Blog Roll!!!

I've created an account with blogrolling and added one to my sidebar. It is no where near finished, and will probably take me several days to get every blog listed. If I list you and you either don't want to be listed, or want to be listed differently, just let me know. Or if you aren't on there within a week and would like to be, let me know. It's quite possible I will miss a few blogs and I don't want to hurt feelings. I never mind adding a new blog to my reading list either, so I will take you on even if I've never read you!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend. I just finished reading The Harlequin by Laurell K. Hamilton. I will be posting a review of it soon. Maybe today, maybe not. No guarantees on that. I'm also nearly done with DarkFever by Karen Marie Moning, so expect to hear about it within a week or so as well.

And, it's a little late, but I'm really happy that Poppy is posting on her blog again. Poppy, I've missed you while you were away!!! So everyone go over and read her blog and check out how life has been treating her!

Feeling better!

Ok, I'm feeling a bit better after lunch, and the couple comments I've already gotten on my last post. I'm wearing my Dell shirt. I feel like a walking billboard. I generally don't like to wear shirts that have stuff across the entire chest, although I'm slowly working my way through this discomfort. I've already gotten a few more than normal stares, I guess due to the attention being drawn by the huge DELL Higher Education printed across my breasts!

But my allergy meds have finally kicked in a bit and that isn't annoying me quite as much. And I turned off my fan to make sure it wasn't blowing anything in my face. :) Should have thought of that one earlier.

I decided I still wanted a soft drink after lunch. I refuse to have anything to do with the Dr. Pepper, so I bought a 12ox Pepsi on my way back to work. I have both it and an open bottle of water on my desk. The water will hopefully be gone by the time I get home. I may not drink the whole Pepsi. I think I just want a taste more than anything. (Kudos to veggie paparazzi for bringing this up the other day!) I did good on my eating at lunch, hit none of the snacks hidden at the apartment. Not even the not-so-hidden ones, even if I did think about it.

I hope that y'all have a wonderful rest of the day!!!!

Bad Again...

Today is crap. It's just one of those crap days when I should have stayed at home.
I woke up and wanted to lay around for a couple of minutes, which ended up being more than 30. Then I didn't have a clean shirt that I actually wanted to wear, so I just grabbed something.
Got to work feeling ok. Then tried to open the Dr. Pepper I brought with me only to have it decide that me, my chair, my counter, my laptop, and my chair mat thingie needed a Dr. Pepper bath. Not much got on the laptop thank goodness.
My coworker came in. Some of the Dr. Pepper dripped on her floor mat so she is back to completely pissed at me rather than the slowly getting over the section. Even though I apologized, cleaned up as best I could, and am trying to catch the janitor to get a mop.
And now my allergies have freaked out. So I'm PMSing, sneezing, trying not to claw my eyeballs out, and I'm getting a major headache from all this.
I really hope my day gets better. I'm going home at lunch to try and find another shirt, eat something relatively healthy, and read the latest Anita Blake book which I got last night.

I might have more to say later....I dont' know. Depends on if my mood improves any....

Good Again!

I feel good again this evening. I went to water aerobics and had a blast. She even did a good stretch period at the end. I've never had one that good in a class before. I've stayed on track fairly well today too. Although the day didn't start as well. I hope I can get past my four day early cramps and not attack the chocolate I bought tonight. I put it in the kitchen cabinet so I will avoid it tonight. And I'll post food again...

Breakfast:
Mocha - 8 pts (non-fat. I woke up late and decided to just grab something on my way to work!)
Limeade - 2 pts

Lunch:
Salad (lettuce, spinach leaves, ham, cheese, carrots, ranch dressing) - 6 pts
Melon and grapes 2c. - 2 pts.

Supper:
Boston Market Beef Sirloin Meal - 6 pts

Evening Snack:
1c. Chocolate Milk (Part 2% milk, part 1% milk, Nesquik no sugar added) - 4 pts

Exercise:
Water Aerobics - 4 pts.
Walking - 1 pt.

Points Target: 28, Food Points: 28

I hope tomorrow is as well. I have no idea what lunch will be though. I plan to get up early enough to have my breakfast at the apartment though.

Proud

I'm proud of myself today. I went to the gym for Circuit Training today. I hit the bike for a few minutes because there were already people waiting to start the circuit, and I refuse to start in the middle. I hate to do it out of order. :) Then I did one round on the circuit (yay! strength training!). Then I hit the elliptical and did an interval program instead of the fat burning workout they have. I set the level at 3 (I know nothing about the levels) and think I might set it a bit higher next time. Then I realized how soon my husband would be coming in for Aikido and decided I wanted to see him. If I headed on home I would probably miss him since I walk. So I hit another bike in the open area of the gym (one with arms this time) and worked out for another 10 minutes. I loved this machine. I jacked the arms up all the way and they were still EASY (ok, I wouldn't have minded working a bit harder there) and left the legs at the lowest setting and did an interval program again. I burned 325 calories on the cardio machines!!!! I was so happy. I think it was about 35 minutes total, but I'm not positive. I love the machines that take in my weight and calculate the calories for me. It makes it so much easier to figure out my activity points for weight watchers.

As for food, I think I'm gonna post it here today too. And I even ended up a little high at lunch because the Pizza Hut we went too had closed!

Breakfast:
Sausage, Egg, & Cheese Hot Pocket - 4 pts.
8oz. 2% Milk - 3 pts.
8oz. Limeade - 2 pts.
Lunch:
Baked Potato with bacon bits and cheese - about 11 pts.
Sweet Tea - 0 pts.
Snack:
Apple and 1 tbsp Peanut Butter - 3 pts.
Supper: (Cooking now, could be slightly off!)
Chicken baked with Italian Chicken - 5 pts (I'll probably eat a pretty big piece!)
Whole kernel corn - 1 pt
Green beans - 0 pts

Exercise:
Cardio Machines at gym - 3 pts
Walking outside - 1 pt
Strength Training - 1 circuit

Thats 29 pts in food, and I have a target of 28 right now. I think this is a wonderful start to the week. 2 milk products, 4-5 fruits and veggies, and by the time the evening is over I should be well over 8 glasses of water!!!!

I doubt that I post my food here every day, but this is the best I've done in a long time. I'll hopefully manage to keep it up!!! I'm so pumped....

New Ticker!

You'll notice a new ticker at the top now. I'm participating in Carolyn's Christmas Challenge. I've set my goal to be at 200 at by then. I might not make it, but I'm going to try. So that's 16 pounds as of my weigh in today. I'll do my best to remember to update both tickers every Wednesday!

Love and Hate?

Ok, so I couldn't think of anything else for a title. And that probably won't fit it either. But I don't care. At least it's something different than my normal, right???

I think I have my new work laptop completely ready to go for work. Which is exciting. I still have a few things to install, but those are personal and for fun, not a job function. I shut down my IBM and have stashed it in a drawer. If I haven't had to boot it up for something by Monday morning, I'm deleting my profile on it and turning it in. My coworker, on the other hand, didn't even get her dell out this morning. d She's just working on her IBM. Don't know why, and I'm not asking! She's decided she doesn't like me, yet again.

I have a love/hate relationship with my dell I think. Yesterday we couldn't get one of the programs I use to open properly. Today it worked fine, although it freaked out a little earlier. Seems ok now though. I'm not sure I like widescreens though. It's nice to have the extra space across, but it's not as tall, and that means more scrolling for me! Oh well, I'll get used to it, I guess. I runs WONDERFULLY FAST, so I can live with it.

I did go to the gym last night. Hit the circuit training room and the elliptical. It felt good. I'm going to water aerobics tonight. Which will be fun. I did a little straightening up in the apartment last night, but not a lot. I plan to do a bit more tonight after the gym.

I watch the season finale of Saving Grace. It was cool. I can't wait for the next season. It was a bit of a cliffhanger, without leaving the episode's main storyline unfinished. I can't wait to see what happens to Grace next.

I've started reading Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning. I like it so far, and will hopefully have time to get it finished. And not get tired of it instead.

I keep thinking today is Wednesday for some reason. I really wish it were. We would be that much closer to the weekend.

I think I might have actually gained some weight back this week. But I'm not going to agonize over it. I'll just keep hitting the gym this week and all will be well! Well, I'm off to read some blogs!

Sunday!

I like everything about Sunday except the prospect of going to work the next day. But not everything can be absolutely perfect. While I'm typing up this I'm also watching the video posted below. What can I say, I REALLY love this guy's voice.

I did make it to the gym yesterday, and spent 30 minutes on the elliptical. Todya I plan to clear my husband's crap out of the floor AGAIN and do a taebo video, or something. And do homework. I don't want to do the homework part, but it's kinda required!

I have almost finished getting my new laptop set up. I just have to doublecheck that I have all my files moved over. And that will leave me with stuff that I have to wait until I get to work to do. I'm excited to be so close to finished with my IBM. And even getting used to teh Dell keyboard again!

Well, I should go eat lunch and get busy. I have a lot I want to accomplish before the hubby gets home again! Y'all have a wonderful day and a great week!

