weigh-in

i'm back up again this week (2 pounds) and have no good/bad thoughts about it really... i had a lot to eat/drink this past weekend and know that i really need to make more of an effort to exercise on sat/sun... it's hard to believe that one year ago, i was getting up early every saturday morning to train for that 5K... and i was jogging at least 5-6 times a week - i'm lucky to get in 3 runs, if i'm lucky... it doesn't bother me honestly but i know i should be doing more and/or doing something different - just can't seem to find anything that i'm dying to try... oh well...

work has been blissfully quiet this week, so much so that i've been able to work on my website and update my samples... i found a cool script that will be perfect for my online portfolio, i just have to redo all my files basically - nothing major (not!)... i know the sh*t will be hitting the fan soon though - my boss said that there are at least 12 research publications in the pipeline for this summer so it should be interesting (esp. since we're down one designer)... i better make use of my free time as much as possible... ;o)

not much else has been going on, sorry to say, my life is pretty hum-drum at the moment... june will be busy though - my bro-in-law is retiring so there's a party for him next thursday at the park, my niece's bday is on the 12th, my dad's bday is on the 14th, and then my sister will be leaving for their cross-country vacation... i will not only be cat-sitting during that time, but my brother and i will be taking turns visiting my dad every other weekend thru the end of july... i'd like to get in a small vacation with eric but we haven't made any plans yet so i guess we should do that soon, huh... still can't believe may is almost over! my how time flies!

happy thursday...

summer is right around the corner

what a great weekend - the weather was beautiful, got plenty'o rest, went to see 'iron man', got my hair cut, went for not one but TWO bike rides, exercised 1/3 days, and had some friends over yesterday for a cook-out... we were truly blessed here in the DC area because the weather was gorgeous all weekend, though a tad hot yesterday but who's complaining! our garden is looking pretty good too, eric put up a fence so the bunnies stay on their own side but i'm sure something else will find a way in... they always do... ;o)

eric & i decided to head east on sunday so we got the map out on saturday night and planned our route... we took the bay bridge, towards ocean city, and then found some great back roads heading north, then around the top, and back down the other side... it was wonderful being outside, driving thru small towns, and seeing new things (one advantage of riding and not driving) so it was worth the sore butt later... we also stopped at a state park halfway thru our ride, took a small hike, and had a picnic lunch overlooking the bay - talk about nice... couldn't have asked for a more perfect day... :o)

it was definitely hard getting up this morning, work has been pointless today but i HAVE managed to be productive - i've learned how to use a new script for my website portfolio... might as well take advantage of the downtime cus i'm not sure how much longer it's going to last and being lauren's gone, i can't imagine it will last long... janet mentioned that we need to work on my new job description - i'll believe it when i see it...

anyway, enjoy the photos and the rest of your day... :o)

yummy in my tummy

i haven't bought frozen meals in a long time but giant had heathly choice on sale this week (5 for $10) so i picked-up two cafe steamers and thought i would give them a try... i had the beef merlot today for lunch and it was fantabulous - there were huge pieces of beef, potatoes, green beans, and carrots plus a lovely merlot sauce that you poured ontop... and maybe i'm just a bit slow but i noticed they are now including WW points on the packaging (or perhaps i just never paid attention!) and this was only 4 points... i will be having the chicken with roasted red pepper alfredo sauce tomorrow and i can't wait - they're definitely worth a try... :o)

i jogged for about 40-minutes today, it felt good to be back on the treadmill... i've been making a point to get outside at least one day a week and since i had done that on monday, i opted for some tv-time and the trusted treadmill... i'm no soap opera fan but they sure do make the time go by much faster - i wish holden and lily would just stay together and be happy! ;o)

i watched most of american idol last night even though i'm not a fan - i just wanted to see who would perform and who would win... i was quite surprised to see george michael - i remember going to see him in HS and what a show that was... i think concert tshirts were still under $20 back then... i also watched last week's LOST online (in HD to boot!) and it's getting pretty good but that's expected since next week is the season finale... :o(

tonight i plan on taking a bath, reading some of my fitness magazine, and then watching a show i taped-off PBS last night about depression... it's always good to learn more about something that has affected my family (my dad and myself) so i'm hoping it's good...

