Points and Pounds

Anyone out there?

2009-10-17T13:36:00.002-04:00

I'm pretty sure anyone who might have read this blog got the memo that I've moved. But just in case:

Hey! I've moved. Come on over here (http://pointsandpounds.wordpress.com/) and play :)

It's a lot prettier... promise! Oh! and when you're there, update your google reader, bookmarks or whatever you use.

Thanks!

Psst Over here!

2009-08-30T20:54:00.002-04:00

Just a friendly heads up that I moved a while back. So check me out over here. And update your google readers, sidebars, blog rolls etc if you don't mind.

Thanks!

It's Official!

2009-06-29T10:45:00.003-04:00

I'm moving! I've decided to give wordpress a chance. So going forward you can find me at:

http://pointsandpounds.wordpress.com

But I won't be deleting this. Not that anyone would want to come read about the past 4 years of my life... but you know, just in case it'll be here.

Whew! So please update your blog rolls, google reader, bookmarks, etc. And thanks for dealing with my little move :) AND for all of your support over the last FOUR years. (That's a really long time...)

Moving

2009-06-25T12:02:00.003-04:00

I'm thinking of moving. No... not my physical location... but my url. I'm thinking of moving to wordpress......

I've started pointsandpounds.wordpress.com

But I've been here for so long... almost 4 years (holy crap...). But it might be time for a move. I'll let ya'll know if it becomes official. But feel free to check out the (very bare) new site and let me know your thoughts on a move!

Win Free Essential Oils!

2009-06-24T16:51:00.002-04:00

My cousin over at All-Abode is hosting her first ever contest! It's a great one if I do say so myself. She's giving away some Peppermint Essential Oil. I can't even begin to tell you all of the uses for this... so just head on over and check it out for yourself. And then enter the contest. See? It's a win/win for everyone!

Puppy Love

2009-06-24T15:24:00.006-04:00

Just came across these pictures of Maddie when she was a pup. She used to be so little and tiny and sleep on my stomach at night. Now she's big and huge but still tries to sleep on my stomach at night. It doesn't quite work out as well as it used too. ha!

Faux Thursday

2009-06-24T10:42:00.003-04:00

Since I'm off on Friday today is my Thursday! 4 day work weeks really are the best. I don't know why we can't work 4 days and have off 3. There would be so much more balance in the world. Sigh.

In random TV news, does anyone else watch Army Wives? I totally got hooked on it the first season... and I've been watching ever since. I love that it's on during the summer so I have something to watch!! And I always forget about it so when I check my DVR on Monday or Tuesday it's there waiting for me... and I get oh so excited. Man I'm pathetic. ha!

Other than watching Army Wives over a Lean Cuisine last night I went to boot camp and did some laundry. I know, ya'll are totally overwhelmed by the exciting life I lead. I got up this morning and went for a quick 40 min bike ride. Probably did about 6 miles? Which is not really that much at all. Especially considering on Saturday I need to knock out 15 miles AFTER swimming in a river and then run after it. Oh man it's going to be entertaining. But at least I know my bike works... that's a start.

Tonight on the agenda is my last boot camp before the tri and then packing!! I'm hoping to get out of work tomorrow around 2ish and get on the road to Philly. Hopefully it won't take much more than 9 hours... keep your fingers crossed!

I know had more stuff to say... but I don't remember now. Woops.

Former Fat Girl

2009-06-22T14:29:00.003-04:00

Michelle over at Secrets of a Former Fat Girl chose me as her first Former Fat Girl of the Week! How freaking cool? Totally honored.

As for my weekend it was a bit of a bust. Did I go to boot camp on Saturday? Heck no. Did I ride my bike? Nah. Did I run or swim? Of course not! Do I have a triathlon in 5 days? YES! I know I'm stronger than I was last year but that doesn't mean this race is going to run itself! So the plan for the week is as follows....

Tonight: Boot camp (then out to dinner with friends haha)
Tuesday: AM Bike Ride... shooting for just 10 miles
PM Boot Camp
Depending on if my legs are still working maybe a swim after that!
Wednesday: PM Boot Camp then home for a swim
Thursday: AM bike ride

Then Friday is a day of REST and Saturday is the tri!

