I'm a runner now, right?

I want to update but I don't want to be all like oh running this and marathon training that. But really it's what I'm doing. So I hope I don't scare you away. Okay? Also I can call myself a runner now, right?

Today was 2 miles and it was awesome. I can't believe I said it, but I did. 6 years ago (man that seems like so long ago) I was running 5 miles a day (eek!) and it was nothing. But now I'm working my way up to 13 miles and I'm just really enjoying it. When I got to the gym I was the only one on my row of treadmills, but by the end there was 4 of us running and I got to tell you, it was really awesome. Something about it was really surreal.

I was having a few issues with my back bothering me but now that I'm working in the back weights it hasn't been an issue. I make sure to do that every day I run at the gym.

I also want to go for a massage. I've never been but my husband has and a lot of people I know have. So I think it might help. Plus I think if I go before the marathon I know what it will be like. And then schedule one for the day AFTER, too.

I can hardly believe 2010 is almost over. I'm trying to decide if I should do some post about how awesome 2010 turned out to be. Because it really was. We'll see.

Snow Day!!

I hope everyone had a great holiday!! I did. I ate whatever I wanted and didn't even worry about it. I got a lot of great gifts (including my Kindle) and enjoyed spending time with family and friends. I hope you all did, too!! I just spent both my Old Navy gift cards online. Now I'm thinking about using my Target cards. I may own them now, with all the Target cards I got. Everyone knows how much I love them so I got a lot of Target gift cards this year.

I am home from work today because we're having a "blizzard" here in Connecticut. I use the term blizzard lightly. We were supposed to get up to 18 inches of snow but I don't think we did here. But it's really windy and that is why it's classified as a blizzard. Because of all that wind. I'm just glad I had a 4 day weekend. And now I only have to work 3 days this week. I have Friday off because of New Years. So that makes this even more awesome!!

Of course with the weather, that means no gym. Today is not a scheduled run day. I could use my treadmill but I don't want to push it since I ran yesterday and Friday. I was thinking of pulling out a DVD but I'm not a huge DVD fan. So I may use today as a rest day. We'll see. I haven't really done too much today to be honest.

I lost 1.4 pounds last week. I was pretty excited about that. With all my working out and everything I ate more then I usually do and I still lost!! So I am hoping to maintain this week with the holiday. We're going to a party on Friday night for New Years Eve so we'll see how my weigh in goes.

I'm off to catch up on all your blogs. Have a great day!!

One more day and then 3 days off!

First off, I want to thank you for the comments you left from a few days ago when I post that I was 175. That is just so awesome of you. It means so much, even if I don't respond to you all. Sometimes I have to pinch myself to believe it's happened. I don't believe it. Again.

And I would LOVE to post a before and after photo, but I kind of hid when I was 240 pounds. I'm sure you all understand. I might have some around somewhere from last year but I have to hunt for them. I hated to see what I looked like.

I went to bed at 8:30pm last night. So I guess I was tired. I was up at 5:30am this morning for more training. It was awesome. Today was cross training so I was nearly at tired. I just hit the elliptical and then did a little stepper. But tomorrow is another 3 mile run AND strength. So I'm sure by the time I get home I'll be ready to drop. AND since Saturday is Christmas I will be using that as my rest day instead of Friday. But luckily it's not a run day. But I know it's all worth it.

An old friend of mine/coworker came in to visit yesterday while I was working and she was so surprised at how "small" I was. She said I looked amazing. I still don't like to use the word "small". But I will admit I was checking myself out in the mirror at the gym today while I was on the stepper. I'm not used to seeing myself working out because their are not any mirrors near the treadmills. lol

I cannot wait for this week to be over. A few days off will be great. From work. I am burnt out. BURNT OUT! And since Christmas falls on a Saturday we get Christmas Eve off. Same for New Years and New Years Eve. Holla!!

So one more day of work and then 3 days off. Which is going to be amazing!!

Tired.

I'm so tired.

Tired. Tired. Tired.

Not sure what else I can write about at this moment in time.

Except I'm tired.

Oh I fit into a pair of size 12 jeans yesterday. That is something awesome to write about.

But I'm still tired.

I cannot wait for Friday. A 3 day weekend is something to look forward.

The training continues. I'm sure my body will get used to it.

