weekend update

GO REDKINS! what a great way to end the weekend! eric and i had an awesome trip to the harley-davidson factory in york, pa yesterday - though the weather was crappy, it will still worth the drive... they hold an open-house once a year and open up the factory for tours, and even though you get to walk thru the actual buildings - not much is going on production wise... we did find out though that during the week, you can have a more in-depth tour when things are up and running so we plan on going back... after touring 2 separate factories, we walked thru the small museum, watched a 10-minute movie, sat on some bikes, and then bought a few things in the store... a lot of outdoor activities had been canceled because of the weather (including demo-rides of their new models) so we only walked around briefly before leaving and grabbing lunch at the diner down the street... from there, we stopped by to see my brother - my niece got engaged on friday night so he was all excited... her fiance was supposed to be deployed to iraq next year but he found he isn't, so i guess that's why the wedding is in april... either way, it's great news and i'm very happy for her... :o)

as for today - we had a nice sleep-in and then i headed to the grocery store early to beat the crowds... after that, we ran over to the big thrift store and i found 2 pairs of boots, a pair of pants, a cute wrap dress, and a wig (see below)... eric found a weed eater and this huge contraption on a metal cart labeled the "pralinator"... i guess it's a restaurant-type candy machine and when he looked for it online - he found that it retails for almost $3,000... he only paid $40 - you figure out the math! for the rest of the day - i did some laundry, cleaned the bathroom (including the blinds), made oatmeal raisin cookies, and then watched the game... all in all - it was a great weekend... see below for some pics i took including a shocker that i found on friday night... :o)

my first grey hair, are you kidding me?! :o(



some of the harley-davidson museum...



i always thought having a side-car would be fun...



feeling sexy on the harley V-rod...



i wonder how many cups of coffee this mug would hold...



i bought this wig today for $5 - maybe i should grow-out my hair?



not sure if longer-hair works for eric though... ;o)

TGIF

i swear that the weather has turned chilly rather quick this fall - enough to make me to do the dreaded closet-switch last night... i got rid of a lot of summer things (goodwill and consignment) so i'm filling up less storage containers this time around... as for my winter things - i'm in pretty good shape and got rid of some clothes last spring... i highly recommend doing this every season since there's no sense keeping things you don't wear or no longer fit (tough to accept but it's not worth the hassle!)... next step will be to swap my shoes which is a hassle since 99% of them are under my work desk (i keep them here instead of bringing them back/forth from home)... it's probably time to go thru them as well - ugh, such a chore but it must be done... :-p

how many of you caught the season premier of the office and ER last night? i'm not religious about watching either of them but have to say - that damn ER makes me cry every time! i watched that show and chicago hope religiously when they first came out (early 90s) and considering it's the last season - i may need to add it to my schedule... the only other shows i'm waiting for are that new show with christian slater, CSI (vegas), LOST, and 24... what about you - seen anything you like so far?

time for some new products - look what i found below... :o)

– fiber one toaster pastries are hitting grocery store shelves
– jell-o dark chocolate sugar-free pudding might just crave your sweet tooth
– kellogg's all-bran fiber drink mix will definitely fill you up (10g fiber/serving)
– campbell's V8 soups contain a full serving of veggies and no preservatives (i bought 2 of these last week but haven't tried them yet)
– weight watchers now has smart ones anytime selections that contain less than 300 calories

as for my weekend plans - eric and i will heading to the harley-davidson factory tomorrow (york, pa) for their annual tour... the weather is going to sucks so we won't be taking the bike (i guess we could but who wants to ride 2 hours in the rain) but i'm sure it will fun regardless... hopefully i'll get some cool pictures though cameras aren't allowed in the factory... as for sunday - i was supposed to go to a craft show w/my mom but i'm feeling like i need to cancel... this week has been so busy at work, my evenings have been busy, and now with being away tomorrow - i feel like i need a day to just chill-out... oh, and watch the redskins kick the cowboy's asses... whooooo hoooooo!

