weigh-in

since my last weigh-in, 2.6 pounds have found their way back and though i'm not thrilled, i'm not upset about it either... it's very important to be honest with yourself on this weightloss journey because if you aren't, you're in for some surprises along the way... kidding yourself that a bite here, and a bite there isn't going to hurt - is only going to bite you in the ass later (bad pun, sorry)... and if you're even THINKING about not going for that walk/jog today, don't do it - just 30 minutes will put you in better spirits and your body will thank you... :o)

so besides not exercising, i was not accountable for what i was eating, and probably indulged way too many times, so seeing a gain, isn't that much of a surprise... if anything, it just makes me more determined to stay on track throughout the holidays so this gain, doesn't turn into 5 or even 10 pounds... i'm lucky that i don't have any holiday parties to go too (besides work and i can chose my meal) so i'm not worried that i can at least maintain my weight, if not lose what i've gained and then some... it all comes down to what YOU want to achieve this holiday season - being honest w/yourself is the best way to get thru it... :o)

happy hump day...

NSV

i don't have time for a real post today, since i'm slammed at work, but i just wanted to share something that just happened... i was over at the president's office and as i was walking back, his assistant stopped me in the hallway... she goes, "i never know what someone's going to say, because i don't know how they're going to react, but i just wanted to tell you that you look fabulous - have you lost a lot of weight?" and for the first time i responded, "yes, i have and thank-you!"

i usually have some lame comment because i'm horrible at receiving compliments (just ask eric) but this time it was different ... i KNOW i've lost weight and i KNOW i've worked my ass-off to get where i am... granted, it's taken a while but who cares - i'm in such a better place now than i was 3-years ago and it feels really great... eric's sisters also noticed my weightloss over thanksgiving so i guess it's becoming obvious to people that i've lost weight... i've been wearing more form-fitting clothes too maybe that's part of the reason - who would've thought that wearing the correct size can make you look good... ;o)

happy tuesday...

le sigh

it's back to work for me today and i'm glad because my eating has sucked big-time and my exercise has been null and void since last week... i always have really good intentions, as we all do, but it never works out the way i planned and then it keeps snowballing... having a week-off was great though - i got all my decorating done and got plenty of R&R so coming back hasn't been that hard... i actually came in early to hang christmas lights around our office doors - they always seem to put people in a better mood... :o)

our thanksgiving trip was fun - we delivered the daybed to his brother and then helped-out around his parent's house before leaving for state college on wednesday... the family stays at one hotel so we can hang-out together before and after the big dinner on thursday... the count was around 85 this year and there's always enough food for double that amount - i only when thru the line once and took teensy-tiny pieces of maybe 3 desserts, so it wasn't that bad... but later - out came the potato chips, cheese-its, nuts, chocolate covered pretzels, and beer - so much for staying healthy... i had also had my share of gas station cappuccinos - i often wonder how much sugar is one cup because it has to be A LOT! we were back in town on friday and i spent a quite night at home with the kitty...

on saturday - my mom and i met up with my sister and nieces in ellicott city, which has a ton of antique stores and artsty-type shops... the weather was nice, though chilly, so i didn't mind walking around (exercise! yay!)... we had lunch at a local diner and then headed to the columbia mall which was a JOKE - between parking and the crowds, it really turned me off to holiday shopping... thank god i don't have to buy for a lot of people because dealing w/that would drive me insane, and to think i used to work in retail! crazy!

yesterday, i enjoyed a nice sleep-in and then went over to eric's to watch the redskins lose, yet another football game... i'm hating them right now so i will be routing for the steelers on monday night football... :o)

eating is back on track today and i'm looking forward to a nice, long run on the treadmill... wednesday's weigh-in will not be pretty, i already know this, and i'm not going to starve myself or do anything crazy to help the scale... what happens, happens and i'm not going to worry about it - whatever i gain, i will lose again... end of story... :o)

happy monday...

time to decorate

hi everyone, sorry i haven't posted since last week - friday was super busy for me (since i'm off this week) and then i got talked-in to going for a drink after work by my boss and a few other coworkers... one glass of wine turned into three, then there was bar-food, and then there was champagne - holy moly... i really struggled with whether i should go or not, besides not wanting to spend a lot of money on alchohol, i also see it as empty calories and a big deterrent on my weightloss... is that bad??? i've never been a huge social-drinker anyway so most of the time, i feel uncomfortable being around those that do because i'm not partaking in the "let's drink til we get drunk" thing... i guess it was just how i was raised and the friends i hung-out with - we just didn't do that sort of thing... anyway, it WAS fun and luckily - no hangover found me on saturday so all was good... :o)

saturday, i spent the day at my mom's helping organize the spare bedroom so eric and i could take the daybed to his brother's this week... i was there ALL DAY and then headed over to eric's saturday night for some much-needed R&R... yesterday, we had a quiet morning and then headed back to my mom's to take apart the bed, load it into the truck, and then help her w/a few other things since the more hands, the better... she made turkey potpie for lunch and it was SO GOOD - nothing like a home cooked meal to make you feel good... we then went home and watched the skins play an AWESOME game against the cowboys - i know they lost but i feel they played their guts out and deserve many kudos! :o)

eric had to work today so i did some things around his house this morning before coming home and tackling my christmas decorations... i have lit garland on my balcony, around my fireplace, and on my hosier cabinet, and my tree is lit, but not decorated - think i'll finish that tonight... my goal is to hit the gym for the 5:30 spin class so i need to get going soon, and then i may hit big lots to see what sort of decorations they have (i'm in such the christmas spirit now!)... we're leaving for pittsburgh tomorrow morning, then we head to state college on wednesday for his huge, family thanksgiving (100+), and then it's back home on friday...

i hope you all have a wonderful thanksgiving and for those that have to travel, please be safe...

happy monday...

vacation is only 1 day away

i'm in an easy-going mood today considering the rainy weather today - i was up early, came in to work, and began my day w/a cup of hot coffee and my usual, sugar-free hazlenut creamer... i've made progress on the website project but can only go so far until i get copy - such is the life of a designer... they expect you to 'create' when there's nothing to create with, do they not understand that?!?! anyway, i'm hoping to have at least the homepage done tomorrow since i'll be out for a week, and that will give them time to work on everything else... and if not, i'm not going to worry about it! :o)

plans for this evening include going to see 'bladerunner' w/eric since it's the last night they're showing this special edition on the big screen... i'm not sure if we'll have time to grab dinner beforehand but i'm looking forward to hitting that vietnamese place i talked about a few weeks ago... i know i can have a really healthy and inexpensive meal there, plus have leftovers for lunch tomorrow so who can complain about that...

speaking of food - when i was at the store the other night, i picked-up barilla's new whole grain pasta (3-points a serving!)... so for dinner - i cooked frozen shrimp w/garlic and butter, and then tossed them w/the penne, some olive oil, some parmesean cheese, and dried basil... i think the whole meal came to like 6 points (i also had a side salad) and i was completely satisfied... :o)

i couldn't stay awake for 'life' last night but managed to watch paula deen make an amazing pumpkin cheesecake and pear fritters - i swear, how can she NOT weigh 500 pounds! she also did pecan chicken but i would so chose the cheesecake over that any day! mmm mmm...

happy thursday...

weigh-in

quick post today since i have a shitload of work to do on this website project... once again, i was amazed at the scale this morning and expecting a gain, especially after this weekend... but no, it was being very kind and said i was down .6 pounds so i'm pretty happy... i know the closer i get to goal, the slower the weight will come off so i'm going to enjoy these losses as much as i can... :o)

i watched biggest loser last night and i'm glad they got rid of amy - she was such a downer... yea, she tried to make-up for it by becoming part of the black team and working out w/julian but she just seemed so negative all the time... i WAS impressed however, with her progress after the show - here kids were adorable! :o)

good luck to everyone else who's weighing-in today... :o)

happy hump day...

