adios 2008

i was dreading coming to work today since i had such a long weekend but it hasn't been bad actually... my boss was going to come in late but then decided to take the whole day which is fine by me, even though she had wanted to take us to lunch... we might order chinese anyway and i need to keep things light since tonight eric & i are going to the melting pot with 6 other people... we hadn't made real plans for new year's and this came up on monday - he thought it would be fun so he told them yes.. i don't know his friends very well so i'm a bit unsettled plus our reservations aren't until 10:30pm (and it costs $65/person, not including alcohol)... bah! i'm going to be (a) starving and (b) tired by then but what can you do - i sound like such an old maid but i can't help it... staying home, ordering take-out, watching a good movie, and then watching dick clark's rocking new year's sounds like a great night to me... there's always next year i guess... ;)

i had a good day-off yesterday - went to the chiro and then spent the rest of the day with mom shopping... we seem to be doing that a lot lately but there were no clothes involved this time - instead, we walked around and visited a lot of nice, small shops... many had christmas items marked down but i didn't pick-up anything amazingly enough... we also had mexican for lunch/dinner and stuffed ourselves - who can pass up fried ice cream with honey/caramel sauce! ;)

yes, i didn't buy any clothes yesterday but i did find some nice things on coldwatercreek.com today --> go here and you'll find a code for 70% off... not a bad deal considering how expensive their stuff is, i got a cute dress for like $17... whooo hooo! :)

i wish you all a safe and Happy New Year, and here's looking to a healthy and happy 2009~

make it stop

ugh, having all this food around is killing me... one positive thing has been i made a huge batch of turkey stock this afternoon so that will come in handy when i want to make soup... but then there's all the bad stuff too - good thing it's only once a year, right? i'm SO ready to get back in the weightloss game but feel it would be best to hunker-down after this week... yes, why not start tomorrow but i have mon/tues off, then it's back to work, new year's, and then eric's family christmas in pittsburgh next weekend... having all that behind me will be much better for me physically and mentally, so that's my plan for now and i'm sticking to it... :o)

my mom, sister, nieces, and i went major thrift store shopping yesterday - we had a lot of fun and i picked up a few sweaters, a pair of JJill jeans, and some corduroys (size 12! bah!)... then we had lunch a baja fresh with eric, then stopped by his place so they could meet norman and tyler, then did more shopping til around 8:30... i had made chili in the crock-pot and was thankful to not have to worry about making dinner when we got home... the girls loved staying at my place too (because i have cable and internet) and enjoyed spoiling max which is always a good thing... they left this morning and i came over to eric's where we've watched some football and ran to target to score some storage containers for the back of his truck... it's been in the high 60s today and doesn't feel like december at all - at least it's not snowing... :)

my plans for tomorrow: go the gym, finish my shopping, maybe have lunch w/a girlfriend, and then head home to do laundry and clean... as for tuesday - i have no plans besides going to the chiro so i may hang out w/mom and do something - we'll see... hope you guys are having a great weekend and i'll catch-up with you soon...

here's a shot of our family from friday night's dinner at my brother's... :)

today is pointless

besides the fact that my company is lame and will not close over the holidays (we're open when the stock market is open), i am here with nothing to do... even if i HAD work to do - i doubt i would do it anyway because it's the day after xmas and it's friday - puhlease! i took my time getting to work this morning, after my chiro appt, bought myself a bagel and coffee at au bon pain (the only place open it seems), and will soon plan out my day... which really means, figure out what i'll be watching online (www.fancast.com)... i did bring my workout clothes and in hopes that the gym is open, i plan on having a good workout esp. since they closed early on xmas eve and i did nothing but eat yesterday... :)

christmas was great - eric bought me a new camera and i can't get over at how much smaller and lighter it is compared to my old one... i will miss my flip-screen but having one that is twice as large and having a camera with twice as many mega pixels will make up the difference... he said that i have more presents coming next weekend, when we celebrate w/his family in pittsburgh, but it's always an issue since i feel xmas here should be ours and where we open all the gifts... he seems to think we should open some there too - maybe someday we'll come to a compromise... :)

