good thing i'm not afraid of needles

so i had my pre-op blood work and physical this morning, and just got a call from my doctor saying i have to come back in because he forgot to do one test... awesome! now i have to go back in tomorrow, before work, to have it done - hopefully i won't be too late (which i hate)... i stopped at starbucks on the way to the office and just had my low-sugar oatmeal with sliced almonds, raisins, and banana - it was yummy! =)

since i was home on monday (president's day), i made good use of my morning and tried 2 of my new, mari winsor pilates DVDs... the setup was very quick and since she uses this new "reformer" bar, it takes some prep-work which i'll have to note for next time... i did (2) 20-minute workouts and i think once i get a handle on the bar - i will be more efficient at the exercises, but man do my abs hurt... holy cow... both my sides and lower-abs are extremely sore and i know that's a good thing, but good grief - it hurts to laugh... i still have 3 more DVDs to try before my surgery, then i'll know which ones i'll be able to do w/out putting too much stress on my foot... =(

what else have i been up too? i ordered the book "the south beach supercharged" and will need to get that read before my surgery... i have decided that i'm going to do low-carb for a while esp. since i will be very limited to what sort of exercise i can do, and my eating habits as of late - well, they suck... i could eat pasta everyday, along with bread and crackers, and god forbid that i have coffee without cream and sugar... it's not healthy and i can feel the toll it's taking on my body... i hate the way i feel, i'm uncomfortable, and i'm run-down, so that's my plan and i'm sticking to it... =p

if there's one thing that i have learned over the years, is that i need structure in order to succeed... if i look back over my weightloss rollercoaser, the times that i was OP - i was doing great... and the times that i was 'doing my own thing' or taking a break, i would do fine for a while but then it would just go downhill again... soon days turn into weeks, and then weeks turn into months - and voila, you're not where you want to be (again)... i love WW but feel it's time to try something else right now... i know it's a great plan and know not everyone is pro low-carb, but i just need a nudge and something to get me going again... i want to have energy and be happy, and i don't remember what that feels like (which is scary)... i can read motivational/inspirational blogs til my eyes bleed, but until i feel that i am making a difference for myself - it's not going to matter... i need to do this for ME... =)

happy hump day...

sucker spelled with a capital S

i've been enjoying a nice, quiet saturday since eric is off at some security/networking thing - been able to clean the house and do laundry without being disturbed... i've also been watching the food network nonstop and catching-up on my blogs including bitch cakes who is killing the WW program right now... go sheryl! :-)

while i was flipping thru channels, i came across the new informerical for mari winsor's slimming pilates... i'm a sucker for these stupid things because i find them (a) amusing and (b) a good way to kill time between programs... i've used her DVDs before and really liked them, but they are outdated... and since i will probably be looking at one (and possibly two) foot surgeries - i will not be able to use the treadmill or eliptical during recovery... since pilates is mat-based, i feel this would be a good way for me to stay semi-active and get back into a regular, exercise routine... i miss taking pilates and found out my gym no longer has a class during the week (just yoga), so this will be the best option... i will give you guys a review once i've had a chance to use it... :-)

eric and i went to see 'book of eli' last night - i thought it was okay and if some of the patrons in the theater hadn't been so rude and annoying, the movie might have been better... i do love seeing gary oldman playing the 'bad' guy and what's to say about denzel - he's just amazing... :-)

well, eric just got home and it's been snowing since this morning... so much for only getting a 'dusting' - i think we have at least 3-4 inches... i also just made a wonderful green monster (coconut water, light orange juice, spinach, banana, mango, and a tbsp. of flaxseed)... yum-o! :-)

happy weekend!

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...

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... :~)