i hate rainy days

weekend:
eric and i had a nice, short visit w/my sister this weekend - stopping by to see my dad on the way... we played some games for a while like go fish and tabletop bowling - he seemed to enjoy it... i'm not sure if he really recognized me or not but it was still nice to see him... after that, we went to lunch w/my sister and nieces to this place near canaan valley which is a big ski area in west virginia... it was too rainy/foggy to go hiking so we headed home and made a quick-stop at these new $900k townhomes on the lake near their house... i swear the bathrooms were bigger than my living room - one having a shower that could fit at least 15 people and a sunken tub that could fit maybe 5... sunday, we did the church thing, grabbed lunch at subway, watched most of the steelers game, and then headed back to see my dad for a while before heading home... :o)

food:
i probably didn't make the best choices this past weekend - pizza on saturday, one too many pumpkin spice cappuccinos, bbq chips w/lunch on sunday, and a small piece of pineapple upside down cake... but it could've been worse since my sister has all sorts of 'stuff' in her pantry for the girls so maybe the damage won't be so terrible on wednesday... then again, i won't be upset if i see a gain because that's what this process is all about - accepting the bad weeks as much as celebrating the good ones...

misc:
if you're a big fan of sephora, one of my coworkers sent an email re: a friends & family discount... you can receive 20% your purchase by using the code FF2007 at checkout (til november 21)... and according to their website, you can also get free shipping if you order over $50 so happy shopping! :o)

and thanks to all who played-along w/the 5-interesting-things game... it's always fun to learn something new about my fellow blogger-buddies... :o)

happy tuesday...

5 things

i have been tagged by trish to play a game - i know it's been going around the blogworld so i apologize if the people i've listed/tagged, have already played... :o)

here are the rules:
1. link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog.
2. share 5 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. tag 5 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4. let them know they are TAGGED by leaving a comment on their blog.

5 interesting/weird/boring facts about me
—i take a bubble bath every night (more so in the winter)
—my toenails are always polished and never go naked
—my dream job is to be a wife and mother
—my closet is color coordinated from black (left) to white (right), and i rotate items front to back when worn
—i bought my honda civic because the dashboard lights are blue

now it's your turn --> stephanie, greta, mandy, angelfish, and pastgirl

###

i'll post my weekend recap later... :o)

nothing better than warm chips

i love cold and rainy fridays... not... i hope it's not going to be like this the whole weekend - eric and i are heading to my sister's tomorrow.. she told me this week that they've already had snow... S N O W people, and it's maryland! that's just wrong! guess i'll be packing my down coat for the trip... :o(

man his week flown-by - guess being busy at work has helped... i made progress w/my conference design, now i just have to go thru the chain of command (all the way to the pres) and get final approval... once that is done, i can start designing the website for launch in early december... i've been researching javascript stuff since i'm not a fan of using flash for menus - so far, so good... :o)

food/exercise have been good this week, minus last night - eric and i had dinner w/some friends and we had mexican (my downfall, as we all know!)... i had one light beer, some chips & salsa, a wondeful salad that i split w/eric, and the crab & shrimp enchiladas... i will have to be extra careful w/my points this weekend since i'm sure i used most of my flexies on that meal but such is life - i have no regrets because it was really good... :o)

i haven't done my top 5 in a while so here's some frozen food items that you may find interesting (and make for a quick meal)...

—healthy choice has come out w/a new line of cafe steamers
—jimmy dean is offering d-lights breakfast samiches (1/3 calories and 1/2 fat)
—looking for something organic? maybe amy's has something you can try
—if you love eggnog, then you'll love edy's slow churned ice cream (3 pts serving)
—looking for something quick? maybe lean pockets can be an option (ww points are listed too!)

GO REDSKINS! GO STEELERS!

hope you all have a great weekend... happy friday...

weigh-in

when people are sick, most people tend to lose their appetite - such is not the case for me (nor when lovesick over a guy!)... i was pretty shocked at the scale this morning, especially after being home for 2 days last week AND going to that food show this past weekend... i've lost another 2.4 pounds and have hit my 25-pound mark so i'm pretty happy... and that makes only 4.8 pounds til i reach my goal so WHOO-HOOO CARROTS... :o)

biggest loser was pretty good last night except i hate the fact they make the show longer just so they can have more commercials and more "ways you can blah blah blah"... that ford escape hybrid was pretty, damn nice - i'm glad that team won! :o)

work continues to be busy - i was in here early today just to handle other little projects... i haven't even thought about my personal website/resume since i've been so busy here, so maybe once things calm down - i can finish everything and get it posted... i've also made a point to go to the gym everyday because it not only makes me feel better, it helps me relax and get away from the computer for an hour...

after work, i'm heading to the consignment shop to drop off more clothes and then to the grocery store - my fridge is looking a bit empty these days... i hate not having healthy snacks here at work, so its time to replenish my supply of fiber one bars and fruit... one of my favorite snacks is a sliced apple w/some natural peanut butter - mmm mmm...

happy hump day...

halfway back to normal

hello, all... thanks to all who sent me well-wishes while sick - i'm feeling better but am still pretty congested and coughing... i didn't do much of anything yesterday at eric's besides watch the skins game and then the colts/packers game later (which was really good!) but on saturday, i went to the food show w/my mom... i wasn't feeling much like myself but think being out i the fresh air and out of my apartment might've helped me feel more normal... paula's show was fun to watch but we barely made it because they were very unorganized and not prepared for such a crowd (the line was unbelievable)... over 2,500 people crammed into a section of the convention center to watch her make gumbo, hearty cornbread, and pumpkin ooey gooey cake - talk about mmm mmm good... and yes, she used a LOT of butter... :o)

for the rest of the day - we walked around to all the booths, tried a lot of samples, watched another cooking demo, sat-in on a flower decorating class, and had MORE samples... the only thing i bought was some curry sauce and 2 biscottis from this cute little bakery, not bad in my opinion considering what was there... not sure if i'd go again but we'll see who they have next year...

in other news - i found out that alton brown (also from the food network) is going to be doing a demo AND book signing at our annual meeting next year... i about feel off my chair this morning in a meeting when i heard that - i love him and love his shows so this will be tough... do i look for a new job or stick around 6 more months so i can meet him? decisions decisions...

i'm going to be slammed for the next 2 weeks so my postings may be pretty sporadic... besides coming-up with a design for the annual meeting - i have to design AND build a website to promote it ... it normally wouldn't be a huge deal but they want it done by the end of the month and i'm out the week of thanksgiving - can you say stressed-out?!?!

happy monday...

down for the count

just a quick post, i am home sick again today - didn't really feel good yesterday but went to work anyway... you know how you if you shower and get dressed, you'll feel better? well, that didn't work so by the end of the day my boss basically told me to stay home since things were quiet... and that's what i did - my head is so stuffed-up, i can barely breathe, and now i have an irritating cough... i usually don't get sick but i guess it was just my time so i hope i feel a little better by tomorrow... my mom and i have tickets to see paula deen at the DC cooking and entertainment show - even if i don't, i'm STILL going... i'll just pop some extra cold pills for the trip... :o)

anyway, i know some of you look forward to my weekly top 5 so i apologize for not having one today - maybe i can get to it on sunday... i'm going to go lay down now, have a nice weekend...

happy friday...