Call me, call me - Seatbelts Live

My husband and I enjoy watching anime series, and I fell in love with the voice of Steve Conte when I watched Cowboy Bebop. Here's some video of a concert Yoko Kanno and the Seatbelts (composer and band) did at a convention in Japan. You can find other wonderful videos from the convention by visiting YouTube and searching for the Seatbelts. But I really wanted to share this because it is one fo my favorites!

Your Mind is PG-13 Rated

Your mind is definitely a little dirty. You're naughty, but not trashy. You don't shy away from a dirty joke, and you're clearly not a prude.

Do You Have a Dirty Mind?

Good News!

I got my new work laptop in finally yesterday! We weren't even supposed to get them out of this shipment, but my boss, the wonderful Nick!, went and said "Yes they are!" and had three delivered even though they were technically supposed to go to other people. I'm thrilled. I brought home both it (I love my new dell. She's beautiful and pretty fast!) and my IBM so I can work on transfering stuff over the weekend. I have almost everything installed that I can do from home though, so now it's just doing the files and getting things set up the way I want. I imported my favorites and feeds this morning, so it looks like I'm behind on my reading again, but at least I know I'm not really that far behind.

I have plans to go to the gym this morning. The circuit training room isn't open on Saturdays this semester, or so the schedule now says, but I'm going to hit the Work Out Zone. I'll hit the elliptical for however long they will let me. an hour would be nice, but I think that will depend on how busy they are this morning. They open at 9, so I'll get breakfast after I finish my post and head over there when they open. I hate that I didn't make it last night, but I really didn't feel like it. My head is still iffy this morning, but I think it's because I haven't had breakfast yet this morning. We'll see though!

Josh is going to the local gaming convention, HubCon, today and tomorrow. Today he will be heading over there for unknown period of time. He wants to play in the Dreamblade draft, but it doesn't have a set time. It's whenever Greg sees four people who will play. Sunday he will be going for a constructed L5R tournament at 2. Which is cool. This all leaves me to do whatever I want to for a good sized chunch of the weekend. So I will possibly be able to hit the gym again tomorrow... We'll see.

I haven't started in on my recipe books yet. But I will. I have to rearrange that shelf anyway. It's a mess! Rae had a wonderful post that I read this morning regarding a food find I've been looking for. I'm gonna have to keep looking now that I know other people like it. So, slip over and see her sometime soon.

I think that's about everything for the moment. Time for breakfast!

Is it weekend yet???

Sorry I've been slightly missing the past day or so. I got a horrible migraine at work Wednesday afternoon and stayed at home with it yesterday. I still have it today, but I came to work anyway. I had to stop by the clinich and have blood drawn for another lipid profile and I had class. And he actually HAD CLASS today. But he talked about cars first. :)

I have a program due for his class. I hope I can get it written at work this afternoon and be done with that. Although he does have to give us a test soon, so I may take the book home anyway. I need to type up chapter 3 notes anyway. I also have to do some cleaning, MIS homework, and prepare for my MIS test on Tuesday. The test I still have NO info on. Such as when I have to be where and with what in order to take the stupid test.

I haven't been the gym but once this week, and I have no plans to go tonight. But I will be doing something at home tonight.

I watched Saving Grace last night. I missed it Monday night. I really enjoyed the episode, and cannot wait to watch the season finale on Monday. I'll be watching the reruns after that to catch the first two episodes that I missed. I think I might have to get it on dvd.

I bought a pair of running shoes this week. The guy at Hibbet was semi-helpful in helping me pick out a pair. It's the most I've ever spent on a pair of shoes. I'm wearing them today. One of them hurt my foot this morning, but I think I had tied it too tight. I did a 25 minute walk at lunch today, and hope to start actually running next week. I will probably try the C25K program again. I really do want to do this, and I'm hoping that part of my trouble was worn out shoes that weren't made for running.

I went and got blook drawn for a lipid profile this morning. And I got them to show me the results from my last one since I had never seen them. It was 243 in April. I hope it isn't so bad this time, but I'm going to have to take the whole low-cholesterol diet thing seriously now. So I'll hopefully find time this weekend to look through my cookbooks for low-cholesterol dishes. And get a menu planned for next week.

Y'all have a wonderful weekend! (And I might post something this weekend since I'll have to get online for classes anyway!)

Wednesday Update!

Well, I lost another half pound. That puts me at my lowest during this journey. I'm happy about this.

Instead of going to the gym last night I went to a "fun" party. I only get to go to one a year, and my husband and I needed some supplies. :) And I had a lot of fun! Only drank 1 margarita. Since I was driving.

Going to the gym again tonight. The houseguest will hopefully be leaving today or tomorrow. So my husband and I can try out the new stuff... And I'm going to say goodbye to my friend John since he's heading back to Oklahoma after lunch.

Well, there might be more, but I'm not worried about it right now. :) Y'all have a fantastic day!

Update on My Friend

Well, she did apparently get the kids back last night.

But, he's said he'll do it again tonight. So he can see her again. Apparently he's decided to use the kids to try and get her back or something. Which is really ridiculous because she isn't going to.

Oh well, I'm hoping he will get better, but that probably won't happen.

Prayers for my Friend

Sorry to come in late with such sucky news, but I wanted to ask everyone to keep my friend Brandi and her family in her prayers. She and her husband have been going through a bad divorce.

She got a call not too long ago that her husband kidnapped the kids. His grandparents pick them up from school. He went to their house, fought with his grandfather, and took the kids with him. He told Brandi he would bring them back when he got ready too. And that she MIGHT see them tonight.

Needless to say she's a bit upset. She's about decided that she's going to give up on living in her house and just move in with her parents. I know she plans to stay with tonight. I'll let you know if I learn anything new.

New Look!

Good greif! It took an act of congress to get a new template on here! I had to delete out every extra thing, so it might take a little while to get all my links and stuff back in. I might work on it today, might not. But I think I like my bunny.....I might change it later though. Who knows?

I typed up my chapter 2 programming notes last night and sent them to the teacher. I did a lot of page and figure referencing in them, so he might want me to make some changes. BUT, I can go in and type in all the tables and stuff if he wants. It's not like I'm getting a grade on this. I just typed up what I would do for my own notes...well, a little more. But not much. I just expounded on some of the stuff I already knew before he talked about it.

I logged into my WebCT account last night to check and see if there was anything new related to my MIS online class. And the class wasn't there. I called the WebCT admin this morning and talked to him. He has no idea what's going on, but is going to check with the MIS department to see what they are doing. I'm going to call my teacher during her office hours this afternoon if it isn't fixed by then.

I went to the gym last night. I did a round in the circuit training room and then 25 minutes on the elliptical. I thought at points I was gonna have to quit. Then my the time I was close to finished I decided I could have gone longer. But I needed to get home. It was fun though. I won't be going to the gym tonight. I've been invited to a "fun party". I haven't been to one since my friends threw one instead of a lingerie shower. I plan to buy something, but I don't know what yet. We'll see what I feel like when I get there tonight.

Well, I hope that everyone is having a wonderful day. And a wonderful week!

Just to fill the time....

So, I know I've already given a basic update today, but I have to cover the university switchboard for an hour, and I figured this was a good way to fill a few minutes. The switchboard has slowed down a bit now, and I'm away from my computer for the time.

I ordered a 1gig SanDisk Sansa a while back and actually received it in the mail last week. I brought it to work today so I can attempt to get some music loaded on it. I have a ZenMicro that's 5gig, but I'm a bit scared of dropping and busting it while I'm working out. At least I'm out less than $20 this way. I'm trying to get some of my music transferred, but it's not cooperating very well. Hopefully I will make some progress this afternoon on it.

I'm currently up to date on my MIS homework. I just have to get my programming notes typed up for the teacher. I plan to work on that tonight. Since I'll be sitting for two hours in front of the tv I figure I can at least work on that during the commercials. I have the season finale for The Closer to watch tonight as well as the next to last episode for Saving Grace.

I don't know what the guys are doing tonight. John (the out of town friend) wants to go see a movie, I think. I want to see the movie, but not at the expense of seeing my shows. He can kiss my ass. I'll see the movie this weekend. Tonight I have to work out and watch tv.

As much of the weekend as I spent gone, and considering the hous guest, I STILL have a clean apartment. Or mostly clean. Chris's clothes are a piled up mess, but it's not in my way. I didn't want to read for MIS yesterday, so I did housework instead. I washed and put away a lot of laundry, did the dishes, took out the trash... I rarely take the trash out myself. I normally make Josh do it. I REALLY didn't want to read that book. I eventually put myself in the situation that I had nothing else I could really do. But I did eventually do it. At least I have a cleaner apartment too. I still need to mop and vacuum. But I didn't want to procrastinate THAT badly yesterday. I might do that later this week though.

I'm excited about the prospect of going to the gym after work. I can't wait to work out. I'm going to do circuit training, then spend at least ten minutes on the elliptical. I hope I can manage more. I'm just going to hit it for a short time in the circuit training room. And I will hopefully enjoy my time there. It would be nice to hit 30 minutes, but who knows! I'll let you know tomorrow!

I'll let you know about the sansa situation too. Hopefully I'll get it figured out this afternoon and get some decent music on it. I think that might help me keep my mind occupied during the elliptical time. Otherwise I have trouble!

Y'all have a wonderful day!

Back again...