oh and one more thing - i forgot to mention that i bought myself a new monitor for home... check out my new 22" wide-screen LCD - talk about awesome! it's so nice to have a bigger screen, like i have at work, because i can see more of what i'm doing (and the colors are much brighter too)... eric had to be a copycat and buy one for himself since they were a great deal online ($245 w/shipping at compusa.com)... so thank-you federal government! :o)

happy thursday...

weigh-in

even though i haven't been focusing on losing weight lately, the scale says i have (-1.2 pounds) so that's promising news... being out-of-town for the weekend always throws me for a loop but i guess i did better than i thought... my friend had a kitchen full of food, ranging everywhere from the healthy to the unhealthy, so it was easy to grab a handful of jellybeans or peanut M&M's everytime i passed the kitchen... she has lost an incredibly amount of weight and looks amazing, using no specific plan or exercise routine - she just made herself a priority and got healthy... as we all know, it's easy to put everyTHING and everyONE ahead of yourself so i am so proud that she made this change... her mom has also lost a lot of weight so it's definitely catching... :o)

my reunion/bridal shower weekend was good, though the weather wasn't the best, at least i got to spend some time w/my old roommate, her 11-year old daughter, and meet her fiance... the reunion wasn't much of anything - only 8 people from the class of '93 showed up which is pretty pathetic... we all walked around the small campus, checked out the remodeled dorm, fitness center, and classrooms - funny how things improve AFTER you leave... nikki and i also got to visit with our favorite nun, sister ave, who taught 2D design our freshman year... she was ecstatic to see us and had fun showing us off around the home, "look who came to see me" she kept saying - that alone was worth the trip back to scranton... we also drove by our old apartment and passed-by many establishments (bars) that were favorites when we had been in school... ;o)

sunday was the bridal shower - i had no idea how things were going to work out since neither her fiance or i knew the real plan for getting her there... but luckily, after having a late breakfast at a real PA diner - her mom convinced her to stop by a local hotel/bar for a drink... she was totally surprised and shocked so i'm glad it all worked out... it was also THE fastest shower i've been too - might've been 1.5 hours long including lunch! not that i'm complaining but still, that's a record! :o)

so that was my weekend and i can't tell you HOW much i'm looking forward to being in town this weekend and not having any plans... eric and i had talked about doing 'rolling thunder' in DC but he said we had to sign-up and he'd rather be out of the city and away from all the traffic... so we're planning on packing a nice lunch on sunday and hitting the country roads - can't ask more than that...

work has been quiet but i'm still trying to finish some last-minute conference stuff... we had a meeting yesterday and my boss was like, "i'm so beyond this meeting, i don't even want to think about it anymore"... can't argue with her on that! we're taking my coworker out today for lunch since her last day is friday - i'm really going to miss her and am NOT looking forward to how things are going to be when she's gone... being the other designer isn't as experienced, i feel i will be taking over more stuff and having to be teacher for a while - which is fine but she's very slow... such is life... i need to update my website/portfolio and start looking for a job again - i'm tired of things here...

happy hump day...