why oh why

i went to work today even though, i probably should've stayed home... my throat and glands arent as sore but i just feel 'blah' so we'll see how i feel towards the end of the day and maybe i'll head-out early... i treated myself to a starbucks pumpkin spice latte this morning and between that, breakfast, and lunch - i'm already at 20 points... ugh! stupid 6-points for a latte - i need to cut that back... i brought my gym stuff and really wanted to go - just don't know if i have the energy... looks like i'll be dipping into the flex-pool early this week which sucks since i like to have most of them for the weekend... course, after last weekend - i plan on doing much better so maybe i'm worrying for nothing... :o)

i had THREE trick'o treaters last night - 2 batman and 1 crying spiderman... i saved ONE peanut butter cup for myself and stuck it in the freezer but now i have almost an entire bag to deal with... i may just take it to eric's OR stick them all in the freezer - they sure are tasty when cold for some reason (watch your teeth though!)... :o)

there's not much else going on - i worked on my resume this morning (to match the new website) and just need to have someone review it and make sure all the wording and punctuation are correct... there's nothing worse than sending one out w/a typo (i never have, thank-god) so it's good to be extra careful... :o)

happy thursday...

weigh-in

i haven't seen a gain in a while - 1 pound - but i'm okay with it... i knew i went a bit overboard this weekend so it's only fair, right? some may think i'm weird when i say that it doesn't bother me but it's true - i know this weight loss process includes gains as well as losses so there's no use being upset about it... :o)

i started feeling under the weather yesterday afternoon, sore throat, etc. so when i woke up this morning, i decided - for the very FIRST time - to call in sick... yes, i'm one of those 'miss never take a sick day' and though i felt incredibly guilty - i knew going to work would be the worse thing for me... so i went back to bed and used the day to rest and work on my website - i used this as a mental health-day as well and made great progress... my goal is to have it up and running by the weekend and then the job-hunting begins...

i haven't seen any halloween'ers yet but carved my little pumpkin and put it outside my door, just in case someone actually knocks later... i saved ONE peanut butter cup for myself and stuck in the freezer for later enjoyment and right now - i'm roasting some pumpkin seeds... smells divine in here so i'm going to go and enjoy the rest of my night and hopefully, i'll be back to myself tomorrow...

happy halloween hump day...

i love you trader joe's

PRODUCT REVIEW: just wanted to let you know about two wonderful things i found at trader joe's on friday... i went after work and yes, i was hungry (which is never a good idea) and while there - i found these... one was a french-style flatbread pizza w/ham, carmelized onions, and gruyere cheese - OMG it was so good! the crust was nice and thin and very crispy - point-wise it wasn't too bad (4 pts per serving)... second, i picked-up a box of their pumpkin bread/muffin mix and though NOT very WW friendly (5 pts. per muffin), i made them to take to work (cus i'm nice that way!)... i drizzled them w/icing and topped them w/walnuts - mmm mmm... i wouldn't normally make this kind of thing for around the house but they did make my apartment smell really good... :o)

FOOTBALL: it wasn't just hard watching the redskins get their asses beat last night, it was utterly painful... 52-7... are you kidding me? at least the steelers won - 1 out of 2 ain't bad...

SHOPPING: after getting my haircut saturday morning, my mom and i proceeded (yet again) to go shopping all day - so much for helping her around the house... i started off looking for navy shoes but then i found a few long skirts and some new tops - i told her that i can't go shopping w/her anymore and she just laughed... we had dinner at the diner and split a gyro and open-faced reuben samich - mmm mmm... we also hit the goodwill and after searching all day for a long black skirt, i found one there - by old navy - for $4... i hate when that happens... ;o)

WEEKEND: i didn't make it to the gym yesterday because i slept-in and then was up at 8am anyway - i hate when that happens... i proceeded to clean my entire kitchen and bathroom, do laundry, hem some pants, swap my bathroom rugs and shower curtain, meet a girlfriend for lunch, finish the harry potter book (very good indeed, i'm glad to be done but also very sad!), and make some chicken taco soup for dinner... my mom stopped by to watch the game for a bit and then eric was here, to pick-up norman, on his way back from pittsburgh... it was a busy and productive day, so i was pretty pooped by the time i went to bed...

FOOD: i totally felt like i overdid things this weekend - first it was the pizza on friday, then dinner on saturday, and then lunch w/my girlfriend yesterday... i never eat out that much... yes, my choices could've been better and maybe if i had exercised, i wouldn't feel like such a loser but what are you gonna do... i was back OP today and had a great, 40-minute interval hill workout on the treadmill so i'm feeling much better... :o)

happy monday...

i need a raincoat

it's been raining for two days now and even though we desperately need the rain - it's a bit depressing... it's been colder in the mornings too, so that's just yet another sign that fall is here and winter's right around the corner... eric made fun of me last night at dinner (we went to baja fresh) because i had on jeans, a hooded-sweatshirt, AND a fleece jacket... me too warm? never in a million years... ;o)

this week has been hard and i'm glad it's over - i spoke w/another coworker this morning and she's going thru the same thing as me but much worse... she actually asked for more money (because of her workload) and they turned her down, so her job-hunt is beginning too... it's amazing how much we (the employees) are praised in staff meetings and thanked for all our hard work, and yet when it comes to compensation - they suck... anyway, i'm tired of complaining about this so i'm moving on...

this weekend i will be solo (eric's heading to pittsburgh) so my list of 'things to do' is growing by the second... after my hair appt. tomorrow (messed-up the date last week!), my mom and i are going to go shopping for a bit - more her and than me - then i'm going back to her place to help her organize some things around the house... i'm not sure what i'm doing tomorrow night but having a quiet night home, w/the kitties, sounds good to me... on sunday - i'm going to the gym, meeting a girlfriend for lunch, doing some cleaning, grocery shopping, website stuff, AND watching the redskins game... *whew* i'm tired already...

i'm sure most of you have seen 'bladerunner' so have you heard they're rereleasing the director's final cut? it's playing at an old theater in DC beginning this weekend (the kind w/a balcony and huge screen) so eric and i will be catching that for sure... i've seen some great movies there, including the director's cut of 'alien'... hmm, i'm seeing a trend here... ;o)

haven't had time to do much top 5 research so i'm just going to list some of my favorite movies - feel free to share yours as well...

—alien
—bladerunner
—true romance
—willy wonka and the chocolate factory
—gladiator

have a great weekend everyone, stay dry! :o)

weigh-in

considering my work-mood as of late, seeing a .4 pound loss this morning was most welcome indeed... after having such a great loss last week, i was afraid that i would slip back into the old pattern of, "i can have a little bit of this and a little bit of that" and not worry what would happen... but i'm slowly beginning to realize that even though i may FEEL like i'm eating more than i should - my portions are a lot smaller than they used to be... and that's a good thing... if there's anything that i've learned on this journey, is how important moderation is to your success... :o)

so onto the work thing - yesterday was another horrible day and my boss pretty much sealed the deal for me re: finding another job... without going in to details, there were just a few things that happened that i feel were handled inappropriately and it made me realize, even more, that i deserve a lot better... i'm not at the point where i'm miserable but it's beginning and i really don't want to leave here on bad terms - it's just time for me to move on... and in order to do that, i have much work to do on my personal website (portfolio) and resume - nothing a good 2-day weekend can't handle but i hate sitting in front of the computer sat/sun when i've done so all week... once those 2 things are complete, i can then decide what/where i want to go - stay tuned!

personally, there' not much else going on really... tonight i'm dropping-off MORE clothes and shoes to the consignment shop and whatever i make - i'm putting towards the new stuff i bought in reading... i can't tell you how good it feels to be getting rid of these things - i'm not only helping someone else have nice clothes but i'm adding space to my closet... yay!

happy hump day...

stick it up your...

