weigh-in

this blog has become less and less about weightloss these days (esp. since i keep gaining/losing the same 2 pounds!) - not sure how many of you have noticed or even care and will continue to read regardless of what i talk about... i apologize for all the work, work, work stuff but sometimes - life just gets in the way and though i know i shouldn't apologize (since it IS my blog), i sometimes feel like i've let things slip... i've gone from posting everyday to a few times a week, and who can remember the last time i talked about a health-related article, new food product, or exercise... i know that i'll never be a roni (where does she find the energy with a job, a kid, a hubby, and multiple sites) so who am kidding... doing this stuff is a priority for her, more like a responsibility - i'm not just feeling like it's my priority anymore... does that make sense?

BUT on the flipside - i know that i'm not the same person as i was 3 years ago... my outlook has changed, my thinking has changed, my eating and exercise has changed - so i guess it's just natural that the blog changes too... it's been obvious that getting to my goal weight hasn't been life or death situation so that says to me, i have gone down a different path... i no longer beat myself-up and curse because the scale says i gained 2 pounds, i no longer feel guilty if i don't exercise, and if i want a margarita on the weekend - i'm gonna have it... i've learned to listen to my body and considering my schedule has been f*cked-up for the last two months - i'm pretty thrilled that i haven't gained 10 pounds... my body is happy where it is right now and i'm happy too... :o)

we have all started this journey and had a goal in mind - how we got there didn't matter because it was the online support that kept us going... though i don't comment as much as i used too - i still read what's going on out there because it's just a part of who i am... i know that when i'm not feeling strong - there will always be a post, somewhere, that will motivate me again... there will always be someone venting about the same thing, which is always nice, and there's always that one person that says something funny and my worries are forgotten... :o)

so my point is - you guys are great and i just wanted to say thank-you... i'm not going anywhere but i just felt the need to put it out there... i don't know where this new path is going exactly but i'll figure it out soon and share as i go along - cus that's what we do... :o)

happy hump day...

here comes the rain again

quick post - it's cold and rainy and i hate it... where's the sunshine that we had on saturday? nothing worse than a crappy-weather monday but at least it's almost over... i had a good weekend - got to my sister's late friday night and proceeded to eat: 1 corndog w/mustard, 1 piece of pizza, a few ranch wheat thins, and then a small bowl of ice cream with cashews! what! i don't know what came over me, it was like being a kid in a candy store... saturday, i was all ready for a healthy day - i had a bowl of cereal and some coffee and then what happens? my bro-in-law brings a box of fresh donuts (some kind made w/potato flour) so i split one w/my niece and they were amazing... i'm so NOT a donut person but they were there and i couldn't resist... i SO hated myself for everything i ate but what can you do, i did it, and i'm moving on... :o(

my visit with dad was okay - he was a bit irritated but we did our usual routine: lifting weights, walking the halls, giving him a shave, and watching some tv... he was napping when i left so at least he was getting some rest... stopped at the outlets on the way home - couldn't find any good bargains besides a cute pair of low-wedgies at naturalizer... i had the night to myself so i planted some flowers for my balcony and called it a night... my brother and i took mom out to lunch yesterday to this italian place near his house - his lasagna was amazing so i'm definitely getting that next time... i chose the spinach pasta with asparagus, artichokes, olives, beans, onions, and peppers - it was good but not as good as his! i hate that! they gave all the moms a free cannoli and the waiter gave us two - maybe he thought i was a mom as well? it was tasty regardless... ;o)

work was pretty quiet today - i have some major website updates to do tomorrow so i was doing a lot of revisions and prep-work for that... i did 40 minutes on the elliptical and had to stop because my foot was hurting - not sure what's up with that but i'm not liking the fact that i'm having issues again... i really don't want to think about surgery, again, so perhaps it's time to see a different doctor... after work, i hit the grocery store, made a spinach and egg samich for dinner, and made a fresh pot of coffee... my goal tonight is to watch some season finales online, take a bath, and hit the hay... :o)

and before i forget - pastaqueen was on the today show today, check it out here!

happy monday...

it's finally over

well today is the last day of the meeting and i'm SO very happy about that... the reception/dinner went well, the beach boys were okay but nothing spectacular - every song sounded like the one before and they looked rather bored on stage (imagine singing the same songs for almost 50 years!)... anyway, all the signs/banners/booths that i designed looked great and people were raving about the little buttons at the reception... i did okay with food/drink - had 2 glasses of wine and 2 bloody mary's which isn't bad considering it was a free-for-all... today will be a long one considering we didn't get home til almost midnight - hopefully when my boss gets back in the office this afternoon, she'll let us leave early... :o)

weekend plans consist of going to my sister's tonight and then spending some time w/my dad tomorrow... i will be coming home tomorrow night so my brother and i can take my mom out for mother's day on sunday (don't forget!)... eric will be in pittsburgh so i'm sans-boyfriend this weekend and will be next weekend too since it's my college reunion and friend's bridal shower in allentown... busy busy busy...

anyway, here are some pics that i took so enjoy (and yes, this is the newest dress)... :o)


































have a great weekend, everyone... and HAPPY FRIDAY... :o)

weigh-in

the weightloss gods are being very kind to me this week, the scale showed an .8 pound loss this morning... i have been counting zero points and haven't exercised since saturday's spin class... work has just been too crazy and stressful but since the meeting starts today - it will all end very soon... i can't tell you how much i am looking forward too getting my life back into a normal routine - my body has been missing exercise (and so have i)... and my sleeping patterns are starting to go back to normal as well - waking up at 6:30 is such a dream! ;o)

i went over to the hotel yesterday afternoon to attend a stage/presentation run-through, as well as to check on a few other things... i took some pics of booth and didn't realize til last night, when i was going thru them, that the panels were put on the wrong sides... so i frantically sent an email and thankfully, someone else had caught it and the problem was resolved... *whew*... i'm now printing a banner to be used for tv-interviews - we bought one of those large format printers so it's come in very handy for last-minute projects... besides some web-postings and updates (and then the major website redo on monday) - i'm done with this damn conference... :op

since i was done w/my hotel stuff a bit early yesterday, i ran a few errands, and then did some more shopping... i found another cute dress at marshall's and decided to take back the one i just bought at penny's last week - i like it but i don't LOVE it so back it goes... i had 2 other red/black dresses in my closet and i feel the need to expand my colors a bit... the new one is chocolate brown & light teal and i'll be wearing it tomorrow for the reception/dinner... :o)

that's about it for me right now... since my boss will be attending the meeting, i'm going to enjoy her not being here and get caught-up on everyone's blogs...

happy hump day!

do i have mulch in my teeth?

work has been quiet this morning but i know this afternoon will pick-up since some projects of mine are being reviewed and finalized as we speak... tomorrow will be a short day though since i have to head to the hotel for a stage/sound/video review in the afternoon, and i'm looking forward to getting home a bit early... i desperately need to wash the pollen off my car and i have some things i need to return to marshalls and pennys... i got some cami-tops at pennys and i don't like them - they're not very soft and they're too fitted, so back they go...

friday night, i went to burlington coat factory and was disappointed to find their shoe section sucks BUT i did manage find an awesome, black, fitted rain coat on sale... i also stopped at trader joes and bought myself one of their yummy, margarita pizzas - yes, that was my dinner and i'm sticking to it! i was in of those 'moods' so i added some fresh spinach before baking and it was very tasty... :o)

saturday, i had a great spin class in the morning and then headed over to eric's where we proceed to mulch all 7 areas in his front/back yard (36 bags!)... i also mowed the grass which is always fun... yesterday, we went for a nice ride in the morning and then i headed to home depot where i bought $60 worth of flowers, veggie plants, and herbs... i only got to planting the flowers and herbs (basil, rosemary, cilantro, oregano, and sage) so we'll have to work on the garden another day... since we both had stuff to do - i ran home and proceeded to swap my bedding, flip my mattress, swap my bathroom curtain/rugs, and do laundry... i took a break and ran over to kohl's, thinking they'd have some nice shoes, but they didn't so off to target i went where i managed to spend $100 (when all i needed was cottonballs!)... no magazines were read but i did watch last week's LOST online and that my folks, was my weekend... :o)

happy monday...

