2008 recap

Well i intended it do a whole post recapping everything i did over the year but really that is so much work to remember everything so i am just going to high light a few of my favorite things.

Trip To San Fran: We drove down to San Fran in July for my birthday. It was truly one of my favorite vacations. we were able to do so much and try so many new things. as well as we got to spend time with mats family all of whom i hadn't met yet. This whole trip we absolutely magical!

Trip To Vegas: For Mat's birthday i totally surprised him with a trip to Vegas! although it was a cheaper trip to Vegas we still managed to do thing we hadn't done down there including taking in a show!

Lazy Summer days at the truller: Laura and her family were so kind as to let us spend a lot of our summer up at their trailer this summer! It was so relaxing and really brought all of us girls together! We look forward to making more memories there in the summer of '09

My Birthday presents: I came up with the idea of spending time with my friends rather then getting actually gifts i can unwrap. it was so amazing to spend time with each one of my friends doing so many amazing things!

Moving: although moving was a super stressful event this year i lived through it and really enjoy our new home! He have been able to save and get better and better furniture and it is so fun to think back on where we came from and where we are not in terms of our home. i know we will look back when we are old and gray and remember the good times we had with our twin bed as a couch and old old old hand me down coffee tables. the TV stand and desk that literally fell apart when we touched them.

The summer in general: the summer of '08 is one i will remember and carry with me forever. gone are the days of being a care free kid on summer vacation but this is a summer that we made the most that of what time we had. it seem like every day off we had was filled with time in the sun. we laid by the pool, we went inter tubing, i made it to both the evergreen and Puyallup fairs, jet skiing on lake Campbell, hiking to the straight of Juan DE Fuca! all of these memories and more are what made the summer of '08 one of the best of my life!

Along with the good come the bad... though not too many

Snow!: the snow that we had this years was completely over whelming and brought many people i know to near break downs We were too happy to see the snow go and though there are still mounts of snow on the side of the roads as we enter the new year we can only hope we have seen the worst of it this winter season.

Car troubles: thought my life wasn't too unconvinced by needing new tires and a new starter it was a small bump in the road in my year. it truly is amazing how well i dealt with it though and it not have to relay on my parents to help me is really what made this situation one i will remember for a long time.

Ending Friendships: i am a friend who puts 110% into my relationship. I am constantly thinking as a we.. how would my AND my friends best benefit but when i come have a friend that doesn't seem to put the same effort into a friendship with me a begin to feel used and invalid so i did the best thing for me and that was to end the relationship before i had to go through anymore heartache

While there are so many other amazing things that happened this year these are the few i could think of on the spot! I loved 2008 and i can't wait to see what 2009 has to bring me!!!

projects

My gramz gives each of us stockings every year for christmas. these stockings are filled with so many fun yet totally random things. it is always a thrill opening them each year. this year my gramz included this pengine thing you build by floding and glueing paper. So that was my project today and let me tel lyou it pretty much took all day long! i think an but over 5 hours! i'm not sure if i build it correctly or not but it turned out pretty cute and it was a fun challange!

being on vacation

Well i have been on vacation for three days now and it has been pretty great! haven't done much but hang around the house but you know what that i just what i need! Sunday we had Christmas with my family. It didn't last as long and didn't feel as great as a regular Christmas but at least i got to see my family at least for a little while! We are having white trash new years at our place tomorrow night and that should be a hoot! I hope everyone comes dressed up and really get into the idea! i have yet to come up with my outfit yet but i know that my house is gonna look great and i have gathered a pretty fun play list that i think will set the tone of the party! I just hope that i don't let myself get disapointed if things don't turn out like i imagine! I have people who say they are coming but in the past we have had new people say they will come to our party and never show up. I know i shouldn't be disapointed if it is just the handful of true friends i have but it is just so mcuh fun to mix things up with new faces. my worse fear is that everyone will come in slightly white trash outfits nothing too crazy, they will all just sit around waiting for midnight. the clock will strike midnight and then everyone wil lleave! no amazing memories made. no crazy pictures or video to laugh about later. Everytime i through a party i campleatly stress myself out and have all of expecations! i should just let everything go and not worry about it and have a good time! Being on vacation has given me even more time to worry about this. I have al lthese big plans in my head... i have great prizes for the best dressed man and womenbut i fear that there won't be anyone worth winning the prizes!
anyways i have just tommorow i get everything ready and hope everything goes smoothly and everyone has fun!
wish me luck!