i just had to share some pics of our awesome dinner last night... eric had been talking and talking about this 'beer can stuffed-up a chicken' thing for ages, so we finally did it... though i was a bit skeptic - it was THE most amazing, juicy, and tender chicken i've ever had... he coated both the inside and outside w/some cajun seasoning, stuck it over 1/2 can of budweiser (on a special rack we picked-up at home depot), and grilled it for about 90 minutes... along w/that, i made some garlic mashed potatoes and green beans - totally delish and pretty healthy considering all the fat dripped in the pan... after all was said and done, i cooked the bones w/some veggies and made two containers of chicken stock - can't wait for a cold day and some homemade, chicken soup! :o)

saturday, we took a long motorcycle ride and stopped by an orchard to pick-up my fav apple right now - mutsu - they are so darn tasty! good news! i went to kohl's and found some boots that fit AND they were on sale for $30... figures i would find them somewhere local, right? i picked up a black and brown pair, a pair of cute jeans, and silver earrings as well... then i stopped by to see a girlfriend for a while, ran to the store, then home to make some dinner - eric's neighbor brought over a container of pesto so we had that over some tortellini with a nice salad and red wine... mmm mmm... we tried to watch 'borat' but couldn't get past the first 15 minutes - it was too uncomfortable to watch... :-o

on sunday, i ran to my mom's to take her some flowers for her bday and then we watched both the skins and the steelers games (yay for the redskins and boo for the steelers)... it was a pretty relaxing weekend plus the weather was gorgeous! love days like that!

work is picking-up again so i apologize for the lack of posts... in other news, my boss finally gave us our increases today - though i didn't get promoted, i'm okay with the result (for now anyway)... eric says she should have never said anything to me, because even though i was trying not to count on it - i was anyway... the other designer was given a 'senior' title, like what i have now, and i feel gipped (though i do have more experience and make more money)... is that wrong of me? i mean, she's worked her ass off and totally deserves it - yet i find myself wondering, "what am i still doing here?"... my boss said that maybe in a year, i could move up to director and then manage the other designers (if we get more) and i thought to myself, "do i really want to be here a year from now, doing the same thing, over and over?"... life sucks sometimes... :o(

happy monday...

ride like the wind

can i get a WOOT WOOT... so glad it's friday, people - what a crazy week it's been (at least for me anyway)... work has slowed down a bit but that only means, it will pick-up again soon and i'll be back to complaining about something... ;o)

the gym was finally open today so i put my sneakers on and ran a 4-mile interval - felt light as air, for some reason... i always tend to have great runs when it has been a while - does anyone else experience the same thing? i also made it to kickboxing last night and had a good workout - i'm on the fence about the next session so i'll think long and hard about it over the weekend...

speaking of the weekend - eric and i are going for a nice, long, motorcycle ride tomorrow, after i get my haircut - the weather is supposed to be nice but much cooler... time to break out the leather jacket i guess, whoo hooo... we might grab some lunch (bbq or mexican?) and then my other goal is to finish HP - i'm tired of talking about it so i'm just going to do it! eric's been away for the last few days (he was part of a panel-discussion in VA) and will be home tonight... norman's been staying w/max and i since monday so it's been a joy having 2 kitties running around - they are always so funny when they're together... as for sunday, i'm going to watch redskins/cardinals game and pray they win - GO SKINS... what are YOUR plans for the weekend?

check out my top 5 for things you can do with pumpkin - enjoy! :o)

—bake some pumpkin cream cheese muffins
—enjoy some spiced pumpkin soup
—how 'bout a pumpkin pie martini?
—don't throw the seeds away, try roasting them instead
—why not try pumpkin ravioli with gorgonzola sauce for dinner

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

too good to be true

i'm too busy for a real post today but just wanted to let you know DO NOT ORDER THOSE BOOTS... i received both pairs today and they are a piece of crap - they're too wide in the foot and ankle and seriously - there's so way they are 100% leather (can you say pleather instead?)... i was SO excited to find them online and even more excited when they arrived but i should've known - the deal was too good to be true... so my search continues... :o(

dinner w/my girlfriend was great last night - we went for vietnamese so i had a nice, big salad for an appetizer and then ordered their 5-spice chicken in coconut/ginger sauce... it was SO good but i stopped myself halfway thru and took the rest home (and had it for lunch today)...

no gym today (it's still closed) but i'm going to kickboxing tonight so 1:2 ain't bad... work is killing me today, my boss is in a pissy mood, and she's taking it out on us - i hate when that happens... :o(

happy thursday...

weigh-in

can i get a drumroll, please... this week's weigh-in was the best i've had in a very, very, long time...

--> 3.2 pounds <--

i couldn't believe my eyes so i stepped on it like 5 times, just to make sure... that means i'm only 6.6 pounds away from goal which is just amazing esp. since i've been on this weightloss roller coaster for almost 3 years... i can't even fathom what that is going to be like so this should be interesting... will i be happy when i get there? will i want to lose more? will i be okay if i gain? who the hell knows but i'm pretty excited about it either way... if i can do well at losing, i can definitely handle maintenance (i think)... :o)

work has been busy, as usual, i skipped the gym yesterday and then was in a bad mood so i skipped my kickboxing again... i have ONE more class on thursday and i will be going, come hell or high water... and then today, the gym was closed because of a water heater repair so i put on my sneakers and went for a nice walk... to filene's basement... and there i got some tights, pantyhose, and 2 pair of spanx ($11.99/each) even though my goal was to look at shoes... didn't find any so i'll have to search elsewhere - need some navy heels to go w/one of my wrap dresses i got this weekend... :o)

i watched biggest loser last night and was surprised at who they sent home... he was one that i knew was going to look pretty cute when he lost weight, and i was right... love that little chin patch too! meow! ;o)

tonight's plans include dinner w/a girlfriend that i haven't seen in ages and then home, to continue reading harry potter... i swear i'm going to finish this book before then end of the month, if it kills me... :op

happy hump day...

what are YOU doing for the environment

thanks to marie, i found out about blog action day and thought it would be fun to participate... i condsider myself to be a pretty 'green' person - i've always recycled and reused and think it's important that everyone do their part... regardless of how small it may be - i truly feel it CAN make a difference... so here's a list of some things that i do for the environment, please share some of your own (even if you're not participating)...

—i recycle all newspaper, junk mail, catalogs, plastic bottles, cans, etc.
—i reuse ziploc bags, unless i use them for chicken and then they are thrown-out
—i take mass-transit to work every day (metro)
—at work, i use a nalgene-type bottle for drinking water
—at work, i use my own coffee cup and silverware (not the throwaway kind)
—i use cold water when doing laundry (minus whites and towels)
—i set my heat at 68 and my a/c around 78
—i take VERY short showers
—i bring my lunch every, single day (but buy a bagel on friday mornings)
—at the gym, i use one towel for working out AND showering (i'm not a huge sweater, really)

now back to the weekend... the redskins lost yesterday and what a horrible game that was - i'm not even going to discuss it... after that mess was over, i made eric watch the last 1/2 hour of xanadu - do you remember that movie w/olivia newton john? god, it is SO horrible to watch now but i still like the music (ELO baby)... then we watched 'capote' which was really good, and THEN we watched 'willy wonka and the chocolate factory' (the original, mind you)... eric pointed out that 'snozberries' is probably another term for boogers - i never thought of it that way but it makes sense (in a sick kind of way)... leave it to a boy to think of it... jut kidding... sometimes i think we watch too much tv but there wasn't much else to do - he wasn't in the mood to take the bike out so there's always next weekend i guess... :o)

happy monday...

we closed the place down

my mom and i went to the vanity fair outlets in reading, pa, yesterday and did some serious damage (me anyway)... we haven't been there since i was in college and it was staple growing up to shop there for jeans and underwear... now, they have expanded and most of the major outlet stores can be found there - my goal was to find a nice suit, some pants, and some shoes... the most exciting part of the day, besides finding some great deals - was getting a pair of liz clairborne jeans in a size 8... i highly recommend this style esp. if you're full in the hips like myself - they fit wonderfully and include spandex, which is a girls best friend... the outlets close at 9:00pm and my mom were rushing thru the easy spirit store at 8:45 - talk about cutting things close... after stopping for dinner, i made it home after midnight and went straight to bed - shopping can really wear you out!

