weigh-in


those 1.4 pounds that i gained last week are gone so i'm pretty happy about that... now keeping them off is another story, ha! i tried to go running last night but only managed 20-minutes on the treadmill (too hot outside) and i didn't want to force myself... i was just NOT in the mood, ever have one of those days? it was just not going to happen so i went to the store instead, made some dinner, and tried to work on my internet connection (which is still not working)... hopefully eric can figure out what's wrong because i can't stand not being able to get online... :-(

since i've been unable to get online, i haven't been able to post pictures from the wedding but for some reason - i was able to get them uploaded to my shutterfly account before things got wonky... here's the link if you'd like to see them - there's a bunch from the rehearsal, dinner, pre-wedding, and reception so enjoy! :o)

for those of you who are WW-friendly, how many of you have tried core? i know the basics but am not quite sure i understand how the non-core stuff works - do you just keep track of those points and not the other stuff? for those that have tried it - did you like/hate it? i'm just going thru the usual, "should i do something different?" phase... ;o)

happy hump day...



the wedding

i haven't uploaded any pictures yet but all i can say is, the wedding was absolutely beautiful and we couldn't have had a more perfect day, weather-wise (blue sky and mid-80s)... everything went w/out a hitch (minus the limo being late to get us to the church and eric not having my camera for the ceremony) and its hard to believe it went by so fast... i emailed the maid of honor this morning and said that i was a bit sad since we won't be seeing as much of each other... but then again, she's in pittsburgh so maybe i can work in some visits when i go home w/eric... right about now, the bride and groom are on their way to hawaii so let's just hope that hurricane misses them and they're not stuck indoors the whole time... :o(

i took exercise clothes this weekend but didn't use them (i thought about it though)... i hopped on the scale at the gym today and if i stay good for the next day or so, i MIGHT actually see a loss this week... there was a ton of food/alcohol consumed over the weekend and i don't feel an ounce of remorse - i had a great time w/eric and my friends and that's what counts... there's one thing to waste calories on crappy stuff but everything was so amazing: between the appetizers, open-bar, and the sit-down dinner, to breakfast the next morning - i can now see why it was $170/head... :o)

we got home around 2:30 and were extremely lazy for the rest of the day/night... we watched the race, feasting on asphalt, and part of the steeler's pre-season game from saturday night, and john from cincinnati (which is one f-d up show)... i'm trying to get tickets for this weekend's skins/steelers game so we'll see what happens (my friend has season tickets)... :o)

*news* crocs are coming out w/actual shoes this fall (for women) so click here to see them... i am SO digging those suede boots! :o)

happy monday...



i can't go looking like this

yesterday, the red line (metro) was shut down because of a 'suspicious' package and normally, its not a huge deal but considering i had a hair appt. at 7:00 - i didn't think i was going to make it... there's only 1 line that goes north (where i live) and yes, this was the line that was shutdown... so i hoofed it over to a different line, met up w/eric (my lifesaver), and then he dropped me off at yet another station farther up the line... things were fine by then so i got into my car and then sat in traffic for 45 minutes - getting to my appt. at 6:59, i kid you not... talk about close! i told her that my hair had to look FAB for this weekend, because of the wedding, and she did just that - it looks amazing... she even commented on my coloring-job (maybe i should go to cosmetology school) so things worked out in the end... :o)

after having an almost disastrous day - i treated myself to a light, orange, mocha frappaccino from starbucks and headed home... i made several phonecalls, assembled my mexican roll-ups for today's potluck, painted my toenails, and packed for this weekend... *whew* i can't wait for this week to be over!!! :-o

i'm leaving tomorrow and will back on sunday - not sure how soon i'll have pictures but i'll post as soon as i can (i've also been having issues w/my internet at home - i hate comcast!)... have a great weekend everyone...

happy thursday...



weigh-in

weigh-in:
i wasn't expecting the scale to be up 1.4 pounds this morning so i'm a bit disappointed - my goal to lose 5 pounds by the wedding certainly didn't happen but what can you do (perhaps its too much iced coffee?)... i felt that towards the beginning of summer, i would surely be down a few pounds since i was getting more comfortable with running, but the 3x/week is just not going to cut it anymore... my body is more than likely used to the routine and its up to me to shake things up (broken record i know, sorry!)... i feel that my priorities have really shifted lately - so i need to focus on my goals again and start making progress... i'm REALLY tired of being in the 160s... :o(

shopping:
i went to kohl's last night to find a skirt for the rehearsal dinner and ended up buying a cute summer dress, 2 wonder bras, a body slimmer, and an awesome necklace (all on sale, mind you)... so much for only needing one thing, ugh hate when that happens... i am quite impressed w/the bras though - i've never owned a wonderbra and now understand why it's called just that... for someone that's an A+/B- cup, i have wonderful cleavage now! ;o)

stuff:
work is picking up again, i am redesigning an investor awareness brochure series (7 total) so that will take up a big chunk of my time... at lunch, i'm meeting a friend to hand-off the baby shower presents for this weekend and then after work, i have to run to frederick and get my haircut (colored it last night)... and after THAT, i have to make 'mexican rollups' for the potluck tomorrow and paint my toenails - man, i will be so glad when this week is over...

happy hump day...



there's no sugar in this, right?

here we are, back to monday again, i swear these weekends are just flying by like mad... speaking of mad - eric and i were craving some iced coffee yesterday from WaWa and being the closest one to his house was in college park, we made a mad dash for it, on the motorcycle (about 25 mins)... oh yea, there was some rain coming but we went anyway and when we got there - BOTH machines were out... the poor kid working there looked at me like i had 2 heads when i said, "we came a LONG way to get these" so he grudgingly swapped out the empty carton for a full one... he also made a funny face when he sampled it and said, "i'm so not a coffee drinker"... ha! he doesn't know what he's missing! we got a bit wet on the ride home but it was pretty fun - yea, i'm crazy but who cares... :o)

on saturday, i did my spinning class but hated the instructor - talk about unmotivating... i could've done the workout myself and the music was SO loud, you couldn't hear was he was saying... funny how you get used to one instructor and everyone else seems like an amateur... after that, i helped eric clean out the gutters and then we headed to my brother's for a cookout - grilled burgers, fresh corn, and macaroni salad - mmm mmm... not the best meal but we didn't have lunch so i figured it worked out in the end anyway...

as for the rest of the weekend, since it was so hot - we watched a few episodes of the old 'feasting on asphalt' with alton brown, as well as the first show of the new season - i highly recommend it, its fun to watch plus you learn a few things along the way... we also watched the movie 'a scanner darkly', some of the nascar race, john from cincinnati, and entourage... yea, we watch a lot of tv... :o(

this week is going to be super busy starting tonight... i'm cat-sitting for my sister and even though i love having zoe around, i'm not sure about max... he seems to enjoy pile-driving her off chairs and chasing her around the apartment (maybe i'll leave him at eric's)... i also have a ton of little things to do including getting my haircut AND preparing for this little wedding i'm in on saturday - yikes, can't believe that's almost here... :-o

happy monday...



