Another Month Down...

Well, it's nearly down anyway. I've lost 1.5 pounds this month. I think I've went too hard on the exercising this month. I've started to get tired now, and think I just need to give myself a little break. So I'm going to tone it down a little on the exercise front for a few days and see what a little rest will do for me.
I've stayed in control fairly well this month on the food front. Nothing major has happened. I'm looking forward to what will happen in April.

Which brings me around to the 2007 challenge. It's time to sign up for April, if anyone is interested. Michelle has the wonderful sign up information posted on the right, so feel free to let her know if you are interested in joining in. She's making some changes to the way it works this month, and I'm excited to see how everything is going to work out.

Also, I have no idea what I should challenge myself to this month. I've done 3x a week exercising, I've done 2x a week strength training, and I've done keeping my food in control on the weekends. This month I'm at a loss as to what to work on. I don't want to set a goal to lose a specific amount of weight because those always backfire on me. So, y'all help me out. Give me some ideas on what I can do, and I'll roll the dice on Saturday and see what I'm doing. Think y'all can help me out here!?!

Thirteen Books I Couldn't Do Without

1…. A Gift of Magic by Lois Duncan - This is the first book I ever read that really had an impact on who I was and how I viewed the world. I was 9 or 10 when I read it for the first time. While I haven't read it in years I still think about it on a regular basis.

2…. The Dark Series by Christine Feehan - These are my favorite romance novels of all time, and there is only one of these stories that I haven't read more than once. While they aren't all spectacular, they are all certainly worth reading.

3…. Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey - Out of all the dragonrider books, this is the one that touched me the most.

4…. The Harper Hall Trilogy by Anne McCaffrey - I actually picked these up in high school because I was bored in the library. They are my favorite books by her, and I think everyone should read them once.

5…. The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis - I had to read The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe in 8th grade, and I had finished the entire series before everyone else read the one book. These are awesome!

6…. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott - I read this book ages ago, and it certianly showed me a lot. I think I really learned how to understand my friends relationships with their sisters from reading this book. Since Jackie is 9 years older than me it was interesting to read this one.

7…. The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis - I had no idea what this book was about when I picked it up, and it was a major departure from my normal reading at the time (high school). It's definitely an eye-opening book.

8…. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens - A lot of people might consider it a tragedy, but this is one of the few books of his I have read. This book had me thinking for weeks when I was finished!

9…. The Scarlett Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne - I read this in high school. I had nightmares for a week!

10…. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams - I read this book because my sister had. It's a fantastic story and I think everyone can benefit from it. I haven't finished the entire series yet, but it still holds me. It even comes up in conversation at the weirdest times!

11…. The Shannara Series by Terry Brooks - My mother had several of these for a long time before I ever read one. It wasn't very long before I was hooked. I've read better written fantasy, but the characters just really grabbed me in these books. I even named a beta fish Walker!

12…. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury - This book had a profound effect on me. It is also the only other book that ever gave me nightmares.

Links to other Thursday Thirteens!
1. Beck

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Thanks to Debbie, whose wesite I got my header from this week.

This week's Thursday Thirteen is my submission to Kailana over at The Written World. She is compiling a list of Blogger's books they couldn't do without. Feel free to stop by her blog and help her out!!!

And The Damage Is...

Well, I finally weighed in for the week. I went at lunch and stayed the same on the happy scale. To be honest, I think I lost .3 or so, but our place rounds to the half-pound. Sometimes I can keep track to the tenth, and sometimes I can't. Doesn't really matter though. I figured I had gained, so I was happy.

I went to both of my classes last night. And walked about a mile or so in between them. I shouldn't have done that. I'm incredibly sore today, but I'm planning to do a loop in the circuit training room sometime tonight. I'm not sure if I will go right after work or wait until Josh heads to the gym though. I just know I need to do that before I go to weigh in with Biggest Winner in the morning.

Otherwise, I'm just tired and sleepy after lunch. I met the hubby at Pizza Hut and we had the buffet. We don't have anything quick and easy at the apartment right now. Of course, I'm honestly not sure when I'll have time to go shopping either. I'll have to figure that out soon though.

Sometimes I hate my husband and our friends. Because my husband just spent twice the price he quoted me on his martial arts stuff, we are going to have to start eating at home. We simply can't afford it. So, I told him we could eat out today, and start in at home tomorrow. So he and our "friends" decide that we are going to eat at one of the places I don't like. I got outvoted. I'm tempted not to eat with them. I do need to study anyway, but that would be mean.

Other than that today is going fairly well. I have a coworker that isn't speaking to me again, but I don't care. My head is a lot better and she isn't going to ruin that.

I'm doing two classes at the Payne Center tonight, assuming I'm up for it. I'll be taking water aerobics, as usual, and beginner kickboxing. I'll just take it lighter than normal in water aerobics to get me though. :) I think it will be fun. I wish they would have scheduled the two Beg. KB classes on a different day though. Oh well. That's life.

I hope that everyone is having a great week!

Well, I missed my weigh in today because I was knocked out in bed. I still had my migraine when I woke up this morning so I went on in to the doctor. He gave me some meds to knock me out and said I should have been in to see him last week. :) I told him I was stubborn.

So that pretty much tells you my day. I think I'm going to weigh in on Wednesday. I think that's when our center is open all morning. I'll have to double-check because I don't want to just miss this week.

My time at Habitat for Humanity was nice on Saturday, other than my head hurting. To be honest, my fore-arms still hurt.

I'm taking beginner kickboxing the next two Tuesday nights. That's going to be fun. It's something that one of the Biggest Winner guys asked for specifically. I kinda hope they decide to offer it as a regular class at the gym next semester.

Well, I hope everyone is still doing well in their goals. I'll try to get caught up on blogs tomorrow, but no guarantees. I have a test Friday so I still have to do some studying for that!

I'm still fighting off this migraine, so I'm FAR behind on my blog reading. But I'm slowly trying to catch up. I'm also slowly re-reading this stupid chapter for tonight. It would be so much easier if she would just let us use the book on the test. But no.... She did finally release the grades for our last test thought. 47/50!!! I missed one multiple choice question, and had one grammatical error in my essay. So I feel pretty good. I hope I do as well on this test. I really need to bring my average on up. Those first two test have really but me behind.

I'm so proud to hear of all the good things happening in everyone's lives. It's great to see things going well for people.

I don't have any fantastic news or anything right now. I'm doing good on my eating, and I really enjoyed water aerobics last night. I might hit the gym tonight, but I kinda doubt it. I meant to go this morning, but this migraine was trying to settle in. We'll just have to see where the day goes!

Y'all have a wonderful weekend!!!

I hate migraines!

Sorry I haven't been active online, but I woke up yesterday morning with the migraine from hell. I seriously hate waking up with them. I would rather feel it coming so I'm prepared, and can maybe do something about it. Anyway, that kept me home yesterday, and today I still have the sick head, but at least it's bareable.

Needless to say, I missed my step workout last night. But I am going to water aerboics tonight!!! But several of the regulars are going to be out, so the class will be tiny. But I guess that's ok. I'll still enjoy the water! (And one of the ladies has already asked me if I was going...) I'm not doing anything after I get home though. Other than soaking in a tub then going to bed!

I finally finished the reading for my test tomorrow. I just took the two study quizzes and discovered that I have to read the meat of the material again. :( But that's ok. This was an interesting chapter. And we have our essay assignment already. It's on "The Mommy Track". I'll be looking into that this weekend and try to get started. And I still don't have my grade on the last test. Don't know when she is going to release those because it tells me that it is graded already.

I have both of my DnD games this weekend, so that will keep me going. I'll just have to figure out the food plans involved. I'm tempted to take myself all my own food. Then I'll know all my options. The hubby can eat whatever is randomly decided. ;) I'm also doing a Habitat for Humanity work day Saturday. It's through our Biggest Winners program, and we are working 8-12. I'm excited about that. I've never done it before. The sucky part is I have to be on campus at 7:30. So no sleeping in for me, and no us hanging out at the store until 1 in the morning. Josh will just have to deal with it.

Well, I hope that everyone else is doing better than me, and I hope you all have wonderful weekends!

When you walk in my office and the lady at the other end of the counter says "How can I help you?" don't stop in front of me and stare while you state your problem. If you are STARING you obviously realize that I haven't said a word. This probably means that I am busy and the other lady will help you quicker!!!