the only thing i did NOT find yesterday were some new black boots and heels - i have a hard time finding anything can fit around my huge calves (my right one measures 16.5" because of the bloodclot a few years back)... i tried on a pair at naturalizer, because they have a wide-shaft style, but for $79 and non-leather i thought that was a bit steep... so bright and early this morning, i went online and found these instead - i ordered a pair of black AND brown and hope they are as good as they look... talk about luck! :o)

i told myself i would sleep-in this morning but was wide-awake at 7:30 for some reason... max and i had a good cuddle in bed and then i got up, unpacked my shopping bags, started doing laundry, and made coffee... i'm heading over to eric's later to watch the redskins game and then we're taking the harley out for a nice ride... the weather has been gorgeous here lately so we're going to take advantage of it - i hope YOU are having a great weekend too... :o)

and for all you weight watchers, check this out... it can't help but make you smile! :o)

happy sunday...

weigh-in

as expected (or not!), i was up .8 pounds this morning (and 2.2 pounds since last thursday)... considering i had al-KEE-hol every day, and some more than others, that can take a toll on someone esp. if they're not being perfect w/points... BUT i'm really proud of myself for exercising while on vacation and can only imagine the results if i hadn't so, once again - i'm moving on... :o)

work was H E L L today - my boss is out until tuesday and most of the time, things are pretty quiet... well, not this time - i was busy from 8:30am to 5:30pm and even stayed a bit late so i could get more done... my coworker said that she's glad i'm back so that just shows you how much we have going on... my boss wrote in an email that things will be much different in 2 weeks so i'm anxious to see what, if anything, happens...

i skipped the gym because of my workload and thought, "i'll make-up for it tonight at class"... as the day progressed, i said there's no way i'm going to make it and decided to skip it... yea, i know that's not a good thing (considering the session is only 5-weeks long) but between my head and my body, it was telling me to take a day-off... do i feel guilty? sure, but i know i'll be back at the gym tomorrow doing my thang so i'm okay with that... :o)

tonight's plans are: making more progress with harry potter, watching CSI and ER, taking a bath, and going to bed (not necessarily in that order)...

happy thursday...

p.s. one more thing, joy nash has yet another brilliant rant on her website - check it out...

back to normal

i couldn't resist having my picture taken w/mr. potato head last night - there was a store in downtown disney that all sorts of potato head merchandise so i thought it would be cute... poor eric caught some stomach bug tuesday night so he wasn't feeling too hot for most of the day, thankfully he's back to normal though... there was an event at one of the bars on pleasure island so we had some food, played some air hockey, and then went back to the hotel... we watched the biggest loser and called it a night... :o)

i'm anxious to see what my weigh-in will be tomorrow... though i worked out every, single day - i won't be surprised if the result isn't good... we grabbed some pizza at the airport today since our flight was delayed and now i'm eating popcorn - great dinner, i know... either way, i think i did a pretty good job food-wise so whatever happens, happens... :o)

happy hump day...

hello from disney

just a quick post from florida - just had a great workout on the treadmill, a quick shower, some breakfast, and then i'm heading to the pool... yea, rough life i know - sorry! not much else to do since eric's in sessions all day (minus yesterday, he blew-off a few so we could relax together)... i've only read a few pages of my harry potter book so that is my main goal today (NOT to start drinking before noon!)... :o)

so far, things have been good - i've exercised everday including a 4-mile run on sunday... it was ungodly hot but i went anyway and couldn't believe my eyes when i looked at my iPod and it said 45 minutes... yesterday, i did an hour on the elliptical - the gym here is awesome, every precor machine has it's on tv so it really helps make the time go by much faster... food has been good but it's insanely expensive here - i've been able to grab some things from eric's breakfasts but cereal has been the healthiest choice... we splurged and went to benihana last night w/some his coworkers - eric had never been so we had a good time (i had the teriyaki steak and shrimp)... drinking, on the other hand, is another story - again, it's very expensive so we hitched a ride one night to the ABC store to get beer, margaritas, and mini-white russians (for me)... and on sunday, i was feeling pretty good because (a) i was able to watch the redkins game at the bar and (b) the blood mary's were REALLY good... that's all i'm going say... :o)

tonight, there's some gala event at pleasure island (i've never been) and then we're back on the plane tomorrow afternoon... it's been great to getaway and just relax - i nixed the massage thing because it's way too expensive and even though eric offered to pay, i see it as a big waste of money... yea, i'm weird like that...

hope you're all having a great week - sorry if i haven't been commenting but there's this huge, blue thing called a POOL, that has my name written all over it...:o)

happy tuesday...

sun but no sand

i'm not sure what possessed me to step on the scale this morning but i did and it said 156.6, not bad for a pre-vacation weight, in my opinion... maybe it was because of my class last night but either way - seeing that will help me stay focused and in control while in florida... :o)

NSV: i was going to wear those grey, banana republic pants this morning (the ones i got at the consignment shop for $5) and they were falling off me... i know they weren't that lose when i bought them, so back they go - now i have to add pants to my outlet shopping list... i know, i know - stop complaining... i guess i'm just not used to seeing all this progress - on myself - it's been a long time so i'm still trying to get used to it... :o)

kickboxing was good last night - he really had us working the bag w/punches and kicks (not so many squats and pushups, thank god!)... it takes a LOT to get me sweating so i had to grin when i felt it trickle down my back at one point... i will be missing tuesday's class and then i'll only have 3 more to go before the session is done - i'm kinda sad... :o(

time for my weekly top 5, thought i would do something jean-related, since it seems to be everyone's wardrobe staple and a weightloss guide... enjoy! :o)

—find YOUR perfect pair of jeans at zafu.com
—grungy denim seems to be the new trend for spring 2008
—trendymamma.com says you CAN wear jeans and be pregnant (at the same time)
—looking for something new? try these organic, free-trade jeans
—tired of wearing your jeans the same way? here's how you can update your look

it's time to head to the gym so i'll catch-up w/you guys later... :o)

happy friday...

can i make it til friday?

i ran to marshall's after work yesterday, looking for some new sunglasses, and found a really cute pair of jean shorts (ralph lauren), in a size 10, for only $10... snagged those up pretty quickly - wouldn't you? i also tried on a bunch of shoes but am going to wait til my mom and i hit the reading outlets in 2 weeks... i grew-up going to outlets all the time (back when they were really outlets with seconds, irregulars, etc.) but now they're just the same as normal stores with a different selection of merchandise... i need to add another suit to my list - the one i have on today is way too big and i was too lazy to change this morning... guess that's a good thing... :o)

no more than 10 minutes after i got home (i also ran to trader joe's for a few things), eric called me and told me to come outside... he took the harley for a spin and came over to surprise me - it was a beautiful night and he felt bad that we didn't get to take it out over the weekend... anyway, we took it up the road and had some ice cream near my mom's - yes, that was my dinner folks... i also had some combos during the show 'life' which i am really liking so far... :o)

no gym today but i do have kick boxing tonight, i hope the instructor is a bit more energetic cus tuesday's class was about a 5 out of 10... it wasn't the best so i'm looking forward to a good workout - we'll probably have mr. squats and push-ups guy... ugh!

happy thursday...

