sunday's top 5

its been a busy weekend and i still have much to do - like finish packing way my clothes and shoes (perhaps i am procrastinating by typing right now!)... i had thought about going to the 8:30 spin class this morning but decided i needed a day off to rest—i did 2½ miles yesterday!!! we ran to the end and walked for a bit before turning around and heading back - the weather was perfect, not too cold and not too sunny... i then ran up to my mom's and we headed to the community yard sale - my first and best bargain of the day was a professional stepper with 4 risers (like the kind you see in a gym) for get this --> $1 ladies and gentlemen... now i have something to use w/my firm dvd's... :o)

before i list my weekly top 5, i have a few product reviews i'd like to do... i picked up the new, quaker multigrain mini rice cakes and they are awesome (1 pt serving) - they satisfy both your crunchy and sweet cravings... i also found these cute, little kidz wraps that will be perfect for small pizzas, samiches, and snacks (1 pt for 2 wraps!) - they have a few different flavors and sizes so check out their website here... :o)











now onto my weekly top 5... enjoy!

—do you know what a 300-calorie meal looks like?
—doing a doing an isagenix cleanse, JP lost 27 pounds in 30-days
—spice-up your food with some of these tasty items
—buy something pink and $1 will be donated to susan b. komen for the cure
—another weight loss simulator website worth checking out

enjoy the rest of your weekend and i'll catch-up with you guys tomorrow... :o)

happy sunday...

TGIF

sorry for the lack of posts, i have been slammed at work and am finally able to take a breather - go figure, its almost 5:00... our annual meeting is coming up and i was asked to design the 10' x 20' company booth as well as one for the cyber cafe... i've also been involved with our big forum/dinner that's happening on may 2 at the folger shakespeare library - the speaker of the house, nancy pelosi, is supposed to give a speech so that's pretty cool... i hope i don't have to go but we'll see, i'm not very good around political people...

also at work today, we had a department potluck - there must've been like 20+ people there and just as many dishes... i took very small portions of things that i wanted to try and stayed clear of anything too starchy/heavy... i brought PEAsto pasta salad with green peas, basil, parmasean cheese, pine nuts, olive oil, and lemon rind - talk about awesome! there's not much left which means, i can give the rest to my mom this weekend... and i have no idea how many points were used so i may just say 20 and call it a day (better to be too high than too low)... :o)

since we had the potluck during lunch, i'll have to hit the gym after work... i know its friday but i need to finish week #5 of the C25K and since eric's going out of town again, i don't have any plans... tomorrow i have running and then i'm going to a huge town yard sale with my mom - i don't really NEED anything but i usually find something that's cheap... i may look for some camping gear, who knows... the weather should be in the low 70s - yaa hoo... :o)

happy friday...

p.s. i'll list my weekly top 5 over the weekend...

weigh-in

my weigh-in went well this morning - i'm down 1.6 pounds for my first week back on WW - whoo hooo carrots... i won't lie, i was expecting more for some reason... maybe because i was so diligent about keeping track and doing my little eTools thing... BUT i know the recommended amount is 1-2 pounds/week and i'm right in the middle so i shouldn't argue with that... the plan will work, if i make it work... :o)

eric and i made our camping reservations yesterday for the week of july 4 and that's only 9 weeks away - holy crap... if i can continue to lose steadily (1 pound/week), that would be awesome but my main goal is to stay OP and to continue training for the 5K until june... after that, we'll see what my exercise regime will be - i will probably continue jogging but not 6x/week that's for sure, and i miss spinning so that will be back on my schedule... yesterday, i bought the may issue of fitness magazine and i'm going to check out the plan i keep hearing about - if you're interested in reading the blog written by the editor-in-chief, check it out here... :o)

and if you need a good kick in the ass, read fat bitch's post from yesterday... :o)

happy hump day...

