Happy Day after Memorial Day!

I can't believe I didn't post yesterday.  But my little flags were out along the road & the flag on the house was dipped in respect.  I blame it on being sick.  Oh yeah - and this guy was out!

I've had him for years, I don't even remember where I got him.  I do recall him sitting on the couch in my apartment in Everett with a beer bottle in his hand.  So a long time!
 

Wouldn’t ya know….I was perfectly healthy all winter & during the “unofficial start to summer” weekend – I get sick??  Started out with a sore throat Saturday night & even now my head feels like its stuffed with cotton and I think my brain has melted & is running out of my nose.   I was a trooper & went in to work, but only for 2 hours.  I did what I needed to do & made sure I saw Michelle – then came back home.   Ugh.  I haven’t slept well since I came down with this, either. 

We had a nice weekend, otherwise.  Not too exciting.  Angel didn’t have school Friday, but I had to work so I left her a list of chores and kept in contact with her by phone (random call from her – MOM!  Someone yakked in the litter box! Well, that makes it easy to clean up!) and later by facebook chat.  Saturday we didn’t do a whole lot.  Sunday we ran a few errands & had every intention of going to a so-called family reunion, but Sunday afternoon we had some severe weather, so Randy went into the EOC & I checked into the SkyWarn net.  We luckily didn’t have any damage, but there were some high winds and heavy rain. Monday we met the family at the cemetery to visit Dad (and Uncle Mel & cousin Kirk).  It was too hot for Mom & Dave, so we were only there for an hour or so.  We got the grass cut that afternoon & the bricks staged along the flowerbeds, ready to be installed.

And of course we grilled!  The most nom-ilicious sirloin steaks on Friday.  Boneless ribs on Saturday & burgers & veggies last night.  NOM NOM NOM NOM

   

Angel & I got the PVC cut for “the Sentries” that I mentioned in the last post.  They’re not going to look how I sketched out.  But we arranged & re-arranged pieces of PVC and finally decided on a pose that we both like.  I really like when she helps me with my H'ween stuff.  She painted my coffin for me & did a darn good job!  And for the last couple years, she decided where all the headstones in the cemetery would go & put them out herself (OK, letting her use a hammer may not be the best of ideas, but only minor injuries so far!!)  I got the chicken wire & now I just have to get out there to start forming!   LOL -  I got the shirts for my guys – but I forgot pants!  That’s OK.  Plenty of time to get them.

OK, short post today.  Since my brain has melted, I can’t concentrate or remember anything.  We’re going to the school tonight for Angel’s play in Drama – Romeo & Julie.  I’ve read the script & its going to be pretty funny!

This guy came to visit while we were mowing the yard. 

He obviously is a regular visitor, since he knew where the bird feeder is supposed to be.

Donald & Gregory

Halloween ideas......

Yes, I know it’s only Memorial Day weekend, but as with anything that requires planning – you can’t wait until the last minute!

This was funny…. Someone on H’ween Forum mentioned these being back in stock, so I ordered one.  When I went to pick it up at the store, the guy brought it out from the back & stood there and looked back and forth between it and me of couple times.  Then he commented that he doesn’t normally see items like this so early in the year.  Heehee! 

I’m not exactly sure what I’m going to do with it yet.  The head is a bit small & it’s floppy.  Maybe he’ll chill in the coffin.  idk

Project #2 – the sentries.  My first idea is to make 2 life-sized PVC forms & dress them like goalies but with jack o’lantern helmets. They were going to stand on each side of the driveway by the fence. Of course they’d be called Chris (Osgood) and Jimmy (Howard).  But tonight we went to the Salvation Army & Randy found these matching “STAFF” t-shirts so the goalie idea was tanked.  So I guess they’re going to be bouncers now – LOL!

Project #3 – the outhouse.  OK, I’d really like to build a mausoleum, but my haunt tends to be on the slightly goofy side, so it’ll end up being an outhouse.  It’ll be easier, too.  A mausoleum requires elegant carvings & gargoyles…and I’m still not sure about the whole carving foam sheets thing yet.   I know they can look beautiful and realistic, but I still don’t see how they can be (I can’t think of the words I want – damn it!) tough enough to handle & store.  So I’ll stick with basic plywood.  I can handle that. 

Project #4 – reworking the zombies.  Let’s see.  There’s......

Tom. 

He’s just going to get a new shirt.

I shouldn’t have cut it up because his PVC body shows thru the slashes. 

Marilyn.
  She needs the most work.  A chicken wire body & round boobs!

The foam chunks didn’t work out well.

Matt.
  A new shirt. 

Art.

  I’m thinking he needs this shoulders narrowed & he’s going to become Big Mike’s victim. 

I’ll wrap him up in webbing & hang him upside down.

Project #5 – possibly re-doing some of the headstones.  This is a big maybe.  I just repainted them last year & I’m pretty happy with the colors. 

Project #6 - grow your own zombie.  This is the pic from H'ween Forum... is that not the greatest idea??  I was thinking of using the latex arm I got at Spirit last year, but some peoole posted that they cast their own hand from plaster of paris or something like that.  That's better because you can curl the fingers more.  

btw - this is Big Mike.

I'm sure there will be some other tweaks & stuff.  But this is what I have sketched out in my handy-dandy notebook so far.

5/26/11

  -1.8 lbs!!!      

Well, I sure wasn't expecting that!   I guess all those APs really balanced it out!

At the meeting tonight, Carol talked about the excuses people use to get out of exercise and what the remedy would be for each excuse.  I just don't make the time for it!  So I need to make a better effort to get my butt moving! 

Looks like its supposed to be hot & humid this holiday weekend, so I should get some APs in while out installing the new bricks along the front flowerbed.  As for the rest of the time, I just need to get up early & do it then.  I really like how I feel the rest of the day when I even just do the Wii yoga! 

Uggh.

Really not looking forward to getting on a scale tomorrow!

I used all but 2 of my WPs this week but on the plus side, I made 22 APs!  So we'll see how this works out.

