the sunshine is killing me

i had a serious case of the sleepies yesterday, maybe from the time-change this weekend? all i know it, the afternoon was long and hard (even though i managed to hit the gym and do some weights)... i won't be able to start cardio again until next week, so i'm just counting the days until that happens... it will be in the low-60s this week and i'm DYING to go outside for a walk - hopefully, the weather will cooperate next week too...

our weekend was good - my hair is now back to being short and sassy, and the home show we decided on going too, was rather lame... i hate being bombarded by salesman, but guess i should've expected that considering the times we live in (people need work!)... after the disappointing event - we grabbed lunch at pot belly and then decided to go see "the crazies" which wasn't as bad as i thought... it had it's scary/gory moments and give it a solid "7" - definitely worth seeing if you're a fan of george romero... =)

sunday - it was the usual store, laundry, and cleaning... i drove myself to the grocery store, which was strange since it had been over 2 weeks... so nice to be independent again... =)

other than that, work is work... how did my life become so boring? sorry about that...

happy tuesday

TGIF

it's been a long week, esp. since it was my first one back, but all in all - it was productive and i'm happy to have the weekend off... i had a glorious birthday dinner w/eric last night - we shared wonderful spinach & artichoke dip, then i chose the jumbo shrimp, tangy cole slaw, 1/2 baked potato... and for dessert - it was warm apple walnut cobbler with a scoop of vanilla ice cream... we were home by 7:30 and eric surprised me a new tv for the bedroom... i know some people say that it's not good to watch tv in bed, but i find it relaxing when i'm not quite tired yet, or if eric is watching something in the living room - then i can do my own thing... we tried it out and it works great, so i can't wait to watch my saturday morning food network shows in style! =)

our weekend plans are pretty light right now - i am looking forward to my hair appointment tomorrow... and after that, eric and i will be going to a local home show and will check out the latest and greatest in home improvements... there's a lot that we'd like to do to the house, but we need to prioritize and figure out what will require a contractor and what we can do ourselves... roof and siding for sure, but i'd also like to redo our bathrooms and update the kitchen (darker cabinets, new floor, new counter-tops, and paint)... i mean, if we are indeed moving to pittsburgh in the next 2-5 years - the house needs work in order to make it sellable... ah, the joys of home-ownership...

my foot is feeling better - i've been wearing my ugg lookalikes to work and they seem to be the best option for now (wide and comfy)... i've also really enjoyed taking a shower again, but do miss my nightly bath so perhaps that will be on tonight's agenda... 

i hope you all have a wonderful weekend and stay dry! it's supposed to rain here thru sunday, so staying-in might be just the ticket!

happy friday...

one-step closer

it's been another busy day - running around, more doctor appointments, and getting my stitches removed... the doctor said that i was healing very well, that i should still baby it thru the weekend, and then be good to go by monday... i can even wear a normal shoe, though i'm pondering which one will work best right now... and the best news? i can take a shower! since the surgery, i've had to maneuver myself into the bathtub w/out getting my foot wet and it hasn't been easy... i go back in 2-weeks and then should be able to start exercising again! i'm so happy! =)

eric and i grabbed lunch at panera - their cream of tomato soup is so damn tasty!

in other news, tomorrow is my birthday and i will be ONE year closer to turning 40... seems strange to even type that, but it's reality and i'm glad to say that i feel nothing like 39 (thank-god)... i'm happy to say that i don't fret over things like wrinkles or grey hair - i feel it's part of getting older so why pretend to look like someone you're not? anyhoo, i don't really have big plans - tomorrow will be a busy day at work and then hopefully i won't have to stay too late since eric is taking me to dinner... sounds perfect to me! =)

happy hump day!