just because i feel like it

this meeting stuff is so close to being over, i can smell it! i just have to post some pictures (probably won't happen until monday) and then i'm D O N E... yesterday was quite stressful for me - i was emotional, i had a headache, i skipped the gym, i was missing eric, and had to stay late to update the website... thanks everyone for waiting til AFTER 5:00! to make myself feel better, i had pizza for dinner - not the best choice but i don't really care... i wrapped my friend's shower gift, packed for the weekend, watched last week's LOST, took a bath, and went to bed... :o)

so far today has been much better - it's been quiet and i'm hoping the rest of the day stays exactly the same... the weather is nice here so i'm going for a walk/jog later and then when 5:00 comes around - i'm audi for the week... tomorrow, i'm helping my mom in the morning and then it's off to allentown to see my old roommate... saturday is my 15-year college reunion in scranton which should be fun, and then sunday is her surprise bridal shower back in allentown... man, i'm tired already just typing all that but it's all good - we haven't seen each other in over 4 years so i'm looking forward to spending time w/her and her daughter... :o)

to end this week, i thought i would share some random links... enjoy!

– it's about time that a plus-size model wins ANTM
– is it just me or does rachael ray look weird in this photo
– take a shot at designing your own pair doc martens
– health.com has a new look, check it out here
– look at some of these then/now photos, some are hilarious

have a great weekend! :o)

weigh-in

this blog has become less and less about weightloss these days (esp. since i keep gaining/losing the same 2 pounds!) - not sure how many of you have noticed or even care and will continue to read regardless of what i talk about... i apologize for all the work, work, work stuff but sometimes - life just gets in the way and though i know i shouldn't apologize (since it IS my blog), i sometimes feel like i've let things slip... i've gone from posting everyday to a few times a week, and who can remember the last time i talked about a health-related article, new food product, or exercise... i know that i'll never be a roni (where does she find the energy with a job, a kid, a hubby, and multiple sites) so who am kidding... doing this stuff is a priority for her, more like a responsibility - i'm not just feeling like it's my priority anymore... does that make sense?

BUT on the flipside - i know that i'm not the same person as i was 3 years ago... my outlook has changed, my thinking has changed, my eating and exercise has changed - so i guess it's just natural that the blog changes too... it's been obvious that getting to my goal weight hasn't been life or death situation so that says to me, i have gone down a different path... i no longer beat myself-up and curse because the scale says i gained 2 pounds, i no longer feel guilty if i don't exercise, and if i want a margarita on the weekend - i'm gonna have it... i've learned to listen to my body and considering my schedule has been f*cked-up for the last two months - i'm pretty thrilled that i haven't gained 10 pounds... my body is happy where it is right now and i'm happy too... :o)

we have all started this journey and had a goal in mind - how we got there didn't matter because it was the online support that kept us going... though i don't comment as much as i used too - i still read what's going on out there because it's just a part of who i am... i know that when i'm not feeling strong - there will always be a post, somewhere, that will motivate me again... there will always be someone venting about the same thing, which is always nice, and there's always that one person that says something funny and my worries are forgotten... :o)

so my point is - you guys are great and i just wanted to say thank-you... i'm not going anywhere but i just felt the need to put it out there... i don't know where this new path is going exactly but i'll figure it out soon and share as i go along - cus that's what we do... :o)

happy hump day...

here comes the rain again

quick post - it's cold and rainy and i hate it... where's the sunshine that we had on saturday? nothing worse than a crappy-weather monday but at least it's almost over... i had a good weekend - got to my sister's late friday night and proceeded to eat: 1 corndog w/mustard, 1 piece of pizza, a few ranch wheat thins, and then a small bowl of ice cream with cashews! what! i don't know what came over me, it was like being a kid in a candy store... saturday, i was all ready for a healthy day - i had a bowl of cereal and some coffee and then what happens? my bro-in-law brings a box of fresh donuts (some kind made w/potato flour) so i split one w/my niece and they were amazing... i'm so NOT a donut person but they were there and i couldn't resist... i SO hated myself for everything i ate but what can you do, i did it, and i'm moving on... :o(