I was scraping dinner together tonight.  Randy & I had Mango Tango Tilapia, rice pilaf & rosted broccoli / artichoke hearts.  So I guess it wasn't too bad.  I maued on those veggies!

Keeping fingers crossed!

Mild complaining.

I'm really not in a bad mood today, but I felt the need for a "bitch post".  Sometimes this is just something ya gotta do.  Its nothing that requires action - just to vent.

1.  Work is TOO FREAKIN' BORING !!!  I know that I do probably 90% of the billing for the freight the company hauls, and there are a lot of people who depend on what I do for their paychecks - but look.  I'm sitting here blogging - mainly because I've caught up on FaceBook already!  Just a few years ago, there were 3 of us working our butts off all day long in this department.  Now its just me.  Don't get me wrong- I'm thankful to still have a job when there are so many out there without one.

2.  I want to tear down my house & rebuild!  I like the neighborhood so I don't want to move - unless it's totally drastic like out of state.  I'd like a basement, but really isn't necessary.  A laundry room that is big enough for a place to hang clothes up and a table to fold on.  My wonderful new HE washer & dryer need something more impressive than the furnace closet.  Randy needs his own room.  I want to take all his cool old QSL cards & put them in huge poster frames.  Then he can have all his radio & computer stuff someplace other than our bedroom.  And (selfishly) I won't have to hear his late night gabfests on the radio or when the evil work beeper goes off.  And a family room!  So Angel can still park her butt in front of the TV and I can use the Wii or watch the hockey game at the same time.  That would mean 2 Christmas trees, too!  One extremely traditional one with glass ball ornaments & one funky one!!!!

3.  I could just strangle the girl.  School is for learning - not social hour !!!!  I don't ask for honor roll caliber work - just get every assignment done & turn it in!  I don't think that's expecting much!  I know there are parents out there who demand excellence - but how do they get the kid to produce????  Do they go to each class every day and hold the kid's hand and walk them to teacher's desk to turn the paper in??  I just don't get it.  Do you have no pride??   As a parent, I think its a huge embarrassment to go to conferences and the teachers keep telling me she could easily be an A/B student if she'd just turn assignments in!!!  I truly hate going.   When I was a kid, it never occurred to me NOT to do my homework & turn it in!  I was mortified the few times I'd forgotten an assignment.

4.  And some more about the girl.....she can't possibly be that freakin' ditzy !!  We do not live in a sitcom, and therefore you do not need to act stoopid like those people on TV.  They are "ACTORS", you are not.  Like pretending not to hear me then suddenly shaking her head and saying "Oh!  What?"  Come on.  And there is NO WAY she is going to get away with thinking Randy & I are as dumb as the parents on the shows she watches. 

5. Girl - don't bother lying.  We can tell & you look like a moron.   Especially when the proof is staring you in the face.  It's really OK to admit you're wrong or made a mistake.  That actually makes you look like a better person anyway.

6.  I really wish I could get help around the house.  I'm not pointing fingers at who the problem is, because I accept my share of the mess-making blame.  This also goes back to #2.  The house is just too small & there's no place to put anything.  We have a lot of stuff.  I've been trying to get rid of excess clutter, but it doesn't look any different!  I'm not the only one who can toss a load of laundry into the washer or fold the clothes when its done.  So the pile of clean clothes stays in a pile on the couch (because I don't have a laundry room!) until I get around to folding it.  I'm not the only one who can load and/or unload the dishwasher.  So the dirty dishes pile up in the sink while clean ones sit in there.  Etc, etc, etc, etc.

7.  I hate that my skin tends to be nasty.  My shoulders are scarred from acne, my belly has stretch marks, etc.

8.  I wonder what my purpose in life is.  Right now I'm Randy's wife & Angel's mom.  I don't see us having any kids, so it's not like I'm going to birth the next president or anything.  Yeah - I don't see Miss Angela as being president.  She'd want the flag to be bedazzled & the White House painted lime green.   This is the same kid who -when asked what the country directly south of us is - said it's Margaritaville.  Anyway, I'd like to give Randy a kid, but it's been a long time since I've dealt with a baby.   I don't think he fully understands how they change your life anyway.  Angel was 4 when he met us.  They're totally high maintenance & I've gotten lazy.  Plus I think I'm too old. I've been off the Pill for almost 4 years now... I don't think it's going to happen naturally.   But I still get that little twinge thru the heart when I see someone with a little one.

But you know what?  The blessings in my life totally outweigh the stuff I listed (and that I didn't list).  I have a wonderful husband who makes me happy & is a great provider.  My kid is happy & healthy & generally a good kid.  I have my health & a cozy home & an income & a reliable car.   I know that the Lord loves us & has a plan (that I wish He'd let me know!!) for us all.

The afterlife is just like my old life !!!!

WOW!

Just a quick post tonight in celebration of the Non-End of the World!  That guy who prophesied that was obviously delusional.  Snorting too much California smog.  I bet he feels like such an ass now.

Had a nice visit with another Amanda’s mom / family tonight.  Pnut had asked yesterday to go hang out with her.  Of course I was ¾ of the way done with mowing the yard & had to stop to take her.  Her mom wanted to meet me & of course I wasn’t going to drop her off with some stranger.  So when I went to pick her up, we sat & chatted and ended up staying for dinner, until we finally left around 10!  Dani’s (the mom) Godparents came over & they were the funniest people!  Dave is a Deacon & Rosie is totally not what I expected a religious man’s wife to be!  I think he was tickled because he had a new person to tell his stories to (me!) and some of the remarks she made were just hysterical.  It was a nice evening.

Dani's sister caught me off guard.  Dani had warned me that this sister with the totally unpronounceable name -  Briscillica or something - was a bit slow & odd.  She looked at me & asked what nationality I was.  Uhhh - white?  American??  I wasn't sure how to answer at first.  What she was looking for was basically my ancestry.  Native American / Welsh.  They're Lebanese, but Dani & fam had spent 13 or so years in New Jersey, so she still had the accent - which sounded funny with the occasional Arabic phrase thrown in.