TGIF

i'm so glad it's friday esp. since i don't have any major plans this weekend (always a good thing) and i will need lots of R&R before next week... there's already been talk of redoing the website after the conference is over, so i have that to look forward too, as well as work to do while the conference is in progress... hey, at least i get to enjoy the exhibitor reception on thursday (free booze), the reception before dinner (more free booze), and the dinner itself (even more free booze and the beach boys)... can't complain, can't complain... ;o)

went for a nice jog/walk today down by the reflecting pool - several ducks were out w/their little ducklings, all in a row, i just love seeing that... some weren't any bigger than my hand (i had to inspect up-close) and looked rather fluffy for being so small... it was pretty hot out there so i'm guessing it's in the mid-80s, again - can't complain... :o)

weekend plans as of now are to mulch eric's flowerbeds and that's about it... i know he wants to go see 'iron man' but i think it will be too nuts at the theaters (better to wait a week or two)... he also has to prep for some speaking engagement and conference so i'll be on my own sunday, which is fine... i'm still on a quest for new shoes and i also need a new raincoat/trenchcoat so i'll be paying a visit to burlington coat factory... i did buy some shoes off chadwicks.com but now wish i didn't because i probably won't like them (at least shipping was only $1)... i am about 5 magazines behind too so maybe i'll just in my sweats all day and read - sounds like a plan! :o)

hope you have a great weekend... :o)

i rarely do this

but i thought it would be fun to steal this idea from snackie, who stole this from someone else... it's been a rather slow and quiet day here but i'm sure something will come up, it always does... a few of us girls are taking my coworker out to lunch so i MUST chose something healthy... they only had their dinner menu online (WTF) so i'll have to decide when i get there - i would prefer to make my decision ahead of time but what can you do... anyhoo, onto the game - feel free to do your own, just fill-in-the blank where you see the underlines... :o)

1. Jodi is a great shopper.

2. But I am also very thrifty.

3. Just once, I'd like to be messy.

4. I wish I'd never tried smoking when I was younger.

5. I regret that I once flew to WI to meet someone i met online.

6. I love to do laundry, clean, and go grocery shopping.

7. People that drive with their blinkers on make me really fucking mad.

8. Survivor is Stoo-pid.

9. As a special treat, I often like to treat myself to a spa-day.

10. You will never see a picture of me eating mushrooms.

happy thursday...

p.s. i think i did pretty good at lunch today - salad with balsamic dressing, grilled tilapia with lime, rice pilaff, and grilled asparagus... yummy! :o)

the $4 dress

a few of you requested that i take a picture of this infamous dress, so that's what i did... i also took a pic of another dress i picked-up tonight at penny's (on sale for $14.99) - i've never been one to buy loud or printed dresses but suddenly, that's all i'm drawn too... guess i'm feeling more comfortable in brighter colors these days (another plus to losing weight!)... i also found a pair of brown capris, a pair of tan dress pants, a pair of workout shorts, 2 workout tanks, and 2 cami's that are a much needed item anytime of the year... i didn't have any luck w/shoes though so that will be another trip... such is life... :o)

weigh-in

i have one for you today and that is HUH? how in the world did i lose anything this week? though less than a pound (.4 to be exact), it's still a loss and it was still very unexpected... so i what did i do? treated myself to a starbucks latte and a piece of their lowfat chocolate chip & banana coffee cake... i'm sure i gained that .4 pounds right back but whatever - it's been a long and very busy day! :o)

i was here til almost 7:00 last night - a blueline for the last printed piece came back from review and the proofreader found all these errors (editorial not design)... i about cried because at that point, there should be minimal changes... and since we're on such a tight deadline - i had to make the changes, have them reviewed, and then prep a new disk to give to the printer this morning... after that, i went to macy's to try and find some chocolate brown capris, which i did, but i might return them if i find others that i like more... this morning, i met the printer at 8:00 and we headed to baltimore to see my program cover being embossed - i love 'behind the scenes' stuff because you learn so much and appreciate how much goes into a printed piece (plus i love the smell of ink)... i got here around noon and it's been nonstop ever since because my boss is off-site and i had to handle some things in her absence... hence the starbucks run at 3:00 pm... :o)

tonight i'm going to hit the mall after work - i'm trying to find some shoes since i took most of mine to consignment, and i also need to keep searching for capris... once i have something stuck in my head - like finding pants - i can't concentrate on anything else... it's such a challenge for me... wish me luck!

happy hump day...

p.s. note to self: don't EVER buy coffeecake at starbucks again! what a waste of 8 points! :o(

how many slices can i fit in my mouth?

begin rant...

UGH, I AM SO FULL! they had a pizza party for my coworker today (the one that's leaving) and it was from ledos - my favorite kind of pizza in the whole, wide world! it's rectangular, with a plain sauce, and provolone cheese so it's easy to put-away more pieces because they're so damn small... i also had a cookie... what is wrong with me? i feel so out of control these past few days - who am i kidding?! i've been out of the WW-loop for a while and it's time to reign things in (again)... i have a little more than a week til this annual meeting is over and then i can bring the focus back to ME and not just work... i know it seems silly that i can't do both at the same time but when my schedule is messed-up and i'm working crazy hours, everything just seems less important... one bad day of eating - soon turns into a week and then one missed workout - soon turns into 3... what happened to the girl that was jogging 6x week and keeping track of everything? ugh! she got lazy, that's what, and i don't like her so i'm going to have to kick her out... :o)

end of rant...

my weekend was good - i found a few things at the yard sale but i also got super sunburned which is bad... i'm usually very good at wearing sunscreen but forgot and am now paying for it on my neck and chest... eric got two stereo components for his garage so we hooked that up on sunday and it sounds great - i told him he needs to move his office out there now... we watched two movies: 'the departed' (which is good even the 2nd time) and 'into the wild' which was amazing but very sad - i highly recommend it... we had hamburgers on the grill for dinner and s'mores (which is my fault but i wanted to celebrate the first burger grilling of the summer)... they were very tasty... ;o)

i'm wearing a dress today that i picked-up at goodwill with my mom a few week ago - it's a knee-length, plaid, linen dress with a belt and when i put it on this morning, i wasn't impressed... but i wore it anyway because i hate changing outfits once i've made a decision... well, i've gotten like 10 compliments on it today - how funny is that... and to think i paid like $4 for the thing, that just cracks me up... so maybe i will keep it afterall... ;o)

guess that's all - tomorrow is weigh-in and i'm not looking forward to it... there will be a big gain for sure but that's okay - i need to have a starting point... i have to go on a press-check in baltimore in the morning and the CSR was like, "should i get donuts for the trip?"... i said, thanks but no thanks (i sure hope he was kidding!)...

happy tuesday...

i can see the light

at the end of the tunnel... i accomplished a great deal today - got my last, printed piece to the printer and now it's just a matter of approving the bluelines next week and we're good to go... there was also a meeting with the production company who's handling everything at the hotel - their graphics sucked and no one seemed to care... i mentioned the logo being wrong and they were like, "we only modified it a little"... a little? why modify it at all - it's the conference logo, you dumbasses! how would they like it if i just 'modified' their logo because i felt like it... stuff like that just makes me SO mad! anyway, i'm now researching photos to promote the '59 pink cadillac convertible that we're having in the exhibitor hall, along with $350 cutouts of elvis and marilyn monroe... i mean really! AND they're having a photographer there if you want your picture taken... maybe it's just me but i think we could've spent our money on something better - LIKE GETTING ALTON BROWN! :o)

went for a nice, slow jog today - i just can't seem to pick-up the pace outside but then again - i haven't been doing it regularly enough to make any improvement... either way, it was nice to be outside - got to see some doggies which is always nice... :o)

weekend plans: eric and i are meeting up w/his old roommate, wife, and kids for dinner tonight - i think we're doing indian but i'm not certain... we also have some time to kill so it's drinks after work until 7:00... tomorrow, we're going to a HUGE community yard sale - i usually go with my mom but he said he'd like to go so we're taking truck and hopefully will find some good bargains! the rest of the weekend will be spent washing my winter clothes, packing them away, and taking out all my spring/summer stuff... happy happy, joy joy! :o)

have a great weekend, everyone...