my visit with dad was okay - he was a bit irritated but we did our usual routine: lifting weights, walking the halls, giving him a shave, and watching some tv... he was napping when i left so at least he was getting some rest... stopped at the outlets on the way home - couldn't find any good bargains besides a cute pair of low-wedgies at naturalizer... i had the night to myself so i planted some flowers for my balcony and called it a night... my brother and i took mom out to lunch yesterday to this italian place near his house - his lasagna was amazing so i'm definitely getting that next time... i chose the spinach pasta with asparagus, artichokes, olives, beans, onions, and peppers - it was good but not as good as his! i hate that! they gave all the moms a free cannoli and the waiter gave us two - maybe he thought i was a mom as well? it was tasty regardless... ;o)

work was pretty quiet today - i have some major website updates to do tomorrow so i was doing a lot of revisions and prep-work for that... i did 40 minutes on the elliptical and had to stop because my foot was hurting - not sure what's up with that but i'm not liking the fact that i'm having issues again... i really don't want to think about surgery, again, so perhaps it's time to see a different doctor... after work, i hit the grocery store, made a spinach and egg samich for dinner, and made a fresh pot of coffee... my goal tonight is to watch some season finales online, take a bath, and hit the hay... :o)

and before i forget - pastaqueen was on the today show today, check it out here!

happy monday...

it's finally over

well today is the last day of the meeting and i'm SO very happy about that... the reception/dinner went well, the beach boys were okay but nothing spectacular - every song sounded like the one before and they looked rather bored on stage (imagine singing the same songs for almost 50 years!)... anyway, all the signs/banners/booths that i designed looked great and people were raving about the little buttons at the reception... i did okay with food/drink - had 2 glasses of wine and 2 bloody mary's which isn't bad considering it was a free-for-all... today will be a long one considering we didn't get home til almost midnight - hopefully when my boss gets back in the office this afternoon, she'll let us leave early... :o)

weekend plans consist of going to my sister's tonight and then spending some time w/my dad tomorrow... i will be coming home tomorrow night so my brother and i can take my mom out for mother's day on sunday (don't forget!)... eric will be in pittsburgh so i'm sans-boyfriend this weekend and will be next weekend too since it's my college reunion and friend's bridal shower in allentown... busy busy busy...

anyway, here are some pics that i took so enjoy (and yes, this is the newest dress)... :o)


































have a great weekend, everyone... and HAPPY FRIDAY... :o)

weigh-in

the weightloss gods are being very kind to me this week, the scale showed an .8 pound loss this morning... i have been counting zero points and haven't exercised since saturday's spin class... work has just been too crazy and stressful but since the meeting starts today - it will all end very soon... i can't tell you how much i am looking forward too getting my life back into a normal routine - my body has been missing exercise (and so have i)... and my sleeping patterns are starting to go back to normal as well - waking up at 6:30 is such a dream! ;o)

i went over to the hotel yesterday afternoon to attend a stage/presentation run-through, as well as to check on a few other things... i took some pics of booth and didn't realize til last night, when i was going thru them, that the panels were put on the wrong sides... so i frantically sent an email and thankfully, someone else had caught it and the problem was resolved... *whew*... i'm now printing a banner to be used for tv-interviews - we bought one of those large format printers so it's come in very handy for last-minute projects... besides some web-postings and updates (and then the major website redo on monday) - i'm done with this damn conference... :op

since i was done w/my hotel stuff a bit early yesterday, i ran a few errands, and then did some more shopping... i found another cute dress at marshall's and decided to take back the one i just bought at penny's last week - i like it but i don't LOVE it so back it goes... i had 2 other red/black dresses in my closet and i feel the need to expand my colors a bit... the new one is chocolate brown & light teal and i'll be wearing it tomorrow for the reception/dinner... :o)

that's about it for me right now... since my boss will be attending the meeting, i'm going to enjoy her not being here and get caught-up on everyone's blogs...

happy hump day!

do i have mulch in my teeth?

work has been quiet this morning but i know this afternoon will pick-up since some projects of mine are being reviewed and finalized as we speak... tomorrow will be a short day though since i have to head to the hotel for a stage/sound/video review in the afternoon, and i'm looking forward to getting home a bit early... i desperately need to wash the pollen off my car and i have some things i need to return to marshalls and pennys... i got some cami-tops at pennys and i don't like them - they're not very soft and they're too fitted, so back they go...