Right?

237 to 175

It's amazing to me. Last year at this time I was 237 pounds. And as of this morning I am 174.8 pounds. I am down 112.2 pounds from my heaviest weight. I was a bit emotional when I saw that number on the scale.

I also took my measurements and to see that my hips went down from 43.5 inches to 40 inches from October 23rd was pretty awesome. And my waist went from 38 to 36.5. I am so happy with my progress.

Life is pretty damn awesome right now.

I hit the gym this morning and I did 3 miles on the treadmill, but I know I need to get outside and start running. I have to get ready for NYC in March.

On my way home I was behind a car with a 13.1 sticker and I kept thinking "That is going to me soon!!". What a nerd.

I am off to do my baking. I am hoping to not eat any cookies!! Wish me luck!!

Worth it

So I'm excited. About my half marathon. I took today off as I worked out 5 days this week. Friday is going to be my day off from working out/running for the next 12 weeks. So...

I told my Mom today (Happy Birthday Mom!!) that I was running a half Marathon and she was so proud of me. I think part of me wants to do this for her. And my Dad. See, my Mom can't exercise like I can. She has post polio. She had polio when she was a child so her muscles in her legs and ankles are very weak from it. And my Dad had a very bad heart and that is what he died from in 1994. So I want to run for both of them. I want to make them both proud of me in away.

It's still really surreal for me.

Looking forward to everything that lies ahead for me. It's going to be fun. It's going to be hard. It's going to be exhausting.

But it's going to be worth it.

HOLY CRAP!!

So.... Do y'all remember a month ago when I threw my name into a lottery for a 1/2 marathon in NYC that is taking place March 20th, 2011?

I'm in. I got accepted. I'm running a half marathon. In like 3 months. HOLY CRAP!!! HOLY CRAP! HOLY CRAP!!

I'm actually really excited about it, despite my nerves and the feeling of wanting to puke.

And I'm very excited that I get to run it with Kelly who is pretty damn awesome. She ran the NYC marathon last month. So. I'm not nearly that awesome. But still. I feel lucky that we get to do this together. She and I BOTH got accepted. My biggest fear was that I would get in and she wouldn't. I didn't want to do it alone.

So I have a lot of training ahead of me. Which I am sure means a lot of bitching and moaning and crying and being tired. But I get to run in NYC. And in Times Square! TIMES FREAKING SQUARE! Hello?!! And central park!! I've never even BEEN to these places. So I'm pretty excited.

I ran 3 miles today at the gym. I need to actually get outside and start training because I've never run outside. But I'll do it. I need to get some new sneakers. And I want to get myself a Garmin 305. Oh boy. I have so much to do. I'm a little freaked right now.

YIKES!!!

Monday already?!

Today is my rest day and I couldn't be happier about it. My knees were KILLING me last night from my run and I had to ice them while we were watching "Inception" (which by the way I'm still a little confused about).

However, I had an amazing run. I'm up to 40 minutes now. I had to actually stop a couple times, but my total time running was 40 minutes. I spent 47 on the treadmill with warm up and everything. So that isn't bad. Not sure where all of a sudden this is coming from. But oh, maybe because Wednesday I find out if I am going to be running the 1/2 marathon or not.

EEK!!!!

I'm loving the running. LOVING IT!! It's soaked into my brain and it's pretty much all I'm thinking about.

When I got back from my trip to Vegas/Arizona I started running again and my exercise pants were too big. They are too big again. I'm wearing x-large. So I guess I have to get some larges. Not that I'm complaining. I'm hoping to get some gift cards for Christmas.

AND, I'm always on the look out for new songs to run to. Upbeat songs of course. I love fast songs. ANYTHING you want to suggest to me would be awesome. I am always asking for new ones on twitter. But I'll ask here, too.

I'm trying to eat more on days that I run. It's hard sometimes because I'm still trying to lose weight but I am starving so I know my body needs the food.

One last thing. I had the strangest dream last night. In the dream I had gained all my weight back. So I guess it was more of a nightmare. Yikes. Not sure where that came from. Maybe because this is the second time around for me losing the weight and I swear I am NOT going to do this again. It's such a pain.

It's official!!

