Balance

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.

Thorn Birded

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!

Really Doing This

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!

Beyond Randomness

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!

A little bit lazy, a little bit not

It's going up to 65 here today! Check it out:

So this morning I got up and hit up boot camp. I was feeling rough. I don't do well with Sat AM workouts because well I generally dont eat before I go (I know, I know TERRIBLE) and to be honest I'm just not awake! So I walked most of the running parts but other than that did ok. I stopped at Smoothie King to celebrate the weekend weather and the got some dog food for the little one at Petsmart. It was $2 off with your PetSmart card and then I had a coupon for $4 off. So I got 44.1 lbs of dog food for 16 bucks - not to shabby!!

After that I came home and uhm... took a nap. I know, on such a beautiful day. Unacceptable. But I really wanted to. I'm up and ready to go now and am going to take a quick bike ride. I'm going out with the boy tomorrow... for a bike ride! I've not ridden since Oct. Crap crap crap. Spandex and all. It's going to be hot. HA!

OH! And for my weigh in... down 1 lb!!! 175.2. At this rate I MIGHT be inthe 160s by the end of the year haha. But whatever as long as the scale keeps going down I'll take it.

Eats so far

Bfast:
SMOOTHIE KING (Pineapple Pleasure) - 3
Choc chip cookie (oops!) - 3

Lunch:
Fiber Wheat Thins - 2
Light Cheddar cheese - 1
Turkey pep - 1
Bell Pepper tomato soup - 1
pineapple! - 1

I should be in good shape for the rest of the day. I might make a yummy mac n cheese for dinner! We shall see.

Ok, time to dust off my bike. Crap!

Wall Sits

I forgot to mention that we did WALL SITS at boot camp on Monday. I hadn't done this since April of last year. Back in the good old days where I only met with TB once a week at the gym. That day I was able to do a total of 55 seconds... but not all at once. On Monday I was able to do 3 one minute long wall sits!!!! My left leg would start to shake around 45 seconds and it would literally start to burn around 50 seconds... but I did them. And I was so very proud! So I just wanted to share.

Woops

I may have eaten WAY too much today. 32 points to be exact. Thats NINE over what I get. Granted I counted it all. Went to boot camp (it SUCKED tonight... more on that later). And still have some flex points. But did I really need everything I ate? Heck no.

Live and learn. And eat less tomorrow :)

As for boot camp... Wed are 'speed and agility' days. Which basically means a lot of running and footwork. I suck at both.
Station one. Do 2 Illinois Drills, then some ladder drills, then jump over a 6 inch cone 20 times. Sounds easy but me jumping more than 2 inches off the ground is a task!!
Run a lap.
Station two. 20 V up situps (lay down flat and bring both your legs and arms up to form a V)
Run a lap.
Station 3. 2 Box drills. Jump rope (100 times). Ice skate 20 times (get down low and jump out wide stay low as far as you can... go back and forth from side to side)
Run a lap.
Station 4. 20 side to side med ball touches (sit down with your legs out straight off the ground and back at about 45 degrees from the ground, holding a med ball rotate your core to one side and touch the ball to the ground, then to the other side)
Run a lap.
Station 5. L drill. More ladder drills. Cage walks (squat down to the ground with your back up against a fence, then using only your shoulder 'walk' up the fence)
Run a lap.
Station 6. 30 second plank.
Run a lap.
Repeat.
Then praise the heavens after 40 minutes when he calls time. Whew!

I know most of that was probably a bunch of nonsense to you guys .. but sometimes I like to write out the workouts in CASE I ever want to do them again on my own. ha!

What's the worst day of the week?

One of my friends always says that she thinks Tuesday is the worst day of the week. Monday you're still coming down from the high of the weekend, and by Wednesday the weekend is approaching... but on Tuesday it's just blah.

I secretly have to agree with her today. However! There is good TV on tonight. And no, I'm not talking about American Idol. I'm talking about The Biggest Loser... and 90210! I'm so hopelessly into that show. My roommate makes fun of me... but what do you expect out of a girl who watches The Hills and now The City? I fear I was the only person who was actually upset that Lipstick Jungle got canceled. But I digress. All I'm saying is that there is something fun and excited about Tuesday.