have a great weekend... :o)

where the sun don't shine

i went to visit the dermatologist today for my annual mole-check... though she poo-poo'd me for having a tan (i never use anything under SPF 50!) and found a "questionable" mark on my chest (that i need to keep an eye on), everything seemed to look normal... i asked her to remove a mole/growth that had appeared in the last year so the nurse gave me the usual "this will pinch and burn for only a second" schpeal and 5 minutes later - off it came... on my way home, i stopped by the shop to check on eric - he was getting a new back tire put on the bike and for some reason the brakes weren't working... needless to say, i don't think i'll be seeing him for quite some time though i'm very excited about the chili pepper poppers i'm making for dinner (from the garden, thank you very much)... :o)

i'm not sure how many of you are aware of lean cuisines designer lunch bags but they have just come out with this year's designs and talk about cute! not only will you be supporting a worthy cause ($5 from each bag goes towards the susan b. komen for the cure) but you're also getting an adorable, insulated bag that can be used for taking your lunch to work... i usually just throw mine in my totebag but i would love to have something a bit more organized and stylish - problem solved! so order one today or like me, order more than one if you can't make up your mind... they would also make a great birthday or christmas present... :o)

though i haven't had much time to read everyone's blogs, i have come across a few posts that i thought were worth sharing... kathleen (pink bunny foo foo) has been doing the south beach diet and wrote about why it is so important to stick to plan, this time around... and jennette (pasta queen) admits to losing her momentum, gaining some weight, and getting back into the swing of things... if you have some spare time, these posts are a must-read... :o)

so why do i think these posts are worth sharing? for many reasons but mainly because i think it just shows that regardless of who you are, what you've done, where you've been, or how you've handled things - shit will happen... it doesn't mean that you're a bad person, that you've failed, that you given up, or that you just don't care anymore but rather - that you are human... some people will do really well on plan, and some will not... some will lose a bunch of weight and keep it off forever, and some will not... and some will just say, "you know what? i love myself just the way i am"...

personally, i've worked REALLY hard at the last one and think i've done a pretty good job at it - i can look in the mirror (naked) and not cringe, or cry, or throw something at my reflection... i have accepted my hips, thighs, small boobs, and not-so-toned arms because it's who i am and who i'll always be... i'm not going to kid myself (or you) and say that i've been able to maintain my weight since this summer, because that would be a lie... i'm exactly not sure HOW much i've gained but i know it's a bit higher than last time i weighed in, and the number i saw on the scale after my vacation was quite a surprise... are my clothes still fitting? yes, but i don't want to get to the point that they don't... do i feel okay? yes, but i know i need to be more consistent with my exercise... am i eating well? yes, but that all depends on the day and where i am (here or at eric's)... either way - i'm still working thru what i'm doing and trying to stay positive and motivated... just thought you should know... :o)

happy hump day...

i love you, cable guy

ah, it's good to be "connected" again... it only took comcast ONE WEEK to figure out my service had been shut-off for no damn reason... yup, ladies and gentlemen - there was nothing wrong with the cable between the main box and my apartment but rather, the repair guys that weren't working properly... WTF?! regardless, i'm back and i feel normal again (is that wrong?) even though i did have a nice day listening to NPR, which included the food show 'splendid table'... that show always inspires me to cook more and try new things... :o)

speaking of food - i finally have a refrigerator full of healthy stuff... i went to the store last night (after arguing w/the cable company for 3 hours) and stocked-up on stuff that i've been neglecting as of late... and yes, i bought a frozen pizza and called it my "pissed-as-hell" dinner and enjoyed every, single bite... after yard-saling w/my mom this morning, i went to another grocery store and bought more stuff including ingredients for chicken noodle soup... this chilly, evening weather has put me in the mood for soup so that's what i'll be making this week... i will also be making my steel-cut oats and look foward to some warm & tasty breakfasts (thanks to all that responded to my post the other day)... :o)

eric popped by, when the cable guy was here ,and after the guy was done - we went for a motorcycle ride and headed to our favorite biker-bar for wings and onion rings (yes, that was our dinner)... my diet hasn't been the best as of late, so it's time to reign things in and be more conscious of what i'm doing... my clothes are still fitting but i don't want to get to the point where they aren't - know what i mean? friday was the first day i had done any cardio in over a week and it felt great, so i'm looking forward to getting back into things on monday... this weather is perfect for jogging, even though i feel like i've lost all the progress i made, so i'm taking it slow for now...

as for the rest of the weekend - i plan on catching-up on everyone's blogs, watching some mind-numbing tv (cus i can!), and then watching not one but TWO football games tomorrow... go SKINS and go STEELERS! :o)

here are some shots i took today (can you tell i was bored waiting for the cable guy?)... enjoy!

my pantry before (disorganized mess!)...


my pantry after (i can actually see what i have now)...


picked-up some new soup by V8 - can't wait to try it...


got all the ingredients ready for my oatmeal...


crepe paper + cat = fun fun fun

clean as a whistle

hi guys... again, sorry for the lack of posts but between my cable/internet/phone STILL being out and work being crazy, i just haven't had the time... comcast came out on wednesday and proceeded to tell me that the connection between my apartment and the main box was not working - well, doh, thanks for telling me... SO they have to come back out on saturday morning to fix and i hope they do! even though it's been an interesting experience not being "connected", it's been difficult since my cellphone doesn't work that well in my apartment... such is life i guess so wish me luck!