Perhaps I shouldn't have just had that piece of cake loaded with icing. Ooops :)

Insomnia

2009-06-18T02:00:00.003-04:00

With the exception of last night (due to a little Tylenol PM), I haven't been able to sleep straight through the night for about a week. It's the most frustrating thing ever, especially because I generally pride myself on my ability to sleep for 12 hour periods at a time if need be!

I got in bed tonight at 10:30. I turned my light off at 11:30. At 12:30 I was still awake. I fell asleep at some point but woke up at 1:30.... and have been tossing and turning ever since. My alarm is going off at 6 to start a 12 hour work day.

And I should mention I'm not one of those people who can function on 5 hours of sleep. It's not pretty. Eeek!

So I guess tomorrow night I'll be popping some Tylenol PM again? Not sure what else to do but I'm totally up for suggestions!

Balance

2009-06-17T16:39:00.002-04:00

Remember this post a while ago where I talked about having to kneel on the stability ball?

Well check this shiz out....

I'm balancing on that bitch like it's my job. We have to take a little 2 pound blue ball and pick it up, switch hands above our head and then put it back down and repeat. I love feeling a sense of accomplishment!

For more boot camp pictures go here.

Comparing

2009-06-16T13:07:00.006-04:00

Perhaps it's because I had a donut for breakfast and Chick-Fil-A for lunch... but I feel like I need to remind myself of the progress I've made. I did a little searching for some old photos and here's what I found.

Oldest:
Oh my, will you look at that? My shirt and pants hardly cover my stomach! Though I do miss that kitchen... my avocado green and bright orange kitchen. But I certainly don't miss looking like that in my clothes!

Middle: I might still have this shirt. If I do I'm going to put it on and take a picture wearing it. My oh my... check out the bra lines in the back. I think my boobs are also half the size now. But that's ok because I think my stomach might be as well. I'll take the good with the bad!

This Weekend:
Granted it's not the best shot to compare to the other ones. But I think you can still see that at least my midsection seems to be somewhat under control. Even if I AM ordering soft serve ice cream in the picture. At least I got a kids size!

Today:

I figured since I had my camera at work I'd try to snap a shot. I got two.... they are both headless. But yall know what my face looks like. (Though I AM having a super good hair day that you're missing out on). But this is much better. Now I need to stop eating donuts so I don't go back to looking like picture number 1!

So to recap.....

Summertime Craziness

2009-06-16T11:38:00.005-04:00

Just a quick check in! Life has been pretty busy lately, but that's not a bad thing! A quick recap...

Last week...
Wednesday night: Went on a date! That's all the info you're getting though :)
Thursday night: Saw Phantom of the Opera here in Charlotte. Such a fun (free) night out! Score for getting tickets from work
Friday: Headed north for a weekend with my cousins at my aunt's beach house. We had a blast!! Proof and pictures here.

Speaking of, can we take a second for me to be vain here? Ok, thanks. I used to LOATHE my arms. But check them out in this picture. You can really only see my arm poking out (I'm wearing a grey shirt)... but dare I say it's skinny? Crazy.

Got home at 1am on Sunday night/Mon morning.... so needless to say I've been a little sleepy lately. We also started a summer fund drive at work. We're in a bit of a deficit for the first time ever... so we're hoping to get a few bucks to help us end the fiscal year in the black. That means working 12 hour days and lots of unhealthy food around. It's only 3 days though instead of the usual 8... whew!

Food has been way out of control. But I've been keeping it to just meals... no snacks. My meals have been crappy, but at least I'm not snacking too, right? Right.

Ok that's my (very) brief update for today!