weigh-in

two steps forward and one step back, as they say... 2 pounds magically reappeared this week - okay, maybe not magically but i wasn't expecting it regardless... exercise has been sporadic - no spin class or 6-hour yard work this past weekend... and i've also been eating a lot of bagels for some reason (bread is my downfall) but i'm not going to let this gain derail me... i'm hoping that after this week is over, my daily schedule will be back to normal and thus, i can make exercising top priority again... i didn't go to the gym yesterday or today because of my workload but i will make a point to go tomorrow, regardless of what's on my plate... i made a big pot of turkey chili tonight so i have lunches for the rest of the week - i've also been eating a lot of fruit so my goal is to, once again, get off what i gained... :o)

like mentioned above - work has just been extremely busy... i have two more pieces that need to go to the printer this week and several signs to finish, including our booth which is taking forever because of the file sizes... i have also yet to hear from the printer about the our trip to baltimore, so i can see the embossing of the black-tie program, but am hoping it won't be til next week when things are slower... we shall see...

i learned on monday that a coworker, whom i used to be pretty close too, put in her 2-weeks notice last friday... she doesn't have another job lined-up but is instead going to key west and living in a house she rented for a month... she feels that getting away from everything and everyone will help her focus on what she wants to do w/her life and career - i can't say i blame her but personally, i could never make such a move without having some sort of plan... she offered eric and i a place to stay, if we wanted to visit - not sure if we'll go but it's a very nice thought! :o)

well, i'm off to finish some laundry - getting ready to swap my winter/summer clothes this weekend so there's much to do... i have about 10-15 pairs of shoes at work that i need to bring home too, i hate carrying them back and forth everyday so i've just kept them under my desk... shhhh... ;o)

happy hump day...

let the grilling begin

just thought i'd share some pics of our dinner last night... that norman! guess the grilled shrimp was a bit too enticing for him... i also made some whole wheat couscous but used chicken broth instead of water - it was awesome! too bad the weather is far from awesome today but it's good to have a day just to do nothing (okay i did some grocery shopping, laundry, and cleaning but that doesn't count!)... :o)

hi ho hi ho

the weather is gorgeous here today, good thing i was able to enjoy most of the day after having worked a few hours this morning... since i went to bed early and was up early - i made it to work by 9:00 and was done w/my project by noon... go me! i probably didn't HAVE to go in but i feel better knowing i'm staying ontop of things and alleviating more stress next week... it doesn't help that my boss in vegas for the weekend - not that we're not busy or anything but whatever, my time is coming, don't you worry! ;o)

i went for a jog/walk yesterday and managed to jog the whole way down to the lincoln memorial - not sure how far that is from my office but i would say somewhere around 2 miles... i must check online... it was very warm but it felt great to be outside, esp. after staring at the computer all morning... :o)

i headed over to eric's this afternoon, he's been working on his truck and when he's done - we'll be finishing the backyard... when he went to the auto parts store, i grabbed dinner at the asian market and now have shrimp marinating (lime juice, olive oil, ginger, garlic, and red pepper flakes) in the fridge along w/veggies for some cabobs... you gotta love grilling when it's in the high 70s! we also got some margarita mixer so i'll be enjoying that as well - i totally deserve a relaxing night and i'm looking forward to not doing a SINGLE THING tomorrow... :o)

enjoy the rest of your weekend, everyone...

weigh-in

i'm down another .6 pounds this week bringing me to an even 153 (4 more pounds, baby!)... i feel i have been doing really good with food and am getting as much exercise as i can, considering my workload, so this weigh-in means a lot... :o)

work is going better this week - i have about 10 different projects going on at once and they're all progressing at different levels... i was able to send about 100 signs/panels to the exhibit vendor yesterday so that was a big load of my back but there are still more to do unfortunately... i was also told to 'design' our booth panels which is fine but the last time i checked, i didn't see editor/writer on my resume... ;o)

my weekend was good - i had a good spin class on saturday morning and then headed over to eric's... we made use of the nice weather and though he's supposed to break the new harley engine in easy - we took it out for an afternoon ride thru the country... my dentist has been raving about a new mexican restaurant so we checked it out and had a really great meal... this was definitely my cheat meal for the week because i had: chips, fresh salsa, a cheese-filled poblano pepper, 3 fish tacos, AND a margarita on the rocks... YUM YUM! :o)

on sunday - eric and i tackled his back yard... what started out as just weeding and mowing, soon turned into redoing 2 of the flowerbeds and rototilling the area where he wants to put grass... i think we were out there for like 6 hours which was great because i got lots of exercise (love to mow grass!) and was able to enjoy the nice weather... the robins were going crazy after we were done because there were freshly dug-up worms everywhere (we even found some cool salamanders under a rock)... in the end, it was a good and relaxing weekend which is just what i needed! :o)

as for this weekend - i might be going out to my sister's but we'll see what happens with work... as long as i can keep things moving along this week, i may not have to come in... and if i do, that's okay too because in less than 3 weeks - all this will be over! whoo hooo! :o)

happy hump day...

so glad this week is over

work pretty much sucked yesterday, i was an emotional mess for some reason (meds?), and even had a few crying spells in my office... i lost a battle with a design i wanted to use in the final program - my boss and the woman in charge of the conference said it wasn't anything against me, my talent, or all the hard work i've been doing... it was a decision made by someone 'higher-up' and i just had to accept it... i was so hurt and so frustrated since i'm always trying to improve on what we do but sometimes, you just gotta move on regardless of how personal the work may be to you... i could've just locked myself in my office all day but i took my hour, had a great weight-workout, and called it a day at 5:00...

today was much better, thank god, and i made progress on some other stuff - thought i would have to work this weekend but i don't so that makes me VERY happy... i took my hour and went for a long walk down to the mall - it was gorgeous here today, sunny, and in the low 70s... too bad sat/sun are going to suck so i'm glad i took advantage of it... :o)

not sure what the rest of the weekend may hold - i told eric we should take a roadtrip somewhere but with the forecast, i'm not sure what we'll do... we haven't gone anywhere or done anything in quite a while and i'm feeling antsy... i also feel like i need to get away from here and from work and just have fun... we'll see what happens - he's hanging out w/the boys tonight so i'm home doing laundry and taking pictures...

as promised, i attempted to take pictures of some of the dresses i've purchased lately - sorry for the blurriness and half-body shots but there are only so many places that i can put the camera and have the timer work... my fav is the blue/black lace one and it will be perfect for my friend's wedding in july - i'll wear the green/flower one to eric's sister's wedding which is also in july... i have NO idea when i'll wear the red one but it was a steal at ross for $13.99 and i had to get it... anyway, max was enjoying himself and said i looked "very purrrrty"... ;o)

have a great weekend everyone... :o)

weigh-in

this past week was not perfect by any means, for tracking or exercising, but the scale said otherwise - i lost 3 pounds and accomplished losing what i gained last week and then some! whoo hooo! i really REALLY want to keep this momentum going because it feels great and i'm SO close to my goal... as long as i can keep things together at work, i will make more of an effort to get away from my desk for an hour and exercise... work will always be there when i get back... ;o)

i took today off because i had a doctor's appt. in the morning and a dentist appt. in the afternoon - my heart murmur is just that, a murmur, and nothing serious or anything for me to worry about... a lot of people have them, he said, and they're going to monitor it once a year to make sure everything remains in-check... the doc also took blood and will get the results in a few days to see if the synthroid level he has me on is right - he asked if i felt better and i said i felt fine, like i did before... i wasn't feeling bad or having any symptoms before the medication so maybe i won't feel anything after everything has levels out - who knows!