friday night, i went to burlington coat factory and was disappointed to find their shoe section sucks BUT i did manage find an awesome, black, fitted rain coat on sale... i also stopped at trader joes and bought myself one of their yummy, margarita pizzas - yes, that was my dinner and i'm sticking to it! i was in of those 'moods' so i added some fresh spinach before baking and it was very tasty... :o)

saturday, i had a great spin class in the morning and then headed over to eric's where we proceed to mulch all 7 areas in his front/back yard (36 bags!)... i also mowed the grass which is always fun... yesterday, we went for a nice ride in the morning and then i headed to home depot where i bought $60 worth of flowers, veggie plants, and herbs... i only got to planting the flowers and herbs (basil, rosemary, cilantro, oregano, and sage) so we'll have to work on the garden another day... since we both had stuff to do - i ran home and proceeded to swap my bedding, flip my mattress, swap my bathroom curtain/rugs, and do laundry... i took a break and ran over to kohl's, thinking they'd have some nice shoes, but they didn't so off to target i went where i managed to spend $100 (when all i needed was cottonballs!)... no magazines were read but i did watch last week's LOST online and that my folks, was my weekend... :o)

happy monday...

TGIF

i'm so glad it's friday esp. since i don't have any major plans this weekend (always a good thing) and i will need lots of R&R before next week... there's already been talk of redoing the website after the conference is over, so i have that to look forward too, as well as work to do while the conference is in progress... hey, at least i get to enjoy the exhibitor reception on thursday (free booze), the reception before dinner (more free booze), and the dinner itself (even more free booze and the beach boys)... can't complain, can't complain... ;o)

went for a nice jog/walk today down by the reflecting pool - several ducks were out w/their little ducklings, all in a row, i just love seeing that... some weren't any bigger than my hand (i had to inspect up-close) and looked rather fluffy for being so small... it was pretty hot out there so i'm guessing it's in the mid-80s, again - can't complain... :o)

weekend plans as of now are to mulch eric's flowerbeds and that's about it... i know he wants to go see 'iron man' but i think it will be too nuts at the theaters (better to wait a week or two)... he also has to prep for some speaking engagement and conference so i'll be on my own sunday, which is fine... i'm still on a quest for new shoes and i also need a new raincoat/trenchcoat so i'll be paying a visit to burlington coat factory... i did buy some shoes off chadwicks.com but now wish i didn't because i probably won't like them (at least shipping was only $1)... i am about 5 magazines behind too so maybe i'll just in my sweats all day and read - sounds like a plan! :o)

hope you have a great weekend... :o)

i rarely do this

but i thought it would be fun to steal this idea from snackie, who stole this from someone else... it's been a rather slow and quiet day here but i'm sure something will come up, it always does... a few of us girls are taking my coworker out to lunch so i MUST chose something healthy... they only had their dinner menu online (WTF) so i'll have to decide when i get there - i would prefer to make my decision ahead of time but what can you do... anyhoo, onto the game - feel free to do your own, just fill-in-the blank where you see the underlines... :o)

1. Jodi is a great shopper.

2. But I am also very thrifty.

3. Just once, I'd like to be messy.

4. I wish I'd never tried smoking when I was younger.

5. I regret that I once flew to WI to meet someone i met online.

6. I love to do laundry, clean, and go grocery shopping.

7. People that drive with their blinkers on make me really fucking mad.

8. Survivor is Stoo-pid.

9. As a special treat, I often like to treat myself to a spa-day.

10. You will never see a picture of me eating mushrooms.

happy thursday...

p.s. i think i did pretty good at lunch today - salad with balsamic dressing, grilled tilapia with lime, rice pilaff, and grilled asparagus... yummy! :o)