pizza on a stick

last night was my first pilates class in over a year and a half... i had been taking it regularly until i had foot surgery back in january '07 and then i decided to train for a 5K... after that, the class time was moved to 6:00 so i couldn't make it and that made me sad because i really enjoyed the instructor... anyway, i found out that they had a 5-week course this summer and i signed-up since i could make te 6:30 classes - so glad i did! i forgot how wonderful it was to stretch and work on your core muscles - i'm also hoping it relieves some back pain i'd be having (as a result of not doing pilates anymore?)... for those of you that have never tried pilates - i highly recommend it... :o)

here's my food-find for the week:

pringles baked wheat stix - view website
the gym in my building had samples of these last week so i grabbed one (pizza flavor, of course) and was pleasantly surprised... they were not only crunchy but very flavorful and just the right serving size, so i used the coupon and bought a box when i went to the grocery store... they have 4 flavors: vanilla, crunchy wheat, pizza, and honey butter, and for only 90 calories - i think this makes a great snack! :o)

has anyone caught the new season of how to look good naked (tuesdays at 10pm on lifetime)... i missed the premier last week but watched it last night - i was surprised to see so many things revamped (plus it's now an hour instead of 30 mins)... carson is still following the premise that women need to view their bodies in a different way and really think, for the most part, the show has a positive message... on last night's episode - he took the woman and showed her 3 life-size photos of women's bodies and asked her to say what she liked about each one... when he asked which one she liked the most, he showed her what that body looked like w/her head... then he revealed that she had picked her OWN body (they had added a tattoo and different bra/undies)... i thought that was a nice twist to the show - she was shocked and he was just trying to make the point that it IS possible to like your body, flaws and all... and that you always look better in reality, then you do in your head... :o)

and for all you harry potter fans - check out the new trailer here! :o)

time to catch-up with everyone and then get back to work - i'm working on this year's annual report and have comps due next week... fun fun...

happy hump day...

is it friday yet?

this month has been SO busy for me and i cannot tell you how much i am looking forward to NOT going anywhere this weekend... between going to the beach, visiting my dad, and 3 weddings - my weekends have been shot and i can't believe august is only 4 days away... where is this summer going? :o(

i'll try and keep my weekend recap short and sweet, plus i have some pics to share with you (and i think i finally fixed the whole text-wrap thing)... on friday night, eric came over and we went to see the indiana jones movie - it was okay, nothing spectular, and definitely not as good as the other ones... i AM happy that we got to see it on the big screen though... on saturday, i headed to my dad's and spent a few hours with him - he wasn't as awake/active as last time so i helped him with lunch, gave him a shave, trimmed his fingernails, and took him outside for a while... on saturday night, eric and i decided to take the bike out for a late-night ride and celebrated his bday at this country biker-bar that has these amazing blue cheese burgers... dessert was ice cream at jimmy cone which has been open, in my hometown, since i can remember - i had vanilla yogurt with oreos... mmm mmm... :o)

on sunday, we hung-out around the house for a while but then had to get ready for wedding #3 - eric found out that the whole 'black-tie' thing was a misprint on the invitations but it was too late for me to go home and get another dress... the ceremony was nice but very long (1.5 hours) and the reception was really nice too since it was held at a botanical gardens... we sat with most of eric's coworkers so at least i knew most of them and had a good time... it was also a late night for me since we had to go back to eric's and then i had to drive home from there - today has been brutal since i'm pretty tired and i'm counting the hours until i can go home... ;o)

our garden is starting to bust at the seams with tomatoes - i'm hoping to have enough by this weekend so i can learn how to can salsa and spaghetti sauce (thanks mom!)... i made a great salad for the week too with cherry tomatoes and cucumbers from the garden - it was quite yummy on a whole wheat pita (see below)...



our over-flowing garden



the bigger-than-life bridal party



the funniest cake-topper i've ever seen



the most handsomest couple i've ever seen



and you know we can't go anywhere without snapping one of these



happy monday... :o)

everyone out of the water!