my mom came down around 3:00 and stayed til almost 9:00 - dinner came out well though i have a ton of leftovers in my fridge right now... she got me a bunch of little things and a steamer which is awesome - i've been wanting one for a while so now i can iron stuff w/out using an iron... we also made a huge batch of caramel corn last night - my mom is the type that has to do the same thing each holiday... make a ton of cookies, hard candy, fudge, peanut brittle, caramel corn - regardless if people say they don't need it, she makes it anyway because that's just what you do... :)

tonight, my brother is having the whole family over for dinner and that's where we'll exchange more presents (and eat more food and sweets - ugh!)... then my sister and nieces are coming home with me and staying the weekend - we have a busy day planned tomorrow with thrift store shopping, lunch w/eric, and more shopping... i'm not complaining by any means, mind you, when we're all together - we can be quite the bargain shoppers... :)

thought i'd post some pics from yesterday...

santa was good to eric this year and got him a new motorcycle jacket...


finally a blanket we can both fit under (which i made, thank you very much!)...


tyler wasn't very thrilled to wear this (plus it was too small!)...


pardon the hair but look at my new camera!


greek walnut pie for dessert - yum-o!


"i really hate it when she makes me model..."


where is everyone (a view of the metro this morning)...


i hope you all had a wonderful christmas and enjoy your weekend... :)

happy birthday, jesus!

wow

so the mole i had removed last week was deemed skin cancer - basal cell carcinoma to be exact... according to this website, it's the most common of all skin cancers and for the most part - easy to treat if found early enough... the nurse said the doctor had removed all the bad cells and nothing had spread, but i have to come back every 3 months for a full-body check... i'm not really surprised since my dad had the same thing (from being a bricklayer for 50+ years) but i also thought i was pretty careful when it came to protecting myself from the sun... i've always used a high SPF but this just goes to show you, one over-exposed day can do you in so PLEASE wear your sunscreen girls/gals...

my grocery shopping went very well last night - i was in/out in about an hour and spent just over $100 (which is amazing to me and that included wine)... i do enjoy grocery shopping, not sure why, so the cart-filled aisles didn't bother me (though not knowing the store layout did! ha!)... after i got home and unpacked everything - i made two batches of sugar cookie dough and will making those tonight... i also wrapped the rest of my xmas presents and then had some time to relax before calling it a night... :)

the office is desolate today - i'm dressed as casual as i could (no jeans) and put on my santa hat so that was a fun ride-in this morning... my boss just ran to border's to do some last minute shopping and until i get the stat release this afternoon - i have nothing to do... le sigh...

so i'll make good use of my time and share some links with you... enjoy! :)

- nine west shoe sale (30% off)
- watch tv shows online (for free)
- breakfast ideas for over the holidays
- camera for your pet (i seriously might get one of these - how funny!)
- restaurant gift certificates (use code: HOLIDAY for an add'l 80% off)
- holiday tv show marathon schedules

merry christmas eve! :)

how did this happen

i consider myself to be quite the planner/organizer/woman-of-lists but this year - i'm just plain behind with everything... that is SO unlike me so i'm blaming my meds and hope that next year is better (plus i already told eric that we are not waiting til the last minute to buy shit)... i did some more shopping last night after getting home from eric's - border's is closing a store near my house so everything in the store was 30% off... i picked up the calendar i've been looking for my mom, rachael rays big orange cookbook, dean koontz's latest paperback, and a travel journal for my niece since she's going to europe next summer... i have ONE more gift card to get tonight for my brother and then it's off to the grocery store so i can buy everything for christmas dinner and this weekend when my sister and 2 nieces will be staying with me... i dread going but i don't have a choice really and it looks like i'll be working a full day tomorrow even though we close at 2:00 (stupid research just HAS to post something on xmas eve - WTF?!?!)... ugh! :-p

this is what i've come up with for Thursday --> hashbrown casserole for breakfast (with eric) and and for dinner (with mom & eric): some sort of appetizer (TBD), pear, blue cheese, and walnut salad, herb-roasted turkey breast, potatoes (TBD), roasted brussel sprouts, rolls, and greek walnut pie... menu subject to change at very last minute... ;-)

so what else has been going on... my chiro appts are still going well - had one this morning and he commented on how tight my shoulders were... the other doctor told me the same thing on friday and i could feel the knots under her fingers... i did learn some more exercises so i've been doing those and laying on my pilates roll every night - the pain has lessened, that's for sure, so hopefully that's a good sign... :-)

i had a mole removed on my chest last week, that seems to be healing nicely (as best it can anyway)... they said they'd call me either way with the results so i'm hoping it's non-cancerous...