Sorry for the rant, that just annoys the crap out of me!!! Just like the guy that comes in twice a semester to ask me out (while OBVIOUSLY pretending to have a problem). And he knows I'm married. So give it up already!

Sorry, I just needed to get that out.

When you walk in my office and the lady at the other end of the counter says "How can I help you?" don't stop in front of me and stare while you state your problem. If you are STARING you obviously realize that I haven't said a word. This probably means that I am busy and the other lady will help you quicker!!!

Sorry for the rant, that just annoys the crap out of me!!! Just like the guy that comes in twice a semester to ask me out (while OBVIOUSLY pretending to have a problem). And he knows I'm married. So give it up already!

Sorry, I just needed to get that out.

Just Another Week..

Not Really!!! I think I'm still kinda riding on that two pound loss high to be honest. Although I've been having stupid accidents all morning, I'm feeling really good about things.

By stupid accidents, I mean things that luckily don't matter much. For example, I overslept yet didn't really sleep at all. Well, maybe that doesn't really fit. I accidentally poured part of my water down my shirt this morning. But it was just water, and it dried. I stubbed my toe, I ALMOST left my gym stuff at home. And I hung up on a customer this morning. Luckily she called right back and my coworker apologized for me. She told the lady that my face was priceless when I did it. At least she wasn't upset!

As for feeling really good, I WALKED to work this morning. To be honest, I didn't have much choice as I only have enough gas to get to the gas station this afternoon after the gym. But after not walking to work last week, I know I need to get back to it. It really helps to energize me through the day. And if the weather turns bad I know I can always get a ride home. I can call the hubby or ask one of the many guys in the office to give me a lift. And it's faster to get to the gym on foot than to drive all the way around campus. :)

Total Body Toning was cool last night, although I almost didn't go. In the afternoon I was feeling bad, but by the time I got home I was feeling a lot better. We had a sub teaching, and she will be teaching the course for the next two weeks. She approaches it differently, and it was a nice change. We did almost everything on a ball. It was cool. Then I had to wait for my hubby to get out of his Aikido class. It went over. After class his teacher told me I should have just come in, but I didn't want to interrupt the end of their lesson. I just watched and patiently waited the 15 minutes for them to finish. The class that was meeting next door wasn't so patient. They were another martial arts class and needed the mats. I was having fun trying not to crack up listening to them complaining. I'm finding myself wanting to try it out when I'm in better shape. But that will definitely be further down the road.

Tonight I have water aerboics. I'm excited. It SHOULD be Rosie teaching, and she keeps it much more aerobic that Molly does on Thursday. I'm excited to be getting back to that normal schedule. I love getting in the water, and these classes are awesome.

I photographed all my food yesterday, I just don't feel like getting my camera out right now and dealing with it. So I'll get that done this afternoon or tomorrow. You'll just have to wait. ;)

And the damage is...

-2 pounds! I managed to lose those two pounds from last week. I'm excited! It makes me happy!

And, between weigh in, eating lunch, putting the roast on to cook, picking up a package from the realty office for the hubby, and walking back to work (out of gas) I was only six minutes late. That makes for a pretty good morning.

Monday Mornings...

I always forget about something. This morning I forgot to put supper in the crockpot. Crazy huh? Since Josh and I will not get out of the gym until 8, I decided to cook a roast instead of us eating out. Much better for me!!! And probably a little cheaper. I also forgot to bring my frozen dinner to work with me. I'm just not at my best.

Needless to say I will be a little rushed at lunch today. I have to go weigh in at Weight Watchers. I'm not feeling confident about that right now. But it's ok. I'll survive it. If I gained, I gained. It's not the end of the world. I have had two abnormal weeks in a row. It's too be expected. However, this week is gonna be great. I'll be doing a slightly different work out schedule that was my normal, so we'll see how it effects things come next Monday. I hope it's good, and I hope I really like how I feel too!

So, after I run and weigh in, I'll be running to the apartment to zap lunch in the microwave and put a roast on to cook. I was actually planning to come back to my office and leisurely eat and reread Dark Celebration. But, alas, it wasn't meant to be!

I don't know if I told y'all about getting my essay back last week. I got an A, barely. She gave me a 90. 40/40 on my writing skills (I actually can write well when I really want to) and a 50/60 on my ethical analysis. While my analysis was good, I didn't actually discuss captialism, which I was apparently supposed to discuss in detail. I can live with a 90 though. It's much better than my test grades have been. She told us she hoped to have our test grades to us today, but they haven't been posted. I'll let y'all know when I get that. I'm not expecting quite such awesome news on that one.

Well, I'm going to get back to work now. I have a little bit to get accomplished before I can even consider leaving for lunch. :) I'll update this afternoon with news on my weigh in!

Mini Challenge, Sunday Meals

OK, I don't have pictures of everything, but I'll describe what I don't have. Promise!

I slept late, so my day actually started with lunch. I had a small piece of chicken, a half-cup of nibblet corn in butter sauce (Green Giant, really good), and a half-cup of broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots in cheese sauce (Green Giant, NOT good). I ate a little over half the mixed veggies because the cheese sauce tasted funny. It definitely wasn't to my taste. Josh didn't like it either so the leftovers on it got put in the trash. And I drank water with my meal.

For a mid afternoon snack I opened a box of Girl Scout cookies. I really love the Samoas, and was really good! I only ate two, although I left the pack sitting open on the end table ALL evening.

For supper, I got the surprise of my husband wanting to eat at the Food Court while we were out for our shopping. I was planning to cook something, and thus got caught without a camera to photograph my supper. However, I ate something really good. I got a baked potato from McAlister's Deli. It had bacon and cheese melted on top. I was actually a little surprised when I got it (in a good way). It was smaller than they normally are, and had less bacon and cheese on it. But it was REALLY good. And, of course, I had their sweet tea to drink with it. They have the best sweet tea in town. It is considered a sin to eat there and NOT get tea to drink.

And, as a snack in the evening I caved and had something I LOVE, but try to avoid this time of year. I only ate one, and don't plan to eat more than two more of these over the Easter holiday. (In the past I have easily eaten ten or more!)

I also managed to get in all my water by the end of the evening, although I see no point in forcing you to look at more pictures of that glass!

Just Not All Here...

Sorry I haven't really been around. I really meant to blog yesterday, but just didn't feel like it. And I've forgotten to photograph my food today, so I guess I'll do that the next two days! I still have to plan out that food.

I stayed home last night and did some house cleaning and watched Special Unit 2 on SciFi. I really like that show, but don't have many chances to stay home on a Friday and watch it. So far today I haven't done a whole lot, but I do have some good news. I finished putting away the clean clothes, and decided to check and see if any more pants fit me yet. I was able to fasten two pair, but they are still not QUITE comfy enough for work. So I left them hanging up. And, then I decided to try on some that I didn't even think were close enough for hangers. And found two skirts that fit. And one of those is even loose. And then I decided to start trying on shirts. Most of them are still tight (stuff bought when I weighed 180 or less) but several of them have been categorized as wearable! So I'm happy today.

Josh kinda wants me to go to The Gamer Sanctuary tonight, and he's SO close to giving me a guilt trip, although he's trying not to. It's just that our friend Joe is bringing the wife and baby with him, so Josh wants me to go play with Lynn. However, I REALLY have to exercise tonight. My last exercise session was Wednesday, my last GOOD session on Monday. So I really want to do an ab video and a dance video tonight. That won't happen if I go with him. I also have to get the grocery shopping list together too. Because we have NO food, or next to none. It's going to be an expensive shopping trip tomorrow after church. And I do plan on going tomorrow.

Well, I hope that everyone is having a super St. Patrick's Day, and y'all keep up the wonderful work!

Thirteen Things about Cory 1…. I hate when my plans get changed. 2…. Especially if there isn't a great alternative 3…. I didn't get to go to Cardio Variety last night because the teacher was sick. 4…. I did still do a cardio program on a bike. 5…. I love going to the movies. 6…. But it's only worth it if there's a good reason to see the movie in the theater. 7…. Which means I go to the theater for special effects and big fight scenes. 8…. This is SO not was I was planning for this week! 9…. I love to exercise! Especially fun group exercise classes 10…. I hate to be hot. 11…. The ac in my work building isn't working today. 12…. Needless to say I'm somewhat miserable 13…. I still can't find a book I KNOW I have and have wanted to read for the last 2.5 months. Links to other Thursday Thirteens! 1. (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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Yoga....