Sorry I haven't gotten back to a regular posting schedule yet. That should be changing.

I managed to go to the gym three times last week, Circuit Training on Wednesday, Water Aerobics on Thursday, and the Master Fitness class on Friday. I didn't stay for the entire MF class, but I worked out for an hour. I did kickboxing and Kukuwa dance. It was fun and I really enjoyed it. But I was exhausted afterwards...

We've been doing all the hanging out lately. I spent both Friday and Saturday night at my friend Dee's place. We had her place completely packed Saturday night. She and I spent the evening on her back porch chatting with a revolving door of people. She burned her old couch, as well as a bunch of other wood and stuff. She plans to clean up some more of the Katrina damage in her back yard for a couple more bonfires this year. She'll probably get her oldest son and his friends to actually do it. (They can have one of their own if they gather enough wood for two fires kinda thing...)

Sunday was sitting at home and doing homework. We still have our friend Chris sleeping over. His grandmother is still cleaning out his bedroom so he can go home. He only gave her two week's notice that he was moving back. But he should be out in a few days. While it's nice to get to see him (he's lived out of state for a year or so now), I'll be ready to say goodbye and get back to a normal schedule. My closet is in the room he's sleeping in. Makes it difficult sometimes!

I might be back to chat later. Y'all have a wonderful day!

I made it to the gym!

I did about 20 minutes in the circuit training room, and 7 minutes on the eliptical.

Then I went to the gym's fitness assessment center for my Biggest Winner pretests. They didn't tell me they were actually doing a fitness assessment. So my numbers were a bit skewed, but that's ok. The personal trainer, Devon, is really cute. And I think that I might hire him later on to be my trainer. Maybe next semester. I should have more money by then. (I paid off a credit card bill this past month!!! I'll hopefully pay off another this month and get it closed because I don't want to keep it.) Anyway, they took measurements and some skin-fold measurements and calculated my body fat percentage at 41.3. I was happy with that number. I was not happy with my sit and reach score, so I'll be working on stretches some this semester. I managed 17 pushups and 22 curlups (1 minute time for each). He said that was really good. I don't know that I'll manage to be able to do MORE pushups by the end, but I hope to make them easier.

One of the ladies in parking management (the office next to mine at work) was in the circuit training room when I went. So I chitchated with her a bit during my workout. Easier to do considering it was circuit training. She told me I should go to water aerobics. and I have my bag packed and under the desk for this afternoon.

...Lunch...

I think this might take all day to do. I'm going to try and remember where I was and finish up though....

I got the paperwork I wasn't given on Biggest Winner's earlier. One of my coworkers decided at the last minute to participate. She and another guy in our department are on another team. Next semester we are going to do it together. A couple of other girls in the office want to do it with us next time, but I honestly don't know if they will qualify. You have to have a BMI over 25 to participate, and I think they might not. We'll find out later.

I have a mini goal in mind. "mini" not meaning small, but that in that's it's more an "I would like this, but it isn't something I'll be worrying about." I want to lose 20 pounds between now and the new year. Considering it's taken me 11 months to lose 23, that's a stretch. But it's only 5 pounds a month. So it really is possible. This is probably something I won't bring up often though.

In conjunction with the R.I.P II Challenge over at Stainless Steel Droppings is the R.I.P.ing 5 Challenge. It's to lose 5 pounds during the next two months. Since it falls in with everything else, why not?

Well, y'all have a wonderful evening, and a wonderful weekend if I don't get back!

OH!!! The guys made it in. My friend Chris ended up bunking with us last night.

Update!

Yeah, I'm so no managing this catch up thing apparently. But I will! At some point. We still get really busy.

So, after I went and signed up for Biggest Winner ALL FOUR other members on the team decided not to do it. So I'm on a team of strangers. I'll be going for my fitness assessment this evening.

My friend John comes into town tonight. I'm so excited!!! Even if it does put a crimp in my life with stay over company. ;) Josh has already informed me that there will be no threesomes. Shucks! ;)

Yes, I'm in a good mood. Right after work I'm going to the gym. And I'm going to make this a habit.

Y'all have a wonderful week!

Dark Possession by Christine Feehan

First, I just have to say that I LOVE this cover. It's beautiful.

Now, on to real stuff. :) I've loved Christine Feehan for a while now. I don't remember when I first picked up one of the Carpathian novels. All I know is that I was hooked. Solidly. Over the years I picked them up as a saw them at the small local bookstore. Then about two years ago I went searching until I owned a copy of every one. That wasn't an easy tasks, but I put my all in it.

The first novels weren't fantastic, but I felt Feehan had some real potential with the world. She had several too-stupid-to-live heroines, and several heroes that parroted the same lines in each book. But she had some real treasures tossed in too, such as Jacques, who is still my favorite Carpathian.

This story takes place shortly after Dark Celebration, when we really saw a major attack on the Carpathians by their enemies. In Dark Possession Manolito De La Cruz wakes up very confused and disoriented. And his family's guest, MaryAnn Delaney, has no idea why she is so terribly upset at the death of a stranger she had never spoken too.

This story really kept me on my toes, and not only with the romance that Feehan writes. We find out more about the Carpathian's enemies and their plans. And we are introduced to yet another race! But I won't tell you which one. Keep it yourself.

This book kept me from closing the cover at all. I even carried it downtown to read while waiting to buy tickets to see Chevelle. And I imagine I was amusing to watch, standing outside a bar at 11:40 am reading a novel will everyone else is chatting with strangers and smoking.

If you read some of the early Carpathian novels when it was really repetitive, you should really give Feehan another shot. In the past few novels there have been some kick-ass heroines, and some seriously sexy men finding them.

The Dead Girls' Dance by Rachel Caine

I just finished The Dead Girls' Dance, the second book in Rachel Caine's The Morganville Vampires series. And I'll once again say that Young Adult novels have come a long way since I remember reading them growing up. They are actually good now.

I read the first book, Glass Houses, a couple of months ago and absolutely loved it. This book definitely lived up to the standards I held for it.

Claire Danvers' parents decided that she should go to a small college for her first year when she finished high school at the tender age of 16. They didn't know they were sending her to a vampire town.

This book picks up right where the first left off with Shane's father in the house with plans to shake things up in town. And things certainly get shook up. The landscape of things in town changes a bit from the beginning of this book to the end. It's exciting, it's dark, and it holds the unexpected. I was unable to put it down today until I finished it. And I can only say that I'm thrilled that the third book, Midnight Alley, will be coming out in October. This series is definitely worth a read, no matter what your age!

R.I.P. II Challenge

So, I had mentioned earlier that I planned to partake of this challenge. Well, I've put together a preliminary reading list. And, by preliminary, it means they MIGHT be read, and they MIGHT qualify for the challenge. :)

The Dead Girls' Dance is the sequel to Rachel Caine's Glass Houses that I read earlier this year.

Of course, I've already talked about The Rest Falls Away and Rises the Night by Colleen Gleason before. I've been planning to reread these since I finished the second one.

I read Necroscope by Brian Lumley back in high school. I had intended to read the entire trilogy, but never could get into the second one. So I'm going to try again.

Unmasqued by Colette Gale is a new version of The Phantom of the Opera. I plan to read Gaston Leroux's version as well. Although I don't have a copy of it yet.

Dark Possession is the newest volume of Christine Feehan's Carpathian books. I actually finished it today, and will be posting a review soon.

Jonathan Barrett, Gentleman Vampire is actually a volume containing four novels by
P.N. Elrod. I read it in high school as well and have had a desire to reread it again for the last month or so.

There are several other books that I hope I can get my hands on to read during this challenge. But this stack should keep me somewhat busy for a while!

Ahh....The Friday Afternoon Slump....

Things are still busy for a Friday, but compared to what I've gotten used to it is incredibly slow this afternoon. The university's first football game is tomorrow. I think I'll stay in the apartment all day. It get scary outside this time of year.



I'm excited about the three day weekend I have. No work Monday!!!! Of course, I'll be busy. I have to get caught up in class, read a couple of books, finish cleaning the apartment, finish putting the numbers in my new cellphone.



I had an amazon shipment come in yesterday. I now have copies of Dark Possession by Christine Feehan and Unmasqued by Colette Gale. I can't wait to read these!



Josh is going to buy tickets for us to see Chevelle. (Not sure on the spelling.) They are going to be in Hattiesburg in October, I think. We might be going to see Saliva again soon as well.



I'm already behind in my classes. And they've only been going on for 5 days. Amazing, huh? I'll get caught up this weekend. Or as caught up on it as I ever will. I imagine I'll ignore a lot of the first chap



I'm going to participate in the R.I.P. II Challenge. I just have to figure out what all I'm going to read. Shouldn't be too difficult. There are some terrific ideas posted there. Lots of stuff I've never read. And there are a few things I've been wanting to read again, and they'll fit in nicely.



Well, I'll try to get more caught up over the weekend!

Note to Self:

Don't wear the fancy knee-high boots if you will be on your feet from 7 am to 11 pm. You will not be able to walk properly the next day.



Now, the question is, why does my left wrist feel the same as my ankles this morning???

Getting there!

Things are gradually slowing down in the office. I'm slowly catching up. Give me another week to fully get there. I only have 137 messages to read right now.