Lesson Learned

2009-06-09T21:31:00.002-04:00

For the first (ok maybe second) time ever I almost puked at boot camp tonight. I never get sick to my stomach working out. I mean maybe once the first week I was a little queasy but that was 6 months ago. So why was I feeling so horrible today? Most likely a bunch of reasons -- but the number one was what I ate! I had 10 M&Ms for breakfast. Talk about the breakfast of champions! I was busy at work and didn't really get hungry and when I did it was 10:30 and I had lunch plans for noon so I didn't want to eat my big breakfast. So instead of getting the grapes in my lunch bag.. I had a handful of chocolate. Smart move. At lunch I had a great salad. Grilled chicken, avocado, lettuce, tomatoes, cukes and some bacon. It was perfect and filling. I also had a few rocket tots (think tater tots with cheese and jalepenos in the middle!) before my salad. For an afternoon snack I had a few peanuts. And that's all I ate. Granted my lunch was pretty decent but... it clearly wasn't enough food to fuel me through a hard workout.

I'll also say that doing ladder drills in the 80+ degree heat nonstop for 20 minutes didn't help either. There was lots of reverse and turny moves which I'm sure helped my stomach turn a bit.

But I got through the workout without puking. And I was actually quite proud of that! But now I know NO MORE chocolate breakfasts and eat something substantial (maybe with carbs?) for lunch!

Dinner was a nectarine and a small bowl of cereal since tummy still wasn't feeling well. Hopefully tomorrow all will be better!

Weekend, Bakery Love and HELP!

2009-06-08T15:04:00.004-04:00

Shall we recap the weekend? Yes, I thought so too!

Fri Night: Went out to dinner with friends and their 2 kids. I got an AMAZING salad at a place called Crisp. So freakin good. Then the husband went to a concert, the kids went to bed and Leah and I made chocolate muffins and ate them warm with Hagen Daaz BAILEYS ice cream on top. Amazing. We also watched He's Just Not that Into You. Cute, but nothing amazing. I got home at 1am! LATE night for Jeannie.

Saturday: Boot camp, nap, pool...So nice! Then a bunch of friends and myself met uptown for a fun night out! We went to Taste of Charlotte which is a big street fair with all the CLT restaurants so you can taste their food. Then we went bowling at a new nice bowling alley. It was a BLAST! I was driving so I didn't drink but every one else got quite trashed and it was hysterical. I'm so happy to have friends in Charlotte!

Sunday: The pup let me sleep in until 9:30!! OMG it was amazing. I dog parked it up and then hit up the slightly ghetto but cheap grocery store, then hit up the POOL. It was great. Just hung out in the pool and chatted with peeps.

Then came more fun.... A friend and I decided to go to this amazing bakery for dinner. Yes, a bakery for dinner. It's called Amelies. It is my new favorite place in all of Charlotte. It is SO adorable... and open 24/7!!!! WHAT??? It was a lovely impromptu girls night out. It's a french bakery and they have baguettes, croissants, EVERY baked good, and home made soups and sammies. I got a roasted turkey sammie. It was cheddar, turkey, crisp bacon, herbs de provance, olive oil mayo on a croissant... all grilled up and toasted. Holy heck. Orgasmic. Then I had a caramel salted brownie for dessert. And my total came to 7 bucks. WHAT? Cheap. Adorable. Delicious. And open all the time. Yup, I'm in love. If you are even in Charlotte be sure to go. You won't regret it. Even if your meal has a jillion calories.

Ok moving onto the HELP section of today's post. This weekend I'm heading to my aunt's beach house in South Jersey. It's just going to be all of the cousins though. It should be a blast -- we're all quite close. Anyway, one of the couples is getting together a little trivia game. I need to come up with some trivia questions about myself (which you're more than welcome to help with... but really I should be able to handle that), but then I need to come up with a 'challenge' of some sort. Here are the instructions:

The other thing that we need you to do is to create some kind of group challenge. There will be five teams playing (4 of 2 and 1 of 3). Your group challenge could use 1 person from each team or everyone all together or something in between... whatever will work for your challenge. Note: your challenge does not have to be about you. I imagine that with this group I don't need to tell anyone what kind of challenges will work but for the heck of it, I will say that it could be anything from a jello eating contest to a physical challenge to a name-that-tune quiz to a bird trapping contest (although I would not recommend that last one unless you are me or Stevie, since we have experience and we will rock it a little too hard). You should write out the directions to your challenge as well (also not showing anyone) and you should bring / create any 'props' that are necessary to execute it.

