TGIF!!

I love Friday!  Isn't it funny how a particular day of the week has it's own "personality"?  I love Friday for many reasons; for about a year it's been my day off & the first day of my weekly 3-day weekend!  What's not to love about that??  Now I'm working on Friday but in an amazing house, not far from home, for six hours of uninterrupted cleaning & organizing surrounded by the sound of music (haha) on all three levels of the house, and thus far, it's proven to be highly satisfying!  Friday also means I get to see my sweetheart!  


Unfortunately, Friday also means weekend eating, no planned exercise and the potential for regaining what I've worked so hard to lose in the days prior.  This has been a pattern for a long time; what is it about weekends that equal FOOD??  Different, "happy" food??  And why don't I still plan in at least one trip to the gym or a swim class on Sunday afternoon?  I don't know how to separate the weekend mindset from my weight loss efforts, and maintain the weekday energy & focus yet still savor the special joy that weekends evoke.  Hmmmm...any thoughts?  


All that to say, I'm pretty excited for this weekends event!!  I know, I know!  I've already mentioned (several times?) that Tim bought me tickets to the VSO to hear Mozart's Requiem w/ the chorus.  But I can't WAIT!!  I have a very pretty, "bling-y" top I recently bought (God, I hope it fits!!) to wear and will have fun getting all decked out for the occasion!  

Upcoming News & Events

Masterworks 3 | Flynn Center

Date: 01.28.2012
Time: 8:00 p.m.
Location: Flynn Center, Burlington

The VSO offers a five-concert Saturday Masterworks series at the Flynn Center in Burlington. All concerts begin at 8:00 p.m. and are preceded at 7:00 p.m. by Musically Speaking, a free pre-concert discussion that provides entertaining insight into the evening’s program.

This monumental program is presented in celebration of Mozart’s 256th birthday and Robert De Cormier’s 90th birthday, both of which take place in January, 2012. Among all the famous requiems, Fauré’s Requiem stands out for its serenity and soothing gentleness. He composed it, he said, not for a specific occasion but “purely for the pleasure of it.” And pure pleasure it is. The story behind the creation of Mozart’s sublime Requiem has been sensationalized by the movie Amadeus. The reality is plenty dramatic enough: his family was desperate for the commission fee, and Mozart was struggling to finish the work when he died of renal failure. Though the Requiem was completed by a student, its heart-wrenching beauty is quintessential Mozart. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-onRX6eAK8Y&feature=related 

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8xf0NvvgGU&feature=related

Well, I'm off for now; chatting w/ Tim on Facebook before going to work.  I am planning for a day of good, healthy eating.  Notice I haven't posted Today's Eating in some time!  Just read my recent Facebook status and comments to know what I've eaten, where, with whom and how many calories!!  Good grief.  Ta Ta!  

Jump-start, Please!

It's Wednesday, and I need a jump!  Several jumps, actually!  Kick me in the pants, someone, wouldja??  I'm stuck in a little rut with my dieting & exercise, can't get my creative juices flowing, and have a list of things I really SHOULD be tending to (incl. starting my taxes, calling several people, writing to another).  This weird week has me stymied and I need to get my mo-jo back!  

I haven't been eating as well as I should; that is, during the day I've been doing alright, packing the right foods for lunch & snacks, but when I'm home in the evenings, I've eaten "bad  stuff". Ie: honey nut cheerios last night @ like, 10pm!, real ice cream (thank goodness it's gone now!), popcorn too late at night, and chocolate.  Granted, dark chocolate and Skinny Cow chocolate candies, but I've indulged w/ more than I should be.  All this random, night-time eating has me up a pound again.  SIGH.  :{  So, what to do?  

When I'm in this funky place, I don't even want to write on my blog.  What can I say that's helpful or uplifting for anyone when I'm "off" myself!?  

Looking at the rest of my week, perhaps I can examine the days & squeeze in a workout or swim class.  It'd also be good to spend some time w/ people; I work alone most days & tend to become a bit too inward-focused, and hermit-like, living in a little world that only includes me, my girls, Tim & few others.  I've missed the first two rehearsals at chorus in preparation for the mid-winter concert, and need to get plugged in there as well.   

Well, I'm off for now.  Ttyl!  Here's a link http://www.prevention.com/weight-loss/diets/low-calorie-meals-5-minute-meals-weight-loss?cm_mmc=400-Calorie-_-785836-_-01192012-_-Food-Thats-Ready-in-a-Flash

And Again....