I'm back in the weightloss challenge again for September. My challenge is to go consistently to the gym. I have some good motivation for doing this, so it shouldn't be too difficult. :) Sign up for Biggest Winners is next week, and I'll be on an awesome team this time!

School is progressing. My classes have actually started now so I have to begin studying. I don't want to.

Ummm, I'm sure I had more to say, but I forgot.

Oh! Does anyone watch The Closer or Saving Grace? I'm gonna HAVE to get these on DVD!

Weighed In....

Don't have a lot of time because I have some work to do before class. However, I wanted to let everyone know that I had lost 2 pounds this week. I know I hadn't updated my tracker recently, it's because I was so disappointed with myself on my weight. So, it's up to date again, and I'm definitely back on the not quite straight and narrow!

Two in a Row!

Things are still busy, but have slacked off enough that I might can manage to finish this between now (3:30) and when I get off work at 5. I certainly hope so because it's going to be another brief one!

I didn't do any work in the apartment last night. But I'm going to tonight. I actually feel like working some more right now.

I have to start making my Spring course plan now. I have to go early next week to set up an advisement appointment. I have no clue what I should take. Other than courses that are required. Which isn't that helpful.

I have 145 unread messages to go through. I've tried to hit things pretty quickly, but it's still piling up.

I had lunch with a coworker, Melisa, today. It was nice to spend some time talking to her. I never really get to talk to her. We have indefinite plans to do it again sometimes. The schedule has her going to lunch at the same time as me twice a week, so it hopefully won't be too difficult to manage.

Ummm, I had something else, but I forgot. :) So I'll just leave you with this picture that a coworker sent me earlier today.

Just a Quickie!

I've missed by blogging!!!!!

We're still incredibly busy at work. It might slow down soon.

My teachers are starting to assign homework. It's not bad yet though.

I watched a few movies this weekend. Might get caught up on that evenutally.

I have a friend coming to visit middle of next week. We've offered him a place to sleep for a couple of nights. Which means apartment cleaning. I haven't gotten very far yet, but I've already made a vast improvement. I wish I had taken some before pictures of the living room to show y'all. Oh well. I might take some before I continue working. I can discribe what it used to be.

My programming teacher STILL didn't have a textbook today. We'll start that class Wednesday probably. MIS has started finally.

Y'all have a wonderful week if I don't get here again. (And I promise I will find or make time to catch up with everyone later!)

Work Work Work!

It's definitely been busy at work. But with any luck we'll stay slacked off so I can give y'all an update on me.

I had a wonderful trip up to my parents' house. It was great to see a bunch of the family. I got my time with my niece Abby that I have since she was born in February. I got back a skirt that Momma has had for months because it needed a seam restitched. I just wish I had slept better while I was there.

I haven't done horrible food wise the past few days. I haven't done great exercise wise. But I will be doing better. I'm going to hit the gym tonight! I will. Dammit! No excuses.

.....
Okay. So it's going to take forever to get this typed up. Even being fairly brief.
....

I'm going to check tonight at the gym and see if the incentive program has started up yet. I hope it has. I'm going to get everything this semester! I can do this and I WILL!

We've been incredibly swamped at work. Customers just don't seem to stop coming. I'm eating lunch on the clock and going to work through most of it. At least I'll make extra money that way. :)

As long as I can figure out how to do this. I'm doing some new stuff that's being added to my job description.

....
I give up. Y'all have a wonderful week!!!!

And It's Almost Over!

Again. The end of another week. I'm glad it's Friday!!!!

The funeral yesterday was hot. Thank goodness it was at 9 am. We wouldn't have survived if it had been any later in the day. Dr. Register, the old pastor of my church, did the service. He's known Aunt Denice for 13 years, so he had a lot of good things to say. Her son Ben seems to be handling it fairly well, but you never know what someone does once they are alone. He's going to his first classes today. I hope it isn't too hard on him.

Today the freshman have been moving into their dorms. It hasn't been as bad as I thought it would be, but it hasn't been easy either. Next week will be worse.


Ok, over an hour later...We got a bit busy!!! But that's ok. At least we are helping people!

The only other big thing I wanted to mention in my stupidity. I managed to accidentally knock my pedometer inot the trash can at work. So I decided I would rinse it off. Now I have water in it. Hope it dries out.....

8 Week Challenge!

I just realized that I haven't posted much about the 8 week challenge this week!!!

Well, I've eaten half-way decent (except for the after funeral meal yesterday!)

Monday through Wednesday I got in an average of 40 minutes of walking each, and I'll be getting in about 30 today.

I'm not sure what I will get in over the weekend. We'll be visiting my parents, and I'm not sure if I'll get up and do an early walk or not.

Wednesday Update

Well, first off, we aren't talked about weigh in. I didn't even look at my weight. I just took my book and didn't look. It doesn't matter what it said. I'm letting it affect me at all! I just felt this morning that it was going to be a gain, and I didn't want to know.

I was planning to hit the gym tonight, but that's going to have to wait. Josh's aunt died this morning so we have the family thing. I keep waiting for details on when and all, but nothing has come out yet. Knowing my luck I won't find out until tonight and I'll have to call the boss at home. Oh well. No biggie. I'm just glad that her suffering is over. She's been fighting cancer for over two years now, and it's been bad.

Tomorrow is Daddy's birthday. We're supposed to go up to visit this weekend, assuming all the family stuff is fiinshed down here. I hope it is. Although I have NO idea what to get him. I'll be calling home tonight to get suggestions.

Otherwise, I saw most of my friends at lunch today. We had Mexican. We thought there were going to be 5 people, we ended up with 8 including the toddler. It was interesting. It was fun though. I got to see my friends Sha and Dee. I hadn't seen Dee in nearly two weeks!

Let's see.....other news.... Things are really picking up at work. We had students start moving in today. The rest of them start in on Friday. I'll be mostly out of pocket for the next two weeks. I just won't have much blogging time. But I'll try to let y'all know the big things!

Y'all have a wonderful rest of the week if I don't get back out there!

Saw this quiz on Michelle Rowen's blog today. Figured why not?

You're Ulysses!

by James Joyce

Most people are convinced that you don't make any sense, but compared
to what else you could say, what you're saying now makes tons of sense. What people do
understand about you is your vulgarity, which has convinced people that you are at once
brilliant and repugnant. Meanwhile you are content to wander around aimlessly, taking in
the sights and sounds of the city. What you see is vast, almost limitless, and brings you
additional fame. When no one is looking, you dream of being a Greek folk hero.


Take the Book Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.

Challenges...

Well, it seems like I'm collecting challenges here... I'm doing Kim's OctoberBest, the Weightloss Priority, and others....

Now Tiffany has put an 8 week challenge together. Ends in early October. Come and join the fun!!!!!

Another day....

Not feeling quite so awesome today, but that's ok. These things come and go. And I don't feel like I'm getting nowhere, just not as pumped as yesterday.

I finished TripTych last night. Awesome book. I did end up liking other characters. And I won't tell why I found I liked the sex offender (gives away most of the story) but if you enjoy a good mystery, pick this book up!!!!! Definitely worth reading.

Went a little crazy on my library run. Picked up about 6 books. I was supposed to pick up one. But oh well!!!!

Y'all have a great day!

Monday! Monday!

I'm happy this Monday! I feel pretty good, only a slight headache, and a decent book under my arm. Although I haven't really had time to read it since I got to work. It's TripTych by Karin Slaughter. I finally started enjoying it this morning. Although, I don't know what it says that the only character in it I like is the sex offender.....

Anyway, I feel good about my self image this morning. I feel good about myself. I feel good about my weight loss journey. And I even feel good about the coming school semester. I don't expect ALL these good feelings to last, but I plan to enjoy them while they are here!!!

I went to see The Bourne Ultimatum this weekend. It was a decent movie. I would have enjoyed it more if my migraine hasn't decided to make a full appearance ten minutes in. But movie tickets aren't cheap, so I insisted on sitting through it. I will feel much better about it once I see it on DVD. I'll really be able to enjoy it then. My husband has disappointed that there wasn't more of a "romantic interest" in the movie. I don't think it was missing, just unnoticed.

Y'all have a great week!

Well, sorry I wasn't around yesterday. I sat at home with a migraine. It was terrible. Much I'm at least to the moving stage today. That is good. So I'm at work and miserable. But I'm surviving.
I'm going to the library tomorrow to pick up a couple more books. Maybe they'll have more for me by the time I get there. I certainly hope to have another book finished and ready to drop off!!! I'm trying to get in a lot of reading before classes start back. I won't be able to do very much of it after that if I actually study. :) ... Like that's going to happen!
I have no actual plans for the weekend, but I hope it goes well. I'm sure something will come up, but who knows what. All I can say is that I'm going to try and get some exercise in. And stay in line with my eating....

Y'all have a fantastic weekend.

Time For the Toes!

Today the scales read a beautiful 214 lbs, meaning 1 pound gone this week. Back to my lowest, I'm happy to say. And next week it will be lower again.

We had a new guy start today in our office. He's going to be handling computer and software procurement for the university. Wish I knew his name though. I was on the phone, and so was most of the rest of the office during his introductions. And the people that weren't on the phone have forgotten his name. Oh well, I'll find out later.