its getting easier

met w/my runner's group tonight, we did 30-minutes total and i felt pretty good... i'm not going to lie - its still hard at times but it really helps having others around you because it keeps you motivated... i always thought i'd be the last one in the group but i'm not - guess that means something... i've been talking to another girl about the gym we belong too - seems we both like the spinning classes so i'm going to go on sunday morning (since eric will be out of town)... i can't wait because its been ages since i've gone to a class and i really do enjoy them... :o)

after class, i dropped off a TON of winter clothes at the dry cleaners and then hit the grocery store... i found the martin's whole wheat potato rolls and had one with a veggie burger and some cheese - a light dinner since my weigh-in is tomorrow... this is the first one since being back on WW so i hope it goes well... :o)

because i'm insane, i started switching my winter/summer clothes last night and my bedroom is a disaster... it bothers me to no end when things aren't organized - i have bins everywhere but at least everything is hung in my closet (i just need to do my shoes)... i tried on a few things and sadly, some are snug but i know after a few more weeks on WW - they will fit again... this weekend, i'll switch my bedding and yes, i have winter comforter/sheets and summer comforter/sheets... i also have winter/summer curtains but i'm no hurry to do those just yet... ;o)

happy tuesday...

4 more days til the weekend

another weekend has come and gone and i can't believe its monday... i had a great weekend with eric, as usual, and i also got to spend some with my best friend last night over dinner... my flex-points came in handy since the restaurant is known for their thin, brick-oven pizza - i ordered the brie with pine nuts and tomato pizza - mmm mmm... i also had a slice of cheesecake but ALL points were accounted for and i feel it was a huge success... :o)

running went well on saturday morning, we went a bit past 2 miles but not by much - i guess we'll increase the minutes each week until we get to 3.2 miles... again, the weather was really nice - not too cold and not too hot - so it was enjoyable... i found some nike capris last week at ross and they worked well, just need to find some tanktops and i'll be good to go...

eric and i took the harley out on saturday for a 6-hour drive - it was awesome because the weather was perfect and we took back roads that wound around the country side... we drove thru frederick, hagerstown, hancock, berkley springs, martinsburg, harpers ferry, and then back home... we were pretty tired when we got home so it was an easy dinner (steak and asparagus on the grill) and then some tv-watching: my name is earl and 2 episodes of planet earth...

yesterday, i did some grocery shopping and then tagged along for eric's ulimate frisbee game in DC... at one point, the team was short 1 female and i thought they were going to make me play but luckily, some of the other female teammates showed up... i'm pretty good, when we're just throwing it around, but i've never played on a team and these people are serious players (they also lost 15-3)... i also tried to jog for a bit but it was really hot, so i just did a 30-minute walk along the river which is better than nothing... last night, i started to feel like crap because of my allergies so after i got home and prepped my lunch for today, i went straight to bed... i feel better today, thank god... :o)

happy monday...

friday's top 5

i'm so excited about this weekend and the nice weather we're going to have - 70 tomorrow and 75 on sunday... that's like perfect for being outside so i can't wait to hit the road on the harley and get some fresh air tomorrow... on sunday, eric has a frisbee game so i'll tag along and start reading one of my books that i've talked about on here... and plans for sunday night include dinner with my friend (my belated bday) - i haven't used any flex points yet so i'm saving them for whatever comes my way... i've been on target every day so far and i feel great - doing the online thing really doesn't take up that much time at all (unless you manually enter stuff and that takes 2 seconds!)... so thanks to all of you that gave your opinion on it because it really did help! :o)

now onto my weekly top 5... enjoy...

—shirls lost 116 pounds and made goal yesterday - whoo hooo carrots!
—top getaways share their best healthy-eating tricks and tasty recipes
—hungry girl's salad bar survival guide
—are your favorite drinks packing on the pounds?
—not a fan of veggies? maybe you should read this

i hope everyone has a great weekend... enjoy the weather, do something fun, and get moving ladies - summer will be here before you know it... :o)

happy friday...

