week is flying by

eric and i are still recuperating from the trip so we've been going to bed pretty early every night... i make a list of 'things to do', but by the time we get home, have dinner, and make lunche for the next day - i'm pooped... i had plenty'o energy on vacation so i can't blame the baby, so hopefully the jet-lag will end soon... needless to say - there has been no progress made on the photos... sorry! =(

exercise news: i HAVE been to the gym this week and am proud to say that i went both yesterday (30-min treadmill) and today (30-min elliptical)... since i'm basically carting around 20 extra pounds (gain + baby), i can really feel it so i'm taking it easy until i get more energy... i will need to get back into weights soon as well since i'm feeling like a big blob and don't like how my arms/legs have been looking... and since my eating has been less than desirable, i've reinstalled 'lose it' on my iphone and will start tracking again (i have it set to 'maintain weight')... god knows how much i gained on vacation and i'm scared to step on the scale... =(

house news: the house was painted while we were gone and it looks great - i will post before/after shots soon... the guy needs to come back and finish the front door and we're also going to talk to him about redoing the upstairs bathroom... i have some money coming from my dad (not much) so i plan on using that for some house-related things and baby furniture... i've been looking at glass tile online and have come to realize that it would be way too expensive to do the whole tub/shower, but maybe as just one row would be nice... i'm digging this color combo right now but will have to see it in person (i ordered a sample today)... i've also been looking at faucets, sinks, lights, and cabinets, and getting a rough estimate on each... just call me mrs. bob villa...  =)

work news: things have been quiet this week, both of my coworkers are on vacation so it's just me and the boss... there was an announcement while i was gone, from the president, that we are going 'business casual' mon - fri for the rest of the summer... while we still can't wear jeans, it's better than nothing and i couldn't be happier... =)

hope you're having a good week...

happy thursday...

i'll have one of each

i hate rainy mondays, but i've been very productive so my week is off to a good start! i will be heading to the gym shortly and will try my hand at jogging again - i will have to start from scratch though since it's been a while (perhaps i should look-up my old 52K program)... speaking of working out - i went to spinning on saturday and my foot was fine... little did i know, however, that they moved the class to 8:15 am so i missed the first 10-minutes due to the fact i was doing weights... i kept wondering why the room was so full but thought nothing of it... oh well - i still got in a great 30-minute workout... =)

after i got home - eric and i mulched the flowerbeds, and later i went to home depot and bought $50 worth of multi-colored pansies to plant in the front of the house... i also did some shopping at tjmaxx and hit the grocery store on saturday night which may be my new thing - it was practically empty! i love that!

yesterday, we had a lazy morning and then went to brunch at the kennedy center rooftop terrace... i had found a great deal online (during the february snowstorm) and thought it would be fun to try... they had everything from cheeses and fruits, to breakfast items, carved meats, various veggies and starches, italian lunchmeats, breads, crab legs, shrimp, oysters, etc... and they had a separate room for just the desserts! when we got the bill - it was for over $80 but i had paid a fraction of that... sweet! after brunch - we headed over to a friend of eric's who is moving to vancover next month, and then were home by 5:00... nice way to end the weekend...

hope you all had a good one and the weather warms-up soon... they say it may be 80 here on saturday so eric and i are planning our first, motorcycle, day-trip... yay! =)

happy monday...

haven't used an alarm in 6 days

it was back to work for me today - i know i shouldn't complain, but one can get used to being home and not have to deal with things like "work"... thankfully it's been relatively quiet - my boss is out sick and she even said it would be okay to wear jeans (a total no-no, even on fridays)... that alone made coming-in a tad easier... the roads were fine but DC is still dealing with a large amount of snow so 3-lanes often turn into 1-lane in a matter of seconds... and earlier this morning, there was a train derailment - just what we need on a friday! no one was hurt, thank-god, and things seem to be back to normal... for now anyway...

