Running For Myself (formerly Operation Size 8)

I've been tagged!!

2012-02-11T10:41:00.002-05:00

My girl Renee tagged me. I've seen it going around and I'm happy to finally get the chance to do it!!

The rules:

1. Post these rules.
2. You must post 11 random things about yourself.
3. Answer the questions set for you in their post.
4. Create 11 new questions for the people you tag to answer.
5. Go to their blog and tell them you’ve tagged them.
6. No stuff in the tagging section about you are tagged if you are reading this. You legitimately have to tag 11 people.

11 RANDOM THINGS:

1. I have a nephew that is 31 years old. I'm 36. We're more like brother and sister.

2. The first concert I ever saw was the Monkees when I was 1o years old. Don't laugh. You know you're jealous.

3. My second concert was George Micheal. Oh come on!! "Faith" was so the rage when I was a kid.

4. I loved hair bands when I in middle school and high school. Motley Crue FOREVER!!

5. I failed Spanish in high school and wish I hadn't. It would be so useful for me in my job now.

6. I've been living in the same apartment for almost 16 years.

7. My middle name is really Sundae.

8. I have 4 older sisters, but I am only close to 3 of them. Not by my choice.

9. I went to my junior and senior prom with my husband.

10. I wear a size 9.5 shoe (my feet went down from a size 10 after losing weight).

11. I cannot dance to save my life.

The Eleven Questions you have to answer from Renee!
1. When is the Last time you swam in a pool? 2004 at our friend Pete's house.

2. Do you carry a donor card? I don't have a card, but I am a donor and it says so on my driver's license.

3. Would you ever consider living abroad? Yes I would.

4. What car would you love to buy if you could afford it? I really love my Dodge Intrepid, so that is hard to say. I love that car so much that when we got our new car almost 2 weeks ago and I drove it for a few days and my husband had the Intrepid, I told him I didn't want the new car anymore. So...I don't even know.

5. Do you feel younger or older than your current age? Younger. Way younger.

6. what your favorite movie or book was as a child? Charlotte's Web. I named my first cat Fern when I was 2 years old. She lived to be almost 21.

7. Toilet Paper – over or under? Over.

8. Are you usually late, early or right on time? Early.

9. Have you ever been on a roller coaster? Yes and I won't do that again. I'm a puker.

10. What song always makes you happy when you hear it? Currently it's "God Gave Me You" by Blake Shelton. I love that man and his music!

11. Name four things you always have with you: my cell phone, my keys, my kindle and my purse.

***

Thanks, Renee! That was fun. I'm not going to tag anyone because I swear everyone has been tagged. But if you want to do it, please feel free and do so. Use the questions Renee asked me or make up your own.

My new favorite equipment

2012-02-08T19:50:00.003-05:00

I rejoined the gym 2 weeks ago. Since I did that, I have been eyeballing this piece of equipment:
It's called The Captain's Chair and I've always wanted to try it. I didn't think I had the upper body strength, but I finally gave it shot today. And I did 2 sets of 20. My arms are SORE right now. I feel it a little in my abs, but I am betting I really feel it tomorrow. The gym has a little room set up for ab work and they have two of these. I stare it down every time I go in there and I am so glad I sucked it up and tried it today. I plan to make it my bitch.

Like I said, rejoining the gym was the best thing I could have done for myself. My eating is awesome. I'm so much happier.

And right now the pajama bottoms that I have on are not nearly as snug in the butt as they were last week. Score, score and score!!

Falling in love again

2012-02-05T16:39:00.002-05:00

I truly have fallen in love with the gym again. It's amazing how your love for exercise comes back 110% when start doing something you truly love. And I didn't realize how much I missed it until I started going again.

Last week I managed 4 days at the gym. This week I've already gotten in 2 days. And I plan on trying to go as much as I can. I wasn't planning on running today (since I can do whatever now that I have the option) but the Elliptical's were packed early (I think it's all because of the "Big Game" and everyone getting their workouts in early-the place was packed with guys). So I hopped on the treadmill and went for it. 4 miles later I was so glad I did it.

My eating has gotten better. I'm working really hard to do the best that I can and get back down to at least 160 pounds. After that I can work on getting to 150 pounds.

I'm not a football fan so...I'm going to be watching movies or whatever with the husband tonight. We had gotten invited to a party, but the hubby didn't want to go. I would go just to relax and have a good time. I'm really just waiting for the Daytona 500...

Failure

2012-02-02T19:26:00.002-05:00

I rejoined my old gym. And I have to say it was one of the best things I could have done for myself. I did it last week and I have gone 6 times already. I am loving it!! They moved to a bigger location and they have so much more equipment and I am so happy. My love for working out is back.

My eating? Sucks. I have to get some sort of grip on it. I'm not happy with with the way that is going. I know what to do, I just haven't been doing it. I've been messing around with a few things and I just get annoyed and frustrated. I need to pick one thing and stick with it. If anyone has any suggestions, I would love to hear them. Maybe I'm just getting sick of eating them same darn things over and over again. Maybe I just need to change up my recipes. I certainly don't plan on gaining (anymore) weight back. I'm not happy at the weight I am currently at.

I'll figure it out. That is part of why I haven't been posting much. I feel like a failure. I am not happy and I don't feel like I have the right to post. But I'm around.

Raising money for Autism

2012-01-27T19:59:00.003-05:00

I'm raising money for Autism. My goal is $250 and if you wanted to help me out, all you have to do is click on this link right here. I'm looking forward to being on the treadmill for three hours. What? I didn't say I was going to RUN for the three hours. I can walk. I can do whatever I want.

So donate if you can. Pass it on if you want. Tweet it. Blog it. Do whatever you want. I thank you for your kindness!!

Just watch

2012-01-22T16:04:00.003-05:00

I had a rough week. I really rough week. My exercise and eating didn't go as planned. I'm not beating myself up about it. But, I also didn't blog much about it either. I felt like I didn't really have much to say this week, so I just kept my mouth shut and did my thing.

My eating was pretty bad. REALLY bad. But, I'm over that.

My exercise wasn't as bad. I worked out Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday. I ran 10 miles. I did some kettlebell workouts. I only used my Bowflex once.

I miss going to the gym. I said it. I just miss the whole atmosphere. But, the gym I currently belong to (and I'm about to cancel that membership) isn't what I want. So, I'm thinking of going back to my old gym. Or there is actually a Planet Fitness that I want to go to. It's only $10 a month. Yes, I love my treadmill, but I miss the whole gym thing. Is that crazy?

I have to talk about it with the husband first and see what he says. $10 is not bad, considering I pay $30 now. So we would be saving $20. But, I did ask for the Bowflex and said I would cancel my gym membership. But, I'm thinking if I explain everything to him, he'll understand. And I'll offer to work a little O.T. at work and bring in some extra cash.

January hasn't been the month I wanted, but it's alright. I'm going to make 2012 the best year yet. Just watch.

Lean and Mean

2012-01-15T13:46:00.003-05:00

I've decided since we'll be going to Texas in a little over 3 months, I want to get as LEAN as I can. I keep telling my husband I'm going to get "Lean and Mean" for the trip. I want to be in the best shape that I can possibly be in. So that while I am there, I can relax a little bit and enjoy myself (eat, drink and be merry).

So...starting tomorrow (today is done exercise wise. I did 45 minutes of Kettlebells. You know how much I love my Kettlebells). I plan on 6 days of exercise which will include 6 days of cardio (running of course) and 4-5 days of weights. And I want to eat as clean as possible. I need new recipes so badly, but I'll do what I can until I get them.

I took my measurements yesterday and they didn't change from November. Which is good, considering. I just have to make it through Valentine's Day and Easter. But I think I can do that. I KNOW I can do that.

If you have ANY good ideas for food, please feel free to email me. Or comment here. I am feeling really awesome about this!!

HAE

2012-01-14T15:53:00.005-05:00

Coming out of my Benadryl coma. The past day and a half has been foggy.

Thursday night was great. We went out with the hubby's boss and wife for dinner at a fancy Japanese restaurant. Luckily we were not the only ones there. I was nervous. I mean, this is my husband's BOSS!! Ha!! (I also ended up wearing flats because it had snowed just a little the night before and I didn't want to slip and fall on my butt).I ate good. I had steamed broccoli and chicken with rice. My stomach still wasn't feeling right so I didn't eat too much anyway.

After that we went to see Brian Regan. He was funny!! The place he played at was really cool, too. It was an old historic theatre in Massachusetts. We had a great time. We were home by 10pm.

When I woke up on Friday morning my face pretty much looked like this, but only ten times worse:

I should mention I noticed my left eye was a little swollen when we left for dinner, but I thought I had it under "control". When I woke up on Friday, not so much. My left eye was almost shut and I had a hard time walking. Plus, my right hand was swollen so badly that I couldn't even close it. Both my feet were swollen and it hurt to walk. I HATED to call into work, but what could I do? I couldn't drive and I could hardly walk or see, so I had no choice.

I know I've mentioned Hereditary Angioedema (HAE) but it is very unknown. I only started having flare ups 10 years ago. This is the worst one I've probably ever had. It's really embarrassing to me. How do you explain it to someone? You really can't. Luckily I work in Healthcare so people understand it, but it's still hard. It's ruined a few fun times for me. I need to find a doctor that will HELP me. Every time I go see my allergist he wants to give me a steroid. I refuse. I'd rather swell. I need to find a specialist in HAE who can HELP ME! I don't care how far I have to drive in Connecticut (or Massachusetts or New York) to find one.

I don't know what caused it. I did have a piece of hubby's steak which was cooked in front of us. It was also cooked with Scallops. I guess shellfish can cause flareups.

Anyway, on a happier note, I lost 2.8 pounds this week. Which really surprised me because I popped a lot of tums and other stuff because I wasn't feeling well. I didn't work out that much. Only 4 times. And it's the week before my period. But I will take it.

I will be going to Houston at the end of April. I'm not sure of the actual dates yet, but I cannot wait. Hubby has another trade show and his boss told him I can come. I've never been so I cannot wait! I want to slim down as much as I can. And enjoy myself when I get there. It should be so much fun!! Plus I hope to get the chance to meet THIS awesome lady while I'm there.

Food poisoning?

2012-01-11T20:38:00.003-05:00

Hubby and I are thinking we might have a touch of food poisoning. I've never had it before, but we both have been having issues since Sunday night. We ate out and we both had steak and since that night we've been feeling "off". He is having more issues but I'm not feeling so hot myself. At first mine was the heartburn but today I started feeling something worse. My boss is sick, but I don't know if it's that. I'm not normally someone who worries about stuff like that but it is just sort of strange that we both started having the same side effects at the same time.

Meh. Moving on.

My heartburn is almost 100% gone. Thank goodness because how many tums can one girl eat??

I've been a bad, bad, BAD runner. I haven't run since Sunday. Today I managed to drag my butt out of bed and do a Kettlebell workout before work. I thought about running when I got home from work, but if you are a regular reader of my blog, you know how much I seriously hate running at night. So instead I did 20 minutes of weights with my Bowflex. I figured that was good. And I worked out twice in one day. Bonus!!

Tomorrow night hubby and I are going out to dinner with his boss (GASP!) and his wife. After that we are going to a comedy club to see Brian Regan (and for you NASCAR fans I keep calling him David Regan-I hope I don't do that tomorrow night). I have to dress fancy because the restaurant we are going to is super upscale. I got a really nice dress and I can't wait to wear it. I will try to get someone to take a photo of us together. And I hope to not break my neck in my heels. I might have to pass on them if it is raining. I don't want to slip.

Tomorrow I plan to get in a much needed run. I need it and I miss it. Sometimes a break is needed.

Heartburn

2012-01-10T19:39:00.003-05:00

I woke up in the middle of the night with some horrible heartburn. It was terrible. I've had it happen a couple times before, but it was just awful. I popped a few tums, but it took awhile before it faded and I was able to go back to sleep. I was up for probably 2 hours before I was able to go back to sleep. I got something to drink, snuggled with the cats, tried to find a more comfortable spot to sleep in. But it didn't help.

I had hoped to workout this morning as I didn't work out yesterday or Saturday. But I was so tired after being up for 2 hours that I just couldn't. And all day work I was feeling the heartburn. I feel better now, but it's still there. I haven't had it this bad EVER! Hubby has some serious heartburn, too. I'm thinking it has something to do with what we ate on Sunday night. I guess we won't be eating there again for awhile.

I'm a little nervous about going to sleep tonight and afraid I'll wake up in pain again.

In happier news, a friend of mine on Facebook was selling some of things and I bought one of her Coach Bags. It came in the mail today and I'm so excited. I have wanted one FOREVER!!! Plus, she threw in a couple samples of these brownies she is always raving about. I tried one. OMG! They are so good!! And only 156 calories!! I am going to order some this weekend. I have one left and I can't wait to have it tomorrow.

I'm off to get my new purse all ready. I'm so in love with it. lol

Live in harmony

2012-01-09T20:20:00.003-05:00

Remember this post where I talked about my awesome Kettlebell workout? And that I felt like at first I wasn't really workout out until I got to work? HaHa. HA!! Friday morning EVERYTHING hurt. Kettlebells are no joke I tell you. NO JOKE!!

I gained two pounds this week. I knew it was going to happen. I wasn't upset or mad at myself. I've been struggling really badly and I just got over it. I had a rough weekend, too. Hubby and I went up to New Hampshire and I got sick. I don't know if it was something I ate or what, but we came home a day early. He was not too happy with me at first but he got over it. I felt really bad about it, but what can you do?

Right now my exercise is spot on. But my eating is not. I need to get them together so they can live in harmony.

I'm getting there. I haven't decided if I'm going to weigh in this week or wait a month. Sometimes I like to do that. That is the luxury of doing this at home. I don't have to stress about it.

And a big shout out to my friend Kelly who ran the Disney Goofy Challenge this weekend. For those who are not familiar with this, it's 13.1 miles on Saturday and 26.2 miles on Sunday. That is pretty amazing. I dream of at least running the half one day, but to do both? Awe inspiring.

That will teach me

2012-01-05T21:02:00.003-05:00

It was cold when my alarm went off this morning. I didn't want to get out of my nice warm bed and go outside the cold garage where it was 20 degrees. I wanted to stay all snuggled up under the covers with my husband and my kitties and enjoy a little more sleep.

But I didn't.

I didn't go outside and try out my new triceps rope. Instead I decided I would try out my knew Kettlebells. The whole time I'm doing the workout, I'm watching the DVD and how the people are sweating and saying how they are really feeling it. I'm like really? I'm just not with you. I'm enjoying it because it was nice to do something different, but I didn't feel like it was THAT big a deal. I did get warm and knew I was working myself. But I didn't feel like it was that hard of a workout.

Until I got to work. HOLY MOLY!! My arms! I was sore. And now I really feel it in my butt. That workout really was no joke. I am going to try and do that more often because I really did enjoy it. I liked the motions and how fast paced it was. I think the running has made it so that I need to work HARDER to break a sweat.

