You’re not going to believe it, but I actually cleared out my Google Reader last night.  Now, admittedly, there were over 1000+ posts (I’m not sure exactly as that is what it maxes out at), so I wasn’t able to read all of them, but I did read quite a few.  Of course, now it is back up to around 30, but hopefully this will be a first dip of my toe back into the blog-reading world.

Food-wise, this week isn’t going so great.  And the scale is responding in kind (but it can go suck my big toe).  All-in-all, I can’t say that it has been absolutely horrible, but I did have a run-in with about three store-made chocolate chip cookies on Tuesday night.

I’m doing better food-wise today.  Mentally also.  Yesterday was somewhat of a rough day for me.  Nothing really bad happened, but I was just kind of in a “mood.”

So in honor of my actually reading blogs again, I thought I would share some link love of things that really grabbed my attention (not that all of the rest of you didn’t grab my attention, because you did!).

• All the Wrinkled Ladies Video – via Moonduster (Becky). Hysterical with a fantastic message!
• What are you waiting for? – on Dare to Become
• Going along with my new obsession for photographing as many sunsets as I can, I think this 365 Project looks interesting!
• 20 of the World’s Most Beautiful Libraries – because well, I’m me!
• 15 Extraordinary Mass Human Formations – just for fun
• 9 of the Most Amazing Bookstores in the World – I MUST move to or at least visit Hay-on-Wye
• 100 Ways to Show Boldness – I don’t agree with some of the ideas on this list (some seem more mean-spirited (I’m going to show you I’m better than you) than bold), but some are worth thinking about
• I know most of you know Mary and Kepa and have probably already heard about their engagement, but seriously, I’m still a swooning sappy mess from watching Kepa’s video of his proposal!

Okay, I hope you enjoyed these and that you’re all having a great week!

Post from Uncovering Pamela

Link Love

In yet another effort to keep myself up as late as possible, I came across this list of 99 things over at Angelia’s site “Amelioration.”  Would love for you guys to fill it out as well if you’re interested, and if you do, please leave me a link!  Since I can never keep my mouth shut, I’ve made comments on some of the things that I haven’t done, as well.  The bolded ones are ones that I have done.

1. Started your own blog – (Who me? A blog? Huh? No way.)

3.  Played in a band

4. Visited Hawaii

5. Watched a meteor  shower

6. Given more to charity than you could afford to.

7.  Been to Disney - in first grade

8. climbed a mountain – Um, it felt like a mountain? Um, I was on top of one once in TN? As Angelia said, I’m counting it!

9. Held a praying mantis – I’m sure I have

10. Sung a solo – HELL no, though I was in choir in 5th and 6th grade – anyone who knows me knows this thought is hysterical

11.  Bungee jumped – Am actually considering it (though as I’ve said before, I’d probably need a shove)

12. Visited Paris – want to really badly

13. Watched a thunder and  lightning storm – LOVE

14. Taught yourself an art from  scratch – SO so many (like making jewelry, for example)

15. Adopted a child – I would consider it someday

17. Walked to the top of the statue of liberty – I’ve been on the island!

18. Grown your own vegetables – I haven’t, but my parents did when I was a kid

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France – want to!

20.  Slept on an overnight train

21. Had a pillow fight

22.  Hitch hiked – no way, are you insane?

23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill – Ahem <cough> me? Never would do such a thing.

25. Held a lamb – have petted plenty of sheep though

26. Gone skinny dipping – Um, no, though not for lack of opportunity

27.  Run a marathon

28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice – Again, would LOVE

29.  Seen a total eclipse – I believe so in high school

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset – daily lately

31.  Hit a home run – I was always happy just to hit the damn ball

32. Been on a cruise – cruises involve swimsuits

33. Seen Niagara Falls in  person – would also love

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors – Well, am part native american, so it counts! Would also love to see Germany and England (my other two biggest, though there are other countries, too.  My dad has us traced back to 1200 A.D. if I remember correctly)

35.  Seen an Amish community – um, only in passing

36. Taught yourself a new  language-I know a little bit of French from high school (gets rustier every year). Would love to learn a new language.  Damn Rosetta Stone for being so expensive!