...kinda sucked last night. I don't think I was ready for that particular class. Which is really ok because I'm not going back to it. I really did surprise myself with some of the stuff I was able to do, and she never had to correct my stance or anything. But my feet hurt like hell by the time I was finished. My feet cramped up something terrible in the middle of class.

Tonight is cardio variety. I don't know who the teacher is, but I'm excited to go to it. I need some good cardio to boost me along. I'm excited about the class because I've never been to it before. It's fun to try new stuff. Especially this week while the classes are so small.

Today in our building the AC is supposed to be out. Which isn't good because I get hot in here with it on! But they haven't turned it off to start working on it yet. They need to start soon so it can be finished. Luckily I have a little task fan on my desk. That should get me through today.

Tonight after the gym Josh and I, and possibly a bunch of friends, are supposed to go see 300. I'm excited because it is supposed to be a really good movie. We also watched Stranger than Fiction last night. It was really good. So, if you haven't seen it yet, think aobut it. It's worth watching!

Y'all have a wonderful day and Keep Movin'!!!

So, I just realized that I haven't posted today. How horrid of me! ;)

I ended up taking Total Body Toning last night instead of the yoga class I had planned on. I'll be doing yoga tonight (already committed myself to it) and I'll either do cardio variety or total body toning tomorrow night. I'm not really sure which though. It just depends on how I feel tomorrow. Probably will depend on if my butt still hurts from TBT!

Other than that I'm doing really good. Just sitting around work doing nothing since it's spring break. OH! I did go to the clinic this morning and found out I have psoriasis. I've suspected it for a while, but I went this morning to find out. The assistant at the pharmacy half-way tried to get me to committ to going to kickboxing with him Thursday after work. I'm not sure if I'm up to that though. But we'll see what happens then!

Y'all have a wonderful evenin'!

Weigh In

Ok, so my short post to let everyone know about my horrid weigh in. I was rather pleased to only see I had gained two pounds. So I'm still in the wonderful arena of more than 10 pounds lost (barely). And I obviously didn't do too much damage this past week. I can come back from 2 easy. But I was expecting to see 5 or 6, and that was going to be hard. I honestly don't expect to see it all gone this week, but give me two weeks and I'll be really good again.

I also wanted to toss in an update on my Lent challenge. I bombed it this weekend. I had a Pepsi and three Dr Peppers while I was home. But I'm not letting it upset me. It happened. And when there wasn't any tea there, and no cold water, what could I do? But I'm back on track now and don't expect any major problems.

And on my March challenge for weekends, I was within bounds. I didn't go anywhere near as crazy as I have been in the habit of. And I gave myself a little bit of leeway considering I did have a baby shower to go to. Where I ate a LOT of wonderful strawberries...yummy!

Let Down...

Ok, so I'm actually feeling pretty good right now. But I'm sure that will change.

I went to my sister's baby shower this weekend. It was a surprise to her, she didn't realize I was coming up. So that was cool. I got to spend some time with my beautiful nieces. That was fun. Abby was a wonderful little thing, and I found out that Ashleigh is afraid of the vacuum cleaner. A girl after my own heart! I also got to teach her how to pick flowers.

I really enjoyed the quality time with my parents. And they gave us some movies. So know I have stuff to watch if I can actually sit still long enough. I have trouble sitting still through a 1 hour show right now. :)

The bad thing about the weekend is that Josh didn't go with me. So it was a long 4.5 hour drive each way. But I had my mp3 player and sang my heart out!

I'm seriously dreading my weigh in at lunch today. I ate horribly this past week, and my week was off on exercising. But I'll live. Hopefully the damage won't be too bad, but I'm not expecting good news. I don't really expect anything good next week either. I know my food will be fine, but the exercise will still be abnormal. I hate Spring Break because everything has weird hours. I have yoga scheduled for tonight, total body toning tomorrow night, and Cardio Variey for Wednesday. Not my usual, and I don't think my body is going to agree so well with the lack of cardio. BUT, you do what you can. I might can get some cardio at home, but I'm not expecting much. I'm barely at home as it is.

The highlight of my day will come after the gym though. I'm going shoe shopping tonight. I need new tennis shoes, and I plan to get them tonight if I can find a pair I like. The tennis shoes I've been wearing are still in great condition, but I want a pair of shoes just for the gym. So I'm going to retire these, and get me a new pair of everyday shoes. Shoe Carnival is supposedly have a big sale, so maybe I can get a really good deal!

And one last thing before I go, and this might not interest everyone, so feel free not to read it. I have a horrid case of athlete's foot that I haven't been able to get rid of. Does anyone have any home remedies to recommend, or a suggestion on an OTC aid. I've been using a prescription cream I got a while back, but it's not really having any effect.

INTERVIEW!

Ok, I'm not really feeling up to blogging much today because I have a serious migraine, AND I'm at work. However, there is one thing that I just have to go ahead and post.

Lizza at Weight Loss Tips e-mailed me at the beginning of the week and asked me if I would be willing to do an interview for that site. While I'm really still just beginning in my weight loss journey, and personally don't feel like I'm doing well at all, I was still very excited about this opportunity. Well, my interview has now been posted, complete with Dec 2006 and March 2007 pictures. I seriously don't see a change in those pictures, but hey, I'm my worst critic!

So, I REALLY want to thank Lizza for the opportunity to share my beginning with all the readers there, and for what a great opportunity it is. It made me think about a few things, and made me get a current progress photo done. So, everyone head on over to Weight Loss Tips, and read some of the amazing stories over there. They have some real inspiration going on there!

What A Day!!!

Well, today has been interesting. With my out-of-wach routine this week and being sick, I managed to gain weight since last Thursday, but I'm not going to let it get to me. It's been a bit unusual lately.

I went to the eye doctor this morning and found out that my eyes are only slightly worse than they were last time, although it's enough to change my prescription. BUT, the stupid people hadn't told me that he was only taking cash now, AND they told me they didn't take my insurance. So I finally manage to run around and get the cash to pay them. Then I call the insurance company. She called them and doesn't know what happened. But I've faxed her my receipt and they are supposed to give me a partial refund.

Then I went to pick out frames. And I picked out some awesome ones. They're a brown color and they have some awesome fancy work on the top edge. I can't wait to get them back and start wearing them later this month. And, unfortunately, I'm going to have to order some new contacts since my 'script changed. Since I still have a lot of my old ones though I think I'm going to start wearing them during water aerobics. By the time I get them soaked in pool water, I probably shouldn't be wearing them too much longer anyway.

Then I went to the Social Security office to finally get my name changed. I've been married 10 months and am only just now doing that!!! And I got lost downtown. I never go into downtown, so I always get confused with all the one way streets. But I did see a lady that used to work at the university. Actually saw her twice while I was downtown, once at the SS office and then again walking back to my car.

Last night I ended up not going to yoga. Got drug into Step Interval. I really did enjoy it though. I'll go again as long as someone I know goes with me. It was fun, but I don't think I could handle it without a friendly face laughing with me.

Tonight, thank goodness, I get to go to water aerobics. It's going to have to do me for a week, so it had better be a good session. I can't believe they aren't going to have that during Spring Break. The majority of the people in the class are univ staff, and we all have to come into work today. I missed my Biggest Winners meeting at lunch because of the SS office. And I'm not missing water aerobics tonight to go to the other time for it. So I guess I'll just have to remember to pick up the info sheet next week. And I had really wanted to go to the one today because it's on cardio training. But it's better to get the cardio training than to just go and learn about it.

I hope that everyone has a wonderful day, and y'all Keep Movin"!


--And yes, she's still being that way!

4:07 PM Update: I think I'm going to have to start bringing a cooler to work. For hte second time in less than two weeks a bottle of water I brought to work has disappeared from the fridge. And the disturbing thing is, some stuff (food and drink money) has disappeared from a couple of the techs offices. I've stopped leaving anything other than some spare change out in my area, but that doesn't really make me feel much better.
Also, on a lighter note, my friend Brandi brought be another pair of jeans she has seriously outgrown. YAY! I have more pants! It doesn't affect my work choices much, but it does give me something else for weekends. I hope they will fit me now instead of me having to wait. I think I'm going to try them on after water aerobics tonight. I really hope they fit now. I would LOVE having another pair of jeans to wear! THANK YOU BRANDI!!!!!!!!!!