eric's procedure (colonoscopy) is this afternoon so i took the day-off to drive him back and forth... he hasn't had any food since yesterday at 1:30 and had to take these huge horse pills both last night and this morning to "clear things out" in preparation... we were talking last night about where he'd like to have lunch once he's done and he jokingly said, "i want a blommin' onion and steak salad from outback steakhouse"... i hope that's not the case... ;o)

this morning i also ran to IKEA to pick-up a dresser for my niece - luckily, there is one less than 20-minutes from here so got there nice and early... it was nice being able to walk around the store without a huge crowd so i grabbed some large tealights for my bath nights, a new non-stick frying pan, some energy-saving lightbulbs, and new doormats for eric's house... i think i was there/back in about an hour which isn't too shabby... :o)

i'm not sure if i'll be taking the laptop with me today but if not, i should have some time later to catch-up with everyone's blogs... i dread going home tonight since there won't be anything to do but i'm glad that all the good shows don't premier until next week... :o)

happy thursday...

steel cut oats

one of the trainers at work told me about a food co-op in the area - he said it had great, organic food and their coconut ice cream was to die for... even though it was close to 95 degrees and i was still in severe, lower back pain - we went and it was a lot of fun... they had a decent-size bulk-food section and i picked up some whole wheat flour, natural granola, and some steel cut oats... we also picked up some ingredients for homemade pizza so that will be our dinner... :o)

since i've never made steel cut oast and have read tons of postings that say how good they are - how does one prepare them? for those of you that have made them, do you have any suggestions? you can email me with any websites or recipes you may have - i'm excited to try them... :o)

and GO REDKINS! nice job! whoo hooo! :o)

along came a spider

sorry for the lack of posts this week - work was incredibly busy and friday, well, it just kicked my ass to be quite honest... since my boss is on vacation til tuesday - i'm sort of the "go-to" person for everything which means dealing with internal clients, responding to various email requests, helping the other designer with their assignments, as well as juggling my own projects... i feel like i handled everything very well, including a small crisis the president was having, and was very glad when the day was over (even if i stayed late to send yet another work-related email)...

i was NOT glad, however, to still be sore from my workout on wednesday... i seemed to overdo it with my new weight routine and could barely walk (sore quads from various squats, etc.)... even one of the psuedo trainers said, "you better take it easy" and i just laughed... christ, he was right! then yesterday, i think i hurt my back from vacuuming... yes, i said vacuuming... i changed the filter on my bagless upright and it was like trying to push a bulldozer across my carpet (could a new filter really create that much suction?)... now my lowerback is KILLING me and it hurts to get up, lay down, and walk... ugh, i'm not even 40 and my body is just falling apart! thankfully eric has a heating pad so i guess that's what i'll be using for the rest of the day... thank god for lazy days and football... :o(

as for the rest of my weekend - it's been quiet and relaxing here at eric's... we watched "grindhouse" yesterday (not bad) and then decided to take the bike to annapolis for dinner... though i wasn't impressed with the restaurant - it was nice to walking around and look at all the big boats that were docked at the harbor... when we got home, we watched another episode of "long way down" and then stayed up to watch a few skits on SNL... tiny fey did an amazing job as sarah palin - did anyone see it?

the only other exciting thing to happen this weekend was seeing two large spiders, spin their webs on eric's front porch... one must be at least 2 feet in diameter and though the other is not quite as large - it's just as detailed... i tried to get some close-ups though the photos don't do the spiders any justice - they were quite amazing to see and watch... check out their hairy, little legs... :o)

say goodbye to the bob

so what do you think? i LOVE it! of course i'm biased but still... ;o)



p.s. and will you PLEASE eat something... a burger, nachos, pizza - anything!

who know you could get sand there

sorry it's taken me so long to post - i knew my first day back at work would be busy but that's an understatement to say the least... between catching-up on things that happened while i was out, i had several projects in the works plus the annual report is heating up so my day began at 8:00 and ended at 6:30... okay then! BUT i did take an hour and had a nice jog around the lincoln memorial - it was a bit warmer than i was expecting and though i'm feeling VERY slow these days, it was great to have some time to enjoy the sun... like i didn't get enough of that last week but i digress... ;o)