I'm feeling good at the moment, although I didn't feel good at the actual start of the day. That's ok though. I can't feel fantastic every moment!!!!


And, because I was asked about it earlier, SparkPeople is a weightloss/healthy living community online. The address is SparkPeople.com. It's free to join. They will give you calorie recommendations, and you can enter your food there. They will develop a strength training program for you if you want, or you can design your own. You can keep track of your exercise, measurements, and goals. They have message boards that you can use to ask for advice, give advice to others, tell your story, shout out your good news, and ask for encouragement when you need it. They have personal webspace for you where you can create a page talking about yourself and even post blog entries and pictures. They also have SparkTeams. You can join teams of people with similar interests to yours. So, if you're interested, check it out! It's a great place with some awesome people.

Y'all all have a wonderful day!!!!!

Hairdo or Hairdon't?

My husband wants to have long hair. Of course, the in-between stage can be rather annoying. So he's been suffering through hair in his face for a while. He can up with a strategy for while he's at home. Otherwise, he's just going to suffer if he can't wear his cap!

(Of course, he can't do this himself. He has me do it for him.)

Just thought I would share!!!

It's ONLY Tuesday.....

I don't know why my happy positive-ness didn't transfer into today. I wish it had.

Wait...I probably know why. Momma had me call her on my way to work and we talked for about 15 or 20 minutes. It looks like the furniture factory she and Daddy work for is going to close. They should find out next Monday. Needless to say that doesn't make me happy. I know they can make it, but the unemployment rate here in Mississippi is 6%. And a few other plants up there have had layoffs, and their plant has had two recently. She says she'll take a break before she tries to find another job if that happens though.

In other news...I have this awesome Boston Market meal in the freezer to eat for lunch today. It's beef sirloin and mashed potatoes. And it's only 6 points. Which is awesome. I'll be picking up my text books today. I was planning to get them after classes start, but I know I really won't have time!!!!

OH! And I want to direct everyone over Rae's way. She just started a blog for her weightloss journey. She has a lot of reasons for correcting her weight problem, but did find out some good news too!
And Tigerlilly had something awesome happen too, so go see her today!

It's Monday!!!!

Let's see, my Monday hasn't started off great. I couldn't sleep well last night (well, this morning). TOM has arrived, so I feel sickly. And I'm pretty sure I've gained. AGAIN! My my coworker told me she isn't in a good mood because she didn't get to sleep unitl 2:30 AM.

BUT... despite all that I feel positive this morning. I feel like I can really get moving again and see some awesome changes.

Wednesday will see something a little different here. I linked through some different blogs, but Fat Bridesmaid has an interesting challenge up right now. Take a picture of your feet while you are standing on the scale. While my scale isn't going to show the weight since I weigh in at weight watchers, I'm going to do it anyway. It will be fun. Just so happens I actually painted my toenails Friday night. Did my fingernails too, but I have to redo them tonight. They survived me at home (a surprise) but haven't survived my first day at work with them. Which is why I don't paint them often. But my toenails will look fine for a couple of weeks. :)

I did a lot of reading over the weekend. Should have been more active. But at least I did go grocery shopping. My husband and I now have food to eat. Which is always a good thing!!!

I had plans to join Fat Bloke Thin's challenge since it started, and finally sent him a starting weight today. I can't believe I've forgotten to send it to him for this long. But oh well. That's just one of those things I guess. I'm just stupid like that. :) At least I finally did it.

I'll actually be eating in the office tomorrow. It's time to make the semester's bookstore trip and see how high my school bill goes. It's looking like at least $300 in books, although I won't know for sure until I pick them up. I'm taking 7 hours this semester. I'm taking Problem Solving In C, which will suck. I'm taking Management Information Systems, which should only suck because it's a Monday night class. And I'm taking Fitness Walking again for the second half term. It will be the last time I can take it, I think. I'm not 100% sure I can get credit for it twice, but I'm doing it anyway. But I have a little time before hell starts up again. Classes start on the 22nd.

Well, I'm off to spend some time on SparkPeople. I actually enjoy the website somewhat. :)

Name Quiz

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current street name) Boo Avenue
2. YOUR “FLY Guy/Girl” NAME: (first initial of first name, first three letters of your middle name) C Reb
3. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal) Purple Dragon
4. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born) Rebecca Oxford
5. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first name, first 2 letters of mom’s maiden) Wilcoja
6. SUPERHERO NAME: (”The”, your favorite color, favorite drink) The Purple Margarita
7. NASCAR NAME: (the first name of your grandfathers) Emmitt George
8. FUTURISTIC NAME: (the name of your favorite perfume/cologne and the name of your favorite kind of shoes) Haiku Balance
9. WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother & father’s middle name) Dale Bruce


I saw this over at DCL and thought it looked like great fun! Anybody else want to play?

Is it over yet???

I've hated this week. I was laying in bed last night and kept thinking it was Tuesday.... I'm so glad it's Thursday, but I wish it were over already. I'm tired of work and want a break!!!!!!

Ok, now to continue. I'm going to do much better this week exercise and diet wise. MUST DO BETTER. I refuse to have a third gain week in a row. I have to lose this week, preferably two pounds, but I would settle for a half! :) But I can do this. It's easy. As long as I can get past myself.

This week I discovered that my mp3 player will not play the eAudio books from my local library. I was very disappointed to discover this. Well, except for also learning that their selection sucks. So it isn't a complete loss.

I have several books right now that I am in the process of reading, and several to-be-reads that I have checked out from the library right now. I just finished Succubus Blues by Richelle Mead and I really enjoyed it. I can't wait for the sequel. (These will likely make it onto by MUST BUY WHEN HAVE MONEY list.) I'm planning to finish Nighttime is my Time by Mary Higgins Clark this afternoon. I've enjoyed it, but it's a tougher read than I expected from her. Although, it could just be because I've only been reading it at work. It seems like I can't get more than a page read without an interruption. :) But it will be finished before I go to bed tonight.

The office (work) is in disarray. They decided to put some old cubicle stuff in one of the office, and that means that the two people in that area are currently displaced. One of the guy's stuff (including table) is sitting behind me. I CANNOT handle this kind of disarray. I'm tempted to take off tomorrow if they cannot get it straightened out. Although I know I won't do it. I'm taking off next Friday for an all day First Aid/CPR class. I need to get my certifications again. And hopefully not let them lapse this time. :) Yeah...right.....

The first thing I'll be doing when I get home tonight is my nails. I really should have removed my nail polish yesterday...It looks awful. I think I'll stick with clear tonight. That way it won't show so bad when it chips off!!!!

Well, I'm going to get back to work now, and try to stay caught up on blogs. I finally skimmed over everything I had missed. Y'all have a fantastic evening, and a fantastic weekend if I don't post tomorrow!

And I have TEMPORARY Access Again....

What's Been Going On In MY Neck Of The Woods

You can click on the link above to find out why I haven't been around. It's been just lovely, in case you're wondering. And I got cussed out about it today. But that's all in the past.

I've been doing Tigerlilly's Challenge for the past week. I gained a half pound. When you increase your exercise that much, you just might need to eat a little more. I didn't think about that when I was doing everything last week. But I meet all her other challenges. (I'll send everything to you Tigerlilly if my internet stays fixed for a while!)

I haven't had too much else going on lately. I have a tag from Twisted Kingdom that I'll get done sometime this week. I have a ton of work to catch up on now that I have internet again (same as when it was working yesterday!)

Go check out my fat blonde self in the departmental newsletter.

Thank God It's Thursday

I'm glad to have it be Thursday, and glad it's nearly over.

I didn't get in the wonderful workout I wanted to yesterday. I did my strength training and a one mile walk. Then I went to bed with a headache. Slept the whole evening through (7pm-6:20am). With the exception of the husband coming home and telling me to get up and eat supper. Which I didn't do.

Today I feel much better. I have some errands to run, but I will get my workouts in as well.

My friend is trying to win a contest over at The BenSpark. Go over there and vote for Raesmom on the right if you have a couple of spare minutes. I'm not sure when it ends, but you can vote every day.

OH! And I found out something interesting at lunch. One of my friends spent the last week out of town. And found a copy of the last Harry Potter at a used bookstore. Needless to say he purchased it. And said he'll kill anyone who tells him anything. I told him that people die. He laughed at me. I also heard a story about something I missed when I bought my book. Apparently just after I got in my car (because I missed this, but I saw my friend Dee looking at something) some guy stood up on a car with a bullhorn and started reading the last page of the book. He jumped off after a lot of people starting coming towards the car. But I still thought it was funny enough to share.

Y'all have a wonderful afternoon!

I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You By: Ally Carter

I haven't been reading a lot of young adult books lately, but I had been told that they were getting better. So, I decided to leave my traditional reading for a bit and check out this book by Ally Carter. It came out in May 2006, so it had been around the block at my library. I actually had to put in on hold and wait. While it did make some cool lists (2007-2008 Texas Lone Star reading list and 2007 Amelia Bloomer list) and won the 2007-2008 Georgia Peach Book Award for Teen Reader it hasn't made a best seller list. I'm actually a little surprised. At 288 pages, it's one of the quickest reads I've had in a while. It was very enjoyable, and I'm eagerly awaiting the sequel.