It took 2 cuttings to get the lawn looking decent.  Crazy! It’s been 2 weeks since Randy cut it & we’ve gotten buckets of rain, so it was long & thick.   My poor body hurts & I got some sun on my shoulders – and apparently my nose, too!

So Randy will be home tomorrow evening – yay! 

Pnut & I went to WalMart last night & got enough bricks to make a border around the front flowerbeds.  I was afraid to put any more in my car !!  I still need to get some for the side flowerbed & also some topsoil.  When we got home from there, we unloaded the bricks, grabbed the dog and went for a walk around Holland Ponds.  It was so nice out!  We went off the trail to look at a “waterfall” and going back to the trail, I scared up a big fat garter snake, so I caught it!  This pic is so funny!  I was talking to Angel, but looking at it, so it looks like I’m going to bite its head off. 

Yeah, it peed on me, too.  Neat. 

Going back to the car, we passed this 200 year old man carrying bags & bags of photography equipment & he asked if we saw anything good.  We told him about a family of geese & the herons on their nests.  He showed us a shot he got of a red-winged blackbird on her nest.  With the size of the lens on his camera, he was probably ½ mile away & you could see feather detail on that bird!  Beautiful, tho!

Alrighty.  I think I’m going to take some aspirin & go to bed.

Btw – the braces are doing well.  They hurt for the first day or so, but I haven’t heard her complain since.  She has been very careful about how & what she eats, tho.  Until I caught her with gum tonight!!  ~~smack!!~~

5/19/11

-1.6 lbs today!

Woohoo!  Finally a decent loss! 

I got up at 5 this morning & did 30 minutes of Wii Yoga.  Let me tell you that my balance sucked very much bad!  I even held onto the TV for the one pose & was still falling all over.  Just recently I finally mastered the tree pose & that all went to hell!    It didn't help that Skeeter was assisting me.  I went to do the bridge pose & he laid down under me.  Then I went to do the side stretch one, he laid up against my shoulder so I couldn't stretch my arm out.  He got in my face & sniffed my eye.  Guess he was looking for some attention!

Anyhoooo.  I think tomorrow I'm going to do a 2 mile walk - that's about 35 minutes.  I need it because I had one of those chocolate mint ice capps and a maple dip donut from Tim Hortons tonight - that was 13 PPs !!!  I almost fainted !!!  But I entered it on my tracker anyway!

This weekend I plan to get out there & mow the yard and I also have the PVC needed to build my latest 2 "guys" for my Halloween display.  So I want to be outside as much as possible Saturday when its sunny & 77 !!  I can probably talk the girl into going for a walk around Holland Ponds, too.  Sunday has a 50% chance of T-storms.  Yay!

5/18/11

Sorry, haven't posted lately !!    I've been pretty disgusted with myself & don't even really want to WI tomorrow.  I haven't been tracking, paying attention to portion sizes, exercising, nothing.  And it's not just been this week - it's been several weeks!   So it's all my own damn fault and I can't blame anyone else.

I keep telling myself that I'm going to do better, so far that hasn't happened.  Guess I need to start getting my butt up early again & do some Wii yoga or a Walk At Home DVD before getting ready for work.  It's about the only time I have when life doesn't get in the way!

Randy is gone until Sunday, so I will start tomorrow!  A new WW week, a new regimen. 

5/5/11

Happy Cinco de Mayo !!!

Had a couple bad weeks in between posts, but this week I'm back down, so yay! 

I've been really bad at tracking and man, being at home just kills me.  Food is just too convenient.  At work I'm perfectly fine.  Of course, I can really only eat what I bring, so it's all good.  But at home.... OM NOM NOM NOM NOM !!!! 

The May challenge on the  DWLZ thirties board is to decide on a non-scale goal and try to stick to it.  Mine is to TRACK !!!  That is also something I do just fine at work.  At home - forget it.   Of course it doesn't help if Randy or Angel is hogging the desk all night, either.   I think I'd like one of those phones that has the WW app on it.  Then I couldn't use them as an excuse.
So that's all the scoop for today! 

4/14/11

-.4 lbs !!!

Wow!  I wasn't expecting a loss at all!  I was so bad this week. I almost didn't weigh in tonight.  I sort of got some hope yesterday when I got on the Wii & it said I was down.  

Didn't do well at all & TOM arrived. We grilled out Saturday & Sunday both & I didn't measure the mass quantities of red meat I blissfully shovelled in. My knee was bothering me Saturday so I didn't do much of anything, but Sunday it was nice so Randy & I went for a walk around Holland Ponds - it was SOOOOOO nice!

I did use the Wii a couple times, and I only did a WAH mile yesterday so I didn't miss the beginning of Game 1 of the playoffs! 

So I'm going to try to do better this week.  I found my knee brace, so I'm ready for if it acts up.  Looks like its supposed to be cool & crappy this weekend, so I'll make sure I put on my shoes before WAHing this time, so my feet don't hurt! 

4/8/11

-.6 lbs this week!

I'm actually pretty happy with that.  It IS a negative, after all! 

I have decided that TimBits from Tim Hortons are food crack.  Our evil sales guy brought a box in to work yesterday and just knowing that that box was across the room killed me.  I'd just finished breakfast, too!  I wasn't even close to being hungry but I still wanted to just grab them up by the handfuls & just NOM NOM NOM.  It was tough, but I controlled myself.  Over the course of the morning, I only had 5.  Yes, I'm proud of myself.  I tracked them, too.  At 2 points a pop. 

So I've began exercising in earnest now.  Last week I did a lot of running back & forth at work, so I didn't do any extra.  I was too tired by the end of the day!  So Sunday I did 30 minutes of Wii yoga & a 2 mile Walk at Home DVD.  Monday I don't think I did anything.  Tuesday was just the yoga,  Wednesday was the yoga & a 3 mile walk.  Yesterday I confess I didn't do anything.  I know the Wii yoga may not be considered "real" exercise, but after 30 minutes I'm pretty warm!  Muscles are moving & such so it can't be all bad!  Better than sitting on my butt playing Wii mini-golf !!!