37. had enough  money to be truly satisfied-for one very brief fleeting moment in time

38. Seen the leaning tower of Pisa in  person – again, would LOVE

39. Gone rock climbing

40. Seen Michelangelo’s David in  person – would LOVE

41. Sung karaoke – see No. 10 above – believe me, the audience should kiss me for not putting them through that.  Love to watch people sing it though

42. Seen old faithful  erupt – would LOVE

43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant – no, but have always wanted to do this

44.  Visited Africa – would like to some day

45. Walked on a beach by moonlight – Just once and it was with family

46. Been transported in an  ambulance - was hit by a car when I was four

47. Had your portrait painted – i started to put no, but then remembered that my grandpa painted my family when I was a little kid

48. Gone deep-sea fishing

49. Seen the Sistine  chapel in person – would love

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris – would love

51.  Gone scuba diving or snorkeling – does snorkeling in a pool count?

52. Kissed in  the rain

54. Gone to a drive-in theater – have always wanted to!

55.  Been in a movie – do home movies count?

56. Visited the great wall of china – would love

57.  Started a business

58. Taken a  martial arts class – have always wanted to

59. Visited Russia – would love

60. Served at a soup  kitchen

61.  Sold girl scout cookies – not girl scout cookies, but Camp Fire Candy

62. Gone whale watching

63.  Gotten flowers for no reason – a great feeling

64. Donated blood, platelets or  plasma

65. Been sky diving – um, hell no

66. Visited a concentration camp – I dearly dearly want to visit Auschwitz some day

67.  Bounced a check –not a check, but have miscalculated something before with one of my debit cards and once had a company withdraw a payment twice

68. Flown in a  helicopter – no, would like to.  Once had a goal of learning to fly one

69. Saved a favorite childhood toy – Confession: I have tons of my childhood toys.  Mostly in storage.  I even took a picture with my favorite cabbage patch doll when I was going through my storage unit one day.

70.  Visited the Lincoln memorial – yes!!! As of May, I can say that! Thank you “Lbs.” the movie for spurring me into going!

71. Eaten caviar – UGH no

72. Pieced a  quilt- no, but I helped make squares for one when I was in Camp Fire as a kid

73. Stood in times square - More than once and want to go back!

74. Toured the  Everglades

75. Been fired from a job

76. Seen the  changing of the guard in London – would LOVE

77. Broken a bone – see no. 46 above

78.  Been a passenger on a motorcycle – mom’s cousin was killed on one, so they kind of scare me

79. Seen the grand canyon  in person – hopefully next spring!

80. Published a book – no, dearly hope to one day – guess I should start writing one, huh?

81. Visited the Vatican – would love

82.  Bought a brand new car – just a used one

83. Walked in Jerusalem – would love

84. Had  your picture in the newspaper

85. Kissed a stranger at midnight on new  year’s eve – not on new year’s eve ;o)

86. Visited the white house – outside of it

87. Killed and prepared an  animal for eating – um, hell no!

88. Had chickenpox

89. Saved  someone’s life – we all may have saved someone’s life without knowing it

90. Sat on a jury – think it would be interesting

91. Met someone famous- Oh my, this is one category in which I excel.  Besides Brian Krause and Carmine Famiglietti/Matthew Bonifacio/Lou Martini, Jr., and the authors Jim Butcher and Amy Knupp (among others), I’ve also met: BlackHawk, Tim McGraw, Billy Dean, Chely Wright, Clint Black, and a list of other country singers that filled many, many notebook pages.  For two years, I helped out with Artist Escort/Security for the Country Music Fan Fair and the second year, I was pretty much in charge of it.

92. Joined a book club – you’re going to be shocked as hell, but I have never done this

93. Gotten a tattoo – nope.  I said maybe when I hit my goal weight, but it’s so permanent….and there’s pain….and what would I get?

