TGIF

i know, i know - two posts in one week, what's up with that?!?! i've actually been able to take a break since a few projects are in review and some of the larger ones have yet to be dropped on my desk (i know they are coming however!)... boss is out til noon so it's been very quiet, which is always a good thing... there is also a potluck today which i am NOT participating in - too much going on and i really don't feel like being tempted with unhealthy food... besides, a girlfriend and i had dinner last night and we went to this great mediterranean place... i chose hummus with fresh bread, tabbouleh salad, falafel, and baklava with pistachio ice cream (OMG it was heavenly)... needless to say, i was quite full so eating anything heavy today is just out of the question... ;o)

blogger update: for those that know anne - she's returned and writing on a new blog... welcome back, anne, we missed you... :o)

weekend plans: i have no idea really... eric is putting a new engine in the harley this weekend so he'll be occupied both today and tomorrow... i will probably head to my mom's for a while since i haven't seen her in a while - we might go somewhere but am not sure yet... it seems that these past few weekends have been crazy-busy so i wouldn't mind keeping things low-key... oh, there will also be a spin class in my future - prob tomorrow or sunday... :o)

so what are YOUR plans for the weekend?

happy friday...

weigh-in

i have a confession to make... because of all the shit that's been going on for the last month or so, i haven't been tracking my food (let alone use my eTools!)... exercise hasn't been that great either - i've gone from 5-days a week to maybe 2-3, if that... so to say that i was more than surprised to see a .4 pound loss this morning would be an understatement, but will take what i can get... i haven't been in the 153's since before thanksgiving and that brings me even closer to my goal... i had hoped to get there by next month but cannot predict what my life will be like for the next 6 weeks (god help me!)... i'm just going to do my best and refocus once this damn conference is over... :o)

sorry for the lack of posting/commenting but work has been my top priority... i had a 100-page publication to format, most of those pages contained tables which were a pain-in-the-ass, BUT i got the first-draft done 3 days ahead of schedule... yay me! there have been many early mornings and late nights so as long as i keep ahead of everything, maybe i won't have to work so much as i have been (rolls eyes)...

and regarding lunch w/my boss last week - when i have more time to write, i will tell you all about it... good news for sure! :o)

my easter was good - eric and i headed to my sister's on thursday night so we could spend time w/my dad on friday morning, before heading to pittsburgh... he's doing as well as can be expected - i helped him w/lunch, gave him a shave, did some exercises, walked around for a while, and just talked... as for the rest of the weekend - we hung out w/his family including his newly engaged sister, went to the local bar and played shuffleboard, helped take care of the cows for his brother, shopped at goodwill w/his mom, and ate lamb (which i did NOT like!)... it actually snowed friday night! crazy! :o)

well, that's all i have for now... i hope you're all doing well and i promise to catch-up w/everyone this weekend... :o)

happy hump day...

taking a long weekend

weigh-in

scale was down this week - i lost the pound i had gained last week but am expecting that will happen a lot in the next month in a half... my long days/nights have started at work and though i will try my best to get to the gym - there will be days where that just won't be possible... i hadn't worked out since saturday and after doing 45-minutes on the treadmill yesterday (walk with intervals), i felt amazing... i had so much energy that it was hard for me to fall asleep at my usual time, but i did evenutally and then got back up at 6:00... i cannot wait for may 7 and then all this stress will be over... :o)

i tried one of marie's breakfasts this morning - 2 lowfat eggo waffles with cottage cheese (i also added some sugar-free syrup)... it was rather tasty and a nice change from my usual cereal... sand peaking of marie, her success story is now on weightwatchers.com so check it out! you go girl! :o)

my boss is taking me out to lunch today to "run some ideas" by me - not sure what that means but i'm assuming it's work-related... i am totally prepared to ask for a raise, if more work will be required of me, so we'll see what happens...

not much else has been going on and like i said, work is busy and will only get busier... i will probably be posting/commenting much less than usual too, but will try my best to see what you've all be up too... if anything, i'll always post my weigh-ins so at least you can look forward to each wednesday... :o)

happy hump day...

