13 in 13 Update

Checking in.....

1. rededicate myself to WW. - Umm, well. I didn't stay for the meeting. So shame on me.  But the ladies at the reception desk thought I was "bubbly".  All I did was explain that I had been in a hurry and couldn't find my most recent monthly pass so I took a picture of my computer screen with my phone.  I could it as a huge success that I stayed the same, even with being a swine for the Super Bowl.

2. post eTools progress report weekly


notice the total lack of tracking on Sunday. The rest of the week is OK. I'm not going terribly far over my daily target line.  I haven't been filling out my weekly checks.  Guess I should.

3. dust off my WalkAtHome DVDs - check! Only once this week, tho.

4. use my new waist & arm / thigh trimmers while doing DVDs or Wii Fit - seeing as how I just got the waist trimmer last night - half credit. I have worn my arm & thigh ones several times.  They definitely make you sweat!

5. plan meals weekly - check!



I got this white board for posting dinner ideas at Staples. Miss Angela thought she'd help by filling it out the first time for me. Don't worry - that is NOT what we're eating. That kid could eat pizza & pizza rolls every day.  ~gag~

6. eat more / new veggies every week - I didn't try anything new this week. But I did find a sale on frozen steamed veggies at the grocery store & stocked up. I take a package to work with me to have with my Lean Cuisine. I don't know how they can consider some of those to be 3-4 servings!

7. be a better blogger - Nope. I've been thinking about my posts, but haven't physically wrote any.   I need to work on making my posts shorter, but it's hard to do when I'm being accountable.

8. get my house de-cluttered - Working on it. We're supposed to get hit with Winter Storm Nemo (ok - 4-8 inches) but I chose not to deal with fighting my way into work thru snow & idiots, so I asked my boss for a personal day tomorrow. So I will stay at home and get some stuff done. Time will soon tell if I have kid and/or hubby company.

9. cut back on unnecessary spending (see #8) - for the most part - check! I had to drop off Randy's gold chain at the jewelers tonight to get a new clasp put on it. It happens to be in the same strip mall as the Salvation Army and I had time to kill. I found a really cute hippie dress with store tags still on it for $4. I came home & tried it on......let's just say with some creative cutting, I'll have a cool new skirt.

10. find plans & designs for tomato cage trees / MGC fence / potion book - I've been looking on Pinterest & pinning some ideas.

11. work on RACES certification - small check. I started to read the book & had to stop to do something & never got back to it. I'll have to start over.

12.

13. wean myself off pop - still not there yet!

Friend Makin' Monday - Five Things

I don't go weigh in last week. I had part 1 of a root canal last Wednesday and the combination of Vicodin & Penicillin made me sicker than a dog (so I stopped taking the Vicodin) and then Saturday I chose to go out to breakfast alone with the hubby instead of going to a WW meeting.  

Sunday was ugly.   I'm not a football fan (me like hockey!!) so I didn't care who won, but it was entertaining watching Angel (rooting for the Ravens because she liked their purple uniforms) and Randy (rooting for the 49ers and actually compares stats, etc) argue about plays & such.   Eating was not the best!  Just a passing note - Lil Smokeys in BBQ sauce and grapes are a really interesting combo.  

 

So lots of water today & I planned on doing one of my DVDs tonight, but ended up shoveling snow instead. I'm still not warm yet! Guess I should have changed out of my dressy boots & knee-length skirt (with bare legs).

So now it's FMM time!

If you've taken part in FMM then you know the rules. If you’re new, please take a moment to answer this week’s question on your own blog then add your link in the comments section over at: www.alltheweigh.com so we can all see your FMM questions and answers. Please invite your blog readers to add their links here too so everyone has to opportunity to be seen. The idea is to connect with other awesome bloggers so take a moment to post your own FMM post and comment on a couple of other posts. Now it’s time for this week’s topic!

Five Things

1. Share five things you hope to do before you die. 

- visit all 50 states

- travel to all continents

- visit the northernmost & southernmost points of the US 

        (Barrow, AK & Key West, FL)

- move to Arkansas
- to drive with the Stig on the Top Gear test track

2. List five things you love about yourself.
- my imagination / creativity
- my tattoos

- my love of animals

- my awesomeness (thanks, Angela!)

- my eyes

3. Share the five coolest things that you've done in 2013.
- saw Monster Jam (sat on the start/finish line)

- signed up for the A-Z Blogging Challenge

- am participating in the 13 in 13 Challenge

-

-

(it's still early in the year!)

4. List five things that you always have in your kitchen.
- at least one cat, and/or the dog (if not all of them!)
- Coke / Coke Zero

- glass jug of water in the fridge

- oatmeal

- Crystal Light Strawberry

5. Share five places you would like to go on vacation.
- Seattle - I lived 25 miles from there for 3 years & never played tourist

- Alaska again (to see the northern lights)

- the mountains

- the beach

- visit Arlington National Cemetery & Washington DC in springtime

6. List five celebrities/public figures you’d like to meet.
- RuPaul

- Nick Lidstrom, former captain of the Detroit Red Wings

- Jeremy Clarkston- the Top Gear guys

- Richard Hammond

- James May

7. List five bands or artists you’d like to see perform live.
- Def Leppard (again and again)
- Kenny Chesney

- Toby Keith

- Luke Bryan (yum!)