Week 8 Weight In

Well once again it is sunday! Even though i haven't been counting points or sticking to my diet i still feel like i should weigh myself so i don't get too out of control or off track. Todays weight in i am down one pound. but in all reality i've just lost the pound i gained in the last two weeks so i am still at a total loss of fifteen lbs!!! I'm pretty excited that i haven't gained weight too much because i t would just make it harder and harder to get back on track! not i am still not going to be counting pounts till after new years but come thursday it is back on track with working out and counting pounts! I'm going to try to fit in a bit of my favorite things this week knowing i'm not going to be able to enjoy them for a while!

Holiday Wrap Up

Well the holidays are pretty much over. I haven't seen anyone in my family but hopefully i will be able to see some of them on Sunday when we are hopefully planning on getting together but I'm not holding my breath! The celebrations i was able to have were pretty great!

My Girls came over on the 23rd to do our gift exchange. I roasted a whole chicken with a honey cranberry glaze and made mashed potatoes. Kristin made Caesar salad.. the dressing from scratch which was pretty yummy! we all enjoyed the dinner a lot then we watched a couple Christmas movies. 'tas the night before Christmas is one we watched that was LOOSELY based on the tale and it was pretty much horrible! about mice and a clock and we really couldn't get into it! but we watched the Flintstones Christmas and the Grinch who stole Christmas.. two classics! We opened our gifts and boy did we get all that we had hoped for.. and more! We are pretty good shoppers on a thirty dollar budget! It is always so nice to be able to get together with then and hang out. I can't wait till new years now!!

Christmas Eve Mat and i worked but when we got home we had a dinner of steaks and jalapeno cheese grits and we watched two versions of A Christmas Carol. We opened our presents and boy did we both do well there as well. I got almost everything off mat's list for him and he got some really great stuff for me! My favorite gifts were my Dandelion pj's and slippers from Victoria secret and my purse from express! he also got me a car stereo that i much need and am very excited to get it installed asap! of course that all depends on when we can get our cars out of the parking lot!

Christmas day we also made sure to make extra special. We woke up and had French toast for breakfast. We layed around and watched it's a wonderful life and Family Man. i was upset because i wasn't going to be able to see my family and my parents weren't willing to come to our house (even though i had talked to them twice and they had been out on the roads they had said were undrivable !!!!!!) We went to mat's moms house to enjoy a yummy Christmas dinner with his family. his brother and their two kids were there which always makes things more fun. We hung out for a while playing with the kids and stuff and then headed out to make our Christmas day movie.
We saw Benjamin Button. Such a great movie! The story is so original and inspiring it brought tears to my eyes... lol. The only bad part was that less then half way through the movie i had to pee and there was no way out of our seat without climbing over thousands of people. So i squirmed in my seat and took a lot of deep breathes and booked it to the restroom once the movie was over!

All of these get together's we really great and made my Christmas really special but i really do have an empty spot that i wasn't able to see my family. I can't imagine living in another state and not being able to see anyone over the holidays let alone being in the same state and not being able to see anyone simply because of snow! I hope that i get to see a family member soon and i hope we can recreate the holiday magic and i was missing!

well the snow has stopped... for now.

I have learned that I absolutly hate snow! but I am trying to make the most of it and be in a better mood then I have for the past few days. mats car got stuck in it's parking spot this morning but I was able to get mine out because I was parked undercover. we did the last of our shopping this morning and I am ready for all of my holiday festivities to begin. tommorow night my friends are coming over and I am cooking them dinner and we will do our gift exchange and watch christmas movies and play games. i'm pretty excited!

Week 8 Weight In

well Sunday is here AGAIN and yet another weigh in.. i pretty much don't have anything to say about this week. I'm not about excuses i just didn't try this week... the snow was stressful and i just didn't want to have to pay that much attention to what i ate. now i didn't let myself go crazy but i did end up gaining another .5lbs back! grrrr that gives me a total of 1lb gained back! now i can see that the next two weeks are going to be hard to live through so i am hoping just to maintain my weight (NO MORE GAINING!!!) and start back at losing weight after the new year. I am going to try my best at counting points most days and not worry on the days i have plans. Wish me luck!