i brought my gym clothes today, and didn't go... i have no ambition/motivation, after being snowbound for over a week, and i hate feeling like this... i have started gathering info for doing low-carb again, and just need to get my shit together and do it... i have all the south beach food lists and phases, but if any of you have a favorite website or book - let me know... :-)

since most of my projects are done for the day, i've been poking around online and found some interesting things... enjoy! :-)

• Measure Up Bowl takes the guesswork out of calorie counting...
• Feeling crafty? Check out these fun ideas...
• Fat Wallet and Slickdeals are the best, bargain sites out there...
• Lean Cuisine keeps coming-up with new flavors... 
• How not to gain weight on Valentine's Day... 

well, time to finish things up for the day... i hope you all have a great, 3-day weekend and a wonderful valentine's day... :-)

remember to spread the love...

why can't it be thursday?

happy hump day!

i'm so glad i only have 1 more day and then it's vacation time til after christmas... i still won't have used-up all my time, but the majority of it will be taken at least (i think)... so far the only plans i have made are: 2 doctors appointments, getting a new driver's license, opening a joint-checking account, and lunch with some old coworkers... i also plan on getting my christmas cards done, baking some cookies, finishing my shopping, and getting some R&R sans being sick... am feeling much better, thankfully, and hope to stay cold-free for the rest of the winter! :-)

i found two more really cute blogs today:

• twig and thistle 
• bakerella
• free shipping day
  

yesterday was our company holiday party - it was in-house this year when in the past, we generally go to a local hotel... to save money, they had decorated outside one our large conference rooms and had tables upon tables of sweet things like cookies, brownies, cheesecake, pudding, etc... there was only ONE bowl of fruit and a few pieces of cheese with some crackers... seriously?! that's all your giving us?! makes me so mad that they chose unhealthy over healthy when it comes to things like this... after the party, we went to grab a drink around the corner then went to another bar to celebrate someone's bday... it was fun but then it got late and i had to get home (which is a nightmare w/metro after 9:00)... my design-coworker found out that someone stole a bunch of cash from her wallet at the bar - we had thrown all our crap down on some couches and never went back until it was time to leave... so stupid! i had a bunch of cash and a blank check in mine, but luckily - nothing was taken... lesson learned! :-p

i went to the gym on monday, but not yesterday and plan on going today as well... it's been incredibly hard to get back into the swing of things esp. after the wedding, thanksgiving, and being sick... i have lost all my mojo - must be that time of year! ;-)

on a good note: the photographer has been sending me batches of wedding photos and i have to say, i think i look pretty good... yea, i hate the way my arms look but considering i didn't lose any weight beforehand, they came out really well... as soon as i go thru them all, i'll share some on here... :-)

happy wednesday...

drugs are good

the antibiotics are working, i think anyway - am feeling MUCH better and more like myself (doctor gave me levaquin)... so much so, that i had the energy to write our wedding thank-you's last night (while listening to christmas music, via pandora, on my iphone)... and speaking of christmas - those cards will get done this weekend, as well as some shopping and football-watching since last sunday i was busy with mom... it's always good to have at least ONE day to do nothing... :)

so how incredible was the 'biggest loser' on tuesday? i knew danny was going to win and thought he looked amazing (and about 20-years younger)... and am i the only one that thought rebecca looked a tad creepy with the shorter, blonde hair? that's what eric said anyway, but she looked incredible and totally deserved the $100k... wonder how next season will be, it's back to the couple-thing again...

eric and i have been catching-up with some movies lately - we watched 'district 9' and 'terminator salvation'... i have to say 'district 9' was pretty cool, though nothing like i was expecting, and i really liked the news-focused storyline...

food/exercise have been okay (food) and nonexistent (exercise) since i've been sick... watching the total-gym demo, on qvc, made me wish i had a house that was big enough to have my own gym... then i would never have an excuse to skip a workout... :)

happy thursday...