weigh-in

no change this week (sorry team) but it's better than a gain, right? i indulged in a few things over the weekend (ice cream being one of them) but that's okay - i don't expect to be perfect AND have the scale reward me at the same time... i DID however take my measurements this morning and in the past month, i have lost 2 inches and since april, i have lost over a total of 7.5 inches (thanks to jogging and kick-boxing!)... so this just goes to show you that if you're concerned about your progress - focus on the tape measurement and not the scale... :o)

you will also notice the new blog design - i know it's not as pretty or elaborate as before but i felt it was time to change... i spent days trying to tweek some XML templates and just couldn't figure out how to rearrange the widgets (so much for being a design-guru!) so this is what you get for now... i'll be working on adding my favorite blogs too - the list will be much shorter this time if you'd like to be added, please let me know... :o)

i'm just counting the days til we leave for florida - my mind has been everywhere but here (work) and i'm lucky that nothing important has to be done before i leave... i'm tired of working on this logo project and cringe at the thought of all that's involved w/this huge conference next year - one of which is a website that has to be up and running by late-november... blech... my coworker is letting me borrow the harry potter book so i'll have that to read and i'll need to think of other things i can do while eric is at the conference all day... i don't want to be stuck in my room, browsing the internet, so any ideas? i plan on taking advantage of the gym/pool, and i'm also going to do some research and find out if the hotel has a spa or if there's one nearby - i think i deserve a massage... ;o)

sadly, i haven't watched BL in two weeks - this kickboxing class just screws up my schedule so i'll be glad when that's over... i don't mind one evening class a week but two, is a bit too much... i just feel so scattered and i'm not a happy camper when things are out of sorts...

speaking of out of sorts - i switched my summer/winter clothes on monday night but can't put away anything until i get back from florida... i had piles everywhere - laundry, consignment, goodwill, etc. and my shoes - oy vey, they are just piled in the corner... all in all - i feel that i have a good base, wardrobe-wise, but could still use a few good pieces like a pants suit and maybe a wrap-dress or two... and some new boots... :o)

happy hump day...

i can't move my arms

i have decided that i'm officially done working for the day and the week so it's time to take a breather... i've been working on this logo project for what seems like weeks, and i'm still not 'there' yet - if you're in the design field, i'm sure you can relate to what i'm talking about... you can't force something to work - it either does or it doesn't - and sometimes, people just don't get it... anyway, i need to think about it some more over the weekend and come back fresh-eyed on monday - hopefully something will hit me soon... :o)

speaking of hitting, kickboxing was great last night though i am double-sore from both that AND doing weights yesterday afternoon... we had mr. gimme 100 squats and push-ups again but at least he switched things up from last week (i also realized this morning that he reminds me of peyton manning)... two weeks down and three weeks to go... :o)

i stopped by target last night to pick-up a few things and am always amazed when i get out of there spending LESS than $30... besides getting the things that were actually ON my list (ahem), i also grabbed one of their cute $5 halloween tshirts... it's a dark celery green and says, "witchy" across the front in script lettering - can't wait to wear it tomorrow at the craft show w/my mom and sister... happy birthday, sis! :o)

weekend plans include the above (craft show), getting-in some exercise, helping eric w/some much needed yard work, catching-up on several season premiers, maybe getting-in a motorcycle ride, and watching the steeler's game on sunday (skins are off this week)... what do you guys have planned? isn't it weird how next monday is october? how in the hell did that happen? september just FLEW by, right? and what's even scarier - christmas is less than 3 months away... ...

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

—hungrygirl.com shares some great 100-calorie snack ideas
—oatmeal is getting healthier, check-out quaker's new multigrain hot cereal
—according to calorieking.com, several new products hit the shelves in september
—even snyder's has come out w/their own line of multigrain snacks (might be a local brand)
—see what's new at the trader joe's near you

have a great weekend everyone and enjoy this awesome fall weather... get outside and take advantage of it... :o)

weigh-in

wow, another huge loss this week --> .2 pounds... it's good to see that i'm still making progress, though VERY slow, in the right direction... i had another good class last night, we had a different instructor (again) and this guy was all about the bag - kicking and punching - and jumping rope... it's not my favorite thing - just don't seem to be very coordinated w/the ropes for some reason... oh well, it's still fun and a great workout! i had a nice, sweaty glow afterwards... ;o)

i had my annual review yesterday and all went well... i should be hearing about the restructuring soon and my boss, said again, that she's trying to get a promotion for me... but along with this, comes more responsibility since she will be moving up as well - i'm both excited and scared so we'll see what happens... i really enjoy doing design and keeping to myself, so attending more meetings and dealing w/more staff will take some adjusting that's for sure... and probably some nicer clothes... :o)

i also asked my boss for some time off since i'll have almost 8 weeks by the end of the year (i haven't taken a real vacation in like 2 years, people!)... so i'm taking-off the week of thanksgiving and the week between christmas and new year's - i have no plans as of yet so i'm just looking forward to some R&R... and speaking of R&R, i'm going to florida next week with eric - he is presenting a paper with some coworkers at a conference and i'm tagging along... my daily goals will be to: exercise, eat well, and lay by the pool - shouldn't be too hard, right? ;o)

i didn't watch BL yet but i did successfully tape it... i'm also considering buying a Tivo since i'm tired of the whole VCR-thing and having to deal with tapes - i'm watching a few good deals on ebay so we'll see what happens with that... i DID watch law & order SVU though - love that show!

happy hump day...

mini-peanut better cups don't count right?

just got back from a great workout - 45 mins and 600 calories later, i'm feeling pretty darn good... it's always good to get back into the groove on a monday, esp. after a weekend-away and no exercise... well, i DID play in the pool for a while on saturday - we took eric's dad for some water therapy and it seems to be doing wonders for his leg... he's also walking a bit more and get more movement in his arm so that's good news... we had a good weekend in pittsburgh, the weather was great, and i made dinner for everyone on saturday night - made my specialty: lasagna w/homemade sauce... i wanted to do something for eric's mom since she's so overwhelmed taking care of his dad, and think it was a success (she had 2 pieces and eric said that was a good sign)... we got to play w/norman's sisters but didn't get to hang w/the cows or ride the go-cart - there's always next time, right... :o)

on saturday while i was helping eric put in a new light/fan in the bathroom, i got a phonecall from my sister about my dad - he fell out of his wheelchair and was being taken to the hospital... they had left him unattended, in a big room - which they know they shouldn't do because my dad is too weak to stand by himself... they use a 'lap-buddy' which is sort of like this padded tray that hooks around the arm of the chair to hold him in - he must've been agitated and got it loose... anyway, luckily nothing was broken but my sister had to deal w/everything AND ream-out the nursing home for not listening to her - i wish i was closer so i could help-out more... stuff like this just makes me realize that i really need to make a point in visiting more often - he barely recognized me last weekend so i'm not sure how long that's going to last...

and speaking of things not lasting - WTF redskins... you had that game in the first half and then blew-it, esp. in the fourth quarter... i really thought you could've tied the game and won so i'm just going to chalk this game as a 'mistake' and move on... you better not let me down next weekend... ;o)

happy monday...

f-f-friday

i'm enjoying today because both my boss and coworker are out AND i finished all my work before leaving yesterday... so, i've had time to enjoy my bagel & coffee and catch-up on everyone's blogs... this afternoon, i plan on going to the gym and then (discreetly) leave at 3:30 so i can make a hair appt... after that, eric and i are heading to pittsburgh for the weekend so it should be a good few days... doesn't hurt that the weather looks to be spectacular so i'm sure we'll be spending a lot of time, sitting on the porch, looking out into the countryside... :o)

i had several people ask for my enchilada recipe - i don't really one that i follow, i just use what i have on hand... i grilled-up some chicken breasts but you could also use ground beef, ground turkey, black beans, or refried beans - it all depends on your taste... i combined the chopped-up chicken with some green peppers, onions, and corn (microwave for 2-3 minutes first), about 1 cup of lowfat shredded cheese, and about 1/2 cup of salsa... spoon this mixture onto a flour tortilla, roll-up, and then place seam-side down in a 13x9 casserole dish... cover with a large can of enchilada sauce (and maybe some more cheese), cover with foil, and bake at 375 for 45 minutes... i served mine with some chopped up lettuce and tomatoes - it gives it an extra crunch! :o)

class #2 of kickboxing was hard but i'm not sure as hard as tuesday since there was a different instructor... i think he made us do at least 100 squat/kick combos, 100 pushups, 100 arm lifts, and god knows what else... then we punched and kicked the bag for a while so it was a definitely a workout - just not as 'sweaty' as tuesday's class... when i got to eric's, i warned him that i would be stinky - he didn't really care because it was just another excuse to take a shower (yes, together people!)... ;o)

i haven't had much time to prep for my weekly top 5 so i'm just going to list some things that i am thankful for - you should too! :o)