bagel friday

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ah, the weekend begins in less than 7 hours (for me anyway) and i'm looking forward to hanging out w/eric and going to see my brother & his girlfriend for a cook-out tomorrow night... i haven't seen him in ages so it will be nice to catch-up on things and see what's new (plus he's dog-sitting for his daughter and that's always a good thing)... other things on my to-do list include: spinning class, oil change for the car, and baby shower shopping - fun times! it's supposed to be very hot this weekend (95+) so i'm sure we'll spend a lot of time indoors too... :o)

i went to see my mom last night - she had some extra produce she wanted to give me from her trip back from the beach... so i got some watermelon, cantaloupe, yellow squash, and cabbage... i also got a small container of fisher's caramel popcorn - if you know anything about ocean citty - you KNOW about how awesome it is (yea, it's not very healthy but once a year isn't going to kill me)... i also painted her toenails since she's going to maine w/her travel club next week and then she's off to iceland in two weeks - talk about busy - she's one, active 71-year old... i hope i can be as active as her, when i'm that age... :o)

sorry i skipped last week so here's my fall trends top 5—enjoy! :o)

—check out these fashion trends for this fall
—if you're updating your fall wardrobe, maybe you should update your shoes too
—complex and exotic are words to describe colors for this upcoming season
—looking for a new hairdo? maybe you should try the asymmemtrical bob
—bobbi brown says stonewashed nudes are the way to go with makeup this fall

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



its just a shirt

one of my friends is having her first baby this october (a boy) and because i'll be in NJ next weekend for the wedding - i have to miss the baby shower... granted, i'm not the biggest fan of having things passed around the room with accompanying "ohhhs and ahhhs" BUT i would like to be there when she opens this up (you can find more at www.makeacreeper.com)... she has a twisted sense of humor so i know she'll appreciate it, hopefully someone will get a picture and send it to me... ... :o)

don't you hate it when the day AFTER your weigh-in, the scale goes down... *boo*hiss*

eric & i had a lovely dinner and by the time we got to the mini-golf place - they were closed... what kind of place closes at 9:00 during the summer? um hello? i was a bit pissed but at least he got to see the course, thru the fence, and commented on how nice it was... so no golf but we took a nice stroll instead and then went home to watch tv and relax... :o)

ugh, my boss just sent us performance evaluations - i hate doing those... granted, i've never gotten a bad review but still - its still a pain in the ass to list all of your past projects, explain what you did, and what obstacles you may have had to overcome (difficult coworker, vendor, etc.)... guess i know what i'll be doing tomorrow... :o(

happy thursday...



weigh-in

i must have a guardian angel because the scale read no loss/gain this morning, meaning i'm the same as last week... thank-you, jesus, that's great news (though not great for the team challenge though, sorry guys!)... i didn't count one, stinking point on fri, sat, OR sun but was back on plan monday so maybe i didn't go over my flex-points as much as i thought i did... either way, its a nice way to start the week because i know i'll do better this weekend (i'm not going out of town) and i'm going to work my ass off... :o)

workout today was hard but i managed 45 minutes (30 mins hill intervals and 15 mins flat)... eric and i also plan on playing mini-golf tonight so i can count that too - haven't played in years but my goal is to kick his ass... dinner will be meatloaf (beef from his parent's farm), baked potatoes, and steamed broccoli... :o)

as i mentioned yesterday, i found some blogs that were worth bookmarking and here's another one... the weigh we were is the largest, online collection of weight loss success stories and it has everything from message boards, videos, and a huge blog directory (which you can be a part of!)... so if you're looking for some motivation and inspiration - i suggest you start here - there are amazing people who made amazing transformations... :o)

happy hump day...



just being me

i was checking out some new blogs today and came across this one by stephanie (please check it out because her before/after pic is amazing!)... my rule of thumb is, if i find a new blog that's interesting, motivating, inspirational, funny and/or daily-read worthy - i'll leave a comment... so i left my usual, "hi there, love your blog, blah blah blah" and this is what she writes back...

"I have been reading your blog forever and have found some great inspiration from you so you had a hand in some of my weight loss and you didn't even notice it. Sorry I never commented before but I just never knew enough about this blogging thing until I started doing it myself! Your writing cracks me up and your "just being me" attitude is perfect and just what i enjoy!! Thanks again and you look fab yourself!"

wow.

i had a lurker, who found me inspirational, and i didn't even know it (thank you, stephanie)... now most of you would be like "how cool is that?!?!" but honestly - i feel that i've been everything BUT inspirational these days... since that 5K came and went, my jogging has been minimal - like 3x/week when i was doing 6x/week back in june... my diet has been okay but my weight has been more up than down, so no gold stars in that department... weekend exercise has been null and void and that needs to change... i know my postings have been less than interesting as of late so i feel this comment was just the kick-in-the-ass i needed - what that means, i don't know but i'll figure it out soon... :o)

i went to the store last night and decided on making samiches this week for lunch - i found this awesome 1 pt. bread (2 slices) and with roasted turkey breast, low fat provolone, and lettuce - i had a great lunch for 4 points... i also had a peach which was very tasty and i'll be having some cantaloupe for my afternoon snack... dinner will be my usual night-before weigh-in meal: a light, multigrain english muffin, laughing cow cheese, egg, and salsa verde... mmm mmm... we'll see what happens in the morning...

happy tuesday...



i'll have just ONE more chip

weekend:
i went to my sister's this weekend (western maryland and in the middle of nowhere) to hang-out and see my dad... we helped out w/a friend's yard sale on saturday, grabbed some lunch in town, and she took me by the log house they are having built on 25-acres... its pretty nice even though its just the walls and roof right now, they hope to have it completed by next spring... for dinner we had grilled chicken, veggies, and silver queen corn - yummy - my first ears of the season... sunday, we did the church thing and then took my dad for pizza - he's still pretty wobbly so getting him in/out of the wheelchair is pretty challenging... he's also in a different room, on a different wing (not the nice one anymore) so my sister and i tried to spruce things up a bit by hanging pictures... the drive home was fine until i hit traffic (for no reason) and that added another hour onto my trip - i was pretty beat by the time i got home...

food:
it hasn't been stellar, unfortunately - i had mexican for lunch on saturday and i just can't say no to tortilla chips and fresh salsa... the pizza probably didn't help yesterday either but i only had 3 slices and i ordered a garden salad on the side... i'm back OP today though and i feel in control again - we'll see how things even out on wednesday...

exercise:
today was my first day back on the treadmill since i hurt my back and i managed to squeeze out 35 minutes, not bad... i felt like crap since i didn't do anything over the weekend but my back was still hurting and i tried to rest as much as possible... i think its okay now but we'll see how i do tomorrow with weights...

miscellaneous:
not much else exciting has been going on - i do need to go grocery shopping tonight (no fruit/veggies in the house) and do some laundry... i know, exciting right? :o)

happy monday...



friday couldn't have come any sooner

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sorry for the lack of posts - between work and my back, i just haven't had the time or the energy... and all i can say is I'M SO FRICKING GLAD IT'S FRIDAY... my plate was still pretty full as of an hour ago but am happy to say, everything's either been finished or in the final stages of review so that means - no more work for me... plus, the boss is out so i'm going to read my rachael ray magazine and call it a day... :o)

my back is probably 20% better - eric came over last night and between me not feeling well and him having some issues w/his new boss, we were a delightful pair during his bday dinner at carraba's (insert sarcasm)... a glass of wine helped, as well as some really tasty food - i chose a ceasar salad, chicken bryan which had goat cheese and sundried tomatoes, and grilled zucchini on the side... i also had 3 small pieces of bread because their olive/oil dip is amazing so point-wise, i think i did okay... i could've done better but i have almost all my flex points and that's what they're for... :o)

as for this weekend, i would love to stay home and rest but i must head to my sister's - i will take an extra pillow for the drive and hopefully, i'll be in okay shape when i get there... its been a while since i've seen her and my dad so we're going to hang-out and take him to lunch tomorrow... eric's heading to PA again so the boys are hanging out at my place this time which is funny because all they do is run from my bedroom to the living room and back again (no downstairs like at eric's place)... :o)

i will have to skip this week's top 5, i've just been way too bus to find anything new... i'll be back to it next week though... :o)

have a great weekend, everyone!