I guess that will teach me to complain. I need to use my medicine ball next. And my Bosu ball, too.

Wish me luck!!

2012-01-04T21:09:00.004-05:00

Guess what came via UPS to my house today?I cannot wait to use it! This was one of my favorite things to use at the gym and now I have one for my Bowflex. It does amazing things to your stomach.

On a sad note, my Mom went home today. I dropped her off at the airport this morning. I'm sad. It was nice to come home after work and have her here. After 3 weeks I was used to it. I enjoyed cooking for her and everything. I hope to make it out to Arizona this year to visit her. She called me to let me know she made it home okay. I miss already.

I got in a slow 3 mile run this morning. I was up at 4:30am for the drive to the airport and I was exhausted. My neighbors woke me up a couple times (fighting-I cannot wait to get out of this apartment) and I probably got about 5 hours of sleep. But I got my run in.

I'm having a real problem with this weekend. We're going to New Hampshire and I'm afraid of my eating. I'm struggling big time right now. Ugh!! Wish me luck!!

All about change.

2012-01-02T12:50:00.002-05:00

And January 2012 is off to a good start!!

Right now the family and I are getting ready to head off to Texas Roadhouse for lunch. My Mom has never been so I am really excited to take her there. I already tracked my lunch (chicken, sweet potato and salad) so I know what to expect.

With the beginning of 2012 I have decided to give the new Weight Watchers program a shot again. What do I have to lose, right? I know it works because people have lost weight with it. I joined online about a month ago and I didn't use it. So I started tracking online yesterday. Meetings are just not my thing. I know I can lose weight with it. When I followed the program last year I lost weight. I just would cheat too much.

Friday the husband and I are going up to New Hampshire for the weekend. The hotel we are staying at does not have a fitness center (the HORROR!!) but apparently I get to use the nearby gym for free. It's a Gold's Gym. It's also the first week of the near year. It should be really interesting.

I really hate how tight my jeans feel today. I'm very uncomfortable in my skin. But I can change that. 2012 is all about change.

Happy 2012!!

2012-01-01T15:17:00.002-05:00

I had planned on sleeping in this morning, but the cats had other ideas. By 9am they were crawling all over me. I guess they were hungry.

I started the day off PERFECTLY with a 3 mile run and a 20 minute weights workout. I would have gone for a longer run, but I'm still dealing with a sore back and didn't want to push it. I figure tomorrow (since I don't have to work) I will go for a longer run if I feel up to it.

I've actually have a 3 day run streak going on starting with Friday. I'm pretty excited and proud of that.

I had a healthy bowl of oatmeal with strawberries, chocolate chips and PB2 after my run. 2011 was fantastic, but 2012 is going to be even better. I plan to make it that way.

I cannot believe my Mom will be going home on Wednesday. Didn't she just get here? Yikes! We're going to pick her up at my Aunt's in a bit. 3 weeks goes by so fast. She went over there last night to give me and the hubby New Years Eve to ourselves. We enjoyed the night, but I fell asleep before midnight. I don't remember the last time I saw midnight on New Years.

My nephew got engaged last night. I'm so excited and happy for him. I knew he was going to propose, but I'm still happy. She is a great girl and I hope they are very happy together.

And with that my friends, I wish you a Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!!

2011-12-31T15:06:00.003-05:00

Well, almost anyway.

I want to wish everyone a safe and Happy New Year. 2011 was amazing. 2012 is going to be even more fantastic.

Be safe tonight. Enjoy yourself, but be safe.

I'm looking forward to relaxing with the husband and having a nice quiet night at home. Boring, but fun for us.

Tomorrow is January 1st, 2012 and the new year begins. It's going to be the best one yet.

And, I am happy to say I gained 0.2 pounds over Christmas. I was 166.8 on Friday when I weighed in. That is pretty awesome. With my back bothering me I didn't work out too much and it's still annoying me, but I've gotten in 2 runs plus my Elliptical workout on Tuesday.

Happy New Year my friends!!

Looking forward

2011-12-29T19:22:00.003-05:00

Just like most people, starting January 1st, 2012 I am getting back on track with EVERYTHING 100%.

What does that mean? Well, I will be working out 5-6 days week. That means running, using the Bowflex, etc. I haven't even tried out my new Kettlebells or medicine balls yet. Of course, with my Mom here it's been hard to do that. But I'm not using it as a an excuse. I have been working out. Just not as much as I want to.

I will be eating clean 90% of the time (hey, I have a few things I enjoy that aren't considered clean). And I will be tracking EVERYTHING I eat. Weight Watchers style. Of course, I started getting back on track a few weeks ago and lost 2.8 pounds. But I wasn't awesome on Christmas. And I have only worked out twice this week so far. So. Anyway.

My back is pretty much awesome again. I haven't trusted myself to run so I have been staying away until I felt the time was right. And tomorrow it will be.

I also plan to blog more. A lot more. I miss it. 2012 is going to be fantastic. I have few awesome things coming up. I have a fundraiser in February for Autism. I'm looking to raise $250 but of course I would love to raise more. And in June I have the Warrior Dash!! That should be a BLAST!!

The aftermath

2011-12-26T10:32:00.003-05:00

Christmas is over. It was fabulous. I had a great holiday with my family and friends.

I tried not to eat too much yesterday. It wasn't too hard to be honest. I wasn't feeling all that great and so by the time we got too my sisters house, I just wanted a cold drink and to sit down and rest. It's rough when your up until midnight on Christmas Eve, up at 7am Christmas morning, at your inlaws by 10:30am and so on. I was hungry, but didn't really want to eat much. So I ate, but didn't stuff myself. And I was so very full after the small things I did eat.

It was a very workout Christmas for me present wise. I got kettlebells, medicine balls and a bosu ball. I asked for all of them and I got them!! I also got two DVD's. One is Jillian Micheals for Kettlebells and one is the Biggest Loser for Kinect. I also go shot bloks. I can always use plenty of those.

My husband got me two running decals. One that reads Run Like A Girl and the other says I'd Rather Be Running. Plus for my Pandora bracelet he got me two running charms. One that says 13.1 and the other says I heart Running. He knows me so well.

I got calenders, candy, Kashi bars, magnets, clothes, gift cards (hello Target!!), money, and so much more.

It was a great Christmas. Except for my back. Which I hurt on Friday night by falling asleep on my couch. It was a little sore when I woke up on Saturday but I ignored it and went for a 5 mile run anyway. That run was fantastic. I really loved it and was smiling from ear to ear when I was done. My back? Not so much. I was in some serious pain. When I was wrapping gifts later on, I was sitting on the floor and when I got up, I cried it hurt so bad. I haven't been in this much pain in almost a year. Not since I started seeing the Chiropractor.

I'm happy to say I feel better today. My back is not 100% but it is not wear it was on Saturday. I have to make sure I sit on something with a back and not fall asleep on that damn couch again. The last time I had issues it was because of the couch. I wouldn't want to try and run today (although I could use a good run) but tomorrow I should feel up to it. I may try out my new DVD's but we'll see. I don't want to rush it. I need to make sure I'm 100% before I get back to working out.

January 1st is looming. I am looking forward to it. I've been successful in keeping off 120 pounds this year, but I want to lose more. I've decided, after seeing photos of myself yesterday at Christmas, I want to get down to 140 pounds. I am going to go back to 100% clean eating (coffee creamer has gotten into my coffee again!!) and exercising 5-6 days a week. It's only 26.6 pounds. It can be done.

I have today and tomorrow off and go back to work for 3 days before having another 3 day weekend. Hared to believe my Mom goes home next week. She has been with my sister for a week but is coming back here today.

I hope everyone had a great Christmas. Or Hanukkah.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T21:11:00.001-05:00

Or Happy Holidays. Whichever works for you.

I had a great day. Didn't eat too much because I messed up my back on Friday night by sleeping on the couch. I ran 5 miles yesterday (it was glorious) and felt it after.

I haven't felt right since.

Currently I am stuffing my face with peanut m&m's because? Well, why not? There are no calories on holidays. Tomorrow it's back on plan. I've lost 2.8 pounds since I recommitted myself to Weight Watchers and plan to get back on track tomorrow.

I got some amazing gifts. Kettlebells. Medicine balls. Yep. My home gym is coming along nice.

I will post more tomorrow.

Enjoy the rest of your day!!

My year in review.

2011-12-23T17:40:00.003-05:00

I found this on another blog, so I thought I would copy it and post my own answers.

1. What did you do in 2011 that you'd never done before?

I ran a half marathon. That is 13.1 miles for those that don't know. I did that on March 20th, 2011. I'm not sure if I will ever do it again, but I would like to. Right now I'm just enjoying my treadmill runs, but in the back of my mind I know I want to run a full marathon sometime.

2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions?
I really don't remember if I had any or not. If I did, it was to reach my goal weight. I didn't get to 150 pounds, but I didn't gain weight either. Sure, I saw 157.4 pounds and right now I'm 166.6 pounds, but I still managed to keep my weight loss at 120 pounds. Pretty awesome.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
No.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
No

5. What countries did you visit?

I didn't leave the USA this year.

6. What would you like to have in 2012 that you lacked in 2011?
I'd like to have a better attitude. I know, I know. But I'm kind of really bitchy lately and it's not cool.

7. What dates from 2011 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
March 20th, 2011. That is when I ran my half marathon. And in February (not sure of the exact date) when the hubby got his job!!

8. What was your biggest achievement(s) of the year?
Running the half marathon and keeping off my weight.

9. What was your biggest failure?
Well, I could say not making my goal, but I'm not going to. I am very blessed to be where I am right now.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
I injured my back (or should I say an old injury came back to haunt me) and starting seeing my Chiropractor in January. I adore her. Plus, I had bronchitis in October into November.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
The Bowflex!!

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
My husband. He seriously deserves a medal for putting up with me.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
I'd rather not say. You never know who might find this blog...

14. Where did most of your money go?
Everywhere. Food, running stuff, cat stuff, clothes, car work, concert tickets...but it was all worth it.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Seeing my Mom for the first time in a year. And seeing my sister for the first time in over 3 years.

16. What song will always remind you of 2011?
There are so many. Probably any Blake Shelton song thanks to his awesome concert.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? About the same
b) thinner or fatter? Thinner by about 10 pounds. =]
c) richer or poorer? RICHER!! Hubby is working again!!

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Saved a little more money. But we can do that next year.

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Stressed out.

20. How will you be spending Christmas?
With family and friends

21. Did you fall in love in 2011?
I'm already madly in love with my husband.

22. How many one-night stands?
Nope

23. What was your favorite TV program?
Breaking Bad. American Horror Story. True Blood.

24. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
Hate is a strong word. More like dislike.

25. What was the best book you read?
A Discovery of Witches was good. And the Hunger Games trilogy.

26. What was your greatest musical discovery?
All country music rocks my world. Seriously.

27. What did you want and get?
A Bowflex.

28. What did you want and not get?
To be back in my size 8 jeans, but it's okay.

29. What was your favorite film of this year?
"Bridesmaids" was funny. So was "Puss in Boots". lol

30. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 36. I worked and hubby took me out to dinner. It was fun and awesome and I wouldn't have it any other way. Work threw me a big party so I enjoyed that.

31.What was one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
A bigger raise at work. What? I can dream.

32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2011?
I am starting to dress more my age and not like a 20 something anymore. I am now an adult.

33. What kept you sane?
Running. And my husband. And my twitter friends. lol

34. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
I have a few.

35. What political issue stirred you the most?
There are so many...

36. Who did you miss?
I always miss my Dad.

37. Who was the best new person you met?
My new coworker. She is super cool and cute.

38. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2011.
I'll have to get back to you on this one.

39. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.

"No one is stopping you from doing what you want to do". Guns N' Roses

Birthday Party Success!!

2011-12-18T20:00:00.002-05:00

Lynnell, Andrea, Ellen and me

My mother's Birthday party was a success. Here is a picture of me and my sisters. I haven't seen my sister Andrea since Thanksgiving 2008. It was great to see her. Looking at this photo I don't even think I look like any of them.

Looking at this photo makes me realize I want to lose more weight. It's wrong, I know.

The big girl coat

2011-12-16T20:00:00.002-05:00

Official weigh in?

166.8 pounds. I lost 2.6 pounds after following Weight Watchers for a week. Counting my points and exercising 3 times last week. Not too bad. I'll take that again next week thank you very much. Ha! I'll be happy with a pound next week.

I have Christmas party tomorrow night. And my Mom's 70th Birthday party on Sunday. So. Anyway.

Today I got a french manicure. And a "big girl" coat. By that I mean a coat that isn't 3 sizes too big and doesn't have Eeyore on it. I've been wearing this same coat since 1998. No joke. The other winter coat I have is missing buttons. This new coat is nice. I love it. A bit pricey, but worth it. I needed it.

I also had the best run I've had since I probably started running again today. I ran 10:47 mile. I've been having a hate/hate relationship with my running and I needed it today. I'm in love with running again.

Working my way to an ulcer

2011-12-15T19:41:00.003-05:00

My Mom is here.

I survived being back on Weight Watchers and counting points for almost one week. I sneaked a little peak and the scale said 167.6 pounds yesterday so that was 1.8 pounds less from last week. Official weigh in is tomorrow. Weight Watchers, why do I doubt you?

I avoided big meltdowns at work this week even though I felt them coming on. I think I'm getting an ulcer. Laugh all you want, but Tums don't lie.

And I wonder why I'm breaking out like a 12 year old boy.

I don't have to go back to work until Monday.

I'm getting a manicure and a haircut tomorrow.

Saturday night is the Christmas party at my hubby's work. I'm looking forward to it.

Sunday is my Mom's 70th Birthday party.

Christmas is 10 days away and I have bought ONE gift. Er...that could be a problem, right?

Back on track

2011-12-10T21:30:00.002-05:00

Day one back on track is complete. I ran 4 miles and did 25 minutes with the Bowflex. Let me tell you my legs are SORE from that workout. But it's good. Very good.

Tracked all my food. Drank all my water. And I feel great.

I'm a little stressed out because my Mom will be here on Wednesday and my apartment is not nearly ready. There is still so much to finish. I am so afraid I'm going to hurt my back that I don't lift heavy things and since the hubby was "busy" for most of the day (don't get me started) I was stuck doing the cleaning. As usual. But tomorrow he promised he will help. He'd better. There is still a lot of work to be done.

But the room for my Mom's 70th Birthday party is ready. It's booked for next Sunday. I can't believe she'll be 70!! Her actually Birthday is Saturday and I'm so glad she'll be here to celebrate.

Today went well. Tomorrow will go better. I have 3 days of work. Hopefully I won't have any conference calls (I had 3 this week and 2 of them were Friday). I have a lot to get done before I have Thursday and Friday off. We pick Mom up on Wednesday night. I can't wait to see her. It's been over a year!!

I'm going to bed soon. I'm beat. I have a lot to do tomorrow, too.