guess that's it for now - h0pe you're enjoying all the last minute shopping, prepping, and planning like me... NOT! ;-)

happy tuesday...

ode to beaker

thought i would share some holiday muppet fun... :)

my weekend has been pretty lowkey so far - took friday off and my mom and i did our usual christmas shopping extravaganza... we wear our red santa hats and go somewhere new each year - people always comment so i'm glad that i'm able to do that with her... i still have more shopping to do - this year i just haven't had the motivation or energy to shop like usual... my family always says that we're not doing presents but then end up getting small stuff for each other anyway... eric's presents have been done and are wrapped under my tree, same with my mom, but i still have more to get so guess i'll be doing that this week... i also need to plan my menu for christmas dinner - saw some good ideas on 'guys big bite' this morning so i need to visit foodnetwork.com and print out some recipes... :)

i'm feeling that part of my lack of motivation/energy is because of my thyroid meds - i was put on synthroid back in the spring and then decided to try generic since it's cheaper and some say, does the same thing... but after a few months - i just haven't been feeling like my usual self (hard to explain in words) and did some research online... some say that you should never switch and that some people just don't respond well to generic brands - though my levels are still 'normal', i asked the doctor's office to give me a new RX for synthroid again... i'm hoping this helps... for those of you with thyroid problems - have you had this same problem? just curious...

well, i'm off to watch some football with eric - dinner is in the crockpot (pot roast) so the rest of my day is going to be easy...

enjoy the rest of your weekend... :)

connected again

FINALLY! my cable is working again and the guy was so nice that he gave me his name and cell phone number if i had problems in the future... he said that some technicians just don't care and if the problem seems difficult, they'll just leave and have someone else deal with it... can you believe that?! seriously, if i knew i'd be in that apartment for another year - then i'd switch to something else... but i'm HOPING that things will progress with eric and i soon (ahem!) and i'll be moving into his place and never have to worry about comcast again... :)

so now that my cable has been fixed, i feel like my life can return to normal... something about being unconnected just makes me feel so unsettled and i know that's a horrible thing to say - but without phone or internet, i just feel isolated... i WAS able to get a few channels though with some rabbit ears so i watched the season finale of the biggest loser... i had watched a few shows over the season but wasn't consistent with it but have to say, they all looked amazing... i AM glad, however, that two women won! :)

as for everything else - i've just been working and doing my usual thing which unfortunately, has not included exercise... i will be honest and say that i'm terrified of stepping on the scale - it's sort of like "don't look and you won't know how bad the damage is"... i mean, i know i haven't gained 20 pounds but i'm not where i was this summer and never thought i'd like things slide this much... i was doing well with monthly weigh-ins for a while but then stopped, and THAT is where i let things go... if i knew that i'd had time to post today - i would've brought my oprah review because one of the main things she said, in the article, was how she didn't keep her health & well being a priority (even with all that money and all that help around her)... how many of you can say you've been there, done that? i know i have and i'm ashamed to say - that is what happened to me...

regardless of when/where/how/why - i DO know that i have to pull-up my boot straps and get back on the saddle... i will most likely do WW again but need to call and find out if i can go to one meeting (to get more specifics on the new plan) before signing-up online... since being promoted - i've had more to do and more responsibilities but that's also led to skipped workouts because i feel i have to stay and do work... work is important but it's not my life and i really need to work on that more in 2009... :)

so that's what's been going on with me... i'm sorry that i haven't been reading your blogs (see above) so i'll try and catch-up as best i can... :)

happy hump day...

