5:30pm and even stayed a bit late so i could get more done... my coworker said that she's glad i'm back so that just shows you how much we have going on... my boss wrote in an email that things will be much different in 2 weeks so i'm anxious to see what, if anything, happens...

i skipped the gym because of my workload and thought, "i'll make-up for it tonight at class"... as the day progressed, i said there's no way i'm going to make it and decided to skip it... yea, i know that's not a good thing (considering the session is only 5-weeks long) but between my head and my body, it was telling me to take a day-off... do i feel guilty? sure, but i know i'll be back at the gym tomorrow doing my thang so i'm okay with that... :o)

tonight's plans are: making more progress with harry potter, watching CSI and ER, taking a bath, and going to bed (not necessarily in that order)...

happy thursday...

p.s. one more thing, joy nash has yet another brilliant rant on her website - check it out...

back to normal

i couldn't resist having my picture taken w/mr. potato head last night - there was a store in downtown disney that all sorts of potato head merchandise so i thought it would be cute... poor eric caught some stomach bug tuesday night so he wasn't feeling too hot for most of the day, thankfully he's back to normal though... there was an event at one of the bars on pleasure island so we had some food, played some air hockey, and then went back to the hotel... we watched the biggest loser and called it a night... :o)

i'm anxious to see what my weigh-in will be tomorrow... though i worked out every, single day - i won't be surprised if the result isn't good... we grabbed some pizza at the airport today since our flight was delayed and now i'm eating popcorn - great dinner, i know... either way, i think i did a pretty good job food-wise so whatever happens, happens... :o)

happy hump day...

hello from disney

just a quick post from florida - just had a great workout on the treadmill, a quick shower, some breakfast, and then i'm heading to the pool... yea, rough life i know - sorry! not much else to do since eric's in sessions all day (minus yesterday, he blew-off a few so we could relax together)... i've only read a few pages of my harry potter book so that is my main goal today (NOT to start drinking before noon!)... :o)

so far, things have been good - i've exercised everday including a 4-mile run on sunday... it was ungodly hot but i went anyway and couldn't believe my eyes when i looked at my iPod and it said 45 minutes... yesterday, i did an hour on the elliptical - the gym here is awesome, every precor machine has it's on tv so it really helps make the time go by much faster... food has been good but it's insanely expensive here - i've been able to grab some things from eric's breakfasts but cereal has been the healthiest choice... we splurged and went to benihana last night w/some his coworkers - eric had never been so we had a good time (i had the teriyaki steak and shrimp)... drinking, on the other hand, is another story - again, it's very expensive so we hitched a ride one night to the ABC store to get beer, margaritas, and mini-white russians (for me)... and on sunday, i was feeling pretty good because (a) i was able to watch the redkins game at the bar and (b) the blood mary's were REALLY good... that's all i'm going say... :o)

tonight, there's some gala event at pleasure island (i've never been) and then we're back on the plane tomorrow afternoon... it's been great to getaway and just relax - i nixed the massage thing because it's way too expensive and even though eric offered to pay, i see it as a big waste of money... yea, i'm weird like that...

hope you're all having a great week - sorry if i haven't been commenting but there's this huge, blue thing called a POOL, that has my name written all over it...:o)

happy tuesday...

sun but no sand

i'm not sure what possessed me to step on the scale this morning but i did and it said 156.6, not bad for a pre-vacation weight, in my opinion... maybe it was because of my class last night but either way - seeing that will help me stay focused and in control while in florida... :o)

NSV: i was going to wear those grey, banana republic pants this morning (the ones i got at the consignment shop for $5) and they were falling off me... i know they weren't that lose when i bought them, so back they go - now i have to add pants to my outlet shopping list... i know, i know - stop complaining... i guess i'm just not used to seeing all this progress - on myself - it's been a long time so i'm still trying to get used to it... :o)

kickboxing was good last night - he really had us working the bag w/punches and kicks (not so many squats and pushups, thank god!)... it takes a LOT to get me sweating so i had to grin when i felt it trickle down my back at one point... i will be missing tuesday's class and then i'll only have 3 more to go before the session is done - i'm kinda sad... :o(

time for my weekly top 5, thought i would do something jean-related, since it seems to be everyone's wardrobe staple and a weightloss guide... enjoy! :o)