Afternoon Update

Well, my coworker still isn't talking to me. She's still acting like a bitch. BUT...I'm feeling better. I've spent most of the day doing online training while sitting and hoping the phone doesn't ring. And she's just been surfing the web. I think the training will definitely help me come eval time when I have more certificates than she does. :)

HUGE THANKS to all everyone for the wonderful comments. As I've periodically checked my e-mail this afternoon the comments have really helped. I've finished all the online training I'm going to do today, and still have 30 minutes left. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with the time, but it certainly isn't going to be worrying about her.

But, I am going to hope she's better tomorrow. Because if she doesn't get out of this mood soon I'm going to have to report it. It's actually affecting our work already and that is a bad thing. We can't afford to have any bad service out of our office right now!!!

I hope that everyone has a wonderful evening, and I'm going to try not to kill myself in yoga tonight!

I Just Don't Feel Like It

Sorry, but I don't much feel like blogging today. I was on the Gulf Coast yesterday for the USM Staff Council, and then worked last night. Needless to say I didn't get my Water Aerobics fix last night.

And today I just really don't feel great. Nothing but my coworkers influence. She was in another of her pretending I don't exist and not talking to me phases when I got back yesterday. And it's the same today. Since I did nothing to her I don't know what the problem is. And I can't find out because all she will do is mumble when I talk to her. Needless to say it isn't making for me having a good day. And will probably only get worse.

I read and caught up on everyone's blogs this morning, sorry I didn't comment on but a couple of them. I'm just not in the right mindset today. I was feeling great when I left the apartment, just a little sleepy. It's amazing how one person's bad mood can affect others so profoundly. Then again, she's the only person I have a lot of contact with throughout the day. Everyone else is just a few seconds here and there.

Oh well, maybe tomorrow will be better. If not, then I guess I'll just suffer!

Weigh In Day

Well, I went and weighed in at Weight Watchers over lunch since I have to work late tonight. I had lost 1.5 more pounds. Which is really awesome!!!! I was very happy with that number.

While I was out I decided to run home and check the mail and pick up a box of Kleenex for my desk at work. And I had MAIL!!!!


Joy sent me the above BEAUTIFUL necklace. My picture certainly doesn't do it justice. Joy, THANK YOU! You have me pegged. I absolutely love this necklace. It's beautiful, and definitely to my taste.

I woke up incredibly sick this morning, so sorry for not really making the rounds on blogs today. I spent the first part of the day miserable from being sick, and the second half miserable from preparing for a test. I don't think I did well on it, and don't really care. So far I'm doing good on staying on program. I decided to do my ticker up top just for a daily thing instead of just weekends. If a day goes slightly off kilter though, I'm not gonna complain. The goal is still just on keeping weekends in control.

I've started reading A Game of Thrones but can't really say much about it yet. I've only read three pages, but will hopefully make a dent in it this weekend. Josh will be doing some practice early Saturday evening, and I think I might just take the time to read. I think he's planning to play some Magic tonight, and I think I'm just going to sit at home. While I'm feeling a lot better, I really don't want to get stuck at The Gamer Sanctuary. It's really hard to keep from drinking soft drinks there because Greg hasn't been keeping water in the machine!

I hope that everyone has a wonderful weekend, and try to make good decisions!!!

Thirteen Things about CORY 1…. I've actually been scared to start this meme, even though I've thought about it for months. 2…. I paid for meetings at Weight Watchers for over 3 months before I ever really bothered much with actually trying. 3…. I've been working for the same place for over 5 years, and only make $1 more than I did when I started. 4…. I'm trying to get my bachelor's degree, but changed my major 5 or 6 times in the past 7 years. 5…. It feels like I will never finish. 6…. I got married in May, gained more weight than anyone thought I had, but I think I'm almost the size I was then. 7…. I rediscovered Water Aerobics this year and can't figure out why I quit in the first place. 8…. I LOVE the color purple, but hated it growing up. 9…. I still HATE the color pink. The only pink I am willing to wear is for breast cancer awareness. 10…. I LOVE to read, and am currently on a Christine Feehan kick. 11…. Although I occassionally go on my romance novel kicks, there are times when I refuse to read one too. 12…. Cindy's blog is actually the blog I found out about this meme on. 13…. I'm sure I will list a lot of weird stuff through this meme before long! Links to other Thursday Thirteens! 1. Annie 2. (leave your address in the comments and I'll list you here!)

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Biggest Winners

Well, I went to that Masters Class last night. And it KICKED MY ASS!!!!! We did a warmup, and then Kickboxing, then lower body toning. By the time we finished that, my legs were so weak that I had a lot of trouble holding several of the yoga positions we did. I couldn't even do a proper tree pose or pyramid pose! But I guess that just means that they worked us good. My friend Brandi drove me home, thank goodness, because I couldn't have walked there. Luckily a soak in the tub took care of a lot of my trouble and I am feeling good this morning. My legs are only a little sore, but I still wimped out and hitched a ride from the weigh in this morning to my office!

I went to weigh in this morning with happy news. I had lost another 6 pounds this week! That puts me up to 13 pounds lost by the Biggest Winner scales. I hope the weight watchers scales start to catch up with it this week. They just don't weigh me quite so nicely, as can be viewed by my weight loss ticker! But that's ok. Steady wins the race, and that's what counts!

I'm incredibly nervous about my ethics test tomorrow. I really want to bring up my average, but I don't know that it will actually happen. And if it doesn't, I won't let myself down. I do want to say that I'm REALLY proud of Michelle for getting started in school again. I think that's great. And I'm slightly jealous because she's still going to get her bachelors degree before me!!! But that's ok. At least she will have it, and that's great.

Well, I'm just wishing for the day to be over soon because I want to get into the water at water aerobics! And Joy, I hope you're able to find a class somewhere so you can try it out. It's really cool because you can do stuff that can't be done on land, and it's really easy on the joints!

Everybody have a great day and Keep Movin'!

Water Aerobics was awesome last night. Rosie was teaching again (YAY!) and she kicked my ass! I loved every second of it. While I do like that other girl that's been doing it, she teaches a very different class.

I'm going to "Masters Class" tonight. It's supposed to cover Yoga, Stretch, Toning, and Kick Boxing. It's gonna be awesome too! And my friend Brandi is going, so that helps! I'll get to spend some quality laughing time with her.

My friend Dee dropped her new laptop off with me today. She got it in the mail from her parents yesterday, and had to do all kinds of stuff on it. We finally got her Office trial uninstalled, and she left it for me to install her copy of office while she's in class. And she didn't leave the power cord. I hope it isn't going to be very hard to fix. I don't have much knowledge of Windows Vista yet, so it will suck. And while she was here she asked me to lunch. I told her I had plans to go to a class, but I think if she come here right after class I will see if she still wants to go. I don't get to spend much time with her anymore because of her wacky work schedule. While I really wanted to go to that class this week, I'll get over it if I can do lunch with her. Especially since she sounded REALLY disappointed to hear I already had plans.

As for everything else, life is normal. I have a huge bruise on my forearm from hitting a car when I was bringing in groceries the other night. I usually make Josh do that, but it was while he was at his class. And NO ONE knows how to park at our apartment complex. I managed to spend a lot of money and have a freezer full of goodies to cook this week. And I think we will actually have enough money in the bank for all of our bills. That doesn't happen often so I'm really thrilled. I think we will even have money to make some larger payments again next month!!!

Everyone have a wonderful day and Keep Movin'!

In Other News...

I got the problem with the gym not having a record of my husband fixed. They had him listed under my maiden name. They're getting that taken care of, and we have his member number now so he can get in.

I went to pick up the raffle prize I won from Saturday at the race. It's a $25 gift card to Olive Garden!!! Now Josh and I have to go eat there! He's been trying to put it off because they stay busy. I think I want to go for lunch on Saturday. But we'll just have to wait and see what happens.

Weigh In Day!

Ok, the exclamation point (and my tracker) should clue everyone in to the good news I received last night. I lost 2 pounds! So I finally get to put a star on my bookmark at WW. I was very proud about that.