I roasted a chicken!

well stuck in the house with all this freakin snow outside I thought I would try out roasting a chicken. I plan on roasting a chicken for my christmas dinner with my girls so I had a chicken in the house so I thought... TRIAL RUN! I have never roasted a chicken before but I think it turned out pretty well. I buttered the skin and added salt answer pepper. I stuffed the cavity with garlic and lemons. the house felt so warm and smelled so good. a perfect meal for this snow night! I can't wait to try it again. for christmas I am doing a cranberry honey glaze! should be pretty good.

oh the weather outside is frightful...

but inside it is so delightful
since we've got no place to go
LET IT SNOW
LET IS SNOW
LET IT SNOW!!!

Well we do have places to go and it is a little frightful outside... It snowed at our house last night about 4 inches while we were at work. I left work early so i wouldn't have to drive home in it (even though Kirkland didn't get any snow last night.) Then i wake up this morning to snow falling down in Kirkland in buckets full! What am i to do.. i HAVE TO WORK! pretty much not only because i have given away too many hours this week but also because there is no calling in because of snow in my job. People have to buy food and the grocery store is the one place they are going to go in the snow.

Week 7 Weigh In

Well once again it is Sunday and you know what that means... weigh in day! so i knew that it wouldn't be a good weigh in considering all the junk i ate this week... damn having baked goods around i just eat them ALL!! So i woke up today not too excited to see how much weigh i had gained... i was willing to bet two lbs!! luckily for me i just gained .5lbs! i started back on track with a vengeance yesterday and i hope that this next week goes a bit better! I have girls night on Monday which we decided that it wasn't going to be a point friendly night (i was fine with that when i was doin well grr) plus a Christmas party on Friday! While I'm looking forward to both very much i still worry that I'm going to slip into a gaining pattern. so i am going to not over indulge and try to workout three days this week and be extra strict on my points all the other days! i still need to lose weight and i can't let myself slack b/c of the holidays or i will be super unhappy!

first snow of the season

snow is failing now and it is so beautiful! too bad i'm at work and have to worry about driving home in the snow at midnight! I wanna be at home with my christmas lights on by the fireplace watching the snow through a window!

We put up our tree!

Today we finally got our tree... We hadn't gotten one yet because Mat wanted a real tree and so we had to wait so it wouldn't be dead on Christmas. But Mat finally broke down and realized all the benefits of a fake tree. We got a pretty great one with white lights already attached so over all it wasn't too much work! It was so much fun decorating it. We lite a fire and had how the Grinch Stole Christmas on the TV. I think it turned out pretty well too!

My gift to Laura

Well like my birthday Laura chose to have a day with each of us as her gifts for her birthday. My day with her involved Ice skating, lunch, and climbing the rock wall at REI.

I picked her up after she got off work and we headed to Seattle. We ice skated at the holiday ice skating rink at the center. it was so much fun with all the fun holiday lights and music. We skated for a while but our feet and legs got pretty soar. We then rode the fun carousel that was right outside the skating rink! It was so much fun to do, bring back so many fun memories! we then ate lunch in the center house bistro. The food was amazing. Also in the center house was more fun holiday stuff. There was a small town and train set that was absolutely amazing to look at. There was no detail they didn't miss. All the little people that had up there were too much fun!

We then headed to REI. it was a little tricky trying to get there because i had forgot the directions at home but after making a few circles around Seattle and then finally calling my gramz we found our way. We arrived early and were able to watch as a couple of kids climbed the wall. and finally it was out turn. The instructor showed us a couple different paths we could take and we decided on ours.

Laura went first and made it all the way to the top of the wall... a pretty amazing feat if i do say so myself. i went second and was frightened right from the start! i knew i wasn't going to make it to the top but i was willing to give it a try...

I started my climb and my to my surprise i was WAY harder and WAY scarier then i had imagined! I was only able to get a little way up the wall before fear took over. It wasn't so much the fact that i was so high and really had nothing to do with being tired but i just couldn't imagine getting any higher then having to lean back and come back down that really scared me. I know that i will do better next time and now that i am an REI member it is only $5 per climb so i will be trying it out more often.

Over all i think the day went really well and i think Laura really enjoyed herself! I'm glad we've decided to do these days for our birthdays. It builds memories that can never be replaced!