facelift

thought it was time to make this blog a bit more festive... not like i don't have better things to do, but hey - it's that time of year! yee haa! i'm SO excited to have an actual house to decorate this year (instead of my old apartment), so the possibilities are endless! i wanted to get a tree this past weekend, but since i was sick and we had other things going on - looks like it will be this weekend instead... of course i have no idea where we're going to put it, but don't worry - i can find a place for anything... :)

i went to the gym today - first time in like 2 weeks! crazy! since i can't breathe that well, i was still able to get 40 minutes-in on the treadmill (incline) and then did some sit-ups... eric keeps talking about joining the gym so once he's back on his feet (i gave him the cold that i'm still trying to get over), we'll go and see how it works... i haven't stepped on the scale in over a month so who knows what i'm going to see... :(

while on 'vacation', i took the time to upgrade my iphone and get some new apps... i can see how people spend hours and hours (and money) on apps because they are endless! i've only bought one so far (scrabble) and seem to have good luck with the free ones... these are some of the new ones i downloaded, but feel free to suggest ones that you might have too... :)

• doodle buddy -> can draw and add frames around pictures
  
• ps mobile -> similiar to photoshop with different filters and color options
• scramble -> a word game (like boggle)
  
• short covers -> book program (free and purchased)
  
• crop for free -> allows you to crop images on your phone
  
• ringtones lite -> lots of free ones and easy to download

well, i need to run and pick-up some nyquil on the way home... yea, yea - i'm such the good wife... ;)

happy tuesday...

would you want to be 12 again?

how many of you remember making these barrettes in elementary school? i must've had 20 pairs, plus made them for my friends - never used flowers though, always had beads at the end... funny how both good AND bad things get recycled thru the years... ;)

i started using my WW app yesterday, it's pretty easy-to-use though i had to go online to log-in my weight (not pretty!)... i also skipped the gym yesterday because my allergies were horrible and i felt like crap, but today is a new day! eric was asking me about bally's and how long their guest-pass is good for - i would SO love for him to join so we could go together... and being it's less than 5 mins away from our house, going in the morning would be great... :)

my shoulder is still hurting... bah!

just another wedding has been updated - we went for tuxes last night, how exciting! :)

we watched a tad of 'glee' last night - thought it was really funny... eric then goes, "what channel is this on? fox? i can't watch anything on fox"... not sure what that meant...

i'm wearing a new pair of black boots today - always hate the beginning since they're not broken-in yet... ouch!

that's all for now - time to get caught-up with what you guys have been up too... :)

happy thursday...

fall = pumpkin spice latte

sorry.

as you can imagine, things in jodi-land are not like they used to be and why i decided to plan a wedding in less than 3 months is beyond me... it's not even that it's stressful, it's just busy between appointments, meetings and finally getting the invitations out (on monday)... so far, people love them so that makes me happy and considering i spent 10+ hours printing, cutting, and stuffing on sunday - they better! ha! anyway, i'll keep the wedding-talk here to a minimum but check out my other blog if you want to hear more... ;)

in other news - eric was asked to speak and/or attend a security conference in ireland THIS NOVEMBER... he said they'll be paying for the whole thing and if i wanted to go along, the only thing needed would be airfare... i've never been to ireland and am really torn because one part of me would love to go, but is that being totally stupid 3-weeks before the wedding? i don't know all the details (how long, etc.) so that's the newest thing on my mind these days... guess i could look at it as a pre-honeymoon... ;)

i've been going to the gym again pretty regularly, so that's good news... i really should start pilates/yoga again because it would help me stay less-stressed, but haven't researched any local classes... i know i'd be more apt to go if i was paying for something, over doing a dvd in my basement but then again - i really need to be saving money right now so...

we've started to watch a few shows this season - got eric into biggest loser last week but this week, not so much... curb your enthusiasm was pretty funny though i've never watched it before and am anxious to see what they do with the whole seinfeld thing... i'm also interested in flash forward, which starts tonight - anything that is similar to lost peaks my interest... are there any shows that you are watching and/or excited about this season?

guess that's all for now - hope everyone is doing well... :)

happy thursday...