And if that wasn't exciting enough there's always Boot Camp. Last nights work out was hard. It was at TBs (Trainer Boy) house again. And there is a BIG hill right near his house. As in he lives at the bottom of it. Last night we were lucky enough to have our 'lap' be running up the hill and back. FREAK! I've never liked hills on a bike and can now add that I don't like hills on foot either. Hopefully we'll get to run in the other direction tonight, but I'm thinking not.

As for my eats I was good yesterday -- ate 26 out of 23 points. Not too shabby! I've got the rest of my food all planned out for today and am determined to stick to it. Here's the menu so far (if you want the pictures go here).

Bfast:
Starbucks tall nonfat one pump vanilla steamer (heaven on a cold morning!) - 3
2 eggo waffles - 2

Midmorning snack:
banana nut vitamuffin w/ a smear of pb - 2
2 dark kisses - 1

Lunch:
salad from the grocery store salad bar (baby spinach, carrots, hard boiled egg whites, a few craisins, edemame) - 3
mini pizza on arnold sandwich thin (these are amazing) - 3
big juicy apple - 1

Afternoon snack:
motts plus fiber - 0
super pretzel w/ spicy brown mustard - 3

Snack before boot camp:
toasted sandwich thin w/ laughing cow light cheese - 2

Dinner:
Lean Cuisine meatloaf and whipped poatoes (I'm sort of scared of this one...) - 5
I'm addining in some sauteed peps, onions and tomatoes for veggies - 0

Snack:
choco vitamuffin w/ strabs and ff whipped cream - 2

Total: 27 out of 23
Flex Used: 4
APs Earned: 3 at boot camp

Biscuit Hell!

I'm watching the Biggest Loser from last night. CRAZY I tell you!

In other news I was NOT the Biggest Loser today. Made a bunch of TERRIBLE choices. Started the day off in Biscuitland! Our morning talk show was on biscuits in the south. So we had Bojangles, the Flying Biscuit and then a local chef's home made biscuits at the station. I couldn't resist and that just started a bunch of poor eating for the day. However. I tracked everything throughout the day. I got home and just tracked everything else that I ate today (after I Got home)... it was ugly. 41 points worth of ugly. BUT I still have 4 flex points and all of my APs to get me through til Friday. So I'm not going to stress. And most importantly I'm not going to let one day screw up my whole week.

Why? Because the online Biggest Loser challenge is ON! I'm on Angie's team and ready to kick some butt!!

That being said I did skip boot camp tonight. I could hardly move today! My quads, butt, back, shoulders, arms, abs... all hurt. But it's a good hurt. I didn't totally take the night off though. I took the dogs for a 2.5 mile walk. I didn't count the APs but at least I was out there moving. Tomorrow it's back to boot camp!

I'm not going to write out my menu today. Just know that I ate a LOT of crap. My jeans were tight. But I counted it all. Whew! Feels good to know I'm not 'cheating.'

Off to CHUG major amounts of water.

Posting Fool

Don't you love how I post like 12 times a day when I'm being all good and eating well and all that other crap? But then the entire month of December I posted 9 times total? Whatever we all do it :)

I ended up eating 29 points today... so I used 6 flex points. But it's ok because I still have 24 left for the week since I didn't use many a all over the weekend. Woo! Also had day one of boot camp. I literally didn't do anything over the break. Unless you count taking Maddie for walks, which I don't. If I don't work up a good sweat and can do it without putting a sports bra on, it just doesn't count! I have a feeling tomorrow is going to be one of those days where I have to use the handicapped bathroom... because I won't be able to sit on the toilet without holding onto something to help ease me down! Oh the joys of working out. We did all kinds of crazy quad stuff and a fair amount of running. And for a split second I thought I might throw up about halfway through but somehow worked through that. But it's amazing how much energy I had when I got home though. From eating well (aka not sugar for breakfast, lunch and dinner) and also working out you would have thought I had a double shot of espresso! I was bouncing all over the house.

Hopefully the energy stays!

And now I'm going to bed. There's already a little brown dog sleeping on top of me practically. Why she thinks she's a lap dog I have no idea :D

Lunch Break Woes

I only get a half an hour for lunch. Which isn't much time. Generally I'll skip my 'break' 2 days out of the week so I can have an hour break 2 other days during the week.