lazy day

i love rainy sundays because it makes sleeping-in all that much more satisfying... eric made eggs benedict for breakfast - he had told me about this since we starting dating and that was over 3-years ago... it was very tasty... as for the rest of today - i hope the rain stops so we can change the oil in my car and that's about it... after the full day we had yesterday, it feels good to not have any plans (though i do have THREE magazines to read, ugh!)... :o)

i went to spin class yesterday - thought it was canceled but then they announced a sub had been found... she wasn't very good and she certainly didn't do anything to motivate you - i mean really, how many times can you say, "up... and down... up... and down"... i could've done a much better job and have better music too! ;o)

after that, i headed over to eric's and we proceeded to work on the backyard - we raked, mowed, and pulled-out dead stuff all over the place... looks so much better! the goal is to tear-up half the yard this spring (which is now over-grown beds), plant grass, and have a bigger garden this summer so i'm very excited about having more veggies and fresh herbs... we had gorgeous weather too (low 60s) so we took the harley out in the country for about 2 hours, felt great to be out though when the sun was hiding behind clouds - it got a bit chilly! dinner was marinated steaks on the grill, potatoes that had cooked in the coals, and veggie kabobs! mmm mmm... :o)

we also watched a movie called '30 days of night' - i'm a sucker for horror films and have to say, it wasn't that bad... though it wasn't in the same league as say, 'the grudge' or 'the ring,' the special effects were good and the cinematography was pretty nice... think alaska, snow, total darkness, and shrieking vampires... ;o)

enjoy the rest of your weekend...

weigh-in

and back up we go - 1 pound gain this week - can't be lucky all the time, right? i'm cool with it, weigh-in wasn't really my focus this week... should be though since i wanted to reach goal by next month but hey - sometimes life just gets in the way... ;o)

eric took me to dinner tonight, sort of a late valentine's day and birthday present... we went to the place that we had our first 'real' date (meaning not a bar) so it was nice to go back... we had calamari, side salad, i had the shrimp and crab over penne pasta, and he had the fettuccine which was amazing... i only had one glass of wine and NO dessert but this will definitely be my splurge meal for the week... i'm glad i went to the gym after work - though jogging was rough, i stayed on the treadmill for 45 minutes... :o)

work is still busy - my boss wants to take me to lunch next week to talk about some things... not sure what that means but i'll stay optimistic that it's something good... :o)

sorry to keep this short but eric is here and i need to get lunches made for tomorrow... since i didn't eat but half of my dinner, i have something to look forward too tomorrow night... oh, and watching LOST... :o)

THANK YOU for all the birthday wishes and happy hump day...

mmm mmm

i love my mom, she is the best! look what was waiting for me when i got home today... this is SO much better than a birthday cake! thanks, mom! :o)

1 year closer to 40

today is my birthday (big 37) and so far, nothing traumatic has happened... i haven't read my annual "if you were born on this day" horoscope yet but will and i usually make a copy to put on my bulletin board, just to keep track of things that happen throughout the year... seems corny but that's just what i do... i'm sure you're wondering if i have any BIG plans for later and the answer is, no... i saw eric on sun/mon and we decided wednesday would be a good night for dinner (schedule reasons) and plans w/a girlfriend on thursday had to be rescheduled... am i pissed that i don't have plans? not really - birthdays are just another day in my book, no use getting my panties all in a bunch... if i was turning 16 or 21 - that would be another story... ;o)

i apologize for not posting - since last week, my life has just been a whirlwind... i was at here til almost 9:00 last thursday working on this black-tie invitation, and in tears for most of the time because the mailroom printed them wrong... i was able to save most of them but the fact of the matter is, they fucked up a pretty important job... friday, i went to my sister's so we could meet the funeral director and go thru all that stuff - it went surprisingly well though some stuff was just plain creepy... she also took me to lunch at this old, victorian house that has been converted into a bed & breakfast and i bought myself a new, silver ring at this tiny giftshop on the way home... :o)

while i was out there, i was able to spend some time w/my dad - he's doing good though i've accepted he no longer recognizes who i am... we did some exercises with hand-weights and i helped him w/lunch, also took a few strolls in the hallways as well as worked on a sudoku puzzle (okay, that was all me)... on the way home, i stopped at the veteran's cemetary and got all that taken care of - it really is a nice spot though it was quite cold and windy when i was there... i feel better knowing we have all this done, i can concentrate on making more of an effort to see him on a regular basis and now that spring is around the corner - i won't have to worry about snow!