11 hours of baking

Well Tara, Kristin and I got together on Monday and did our holiday baking! we each picked out the recipes we wanted to do and gathered our materials together and we set forth at Tara's house. She has a pretty large kitchen and we still managed to take up pretty much all the room in there as well as the entire dining room table! It was eleven hours of baking fun! we gave pretty much all of it away because we knew we didn't want to eat it all. It was fun to make tins for my co-workers. Kristin also brought a large try of goodies for the break room. I unfortunately brought a tray home for mat and because he wasn't eating it i ended up eating a bit more then needed! I'm sure it will show on the scale on Sunday!!

Week six weigh in....

Once again it is sunday... weigh in day... and guess what! I did good! I lost a total of 2.5 lbs this week giving me a total of 15lbs in six weeks! i'm so excited that I have stuck with it this long... only a little more and i'll be at twenty pounds down... hopefully by new years!

So my reward for 15 lbs lost is a hard cover book and a day of reading. while I don't know when i'd possibly have time to read for a whole day I would like to get a book. I have been looking online cause I want to make it a good choice... some web sites I have looked at are chicklit.com and chicklitchicks.com... can u tell the kind of books I like reading?

I have been doing this and trying my hardest and been trying to be encouraging to the friends who are doing this with me. I just hope that if the others don't continue that I will stay strong and finally reach my ultimate goal. I know I can do it and right now it seems like I can make it! wish me luck!

when he walked in the door...

mat arrived home early from work tonight. I got up from my post on the couch to greet him to see roses in his hands. today is just an ordinary thursday and he felt like surprising me with roses. when I think of how luck I am I could cry.

Come along for a tour

Welcome to a Tour of the holiday decorations in my home... i know i have another posting of the decorations but the pictures were from my phone and it didn't show all (of the very few) decorations i have... I still need to put up our tree and wrap all of our presents to really fill our house with love and warmth but i think we are onto a pretty great start! i guess every year i will buy more and one day i will have a truely decked out christmas house! that is my goal at least!

found this on another blog

Contributed by Executive Homemaker
Twas The Month After Christmas" (Dieting)

Twas the month after Christmas,
and all through the house,
Nothing would fit me,
not even a blouse.

The cookies I'd nibbled,
the eggnog I'd taste,
At the holiday parties,
had gone to my waist.

When I got on the scales,
there arose such a number!
When I walked to the store,
(less a walk than a lumber).

I'd remember the marvelous,
meals I'd prepared;
The gravies and sauces,
and beef nicely rared,

The wine and the rum balls,
the bread and the cheese,
and the way I'd never said,
"No, thank you, please."

As I dressed myself,
in my husband's old shirt,
and prepared once again,
to do battle with dirt,

I said to myself,
as I only can
"You can spend a winter
disguised as a man!"

So-away with the last,
of the sour cream dip,
Get rid of the fruit cake,
every cracker and chip.

Every last bit of food,
that I like must be banished
Till all the additional,
ounces have vanished.

I won't have a cookie,
not even a lick.
I'll want only to chew,
on a long celery stick.

I won't have hot biscuits,,
or corn bread, or pie,
I'll munch on a carrot,
and quietly cry.

I'm hungry, I'm lonesome,
and life is a bore-
But isn't that what,
January is for?

Unable to giggle,
no longer a riot.
Happy New Year to all,
and to all a good diet!

set up some decorations

so I set up the little amount of christmas decorations I have. my favorite is all the stuff around my fire place. I pretty much got it all from my parents. I really like the new vase and twigs I got this year. i'm not sure if it looks perfect but i'm not so good at these things. I want to make a trip to the thrift store by my house to pick up a few more decorations. they have some fun stuff there!