But here's my problem. I pack my lunch and like to eat at my desk. Breaks up the day you know? So on my actual lunch break what do I do? It's rainy today so I can't go for a walk. And I don't want to BUY lunch (bad for the wallet and hips), nor do I want to go shopping. I don't really have any errands to run. And so here I sit... pondering what to do with my half hour break. I'll most likely just skip it today... but if anyone has any suggestions for cheap things to do on an hour or half hour lunch break PLEASE let me know!

In other news I'm doing well with temptations at work. I did give in and had a hershey's kiss, but that's ok. I'll count it and I just had ONE. I got back from a staff meeting and there was a big bag of chocolate TURTLES sitting on my desk! I have no idea who put them there but you bet your ass I picked the bag up right away and took it to the kitchn... which is far away from me.

Menu for today looks something like this...

Breakfast:
Homemade waffle w/ 1/2 banana and pb - 4

Snack:
Motts plus - 0
a few cherries - 0.5
kiss! - 1

Lunch:
home made chicken noodle soup - 2
1/2 slice double fiber bread w/ 1 hard boiled egg and mayo - 2.5
apple - 1

Snacks:
WW yogurt - 1
apple cinnamon rice cakes - 1
ONE piece of chocolate - 1

Snack before BOOT CAMP (yikes!):
kashi crackers w/ cheese - 3

Dinner:
LC lasagne with meat sauce - 6
cucumber spears - 0
light english muffin - 1

Snack:
cup of tea - 0
1 pb ball - 2

APs: 3 (boot camp)
Total points: 26 -1 (AP - I dont' like to use them all) = 25... 2 Flex used

Test Time!

Not finals (thank goodness!) but we're in the last week of boot camp again so we had our standardized test! I was dreading it. There is so much running... I HATE running. I don't even run. I jog. But regardless.

Week 1 Time: 28:11
Week 6 Time: 22:16
Week 12 Time: 21:40

Granted my time didn't improve NEARLY as much as the first go round... but I still improved! My goal is to someday do it in 20 minutes. Maybe by the end of the next 6 week session? I'm hoping somebody gives me some $$$ for Christmas so I can start up again on Jan 5. What better way to kick off the new year than another 6 weeks of boot camp! Really I'll do anything to stay out of the gym in Jan... it's so crowded with all those New Years Resolutioners... I hate it!

Boot Camp Pictures!

Here's a sampling of stuff we do at boot camp. I won't lie I was scared to see some of the pictures because I'm not exactly all that camera ready while I'm working out (though am I ever hahaha) but they aren't that bad! If I'm in the picture I'm the one in black pants and a light blue fleece.

Crazy bear crawls - forwards, backwards, going down the hill face first (scary!) and sideways... luckily they didn't get any of my bear crawls. Whew!
Iron cross (in the front), me doing overhead press/squat stuff in the background.... it was POURING!
Med ball step ups... look easy but after about 5 it gets old hahaha
Duck walk -- if I had a nickle for everytime I heard TB say "Butt down Jeannie" I'd be filthy rich
Footwork
Slightly obsessed with using the playgound equipment... I'm doing big step ups to the left, and Lindsey is doing bridge rolls (Theyre actually pretty fun!)
Looks like it's fun -- but pulling your body through one of those tubes 10 times is insanity! My hips didn't like it hahaha.
Leg lifts on the ball -- took me about 3 minutes to get in the position and then fell again 3 seconds later! We ended up just doing it without the ball hahaha

Alive

I'm alive. Just not blogging :) Not sure why... sometimes I just lose the urge to blog. I have been trying to post picture over on Friendly Philly Food. My eating has been all over the place... aka not good. However! Today is a new day and I'm going to make it a good one! I have been doing well with TFA -- getting a good ass kicking at least 4 times a week. It's strange working out outside, in the dark and cold. I generally wear 2 pairs of pants (some sexy long underwear and then regular pants), 2-3 shirts, a fleece and a down vest. Then a hat and gloves. By the end I want to strip down to nothing - but I've been told it's best to keep all your layers on so it doesn't mess with your body temp.


I also spent the weekend decking my halls! I've never done outside lights and I was a bit scared. I didn't do anything too crazy, just simple outlines but I was so proud of myself haha. I also got the inside of the house all done up. Feel free to check out the pictures here.