last day of recovery

i enjoyed sleeping-in this morning since it's back to work tomorrow... half of me dreads going, but the other half is glad to be getting out of the house - i've been going stir crazy, as you can imagine... and with the weather being so nice, it has made me even more depressed since i can't enjoy it (i.e. go for a walk)... =(

yesterday, eric went to hang-out w/some friends so i did another pilates workout (20 minutes) and then finished adding photos to our wedding album... everything's been added, i just have to decide what to do about the design, if anything - perhaps plain and simple is best... he brought back some leftover pizza and 3, small pastries from a shop that sells items for half-price on saturdays (that was my dinner)... last night, we watched 'kiss kiss bang bang' which was pretty good (robert downey jr. and val kilmer) and then i watched a few episodes of 'what not to wear' in bed while eric played his video game... what an exciting life!

on friday, my mom came for a visit so we sat around and chatted, watched some cooking shows, and then made dinner... i had some leftover mashed potatoes and decided to make gnocchi to go along w/our sauteed shrimp - they were really tasty, though if i made them again i would definite add pesto or cream sauce... for dessert, we had some cookies that i made from the 'big oven' iphone app - oatmeal, chocolate chip, and raisin... so good! =)

well, that's it for me today... i need to go swap the laundry and see what else needs to be done around here... happy sunday...

day 4 and home alone

i'm watching 'guys big bite' on the food network since i'm home alone today... eric went back to work and even though i would love to have him with me all week, he does have a job that needs attending too... me, on the other hand, still needs some time to heal so here i am - bored out of my mind really... the only thing i've gotten excited about today was (1) my green monster and (2) planning dinner tonight (tacos)... how sad... and even though i have a TON of work to do, when i get back, at least i'll be back into a normal routine...


i went back to the foot doctor on monday and even though i took a picture of my foot (sans the bandage), it's probably to gross for most of you... he said it looked good, but to stay off of my feet as much as possible since healing is key this time around... i go back next wednesday so he can remove the stitches (ugh) and then we'll see how long it will be until i can put-on my exercise sneakers again... this lack of exercise is KILLING me, but i know it's only temporary... =(

we also got our new mattress on sunday - it is devine, let me just tell you... and since we bought the floor model - it has both a firm and plush side so eric and i get what we need... the only downside is that it's almost 8-10" higher than our one so it requires effort to get in/out of every day... the cats have also had to get used to it since they sleep there most days, but think they are managing just fine... =)

well, that's it for me - sorry i don't have anything exciting going on, but hopefully things will get back to normal soon...

happy hump day!

gimp

sorry for the delay, haven't been in the mood to blog since surgery but am hoping today is better... everything went well but the doctor said there was a lot of leftover nerves (from a previous surgery) to remove as well as a lot of scar tissue he had to get through, before dealing w/the actual tumor... i was feeling great on friday, since my foot was numb, but yesterday morning was tough... eric made me breakfast in bed and has been doing a wonderful job at playing nurse (i need ice every 20-minutes)... the pain meds make me sick so i've been taking tylenol instead, but doubt its really helping... the doctor called to check-up on me (which is unheard of, i think) and said saturday should be the worst of it... let's hope so! i go back on monday to have the dressing changed, and then stitches come out 10-days from then... SO looking forward to that day already! =)

i was looking forward to having our new mattress yesterday but after eric and his friend took the old set to the dump, he found out from macy's that we can't pick-up the new one until today... we both heard the salesman say saturday but if you look on the receipt, it say sunday - miscommunication on both sides i guess... so, we had to sleep on the futon in the basement which required me scooting down the stairs on my ass last night... the futon is usually pretty comfortable but it's hard to move w/my bandaged foot and since it hurts more, i'm not sure i well i really slept... perhaps a nap will be needed later today... ;)

we are SO looking forward to the US vs. Canada hockey game later!

i will check back-in later this week, hopefully i'll be feeling better as the week progresses... i can't even think about food or exercise at this point... ugh!

happy sunday...