food/exercise are slowly getting back on track and i'm certainly not expecting a loss tomorrow... but no worries - that's the least of my concern right now...

sorry for the lack of comments, i'll try and catch-up with everyone soon! :o)

happy tuesday...

weigh-in

i was totally expecting a gain or at the very least a maintain this week, considering i drank my weight in orange juice this weekend and was out of town (which is always a challenge food-wise)... losing .4 pounds to some may not be much but for me - it's a huge accomplishment considering how i've felt lately... i only managed ONE trip to the gym last week so if i had exercised more, perhaps the loss would've been greater but who knows - i've had weeks where i exercised like crazy and didn't lose an ounce! anyway, i did manage 25-minutes on the treadmill yesterday and felt a little better so today will be weights... :o)

i'm feeling pretty close to normal today so that's a relief, even though i've been reading WAY to much info about taking synthroid and what the possible side-effects could be... my friend (who got married last summer) has been taking it and she told me that within the first 6 weeks - she was losing hair, her moods were all out-of-whack, and her sex-drive was zero - YIKES! she's always been very sensitive to meds so i'm hoping my case won't be that bad but it's still a bit scary... after i go back in 6-weeks to have my levels checked out, i may make an appt. to see an endocrinologist since that is what they specialize in... might as well add another doctor to my ever-growing list, right... ;o)

as i was browsing some websites yesterday, i came across this list of 5 things you can do to achieve wellness... since i thought it could easily be applied to losing weight or trying to be more healthy in general, i wanted to share it with you...

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The 5 Ms
The first M is MIND
Before you can accomplish any goal, you must set your mind to the task. If you are not mentally ready you will fail.

The second M is MOUTH
What you eat or do not eat, affects every cell in your body, therefore the next M is mouth. Food is not an option; it is a prescription to nourish your tender and wonderful cells.

The third M is MOTION
The body was meant to move and last a lifetime. What you don't use, you will surely lose! I will be giving you simple ways to exercise in the future.

The fourth M is MOTIVATION
In order to stay focused toward your goal, you must maintain motivation.

The final M is MAINTENANCE
Keeping the treasure of good health and maintaining good health is the ultimate goal, and in some ways is more difficult that than the process of getting there.

###

work has been steadily busy and has helped take my mind of things, i seem to worry and get more stressed out when there's less to do... i am also working very hard at not feeling guilty for taking a day off - whether because i'm sick or for personal/family reasons... i have almost 7 weeks of vacation and 4 weeks of sick-time to use, and i plan on taking advantage of it more often - mental vacations are just as important as physical ones... ;o)

happy hump day!

under the weather (again)

this year has totally sucked for me cold-wise, i got sick yet again friday night on our way to pittsburgh... after driving thru a horrendous snowstorm and finally making it to his parents in one piece, i felt horrible - sore throat, swollen glands, etc.. by saturday, i was really feeling like crap so his mom gave me some zicam and vitamin-c and i pretty much stayed in my pajamas all day... i felt a little better yesterday but didn't have the energy to go to to work today so i called-in sick... eric went to work and i went back to sleep for a while until both cats decided it was time for me to get up - one would think they'd have something better to do but i guess not... :-p

since i had to get my RX filled, i picked up a few things at the store, and will be taking it easy for the rest of the day... i got the new WW magazine and plan on reading it even though i have been THE worst weightwatcher lately (sorry!)... between work, my dad, being sick, and getting the news from doctor last week - i am feeling pulled in too many directions... and as much as i want to lose these last few pounds, i think i need to concentrate on my health and mental well-being for a while... mind you, that doesn't mean that i'm going to disappear - i'm just going to reprioritize for a bit until i feel settled again...

happy monday...

p.s. i picked up one of these today so i'll let you know how it is... :-)