it's that time again, my friends, shark week begins on the discovery channel (7/27 - 8/2)... hopefully, i can make it over to their headquarters and take a shot of the building - there's usually a shark going thru it and it's quite the amazing sight... so in celebration, they are doing this fun thing called 'shark yourself' - it's definitely worth playing around with... i couldn't find any good headshots of myself or eric, so i used norman instead... i was laughing so hard that i was crying - guess i was in a silly mood this morning... what do you think? kinda scary/funny right? ;o)

my boss is out today and it's been rather quiet - normally, there's something important that has to be done but so far, so good... i will be heading outside for a nice jog around 3:00 and then i may sneak out a few minutes early... eric and i are FINALLY going to see the indiana jones movie tonight... since i have to go see my dad tomorrow AND it's eric's bday - we are celebrating a day early... we'll still probably do something tomorrow night but he didn't want me to feel rushed to get home... as for sunday, it will be wedding #3 and then we are done for the year (as far as i know anyway)... i can't tell you how thrilled i am that this one is in DC and not out-of-state, just sucks that it's on a school night... oh well... :oP

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

friends

last week, a friend of mine was in town for a few days so we met up for drinks on thursday night and had a chance to catch-up... i have been friends with these guys for years and still remain pretty close to them, so it's always nice to hang out when we get the chance... i've technically known mike (top-left) since the 1st grade but then he was transferred to another elementary school and we reconnected in jr. high... i've known jon (bottom-left) since the 2nd grade and am proud to say we won a 'slow-dance' contest at chuckie bonbreast's bday party in 6th grade... and i've known craig (bottom-right) since jr. high and to say he was the class-clown, is an understatement... our group, plus a few more, were pretty inseparable until graduation - i feel so VERY lucky to have met and stayed friends with such a great bunch of guys... anyhoo, mike and jon still live in the area and both have 3 kids - i'm also good friends with their wives so it's a nice little group we have going... hard to believe our 20th high school reunion is coming up next year... holy crap! :o)

my friend, craig, asked us if we were on facebook and at that point - i hadn't even considered joining but of course, gave in and am now a member (is that what you even call it?)... since then, i've reconnected with some people from HS - one even asked if i wanted to take charge of the reunion (uh, no thanks!)... i'll offer my creative services but that's about it... anyway, i'm not sure how it works but i guess if you'd like to become my friend, you can find my profile here... :o)

work has been quiet but i keep saying that i know things will change soon... i realized yesterday that i had neglected to email my boss about my camping trip in september (labor day week) even though i KNOW i had mentioned it to her... at least by then, the other designer will be here and it won't be as crazy... 38 days to go... :o)

as for everything else - i have to say it's been great not worrying about the scale... i haven't been on it since last week and think i'll do my next unofficial weigh-in around the 1-month mark... i did get 2 of my 3 books that i ordered, i just haven't had time to sit down and start reading... once this weekend is over (going to my dad's sat and another wedding sun), i will make more of an effort - plus i'm excited about pilates class starting on tues so things are good... :o)

happy thursday...

2 down and 1 more to go

as promised, here some pics from our whirlwind of a wedding weekend... :o)

back from the dead

sorry about being MIA - time just slipped-away from me last week and we left for our 2-wedding adventure on friday morning so i didn't have time to post anything... i'm glad to be home though and after driving almost 1,000 miles - i never thought i'd be happy to be back in MD... of course, that does not include being happy about going back to work - there's something about having a 4-day weekend that just throws your system for a loop... but luckily, it's been a quiet day and i'm looking forward to hitting the gym since i haven't worked-out since last thursday... i have some pictures to post but will have to do that later - stay tuned! :o)