still around

i'm still here, just very busy at work but hopefully that should end tomorrow... the big project that i've been working on (and that has been delayed for weeks) goes to the printer so i'll be able to breathe again... unfortunately, i'll have a corresponding website to do as well but that will be easy considering everything will be finalized for the print version... ANYWAY, i'll try and catch-up with everyone as best i can this week... :)

the bedroom is officially done and all my furniture fit! i was a tad concerned at first but we made it work and it looks pretty good (pictures to come)... we also hung new blinds on sunday so all that's left is a new comforter, curtains, a rug, and some pictures on the wall... i can't wait for that to be done because then i'll feel more settled and part of the house... just having the bedroom done has made a big difference - as a girl, it's very hard living out of boxes and things that aren't where they should be... guys don't care - give them a box and they'll be happy but not me! i need to have my stuff, where it's supposed to be... ;)

bedroom before...



bedroom after...



new blinds and kitties enjoying a real bed...



i still haven't been to the gym (over 2 weeks) and am afraid of tomorrow's weigh-in... i've been scraping by with moving and doing stuff around the house, but not exercising may take its toll finally... i had to work late last night and eric suggested getting 1/2 price pizza at this bar close by - it was really good and i'm looking forward to having the rest tonight... do i regret eating it though? not one bit... :)

happy tuesday...

weigh-in

i'm a bit late with posting my weigh-in but since i'm on vacation, i think i have a valid reason... though i'm down 1 pound, it's not the 3 pounds that i saw last week but i blame it on going to pittsburgh... no matter how good my initial intentions are, they somehow get thrown by the wayside... such is life and am back on track - went to the gym today and did 45 minutes on the treadmill (30 mins of that was hard running) and then did about 45 minutes of weights... as for the rest of the day - i went to the pool for a few hours (first time this summer) and that's about it... :o)

pittsburgh was good - eric managed to make good progress on his motorcycle trailer so as soon as he gets the title, we can start using it for long trips... we hung out with his mom and dad, as well as numerous siblings since they seem to pop-in at various times... their cherry trees were loaded so i made a cherry cobbler for dinner on sunday (along with beer can chicken x two!) and used his mom's cherry stoner - pretty cool i have to admit (saves a lot of time!)... it was a big hit, to say the least, and i'm happy to say i wasn't offered any to take home with me... speaking of on the way home - we didn't even make it to the turnpike when a hole in eric's muffler pipe decided to blow... talk about loud! luckily there was a midas closeby so they replaced it and 2 hours later, we hit the road (again)... there were also some big storms rolling thru so i nabbed a few pics of the rainbow we saw while driving... :o)

on tuesday, i met my niece in harrisburg for lunch - i don't get to see her as often since she lives w/her mom and is busy with work and school... we had mexican (ugh!) and then shopped at ross and target which is always fun... i admire my niece so much - she was born with royally f-d up legs - one was amputated below the knee and the other has never grown properly so she'll be using crutches for the rest of her life... this disability, however, has not stopped her from doing what she wants to do - she was a cheerleader in HS and now drives a car! AND she turns 21 this december which makes me feel incredibly old! anyway, i love her to pieces and i'm so proud of her! :o)

i had to work yesterday, which was fine, though it put a damper on my vacation momentum... i was busy helping my boss with a project and also got to interview the potential designer (who is from indiana)... she seems very nice and has done some great work so i'm hoping my boss wants to offer her the position - just don't know how soon she can start considering she's out of state... and that's all i'm going to talk about work for now (and until next tuesday when i go back)... :op

as for the rest of my vacation - i have no plans... the weather seems iffy for most of sat/sun, my mom and i might go to this art/craft show and eric is dying to try-out the new mufflers on his bike (he said it's even louder than before!)... i also told him that as much money as he's put into this thing - i should be wearing it on my finger! ;o)

time to catch-up on everyone's blogs and continue my much-needed R&R... i'll leave you with some pics from last weekend - enjoy!

happy thursday...