94.  Had a baby- hopefully maybe someday

95. Seen the Alamo in person

96.  Swam in the great salt lake

97. Been involved in a law suit

99. Been stung by a bee- never!

As Angelia said, I obviously have a lot left in my life that I want to do, so I need to get off my ass!  I also need to make sure that I am the healthiest me that I can be in order to live long enough to do all of these things.  Because frankly, this list doesn’t even begin to cover what I want to experience in this life.

Post from Uncovering Pamela

99 Things

First, I had Mexican (chips/salsa, grilled chicken fajitas with sour cream and guacamole) for lunch and then the leftovers for dinner on Saturday.  I snacked way more than I should have late Saturday night – not crazy off-plan things (like ice cream), but definitely more than I should have had and didn’t count it.  Sunday, I had a bagel thin pizza (just a homemade pizza using a bagel thin) and a doughnut for lunch before the game.  I didn’t eat anything at all at the game (victory!), but then had Sonic for dinner, and had two more doughnuts over the course of Sunday evening/night.  On Monday, I was back on track.  So you see, my gain could have been much worse.

Second, remember how I was worried about last week’s huge loss being a fluke?  This weigh in (in a weird twisted way) combined with what I ate over the weekend, makes me think that it really wasn’t a fluke (don’t tell me if you don’t see it that way, ’cause that’s my story and I’m sticking to it).

Third, well, I’m just not bothered by it.  I know that this is a new week and hopefully if I don’t let it “derail” me, I’ll show a loss next week.

Next, to be totally honest, I haven’t been officially tracking my points for the last week or so.  I’ve kind of been trying to follow my own body’s instincts of when it’s hungry and such and mentally tracking the points.  I know that some days I was over my points, but I also know that on other days I was under my points.

One of my favorite things to make when I get home from work now is this skillet thingy.  Not quite sure what to call it.  I’ve been throwing in a bunch of veggies, a teaspoon of olive oil, some balsamic vinegar, a little Mrs. Dash, and either shrimp (surprisingly my favorite) or some naked (unbreaded) chicken nuggets that I got at Costco.  Here is a picture of last night’s version and it was pretty yummy if I do say so myself (and I do):

So here’s to a new week!

I know I owe a couple of you emails, and promise to get to them soon! Just been kind of wiped out lately – haven’t been sleeping too well.

And check out tonight’s sunset!  The blue rays are totally natural and not a product of the photograph.  If you look closely in the upper left corner (of the enlarged version you can see by clicking), you can also see a star!

Post from Uncovering Pamela

Weigh In & New Dinner Obsession

You all know that I work/sleep some funky hours.  Well, I heard that the TEDxKC tickets were going to become available today, and since I knew that Brené Brown is going to be one of the speakers, I knew I had to do everything in my power to get tickets.  You can read an article in the KC Star about the event here.  It says, though, that she is going to be speaking on social anxiety and human behavior.  Score!

I went to bed around 5am, originally setting my alarm for 9:00am just to see if they might be available then.  I actually ended up waking up a little before eight and checked, but they weren’t available yet.  I reset my alarm for about 10:45 thinking that surely they’ll be available by then, but it’s still early in the day, so I shouldn’t have a problem getting tickets (which are free).

Ha.  I just happened to wake up around 8:30 or so and thought hey, I’m awake, I’ll check Twitter to see if they’ve announced that they’re available.  Well, they hadn’t, but one guy that I follow did.  I hopped onto the site ASAP and got a “server busy” message.  I hit refresh a few times and was finally able to order the maximum of two tickets.

(Let me quickly throw in here a “WHOOHOO I’m going to get to see/hear Brené Brown speak in person”)

Well, it is apparently much more popular than I thought, because all 650 tickets were gone in an hour.  Completely sold out.  Insanity!  But I am beyond excited that I get to go.  Even a busy night at work didn’t change that.