our camping trip was great - we had PERfect weather everyday so who can complain about that... i'll just highlight a few things that happened while we were there (don't want to bore you too much)... after getting there on sunday, we found out the zipper was busted on our screened-in tent... "lets go buy another one," eric said... i just laughed because it was labor day weekend, but wouldn't you know it, we found one at kmart for $50 - yeehaa, problem #1 solved... on monday - eric was having an eye problem and after putting up with the redness and pain for most of the day, we headed to the ER to have someone check it out... after about an hour, the doctor finally came, put some dye in his eye, and there you go - he seemed he had developed an ulcer from wearing contacts... poor guy! after getting his RX filled, eric bought himself a pirate-patch and proceeded to wear that for the next day or so... he also saw an opthamologist twice and once since getting back home - all things are looking much better, thank god, so problem #2 solved... :o)

we seemed to have the most popular campsite too because we had a visitor almost every night (or so it seemed)... a skunk came about 10' from me one night and scared the crap out of me - another one, though much smaller, was trying to get in our trash one morning so they were definitely looking for something to eat... after weds, we didn't see them again so either they found someone else to bother or they moved on... problem #3 solved... :o)

on thursday, the camp hosts were busy driving around the park warning people about the weather and the pending hurricane coming up the east coast... even though we were checking out on saturday anyway, we usually stay for the day and then head home in the evening... well, by friday morning - the weather wasn't looking much better so we packed up everything and spent one more gorgeous day on the beach before heading back a day early... eric was eager to grill ONE MORE TIME though before leaving, so we unpacked the grill, had hotdogs, tortilla chips, and hummus for dinner... and not too soon after hitting the road - it began to rain and didn't stop til early sunday morning... problem #4 solved... :o)

so all in all - it was a great vacation though it always makes me sad when it comes to an end... even though there were some problems in the beginning of the week - we still managed to have a good time, have some great laughs, eat really well, and drink a lot... guess that's what vacations are all about, right? i opted NOT to weigh myself before leaving so i have no idea how much i gained and don't really care... if i didn't go for a jog in the morning, i made sure to take a long walk on the beach everyday (sometimes twice) and we rode our bikes a lot too so i'm hoping things just evened out... now onto some pictures - enjoy! :o)

you'd think we were going for a month...


our lavish campsite (w/the new tent)...


a view of deleware bay...


eric says "arrrrrghhhhh"...


proof that we had overnight "visitors"...


can we look any happier...


who said you can't eat well while on vacation...


this is bob, he came to see us everyday...


the lovely beach grass...


i can't believe how crowded the beach was...


see ya next year, cape henlopen...

not for the squeamish

in prep for my vacation next week, i went for a bikini wax after work - i don't do this sort of thing on a regular basis but it's nice not to have to worry about shaving 'down there' while at the beach... anyway, there's a nail place on my way to the metro so i stopped by and the woman took me right away... i'm not shy when it comes to things like this, so hiking up my skirt and having a stranger wrap paper towels around my underwear isn't a big deal... i mean really, how many of these do you think she does in a day/week/month? anyway, it seemed to be going well and she even used the tweezers to catch any stragglers so i thought that was a good sign... 10-minutes later, she was done, and i was smooth as a baby's bottom... :o)

when i got to my car at the metro station, i did a quick check and low and behold - she had missed quite a bit plus it was uneven! WTF! i paid $35 for this uneven mess? i knew i should've checked before i left but no, i just wanted to pay, and be on my merry way... so being that i'm a perfectionist - i ran to the store and grabbed a wax kit to "fix" what she had missed... besides it not working very well, it really hurt so i had to rely on the old tweezers... now i'm sore but at least even on both sides now... moral of the story - when you go for a bikini wax, make sure the right side matches the left side... ;o)

happy hump day...

p.s. i only watched some of how to look good naked because i was watching the DNC...

5 more days

just a quick post to say hello... not much has been going on so i don't feel the need to post every day... my weekend was good - productive on sunday for sure, getting things ready for our camping trip and doing the usual chores (laundry, cleaning, grocery shopping, etc.)... eric worked on his truck pretty much all day sat AND sunday so it was just me and the kitties pretty much... the transfer of zoe, back to my sister, went well - i haven't heard from her since so i hope the adjustment is going okay... we had lunch at the olive garden (my sisters fav place) and i had salad, 2 breadsticks, soup, and NO desssert... we also stopped at the outlets for a bit - i wanted to run into the Coleman store but they're going-out-of-business o not much was left... i did grab a cute mini-totebag and some new sandals at LL Bean though, and that was it for my shopping adventure... eric and i have much to do this saturday so i've been adding things daily to "the list" as i think of things we'll need... luckily, the campground is only a few miles from town so if we DID need something, we can go get it but it's nice to have as much as we can, packed and ready to go... I'M SO LOOKING FORWARD TO IT... :o)