done deal

after pondering about this for weeks, i finally signed-up for weight watcher's eTools yesterday... the scale showed a 1 pound gain and though i was not angry (maybe my body is not used to jogging 6x/week?), i knew it was time to stop pretending that i can lose weight w/out tracking... did i really NEED to pay for a service, when i've managed fine on my own in the past? not really, but my health plan provided a $10 discount for a 3-month membership so i will give it a shot - plus, after doing the following calculation, its really a no-brainer... :op

$55/3 months --> $18.33/month --> $.61 cents/day

that's less than i pay for my daily cup-o-coffee so i feel its money well-spent... i've enjoyed getting to know how to use the points and activity tracker and from what i can see, i also have access to a lot of healthy recipes... i even added my very own last night - for dinner, i made mini-meatloaves out of turkey breast and it was really easy to add all the ingredients and have the points figured out for you... talk about awesome! i plan to use this feature a lot... :o)

so that's the latest news in my life - yesterday's C25K workout was hard, i think my body is finally catching-up to all this jogging (i managed 35 instead of my usual 40 mins)... my friend, who's not in the running club, wants to meet tonight after work so we'll see how that goes... saturday, the weather here is supposed to be in the 70s so after my run in the morning, eric and i are taking the bike out for a nice, long drive... our goal is to find an old diner somewhere and have lunch - we're not fancy people by any means which is one of the reasons why i love him so much... :o)

happy thursday...

who says there's no such thing as free?

i know i shouldn't be promoting this but if you have kids, don't forget today is ben & jerry's annual FREE ice cream cone day... for more info, check this out... :o)

exercise: today's workout consisted of weights and after work, i meet up w/the runner's group... i wonder how far she'll make us jog tonight, i'm guessing 25 minutes probably... i also need to go shopping and get more dry-wick workout clothes, at least another pair of capri bottoms and 1-2 tank tops... if you'd look in my dresser you would probably say, "you have enough stuff to last a year", but i hate wearing the same thing a lot and most of its cotton... and they say it's not good for running because when it gets wet, it doesn't dry fast enough so we'll see what i can find...

foodwise: breakfast – egg & cheese on a light, multigrain english muffin... lunch – salad with lettuce, carrots, peas, feta cheese, and soy/ginger dressing... snack – fresh pineapple, strawberries, mango, and cottage cheese... dinner – fat-free refried bean and low-fat cheese quesadilla - mmm mmm good...

entertainment: the only thing on my schedule tonight is workout at 10pm so my goal is to finish reading the new issue of oprah so i can move along to my 3 other books... geesh, reading is so damn time-consuming... :o)

happy tuesday...

what a difference

saturday was my 2nd meeting w/the runners group near eric's house (how convenient!) and after a brief talk about shoes and clothing - she separated us into groups named after women's shoes (my group is jimmy choo)... anyway, we did a brief warm-up and then jogged for 2 miles! we actually stopped a bit before the 1-mile mark and we said, lets just keep going and we did! crazy! i can't believe how different it is when i run w/a group compared to when i'm alone - its not like its easier but its definitely more motivating because i don't want to let the group down... it was a great way to start the weekend nonetheless - i celebrated by going to target (for a baby gift) and got a cute bikini for $10... talk about motivation! :o)

the rest of the day was spent doing things around the yard,then i ran to get my haircut, came back to join him on some errands, and we had a yummy dinner at baja fresh... saturday night, we watched LOST and another episode of planet earth - that is such a great series!

yesterday, i was so happy to sleep-in but that never lasts since the cats are busy and want to be fed... while eric was working on the harley - i did some laundry, went to the store, cleaned the kitchen floor, cleaned the bathroom, made some cookies, and tried yet another RR recipe but this time it was a gourmet tuna noodle casserole... talk about yummy (but not very figure-friendly)... i was back at my place in time to see the beginning of the food network awards show and thought it was pretty hokey - anyone else feel the same way? i love the channel but can only handle so much...

today i started week #4 of the C25K and even though i did 2 miles on saturday, i still find this workout to be challenging... maybe because i'm running just a tad faster? who knows... i'm not going to worry about weigh-in on wednesday because i know i haven't been perfect w/the food but have been kicking-ass w/the workouts... yay me!

happy monday y'all...

the question game

i decided to play hilly's question game and if you'd like, you can play too... see the bottom of the post for instructions... :o)

1. is it better to have loved and lost OR to never have loved at all? why?
i would have to say its better to have loved and lost because as hard as it to accept the end of a relationship, you learn an incredible amount about yourself... this may come weeks, months, or even years later but when you finally reach the moment of acceptance of his/your mistakes - its much easier to go on...