Most of you have seen me post about Brené’s work or mention her on here many, many times, so you know how much I admire what she does.  I think she’s an amazing woman and want to be more like her “when I grow up.”  If you haven’t already, check out her website here.  Her blog is usually wonderful, heartfelt, and thought-provoking.

I originally became acquainted with her work when I discovered her book, “I Thought It Was Just Me,” on sale at Borders.  One of the best non-fiction works I’ve ever read.  She explains her research in an easy, down-to-earth way and is very open about sharing how it relates to her own experiences.

She also has a new book coming out in September (I believe) called “The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You’re Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are.” And if you’ve been reading my blog for any length of time, then you know that I’m dying to get my hands on it.

Here is a list of some of the posts in which I’ve mentioned her or her work.  There are even a couple that she commented on.  I also posted on Twitter that I got my tickets and was excited to see her and she responded!  I know there are going to be over 650 people there, but am really hoping to get to meet her!

Anyway, the event is on August 12th.  Expect to hear more about it in the coming weeks!

Post from Uncovering Pamela

TEDxKC & Brené Brown

This was an excited me before we left for the game:

You know the best part about it?  I bought that t-shirt at the National World War I Museum back on Memorial Day weekend.  It was the weekend that we went to the dinosaur exhibit.  It didn’t fit when I bought it! It was WAY too tight!  AND NOW IT FITS!  Which is just awesome because it has a picture of Snoopy on it as the Flying Ace.

(Note: I went ahead and bought it back then knowing that it wouldn’t fit, because I had faith in myself that I would be able to fit into that size again.  And you know what?  That faith in myself obviously paid off!)

As you know, I’ve been talking about this game for a while now.  I’m not a huge sports fan. Okay, really, I’m not a sports fan at all.  Sure, if I hear that the Royals or the Chiefs won, then sure I’m happy for them.  And if I’m at a game in person, then sure, I’d probably enjoy it – we used to go to Royals games all the time when I was a kid.  But to watch on TV or follow on the radio? UGH.  I’ve never been to a Chiefs game, so have never been to Arrowhead stadium  Until today:

Before getting to our seats, we checked out the souvenir stand.  I got a Wizards scarf and a Manchester United 2010 tour t-shirt:

I took over 200 pictures and a few videos of the game, so I definitely won’t bore you with all of them, but here are just a few:

And, of course, if you follow me on Twitter and/or read the title of this post, then you’re already familiar with the outcome of the game.  We won!  2-1!!!  Yes, the Kansas City Wizards beat Manchester United!?!?!  I personally think that maybe they just ate too much barbecue yesterday when they got into town.

Here’s our victorious team:

From what I heard, there were 52,424 people there (more than the number attending each of the Toronto and Philadelphia games) and there were people from at least 43 different states.  Not to mention the people who came from overseas!  I’m just so proud of our guys!

After we left the stadium, I walked around taking some photos of the stadiums (the Royals stadium is right next door) while we waited for some of the traffic to head out.  I took this one that I really love.  The cars in the parking lot and part of the city buildings are reflected in the windows of Arrowhead Stadium:

Unfortunately, my eating this weekend was pretty bad, so I’m not overly hopeful about weigh in on Tuesday.  But you know what?  I really didn’t do that bad, and I lived this weekend.  To me, it was a success regardless of what happens on Tuesday.  And this game?  Definitely worth the price of admission.

Post from Uncovering Pamela

KC Wizards Beat Manchester United!!!!!

I’m pretty determined, but if I can’t figure some of these out, then I may be moving on.  But this is my new theme for now.  Please bear with me while I try to work out the kinks!

Update:  In my true insane fashion, I’ve been up all night tweaking and revising and am really starting to like this theme.  Hope you do, too.  So right now, I would say it’s probably going to stick around for a bit.  Just seems so much more vibrant and fun than my other one. Keep in mind – it’s still a work in progress!

I think this is my favorite part:

Post from Uncovering Pamela

Theme Switch

In the weight loss blogging world, there is a lot of talk about the scale.  For fairly obvious reasons.  For one, it’s a way to track our progress when it can’t be seen (i.e., clothes aren’t fitting differently yet, etc.).  For another, our doctors place quite a bit emphasis on it.  For another, so do we sometimes.

