| I really am still alive! |
[Jan. 31st, 2009|02:31 pm] |
I have been away too long. I'm sorry.
Since the holidays, I have become horrifically lactose intolerant. It's kind of been a nightmare. I have also become a lot busier at work. And I have been working on a major scrapbook project -- for my sister's birthday I offered to make her a scrapbook for all of her Snowball pictures, reviews, etc. It is a lot of fun.
I am still working out and trying to eat healthy food. I've had to make some major adjustments because of the lactose intolerance but I seem to finally be getting it worked out.
It's a gorgeous day here. Unfortunately someone is using some sort of really irritating saw thing in the parking lot, so I think I'm going to have to close the patio doors. :( |
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| DNC, Fitness, Activities |
[Aug. 27th, 2008|02:22 pm] |
Joshua Green of The Atlantic apparently watched a completely different speech by Hillary Clinton last night than the one I saw. I am boggled by this review of her speech. I thought she was marvelous and impassioned.
I did have to laugh over Green’s description of Dennis Kucinich (a man I greatly admire) as a “meth-addled smurf.” He was bouncing around a bit.
After watching Senator Clinton’s speech I left the room my TV is in and went back in my office to goof around on the computer. I could still hear the TV and it sounded like the MSNBC folks were screaming at each other. I distinctly heard a gentleman screeching and shouting about Joe Biden. I’m kind of sorry I missed seeing it, as it sounded like the posturing before a wrestling match.
On an even more humorous note, someone playing Sims 2 Apartment Life has posted on the ![[info]](http://www.journalfen.net/img/userinfo.gif) thesims2 comm about a very funny glitch they’ve had.
Last night my trainer took my measurements for the first time since the end of April. I’m a little disappointed that I’ve only lost 1 /2 inch from my upper arms and maybe 2 inches from my bust. But I’ve lost 3 1 /2 inches off my hips, 2 3/4 off my thighs and 5 off my waist. They got a new scale at the end of July and when I weighed on it my weight was actually up 5 pounds so I was depressed and didn’t weigh again until last night. Fortunately those 5 pounds were gone, but unfortunately that was it in terms of pounds lost. But at least I am moving in the right direction again.
More importantly, my range of motion and ability to move (especially walking) have increased exponentially over the last month. I’m hoping that and that little bit of weight loss mean my metabolism will kick up and I’ll make more progress this fall.
I need to be more active, in general, not just work out more. I’m planning on getting back into gardening this fall. I’d like to plant some rose bushes on my patio and clean up some of the junky stuff that is out there. And I need to do some weeding. But I’m looking for some other non-sedentary activities to take up, as well. I like crafting, but it’s pretty darned sedentary. Reading and movies are, as well. I’ll think of something.
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| Weirdness, Workout & Diet Stuff, More (Weather) Weirdness |
[Aug. 18th, 2008|07:26 pm] |
When I just tried to open www.livejournal.com a few moments ago, I got nothing but someone's icon with a really ugly female Sim and the text, "This is my happy face, bitch." I have no idea what that was about. When I hit refresh, LJ came up.
Happy news: I made it through 5 minutes on the stairmaster tonight. I thought I was going to die at one point, but I did it. Also, I figured out something to make tuna salad work. I was a fan of the kind with mayo (I know, I know, gross!) and I'm okay with a little vinaigrette, but tonight I used tzatziki sauce and it is perfect! I have that and a spinach, arugula and baby greens (plus some microgreens) salad and a little of the spinach & artichoke hummus and spelt flatbread I had yesterday for dinner. Yum! D Kitty's happy cause he got some tuna.
It is raining and 76 degrees in north Texas in mid-August. I haven't seen any pigs go flying by yet, but maybe the cooler temperatures are because Hell froze over???
Oh -- and I got some new pants today that are the exact same favorite pants I took to my sister's wedding in April, only they are 4 sizes smaller. And they fit! |
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| Weekend, Olympics |
[Aug. 18th, 2008|11:26 am] |
After Friday’s diversions, I ended up totally wrecking my weekend. I didn’t work out on Saturday at all. Spent the day having a headache and kicking and hating myself, instead. Then I ordered one of those new whole-wheat crust pizzas from Pappa John’s. It was not very good. Actually, it was kind of awful. I also ate a brownie. But at least the brownie was good. Then I stayed up until almost 4:00 a.m. watching two Russian women play for the tennis gold medal. Of course, I slept in on Sunday after that, and then couldn’t get to sleep last night. The only good things I did were going to Central Market for some very healthy groceries and cooking up a bunch of chicken breasts. Now I am exhausted, but determined to be good and treat myself well this week to make up for it. I know one weekend won’t wreck my previous hard work, but I’m still mad at myself, especially since I don’t feel good as a result of what I did and didn’t do.