so in between all this wedding stuff - eric came down with a bout of diverticulitis on weds and has pretty much been in pain since then (though not as bad now, thankfully)... he learned from his mom over the weekend that his grandfather suffered from the same ailment so it's definitely inherited... eric has a stomach of steel normally but after this happened - he could barely eat and certainly couldn't drink anything (not the best combos for a wedding weekend, if you know what i mean)... but he was my little super-trooper and did his best to put on a good face regardless of crappy he was feeling - i'm not sure how well i could've faked it myself so i just wanted to thank him for being a good sport... :o)

wedding #1 was good... it was my college roommate's wedding - it was outside and i believe the temp was around 95 degrees, if not warmer, and humid beyond belief... i could feel the sweat dripping down my legs when we got there and i'm usually not a sweater... nikki gave me the task of helping the men get ready so that was fun - i've known her dad/brother/nephew for years so it was nice to be included... their ceremony was nice, not too long but very traditional... the reception was in an old mill and luckily - air conditioned! it was nice and small which is something that i'd like to have when i get married... anyway, since we had to leave at the crack of dawn on saturday - we left around 11:00pm but between wired from the day's events AND having the loudest a/c unit in the world - i probably got 2 hours sleep... i was not a happy camper come saturday that's for sure... :o(

wedding #2 was good as well... we had to drive clear-cross the state of PA on saturday morning in order to make eric's sister's wedding at 2:00pm... eric was beginning to feel a tad better so i let him drive for a bit (i had been doing most of the driving at this point)... we got to his parents around 11:30, relaxed for a bit, got ready, and then headed south to be at the church by 1:30... it was in a gorgeous, huge, catholic church and once again - it was hot but not as humid, thankfully... their dad 'walked' jill down the aisle (in his wheelchair) which was quite moving, and the ceremony was definitely more traditional with a lot of singing, kneeling, and the usual catholic stuff... the reception was at the hotel where we were staying so that was convenient, again it was nice and small so it was easy to talk to everyone and hangout... because of my lack of sleep and eric not feeling well - we went to bed around 11:00! pretty sad huh! :o(

we hung out w/some relatives on sunday morning, said our goodbyes and then headed back to his parents til monday... we got to spend some time w/eric's 3-year old nephews and norman's sister, which is always nice (she even caught a mole for us and proceeded to eat it right in front of us!)... the highlight of sunday though was going to see the new batman movie at the drive-in theater... i've been to one before but never one that had FIVE screens - it was crazy... i could literally turn around and watch 'hellboy' if i wanted too... i thought 'the dark knight' was a great movie though around the 2-hour mark - fog started to roll-in so the screen was very hard to see... we may have to go see it again because of this - we laughed and laughed... :o)

happy tuesday...

do you have that in a size 8?

AL DESKO (al.DES.koh)) adv. eating at your desk:
my report is due today, so i'm dining al desko

i will have to think of some interesting topics now that i'm not posting my weekly weigh-ins... since my boss was out today, i brought both my latest copies of rachael ray and oprah magazines - only got thru one of them... mind you, i DID have work to do so it wasn't like i slacked-off all day (just a tiny part of it)... anyway, the above word was in rachael's mag and i thought it was cute since that's me, every, single day... i eat at my desk and use my real lunch hour to go to the gym - today i had a salad with: greenleaf lettuce, red peppers, grape tomatoes, blue cheese, and sliced almonds... mmm mmm... :o)

question: what do you guys eat for lunch every day? do you eat the same thing or do you switch things up from day-to-day? just curious... ;o)

in other news, i have been on the search for some dark brown shoes to go with one of the dresses i'm wearing this weekend (2 weddings) and as of yesterday, no such luck... who would've thought that it would be this hard to find something nice AND something that won't hurt my foot (the one i've had 4 surgeries on)... i get so frustrated when i can't wear a certain style but there's not much i can do... anyhoo, i went to filene's basement tonight after work and whatdayaknow - they had the cutest pair of dark brown slip-ons, that aren't too high, and won't hurt after wearing them for an hour... yea, they were $40 but they're steve madden so it was a good deal in my book... i also found a cute necklace and a pair of earrings to go w/my other dress - guessing that they would match, i was right-on-target when i got home... mission accomplished! :o)

happy hump day...