I'm down 110.4 pounds now!! I have 26.6 before I reach my goal of 150 pounds. Sometimes I have to pinch myself. It's hard to believe. Last year at this time I was 240 pounds, wearing a size 20/22 and now I'm 176.6 pounds, wearing a size 14. It's CRAZY!!!!!!

I have more to post about but I am beat tonight. I realized I hadn't updated in a few days. I've been totally slacking lately and I need to stop that!!

It may be a little TMI boys...

Holy bitch, Batman! And by bitch, I mean me. I was wicked yesterday. It's all PMS though. And since TOM is finally here, I've calmed down a bit. But just a bit. But man it took all I had NOT to eat everything that wasn't nailed down in the office. Yikes.

And then today, after my run (27 minutes thank you very much) I was starving. ALL DAMN DAY LONG! I don't know what the hell was wrong with me. Am I the only one? I mean honestly. STARVING!!

Right now I'm just kind of thinking I'm not going to lose much weight until the damn holiday is over. IDK. I have a lot going on with work and my personal life and ugh. I want Christmas to be over. I want the holidays to be DONE with. I want the New Year to get here so I can not worry about work and money and just everything. So I may go over my points a little bit but I think with running and working out and all it evens out a bit.

I am a bit stressed at work right now. I won't even go into it here. I can't.

So if I stay the same I'm happy with that. I feel amazingly awesome. I get compliments all the time. I saw my doctor saw me on Friday and she told me I look like I'm in my 20's. I got the SAME compliment today from someone else. So that makes me feel good. If I stay the same until after the New Year then I'm fine with that.

We'll just have to see what happens.

But man I am hungry. lol

Happy Sunday Run!!

A loss is a loss and I lost .04 pounds this week. I'm happy with it and I'm taking it. With the pizza I had on Sunday and the fact that TOM is coming this week, I thought I would gain (I was up on Wednesday over 3 pounds so...).

My love for running is back. I hit 25 minutes today. And to be honest, I couldn't WAIT to get to the gym this morning. I was so excited to get on the treadmill and just let loose. I don't even care about anything else while I'm running.

It feels awesome. That is how I used to feel when I was running 6 years ago. I would just run and run and my mind would be thinking about everything else. It's such a great stress reliever.

Can't wait to do it again.

Happy Sunday everyone!!

Loved every damn minute!!

I didn't want to go to the gym this morning. Oh no. I got up and it took all I had not to go back to bed. But I didn't. And the whole time I am getting ready I am not wanting to go workout. I am just not feeling it. I'm tired. And I'm grumpy. And I'm feeling very anxious (PMS). But I went anyway.

And busted out a freaking awesome run. Now, right now I am not really worrying about my mileage. I'm just running. And before I got sick 2 weeks ago I was up to 20 minutes. But then I just wasn't feeling it. I did 20 minutes straight today without stopping and it was AMAZING! I was sweating buckets and I loved every damn minute!!

I tell you what. If I didn't feel like I might throw up, I might have kept going. Seriously.

Then I did 15 minutes on the elliptical to get in my 45 minutes of cardio and THEN I did 30 minutes of weights.

I rocked the workout I didn't want to do. And loved it.

I totally need to start doing more weights. I have some serious loose skin issues going on right now. I know, gross. But it's true. And I'm sure that it's going to tighten up some, but not 100%.

Now I'm off to dig through my closest to try on clothes that haven't fit in 5-6 years. I love doing it and every time I do, something else fits.

It's about Healthy!!

Had a meeting in our corporate office this morning. I hadn't been there in 3 years. It was awesome only because people did not recognize me!! Woohoo!! And I got to wear my Gap dress that I bought in Arizona and it's baggy in places it was tight. And my hot knee high boots.

Really, isn't that all a girl needs? A pair of hot boots? I just want to wear them all the time.

Even though I had a rough day on Sunday and ate 2 pieces of the frozen pizza my husband had made for himself, I am so over that. Why? Because I don't care. One day is not going to make me gain back 100 pounds. I went to the gym Sunday. I went to the gym today. I'm feeling great. It was one day and it's not going to break me because I won't let it. I'm human and I am allowed to make mistakes now and then. So if I gain this week, I gain. The scale does not rule me. I rule me. And I have lost 60+ pounds since March. Last year at this time I was 240 pounds. I was wearing a size 20 pant. I was not wearing dresses from the Gap. I was not wearing hot boots. I was not feeling amazing. I was not happy.