2. which blogger would you most like to swap lives with for a day and why?
this is a hard one - i read so many blogs, about so many things: diet, exercise, life, motherhood, gossip, fashion, tv, etc... so if i had to pick one - i would pick amanda because i'm continually amazed at her progress with WW... she's lost over 30 pounds since november and even w/a husband and 2 small children - she continues to make good choices every, single day... i'm also envious of any stay-at-home moms because that's what i want to be...

3. would you rather be skinny with icky hair or have healthy hair and be a bit overweight?
even when i was at my heaviest, i always had awesome hair - i feel it represents my quirky, fun, and crazy personality... i feel incomplete if my hair is not done and styled, sort of like how some feel when they go in pubic without makeup (which i have no problem doing)...

4. what is the greatest song in your world?
god, this one is very hard too because i like so many songs, for so many different reasons... again, if i had to pick one - i would say 'everybody likes to rule the world' by tears for fears - it reminds me of the early 80s, a time of innocence, and a time where i didn't know the pain of my parents splitting, the heartbreak of my college boyfriend, or the sickness that has overtaken my father...

5. where would you like to live most in this world, not including your current location?
i would say southern california, anywhere near san diego - i love the weather, the beaches, the laid-back atmosphere, and all the great shopping... la jolla would be my first pick and then maybe laguna beach... :o)

so if you would like me to interview YOU, here are the instructions to continue...

1. leave me a comment saying, "interview me."
2. i will respond by emailing you five questions - I get to pick the questions.
3. you will update your blog with the answers to the questions.
4. you will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. when others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

happy sunday...

friday's top 5

happy friday everyone, we made it to the weekend - yaa hoo... too bad the weather is going to suck for most of the country, they say DC is to get massive rain tomorrow and sunday - so much for a nice weekend (even though it makes for good tv/movie watching!)... by the time i got home last night, the rain had stopped so i went for a jog and didn't quite make it 20 minutes but got to at least 15... it is SO hard to run outside and not on a flat service, but i kept pushing myself because i know what a great feeling it will be to finally reach 3 miles... i then had a nice dinner, packed up my stuff, and took the kitties back to eric's so he would have them to come home too today (i know, gag)... :o)

i'm going to try and be more diligent with my weekly tidbits so here are my top 5 for this week... enjoy...

—how badly do you want to lose weight
—subway is going to start selling pizza
—prevention's 8 secrets of naturally slim women
—check out your weekly sales circulars here
—recipe for rachael ray's chicken peanut soup

i have a feeling work is going to be super-busy next week so i'm apologizing ahead of time for not commenting or posting very often... i will definitely let you know how tomorrow's runners group goes though - i'm hoping by having a jogging buddy and someone else to talk too will help... its not fun going by yourself esp. when you forgot the iPod at work...

have a great weekend... :o)

pigs in a blanket have NO points

i was contacted a few weeks ago, by a PR firm, to review a new book entitled: tank top arms, bikini belly, boy shorts bottom by fitness trainer minna lessig... she is a sought-after personal trainer and an internationally recognized fitness supermodel who has been featured on the covers of such magazines as muscle and fitness, fit, and woman's fitness international... since i'm always looking for new workouts - i thought i would give it a try... so in the next few weeks, i'll be sharing what i've read and see if any exercises are worth adding to my weekly routine... i also realized today that i'm overdue for my next weight workout so this is perfect timing! stay tuned for more info... :o)

bowling was fun last night (even if i didn't play) but i manage one game of pool and successfully shot the white ball off the table... thank you, thank you, please hold your applause... and there was more than just pizza so lets just say i had a little bit of everything and we'll leave it at that... i also had one glass of crappy wine and one amstel lite - nothing major but enough to make me very sleepy by 10:00... i couldn't even keep my eyes open for the whole PBS show but from what i DID see, it was quite interesting...

