...loading 2014

Gosh, I'm pretty boring.  I don't have a list of all these fantastic resolutions or a countdown of all the amazing posts that I've written, or a recap of a bunch of amaing pics, etc, etc. 

I will list some stats of...me!

I've lost a total of 13.8 lbs in 2013.  Not the greatest, but it's a loss!

Lost 0.5 inch off my arms, thighs & waist.  0.75 off my hips.  Somehow managed to gain an inch on the bust, but I'm thinking that had something to do with a perkier bra. 

Since I've started at the gym, I can already imagine my stomach getting flatter.  I've only gone twice, so I'm sure that is just that - imagination! 

This is my 111th post of 2013 on this blog. 

I've written 72 posts over at Tales from the Love Love Shaque. 

I've written 103 posts over at the Maple Grove Cemetery. 

608 page views to THIS Friend Makin' Monday post.
319 page views to me checking in after vacation.
Those are like huge jumps over all the rest of my page views ever!  WTF??
All the rest are around 15 - 30 views. 

The major thing is that I turned 40.  And surprisingly am OK with that, especially after how I hated being 39. I kept wondering what I was supposed to be doing with my life and OMG, my kid is 15, and all sorts of wonderful thoughts like that.  I'm kind of bummed that we were on vacation for my birthday, so I didn't even get a cake or presents. It was an awesome trip, tho.  No one made a big deal out of it, except my boss & closest co-worker (aka, the Billing Department)

Before I left for vacation, they put paper cut-out "40"s all over the damn office - anyplace I might ever possibly go... there were easily 100 of these things!

And of course on my desk. 

This is what I came back to after vacation.  

So let's see.  What else?  Hmmm, nothing terribly exciting!  I went back thru both other blogs and there were the usual family outings, dance competitions, dance recitals, radio stuff.

I'm happy that we are all healthy and have had no drama - 

may 2014 be the same!

I'm still alive!

I thought I took it somewhat easy (or so it felt at the time) with my first workout at Anytime Fitness on Friday.

I met with Sharon, the trainer (imagine the typical 0% body fat, perky, petite little chick) and we went back to the office and she asked me a bunch of questions.  What my goals are (to lose the last the last 40 lbs in 2014), how often I expect to be at the gym (3-4 times a week, which she said is ideal), on a scale of 1 to 10, how important is exercise (10!!) and of course the typical medical questions to ensure I don't keel over on their property. She was happy to hear that I was active in Weight Watchers and could tell her my exact weight as of the night before. Then she did the body fat measurer thingy and she didn't seem surprised by the numbers for body fat or BMI, but said that if I did lose the 40 lbs, I'd be golden.  And I know that.  For my height, 175 is the upper end of the range for WW and do-able in my mind.  Granted my BMI would still be considered in the overweight range but *pppppbth* to that.  140 lbs is the lower end of the healthy range and I just can't see me that low.  I have a big frame and need ~some~ meat!

Then she said weights & cardio would be what helped me the most.  I made sure to tell her that I don't run unless chased and she was OK with it.  So she said I should do at least 30 minutes cardio, either on the treadmill or elliptical.  She said I could do 15 minutes as a warm up, then do the circuit machines, then do the other 15 minutes as a cool down.  She showed me how to do all the circuit machines and suggested what weights I should set them at (I've already changed a couple, made them heavier) Then said I should do a set of 10 reps on each machine and move quickly to the next one. Do all the machines 3 times.  Then she sent me on my way.

I did the 10 reps x3 and did 10 minutes on the elliptical.  That takes some talent!  I did fine for the first 8.5 minutes, then lost my rhythm and was all flailing around for a while.   I'm sure it was quite comical to the trainers sitting in the office right there! Anyhooo, it tacked on another 2 minutes for cool down then I went to the treadmill for another 15 to walk and bring my heart rate down.