So bring on your brilliant challenge ideas! Get creative and help me out here!

Jealous!

2009-06-08T11:10:00.002-04:00

I was jealous of Carrie's package from the last big swap... so I'm joining in this time! So fun!!

Thorn Birded

2009-06-04T15:37:00.005-04:00

I've been walking around with my head stuck in a book the past few days. I know... it's so unlike me. But when a coworker (turned friend... love that!) found out that I had my very own 'priest scandal' in my family she was both shocked and appalled (no, not that there had been a priest scandal in my family but...) that I'd never read or seen The Thorn Birds. It's a 500 some page epic novel and a lot of it is a little Jane Eyre-esque in that there are just full pages of descriptive stuff. I'm more into books for the dialogue. Let's be honest, 97.3% of the books I read are beach read romances. But I just skip over the descriptive stuff. I don't really need 6 pages on the weather patterns of Australia. But I digress...

Said friend told me to give it to page 100 and if I wasn't hooked then I was allowed to just watch the mini series. But alas, I got to page 100 and have been forging on ever since. I'm totally smitten with Father Ralph for those of you who do know the story. I'm on page 319 and am hoping to finish soon because it's due back at the library in a few days. Oh the pressure!

But moving onto to food and stuff. I finally (kind of) remembered to do weekend food pictures! I had some good eats. And by good I mean naughty! heehee. Check them out here if you feel so inclined.

Triathlon #1 is less than a month away. It's on June 27 to be exact. Eeekads. Let's move onto another topic before I stress myself out too much. (Have I mentioned I haven't been on my bike since FEBRUARY?)

Yesterday I went to Sonic for the first time. I've seen commercials for this place my entire life. They run tv ads in Philly even though there isn't a sonic within 50 miles of where I grew up. And then I moved south where there are plenty, but I was always scared/intimidated by it because I didn't know how the 'drive up' worked. But it was really quite fun. The server even brought the food to our car sporting some sweet roller skates.

Tonight I'm hitting up the Melting Pot for half price cheese and chocolate fondu. Be jealous. Be very jealous.

Boot Camp has been going well this week. I have mastered balancing on the swiss ball. It's so fun to be the best at something there. Because let's be honest, other than the swiss ball I'm still the slowest at a lot of the stuff we do (especially running). Remember the night I actually cried at boot camp because I was the weakest and slowest? Well I may still be the slowest but now I use the heaviest weights out of all the girls! It's an amazing feeling.

And as for TV, is anyone else as geeked up for this season of So You Think You Can Dance as I am? I love this summer time show. I can afford to have a 2 night TV show in the summer since there's nothing else on. So tonight, after I indulge in a healthy serving of fondu I'll be watching that. It doesn't get any better than this folks!

Only Tuesday?

2009-06-02T14:31:00.002-04:00

I keep thinking today is Wednesday. Why? I have no idea. But it's only Tuesday! How sad. But let's not dwell on that, shall we? There has to be something happy about today! So here goes:

It's SUNNY
I have an adorable outfit on (skirt, top and cute earrings)... too bad I'm covered up with a HUGE sweater because its freezing in here
high of 92!!!!
Dining al fresco at HALF PRICE lunch this afternoon
Only one workout tonight -- boot camp
Watching The Hills from last night tonight (don't judge, I can't help myself)
tomorrow will be Wednesday
a delicious breakfast that I already devoured!!

Ok much better!