Ally Carter introduces us to the Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women, a school everyone thinks is for rich heiresses. Actually it's a spy school for teenage girls. And guess what they don't prepare you for? Falling in love. Especially with the boy next door! And that exactly what happens to Cammie Morgan on her first covert operations mission. Cammie's friends come up with some terrific exploits to find out if her normal boy actually is interested in her. Not that hte traditional G.A. students have a clue hor to figure that out. Good thing they have a new roommate!

The book goes on to tell of Cammie's dates, her worries, and exactly what happens when it comes out that she's been lying about being a Gallagher girl.

Big Thanks to all the great people who put together the Hidden Treasures Summer Reading Contest. I'm thrilled to have been introduced to Ally Carter's work, and just might have to start spending more time in the young adult section of the local library!

Wednesday!

Gained a half pound. I'll update my tracker later. I'm glad it was only a half. It could have been much worse.

I did two walks yesterday for a total of 3 miles. I did a mile at lunch and two miles in the evening. I did a mile on the indoor track at the gym. I hope I never have to do that again. My time was 16:35. 1:20 seconds shorter. I'm sure it was because it was on that track, but it hurts me to walk on it. It's boring. And I was suffering from shin splints less that 1 lap in. (8 laps/mile). I'll suffer a longer time on the outdoor track. I tried to get a full mile in on the outdoor track, but I didn't make it. I was hurting too much and it was incredibly hot outside. I'll be glad when it cools off a bit. I have another walk planned for today, but it will be after it has time to cool down. I'm also planning to pick up my Tae Bo videos again, assuming I can keep my husband away from the tv.

The new Guitar Hero game came out last night. I beat it on medium before I went to bed. He was disappointed because there is very little to unlock. Of course, I think he was also disappointed because the release date for the new L5R edition was pushed back AGAIN from Tuesday until Friday. Ah well....

I think I've gotten a decent start off to Tigerlilly's little challenge. There are four of us participating and I think it will be awesome. I was good on my eating yesterday, JUST got in the water, and the two workouts. I'll do my picture when I get home tonight. (I have to do measurements too!) I still haven't figured out what recipe I will submit, but I'll think of something awesome!

Y'all have a wonderful Wednesday!


--OH YEAH! I had 13,120 steps yesterday too!
I'll finish editing this post eventually. I had a mental NSV this morning. I was brushing my hair in the bathroom and I actually looked in the mirror. (Yes, not something I normally do!) And I startled myself. I noticed that I actually look smaller than I used to. So YAY! If I'm not dressed, and I'm willing to look in a mirror, I CAN tell that I've lost a little weight. LOL

A Tan? On Me?

I just realized that I have what is, for me, a pretty good tan on my lower arms. I sat outside with my mother-in-law for about 20 minutes of so Sunday in the sun. Of course, I'm sure most of it is all the walking to work. All the sunny days here. I need to get me some sleeveless shirts to wear outside so I have have nice upper arms too. I normally don't worry about it, but the length of my shirtsleeves varies a lot for work. (Of course, if I changed into a sleeveless shirt when I'm walking, then I wouldn't have sweaty work shirts all day either. This might be a good plan!)

Anyway, just wanted to share about my tan!!!!

Nothing Really....

I don't have a lot of anything really. I sat around yesterday. Did my library run. I'm currently reading Almost a Gentleman by Pam Rosenthal. I've really enjoyed it so far. I'm planning to read Prior Bad Acts by Tami Hoag next. Unless something else jumps into my hands first.

I have walking class tonight. I think I'm going to try for three miles. Definitely plan to get in two miles anyway. I don't know that I will shave much time off my timed mile though. I was thinking about that on the way to lunch. It takes me a while to really get warmed up. Over half a mile. So I think I'm going to try and get a stopwatch. Then I can see the difference in my second mile. That might be something interesting to keep track of. I've been thinking of hitting the C25K program. I haven't succeeded with it yet. I think it might be because it takes me longer to get warmed up. I'll see what I can do on my own in the next few weeks.

My friend Tigerlilly had decided to run a one-week challenge. She's put together some interesting challenges on it. It's going to kick my butt. But it easily falls in line with the other things I'm doing (exceeds them!!!) so I think I'm going to try it out. Means I have to go shopping after my walk tonight though. At least I have a little extra cash. It should also get me back to cooking again!

Well, I think that's it. There isn't really anything major going on in my life. No final for my class, no deadlines at work. (Although they did order my laptop today.) Y'all have a wonderful evening!

Whose your Vampire personality?

I saw this over at the Midnight Moon Cafe and couldn't resist taking the quiz. Maybe all the Anita Blake reading I've been doing lately...

You scored as Armand, Your the mysterious type only those close to you know the truth about who you really are
Whose your Vampire personality? (images) created with QuizFarm.com

Monday Again!

I'm depressed this Monday. I guess that is a start for a week.

I wasn't all that good diet-wise this week. Next to no exercise and lots of snacking.

I read Harry Potter on Saturday. Good book. Had a very boring long bit towards the beginning. Loved the end. I'm going to wait about a month, then read books 6 and 7 back to back. They are the only ones I haven't read twice. (And the only ones I have at the apartment. The other 5 are boxed up with most of my books in Columbia.) It was a really good book. It had some great action scenes. I got misty eyed a couple of times. I won't say what parts because it would really give stuff away. Since my friend Dee has finished it I can't wait to see her so we can talk about it.

I read some other books this weekend but nothing I would call important. I'm trying to finish Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews this afternoon, so I'll catch on blogs later. I want to finish it so I can return it to the library on my run over there after work. That will leave me with just two books, and the one I have to pick up when I'm there.

I have a new windshield now. It took all morning. I was there before 8:30 and it was 11 when I got my car back. I still managed to get an inspection sticker, eat, and get to work by noon though. I think that's pretty good. The morning at the glass shop allowed me to almost finish that book. I should finish it at work today.

I think I'm also going to take a small shopping trip. I want to pick up a couple of new shirts. With the exception of a few t-shirts, all my shirts are either too small or too big. I want a couple that fit!!!!

Friday Looks UP

The glass place will have my new windshield on Monday, so I'll be coming to work late that day. And I'll only have to pay $100 on it. I just wish they had been right when they said they had it in stock. Friday afternoon is better for taking off than Monday morning. Because I won't be able to sleep in on Monday, and I was going to manage an hour of FREE time taking off this afternoon. :( Oh well. That's life. At least I'm only out $100. And I have it now to spend.

I'm waiting on pins and needles for Harry Potter tonight. I'll nap after work, and head out to the bookstore around 10pm. That's when my friend Dee should be getting off work. Her man and Josh are going to spend the evening playing L5R at the gaming store and then we'll meet. I'll be opening the book as soon as I get back home. Hence the nap. I brought book 6 to work with me, and I'm considering skimming through it this afternoon. Just to remind myself of some of the goings on it in. Just don't know if I will actually make it that far or not. The whole car thing destroyed the morning for me. But at least it's settled.

I kinda dread the HP party tonight. Our BAM moved into a newer but much smaller location and it will likely be PACKED. The old location had the same number of chairs, but more open space to sit on the floor. The new one doesn't. I think it has 6 chairs, maybe 15 in the coffee shop, and no spare space. But oh well. I intend to have the book, so I will just have to suffer. :)

It might even be worth it. I will probably post a brief review of the book after I finish reading it, but I promise to avoid any real spoilers. I won't say much because I know a lot of people won't have read it yet. Or at least not finished. it.

Y'all have a fantastic weekend, and happy reading to anyone who plans to pick up the last book!

Friday, And it sucks....

Today seriously sucks. And it's not even 9 yet.

I drove to work today because we are supposed to be taking pictures for the dept. newletter. So I'm slightly dressed up. Hair is down, makeup is on. Nice shirt (Stuck with jeans and sneakers anyway!). The guy came to take the pictures yesterday afternoon and I told him to come back tomorrow. I looked like crap. I don't wear makeup when I walk to work because I end up sweating so much. Way to hot outside.

I discovered a 2-foot crack in my windshield this morning. I'm a bit upset. I'm calling our insurance agent a little after 9 to "get reccommendations". That's what Josh's dad said to do. And to find out what our deductible is. That would be good knowledge at this point. :) He needs to hurry up and open his office.

I'll admit that when I drove on Wednesday I thought that the splits off the starburst in my windshield were a bit longer. But I decided it was my imagination. I'll admit to being a bit paranoid. (Actually, a bit might be an understatement.) So, not a good day so far!

However, on a slightly happier note, the Skinnie Minnies lost a total of 15.6 pounds this week. Good job everyone!!!!

Your Lucky Love Color is Purple

When someone gets to know you, the first thing they notice is how romantic you are. The most romantic of all the colors, in fact. You are a big flirt and a total tease. Your antics get you in trouble, but they also get you what you want. And unlike what your color might suggest, you are not a princess of any sort. If anything, you make your man feel like a prince. Your heart is dreamy and open. You don't put restrictions on love - because you never know what can happen.

What Does Your Lucky Love Color Tell Men?

Just because my head is screwed up...

I hadn't read ANY of my sparkpeople messages for several days. So I was going through reading the articles and exercises and things.