food finds

thought i would share some new food items that are coming out or have already hit the stores (thank you, hungry girl)... some sound really yummy! :o)

Kraft LiveActive Chewy Granola Bars - view website
these bars are supposed to do all sorts of good things for your digestive system, and you can find'em in peanut butter, blueberry almond, and chocolate raspberry... i picked-up the PB ones last night at target so i'll let you know what i think (140 calories)...

New Flavors of Yoplait Light - view website
yoplait yogurt is coming out with 3 new flavors --> strawberry shortcake, raspberry cheesecake, and pineapple upside down cake... i am SO all over the raspberry cheesecake, can't wait to try'em (110 calories)...

Jell-o Sugar Free Rice Pudding - view website
j-e-l-l-o has come out with 3 awesome flavors --> original, creme brulee, and cinnamon (70 calories)...

Weight Watchers Smart Ones Breakfast Meals - view website
WW has come-out with some new meals geared towards breakfast --> breakfast quesadilla, canadian style bacon english muffin samich, chocolate chip muffins, english muffin samich, and stuffed breakfast samich... i like some of their frozen lunches/dinners so i may have to try one though i could do just as well on my own calorie-wise, if not less (190-240 calories)...

happy tuesday...

update: had the LifeActive granola bar for an afternoon snack - it wasn't bad but it wasn't anything stellar or different... pretty similar to the fiber one bars actually...

peace and quiet

well, my weekend didn't quite start the way i planned - i received a text message early saturday morning (5:20am) from eric saying he had lost his keys at the festival... he said he lost them playing frisbee (rolls eyes), had looked everywhere, and couldn't find them... good thing that i was already planning to go out that way AND that i'm the bestest girlfriend in the world because otherwise, he would've been stranded... since i couldn't get back to sleep - i got up, got ready, headed over to his house to get the spare keys, and hit the road... we met at an exit off the highway near my dad's - he was very apologetic and thanked me numerous times but i'm still allowed to call him a dumbass... this is just one more reason why i have no interest in going to these things because you're in the middle of nowhere and could get stranded! here was our parting conversation... ;-)

me: so, you know i'm going to blog about this
eric: yea, i know
me: muah, ha ha ha ha!

the rest of my weekend was good - i was able to spend a lot of time w/my dad yesterday as well as see my sister and nieces for a while... i stayed at their cabin which is on some property near another state park - it's small but very cozy and has all the comforts of home minus a phone, tv, or internet connection... i was greeted by mr. and mrs. deer when i got home last night, and then quickly prepared dinner before i got too dark to eat outside... it was quiet and peaceful but very lonely at the same time - i wish eric was there to enjoy the tranquil evening but as you can see by the paragraph above, he was having his own fun somewhere in WV... :-p

this morning i went for a long hike, my guess is around 3-4 miles - i didn't see a single person or animal, which is weird for being a state park and all, and the one trail was VERY challenging (very uphill)... i was gone for almost 2 hours, came back, made coffee, got ready, and made myself breakfast which consisted of fresh, blueberry pancakes (nothing lowfat here unfortunately)... if i hadn't gone for a hike, i would've never had such a breakfast so i enjoyed it immensely... after leaving - i went back to see my dad, though he was asleep for most of the visit, and hit the road early this afternoon... traffic was terrible coming home and it was pouring so hard that i could barely see the road! i'm glad to be back with my kitties - max and zoe seem to have made peace so all is well in the land of jodi... :-)

here are some pics of my weekend, enjoy! :o)