i'm supposed to run tonight - 20 minutes according to the schedule i got on tuesday... the forecast says rain so we'll see what the weather i like when i get home - there's always the treadmill but i'm thinking i need to get more used to running outside... bah!

eric comes home tomorrow (unless it snows and he gets stranded in denver) and i can't wait to see him... i send him an update-email every morning about what's been going on here (i'm weird like that) and usually norman has done something funny so tell him a story... the other morning i woke up to something tickling my nose and when i opened my eyes, norman was right in front of my face and i could feel his whiskers... have to wonder what cats are thinking sometimes... :o)

happy thursday...

p.s. it just started to pour outside... :o(

i thought this was for beginners?

since i'm still deciding on whether to try eTools - i haven't started counting again but have definitely been making up for it in the cardio area... i'm down 2 pounds this week and am glad to see the scale finally move again... i'm going to stick with my C25K schedule at work (mon/wed/fri) as well as mt new, runner's group schedule which is tue/thur/sat... so that means - i'll be doing cardio 6x week which should definitely get my ass in better shape... :o)

all went well last night - there were a ton of women that showed up for the first runner's group and right off the bat - she had us do 2 laps around the track (1/2 mile)... if we felt okay, she told us to do 4 laps (1 mile total) so i'm glad i found a buddy because she ran at the same pace and motivated me to go the whole way... we did the 4 laps in 12:03 so my goal is to do the 5K in under 40 minutes and i think i'm on target, for now anyway... next run will be on thurs, on my own, and then we meet on sat mornings at 8:00am... yikes... :-o

my company is hosting bowling night after work - i'm not much of a bowler but i thought it would be fun to hangout and watch everyone else... my boss and coworker have their own shoes/ball so that alone is pretty hilarious - that reminds me of the girls that had their own roller skates back in the day... i was always jealous of their white skates with matching pompoms and wheels, esp. since i got stuck w/the shitty-ass brown rentals... i believe pizza will be provided so i will do my best to eat some yogurt before i go, so as to not overeat when i'm there... course i am a fan of pizza and we all know it tastes better when its FREE... :o)

happy hump day...

p.s. don't forget to watch fat: what no one is telling me tonight on PBS...

lazy weekend

i can't remember the last time i took a nap - being my head is too hard to turn off sometimes, i was surprised that on saturday afternoon, i dozed for about 3 hours... being it was cold outside, i decided to try some new recipes too: chicken, peanut soup (rachael ray) and oatmeal, cranberry muffins (discovery health) - both were quite yummy... i had off on friday so i slept-in and then did my C25K outside - it was quite cold but i did it anyway and was quite proud of myself... then i hung out w/my mom for a while, picked up norman from eric's, had dinner, and then watched what not to wear behind the seams with stacy and clinton - i love them! sunday, i did my C25K on the treadmill and then went to church with mom, it was snowing when we went in and when we came out - talk about crazy weather! eric got home from pittsburgh (his dad is home from rehab) around 5:00 and we hung out for the rest of the night - watched both premiers of the sopranos and entourage... :o)

pastaqueen had a great post yesterday regarding the word 'diet' and i felt compelled to comment... i've followed 2 diets in my life: weight watchers and atkins, and both showed results when followed precisely... i never looked at the word 'diet' as bad but did know it meant something temporary and not long-term, even back then... but isn't that what we want at first, when we want to lose weight? we want it off fast and we want it off now... when i stopped doing atkins, i gained the weight back... when i stopped doing WW, i gained the weight back but its not because the diet failed me - i failed the diet... i got sick of it and felt like i needed a break but in reality, i was tired of the diet and became lazy...