Many of us adhere to the belief that the actual number on the scale doesn’t matter as much as how we feel and how we live and the choices we make.  I’ve been one of them.  I’ve written numerous blog posts about it over the past couple of years.  But I don’t think I ever really took that to heart for myself.

As you all know, I’ve been struggling hard for the past year.  For the past several months, I’ve been working on trying to get myself back into that “zone” where I was losing consistently.  Several of the more recent weeks were weeks in which I would get my week started off on the right foot, but by the end of the week, I was floundering in a sea of ice cream and pizza (and most likely chunky Chips Ahoy chocolate chip cookies, because they’re simply heaven on earth).

I know that part of it was that I was becoming discouraged.  Discouraged with myself and with weight loss in general.  I also had this deep fear that my luck had run out.  That no matter what I did or didn’t do, my weight would never go back down.  You see, that’s why I never really tried a major weight loss attempt until I started WW in 2006.  I didn’t think I could do it.  I proved myself wrong, obviously, but I was afraid that the magic was gone.  I was worried that no matter how hard I tried, I would either stay the same or keep gaining.  So, subconsciously, I made that happen.

What would happen is that in the middle of the week, I would peek at the scale.  I would see that I was up a couple of pounds from weigh in on Tuesday and get discouraged.  I would think “seriously, what’s the point if I’m just going to gain?”  Then proceed to eat all of the yummy goodness that my tummy could take.  Well, you know how that would turn out.  Every once in a while, I’d have a good week, but then would just screw it up again.

I’ve been back on plan now for, well, I really haven’t been paying attention.  Well over a week at least.  But I realized something.  Showing a gain in the middle of the week isn’t odd for me.  All through the process of losing 160+ pounds, I showed a gain in the middle of the week.  Sometimes those gains would stick around until the following weigh in.  Most of the time, they were gone and instead I had a healthy loss at my next weigh in.  But I apparently forgot.  I let my fear get in the way.  Maybe I was just looking for an excuse.

This week, I weighed in as usual on Tuesday showing a huge loss.  There was a big part of me that was afraid it was a fluke, a glitch in the scale.  I peeked at the scale Wednesday and was up almost 2 pounds.  Part of me was thinking, okay it was a fluke.  The loss was wrong.  But I decided to wait and see.  I peeked again yesterday.  Was up even more.  Started to get a bit worried, but this time, unlike the last several times, something changed in me.  I knew that I hadn’t done anything wrong.  I knew that I was making the right choices.  And this time, I wasn’t going to let the number on the scale derail me from continuing to make the right choices that would help me reach my goal (and by goal, I don’t mean goal weight).  Sure enough, when I peeked at the scale today, I was down .1 from Tuesday.  Not much of a loss, but it’s a loss and if I can make it through the weekend, then who knows what next week may have in store.

The point is that the number on the scale doesn’t matter as much as confidence in yourself and the willingness to never give up.  I’m not going to say don’t weigh yourself.  Because frankly, I don’t plan on stopping.  Sometimes when I don’t physically feel any different, it helps to see that number go down, even if it’s only a tenth of a pound.  In fact, I’m down over 20 pounds from when I recommitted myself, but I barely feel it all.

A new friend reminded me today that “a number is no measure of a person -- their personality, their sex appeal, what they offer. It’s all subjective.”  It’s a great reminder for all of us, but I will have to admit to being somewhat of a hypocrite.  While I’ve always firmly believed that that was true -  it was only true so far as it referred to someone else.  Where I was concerned, however, I’ve always been worried that the added weight was all they could see.  I’ve written often over the past several months about some of my experiences, especially as a kid, that helped germinate this idea.  But I’m finally beginning to look beyond the number on the scale when thinking about myself.  I’m starting to apply that idea and belief system to myself and it’s a wonderful thing. Of course, I’ll always be a work in progress.