My night last night was crazy packed but I got everything done! I went to boot camp where we did upper body. It was a beast! But I CURLED 15 pounds (technically 30 pounds since I had 15 in each arm). I did 2 sets of 15 throughout the night. GO ME! I felt so strong I love it!!!! It was just two of us which was a nice treat. I got home and my arms were on fire, they were shaking. I hate/love that feeling. Roommate and her beau were eating dinner so I stood in the kitchen and talked to them for a bit while eating some watermelon and then ate some leftover cold mac n cheese from the fridge. I was hungry!!! I went up to my room, changed into a bathing suit and hit the pool! As tired as my arms were I think it was good to sort of stretch them out. I did 34 laps in 24 minutes. Not too shabby for my first time in the pool. I got home, grabbed Maddie and took her for a quick walk. Maybe 15 minutes? Roommate had taken her to the dog park so I really didn't need to walk her but I felt like I'd been neglecting her so I did. ha. After that I made a big salad for dinner and had a waffle on the side. Then I was still hungry and had a 2 point Bryers ice cream sammy. So good! It was 9:30 by this point so I went upstairs and showered, got in bed and read my book. It was a delightful night! Too bad my allergies got really bad out of no where at midnight and I was up for an hour sneezing and blowing and snotting all over. I know, I paint the absolute most attractive picture of myself. Could it have been the chlorine? I have NO idea. I have been allergy free for at least a week. Quite random. Anyway I'm a bit sleepy due to that but it's ok. I'm still going to make it a good one!

Menu for today....

- Bfast: Big waffle with strawbs, 1/2 banana and blueberries
- Lunch: hitting up the flying saucer for 1/2 price lunch -- I'm going to try super hard to get a SALAD
- Snack: fruit salad (watermelon, strawbs, banana, razberries, blueberries)
- Snack: vitamuffin
- Dinner: not sure. I have some meatballs defrosting so possibly that. And maybe another big ole salad. Mmmm.

Planning....

2009-05-29T11:20:00.003-04:00

The plan for today....
- BIKE RIDE (even if it's just 6 miles) after work assuming the sun is still out and its not raining.... it's been way too long since I've shown the Burley any love.
- Sweep/vacuum the floors. That's the only cleaning I need to do this weekend since last weekend I cleaned EVERYTHING

Tomorrow....
- BOOT CAMP in the AM
- watching my friend's dog, KIN for the weekend so hopefully she and Maddie will play lots
- POOL in the late morning/early afternoon
- Mow the lawn in the afternoon and plant some more pretties outside

Sunday.....
- BIKE RIDE in the morning. Hopefully at least 10 miles.
- Take Maddie to get GROOMED (yay for clean, happy puppies!)
- POOL in the afternoon
- Bring Kin to another friend's house as she's watching her the rest of the week
- Grocery store in the evening and prep meals for the week

And while we're at it.. Monday....
- Work
- PM boot camp
- Dinner
- SWIM at the POOL during adult swim from 8-8:30. The Philly Tri is in 29 days. EEEEK!

I am SO pumped about my weekend. I have nothing major planned, just things I want to do and get done. And not spending much money other than on groceries and getting Maddie groomed. SO freakin excited. YEAH!

Also. I'm determined to count points today. I've not counted points in MONTHS. So I'm giving it a go today. Wish me luck! It's hard getting back into the swing of things but my waist will thank me I'm sure.

Breakfast:
2 whole grain waffles w/ almond butter - 4
orange - 1

Snack:
a few peanuts - 2

Lunch:
hopefully a salad or grilled chicken or something wherever we go for lunch (it's my boss' birthday) - 7?

Snack:
choco vitamuffin - 1

Dinner:
SALAD using up all my produce - 2
Lean Cuisine (I know... I know... but I have no food in the house still!) - 5

Snack:
fat free bryers with strawberries and ff whipped cream - 3

25 points total. And I'll get at least 2 APs for my bike ride. Score!

Cereal

2009-05-20T22:03:00.003-04:00

I've been having a bit of a love affair with cereal lately. I know I should be eating something a bit healthier (aka containing protein and veggies) for dinner... but I just can't help myself. I get home from boot camp at around 7:15. I do not feel like making anything. All I want to do is pour a big bowl of cereal and eat it while catching up on some TV with my roommate.

I went through a box of Golden Grahams (I generally don't buy sugary cereal like that bit it was on sale for 2 bucks) in 3 days. Yeah, I got THREE bowls of cereal out of it. That's probably 2 cups per bowl. Which is more than double the serving size. But alas, I can't stop.