i still hate comcast

after rearranging my saturday plans - i was told, after the comcast person finally arrived, that they only key to the closet where the cable-boxes were, was locked and could not be open... something about another comcast guy not returning it - are you kidding me?! isn't that like against the law or something? so i was told they'd have to come back today and the rental office said they'd be happy to let them into my apartment (since i refused to take off work for their mistake)... one would think after the SECOND appt, they could figure things out but nope - i was told tonight before leaving work that they'd have to come back, again, to fix a faulty line... that's such BS because i was told that same thing in september when my cable when out and then found out, they had really turned it off "by mistake"... so now i have another appt on wednesday morning between 8-11 - will they fix it this time? let's hope so... assholes! :o(

besides the cable fiasco - had a busy rest of the weekend... eric got the bed of his new truck rhino-lined so we spent a lot of time driving to VA, then home, then back down when it was completed... he tried on some leather jackets at a nearby harley-davidson dealer so we'll see if santa decides to bring him one... saturday night - some friends of his had us over for dinner and that was nice (she even gave us a doggy-bag!)... sunday, we headed to my mom's to help get her xmas stuff out of the attic as well as put up her tree - she's one of those that just HAS to have a live tree, regardless of how close it is to christmas... the rest of the afternoon was spent watching football (stupid redskins but go steelers!) and i made homemade chicken pot-pie for dinner... yummy!

today was rough - i woke up on the wrong side of the bed so my whole day was shot... i hate when that happens so i hope things turn around tomorrow... at least i have a chiro appt tomorrow morning - perhaps that will at least make my body feel better...

i wrote up some things re: the oprah article and will post this week... that is IF and when my internet at home is working (i'm still at eric's house)... grrrrrrrrrrrrr...

happy monday...

why am i still here?

today was my company's holiday luncheon - they sent an email earlier this week saying that because they were trying to 'cut-back', the cocktail hour (beforehand) would be canceled... okay then! nice way to say HAPPY HOLIDAYS! so as a result, my boss took it upon herself to bring in 4 bottles of wine and we had our own little party in her office... the luncheon itself was good - same thing every year: speech by the president, eat lunch, play a game, eat dessert, and door-prizes... i have YET to win anything so i came away empty-handed... such is life... since everyone came back, the office has been pretty quiet and my boss went straight to the bar leaving us to do as we please... guess i shouldn't be complaining! :o)

i had a nice surprise when i got home last night - my cable was out... AGAIN... motherf*cking comcast - they suck-ass! i mean seriously, how can a company be so incompetent? last time, they 'mistakenly' turned it off - wonder what they did this time... i called and asked if there was a reported outage in the area (of course there wasn't) and was scheduled for a service call tomorrow between 11-2... smack dab in the middle of my weekend too - thanks a lot... so once again - i'm out of cable, internet, and phone... awesome! :o(

i found this great fitness/goal journal on someone's website the other day and ordered one... it's called fitbook and since i'm itching to get back on the saddle in regards to losing weight and exercise - i figured i should start planning and organizing things... perhaps i look at it when i get home since i'll have nothing else to do... :o(

i also read Oprah's article last night (about how she gained weight back) and will give a recap the next time i post - it was nothing new or super revealing but more 'on the level' if that makes any sense...

well, i'm off for the weekend so have a good one... :o)

might as well redecorate

lately i've noticed a few bloggers using their signature on web-postings so thanks to anne - she told me about a website where you can learn how to do it... it also has a bunch of other neat stuff, including backgrounds (as you can see here), so check it out if you're looking to give your blog a facelift... :o)

http://thecutestblogontheblock.com/

she did what?!

who would've thought that Oprah - the queen of all media and the woman that makes more money than all of us will ever see (combined) - STILL has a weight problem... i'm not making fun of her or wishing her any ill-will but have to admit that the news makes me feel a bit more normal... maybe that's not the right adjective but i'm sure you know what i mean... i'm anxious to read her magazine article but if you'd like to read more, you can go here or here...

i really liked this quote --> "when it comes to maintaining my health I didn't just fall off the wagon. I let the wagon fall on me ... I didn't follow my own fundamental rule of taking care of self first."