Oh and I bought my first Christmas present today. Yep. I'm that behind. Not okay.

Catching myself

2011-12-09T19:13:00.002-05:00

This morning, I realized I was heading in the wrong direction.

I was 169.4 pounds.

Yep. 169.4 pounds. Not where I want to be. Not at all. I'm not sure what happened. My happy place is 160 or under that. I don't want to be here. I'm uncomfortable. My clothes are not fitting the way I want them to.

I started thinking about what I haven't been doing. I haven't been working out much. Only 3 days a week. I need at least 4-5 days. I haven't been eating right. That is a BIG issue. I need to be eating clean. I'm not doing that either.

So tonight after work I went grocery shopping and filled up the cart with healthy, clean, food. I am going to start working at least 4 days again. I need this for me. Because if I don't, I'm only going to end up at 250+ pounds again. And be miserable and unhappy.

Working out+eating clean=healthy me. And a healthy me. And I know that the way I lost the weight last time was not by counting calories. It was by counting points. So I am all set with that, too. I have gotten out my points calculator and my paper trackers and I'm ready to go.

One pound at a time. That is all that matters.

What was I doing a year ago??

2011-12-06T20:09:00.003-05:00

I've been reading a lot of my older entries from a year ago.

A year ago I was 176 pounds. So I've lost about 10 pounds in a year. It would be 20 if I hadn't gained back 10. That really upsets me. I mean, sure, it could be worse. I could be back at 287 pounds, but seriously? I thought I would be 150 pounds by now.

So what has happened to slow my process and make me gain some weight? What was I doing so differently a year ago? I was eating so much cleaner. And not cheating nearly as much as I am now.

I admit it. I cheat. And I cheat a lot. At least once a week. Which I'm not proud of. I'm not sure why. It's not just because it's the holidays either. Oh, no. I was cheated back before Thanksgiving and my Birthday and all that. It's been going on for awhile. It needs to stop and I need to get a grip and I need to get everything under control. So I can lose the 10 I gained back and the rest of the weight.

I'll figure it out. Because I know I won't go BACK to where I was. That won't happen. I know Weight Watchers is probably the only thing that is going to EVER work for me. I try counting calories but I just don't think it's for me. So I always go back. Always.

The one where I go to Texas

2011-12-02T19:01:00.003-05:00

My husband has been gone since Monday morning. If you didn't know it already, we're pretty close. We spend a lot of time together. We're best friends. We've been together for a very long time. So it's hard when we are apart.

This has probably been the easiest time for me, which is unusual. Maybe it's because I had to work and the last couple of times he has gone away, I had weekends in there. Tomorrow doesn't seem like a depressing and lonely day. I have plans to clean and run a few errands. Get out some Christmas decorations (the tree we will put up when he gets home).

But I miss him. There is only so much time I can spend with my cats. They look at me like "Hey, lady feed us and go away". So Sunday is going to be a great reunion for us when my husband does come home.

However, the next business trip for him will be at the end of March and I am invited! I know I mentioned before I wanted to go with him this time (he's in New Orleans) but I didn't have the vacation time for that and for when my Mom comes to visit. Since I haven't seen my Mother since October of 2010, and she's my Mom...

The next trip he's going on will be to Houston, Texas. I have never been to Texas. I don't count the time I had to go there for a layover flight. And I cannot wait. If you live in Texas and would like to meet up I would love to meet you. So far, everyone lives 5 hours away. Which sucks. I am looking forward to doing EVERYTHING. Whatever there is to do in Houston. I've heard it's beautiful there.

So what is my point? I really want to try and bust my ass and look as good as I can for this trip. Seriously. I've been such a slacker lately. I was going to wait until January 1st but why? Why wait? Why not start TOMORROW. Back to my 4-6 days a week of working out. Eating clean. That is what I miss the most. Eating healthy makes me feel GOOD! I really like counting my calories. I feel I get a lot more out of that. But without the exercise, I don't feel I get enough.

The slacking needs to stop. I need to get myself back in control and feel like a million bucks.

The one Iwhere I get a flat tire

2011-12-01T20:13:00.002-05:00

I thought I was so important today. I dressed all pretty and business like in my pants and top. Made sure my hair looked good (which meant I actually blew it dry and straightened it instead of letting it air dry). I felt good and thought I looked good. I had 2 meetings today and I thought "Hey, look at me. Miss I'm Important Office Manager".

Until I got a flat tire leaving the office I had to drive 40 minutes to and had to get a man to change it for me. No, I do not change my own tires, why do you ask? And what's worse? Another woman changed it for me. It was her and my boss really, but UGH! I think it's time I learn how to change a tire, yes?

So until my husband comes back from vacation I have this damn spare tire on my car. He's in charge of the car stuff. I don't know squat about this crap. Really. Embarrassing.

Anyway. December is here and I'm bound and determined NOT to gain any weight. I started the month off right with a 5 mile run. I'm eating awesome and I feel good, too. The holidays are tough. We're getting a lot of cookies and candy at work. Monday is the holiday party at work. I'm going with the steak and passing on the dessert.

I can do this. We all can do this.

The one where I need more Starbucks in my life

2011-11-28T19:20:00.002-05:00

I hope that everyone had a great Thanksgiving. I started mine by getting up and running 5 miles. I told myself I wasn't going to eat too much.

Ha! Ha! Ha! That is always what I say. When I zipped my jeans up on Saturday they were a little snug. But, I had a great holiday. I went to my sisters in the morning for brunch and I was able to use self control there. I had some fruit and bagel and a couple pieces of bacon. But when I got to my husband's families? I lost all control. I don't know what happened. It doesn't matter. It's one day and one day is not going to make me gain back 100 pounds. But still. I felt bad about it on Friday so Thursday turned into Friday and that was two bad days. But Saturday was a new start. I didn't run on Friday either so that didn't help much.

However, I ran on Saturday. And after that the hubby and I cleaned up the garage and put the BowFlex together. You would NOT believe the things that thing can do. Seriously. I've only watched some of the DVD, but it really is a home gym. It can do almost everything I need it to do. I used it a little bit on Sunday after my run, but I really need to watch the rest of the DVD and get used to using it before I'll feel 100% comfortable with it. I haven't weighed myself since my Birthday. My jeans are no longer tight. I wore a pair today and they fight fine. So I'm sure whatever I did on Thanksgiving is gone already.

Craiglist. You can't go wrong with a $1,500 item for $150 bucks. Am I right?

I had a rough running weekend. I thought it was me, but now I know it's because my husband was leaving for New Orleans this morning. I would have gone, but since my Mom will be here in 2 weeks, I couldn't take the time off for both. And I haven't seen my Mom in over a year. I can survive without my husband for 6 days. I need to spend some time with my Mom while she is visiting. I took 4 days off so far. Luckily she'll be here around Christmas and New Years and I don't have to take off too much time since the holidays are weekends and we get the Monday after off. But anyway... I dropped my husband off at the airport this morning. It was hard. I will admit I cried just a little bit. I'm a weenie, what can I say? But I treated myself to a coffee from Starbucks. I haven't had one since I was in Arizona last October. There just not close enough to me. But I stopped on the way into work and it was such a treat. They have the best coffee. I need more Starbucks in my life.

I wish I had taken a photo of me in the dress I wore on Thanksgiving. I fell in love with it the moment I saw it. It's red and perfect. I'm sure I'll wear it again. And get a picture. It's just so nice. I haven't decided if I'm going to the holiday party at work yet, but if I do, I plan to wear it. So I can get a picture then.

I was supposed to go see "Breaking Dawn" with my sister and nephew's girlfriend. But, the girlfriend backed out. And the sis and I were both tired. So it didn't happen. Which is all fine by me. I'm tired. And didn't really feel up to it. I want to see the movie, but it can wait.

I'll be okay without the hubby. I'm a big girl. Luckily I have work in there and only 1 weekend day which I plan to clean and put up Christmas decorations.

The one where I'm thankful

2011-11-22T20:51:00.006-05:00

It's almost Thanksgiving here and I'd just like to go over a few things that I'm thankful for in my life right now.

I am thankful for my amazing husband. He has been there for me through so much and without him, I would have nothing.

These crazy cats. Molly, Bradley and Cynnamon. I love my babies to death. Who else takes care of you the best when you're sick?

My family and friends (no pictures at the moment). Without my family I wouldn't be here and without my friends I wouldn't be sane. So I'm thankful I have them to make me laugh. This includes all of my twitter, blog and facebook friends. You're all amazing, too.

My job. Yes, my job. I may complain and bitch about it at times, but yesterday I realized how much I really like my job and how much I would miss it if I didn't have it.

And my health. To think that two years ago I was 250 pounds and now? I'm running, a size 10 and 165 pounds (slowing getting back to 160 and maybe 150 next year).

The one where I sleep until noon

2011-11-20T16:17:00.003-05:00

The Guns N' Roses concert was AMAZING! I knew it was going to be a late night, but we didn't get home until 3:30am!!! The opener, Sebastian Bach, went on at 9pm. GNR went on at 11:30pm. And they played until 2:30am. So, it was a very, VERY long night. And since I am one who is in bed by 10pm during the week (and 11pm on the weekends) I was having a very hard time staying awake.

But, GNR played my favorite song, "Shackler's Revenge". They haven't been playing it much according to my husband (the GNR freak) so I was so excited when it came on. It's one of my favorite songs to run to.

I might have been a little happier if I wasn't having some serious stomach issues. Lots of pain going on. I don't know what I ate to deserve that, but it wasn't fun.

Needless to say, I slept until noon. And when I finally did get up, it was only because my cats were crawling all over me for food. I might have kept sleeping if they hadn't woken me up. I haven't done much since I got up. I had a couple cups of coffee. A little snack. But no running today. I'm still recovering. But it was worth it.

The one with the marshmallow turkey

2011-11-19T13:54:00.006-05:00

Boy, do I ever have a food hang over today. Ha! But honestly, my Birthday is a once a year thing. And would you be able to say no to this?

I didn't think so. My coworkers can put together a party like no one and I was lucky enough to enjoy this cupcake from Whole Foods. It's head is made out of a marshmallow. There was so much food. And my Polish coworker brought in these pastries...I can't even begin to tell you how amazing they were. I couldn't even eat everything.

My coworker brought me in balloons. Isn't that sweet of her?
The big yellow one plays music when you tap it. Don't ask me what I'm looking at in this picture. Because it's clearly not the camera.

I had a great Birthday. After a month of not weighing myself, I was 165.2 pounds. Not bad for someone who wasn't exactly 100% with her diet and was sick and couldn't exercise as much as she wanted to.

My husband took me to Texas Roadhouse. Fried pickles. That was all I wanted and he pretty much let me eat the whole appetizer. I got Target gift cards from my Mom and in-laws. I can't wait to go buy some new stuff for the house with them. I need new towels. My husband got me my Bowflex. He promises to put it together soon. He hasn't had the time. He's a busy, busy man. I totally understand. But I want to be able to use it before he leaves for New Orleans and that is almost a week away. Oh and he got me a the new updated FitBit Ultra! I was so excited. I had no idea. I was eyeballing it, but I didn't think I would get it so soon. Maybe Christmas. Good times.

So we're back on track today. 5 miles under my belt. I have two, TWO Thanksgivings next week. My sister is cooking brunch and my husbands family is doing dinner. I am going to try to control myself as much as I can. That is going to be a lot of food.

And tonight? Tonight we're going to see Guns N' Roses. It's going to be a blast!!

The one where I feel great!

2011-11-17T19:09:00.004-05:00

Today my husband picked up my Bowflex on his lunch break. It's now in my garage. I'm so excited!! Cragslist...you have to LOVE it. Where else can you buy a $1500 item for $150? Seriously.

So he promises to get it up and ready for me this weekend so I can start using it. I'm thrilled beyond words. I mean, I don't even USE my gym membership anymore so once it expires in February, I'm golden. So I can workout at home. I'm one of those people that just likes to do that.

And as for my running? It's good. Except I really don't think I'll be running 26.2 miles in January. I want to start training for that again, but it won't be until after my Mom is gone. That bronchitis really knocked me out. So, I think in January I'll start the training again and pick a date for the treadmill marathon. I'll update on that again when I figure it out. I mean, how do I tell me my Mom...oh hey, I'm running 18 miles on your 70th Birthday, can you give me some time to nap? I mean, it's not every day your Mother turns 70, right?

Obviously, I'm feeling great. I may not have lost any weight (we'll find out tomorrow) but I don't even care. I went to my favorite consignment shop on lunch the other day and fit into a pair of 8 pants, some medium skirts and some cute medium sweaters. I didn't buy anything, but it felt good to try them on. I may go back for one of the skirts and sweater to wear for Thanksgiving if they are still there.

Plus, I think running 5 miles before work helps. I was in such a great mood all day and didn't care about anything. It's my job to be helpful and do things for people and I was happy to do that. Yesterday? Not so much. So I need to do that more.

It could also be because tomorrow is my Birthday. That helps to put me in a good mood. I'm a big believer in celebrating that.

I'm off to do some more cleaning to get ready for my Mom's visit. She'll be here in less than a month!!

The one where I come clean

2011-11-14T20:33:00.002-05:00

I'll admit it. My eating has been shit. Shit, shit, shit. I was supposed to be awesome for a month and lose weight. Right? Right. I was going to get back down under 160 pounds after I saw 166 pounds last month.

Well, I totally doubt that happened. Like I mentioned before, I would run 10 miles and decide it was okay to eat cookies, pizza, candy, whatever. And that isn't cool. That isn't how I lost the weight. Having an off day every now and then is okay, but not on a weekly basis.

I was totally ready to eat all healthy and good last week and clean. I was motivated and everything. I was eating every couple of hours, getting in all my healthy fats, lots of fruits and veggies, etc. Which lasted until Friday when I had pizza. And french fries. And cookies. Yep.

Now, I was sick for 5 weeks. Which SUCKS! It totally got my running off track. I went from running 5-6 days a week to 2-3 until I started feeling better. Which was this weekend. It was the first time I didn't have to use an inhaler after I ran. And Sunday I finally got over 4 miles and ran 5 miles. It sucks to go from 10 miles to 5, but I know I have to take it slow with the bronchitis. I was still blowing funky green junk out of my nose all weekend.

Saturday, after my eating frenzy on Friday, I got right back on the wagon. With Weight Watchers. It's my stand by. I know it works and I know what to do. But it's not what I want to do for the rest of my life. Weight Watchers and running...they just don't mix well. But the next two weeks are rough. My Birthday is Friday. I know they will get me a cake at work on and I can't say no to cake. And I won't. And of course, Thanksgiving is next week. I just want to to make sure I don't gain anymore weight. If I gain weight.

Friday is my weigh in day. My clothes are not tight. They fit just fine. But, I feel...I don't know. I just feel...blah. I don't like this eat like crap one day, eat fine for 6 days cycle. It's not good. Or healthy.