I didn't stay for the meeting because I had to hit the circuit room and go shopping. I only did one round since I had other stuff to do, but I felt good just having done that. And I saw a friend from home there. I grew up with a guy named Jamie. He's a little over a year older than me, and grew up just a few miles down the road. He ended up moving to Hattiesburg after I did. And amazingly, all these years later, we are both still here. It was cool to see him. We didn't talk other than to say hello and how are you (we were kinda busy) but just that was cool. It made my day!

I spent a lot of money at Wal-Mart on groceries and stuff. They didn't have my conditioner (I've used Thermasilk for a while now) so I had to switch to another one. I got Garenier Fructis length and strength conditioner. My sister said she liked it, so hopefully it will work out well.

My hubby went to his first martial arts class last night. I don't have a clue what martial art it is, but he said he likes it. It's apparently going to be difficult for him, but he's really excited. Expecially since the guy invited him back. (It's an invitation only group and our friend Shaphen got him a one-nighter, with no guarantees.) He'll be going back to that on Wednesday night.

He also had a bad experience at the gym. They couldn't find his records. I'll have to go today and get that straightened out. I'm not happy about it. Especially since they have taken the fees for his memebership out of my check this month. Not happy at all!

Well, I'm off for my day. I'm feeling good about the world and can't wait to go to water aerobics tonight. I hope everyone has a wondeful day, and Keep Movin'!

Monday Mornings...

Always seem to suck at the beginning! I wonder why that is... I think part of the problem today is that my entire weekend was out of whack, and I didn't go to bed until after midnight! But I'm feeling good now!

When I really start walking I still feel just a tad sore in the legs from Saturday. But that's ok. I'm not exercising until after I weigh in tonight so I should be ok on that score. I'll be weighing in, and then heading to the gym to hit the circuit training room. If all goes well, I might even try to get two rounds in there. But to an extent it depends on how busy it is. The room is open until 7, so I should have time. And the hubby's martial arts training starts tonight, so I might even stay until he's finished. And tomorrow is water aerobics again, and I'm really excited!

I think I did alright over the weekend, and I'm nearly finished with my essay for class. I don't really like it, but I don't really care either. The topic just doesn't interest me that much, and the teacher is a bitch. I made a 74 on the second test, giving me a 75 average in the class. I can live with that. I did better on the essay question this time but missed more multiple choice questions. I really do intend to study more this time. REALLY! (As long as it doesn't interfer with my exercise!)

I'm not doing quite as well on my water this morning as I normally do, but I'm sucking it down. Instead of getting regualar 20 oz bottles this morning I decided to try out the Ozarka with the pop-top. I drink a lot slower out of it than an open-top bottle. But that's ok. I kinda like it anyway. And I'll keep the bottles so I can try and save some money this week. I really need to buy a couple more sports bottles and bring my water to work, but that takes money. ;)

I am seriously considering donating plasma to start having extra money. But I'm kinda scared too! I hate needles and still have trouble with them even after all the times I've been stuck the past three years. But I really do want to try. Not only for the money (with will help a lot) but also because it will help lots of people. I just have to get over my fear of the needle, and find out the places hours! It would give me a lot of study time too since it takes over an hour.

Everyone have a wonderful day and Keep Movin'!

Run for Love 2007

There were a lot of people at the 5K on Saturday morning. And I even ran a short distance of it! A coworker had brought her children (lots of people brought their kids and dogs actually) and her son ran off. She couldn't catch him so I offered to run and catch him before he got too far off. Needless to say, since I'm not a runner I ended up with a cramp that had me limping for most of the walk. It finally went away for the last few hundred feet. There were about 15 or 20 people that didn't finish the race, and I took up the rear for most of it (after people dropped out) but still managed to not finish last. I was kinda proud of that. Once my cramp went away I was able to walk my normal fast pace and pass up a couple of people. It was wonderful!!!! I can't wait to do it again next year. And beat my time of 55 minutes!!

As for everything else, I'm working on my business ethics essay today. That's enough to drive me nuts. I still went a bit overboard yesterday, but not very much! And I had the points for it. I'll be a lot more on-target with everything today. And I'm happy to say that this morning I'm not even feeling the walk anymore!

Everyone have a wondeful Sunday!

All Kinds of Stuff!!!

I want to start with wishing Lisa Jane a late happy birthday! She discovered that she has a waist again, among other fantastic things yesterday. So everyone can feel free to go celebrate that wonderful gift with her.

I discovered that I actually have muscles in my upper abs. I know this because they hurt when I move too much today! After water aerobics, yoga, and water aerboics again in three days I feel those muscles, as well as the ones in my arms and upper legs. It's great. The abs only hurt of a twist too much, and everything else just feels. I LOVE IT!

I'm going to miss lunch with my hubby today so I can go get fitted at the circuit training room. It's either that or be home late again tonight. He hasn't enjoyed me being late three days in a row. So I don't want to do that too him again. Also, I want to spend the evening with him. We currently have NO plans (a rarity for a Friday night) so I'm excited. Of course, that will likely change. But I hope not...

I'm all geared up to be really active for the next week. On Wednesday there is a special activity class at the gym. They are calling it a Masters course and will have Yoga, stretch, toning, and kickboxing all during that hour. It means I will miss beginner yoga, but I really want to try this out. It's supposed to be a big, special class. (And we get extra points for it on the Biggest Winners program. So it will be good for my team!)

I know I've been sounding all hyped and feeling good about myself here lately. But at times I have been feeling real discouraged too. The school pharmacist told me she could really tell I was losing inches yesterday. And I know I have lost one or two because I can fit in that pair of black pants. But that's the only old thing I can fit in again. And it's a little discouraging. Sometimes I wonder if the changes are really there or if people are saying it to make me feel better. I hope they wouldn't, but then again...some of these people don't know me THAT well. They've only known me in passing until the past couple of weeks. But I'm really getting close to some of these people now. So I really don't think they would be doing that. My head just keeps getting in my way! :) I'm really feeling great today though, even with the sore tummy! I have some great energy (although I had trouble getting out of bed!) and I'm excited about the Run for Love tomorrow. I have no plans to run the thing, but I know a lot of people that are participating. It's going to be fun to walk around campus with them and just chit chat. I think it will be a wonderful way for me to start my morning. And my first on-program weekend!

Everyone have a wonderful weekend and keep movin'!!!

Joy's was so great that I had to take the quiz and find out...

In a Past Life...

You Were: A Genius Monk. Where You Lived: Argentina. How You Died: Dysentery.

Who Were You In a Past Life?

FRIDAY'S FEAST

Appetizer
Where on your body do you have a scar, and what caused it?
I have a couple of scars on my right wrist. One is on the inside where I cut my wrist on a broken picture frame when Daddy was showing me our new house (prior to it being fixed up for us to live in) when I was four. It was actually in my bedroom! The other is one the back of my wrist and goes up onto the back of my hand. It's from a brownie pan when I was a preteen. I also have scars on my knees from multiple bicycle and four-wheeler accidents.

Soup
What is something that has happened to you that you would consider a miracle?
I found my husband. I honestly didn't think there was anyone out there for me.

Salad
Name a television personality who really gets on your nerves.
Which ones don't? I generally hate tv personalities.

Main Course
What was a funny word you said as a child (such as "pasketti" for "spaghetti")?
Uhhh, that would require that I actually remember my childhood. Sorry, I don't.

Dessert
Fill in the blank: I have always thought ______ was ______.
I have always thought that bokd where the coolest kind of entertainment. Then I discovered sex.


If you are interested in participating in Friday's Feast, you can get the questions here!

I want my morning back!!!

I spent the entire morning in the doctor's office. And there is no telling what the bill is going to be. And all the guy told me was to lose weight and follow a mediterranean diet. And we would check my cholesterol again in a year. That's it. I could have been at work if that's all it was going to be!!!!

Well, I've repaired the damage I did over last weekend. And I'm going to be a good, on-program hot chick this weekend. I'm doing a 5K (Run For Love) on Saturday morning, so I know I'll have a lot of good exercise in that day. And I will do something really light on Sunday. The worry is food, and I intend to do well on that.