food/exercise has been okay - i went to spin class on saturday and had a great workout... the class was packed and even though i was there 10 minutes after the gym opened, the list was half-full and all the good bikes were reserved... i still had a good class though - love it when the instructor is fun and plays good music! food-wise i could could be doing a lot better and i can definitely feel it, but i'm not going to worry about it esp. a week before vacation... it's not like i'm eating terrible or anything but there's been some sour cream & onion chips, an ice cream samich, peanut butter cups, etc. that could've been avoided... such is life... i still have yet to read those books that i bought a few weeks back so i'm going to dive into those as soon as i get back (they are NOT appropriate beach-reading)... :o)

happy tuesday...

p.s. don't forget --> how to look good naked is on tonight! ;o)

TGIF

sorry that i haven't posted since monday, not much has been going on that seemed blog-worthy but since it's friday, i thought i should stop by and at least say hello... work has been quiet but busy - the new designer starts on monday and i'm VERY excited because that means a lot of the upcoming work will be split among 3 of us, instead of just 2... i'm also looking forward to the upcoming evaluation process since i'm up for a promotion - my boss has told me time and time again that i will be promoted, once our dept. is fully staffed again, so i'll have my list ready when it comes time for my review... :o)

speaking of work, my company has formed a 'green team' to help make the office more environmentally friendly... we've done some small things like swap paper products for recycled, add more recycle bins for newspaper and mixed-paper, etc. but we're hoping to do more like install filters for our water so we can cut-back on delivery service... an e-newsletter is in the works for next month and this is the banner i came up with... i enjoy working on fun projects like this since i can have more creative freedom, hopefully the newsletter will be something i can add to my portfolio... :o)



speaking of creative things, i've run across some nicely designed websites and thought i would share...

—www.giant.com --> grocery store (md/va) that has revamped their logo and website - love it!
—www.labelwatch.com --> compare ingredients, products, and all sorts of stuff
—www.sparkrecipes.com --> tons of well-organized recipes or calculate your own
—www.danispies.com --> a great food & recipe-related blog with amazing photos

my weekend plans are rather minimal at this point... eric is having "the boys" over at his place so i'll be solo tonight - no biggie, i have a list of some camping stuff i need to buy so i'll be shopping after work... tomorrow, i'm going to hit the gym for spinning and then i'm meeting my sister for lunch and returning zoe (her cat that i've been cat-sitting)... she is worried about taking her to the new house because (1) it's still not done and (2) her hubby is being an ass and has a new rule of "no pets in the house"... their other cat, oreo, has been missing since they left for vacation - he either got eaten by a coyote (which have been spotted where they live) or he wandered off and someone took him... anyway, i'll be sad to see zoe go because i think max has enjoyed having the company but i'll be very happy to have less hair on my carpet... as of now, i have no plans for sunday and will probably head over to eric's... :o)

have a great weekend everyone... :o)

where i spend my day

hope you guys had a lovely weekend - i don't know about you but the weather in MD was gorgeous... i just HOPE that it stays like this for our vacation, which as of today is only 13 days away... god, it can't get here soon enough... anyway, saturday was fun - i got my haircut (very short) and then spent the day w/my mom yard saling... i'm wearing one of my big purchases as we speak: a brand-new, banana republic pencil skirt, with the tags still on --> only 50 cents! from there, we stopped by to see my brother and his g/f and then grabbed some dinner... saturday night, i stayed home and watched both the redskins game (GO SKINS!) and the olympics - i think i may have shed a tear when michael phelps won his last gold medal... how exciting! :o)

yesterday, i had a nice sleep-in considering i had not one, not two, but all THREE cats at my apartment... at one point, though for not very long, they were all on my bed which was very cute... later in the day, i headed over to eric's and we watched some of the race, checked on the garden, made dinner, watched 2 episodes of 'long way down', and then watched 'the notebook'... man, i forgot what a tear-jerker of a movie that was! even eric wiped away a few... ;o)

work was busy today - got another research pub to work on so most of the day was spent formatting charts and tables... i did make a point to get to the gym and had a good 30-minute workout on the elliptical so at least i gave my eyes a break... i'm in the process of sauteing some chicken for my salads this week and then it's off to watch some of the olympics...

anyhoo, thought i'd share some pics of our yummy dinner last night, my walk to work this morning, and what my office looks like... since i've been blogging for over 3 years, i figured some of you may be curious to see where i spend my days... enjoy! :o)

pizza with homemade sauce and veggies/herbs from our garden


eric's contribution to dinner


DC is the first city in the US to have the SmartBikes ($40/year and you can use them for 3-hours a day)


i can't wait for this man to move out!