2 pieces of frozen pizza are not going to make all my hard work collapse.

Keep that in mind my friends!! You are all worth more then a number on the scale. No matter WHAT you weigh. 150 pounds, 350 pounds, 190 pounds. It doesn't matter. We are all trying to achieve the same goal and that is to be HEALTHY!!

I do think that after the new year I might change the name of my blog. Because this journey did start out about me wanting to get into my size 8 jeans again, but now it's more then that. I'm running again. I'm healthy again. So we'll see. The husband joked that I'm 3/4 of the way to Skinny which I thought was a cool name but I don't want "skinny" in the name either. Because it's not about that either.

New Weight Watchers Program

We're all talking about it. Twitter is a buzz. The blog world is a buzz.

About what? The new Weight Watchers program which launched here in the US today.

I'm going to be honest here people. I'm confused as all hell. I just don't like it and I don't get it. I guess it's because I've been doing the old plan for 10+ years now and I've been doing fine with the old plan from that 7 years ago. The one that has helped me go from 242 in March of this year to 178 as of Saturday.

I don't know. I think if I do want to try this new program I'm going to have to go back to meetings and I don't know if I want that right now. I've done fine without it in my life and I can't really afford it right now. It's Christmas. The husband isn't working. You know all that stuff.

I don't know. And don't like how the point values have gone up on things. Yes, I know fruit is free and that is awesome for me because I eat fruit all the time. And I don't eat a lot of bread so it isn't a problem. And I don't eat a lot of pasta either so that isn't that a big of a deal. UGH!

I don't know. If I do go back to meetings (which is a big IF) it wouldn't be until Saturday because I love Beth the leader who does meetings then.

I have a lot to think about right now. We'll see. I think going back NOW would be better then after the New Year because I know what that is like. HELL. It's hell people. We'll see. I have a few days to consider it.

Give it a try

Chances are, you most likely have heard about the new Weight Watchers plan.

At first, I shunned it. I have never liked the current plan. Those 35 points have never worked for me. I never lost weight when I ate them. Most of you know I am following the old plan, the one that they did right before Flex Points. That is the one that worked best for me.

However, the more I hear about the new program, the more I'm interested in it. And since I do belong to Weight Watchers Online, I will be able to see what the new plan is all about when it launches on Monday.

And honestly, I've been a bit bored with my eating lately and find that I've been eating the same old things. And maybe with the new program I won't have that problem. A lot of people, myself included, don't like changes.

I could give it a try and if I don't like it, go back to what works for me. I will continue to eat clean and not eat processed food. That is what has helped me lose weight so quickly this time around.

Weight Watchers is the only thing that has ever worked for me when it come to weight loss. It was the first diet I tried when I was 14 years old and I lost 47 pounds then. I kept it off for about 3 years until I got my license. Ha-don't ask. Fast food is the devil.

As for weight loss this week, I managed to drop 0.2 pounds. Not too bad considering the holiday and I sat around doing nothing yesterday. I used my treadmill this morning for the first time since July and I noticed I lost 30 pounds since I last used it. My weight was 207 on there last and today I was able to put in 177. Very nice.

Happy Day After Thanksgiving

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving yesterday! I know that I did. I started my day off right and hit the gym when they opened at 7am. My running hasn't been the best lately. Ever since I got sick I've been struggling with it. Not sure why. I think I might still be recovering because my ears have been clogged. But I did 90 minutes of cardio. I know, I know, it's a lot but I wanted to make sure I could enjoy my day without guilt.

Which I did.

Not that I totally pigged out because I don't feel like I did. I ate a healthy breakfast before we left. I had my usual of oatmeal and strawberries. But I didn't really worry about what I put on my plate. I had turkey, stuffing, corn, etc. All the usual holiday food. But I didn't go overboard with my portion side. My issues are always bread and dessert. And since I made some desserts I was able to enjoy it. The pumpkin pie I made was healthy enough. With egg whites and stevia. I made this cheesecake that I knew I couldn't touch because I put cinnamon in the crust. And the pumpkin and apple pie that my sister had bought had cinnamon in them so I couldn't eat those either.

