So I wasn't "officially" tagged but I'm playing anyways b/c it's my Friday afternoon and you know I'm not going to do actual work!
I give you money and send you into the grocery store to pick up 5 items. You can only pick one thing from the following departments.. what is it?
1. Produce: Right now, clementines! But I'd probably try to sneak a few bananas past you as well.
2. Bakery: Whole Wheat bread, preferably Nature's Own Double Fiber Light but if S is with me, it'll be Pepperidge Farms
3. Meat: Ground chicken or turkey, tastes very close to ground beef but is so much better for you!
4. Frozen: Weight Watchers Cookies & Cream Ice Cream Bars, I looooove these but think they're too expensive to buy more than a few times a year but if someone else is buying, I'm getting as many boxes as I'm allowed!
5. Dairy: Yogurt. What happened to the Yoplait Light Thick and Creamy? Did they stop making it? I miss it a lot but I still like the regular Yoplait Light.
Let's say we're heading out for a weekend getaway. You're only allowed to bring 3 articles of clothing with you. So, what's in your bag?
1. Clean underwear!
2. Tommy Hilfiger fleece pants I just bought last weekend. It's been a struggle to make myself take them off in the morning and put on work clothes.
3. A cute top I could dress up or down.
If I was to listen in on your conversations throughout the day, what 5 phrases or words would I be most likely to hear?
1. So
2. You know
3. What the? (I hardly ever finish this phrase)
4. Like
5. K (not okay, but K because okay is entirely too long of a word and I save so much time saying one syllable instead of two)
So, what 3 things do you find yourself doing every single day, and if you didn't get to do, you probably wouldn't be in the best mood?
1. Having coffee. Even if it's just a sip, I must have some.
2. Cuddling or just being near S, especially hearing him laugh.
3. Checking my email. Since I'm waiting to hear if I got into any graduate schools, I'm a little OCD about checking my email.
We're talking a 3 hour block with nobody around. What 5 activities might we find you doing?
1. Watching cooking shows or Gilmore Girls or whatever I want on the TV and not having to consult anyone else
2. Taking a nap
3. Basically vegging out on the couch not doing a whole lot
4. Calling my sister
5. Cooking/baking
We are going to the zoo. But, it looks like it could start storming, so it'll have to be a quick visit. What 3 exhibits do we have to get to?
1. Elephants! My fave!
2. Giraffes, my sister's fave
3. Polar bears or penguins
You just scored tickets to the taping of any show that comes on t.v. of your choice. You can pick between 4, so what are you deciding between?
1. Rachael Ray
2. Price is Right, I would totally kick some butt!
3. The Office! I love it! I wish the writer's strike was over so I could see new episodes :(
4. Numbers. Rob Morrow is so cute!
You're hungry for ice cream. I'll give you a triple dipper ice cream cone. What 3 flavors can I pile on for ya?
Dangerous question...I worked in an ice cream store for 4 years in high school and part of college.
1. Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
2. Cherries, Pecans, and Cream
3. Soft serve twist (with vanilla and chocolate)
Somebody stole your purse/wallet…in order to get it back, you have to name 5 things you know are inside to claim it. So, what's in there?
1. A small purple cosmetic case with lip gloss and chapsticks.
2. A small tan cosmetic case with gum and medicine.
3. Pink Razr.
4. Small red business card holder with subway farecards.
5. Sunglasses.
You are at a job fair, and asked what areas you are interested in pursuing a career in. Let's pretend you have every talent and ability to be whatever you wanted, so what 4 careers would be fun for you?
1. Cooking show host
2. Journalist
3. Marine biologist
4. Chef
If you could go back and talk to the old you, when you were in high school, and inform yourself of 4 things, what would you say?
1. Don't be ashamed to go to the local state university. You'll go away for a year to a very prestigious school and hate nearly every minute and end up transferring back to the local university. You'll have the same opportunities no matter where you go so go where you're happy and fit in. Don't go to a school just because it's prestigious.
2. RELAX! (I was extremely high strung and anxious in high school.)
3. When Grandpa tells you all the stories about when he was younger, really listen and ask him to tell them again. At the time, you'll think that you will remember but when you're 24 and he isn't around, you'll give anything to hear him talk about almost dying when he was 6.
4. Go easy on Jim (my stepdad, he married my mom when I was a senior in high school). He's a good guy, he's going to stick around, he loves you, he is nothing like your father. In a few years he'll be one of your best friends and the two of you have so much in common, you'll wonder how he's not your biological father.
Well, that was super fun! Now it's time to go home and let the weekend begin! See you all on Monday! Have a good weekend everyone.
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Almost the Weekend!!
Today's my Friday and I'm super excited (but that might have more to do with the amount of coffee I've had this morning)! I finished my work project yesterday so today I can spend slacking off. I have a couple of much smaller projects with no deadlines on them so I should work on those a bit but that's about it.