- Bon Jovi

8. List five TV shows that you don’t want to miss.
- RuPaul's Drag Race

-

-

-

-
(I don't watch much TV!!)

9. Share five things you wanted to do as a child.
- be a horse trainer

- marry a 90 year old millionaire

- never have kids (that didn't happen!)
- move away from Clawson where I grew up

-

10. Share five things you hope to do in 2013.

- finally get in Onederland!

- travel to some more cool places within Michigan

- I hope to NOT have to drive a certain child to summer school again this year

- go camping Up North one more time before my Mom sells the property

- make my Halloween display even better than last year

These were hard!!!

Now it’s your turn to answer this week’s questions! Don’t forget to come back and link up in the comments! Happy Monday, friends!!!!!!!

13 in 13 January Round Up

Holy Crap, it's February!

Alrighty, let's see how I've been doing in the challenge. 

To Achieve - Onederland  Not there yet!!

1. plan meals weekly - this hasn't been much of an issue at all.

2. eat more / new veggies every week (1 recipe from book per week) I haven't used the book at all, but I am getting in a better variety of veggies & fruits.  I've tried kale chips & blood oranges.

3. take better care of my skin (lotion AM, wash face PM, lotion PM)  I've been doing this.  Altho I don't look any better since I'm having female issues and causing me to break out like a 15 year old.  Side note - I've called the doc and he's supposed to adjust my BCPs to hopefully help with the issues.  Then maybe skin will clear up.

4. be a better blogger - I'm ready for the A-Z Challenge!  Well, with ideas anyway.  I don't have posts written yet.

5. get my house de-cluttered (15 minutes per day) eh.  I'll call this 50%.  I did have Miss Angela go thru her dresser drawers and get rid of any clothes she doesn't wear so she can put the rest away.  She set aside a smallish pile.

6. dust off my WAH DVDs (2 or more x per week / other DVD or Wii)  I'm doing pretty good here.

7. cut back on unnecessary spending (see #5) Ummm, well....I had a moment.  I went to a couple places last weekend and got a few things for Halloween projects (an antique picture frame identical to one I already have, a book to turn into a potion book) and I found this.....

I have never found blowmolds at the thrift stores around here, so when I walked around the corner and saw this, I almost fell over my feet getting to him.  He's taller than my kitchen counter!!  But he's out in the garage until I can make room for him in the shed with all the rest. 

Oh yeah, I got suckered into going to the mall with Miss Angela.  She "needed" a new pair of high-tops since  she can't wear her other ones after her favorite choreographer autographed one.  And she needed some new leggings & One Direction fake nails. 

8. MGC fence- nope. Probably not til it gets warmer.

9. rededicate myself to WW (weekly meeting / track every day) So far, so good - with the exception of this week.  And I do plan to go before the week is technically over. I've been doing pretty well with my tracking, too. Next month I'm going to post my progress reports from WW.  That will really keep me accountable, since it shows my tracking & how well I stay within my allotted points.

10. figure out & use Kindle Fire  - I think I need to change this one.  It really wasn't worthy of a year-long challenge.  So I'll have to think of something else.

11. get RACES certification (30 min per week) - the best I've done so far is find the book and look at it.

12.

13. wean myself off pop (stop drinking one hour earlier every month) - so far, so good! I've been choosing non-carbonated options more often. 

So to update my mini-goals.  Most of them I'm keeping, since they are a work in progress. 

1. plan meals - keeping this one!

2. eat more veggies - keeping this one, too.  It's an on-going challenge to get out of that rut. 

3. take better care of my skin -changing this one.  I think I have it under control. 

4. be a better blogger - keeping this one. 

5. get the house de-cluttered - keeping this one. 

6. dust off WAH DVDs - keeping this one.

7. cut back on unnecessary spending - probably should keep this one, too. 

8. MGC fence plans - changing this one. This is too general. 

9. re-dedicate to WW - keeping this one

10. figure out the Kindle - changing this one. 

11. get RACES certification - keeping this one. 

12. still blank

13 - wean myself off pop - keeping this one

So my new mini-goals are:

3. post progress reports from eTools weekly

8. find plans & figure out materials for tomato cage trees / MGC fence / potion book

10. use my new waist & arm / thigh trimmers while doing exercise DVDs.

12. still blank

I think this month will be better since my goals are more definite, instead of very general. 

Took the plunge!

Today was sign ups for the Blogging A-Z April Challenge & this blog is # 274!  This is my second year doing this.

This challenge in a nutshell... there are 26 days in April, not counting Sundays.  Each day, the topic will begin with a letter of the alphabet.  April 1 = A, April 2 =B, etc.  Simple as that!  And since this is a weight loss / health blog; my topics are different exercises, healthy foods, stuff like that.  You don't even need an actual theme!

