Another Friday...

This is just another busy Friday. Ok, it's actually a bit more busy. But that's just fine. I'll survive.

I didn't make it to the gym at all yesterday, but I don't feel bad about it. I walked a lot around campus and that will just have to do. I went to the bookstore to see if they had the book I've been wanting to read, Dark Legend, but no they didn't. And the local library doesn't have it either. Oh well. I'll just have to order it off amazon when I get the money, and just try to be patient in the mean time. I also didn't study enough for my test today. But oh well. Today I just don't care.

As for today, work sucks. I HATE the big boss of my department sometimes. The univ is having Founder's Day to celebrate the founding of the university. There is a big speech giving thing that every office is supposed to be allowed to close for and everyone go. Our office has been informed that we are not closing. It kinda sucks. But I'll get over it. And eventually I'll finish reading this chapter so I can take the darned test.

Our office has also lost a temp employee and there are no plans to replace him. So lunch schedules have been thrown off in our office. I went to lunch at 11 today. I dropped some bills by the post office before heading to the gym for a work out. I just did the circuit training room. 20 minutes (or actually a little less than that) But I think it was a decent work out. I got a bit to eat and a low cal smoothie after that and now I'm working again. Or at least I'm pretending to work. At 5:30 I'm meeting some people to walk on one of the local trails. I'm not going to walk for very long though. I still have that stupid test to worry about. And possibly DnD. But at least I will get a little more activity in. My lower back hasn't bothered me today, so I might be over my trouble after Tuesday's over-full schedule. :)

I've really liked all the possible challenges I've been sent. THANK YOU!!!!!!!! There are some fantastic ones there, and I'll have to keep that list around for the rest of the year. I'll get everything updated tomorrow as far as the challenge goes. I'm really excited to see that so many people have been participating and benefitting from the support.

On the financial side (feel free to skip the boredom here, I just feel a need to get some of it out) I entered a financial counciling type program a few years ago with some debt. I just found out that next month's payment will pay off the next to last account in it. Uunfortunately, I still have one left there. And I have NO idea of it's status. It should have been payed off already based on what the guy told me when I started it. And I haven't recevied a statement from them in a while. However, I think the company is still paying on the account for me. After a few moves and a hurricane I have next to none of that original paperwork. I hope I can find out something positive on that next week. I'm certianly going to try to. I hope it's nearly paid off as well because I would love to not have to pay that bill every month anymore. That way I can get rid of the debt in all the other accounts I have. And my husband's debt. I'm thinking of trying to take up PayPerPost again in order to make a little money. That would certianly help out with things. I tried to get on with them a few months back but they kept rejecting my blog. Hopefully things will go better this time and I can be making some extra money! And one of these days I really will get down to the plasma donation center....(more money and some good done)

Y'all all have a wonderful weekend!

Friday's Feast

Appetizer
What are you proud of?
I'm proud of the changes I have started making in my life, as well as proud of my husband for taking up Aikido and becoming more active.

Soup
What is the best thing you’ve ever won as a prize?
The really cool hanging candle-holder thinie I got at Girl's Night Out last year. Since I don't win stuff very often this was very cool. Unfortunately, I don't have a place to hang it in the apartment.

Salad
Name something you do that is a waste of time.
I watch reruns of Angel in the mornings instead of quickly getting ready for work.

Main Course
In what year of your life did you change the most?
2006. I got married. Is there a bigger change other than having children (which I don't!)?

Dessert
Where is a place you consider to be very tranquil?
My bathtub. It isn't very big, or even very comfortable. But I get to just soak there and let the rest of the world just go away.


Feel free to join in on Friday's Feast. Get the info here!

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!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

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!