Alrighty.  I'm going to keep on truckin'!  I fully expect to OD on red meat this weekend.  It's calling for the 60s & 70s so the grill will be coming out to play.  Beef ribs one night & steak the next.  Oh yeah ! ! ! !

3/31/11

Oops, skipped a week!

That's OK - the loss was the same for both...1.4 lbs!!  Woohoo!

Took my measurements tonight, since it's been about a month since I started back, I lost 1/2 inch everywhere, except 3/4 from my thighs. 

Minor confession - I had a glass of ChocoVine wine last night - aka The Adult's YooHoo.  It was sooooooo good & is definitely Happy Juice!!

Hmm, People at my meeting may think I'm a liar now.  Rosa, our temp leader asked everyone to stand up & called out 5 lb increments of weight loss (in our WW Journey!).  Well, I've lost 50 lbs.  Just not all during this particular enrollment!  So next week when hopefully I get my first 5 lbs star, I hope no one remembers that!  LOL!!  One lady did ask me on the way out how long it took me, so she got the story.  Oh well!   Maybe I'll sit in a different spot....heehee!

Anyway, I'm sure I got plenty of exercise this past week.  Geri at work has been on vacation, so I'm doing some of her work.  It requires me to troop back & forth across the office a LOT, to get cards from behind her desk, put them on the back counter, put them back.  Lots o' walking!  Plus the overtime that's gone along with it!! 

One of these days I'm going to get that annoying little person on the Wii to stop calling me obese!  Just call me the Tortoise ! Slow & steady.......

3/19/11

Ooops, so much for keeping this up to date!  On 3/10 I'd gone to the girl's conferences & didn't think I was going to make it to weigh in on time.  As it is, I made it by the skin of my teeth. 

3/10   -2.6 lbs  woohoo!  Not too bad, considering I had a huge red meat craving the night before & we went to Ram's Horn of all the crappy places to go.  I had a super fatty ribeye, but the rest was OK.  I also snuck in a paczki from Tim Horton's on Sunday, but avoided them on Fat Tuesday!!

3/17   +.6 lbs.  Honestly, this wasn't as bad as I expected.  The weekend before was our St. Patrick's Girls' Night Out with the family. So there were excessive snacks & the place we go to dinner (but won't be going anymore) stopped serving actual dinners & only had a very limited menu - and even that was hit or miss if they had the items for what was left.  Oh, then TOM arrived & that's never a good weigh in anyway.  I did get a nice walk around the park in with Jack Wednesday and I got some serious APs on Monday raking the yard & snowbanks down so they could melt faster. So it's not like I didn't do any exercise at all!

I hadn't been able to get one of the PointsPlus calculators from my meeting location since I started back, so I went over Friday to the one near my work & got one of their last 2 on the shelf.  The lady there was nice enough to tell me that they get their supply from some place overseas, so I imagine with all this unrest it's pretty tough to get shipments in!  So I will treasure the one I got.  It's going to be so much easier grocery shopping now!!  On the old Points system, you could roughly guess what the values were on items, but not now. 

Hmm, speaking of grocery shopping, I really prefer Arnold's sandwich thins for 3 pts over the Aunt Millie's Thinwich things for 2.  The Arnold's have a better taste & texture.  Just noting that.

So the menu for tonight involves boneless beef short ribs cooked on the grill, corn on the cob and baked taters.  Om  nom  nom  nom  nom  nom !!!!!  Can you tell I'm excited about that??

3/3/11

225.4 lbs
OK, so I didn't wait until the 10th like I said in my last post.  I don't think that's such a bad thing!!

Well, at least it wasn't 20 lbs that I gained in my time off.  More like 18.6 - but it wasn't 20!!!  It was so time to go back to my meetings.  LOL, my leader Carol remembered me! 

I'd started feeling cow-ish like I did back before I started the first time.  My roll over the top of my pants is back.  So yeah.  I haven't really had a chance to read over the new program yet, so I can't imagine that I'll be on plan very well tomorrow, but I'll make sure to document all that I eat.  This time I'm going to make sure that I exercise from the very beginning!  That was my mistake before.  I lost weight but didn't tone so my belly got droopy.  And it still is.  Nice.  Oh well.  Not like anyone except Randy would see it!

So there it is.  I'm back!!   How about a goal?  It's just over 25 weeks til my birthday.  Shall I shoot for 38 pounds before I turn 38??  sounds like a do-able plan to me!   

1/25/11

Hi, I'm back !! 

According to the Wii Fit that we got at Christmas, I've only gained like 9 pounds since I quit WW.  I really thought it would be more than that since we spent the holidays in Arkansas and I totally GORGED on deep fried food.  One night at this little podunk restaurant, I got the "All Things Southern" plate - hush puppies, cat fish fillets, squash, okra and green tomatoes - all deep fried.  And I can't even remember what I ate at that evil buffet another night !!  I know it ended with a slice of pecan pie, which is probably the most horrible pie created (stats-wise) but it was all SOOOOOOOOOO GOOOOOOOOOOOOD!!!

I'm still wearing the same clothes, but have noticed that a pair or two of my dress pants are getting snug...and those muffin-top creating jeans that I talked about a while back - forget it!   But they're not going into the donate basket - they're now my goal jeans!!

Other than the really bad vacation, I've been staying somewhat on track.  I know I'm going to have to re-learn the portion sizes again, but what I take to work is basically the same as when I was on the plan.  I bring oatmeal with some Fiber One mixed in it for breakfast with my Coke Zero.  Lunch is a Lean Cuisine or Smart One, a sandwich thin, yogurt, usually a fruit & a veggie.  And I still have 94% fat free popcorn in the desk drawer!  It's still the grazing at home that the problem is.  