mondays suck

this week will be my last before surgery on friday, and it will be a busy one! there's so much going on with our annual meeting because it's now 4 conferences-in-one, which means 4x the work... all i have to look forward too is going on our much-needed honeymoon once it's all over - sometime in mid-may... =)

we had a productive weekend and am happy to report that we found a mattress at macy's on saturday... not only was it highly rated by consumers that bought it, it was half-price! yes, it's the floor-model but seriously - why pay $1200 when you can pay $600! they only keep them on the floor for 6-months and it's in near-perfect condition... it has a firm side (for eric) and a plus side (for me) but actually - there's not that much difference between the two, so we can still rotate it every 6-months... i am so happy and can't wait to have this weekend! =)

on saturday night, we had some friends over for dinner - eric made 2 kinds of quiche and i made spinach manicotti with homemade sauce, thank you very much... it was very tasty and i'm looking forward to having leftovers for dinner tonight... on sunday, i was extremely lazy and pretty much vedged-out on the couch all day while eric tinkered in his office, working on a new web-server... i did some laundry but had cleaned a lot on saturday, so i felt i had a good excuse to do nothing... we watched the USA/Canada hockey game last night, which was great, and then eric got into watching curling so i went to bed...

i got my south beach book today and i have much to read before friday... i don't plan on starting until next week so i can give myself the weekend to feel semi-normal after surgery, but will need to go to the store and stock-up on healthy stuff...

well, that's it for me - hope you're having a great monday! =)

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...

x o x o x o

i bought myself some flowers, while i was at the store this morning, and when i got home - eric said, "i was going to go out and get you some later"... i just laughed because i know that probably wouldn't happen - he's not big into holidays like this, or birthdays, or christmas for that matter, but i love him anyway... i got him a card and put a picture of bioshock 2 (an xbox 360 game) since it wasn't delivered in time... yea, i'm a good wife and treat my man well - what can i say... :-)

we don't have any plans for today really - i am doing laundry and plan on watching the daytona 500 (yes, i watch nascar on occasion)... romantic, huh... we went to the olive garden yesterday and met up with my mom, sister, and 2 nieces for lunch... my niece turned 14 last week so we gave her an old iMac - now both girls have a computer that can be used for homework and facebook... when we got home, they were FINALLY clearing our street of snow - it had never been plowed and was almost a foot deep in places... it's so nice to see pavement again and not feel trapped - now if only the snow would melt, but i think it will be a while until everything is gone...

well, i'm off to enjoy my sunday... hope you're having a good weekend!

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...

snuggie with feet

don't ask me where i find this stuff, but it's funny as hell... and if you think this photo is pretty amusing - check out the video... seriously, who thinks of this stuff?!

hoodie-footie snuggle suit

i still like the pajama jeans better... :-)

blizzard 2010

we are on day #5 at home (me anyway), stranded more or less... metro was not running above-ground and AU was closed for the third day in a row... not looking good for tomorrow either, so good thing we have enough food and essentials to get thru the weekend... it has been snowing nonstop since 4:00 yesterday and it may not stop for a few more hours - so far, probably another foot has fallen (where we are anyway)...

enjoy the pics... :-)

p.s. just heard that i will be home again tomorrow... man, what an unexpected vacation!

can't take more snow

i am home again today (though i just read that metro WAS running above-ground when as of last night, they were not!)... oh well, i have plenty of vacation to use and with the next storm on it's way (dumping another 12–18"), i decided to play it safe... so far today, the only thing i've done is make oatmeal for breakfast... :-)

eric and i got out of the house yesterday for a bit, and ran to home depot to grab the last two, decent snow shovels they had... we then took a short drive and were amazed at the amount of snow still on some major roads - guess they are having a hard time finding a place to put it... after we got home, we shoveled-out our cars and then waved to the plow that finally came down our street - yay! wonder when we'll see it again... :-(

so, like i said above - the DC area is in for yet another storm later today and tomorrow... it's just mind-boggling at how much snow we have on the ground... the birds were happy when i trekked out to the feeder yesterday - the snow was almost as high as my hips! crazy...

well, i hope you're all having a great day...

happy tuesday...