One of the messages was talking about portion control. And it gave the example of cheeses. For an ounce of regular cheese it said it was the size of two dice. I guess for most people this would probably be simple.

However, I couldn't help but wonder for a minute "What die?" Are they talking a d20, a d12? Are they talking normal size? Or tiny? THIS IS TOO HARD!!!

After a minute or two I realized that they were not righting the article for gamer girls. They OBVIOUSLY meant that it was the size of two normal d6s. But man did it blow my mind for a minute or two!

Hump Day

Well, today I definitely have a hump to get over. Today is probably going to suck.

I had some nerves burned off in my lower back yesterday. I don't remember it hurting as much the first time as it does today. It SERIOUSLY hurts. But I'll live.

Even though I was drugged out of my skull yesterday, I went to fitness walking. I had shaved 5 seconds off my mile from the first one. I hope I can have a bit more off my time next week. However, walking really wasn't a good idea. I only walked out in front of one car, but it was all I could do to make it back home. My face didn't lose it's redness for nearly an hour. And I don't really get red-faced from that little. But I did it!!!!

I lost 2 pounds when I weighed in this morning. That's 10%!!!!! I'm happy about that. I'm going to try to do better this week with eating and exercise, I didn't do so great last week. But today I'm taking it easy. I'm still a bit out of it this morning. :)

Y'all have a wonderful day and I'll try to get caught up with everyone!

It's Friday Again!

I like Fridays. It's the last day of the work week. I know that there is a break coming, and I LIKE that.

Today I haven't done my blogging because the screen is bothering my eyes for some reason. That's ok. I'll catch up on everyone either over the weekend or on Monday.

I walked two miles on the track last night. My time was a little slow, but my calves cramped up really early, and then shin splints, but I just kept going. And I finished, so I'm happy. I feel much better about things today. We'll see if I've really got my motivation back on Monday though. I plan to follow through on everything this weekend though!

I just finished another good book.

Now, the reason I have included the cover here is because I have finally found the perfect tattoo for myself. I've been wanting on for YEARS! I just never could find the perfect one. Well, I want to get the roses on that lady's leg. You can't see it as well in the pic as you can on the hardcover book. I'm going to make that tattoo my reward for when I am really happy at my weight. I don't know exactly what that weight will be, but I'll know when I'm happy. And now that I have my reward chosen, maybe I can stay more focused!!!

Everyone have a wonderful weekend!!!

Getting Going Again

For some reason I have lost my wonderful Get-Up-And-Go from last week. I have no clue where it went. But I'm insisting on finding it, or getting a new injection of the stuff!

I have barely walked at all today (just over 1000 steps) and feel bad about it. I couldn't make myself get in all my walking yesterday either. But I'm going to my walking class tonight with plans to do at least 2 miles, and I will be walking to work tomorrow. No more driving! (Although I've only driven one extra day this week...)

I'm planning to finish cleaning up my living room tonight. I have to get the floor cleared up of Josh's junk so that I can work out inside. I would really like to do some of my dvds instead of depending only on my walking to met my requirements. It's way too hot to spend too much time outside working hard. And I don't like getting too much sun either. I burn WAY to easily. I got a sunburn on my honeymoon even though I used liberal amounts of sunblock!

So, I'm in Kim's 12 week challenge, and I'm on Jodi's team, Skinnie Minnies. This is not to say that I'm not still doing my stuff for the Make Yourself a Priority in 2007 Challenge. I hate that Michelle is MIA, but I'm continuing on my way, and plan to succeed in that. However, I think this other challenge will help me out as well. And my success with it is going to be an awesome birthday present to myself come October!

So, tune in tomorrow to find out if I've found my lost go juice!!!

Debt Comes DOWN!!!

Ok, I just had to have another post today. I went and checked my campus mail box and found a letter from American Express! Sound awesome info in that letter (see below!)

We are pleased to inform you that you have successfuly completed the debt management IRW plan with American Express.

So, I called my credit counseling firm, Federated Financial, and told them about it. She informed me that it was my last bill in the program (DUH!) and congratulated me on completing it. I have faxed her the letter for their records as well as the paperwork to cancel the monthly debit. I'm THRILLED! Now, I can easily get some of my other cards paid off this year!!!!

Now, I won't be completely out of debt by Christmas, but I will be a LOT closer. So I'm going to go jump around the office in celebration a little more.

I'm so happy! SO SO happy!!!

Weigh In Day

Well, I lost another pound!!! Not quite to my 10% yet, but getting closer. My little weekend snackies didn't exactly do good thing for my weight loss this week. But that's ok. Josh finished those off so I'm safe again. The scale was actually messed up at the center, but we got it fixed up. Which is too bad. It had said I lost 4 pounds instead of 1. But better it be correct now than correct next week and wrong today!

I feel good today though. I finished The Good Guy by Dean Koontz last night. It was an AWESOME book. I really enjoyed it and almost wanted to read it again immediately. It had a really clean feel to it that attracted me. I'm much more used to his older books, which never had a clean, crisp feel to the words. This one is definitely worth reading if you have a little time! (And the hero will surprise you!)

Well, I hope that everyone has a wonderful day. I don't really have anything else to talk about now!

Tuesday!

I'm glad it's Tuesday, and that I don't have class this afternoon. It's entirely too hot outside for lots of walking around.
I got in 9,027 steps yesterday (before I took of my pedometer. I didn't walk around too much after I took it off though.
There are only two reasons I don't shave my head.
1. I don't think I would look good that way.
2. I would end up with a horrible sunburn up there.
And one of my main goals for the summer is to avoid UV poisoning. If you've never suffered from it, you are lucky. IT SERIOUSLY SUCKS.

Ok, now I think I'm done with all that. I'm a bit tired this mroning, but I'm sure I will recover. I was planning to go to water aerobics tonight since I don't have class, but I forgot to pack my bag for it. Oh well.

I'm eagerly awaiting my weigh in tomorrow morning. Unless I REALLY screwed up this past week (and I don't THINK I did) I will probably hit my 10% target. And that makes me really happy. :) It's time that I start really thinking I'm getting somewhere with this. I did a bunch of measurements last night, and I have lost inches since the last time I did them. Too bad I didn't write down the DATE I did the measurements. Just what they were. This time I took just about every measurement I could think of. The only ones I DIDN'T do were shoulders, wrists, and ankles. LOL Sometimes I amaze even myself. But since I'm participating in Kim's 12 week challenge, I figured I would go ahead and do them all. I'm not sure which ones we'll actually be doing for that, but I figured if I'm doing some, might as well do them all!!!

Y'all have a wonderful day!!!


Edit: My sister has posted some awesome pictures of the girls, if anyone is interested! And my new boss had some terrific news for us today. He's going to be a DAD come February! Just thought I would share!

I have NO clue why I can't type in the title box for this post, but I know it hasn't been just me on this either. (Although I've honestly forgotten who said they had the same problem.)

The weekend wasn't too terrible, although I did give in the the munchies. Between Saturday and Sunday I ate two swiss cake rolls. But I don't feel bad about it. I did pretty good on my eating anyway. And what's life without the occassional snack???

I saw Transformers on Sunday. It was awesome. I really enjoyed it. I would probably go see it again in the theatre if I could afford it. But with Harry Potter coming out this weekend, money is at a premium. And that's ok! It's definitely a fun movie to see, but not deep. Very fun though. With eyecandy!!!

I read a good book over the weekend. I'll be posting a review of it later this week. I'm reading a Mary Higgins Clark novel as well as another Anita Blake book right now.

Well, I think that's all I've got for now. I've been reading a lot of blogs this morning, even did some comments. I'm just not really feeling it today for some reason. Y'all have a great day!!!

Friday!!!!

I love Fridays. Except for the having to work part. But I guess I can survive through a few hours of it today.

Walking class went okay last night, I guess. We walked for 20 minutes on the indoor track. Putting the 15 of us plus anyone else in the gym on the 1/8th mile track was tight at times. I walked a little over a mile. Had got a shin splint from hell. But I pushed through it. Out midterm assignment is a 6 sentence paragraph on how we can incorporate more walking or jogging into our daily life. I'll probably do it this afternoon. No sense in putting it off. Especially when it's that easy! (AND she cancelled class on Tuesday for us to work on it. Kinda strange...)

Anyway, I racked up 11,343 steps yesterday. I feel good about that. Don't think I'll hit that today though. I think we'll actually be eating out with the inlaws for supper. That almost scares me. It will probably be either TGI Fridays or Olive Garden. I'm hoping for Olive Garden, then I can do unlimited salad!!!!

I feel really good about myself today. I was actually feeling a little down yesterday because I don't really see a change in myself when I look in the mirror. But this morning I'm wearing a pair of jeans that used to be so tight I couldn't wear them for very long at all. And I'm wearing them at work!!! They're still tight, but they are stretch jeans, so they are going to be a littlw fitted. :)

Anyway, I hope that everyone has a fantastic weekend!!!

And Changes Again!

So, I decided to put up a step counter on my blog since that's the main part of my challenge goal for this month. It's for 7500 on weekdays and 2000 on the weekends. It's not perfect on the numbers, but it's a good estimation.