TGIF

i'm happy today is friday even though i have a busy weekend ahead of me - i will be spending some time with dad since my sister will be leaving for cross-country vacation any day now... i will be staying in their cabin, which is surrounded by a state park with lots of trails and a lake, and there will be no cable and no computer... so i'll be taking a good book and my iPod and that's it! i do wish eric was coming but he's too busy doing the festival 'thing' in west virginia - how anyone could sit around a listen to grateful dead-like bands, for 3 days, is beyond me (rolls eyes)... he didn't even finish, "do you want to go?" before i said, "hell no, are you crazy!"... i know, what a great girlfriend... ;o)

thanks to all those that took part in my question game, thought i would list what some of you wrote in your comments:

sizzle: wants to try flamenco dancing
kl: is excited about exercising again
marie: would love to take a writing class
sarah: wants to try stripper 101
anne: is curious about traveling solo
sharla: recently tried kayaking
angelfish: would like to try salsa dancing and sky diving
carolyn: sees herself doing a cooking show
kate: tried running and now loves it
glam: her inner bad-ass wants to try boxing
foo: would like to get her motorcycle license, illustrate a children's book, and join a boxing gym

ladies, i think these are all GREAT but my next question is - what's stopping you?! ;o)

i've been meaning to buy some new books so i paid a visit to amazon today - have any of you heard of our lady of weight loss? janice taylor is a weight loss coach who wrote a book that is full of creative ideas and inspiration (she lost 50 pounds by exchanging fat for art)... so i grabbed both of her books, and also picked up one by donna still called ditch the scales since i'm trying to not let the scale dictate my happiness... i'll give a review once i've read them... :o)

a lot of people seem to be talking about this 100 pushups challenge - i admit that i'm not the best at doing the standard kind (without bending knees) so it could be worth looking into... i also found out that my local rec center has a pilates class starting on 7/29 - i used to take it there but stopped when they changed class times... thought it would only be for 5-weeks, it's still worth considering and would definitely fit into my new 'change is good' theme... :o)

have a great weekend, everyone, and happy friday...

update: i went ahead and registered for the pilates class - i can't WAIT til it starts... :~)

nothing wrong with a little change

thank-you for the kind words re: the next chapter and compliments on the redesign - i've always been one who likes to change things up every once in a while... when i was younger, i rearranged my bedroom all the time because i would get bored and didn't want to get used to it being a certain way... guess i'm pretty much the same way now - as much as i think i'm consistent with certain things, i usually change something even if it's very minor... like what i eat for lunch, or my weight routine, or my jogging route (see below), or even my hair and what clothes i'm wearing... :o)


now some may argue that there's nothing wrong with being consistent because it helps you stay on whatever plan you're doing and be more successful at losing weight... i'm just saying that for me, doing new things helped me stay motivated - like trying new foods, running my first 5K, and taking a kickboxing class... 5 years ago, i would've said, "thanks but no thanks, i'll just keep taking my step-class twice a week" but now, things are much different... i WANT to challenge myself and do things that i never thought i would try - maybe i'll like them and maybe i won't but that's all part of growing and learning... even this week, i bought my first container of greek yogurt - i haven't tried it yet but i'm pretty excited about it... ;o)

question #1: what have you been dying to try OR what have you tried lately and would like to share with others? it can be anything so don't be shy!

question #2: for those of you NOT officially weighing-in anymore - how often do you jump on the scale? daily? weekly? monthly? just curious...

happy thursday...

the next chapter

the time has come for a change and i see no better time than here and now (plus i really wanted to update the look of my blog)... it's nothing new or drastic and honestly - i've been doing it for quite some time now... i figured there was no reason to keep pretending that i'm doing something when i'm really not, so this morning i canceled my eTools membership... i have used it sparingly over the last few months and yes, i feel it's a great tool but it's not really adding anything to my life right now (plus i will be saving $17/month)... :o)

weight watchers has served me well and helped me lose over 25 pounds - for that i am very grateful... it has taught me portion control, how to make better food choices, how exercise is vital to making you healthy and happy, and that italian and mexican food can still be enjoyed while losing weight... i just feel that 3+ years is enough for me and i'm tired of worrying/thinking/planning about what i can and cannot have... sure i have gained a few pounds here and there but overall, i've kept most of the weight off since 2005 and that tells me i can continue on this next chapter and be confident with my decision... :o)