I do try to have something else for breakfast if I plan on having cereal for dinner. Tomorrow cereal is on the agenda for breakfast though.. so someone quick give me a suggestion for a dinner as quick and easy as cereal :) Thanks!

Takin It Back

2009-05-19T21:08:00.005-04:00

Do any of you watch Survivor? I absolutely love that show. It's just so brilliant in so many ways. And yes, I was totally smitten with JT this season. I'm ready to move to Alabama and live on a cattle farm with him. Ha! But the real reason for the post is about Taj. (Speaking of, did anyone else realize that JT spelled her name TAG at one of the tribal councils? Hysterical).

So it said that Taj's career was "former pop star." On the finale Jeff mentioned she was a member of SWV (Sisters With Voices if I remember correctly). Do any of you remember them? Because as soon as he said it I totally started singing one of their songs. I was beyond obsessed with it back in like 6th or 7th grade. Anyway the song was called "Weak" and I just found it on YouTube. Makes me like Taj even more!

So am I the only person that remembers this song?

Spinach for Breakfast

2009-05-19T10:47:00.004-04:00

I headed "home" (up north) for a family party this weekend. One of my aunts is quite sick with cancer and we had a big surprise 59th birthday party for her. It was an absolute blast and I know my aunt loved every second of it. I also ate nothing but carbs or sugar for 3 days straight. (Speaking of carbs - info on my home made soft pretzels is up here). So after getting to the grocery store last night I was ready to go into sugar detox mode today.

This morning I had a green smoothie for breakfast. I've become somewhat obsessed with them recently.

Into the mix goes:
- 1 cup vanilla soy milk (I use the kind with added fiber)
- handful of baby spinach (I tear it up a bit)
- 1/2 cup frozen chopped strawberries
- 1/2 banana frozen and cut up
- scoop of protein powder

Blend it all up (I use a stick blender for easy cleaning)... and ta da! Breakfast is served! I get in plenty of protein and a serving of fruits and vegetables! It's perfect! And I swear you CANNOT taste the spinach. I brought in a little extra for one of my coworkers to try as she didn't believe me that you couldn't taste the spinach but after she tried it she agreed. So if you make smoothies I highly suggest throwing a little spinach in next time. Just boosts the health values without added nasty veggie flavor. It's a win/win!

Freezing!

2009-05-13T15:40:00.002-04:00

Does anyone else have an issue working in an overly AC-ed building in the summer? I'm a cold person by nature, but today the high in Charlotte is 76. I don't think I'm being ridiculous wearing a summer dress and a cardigan. I'm perfectly comfortable outside. But in my office? Cripes! I'm freezing! Right now I have a space heater on under my desk AND a sweater draped over my legs like a blanket. That's just not right if you ask me.

But then again maybe my body is just used to hotter temps. I don't believe in turning my central air on until well after Memorial Day (I generally shoot for Flag Day - June 14 - or if I'm really feeling frisky I'll wait until the 4th of July.)

But such is life. I'll just hang out with my sweater/blanket (I SO need a snuggie) and try to stay warm until it's time to leave!

In other news last night I made soft pretzels from scratch. They aren't as good as the real thing I'd get in Philly... but they were pretty easy to make and fun! I'll certainly be making these again. The dough would also be great for pigs in a blanket. Heavenly.

The other exciting bit of news I have to share is that they put tables outside the building I work in. (I just tried to not end that sentence in a preposition, but it just sounds to formal... in which... anyway!) So today I brought my lunch and ate outside with a few coworkers. I love to dine al fresco. I plan on making good use of those tables all summer long. Really, it's the little things in life that excite me.

And just to toot my own horn (man I love that saying) I got up and went to AM boot camp this morning! I have a work event til 9 tonight so I went to the 7:30 session (really it was a private session because no one goes in the mornings) and came to work at 10. I wish I could come in at 10 everyday! The end.