Week 5 Weigh In

Well as a i was saying i was super super super worried about this week! i did all i could at the beginning of the week to lose weight... walking and counting every single bit i had. Then came Thanksgiving... dun dun dun... i didn't eat anything before dinner b/c i was working and then at dinner i took just a little bit of everything and cleaned my plate. then we headed over to dinner number 2 where i filled up my already bursting belly with mac and cheese! then we went shopping all night and i didn't eat anything but four MC nuggets (4 pts total). slept most of the day and didn't eat too much during the day till dinner where we had left overs! i reheated prime rib and mac and cheese from mats mom. while reheating though i munched on left over ham and stuffing and turkey from my moms house! Then yesterday i had my birthday plans with Kate so i didn't eat anything but toast till i went to her house but dinner was cheese ravioli and bread sticks (i had 4!!) with my low fat spinach dip i made which was pretty good but we ate a lot of it just the two of us and when you eat alot of something low fat it kinda doesn't become low fat anymore lol! then for desert we had cupcakes (cake was low fat but the frosting wasn't) and ice cream... luckily the ice cream we choose was low fat and i only gave a little scoop with our cupcakes! i wasn't going to eat anything when i got home but i ended up eating a skinny cow ice cream sandwich and some popcorn... i didn't keep track of point those three days but i was proud i didn't go totally over board!
anyway the weigh in.... DRUM ROLL~ i lost 1.5 lbs! i am so so so happy with this! i was just hoping not to gain but to lose is really great... i really owe it all to my walks. i swear they make all the difference! they are so easy i have developed a lop that i walk through the neighbor hood behind my apartments and it take my zune and just get going.. pretty relaxing really.
Today i am back on track and keeping points. I started the day off with an hour long walk... i walked my loops twice. I woke up and kept debating on if i wanted to go b/c i just enjoyed being lazy and sitting around my house but i was sitting on my computer and the new episode of Five Hundy was up and i figured what was better sitting at home on the computer listening to them report on their trip to Vegas or taking a walk while listening. So i took an hour long walk that lasted most of their pod cast and the time just flew by because all i was thinking about was my love of Vegas and all the things i wanted to do on our next trip!
So this week i have big hopes for and i really want to keep up my walks so i vow to at least go on one more walk! i work 11-8 three days this week so those days i won't be able to... i would never get up early enough and i don't really want to walk when it is dark! wish me luck!

Week 1: -4 lbs
Week 2: -4.5lbs
Week 3: -1.5lbs
Week 4: -1lb
week 5: -1.5lbs
Total: -12.5 lbs

Thanksgiving Bliss

Well i have to say that i had one of the best thanksgivings I've had in a long time. Not really sure what made it so great this year but it was just nice. Mat and I had to work in the morning from 10am to 2pm but hey, holiday pay! then we headed to my parents house where my family was there. It was just a warm and inviting time and i was comfortable and happy... i even carved the turkey thank you very much!!!! My cousins Halley and Ally and her son Terrence where there. i have to say holidays with little kids just seem more festive. i don't know what it is about it. We had to run soon after dinner (missing the games portion of the night) because we were heading over to Mats family's house. We spent time with his brother, his girlfriend and their two kids and him mom Melvin and his grandma! It was so nice and it was fun playing with baby terry who is just learning to walk...kinda. It's funny that my cousins kid and mats brothers kid have the same name, of course mats nephew is a Jr. All the food we had was great and super filling... it kept me full during our all night shop-athon!

We bought the paper when getting off work and saved to look at it till we got home. we mapped out our plan of attack... well kinda... We first went to Micheal's because they had a Thursday night coupon in the add. I got some Christmas decorations and our Christmas cards... which i will hopefully work on today! Then we came back home thinking that we wouldn't be starting to shop till four when Kohl's opened but we saw that the Seattle Premium outlets were open at midnight so we figured we would head down there just to till time... if we had gone to sleep we probably wouldn't have gotten up to shop. The outlets is where we came across the worst crowds of the day. i stood line line for almost two hours but i got some pretty great deals and so did mat ( of course he bought stuff all for himself!) we then headed to Kohl's where we were able to meet Tara standing in line toward the front. We got in and out of there in like fifteen/twenty minutes with a king size down comforter ($25) Flannel Sheets ($20) a Christmas door mat and a hooded towel for mats niece! it was a success! then we headed to JC Penny's because it was the only thing open that early and got a few other gifts. After that we headed to Best Buy and were in and out of that pretty quickly as well... the line moved pretty fast. Then we headed to the mall where we split up. mat walked over to target and got him mom a digital camera while i shopped at the mall for him. We were all done by 7am.. basically b/c i has spent my allowance for the day ( i didn't want to over do it and have no money left!)
Over all every single thing we did went smoothly and really relaxed. I had such a great time and really enjoyed every minute of it!

Thankful

Waking up this thanksgiving morning i thought of all the things in my life i am thankful for!

I am thankful for my boyfriend mat. He is always patient and understand, my greatest support and the love of my life. I don't know where i would be without him. we have gone through so much together and grown a lot. I love him more and more everyday!

i am thankful for My girlfriends. Each and every one of them has their own unique spirit that talks to me and understand a different aspect of my personality! I know i could go to any single one of them for advice and get just what i want to hear. I love the hours we have spent together talking and laughing!