The weekend tends to be my downfall, eating and exercise wise. It's not having a schedule...I don't love my job but it does give some structure to my day. So I'm going to make a plan of where I'll spend my calories and where I can get in some exercise. Here goes:
Friday
Tomorrow S has a dentist appointment at 8 so we're going to come into DC, go to his appointment, have breakfast, do some sightseeing in downtown DC, and probably a movie in the afternoon. Side note: I've lived in DC for two years but it's a very touristy place (being the capital of America and all) so I only go sightseeing if I have visitors in town or it's the winter time and there aren't as many tourists. Back to the plan, I am going to steer S away from a big diner type breakfast and go for something quick and easy, like a bagel somewhere. We'll be doing a lot of walking on Friday so that should give me some good exercise. Lunch will probably be in DC at a sandwich/salad type of place, nothing too fancy. I'm going to get something healthy, either a salad or a low-cal sandwich. Maybe I can talk him into Subway...I haven't been there in a while and I've been craving a Subway sandwich for a while. Dinner we will have at home as usual. It will probably be leftovers from tonight's dinner (Pulled Chicken Sandwiches, Rosemary Potatoes, and Salad).
Saturday
Saturday I planned as a surprise for S but he figured it out. I'm just not sneaky enough to successfully plan a surprise for him! We're going to have brunch at a restaurant here in DC (we had brunch at this place about a year ago, when we first started dating) and then go ice skating at the gallery of art and see some of the exhibits in the gallery of art. In the evening there is a Christmas boat parade in Alexandria that we are going to and I just got an email saying S has made dinner reservations near where the boat parade is going to be. The brunch is definitely going to be my big caloric meal of the day...this place has awesome French toast and I've been looking forward to it for a year now! I'm going to get the French toast but only eat one slice and see if I can sub in turkey sausage or bacon for the regular pork version it comes with. Dinner I'll keep healthy or I'd actually like to eat at home so I'm going to see if I can talk S into cancelling our reservations. The ice skating will definitely give me some exercise!
Sunday
We have a bunch of errands to run on Sunday. I need to get stuff to make Christmas cards plus a frame for my sister's present. Plus the usual grocery store, Target, etc. We might eat breakfast out but should have the rest of our meals at home so it should be a bit easier to stay within my calories. Sunday I'm going to make a pot of chicken noodle soup for our lunches next week.
Having a plan makes me feel much more confident that I'm not going to overeat and make bad choices. This is my weekend! I can do this!
In other news, I just realized I didn't grab my two yogurts for my snacks today :( Good thing I keep extra granola bars in my desk. Well, I'll be back around later and I'll probably post again today since I'll be avoiding doing any work.
The weekend tends to be my downfall, eating and exercise wise. It's not having a schedule...I don't love my job but it does give some structure to my day. So I'm going to make a plan of where I'll spend my calories and where I can get in some exercise. Here goes:
Friday
Tomorrow S has a dentist appointment at 8 so we're going to come into DC, go to his appointment, have breakfast, do some sightseeing in downtown DC, and probably a movie in the afternoon. Side note: I've lived in DC for two years but it's a very touristy place (being the capital of America and all) so I only go sightseeing if I have visitors in town or it's the winter time and there aren't as many tourists. Back to the plan, I am going to steer S away from a big diner type breakfast and go for something quick and easy, like a bagel somewhere. We'll be doing a lot of walking on Friday so that should give me some good exercise. Lunch will probably be in DC at a sandwich/salad type of place, nothing too fancy. I'm going to get something healthy, either a salad or a low-cal sandwich. Maybe I can talk him into Subway...I haven't been there in a while and I've been craving a Subway sandwich for a while. Dinner we will have at home as usual. It will probably be leftovers from tonight's dinner (Pulled Chicken Sandwiches, Rosemary Potatoes, and Salad).
Saturday
Saturday I planned as a surprise for S but he figured it out. I'm just not sneaky enough to successfully plan a surprise for him! We're going to have brunch at a restaurant here in DC (we had brunch at this place about a year ago, when we first started dating) and then go ice skating at the gallery of art and see some of the exhibits in the gallery of art. In the evening there is a Christmas boat parade in Alexandria that we are going to and I just got an email saying S has made dinner reservations near where the boat parade is going to be. The brunch is definitely going to be my big caloric meal of the day...this place has awesome French toast and I've been looking forward to it for a year now! I'm going to get the French toast but only eat one slice and see if I can sub in turkey sausage or bacon for the regular pork version it comes with. Dinner I'll keep healthy or I'd actually like to eat at home so I'm going to see if I can talk S into cancelling our reservations. The ice skating will definitely give me some exercise!
Sunday
We have a bunch of errands to run on Sunday. I need to get stuff to make Christmas cards plus a frame for my sister's present. Plus the usual grocery store, Target, etc. We might eat breakfast out but should have the rest of our meals at home so it should be a bit easier to stay within my calories. Sunday I'm going to make a pot of chicken noodle soup for our lunches next week.
Having a plan makes me feel much more confident that I'm not going to overeat and make bad choices. This is my weekend! I can do this!
In other news, I just realized I didn't grab my two yogurts for my snacks today :( Good thing I keep extra granola bars in my desk. Well, I'll be back around later and I'll probably post again today since I'll be avoiding doing any work.