after i got home from the docs, i did 40-minutes on the treadmill, hit the shower, and then picked-up my mom (i take her along when she's not busy)... i headed to the dentist where once again, i was commented on how nice my teeth and gums are (note: i NEVER floss!) and i also have no cavities! since i rescheduled my hair appt. for later in the day - we had lunch at chipotle and then went to coldwater creek to exchange a jacket she got me (i needed a size small which still amazes me)... i tried on some dresses, since i now have two weddings to go too this summer, and found a knock-out dress with black lace over light blue satin on sale for $29... i also got another one that is cream with flowers, very flowy, and on sale $19 - the best part is that the dresses are in a size 8! i've never had dresses in a size 8! EVER! wow! i literally stood in front of the mirror, in both shock and awe, because what i was seeing was not what i'm used too... as much as a bitch and moan about gaining/losing - i think i've finally realized that my body HAS changed and all this hard work IS paying off... i'm glad no one else was in the dressing room because i probably looked really strange in front of the 3-way mirrors! ;o)

after shopping - it was off to get my haircut, then i dropped off mom, and headed to panera bread to meet two of my girlfriends for dinner... their new creamy tomato soup is to die for, if anyone's curious... i also ran to kohl's because my mom had a 30% coupon and i ended up getting another dress (for work) that will look adorable with black capri tights and ballet slippers... can you tell that when i go shopping, i GO shopping... :o)

hard to believe i have to go back to work tomorrow but it was a productive day and i'm ready to dive back into meeting material... unless there's a miracle, i will probably work on saturday - i just know things are going to start flying and flying fast so it's better to get what i can done now, and worry about the last-minute stuff later... i don't mind really because i can dress casual, play loud music, and not worry about people bugging me... :o)

happy hump day...

easy does it

i've been lazy today and considering the weather (cold and cloudy) i think that's justifiable... it was gorgeous here yesterday - sunny and in the high 60s - but i was indoors for most of the day doing spring cleaning... i cleaned my sliding glass doors and two windows in the LR which consisted of wiping down the blinds, cleaning the glass, washing curtains, and putting up my summer ones... i also cleaned the entire kitchen and bathroom, vacuumed, took a load of clothes to consignment, and dropped of a few bags at goodwill... it feels good to have this done esp. since i neglected the windows last spring and it's nice having less clutter in my bedroom... i'm usually at eric's every weekend so it was nice having some 'me' time, even it was to do some much needed cleaning (which i enjoy, yea i'm weird like that)... :o)

i haven't exercised since thursday - was a bit sore on friday since i started a new weight routine... thought i would hit the sat morning spin class but after working a lot this past week, i needed to sleep in... food has been okay - had thai friday night and we made pizza in eric's cast iron skillet last night... talk about total yum! i highly recommend this if you're into making pizza at home... tonight i'm making turkey kielbasa with veggies and brown rice - looking forward to a warm meal since it's so cold... :o)

i expect this week to be busy at work - hopefully i can continue to stay ahead of the curve and not flip-out on some staff members that THINK they have say over design... i'm sure a lot of places are this way but seriously - let me do my job! god forbid i try something different and new (and better looking in my opinion)... okay, end of rant... ;o)

enjoy the rest of your weekend...

weigh-in

hello... my name is jodi and i'm a non-pointaholic... for some reason i thought i was okay not keeping track of what i was eating but i was wrong... so very wrong... though i know the scale said i gained (2.8 pounds!), i know it's not real and i know it's only temporary... either way, it was enough to get me back on eTools today as well as to the gym for a good 45-minute workout... i ate out not once or twice last week but FOUR times so i'm sure that didn't help either but it's over and today is the beginning of a new week... i'm not sure i can lose 5.6 pounds like kim did but i'll try my best to at least say bye-bye to what i gained... :o)

work is busy and getting busier - some days are really good and i'm productive as hell but other days are just filled w/meetings and dealing w/vendors that seem to think they can change artwork and think you won't notice... um, right! nice try! here is just a tiny list of what i still have to design: 100+ signs for the exhibit hall, various booths (including ours), final program, exhibitor guide, product demo theater program, powerpoint slides, dinner menu, video to be shown on plasma tvs, and a bunch more misc stuff... i also have to do the materials for the black-tie event (that limited staff is allowed to attend) and finalize a 100+ page research report... OY VEY! CALGON, TAKE ME AWAY!

i'll try and keep up with everyone as best i can...

happy hump day...

TGIF

i know, i know - two posts in one week, what's up with that?!?! i've actually been able to take a break since a few projects are in review and some of the larger ones have yet to be dropped on my desk (i know they are coming however!)... boss is out til noon so it's been very quiet, which is always a good thing... there is also a potluck today which i am NOT participating in - too much going on and i really don't feel like being tempted with unhealthy food... besides, a girlfriend and i had dinner last night and we went to this great mediterranean place... i chose hummus with fresh bread, tabbouleh salad, falafel, and baklava with pistachio ice cream (OMG it was heavenly)... needless to say, i was quite full so eating anything heavy today is just out of the question... ;o)

blogger update: for those that know anne - she's returned and writing on a new blog... welcome back, anne, we missed you... :o)

weekend plans: i have no idea really... eric is putting a new engine in the harley this weekend so he'll be occupied both today and tomorrow... i will probably head to my mom's for a while since i haven't seen her in a while - we might go somewhere but am not sure yet... it seems that these past few weekends have been crazy-busy so i wouldn't mind keeping things low-key... oh, there will also be a spin class in my future - prob tomorrow or sunday... :o)

so what are YOUR plans for the weekend?

happy friday...

weigh-in

i have a confession to make... because of all the shit that's been going on for the last month or so, i haven't been tracking my food (let alone use my eTools!)... exercise hasn't been that great either - i've gone from 5-days a week to maybe 2-3, if that... so to say that i was more than surprised to see a .4 pound loss this morning would be an understatement, but will take what i can get... i haven't been in the 153's since before thanksgiving and that brings me even closer to my goal... i had hoped to get there by next month but cannot predict what my life will be like for the next 6 weeks (god help me!)... i'm just going to do my best and refocus once this damn conference is over... :o)

sorry for the lack of posting/commenting but work has been my top priority... i had a 100-page publication to format, most of those pages contained tables which were a pain-in-the-ass, BUT i got the first-draft done 3 days ahead of schedule... yay me! there have been many early mornings and late nights so as long as i keep ahead of everything, maybe i won't have to work so much as i have been (rolls eyes)...

and regarding lunch w/my boss last week - when i have more time to write, i will tell you all about it... good news for sure! :o)

my easter was good - eric and i headed to my sister's on thursday night so we could spend time w/my dad on friday morning, before heading to pittsburgh... he's doing as well as can be expected - i helped him w/lunch, gave him a shave, did some exercises, walked around for a while, and just talked... as for the rest of the weekend - we hung out w/his family including his newly engaged sister, went to the local bar and played shuffleboard, helped take care of the cows for his brother, shopped at goodwill w/his mom, and ate lamb (which i did NOT like!)... it actually snowed friday night! crazy! :o)

well, that's all i have for now... i hope you're all doing well and i promise to catch-up w/everyone this weekend... :o)

happy hump day...

taking a long weekend

weigh-in

scale was down this week - i lost the pound i had gained last week but am expecting that will happen a lot in the next month in a half... my long days/nights have started at work and though i will try my best to get to the gym - there will be days where that just won't be possible... i hadn't worked out since saturday and after doing 45-minutes on the treadmill yesterday (walk with intervals), i felt amazing... i had so much energy that it was hard for me to fall asleep at my usual time, but i did evenutally and then got back up at 6:00... i cannot wait for may 7 and then all this stress will be over... :o)

i tried one of marie's breakfasts this morning - 2 lowfat eggo waffles with cottage cheese (i also added some sugar-free syrup)... it was rather tasty and a nice change from my usual cereal... sand peaking of marie, her success story is now on weightwatchers.com so check it out! you go girl! :o)

my boss is taking me out to lunch today to "run some ideas" by me - not sure what that means but i'm assuming it's work-related... i am totally prepared to ask for a raise, if more work will be required of me, so we'll see what happens...

not much else has been going on and like i said, work is busy and will only get busier... i will probably be posting/commenting much less than usual too, but will try my best to see what you've all be up too... if anything, i'll always post my weigh-ins so at least you can look forward to each wednesday... :o)

happy hump day...