So here's the scoop.  Since WW came out with their new program (and my lurking 20 year reunion) I'm going to rejoin.  I was going to start back on March 3, but I saw my last post was 10/10 so I'm going to wait until 3/10 to go back.  A full 5 month sabbatical! 

My old leader kept sending cards to me for about 6 weeks after I quit.  Talk about a guilt trip!!!  

I actually read my Dotti's newsletter this month - it was very inspiring.  She talked about the "Honeymoon Phase"  and how to keep it.  It was just what I needed.  I may print the newsletter out so I always have it.  I used her website www.dwlz.com a lot to figure out points for different restaurants, but always thought the newsletters were annoying.  I just went to their blog & read the latest entry & it was interesting - Dotti & Al are real people with real lives and the usual ups & downs.  I think I'll pay more attention to them!

10/10/10

Grand Total - -62.6 lbs lost

I say it that way because I'm going to take a WW break for a while.  My heart & drive just aren't in it anymore.  I'm discouraged that I've been in the same 5 pounds or so since June 2009, maybe even before that.

Now I'm not giving up on the Plan!  I've gotten rid of my old fat clothes, so I will try my damnedness not to gain a bunch back.

Anyway, I'll still check in periodically. 

Chao!

8/5/10

-1.8 lbs
-63.8 lbs total

I was slightly nervous about going to WI this week, with TOM arriving and such.  But I was determined to go to a meeting, since I hadn't been to one in forever. But all was good, even tho I got screwed out of taking the bunny home again.  One lousy person had lost more than me.  Damn it. 

I was going to switch my WW blog over to Blogspot like my personal blog, but I don't like that you can't create a simple chart (like on A Work In Progress) in a blog without all sorts of tweaking on the program, etc. Pppft. I had trouble exporting the whole blog from here, so I copied & pasted it. Too much crap & I wasn't happy with it, so I'll stay here.  All that work isn't for naught, tho. I had a chance to go back & re-read some of the my first posts. I wish I could get that hope & optimism back that I had back then - almost 2 years ago!!
 
But anyway, I had a big gain 2 weeks after that last post I wrote. Almost put all what I'd lost back on. But then before I went to sleep on Monday, July 26, I had the thought (God Breeze?? Could be!) that I should get my butt up in the morning & take the dog for a walk before work. So I did! And we really enjoyed it!

So we've been going out almost every morning since. I had to leave Jack at home last Friday, much to his dismay! Thursday I'd noticed he seemed to be limping so I left him home to rest. Big DUH! Gee, my legs were sore - maybe his were, too! Sure, we'd gone around the park before, but never multiple days in a row! Poor thing!
 
Saturday I stopped by work and spent 2 hours breaking up some huge pallets I'd gotten from the building in front, so I thought that was a pretty good workout. Minor injuries and the much appreciated help of 2 different drivers and I felt pretty useless the rest of the day.
 
Sunday we both rested & Monday I took Jack back out (with his fresh puppi-cure!) and only went halfway around the park. He seemed to do OK, so we're back in business!
 
So finally getting my butt out moving has had it's affects - 1 lb the first week and 1.8 this week, so things are looking good! Plus buying a new bathing suit in a size 14 that looks really cute on me - and trying on pants in a comfortable 16!!! I admit to not being brave enough to try a 14 in pants yet. I guess the 16s don't feel big enough yet.
 
I have a theory on what causes muffin-tops. Those tight low-rider jeans take all extra fat & meat starting from your knees and squeeze it up & out over the top. Yup. I never realized that until I tried on a pair in a store. At the time they buttoned up, but felt like they'd cut me in half if I tried to sit. But I still bought them. Now they actually feel pretty good, I can sit & even eat while wearing them!! I'm just not used to wearing anything that snug around my butt anymore.

So I guess I’m just going to keep on doing what I’ve been doing! Seems to be working!

7/7/10

-2.6 lbs this week!
total loss 63.4 lbs

LOL, I just noticed I didnt post any entries for the last few weeks that I had gains.   But I did note them on the "Work in Progress" page.

Anyway, I was really surprised that I had any loss, let alone a big one!  Friday, Randy and I went out to dinner (did OK - I got a hula bowl from Max & Erma's) and a movie (evil candy).  Saturday we went to my cousin Todd's surpise 50th birthday party at Buffalo Wild Wings (got a grilled chicken sand w/ teriyaki & fries).  Had a regular Coke at cousin Jennifer's house.  Went to McD's that night (SW grilled chicken salad - OK)  Sunday we had a church picnic - didn't do OK.  Not even gonna try to list what I had. Made no effort to stay on track at all!   Sunday afternoon, another picnic at Aunt Jenny's house.  Also not good.  Monday I had a sausage biscuit & maple dip donut from Timmy's before working at the parade.  Afterward, another picnic.  Monday night, pizza & wings. 

So I've really only been on track since yesterday.   I have been taking this Triple-Tea Fat Burner stuff from Vitamin World, so maybe it's helping.  I almost gave up on it, since after the first week, it really made my face oily & I broke out a lot on my face, chest, back & shoulders. I must be used to it now, since it's not as bad.  But I'm not gonna use that as a crutch. 

So anyway.. tomorrow is mine & Randy's anniversary.  Don't know what the plan is for that yet.  Trollop points, I'm sure!

6/4/10

-1.4 lbs!!  OMG !!

I can't believe I actually had a loss !!  I am feeling hope and enthusiasm again! 

LOL, I ordered a book that I saw on the Women's Health website called Look Better Naked by Michele Promaulayko.   It is a 6 week plan and includes menus and workouts and ways to build confidence and stoof.  I think Randy was intrigued when he saw it.  He was happy it's called Look Better instead of Look Good, since he thinks I already look good naked (blush) ! 

But I'm curious to compare their menus to Weight Watchers.  Should be interesting! 

Learn from my fail - AVOID BABY BACK RIBS at all costs!  3 lousy ounces is 7 (yes - SEVEN) points!   And if you must have them - weigh it out before eating.  I took 4 ribs, weighed them, ate the meat, then weighed the bones to see the difference.  21 freakin' points !!!!  ~faint~

So anyway, I'm going mess around with this book & my Points tracker and see what's up.  I'll report back!