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Weigh-In Wednesday
Well, the scale said 182.8 which is up from my weight at the beginning of this challenge. But I'm okay with it...my choices this weekend definitely led to this. My sister is an elementary school teacher and her big "life lesson" she tries to get through to her students is that you make choices and once you've made a choice, you have to live with the consequences of that choice. Basically, you're responsible for the consequences of your choices, not anyone else and not anything. (She always says this to her students when they are doing something they shouldn't be. She'll say "(Insert kid's name here), you have two choices. You can sit down and be quiet and stay in class with us while we do math or you can continue to talk and go see the principal. These are your choices." It's such a simple lesson but I've found if I think that about eating and working out, I make much better choices! Who knew that a 24 year old could learn something my sister tries to teach her 4th graders?? So, yes, I gained instead of lost but it was the choices I made that led to the gain. This week is different. I'm making much better decisions regarding food and the no alcohol on the weeknights really helps. It's like Randi said in her comment, it's not just the calories of the alcohol but it's the snacking and lower inhibitions that comes with the alcohol.
Last night I did really well. I'm super proud of myself! (pause while I pat myself on the back) We had steak tacos (made with flank steak which is one of the leanest cuts of beef). I cut up two peppers, half an onion, and a few mushrooms and sauteed them together with some taco seasoning. S doesn't like peppers so I knew he wouldn't touch my veggies! And then, I had 3 oz of the steak on a wheat tortilla with an avocado. I ate all of my steak (Can you tell I was raised on a farm? I love my beef!), 1/2 of the veggies and tortilla. And I was stuffed. About an hour later when I was counting up my calories, I realized I was under by about 250 calories and had two chocolate graham crackers. I was still under on my calories but I was closer to my daily target. I don't want to starve myself and screw up my metabolism so I really try to stay pretty close to my target. Anyways, I just had to share b/c I was so proud of myself about stopping when I was full and filling up on the veggies!!
Well, I have a project I want to finish today so that tomorrow I can slack off. I like my last day at work every week to be a little slower and not so rushed...I find that if my last day at work in a week is rushed, I spend my whole weekend keyed up and rushed. Oh, and I know tomorrow is Thursday but I have Friday off since I work an alternative schedule (I work 9 hour days and every two weeks I have an extra day off that I don't have to take leave for). Now, I'm just procrastinating on this mind-numbing project.
Later gator!
Last night I did really well. I'm super proud of myself! (pause while I pat myself on the back) We had steak tacos (made with flank steak which is one of the leanest cuts of beef). I cut up two peppers, half an onion, and a few mushrooms and sauteed them together with some taco seasoning. S doesn't like peppers so I knew he wouldn't touch my veggies! And then, I had 3 oz of the steak on a wheat tortilla with an avocado. I ate all of my steak (Can you tell I was raised on a farm? I love my beef!), 1/2 of the veggies and tortilla. And I was stuffed. About an hour later when I was counting up my calories, I realized I was under by about 250 calories and had two chocolate graham crackers. I was still under on my calories but I was closer to my daily target. I don't want to starve myself and screw up my metabolism so I really try to stay pretty close to my target. Anyways, I just had to share b/c I was so proud of myself about stopping when I was full and filling up on the veggies!!
Well, I have a project I want to finish today so that tomorrow I can slack off. I like my last day at work every week to be a little slower and not so rushed...I find that if my last day at work in a week is rushed, I spend my whole weekend keyed up and rushed. Oh, and I know tomorrow is Thursday but I have Friday off since I work an alternative schedule (I work 9 hour days and every two weeks I have an extra day off that I don't have to take leave for). Now, I'm just procrastinating on this mind-numbing project.
Later gator!
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Terrific Tuesday
Things are going well here...not much to report. Made it to the gym yesterday and did 25 minutes on the treadmill and 45 minutes on the bike! Food yesterday was good. I was planning on having steak tacos for dinner last night but by the time S and I left work and got home, we didn't want to wait 45 minutes for dinner so we had BLTs, corn, and leftover mashed potatoes. So my total calories were 1800...so still in a comfortable range but I'm trying to aim for 1600 now. I had no alcohol last night (go me!!). Tonight should be a bit better. We have to leave work a little early b/c I have to take my poor dented car to the shop to get repaired. And we'll have the tacos I'd planned for last night. Tomorrow is my weigh in so I'm going to push myself extra hard at the gym today and really keep an eye on my food intake. I think the alcohol from the weekend has hurt the good weigh-in I might have had. Oh well, I'll see tomorrow and keep moving forward. I just have to remember how great I feel when I eat healthy and workout!! I feel fantastic!! I'm making today a Terrific Tuesday!!
Monday, November 26, 2007
Looooong Weekend Wrap-Up
I ended up having a 6 day weekend! Nice! I totally didn't plan it and the original plan was to go to work on Wednesday but the weather was so super fantastic on Wednesday (around 75 degrees and sunny) that both S and I stayed home and played mini golf and walked around Old Town Alexandria. It was such a beautiful day. We got our tree this weekend and decorated it...it's so pretty. We got a live tree but it is so perfect looking it looks like a fake tree!! We had a good Thanksgiving...since it was just the two of us it was low-key and relaxing. Which is excellent b/c from conversations with my sister and mom, things were very tense and argumentative at my grandma's house.