What I want to do is get back on a healthy clean eating plan after Thanksgiving. I was going to start on January 1st, but no. That isn't soon enough. Christmas is one day and I can handle that.

Hopefully, my Birthday present from my husband is going to be a Bowflex. We've seen a bunch on Craiglist and we've called a few people, but so far no one has called back. Which sucks, but I'm sure they go fast. People want to sell them CHEAP!! I figure I can cancel my gym membership once I get it. I don't go anyway and I love to workout at home, so it's a win/win, right?

So...that is kind of why I haven't been blogging much over the past week or so. But I plan to. I miss it. And I miss all of you!! I'm still reading, even if I'm not commenting as much.

Sunday post...

2011-11-13T19:47:00.002-05:00

I've been unusually quiet lately and I'm sorry. I promise to do an update soon. I've been getting back into the swing of running now that I am 100% over my bronchitis. Who would have thought it would have taken me a whole 5 weeks?

In the meantime, check out this new blog I am following, Ben Does Life, thanks to Runner's World. If you watch his youtube video My 120 Pound Journey, I bet you cry. I totally lost it. It's amazing. It makes me want to run an actual marathon next year. Really. The video is linked on his site. Check it out.

Feeling great!!

2011-11-09T19:41:00.002-05:00

I've been eating amazingly well since Saturday and I can't even begin to tell you how much much body loves it. How awesome I feel. How healthy I feel. Really.

I'm eating clean. Getting in healthy fats. And I feel GREAT!

I worked out Saturday, Sunday, and today.

I feel like I should be blogging more, but I've just been really exhausted. With work and stuff at home. I plan to get back on a better blogging schedule soon.

I'm also trying to convince the hubby to buy me a something BIG for my Birthday. We'll see!!

A slip up

2011-11-05T15:32:00.003-04:00

So, to be completely honest, my eating has slipped. A lot. I haven't been eating 100% clean and I can tell. My clothes have felt tighter and just have felt off. I'm sure some of it has to do with the fact I've been sick with bronchitis for the past 3 1/2 weeks. But I just haven't felt like doing what I know is good for my body.

Or maybe it's because I would run 10 miles on a Saturday and decide it was okay to have pizza, ice cream and candy that night. Why not? I burned off 1,000 calories, right? That is going to stop. TODAY.

I have a friend, Heather, who has really inspired me to tone up. You can read her blog here or check out her facebook page here. She went from 157 pounds to 125 pounds from January to October. Now, I do not want to be 125 pounds. And I am happy being 160 pounds. But I really want to tone up and she looks fantastic. She also competed in a fitness competition, which I do not want to do. But I would love to have a stomach like that. And I have been talking back and forth with her about how she did it, what she did, etc.

Today I ran 4 miles and did 30 minutes of weights. I loved it. I forgot how awesome it feels after you do weights. How your muscles feel after. I want to continue that. I NEED to feel like I'm doing something good and healthy for my body again. After my workout, I had a protein shake which I know is important for my muscles. Something I sort of forgot about. I logged back into my bodybuilding.com account and I'm going to start using that again. It is really helpful and I'm going to use it for tips and help.

I'm totally excited about grocery shopping tonight so I can stock up on good food. The hubby needs to hurry up and get home. Ha!!

Things are coming up

2011-11-03T15:41:00.002-04:00

Things are coming up. And when I say that, I mean green things. From my chest. It ain't pretty, but I think I'm finally getting well. After 3 1/2 weeks of coughing, hacking, wheezing, fever, etc., I think I'm finally getting over this Bronchitis.

IT'S ABOUT DAMN TIME!

I am sick of being sick let me tell you. I did not want to go for a chest x-ray and I was a little nervous it was Pneumonia. I don't like missing work unless it's a planned day off and this has caused me to miss 2 days. Of course, I work in healthcare and everyone understands, but still. I was already behind in my work due to the moving disaster of last Friday and the no power issue we came into on Monday, but now I'm even more behind. I can work from home, but there are some things I can't do at home.

Speaking of no power at work, I really hope we get it back soon. I don't mind going to the other office to work, but the drive. OH THE DRIVE! It's a big pain in my butt. I hate it. I like working with my other coworkers who I don't get to see often, but the drive sucks. I'm so spoiled with my short 5 minute drive aren't I?

I did get in a 3 mile run today. Which was my first run since Saturday. It felt great to get back out there. I know I needed to give my body some time off and I'm glad I did.

Having no power made me cranky

2011-11-01T20:42:00.003-04:00

I woke up on Sunday morning to a foot of snow and no power. I was cold, I was cranky and I felt like crap.

I'm beginning to think this bronchitis is never going to go away.

By 2pm both the husband and I had taken ice cold showers and decided to head out into town and see what was going on. We cleaned off my car and drove off. HOLY CROW! Power lines and trees and branches EVERY WHERE!! It's no joke!! No wonder we didn't have power. We ended up driving up to Massachusetts to get dinner and fill up the gas tank.

I was cranky. I don't do well without power. I don't enjoy camping much, so you can see why that makes me upset. I was so mean and nasty to my husband. I shouldn't have taken it out on him. It's not like he went outside and knocked the power lines down.

By the way, my eating? Not so good on Sunday. I ate whatever I wanted. Which wasn't pretty. Cheeseburger, french fries, ice cream, candy. You get the picture, right? Ah well. What can you do?

I froze all night on Sunday. No heat and 20 degree weather makes for unpleasant sleeping weather. Took another cold shower on Monday morning and went on day two without coffee as I headed to work. Work? Also without power. We sat around for a bit, cleaning up from moving stuff around on Friday, before we were shipped off to one of our offices that was open and had power.

I drank coffee all day there. I was so ready for it. And it was warm. So warm.

When I came home from work my power was back on. I am not kidding you when I tell you I CRIED! I was so happy, I dropped my stuff and cried. It was one of the best things I have seen in a long time. I feel so bad for people who are still without power here in Connecticut and are going to be for awhile.

Work is still without power and I don't mid going to the other office, but the drive is a pain.

I'm also still sick. I feel terrible. I went back to the doctor today and she gave me a nebulizer treatment while I was there and that cleared me right up. But she also gave me a prescription for an anti-biotic. I have to get it filled but nothing is open around here right now. She wants me to call back on Friday and if I'm still wheezing, I have to go for a chest xray. They are afraid it might be pneumonia. Fun!!

I haven't run since my 10 miles on Saturday (which was supposed to be 13.1) but I'll get there. Having no power and being sick put a glitch in my training. Hopefully tomorrow I will feel up to it.

Off to catch up things. I didn't have much time last night.

I'm bitter

2011-10-29T18:12:00.003-04:00

13.1 miles turned into 10 miles. Not complaining, but you know. I was coughing a lot towards the end, so I guess the bronchitis is still there. Hopefully I'll be able to get a run in tomorrow if we have power. 3 or 4 miles would be good.

And why do I say that? Oh well, Connecticut is in the middle of a snow storm right now. I kid you not. 5-10 inches of snow. And since it's really heavy and wet and we still have leaves on our trees, we could lose power. It's flickered on and off several times already. Honestly. It's October. What did I do to piss off Mother Nature? I mean was it the whole I hate you and I want to move to Arizona thing? If it is , I still mean it and I still want to do it. After all, it's October 29th, Halloween is 2 days away and I may have 10 inches of snow to clean off my car tomorrow. Bitch, please! Not to mention it will all melt when it warms up during the week so it's all a really big waste of our time.

I'm bitter. We had a rough winter last year and I'm not over that yet.

Moving day.

2011-10-28T19:24:00.004-04:00

I'm exhausted.

This day...I can't even begin to explain it. We did the whole office over at work and it was just exhausting. I was on my feet all day.

This is not much of an update, but I know I'll be in bed soon.

Besides, I have 13.1 miles to run tomorrow. Today probably wasn't the best day to do this at work today, but I didn't have a choice in the matter.

Why, Mother Nature, Why?

2011-10-27T20:54:00.004-04:00

You know what the date is right? October 27th. So sit back and think about that. October. October. Not November. Not December. Just October.

So now look at this:This is going on outside my apartment. Right. Now. No. Lie.

I dislike snow very, VERY much.

So October 27th, 2011 and it's snowing. Mother Nature, you heartless bitch.

I'm feeling better today

2011-10-26T18:51:00.003-04:00

I have bronchitis. I sucked it up and went to the doctor yesterday and that is what I have. I'm feeling much better today, but last night I had a fever of 102 and was miserable. Which is why I didn't update my blog.

Forgive me?

I haven't run since Sunday. My doctor told me the bronchitis was brought on by my running. Even though I'm out in the garage, I'm still in the cold weather. But I hope to get back to it tomorrow. I'm supposed to run 13.1 miles on Saturday. I'm not too sure how that is going to go.

I'm so behind in my work I brought some home with me. Which I guess that is why I have a laptop now. So I can work from home. I will get paid for it. But still...

My Mom is on facebook. This amuses me. I don't know why.

I hadn't planned on getting sick but who does?

2011-10-24T14:39:00.004-04:00

So, as I posted early, I'm home sick today. And the cough medicine I'm taking tastes like gasoline.

I'm bored out of my MIND!! And what do I do when I'm bored? Um..I eat. So today is not a good day for me eating wise. But, I've already forgiven myself for this. It's not a big deal. I'm over it already. It's not worth it to beat myself up at all.

I say this now, after I was really upset with myself with what I ate. But sometimes these things happen and I'm human.

I almost put on my running clothes and hit up the treadmill. But I was hit with a fit of coughing and got my senses back.

No matter how I feel tomorrow I am going back to work. I have a lot to do and it's end of the month and want to get it done. I can work from home now but since all my work is at work right now I can't really work at home without someone bringing it to me. I most likely will put in some hours this weekend (after my 13.1 miles that is).

Home sick

2011-10-24T12:28:00.002-04:00

I'm home sick today. Not much else to blog about. I'm finding it hard to not inhale everything that isn't nailed down.

Thank goodness it's a rest day because I don't think I could run with all the coughing.

Sunday coughing

2011-10-23T17:17:00.002-04:00

I had a nice 3 mile run this morning.

I have been coughing like crazy since. Not cool. And now I feel like I'm getting sick again. If this is still going on by Tuesday, I'm calling the doctor and going to see what's going on. The coughing is so bad that my chest hurts.

Not cool.

So, now all I'm going to do is cuddle up with my husband, my kitties and some ginger ale. I don't drink soda but when I'm not feeling well, I do.

I hope everyone else enjoyed or is enjoying their Sunday.

12 miles or bust

2011-10-22T13:35:00.002-04:00

I had 12 miles schedule for today. I was excited for it. I was ready for it. I took my water bottles, my Powerade, my Shotbloks, and my Gu out to the treadmill and was ready to go.

My phone was acting up. I listen to my music with my phone. It froze up on me. My Slacker Radio was being annoying (I have a station that plays nothing but songs I programed for running). I was coughing and coughing from being sick last week. I was coughing so hard my chest hurt and it wasn't pretty what was coming up. And I was tired. So tired.

I stopped at 10 miles. I guess sometimes it's just not meant to be, right?

But 10 miles is great. If you told me last year at this time I would be running 10 miles I would have laughed in your face. I would have.

Now I'm going to go make myself a smoothie and head out to the Sugar Shack with my husband. It's this place that sells Maple Sugar stuff. I'm not a huge fan, but he loves the stuff. So don't worry about me eating anything. It's not my thing.

If every day was like today

2011-10-21T19:49:00.003-04:00

Today was one of those days that I really love.

I ran 3 miles and loved it.

I put on a pair of nice comfy jeans and a shirt and felt good in them and wore them to work.

I paid $2.41 a gallon for gas (thank you Shell and Stop and Shop).

I got a large coffee from Dunkin' Donuts on my way to work.

I enjoyed a morning snack of almonds.

I made one very upset patient very happy.

I made one very upset soon to be patient very happy.

I loved myself and felt like good about myself.

I wish every day was like this.

The one where I get a new laptop

2011-10-20T20:11:00.003-04:00

After 11 years, I finally have a laptop!

At work that is. I've been really hinting around for the past 2 years or so that I wanted a laptop so I could work from home. It would be so nice to be able to be sitting in my pajamas's on a Saturday morning and working instead of going into the office. Or if we have bad weather I can stay home and work. Right? Right.

Today I finally got my laptop. Now if I could just get that cell phone...

In exercise news, I couldn't climb out of bed this morning, but that's fine. I figure the 12 miles I racked up between Monday-Wednesday were good and the fact that I have 12 planned for Saturday were pretty awesome, too. Plus I will run 3 tomorrow. So we're all good.

I have been counting my calories again with Sparkpeople and I think my body is super happy with that. I always forget I don't get enough fat in my diet and I need to eat more. So more almonds it is!!

I am so happy Friday is tomorrow. This work week has been crazy!! I haven't been able to get much done at all.

I am looking forward to my nice long run. Plus, my husband has worked it out so that I can watch some "Mad Men" while I'm running on the treadmill out in the garage. Isn't that awesome?? He's a keeper.

when do peanut m&m's not look good?

2011-10-19T20:57:00.003-04:00

I ran 6 miles this morning before. 6 miles. Now some of you may not think it's a big deal, but it's the most I have ever run before work. I was pretty proud of myself

Until around 3pm at work when I starting crashing. HARD!

Oh and the fact that I kept eyeballing the vending machine at work every time I went into the warehouse at work. I pack plenty of snacks so it's not a big deal, but when do peanut m&m's not look good? Exactly.

I went to the chiropractor today and I needed it. It felt good to get my adjustment. I don't talk about my back pain much anymore because it isn't much of a problem. I usually see her once a week now instead of the three I started off with. But some weeks I need it more. Today was one of them.

My boss comes back to work tomorrow after 2 weeks off. Should be interesting. It's been fun to say the least with him gone. I sort of feel bad for him. He's going to be slammed with issues. I tried to work hard today, but it was busy. What can you do??

I lost a toenail

2011-10-18T18:58:00.002-04:00

I apologize for not doing a real update yesterday, but I was still upset about the Indy race and the loss of Dan Wheldon. I don't watch a lot of Indy races but I do watch them when I get the chance. But I happened to be home and able to watch that race and it was just so horrible.

Things are back on track for me running wise. I took a break Sunday. I just wasn't feeling it and needed a rest. In fact, I didn't do any exercise at all and I was fine with that. I actually ran 3 miles last night when I came home from work and as much as I didn't like it, it was okay. I ran 3 miles this morning and tomorrow I have 6 miles planned. So I think my short break was good for me. We'll see how it goes for now.

I am extremely sore from my weight workout on Saturday. STILL! My abs are the worst. I guess it's a good thing.

I haven't stepped on the scale since Saturday. It's tucked away in the garage and I'm happy about it. My Birthday is one month from today.

I lost a toenail! I an only assume it's from running.

I watch way too much television. I watch so much television that I can't watch it all when it's airing so I have to watch it later in the week.