weigh-in

considering the last time i set foot on the treadmill was friday - having the scale show me a 1.2 pound loss this morning was greatly appreciated... i was just too busy with work and staying late and - well, you know the drill... i did go today but could only run for 25 minutes - it seems i have now pulled some muscles in my back (me thinks this is from weeding as well) and it hurts like a mofo... it was okay before i went and now i just made it worse - nice going, jodi... i see a lot of tv-watching in my future tonight along w/the heating pad... :o(

as mentioned above - work has been kicking my royal ass this week... i have come to learn that even though i always give 110%, i get stressed-out easily when i have multiple jobs on my plate... i'll be the first to say that i'm an excellent multi-tasker but sometimes, even i can get overloaded and overwhelmed... and when that happens, i put work first instead of me and i really, REALLY need to work on that... if i'm not happy/healthy, then my work will suffer - end of story...

did anyone watch that new show saving grace? i had taped it monday and watched it last night - it was pretty good so i may watch some more episodes before making my final decision... i do like holly hunter... :o)

happy hump day...



at least i can still see

my weekend was good but it could've been better... i was weeding in one of eric's flowerbeds on saturday and while bending down, i got poked in the eye with something... it hurt like a motherf*cker and after rubbing it and putting eye drops in it all day (and sitting thru 'ratatouille') - eric came to the rescue and made me an eye-patch... i know, sexy, right? i think he just wanted to play the 'doctor/patient' game... anyway, it helped but i still found myself trying to open my eye so half the time, i had my hand over the patch too... since i couldn't read or watch tv, he read me stephen king's short story 1408 and now i REALLY can't wait to see the movie - its really scary... my eye is back to normal today but man, that was NO fun at all... :o(



not much else is going on, work has been shit today, AND i didn't go to the gym (see #2)...

i hate mondays...



slow down

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happy friday, everyone... and congrats to my team, the skinnie minnies, on losing a whopping 15.6 pounds this week! awesome job, ladies! keep up the great work (i promise to be in the losers column next week!)... i'm challenging them to lose 16 pounds in week #2 so let's see if we can can do it! :o)

happy hour was okay last night - i had one glass of wine (that sucked AND cost me $9) and by the time i got home, i was tired, and had a headache... my boss was showing off her new iPhone that she got for her birthday - she's so into the newest gadgets and gizmos... i have to admit - it looked pretty amazing but i doubt i'll ever get one - i hardly use the phone i have... i also spoke w/another coworker, whom i see at the gym pretty much every day, and found out her husband needs a heart transplant... he's 6th on the list for O-type and 1st on the list for B-type - i'm hoping he gets lucky soon... and speaking of organs - are YOU an organ donor? i am and it says so on my driver's license... :o)

i'm going to do something different with the weekly top 5 - sometimes, i'm all over the place so i think i may start grouping things together instead... so, i've found a few new blogs this week and i thought i would share them with you - enjoy! :o)

finding flabuless
cranky fitness
becky & heather's 30 day challenge
trials and tribulations
elastic waist

i hope you all have a great weekend - do something fun, get your exercise, drink your water, and relax... monday will be here before you know it...

happy friday...



my daughter's turned into a blueberry

i swear, if the sky gets any darker - i will have to turn-on my office light... i'm not a fan of overhead lights and since i can remember, i've had lamps in my office - it seems to make it much more homier and inviting... plus, who wants a nasty glare on your computer screen... speaking of office stuff - my boss scheduled a happy hour after work today... i have no idea who's coming or where we're going but my goal is to have 2 drinks and that's it... i don't have the money and i certainly don't feel like wasting the points on liquid - i'd rather use them on sushi tomorrow night!... :o)

FYI ~ last night well (both seeing eric AND the tacos)... ;o)

i'm SO looking forward to this weekend - i feel like i've been running around like crazy so it will be nice to hang-out and do a lot of nothing... okay, BESIDES going for sushi - we may go see a movie... it seems everyone is raving about 'ratatouille' so perhaps we'll try that one (or something else like 'pirates' or '1408')... my coworker gave me the harry potter book and my goal is to reread it before seeing the movie - all 800+ pages - crap, i forgot that it's a long one... :o(

sorry, not much else is going on... i'm happy that my workload has calmed down a bit so now i can catch-up on all your blogs and see what you've been up too... :o)

happy thursday...



weigh-in

weigh in:
scale was up .4 pounds this morning, could be for a lot of reasons (weekend, new weight routine, etc.) so i'm moving on... i WILL have a loss next week if it kills me... :o)

skinnie minnies:
don't forget today is weigh-in day for the team challenge - congrats to those that have had a loss this week, you are doing great! keep up the good work! :o)

running:
i kicked ass today and ran 4.21 miles in less than 45 minutes - talk about a workout! i was even doing 6.0 at one point and i've never lasted for more than a minute at that speed - maybe i AM making progress... :o)

other stuff:
i picked more blueberries last night with my mom and was very happy to see mr. kitty, mr. puppy, and mr. horsey at the farm we go too... i think there's one more good week of berries so i'm hoping to get a least another picking (i really should pick tons and freeze them, we'll see)... eric said our tomatoes and peppers are doing well in the garden - haven't seen them in 2 weeks so i'll check them out this weekend... speaking of eric, i haven't seen him a long time either (we were both away this weekend) and being the sweetheart that he is - a dozen roses magically appeared at work today... he's known to do that, for no reason, and i'm still not used to it - even after 2.5 years... i'm so looking forward to seeing him later - he's coming over and i'm making tacos for dinner... yummy! :o)

happy hump day...



what would you do with $30k?

i'm tired, in a bad mood and yet, find myself watching "victoria beckham: coming to america"... its pretty funny actually so maybe i'll leave it on as background noise... i am slammed at work and there's no end in sight which means, going in early and staying late this week... being busy DOES make the day go by faster so i shouldn't complain but its draining and by the end of the day, my eyes feel like they're permanently crossed... i'm going to need another vacation after all this...

the girls weekend went well - my friend really enjoyed herself although you could tell that being the center of attention 24/7 wasn't her thing... we started w/some spa treatments on saturday morning - i had a wonderful masseuse named ken (gayer than gay) who was incredible and so much fun to be around... he walked in and was like, "when i saw your hair, i just KNEW we'd get along" (he had the same haircut!)...



after that, us girls walked around princeton, grabbed some lunch, and spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out in the room talking... i felt like the oddball though, since i'm not engaged or married, and was quite overwhelmed at times so i pretty much listened to everyone else's stories... saturday night, we took her to dinner to this over-priced (and not very good) italian restaurant but tried to make the best of it...



and to end the evening, we dressed her up in a toilet paper wedding gown and made her walk down the hallways... :o)



sunday, we grabbed breakfast at the pancake house (a well-know est. across from the univ.), got ready for the shower, and headed back home... my friend, who never used to be very girly - made an appt. to get her hairdone before the shower (which led to a weekend of teasing mind you) AND she was ½ hour late! it all worked out in the end though - the favors looked really nice on the table, as well as the centerpieces that the maid of honor made...



the food was good, the games worked out well, and all was said and done by 5:00... good thing because i had a 4-hour drive ahead of me, as well as a lot of traffic - gotta love 95 in the summertime... i was happy to be home, as well as max - i think he sat on my lap for 15 minutes purring and kneading my belly...