I hadn't planned on doing any shopping on Black Friday or this weekend. But S wanted to go look for some things, and guess what happened, I ended up being the one who bought a whole bunch of stuff. The GAP Outlet had all of their sweaters and t-shirts for 50% off so I got three sweaters and three t-shirts. I finally found some black boots at Aerosoles that I liked (I was specifically looking for certain things in my boots: all the way up my calf, pointy toe--but not too pointy, a good heel--no stilettos or super bulky heels, not too high of a heel, not too masculine looking) and they had a buy one, get one 50% off so I found some green shoes that I love as well. The Tommy Hilfiger outlet had everything 30% off so I got two sweaters and a pair of fleece pants that I love. I also got some new dress socks and boot socks at Goldtoe (20% off). So I got a lot of stuff!! But it's all clothes I can really use and I can throw out some of my other clothes that are in bad shape. I feel good about what I bought. Oh, I almost forgot, I got "The Best of Cooking Light" cookbook. I was browsing through it last night and I'm already excited to make several of the recipes.
Okay, so back to the purpose of the blog. I did okay eating wise. There was only one time when I ate and wasn't really hungry and ate too much. My biggest issue was with alcohol (as usual). Okay, I realize that sounds like I'm an alcoholic but I'm not. I would feel much better about my caloric consumption if I had kept the alcohol in check a bit. I'm starting a new "rule"--no alcohol during the week. If I want wine, I'll have to wait until the weekend. It'll be better for my body as well as my wallet. When you consume one bottle of wine a day, that adds up pretty fast. I didn't do any formal working out but we were walking a lot shopping. We really didn't stay at the apartment too much. I gave myself 60 minutes for Wednesday's mini golf game but I didn't count the walking when shopping. I'm definitely ready to get to the gym today! I need to talk to S about going to the gym in our complex after work...he stopped working out when he got a new job with a lot more responsibility.
Well, on that note, I'm looking at all my responsibilities for today and I better get some things done so I can go to the gym.
Later gator!
I hadn't planned on doing any shopping on Black Friday or this weekend. But S wanted to go look for some things, and guess what happened, I ended up being the one who bought a whole bunch of stuff. The GAP Outlet had all of their sweaters and t-shirts for 50% off so I got three sweaters and three t-shirts. I finally found some black boots at Aerosoles that I liked (I was specifically looking for certain things in my boots: all the way up my calf, pointy toe--but not too pointy, a good heel--no stilettos or super bulky heels, not too high of a heel, not too masculine looking) and they had a buy one, get one 50% off so I found some green shoes that I love as well. The Tommy Hilfiger outlet had everything 30% off so I got two sweaters and a pair of fleece pants that I love. I also got some new dress socks and boot socks at Goldtoe (20% off). So I got a lot of stuff!! But it's all clothes I can really use and I can throw out some of my other clothes that are in bad shape. I feel good about what I bought. Oh, I almost forgot, I got "The Best of Cooking Light" cookbook. I was browsing through it last night and I'm already excited to make several of the recipes.
Okay, so back to the purpose of the blog. I did okay eating wise. There was only one time when I ate and wasn't really hungry and ate too much. My biggest issue was with alcohol (as usual). Okay, I realize that sounds like I'm an alcoholic but I'm not. I would feel much better about my caloric consumption if I had kept the alcohol in check a bit. I'm starting a new "rule"--no alcohol during the week. If I want wine, I'll have to wait until the weekend. It'll be better for my body as well as my wallet. When you consume one bottle of wine a day, that adds up pretty fast. I didn't do any formal working out but we were walking a lot shopping. We really didn't stay at the apartment too much. I gave myself 60 minutes for Wednesday's mini golf game but I didn't count the walking when shopping. I'm definitely ready to get to the gym today! I need to talk to S about going to the gym in our complex after work...he stopped working out when he got a new job with a lot more responsibility.
Well, on that note, I'm looking at all my responsibilities for today and I better get some things done so I can go to the gym.
Later gator!
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Workin' From Home
Well, as the title says, I'm working from home today. I have an interview with one business school this evening and just decided to stay home today so I could prepare for my interview. (Plus I didn't want to wear or carry my suit to work on the subway...what a hassle.)
I would have had a great food day yesterday if I hadn't started drinking!! S and I left work early to catch the Okla State basketball game against LSU on TV and we stopped at the grocery store so he could get some beer and what do I get? Some very sugary Smirnoff beverages. And what do I do over the course of the evening? Drink all 6!!! For the rest of my New Year Challenge, no drinking on the weekdays. (Well, except for Thanksgiving.) My eating is so much better when I don't consume alcohol. And yesterday I would have been within my calories and everything if it weren't for the 6 drinks I had. And, more "big picture" wise, it's better for my overall health to not have 6 drinks in one day. I did make it to the gym yesterday and spent 60 minutes on the elliptical! Go me! I love the feeling when I'm done working out, it's such a sense of accomplishment and feeling that I can do anything in the world!
I'm trying to stay on track with eating over the next few days. It will be hard. As I mentioned yesterday, last year at this time is when my grandpa really took a turn for the worse. I was super close to my grandpa (my sister and I lived with my grandparents for most of my childhood so my grandpa was really my dad in a lot of ways) and this is the first holiday season without him. Eating crappy food doesn't make me feel better emotionally, so I'm going to try to remember that. What makes me feel better is thinking about how he's not in pain anymore, how great his life was, and how much he meant to me.