I really like that they're giving you the option to categorize your blog, so if you don't really want to read about book reviews or gaming, you can easily avoid them!    Too bad it only looks like about half (so far) of the sign ups have done it.  I put this under "Lifestyle".  It seems to fit.

Last year I was slightly freaked out, since I jumped right in with all 3 blogs.  It wasn't as bad as I thought, but I did learn a few things to do differently.   I already have a spreadsheet 98% of the way filled out with topics for each blog (darn those X's & Y's!!) and I have created and pre-scheduled posts for each one already, even though the only content is the letter of the alphabet and maybe a link or idea. I'll go back and edit each one later.  I did this last year & it worked.  What I learned.....
Lesson #1 - make sure to actually edit them!  I missed a couple last year.  Embarrassing!
Lesson #2 - put a blurb at the beginning of each challenge post with what is going on to differentiate these from regular posts.
Lesson #3 - don't ignore regular posts

So go ahead & sign up - you know you want to!

Friend Makin' Monday - Getting to know each other

Happy Monday!  Hope everyone had a great weekend.  Hubby got home just in time for dinner last night - he was up north doing radio stuff for a snow / road rally.  Surprisingly his furry shadow (aka Miss Maddie) didn't mug him.  In fact, I woke up during the night with her lying on my chest, sound asleep.

 

What a life!  This is why my bed didn't get made yesterday!

I also spent quite a bit of time preparing for the Blogging A-Z Challenge.  Sign ups are Wednesday!!  Basically your first post will have a topic that starts with A, next day B, etc. etc. I'm doing all 3 blogs so I needed to get ideas down on my little spreadsheet.  If I do it right, all my posts will be done & pre-scheduled before April! 

But now it's FMM time!

Now it’s that time…If you’ve taken part in FMM then you know the rules. If you’re new, please take a moment to answer this week’s question on your own blog then add your link in the comments section over at: www.alltheweigh.com so we can all see your FMM questions and answers. Please invite your blog readers to add their links here too so everyone has to opportunity to be seen. The idea is to connect with other awesome bloggers so take a moment to post your own FMM post and comment on a couple of other posts. Now it’s time for this week’s topic!

Getting To Know Each Other

1. What is your favorite color? I like all colors.  But I look better wearing jewel tones like the darker reds / blues / greens.

2. Share one or more of your talents. My family all think I'm creative & crafty.  I do come up with some neat stuff, tho.

3. If you were spending the day getting to know someone new, where would you want to go?  Probably on a walk around the park or getting coffee at Tim Horton's.

4. What is your favorite meal?  probably the grilled sirloin & shrimp from Texas Roadhouse.

5. Do you prefer to text or talk?  Depends.  If it's just a quick note - text.  But actual conversation is good, too.

6. Share something about yourself that might surprise someone that you’re getting to know.  Hmm.  I was enlisted in the Navy for 8 years?  Heck, I have a tab with a whole list of stuff about me!

7. Do you color your hair? Yes.  My natural color is mud.

8. Do you wear glasses or contacts?  Yes.  I am blind as a bat without them!

9. What is your favorite breakfast food?  Omelets with bacon & hashbrowns.  Or grits with runny eggs.  Yum!

10. Would your friends say that you’re sarcastic?  Probably Yes.

11. Do you prefer salty or sweet?  Sweet.  Although if they came out with a chocolate covered Payday bar, I'd probably OD on them.

12. What is the first thing you notice about the opposite sex?  face / eyes

13. What is the last movie you watched?  Saturday night I introduced my daughter to the joys of Top Gun - she enjoyed the volleyball scene in particular!  I took it as a walk down memory lane, since I spent 3 years stationed on an aircraft carrier.

14. Are you religious? I believe in God, but I can’t really call myself religious. (keeping Kenlie's answer)  I also occasionally find the need to pray - but it's usually for other people!

15. Are you a neat freak, a slob, or somewhere in between?  In between.  My house is cluttered (too much stuff and no place to put it!) but there are no dirty dishes or food left all over the place. I try to keep the kitchen counters cleared off and try to keep the clean laundry put away off the couch, since the dog likes to snuggle into it.

16. Share something from your bucket list that you hope to do someday. I want to visit all 50 states.

17. Are you a risk taker, or do you prefer to play it safe?  Hmm.  I used to be a real risk-taker all the time, but not so much anymore.

18. Have you ever worn braces?  Nope.  I probably should have, tho.

19. Would you rather spend an evening at a theater or at a club?  Back in my wild days, I'd say club since I love to dance.  Now I'm married to a guy who has no rhythm at all, so I'd have to go with theater.

20. If you could have three wishes, what would one of them be?   To be able to tear down & rebuild my house, my kid to do well in school & life, and for Randy & I both to live long, healthy lives.  Is that technically 6?  Oh well!

Have a great week!