speaking of bellies - i give myself a 6 for this weekend eating/drinking wise... i managed to get a 25-minute run in before i left on friday and then we went for a walk early saturday morning but the food was more of a challenge... since my friend put her townhouse on the market - she doesn't cook anymore or keep anything in the refrigerator besides coffee and water so we ate out a lot... i'm hoping to stay the same on wednesday so i'll keep my fingers crossed - i'd hate to have a gain on the first week of my team challenge... how funny would that be!

i apologize now if i don't post/comment often - as soon as work calms down, things will get back to normal again... i really do miss reading your blogs...

happy monday...

p.s. $30k is the price-tag just for my friend's reception ($170/head)... are you kidding me?!?!



when will my bug bites go away

i'm so glad today is my friday and i'm also looking forward to spending the weekend w/my girlfriend and the other girls from the bridal party... and yea, getting a massage and relaxing by the pool doesn't sound too shabby either... anyway, did i tell you that i never got her wedding invitation? she sent them a month ago and mine was nowhere to be found - until yesterday... she sent me a note saying it came back in the mail, finally, so i'm curious to see what went wrong... as for the shower - i have to finish the favors tonight which requires putting the jordan almonds in the organza bags and then attaching them to the card i designed (see below)... on the back, i put the candy history which is what you see in yellow... not bad for a homemade favor, huh... :o)



you will see that i added another section on my blog (top right) for the team challenge i'm doing... my team name is the skinnie minnies and each week, they will report their weigh-ins and then i'll post the team's results... there's also a sparkpeople page, if you're interested, and it can be found here... if you didn't participate this time and would like to try it, perhaps we can do another one in the fall... :o)

and i finally loaded all my pictures from our camping trip, you can view them here... :o)

since i'll probably be super busy tomorrow morning, i'm going to post my top 5 today - enjoy!

—how to stop negative self-talk
—what is the best weight loss diet?
—check out these surprising expiration dates (borrowed from cranky fitness)
—the august fitness magazine is full of special features & articles
—try some of these tasty, frozen treats for under 200 calories

well, that's all i have for today... i hope you have a great rest of the week and i'll catch-up w/you guys on monday...

happy thursday...



weigh-in


























for some reason, max likes to chew on my flipflops so i thought i would share... :o)

well, today's weigh-in was better than expected - only a 1.6 gain so i call my vacation a success... considering i drank everyday, didn't do any jogging, enjoyed s'mores by the campfire twice, and over indulged a bit this past weekend - i'm ready to move on and reach my next goal... i would like to lose 5 pounds by my friend's wedding on august 11... :o)

speaking of goals - i'm sharing a weightloss challenge with kim... she received an overwhelming response to her challenge (27+) so i offered to help out and lead one of the teams... each week, kim and i will share everyone's progress on our blogs and at the end of 12 weeks, whichever team loses the most weight (percentage-wise) will win... i told her we are ALL winners anyway so lets use that term lightly, okay? as soon as i get my team's info, i will post everything on here - let's have some fun with this... :o)

product review: before we left on vacation, i picked up some sugar-free margarita mix and let me tell you - it was awesome... even eric commented on how good it was so if you like that sort of thing, check out their website... they also have flavors like: blue raspberry martini, mojito, pina colada, and wild strawberry margarita - just to name a few... you can find out what stores in your area sell them too so check it out... :o)

happy hump day...

p.s. i found a beautiful, short, black slip/robe last night at macy's - it has tiny pink flowers on it but not too many that makes it busy, if you know what i mean... my friend is petite and italian so i think it will look stunning on her - white just seemed too stark...



who's your mac daddy?

i love watching infomercials in the morning, while eating my breakfast, because by then - i'm sick of the today show and just need some background noise (gotta love the food network at 7:30am)... i came across this beauty today and actually laughed outloud - please watch the video because it's quite hilarious - can this thing really work? you tell me... so today's question is: have any of you ever purchased a fitness/weightloss item from tv? if so, what did you buy and why? and if you haven't, what product have you secretly wanted to try? i'm just curious... personally, i have tried billy banks' tae bo as well as windsor pilates but that's it... ;o)

i started a new weight routine today (since it had been over 2 months) and i may need to tweek a few things but all in all, i'm happy with what i came up with... i found some exercises on a few different websites so if you're looking for something different - check them out here and here...

i'm also finally settled at work - they took away my old PC this afternoon so i'm officially a mac-only girl (gulp)... its actually not as bad as i thought - there are a ton of things i can play with on here and who doesn't love these widgets? i could customize my desktop all day (but i won't)... :o)

this coming weekend is my friend's bachelorette/bridal shower in NJ - i hope everything works out because its been hard trying to get everything coordinated and planned while out-of-state... i started on the favors last night and need to finish gluing the sunflowers tonight - i also need to find a shower gift... i hate doing the traditional 'registry' thing so i'm hoping to find a really nice slip/robe set because what woman doesn't want something just for her? we'll see what i can find, wish me luck... :o)

happy tuesday...



reality bites

nothing like getting back from vacation and finding a new Mac sitting on your desk - these machines are so foreign to me and yes, i'm a designer but have never had the pleasure of working on one... so far, so good - things are working out nicely but it did take some time to get firefox installed and all my bookmarks loaded... i'm totally digging the cordless keyboard and mouse too - talk about having freedome to move around... i could lay on the floor and work if i wanted (but i won't)... :o)

so camping was great and as expected, the best day was on friday, the day we had to pack-up and leave... we asked every day if there was an open space for friday night but got nowhere, so we stayed on the beach til around 7:00, hit the showers, fueled-up, and headed home... my legs are covered w/mosquito bites - there weren't any flies on the beach like last year but the campsite was swarming w/these nasty, green head flies that had a ferocious bite... we only got rain one night and were able to hit the beach almost every day so that made me happy... we did a lot of walking and biking and ate relatively well - think i made veggie kabobs every night w/dinner too (and will post pictures soon)... there was drinking but not too much and just a lot of relaxing, reading, talking, and just enjoying the ocean... a pod of porpoises swam by the beach, several times a day, sometimes getting very close to the shore, and on the last day, we saw a stingray jump out of the water so that was pretty cool... we didn't make the ghost crab tour but did our own thing one night with a flashlight (after drinking some rum & cokes, mind you) and that was awesome... i'm always sad when we have to pack-up and leave but know we have many a summers to go back there and do the same thing... it was just nice to get away from phones, computers, and the tv... :o)

according to eric's scale on saturday morning, it showed a 2.5 pound gain which is cool considering i didn't jog once and had alcohol every day... but i won't be surprised if its higher on wednesday because we had mexican for dinner on saturday, after seeing 'live free or die hard', and then i grabbed a frozen, spinach and goat cheese pizza last night when i was doing my weekly shopping (still on vacation mode, what can i say)... i WILL be back on the treadmill today and had a great salad for lunch so we'll see what happens - no use worrying about it...

i'll try and catch-up w/everyone's blogs as soon as i can... :o)

happy monday...