S and I are staying here for Thanksgiving. Since Thanksgiving was going to be such an emotional holiday for me, I honestly did NOT want to spend it with my family. I'm one of those people who deal with emotions on my own and being around other emotional people actually makes me "shut down" emotionally and that's bad for me. So S and I decided we would just stay here and do Thanksgiving the way we want to do it. The plan is to get up and have breakfast and then a cheese/cracker type snack around 11 and then have our Thanksgiving meal around 3 or so (or whenever we get hungry). We purchased a honeybaked ham and I'm going to fix green bean casserole, his grandma's mashed potatoes, and Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Tarts (cover of November's Cooking Light). The recipe for the tart is for a big tart but I'm making 4 small ones...enough for us to have one with our meal with an extra for later. We don't need an entire 9" pie! I'm also making a fall salad with spinach, pecans, and dried cranberries. That should be plenty of food for just the two of us. We're going to go get our tree this weekend as well and there's some good football on! Oklahoma State plays our rivals, the OU (sucky) Sooners. It should be a good weekend.
Well, I should get started on a few things around the apartment. Tomorrow is my first weigh-in on my New Year Challenge. I'll eat light the rest of the day but I'm a little worried. I'll see how the first weigh-in goes but I might cut my daily calories down a bit...1800 seems like too much. Enough rambling (and procrastination)! Talk to you tomorrow.
I would have had a great food day yesterday if I hadn't started drinking!! S and I left work early to catch the Okla State basketball game against LSU on TV and we stopped at the grocery store so he could get some beer and what do I get? Some very sugary Smirnoff beverages. And what do I do over the course of the evening? Drink all 6!!! For the rest of my New Year Challenge, no drinking on the weekdays. (Well, except for Thanksgiving.) My eating is so much better when I don't consume alcohol. And yesterday I would have been within my calories and everything if it weren't for the 6 drinks I had. And, more "big picture" wise, it's better for my overall health to not have 6 drinks in one day. I did make it to the gym yesterday and spent 60 minutes on the elliptical! Go me! I love the feeling when I'm done working out, it's such a sense of accomplishment and feeling that I can do anything in the world!
I'm trying to stay on track with eating over the next few days. It will be hard. As I mentioned yesterday, last year at this time is when my grandpa really took a turn for the worse. I was super close to my grandpa (my sister and I lived with my grandparents for most of my childhood so my grandpa was really my dad in a lot of ways) and this is the first holiday season without him. Eating crappy food doesn't make me feel better emotionally, so I'm going to try to remember that. What makes me feel better is thinking about how he's not in pain anymore, how great his life was, and how much he meant to me.
S and I are staying here for Thanksgiving. Since Thanksgiving was going to be such an emotional holiday for me, I honestly did NOT want to spend it with my family. I'm one of those people who deal with emotions on my own and being around other emotional people actually makes me "shut down" emotionally and that's bad for me. So S and I decided we would just stay here and do Thanksgiving the way we want to do it. The plan is to get up and have breakfast and then a cheese/cracker type snack around 11 and then have our Thanksgiving meal around 3 or so (or whenever we get hungry). We purchased a honeybaked ham and I'm going to fix green bean casserole, his grandma's mashed potatoes, and Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Tarts (cover of November's Cooking Light). The recipe for the tart is for a big tart but I'm making 4 small ones...enough for us to have one with our meal with an extra for later. We don't need an entire 9" pie! I'm also making a fall salad with spinach, pecans, and dried cranberries. That should be plenty of food for just the two of us. We're going to go get our tree this weekend as well and there's some good football on! Oklahoma State plays our rivals, the OU (sucky) Sooners. It should be a good weekend.
Well, I should get started on a few things around the apartment. Tomorrow is my first weigh-in on my New Year Challenge. I'll eat light the rest of the day but I'm a little worried. I'll see how the first weigh-in goes but I might cut my daily calories down a bit...1800 seems like too much. Enough rambling (and procrastination)! Talk to you tomorrow.
Monday, November 19, 2007
Weekend Wrap Up
I had a good weekend. I ended up leaving early on Friday and hitting the mall to get some new underwear and body wash before the madness of Christmas shopping really kicks in. S and I walked around a lot so I gave myself 45 of exercise time. We waited until Saturday evening to eat at Bonefish Grill and it was so good!! S doesn't like seafood so he had the porkchops but both of our meals were so good and well worth the money we paid. We've already decided to eat there for our birthdays (our birthdays are one week apart) in January. Saturday and Sunday we had a lot of errands to run. We decorated the balcony with Christmas lights last night and we got lights for our indoor tree. This weekend we're going to get a real tree!! I haven't had a real Christmas tree since I was very young...my sister is allergic to pines. I'm very excited. We went ahead and put up the lights outside and got everything moved around in the apartment so we have a place to put a real tree. We live in a 450 square foot apartment so all the furniture is strategically placed; finding a place for the tree took some moving around and rearranging.
I also gave myself 30 minutes of exercise time for both Saturday and Sunday...all the rearranging of furniture and running errands definitely torched some calories! Food wise, this weekend wasn't so good. I did well on Saturday until we got to Bonefish and while waiting for our table, I had two glasses of wine and then we had a bottle of wine with dinner. However, my entree was very low-cal (grilled fish with veggies). I had a couple more glasses of wine once we got home and then had an emotional meltdown. My grandpa died in April and last Thanksgiving is when he really took a turn for the worse. I remember flying back from Oklahoma after Thanksgiving and thinking I would be going back to Oklahoma soon for his funeral. So, anyways, Thanksgiving will be a hard time for me and I had a meltdown Saturday night relating to all of that (plus the six glasses of wine didn't help). I did okay on Sunday...could've done without the chips at a Mexican place for lunch but not too bad. Still over on the calories but it'll be okay. I'm getting better about stopping when I'm full and not eating everything on my plate just b/c it's there. Small victories, right?