Really Doing This

2009-05-10T21:43:00.005-04:00

I think one of the reasons I might be neglecting my blog so much is because I'm not really all that crazed about eating right and my weekly weigh ins right now. I'm just kind of doing it. I'm certainly not perfect, nor at my overall goal weight. But I am actually happy with my body. I have MUSCLES. Yes, if I flex my arms there's actually muscle there. I still have big thighs, but you know what? I think I'm always going to have big thighs. Such is life. But today I was in the middle of cleaning and looked up in the bathroom mirror and thought, "damn I look good." Now you guys know me... I do NOT ever think that. And I wasn't even decked out! I was cleaning the bathroom! But I'd gone out this morning so my hair was curly and I had make up on, and was wearing a white tank top and black (pajama-esque) shorts and I have a little tan going on and I just felt good. And that's what I saw in the mirror. And I can't even tell you what a great feeling it was!

So yes, I have off days (like today) where I eat crap. But I also have good days (like yesterday) where I eat quite well. And during most of those good or bad days I work out. And it all sort of just balances out. I've been at the same weight now for a year. But my clothes definitely fit better this summer than they did last. So one would assume I've lost some fat and gained some muscle. Which is why I've not been hopping on the scale as much. I'm just doing this based on how I feel this time around and it's working for me. So I'm going with it!

Moving along... I've had a fun weekend! Yesterday was a busy day! I got up and went to boot camp. It was so hot at 9am... I was dripping sweat like nobodys business! Ew! After that I stopped at Lowes on my way home to get some veggie plants! (Yes, I went to Lowes straight from my workout all smelly and gross). I got some tomato plants, pepper plants and planted cucumer seeds (hopefully they make it). But the veggie garden was a mess of weeds so I spent a good 2 hours cleaning everything out before I planted anything. I got some color on my back (I wore a halter to prevent tan lines heehee) and a second workout! Because I was dripping sweat again working out there! But I got the weeds out, turned the soil, and got some new dirt in there too. Hopefully my veggies will do as well this year as they did last! After that I hit up the grocery store and then came home to shower and get ready to go out. Went on a date but as much as he seems like a nice guy, he's just not the guy for me. Literally in 4 hours I didn't laugh once. Unacceptable! So back to square one we go :)

Today was perfect in so many ways. I was up at 8 and got ready for brunch at a friend's house. I made monkey bread and we ate a whole lot of carbs... but delicious carbs! All kinds of breads and casseroles. There was fruit salad, and that's the only thing I had seconds of, but I surely ate too much. I got home around 2 and was out in the backyard working on the front part of my tan by 2:30. I was all hooked up. I had a fan oscillating on me, a spray bottle to spritz myself with cold water, and my iPod hooked up to some computer speakers so I could jam while I relaxed. And as always a tall glass of ice water and a pup beside me. Here are three views. #1 - my legs, #1 - Maddie laying beside me and #3 - the tree in my backyard and a picture perfect sky

Around 4ish I went back inside to get some work done. I did 2 loads of laundry. Sweapt, mopped and vacuumed the downstairs floors. Made meatloaf, cut up all of my fruit for the week and also made pasta with sauce and veggies for the week. I also cleaned the bathroom, but you knew that already. Then I had some leftover monkey bread for dinner. And it was heavenly. (Yup, I had a carb loaded brunch and monkey bread for dinner... and that's it. Told you today was a bad one!) And finally around 7ish I sat down to just relax and watch some TV.

Whew! This post was much longer than I anticipated -- so if anyone's still reading thanks! I'm off to bed now before I go eat MORE leftover monkey bread!

10 Years

2009-05-04T15:43:00.011-04:00

I really and truly can't believe it's been 10 years since my high school graduation! But it has been. So let's discuss, shall we?

I had insane amounts of anxiety showing up alone, but decided to step outside of my comfort zone and go
I thought everyone would be a size 0, married and have 2.5 kids and a white picket fence
Apparently everyone else also had all of these thoughts!!!
I had much more fun than I anticipated (see pictures below)
It was like nothing had ever changed. No one had their husbands/bfs there (I went to a private catholic all girls school) so it was just the girls hanging out like old times. No one really looked all that different. And the people I didn't really like in high school I still didn't really like. And those that I loved I fell right back in step with like we hadn't missed a day.