While I was at that, I decided to change up the colors. I'm SOOO not good at that. But I trust y'all to let me know if something is really bad and needs changed! So, if it looks bad, tell me! Please!!!!

And back to work...

I hate holidays in the middle of the week. They always give me problems.

I didn't manage my walk yesterday. As a matter of fact, I didn't even manage 1000 steps on my pedometer. But I'm not beating myself up over it. I didn't go to bed until after 1 that morning, so I slept in!!!

We went to the inlaws' house and ate lunch. I was very reasonable and stayed inside my points. I spent the day reading books. I'm more than half-way through No Humans Involved by Kelley Armstrong and have enjoyed it. We didn't leave there until 11 pm! (We did do some fireworks, but they just gave me a headache. It was more loud that pretty.)

Today I overslept today and feel awful. But I already have in over 5000 steps today. So I'm feeling good about things, even if I don't feel wonderful.

I think I've caught up on everyone's blogs. Lots of people had some good news to share (losses, NSVs) and some people are having a bit of trouble. But it feels good to be caught up on the reading.

Kim over at Kim Under Construction is putting together a 12-week challenge for anyone who might be interested in participating. It starts on July 11th and she has created a SparkTeam for anyone interested. Feel free to check out her post from Tuesday for some more information if you might be interested. She's still taking challengers. And if you're in the 2007 Challenge, this might be something fun to do addition. Right now she's talking about a weekly exercise time goal, but we'll know more in the coming week.

I hope that everyone had a safe 4th, and that the rest of the week goes well. (I know I'm looking forward to my walking class tonight, and hope it doesn't rain this time!

Weighin' In Wet

Yes,the ticker does show an additional 1.5 pound loss. And that's with me being very wet, AND weighing in at 6:00p, instead of 7:35am. So I feel really good about myself today. That's only 1.5 pounds til my 10% goal!!!!!!

So, I wore jeans to work today because I figured it I had to sit in a doctor's waiting room I should at least be comfortable while doing it. So I figured I would change before weighing in. Then, we walked outside for our timed 1 mile walk in class tonight. It started raining a bit (a little more than a sprinkle but still not too bad) and I decided to finish anyway. I had a time of 17:36 (I think). More than half of my mile was in the rain. I probably would have had a quicker time but I decided to walk the raining portion of it with another girl for company. After it started raining I started packing the mp3 player stuff into pockets. Just to be safe. It could have started raining worse. I think we were the last pweople to finish, but I know that a lot of people quit when the rain started. (Teach said that was fine. She understood. I'm just glad she was willing to wait out the rest of us!

Of course, when I got home I couldn't find my house keys, so between digging through bags for those and changing it started some torrential raining. (Ok, not THAT bad, but bad enough that parts of town are starting to flood.) So, after weighing in I went to work to see if I left them there. For some reason I had put them in my desk drawer. I have NO clue why I did that!!!

Anyway, the point of some of this rambling is to continue to say that after WW I gave up on the umbrella. There is skill involved in using an umbrella while getting in and out of car. I do not have this skill. No matter what I do I get almost as wet as not using one as while I do, although a bit less distributed. So, at work I just left it in the car and ran.

Oh, and about the flooding. I was going to take some back roods around town to get from the WW Center to work. Yet, that didn't last a block. There was a SERIOUSLY flooding spot. Bad enough that it was hitting the bottom of SUVs and trucks. So I was NOT taking my Neon through that! But the dumb as guy in front of me had stopped, and kept backing up. He backed up far enough to turn into a driveway and turn around, but he just kept sitting there. He finally got close enough to be that I couldn't even get around him and try to use that driveway. And traffic wouldn't let up enough for me to back up farther. Finally, I as able to back up enough to turn into a a small bit of pavement on my side of the road. Car is still sitting there. I pull up to get straight again and then back up to the end of the pavement so I can turn around in the street. THEN traffic picks back up so it's a couple of minutes before I can turn around. What does that stupid idiot end p doing? Driving through the flooded spot!!! Pissed me OFF! But I'll get over it.

So far I'm at 7057 steps for the day, so I should be able to pick up another 500 or so easily doing some work around the apartment. I was going to go to the library (another book is ready) but not in the rain. It will wait until Thursday when they are open again. They're closed for the holiday. I would just drop my books in the box tomorrow if I didn't have anything waiting, but no sense in making two trips downtown. I hope the weather here is better tomorrow. I want to get up and get a couple of miles in before heading to the inlaws. That should put me well on my way for walking, and not make me feel too lazy. And I'll be walking to work again on Thursday.

Well, congrats to everyone who has already posted a loss for this week! I'm heading over to sparkpeople now to post mine on the group loss board! Y'all have a great holiday (well, my US readers anyway!).

And the Doctor Says...

Get better posture. Will, basically that's what she said! Not exactly.

She done some trigger-point therapy (I think botox) on my upper back, and set up an appointment for a nerve burning for my lower back since that helped it last time. she gave me the 30 minute rule. Everytime I'm reading or working on the computer I'm supposed to stop every 30 minutes and pull my head and shoulders back several times. Hopefully this will work out well for me!

I'm going to weigh in tonight at weight watchers assuming I get out of class in time. I'm expecting to see a gain there just because of the time of day. But I know I'll feel bad if I just skip it entirely.

All of my book shipments have come in, so I will not be continuing the Anita Blake books until I have two or three others read. (I should be able to get in a lot of reading tomorrow!) I expect at least one will get finished tomorrow. I'll be at the in-laws' place, but they will most likely just be watching tv.

How about everyone else? Any big plans for the 4th?

Oh, and on my goal status, I don't think I'll hit my step goal today because I've had to drive so much. But I will get in at least a one mile walk!

Long, And Boring Day

Yes, today will be long and boring. I'll be leaving work shortly to go sit for a couple of hours in Dr. Folse's waiting room. She's always at least an hour behind by 9:30. But, I should be able to finish Obsidian Butterfly while I wait. I brought the next Anita Blake book as well as The Bookseller's Daughter with me for once I finish. I wasn't sure what I would be in the mood for by then.

And I just realized that I'm not 100% sure I remember where her office is. That's nice to know now!

Anyway, I probably won't be around again until after lunch, and I should have news then. I hope.

And I hit 9500 steps yesterday!!! I'm well on my way! (Today isn't so high, but I did have to drive to work!)

Y'all have a wonderful day!

It's a New Month!

I'm glad that it's July. I think it's a great month. It means that half of the year is behind us, and I'm still working on my goal. I haven't had just a ton of progress with it, but the scale has gone down, and I'm happy about that.

We don't have things all together yet on the Challenge board, I guess Michelle's a bit busy, but I still have my July goals together. This month I will follow the orders of my back doctor (whatever she tells me tomorrow!) and I will walk every day.

With my walking itself I do have goals as well. I'll be logging at least 7500 steps on weekdays, and at least a one-mile walk on Saturdays and Sundays. Most of my weekday walking comes from walking to and from work which I WILL NOT do on the weekends, thanks!

Right now I hate my walk. It's in the 90s outside, and 80% of the walk is in direct sunlight. There's only one small stretch of shade to walk through and the rest is just miserable. :( But I do it because it saves money and it keeps me moving. These are very important things. Because I am BROKE. But that's ok! I'll live.

This weekend we went to my friend' Shay and Dee's house to play DnD. I finished making my new character, who did not have the opportunity to make an appearance. I probably slept for an hour or so, off and on. It got a bit boring and I got a bit sleepy. So sleep I did. I should have through to ask my friend Dee for the books I needed to borrow early in the evening. Then I could have been reading the entire time! Oh well, the sleep was good for me. And we had liquored up strawberries! That was fun. We had out buttershots (very, very good in a strawberry), mead, baileys, and a few other things. Our friend Joe had the idea of injecting the liquor and then letting the strawberries set in the fridge for a day. I'm kinda interested in how that would work out, but who knows if we will actually ever do it. It's definitely something to remember though!

I read Valiant: A Modern Tale of Faerie by Holly Black this weekend. That was an awesome book. It's a story of a young girl who leaves home and heads into the city. It's definitely a dark story, but it has a happy ending, and I like that. It's a young adult novel, 320 pages. Looking back, it doesn't feel that long. The story goes by pretty quick.

I also finished reading Sabrina Jeffries' The Royal Brotherhood series. They were good, fun reads. Not masterpieces of literature. It's about three half-brothers, all fictional bastard sons of the Prince of Wales. The middle book is probably my favorite though. Definitely by favorite hero of the three!

I'm continuing to read the Anita Blake books right now. I'm on Obsidian Butterfly right now. I'll finish it either tonight or tomorrow. It's definitely a good read!!!

Other than all this stuff, I did housework over the weekend. I finally have a clean kitchen again, although no where near as nice as Joy's new kitchen. She sent me some pictures of her house and it's beautiful. Makes me wish I lived out in a beautiful countryside, but maybe I will one day!

Everyone have a terrific week!!!

All Finished!!!!

I've been doing the WOMAN Challenge (Women and girls Out Moving Across the Nation) through WomensHealth.gov for the past few weeks. It's an eight week program with bonus challenges some weeks, so I actually completed it a week early. I proud to have completed the journey. It give me a nice sense of accomplishment! I can't wait for next years challenge. I should be able to set my goals higher then!