5/31/10

weigh in:  208.4
total: -61.2

So I had a small gain which almost completly killed last weeks 1.2 lb loss.  So this is the second month in a row that I've posted a gain for the month (see "A Work In Progress")

I'm totally disgusted wtih myself.  I am back to feeling like a bloated cow and it's not even TOM, so I can't blame Mother Nature.  This weekend was not one of good choices (again!)  Saturday 2 people Randy graduated with came over with their families, so that meant BBQ & he wanted me to get 4 bags of chips, etc.  Yesterday was a BBQ at Aunt Jenny's house and that was even worse, with the brownies, cake (but that was WW friendly!!) and all the rest of the regular yummy BBQ crap.  It didn't help seeing 2 of my cousins who both have lost vast amounts of poundage.  Naomi is the one whose daughter just got married last month, so she'd been a gym fanatic so she'd look good - pppft.  But Janet has just been watching her fat grams and she looked wonderful!  She's always been on the chunky side & she just looked 20 years younger. 

What the heck - I'm going to get off my ass in front of the computer & go take the dog for a walk while its still cool out.  

5/13/10

+3.0 lbs tonight

This just really sucks.  I just don't seem to be caring like I should.  During the day, I am totally on plan.  In the morning, I mix up a smoothie with the WW smoothie mix, maybe 2 ounces of skim milk and some frozen fruit (I count it as 2 pts).  Later on in the morning I have my oatmeal, with either cinnamon or vanilla extract in it.  I have a Coke Zero in the morning, too.  But that's 0 pts.  Today I had 2 WW bars at different times, a 4 pt Smart One, a 1pt yogurt and a 1 pt sandwich thin at lunch.  Then I had an orange and an apple.   So that comes to 14 points already.  Which is fine.  2 meals & a bunch of snacks.  Once I get home is what kills me.  I feel like I just need to graze all evening and it's SO hard to control myself. 

This past weekend didn't help.  I went to a wedding Saturday and dinner was served, so at least my portions were controlled.  But then I don't even know how many Bud Light's I had.  2 points a pop right there.  Then we took Mom out to breakfast for Mother's Day Sunday at Big Boy.  The breakfast bar destroyed me.  Cheesy scrambled eggs, hash browns, biscuits & gravy, bacon and oh yeah, a small plate of fruit.   At least I didn't force myself to eat the stuff that didn't taste good.  The sausage patties were downright nasty & I didn't like the quiche thing, what ever it was.  It had peppers & peas I don't know what else.  PASS!  The green peppers drowned out the taste of everything else anyway.

So what can I do?  I am going to refresh my memory of the filling foods & make my grocery list while I'm looking at it.   I need to get myself back on the message boards, since I've been skipping so many meetings.  I need to blog more often, since it keeps me accountable, being able to see exactly what it is that I'm doing right and/or wrong.  I've started following David Kirchhoff's blog - he's the CEO of Weight Watcher's International & he doesn't blog as the CEO, but as a member.  He's actually pretty funny, so it's neat to read.

It was funny that I was going to do a quick 27 fling boogie in the girl's room last night, so I changed out of work clothes and put on sweats.  As I was putting on my tennies (NOT gonna go in her room barefoot - eew!), Jack got all excited - he thought we were going for a walk.  So I did 20 minutes in her room and took out a full garbage bag to the dumpster.  Then I took him for a walk around the park.  Win/win !!

I'll be back to update as the week goes on.

4/11/10

had a 2 lb gain last this week.   My stats are.....207.6 lbs / 62.0 lb loss.

I've really been off the wagon lately.  All those darn GFWs and Easter just kicked my butt.  No willpower whatsoever.

Most of the Easter candy crap is gone now, so I should be doing better now.  I haven't tracked in the past week or so, either.  Sigh.  I wish I could get back the enthusiasm & drive I had when I first started.  I haven't been on the WW message boards since the last day of February, I hate having to search for the board that I want.  Guess I need to suck it up and deal with that.

On the plus side, I got a nice walk in both Thursday morning & today.  From the house, around the park at the end of the street & back is about 2 miles.  Jack and I knocked it out in 35 minutes Thursday.  Tonight took a bit longer because we had Randy (& his gadgets) and Angel (& her bike) with us.  I was happy to see Randy out there, so I didn't mind going slower for him.   Then half way around, he took over the bike so I picked up speed.  It's moving that counts!

2/25/10 week 81

Why does that sound like I'm lost at sea or on a deserted island or something?  At least I'm counting by weeks and not days!   Anyhooo, today's weigh-in verdict was.....

208.6 lbs for a total loss of 61.2 lbs so far

OK, February has just sucked for me.  I went up 0.2 on the 11th, then up 0.4 on the 19th and a whopping 1.6 tonight!  I didn't think I was slacking that badly, but the scale don't lie!  I actually felt blah & bloated (non-TOM week, too!) the last couple days, so I guess this gain wasn't too much of a surprise.

Hmmm, what can I do differently?   I've been shooting for 15 APs per week and have been mostly successful.  It's not all the same stuff, either.  I had some snow-shovelling APs and finally did the WATP Express 3 mile DVD, too.

I think I need to really pay attention to portion size again.  I do measure out my oatmeal everyday.  But I'm not as careful at dinnertime.  I was tonight, we had chinese food & I got my WW spoons out for that.  The broccoli chicken I wasn't too worried about, it was the rice.   I only had 1/2 cup of that. 

I know my water consumption is not the issue!  I swear I drink enough to float!  I should count trips up and down the stairs to the bathroom at work as APs!  I have 16 oz first thing in the morning, a 12 oz can of Coke Zero at work, then I easily go thru 4 or 5 20 oz bottles of water during the day.  Plus a couple more at home.