Well, here I go again!  Here's what my Tuesday schedule looks like:

• wake up @ 6am
• leave house @ 7:15am to 
• meet Erin @ auto body shop @ 7:30am
• drop Erin @ work in Hinesburg by 8am
• get to my client in Jericho by 8:30am
• work till 11:30am then go home
• afternoon client from 1-3pm
• go home 
• leave house @ 4:30 to get check from Scrap Metal place for Sara's poor car
• pick up Erin @ Dark Star @ 5pm 
• bring her to auto body shop
• go pick up Tim @ 5:30pm
• drive to Buffalo Wild Wings & leave my car/get his truck which Sara drove today
• Tim bring me home @ 6pm 
• Sara comes home w/ my car @ midnight 

The bad news is Sara's car is kaput.  For good.  So we're looking on craigslist for a Subaru, 10 years old or less.  And we'll be going to the credit union to see about her getting a loan tomorrow.

Becca has a stomach virus, is on some medicine and hopefully will feel better and get back to school tomorrow.  

I am down one pound from yesterday despite eating real ice cream last night at ten pm!  I ate well all day though.  And I didn't pull out an old workout video.  By the time I got home from a day similar to the one outlined above, I was completely exhausted and just spent a quiet evening w/ my laptop and reading a new book.  Hopefully tonight I'll feel more inspired.  Perhaps not.  Sigh.  

Not to wish my days away, but I AM looking forward to seeing a play at the Flynn tomorrow night with Sara, called
"The Clean House"; she bought me tickets for Christmas & it should be a really fun evening with her!  THEN!  On Saturday evening, Tim & I will be dining out at The Windjammer then going to hear the Vermont Symphony Orchestra perform Mozart's Requiem WITH the chorus!!!   What an AMAZING Christmas gift he gave me, and I can't WAIT!!  

Okay, I"m outta here.  Gotta leave in 15 minutes and still need to get dressed and gather food!  :)  Have a great day, friends!  Eat well!  

Not A Good Start

7am Monday:

• gained two pounds from the weekend eating    :( 
• Becca woke me up @ 6am w/ severe stomach pain; she vomited a while ago, still has the pain but seems to be sleeping now.  I'm trying to determine what action to take: 1. wait & see what happens  2.  make her a Dr's appt.  3.  bring her to the emergency room  GOOD GRIEF!!  :{  
• my AM client was not too happy to hear that I have to adjust my hours today (due to the car situation) so I dread possibly having to tell her I can't come at all.  
• I'm not really in the "get back on my diet" frame of mind.  But I will.  Assuming I go to work today, I'll pack my diet-friendly snacks and eat sensibly.  
• There will be no gym this week, but I can certainly take time to use one of my Walk Away The Pounds videos, or an old Richard Simmons video, or even my Tae Bo workout video.  Any one of those will be amusing because they're so out-dated, but I know that it'll be better than nothing!  So, there's no excuse to not exercise.  
• Becca's asleep now so I'll go to work and hope for the best.  
• I'll write more later.  
• 

Weekend Update

Hi friends~  

It's almost 10pm on Sunday night and I need to get off here, read a little and then turn out my light.  I just want to give a quick update before I sleep~

Tim & I didn't get to Long Island till about 8pm on Friday evening and got home this evening around 6:30pm.  We had a wonderful weekend with his brother, Tom & wife, Meg, with whom I'm enjoying a blossoming friendship!  (We both love fabric, home decor, craftiness, good books & Arts & Crafts style homes, plus lots more!)  

I fully expect the morning scales will show a gain as we ate on a completely different schedule all weekend, and I didn't try to "diet" per se, but go with the flow of each days events.  It's okay though.  I choose not to get all haired-out by the (probable) gain; tomorrow's another day & I shall move on.  Unfortunately, I won't be able to get to the gym, chorus or swim classes at all this coming week.  Sara's car died and has been towed to Hometown where tomorrow they'll look it over & give us the status on it.  So she & I will be sharing my car all week, which has required some fancy-finagling.  I am SO grateful for my kind-hearted, caring boyfriend, who patiently helped us figure out the weeks schedules, and is going to fill in w/ some of the travel configurations!  I love you, Tim White, and that's another reason why.  :)  

Okay, it'll probably embarrass him if he reads this, so I'll stop now.  Goodnight.  :)

My Bumpy Friday

Un-freaking-believeable!!  This has been a bumpy week indeed; yet again my (our) "best-laid plans" have been thwarted.  It's 4:05pm as I'm sitting on my bed, writing this post.  WHAT?, you say??  Shouldn't you be on the road with Tim, heading to Long Island??  Yes, I should.  But no, I'm not.  :(  
The day seemed rich with the promise of 1.) five hours of contentedly cleaning in the quiet beauty of my client's home  2.)  sunshine to accompany us on our journey 3.) a much needed get-away after this frustrating week.  My bags were packed.  My travel clothes laid out.  I was ready to go.  What the heck???


As I was 'contentedly cleaning in the quiet beauty of my clients home', Tim called to say there was a problem with the phone system at his office, and he might be delayed.  Turns out the whole freaking phone system SHUT DOWN and as he's the head of IT, it's his job to "fix it"!!  That was oh, about ten this morning.  He's still there, working on it, and I'm here at home, sitting in my bed with my laptop.  Good grief.  :{


Okay.  Enough bitching.  Now for the good part!  After showering, doing my hair and getting "gussied up" for the (eventual) trip, I plunked myself here w/ the laptop to check email, peruse Pinterest & catch up on Facebook.  (God forbid I use this time to, like, do wash or clean the house or something constructive like that!) 