Menu for today:

Breakfast:
high fiber maple and brown sugar oatmeal - 3

Snack:
light EM w/ laughing cow light - 2

Lunch:
pasta w/ veggies and sauce - 4
apple - 1

Snacks:
clementines - 1
applesauce - 0
diet hot chocolate w/ milk - 1
fiber one muffin - 2

Dinner:
grilled chicken - 4
veggies - 1
TJs tomato soup - 1

Downer

I have a feeling this post may be a bit of a downer. I'm just in that kind of mood. Why? I have no idea. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that I've eaten nothing but sugar and fried crap for the past week? Yes... I do believe that would have a negative affect on my mood :)

Backing up Cancun was awesome! Pictures here. It was cloudy and windy the last two days (I was only there 4) but we still had fun. Hit up the spa and I managed to get the SMALLEST amount of color. Hey, it's better than nothing, right?

But I got home and have been in a funk ever since. I can't get my eating under control. Why I think it's ok to eat french fries and candy cane joe joes until I feel sick I'm just not quite sure. Everyday I wake up and say ok -- today I'm going to get back on track. And then fail somehow. I gained SIX pounds while gone... and I don't seem to be putting an end to the gaining there. Argh. I was so close to the 160s and now I'm just far away. Someone come to Charlotte and just SLAP some sense into me. For real. I need it!

I also had a crappy night at boot camp. I guess eating like crap had me feeling like crap (I know, who would have thunk it?) and then I was again the slowest one there. I had the lowest weight possible for the exercises and was STILL the slowest. Just after a while it can get demoralizing... always being the weakest link. Always being just a few steps behind everyone else (and well lets be honest, sometimes more than a few steps behind). Generally I'm ok with it. But tonight for some reason I literally was on the verge of tears (ok maybe one or two actually came out). I was just done and annoyed and frustrated. I don't want to ALWAYS be the slow one. Just once...I would like to not be last. I guess the only way that's going to happen is to keep going... keep working out.. keep at it.

I'm trying to take all of the negative stuff from today and turn it into a positive for tomorrow. We're doing a bit of a pot luck at work for Thanksgiving, but I should be able to do ok. If I could just stay to like 26 points I'd feel good. Then Sat is a new week, a new start. Screw Thanksgiving.. I'm not even thinking about that food yet. I need to get through Sat, Sun, Mon, Tues... before I'm even on my WAY to Thanksgiving food. No reason to throw all of those days away because there will be turkey on pie on Thursday, right?

I CANNOT keep going like I'm going. If I do I'll be right back to 196 by the new year. Negating ALL the hard work I put in this year.

So here's to tomorrow being a better day!

Two Days in a Row???

I heart TFA (aka boot camp). Quad explosion 1 was tonight's workout. And 5 minutes into it my quads were screaming! Squats with med balls, core work, crazy lunges with a twist, some foot work on the ladder... all sorts of good stuff. I'm so excited about session 2! I'm still slow (ok the slowest) but I don't even care anymore. It's not about being the best... its doing MY best. So there. How was that for corny ha!

I also was totally carb free after 5pm tonight! I made a little taco thingy for dinner. Just ground beef, taco seasoning, sauteed peppers and onions, then topped with tomato (from the garden!), some RF cheese and light sour cream. Delish and filling. I had frozen blueberries with a splash of milk for 'dessert' since I'm not allowd to have sweets. TBs GF recomended it and at first I wasnt feeling it but by the end I was diggin it. AND I didn't feel guilty. Wooo!

My week is about to get crazy ... and fast! Tomorrow night I have boot camp, then home to walk the pup, then dinner. By the time all of that is over it's 8pm. Then I have to pack (FOR CANCUN, I know woe is me). Wednesday night I'm going to see So You Think You Can Dance on tour. I know. I can't believe I'm going either. And I'm going WITH MY BOSS! She loves the show too so we bought tickets. Hysterical. It should be a fun night. And Thursday night I'm going out with the boy. It's a whole long story about why I'm not sure he's into me (and might have to do with the fact that until now I've only dated girls... yeah that was fun to tell him haha) but I sucked it up and texted him to see ifhe wanted to hang out and I got a "sounds good" response so I'll take it. We shall see what happens. Then Fri morning I'll be hopping a plane to Cancun. And MAYBE being in the 160s? I'll have to be SUPER good until then but I'm trying my best!