lazy day

i love rainy sundays because it makes sleeping-in all that much more satisfying... eric made eggs benedict for breakfast - he had told me about this since we starting dating and that was over 3-years ago... it was very tasty... as for the rest of today - i hope the rain stops so we can change the oil in my car and that's about it... after the full day we had yesterday, it feels good to not have any plans (though i do have THREE magazines to read, ugh!)... :o)

i went to spin class yesterday - thought it was canceled but then they announced a sub had been found... she wasn't very good and she certainly didn't do anything to motivate you - i mean really, how many times can you say, "up... and down... up... and down"... i could've done a much better job and have better music too! ;o)

after that, i headed over to eric's and we proceeded to work on the backyard - we raked, mowed, and pulled-out dead stuff all over the place... looks so much better! the goal is to tear-up half the yard this spring (which is now over-grown beds), plant grass, and have a bigger garden this summer so i'm very excited about having more veggies and fresh herbs... we had gorgeous weather too (low 60s) so we took the harley out in the country for about 2 hours, felt great to be out though when the sun was hiding behind clouds - it got a bit chilly! dinner was marinated steaks on the grill, potatoes that had cooked in the coals, and veggie kabobs! mmm mmm... :o)

we also watched a movie called '30 days of night' - i'm a sucker for horror films and have to say, it wasn't that bad... though it wasn't in the same league as say, 'the grudge' or 'the ring,' the special effects were good and the cinematography was pretty nice... think alaska, snow, total darkness, and shrieking vampires... ;o)

enjoy the rest of your weekend...

weigh-in

and back up we go - 1 pound gain this week - can't be lucky all the time, right? i'm cool with it, weigh-in wasn't really my focus this week... should be though since i wanted to reach goal by next month but hey - sometimes life just gets in the way... ;o)

eric took me to dinner tonight, sort of a late valentine's day and birthday present... we went to the place that we had our first 'real' date (meaning not a bar) so it was nice to go back... we had calamari, side salad, i had the shrimp and crab over penne pasta, and he had the fettuccine which was amazing... i only had one glass of wine and NO dessert but this will definitely be my splurge meal for the week... i'm glad i went to the gym after work - though jogging was rough, i stayed on the treadmill for 45 minutes... :o)

work is still busy - my boss wants to take me to lunch next week to talk about some things... not sure what that means but i'll stay optimistic that it's something good... :o)

sorry to keep this short but eric is here and i need to get lunches made for tomorrow... since i didn't eat but half of my dinner, i have something to look forward too tomorrow night... oh, and watching LOST... :o)

THANK YOU for all the birthday wishes and happy hump day...

mmm mmm

i love my mom, she is the best! look what was waiting for me when i got home today... this is SO much better than a birthday cake! thanks, mom! :o)

1 year closer to 40

today is my birthday (big 37) and so far, nothing traumatic has happened... i haven't read my annual "if you were born on this day" horoscope yet but will and i usually make a copy to put on my bulletin board, just to keep track of things that happen throughout the year... seems corny but that's just what i do... i'm sure you're wondering if i have any BIG plans for later and the answer is, no... i saw eric on sun/mon and we decided wednesday would be a good night for dinner (schedule reasons) and plans w/a girlfriend on thursday had to be rescheduled... am i pissed that i don't have plans? not really - birthdays are just another day in my book, no use getting my panties all in a bunch... if i was turning 16 or 21 - that would be another story... ;o)

i apologize for not posting - since last week, my life has just been a whirlwind... i was at here til almost 9:00 last thursday working on this black-tie invitation, and in tears for most of the time because the mailroom printed them wrong... i was able to save most of them but the fact of the matter is, they fucked up a pretty important job... friday, i went to my sister's so we could meet the funeral director and go thru all that stuff - it went surprisingly well though some stuff was just plain creepy... she also took me to lunch at this old, victorian house that has been converted into a bed & breakfast and i bought myself a new, silver ring at this tiny giftshop on the way home... :o)

while i was out there, i was able to spend some time w/my dad - he's doing good though i've accepted he no longer recognizes who i am... we did some exercises with hand-weights and i helped him w/lunch, also took a few strolls in the hallways as well as worked on a sudoku puzzle (okay, that was all me)... on the way home, i stopped at the veteran's cemetary and got all that taken care of - it really is a nice spot though it was quite cold and windy when i was there... i feel better knowing we have all this done, i can concentrate on making more of an effort to see him on a regular basis and now that spring is around the corner - i won't have to worry about snow!

food/exercise are slowly getting back on track and i'm certainly not expecting a loss tomorrow... but no worries - that's the least of my concern right now...

sorry for the lack of comments, i'll try and catch-up with everyone soon! :o)

happy tuesday...

weigh-in

i was totally expecting a gain or at the very least a maintain this week, considering i drank my weight in orange juice this weekend and was out of town (which is always a challenge food-wise)... losing .4 pounds to some may not be much but for me - it's a huge accomplishment considering how i've felt lately... i only managed ONE trip to the gym last week so if i had exercised more, perhaps the loss would've been greater but who knows - i've had weeks where i exercised like crazy and didn't lose an ounce! anyway, i did manage 25-minutes on the treadmill yesterday and felt a little better so today will be weights... :o)

i'm feeling pretty close to normal today so that's a relief, even though i've been reading WAY to much info about taking synthroid and what the possible side-effects could be... my friend (who got married last summer) has been taking it and she told me that within the first 6 weeks - she was losing hair, her moods were all out-of-whack, and her sex-drive was zero - YIKES! she's always been very sensitive to meds so i'm hoping my case won't be that bad but it's still a bit scary... after i go back in 6-weeks to have my levels checked out, i may make an appt. to see an endocrinologist since that is what they specialize in... might as well add another doctor to my ever-growing list, right... ;o)

as i was browsing some websites yesterday, i came across this list of 5 things you can do to achieve wellness... since i thought it could easily be applied to losing weight or trying to be more healthy in general, i wanted to share it with you...

###

The 5 Ms
The first M is MIND
Before you can accomplish any goal, you must set your mind to the task. If you are not mentally ready you will fail.

The second M is MOUTH
What you eat or do not eat, affects every cell in your body, therefore the next M is mouth. Food is not an option; it is a prescription to nourish your tender and wonderful cells.

The third M is MOTION
The body was meant to move and last a lifetime. What you don't use, you will surely lose! I will be giving you simple ways to exercise in the future.

The fourth M is MOTIVATION
In order to stay focused toward your goal, you must maintain motivation.

The final M is MAINTENANCE
Keeping the treasure of good health and maintaining good health is the ultimate goal, and in some ways is more difficult that than the process of getting there.

###

work has been steadily busy and has helped take my mind of things, i seem to worry and get more stressed out when there's less to do... i am also working very hard at not feeling guilty for taking a day off - whether because i'm sick or for personal/family reasons... i have almost 7 weeks of vacation and 4 weeks of sick-time to use, and i plan on taking advantage of it more often - mental vacations are just as important as physical ones... ;o)

happy hump day!

under the weather (again)

this year has totally sucked for me cold-wise, i got sick yet again friday night on our way to pittsburgh... after driving thru a horrendous snowstorm and finally making it to his parents in one piece, i felt horrible - sore throat, swollen glands, etc.. by saturday, i was really feeling like crap so his mom gave me some zicam and vitamin-c and i pretty much stayed in my pajamas all day... i felt a little better yesterday but didn't have the energy to go to to work today so i called-in sick... eric went to work and i went back to sleep for a while until both cats decided it was time for me to get up - one would think they'd have something better to do but i guess not... :-p

since i had to get my RX filled, i picked up a few things at the store, and will be taking it easy for the rest of the day... i got the new WW magazine and plan on reading it even though i have been THE worst weightwatcher lately (sorry!)... between work, my dad, being sick, and getting the news from doctor last week - i am feeling pulled in too many directions... and as much as i want to lose these last few pounds, i think i need to concentrate on my health and mental well-being for a while... mind you, that doesn't mean that i'm going to disappear - i'm just going to reprioritize for a bit until i feel settled again...

happy monday...

p.s. i picked up one of these today so i'll let you know how it is... :-)