honestly, i think the correct term should be 'plan' - these plans are there to help guide us in the direction, show us how to make better choices, and how to live a healthier life... it's up to US to use what we've learned and to apply it to our daily lives - regardless of what plan we're following... i give credit to anyone that has lost a huge amount of weight and kept it off, whether by sticking to a well-known plan OR by doing it on their own... that is a huge accomplishment and they have much to be applauded for, so is the word 'diet' really bad - IF it works and IF it makes us healthier in the long run? i'm a bit torn on this subject, what about you?

happy tuesday...

simply successful secrets

i've been tagged by anne and asked to participate in the simply successful secret research project... the list should include 5-10 things that i do every day (or at least 4-5 times a week) to stay successful at weight loss or anything health-related... i had to laugh though when i first read about it because lately, i feel that i've been less successful than in the past but i can think of a few things to list...

1. i use my lunch hour to workout
   i'm very lucky to have a gym in my building and use this hour to do either cardio or weights... it makes it very convenient for me and i really have no excuse NOT to go, so think its been a wise investment...
2. i blog
   this includes blogging on my own site, as well as reading and commenting on others... in a matter of 2+ years, i have learned a great deal about myself and others who are struggling with the same issues... i have met some really great people who still, to this day, motivate, inspire, and make me laugh...
   
3. i subscribe to health magazines
   i've always been a big magazine person and chose ones that contain not only weight loss articles, but also ones about self-improvement in general - my current list includes: health, fitness, rachael ray, and oprah... i usually find at least 1-2 articles that are interesting and try to apply them to my life in some way, whether its a new workout, a new recipe, or stories about other women that have overcome difficult obstacles...
   
4. i take baths
   this is something i've done since the first night i moved into my apartment - i use this time to not only unwind but to relax, catch up on my reading, page thru catalogs, and as time to myself... and who can no to a tub full of bubbles?
   
5. i accept myself
   this has been a hard one to achieve but in doing so, i have managed to let a lot of 'little things' go... i am human, therefore, i am not perfect - i will have bad days, splurge too much on a certain food, feel too lazy to exercise, and cringe when my pants are tight... but i have also learned that i'm capable of doing anything and need to give myself more credit - thus, one of the reasons why i'm doing the 5K in june... challenging yourself is the only way you're going to grow as a person, this can be applied to everything in your life...
   
6. i laugh
   i find humor in anything and everything - i learned a long time ago that if you can't laugh at yourself, you're missing out on something... i also surround myself with funny people - eric makes me laugh so hard sometimes (he doesn't even try) and for that i am so very thankful... i've also managed to have a lot of friends that have a great sense of humor - it just makes life so much less serious sometimes...
   
7. i am thankful
   i am very thankful to have so many things in my life - a roof over my head; a job that provides stability; a wonderful, understanding, and supportive boyfriend; a great set of friends; a family that i've grown closer too; and most importantly, the strength to pick myself after falling so many times... i am also thankful for this blog and for so many others that fill my day with amazing things...
   

i will keep this going and now tag amanda and sarah...

happy saturday...

thursday tidbits

i had a good workout yesterday and pushed myself beyond the recommended 30-mins... i also decided to increase my speed, little by little, on the jogging intervals and went from 5.0 to 6.0 and it felt great... even though i'm only on week #2, i think doing the whole 5K thing won't be as hard as i thought so i feel a sense of relief... since i have off tomorrow, i am going try doing the workout outside and see how that goes - the weather is going to be on the cooler side so maybe that will work in my favor... :o)

in celebration of the long weekend (for me anyway, sorry!), here are some tidbits that i found during the week that i'd like to share... enjoy... :o)

—valerie bertinelli is the latest celebrity to join jenny craig...
—celebrity fit club #5 premiers on april 22nd, this time including tiffany and screech...
—too lazy to do your own exercising? get a dog powered scooter instead...
—create, annotate and share personalized maps with google's my maps...
—roni has created a new, weight loss community so check it out...
—if you're a fan of stuff on my cat, you're gonna love stuff on my mutt...
—not sure how many calories you burned? try this activity calorie calculator...
—to be successful at losing weight, slow and steady wins the race...
—beware of the easter candy breakdown...