Last night I was planning to hit the circuit room at our gym, but got drug into Beginner Yoga instead. It was cool. I'll definitely be doing that agian next Wednesday after work. And if I like it after another visit, I'll go looking for the perfect yoga mat. Because I'm just nutty like that. :) I'll be doing Water Aerobics agian tonight, and hit the circuit room tomorrow.

Well, I want to apologize in advance for not hitting everyone's blogs today. Since I didn't get to work until 1:00 I just don't have the time today. But I should be able to hit everybody tomorrow. And should work decide against that, I will make time for it over the weekend!

I've been a bit bored at work this afternoon and start prowling around online quizzes. When I saw this particular quiz I just HAD to try it out. I just had to find out if my blog was the right color!!! Crazy, huh? SOOOO...What color is your blog?

OH! And I've actually been thinking about changing the color of this blog to purple. One of my older ones was.... :)

Your Blog Should Be Purple

You're an expressive, offbeat blogger who tends to write about anything and everything. You tend to set blogging trends, and you're the most likely to write your own meme or survey. You are a bit distant though. Your blog is all about you - not what anyone else has to say.

What Color Should Your Blog or Journal Be?

Challenge Time!!!

Ok, time to plug Make Yourself A Priority in 2007! We've had a wonderful time so far this year in the Challenge and I think we are all doing wonderful things together. It takes support to really make a change in our lives and I personally think that this is a great place to get support. We set our own challenges each month (because who knows better than you what you need to work on!) and you can make it as hard or as easy as you need to. We're all on different fitness levels, we're all different weights, and we all have different personalities. But we share a dream to be healthier and a desire to help others reach that same goal.

Starting on February 25th we will be taking on challengers for March. So start thinking about if you want to participate in the challenge, and if so, what do you want to work on it March? We are also doing a 40-day challenge in conjunction with Lent. So, if you want to come on board in March, feel free to give up a bad habit as well. Together we can all be as healthy as we want to be. And even make a few new friends along the way.

As for my challenge, I think I have done well this month. I have kept up my exercise routine better than I thought I would. A few days have only consisted of walking, but that's great exercise too. Especially after you put on a 10-lbs. backpack! I plan to work on a different weakness in March. I still have a tendency to go off program on the weekends. In two days I can easily destroy all the good work and progress I've made during the week. My goal is to stay on program during the weekend. Within the next few days I will get a tracker set up for this challenge, and plan to stay on track this weekend, even though it isn't March. It's sad to think that lately my weekends have been more about how much damage I can do to my efforts than about staying on track. And that has to change. And it starts changing now!!!!

I hope that those of you not participating think about joining us for March. And, of course, I hope to see all our previous challengers signing back up (assuming life isn't getting in the way right now!) :)

You Are: 70% Dog, 30% Cat

You and dogs definitely have a lot in common. You're both goofy, happy, and content with the small things in life. However, you're definitely not as needy as the average dog. You need your down time occasionally.

Are You More Cat or Dog?

Group Challenge!!!

Well, it's Group Challenge Time over at Make Yourself a Priority. And this time we're serious! What are you giving up for Lent!?!

Now, I'm not Catholic and honestly have no desire to be. Nothing against Catholics, but what works for you doesn't for me. I do, however, understand the concept of fasting and think it is of great importance to our spiritual lives. (For those of us that actually have spiritual lives, anyway.) As a matter of fact, my church Temple Baptist undergoes a period of fasting.

But, that is all off topic. The topic is: What Am I Giving Up For The Next 40 Days? I've pondered this for a while now. Although my church doesn't fast during Lent, unless they changed the time this year and I missed it, I do at least every other year. One of my friends has contemplated giving up his friends for Lent (our non-Christian friends who have a tendency to ridicule half our beliefs occassionally), but I know that this is a bit extreme. While it would leave me plenty of time to exercise, I would probably not enjoy it. I wish I could give up work, but I don't have that many personal hours. I could give up school, but can't afford the F that would come up with it. I could give up exercise but that would be against the point of this challenge. I could give up sugary desserts, but there is no reason to set myself up for failure. SOOOO, what do I give up for Lent?

I have decided to give up carbonated beverages for Lent. This should work out well because I will avoid all of those empty calories that just run through your system. I will also avoid the whole rotting your teeth thing too. And since I have been drinking a lot less Pepsi anyway, this should be reasonable.

And just so everyone knows, the next week is going to SUCK!!!!

Positive!!!!

I, like many bloggers out there this week, am feeling really positive about this week. Even taking into account a gain last week, or maybe in spite of it. I didn't feel positive yesterday. Or, at least, yesterday afternoon. I got hit with a BAD headache around 3 pm. NOT fun. It made my last hour of work miserable. AND then we had to go to the inlaws. The hubby's car has to be fixed, and his dad took care of getting the estimate and everything while we borrowed his car. So we were going to switch cars while we waited for the shop to be ready to fix it. WELL, when we tried to leave in our car we didn't even make it out to the highway before it had a flat. So we ended up taking his dad's car back home with us. And didn't get home until after 8. I went straight to bed. I didn't feel great when I woke up, but I do feel much better today. I feel a lingering headache, but not enough to keep me down. I'll be going to water aerobics tonight. If it's really quiet at work this afternoon I might take off around 3:30 and do two sessions of water aerobics this evening. Then shopping. I think. Maybe not. I should feel GREAT after two sessions of that. Although I might not feel like carrying anything. :) I really hope that works out.

And I hope that everyone has a FANTASTIC day, and a FANTASTIC week!

Weigh In Experience and Others

Well, I sabotaged my own efforts again this weekend. I won't go into much detail, other than to say lots of calories, not lots of activity. I gained a half-pound when I went to weigh in during lunch. I WILL LOSE next week. This is a guarantee. I will be active every day. I will stay on my eating program. I will probably be getting a new eating program when I go to the doctor Thursday morning.

When I did my Biggest Winners weigh in on Thursday morning they had our cholesterol test results for us. Mine was 222. I need it to be lower. So I called this morning and made an appointment to see a doctor so we can decide what to do about it. I know that they are going to basically tell me to watch my diet and exercise, but for the most part I have been doing that. But I am going to have to do a much better job at it. And that's all there is to it. PERIOD. My father has high cholesterol and has had to have some stuff done. I don't want to be where he is in a few years. I want to get this taken care of NOW.

Your Brain is Blue

Of all the brain types, yours is the most mellow. You tend to be in a meditative state most of the time. You don't try to think away your troubles. Your thoughts are realistic, fresh, and honest. You truly see things as how they are. You tend to spend a lot of time thinking about your friends, your surroundings, and your life.

What Color Is Your Brain?

I just saw the above on Denise's blog and just had to take the quiz. It's very accurate for me. I do spend a lot of time thinking about friends and family, including all my blogging friends. If y'all have a minute or two sometime try out the quiz. It doesn't take long at all!

Water Aerobics was a bit different last night. It was much more strength than aerobic. While most of the people in the class didn't like it, I rather enjoyed it. Between some supplement strength training, the class, and walking on campus I managed an amazing 11 activity points yesterday. I was kinda surprised. Of course, I ate those points, so I guess it's a good thing.

I have a test today in my online course so I won't be browsing everyone's blogs this morning. I HAVE to study as much as possible. I'm hoping that since it is the Friday before the Mardi Gras holiday I won't have to worry about us actually having customers.

One of my coworkers drove down to Hammond, LA, last night for a parade. He brought me a ton of beads and four cups. I didn't actually expect him to bring me anything when he said he would on his way out the door. One of the strands of beads actually matches the salmon-colored top I'm wearing today, so I put it on.

I posted Friday's Feast below. It's an interesting weekly meme that lets prople get to know one another. I certainly don't post it every week, but I'm going to try and start doing it on a regular basis. Maybe guaranteed twice a month or something. I want to thank TC for turning me on to this meme.

I hope that everyone has a wonderful weekend, and I'll try to play catchup before Monday rolls around!

Friday's Feast

Appetizer
What sound, other than the normal ringing, would you like your telephone to make?
I think I would like for it to play 'Words that We Couldn't Say'. It's a kinda sad song, but I've always loved it.

Soup
Describe your usual disposition in meteorological terms (partly cloudy, sunny, stormy, etc.).
Sunny with a chance of storms. May not make sense, but that's me!

Salad
What specific subject do you feel you know better than any other subjects?
Stupidity. There's nothing I know better!