2 days and counting

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i don't know why i do this to myself - i was checking the forecast for next week and it doesn't look pretty... i know, i know - its still vacation but when you're going to the beach AND camping, rain sort of puts a damper on everything... plus, it makes packing even more difficult and i'm bad enough as it is - i tend to pack too much but maybe that's because i'm a girl and i like having options (tank top or tshirt?)... anyway, i started making piles of all my stuff last night like clothes, beach towels, sunscreen, and toiletries and if i forget something, i'll be fine... sometimes roughing it can be fun (like no hairdryer!) but if i really needed something, the local grocery store is only a few miles away... :o)

i'm going to pick more blueberries after work with my mom, so i have them for next week... i'm not sure how much longer they'll be in season around here so i'm going to take advantage as best i can... we also may grab dinner at 5 guys, which is a local hamburger chain that pride themselves on serving homemade burgers, hotdogs, and french fries... yea, not the most healthy of choices but i figured as of 5:00 - i'm officially on vacation and i've only heard good things about this place... :o)

today will be another busy one so it should go by fast... and it will also be my last treadmill workout til i get back so i'll have to make it a good one... on wednesday, i did 40 minutes of flats/hills - talk about challenging! i may try and do 4 miles today so we'll see how that goes - anything above 3.5 is an improvement for me and if i can crank out 5 miles by the end of the summer, maybe i'll try doing an 8K race... either way, i can telling the running is helping my weightloss because these capris i have on today are huge... :o)

time for my
weekly top 5 so enjoy... :o)

—do you know how to
store salad greens?
—learn how to run less for more results
—read about a woman who lost weight too fast for weight watchers (WTF?!?!)
—feeling a bit down? here are some body image boosters you can try
—don't know what to make on the 4th? check out this list of favorites

i'll try and post something over the weekend but if for some reason i don't - i hope you all have a happy and safe fourth of july... i'll talk to you when i get back...

happy friday...



3 days and counting

holy smokes, i have been so busy today... my boss decided to give me yet another newsletter to work on and there's like a bazillion charts, tables, and graphs to format... at least it will keep me busy for the rest of the week and then i won't have to worry about it for a while... my company had an ice cream social today (more like let's have ice cream, cake, AND candy) so i opted for the fat-free, raspberry sorbet with some chopped peanuts - i have no idea what the calorie-count is so i'll just say it was 2 points... i also had a good workout today so i'm not feeling too guilty for having a little treat... :o)

since i was early for my hair appt. last night, i stopped by starbucks and tried their lite orange mocha frappuccino - it was very tasty and only 2 points (according to their website anyway)... sabine did a great job on my hair and was so quick - i must've been in/out in less than 20 minutes... on my way home, i stopped by target for a few things (crackers, cereal, tissues, and gum) as well as big lots for more camping stuff - i usually get our tuna salad there because its only $1 and its great for lunches... tonight, i'll probably start assembling my clothes and finish-up the laundry, which leaves tomorrow night for relaxing... :o)

did anyone watch that stupid paris hilton interview on larry king? what a joke...

happy thursday...



weigh-in


starting weight (04/18): 167.8
current weight (06/27): 158.6
weight loss to date:
9.2

this was a nice and most welcomed surprise this morning, and quite the treat considering i ALMOST made my goal for vacation (10 pounds)... all i can say is, its nice to be back in the 150s again considering its been since before christmas that i saw this number on the scale... and when i was updating my sidebar, i noticed i'm only 8.6 pounds away from goal (my first one anyway)... that's pretty damn cool, if i do say so myself... i know the next part of my journey will be a long one (being realistic not pessimistic) but i'm looking forward to it anyway because i know i CAN do it... :o)

i never thought that this time around, with weight watchers, i would be this successful but add 5K training and really focusing on my eating into the mix, and the difference is amazing... i have managed to survive parties, happy hours, brunches, occasional weekend splurges, AND still continued to lose weight so i know this way of life is for me... and i know some people may think, "well, you can work out 5-6x a week and don't have a husband, or a house, or kids to take care of"... and yes, that's true but even so - i know that making time for myself is very important and i shouldn't feel guilty for making it a priority... neither should you because its so much easier to take care of others when you're healthy and feeling good about yourself - just 30 minutes a day can do wonders... :o)

okay, i've preached enough so onto other things... eric found this website yesterday where a guy has lost over 401 pounds - be warned, some of the pictures are quite disturbing... he looks amazing though - can you imagine going thru such a personal transformation? talk about awesome! :o)

the packing continues - i picked up a few things at the store last night - stuff like barilla tortellini, rice, couscous, parmalat milk (better for camping), hot dogs (i'm going to try the reduced fat hebrew national), and sunscreen... we'll get most of our fruits/veggies on the day we head to the campground and i'm also hoping we stumble across some farmer stands - i'd much rather buy produce from a local farmer than from a store anyday... the menu so far is: hamburgers, steaks, chicken, hot dogs, and pasta with a healthy breakfast and lunch in between... there will also be lots of beer, margaritas, and possibly some mimosas since we have leftover champagne and OJ from brunch, so i think we're set... i looked up some activities we can do while there as well, including kayaking on the bay and going for a ghost crab walk one night on the beach - how fun does that sound! :o)

4 DAYS AND COUNTING...

happy hump day...



5 days and counting

i had a great run yesterday - managed 40 minutes on the treadmill while doing intervals (2 mins regular pace and 1 minute much faster)... its a great way to mix things up esp. if you're stuck doing things indoors... i would like to try running outside tonight but we'll see, the weather is very hot and very humid - gotta love DC in the summer... i don't mind when its hot at the beach because there's always the ocean to cool things off... can you tell i have camping on-the-brain? ;o)

i also had 2 happy hours last night - one with my boss (1 beer) and then one later w/some friends from HS (2 beers)... i am close friends with 3 guys and have been since jr. high really - 2 are in the area (both have 3 kids) and 1 lives in NYC with his girlfriend (same situation as eric and i)... we don't get to see each other but once/twice a year so it was fun to hangout and catch-up on things... we also made a promise to each other that when our 20-year reunion comes up, we're going no matter what - hard to believe that's only 2 years away... god, i'm getting old...

anyway,
thought i would partake in foo's post from yesterday so feel free to play along... :o)

Would you ever...

run through your neighbor's sprinklers naked? if my neighbor had a yard, sure

eat an ice cream sandwich for dinner? only if it was made w/chocolate chip cookies

drive without a seatbelt? never

take the "leen" off someone's name and add a "y"...even though you have NEVER seen the person refer to herself in that way? no

let a giraffe kiss you on the mouth? there's something to be said about a long tongue ;o)

share your lover with someone? nope, i'd be too jealous

consider free plastic surgery? depends on what kind (maybe boobs or lipo on the hips/thighs)

date someone 20 years younger than yourself? i dated someone 10 years younger but not sure about 20

think that blog owners are crazy to publicly ask LURKERS to engage in conversation? hell no, they can't lurk forever

ask someone famous for an autograph? only if they were nice to me

swim with sharks? would love too

tell someone that they are ugly to their face? god no

call someone out for farting in an elevator? i would probably laugh instead

go on someone's blog and leave a comment trashing the person's best friend? how cruel!

comfort a crying stranger? most likely

be able to ride "It's a Small World" at Disneyland for 48 hours without stopping? don't think so

yell "penis" in a crowded shopping mall? hell yea! PENIS!

purposely tell someone the wrong time when asked? no

consider getting "I heart Foo-y" tattooed on your body? my boyfriend probably wouldn't like that ;o)

think a ;o) (winkie cunt) would cancel out the stupid things you've said? love the smiley-faces! :o)

happy tuesday...