will i ever go back to WW? who knows - maybe one day when i have a wedding to plan or baby-weight to lose, it will become part of my life again but only time will tell... i have seen a few other bloggers start doing their own thing - sarah being one of them... she admits to not being perfect all the time but she's happy and healthy and that's what matters right? i would love to know who else has done the same thing and not regretted their decision - please share your story! :o)

so what now, you ask? i will continue to blog but will no longer be doing weekly weigh-ins here, though i will be keeping track on my own... i'm not sure if i will do the weekly or monthly thing yet so we'll see where that goes... i have a busy summer ahead of me with 3 weddings this month alone and visiting my dad, so i really wanted to cutback on things i had to worry about and just enjoy myself... i hope you continue to read and i will try my best to keep things exciting...

happy hump day...

beach pictures

as promised, here are some pics from our recent trip to the beach... enjoy... :o)

felt like sharing

i promise to post beach pictures later - by the time i got home last night from picking-up zoe (my sister's cat), it was late and i was tired... max doesn't seem to like her being there but i'm hoping they'll become the bestest of friends soon (they are cousins after all)... i DID get to pick blueberries though so i was happy to have them on my cereal this morning... yummy! :o)

since i had some downtime yesterday - i found some new/interesting things while surfing and thought i would share... :o)

—taco bell is giving out FREE samples of their new 'frutista freeze' from july 8–15
—lean cuisine has introduced seafood selections which includes tortilla crusted fish - yum!
—roni has launched her new blog --> http://ronisweigh.com
—welcome back, anne --> http://lapetiteviedeanne.blogspot.com
—since many of you have asked, here's a basic recipe for pesto - enjoy!

my department is having some sort of luncheon today, i have no idea why or what's being served but it will be here in the office and not at a restaurant... there will be some awkward conversation about "what are you doing this summer?" or "have any vacation plans?" and my guess is we'll be having the standard samich, chips, and fruit (unless they get all fancy on us but i doubt it)... i'm sure there will be a plate (or two) of cookies/brownies as well since this office just LOVES sugar... wish me luck!

happy tuesday...

update: and i was right - our lunch consisted of sammies, two kinds of salads, fruit, and a huge basket of sugar-like things... i had a nice portion of salad with raisins, apples, and walnuts, a tiny chicken samich on pumpernickel, a few slices of fruit, and yes - a small cheesecake thing (i know, i know!)... at least i didn't go back for seconds, so yay me! :o)

54 more days

the official countdown begins until my next 'real' vacation which is the week of labor day... it was definitely weird being at the beach without actually camping at the state park, but it's a good thing we didn't because there was some major rain, thunder, and lightening on friday night... they still had fireworks though so that was nice, even if we had to sit under a pavillion to watch them, but other than that - eric and i had a successful, last-minute trip to the ocean (pics to come soon)... :o)

we left at the crack of dawn on friday morning and were on the beach by 10:00am... we stopped for breakfast at this diner we usually go too and also made a pit stop at wa-wa for their iced-coffee - i've raved about it before but seriously, it's like the best thing ever... anyway, we headed to the park, changed at the bathhouse, and then hit the beach with our chairs, umbrella, and loaded cooler that wasn't very sand-friendly... there were some clouds in the morning but after lunch, it was sunny and warm for the rest of the day and both of us agreed that we were very lucky since the forecast said showers... it was nice to relax, read a good book, and watch the porpoises swim up and down the coastline... for dinner - we went to this local seafood restaurant (again, another oddity when you're used to using a campstove!) and i had the jumbo shrimp stuffed with crab imperial - it was delish! dessert was ice cream from this quaint little shop and that was our day! :o)