I also miss "Breaking Bad" and it's only been off the air for a week. It's my favorite show.

RIP Dan

2011-10-17T19:31:00.002-04:00

Dan Wheldon 1977-2011

Thank you

2011-10-15T12:54:00.004-04:00

First off, thank you for the comments about my last post. Perhaps I overrated. I shouldn't have gotten so worked up. Because, like Pinky said, I am not a number on a scale. And I know that.

And that is why I have decided to not weigh myself again until my Birthday. Which is November 18th. So that is just about a month from now. Every time I do that (go a month) it usually works well.

I have also decided to back off on the running a bit. I'm not stopping, but I feel like I need to do more. Which is also why I went to the gym today. I need to do that more. I ran 4 miles and I did another mile on the Elliptical and I did 20 minutes of weights. I truly need to tone up and I think that will help me feel better in the long run.

I took my measurements today for the first time since July and I pretty much am the same. Except I went to down half an inch in my waist. Not bad. I'll take that. That was enough to make me smile.

And the awesome coffee I picked up at the local health food store I stopped to get my kitties their treats at after my workout. It was pure heaven. I should make that my Saturday thing.

Mucinex

2011-10-15T08:36:00.002-04:00

I'm pissed. Really pissed. Why? Well, according to my scale I am 167.4. What the hell is that??

I know that I had Chinese food last weekend. So I figured I would gain a little this week. But 5.4 pounds? Absolutely freaking not!! I wanted to put my foot through the scale.

So last week I was closer to 160 and this week I'm closer to 170. This is a bunch of bull.

The only thing I can think of is that it's because I've been taking Mucinex all week because I haven't been feeling good. I read some stuff about it and yes, it can cause weight gain.

I'm so mad I can't even think straight. I don't deserve this much of a gain, if I deserve a gain at all.

This is exactly why I am not going to Weight Watchers anymore because I can't handle this kind of the thing with the scale. I'm incredibly upset right now and crying at a WW meeting is just not something I want to do. I can do that at home (which I did).

I guess I stop taking Mucinex so I can not gain anymore weight.

Seriously??

2011-10-14T20:07:00.002-04:00

I feel like crap!! It's not fun to be sitting at your desk at work feeling like your going to pass out because you can't stop sweating.

I really don't know what is going on. If my body wants to get 100%, it had better do it. Or I'm going to throw myself out the window of our apartment. I can't take this feeling much longer.

I also ran 5 miserable miles this morning.

Blech!!

Just pinch me.

2011-10-13T18:53:00.007-04:00

I've been obsessed with reading other peoples running blogs. Suddenly my updated blogs are full of people who run and love to run. Is there anything wrong with this? I think not. I enjoy reading them and makes me want to run more.

I am feeling much better tonight. I felt terrible this morning when I got up, so I skipped my run. But I will be back at it tomorrow. I told my coworker it's all the cough drops he kept leaving on my desk. Whatever it is, I'm just happy I'm feeling better.

I found a couple of pictures that kind of blow my mind. This first one is from Halloween 2008. It's my sister and me. Obviously I'm a the one on the right. I don't even know what I'm wearing or what I'm doing, but I'm sure alcohol was involved. I was supposed to be a vampire. I have vampire teeth. But the shirt? I don't know.

The second one was taken in December of 2009. Yes, I am wearing crocs. I know my weight was around 245 pounds here. When my coworker was taking pictures I tried so hard to avoid them. I guess that didn't work so well. This was my "favorite" outfit. Size 22 pants and a size 26/28 shirt. Sometimes, I just need to pinch myself.

Still feeling terrible

2011-10-12T20:02:00.004-04:00

I'm still feeling pretty crappy. I still managed to run 3 miles this morning, but I'm wondering if it did me more harm then good. I'm supposed to run 5 miles tomorrow, but I'm not sure if I will or not. I'll have to see how I feel when I get u in the morning.

Do you want to know how I know I'm sick? I don't have much of an appetite. When I don't want to eat, I know I'm sick. Because I always want food. I did go to the Chiropractor today and she did a few adjustments to try and help me not get sick. Or sicker. But I still feel like crud. Blech.

So my coworker told me I look like Christina Ricci. This is not the first time someone has told me this before. I blame the fact that we both have large heads.

Have you seen her waist on "Pam Am"? Seriously. She puts her hands on her waist and they almost touch. Insane.

Nope, not me

2011-10-11T19:03:00.002-04:00

Repeat after me:

I am not getting sick.
I am not getting sick.
I am not getting sick.

There. I think it worked. It better have because I don't have time to get sick. I have to save my vacation time for when my Mom comes to visit in December. Who has time to get sick? I have stuffed myself silly with medication and now I'm in my pajamas watching Jeopardy.

I am NOT getting sick.

May I suggest that you go check out Cely's post about the Chicago marathon?

I love Eeyore

2011-10-10T18:21:00.003-04:00

Why yes, Eeyore is wearing a Santa hat. Why do you ask? I got so excited when I saw this last night at the grocery store. I want it. I will have it. I know this Eeyore will be mine. I have to have him. Oh yes, yes I do. Isn't he just too adorable? What? I know, I'm 35 years old, but Eeyore is my favorite cartoon character in the entire world. And I have a huge collection of Eeyore stuff. HUGE. Trust me on that. It's pretty darn huge. I still insist on wearing my Eeyore winter coat that is about 3 sizes too big for me. I need to upgrade to a big girl coat as my husband tells me.

Ignore my husband's finger in this photo.

I find it very sad that there are Christmas decorations out already. Halloween. My Birthday. Thanksgiving. Christmas. In that order. You didn't know my Birthday was a national holiday? Where have you been? November 18th. Mark it on your calender. Target gift cards are what I want this year. Ha!

My Mom has booked her flight. She comes in December 14th and will be here until January 4th. I have a guest room to get ready!!!

A year ago

2011-10-09T12:59:00.003-04:00

At my heaviest recorded weight I was 287 pounds. A year ago today I hit 186.6 pounds. I remember getting on the scale, seeing that number, getting off the scale and getting back on again. Just to make sure. It was pretty surreal.
I had started of 2010 around 250 pounds and by October, I was 186.6 pounds. I was amazed at how "easy" it was for me to start eating clean, get back to the gym and cut out the junk. In July of 2010, I gave up diet soda and again, that, too, was easy.

Yesterday, I weighed in at 162 pounds. The past couple of months have been a little rough for me weight wise. I haven't given up or anything, but I've been trying to figure out what I want to do. Do I want to stay around 160 pounds? Do I want to lose another 10? 20? I finally decided that 160 pounds was a good weight for me and if I do decide in the future to lose another 10-20 pounds, I can do that, too. What I really want to do is tone up and fit comfortably into a pair of jeans. Muffin top be damned.

Ironically, the same day I hit the 100 pound mark, I also started running. I told myself that I wanted to because of my friend Kelly and because I missed it. At that time, I could only run for 2 minutes. In March I ran my first half marathon. Yesterday I ran 10 miles. Today, just for the heck of it, I ran 4 miles. Just because I wanted to. Running has sucked me in and I'm obsessed with it. It can do that to you. There are some days I hate it, but once I'm out there I'm fine. But most days? Most days I absolutely love it.

I love my life. I really do. I have a wonderful husband who loves me for me and doesn't care what my body looks like (I have some fantastic battle scars from the weight gain and loss), I have an amazing family who I would do anything for and a sister who is one of my best friends in the world, I have a job that despite a lot of bitching, I actually really do enjoy (most of the time and I'm finally getting some recognition) and I'm healthy. I'm not afraid to enjoy myself when it comes down to it. Sit down and have a piece of cake or whatever. I know that it's not going to cause me to gain back 100 pounds. I know that the next day I'll be back on track and eating healthy again. I love shopping for clothes again. I love that I was able to pull out most of my clothes from when I was smaller and wear them again. I love dresses. And high heels. I love exercise clothes. I love crossing my legs. I love the reaction I get when people see me for the first time in years and they ask "How did you do it?" when really, it's a simple thing. Eat less, exercise more.

Oh and Weight Watchers. I can't thank them enough. They did this for me. I wouldn't have lost the weight without them.

10 miles

2011-10-08T14:13:00.004-04:00

I ran 10 miles today. I feel, well I feel amazing. I could use a nap right now, but I still feel amazing. It's hard to believe that in a year (a year ago tomorrow) I've gone from running two minutes to running 13.1 miles (well I did run my half in March so...). Crazy. Just crazy.

I'm also 162 pounds today. Woohoo! I lost weight. I saw 164 yesterday so I wasn't sure but I knew in the back of my mind it was all TOM and that the scale was going to go down at some point. I also burned over a 1000 calories according to my Garmin. Double crazy.

Have I mentioned how much I love this beautiful lady?
This is Molly, and I love her. She is so beautiful and sweet and loving and I just want to kiss her and love her and hug her. I usually do. She's my princess. My baby. I usually wake up with her snuggled into my arm pit or on my stomach or somewhere close to me. Currently she is sleeping on her Peep. I have a stuffed Peep that she has claimed as hers and she sleeps on it. Too adorable.

Also, this whole NASCAR thing, where my driver, Reed Sorenson, lost his ride? Did I mention I like him enough where I named my cat, Bradley, after him? Yep. Well, there you go. The whole thing makes me so made I want to punch puppies. I had to stop reading about it. I would actually never punch puppies because I love animals, but you understand how angry I am when I read these things right? Right.

My husband told me the other night when we saw a commercial for the show "Whitney" that I remind him of her. Or she reminds him of me. The whole sassy attitude thing. I was like What? Whatever. I think the show is funny but I didn't believe him. So we watched it and I almost died. She and I are exactly alike. Holy crap! I don't know what to think of that. We could be twins! Ha!

Tomorrow's post is going to be fun. I can't wait. I get to reflect on the fact that I've been running for a year and kept 100+ pounds. Good times, right? Be here or be square!!

Happiness to Spare

2011-10-07T19:14:00.003-04:00

After trying on pants and tops last night because I needed to figure out what the heck I was going to wear to work today (it is suddenly winter here in Connecticut-I kid you not it was like 30 degrees this morning with frost on my car) I was feeling really sorry for myself. I hate my stupid stomach and the muffin top and the extra skin it gives me. And then I saw this on facebook:

October 6th, 2011

2011-10-06T19:32:00.003-04:00

Fact: I have only run 3 miles this week. And I have 10 miles planned for Saturday. I'm a little nervous about it. I've been having a hard time in the morning. I don't know if it's because I didn't feel well for the past couple of days (Tuesday I ran but didn't feel well and Wednesday I still wasn't feeling right) or because it's been cold in the morning, but I've had a rough time getting up. Either way, I don't like it.

So, I decided to sleep in my workout clothes tonight so I don't have an excuse. Yep. You heard me. That way, all I have to do is get up. brush my teeth, put my hair in a pony tail, put on my Garmin and my sneakers and I'll be ready. No excuses.

I hope it works, because I'm really looking forward to those 10 miles.

October 5th, 2011

2011-10-05T20:13:00.003-04:00

I had some sort of stomach thing all day yesterday. I got up, did my 3 miles, showered and headed off to work. My normal Tuesday to routine. But somewhere on my ride to work, my stomach starting bothering me and I spent a good chunk of my day in the bathroom.

Sorry. But it's the truth. And we all know it's not a very comfortable feeling. It's not like I spent 20 minutes at a time in there, but I was in there. A LOT!! And it wasn't fun.

And it went like that when I got home, too. I didn't sleep too well because of it last night either. Thankfully my stomach feels almost "normal" today but I missed my 5 miles that I had scheduled for today. But that isn't a big deal. I'll pick that up tomorrow.

I'm not sure what caused my stomach to bother me, but thank goodness it's done.

Tonight I made the most amazing meal. I got it out of Runner's World magazine and it's called Unfried Chicken. It was fantastic! Even my husband enjoyed it. You can find the recipe here.

I'm off to try to warm up. I'm freezing right now. It's supposed to deep into the 30's tonight. Seriously, I am not ready.

October 4th, 2011

2011-10-04T19:06:00.003-04:00

This blog post interrupted by the fact that one of my favorite NASCAR drivers has lost his ride.If you follow me on twitter you will see I kind of lost my mind over this today when I heard. I've been a fan of his since 2004 and the boy just cannot catch a break.

So tonight I am scratching my head (why dump your driver when he is 3rd in points), mad as hell and have a heavy heart for Reed Sorenson. Someone needs to give me a ride.

He deserves it.

Tomorrow I will get back to my normal blogging.

October 3rd, 2011

2011-10-03T20:37:00.003-04:00

I quit you Weight Watchers.

Yes, you heard me right. I quit. At least going to meetings. I'm over it. I'm done with it. I'm OVER it. Going to meetings weekly makes me all bat shit crazy over the scale. And I hate it. I hate how obsessive it makes me. I hate how sometimes I just can't handle gaining 0.2 at a meeting and yes, I don't really like the new program all that much. I tried, I really did. But I lost my weight following the old program and that is just what I want to continue to do.

So, I quit you Weight Watchers.

But I know what you are thinking. Sarah, didn't you just go to your doctor and get a note to say your weight should be 160 pounds? Well yes, yes I did. But now I can be whatever weight I want and not pay for anything at all.

If going to the meetings right now makes me bat shit crazy with weigh ins, what is it going to be like if I might be at goal and I might GAIN?

THE HORROR!!!

And with that I leave you with the things that made ubber happy today:

Running 9 miles on Saturday
The 10 mile run I have planned for THIS Saturday
The size 8 pants I wore to work today
The fact that my best friend is coming to visit this week
I saw Blake Shelton in concert!!
"Breaking Bad" (the most amazing show in the world!!)
Suzi ran her first marathon

Day 2 of 31 days of Blogging

2011-10-02T11:07:00.003-04:00

I don't think I ever laughed so hard at a concert. Blake Shelton is a funny, funny man. It was probably the best concert I have ever been to. My sister had no idea Blake was so funny. I told her, but I guess she just needed to see and hear him for herself. He put on a great show and I am so glad that I finally was able to see him in concert. Plus, the ran held off. It was freaking COLD though. I hate the cold. Not ready for it yet. Sigh...

I didn't eat any fried dough. In fact, I didn't eat anything but the snacks that I brought with me. I was going to have a Bison burger, but they were sold out of it. So whatever. There was food EVERYWHERE. Fried cheesecake, bacon covered chocolate, cream puffs as big as my head, cotton bandy, turkey legs, french fries, ice cream, etc., etc., etc. It was hard to stay clear of it all, but I did it. What is the fascination with deep frying everything? As if cheesecake isn't bad enough for you, they go ahead and drop it into a deep fryer? Ha! There were a few "healthy" options. There was a Subway there. But I didn't see that until we were heading out. I picked up some Pure Maple Sugar Candy for my hubs in the Vermont building. It smelt like apple crisp in there. Each New England state has their own building and they have what they are "known for" in there. Vermont also has Ben and Jerry's ice cream. WTF? Really?