Anyway, my friend, Deanna Smith had posted a link to her newly published ebook, entitled "Dreams Change", the story of how having a Down Syndrome baby two years ago, has changed their lives in a wonderful way.  I was thrilled to learn that I can download a free App from Amazon to let me read Kindle ebooks on my laptop!!  Within minutes I had the book purchased and downloaded and have been reading their story, my piddling, pathetic little "bumps" shrinking by the second!  Funny how perspective changes things, huh??  
UPDATE:
It's now 4:49pm.  Sara's car slipped off the icy driveway a while ago, and I went out to spread sand and try to push her out.  No go.  She called for a tow and got out.  Then she texted to say her car is making a loud rattling noise, so I sent her to Hometown Tire so they can check it out before she gets on the highway.  UPDATE:  Sara's car died and thankfully I was still home to go get her & let her use my car this weekend.  


Tim says we'll head out early tomorrow morning and continue w/ the weekend plans a day later.  Que sera' sera'~

I'm outta here.  Methinks we shall go have dinner somewhere and a lovely glass (or two) of wine!  

My Friday!!

Today's the DAY!!  I'm up early so I can get to my VFVP's house to clean from 7am till noon, then scoot home (he's only about 6 minutes away), shower & get ready for my sweetheart to pick me up at one.  Then, we're OFF!!  I'm sooooo looking forward to seven un-interrupted hours of conversation, laughter, and making more memories with Tim.  Oh!  And I'm sure the trip &  visit w/ his brother will be great too!  :)


So, I'm up one pound on the scales this morning!  Wah!  But I know why: I ate pretty well all day, very well, in fact, but got home & began running errands at 3pm and didn't end till six!  By then I was starving, but I had friends coming at 6:30pm to discuss wedding invitations, so I heated up a Lean Cuisine meal, and gobbled that down.  They left around 8:40pm and of course, I was still hungry, but didn't want to eat "real food" so I thought "Oh, I'll just have a few tortilla chips."  Yeah, right!  I filled a paper plate, grated cheddar on top and microwaved for 45 seconds, then topped it with dabs of salsa & sour cream and happily sat down to eat my favorite snack!!  Ack!!  Not much later, Becca asked me to make popcorn which I readily agreed to do, then proceeded to consume a good-sized bowl of that!!  And finished that around 10pm!!  Good grief.  OH WELL!!  Onward!!  

 

Gotta hop off here but will post more this weekend from Long Island!  Have a great day, folks!  Eat well!  

hApPy HUmP dAy!

Good morning!  I do love writing on this blog, but I sometimes wonder if anyone is reading?  Perhaps I shouldn't ramble on so much about the mundane details of my personal life and should write more informative & helpful dieting stuff!!  Maybe I should just get a big notebook and scribble my daily dose of drivel in that!  :)  Oh well...I can type faster than I can write so I guess I'll just keep on.  

What a weird night; I had a freaky dream right before waking up & woke up w/ a headache.  Ick.  Made myself a big wonderful cup of coffee, and dropped my yogurt container straight down into it.  SPLASH!  Coffee all over the place.  SIGH. 


It's hopefully not going to continue to be that kind of day, despite having a jam-packed schedule.  And I won't be able to make it to the gym again; no time.  BUT!  No gain from nachos-overload, and that makes me happy!  And tomorrow we take off for NYC and that makes me happy too!  

Well, I'm outta here!  I hope  you have a great day!  

Another Day Gone "Agley"

Wow.  No gym or swim class again today.  Something came up & by the time I could go, I was feeling bummed out & tired.  I was productive by paying bills & getting papers in order though.  Eh.  I'm feeling pressured by "life" and it's bumps.  I don't like it.  Yet the bumps are so minuscule and insignificant compared to REAL bumps!  I dare not complain or feel sorry for myself.  A positive thing is that my car got fixed and it wasn't too horrendously expensive.  I'm thankful I had the money in my account to pay that!  Because of an early client, I didn't pack lunch but ate leftovers from breakfast!  And I had a very humorous time while waiting for my car, chatting on Facebook w/ Tim who was making me laugh out loud!!  Sandra was FB messaging me as well, so between the two, I passed a very pleasant hour or so at Hometown Tire & Auto.  (Who, by the way, have a GORGEOUS waiting room!)  