I also gave myself 30 minutes of exercise time for both Saturday and Sunday...all the rearranging of furniture and running errands definitely torched some calories! Food wise, this weekend wasn't so good. I did well on Saturday until we got to Bonefish and while waiting for our table, I had two glasses of wine and then we had a bottle of wine with dinner. However, my entree was very low-cal (grilled fish with veggies). I had a couple more glasses of wine once we got home and then had an emotional meltdown. My grandpa died in April and last Thanksgiving is when he really took a turn for the worse. I remember flying back from Oklahoma after Thanksgiving and thinking I would be going back to Oklahoma soon for his funeral. So, anyways, Thanksgiving will be a hard time for me and I had a meltdown Saturday night relating to all of that (plus the six glasses of wine didn't help). I did okay on Sunday...could've done without the chips at a Mexican place for lunch but not too bad. Still over on the calories but it'll be okay. I'm getting better about stopping when I'm full and not eating everything on my plate just b/c it's there. Small victories, right?
Friday, November 16, 2007
My New Year Challenge and Other Odds and Ends
Since it's been a while, I've got lots to share so I'm going to do this post in an outline form so it's a bit easier to follow.
New Year Challenge
Inspired by Ro, I've created a New Year Challenge for myself. I started on Tuesday and it will go until January 1, 2008 (approximately 6 weeks). My goals during this time are:
1) Stay within calorie budget (1800 weekdays and 2050 on Saturdays and Sundays).
2) Get in 2700 minutes of workout time.
3) Follow budget.
4) Appreciate what I have.
These are almost identical to the goals I set for myself in November but I ended up getting a massive head cold last week and could barely move from the couch to the bed. Plus, I have all of my business school applications in now so my stress level has decreased dramatically. I've also set a goal of losing 12 pounds by New Year's Day but I'm not concerned if I don't reach that goal, as long as I've followed the four main goals above.
My reward for following this challenge is going to be the entire series of "Gilmore Girls." I really love this show and have always wanted to own the seasons and now that the entire series is all together, it will be a bit more affordable and something I really want.
Gone for So Long
I know it's been a week! Ack! I had all intentions of posting earlier this week but I had a b-school application due yesterday so I spent most of the work week on that. And as I previously mentioned, I got a nasty head cold last Wednesday so I ended up getting a 5 day weekend and doing nothing much more than laying down a lot. I felt a lot better after three days and it's because I listened to my body and just stopped and relaxed a bit.
But I realized on Tuesday that I was tired of this extra weight and I was done with eating bad stuff and being lazy, I wanted to feel better. (Side note: I think I got so sick b/c I was eating crap all last week, not worrying about fruits or veggies or good stuff, just eating a lot of sugar and crap.) So I created this New Year Challenge for myself...basically focusing on eating well and exercising over the next 6 weeks. It's a long enough time period to see significant results but a short enough time period to be able to stick with it.
I went to the gym on Wednesday and Thursday and did 90 minutes of cardio both times! (60 minutes on the elliptical and 30 minutes on the bike.) I'm going again today even though it will be a cold walk to the gym.
Weekend Plans
Not too much going on this weekend. S and I are going to "Bonefish Grill" tonight for dinner. It opened up near my apartment a few months ago and he keeps promising to take me but since he doesn't like fish/seafood at all, he's been somewhat reluctant to go. I told him last night I would buy dinner tonight if we went to "Bonefish" as a celebratory dinner out. Like I mentioned before, I have all of my applications in, I found out this week that I've been promoted and am getting a bonus, plus I also found out this week that I "passed" the first phase of one of my applications and am moving into the next phase (this particular school cuts 1/2 of their applicants during the first phase) which is an interview!! So lots to celebrate.
We've got several errands to run this weekend. Some fun stuff, like looking for Christmas decorations (we're going to get a real tree!!). Hopefully, we can go ice skating. We went last weekend on a whim (this was on Sunday after I was feeling much better) and had so much fun!! I want to go again...S is less enthusiastic but I bet I can talk him into it! :)
Well, I suppose I should wrap this post up. It's getting looooong. Hope everyone has a good weekend!
New Year Challenge
Inspired by Ro, I've created a New Year Challenge for myself. I started on Tuesday and it will go until January 1, 2008 (approximately 6 weeks). My goals during this time are:
1) Stay within calorie budget (1800 weekdays and 2050 on Saturdays and Sundays).
2) Get in 2700 minutes of workout time.
3) Follow budget.
4) Appreciate what I have.
These are almost identical to the goals I set for myself in November but I ended up getting a massive head cold last week and could barely move from the couch to the bed. Plus, I have all of my business school applications in now so my stress level has decreased dramatically. I've also set a goal of losing 12 pounds by New Year's Day but I'm not concerned if I don't reach that goal, as long as I've followed the four main goals above.
My reward for following this challenge is going to be the entire series of "Gilmore Girls." I really love this show and have always wanted to own the seasons and now that the entire series is all together, it will be a bit more affordable and something I really want.