this is my office door - can you tell i like cats?


this is my desk - notice the organized but cluttered bulletin board


other side of my office with framed watercolors i painted


my nieces love to contribute to my alien collection


my nieces also give me their 'extra' barbies


view from my office window


here's me looking studious with glasses and new hairdo

gimme some mustard

quick post since i have a full-day ahead of me, eric just left and will be going on his solo-bike adventure today... yea, i'm a bit jealous that i won't be going with him but i know he enjoys doing stuff like this - can't be tied at the hip ALL the time... the weather is going to be perfect today too so who can pass that up... anyway, we had fun at the fair last night - i achieved the two things i wanted too - getting a corn dog and visiting the animals... yea, i'm a country-girl at heart - what can i say... enjoy... :o)

what does your favorite color say about you?

so i found this online color-based personality test and thought i would give it a try (it's free)... no surprise at my results, see below... :o)

Best Occupational Category
You're a CREATOR
Key Words: Nonconforming, Impulsive, Expressive, Romantic, Intuitive, Sensitive, and Emotional

These original types place a high value on aesthetic qualities and have a great need for self-expression. They enjoy working independently, being creative, using their imagination, and constantly learning something new. Fields of interest are art, drama, music, and writing or places where they can express, assemble, or implement creative ideas.

CREATOR OCCUPATIONS
Suggested careers are Advertising Executive, Architect, Web Designer, Creative Director, Public Relations, Fine or Commercial Artist, Interior Decorator, Lawyer, Librarian, Musician, Reporter, Art Teacher, Broadcaster, Technical Writer, English Teacher, Architect, Photographer, Medical Illustrator, Corporate Trainer, Author, Editor, Landscape Architect, Exhibit Builder, and Package Designer.

CREATOR WORKPLACES
Consider workplaces where you can create and improve beauty and aesthetic qualities. Unstructured, flexible organizations that allow self-expression work best with your free-spirited nature. Suggested Creator workplaces are advertising, public relations, and interior decorating firms; artistic studios, theaters and concert halls; institutions that teach crafts, universities, music, and dance schools. Other workplaces to consider are art institutes, museums, libraries, and galleries.

###

my week has been okay, nothing great, nothing bad, and sort of middle-of-the-road... i DID have to work on my annual evaluation, which is always fun, but i completed it this morning and sent it back to my boss... yesterday, she told me that her boss gave me a compliment after a senior staff meeting - something about how impressed he was with what i had to say (about the annual report stuff) and that i should speak up more... d'uh, nothing new there - i'm so NOT a talker in meetings but i guess i need to work on that... ;o)

tonight i'm taking a girlfriend out to dinner for her birthday, we're going to this great italian place so i'm looking forward to that... tomorrow night, eric and i will be going to the fair and watching the demolition derby - yea, sounds a bit hokey but i think it will be a lot of fun... i haven't been to one of those since high school! scary! saturday, i have a hair appt. and then i'll be spending the day with my mom - should be fun since there will be arts/crafts and multiple yard sales involved... and as for sunday, no plans as of yet - i believe my sister will be back from vacation so maybe i'll be taking zoe back to her... ;o)

hope you're all having a great week... happy thursday...

go USA!

had a nice weekend though we were on the road friday, saturday, and then sunday - the weather was gorgeous, almost chilly at night, so it made for great sleeping... we didn't get to my sister's cabin until after 11 on friday night - we were both exhausted so we were in bed rather quickly... saturday morning, we went for an hour+ hike and this time i actually saw some wildlife (unlike last time), two deer were running thru the woods and crossed in front of us... i made blueberry pancakes for breakfast (eric was rather impressed) and then we headed over to my dad's... it was one of his 'good' days so that made me happy - he was talking a lot (about bricklaying) and pretty awake so the visit was well worth it... i left the nurses some homemade zucchini bread, i hope they liked it... :o)

from there, we headed to eric's parents and then soon after we arrived - we were back in their van, heading to dinner... his mom didn't feel like cooking so we grabbed something to eat at this nice golf-course restaurant... as for the rest of the evening, we were able to watch 3 different fireworks shows from their side porch - not bad for living in the boondocks of pittsburgh... sunday morning, we did some things around the house, moved the cows to a different field, hooked up the trailer, loaded a recliner for his sister, and hit the road (after picking blackberries and blueberries)... we were home by 7:30 and then i was back in the car, heading to target so i could buy school supplies for the charity we were supporting at work... $74 later (huh?), i was finally home and done for the night... oh yea, i froze 3 gallon-size bags of tomatoes - i soon won't be able to get anything else in my freezer! since i was wide awake - i watched some of the olympics and feel so lucky to have seen the men's relay team win the gold medal... that was the most awesome relay to watch - i was so happy that i screamed (sorry neighbors!)... :o)

my boss was out of the office today so it was pretty quiet... i went for a nice jog on the mall and wore my new running skirt - not sure if i like it or not, the biker shorts (underneath) kept riding up... perhaps if i had a polyester-blend instead of cotton it would work better? any recommendations? i bought it online so maybe i should stick to buying things in the store next time... ;o)

well, it's time to get back to the olympics - see below for some new pics... enjoy! :o)