Today's Eating:
AM:  leftover oatmeal from yesterday/coffee
Snack:  Pecans & dried cherries
Lunch: the rest of the leftover oatmeal/one Dark Chocolate Dove square
Snack:  Pear
Dinner: Oven Nachos w/ taco-seasoned hamburger, chopped onions & peppers, cheddar, salsa & sour cream.  YUMMO!  I ate more than I should have, but it was at 4pm and I really hadn't eaten much all day.  I had a SF fudgesicle and another little Dove Dark Chocolate square.  
Snack:  nada


Now I'm going to make a big glass of Crystal Light Green Tea and drink it before bed.  I'm tired tonight and think I'll read for a bit before turning out my light.  Goodnight, friends.  I shall find a photo of something fun & cheerful to post here:  

YIPPEE!!!!

Happy, happy, happy!  Down another pound for 8 in all...and I'm below the 2.4.0. mark!  I'm kinda bummed with the "slowness" of this, but of course, it's not REALLY been slow, and slow is good, anyway!  


So, I've been perusing Pinterest (as usual); do any of you not know what Pinterest is??  Let me send you an invite if you're interested!  It's a resource for encouragement, ideas, recipes, photos of just about anything you could look for, and a very fun place to create "bulletin boards" of your interests.  I've been checking out the Fitness category and love all the photos and words of wisdom posted there, plus have gotten some great looking recipe ideas as well. Hence, yesterdays post re: Spinach Smoothie & Power Balls!  There are lots of pics of "ripped" people, mostly women, who are tanned, glistening and gorgeous, with abs & buns of steel.  Those pictures don't inspire or motivate me; I have no aspirations to look like that or to "kill myself" with workouts worthy of....Jillian what's-her-name...I love the photos of naturally curvy, real-life sized women who are not "fat" but are healthy and fit.  Here's what I aspire to in my weight-loss/get healthy & fit endeavors:  So, yep! These ladies are my inspiration; what do you think??  


Well, it's time for me to be up & outta here soon, so I'll write Today's Eating later on.  Just know, it'll be good & healthy stuff!  Have a great day!   AND!  Please "follow" me if you don't already!  It's encouraging to know someone's reading!  :)  

Monday, Monday!!

What a day!  It turned out quite differently than I'd planned! 
MY PLAN:Bring car to get fixed, then go to AM client
WHAT HAPPENED: Auto shop was closed; got to AM client an hour late.
MY PLAN: Finish PM client at 3:30 & zoom home to make dinner & leave for swim class by 5pm.
WHAT HAPPENED:  Stop @ Wal-Mart on the way home for some medicine, got some groceries & left there at 4:15pm.
MY PLAN:  Leave the house at 5pm for swim class; remember to grab chorus folder on the way out!
WHAT HAPPENED:  Got my suit on under my clothes, gym bag all packed & ready to go, scarfed down a piece of leftover pork from last week & the power went out!  
MY PLAN:  Swim anyway, and check back in to see if power was back on.  

WHAT HAPPENED:  It didn't seem prudent (or very nice of me) to leave Becca at home in the dark, so we decided to go pick up applications for work at Taft Corners & then went to the Mall to find something for her to wear to the winter ball.  We bought dinner from the food court (see Today's Eating) and proceeded to Barnes & Noble w/ laptop & homework to wait out the return of power at home!  Cozily installed near the fireplace, it was rather pleasant!  :)

So much for planning! ..."the best laid schemes o' Mice an'  Men, go aft agley" (Robert Burns)


Today's Eating:
AM:  Oatmeal w/ craisins, maple syrup, walnuts & half n' half/coffee
Snack:  Clementine
Lunch:  Cheeseburger (no bread)/veggies w/ hummus/dried Snap Peas
Snack:  1 piece of BBQ'd pork 
Dinner:  5" Subway Turkey-Bacon Sub w/ lotsa veggies/mayo/oil & vinegar
Snack: nada
Exercise: nada  :(  


Well, tomorrow's another day.  I have a 4-hour client in the morning and hope to get my car in right afterward!  And Sandra & I are planning to meet at the pool for POWER WAVES!!  Yeah!!!  :)  

Down Again!

Cool!  My scales say I'm down another pound, for a total of 7# in two weeks.  That's pretty lame compared to past losses, and I didn't make my goal of 4# off last week, but for an average of 3.5# per week, I guess it's not so bad.  :)  I'll take it!  
So, Yesterday's Eating:
AM:  Bacon, 1/2 bagel, 1/2 cup Whole Grain Cheerios, coffee
Lunch:  Pear, cheese stick, shared a plate of nachos w/ Tim then kept munching on tortilla chips.  Oh well.  
Snack: none
Dinner: burger w/ American cheese, 2 squares dark chocolate, SF fudgesicle
Exercise:  Swim aerobics w/ Sandra 

It was great to be back in the warm pool for aerobics, but I was disappointed in the class; the former instructor made us work harder and that's what I like. Sandra joined me and seemed to like it, but just wait till she does that Power Waves class!!  :)


This morning I have to bring my car to be looked at; it's been shimmying around on the icy, bumpy roads and last night I thought we were going off the road, it was so bad!  So, an alignment and possibly two more snow tires to match the ones on the front, will be in order.  Which means no clients till later in the morning.  Ack.  
I'm psyched about this coming week: Tim has to work on Friday at the Manhattan office, and I get to go along!  We leave on Thursday afternoon & will stay with his brother & sister-in-law till Sunday!  A motorcycle show is on the agenda for the guys while Meg & I will go shopping!!  FUN!  Can't wait!  :)  In the meantime, it'll be a crazy week as I had to shift and finagle clients in order to take the time off. Tonight is my first chorus rehearsal since the holiday concert so I'll be running madly from swim class to CVU for that and won't be home till 9pm.  I'm excited to see what awesome music we'll be working on!  