We also road the Elephant. Ha! My sister wanted to do that because she loves elephants. We got a picture of that but I look ridiculous. I have the dumbest look on my face.

Today I am beat. Everything hurts. I ran my 9 miles yesterday and walked all over the fair last night. I don't even want to move a single muscle. I'm not working out. I can't. My feet hurt, my calves hurt, my back is sore and I just need to rest a bit. Tomorrow is supposed to be a rest day and the start of a new week, but whatever. I took an extra day this week already, but today is going to have be a rest day anyway. At least I know what is in store for me the day of the Guns and Roses concert on November 19th (I have 16 miles in the morning and a concert that night-can we say NAP?!).

We probably will go run some errands later though.

I tracked all my points from yesterday today. What?! I know, but I tracked them. I haven't been tracking anything lately. Good way to start off October. And I've already started tracking today. Except I haven't eaten yet. I earned 19 AP's from my run yesterday. That is mad crazy.

I won't be making it to meet Olivia from The Biggest Loser. That is okay though. I'm too tired. I'm still in my pajamas. I slept until 10am. I was up until 1am. It happens. Moving on.

So I'm just going to take it easy today and enjoy my Sunday. I also learned my best friend will be here next week and I haven't seen here in over 7 years. I can't wait!!

31 days of Blogging!!

2011-10-01T14:22:00.006-04:00

As promised, today starts day 1 of 31 days of Blogging. I did it a few years ago and I really enjoyed it.

Tonight, I get to see this guy in concert!!
For those of you that don't follow concert music (what the hell?!) this is Blake Shelton. I follow him on twitter and he is so funny I sometimes almost wet myself I laugh so hard. I have been wanting to see him in concert for a really long time and tonight I am finally getting the chance. As long as the rain holds off and the show doesn't get canceled. I will be really, REALLY pissed off if that happens.

The show happens to be at The Big E up in Massachusetts and it's full off fun stuff. Please pray that I stay away from this:

For those who call it Elephant Ears and not Fried Dough...just no. No. I'm trying so hard to eat healthy right now and not shitty. So let's hope I can stay away from the Fried Dough tonight. I'm bringing my own snacks. Yep. My own.

Today I ran 9 miles and thought my toe might fall off. It still hurts but it's getting better. I really want to nap but I don't have time for that. Next Saturday I have 10 miles. My husband is amazed I can run that much. He came out and was talking to me while I was on the treadmill and I enjoyed that. It made the time go by. I was having a hard time for the first few (6) miles. I burnt off a lot of calories, too. I feel good though. I love that my body lets me run like that. I love it.

Tomorrow I get to meet Olivia from The Biggest Loser. I'm really excited about this. My husband? Not so much. And after that I've been promised my first trip to Ikea. Oh yes. I've never been there.My Mom is coming to visit in December and she is going to be staying with us. I have to fix up with guest room and I hope to find a few things there. So, that means instead of going to New Orleans with the husband, I will be saving the rest of my vacation time for when my Mom comes here. I want to do both, but I don't have the PTO time. Bummer, but I hope there will be another time.

Also, I had my review at work and it went well. I won't say much more, but I was pleased.

I'm only happy it's October because Halloween is my favorite holiday. Time to break out the decorations!!

Mr. Singer

2011-09-26T16:18:00.003-04:00

A year ago I was in Arizona visiting with my Mom. While I was there, my husband and I fell in love with their (my Mom and roommate Cyndi's cat) Singer.

He was a such a love! He would sit in my lap and sleep with me and just want to be loved all day. He was so handsome and so fat and just a friendly cat. He was afraid of his own shadow, too!! But he was so sweet and he was like our cat away from home. They had other cats, but Singer was just a good boy. We started calling him Mr. Singer. Whenever I talk to my Mom now I always ask how he is doing.

When my Mom called on Thursday to wish us a Happy Anniversary she told me sadly, that they were going to have to put their oldest cat, Jasmine, to sleep. She is 20, has no teeth and was peeing every where. I was sad, but I didn't really spend too much time with her. She slept a lot and spent most of her time with my Mom. She casually mentioned that Singer was "missing" but he does that a lot. He goes out for the day and comes back at night.

Well, yesterday, Singer still had not come home. They had Coyote's around the area. One got all the chicken's in a neighbors yard. So they are now afraid Singer was eaten by a Coyote. I'm very sad and heartbroken.

Hopefully, Singer will come back. He really is a unique cat.

It has been done!!

2011-09-23T13:22:00.004-04:00

It's done! I have my goal weight set at 160 pounds! Actually, my doctor said 165 pounds would be fine, too. But I like 160 pounds. She was so happy to see me (my doctor) when she walked into the room. I seriously am the luckiest woman in the world to have such an amazing doctor. She is so sweet, kind, funny, caring, and understanding. She told me she wanted to march me into every room to talk to all the patients about weight loss so I could encourage them to lose weight and show them it could be done.

After my doctor's appointment, I had a little time to kill before my Weight Watchers meeting so I stopped into one of my favorite stores, Plato's Closet. I picked up two new shirts. I love that store. I could spend all day there.

I headed over to my meeting where I promptly gained. I new that was going to happen. I've been half assing things. I won't lie to you. I am getting serious about it again though. My weekends haven't been perfect after my anniversary dinner tonight (listen-this girl wants to celebrate) I am going to be 100% WW again. But in all honesty, I am so happy with myself and that is all that matters.

I also handed over my doctor's note and I'm so happy. I have 3.6 pounds to reach goal. My leader, Nancy, is on vacation for 2 weeks so I hope I don't hit goal while she is gone. That would kind of suck.

Now, that doesn't mean I'm not going to still try to get to 150, but for right now, I am just going to be happy with hitting goal and making lifetime.

Oh, did I mention next weekend I am getting to meet this lovely lady?

If you don't watch "The Biggest Loser", this is Olivia Ward, who won last season. She lost 129 pounds. Isn't that awesome? I'm so excited. I cannot wait to meet her.

Also next month I plan to blog EVERY SINGLE DAY! I did 31 days of blogging a few years ago in October and loved it. Can't wait to do it again!!

11 Years

2011-09-22T13:06:00.003-04:00

Today is my 11 year wedding anniversary!! Unfortunatly, I am not at the Cape like we planned. Because my husband started a new position at work and couldn't take the time off. So I am home (I still took the time off) and he is not. Plus, he has karate tonight and doesn't really want me to go to see him "belt up".

Yep. Basically, I am home by myself all day today. Kind of sucks, right? But he promised me a nice dinner tomorrow night and a nice weekend together. So I can't really complain. And I get a 5 day weekend out of it.

New Orleans

2011-09-18T21:24:00.003-04:00

So this chick, is most likely going to New Orleans in about 2 months. Why? Well, because my husbands new job is sending him and I invited myself along. Why not, right? I have the vacation time and I told him he isn't going without me. Plus, I've never been and I've always wanted to.

I've decided I need to get myself in "the best shape" I can between now and November 29th. I've been sort of blah about my eating and exercise. Oh, I've been running PLENTY (I did 15 miles Friday-Sunday). But I haven't been to the gym or really been following a healthy eating plan. So why not try to get into the best shape I can for a vacation? Right? I'm sure I'll be eating my way through most of it anyway.

I lost 0.4 pounds this week. Which is fine. But like I mentioned, I haven't been putting 100% into my eating. I'm perfectly happy with where I am right now, but I need to tone up my stomach. Putting on a pair of jeans for the first time in months on Friday was a wake up call. I don't wear them very often but it's gotten cold very quickly and I didn't want to a dress or capri pants. I need to dig out my long pants and skirts for fall. I hate to say goodbye to summer already.

I'm pretty excited about this trip. My husband will be working but I can go out and explore while he is doing his thing. Should be a lot of fun though. I can't wait.

Are you kidding me?

2011-09-15T20:00:00.001-04:00

Really? Really? Look at this weather! 40's at night? Seriously? This is why I want to move out of Connecticut. Before you know it it will be 20 degrees during the day as a high and 400 feet of snow on the ground.

It's a small world after all

2011-09-14T20:47:00.003-04:00

I can someone please recommend a good deodorant or a good detergent or something I can spray on my workout clothes? HOLY HELL do my shirts stink something fierce! And that is AFTER I've washed them. I nearly passed out when I was out on the treadmill and realized that smell in the garage was ME and not some poor dead animal. I had washed the shirt already and hadn't even started running yet. Yikes!! Problem is, I don't use anything strong because of my allergies. I use Tide Clear so it doesn't cause any problems. Maybe there is something I can spray on my clothes? Or again, a deodorant?

It really is a small world. We have a new girl at work and we got to talking and it turns out her boyfriend and I went to high school together. I didn't remember him at first (I really tried to block out most of high school-but what heavy girl didn't?) but after awhile I remembered him. She was talking to him at one point and asked him if he remembered me and I said to her "I was a little bigger then." And she said to me "Sarah said she was big then, but she is super tiny now." Which of course I laughed about. So today we were talking again and she was looking at my pictures in my cubicle and she couldn't get over my wedding photos and me now. She wanted to know how I did it. She also said I look so different. That I am so "tiny". I just don't think of myself as tiny. It's not a word I use to describe myself.

Anyway. Today I climbed back into bed after my alarm went off. I was so tired. Work was exhausting yesterday. But I got back up and went for my run. I can honestly say I was half asleep through most of it and don't remember it. Ha! But that is alright. I did it.

And it was another crazy, exhausting day at work. Which means I'll probably have a hard time getting up tomorrow morning. But Friday is a rest day so I can totally use that to help me get up in the morning. I hope.

I'm off to enjoy the rest of my night before I pass out from exhaustion. I can't wait to sleep this weekend.

Really True Blood?

2011-09-13T20:32:00.006-04:00

Seriously? What was with the end of the season finale of "True Blood" on Sunday night? What the heck?! I'm still stunned!!

And I'm currently totally addicted to "Mad Men". My coworker has all 4 season on DVD so she let me borrow them. How awesome is that?

A lot of smoking and drinking going on. But it's a very addicting show. And I can't stop watching.

I'm truly exhausted today. I got up, ran 4 miles and worked 8 hours. Work was so busy. Something was in the air today for sure. I swear I never sat down and I wore heels today. Which I think was a bad idea. When I came home, I started laundry, started dinner, fed the cats, did dishes and made sure dinner was done for the hubby so he could eat before he ran off to karate. I'm beat. Now that hubby has his new position, he works later so I am trying to make dinner for BOTH of us and have it done or at least going for when he comes home. Check me out, right?

I scheduled my appointment with my doctor to talk about my goal with Weight Watchers. My appointment is next Friday, the 23rd. I'm nervous and excited all at the same time.

So very tired. I'm going to catch up on some blogs before I fall asleep. Whew!

Not one

2011-09-11T19:43:00.002-04:00

The plan was for 8 miles today. And I was ready to do that when I hit the treadmill this morning. But my body was not. I suppose it could have been the alcoholic beverage I enjoyed last night. Maybe? You think?

So, I did 6 miles. Which is just as great. And I have decided my long runs will be on Saturday instead. Which is fine, too.

And I am going to change my training plan. Next week will be 7 miles. It's all good. I can do this. I'm ready for it.

I also survived the Birthday party today without eating cake. Without eating junk actually. There was not ONE HEALTHY OPTION at this party. Until they brought out the fruit. It was tough. But I filled up on fruit until I thought I might burst.

Now I'm off to watch some Mad Men. I'm finally getting to watch this show. I've always wanted to.

I'm happy with myself

2011-09-10T14:21:00.003-04:00

I gained. I knew I was going to gain. I gained 2.8 pounds. Blah, blah, blah. Now I am back to thinking I should just stay at 160 because my body truly probably enjoys that weight. I struggle so badly to get under 160 and stay there. But once I see 159 and under I feel so good. I call it my "happy place". Those last 10 "vanity pounds" are such a bitch.

I have been struggling the past few weeks. It's true. I think a lot of people have been.

I could totally get a note from my doctor saying "Sarah's goal weight should be 160 pounds" and I could be at my goal weight with Weight Watchers and be done with it. I could stay there for 6 weeks and BOOM! Lifetime membership and no more paying. But, do I want to do that? Maybe. I might make an appointment with my doctor and talk to her about it. And maybe I could continue to try to get to 150 pounds and see what happens. I struggled all summer long.

I no longer want to fit into a size 8, which is why I changed the name of my blog. I am happy fitting into size 10 clothes.

I'm happy with myself.

Holy shit. Did I just say that? I totally did. I'm happy with my flabby thighs and my extra skin on my stomach and my muffin top. And my jiggly arms. All of this are BECAUSE I lost 120+ pounds. All of this can go away with some toning up and with some surgery (when I have a tummy tuck in the near future). I would much RATHER be right where I am RIGHT NOW. RIGHT HERE at 162 pounds. Instead of where I was.

I have rough days of feeling sorry for myself. Of hating myself. But it could be a lot worse. I worked damn hard for this.

I just want EVERYONE to know that Weight Watchers is the most amazing weight loss plan out there. It truly is. I love it and stand behind it 100%. I helped me get back to being the person I wanted to be and I'm so, so, SO happy. Not that other weight loss plans don't work. But for me, Weight Watchers is THE plan. I can eat what I want and lose weight. What is wrong with that?

I also ran 5 miles today. And I'm running 8 tomorrow. And after that, we're going to a 1 year old's Birthday party. Which I am so excited about (really, no, I'm not. But there might be cake and I am having cake after running 8 miles. Damn straight).

Fair food

2011-09-08T19:40:00.003-04:00

Thanks so much for your support on my decision to run a marathon on my treadmill. YES! My treadmill. Haha. I'm so excited about it. I'm just looking forward to saying that I ran 26.2 miles. And "training" for something. I'm just a treadmill runner.

I have some amazing news. My husband, who just started at his new job back in March, was promoted yesterday. To the I.T. department. Which is HUGE for him. It's what he went to school for and what he loves. He gets a company phone, a laptop, and his own office. Stuff I DON'T get and I've been at my job for almost 11 years. I've been asking for a laptop for a couple years now. Anyway, it's also more money. Which is great. He already started in the new position today. I'm so proud of him. He's a really smart guy and totally deserves this.

I sort of forgot to mention I ate my weight in fair food on Sunday. Ice cream. French fries. Fried pickles. Hmmm. Whatever. PMS and TOM were kind of in control. Which means I'll be gaining this week. But, I am okay with that. I had fun and that is all that matters. I saw a cow being born. I shopped. I ate. I walked around and enjoyed myself.

I'm going to be so happy when this week is over. It's been a rough week. I've been hungry. Really hungry. And stressed out. And pissy. And just not a happy person. I started feeling more like myself yesterday after I visited the Chiropractor. That always helps.

But with the new job for my hubby we may not be able to go to the Cape. But we'll go another time.