TGIF

happy friday indeed! i'm so looking forward to this weekend since the weather will be much cooler but i'm not looking forward to being away from home, again... eric and i are headed to the cabin tonight and then plan on spending some time w/my dad tomorrow... after that, we're going back up to pittsburgh so he can bring back the motorcycle trailer - should be a slow ride home that's for sure (even slower if the bike was actually ON it)... so yes, i will be gone yet again but at least i have the next 3 weekends to look forward too (and then we leave for the beach!)... 23 MORE DAYS! :o)

i forgot to mention that i tried the 3rd new flavor of yoplait this week - pineapple upside down cake - and boy was it delicious... i really thought that it would be my least favorite but i have to say, it's top on my list - there were lots of pineapple chunks and it had a great flavor... i highly recommend trying them all... i also saw an ad for a new flavor of WW's yogurt - boston creme pie (which they stole from yoplait i'm sure) - has anyone tried that one? for 1 point - it's makes a great afternoon snack... :o)

i think it's been a while since i've shared some of my new, favorite websites so here's what i've been reading lately... enjoy!

—the martha blog - always something tasty and beautiful to see here
—team sugar - here you can customize your articles by interests
—natalie dee - hilarious comics with a twisted sense of humor
—kath eats real food - after losing 30 pounds, kath decides to go back to school to become a registered dietitian and shares some great photos and recipes
—vita juice daily - a nice looking site with a lot of great links
—food network addict - if you love this channel like me then you will love this site!

have a wonderful weekend everyone... :o)

weigh-in

well, it has been 4-weeks since i officially stopped counting points and i told myself that i would not be stepping on the scale every week... i succeeded in that department and have to admit it's been really nice not worrying about what number was showing up and/or how it was going to affect my day... my goal was to concentrate on HOW i was feeling instead of having the scale TELL me how i was feeling, if that makes any sense... all my clothes are still fitting and though i need to work harder in the cardio dept (who doesn't?), for the most part - i'm doing rather well... and like i said yesterday, july was very busy for me and being away every weekend certainly didn't help things - my goal for august is to get back on a normal schedule... anyway, onto the results... :o)

july 9: 157.2
august 6: 157.8
result: +.6

since i had forgotten my last weigh-in number - i have to admit that i freaked out just a little when i saw that number this morning... my first thought was, "what i have done? am i really going to be able to not keep track AND maintain my weight?" but then i took a deep breath and remembered why i was doing this... after 3 years of slowly losing and then basically maintaining for the last few months - i really wanted to focus on the me of today... would i love myself more if lost 10 more pounds? no, because i would be the same person that i am right now but with a new wardrobe... :o)

last nights how to look good naked really hit home to me because it showed how easy it was to let something like thigh-size or hip-size be a distraction from your daily life... how many of us chose not to go out because of how we looked, or chose not to buy a new outfit because it wasn't the 'ideal' size? does anyone really notice? does anyone really care? and the answer to that, my friends, is no but it's all on how you CHOSE to view things... are those things WORTH worrying about and stopping you from doing things you love? how much TIME have you wasted worrying about cellulite when in reality - most of women have it! again, i'm just expressing my opinion in hopes that others will realize there's more to life than what the tape measure may be saying... feel free to chime-in on this conversation... :o)

regarding yesterday's 5:00 meeting - i can't really say it went well because the president basically said he didn't like my design... he REALLY likes last years and granted - it's a good design but my goal was to freshen it up, add more color, and NOT have it be identical... i have to remember that he's the client and though i almost burst into tears - i tried my best to not take it personally... after the meeting, my boss said he came up to her and expressed concern about how his reaction might've sounded... io know where he's coming from but it just makes me so mad when i try to improve on something, and it ends up being nixed... anyway, i now have to rework my design and show him something when he gets back from vacation - at least i have a few weeks... :op

since i missed my pilates class, i had some extra time when i got home so i made stuffed tomatoes, from our garden, as well as another batch of pesto... i must have 6 containers in my freezer and i'm sure there will be more before summer's over - i don't mind because i LOVE it... see photos below... :o)

stuffed tomatoes with ground turkey, onion, green pepper, yellow squash, a dallop of goat cheese in the middle, and some breadcrumbs ontop... totally yummy!