I was feeling pretty good when I left there.  I could tell I was going to feel it, but was surprised that Saturday I was just feeling tight.  I did a little stretching and didn't think anything more of it.  It was sunny and 45 degrees, so I took the dog for a walk.  I was wearing my hiking boots due to melting snow, so my legs still got a workout.  Today I was OK, until we started taking Christmas decorations down and putting them away.  It was like as I was standing there, rolling up extension cords that I realized my arms were sore!  And my legs.  Nothing else really so much.

So I will be going back tomorrow.  I'm going to shoot for going Monday evening after taking Miss Angela to dance, Wednesday afternoon (after taking Miss Angela to dance!) and either Friday afternoon or Saturday morning.  They have a 9am Saturday Zumba class, so I may even do both!  I passed this week, just because I expected to be sore & such.  I wonder how crazy it's going to be in there this week, with all the typical New Year's Resolution people showing up?  I know WW will be packed, it always is!  At least for a month or so.

Bring it on!

I'm so excited!

I'm excited for tomorrow!    My dear, wonderful hubby got me a 6 month membership to Anytime Fitness and it started today! 

I stopped in after work tonight and got my ID photo taken and a brief tour of the facility and set up an appointment with a fitness consultant for tomorrow!  I will get a consultation and a 30 minute workout and learn how to use the machines and such.

Weigh in tonight was not unexpectedly ugly.  Last weekend in Lima, we sat around a hotel for a day and a half and did nothing but stuff our faces with random junk and drink way more than I have in a long time.  I did go swim with the siblings for an hour Saturday night, since 9-10 pm was adult swim only...but we were allowed to have beer in the pool, as long as it was not a glass bottle!  Christmas Eve was more sitting around eating & drinking. 

And of course, yesterday - Christmas Day - we went to Frankenmuth for dinner (after donuts for breakfast since I forgot to buy real breakfast goodies).   Zehnders & the Bavarian Inn are both well known for their chicken dinner. And of course, it is fried.  I was never overly impressed with it anyway, so I was glad to see some other options on the very limited menu. So I got this chunked chicken thingy smothered in feta cheese and wrapped in phyllo dough and drizzled with some raspberry goo.  It was actually pretty tasty.  And of course there was mashed potatoes & gravy, green beans, mashed squash, cranberry salsa, stuffing & chicken noodle soup.  And a dish of ice cream for dessert. 

So here's the scoop.  I will happily allow someone to come kick my ass if I get off the bandwagon again!  I can't count on my family to keep me on the straight & narrow, so I'll have to start posting here more to keep me accountable.

I took my measurements tonight.  No wonder my pants / skirts have felt snug!
Since July 25....
thigh  was  24.25  /  is  25  =  +.75 inch
arm  was  12.5  /  is  12  =  -.25 inch (WTF???  That's been 12.5 forever!)
bust  was  45.75  /  is  47  =  +1.25 inch
waist  was  41  /  is  42  =  +1 inch
hips  was  46.5  /  is  47  =  +.5 inch
weight  was  205.2  /  is  211.8  =  +6.6 lbs

Tonight's meeting was sort of fun!  There were only 2 of us with the leader, so she pulled up and chair and we just chatted for 1/2 hour.  About our holiday plans & strategies.  I'm so glad that all my gatherings & such are done for the year!  Now to get rid of the candy from the stockings and someone else really needs to eat that bowl of gingerbread M&Ms sitting on the counter.  I find myself (without thinking ) grabbing a few every time I walk by. 

 

Merry Christmas!

I know it's late in the day, but all of us here at the Love Shaque wish you and yours the very best this day and in the coming year. 

I'm pretty excited - look at what Randy got for me!  

I'm going tomorrow to check it out and make an appointment for a fitness consultation! 

Happy Halfway Thru December!

Wow, I have sucked at posting here lately!  I have updated my "WIP" tab so it's not like I've totally ignored the blog entirely.  I even missed the 13 in 13 update, sheesh!