Run your own race

2011-09-06T19:11:00.004-04:00

I've decided that I want to train for a marathon. Why? Because. Just so I can say that yes, I ran 26.2 miles. And I am asking EVERYONE to join me. You don't have to run 26.2 miles. You can do 5k, 10k, a half marathon or whatever you want.

I'm going to be running it on my treadmill. YOU can run wherever you want. A treadmill. Outside. Anywhere you feel comfortable.

And the day of the race? 01/08/11. That gives me 18 weeks to train starting this Sunday. Plus, I can take the day after off from work, should I need to rest.

I will be following Hal Higdon's training guide, which is what I used when I trained for my half. It worked before, so why not again?

Why do I want to train after I decided not to run my half next month? I don't know. I just want to have something to TRAIN for.

I hope you will join me. If you do, please blog about it so we can get others involved. And I made a (corny) little button to add to your blog. Just link it back to this post if you wouldn't mind. Leave me a comment on this post, too, so I know who is in.

Follow me on twitter so we can talk about our training. Or email me at runningformyself at yahoo.com so we can talk about it there.

I hope you will join me!! It would be fun to have others training "with" me.

If I can do it, so can you.

2011-09-03T17:28:00.004-04:00

I am totally kicking September's ass!! I ran 6 miles today. I went with a plan to run 4 and when I hit that, I went for 5 and thought "Why not?" and went for one more. I haven't run a 10K in awhile and it's awesome to know I can still do it.

I lost 1.2 pounds this week. Hurricane Irene and all. So that leaves me with 9 pounds until goal which is 150 but I want to hit 145 just to have a cushion. I'm super excited and feel like everything is falling into place. Funny how this time around I don't beat the living CRAP out of myself if I have a bad day. If I had a "bad day" I would weigh myself the next day and totally lose my mind. But not this time. This time is for real and I know that I'm not always going to make the right choices or exercise when I want to. But I'm human and it's okay to take a break. It's okay to have pizza or french fries if I want it and not worry about what is going to happen tomorrow on the scale. It's okay to rest for a few days when my back is sore or we don't have electricity (or a snow storm blows in-that is the next big thing we'll be dealing with here). Because I know that the next day I can get back on track. I won't gain back 120+ pounds in one day. Not even a week. I know what I have to do and I am doing it.
We're all doing it. If I can do it, so can you.

As much as I hate to say this, I'm pretty excited about Halloween. It's my favorite holiday and I am hoping we get invited to a party this year so I can dress slutty. What? I earned it.

The hubby and I both have a 3 day weekend. It's unusual for him not to work on a Saturday so I'm taking advantage of it. I am going to be picking up Saturday's again at work myself, so it's nice to have the time with him. I'm doing it because (a) we need some extra money and (b) I have so many charts to scan into the online system. I need to get that done.

Enjoy your weekend my friends! I know I will be.

What happened to August?

2011-09-01T20:55:00.003-04:00

Irene has come and gone. My town did not really get hit too badly. We did lose power, just like I thought. I got u at 8am and was ready to hit the treadmill, but...the power went out at 8:30am. I was less then thrilled. I spent most of Sunday eating. I had filled my Kindle up on Saturday night so I had plenty to read.

And plenty to eat.

But, on Monday, I forgave myself. It isn't worth getting mad over or upset over or beating myself up over. Monday was a new day and I treated it like that.

Our power came back in 23 hours later. So I didn't get to run on Monday morning either.

I got my run in on Tuesday and I had planned 3 miles, but that turned into 4. And today I ran 4 miles. I loved my run on Tuesday. It was nice and cool outside in the garage and I just loved it. But this morning it was hard for me to get moving. As usual, I was glad I ran once I was done, but my legs were heavy and I was just not feeling it too much. Tomorrow I hope to feel it a little more.

I was disappointed with my mileage for last month. I didn't even hit 50 miles. My plan for this month is 60. I know I hurt my back and had to rest up. Plus, I plan to continue with weights 3 days week. I haven't been to the gym yet because they WERE out of power but got it back Tuesday. So I hope to start back on Saturday and go from there.

I hope that the state of Connecticut gets their power back 100% soon. A lot of our patients are without power at work and they are suffering without it. They are so afraid they are going to run out of oxygen and I don't blame them. It's tough on them. We've been swamped all week with calls and we're doing the best we can.

Despite my Sunday eating, I am looking forward to my weigh in tomorrow.

I feel like it's already turning into fall here. We've been having cool mornings and evenings. And the days aren't that warm anymore. We didn't get much of a summer at all. Hard to believe it's September. My 11 year wedding anniversary is in 21 days. We're going to Cape Cod and I cannot wait. Just for a few days, but it is where we went on our honeymoon. I always enjoy going back.

And I am looking forward to a 3 day weekend. I need to relax and not be at work for a few days.

Hurricane Irene

2011-08-27T21:19:00.003-04:00

Irene is on here way here. So I thought I would post tonight since there is a good chance I won't have power tomorrow. Or maybe even Monday (the thought...).

I stayed the same this week, weighing in at 160.2 pounds again. Which is fine by me. I didn't get to exercise as much as I wanted with my back bothering me. But I am happy to say it's feeling MUCH better. I've done 9 miles this week and if I have power in the morning (fingers crossed) I am going to try for 4 more. I also hit the gym for weights 3 times this week.

Speaking of my back, my Chiropractor was in a car accident on Monday night. She broke two fingers and had surgery on Friday. She can't do any adjusting for at least 30 days. I'm horrified!! You all know how much I love her. She got someone else in there though. A temp. He did my adjustment on Thursday and was pretty good. It's not the same, but as long as I can get my adjustments, it's good. I really felt it good when he did my hips though.

The American Idol concert didn't happen. Why? Well, the traffic was terrible. The show started at 7pm and my sister picked me up at 4:30pm. It was a 90 minute drive and we figured we would hit traffic, driving through 2 major cities. Well, by the time we got off the highway, it was 8pm. It would have taken at least another 30-45 minutes to park and get inside. Eff that. We turned around and went home. We were bummed, but whatever. We tried to go see "The Help" but it wasn't playing until like 11:15pm. Another time.

Hopefully I won't be without power long. We have candles and flashlights and our Uno game (our go to for when the power goes out) and I have my Kindle all full of books and charged and ready to go. We can go to my in-laws if we have to (with the cats). Everyone who is dealing with Irene be safe!! I'm thinking of you!!

Back pain

2011-08-23T19:32:00.003-04:00

Dear God, I thought my back was dead. No, really. Saturday it started bothering me and I was in such pain. Pain like I felt months ago before I started going to see the Chiropractor. It was so awful. And of course, my Chiropractor isn't open on the weekend (are any?) so I had to deal with the pain until Monday morning when I could call and get in to a get adjusted again. If you have ever had back pain you know what I am talking about it. It's so horrible. Sitting, walking, any moving AT ALL is painful. And this all comes from when I was 15 years old and fell down two icy steps. Which was (cough) 20 years ago.

I should have known better when I was cleaning the liter box. It wasn't running. I was fine doing that. I didn't have any pain. But I started bending and cleaning and ignored the pain. And kept cleaning. And bending. And the pain was there. And I fell asleep on my couch which isn't very firm. So Sunday it was really bad. I was dying on Monday morning. Walking like a pregnant woman (or a penguin, you decide).

Everyone at work could tell I was in pain. And it was easier to stand then to sit because our chairs at work SUCK! They are terrible. But once I got in to the Chiropractor and had my adjustments done, I started to feel better. I iced my back, I made sure to get up and walk around the office as often as I could and I made sure to stay off the couch and sit on the love seat when I got home.

This morning I was in pain again! I was so made. Almost in tears. I haven't worked out since Saturday and that kills me. I don't like going more then a couple days without a workout. It really gets me down. But I kept doing what I did yesterday. Ice, walking around and all of a sudden, my back eased up. Now I am almost 100% better.

I can't tell you how happy this makes me. I'm looking forward to getting back to the treadmill tomorrow. I may kiss it. And I want to hit the gym and get in some weights. I so want to tone up. I keep saying that but haven't yet. It needs to be done.

And before I go, no, I didn't feel an earthquake here today. Kind of crazy to believe we had one. But we've had a crazy year of weather so it doesn't really surprise me these days.

Thank you

2011-08-20T12:04:00.003-04:00

I wanted to thank everyone for your comments about my decision to not run the half marathon in October. I honestly feel like it was the best thing for me. And I still feel like in the future, I will run it. Just not this year. I am still going to run the 5K in November. I have people counting on me. After all, my boss told me if I ran my half in March, he would run the 5K. And I have to be there to see that. I told him I would run with him. And another coworker, who has run several marathons (including NYC and Boston) is going to run with us, too. That is going to be fun.

It doesn't make me less of a person because I enjoy running on the treadmill over running outside. I'm still a runner.

Now that I'm not running so much (although I want to get up to at least 20 miles a week) I feel like I can lose weight again. Does that make sense? Last week I mentioned I gained (3.8 pounds) and this week I lost that. But I didn't feel like I had to work out EVERY SINGLE DAY in order to lose weight. I ran Saturday, Sunday, Wednesday and Friday. I only managed to get in one day of weight lifting which was on Monday. I need to get that in more often. I want to do at least 3-4 days of that. I am a treadmill snob and like my own treadmill at home. So I figure I can either (A) run at home and head over to the gym right after (it's 30 seconds from my house) or (B) run, go to work and go to the gym for weights after work. Which I did Monday. But I was tired and as you all know (if you read my blog often) I am not person who likes to workout at night. Or after work. I really would like to tone up a little bit. It would really help. Although this extra skin is not going to go away.

Now I'm off to catch up on your blogs and do some housework. Thursday I came home from work totally stressed and wanted to dive into some cake or ice cream. But instead I vacuumed. It totally worked. Who knew?!

A blog full of shout outs

2011-08-16T20:50:00.002-04:00

I just wanted to post and update on things.

I gained back the 3.2 pounds I lost. So I'm back at 164. But I totally deserved it. So I wasn't surprised. I didn't beat myself up over it. It's so not worth it to do that at all. I am worth more.

I have been really lucky in blog land lately when it comes to winning contests so I wanted to give a big shout out to the following awesome people:

1. Tara
2. Suzi
3. Cely
4. Karen
5. Christy

If you don't follow them you totally should. And thanks to all five of you again for the contests and giving me the chance to win. I've never felt so lucky in my whole life. I feel like I should play the lottery or something. I swear, I NEVER win anything. EVER!! But lately I have won 6 things (I won American Idol concert tickets in May off the radio so that counts, too). So maybe my luck is changing?!

And finally a huge shout out to my amazing and incredible friend, Kelly. Without her I wouldn't have started running again, which means I wouldn't have run my first 5K or half marathon (both in March). And who is insanely funny, way too hard on herself (aren't we all?) and just a freaking all around bad ass.

Winner, winner...

2011-08-10T21:01:00.003-04:00

I have the winner for the Shot Bloks...Congratulations to Christy at My Dirt Road Anthem!! Please be sure to email me your information at runningformyself@yahoo.com so I can get your prize out to you!!

Sorry I didn't get the winner up sooner. Blogger decided to go down for an hour for maintenance. What are the odds??

And thanks to everyone who participated. I am going to do another giveaway in a few days for something else.

The big decision

2011-08-09T19:29:00.003-04:00

I made a huge decision. A HUGE one.

I decided not to run my half marathon in October.

I'm going to admit I am a treadmill runner. I trained for my last one on it. I just enjoy it. I don't mind getting on the treadmill and turning on my music and going. And going and going and going. It doesn't bother me at all. I get lost in the music, in my thoughts, etc.

But ever since I started my training for my half marathon on the 31st, I have felt a huge amount of pressure and I just have HATED it. I have hated the thought of running. Hated the thought of getting up and doing x amount of miles today because it calls for it. I want to be able to get on the treadmill and run how ever many miles I want to do because I feel like it.

Don't get me wrong, I am in AWE of all of you who go out on the road (or trails) and run and enjoy it. I want to do that but I just don't. I know some people hate the treadmill and call it the treadmill, but that just isn't me. I know I will probably never run a marathon and I'm fine with that. I ran my half marathon and I'm happy with it. I accomplished that. And I can run a half again if I want to do that. I'm just not ready to do it right now.

I sat down with my husband last night and told him and he supports me 100%. He wants me to be happy and not stress about my exercise. I just want to exercise and not stress about it and worry that I didn't train enough, etc, etc.

Call me what you will, say what you will, but I just needed to do that. I wasn't ready for another half right now.

Now, make sure you run over to Running off the Reese's and check out her giveaway Run Less, Run Faster.

Why I didn't run today

2011-08-07T16:07:00.003-04:00

It's probably a good idea to NOT drink the night before a long run. I only had 4 miles planned, but it was 4 miles that DID NOT happen. Due to being hung over. And waking up at 11am. I pretty much peeled myself out of the bed and onto the couch for an hour before I felt like I could move. And I knew the run wasn't happening. I thought about it. And thought about it some more. But. No.

I'm okay with it. I have only myself to blame and I can deal with it. I had FUN last night and that is all that matters. The wedding was great. I saw a few people I hadn't seen in a long time. Yes, I ate too much and went totally off track (that happens when I drink). But, it's okay. I'm over it.

I have my week planned out. I have 21 miles all together. My alarms (yes, alarms) are set for tomorrow and I am running my 4 miles that was planned for today, tomorrow morning before work.

And I'm still not feeling like myself, but I'm getting there. I hope to not gain weight at Weight Watchers but we'll see. I already knew I was going to have to go on Saturday to weigh in because I have a work thing that I have to do. But that is okay, too.

And the wedding? It was the most unusual wedding ever. No bridesmaids. No best man. No dancing. No bouquet tossing. Strange. But not bad. Nontraditional I guess is the word.

Here I am all dressed up:I loved this dress. I can't tell you how amazing it made me feel. For twenty bucks, I wish everything could make me feel this good.

My first weigh in on PP

2011-08-06T07:39:00.002-04:00

160.8 pounds! Which means I lost 3.2 pounds!! I'm pretty excited and I will be honest, I had my moments of "this is so not going to work" thoughts. But it clearly does. Here are a few reasons I decided to totally do this 110%:

1. Eat, Run, Live
2.OK, just one more beer
3.Fatty slims down
4. Bitchcakes
5. Too Much Sass in the Pants

All these awesome ladies have had success on the plan. And I know that it works because they are PROOF of it.

And I worked the program this past week so it worked for me.

So today, when I go to the wedding I know I can enjoy some champagne, a piece of cake, etc. Because I know already what the PointsPlus are because I planned ahead for it.

I'm so excited the wedding!! People I have seen IN YEARS are going to be there. It's going to so much to see what happens. And I am looking forward to wearing my dress.

Have a great weekend. I'm off to gym!!

Don't forget about my Shot Bloks Giveaway!!

Worst.Run.Ever.