I did watch a little Olympics besides that tennis match. I saw parts of the women’s marathon, the men’s 100 in track (wowza!) and lots of gymnastics last week. Watching Michael Phelps win his eighth gold was exciting. I was very impressed with the whole team on that relay. They were all incredible. And those new suits have changed the sport of swimming forever. I kind of feel like all the new world and olympic records should have asterisks beside them, because it doesn’t seem right to compare the pre-new-suit records to all of those set this year and onward. However, if I never see another beach volleyball match again in my life, that will be fine with me. It seems like every single time I turn the TV on, there is hours of beach volleyball.
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| Cornwall Cam, Margarita Ranch, Workout, HGTV Design Star, SYTYTCD, ABDC, From Gs to Gents, PR |
[Aug. 4th, 2008|11:25 am] |
Charles Winpenny is back from his holiday in France and has some great pictures up on the Cornwall Cam, including some from his holiday.
Dad, his wife and I went to Margarita Ranch on Sunday and it was very good – nice atmosphere and excellent food and service.
I pulled a muscle while working out on Saturday and it still hurts a lot, especially when I laugh, or breathe, or the cat lies on my stomach and digs his little paw in right where the sore muscle is... Poor D Kitty didn’t get much cuddle time this weekend.
No movies. I think I have all comedies and laughing hurts. Plus I just was not in the mood for them.
The only TV I watched was ( HGTV Design Star )
I’m a little behind, so I’ll use this post to comment briefly on the other shows I watched this week.
( SYTYCD )
( America’s Best Dance Crew )
( From Gs to Gents )
( Project Runway )
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| Pushup Update |
[Aug. 2nd, 2008|11:43 am] |
I did 15 regular pushups today!
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| Heat, Restaurants & Food, Working Out, HGTV Design Star, Next Food Network Star |
[Jul. 28th, 2008|12:39 pm] |
It is ridiculously hot.
Despite the heat, I got out twice on Saturday – once to work out and once to have an fairly disappointing cheat meal at a seafood restaurant, Rockfish. I couldn’t decide what I wanted, ended up with a fried shrimp basket and didn’t really like it. I can’t point to much that was actually wrong with it, other than the shrimp being on the small side, but it just didn’t work for me. I should have ordered the stuff flounder which was what I really wanted. Or the crab cakes, maybe. I have no complaints about the service. It was wonderful. So was the banana-chocolate smoothie thing I had at Starbucks afterwards. For dinner I had leftover spaghetti. It was okay. *shrug* This was not one of my better cheat days. Next weekend I may try Margarita Ranch.
On Sunday I decided it was too hot to walk to Central Market, and that I would blow it off and eat all (or at least some) of the food I have stockpiled and take care of at least part of my silly food hoarding problem. I did get a few things from Tom Thumb on Friday (milk, a couple of bags of salad), so I won’t be completely without fresh food. But I can already tell that by the end of the week I’m going to be sick to death of tuna.
Now for the big news. I did 8 regular push ups on Saturday (and also about 30 girlie push ups)!
I also tried on clothes a little bit and took my measurements, and I am a bit smaller than I was a month ago.
As for my Sunday TV shows...
( HGTV Design Star )
and
( Next Food Network Star )
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| Happy Workout Update |
[Jul. 19th, 2008|11:34 am] |
I just did my first pushups in over 12 years!
Okay, they were girlie pushups, but I could feel 'em and I'm counting 'em.