I am thankful for my parents. Though we aren't the closest of families i know that if i ever needed them they would be there to help me out in any way they could. i have learned alot from them and I know that i turned out to be the person i am because of them!

I am thankful to have my job and still be getting 40 hours. even though it my not be a glamurous job in some peoples eyes and i may not love it every single minute i'm there. I have security and in these days where the economy is struggling and every day on the news you hear about hundreds of people losing their job i take comfort in knowing people will always need food. and when they can't afford to go out to eat they will come to the grocery store!

a little aprehensive!!

Can i just tell you how worried i am for thanksgiving weekend!? first of all we have TWO thanksgiving dinners to go to... first at my family's house where there is great pie and bread and all the other fixin's then we head over to mats moms house where she make amazing food like sweet potatoes and last year she made oh so yummy mac and cheese and then had my all time fav hawian sweet rolls! None of these foods low in caloiries! that is so much food and it is going to be hard to show restraint! THEN that night mat and i are going to stay up all night and go shopping at midnight! who knows what kind of foods i'm gonna be suckered into in my delierium of all night shopping! THEN Saturday i am having a little girly night with my friend Kate for her birthday... this is the day i have got to control! it is gonna be hard to figure out low point foods that are fun to snack on as well! so far i've got popcorn! i'll figure something out and it will all be fabulous! I have gone walking three days this week in hopes to balance out the end of the week! i really really really don't want to back track! i weighed myself this morning and i was down another 1.5lbs so if nothing else at least hopefully i will only gain that 1.5lbs back and just stay the same for the week! wish me luck!

taking a look in the mirror.

I am a a big hearted person. Almost to a fault i care about people... i am constantly listening to peoples problems and then trying to figure out how i can fix them. I have to learn to realize that my help maybe isnt what they need. i can't fix everything and you know what i shouldn't worry about it. People have their problems... but they are just that, THEIR PROBLEMS... not mine... i have to remember that! i have my own problems.... my own goals... my own life and you know what that is what should be most important to me... because at the end of the day all i have is me. If people want to change it is up to them. and i will continue working towards the person i want to be!

Week 4 Weigh In

Well today was the big day and let me tell you i had big expectations but little hope. I knew i did pretty well with my points and in no way went over the extra 35 points we have for each week. but i could just feel that i hadn't lost weight. in fact i have felt bigger then ever! plus i really haven't been drinking nearly as much water as i had in the past weeks! oh wait i haven't told you what i lost lol.... drum roll please........i lost 1 whole pound! bringing my total to 11 lbs! which i am glad to say that at least my weight isn't up i still wish i could have lost more. at this rate it will take me four more weeks to get to my next reward! BOO! plus thanksgiving is this week which really scares me. i so don't want to gain any of the eleven pounds I've lost! i am going to be so strict this week in hopes that when i eat thanksgiving dinner it balances out! plus i vow to go on two walks this week! when we first started this diet i walked like everyother day and the scale showed it. i was so careful and consise and it reflected! i need that motivation again.... i tried doing a workout video and stopped ten minutes in yesterday... i just feel tired... at least with walking i can even walk slow and it makes a differnce! ok well wish me luck this week and hope i don't pig out too much on thursday!

Week 1: -4 lbs
Week 2: -4.5 lbs
Week 3: -1.5lbs
Week 4: -1lb

take foot...insert in mouth

AGAIN A FITTING HOROSCOPE:
It's all about open and free communication, today. You've got to say what you feel as soon as you feel it! It's time to liberate your mind and free yourself to say whatever comes to mind at the moment it pops up in your brain. You're open to the fact that once or twice you might say something silly. You might stick your foot in your mouth, but so what? That's a small price to pay for feeling free and open with the people you'll be dealing with, today. Embarrassment can bring people closer.

I am a blunt, say how i feel, kind of person... i, a lot of times, say things that could have been said in a better way and been more affective. something I'll have to work on, not only for my personal life but for my professional life as well. but for the most part i just wanna say what i have to say because if you try to say it nicely the point doesn't get across or i don't get to say all that i need to say. i need to find a balance... and i will one day... i am a work in progress... remember that!

my grams e-mail sign off quote: Be who you are and say what you feel--Those who mind don't matter & those that matter don't mind.---T.G.