Photos? But of course! (My camera died so I was relying on pictures posted on facebook)

Cocktail hour (I tried to lower my beer so it wouldn't be in the picture, but alas that didn't work)

Dinner - the food was terrible, but the company was nice!

This is my excited face (or maybe my "I just had 2 beers in 30 minutes" face)

Someone made me laugh right before taking this picture

And I really couldn't regain my composure

But I finally got it together, whew!

Since dinner was horrible we went to a local pub after... and ordered some fries! (not to worry -- 7 of us split this basket)

After a night out with old friends I was a bit reminiscent when I got back to my parent's house. I went through all of my old photos. I decided to bring them back with me to my house in NC. One of these days I might even post some here! Man oh man that would be entertaining. Let's just say my awkward years lasted longer than most people's. I also decided to try on my 2 prom dresses! Yes, they are still in my closet in my bedroom at mom and dad's. Want to know the best part? Not only did the both zip... but they were each actually a little lose! WHAT? My prom dresses from high school are a tad too big? What is going on here! Talk about putting me in a good mood for the 8 hour drive home! If my camera battery wasn't dead I would have taken a picture for proof! But alas, it was. So just take my word on this one, ok?

Beyond Randomness

2009-05-01T15:53:00.005-04:00

I feel as though every post I've written recently has start with "I'm such a blog slacker" ... or something along the same lines. And once again, here I am claiming the same thing. It happens.

And since my favorite blog style these days has also been to get all bulleted on you, that's what's in store today!

While neglecting this blog, I did write a fun post for my cousin's site about kale chips. WW friendly. Cheap. And you totally feel like you're eating something naughty. Check it out.
On Wed I decided to take a super unscheduled trip home to PA this weekend. Tomorrow morning I'm hopping in the car at 5:30am, driving 8 hours, drinking lots of caffeine, making myself pretty upon arrival, going to my cousin's baby's first bday party, then going to my 10 year high school reunion. I won't lie - I'm a little bit scared about the reunion. I don't really keep in touch with people all that well and it's been about 10 years since I've seen most of these people. YIKES! Sunday I'll sleep in, hang out a bit and head back in the car for 8 hours. Whew.
Last night at boot camp we had to kneel on the Stability Ball for 60 seconds. It was hysterical the first time I tried, but by the second time I was able to do it! My entire lower body hurts from it today though. You really use ALL of your muscles for it. I looked a little less composed than this lady
While googling the last image I came across this, and I want it.
I had a milkshake for lunch today. There I said it. It's out in the open. And you know what? It was everything I dreamed it would be and more. Now a salad for dinner and I should be ok.
I registered for 2 classes this morning. Did I tell you guys I'm going back to school? Well if I didn't I am. To become a middle grades math teacher. Heaven help me. I'll be taking definitive math and statistics this summer. Heaven help me again.
I'm more excited than I should be about the prospect of 'back to school' shopping. Pencils, calculators, spiral bound 5 star notebooks, and maybe even a binder!
This day seems a bit never ending
I went on a date with a boy on Friday night. Then I went on another date with the same boy on Saturday night and met some of his friends. There's potential... but he's been out of town all week. We shall see!
I've been dog sitting for a friend's dog for the past 8 days. Is it wrong that I'm ready for the not so well trained dog to go home? I mean, she woke me up puking at 3am this morning because she ATE half of a softball. Who knew they were cork inside?
I went to Orlando a few weeks ago with the fam. We had such a fun time! My mom and I swam with the dolphins. Here's me and Coral hanging out (or making out, whatever).
The rest of the pictures from my trip are here. Note the ones of me wearing shorts (this was taken just for proof that I actually wore shorts).
I've worn makeup to work 4 out of 5 days this week. That might be a record for me.

Ok, I think that sums up most of my randomness for today. Who knows, maybe I'll get my act together and write ANOTHER post before the end of May. That would just be sheer madness.

Happy Weekending!