TGIF

i'm glad it's friday, it's been a rough week to say the least... food has been okay, exercise has been null and void really - i WILL get back on track next week... i had a doctor's appt. this morning so i didn't get to the office til noon and even though i still have every right to use my lunch hour - i feel it's best that i don't go since my boss isn't here... plus, i left a bit early yesterday to get my haircut and i'd rather leave a bit early today since eric and i are heading to pittsburgh tonight (please no snow!)... either way, i'm just glad the week is almost over! :o)

my physical went fine this morning - he went over my blood work results from last week and said everything looked great/normal MINUS having an under active thyroid (just by a hair!)... so now i have to be put on thyroid meds and get rechecked in 6 weeks... he also said he heard a heart murmur so he wants me to have an echo-gram as well - great news for a friday, right? i've been reading up on the thyroid stuff and even though it sounds pretty common, there are still things that could be potentially serious, esp. when it comes to trying to get pregnant, being pregnant, or after having a baby... not that i'm planning on getting knocked-up soon but considering i already have the blood-clotting dissorder (which has its own laundry list), it just makes me even more worried... i know, i know, i shouldn't be worrying about something that hasn't even happened yet but i can't stress enough how important it is to me to have a family... i've known for a very long time that being a mom is what i'm meant to be - i just feel it... hard to explain...

anyway, so does anyone have an under active thyroid and if so, have you had any problems with your medication? any side effects? has anything good happened to you since you were put on meds? just curious... i've read some things that said you could lose weight but i'm not going to hold my breath... ;o)

regarding my dad, he's doing okay since being back at the nursing home... my sister said he was eating and trying to talk so that's a good sign - not sure what the doctor said so i need to call her over the weekend... i'm going out there next friday so we can meet w/a funeral home and get an idea of what to expect and what we can take care of now... they say that w/dementia that there will gradually be more bad days than good days, so we'll just take it as it comes...

my weekend will be spent in pittsburgh with eric and his family - weather might be rainy on the drive there tonight but we're hoping it will warm-up tomorrow or sunday... he's going to make his famous chili for dinner tomorrow night - always tastes better from their home grown, organic beef... :o)

sorry for such a serious post, just sharing what's going on with me... have a nice weekend, everyone... :o)

weigh-in

i maintained this week so weigh-in was better than expected... i'm not feeling very well (achy, etc.) and got a call from my sister about my dad, they were taking him to the hospital, said it could be his heart... i'm not sure what they found, since i'm still waiting to hear back from her, so i may be heading out of town pretty soon... i got her voicemail this morning as i was waiting for some coworkers at a site-visit - so between that and not feeling well - it was a pretty shitty morning... :o(

i talked to my boss about possibly taking some time-off, she was more than understanding and said to do whatever i needed to do... i also called the veteran's cemetery near my sister and got the ball rolling with that (we needed too anyway) and it wasn't as bad as i thought it would be... granted, no one wants to talk about death before it happens but he said it's much easier to get the paperwork done now vs. later... he was very nice and very helpful so at least that aspect will be taken care of...

not sure when i'll be back or have an update, so say a little prayer for us...

update: my dad is doing better, it wasn't a heart attack but think it could've been a mini-stroke - won't know til the blood results are back... being he fell out of his chair last night (because they are idiots and left him unattended) they think that could've jarred something as well... my sister sounded relieved in any case so for now, things are okay... thanks for the well-wishes - it means a lot! :o)

case of the blahs

sorry i haven't posted, i've been around but way too busy to write anything... i'm back to hating my job right now - there's so much to do for this annual meeting plus my laundry list of other stuff keeps getting longer... i'm tired of everything again, perhaps i'm just in a funk - i know i was overdue for one anyway... eric caught some cold over the weekend so i'm just counting the days til i start feeling symptoms as well - lovely, right? hopefully i'll be okay esp. since we're going to pittsburgh this weekend and who wants to travel when they're not feeling well... :o(

anyway, my weekend was okay - we didn't do much since he was sick but did watch 'the aviator' on sunday before i went home... i spent the rest of the day sulking since i didn't have anything to do and was extremely bored - ever have one of those days where you just don't want to do anything? i wasn't tired either so i watched a lot of tv - including some of the race, the oscars, and dexter... OH, i did install my new software (adobe creative suite 3) so maybe i actually accomplished something afterall... ;o)

i also managed to get new sneakers, tried them out yesterday and they seemed good on the treadmill... i wasn't in the mood to workout but made myself do 3-miles anyway, not sure if it helped but at least i made an effort... should go today but again, not feeling like it - we'll see...

i'm not looking forward to weigh-in tomorrow either - haven't been horrible but haven't been accountable... i just get so off-course when the weekend gets here... i need to go to the grocery store too - had oatmeal with craisins and walnuts for lunch - time to restock... :o)

happy tuesday...

TGIF

it was hard getting up this morning, esp. after having yesterday off and hoping the weather would be worse (all we got was a wet, slushy mix overnight)... one good thing came out of it though - my boss is 'working' from home so it's been a very easy and very quiet day so far... maybe we can squeeze out of here early but i should also take advantage and get in an extra-long workout... speaking of workouts - i tried my new 10-minute solutions pilates dvd yesterday and it sucked - i found it very distracting using that band and i felt like i got nothing out of it... just goes to show you that all workout dvds are not created equal - how frustrating! i should've gone to the 5:30 spin class but what can you do... :o(

my doctor appointments went as well as could be expected - had blood drawn in the morning and then had my mammogram later... it wasn't that bad and they didn't find any changes since last time, so i'm good to go for another few years... i was telling eric how nice and upbeat my tech was - you could really tell she loved her job and for someone that has to touch boobies all day, i find that quite impressive! from there, i hung-out w/one of my girlfriends and her two, small children (1 is also in school) so that was fun... they are quite a handful but also very amusing and cute at the same time - makes me want children even more... her little boy, owen, was prancing around in his sister's tinkerbell high-heel shoes at one point - talk about funny... ha! :o)

weekend plans include: help eric get things setup on ebay to sell some motorcycle parts, buy new running shoes, hit the grocery store, maybe a little cleaning/laundry, and some plain-old R&R... he was supposed to go to p'burgh this weekend but because of the weather - he's going next week instead which means, i can go along too... and the weekend after that, i'll probably be going back out to my sister's to help her visit funeral homes - good times...

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

weigh-in

finally the scale decided to show some progress in the right direction - i'm down 1.8 pounds this week so let's hope i can keep this momentum going... the loss might've been better if i hadn't splurged this past weekend - i made lasagna at my sister's and then we had brownie sundaes late that night (my fault for making them!)... i wasn't really concerned about what i was eating at that point but am glad i didn't let it carry-over into sunday... if there's one thing i have learned, no matter how bad you may feel you've been with food - you can always start over at the very next meal or snack... :o)

and i would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone that left comments or emailed me about my dad, i appreciate the concern and well-wishes... one never knows just how much time they have left with a family member so i'm going to focus on being there as much as i can for him - same goes with spending time with my mom... i try to help her out as much as i can, as often as i can, so at least i can feel good about that... :o)

work is beginning to pile-up - between this annual meeting in may, i also have other miscellaneous projects on my to-do list that will continue... as good as i am at multitasking, i prefer working on one thing at a time so i can focus all my creative energy at once... i left in a sour mood yesterday and had a headache ontop of that so after dinner, a bath, and catching-up w/everyone's blogs - i went to bed at 10:00... (yawn)

tomorrow is doctor-day for me - bloodwork in the morning (pre-op for my annual physical) and then i have a mammogram at 10:45... though i'm under 40 - my doctor strongly recommends me getting them since i've had a history of lumps... i'm so looking forward to having my boobs squished and squashed... yay! :op

happy hump day...

extended weekend

i am totally enjoying my day-off... had a nice sleep-in, made some coffee, had some breakfast, started the laundry, and then headed out to do some errands... i dropped some things off at the goodwill, then ran to rugged warehouse to look at their sneakers (didn't find anything), and then ran to ross to see what kind of bargains i could find... since there's a slight possibility that i'll have to go to this black-tie event in may, i looked thru their dresses and tried a few on... the gods must be with me today because i not only found one but it's red, a size 8 (what?!?!), AND marked down to $13.99... i will post a pic when i'm looking more presentable (total baseball hat day)... i also hit the grocery store and have dinner in the fridge as i type: chicken breasts marinating in soy sauce, olive oil, fresh lime juice, fresh ginger, and scallions... i will also be hitting the 5:30 spin class so this day won't be a total wash... :o)

my weekend was good and the visit w/my dad wasn't as bad as i thought... he looked a lot better than i was expecting though i think the time has come where he no longer recognizes me... we did some exercises, helped him eat lunch both days, as well as pushed him around the hallways... my sister and i had a long discussion about his final plans - so much to think about and decide, it's scary... my father was not a saver so what we have to work with, is not much - sorry to bring up such a morbid subject but has anyone dealt with cremation? even though he expressed to my sister before he got sick that he wanted to be buried in a VA cemetary - we think between funeral costs and overall logistics, it would be hard on everyone... i'm going to talk to a close friend who's been thru the process but wanted to throw that question out there (feel free to email me)...

anyway, i'm going to look thru my fitness magazine and enjoy the rest of my day... :o)

happy president's day...