Main Course
Imagine you were given the ability to remember everything you read for one entire day. Which books/magazines/newspapers would you choose to read?
ONLY A DAY!!!! I could never pick which four books to read given such a small time frame! Could we change it to a week???

Dessert
If a popular candy maker contacted you to create their next confection, what would it be like and what would you name it?
I would create a chocolate with no fat or calories. I would name it Sinless.

If you are interested in Friday's Feast, get the questions here!

News For All!

I would first like to say that I have repaired my damage since last Thursday and managed to lose another pound on biggest winners. I'm proud of that pound. I hope for something larger next week when I'm not trying to play catchup!!!

My husband is off the hook on the 3 pound dumbells. His parent's picked me up a set for Valentine's Day. They aren't the kind I would pick up (I prefer neoprene so they aren't slick) but they will certianly do the job where I need them too. The holder is a nice touch on them though.

I'm looking forward to Water Aerobics tonight, and to my BW educational class at lunch. I don't have a clue what I'll be eating for lunch since I can't go get something, but that's ok. I'll pick up something on my way. I pass the campus convenience store and they usually have lunchables. They aren't exactly points-friendly, but they are food. :)

I hope that everyone is having a wonderful day, and I will chat with y'all later!

Happy Valentine's Day!!!!!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!!! Have a wonderful day, celebrate to your heart's content, but try not to eat TOO many of those chocolates!!!

So, I have two presents that I want to spotlight.

First, the present from Tee, my January cheerleader, that came in yesterday. Brasilian dance workout. I've only had a chance to read the cover, but it sounds exciting. I can't wait to work out to it tonight. I'm thinking that it and my belly dance video will be perfect for working out on the weekends when I would really rather stay home. So, after I have time to work out to this video a couple of times expect to see a reveiw. She asked for suggestions of videos I might like to have, and I'm really happy that she decided to get this one sent to me.

I have been talking for a while that I would love to have some 3 and 5 pound dumbbells for my strength training. While I generally buy the plain neoprene covered ones, the hubby picked me up a set of 5 lb go walking weights. I already had some 1.5 lbs in these, and they aren't bad. You can strap them onto your hand, then you don't have to hold them quite so tight. I think I will really appreciate this. He also gave me a beautiful card, a small box of dove milk chocolates (and I only eat about half the candies in the selection so that was a GREAT choice to keep me from eating too many of them), and an IOU note for a set of 3 lb weights. I'm excited to get to use them. I think I might start to really feel my strength training since I'll have decent weights for it. The weights pictured on the side aren't the EXACT ones he bought me, but there are the same style. I didn't have time to take a picture of them this morning so I stole one from the internet! Another good thing about these weights is that they are fairly safe to use when walking so I can pick them up for a good arm workout when walking if I want too!

Well, I hope that everyone has a fantastic day. I'm heading over to a health fair on campus. It's not so much that I WANT to go, but it's worth five points on my Biggest Winners program. I want to do good by my team, so I'm going to go visit over my lunch break. I'll get some more walking in today if nothing else!!!! (By the way, I went to Water Aerobics last night and I think I lost over a pound just during that session!! LOL)

Abigail "ABBY" Raven Taylor

As all of my readers know, my new neice was born Thursday, and is HUGE! Below are a few pictures to show her off. She is beautiful!!!!! (Of course, I think the rest of the family is too, but I'm biased..I know)

This is Abby and her momma, just a few hours after she was born. Jackie looks really good to have delivered a baby just that morning!

Grandma and the new grandbaby! My mother doesn't look old enough to have grandkids does she? She's over fifty, and doesn't look a day over forty if you ask me. Of course, you didn't did you?

This is the happy new father. My brother-in-law Kenneth is a big man, but that certianly doesn't dwarf the size of his daughter. They are cute together, aren't they!

Ashleigh loves her little sister, but she sometimes gets a little cranky since Momma can't pick her up right now. But I think she is going to be a great older sister to Abby, and since they are only two years apart I think they will grow up well together. I imagine that they will fight more than Jackie and I did though considering we were nine years apart!

Here's one of me and my new neice before I headed home on Saturday. They had only been home from the hospital a few hours, and Abby certianly does seem to sleep a lot. I know that is normal, but Ashleigh was incredibly alert when she was real young. Of course, Abby seemed to be either wide awake or sound asleep with no inbetween stage.

And I'll leave you with a picture of just Abby, asleep in her carrier after they got home. She already fills that thing out, doesn't she? Momma told us at the hospital Thursday night that she looks more like Jackie and I did when we were born than Ashleigh did. We also think she is going to have hazel eyes and her hair will be lighter than her sister's hair. It's going to be exciting to see how she changes over the next couple of years!!!!

EDIT: Jackie has some better shots up on her blog now, Follow our Bliss.

Updates!!!!

Ok, I still feel like crap and am sneezing all the time. But at least I'm able to work, even if it's not of wonderful quality.

I weighed in last night but didn't stay for the meeting. I didn't want to be interrupting the room with one of my obnoxiously loud sneezes every minute or so. I had lost 2.5 pounds. (One-tenth of a pound more and she would have put down three pounds instead. But that's ok!)

Even though I felt bad last night I made sure to do a short upper body strength training session. I seriously need it, so I wasn't about to skip doing SOMETHING!

I'm walked to work this morning even though I feel kinda bad and it was raining REALLY bad when I woke up. It wasn't raining at all when I left the apartment, but I will probably get soaked on the way home from water aerobics. Of course, I could just walk home wet, but that is probably a bad idea.

I have downloaded the baby pictures from my camera. I just have to decide which ones I want to put up here for y'all. I took a lot of pictures. :) But I will have that done by the end of the day!

Oopps!!!

I forgot the cable for my camera today, so no pictures of the new neice just yet. Either tonight or tomorrow. PROMISE!!!!

Abigail Raven Taylor was born 2/12/2007 @ 7:58 am. She weighed an amazing 10 lbs 11.8 oz and was 21 inches long!!!! (And just as a side note to make some of the mothers sick, my sister gained 11, MAYBE 12 pounds during her pregnancy!) She is beautiful and I will post some pictures as soon as I get them downloaded to the laptop.

I was horrible this weekend. I didn't eat all that well (spent most of my time on the road) and didn't get much exercise in (same), but I intend to start fixing that. I hope to have time for my strength training tonight, but no guarantees. I made a 56 on my first Business Ethics test and really need to spend time preparing for the one this Friday. I HAVE to improve that score. I haven't done that bad on a test in a long time. I'm also getting sick, which sucks. The hubby has been sick for a while now, and I'm catching it. I think it's partially the weather going from hot one day, to cold the next, and then hot again. It's made my poor head miserable. And I can't afford to miss any more work, so I have to work through the undesireable from now on. Valentine's day is coming up and I have no idea what to pick up for the hubby. Or what to tell him to get me. I told him I needed some dumbbells.

I have weigh in tonight and I'm not looking forward to it at all. I really don't want to go, but I know I have to. If it hadn't been for the miserable end of the week (eating and exercising wise) I wouldn't care so much. I would probably be looking forward to it. I'm also thinking of changing my Biggest Winner weigh in to Tuesday mornings before work so that I can just get the weighing done and not have to worry towards the end of the week. And I think that might be great motivation for me to work really hard all week long. But I think I will leave the determination on if I actually do that to whether or not I sleep through my alarm clock in the morning. :) I was supposed to try starting a running program this morning, but slept through my alarm.

I hope that everyone had a wonderful weekend and has a good week ahead of them.

Update

I couldn't get my lazy husband out of bed this morning so we STILL haven't left to go visit my sister. I'm a bit upset with him over this.

I weighed in at 226 for th biggest winners program this morning. I'm stumped since that's a 6 pound loss since Wednesday of last week, but my weight watchers weigh in was the same. We'll see how that holds out though.

My new neice is over 10 pounds (I forgot the exact weight) and she is 21 inches long. That's almost as long as I was, and a little heavier!!! We have big babies in this family!

Well, I won't be updating until Sunday, but there will hopefully be pictures up on my sister's blog before then. I'll check up on everyone when I get back!

Well, I didn't make it to the gym yet again due to another migraine. I'm hoping that with a little experimentation I will get them under control again.