—find YOUR perfect pair of jeans at zafu.com
—grungy denim seems to be the new trend for spring 2008
—trendymamma.com says you CAN wear jeans and be pregnant (at the same time)
—looking for something new? try these organic, free-trade jeans
—tired of wearing your jeans the same way? here's how you can update your look

it's time to head to the gym so i'll catch-up w/you guys later... :o)

happy friday...

can i make it til friday?

i ran to marshall's after work yesterday, looking for some new sunglasses, and found a really cute pair of jean shorts (ralph lauren), in a size 10, for only $10... snagged those up pretty quickly - wouldn't you? i also tried on a bunch of shoes but am going to wait til my mom and i hit the reading outlets in 2 weeks... i grew-up going to outlets all the time (back when they were really outlets with seconds, irregulars, etc.) but now they're just the same as normal stores with a different selection of merchandise... i need to add another suit to my list - the one i have on today is way too big and i was too lazy to change this morning... guess that's a good thing... :o)

no more than 10 minutes after i got home (i also ran to trader joe's for a few things), eric called me and told me to come outside... he took the harley for a spin and came over to surprise me - it was a beautiful night and he felt bad that we didn't get to take it out over the weekend... anyway, we took it up the road and had some ice cream near my mom's - yes, that was my dinner folks... i also had some combos during the show 'life' which i am really liking so far... :o)

no gym today but i do have kick boxing tonight, i hope the instructor is a bit more energetic cus tuesday's class was about a 5 out of 10... it wasn't the best so i'm looking forward to a good workout - we'll probably have mr. squats and push-ups guy... ugh!

happy thursday...

weigh-in

no change this week (sorry team) but it's better than a gain, right? i indulged in a few things over the weekend (ice cream being one of them) but that's okay - i don't expect to be perfect AND have the scale reward me at the same time... i DID however take my measurements this morning and in the past month, i have lost 2 inches and since april, i have lost over a total of 7.5 inches (thanks to jogging and kick-boxing!)... so this just goes to show you that if you're concerned about your progress - focus on the tape measurement and not the scale... :o)

you will also notice the new blog design - i know it's not as pretty or elaborate as before but i felt it was time to change... i spent days trying to tweek some XML templates and just couldn't figure out how to rearrange the widgets (so much for being a design-guru!) so this is what you get for now... i'll be working on adding my favorite blogs too - the list will be much shorter this time if you'd like to be added, please let me know... :o)

i'm just counting the days til we leave for florida - my mind has been everywhere but here (work) and i'm lucky that nothing important has to be done before i leave... i'm tired of working on this logo project and cringe at the thought of all that's involved w/this huge conference next year - one of which is a website that has to be up and running by late-november... blech... my coworker is letting me borrow the harry potter book so i'll have that to read and i'll need to think of other things i can do while eric is at the conference all day... i don't want to be stuck in my room, browsing the internet, so any ideas? i plan on taking advantage of the gym/pool, and i'm also going to do some research and find out if the hotel has a spa or if there's one nearby - i think i deserve a massage... ;o)

sadly, i haven't watched BL in two weeks - this kickboxing class just screws up my schedule so i'll be glad when that's over... i don't mind one evening class a week but two, is a bit too much... i just feel so scattered and i'm not a happy camper when things are out of sorts...

speaking of out of sorts - i switched my summer/winter clothes on monday night but can't put away anything until i get back from florida... i had piles everywhere - laundry, consignment, goodwill, etc. and my shoes - oy vey, they are just piled in the corner... all in all - i feel that i have a good base, wardrobe-wise, but could still use a few good pieces like a pants suit and maybe a wrap-dress or two... and some new boots... :o)

happy hump day...