—my health and making better choices w/my diet
—the courage to try new things like jogging and kickboxing
—all the friends i have made thru blogging
—my friends, my family, and esp. eric who is my biggest supporter
—the season of pumpkin spice lattes

have a great weekend, everyone... see you on monday... :o)

weigh-in

one of these days, my weekends are going to catch-up with me - i know i shouldn't say that outloud but really... and all i can say is, thank god for kickboxing last night because i think it helped the scale show a .6 pound loss this morning... i really liked the class but it was HARD - like 50 minutes of leg lifts, squats, pushups, and then there was the whole boxing part which meant even more legs and arms... i was sweating big time and it felt great - the instructor at one point asked me if i had ever taken a class... when i said no, he was like "wow, you're doing a great job!" so yea, maybe i should keep taking it... ;o)

work has been crazy busy and it will be even busier so i apologize for the ocassional posts and lack of commenting... i had to leave early today because i had 2 doctor's appts. - one was the dermatologist for my annual mole check (all clear) and the other was for my 6-month check-up at the dentist (no cavities)... i still get fluoride treatment (vanilla this time) and a toothbrush and mini-floss on the way out... good times, people, good times...

it was a beautiful day here and since i didn't do my usual lunchtime work-out - i opted to go for a nice jog when i got home... after what felt like 2 hours, it only ended up being 26 minutes - ugh, i need to work on that... it's SO much easier to jog when there's someone with you... either way, i was proud of myself for going and for not stopping so yay me! :o)

as for biggest loser - for some idiotic reason i only taped the first 1/2 hour (yes, i'm 36½ and still can't program my VCR apparently)... i missed who won the challenge and how the weigh-in went so maybe i can find the episode online somewhere - i did hear that the black team won which is great... jillian is an awesome trainer because she doesn't take shit from anyone - wouldn't be great to have someone like her, all to yourself? :o)

since i haven't participated in sarah's photo challenge yet, i decided to take one of my dinner tonight... i made chicken enchiladas with corn, green peppers, onions, and lowfat cheese - talk about tasty! eric was supposed to come over tonight and that's what i had planned to make so when he canceled - i made them anyway... yum yum... :o)

one more thing - last week, someone from the weight loss tips website contacted me and i was asked to fill-out a questionnaire and submit before/after photos... i felt kind of silly doing it esp. since my 20-pound loss is nothing compared to some of you (who have lost 30, 40, or 50+ pounds) but i'm glad i could share my story nonetheless... regardless of how much you've lost or how much more you have to lose - i think it's important to share your journey with others because there will always be someone else, just like you, going thru the same thing... anyway, check it out here... :o)

happy hump day...

halftime

the redskins just scored an awesome touchdown before halftime so let's hope they can keep it up and win the game! go skins, go skins, GO SKINS! :o)

i had a good time out at my sister's and as you can see by the picture, thanksgiving is just around the corner... we went to an amish nursery on saturday and stocked-up on mums - they had just about every color you could think so i chose deep purple and yellow (complimentary, you know)... after that, we hit some yard sales, a few goodwills (it runs in the family!), a craft show that was pretty lame (sorry, mom), and then got some frozen custard at this cute cafe... eating was okay for the weekend, nothing steller, so i'm not going to worry about it... i did manage a short jog along the lake sat morning so at least i got SOME exercise in - it was early and the temp was pretty brisk but well worth it... on sunday, we did the church thing and then had lunch before going to see my dad - he's doing as good as can be expected in his condition so all in all - the trip was good... :o)

tonight was my only night to relax this week so after making dinner (grilled veggies and brown rice), i did some laundry, painted my toenails, and caught-up on everyone's blog... i've been too busy at work to keep-up w/everything so it was nice to see what everyone's been up too... tomorrow night my kickboxing class starts - i hope i like it and i hope i like the instructor - i'll give you a full report on wednesday... :o)

well, i need to run - the game is back on... :o)

happy monday...

p.s. final score: 20-12 --> THE REDSKINS WON! YAAAA HOOOO! :o)

mun-chi-chi, mun-chi-chi... oh so soft and cuddly...

happy friday, y'all... i'm so glad the weekend is here, i feel like i've been robbed a few days because of my ongoing headache and backache issues (except for today, go figure)... i should make an appt. with a chiropractor and have thought about trying acupuncture - has anyone tried it? i could give them a laundry list of things to 'fix' so maybe i need to decide what my main complaints are first... ;o)

work has been quiet today and i'm hoping my boss leaves early, so i can leave early too - my mom and i are heading to western maryland to spend the weekend w/my sister... the weather yesterday said cloudy and in the mid-50s - WTF man, it's only september people... it's like a different world out there, i swear - it starts getting cold in september and they get snow up until april... anyway, we're going to run around tomorrow and probably stop by to see my dad - it's been a while and i feel i should go see him... my goal is to go for a walk/jog at least once and make healthy choices with my food (unless she makes homemade ice cream and then all bets are off!)... :o)

speaking of food, eric and i went for thai last night - neither one of us ordered the usual curry dish and though what we had was good, it just wasn't the same... i hate when that happens... plus, we were the only customers in the joint which was weird because it's usually crowded - perhaps not a good sign... :o(

on behalf of september being National Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, my weekly top 5 will be related to that... :o)

—loreal's 'color of hope' jewelry collection will donate $5, from every purchase, to the ovarian cancer research fund
—do you know what the 4 early symptoms are?
—show your support by wearing a LIVESTRONG item
—or wear a teal ribbon
— a great tshirt for those that have battled and won their fight w/cancer

enjoy your weekend, everyone... go steelers but i'd rather say, go REDSKINS (yes, i know the game is monday night)... :o)

happy friday...

weigh-in

"please maintain, please maintain, please maintain"... that's what i said when i stood on the scale this morning but instead, it showed a .6 pound loss... how that happened, i don't know because i had not one but two frozen pizzas this week and several (small) servings of my mom's peach cobbler... i suppose getting back to exercising has helped and i feel so much better, even if i'm a bit sore from yesterday's weight workout... wonder how i'll feel after my 1st kick-boxing class which starts next tuesday, probably pretty sore in places i haven't felt for a long time... i can't wait! :o)

today, i dropped some fall/winter clothes off at the consignment shop and was given a check for $33, not bad right? so, like any good consignor would do - i turned around and spent $24 in a matter of 30 minutes... i found a great pair of grey banana republic pants, a black wool coat, and 2 cardigans which is pretty darn good... i'm not ashamed to say i shop at these kinds of stores - you can find some very nice stuff for the fraction of the price and yes, i still shop in normal stores but usually only when there's a good sale... i have decided to focus on buying quality things this season and not worry so much about how many pieces i have in my closet (which is hard to do when you're a bargain shopper like myself)... just in the past week alone, i have already made a good start at revamping my wardrobe for fall and still haven't spent over $100... :o)

so how many of you watched the biggest loser last night? i thought it was pretty good, considering this is the first season i've watched - i tend to wait til the last episode when they do a recap but think i will enjoy watching everyone's progression... i like the new host but perhaps that's because in college, i was a big days of our lives fan (shhh)... anyway, i have made some mental notes about who i think is going to do really well, one of them being phil, the captain of the red team - you can just tell he's going to look hot when he loses all that weight... ;o)

happy hump day...