post-snowmageddon

at least I did something productive today

31" and counting

so this is outside my house and it's only 11:00... as you can see, our cars are practically covered... i haven't taken an official measurement, but the news is saying around 31" so far and to the west - over 40" has fallen... historic indeed! the snow isn't supposed to stop until later today or early evening, so i plan on going out and taking some real pictures (though i don't have snow pants or boots taller than my knees)... eric is stuck in DC at a conference and said he's staying another night - not even sure how he'll get home tomorrow but maybe by then, the main roads will be passable... our street certainly isn't - could be days til we are able to get out... crazy!

i stopped to get supplies on the way home last night... and then made homemade pizza for dinner - norman was VERY interested in my plate! god love him...

well, i'll post more pictures later - hope you're having a good weekend... i sure am! :-)

 

again? really?

as you can see by this lovely map - DC is expecting yet another snowstorm this weekend (as big as the one we had in december)... so what do i have planned, you may ask? not a damn thing! eric will be at a conference so i'll be home alone, with the kitties, and my food network... i may do some AE sports on the Wii, but other than that - i see lots of jammie-time... i can't think of anything better really...

oh yea - the superbowl is on sunday... :-)

happy thursday!

why wear sweatpants when you can wear these instead?

i am SO tempted to buy a pair of these... seriously, what could better than pajama jeans?!?!

www.pajamajeans.com

i cannot wait...

to have foot surgery on friday, february 26! ugh... i knew it was inevitable and quite honestly, feel that i wasted january on therapy, but there's nothing i can do about it now... my doctor and i sat down yesterday and discussed everything - i've had this done before (actually, twice) so i know what to expect... but it will be different this time because i have a doctor that knows what he's actually doing - and he's very nice and has a good sense of humor... i will be off work for about a week and then will need to take it easy (no treadmill, elliptical, or stationary bike)... once everything is healed, he will go back in and remove the other tumor and the process starts over... so we're looking at mid- to late-april until i am 100% (maybe later if i don't heal quickly after the 1st surgery)... great news huh! i told my doctor that i'd be doing pilates and when he made a face, i said it's mostly mat work and i won't be doing anything that involves standing... he said that was okay then... better than nothing i guess... :-(

so with cardio being pretty much out the window - i will REALLY need to watch what i eat during this time... i have been using "lose it" for about 3 weeks now and even though i love it, i wonder if it's enough... i KNOW that i eat too many carbs and though we're not huge, processed-food people - i still like my crackers, cereal, breads, pasta, rice, etc... i also know that if i cut-back and/or eliminate that stuff - i would feel better and probably lose more weight... sounds like low-carb to me... i know some of you are doing this but what's your take? have you cut-back on the "white" stuff and if so, have you felt/seen a difference? or do you just eat, what you want, in moderation? just curious...

work has been crazy-busy today, so i will be going to the gym after work... :-)

snow-alert: the DC area is supposed to get some snow later tonight, so maybe i'll see some white stuff on my way home... we also might get more over the weekend and we had about 6" this past saturday - enough already! i'm so done with winter! :-p

so excited about the LOST premier tonight... 9:00 can't come soon enough!!!

happy tuesday...

love me some new flavors

i found this at the grocery store yesterday and it is SO delicious! it might just be my favorite flavor now, behind boston creme pie and raspberry cheesecake... yum-o! :-)

the rest of my weekend was okay - spent most of my sunday at mom's, helping her put away xmas stuff and organize some shelves and closets... i like helping because i know it's hard to do alone, but i left around 12:30 and didn't get home til after 8:00... luckily, all the cleaning and laundry were done on saturday so all i had to do was watch the grammy awards (how cool was pink's performance? holy cow!)... :-)

work has been productive so far today, but i'm leaving at 2:30 to head to the foot doctor... i've had some sort of an appointment, every week, since the beginning of the year so i'm thrilled to only have 1... eric asked me if i wanted to go to atlanta in april (where's he going on business) but don't think i'll be able too between my foot and work... if it was san diego - that's another story, but atlanta in april just doesn't sound very relaxing (no offense)...

well, i'm off to finish a few things before heading out... happy monday... :-)