on saturday, we were concerned about the weather again but after breakfast - we packed-up and hit the beach agreeing that if it turned - we'd hit the road early... needless to say, 6:00 rolled around and we were still on the beach! ha! after a few raindrops decided to fall though, off we went to the bathhouse to shower/change and hit the road (after getting another iced-coffee of course)... the drive home took less than 2.5 hours and there was no traffic, guess everyone's coming home today... :o)

yesterday, we did stuff around the house/yard as well as go for a short ride since once again - rain was in the forecast... i picked some huge squash and zucchini, and our tomatoes are going to start turning very, very soon... i made another batch of pesto and we had for the dinner last night over some whole wheat pasta - yummy... movie of the night: the fifth element - talk about a blast from the past (1997!)... :o)

today has been relatively quiet - i did some treadmill work but forgot my iPod so i found it incredibly difficult to stay motivated while running... i think i did about 40 minutes jog/walk, then some abs, then called it a day... tonight i have to run up to my mom's and pick-up my sister's cat, since they're leaving for their trip this week, and i'm also hoping to pick more blueberries - i miss having them on my cereal and in my yogurt... :o)

happy monday...

heading to the beach

eric and i have been talking about going to the beach for weeks, but the campground we normally go too was full and all the hotels/motels were booked (or too expensive)... last night he goes, "let's get up at the crack of dawn and just go for the day" and i was all for it (considering it's less than a 3-hour drive)... but today he found a motel room, in lewes (which is right down from the campground), that had a cancellation - though the room isn't cheap, it's near downtown and in walking distance of the ocean... how lucky is that?!?! now all we need is for the weather-gods to be nice and keep the rain away! but either way, it will be good to have some downtime at the ocean - this will feel more like a vacation that what i had last week... :o)

work has been quiet today and they're sending people home at 2:00... i had a NSV too - there was an email sent around saying, "come and enjoy fresh cupcakes" so i went and looked at them and decided to pass... they were bigger than big and full of icing - knowing i would only have a few bites, i figured it would be a waste... GO JODI! anyway, i offered to stay and do the weekly stat-posting so hopefully it won't come too late - not that i have anywhere to go but i wouldn't mind having an extra long afternoon... i have a hair appointment later and then it's off to eric's to start packing the car and going thru my list of what we'll need for our roadtrip... :o)

i hope you have a wonderful and safe 4th of July... :o)

happy thursday...

weigh-in

since this is MY blog, i am allowed to bend the rules a bit... i knew i'd be going out to dinner last night so i weighed-in yesterday morning and was happy to see a 1-pound loss... slowly but surely, i'm getting down to where i was a few months ago - not sure why it's taking so long but a loss is a loss... even if i DID count this morning's weigh-in, i would've maintained for the week so really - either one is pretty good... :o)

my friend, mike, and i have been doing birthday dinners since we were 16 (that makes this year lucky #21)... i'm not sure how it started but we've managed to keep it going this long and i'm very thankful that he's still in my life... between him and his wife, gail, they have been such great friends, through all my trials and tribulations, various jobs, and boyfriends... and even though i never thought he'd be married and have 3 kids (esp. before me) - he has always been there for me, regardless of how stupid my problem or issue was... it's good to have a person like that, in your life, and i feel blessed... as for dinner - we went to this nice seafood place and i ordered the scallops (1st time ever) with kale and garlic mashed potatoes... mmm mmm... even though i did NOT order dessert, i did have a 'javatini' that was TO DIE FOR... coffee + alcohol = yummy! :o)

work has been quiet but busy - my boss gave me a newsletter to do so between that and the appendix, i've been formatting charts/tables for the last two days... i'm hoping the rest of the week is quiet esp. since we have off friday and we get to leave early tomorrow - i'm looking forward to the long weekend even though i was just on vacation... maybe i'll actually go somewhere, weather depending of course... :o)

time to catch-up on your blogs, have a great day! :o)

happy hump day...