Ten pound reward!

Well today is my day off and I decided to start the day off with my ten pound reward.... a peticure! Kristin and Laura were both free to join me so we met there and all picked our colors! it was so muchfun being able to sit with them and catch up.... especially with laura whom I never get to see and hang out with and chat. I think this was a super fun and relaxing and and absolutly had nothing to do with food.
I think learning to do things that aren't based around foot is really something I need to work on... it is hard though when u r surrounded by skinny people who can eat whatever they want and they do base things around food.
anyways it was a great reward and now I am working toward my next reward which is buying a hardcover book and having a guilt free day to myself of reading and relaxing... NO CLEANING OR COOKING!
wish me luck

I am an AME graduate!

Well i have been taking an AME class for four weeks now through work. Achieving Management Excellence is a class that help you figure out your strengths as a manager and how you can just them to your advantages. They teach you a lot of tools for you to take back with you on how to manage your employees and better move forward in management. I thought the class was very helpful to me. I feel i still have A LOT to learn to be a really great manager but i have the drive to be successful and i think this is something that i really am going to be able to work with for the rest of my life. I learned not only things that i am good at but things i didn't realize i did while managing. One thing i took out of the class what that i need to SLOW DOWN! i am constantly feeling like i am in a rush to get things done and under control that i don't take time to properly coach people.
The class although at times seemed to drag on was good. I constantly wanted to be the one to answer the question but then there were other times when no one else would answer and for some reason i felt the need to answer... even though i hadn't thought of an answer and found myself talking without any real direction of what i was saying and ending up just feeling like a fool. i would tell myself i not going to answer another question all day.... but then i couldn't hold back and i would answer again. i don't know if this is a good or bad trait for me.. maybe another skill i need to work on (oral communication) but over all i came out of the class feeling better about myself and the direction i am taking.
Now i still don't know if or when I'll be turned into a second assistant but i have decided that i don't have to rush it. It will happen when I'm ready and it will be all the better so that i don't get over whelmed.

this one is fun!

Ok so i totally don't believe in these things except the power of persuasion but today's horoscope is pretty fun and fitting for a ten pound weight loss day! te he he...

You are feeling -- and looking -- extremely good today, and your positive energy will only grow with every social encounter you have. So talk it up and get your flirt on -- shine your bright smile on everyone you meet, and you will make their day! Expect a lot of double takes and slack jaws wherever you go. By the end of the day you might even feel embarrassed at all of the attention you've been getting, but why fight it? The fact is, you are one hot ticket.

Week Three Weigh In

Well this week was kind of a struggle in the sense that i just didn't pay attention to what i was putting in my mouth... i didn't go crazy and i put myself back on track toward the end of the week and come out pretty successful if i do say so myself! DRUM ROLL....... I'm down 1.5 more lbs!!! that brings me to my total of 10lbs in three weeks(thats twenty dollars in my jar!)... not too bad if i say so myself. and that brings be to my second reward... a pedicure! i have Tuesday and Thursday off so i will probably getting it done one of those days! I'm so proud that i have made it this far. it is amazing what you can do when u just take it one day at a time... one hour at a time really for me!
a few things i was proud of myself this week for:
*i grilled veggies: asparagus, zucchini, and red peepers. i had planned on eating them through out the week but ended up eating them all yesterday for lunch before work with some Texas toast. then when i got home i made a grilled panini with the red peppers i had left! amazing for a girl who doesn't like veggies! i even bought more for today or tomorrow!
*i portioned out my snack foods! I have two boxes of reduced fat Cheese It's (b/c i was so excited that they came out with RF white cheddar i had to buy a second box) but anyways i portioned out the boxes with a fun mix of the two flavors so i could just grab and go and know how many points i was eating! i also did it with my reduced fat wheat thins so i could eat it with my laughing cow cheese wedge and not have to sit and count the crackers!
*whenever i was thirsty at work i didn't buy a pop as i usually drink.... i got a large glass of water from Starbucks and kept refilling it all night. i also made glasses of lemon aid at home so it felt like drinking something sweet... I've been doin pretty well not drinking much pop these days... too bad i have eight two liters sitting in my house!
So now is the start of a new weekand i am feeling like i will be pretty sucessful! i hope to fit into my black pencil skirt for new years! how hot would that be! yow!