and on a more personal note - i would like to give a shout-out to kathleen, who's been suffering w/back problems and continues to share her struggles along the way... she has decided to go back on WW and wrote a really great post yesterday about her decision to do so - i found what she said to be pretty sincere and pretty motivating... she lost an incredible amount of weight (check out her before and after photos) and worked the plan to a T - most of us can relate to getting awesome results when sticking to something, but for others its a constant struggle...

personally, i've had success with WW (and variations like the wendi plan) but i'm not sure if i can really call it that since i've never really got to my ideal weight... i've also gone back and forth between (1) wanting to be a certain number and (2) wanting to feel good about myself at any size - i truly feel the latter is harder to achieve because you have to learn self-love and self-acceptance... does that mean you're giving up if you're no longer working towards losing weight? does it mean that you're less of a person if you'd rather not give up chocolate and pizza? no, but it really goes a lot deeper than that - the question should really be: are you truly happy with yourself, right here and right now? there comes a time when you either have to stick to a plan, no matter what, OR stop beating yourself up because you're never going to be a size 4 (again)... THAT is the challenge we all face, and not whether we can stick to a weight loss plan or not...

i know it may sound like i can't make up my mind but after reading so many WW success stories (anne, amanda, marie, and amanda, just to name a few) and seeing kathleen's recommitment - it was almost like a sign that i need to give it one more shot... so will it really work? i would like to think so and really think i owe myself one more try - i will NOT, however, drive myself nuts, over-analyze things, beat myself up, or hate myself if i don't lose every week... if anything, i HAVE learned that this weight loss journey will never be perfect and to expect myself to be perfect too is just plain crazy... i will still be incorporating what i've learned and read from other books, and continue with my exercise routines since i think i have that portion covered...

so my final question is for those of you that use e-Tools, can you tell me the benefits of that over using sparkpeople? e-Tools is something i've never tried and thought maybe i would give that a shot as well, esp. since my insurance offers a discount...

sorry for the long post but i felt it was time to come clean... :o)

happy thursday...

i see london

the week is already half over and i'm so glad - just can't seem to get motivated at work or home, plus i've been on the go for last 2 weekends... i did have a good time in NJ helping my friend w/wedding stuff - dresses, shoes, jewelry, flowers, bridal shower, bachelorette party, registry - you name it, we probably covered it... she even has the huge, 3-ring binder to prove it, filled with contracts, samples, and pictures... we decided to do the shower/bachelorette stuff on the same weekend in july so that makes traveling a bit easier on the out-of-towner's like myself... AND we came up with a great idea for the bachelorette party - take a stripper-pole class - how fun would that be?!?! i think it would be anyway but maybe i'm weird - i even suggested dressing up and i am SO doing leg warmers... we also discussed a spa or wine thing so we'll see what the options are and what the cost is... as much as i want to get married, i am learning more and more about how much work and money is involved in something that only lasts 6-8 hours - its unbelievable... i did, however, have a lot of fun scanning things at bed, bath & beyond - those guns can be dangerous... :o)

as for diet/exercise, there's not much to report - i'm the same weight as last week but haven't really been trying since i was out of town and my friend's family is italian (they... love... food... and... wine)... i've definitely been noticing the extra pounds and just feel gross all the time, which is even more reason to hunker-down and get serious... funny how you're okay with things as they are and then suddenly, you're like "woa, how did that happen"... i didn't do any walking over the weekend (rain) but will make up for it this week - today starts week #2 of C25K and i'm looking forward to it...

funny story - as i was listening to the justin cd on saturday, i passed his tour bus on the NJ turnpike heading south... i seriously considered turning around and following it but remembered i'm 36 now and didn't want to be known as a celebrity-stalker... his cd is definitely growing on me but the killers cd totally kicks-ass - love it... thanks for your comments on friday, i'll have to check-out some of the groups mentioned that i'm not familiar with... :o)

happy hump day...