Todays' (Planned) Eating: 
AM:  coffee/Muesli cereal w/ maple syrup, pecans & CRAISINS (Tim's favorite!  Not.)  
Snack:  Apple or Pear
Lunch:  Nutrisystem Pasta w/ Broccoli/carrots & hummus/apple
Snack: afternoon coffee
Dinner:  Um.....??? 
Exercise: Cardio Combo water aerobics @ 5:30pm

I saw this @ my clients and thought "yummy!" then realized they're dog treats!!   

Have a great day, everyone!  Eat well, stay warm & be happy!  :)

Weekend Happiness

Hello!  It's 12:25pm on Sunday afternoon and I'm bummed the weekend is almost over.  What a good one it's been though.  Yesterday I sat at my stamp table for the first time in a while and got about ten cards stamped/touched up, written out & ready to mail!  Yes!!  Check that off the list of To-Do's!  I'm pretty psyched to have two stamping opportunities coming up; helping friends w/ wedding invitations and creating an elopement party invite for another couple who had a fairy-tale Florida beach wedding in November and now want to celebrate with family & friends!  


Speaking of friends, last evening Tim & I went to Mexicali w/ his best friends whom I hadn't met yet.  What a fun evening that was!  Good friends + good food + a couple margarita's = Weekend Happiness!  


A leisurely Sunday morning w/ coffee, bacon, & woodfire warmth has been pleasant but now I need to get up from this computer and go do something productive!!  Wait.  I did already; I cut apart the rest of Tim's t-shirts  & they're ready to be square-d!  We also tea-dyed a cool bandana of his which we'll frame & hang; it has words of wisdom and will look great hanging in his office.  I just love that we share so many interests and can work on creative projects together!  He "gets" me!!  :)  


Okay; hopping off for now to hang Sara's drapes.  I'll post later on w/ Today's Eating & exercise and whatever rambling I can come up with!  In the meantime, I hope you're enjoying Weekend Happiness!  


Here are a few pictures taken this weekend:

Molly 

A "cheater" card I made using a calendar image & embellishing w/ some stamping.  :)

If you look REAL closely, there's a red cardinal in the bushes!  

Tim's Midget, contemplating the dishwasher.

Midge, IN the dishwasher!!  

WooHoo! It's Friday!!

Good morning!  I see that I haven't posted since Wednesday so better catch up!  I'm pretty sure I can't recall what I ate on Thursday so will skip that day; I do know that my weight has stayed the same until this morning when the scales say I've gained a pound!!  Arrgh!  What the heck??  

Anyway, last night was really fun!  I went to an after-holidays party at Tim's work and met lots of cool, creative people, ate wonderful, kosher-catered food, and thoroughly enjoyed seeing the amazingly awesome building he works in!  It started at 5:30 so I wasn't eating too late, and I really did choose delicious, low-carbish foods so I don't think the gain is because of eating.  I'm not going to let it get to me, because I know that it could change tomorrow.  

Today I have my VFVP to clean for: it's been raining so I know the hill to his house will be slippery; I hope my car makes it up!  If not, I'll just park on the side of the road, and walk up; it'll be great exercise, especially since I didn't go to the gym yesterday!  :)  And tonight I get to have dinner with or make dinner for, Tim!!  Yay!  

Well, I'm outta here.  Ttyl!

Well, here's yesterdays eating: 

THURS:

AM:  Muesli cereal w/ maple syrup, pecans & a little half n' half/coffee   

Snack:  no snack (I only worked till noon)

Lunch:  Flatbread pizza loaded with all the good stuff; I ate the WHOLE thing which isn't so many carbs,but I could have stopped at half.  Each flatbread is about 8"X6" and I think the total carbs are like, 7grams.  But it tasted SO good, I kept gobbling.  sIGh.  Then I ate my SF fudgesicle.  

Snack:  no snack; I was still full, but I drank coffee around 5pm.  

Dinner: crudites/spring mix salad/chicken/couscous/pine-nut stuffed grape leaf (blech), veggie tarine (piles of cool veg's w/ something in/on them), fresh pineapple chunks & strawberries, 2 glasses of white wine.  That's it!  
PM:  I drank almost a quart of crystal Light pink lemonade w/ fresh lemon slices at bedtime.  