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| Clothes Shopping, Weight, Movie, HGTV Design Star, Next Food Network Star |
[Jul. 14th, 2008|02:31 pm] |
I partly got over my clothes-shopping phobia on Friday. One of my co-workers was going to Avenue and I asked if I could tag along. I hadn’t planned on buying much of anything – maybe one of my usual baggy tops, but I wanted to try on some different sizes of pants and/or skirts to see if I could determine what size I am now. That sort of worked and sort of didn’t. I ended up buying a navy blue top, a pair of khaki bermuda shorts and a pair of red capri pants, and a dress. The sizing thing, though, didn’t work so well. Their sizes run super big to the point of ridiculousness, so I still have no idea what size I would wear at another store.
By way of explanation ... I started out at the beginning of the year wearing mostly a size 28/4x. (Yes, I had gotten that fat! Ugh!) After 7 months, I have been wearing mostly 24s, but those are too big for me (and the 26s I still sometimes wear are so big they are falling off me). I am wearing size 22 jeans today. But the bermuda shorts I bought at Avenue were size 22 and they are a good bit too big. The capris were a size 18 and they are just a little tight. 18!!! There is no way I am a size 18 or even approaching that. So I have concluded that I am probably a size 22 but working towards a 20 and that since I still like my tops really baggy (I can’t stand to have fabric touching me in certain places), I am a size whatever in tops. I can probably stand wearing a 24/2x for now. Mostly I wear things much larger and they are huge on me.
But, at least I got some shopping done and I didn’t feel like everyone was staring at me and thinking I’m too fat to even deserve clothes at all. *sigh*
I haven’t weighed myself in over a month. I took a couple of weeks off, got sick with some kind of awful stomach virus, then injured myself. That was 2 1 /2 - 3 weeks of being out of my routine. I’ve been back into it for a couple of weeks and I think I’m losing again and have successfully “jump started” my metabolism, but I’m scared to weigh myself. I’m just afraid taking time off made me gain a ton of weight, which is ridiculous and my clothes say otherwise, but I can’t help being paranoid about it. Not good. :(
On a happier note, other than the 5 days or so that I had an injured knee, my workouts have been going really well. I’ve progressed both in terms of range of motion and in the weight I can lift and I feel like my cardio workout are going well also. I only have a trainer once a week, so I’m doing one session with weights on my own. In a week or two I’ll add in another session on my own. I also have a couple of dvds I keep meaning to try – pilates and tai chi – but I haven’t gotten to them yet.
Movies
No weekend Netflix movies this weekend - I was too busy. But the same co-worker I went shopping with and I went to see ( War, Inc., and it was not as bad as I’d been led to believe it was... )
Then on Sunday night I watched ( HGTV Design Star )
( And then I watched Next Food Network Star )
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| Weekend, Meditation and Motivation |
[Jun. 2nd, 2008|01:35 pm] |
I didn’t watch any movies or TV at all this weekend. I don’t know why. Just wasn’t in the mood, I guess. I did finish re-watching Sports Night and wanting more, of course.
I did do a lot of laundry and on Sunday I tried on old clothes I’d shoved in the back of my closet and most of them fit or were too big, so that was kind of nice. I also did some extra walking on Saturday afternoon/evening. Not a lot - just 30 minutes or so - but every little bit helps, right? And on Sunday I slept in and then I spent the afternoon cooking my lunches for the week.
I also briefly read the SPN wank over in Fandom Secrets and then got horribly bored with it. I catch up on F!S about once a week and I always thought about 90% of the secrets were fake, anyway. *shrug* Anyway, the people whining about how boring the wank is are at least as amusing to me as the wank itself.
My sister keeps encouraging me to try meditation, and I’ve never been very successful at doing it in any sort of structure way, especially not when I’m remaining still (I do sort of get there when I’m walking, though). So, I decided to look for some guided meditation mp3s on amazon.com, found a couple and tried one yesterday evening. It was interesting. I did end up very relaxed from it.
Today is my weigh-in day, which is always nerve-wracking for me. This one is more so than usual since it’s been 2 weeks since I weighed instead of 1 and my last time didn’t have as much loss as I’m used to. But I had more inches lost last week so I probably shouldn’t be so worried.
( It’s Monday. I’m supposed to come up with some Motivational-type things... )
Thank you, wildmagelet for the virtual gift! It’s perfect!
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| Diet, Fitness, Clothes, Hell's Kitchen |
[May. 28th, 2008|11:11 am] |
I hope you all had a great holiday weekend!
My left eye is itchy, dry and red. I suspect allergies but boy is it bugging me. It’s better than it was half an hour or so ago, so maybe whatever got in it is clearing out now.