2011-08-04T20:08:00.002-04:00

Yep. That about does it for me and running at night. Half a mile in I was ready to stop. It was terrible. Just horrible. I hated every single minute of it. I was tired. And my legs were heavy. And I didn't want to run after half a mile. But, I pushed myself to do 3 miles and that was it. I had to do it. I have a half in almost 2 months.

But that just made me realize I am not a night runner. I am a morning runner. Since tomorrow is a rest day I don't have to worry about it. But Saturday and Sunday easy. I don't work. It's Monday-Thursday that are the hard part. I think if I remember how I felt tonight when that alarm goes off at 5am on Monday morning, I should be alright.

Don't forget to check out my giveaway right y'all!!

Tomorrow is weigh in day!! I'm so excited. I have been SO good all week with tracking my points and I know I'm going to see a loss. I'm hoping for 2 pounds, but we'll see how it goes. Any loss of any kind will make me happy.

I went to the Chiropractor today for my 50 visit follow. Hard to believe, right? I started seeing her on February 9th. And here were are almost 6 months later. I saw my before and after x-rays and the difference is amazing!! She is so happy with my progress and so am. I also learned my right leg is shorter then my left. Who knew? But she wants me continue and I do, too. She is a life saver. Trust me. I was paying out of pocket for my visits because my insurance SUCKED! But I have new insurance and guess what? UNLIMITED visits with no copay. SIGN ME UP HOOKER! Sorry, Cely, I had to steal your saying.

I'm exhausted tonight. This week has been busy. Work has been hectic. I'm ready to enjoy my weekend.

Shot Bloks Giveaway

2011-08-03T20:13:00.003-04:00

I love Shot Bloks. They are awesome. I did all my half marathon training WITHOUT them until Kelly introduced me to them the day before our race. And since then I use them for anything over 4 miles (unless it's really humid or hot out). However, I don't use the Bloks with caffeine in them. Just don't need or want that.

That being said, I accidentally ordered a box of Black Cherry flavored with caffeine. And I can't return them because they are considered to be a "grocery" item. I thought awesome. Fantastic. Great!! What am I going to do with 18 packs of these?

Ding! Ding! I will give them away to someone who either uses them or wants to try them.

All you have to do is:

1: Follow my blog and leave a comment telling me you did so.
2. Follow me on twitter @sarahsundae and leave me a comment telling me you did so.
3. Leave a comment telling me why you like the bloks or why you want to try them.
4. Blog about the giveaway on your blog and leave me a comment telling me you did so.

The giveaway will run until Wednesday, August 10th at 8pm EST. Open to US and Canada only. This is not sponsored by Cliff Bar Company at all. I just wanted to give these away. Good luck!! The winner will be picked randomly!!

I got vomited on at work today

2011-08-02T19:43:00.002-04:00

So I got vomited on at work today. But don't worry. It was by a 3 month old baby and totally worth it. She was so cute and I was holding her and she was all smiling and had big brown eyes and dark black hair and I would let her puke on me again. And her Mom (a friend of mine) felt me me up after when she was cleaning up the vomit, so SCORE!! I kid, I kid.

Today is day 4 on the new Weight Watchers plan. Things are continuing to go well. The real test is going to be this Saturday when we go to the wedding of our friends. I'm looking forward to how I do with that.

I hate, hate, HATE working out at night. It's not going to happen. I'm never going to turn myself into a night runner. It isn't going to work. So, I have to drag myself out of bed tomorrow. No matter what. I have my half training to continue with. I had planned on 4 miles when I got home, but no. Last nights 3 miles was rough and I couldn't do that again. I miss my morning runs. They are so awesome. I enjoy them and they really put me in an amazing mood.

Looks like I will be going to see Rascal Flatts next Thursday. My sister texted me last night and asked me if I wanted to go so I said yes. Should be fun!!

I'm off to talk to my Mom!! It's been a couple weeks!!

Day 3 and Happy August 1st!!

2011-08-01T20:54:00.003-04:00

I was bummed when I discovered that my pasta is 5 points. Not 3, not 4, but 5 points a cup. But it's all good. I have the points to eat that if I want 2 cups (I love me some pasta) so I used some extra points tonight. That is what they are there for, right?!

I'm pretty happy with how things are going so far. It's day 3 on the new plan and I'm feeling like I'm really doing great. I am actually looking forward to what the scale is going to say on Friday when I go back and weigh in.

I ran tonight when I got home. Just 3 miles. Not my best 3 miles. It was hot and humid and I was tired, but it was 3 miles. My body is still not used to running at night, but I'm working on that. I just can't seem to get up in the morning these days, so I'm doing what I can right now. Maybe in the future I'll get back to morning workouts but for now it's going to be after work.

Something is up with the radiator in my car. Not cool. Hubby was going to fix it tonight but he needs to get a part for it. Good thing I work 10 minutes from home.

And Happy Birthday to my dear sweet, Cynnamon. She turns 15 today. I would add a picture of her, but Blogger is acting stupid and won't let me. She's our sweet calico that I bottle feed. I took her out of the barn next to my sisters house. She was a wild kitty. She was covered in fleas and her eyes were filled with this gunky stuff. I took her to my Mom's apartment and washed her up and saved her life. She was so tiny that she fit in the palm of my hand when we first got her. My hubby did NOT want a kitten but she changed his mind. Cynnamon (my hubby named her) made him love cats. Hubby was a dog person up until Cynnamon came along. She picked him and to this day she looks at him and purrs and purrs with this love in her eyes. It's so sweet. She is a very fat house cat now (10 pounds) and she might be 15, but she is spunky. She chases the other 2 cats around and makes sure they know she is queen around here.

So Happy Birthday, Cynnamon. We love you!!

Things are going well

2011-07-31T15:02:00.004-04:00

I tracked 100% yesterday and I'm doing it again today. Feels awesome!! I can't even tell you how long it's been since I tracked all my Weight Watchers points.

I know I said I was going to post everything I was eating but I didn't do that yesterday. I figured as long as I am blogging that is good enough. Last night was just not a good night to do that. But today works.

Yesterday I earned 9 activity points and I used all of them. Today I earned 10. I'm feeling really great about this. I think going back to Weight Watchers was something I really needed to do.

I started training for my half marathon yesterday. I ran 3 miles and after that I did some weight training for about 30 minutes. I'm so glad I am tracking advantage of my gym membership again. That is the whole reason I joined the gym closer to my house. Because it was closer and because it is not very busy. Paying an extra 10 bucks a month is worth it. Today I ran 5 miles and I was going to go up to the gym but my car needed some work so I just did the run. Which is fine. Tomorrow I plan to hit the gym before work. Do some cross training or maybe another 3 miles and some weights. We'll see.

Hubby and I are planning a trip up to Cape Cod in September but I will have to make sure I get in some runs. I'm kind of excited about that. It should be interesting.

I worked overtime yesterday and it sucked. Now I remember why I stopped working on Saturdays. I makes for a very long week and a very short weekend. Going back to work tomorrow is going to hit me like a ton of bricks. I don't have any time off scheduled until the end of August when my sister and I are going to the American Idol concert (I won tickets so why not?) and it's on a Thursday so I took the day after off.

I hope everyone is having an amazing weekend. Keep tracking your food and exercising!!

Tracking for a week

2011-07-29T18:45:00.001-04:00

I decided against Paleo right now.

Why? Well, I start training for my half on Monday. And I need Carbs. I NEED Carbs.

You know what? I'm going to tell you a secret right now. I haven't been following Weight Watchers for like the past 2 months.

*Gasp*

I know. I know. I have been putting all my calories into Sparkpeople and it was working. For a little while. But, in all truth. The only thing that works for me is Weight Watchers. I truly, honestly LOVE that program. But I haven't given the new plan an honest to goodness shot.
So...I stuck my tail between my legs and went back there. I was up 5 pounds from the last time I went there. I was 159 and today I was 164.

This week I am going to track EVERYTHING! Going to put 110% into the new program.

I will post EVERY SINGLE DAY right here on blogger and tell you all what I ate.

I am going to do this. Who wants to join me?

And see what happens next Friday when I go back.

Paleo

2011-07-26T20:53:00.002-04:00

I've been thinking...

I've been thinking about going Paleo. Even for just a little while. If you don't know about the Paleo diet, what are you a caveman? Haha. Get it? Well, google it and you'll get it, sillyhead.

It makes a lot of sense. And I want to try it. I bought the book "The Paleo Diet" by Loren Cordain probably 2 months ago and the cookbook to go with it. I just haven't embraced it yet.

I keep thinking I want to give it a go. I have that wedding coming up on August 6th. I could start on the 7th (thus giving me CAKE! Damn it, I will not pass up wedding cake. Unless there is coconut or cinnamon in said cake. I'm allergic). And the chance to drink. Because you aren't supposed to have sugar or alcohol on Paleo.

So what do you think? Any ideas? Drop me an email if you want or at me on twitter. Or comment here. Or whatever...

Free blog layout

2011-07-26T20:39:00.002-04:00

Would you like a free blog layout? Something new and fancy to spice up your blog? I know I would!!

So what the heck are you waiting for? Head on over to visit Miss Felicity to see what the buzz is all about!!

I know my poor blog needs a little help these days.

And the results are in...

2011-07-23T13:28:00.002-04:00

I suppose my little freak out last week was maybe just over the top. I might have needed to get all upset like I did. But, seeing 168.6 on the scale was a little scary to say the least. That being said. This week?

159.6 pounds!!

That is a 9 pound difference. So that is why I am thinking my freak out maybe should never have happened. The night before my weigh in, I had eaten pizza, had some alcohol and some other things I don't normally eat. And let us not forget TOM was still present.

But with those numbers looming in my head all week, I was able to stay on track. I ran, I ate right and I most certainly did NOT eat any oreo cookie balls at my offices yearly BBQ. Okay. So I had one of them. But I made a cheesecake for the BBQ and I didn't even lick the batter so I thought maybe I deserved a little something.

I had a few feel good moments this week, too. I had to to a meeting on Wednesday at one of the other offices and I hadn't been down there in awhile. I was complimented a lot on my weight loss, but was told by one coworker that he didn't even recognize me until I came over started talking to someone else. One of our marketers told me I look fantastic yesterday and last night at the grocery store a woman I used to see at my old gym came up to me and told me I looked great and asked me why I wasn't coming to the gym anymore (I switched 5 months ago). Plus on Thursday I was feeling really good and "skinny" for the first time in awhile.

Speaking of the gym, I was there this morning for the first time in awhile. It was so humid yesterday I felt like I might pass out (triple digits baby!) when I was running so I wanted to be inside where it was air conditioned. And when I pulled in and saw 8 cars there, I was reminded again why I switched to this gym. Besides it being 60 seconds from my house. I hope to start going there more often. NO ONE was using the free weights. I think out of those 8 cars half of them were employees. No joke.

I'm going to continue with my weekly weighs again and see how that goes. I'm happy with how this week went and I want to repeat the awesome feelings I had.

The importance of a schedule

2011-07-19T19:47:00.002-04:00

Things are going well. I think that I overreacted a little bit when I saw 168.6 pounds on the scale on Saturday. But we'll just have to wait and see what the scale says THIS Saturday when I take my official weigh in.

I felt incredibly guilty about taking a rest day on Saturday from running. I have no idea why, but I did. However, on Sunday I ran 6 miles and it was wonderful. And Monday and today, I ran 4 miles. The humidity is pretty insane here, even at 6am but I've gotten through it.

After my run, the hubby and I went out to breakfast, like we always do on. I had a HUGE breakfast that I was unable to finish, of egg whites, red potatoes, wheat toast and some turkey. I love leaving food on my plate. I mean, I don't like wasting it, but I love not being able to finish everything. After breakfast we went up to Springfield, Mass, for the 2nd annual Indian Motorcycle day. It was really emotional for me. My Dad loved Indian Motorcycles and used to take me to Indian Motorcycle rally's all the time when I was little. I wish I had taken pictures, but it was really crowded. Hubby promised to take me back up to the museum when it isn't so busy so I can take pictures.

My vacation is over. And I'm back at work. It sucks, but it doesn't. I like it when I'm on a schedule with my eating. It keeps me sane. When I work I usually eat my breakfast, snacks and lunch around the same time. Unless something comes up (super busy, meetings, whatever) I like to have this schedule.

On the weekends I try to keep this same schedule. Again, it keeps me sane. And so when I'm on vacation, I try to do the same thing. Yes, I slept in last week or we were out and about running around doing things (the beach, the drive in) but I bring snacks with me. I learned a long time ago to be prepared. I am not a friendly person when I get hungry. Okay, I'm a big bitch when I get hungry. Cranky as a MOFO if you will. And when it's hot (like it is now) I'm even worse. So I try to bring water with me or as of late, I'm bringing along Powerade.

So, as much as I wish I was still on vacation, I'm glad to be back on a schedule. Because it's important.

And I haven't gotten back to the gym yet to start lifting weights. I'm working on it. Soon.

The "point" is...

2011-07-16T11:56:00.004-04:00

I weighed myself this morning (I know, my husband was supposed to hide the scale. It hasn't happened yet) and it was not pretty.

168.6 pounds. I haven't seen that high of a number since February. Granted I'm sure there is still some bloat in there from TOM. And I had pizza last night so I'm sure there is some sodium in there. But the fact that last month when I weighed in at 157.6 pounds and now I'm 11 pounds heavier? I'm pissed at myself. Really, REALLY pissed at myself.

All the running the world is not going to save me from myself when I start thinking about all the hard work I put into this.

And I'm burnt out on running this week. I ran a lot and I needed a day off today. So I took one. And I know I shouldn't have weighed myself, but in the long run, it's a good thing I did it. Because I need a wake up call. A wake up call to stop messing around and get back to doing what I know is the right way to treat my body.

Vacation is just about over. So no more eating crap. No more pizza. No more french fries. No more ice cream. No more cookies or donuts or anything I know I shouldn't be eating. No more alcohol or soda. SODA! Something I gave up a year ago and it sort of came back into my life the past month or so. Not to the point where I am drinking it on a daily basis, but enough where I feel like I need to give it up again.

I'm glad I caught myself when I did and it's so scary that things can get so out of control so fast. I wish I could be someone who didn't have to worry about her weight and eat whatever she wanted. But I'm not. I have to watch everything. I have the worst metabolism in the world and as much as it sucks, I know I can treat myself now and again and it won't matter. As long as I get back on track the next day.

That being sad, I'm going back to points. Counting them that is. It's what I started doing to lose the weight and I'm going back. And I'm going to start eating clean again, too. I at least want to get back to 158 and stay there. Of course, I want to see 150 pounds. It's my goal weight, but my happy place is under 160 pounds.

And I've decided to start using my gym membership. I do have one and I should use it since I pay for it on a monthly basis. So starting Monday it's back to the gym for me to tone up my flabby parts. I'm sick of feeling sorry for myself and I want to reach my goal!!

I'm going back to weighing myself on a weekly basis, too.

Plus I've got that wedding to go to in three weeks...