TGIF part deux

my dinner plans have been scrapped and i'm totally okay with it - eric had a really long/hard day and got home late... so instead of making him come over and then dragging him to dinner, i suggested he come over tomorrow morning for breakfast before we hit the road... now some would be pissed (esp. since this was to be our valentine's dinner) but i'm honestly not - i know what it's like to feel drained from work and just feel like decompressing at home with no one around... besides, i really didn't need that pizza or glass of wine anyway... being an understanding girlfriend has always been a trait of mine that i'm proud to have, and would never force someone to do something for my own selfish needs... i love him to pieces and sometimes, you gotta do what you gotta do... ;o)

so what's a girl to do when she can't go out to eat? she goes shopping! i picked-up my order from kohls.com today and amazingly, everything fit (even the adorable black satin ballet slippers)... i am now officially a size 10 and size medium and am pretty ecstatic about that... since i had such good luck (and saw another deal on slickdeals today), i went back online and found more clothes... i bought 3 pairs of pants, 2 pair of capris, an exercise tank, a sweater, and pair of gloves - all for only $54.70 (30% off plus free shipping)... i'm such a great bargain shopper, i can't stand it! :o)

revised evening plans include: having dinner (mini-quesadillas on corn tortillas with refried beans and cheese), taking a bubble bath, and finishing my dean koontz book (seize the night)... this one is SO good - it's scary, suspenseful, and downright creepy... i love it! i also got my new oprah and fitness magazines so i'll take them along this weekend... :o)

i'm really going now so have a great night... ;o)

p.s. don't forget to watch 'how to look good naked'!!!

TGIF

4 miles
42:20 minutes
475 calories

was going to shoot for distance but decided on speed this time, not too shabby me thinks (i can't do both yet but i'm working on it!)... there's nothing like a good workout before the weekend, and before going to dinner w/the boyfriend later tonight... my plan is to split an oven-fired pizza with him and have a nice, big salad and one glass of wine - totally doable, right? i managed okay at bob evan's last night with my mom but had 2 of their yummy rolls along with 6 fried shrimp, potato encrusted halibut, and a baked potato... no dessert though so yay me! :o)

i was here til almost 7:00 last night, waiting for some web-shit to be done, so i had to move dinner back with my mom and thus, i didn't get to watch LOST... eric didn't see either so we may either find it online and watch it later or just watch it next week - for those of you that DID watch it, how was it? don't give anything away though! ;o)

eric and i are also heading to my sister's this weekend, or rather to spend some time w/my dad... he was in the hospital a few weeks back and doesn't seem to be recovering very well - it could be the dementia escalating, or his heart wearing out, or both but i feel it is my duty to see him as much as possible... my sister wants to hold a family meeting between the 3 kids soon so we can discuss final plans - not like we're expecting anything or want to think about it but she's heard it's better to deal with stuff now rather than later when you're an emotional wreck... my dad was such a vibrant and funny man when i was younger, so it's very hard to see him in the condition he's now in - weak, quiet, mumbles his words, can't feed himself... one would think i was his granddaughter because of how much he's aged, but the eyes totally give us away... they are something i'll always love about him and thankful that he gave them to me... :o)

sorry to end on such a crappy note but just thought i'd share... as much as this blog is about losing weight, it's also about a lot more... thanks for listening...

have a great weekend...

to all my blogging-peeps out there

i'm going on a work-related field trip today (to the smithsonian castle) because we are having a special black-tie event there in may... not sure why i have to go but my boss said it would be good idea... anyway, since we're going during my usual workout time - i ate lunch early and headed to the gym a few minutes ago to only find my bag EMPTY of workout clothes... i guess i could've worn just socks and sneakers but alas, i didn't want to give the other people a heart-attack... i was so in the mood to workout today too, go figure... :o)

thank-you for the comments yesterday - it always amazes me at what a great group of blogging-friends i have out there... i know what i was feeling was foolish and know the numbers don't matter (which i say all the time!) but it was just one of those days when i just wasn't expecting it... i have made great strides in the last year and know my body is much healthier and happier than it ever has been, so for that i am truly thankful... i also know that the closer i get to my goal, that harder my body will refuse to give-up the weight - just a fact of life, right? anyway, i have left the pity-party and moved on to bigger and better things...

plans for tonight include meeting mom for dinner at bob evan's (need to look at their menu and plan my meal) and watching LOST... eric and i will be celebrating tomorrow night so we're going to the restaurant where we had our first 'real' date 3 years ago (meeting for drinks doesn't count as a date, in my book)... ;o)

and just for shits and giggles, check-out the new indiana jones preview... i can't wait! :o)

happy thursday...

weigh-in

i'm trying very hard not to be down on myself today, but it ain't easy... i was SO feeling good these past couple of days - i ran 5 miles last week (first time ever!) and i really made an effort to track what i was eating... so to my surprise, the stupid scale said i gained 1.2 pounds - it was liking having the air sucked out of me because i was expecting a nice loss... this is a perfect example of how you think you're doing everything right - eating, exercising, feeling thinner - and yet a piece of metal & plastic tells you otherwise... i know my body has a cycle - it took me FOREVER to get out of the 160s so now i think it's being extra stubborn at getting out of the 150s... i refuse to give up because my goal is to lose these last 7.4 pounds by april, which is my 3-year WW anniversary... it's not going to be easy but i'm looking forward to the challenge (i think)... :o)

not much else going on really - work has been quiet and the weather sucks - cold and rainy and very icey... i DID vote last night and was amazed that it only took me 15 minutes (after work) since i was expecting a bigger crowd... guess most people voted before work or during the day...

happy hump day...

grab this!

it was really hard to get up this morning esp. since (a) it was freezing outside, (b) eric had the day off, and (c) norman was being rather cuddly in bed (and so was eric for that matter but i digress)... he got home around 6:00 last night so we hung-out, caught-up on everything, watched LOST (it was good but not as good as last week i thought), and then enjoyed my best coconut curry chicken ever... okay, i DO need to cut-back on the red pepper flakes next time but otherwise - it was super tasty! :o)

work is quiet today and i've been rather bored, so i've been catchgin-up with all my blogs and trying to find anything/anyone new... i did come across this report on CNN about a writer, lynn, who lost over 168 on weight watchers and gives a lot of credit to blogging for being accountable and so successful... i just had to share some of her words with you because even though she has lost almost 200 pounds, she still has the same struggles that the rest of us go thru - check out her blog here...

"I gained a pound this week. A well-deserved pound. I know this doesn’t seem like much in the grand scheme, but you know and I know that if I don’t nip it in the bud, that pound will recruit 10 of its buddies and I’ll no longer fit in any of my clothes."

"The pound I gained represents stress and poor food choices ... I am what I call a “grabber.” I grab a cracker here, a Hershey Kiss there, maybe a few almonds or a spoonful of soy frozen dessert – no one big thing in one sitting. But all these little grabs add up in the course of a day, and when I don’t acknowledge these little grabs in my food journal, it adds up to a pound in a week."