My workout schedule this week has gotten all turned around. I think that is a good thing. Shaking things up every once in a while can actually help. I have been trying the elliptical a time or two every week and last night it finally felt right rather than weird and off. I was able to get my heart rate exactly where I wanted it and keep it there the whole time I was on it, so yay!
Our lunchroom has 5 full boxes of donuts and kolaches in it. You can smell the sugar when you walk by. :(
Clothing Buying Woes:
I have developed a clothes buying phobia. I cannot bring myself to actually go shopping and try on clothes in a store. I can get myself to order some things online, but only after a lot of working at psyching myself up to do it. I’m afraid that if I order clothes in a smaller size, they’ll be too small and I’ll get frustrated and give up. And this is after I’ve ordered clothes in a smaller size and they were loose on me when I got them. Part of the problem is that my measurements, when translated to sizes using various company’s size guides, don’t actually reflect what fits me. The size guides tell me I should be wearing clothes at least a size larger than what I’m actually wearing, but what I’m actually wearing is almost too big for me. It’s confusing and upsetting. To make matters worse, the size guides also tell me that my top is 2 sizes smaller than my bottom. And yeah, I’m a bit pear-shaped, but not quite to that extent, IMO. And I haven’t been buying smaller tops because I don’t care if my tops are too big. Honestly, I sometimes get so angry with American clothing retailers and their weird sizing! I am at a point where I don’t have any clue what “size” I am.
( Hell’s Kitchen )
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| Weigh-in Update |
[May. 19th, 2008|07:24 pm] |
I only have a 1.2 lb. loss to record this week, and I was kind of disappointed, but then I got home and ( Girly TMI )
So now I am posting this, actually laughing at myself and eating a steak and spinach salad. Yum!
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| War, Inc., Friday Five (TV!) and Fitness/Workout |
[May. 16th, 2008|11:31 am] |
Happy Friday!
Article about War, Inc.
Today’s thefridayfive is TV Time!
1. What's your favourite TV network?
CBS because it has The Amazing Race. I also watch some FOX shows and some Travel Channel, Bravo and VH-1 shows.
2. If you could create your own channel, what would it be?
It would look different almost every day depending on my mood, but there would be a lot of Anthony Bourdain, Top Chef, Project Runway, American Idol and Amazing Race. There would be exactly two scripted shows – I would pick up Moonlight since CBS dropped it, and I’d steal Dirty Sexy Money from (I think) ABC. Those are the only two scripted shows I have any interest in at all anymore. There would also be occasional music videos, random funny stuff, and of course lots and lots of John Cusack movies.
3. What TV show did you watch as a child, that you wish they would bring back?
As much as I loved Mary Tyler Moore and Bob Newhart, I’d vote for Carol Burnett’s show if we could make her immortal. Or maybe Battle of the Network Stars in all its cheesey glory.
4. What show have you always hated, and wonder why they ever made such a dumb show?
One show? Seriously? Because there are so many! Everybody Loves Raymond tops the list for me, though. Followed by that Tim Allen awfulness.
5. What TV show's seasons would you buy on DVD?
I have a lot of TV shows on DVD already:
I own all seasons of BTVS, Twin Peaks, SportsNight, Blackadder, Speed Racer, and Rumpole of the Bailey. I have most of Ab Fab, 2 or 3 seasons of Smallville, 2 seasons of QaF US, 1 season + (?? can’t remember) of QaF UK, 2 seasons (or maybe 3?) of the Geraldine McEwan Miss Marples, 2 seasons of Hart to Hart (I want more!!!) I think I have 2 seasons of CSI. And I can’t remember if I own 1 or 2 seasons of Jonny Quest (the original, not the new imposter Jonny Quest). I also own 1 season each of X-Files, Starsky & Hutch, Heroes, and 24.
I would like to have the rest of Hart to Hart and Fawlty Towers, and almost everything ever shown on Mystery on PBS. And as a guilty pleasure, I kind of want all of Murder She Wrote and Columbo, even though they are both so predictable, especially by today’s TV mystery standards.
I am really sore today. I felt like I hardly worked out at all last night, but apparently I did more than I thought!