I wrote in one of my posts the other day about a song by the group “Train” called “Words.”  I’ve been listening to it a lot lately.  All of the words that have been said to me that have hurt me, I’m using as “firewood.”  And all of the times I looked at the scale and didn’t like what it said, I’m using it as “firewood” to fuel my determination.  Not necessarily my determination to keep losing weight (though that is, of course, a part of it), but also my determination in showing the world a confident and happy Pamela.

Christy (a/k/a Angelchrys) in her infinite ability to find new things for me to love, introduced me to this short film, “Validation,” starring the “Bones” actor, TJ Thyne.  It’s about 16 minutes long, but I loved it and think it has a good message.  But while we can all use a little validation in our lives from others, the most important validation comes from ourselves.  Not from someone else.  Not from the scale.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cbk980jV7Ao

Post from Uncovering Pamela

Don’t Let the Scale Derail You

Unfortunately, I’m either fighting off a head cold or have just been slammed by allergies.  Last night, I was thinking head cold.  Today, I’m thinking probably allergies.  Right now, I’m struggling with really watery, burning eyes.  Not too pleasant when you’re at work.  I’ll be fine, though.

I got my license plate all renewed today and will get to keep the same personalized plate.  I’m glad about that, because I kind of like it.

Overall, it’s been kind of a rough day for me, but I’m muddling through.  And am still sticking to plan!  (And ignoring the “meanie head” scale, to use a friend’s words.)

For quite a while now, I’ve been contemplating a design switch on my site. I’ve had the same look for two years now, so I think it’s time for a change.  While the current one really fit the feel that I was going for – growth and change – and while I’ve put tons and tons of time into it tweaking this and that, I’ve gotten fairly bored with it.  Besides, I feel like I’m turning over a new leaf – making changes in my life – so this site should be reflective of that.

I unfortunately don’t have the funds to pay someone to design something unique to my site, so will be tweaking a free theme – if I can find one that just screams “use me!”

In fact, I may cycle through a few until I find the one that works.  So don’t be surprised if you visit my site and funky things are going on – especially if you’re visiting in the middle of the night – it just means Pamela is at work.   Hopefully it won’t be too annoying.

PS-I almost forgot the best part! I finally felt comfortable enough to wear my new smaller-sized pants today!

Post from Uncovering Pamela

Time for a Change

• I’m still on plan!  WHOOHOO! No slipping up at all.  <SHOCKED>
• I’m getting really excited about the Manchester United v. KC Wizards soccer game on Sunday.  Just really dreading the heat!  It’s at Arrowhead Stadium (Home of the KC Chiefs) and I’ve never been there before in my life even though I grew up here in KC.
• I’m also excited about *hopefully* attending TEDxKC. I wouldn’t be so excited if it was just the event itself, but Brené Brown, the shame researcher and author that I’ve discussed on here MANY times and who I admire greatly is supposed to be one of the speakers. I really hope I get to meet her, but I’m not getting my hopes up. Right now, I’m just hoping I get a ticket before they’re all reserved! They won’t be available until next week.
• I’m still working on watching the show “Angel” with my dad.  He’s really liking it, though he said he thought parts of Season 2 veered towards “chick flick” land.  While I liked all the seasons for the most part, Seasons 3 and 4 were definitely not my favorites, so he’s been watching most of those on his own.  I’m also realizing that it is Season 4 that I really didn’t like (though, of course, there were some episodes I did like).  A lot of the characters were annoying and the storyline was just absurd.  I told him though that as soon as he hits Season 5, he can’t watch them without me, as that’s my favorite season.  Yes, I’m a geek that even owns a “Wolfram and Hart” T-shirt.    It sadly doesn’t quite fit right now, but it’s getting there.  For you Buffy fans, I also have one that says “Hostile 17.”
• Christy (a/k/a Angelchrys) is back at it again.  She’s gotten me hooked on “The Big Bang Theory.”  I’ve only seen Season 1 so far, but I freaking love it.
• Along those lines, I’m still working my way through “Firefly” which both Christy and our friend, Doug, sucked me into. I swear, so many shows like this one get canceled WAY before their time. It definitely should have been on the air longer.
• I just finished reading the book, “Charlie St. Cloud.”  Every time I saw the preview it made me cry (most likely for obvious reasons -- my brother), so I had to pick up the book when I saw it at Borders.  It was very predictable -- I figured out early on how it was going to end -- but I enjoyed it and am still looking forward to seeing the film.  I could tell one difference from the book just from the preview, though, so it’ll be interesting to see what else they have changed.
• You all know me well enough to know that I have a massive stack of unread books ready for me, but next up is my friend, Amy Knupp‘s new one, “Playing with Fire.”  If you like romance novels, check it out!  It should be available anywhere Harlequin SuperRomances are available.
• Every few weeks or so, I hear Train’s “Hey Soul Sister” song on the radio and get it stuck in my head….for days.  I finally broke down and bought the CD on Sunday and listened to it today.  I LOVE IT!  In addition to “Hey Soul Sister,” it has a lot of good (I think) songs on it.  Here are two of my favorites:

I adore words, so it hurts me to promote a song recommending that they be used as firewood
and burned, but I really think this song has a great message.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVHuErjO9js

And this one is the first on the CD and when it reached the lines “I’ve been high.
I’ve been low.  I’ve been yes, and I’ve been oh hell no!” I cracked up.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtDN21XFUW0

And the one that started it all:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xzosXEViIg

• I also went through a “Snow Patrol” obsession this week -- it had been a while since I’d listened to their CD.  Here are two of my favorites:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=GemKqzILV4w

www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfa9yxCpWoA

• I’ve become somewhat of an addict at taking sunset/sky pictures.  Here are a couple from yesterday (we had a hell of a storm come through)

• All of those pictures were taken with my new HTC EVO phone, which I am still loving.  My only issue with it right now is that it drains the battery incredibly quickly (which I was aware of before I bought it).  I’ve had Sprint for over 10 years, but since getting the EVO, I’m starting to think that Sprint’s coverage is on the sucky side.  It seems that walls in buildings may be a bit more than it can handle sometimes.  On the plus side, I’m getting used to having an all-touch phone.  And I freaking love the “Swype” software.  It’s almost like magic, and the only way it could be improved would be to have arrow keys like the regular keyboard.
• Tomorrow, if I can get myself out of bed, I get to go stand in line to renew my license plate.  By which I say thank the good Lord.  I have a personalized plate, and for the past few years, I’ve been stuck with a freaking buffalo on my plate!  For obvious reasons, I haven’t been too fond of that.  The new one is much prettier:

• Because I’m so close to being 100 pounds down again, I allowed myself to wear the ring I bought myself as a reward when I first hit my 100 pounds gone.  I usually prefer my jewelry and rings on the understated/simple side, but I fell in love with this one.  I love sapphires (which just happen to be my birthstone)

• My goals for this week are to try and get more sleep (HA) and to drink more water -- and to stay on plan, of course.

Well, I think that’s about it for me today.  Hope you all are having a good week!

Post from Uncovering Pamela

Various

I just weighed in…..and I LOST 6.5 POUNDS THIS WEEK?!?!?!?!  How the heck does that even happen?  Man, I must have been eating like crap the past few months.  Okay, we all know I really was.

But that means I am now down 96.1 pounds total since I started in June 2006.  I’m at a new low since I recommitted myself (beating the low I saw back in May). And remember that goal I had of breaking out of this weight “decade” by the end of the month?  DONE!!  Smashed that goal.  My progress chart has been updated with the scary numbers.

You all know that I was down 160+ at one point – that’s nothing new – so the 96 is bittersweet.  But I’ve beaten quite a few statistics that said I would gain it all back.

Yes, I’m proud of myself today and am not afraid to say it.  Feeling on top of the world right now.  Love to you all!

Post from Uncovering Pamela

Weigh In 7/20/10 – YAY YAY YAY