Now that I think about it, we've had several meals with processed food... hamburger helper & such.  I counted the points, but there's a lot of sodium & crap in those.  I made stuff in the crockpot, too, but used cans of soup......hmmmm, that could be the problem.  Not enough fresh and/or frozen stuff.  I had 2 miles last Friday with eggs, pancakes, french toast, 3 beers when I went out with the Girls Saturday night.  Yeah.  I'm seeing where it came from.

I think I'll clean out the fridge real quick in the morning and get ready to go grocery shopping.  Stock up on the good stuff.   The meeting topic tonight was revamping your kitchen so it's more weight-loss friendly.  As in keeping the scale & calculator handy (mine are on top of the toaster oven) and having measuring spoons close by (mine are in the utensil vase on the counter).  I did like the idea of getting some extra measuring cups and keeping them in the boxes of cereal, so they're extremely convenient.  Cereal is a trigger food for me.  Life cereal in particular is a serious landmine.  I could go crazy with it. 

Alrighty!  Lets see how this goes this week.

1/14/10

Oh crap if I know what week it is.  75 calendar weeks, but I haven't weighed in every single week.  So whatever.

tonight's WI = 208.8 lbs
tonights loss = -4.2 lbs
for a total loss of 60.6 lbs !!!!





WOOOOOOHOOOOOOO!





I finally got over that damn 210 speedbump.  So the exercise has paid off, as well as the pity party crying jag I had Monday (I apparently needed the attitude adjustment) and also I switched from using my paper journal to the one on e-tools to track my daily points.  I like this so much better, since in the book, I tended to write stuff down, but didn't figure out the points, so most of the time I had no idea if I went over or not.  And I never did really know how to figure in the APs and WPs, etc.  This does it for me, plus gives me smiley faces for getting my GHGs in. 







So I was kind of bummed I still didn't get to bring home the Loser Bunny from my meeting.  There is a Happy Bunny keychain that says "Hiya Loser" when you squeeze it and whoever loses the most weigh each week gets to take it home with them.  But at least he didn't go home with a newbie. This lady's been going there longer than me and we always comiserate with each other.  So if I couldn't have him, I'm glad she got him.




So now my next goal is the 75 pound charm!  I have a much more positive outlook on the whole WW thing now, and have for the past couple days.  I was really discouraged for a long time where I even hated the thought of going to the meetings.  But I kept plugging along, so that says something for me.

I heard a really good idea at the meeting tonight.  This guy says he sits down each morning and figures out what he's going to eat that day, so he gets the exact right amount of points.  He writes it all down, then puts a check next to it when he eats it.  That's a good idea!


I went shopping last night for some new pants since I was down to 1 pair that actually fit me.  The rest outgrew me!  It was a productive night, since I came home with 3 really nice pairs of pants & 3 awesome skirts.  I stood there in the dressing room, getting ready to undo my jeans and I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror and I had to stop and check myself out - I was looking goooooood!


  

12/24/09

 -1.4 lbs (again!!) 

Well, I did the Fast 3 Mile walk with Leslie Sansone on Monday. Tuesday and this morning.   That woman is annoying, so next time I may choose the music only option for the walk.  She just runs her trap the whole time.  If it was about the workout, it would be fine, but it's not.  She rambles about nothing in general.

 

So, luckily we don't have to deal with any Christmas parties this year.   Tonight we're probably going out to dinner somewhere, then to church.  The rest of the night we'll probably watch an appropriate Christmas movie (and I have 94% fat free popcorn!)  Sometime tomorrow we'll head up to Frankenmuth for the night.  The fried chicken at Zehnders will be my major landmine to avoid.   But we'll be going to the water park, so I'll make sure I do some serious swimming.  It'll be a treat!

That looks to be my major hurdle this next week.  I'll keep doing my walks, and maybe do the Belly Dance one a time or two.  I really want to get a couple other Latin dance DVDs.  Those would be fun!

Merry Christmas!

     

12/21/09

+2.0  back up to 212.4 lbs

 

I am just so mad at myself for that last weigh in, I could spit.  This past weekend sucked very much bad, too. 

I had every intention of getting up Friday morning (I told my boss Thursday I was going to be sick - LOL), packing the kid off to school, doing a workout DVD, errands, etc.  Then Randy decided to go into work late Friday.  He wanted to go out to breakfast, so I don't want to imagine the amount of butter & fat in that veggie omelet at the restaurant.  It tasted WAY too good to be healthy, even with the veggies.    

Saturday we went to Laurie's for the annual cookie day. Usually she just takes the kids and does this, but since they're not going to be here for Christmas, they wanted to all get together & give Austin his gifts.  Anyway - I'm a sucker for raw cookie dough.  Even sadder yet, was that it wasn't really even that good! 

Sunday we stopped at McD's on the way to church and a breakfast burrito is (let me go look it up....) 7 points and hash browns are 3.  Then we had pizza afterward at Barry & Jenn's house.  Another pretty lousy day.

But today I'm back on track and I feel good about myself.  I've been totally OP - I managed to avoid the German Chocolate cake & choc chip cookies in the kitchen at work - woohoo!  When I first walked in, the lights were off, so I convinced myself it was a fruitcake sitting there and those were oatmeal raisin cookies.  Yuck to both - so I avoided!   That cake would have done me in, too.  So proud!  Tonight I did a fast 3 miles with Leslie Sansone, so I fell good about that, too.  I'm going to force myself to do that each night this week and Thursday morning before I go weigh in.  I'm sure that's what my issue has been.  I haven't gotten OFF MY BUTT and moved to get the fat melting. 

I think it's going to be grilled cheese & tomato soup for dinner - mmmmmmmm!

12/12/09

So even with a 1.4 lbs loss I'm still up .6 lbs from when I last wrote.  

Thanksgiving week wasn't a pretty sight.  I was up 1.8 lbs and I wore the lightest possible clothing I could find - which meant I almost froze to death at the meeting.   I forced myself to stay for that meeting.  I was so dis-heartened that I really thought I was going to cry.  And it made it worse with all the happy little bitches going in there with 2 and more pound losses.  