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| Diet & Fitness, Weird Dream, American Gladiators |
[May. 13th, 2008|10:48 am] |
I had another good Monday yesterday. I lost another 3 lbs. this week for a total of 14 since April 14. And I also took measurements again last night. Over the last two weeks I’ve lost an inch in my waist, my hips and my bust and 1/ 2 inch in my upper arm. My thighs, on the other hand, are either too stubborn to get smaller or I’m measuring them wrong. One little annoyance is that my upper body is about a size and a half smaller than my lower body. That makes shopping somewhat challenging. But not enough to make me anything other than delighted with my progress.
I ordered some new clothes yesterday. I bought them a size smaller than I’ve been wearing and I know it was the right thing to do because my current clothes are kind of falling off me, but it was hard to force myself to do it.
My workout buddy is sick today. She was supposed to have a session with my trainer after me tonight, and I’m not sure if she’s called him or is expecting me to say something. I kind of think it’s the latter.
I had a dream last night that I was in a Greek Orthodox Church at Easter and helping out with the flowers. After we finished, someone tempted me with some sort of special donut. I ate one bite of it and it was awful. I was struggling not to spit it out. Then I had to run off because I was late for something else and the woman I was helping with the flowers was kind of put out with me.
( I watched most of the American Gladiators premiere last night )
Tonight is Hell’s Kitchen and I may watch at least some of AI. I’m rooting for David Cook for the win. But I fear TCO Archbot may win. :(
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| Last Week's Friday Five, Good Things!, Movies |
[May. 12th, 2008|11:36 am] |
(This is a combination of what I was going to post on Friday but ran out of time for and today’s post.)
My horoscope on Friday was trying to warn me away from this:
There is a fanciful frenzy that is trying to lure you in to its madness. ... If it doesn't have real meaning for you, don't waste your time.
I don’t know, horoscope. That sounds like a fun time to me, especially since it’s Friday and fanciful frenzies can have a great deal of meaning for me. I think my horoscope writer is anti-Discordian.
( My Friday Five Answers were kind of long )
Today is my weekly weigh-in and I always feel nervous and stressed out before it, because what if I haven’t lost any weight, or have lost less than I feel I should have. I know that’s not a good way of thinking and that some weeks I won’t see the number on the scale go down, even though I’ve done all the right things. So to help me stay motivated and not stress out over the numbers, I’m going to try doing something new on Mondays. In addition to weighing, I’m going to remind myself of how my life is better this week since I started eating healthier food and getting some exercise.
( Good Things )
Weekend Movies
( The Laws of Attraction )
( Chak De! India )
I hope everyone who celebrates it had a lovely Mother’s Day.
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| Diet/Fitness |
[May. 5th, 2008|07:28 pm] |
It's weigh-in day. I lost 3.2 lbs. this week, so that's 11 lbs. total since 04/14/08.
I celebrated with a nice hard workout.
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| Diet, Exercise, Hell's Kitchen |
[Apr. 16th, 2008|11:55 am] |
Yesterday I went to the gym for the first time in many years. I rode a recumbent stationary bike for 20 minutes. Today my knees hurt less and I’m getting around so much better and I feel about 2000% better in general. I even slept better last night. I am really looking forward to going back tonight.
I am going to Trophy Fitness Club, which is very convenient to me, not crowded, has TVs on each bike/treadmill/stairmaster/elliptical, plenty of free weights and machines, free classes, and really nice locker rooms + a “water house” with rain shower and steam cave in addition to the whirlpool . Plus it is next door to and affiliated with a spa, which makes it easier for me to use facials, manicures, etc. as rewards instead of food.
One funny thing - the trainer who showed me around was a little ... on something, I think. He was sort of bouncing off the walls. And when asked what the monthly fee is, he said it is $47.63. Somehow I don’t think that’s right!
My plan is to keep biking and maybe walking on the treadmill a little for the next two weeks until I have my knee strengthened and loosened up a little, then have one session with a trainer to get a good cardio & light weights circuit set up that I can alternate with the bike and treadmill. I would also like to take the yoga and pilates classes, but I think I need limbering up before I do that, as well, so that’s another thing to start in a couple of weeks. I think this should be a big boost to losing weight as well as finally getting rid of at least some of my knee and back pain.
The only TV I watched last night was ( Hell’s Kitchen )
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