6 days and counting

i hope this week goes by fast because i'm SO ready for vacation - only 6 more days and i'll be sitting in my beach chair, drinking beer, and watching the porpoises play in the ocean... the first year, we saw a ton of horseshoe crabs and last year, 2 guys caught a stingray so who knows what will happen this year... eric and i made a good dent in getting things ready and the pile in the dining room is growing - there's so much to pack since you basically have to take everything with you (they DO supply a picnic table)... i cleaned and vacuumed out the truck which lead to washing it, and that lead to washing the other cars... and we all know what happened after that, right? it rained... :op

my girlfriend and i decided on greek for her bday dinner last night... i had a nice salad with fresh, feta cheese and then had shrimp with tomatoes, pine nuts, raisins, and onions - it was really good... we opted NOT to get dessert but what happens? the waiter brings us these tiny cups with 1 scoop of vanilla ice cream and some sort of cherry stuff on top - it was really sweet but i ate it anyway... :o)

exercise was good this weekend - i made it to spinning on saturday and then picked blueberries with my mom... the bushes were loaded so i'm definitely going back this weekend to get more for our camping trip... food was also pretty good this weekend so i'm hopeful that weigh-in will go well on wednesday... i'd like to lose what i gained last week so i'll keep my fingers crossed... we didn't go to the movies but i'm okay with that because we watched an episode of 'planet earth' instead which is a show i find so utterly amazing... :o)

happy monday...

p.s. some people have asked where we go camping so you can see a map here... and yea, its pretty damn close to the beach - if the campground is quiet at night, you can hear the ocean... :o)



the weekend starts now

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our plans changed last night but we still had a yummy dinner at bombay bistro - i had a samosa, garlic naan, and chicken nilgiri khorma (tender pieces of chicken cooked with cilantro and spiced up green masala)... it was very tasty and i only ate half so i can have the rest for dinner tonight - mmm mmm... because the movie didn't start til 9:40, we decided it would make a late evening and plan on seeing it over the weekend instead (matinee = cheaper tickets)... we watched two episodes of 'creature comforts' which is the most hilarious show ever on CBS (tuesday nights at 8:00) - its clay animation and uses human voices and the bodies of various animals... its just very funny so if you need a good laugh, check it out... :o)

i normally don't comment much on commercials but i saw one this morning that disturbed me - it was for kellogg's special k with berries (my fav cereal, by the way)... it showed this very thin girl, getting ready for work, and her stomach was growling - the voice over said, "don't try to lose weight by starving yourself, have a healthy breakfast instead"... she couldn't have been more than a size 4/6 and nowhere near overweight or needing to lose weight... and i know it happens all the time on tv and in magazines but this is the first time i really paid attention and was bothered by it... let me know if any of you see it over the weekend and tell me what you think...

anyhoo, i didn't post my top 5 last week so let me do that now - enjoy!
:o)

—if you're afraid to get a tattoo, what about one for your car

—are you craving something in particular? if so, check out why here
—how much do you know about the sunscreen you're using?
—if you're looking for a workout partner, check out girls gotta move
—what's your fitness horoscope?

i hope you all have a glorious weekend and enjoy the outdoors! :o)



back to normal

i forgot my coffee-mate this morning so i was pretty pissed off when i got to work and had to drink my tea w/regular half & half... yes, i'm one of those whack-jobs that keeps flavored creamer in the refrigerator but its because i can't stand the regular stuff (and i'm addicted to anything hazelnut)... i even had eric hooked for a while but he since went back to the 'other' side because he thought it made his coffee too sweet... for me, i like coffee with cream and sugar (wink*wink) but since finding they make sugar-free versions (only 15 calories a serving), i can enjoy it guilt-free... they make some pretty wacky flavors too so check them out here if you're curious... :o)

so what food/drink are you obbsessed with right now?

as you can probably tell, i'm feeling MUCH better today - i even went to the gym and had a good workout (yay me!)... having another night at home to rest made all the difference in the world plus falling asleep before midnight always helps... i realized why i was so wide-awake on tuesay - since i wasn't feeling well, i had like 4 cups of tea during the day... ding*ding*ding... anyway, eric and i moved our 'date night' to tonight instead so we're going to grab some indian (mmm curry) for dinner and then go see 'knocked up'... i've only heard good things about the movie so i'm pretty excited to see it - i'll give you my review tomorrow... :o)

i'm glad the weekend's almost here esp. since i was sick and had a stressful project here at work (which went over well today)... i don't really have any plans besides taking my friend out to dinner sunday night... eric and i need to start prepping for our camping trip so maybe i'll make a run to the store for dry-goods and all that stuff... and my apt. needs some serious cleaning - i don't stay there on the weekends so its long overdue... how exciting... ;o)

happy thursday...



weigh-in

for some reason, i thought i had lost .2 pounds this morning but when i was updating the sidebar - i quickly realized i had gained .8 pounds instead (d'uh!)... i'm totally okay with that... really... if you had seen the plate of food i had on saturday, and then for dinner saturday night - you would not be surprised... and i didn't exercise yesterday, or today for that matter (still not feeling well), so we'll just keep things moving along as best i can... i hope to be back up and running 100% tomorrow, just one more day of rest should do it... :o)

i'll be curious to see what happens w/my weigh tloss since the 5K training has ended... as of right now, i have every intention of continuing to run but will i do it 5x week? i'm not sure - i know i've mentioned doing spinning again so maybe if i add that into my weekend routine, there won't be a huge fluctuation... as for during the week - i SUCK at running on my own (outside) so i'll either have to just DO IT or use the treadmill instead... any suggestions on how to make running solo easier?

sorry for the short post again, i hope to be back to normal soon...

happy hump day (thank god!)...



ouch!

i woke-up with a sore throat and feel like crap so i'm hoping its the weather and that i feel better tomorrow... i hate feeling like sh*t because i don't want to do anything - including exercise which is terrible but i can't help it... tomorrow is weigh-in and again, i'm not expecting a loss and i mean it - i ate way too much this weekend and there's certainly no way in HELL i'm doing anything after work tonight... i usually have 2 workouts the day before and feel that has helped w/my scale results but that's not happening... so my plans for tonight are: hop into my jammies, have soup for dinner, watch some tv, and take a hot bath... :o|

i'd like to personally thank all the people that left a note yesterday - i've never received 22 comments before and have to say, that makes me feel pretty good... eric said, "you must be popular" and i don't think its that - we're all just genuinely interested in what everyone else is doing... its sort of like having your own fan-club but instead of being music-related, its diet and fitness... go figure... :o)

sorry to keep this short but i need to make some more tea...

happy tuesday...



okay, now what?

well, i did it - i finished saturday's race in under 34 minutes which comes out to something like a 11-minute mile which is crazy (i don't think we ever went under 11:30-11:45 in practice)... i was hurting towards the end and really have to thank my pace leader, allyson, for giving me the strength to continue because i really wanted to just stop and walk the rest of the way...i'm also very lucky to have had eric there - he was cheering me on during various parts of the race (as well as being mr. picture-taker as you will see below) so thank-you darlin for being my biggest supporter... :o)


pre-race: my first, official race number... :o)



this was right before the first hill - ugh!




this is when i wanted to just give up! i'm glad i didn't...



nice action shot, darlin...



post-race: each runner received a rose and a certificate...



i thought it would be funny to wear a tattoo since the race was called "Run for Roses"...

after the race, i hosted a brunch for my two girlfriends (who also did the race), their hubbies, and their 3-kids each... they hung out for a few hours and hardly made a dent in the food i made - guess i tend to make too much because i never know if i'm making enough or making something that everyone will like... i was in the kitchen all day on friday baking and cooking, as well as cleaning the house and preparing the picnic patio but in the end, it all worked out... i guess i tend to overdo things but that's just the way i am - i like things to look nice for others and get a great sense of satisfaction from it... :o)

as for the rest of the weekend - we watched 'smoking aces' (which was excellent), went to the library, did a lot of relaxing, ate a lot of leftovers, and took a long, motorcycle ride yesterday afternoon... it was nice having a long weekend so it was pretty hard coming to work today... but on the good side - i only have 2 more weeks til our vacation and i CANNOT WAIT... :o)

happy monday...