Days End

I wish there was a pretty font here, all script-y & scroll-y!  Oh well, I shall "italicize" instead.  And don't mind my HUGE letters; it helps me see it better!  :)  


So.  How was your day?  Did you eat well?  Did you exercise?  Did you have peace & order  or was there some chaos and stress in your day?  My day began well: I got to clean & organize kitchen cupboards & drawers for my client today which is something I LOVE!  I even had time to hit the pantry and start a couple shelves in there as well.  I packed good food for the day.  This evening had stress & strife but an hour at the gym helped me chill out.  


Today's Eating: 
AM:  yogurt w/ maple syrup, etc/coffee
Snack:  carrots/celery/ peppers/ hummus
Lunch:  1 slice whole grain bread w/ mustard, turkey, salami & provolone warmed a teensy bit in the microwave.  YUMMO!  a pear.  
Snack:  coffee (I resisted even one of  Sara's scrumptious Butterscotch Oatmeal cookies!) 
Dinner: 2 Italian turkey sausages w/ cheddar & mustard, one wrapped in a low-carb tortilla, the other plain.  (eating on the run) 
Snack: Ate some almonds/dried cherries in the car on the way home from the gym/handful of corn tortilla chips & little salsa/Healthy Choice fudgebar (16 g carbs) 
GYM:  25 minutes on the stepper (450 calories burned) and 30 minutes on the weights
I drank TONS of water today with lemon slices and Crystal Light Lemonade pkts.  Two quarts during the day then another 24 oz. water at the gym.  


All in all, a satisfying day food & exercise-wise.  Wouldnt it be nice to see a drop tomorrow?  I'm definitely noticing renewed energy and a sense of accomplishment & well-being!!  


I leave you with this inspiring, heart-warming youtube video which I found in 2008 and am cheered by it in 2012!  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrDpEI9FpZ0

Almost Too Tired

I'm SOOOO tired!!  An hour of vigorous water aerobics tonight has worn me out!  It's called Power Waves and we do lots of cardio, upper-body work, legs, abs, etc.  Oh. My. Word.  I'd like to get to the Mon/Wed classes next week and alternate those with cardio/weights at Planet Fitness.  I'm so tired I can't even remember the cool things I was gonna write about tonight....um....let's see.  


Today's Actual Eating: I did eat what I'd planned and then made my DEElicious low-carb lavash bread pizza; it was SOOOOO good! Pesto spread onto the flat-bread, then a huge handful of baby spinach, then bits of sliced ham, and chunks of feta, provolone
***The above was started last night before I crashed!

Continued this morning! ...as I was saying, a delicious flatbread pizza w/ lots of good stuff on it, a lime seltzer (Buy 1 Get 2 free at Shaws!!)


and had a fudgesicle for dessert.  I hopped on the scales before bed just for kicks, and was very surprised to see I was DOWN a pound from my morning weight!  And this morning, it's the same.  So that makes 6 pounds total!  Yes!!  HAPPY!!  


I'm going to record my food for the day when I write at night, so I'm not boring you twice!  But I'll still plan my days eating in the morning.  Right now I'm comfortably filled w/ my maple yogurt and coffee, and ready to tackle the day!  Gonna hop off here now, but I'LL BE BACK!!  :)

It's TIME!

Good morning, people~  


My scales say I'm down three pounds.  YAY!  Not.  That's three pounds from last night's weight.  Yeah, yeah, yeah.  I know.  What the heck was I doing on the scales at night?  Well, I'm kind of a scales-junkie and I haven't been on mine since Saturday morning.  So I just wanted to see where I'm at.  The three pound difference = happy dance.  The problem is, it brought me back to last Fridays morning weight.  ACK.  Which is all to say, those hash browns + no exercise on the weekend weren't such a great idea.  SIGH.  So, it's TIME for an alteration.


Okay.  So, I've gotta rethink my weekends.  Make better food choices and do at least one day of exercise.  I will go to my 4pm swim class on Sunday afternoon which will free up my Saturday morning and help the metabolism for Monday morning weigh-in.  Sound good?  We shall see.  In the meantime, I found this quote (why do we think that if someone says it, it must be true?) on Pinterest; Sandra & I were just talking about this the other day!  

Today's Eating:
AM: maple greek yogurt w/ pecans and wheat germ again.  (mmmm think I'll go make that now!  BRB!)
Snack:  Cheese stick/apple
Lunch:  Um.....more BBQ'd pork w/ some quinoa?  we'll see.
Snack:  ??
Dinner:  Flat-bread pizza thingies, hopefully!  With a yummy spinach salad.  And lemon water.  Yup.  That's the plan.
Exercise:  Swim class at 5:30pm  YAY!!  Got my bag packed and ready to go!  

Isn't this the coolest toilet ever?   Not that it has anything to do with this blog, but it's interesting!  I saw it at a local salvage place and couldn't resist snapping a picture.  :)
Have a good eating day, friends!  Talk to you later!  