"I was reminded again tonight that being at goal doesn’t make me immune from the the familiar feelings of the past ... I wanted to eat tonight, mindlessly, and drink more wine than a glass. I wanted to not care if I worked out tomorrow. I wanted to not give a roaring crap about anything, just for a night. But that guiding voice inside me, that conscience within my conscience, told me that if I didn’t care tonight, I wouldn’t care tomorrow or the next day or the next."

i never knew that there was a term for what i did, but am glad to know i'm now a 'grabber'... who would've thought... ;o)

happy monday...

no slacking aloud

i allowed myself to sleep-in yesterday - didn't feel guilty for not going to spin class since i did that 5-mile run on friday... i was still up early though (damn those kitties!) so i enjoyed a nice breakfast and then hit the road... i helped my mom organize some things as well as get her xmas stuff in the attic AND her dry (but still very smelly) xmas tree out of the house... we then headed to the chocolate-thing which wasn't much besides a few stores handing out hershey kisses, quite the letdown in my book... one place did have some sparkling juice and champagne so i chose the latter, why the hell not... from there, we headed north to hanover so we could stock-up on snyder pretzels from the outlet (a local brand in PA) and then visited w/my brother for a while... i treated them to dinner at texas weiners and yes, the name is exactly what it is... 2 chili & onion dogs later (and fries), i felt like i had ingested enough fat for a week! still tasty though! oh, my mom and i also went to the clarks outlet and i scored a pair of tan, suede boots for only $19.99! sweet! :o)

as for today, i was up early again so i hit the grocery store, made breakfast, cleaned the kitchen & bathroom, did some laundry, vacuumed, AND went for a 3-mile jog... i knew i had to do some sort of exercise today and took advantage of the nice (though windy) weather we're having... i used mapmywalk.com to calculate how far my route was, it's pretty cool... :o)

eric will be home later today so i'm making coconut curry chicken for dinner and need to get that started... i am looking forward to seeing him as well as watching LOST tonight, i hope it's a good episode! :o)

enjoy the rest of your sunday... :o)

who doesn't love a bargain

i know i've mentioned slickdeals.net on here before but in case you've never heard of it, this website is chock-full of great deals and coupons for all sorts of stuff... i usually check once a day but since i've been so busy at work this week, i was a bit behind... well, it appears on tuesday they posted an online discount for kohl's... i scored some great items on clearance, for both now and spring, PLUS i got an extra 30% off (if you have a kohl's charge, you can use both codes)... and if you're worried about returns, you can just take the items back to your local store! how awesome is that! :o)

i was finally able to watch how to look good naked tonight and was beginning to feel like the episodes were becoming repetitive/similar when, once again, carson said some interesting things... in the begining of the show, this woman was really hating her body, after having 2 kids (why i don't know because i thought she looked great!), but by the time he went thru his usual: undress, line-up, and bra & clothes shopping, you could tell she was beginning to feel better... he told her, "i want you to feel good about who you are NOW, not who you were then because you can't go back... the only place you can go is forward so i want you to learn how to love what you have"...

i thought that was a pretty cool statement... how many of you have thought that same thing? i know i have and after hearing that, it just made me think about why i'm so hooked on a weight from college... that was (gulp) 15 years ago and i've come such a long way since then... yea, i've had some difficult times but overall - i consider myself to be much smarter, happier, and healthier... maybe this has just reconfirmed that enjoying who i am today is way more important than some stupid number from 1992... god, i'm getting old...

just thought i'd share, have a good night...

TGIF

had a huge NSV last night, i went to see the movie 'juno' with a girlfriend and her 15-year old daughter (excellent movie, by the way) and we grabbed a bite to eat beforehand at macaroni grill... i'm sure you know the place - their menu is chocked-full of italian goodies like lobster ravioli, lasagna, fettuccine alfredo, etc. etc.... how can one even WANT to eat healthy when all that is staring up at you? but i'm here to say it IS possible, my friends, i ordered the skinny chicken with a balsamic glaze, fresh broccoli, and asparagus... i did had two small pieces of their yummy bread and a small salad but all in all, another dinner success... i also had a few SMALL handfulls of popcorn during the movie but that's it - no chocolate and no soda... yay me! :o)

i got home after 10 and was all ready to watch LOST when once again, my VCR revolted against me and decided not to tape the damn show... i think one one of the settings was messed up so PLEASE don't say anything! i may wait til sunday to watch it with eric but it will be difficult to say the least... i have no plans this evening besides finishing my book and watching 'how to look good naked'... :o)

my weekend plans are pretty low-key with eric being out of town... i'm going to the gym tomorrow morning and then plan on spending the day with my mom - we're going to a chocolate sampling thing in a little town north of where she lives, it should be fun... then i have to help her take the tree down and put away xmas stuff, which involves going thru the 3rd apartment and up into the attic... fun fun! i also need to install the new CS3 on my mac and home and i'll be good to go! :o)

hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

update: i just ran 5 miles in 55 minutes - that is a first for me (going that far AND going that long)... what a rush! and to celebrate, i'm enjoying my boston cream pie yogurt as a snack - mmm mmm... :o)

spotlight

i've always enjoyed finding new blogs and websites, and then sharing them with you, that's just part of my 'thang'... as much as i enjoy reading my stand-bys (i mean that in the most lovingest of ways), finding someTHING or someONE new is exciting to me... so today i thought i would share one of my recent finds but would like YOU to do the same... take a minute and share with us a blog/website that you find to be interesting, motivating, inspirational, or just plain fun... i know we all have different interests so maybe you'll have a golden gem that we should know about... either way, just thought it would be fun to spread the joy... enjoy! :o)

bitchcakes --> a WW glamour-girl who has lost almost 50 pounds since last year
not only does she share her weightloss success on this blog, but she also shares great tidbits of information... besides talking about the usual stuff (weekly weigh-ins, etc.), she's had some great posts about things she has done to be successful at weight watchers - this post really says it all so take a moment and check it out... :o)

my girlfriend and i went to this great brick-oven pizzeria last night for dinner and i feel not one ounce of regret... we shared a wonderful salad and then i chose the margarita pizza that had fresh mozz, basil, and cherry tomatos (the size was about 10")... i also had one glass of wine and no dessert so i'm calling it a success in my book... :o)

my focus this week has been food - i realized that my veggie/fruit intake was pretty crappy so i've had a salad everyday for lunch, as well as an apple and yogurt for a snack... i feel good about my choices and though it takes time to make my lunch every night, i know it will pay-off in the long run... i also realized that i'm much more structured during the week with my food, compared to sat/sun, so that will always be a challenge for me... after making an effort to track my points last weekend, i know it's possible to stay OP even when my schedule may be different... there's no reason for me to be such a slacker come friday night so i'm going to keep working at this goal... :o)

i can't wait for LOST tonight, still can't believe there's only 7 more episodes left... :o(

happy thursday...

weigh-in

i'm happy to be back on the never-ending, weightloss rollercoaster - my scale showed a 1.8 pound loss this week, so i will take it... i'm still not down to my pre-holiday weight but that's okay, i have chosen to be more imperfect than perfect in the last few weeks and i feel that is more realistic for the long haul... it's important to stick with something that you KNOW you can keep doing, regardless of the situation you're in, and i think what i've been doing, is good for me right now... :o)

i had to do some errands last night, one of them included going to target since i prefer their greeting cards over the ones a the grocery store... i quickly glanced thru their clearance racks and found THE cutest black, mock-wrap dress, in a size medium... "do i dare to even TRY it on?" i thought... what the hell, right? i'm glad i did because it fit and it looked good and best of all - it was marked down to $12... talk about a score! i'm wearing it today and feel oh-so-very sexy, even got a few compliments already... it's going to be a great day! ;o)

so after my tar-jay spending spree, i had to pick-up some things at the grocery store and grabbed a few yoplait light yogurts - have you tried these? OMG they are so good! i had the apple turnover last night for dinner and it was incredibly creamy, apply, and just plain tasty... to see what other flavors they have, check out their website, i can't wait to try the boston cream pie! :o)

work should be quiet today so i'm looking forward to catching-up with everyone... i'm also meeting another girlfriend after work for dinner, we haven't decided where we're going so i may need to do some research and find a healthy option... i tend to be a bit more lenient on weigh-in day, since it's the beginning of a new week, but i don't want to blow all my flexies on one dinner... ;o)

happy hump day...