how many of you can say that this has happened to you? for me - fell off the wagon? check... stopped taking care of self first? check... they seem like such fundamental things, right? but they're not because it takes a lot of work to be 100% 24/7 and that holds true even for people like Ms. Oprah... so many of us (myself included) are afraid to admit mistakes esp. when it comes to weightloss... who wants to look like a failure, or as someone that gave up, or lost hope? certainly not me but it's still hard to do and that will always be something i have to work on... one thing that HAS helped over the years, however, has been blogging and having such great online support... i have learned that i'll never be alone in this battle (or any other for that matter) so thank you for being there for me... :)

happy tuesday...

it's been revealed

WW has officially announced it's new Momentum program on their website - i'm guessing one would have to sign-up before actually seeing the details though (how it really works, what you eat, etc.)... when i did WW in the past, i was an online girl because going to meetings just didn't appeal to me - i know they can be inspirational and motivating but after a while, you start to hear the same thing over and over... and did i really need to pay a weekly fee just so someone could write down that THEIR scale was saying? um, i don't think so...

so for those of you that are currently doing WW - what do you think of this new plan? where would someone, that prefers doing it online, find out more information?

i have a really good friend that may be interested in trying it (again)... ;)

animal lover

eric bought a new truck yesterday and it is beautiful... even though it's a chevy (ahem), it's very nice - a/c, cruise control, and power windows/locks... it also comes with OnStar and XMradio (free for 3 months) which makes it even nicer... it will taking some getting used too though since it's much taller and longer than his old one - i can't wait to drive it! and yes, i talked him into buy harley-davidson floormats... ;)





today, we did the kitten run - there were 7 crates in my car and it was a quiet ride to the rescue (for the most part anyway)... eric held two of them - one was a long-haired orange tabby that had the bluest eyes, and the other was a short-haired grey/white tabby that just loved sitting on his lap... the rescue we went too services over 25 area PetSmarts and the guy said there are some weeks that they don't have enough kittens to give them... even though they will be adopted eventually, it still broke my heart seeing all the cages full - i wanted to hug and kiss them all! so if you are thinking about getting a pet this holiday - PLEASE consider your local animal shelter or rescue - there are thousands of animals that need a good home! :)









as for the rest of the day - it will consist of watching football (steelers vs. cowboys then redskins vs. ravens) and then having eric's beer can chicken for dinner... if you've never tried it - you MUST because it's incredibly moist and tender... :)

enjoy the rest of your weekend! :)

TGIF

sorry for my lack of posting - motivation is hard to find some days especially when i feel like i have nothing interesting to say... i DID notice, however, that when i post gory pictures - i receive a lot of comments (i'm so glad i can amuse you!)... funny how things work that way, perhaps i should post funny/gory pictures more often... just kidding... i know we all have our slumps/bumps when it comes to blogging and i just want you to do know that i'm still around (alive and kicking, as simple minds have said)... :)

my chiropractor appts. have been going well - i was feeling super last week but had some pain on/off this week again... they started me on some new stretching exercises to strengthen my neck, check and upper back muscles and can do them at home... i will also be getting a better chair at work which should help too (though it will take 6-weeks)... i keep wondering though if buying a new mattress is more important than i thought it was - i've had mine for at least 9 years and it wasn't brand-spanking new when i got it...

so here's my question: for those of you that own a sleep-number OR a memory-foam mattress - tell me what you think about it... i've heard good things about both and need to do some research but i wanted to ask you, my blogging-buddies, as well... as much time as i spend in it each night, i should make the best decision possible... :)

weekend plans consist of two major things: helping my mom setup for her christmas banquet tomorrow morning and then driving a car-load of kittens to a rescue in southern MD on sunday... i've done this once before for my sister (who's prez of her local humane society) and since no one wants to see these little guys get euthanized, they are taken to a rescue and then taken to places like PetSmart etc. to be adopted... i will take pictures since it's quite an amazing sight to see, 8 crates in my civic - very funny... and in between all that, i may do some shopping and watch some football though the redskins aren't playing til sunday night... a coworker and i have a bet and whose ever teams loses, buys Starbucks on monday morning... i can taste that grande skim pumpkin spice latte now... GO REDSKINS! :)

have a great weekend, everyone...