Brief rundown...looks like I was up in September, stayed the same in October....then shit hit the fan and I was up a LOT in November and the first week in December.  I was feeling that.  It was horrible.  What really caught my attention was that I'd had a Fiber One bar one morning at work and it happened to be snack day when HR brings around a basket of goodies to choose from. I got a Kellogg's Greek Yogurt protein bar. That was the worst mistake of my entire life.  My stomach hurt so had, I thought my skirt (the one time I did NOT wear an elastic waist!) was going to cut me in half.  Luckily, Randy had some Gas-X at home so I drove home with the zipper undone.  Thought I was gonna die!

But then I woke up and I made sure to be more conscious of what I was stuffing my face with and it showed on the scale - down 2.2 lbs this past week!  Yay!

I'm sort of intrigued with WW new program change.  It seems to be pushing non-processed foods (and they had some awesome looking recipes I want to try) and almost seems to be trying the Core Program again.  No counting points if you're following that plan, etc.

Friday night we picked up one of Miss Angela's friends and went to Rochester to see the lights.  We always have dinner at this awesome little diner called "chomp".  They have a regular menu, but the specials are created by some food wizard they employ.  I had this roasted butternut squash / caramelized onion / slivered almond / cheddar cheese / something else on an awesome ciabatta bun.  Paired with some sweet potato fries - mmmmmm.

Anyhooo, - this is what I'm talking about.

 Both sides of the street are like this, for a good mile or so. 

(not my pic.  Mine aren't this awesome.  Found it on chomp's FB page)

Bundled up.  Well, one of us was!

Life imitating art. 

Last night was my company Christmas party and I feel I handled it pretty well.  It was at an upscale Italian restaurant so you know the food was amazing.   I did have 3 Bud Lights, mainly because I am a wine idiot and usually drink the cheap stuff, so I wouldn't know what to ask for to get something I'd like.  I felt pretty good that I didn't heap my plate high and only chose foods that were what I didn't consider "everyday".  Like I skipped the lasagna, but enjoyed the beef medallions and the amazing chicken rigatoni with mushrooms. I tried the chicken picatta, but wasn't thrilled with it so I simply didn't finish it!  I skipped the cookies on the dessert table, but had a mini cheesecake (to DIE for) and I was supposed to share a cream brulle with Randy, but he went nuts with everything else and couldn't eat any.  So I about 1/3 of it.  I was full after dinner, but I wasn't hurting, so yay me!

I feel that Halloween & Thanksgiving are a lot harder holidays to survive, food wise.  They're the ones that have the food that won't go away!  Leftovers for days!  Not so with Christmas.  I know that's not the same for most people.  Christmas party - dinner with colleagues.  Altho the leftovers are already at the office and will appear for several days. I can ignore that. Maybe not the rigatoni, but I'll try. Christmas with the family will be interesting.  Since Dad passed away in 2009, all of our old traditions went out the window.  We used to spend Christmas Eve at one of the sisters' house.  Mine is only 850 sq. feet and there's just no room for a decent gathering.  Then we'd go over to Mom & Dad's house on Christmas morning and exchange gifts and Dad would make pancakes.  Not anymore!  This year, sister Laurie thought it would be brilliant to meet our brother Terry halfway between his ours and most of ours.  So next weekend we will be in Lima, Freakin' Ohio.  There is not crap to do in Lima. So they expect to spend Friday evening, all of Saturday and half of Sunday, sitting in a damn hotel room, visiting.    Someone just kill me now.

Anyway, dinner is almost ready for the fam (fish sticks for them , tilapia slabs for me), so I need to hurry & set the table, etc.  I leave you with Twisted Sister's O Come All Ye Faithful for your listening enjoyment.  This is my favorite version of this song!

A date which will live in infamy...

This is my favorite picture ever.  

The USS Arizona, the USS Missouri and a carrier coming in from behind. 

Look closely - the rails of the carrier are manned
with sailors in their dress whites, 

rendering honors as they pass. 

Never forget.