i only have 2 hands

figures i would have a ton of shit to do today and being that i'm not here tomorrow, i feel i need to get as much done as possible... i skipped the gym today but may go after work, or may not, we'll see how i feel... i also have a ton of stuff to do when i get home - i'm heading over to eric's and need to pack things for the weekend, i was too beat to do it last night... :-p

drinks/dinner were fun last night - i had 1 margarita (small) and 1 amstel light so that was good... but i had some chips, salsa, and a chicken burrito (baked) with refried beans and rice - i'm guessing that was like 15 points so i've dipped heavily into my flexies already... i will just have to be extra careful on saturday - so far i'm making: quiche (eric's specialty) and hash brown casserole, and will also have fresh fruit, bagels, blueberry muffins, and brownies... maybe i need to make something else? at least i have a day to figure it out - grocery shopping will be tomorrow along w/severe house-cleaning and prepping the backyard patio and furniture... :o)

there's not much else going on - i'm just really busy so i apologize for not having anything exciting to say today... stuff like that happens but i promise to post tomorrow once i get things under control...

happy thursday...



weigh-in

“We are what we repeatedly do.
Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit.”

–Aristotle

before i went to sleep last night - i told myself, "i am okay with a gain or maintain tomorrow" and i really meant it... i knew i had over-indulged this past weekend and yet felt not one ounce of guilt for doing so because life is meant to be enjoyed... this is what makes WW such a great plan - you can have that light beer (not 5), or a piece of pizza (not ½ a pie), or chips & dip (not the whole bag) - as long as you count the points... so when i stepped on the scale, it rewarded me with a 1 pound loss - what can i say besides WHOO HOOO CARROTS... keeping track and being accountable has really hit home to me this time - i have been faced w/a lot of difficult situations but have learned to make better choices about food and that is key... and so is exercising - i can't stress that enough ladies so if you really want to see progress, you need to start moving! :o)

i thought practice was going to be canceled last night because of the rain but they had said in the beginning, "we run in rain but not thunder/lightning"... so i thought, either i go and they cancel OR i don't go and find out they still had practice (which would've made me mad)... so i went and we ran for 30 minutes and i really feel confident for saturday - the weather's looking good, it will be something i've been working hard for, and know i'll feel awesome once i cross that finish line... :o)

this morning, i read about yet another summer beer but this time by miller... it sounds pretty interesting - let me know if you've seen in or have tried it...

tonight i'm going out to dinner w/some girlfriends, we are going for mexican (my downfall!)... thank god its the begining of a new week even though i need all my flex points for saturday (brunch after the race)...
wish me luck!

happy hump day!



bittersweet

tonight is my last practice with the group before the race on saturday - i am both very happy and very sad... when i started out over 2 months ago, i thought it would be a great way to meet other women and get in shape... i accomplished both and more - i never in a million years would i have pictured myself doing such a thing and i guess this is the first time i've actually THOUGHT about it... weird i know but i've just been doing my thing and not really 'getting' that i'm doing something i never SAW myself ever doing - does that make any sense? i'll stop rambling now... ;o)

work has been busy and will probably continue to be like this for the rest of the week... i dig busy days but i also like having my downtime so i can relax, regroup, and refocus... i have no idea what, if anything, has transpired with my boss and all that stuff i mentioned last week so maybe i'll have news by the end of the week... :o)

food has been good - i'm crossing my fingers for weigh-in tomorrow but am seriously not expecting a loss... i was preparing some strawberries for the freezer last night and remembered my mom gave me some of her shortcake - i thought, "how can i NOT have homemade shortcake with freshly picked berries and milk?" i counted the points, don't worry, but i'm not having another piece til after i see what the scale says... :o)

happy tuesday...



new moon on monday

man, what a busy weekend but at least i had 2 hours, to myself, at the pool on saturday... and it was relatively quiet and kid-free so that made me happy... i ended up spending saturday night w/my good friend, his 3 kids, and his neighbor's 2 kids - we sat on the deck, drank beer, and watched them play in the yard... good times, let me tell ya... and speaking of beer - i'm not a huge beer-drinker but eric found these recently and i highly recommend them (only 2 points per serving!)... the orange reminds me of an orangina - i know it sounds strange but try it - you may be surprised... :o)

our run was good on saturday, did almost 40 minutes, and then went to breakfast at le madeleine... it was our last saturday practice since the race is this week (OMG!) and she had someone talk to us about what things we should be doing this week in order to prepare... like eat well, get lots of rest, stay hydrated, and take it easy the day before... i can manage that! :o)

yesterday, i went to spinning class - it had been over 2 months since i took one and even though our instructor is 8+ pregnant - she kicked our asses, let me tell you... it felt good to be doing something different for a change so i'm looking forward to getting back into it... i also picked almost 5 pounds of strawberries and then ran around w/my mom in the afternoon - had to get some pieces for the bridal shower favors i'm making... then we grabbed dinner at panera bread - i highly recommend their new chicken pomodora samich - it has grilled chicken, fresh mozzarella, fresh basil, and pomodora sauce (7 points)... i had ½ of that and a bowl of their yummy black bean soup and since i had a healthy dinner - i wasn't tempted to have ledo's pizza later during the soprano's finale - yay me! :o)

i apologize for not doing this last week, i just got wrapped-up in all the stuff going on at work... KL included me on her '5 blogs that make me think' list and now i'm going to do the same... please play along - its a great way to meet new people, find a new blog, and/or learn something new... :o)

snackiepoo
weightwatchen
angryfatgirlz
halfofme
mousearoo

The Rules:
1. If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think.
2. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme.

hope you have a great monday...



they should lock paris up for good

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happy friday, y'all... i can't wait for the weekend even though i have a TON of stuff to do... i did cross one thing of my list last night though - i found some cute shoes for the wedding, at sears of all places... i tried 7 places before that and was thrilled to find them because they're not too high, comfortable, and only $20 (i refused to pay over $40 for a one-time thing)... i also picked up a new le sports sac purse at marshall's and a black, swim skirt for the beach (those weren't on my list but i couldn't resist!)... it was a busy night, to say the least, so i was happy to be home... :o)

things were pretty interesting at work yesterday... in the afternoon my boss comes in, all glowing and happy, dying to tell me something... to make a long story short - she's being promoted and we will no longer be under this hell-of-a-boss, sue, who takes credit for every project and never appreciates the work that we do... sue also paints on her eyebrows (horribly) and makes her own clothes (outdated) but that's besides the fact... so my boss also said there MAY be some opportunities for me to move up as well too so i guess that's good news?!?! right now, i'm thinking its a good thing that i didn't leave a few months ago - i feel like more doors are opening for me here and i should definitely stick around... this morning, she came in my office and said she's both excited and scared to see what happens - sue is very good at making people miserable so we're all just waiting to see what she does... and she again said that if she moves up, i will move up as well so yay for me! stay tuned folks, i'll know more in 2 weeks when all this crap "goes down"... ;o)

i also found out yesterday that my really good friend is pregnant - they weren't even trying AND she's on the pill (never missed a day!)... i don't really want to discuss it in details but she thinks this new medication she's on for migraines counteracted the b/c pills and the doctors didn't warn her... i was pretty excited until she said there's no way they're having it (she's 37 and already has a 14-year old and 6-year old) - i'm not one to judge and am totally pro-choice when it comes to this but its just weird... i've never known anyone, esp. a close friend, to go thru something like this so i'll do my best to be as supportive as possible... i jokingly said, "you could always give it to me" and she laughed... :o)

my weekend will be busy, busy, busy - hopefully i can in some pool time but my main goal is (1) have a good run tomorrow morning and (2) pick strawberries... funny goal i know but the season won't last much longer, esp. with this hot weather... i may try and get to that spin class on sunday morning too so we'll see how i feel - sleeping-in just sounds so much nicer... :o)

now onto something more fun - here's my weekly,
top 5... enjoy!