 

Last week I really meant to get my butt up doing my walking DVDs, but with crap from Angels room still all over the living room, the Christmas tree and 2 clothes baskets in the way, there just hasn't been room.  I will be making some progress on that mess today.  Right now it's just nice to be vegging.

  Brrrrr its cold outside!

  

11/20/09

-1.4 lbs   I finally broke thru that 211.2 lb wall!

I should have taken some advice that was given to me and went and took off my bra and weighed in.  That would have taken me over the 60 lb mark.  But I didn't so I'm stuck at 59.8 lbs.  Oh well.  The idea of giving myself a star on the calendar each night for completely filling out my journal has really helped.   So I think I'll keep doing that!

                                
So now I have to face Thanksgiving.  I'll be OK with the turkey, stuffing, green beans, etc.  But the evil mashed potatoes & rolls will suck me into their grasp and torture me.  Starches have always been my downfall.  I am really going to have to fight against those.

            

11/14/09

-2.2 lbs ! That takes me back to 211.2 lbs – again! I’d sure like to get below this point !!

So anyway, I’m determined to make sure I have my journal filled out, in its entirety, every night. I’m giving myself a gold star on the calendar when I do. Juvenile, I know. But if it works, I’ll do it !

I’m frankly amazed at exactly how easy it is to get activity points. I just looked up 2 hours of leisure walking (since e-tools don’t list shopping at craft shows) and it was 6 APs! Wow! It may have even been longer than that, but I’ll take those extra 6.

They list all sorts of random things on e-tools. Like scrubbing the bathtub, playing with the dog, raking leaves, even cleaning! Heck – I’ve been missing out on a lot by not journaling properly.

BING !!

 


The lightbulb just came on for me

11/5/09

+2.2 lbs  /  -56.2 lbs / 213.4 lbs

Ok, a lots been going on, so here's the Cliffnotes version.

I did weigh in on 10/15, but I'd stayed the same.  That's good I guess.   The 22nd I had absolutely no intention of getting on a scale after Angel's birthday party (pizza buffet & kitty litter cake!!)  Plus I really wanted to go see Dad in the hospital.

It's a good thing I spent as much time with him as I did, since he passed away on Tuesday the 27th (still sad - full deets in my blog (http://www.n8ltg.blogspot.com/ ) but visitation was on the 29th and in my opinion that was much more important than my WW meeting.

So after, the girl's b-day party, a lot of stress & pizza while making arrangements for Dad, Halloween and with TOM just starting, I really expected more than the 2.2 lb gain I posted tonight.

I think PMS is just now hitting me, since I could write about all that I should do, and what we talked about at the meeting tonight, but I don't want to.  I know how badly I'm not staying on plan, etc.  I know what I need to do to get my butt back in gear.  Right now, I just donwanna, donwanna donwanna!

 

10/11/09

-0.6 lbs   211.2 lbs

So yet again, I'm down to my lowest weight so far.  I'm going to start also posting what my result was, instead of just the loss / gain. 

I wasn't abe to get in Thursday to the meeting, so I stayed for the one on Saturday.  I'm not crazy about that particular leader, but she had a good point.  She suggested trying to get at least 2 activity points a couple times a week and that will help with that weight loss.  I know I've really been slacking in the exercise department.  I meant to get out so many times with Jack this summer and walk, but that didn't happen.  Anfd I don't even know why!  I blinked and summer was gone.  I'm going to have to get my DVDs back out since it's supposed to be an especially crappy winter. 

I wonder how many APs are in building a coffin??  That's what Angel and I did today.

So that's what I'm going to work on this week - getting in those extra APs. 

  

10/1/09

-0.2 lbs

whoopee.  This is after the 0.8 lb gain last week.   I shouldn't complain - in the past 2 weeks we've had Angel's birthday (read: chocolate & peanut butter CAKE) and a trip to the orchard (cider & donuts!) plus they had more cider & donuts at work yesterday.

  

I am just horribly horribly discouraged right now.   Randy went to the doctor on September 11 and weighed in at 319 lbs.  Last night, out of the blue, he asked me how accurate my scale was.  It's pretty close to the WW scales, but it's hard to read because of the old-school dial.  I don't even use it that often.  He got on it last night wearing jeans with his wallet & all the misc. stuff in his pockets.  It said 298.  Grrr.  So I just had him get on it again just now wearing his thin sleeping shorts & a t-shirt and it said 285.  How insane is that?????  I even got on the scale first and it said 212, which is pretty correct, since my official weigh in tonight was 211.8.  I cannot believe that SOB (pardon my French!) lost 34 pounds in less than 3 weeks.  I totally hate him right now.  And all he's done is make better choices at lunchtime and cut out the regular Coke.  And I convinced him that it's OK for us to have leftovers at dinner.  Before he'd stuff himself until all the plates were clear.    Did I mention I hate him????
 

So he goes in for his physical right before Thanksgiving.  The doc wanted him to try to lose some weight before then, before they decide to do anything drastic.  But losing that fast isn't healthy, either.  WW says 1-2 pounds per week, not per day!!!   I told him he's going to look like a shar-pei puppy because his skin will just hang. 



He's already noticed that the buttons on his shirts don't gape any more and he's losing his man-boobs. Oh yeah - and last week, after I dropped Angel off at dance, he called me on the radio and told me to hurry & get home so we could go for a walk !!  And we went all the way around the park!   Usually I have to drag him out for a walk and he complains about it.


So what does this mean to me?  I really need to buckle down and get over this roadblock.  It's no longer a plateau.  It's not even a speedbump!  it's an all out brick wall.  I've been in these same 5 pounds since May.  I haven't always been making the best choices when ones are available, so I have to work on that. 

Good news, tho!  We finally bought a gas grill!  That's something we can use in the winter!  I love end-of-season clearance sales!  Cooking ribs inside just does not do them justice.  Same with steaks.  it's easier to grill veggies on the gas grill, too. 

Anyway.  Hope there is good news to report next week.  

Note - the Red Wings start playing again tomorrow!  Woohoo!