I did manage to wear a pair of pants today that I haven't worn since September. Then, they were too tight and I couldn't wear them long. I wore them to work today and they were rather comfortable. I hoping that means a couple of other pants that I have stuck back will fit again. But I will wait until I get back on Sunday to find out.http://jackietaylor.blogspot.com/

I'm leaving in the morning to go meet my new niece! I won't have pictures posted her before Sunday (probably Monday) but Jackie is supposed to get someone to post pictures on her blog tomorrow! So everyone feel free to go over there sometime to check things out.

I hope everyone has a wonderful end of the week and a terrific weekend.

Just a quick update!

I did go to water aerobics. I really enjoyed it. I spent nearly twn minutes in the sauna when I was finished and before I took my shower. That gave me a few more minutes with some of the crazy older ladies I like, and gave everyone else in the class time to get their showers. There are only three showers in the fac/staff locker room, and thewre are a few people that RUN back to get those after class. I refuse to be a in a hurry when I'm there. I wouldn't go if there was somewhere I just HAD to be shortly after. Gym time is MY time. However, I again couldn't get in my locker (mis-remembered the combination) and plan to just remove the lock and not leave anything valuable there overnight. Just shower stuff and pony-tail holders. $20 loss max on what I leave.

I plan to do a bit of a strength workout when I finish this, but I probably won't duplicate many exercises from the class. I didn't get to do it last night, and I'm feeling a bit better now so I should take advantage.

I hope I still fel like some gym time tomorrow. I will do 20 minutes minimum on the bike (unless I'm so bad I have to get a ride home) and hit the circuit training room if all is good.

Hope everyone has a wonderful evening and a good day tomorrow!

EDIT: I'm going to have to pick up some heavier dumbbells when I have money. These 2 lb weights just aren't going to cut it!

Life Sucks

Just so everyone knows. I seriously want my money back.

I developed a serious migraine yesterday afternoon. I slept from before 6 last night until after 6 this morning. It was gone, but is now coming back.

The bank that my husband's car loan is through decided to sit on his January car payment for a month. We are overdrawn over $400 now. And I don't get paid until Thursday. We may not like our food options, but at least we have some.

I have water aerobics tonight. And I'm gonna go. But after the bank episode, and the returning migraine it will not be happy fun time. That and the fact tht none of my friends go.

On a slightly happier note, I stayed the same at my weigh in this week. I would have stayed for the meeting if I hadn't felt like my head was going to explode. I just hope the feeling goes away this afternoon.

Well, I hope everyone else is having a better week than I, and I will check in with everyone later!

Monday's Started

I hate starting the week. It's not that I dislike Monday's as much as everyone else does. And when they have problems on Monday they LOVE to take them out on the people in my office. I guess that is just part of being in tech support.

I'm not feeling confident about tonight's weigh in. I don't think I did well, although I've started back to a somewhat regular workout routine. I even got in my first strength training workout on Saturday evening. I'll be doing that again tonight. And I plan to try and do more than I did on Saturday. But I don't think tonight will look good.

I received an e-mail this morning from the lady over the Biggest Winners program. She refused to name names, but someone in my group didn't do their measurements or lipid profile. I can't help but wonder who...But I'll probably never know! I did mine and can't wait to go over the results of it. I'm excited to fine out just how bad a shape I've let my body get into. Strange thing to hear, huh?

I didn't get in a lot of exercise yesterday, although I had planned on it. I did my belly dancing video and then sat down and spent most of the day watching The Closer. I didn't even watch the Superbowl. And then I couldn't sleep last night. It isn't making for a great day today, that's for sure.

I had my yearly appointment with the OB/GYN this morning. He's a sweet old man who greeted me with "So no kiddies yet I see!" It did amuse me. He also started me on Seasonique, so I get to be quarterly instead of monthly again. I'm kinda excited about that!

Well, I think I will leave it at this for now. I'll post either tonight or in the morning about my weigh in. Promise to be honest about it too!!!

So, I don't have a lot of time for news at the moment. Of course, there isn't much.

SOOOO...I'll just introduce my February Cheerleader. This month Joy (see her wonderful blog here) will be leading everyone in cheering me on. I'm really exciting to be cheering her on this month because she is a really great person and just moved back home to Ireland after living in Dubai for a while.

Everyone have a wonderful weekend!!!! And go wish Meghan a happy birthday on Monday!

Joke for Friday!!!

When you have a "I hate my job" day, try this. On your way home from work, stop at your pharmacy and go to the thermometer section and purchase a rectal thermometer made by Johnson & Johnson. Be very sure you get this brand.
When you get home, lock your doors, draw the curtains and disconnect the phone so you will not be disturbed. Change into very comfortable cothing and sit inyour favorite chair.
Open the package and remove the thermometer. Now, carefully place it on a table or a surface so that it will not become chipped or broken. Now the fun part begins. Take out the literature and read it carefully. You will notice that in small print there is a statement, "Every Rectal Thermometer made by Johnson & Johnson is personally tested".
Now, close your eyes and repeat out loud five times, "I am so glad I do not work in the Thermometer quality control department at Johnson & Johnson."

Thanks to David (a coworker) for sharing this wonderful joke with me.

FRIDAY'S FEAST

Feast One Hundred & Twenty Nine

Appetizer

What was one of the fashion fads when you were a teenager? When I was a teenager everyone was wearing two shirts. Even in Mississippi when it was hot as Hades outside!!!! I just never understood...

Soup

Name one thing you think people assume about you when they first meet you. A lot of people this I'm strict and don't know how to have fun. I've also been told that I act sophisticated, a work I have never associated with myself. I just happen to be shy.

Salad

On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being highest, how hard do you work? Definitely a 10. I work my ass off, although I have a tendency to procrastinate a lot too....

Main Course

If you were given a free 30-second commercial during the Super Bowl to sell anything you currently own, what would you advertise? I would advertise my car. I occassionally wonder why I have one, and then I really need it. (Like Weight Watchers meetings on Mondays...)

Dessert

Fill in the blank: I love to ________ when it is _________. I love to exercise when it is cold.

Get the Friday's Feast code here!!!

Welcome to February!!!

Well, so far I have not started the month on the right foot, but I claim it isn't my fault!!!

I was planning to get up and go to yoga at 6:30 this morning, but woke up with a bad headache instead. The extra sleep didn't help, but I still came to work. I can function, just not very well. I also have a slightly stuffy head, so it might all be sinus related. Oh the joy!

I added the February Challenges blogroll to my sidebar and made a visit to all the new challengers this morning. Of course, since blogger is being stupid I wasn't able to leave comments for everyone. I promise to have a comment left for EVERYONE whose blog I visit by Monday evening. I'm giving myself that long because I have a test tomorrow night that I am not ready for. I'm going to try and get some studying in around actually working, and then I'm not all that great about blogging on the weekends anyway.

We had some not so great excitement at the apartment last night. My husband and a friend of ours are going to be in a two-headed giant Magic tournament that is coming up. So he, his wife, and their daughter came to visit last night so they could be looking at cards and deciding what to play. Of course, there is a new set of cards coming out Friday, so they didn't do much other than look at what Josh and I have so that they can be thinking. Well, to get on with the story, we had to rush to make the apartment baby safe because Raegan is just over a year old and goes everywhere! So, we cleaned up the living room and Josh closed up the laundry room, bedroom, and back room (his personal mess!). Well, he didn't realize that the door had one of those push button locks. And we don't have the key for it. Well, we were trying knives, precision screwdrivers, and wire coat hangers in an attempt to get this door open. It wouldn't have been such a big deal except that our main closet is in that room. And I needed clothes for work!!!! I knew I was hitting the mechanism and pushing it, but the damned door wouldn't unlock. Our friends showed up while we were working on it, and Joe finally got the door unlocked. I taped the door latch so it won't happen again. Because otherwise it would. Luckily there is enough suction on the door so that it will stay closed when pulled too. That might not keep a toddler out, but it makes me feel better about the mess behind the door anyway!!!

Well, I'm off to do some studying, working, and hopefully finish some updating to the sidebar of my blog today. Good luck to everyone in starting their February challenges today. And WELCOME to all the new challengers!!!


One other note: Thank you so much for cheering me on through January Tee!!!! You were a wonderful cheerleader and I couldn't have done it without you. Whoever gets your for February will be very lucky indeed!!!!