Crazy Time At The Gym

 

Wow!  What a madhouse!  I went to the South Burlington Planet Fitness shortly after 5pm and it was cRAzY-packed!!    Every machine was in use; the place practically palpitated with sweat and frantic energy as the "hordes" worked out en masse.  Thankfully the Stairmaster was free so I clambered on and painfully but determinedly climbed, and climbed, and climbed....I lasted 15 minutes, saw a free bicycle and tottered over to pedal for another 15 minutes.  I spent my last 15 minutes on an elliptical, feeling energized and happy, be-bopping to tunes on my little ipod shuffle.  Am I the only one checking out the other women?  Comparing their weight, body-shape, hairstyle, age, workout clothing to mine, wishing I looked as good as some, and thankful I look better than others?  How vain.  How silly.  But it's human nature. 

Today's Eating ended up being a little odd: 

AM: Greek yogurt w/ maple syrup, wheat germ & pecans.  To DIE for!!  I can't wait to have more tomorrow morning!

Snack:  Almonds & two dried figs.  Yummo.  

Lunch:  Leftover BBQ'd pork/celery & carrots w/ hummus

Snack:  Healthy Request Fudgesicle & coffee 

Dinner:  Um....I forgot to eat!  Hurried off to the gym, picked up my scales from Tim's house where I snitched a delicious homemade meatball, then scooted home & showered, got busy doing laundry, picking up, boiled eggs for egg salad and ate one, ate a spoonful of egg salad, then another one later on with a stick of celery.  So.  That was dinner.  Oh well.

I'm PRETTY psyched to go to a swim class tomorrow afternoon!  I haven't been there since last fall, and will be embarrassed to show up "fatter" than when I left, but OH WELL!!  It's my favorite type of exercise and I can't wait to see them all again!  Wait!!  I just realized the class will be packed with the New Year hordes!  And I fully admit to being one of them!  :)  

Isn't this funny???  

Monday ROCKS!!

YEAH!!....well, not really, but today I'm gonna make it rock!  No, nothing special is happening, I have two cleaning clients as usual, but a little part of me is feeling psyched for the day!  I'm not sure why!!  But I'm going to list a few things that make me happy and/or psyched: (not necc. in order of importance!)


1.  Sitting in my warm bed with the awesome laptop that Brock built for me-HAPPY!  (thank you, Brock!!)
2.  My pretty kitties & sweet doggie, Emily who love me always. HAPPY!
3.  My girls who are growing up into such cool people!  HAPPY!
4.  My sweetheart, Tim, whom I've known for almost six months and makes me very HAPPY!  
5.  Friends who encourage and motivate me. (thank you, Sandra!) HAPPY & PSYCHED!
6.  My job which allows me flexibility & a good income. HAPPY!
7.  Creativity which ebbs & flows but never goes away. HAPPY & PSYCHED!
8.  My cell phone which connects me to the ones I love.  HAPPY!
9.  My quirky, funky, beautiful home which I love.  HAPPY!
10.  A new year that stretches before me; what joys or heartaches will it bring?  HAPPY & PSYCHED!


What are you happy about and psyched for?


So, here's the loose plan for my week:
MON:  2 clients/gym at 5:30/work on Sara's curtains
TUE: 2 clients/swim class at 5:30/finish Sara's curtains
WED:  all-day client/gym at 2:30 or swim class at 5:30/make cards for January & February
THUR:  1 client/3pm appt/Tim's work party at 5:30
FRI:  new client then....the WEEKEND!!  :)


Today's Eating:
AM: coffee/greek yogurt w/ maple syrup & blueberries
AM Snack:  almonds & dried cherries
Lunch:  leftover BBQ'd pork/carrots & celery w/ hummus/V8
PM Snack:  ??
Dinner:  Flat-bread pizza's/big fat salad
Snack:  ??


I'm bummed I left my scales at Tim's so can't weigh this morning; weighing every day motivates me and I like to know exactly where I'm at!  My goal for this week is to drop at least 4 pounds.  



Alright, I'm outta here.  Hope your day ROCKS!!

Sunday Evening

6:35pm on Sunday evening~ 


Today's Eating: 
AM:  steel-cut oats w/ maple syrup & cream/coffee
Lunch:  Brunch at Country Pantry Restaurant w/ Tim's family=Meatlovers Omelet/hash browns/rye toast/coffee
Dinner:  BBQ'd pork loin/Seasoned Quinoa w/ peppers, onion & garlic/glass of red wine

Not exactly diet-friendly food, but it was the reality of the day.    No working out today either; but that's alright too.  It was a wonderful weekend and I'm satisfied with it all.  :)  I wonder what the scales will show after this wonderful weekend, though?!    