I gotta keep journaling

so this week hasn't been the best for my diet all because I haven't been keeping track of the foods I have been eating! I need to keep motivated at journaling my foods and measuring out servings sizes! my eyes are ALWAYs bigger then my stomach needs to be. that is not to say that I don't eat all the food I serve myself. but I know that if I just keep track of what I eat and how much I will be successful! I had gained earlier in the week but I am back on track and measuring and counting points so I'm hoping to lose what I had gained at least.

all I need to do now is poop! I swear it has been a week since I've had a good BM and it has upset my tummy... lucky today I have felt a bit better but still no good poos for me! I blame all the string cheese I ate last week... I guess

oh well wish me luck wit my weigh in this Sunday... I will of course keep u updated.

i took a little bit of my life back

I have an on going problem with serious debt... debt so bad that i have usually taken an ignore it attitude toward it. this problem i know is a KEY source of my unhappy days and gray hairs. but today i did something about it... while it is a very small step in improving my debt i am proud i did it at all. I could have taken the little extra money i had and gone shopping...first thought was to save it for black Friday actually. but instead i thought i have this extra money i might as well try a little bit in easing my drama. So i first set aside money for rent something that is new to me since we've moved and is something that has been hard to keep up. Then i paid my cell phone bill all on my own. now i always pay this bill with my own money but i usually give the money to mat (cause the account is in his name) and he pays the bill so me figuring out how to pay the bill and actually doing it is something i am proud of. after those important bills done i felt like i was on a roll and still had money left over way more than is needed to get through the week so i turned to the PILE of envelopes i tend to ignore, that are screaming at me every time i see them and opened two that were on top... one i was able to pay the full amount and the other was something i knew i had to set up a payment arrangement for. this is yet another thing that has always scarred me... i HATE talking on the phone. i freak myself out way before i ever call and then end up NEVER CALLING but today i dialed the number gave the account number and arraigned to pay $100 a week. this amount will be taken out of my account every Friday until it is paid off which should be pretty quick. now to some these issues are mind boggling and would never imagine having debt problems like this but to me it is something that i have just ignored for YEARS! i am proud of myself for taking a tiny little step to improving this problem... and one day i will be in the green rather then the deep maroon red i am in now and i will be a girl making her man marry her. This is probably the number one reason i don't need to get married... i don't want to pass this debt onto mat... it isn't his problem (he doesn't even know how bad it is.... no one does..not even me really)
wish me luck i know this is a lot to learn about lil ol me but hey I'm getting better i just gotta do it in my own time (i guess)

I wanna be arm candy

awake at six in the morning what else is there to watch but music videos? it is amazing to watch the fashion that they have in these and I can't help but wonder what I would wear if I had the body for it. I, for the most part, am not shy but I know what just doesn't look good and a fat ass squashed into and outfit that is three sizes too small with rolls hanging out every which way is not hot.... but watch out for when I reach my goal weight... if only for one day... I wanna be arm candy with swinging hips and an attitude to match!

Laura's Birthday Party!

Well this weekend was super fun! not only because i got to weigh in... always my favorite part of the weekend **rolls eyes** but also because i was throwing Laura a surprise 22nd birthday party! It was actually mats idea but Kristin and i did all the work! We tried for a night club feel. We made a fun light up club Laura sign and i got a disco ball with lights (which will be returned because it was so not worth the 40 bucks it cost!)

It was fun to have Laura's brother and wife over along with a few other friends. we started the night out waiting for the guest of honor to arrive. we ate my yummy chicken and rice (the boys had burger master) Once she arrived... not at all surprised at the party of course... the party started. we played a drinking game right off the bat and by nine we were all pretty well buzzed! we slowed things down a bit by playing apples to apples while we waited for Tara to arrive! you can never go wrong with a good 'ol game of apples to apples i always say! Tara arrived by 10:30 and we were all well gone by then so i of course encouraged her to catch up with us with major quantities of alcohol! the other guest had left so it was time for Laura to open her gifts from us! we all had our days with her planned out and came up with creative ways to tell her about them... we all realized just how BUZZED Laura was when she got the most excited over a box of hamburger helper Tara got her to symbolize dinner!

Over all it was a pretty great party (even though the surprise wasn't much of a surprise) we had a good time and I'm pretty sure Laura had a blast and really that is all that matters!