has it really been 6 years?

i just want to say a few, simple things, regarding today... be THANKFUL for what you have, be THANKFUL for who's in your life, and be THANKFUL that we live in this great country... remember those that lost their lives today, remember those that have helped rebuild, and remember to tell the people closest to you, how much you love them... :o)

the weekend seems like a blur since i was still in my funk til about sunday morning... i can't really tell you what made it go away, but i'm glad it's gone because i hate being in that place... anyhoo, i had a good spin class on sat morning and then hung-out w/my mom for most of the day, doing the yard-sale and the comm fair-thing... i wasn't expecting to see eric sat night but his original plans changed and he asked me to come over, so i went, bringing my mom's homemade peach cobbler with me (mmm mmm)... we grilled outside with some of his friends and had a good time...

sunday, he made his usual eggwiches for breakfast and then we headed over to the unique thriftstore to see what goodies they had... i found some high-end clothes (eddie bauer, ann taylor, gap, harve bernard, and aerosoles) for cheap, cheap, cheap so that made me happy... i then headed home to finish the website and watch the AWESOME redskins game - gotta love overtime and watching the winning field goal! i also went thru some of my magazines and started a notebook of inspirational quotes and websites that i'd like to check out... :o)

i'm a little late to be commenting on the whole VMA thing but renee has a great post on her blog today... personally, i think britney looked a mess and her routine sucked BUT i certainly didn't think she looked fat... she looked, well, sort of healthy to me (as much as you can wearing a bikini and fishnets anyway)... you'd have to pay me a LOT of money to get up there and do what she did (and i'd probably need some alcohol too)... ;o)

i'm sure most of you are already geared-up for the new, fall shows but just in case - i found this link last week that lists them all and when they are premiering... i will be watching the biggest loser this season (starts tonight, don't forget!) and am looking forward to some old favorites: CSI, my name is earl, the office, and scrubs...

what about you? what are you looking forward too this fall?

happy tuesday...

poo poo headache

i wish my headache would go away, nothing seems to dull this achy pain for some reason... and because i'm not feeling well, i have decided to skip the gym today and not feel guilty about it... even if i DID go, it would not be a good workout because i would doing everything half-assed and what's the point... and besides - i'm going to spin-class tomorrow and i can always do weights afterwards so there's nothing to worry about... and if for some reason i wake up w/a headache - i'll just pop a double-dose of pills and suffer thru it... :-p

eric came over last night and took me to staples, so i could buy a new desk chair... i've been having major backaches - both at work and home - and contribute it to my crappy chairs... i found one for $25, on clearance, and its perfect - good color, good height, so i'm good to go... as for work, i've readjusted the back to see if that helps and if not - i will be buying one of those pillow-things to lean against... getting old sucks, that's all i have to say...

weekend plans are pretty low-key... eric has some guy-thing going on saturday night so i'm going to hang-out w/my mom and do the community fair thing (she likes to enter canned food and actually won a few ribbons last year)... its nothing huge or exciting but its my hometown and i like to support my local-peeps... sunday plans consist of finalizing my sister's website and watching the game - GO REDSKINS... :o)

time for my weekly top 5, you know the drill - enjoy! :o)

—drink a lot of coffee? maybe you should get a designer cup sleeve
—fun things to do with your old coffee grounds
—ever wonder what type of coffee you are? (i'm a cafe latte)
—make your own flavored coffees at home
—spread the love and wear a coffee cup on your belt buckle

and that's all she wrote, have a great weekend everyone... :o)

happy friday...

complacent

com·pla·cent
1. Contented to a fault; self-satisfied and unconcerned

i'm wondering if this is what i've become, about my weightloss, because it seems as of late - a gain on the scale doesn't freak me out anymore... nor do i jump up & down or shoot-off fireworks when i see a loss (probably because i see the same pounds come/go these days)... weekends have pretty much become a free-for-all because i know come monday, its back on plan so might as well enjoy myself... and if i skip exercise, it's more like "so what" than "i need to work twice as hard tomorrow"... so what gives...

i'm sure i'm not the only one that goes thru this - pondering the whole "is this where i'm supposed to be?" question... just HOW important is it, to get to that ideal weight - the one stuck in your head for whatever reason... for me, 150 is only 9.4 pounds away and to some - that's a piece of cake... but looking over the last year or so, i've been around 160 and that was even during my 5K training where i was running 5x/week... i keep thinking, just how far do i have to push myself to get to a stupid number anyway... is going down one more size worth the effort? will i feel any different? will i feel more attractive? will people treat me differently? probably not but it's that (insert word here) that makes you want to keep going because you've set a goal and you want to achieve it... giving up just makes everything you've done in the past, seem pointless and who can live with that... as much as i want too, i just don't think i can but i'm going to need help...

i've been in a fog for the last few days (personal stuff) and its been hard focusing on anything but keeping it together at work... i haven't worked out since saturday morning and i fell back on a huge comfort food last night and made pizza for dinner (scale only showed a 1 pound gain, amazing!)... on the phone eric said, "oh no" and i thought, "yea, it wasn't healthy but its what i needed at the time"... and just thinking that made me realize that food isn't going to fix me - i need to fix me instead... i've lost my "uumph" somewhere i need to find it, and i need to find it fast or things are going to start spiraling out of control (i'm probably making this more horrendous than it really is, i'm just trying to put my thoughts on paper)...

what i really need is change, and i'm totally digging #5... :o)

change
1. The act, process, or result of altering or modifying.

2. The replacing of one thing for another; substitution.

3. A transformation or transition from one state, condition, or phase to another.

4. Something different; variety.

5. A different or fresh set of clothing.

happy thursday...

weigh-in

i'm not sure why the scale only showed an .8 pound gain this week - the philly cheesesteak i had on saturday night weighed that alone so i'm thankful the damage is easily undoable... i also was a big slacker w/exercise this weekend - the spin class started a 1/2 hour later than scheduled on saturday so i opted to do the eliptical for 45 minutes instead... it was a good workout but not as great as the class - note to self: check class schedules ahead of time esp. on a holiday weekend! grrr!

so as mentioned above - eric and i had an original, philly cheesesteak for dinner on saturday (mine had cheese wiz, onions, and peppers)... i regret not having him take a pic because it was huge and oh SO very tasty... the king tut exhibit was pretty cool even though they did not have any of his actual burial masks or sarcophagus in the show (maybe they are too fragile to travel?)... it was beautifully designed with each room painted a different color and though crowded, we had no problem viewing each piece after waiting our turn... someone was complaining outside that it was too crowded and they wanted their money back - i thought, "gee lady, its saturday night and a holiday weekend - get a grip! what do you expect!"... i hate people that are impatient...

sunday, was pretty low-key but i did try a new recipe for breakfast - it was a sundried tomato and goat cheese frittata (recipe here), mmm mmm good... after that, i washed and detailed both cars, went to the store, and caught-up on some tv stuff... monday, we took a nice, long bike ride and enjoyed the great weather we've been having here, i do hope it lasts a little bit longer... for dinner, i made some fresh pesto and we had that with chicken, stuffed with more sundried tomatoes and goat cheese... and for dessert - we had s'mores made w/peanut butter cups (and i wonder why i gained this week? ha!) and that's pretty much it for our labor day weekend...

my allergies have been kicking-in since this weekend, i've pretty much had a headache since saturday and my eyes have been watering... gotta love that ragweed... work has been quiet so i've been trying to catch-up on misc things, one being my sister's website... thank-god its a short week, i'm just not in a very 'work' mood...

happy hump day...