Steel-Cut Oats

Good morning!  I'm sitting here eating a bowl of steel-cut oats, which I've never had before!  I thought they were the ones that were big flakes of oats, but Tim says those are "rolled"oats; they take these pellets and roll them out to form the flakes we're familiar with.  This mornings cereal is like crunchy, nutty little pellets swimming in a puddle of maple syrup and half n' half!  A dash of cinnamon makes them extra special!  YUMMO!  I've been seeing "baked oatmeal" on Pinterest & I think I'm gonna buy some of these steel-cut oats and make up some Baked Oatmeal bars; load em' up with dried cherries, pecans, maybe some dried apricots, little maple syrup for sweetener and cinnamon.  I imagine they'll be like eating cookies or bars!  

Yesterday was a lovely day with my sweetheart: we started putting together Harley-Davidson t-shirts for making a quilt, and covered his bed with folded t's to represent the squares, arranging and re-arranging to get the perfect balance of color, words and images.  The cool thing is that Tim bought each t-shirt at many locations all over the states as he traveled on his bike, and it was fun to hear stories as we worked!  I can't wait to buy my first HD t-shirt at some far-away dealership when we're on a road trip this coming summer!  :)  

Weekend Worries (continued)

Erin & I last April when I weighed about what I weigh now.  ACK!  

Me n' Becca last summer in VA 

Okay, I'm back!  :)  Hopped on the scales this AM and I'm down another pound for a total of 5# in 5 days!  Yahoo!!!


So, weekends usually worry me.  Typically, Friday nights mean snacking on junk food, pizza, candy, and eating all through the evening while we laze around, watch movies & stay up really late!  Weekends are dangerous because I'm out of my routine, have a relaxed, almost "who-cares" attitude and tell myself I deserve a break!  Good grief!  We're more apt to eat out on the weekend as well, and it's hard to pass up all the yummy bad-food and choose the good stuff!  


BUT!  This is a new year, a new beginning, and a clean slate!  I can only hope that I'll learn from past mistakes,  stick to the plan, lose the weight, get healthier and more fit and stay there.  If not, I'll accept my setbacks and failures and know that I can always start again!  


All that being said, here's what yesterdays Today's Eating was:
AM: yet another bowl of hot cereal which I'm now tired of/coffee
AM Snack:  apple
Lunch: little bit o' leftover turkey & quinoa
PM Snack: another apple
Dinner: Chicken Caesar Salad @ Costco w/ Tim (I dip each bite into the dressing, so I end up only eating half of it)/square of dark chocolate
PM Snack: small bowl of yummy, stove-popped popcorn & a very small glass of white wine 

How summery and awesome this looks!  Anna Maria Island, FL in 2009  

Alrighty, I'm outta here!  We're going to Lowe's.  Fun!!  

Weekend Worries

Good morning!  Happy Weekend to you!  It's a beautiful, sunny morning here in Vermont, my first cup of coffee tastes great and Tim just set a plate of bacon, eggs, and whole-wheat toast down in front of me!  YUMMO!  So, hang on for a little bit while I enjoy this Saturday morning treat; I'll be back!  :)

Flying Outta Here!

Good morning, friends!  Scale is the same as yesterday; I was sure hoping for another pound down.  The first week usually reaps the greatest weight loss total, but that's okay.  I'm rushing out for an early client, and still have to get dressed, grab my coffee, some breakfast and SCRAM!  ttyl!  Have a SUCCESSFUL day!  :)  I'm planning to hit the gym right after my PM client.  When will you exercise today?  

What A Day!

Took this pic in the summer: I was pretty sick for a while and it helped me lose weight.   Not a great way to do it!

I treated myself to this delectable dessert when I was in Boston  with Tim.  He was working and I was exploring!  

Wow!  Look how fat my face is here!  But what an awesome day it was with my sweetheart!  Can't wait to ride again!

I know I wrote this morning, but I've gotta tell you about my day!!  It was AWESOME!!  When I left off this morning, I was about to go to my new clients house.  Well, let me tell you, his house is amazing!  So cool, so funky, nicely lived-in so my efforts are evident, yet not so messy that it's discouraging!  


Farm Fresh Radio was cranked on the sound system w/ speakers all over the house, so I was rockin' out all day long!  I love cleaning a house for the first time; it's so fun to discover things, learn about the family by observing the rooms & stuff, but I especially love working hard to make their home clean, fresh and welcoming!  


I stopped long enough to scarf down my leftover eggs, and guzzle a V8, write a note to the client, then got busy again.  And what a workout!  It just amazes me how energized I am when I'm eating right and exercising!  Now just to get the proper hours of sleep, and I'll be all set!  

I took this pic at my clients the other day.  

Dinner wasn't Chicken Caesar salad after all; Becca & I went to the mall for a date this evening, and I didn't want to eat Bad Mall Food so made another bowl of that yummy hot cereal.  Mmmmm....very filling and satisfying.  A fresh apple tonight before bed finished me off, so I hope for another loss in the morning!  Goodnight!