another basil leaf from my herb garden...



happy hump day...

are you kidding

ugh, i am so pissed right now! i have to go to a meeting at 5:00! who has meetings after 5:00 besides the damn president (whom the meeting is with but still)... now i'm going to miss my pilates class and i was SO looking forward to it... seems i really overdid things on sunday when i was over at eric's - i weeded all the flowerbeds in the backyard AND mowed the grass... i'm not sure how long i was out there but probably a few hours and man are my legs, arms, and neck sore (so much i didn't go to the gym yesterday or today)... i need to learn to take things easy but it felt so good to be outside and getting some exercise... i hope i feel better by tomorrow, that's all i have to say... and i hope the president likes my annual report designs or i'll really be pissed... :-P

sorry, just had to rant there for a second... deep breath... okay, moving on... my weekend was good - i was able to do a lot of R&R which was nice and very much needed... friday night, eric and i got hooked on this documentary staring ewan mcgregor and a friend of his called 'long way around'... they rode their motorcycles from london, thru eastern europe/asia, over to alaska, thru the U.S., and then ended the trip in NYC... it was an amazing story and really fun to watch so if you're into riding, i think you'd enjoy it... :o)

on saturday morning, eric and i went for a long walk - he doesn't go with me very often so i was very happy when he said, "i'll come with you"... it was a cool and sort of drizzling so it was the perfect weather for exercising... after that, i had breakfast, did some laundry, and then relaxed until the mid-afternoon when we went to see his nephew play in a soccer tournament... the weather turned ugly and we got rained on (and the bike) but all was well when it was time to go home... for dinner - we tried out a salvadorian/tex-mex restaurant and it was really good (no fried ice cream though)... entertainment was 'lifeforce' (sucked) and 'hellboy' (pretty good)... :o)

on sunday, as mentioned above - i was miss backyard gardener for most of the day... we watched some of the nascar race and then some of the skins/colts game later but other than that - it was another chill day for me... i froze about 4 quarts of tomatoes and they're still coming-in, so i think i'll have plenty for making sauce and salsa... we had burgers on the grill for dinner and a nice salad - dessert was light coffee ice cream... yummy! :o)

since i won't be going to class tonight, that gives me more time to work on stuffed tomatoes for dinner... i've already had cherry tomatoes and mozzarella for lunch so i'll probably turn into one very soon... i haven't been on the scale in weeks but since tomorrow will be one month since officially 'not-dieting' - i'm going to see where i am... i know i've gained a pound or two but nothing major - my clothes are still fitting so i think i'm doing okay... july was very busy for me and i was away every weekend, so being home more will definitely help in the food-department... now if i could just get my workout schedule back to normal, i'd feel much better... stay tuned... :o)

happy tuesday...

TGIF

happy friday, everyone! i just got done with lunch (tuna/bean/veggie pita and yogurt) and i was thrilled to find the 3 new flavors of yoplait last night in my grocery store (discussed here)... i brought the strawberry shortcake today and though it was very tasty - it was heavier on the strawberry than shortcake, if you know what i mean... anyway, i can't wait to try the pineapple and raspberry cheesecake so stay tuned! ;o)

i received an email yesterday, asking if i would be interested in reviewing a new book by wendy chant, who's a nutrition & fitness expert (view her website here)... the book is called Crack The Fat-Loss Code: Outsmart Your Metabolism and Conquer the Diet Plateau and since i'm not really following a weightloss plan - i was hesitant about saying yes... i replied back to the publicist and explained my situation, and she said she'd love to have a different perspective, regardless of what plan i was or wasn't doing... who knows - maybe i'll learn a thing or two, so stayed tuned for that review as well... :o )

my weekend plans are pretty open, as of right now anyway... eric and i may go see his nephew's soccer game tomorrow and if so - i hope we can sneak-in dinner afterwards in annapolis... we went to this great place on the water last year and their crabs are awesome - haven't had any this year and time's running out... other than that - we have 2 movies to watch ('hellboy' and 'lifeforce') and that's it... sounds wonderful, right? oh, i have a LOT of tomatoes to freeze, so they can be canned at a later time, but that's not really 'work'... i will also be bringing both cats to eric's this weekend so i hope it works out - i'm hoping with his bigger place and us being around more, norman won't be so fixated on zoe... wish me luck! :o)

have a great weekend and happy friday...