Gone for So Long
I know it's been a week! Ack! I had all intentions of posting earlier this week but I had a b-school application due yesterday so I spent most of the work week on that. And as I previously mentioned, I got a nasty head cold last Wednesday so I ended up getting a 5 day weekend and doing nothing much more than laying down a lot. I felt a lot better after three days and it's because I listened to my body and just stopped and relaxed a bit.
But I realized on Tuesday that I was tired of this extra weight and I was done with eating bad stuff and being lazy, I wanted to feel better. (Side note: I think I got so sick b/c I was eating crap all last week, not worrying about fruits or veggies or good stuff, just eating a lot of sugar and crap.) So I created this New Year Challenge for myself...basically focusing on eating well and exercising over the next 6 weeks. It's a long enough time period to see significant results but a short enough time period to be able to stick with it.
I went to the gym on Wednesday and Thursday and did 90 minutes of cardio both times! (60 minutes on the elliptical and 30 minutes on the bike.) I'm going again today even though it will be a cold walk to the gym.
Weekend Plans
Not too much going on this weekend. S and I are going to "Bonefish Grill" tonight for dinner. It opened up near my apartment a few months ago and he keeps promising to take me but since he doesn't like fish/seafood at all, he's been somewhat reluctant to go. I told him last night I would buy dinner tonight if we went to "Bonefish" as a celebratory dinner out. Like I mentioned before, I have all of my applications in, I found out this week that I've been promoted and am getting a bonus, plus I also found out this week that I "passed" the first phase of one of my applications and am moving into the next phase (this particular school cuts 1/2 of their applicants during the first phase) which is an interview!! So lots to celebrate.
We've got several errands to run this weekend. Some fun stuff, like looking for Christmas decorations (we're going to get a real tree!!). Hopefully, we can go ice skating. We went last weekend on a whim (this was on Sunday after I was feeling much better) and had so much fun!! I want to go again...S is less enthusiastic but I bet I can talk him into it! :)
Well, I suppose I should wrap this post up. It's getting looooong. Hope everyone has a good weekend!
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Where is my motivation?
Don't know what's happened to it. It has completely disappeared.
Well, big news...had a car wreck yesterday morning. Totally the other guy's fault for being an idiot and not turning into his lane. Instead he turned into my lane and hit the passenger side of my truck. Luckily, no one was hurt but it makes me mad b/c I take good care of my vehicle and then some foreign idiot who doesn't understand the rules of the road hits me and screws it up. After the guy hit me, S and I were trying to explain to him that you can't just turn into whichever lane you want to turn into, you have to turn into your lane. He totally didn't get it! He thought he was completely right to turn into whatever lane he wanted. Ummm, if we could turn into whatever land we wanted, no one would ever know which lane someone was going into and it would be a mess! There are rules for a reason, you freakin' idiot! If you don't understand these rules, you shouldn't be driving!! The damage isn't horrible, I'll have to have a new door put on and some body work done but no one was hurt and since we were turning, we were going slow. It's just such a freakin' hassle. I have an appointment Thursday morning to have an insurance person look at it and make an estimate. Stupid freakin' idiot!!
Well, moving on (and back to the title of this post)...I have had no motivation the last few months. I'm eating horribly and not working out. It all changes Friday. I'm done with the half-hearted attempts to change. I want to be back at 165 where I felt really comfortable with my body. I'll weigh in Friday morning and it will start from there. No more eating when I'm not hungry or eating entire boxes of little donuts (this morning!) or not working out b/c "I Don't feel like it." Times are changing. I want to be healthy. At 24, I shouldn't be worried about being overweight or feel gross or not want S to touch me sometimes b/c I know I'm fat. This is it, motivation or not, things are changing. I once read/heard somewhere that if you sit around waiting for motivation to come, you'll never change. It will never be the right time or place or there will always be some other reason to not change. Even though I'm getting a cold (explains the migraine from last week), I'm changing. I'm done with eating bad or eating things I don't really want to spend the calories on. Things are going to be different, mark my words!
Well, big news...had a car wreck yesterday morning. Totally the other guy's fault for being an idiot and not turning into his lane. Instead he turned into my lane and hit the passenger side of my truck. Luckily, no one was hurt but it makes me mad b/c I take good care of my vehicle and then some foreign idiot who doesn't understand the rules of the road hits me and screws it up. After the guy hit me, S and I were trying to explain to him that you can't just turn into whichever lane you want to turn into, you have to turn into your lane. He totally didn't get it! He thought he was completely right to turn into whatever lane he wanted. Ummm, if we could turn into whatever land we wanted, no one would ever know which lane someone was going into and it would be a mess! There are rules for a reason, you freakin' idiot! If you don't understand these rules, you shouldn't be driving!! The damage isn't horrible, I'll have to have a new door put on and some body work done but no one was hurt and since we were turning, we were going slow. It's just such a freakin' hassle. I have an appointment Thursday morning to have an insurance person look at it and make an estimate. Stupid freakin' idiot!!