One more thing -- my BFF from 1st grade and I started a food blog a while ago. We've been SLACKERS about posting on it but she's determinded to be a good blogger and is new to this whole world soooo maybe you could go comment? Come on you know you want to! She's trying ot get back on the weight loss wagon and ya'll are so supportive so share the love!

Thats all I got. I'm going to read a bit (have any of you read the Stephenie Meyer books? I'm starting Twilight) and then get to BED.

A Hodgepodge

I've been bad a posting recently. But figured I should get an update!! So here goes....

• Lost another 0.2 (171.8) this week. It's not much but I was just pumped I kept off last week's loss!
• I have to be SUPER good this week because I REALLY REALLY REALLY wanted to see 160 something on the scale before I leave for Cancun (Fri Morning!!)
• I'm doing another 6 weeks of BOOT CAMP! (Which will be known as TFA going forward -- stands for TopTeam Fitness Academy) I cannot wait! Starts on Monday. Wooo!
• They posted more pictures from the last session. I'm in some of them... and don't look like I'm dying which is an added bonus!
  
• Went shopping yesterday and bought TWO pairs of pants at the Banana Rep. outlet... both are size 14s. I've slowly been throwing out (well donating) my 16s so I don't have the excuse of going back into them if the holidays are rough... you know?
• Did I mention I'm going to Cancun in less than a week? Only for 4 days but hey I'll take what I can get!
• The dating situation is up in the air... I've got on quite a few dates with one guy and like him but am not sure he's all that into me. Such is life! But I'll keep everyone posted haha.
• My TFA trainers have banned carbs after 5pm. We have to turn in a food journal and that's what I have to work on. No carbs and absolutely NO sweets after 5pm. It's SO FREAKING HARD! But I told them I'd try... so I'm trying. I've been eating tons of spag squash for dinner.
  
• I made Pumpkin Oatmeal Thingies yesterday. They're so scrumptious. I love them!
• It's TRIPLE coupon day at the grocery store. I can't wait to go use all of my $0.75 coupons.. they turn into $2.25 when you triple them. Can you say savings?!
• Last year this time is when I started WW hardcore again. Since then I've lost 24.2 pounds. Granted it's taken a year but hey I'm not complaining! I'm still 24 pounds lighter than I was last year at this time so I'll take it!

I think that about sums up my week. I probably wont' be all that good at posting this week again because we're moving to a new office in our building so I'll be packing up all week long... then off to Cancun Fri morning. Yippee!!

Feeling Good

It's been a while.... ok 6 weeks or so... since I've felt GOOD about my weigh in. I'm FINALLY down this week!!! Weighed in at 172.

So why did I finally lose? Well for one I tracked points. Actually wrote down everything I ate. And I went to boot camp 4 times this week (Mon-Thurs everyday). Add it all up and you get a loss! I'm so happy. I just feel like I've been working out but my eating has been dreadful so it's good to be able to rein it in a little.

Also -- yesterday I wore my size 14 jeans and had 2 shirts layered... they were BOTH mediums! Who am I wearing a size medium shirt!?!

As for Halloween it was a bit of a lonely night. My roommate went to her friends house and I was home alone with the pup. All the cute kids and families that kept coming to the door being all Halloweeny and happy just made me feel a bit lonely. And yes... I did take some of that loneliness out on the huge bowl of candy. BUT... I realized what I was doing about 6 pieces in and put a stop to it. I CHOSE to be alone on Halloween. I could have gone out -- I had invitations to 2 different places but turned them down because I wanted to be home, relax and give out candy. So why was I feeling sorry for myself? I have 8 pieces of candy left. If I feel as though I can't not shove them all in my mouth at once I'll chuck them. If I have some willpower they'll hang around for treats. I think it'll go in the freezer regardless.