calorie king now tells you how much exercise you'll need to burn-off that cookie (use the search tool)
—hungry girl discusses the new frozen treats for summer
—want younger muscles? do some strength training
womenswallstreet.com provides tools for women who want to make smart, financial decisions
—looking for a unique gift? check out brightandbold.com for some cool stuff

have a great weekend, everyone! :o)



weigh-in

regardless of how well i think i've done for the week - i'm still hesitant when getting on the scale on wednesdays... i don't know why - maybe i worry about what i had to eat the night before (eggwich), or how much i exercised (weights), or if i didn't drink enough water (always the case)... anyway, i really need to stop doing that because deep down, i knew i did pretty well... i stayed within my points, exercised, and hardly used any flex points so as a result - the scale showed a 1.7 pound loss this week... i was pretty damn happy so i did the naked, happy dance while max just stared at me and said, "for the love of god, put some clothes on!"... cats, they just don't understand... ;o)

running was good last night - we jogged around the baseball fields, then around the park trail that we did a few weeks ago, and stopped at 18 minutes to take a water break... then we reversed the run and ended back where we started - 37 minutes later... it felt pretty good and today's run (35 mins) was great too - maybe i should keep this whole running thing up for a while, or at least til i'm REALLY sick of it... :-o

after running, i went to kohl's and exchanged most of my clothes for a smaller size - one shirt is even a size small and i'm wearing it today... i said SMALL... i've never been a small, since i was probably, small like 10 years old so i'm pretty psyched... i did go to a size 10 on the capris and they fit but i'm not sure if they'll fit just as good once i wash them (the 12's just seemed so big)... i'll have to wear them around the apartment for a while and make my decision later...

eric's coming over tonight and i'm making coconut curry chicken with brown rice - i'll have to enter everything into my eTools recipe builder and hope the points are too high... i did get reduced calorie coconut milk so that should help (i hope)... then we may go to the library so he can get a card - we've been talking about what books to bring to the beach... i would like to read the harry potter #5 before the next movie comes out so that's a possibility, and i also saw that dean koontz has a new one out as well - decisions decisions... :o)

here's an interesting post on less of me to love - she makes such a great point!

happy hump day...



me love popcorn

well, i got the good treadmill for 20 minutes last night but had to use one of the other ones for the first 15 - its really amazing how much better you can run, when the treadmill is nicer... i did about 35 minutes, then did some ab work, then ran to get my new cellphone configured, and then home... i wasn't very hungry so for dinner, i opted for a mini-bag of popcorn and called it a night... :o)

i was planning on wearing my new capris and shirt this morning but really think i can go one size smaller - i was a bit upset... i HATE having to change my outfit for the day when i had already planned it out the night before (yea, i'm weird like that)... so, now i have to go back to kohl's and see if they have what i need, in a smaller size, i'm not sure when that will be - maybe tonight after running... course, maybe i shouldn't be trying on clothes when i'm all sweaty... :-o

well, i heard back from my pilates instructor and she admitted to changing the class time herself - i can't blame the rec center and really can't be mad at her either... so, i have to find something else pilates-related - maybe bally's has something i can take but their classes are always so big and so distracting... their spinning room is pretty small but their large, exercise room (for step, etc.) is big, bright, and echoey... i really liked her teaching methods too so i'm pretty bummed-out... :o(

not much else going on, things are pretty quiet... eric's going to pittsburgh this weekend so my list of 'things to do' is growing... maybe i can get some pool-time in too... :o)

happy tuesday...



feeling crabby?

i managed to go out to lunch today AND eat healthy, how often do you hear that? the president treated us to lunch for working on the big dinner back in may - he chose a really nice seafood place and i had broiled lump crab cakes... i also had a salad, one piece of crusty bread, some asparagus, a small spoonful of hash browns, and for dessert -- a skim cappuccino... though it was a heavy lunch, i still feel i made some great choices and i consider it a success... i also have a lunch & learn on friday but doubt it will be as healthy -there's not much choice when attending a seminar, at a hotel, so i'll do my best... :o)

the weekend came and went so quickly, i hate that... saturday we ran the 5K course and ladies - it was really hard (only the middle part was easy)... i ran almost the whole time and even though i tried to walk a few steps here and there, one of my teammates kept coaching me to go on... and i did... but it was hard, that's all i'm going to say about and i can't wait for the race to be over... i'm really missing pilates for some reason and emailed my old instructor to find out why the class time changed - it used to be at 6:30 and now its at 6:00 so i can't make it... which means, i have go somewhere else and pay a lot more which sucks... i'm just not very good at doing it on my own, its too easy to talk myself out of it... :o(

so after running, i helped eric w/some stuff around the house - he put the platform in the back of his truck (for the futon when camping) and i mowed the grass (i love it!)... later we took the motorcyle to my mom's, had dinner, and helped her w/some stuff too - put in her a/c, cleaned out a birdhouse, and hung it back on the tree... the much needed rain didn't come til yesterday so we were extremely lazy - got up around 10am, had breakfast, watched 'meet the press', then watched 'the shining' - i love that movie... its so creepy and yet so very funny at times... max and i got home last night around 7:00 and we met the neighbor downstairs - i think that's the first time, in over 4 years, that i've talked to a neighbor - kinda sad... he seemed like a nice guy and said that i'm quiet as a mouse... :o)

i have to hit the gym after work today since i missed my usual 2:00 time - i'm not a fan of doing it but i need to get in as much running as possible before the race... i hope the good treadmill is open but i doubt it - there's only 1 good one and 3 crappy ones so wish me luck... :o)

happy monday...



while the cat's away, the mice will play

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well, i accomplished all i set out to do last night and forgot to mention my RZR phone has been broken for about a week - the front screen stopped working and its not even 6 months old... anyway, verizon had to order me a new one so i guess i'll get my new one next week, at least i can still use mine til then... shopping w/mom at kohl's was okay - it wasn't one of my best night's but i did find a pair of nice capris and some new shirts... they had some shoes but nothing very foot-friendly so i'll have to look elsewhere - i hate to admit this but payless had some cute styles online, maybe i'll see what they have... my mom brought me some freshly picked strawberries (and some homemade coconut cake!) so i had them today w/some vanilla yogurt - mmm mmm... :o)

i also got the clothes i had ordered online, unfortunately the pants didn't fit - they were way to low and just not the right style for my body... plus, they didn't have spandex and that's just not a good thing - i can't stand fabric that doesn't move with you... but the good news is the other skirts, sweaters, and sundress fit so i'm happy - i just need some cute shoes to go along w/my new outfits and i'll be set... :o)

i'm so glad its friday - i've been running every night this week so i'm looking forward to a relaxing evening... as for tomorrow - the only plans i have are running at 8am, going to eric's nephew's soccer game in the afternoon, and then having dinner at my mom's... we need to put her a/c unit in and even though i've managed before, it's much easier w/two people... and as for sunday, the slate is pretty clean... :o)

now it's time for my weekly top 5, enjoy... :o)

—angry fat girlz had a great post yesterday about dieting - the good and the bad
—overcome your excuses for not working out
did you know june 1 is national doughnut day? read some interesting facts here
—starbucks will be switching to 2% milk
in all espresso-based drinks by the end of 2007
—are you a binge eater? if so, read more about it here

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