Well, moving on (and back to the title of this post)...I have had no motivation the last few months. I'm eating horribly and not working out. It all changes Friday. I'm done with the half-hearted attempts to change. I want to be back at 165 where I felt really comfortable with my body. I'll weigh in Friday morning and it will start from there. No more eating when I'm not hungry or eating entire boxes of little donuts (this morning!) or not working out b/c "I Don't feel like it." Times are changing. I want to be healthy. At 24, I shouldn't be worried about being overweight or feel gross or not want S to touch me sometimes b/c I know I'm fat. This is it, motivation or not, things are changing. I once read/heard somewhere that if you sit around waiting for motivation to come, you'll never change. It will never be the right time or place or there will always be some other reason to not change. Even though I'm getting a cold (explains the migraine from last week), I'm changing. I'm done with eating bad or eating things I don't really want to spend the calories on. Things are going to be different, mark my words!
Saturday, November 3, 2007
Weekend Check-In
Well, I weighed yesterday and the scale said 182.2 which is up, not down. I didn't have a great week, eating and exercising wise. With my migraine on Wednesday, things went downhill. I did make it to the gym Thursday and did 20 minutes on the treadmill, 20 minutes on the arc trainer, and 5 minutes of strength. Yesterday I didn't make it to the gym b/c I ran around doing errands. Getting the margarita machine ended up taking 2 hours to get (silly me, I anticipated only about 30 minutes)...oy vey! Even though I didn't get to the gym, I was doing a lot of errands.
This morning, I woke up and S went to the office and I decided to stay home and clean rather than go with him. So, I've gotten the apartment nice and clean and it smells wonderful (and it's not even 9 AM yet)! I've got the Food Network on and I'm about to get dressed for the day and make dinner menus for next week and a grocery list. Well, this is just a quick check-in and I better keep moving so when S gets back, I'm ready to run some errands. Okla. State plays Texas at 3:30 so we're heading to the Alumni Association watch party to enjoy the game! Go Pokes!!!
This morning, I woke up and S went to the office and I decided to stay home and clean rather than go with him. So, I've gotten the apartment nice and clean and it smells wonderful (and it's not even 9 AM yet)! I've got the Food Network on and I'm about to get dressed for the day and make dinner menus for next week and a grocery list. Well, this is just a quick check-in and I better keep moving so when S gets back, I'm ready to run some errands. Okla. State plays Texas at 3:30 so we're heading to the Alumni Association watch party to enjoy the game! Go Pokes!!!
Thursday, November 1, 2007
It's a New Month!
Well, I did end up going home early yesterday. My headache was just getting worse and since I didn't have any work to do, I decided it was stupid to sit at work in pain. So I went home. I made mac and cheese when I got home but didn't eat the entire box. I also made pumpkin bread (my mom sent me her recipe) but it didn't taste as good as hers does. :( Something was wrong with my tummy in the afternoon...I don't know if it was the mac and cheese or just feeling crummy. So eating yesterday, not so good--I'm estimating 2885 calories for the day which puts me over by 915 for the week so far. But it's okay, I wasn't feeling well. Today I'm back at work and looking forward to my workout in a couple of hours!
Since it's a new month I'm going to set some goals for November! November will be a calmer month for me. I only have one application left and it's due November 15. I don't have any trips planned although S and I are talking about taking a trip next weekend (Veterans Day weekend) since we have Veterans Day off and it will be our one year anniversary! Okay, back to setting goals:
1. Will stay at 1800 calories/day (with 250 more calories allowed on Saturdays and Sundays).
2. 1530 minutes of exercise. 20 workouts in November with 11 being cardio & strength, 9 being only cardio. (11*90=990; 9*60=540; 990+540=1530 total)
3. Follow budget! I should be getting a raise in mid-November as I'll have two years of service and be eligible for a promotion.
4. Stop and appreciate what I have.
So, two weight loss related goals and two non-weight loss related goals. The weight loss goals are pretty straightforward. As is the third goal of following my budget. The fourth is something I've noticed lately about myself...I get frustrated with S and don't fully appreciate what a great guy he is. Sure, he has his faults but I need to appreciate him more. I have also been complaining about my job a lot and I'm done with it! It only makes me feel worse about my job when I complain about it all the time and it's completely my fault that I'm still here. I could've left a while ago but I chose to stay so now I have to live with that decision.
Well, I think this post is long enough. I hope to comment on blogs and update my page with my new November goals!
Later!
Since it's a new month I'm going to set some goals for November! November will be a calmer month for me. I only have one application left and it's due November 15. I don't have any trips planned although S and I are talking about taking a trip next weekend (Veterans Day weekend) since we have Veterans Day off and it will be our one year anniversary! Okay, back to setting goals:
1. Will stay at 1800 calories/day (with 250 more calories allowed on Saturdays and Sundays).
2. 1530 minutes of exercise. 20 workouts in November with 11 being cardio & strength, 9 being only cardio. (11*90=990; 9*60=540; 990+540=1530 total)
3. Follow budget! I should be getting a raise in mid-November as I'll have two years of service and be eligible for a promotion.
4. Stop and appreciate what I have.
So, two weight loss related goals and two non-weight loss related goals. The weight loss goals are pretty straightforward. As is the third goal of following my budget. The fourth is something I've noticed lately about myself...I get frustrated with S and don't fully appreciate what a great guy he is. Sure, he has his faults but I need to appreciate him more. I have also been complaining about my job a lot and I'm done with it! It only makes me feel worse about my job when I complain about it all the time and it's completely my fault that I'm still here. I could've left a while ago but I chose to stay so now I have to live with that decision.
Well, I think this post is long enough. I hope to comment on blogs and update my page with my new November goals!
Later!
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