In boot camp news I skipped today. My cough is still bad (even though I've been on steroids for 4 days now!) and it gets worse after I run a lot. So I figured it was best to be lazy, hang out in my PJs and not go to boot camp this morning. The bad part about that is that it was the last day!!! BOOOOO. I'm so bummed it's over. But I came a long way. I kicked ASS on my standardized test on Wednesday. The test was as follows:

- jog 2 laps around soccer filed
- 20 pushups (i did girlie ones on my knees)
- jog a lap
- 30 situps
- jog a lap
- 20 squats
- jog a lap
- 20 pushups
- jog a lap
- 30 situps
- jog a lap
- 20 squats
- jog a lap

Time week 1 - 28:11
Time week 6 - 22:16

Assuming my math is right (which it may not be...) I was 5 min 55 seconds faster! I was hoping to just be at least 1 or 2 minutes faster. I was totally blown away with my improvement. Now I just need to KEEP IT UP even though I wont have TB kicking my butt. I'm thinking maybe in the spring I'll sign up for another 6 weeks. But for now... it's me and the gym. Ugh. I do NOT want to go back to the gym after my fun boot camp workouts. They were different everyday and I was never bored with them. I need to figure out how to shake it up at the gym. Take more classes and be more daring.

Also, I think I'm going to join the Y in January (when they'll hopefully have a promotion with no sign up fee) because they have a pool. I miss swimming, it's an awesome upper body workout.

Ok, I think that's all I've got for today. I'm laying low this weekend. The only thing on my agenda today is to take the pup for a walk, and swap out my summer and winter clothes.

Menu so far:

Bfast:
2 egglands best eggs (3.5)
1 light engligh muffin (1)
1 mini kit kat (my candy for the day) (2)

Lunch:
soup of some sort (1)
grilled cheese w/ tomato (4)

Not sure what else....

Title-less

Just checking in. Not much to say but it'll probably be a random post. Shall we bullet it? I think so to.

• I've been eating CRAP since Thursday. It's our pledge drive at work (gotta love public broadcasting) so we have had breakfast, lunch AND dinner provided. And none of it has been healthy. I decided I could eat the food here (silly to turn down free food) as long as I worked out.
• I've been kicking butt with boot camp even though I've been working 10-12 hour days. I try to get there before or after work whichever my schedule allows.
  
• I took some sort of liquid vitamin shot (Bazi?) this morning that Trainer Boy gave me... he's disturbed by the cough I've had for over a week... it made me all sorts of jittery today. Strange. Edit: A shot of liquid... like out of a cup... not an injection! I'd never let anyone shoot me up with some strange substance. Yikes!!
  
• I am excited for the food to be gone from work next week so I can start eating VEGGIES and FRUIT again!
• Had date #4 with Funny Boy last night. I think I have a little crush on him. But shh you didn't hear that from me.. or maybe you did :)
  
• I do not want to go to boot camp tonight since I've been at work since 6:45am and will be here til 5:30pm but I have to go. Then I can go home and sit on my ass all night
• I had a nice chit chat with my mom about how I'm dating boys these days... she cracks me up. But she's the best and of course just kept telling me she doesn't care who I date as long as I'm happy. Yay for mom.
• I have SO much TV to catch up on!!!!
• I need new workout pants. I only have 2 pairs that I really like and they are SO old and faded. Any suggestions?
• In less than a month I'm going to Cancun!!!

Ok I think I covered the basics. I'm going to go change for boot camp, make sure things here are good and head out! PJs and the couch is soooooo soon, but not soon enough.

Tell me the TRUTH

I went out last night. I stayed out until 11:15pm. I got home at 11.40pm. I then turned on the end of the Phillies game and watched it til 12:10... THEY WON!!!

Boot Camp was (luckily) canceled for this morning. So there's only the evening session. Which is from 5:45-6:45. I'm super sleepy right now and just don't feel like dealing with it. And these are the reasons why:

1. I'm going to a friend's house for dinner and am supposed to be there at 7. It's 30 min from boot camp. I will arrive a) late and b) sweaty (but they know this)
2. I'm just plain old tired
3. I have a cough
4. My hamstrings are tragically sore from yesterday morning
5. I'm tired
6. My shoulder is still a little messed up from something I did to it last week
7. I'm still tired
8. I'm having a good hair day and don't want to ruin it with boot camp (I know, I'm pathetic)
   

So now someone tell me the truth. Are these EXCUSES (I believe so) or legitimate reasons to skip boot camp?

In other news -- the reason for my tiredness (other than the Phillies) is because I went on date #3 with Funny Boy last night. We went bowling. It was hysterical. I suck so bad... but we had a lot of fun. As random as bowling is, you can't deny that it's a good time. There was also a little goodnight kiss. Teehee. (But dating still sucks. I will forever argue that point.)