But the best part of the holiday was just spending the day with my family. And seeing my nephew. He came home from rehab on Tuesday and he really looks good. He has this massive beard that I think is so funny. I was helping him as much as I could. Pushing in the wheelchair and getting him food and stuff. Yes, he can push himself and stuff, but I wanted to help him. I'm the Aunt, I can do that. After we ate, my sister (his Mom) and I packed up this huge basket of food for his girlfriend that he took to her later on. She is still in rehab and will be there for another couple months.

Today I'm glad I don't have to work. Glad I don't have to deal with traffic. Because I'm sure it's nuts. And even though my allergies are out of control (both of my eyes are swollen) I'm in a pretty decent mood. I'm back on track with my healthy eating and I'll be back to the gym tomorrow.

Hard to believe Christmas is less then a month away now. I'm so not ready.

Feeling better

I think I'm on my way to becoming well again. Let me tell you, this cold knocked me on my ass.

I went home sick from work on Wednesday with the thought that I could sleep it off and get better for my Birthday. WRONG! Thursday I felt even worse. I'm sure hitting the gym both Wednesday and Thursday morning was probably not the best idea. But I did it anyway. So by the time I got home Thursday night, I was sneezing and coughing and so full of snot it wasn't even funny.

I stayed home sick Friday. I am feeling 80% better today, but I am still not 100%. I miss my workouts and I really want to get back to the gym. I almost went today but I thought it would be a bad idea. So I didn't.

But tomorrow I will be back at it. And I have to go into work and work a little bit because I feel terrible that I missed work. I know, I was sick and it's not my fault. But still. With Thanksgiving coming up we're closed and I'm off on Friday so that is more time I'll miss. So I'm going in tomorrow. And then I'll go in on Saturday, too.

I did have a nice Birthday. Work was great. I got balloons and flowers. And cake. But of course I had no desire to eat, so it was kind of a let down to not be able to enjoy the food. Haha!

I lost 2.4 pounds this week! I am now 178.6 pounds!! I can hardly believe it myself. It's crazy let me tell you. Last year on my Birthday I was 242 pounds. So, wow!!

I hate that I haven't moved much in the past couple of days, but I'll make up for it starting tomorrow. I need to. And my gym is open on Thanksgiving. I'll be there. 7am baby!!

Off to catch up on your blogs!!

Sickly

I will update soon.

I've been sick. And it sucks to be sick on your Birthday. UGH!!!

Yuck!!

Half Marathon

So... I kinda sorta threw my name into a lottery for a half marathon. In March.

A little scared. A little nervous. Not going to lie about it. I mean, right now I'm running 16 minutes which isn't even 2 miles. Am I going to be ready for a HALF MARATHON in 4 months?

Someone convinced me I can do it. I thought about it and thought about it and THOUGHT ABOUT IT all day. And I know I can do. So if I get picked, I will be ready. Starting tomorrow I'm going to really put my all into it.

And, Kelly, if I get picked, you had better get picked to. Because I don't want to do it alone!!

Nice!!!

3.4 pounds gone!!

Take that gain! Woohoo!!

Also, I am no longer "obese" according to my fat loss monitor. I am now just "over weight" which is fine by me. My BMI is 29.9% now. Well thanks!!!!

I stopped and bought 2 pairs of 14 jeans on my way home from work today. They cost me 18 bucks. I love the consignment shop I found in town. Sweet!!!!! And they were from The Gap and Ralph Lauren.

I feel pretty awesome today. Maybe next week I can get into the 170's? We shall just have to see.

Happy Weekend

I need to send a big huge CONGRATS to Suzi over at Ok, Just One More Beer for hitting GOAL yesterday!! Even though she hates NASCAR, I still love her. Kidding aside, she is amazing and has lost over 90 pounds. If you have never read her blog, go check it out. She will inspire you. And she's pretty freaking fantastic, too.

Running is going well. I'm happy with it. I just jump on that treadmill and go. That runners high is coming back. I probably have the silliest look on my face while I'm at the gym but I'm so thrilled to be back at it again.

Last night I was pulling out old clothes and seeing if they fit. One of my favorite shirts from 6 years ago fits again. It had a picture of an apple on it and says "Bad Apple" on it. I used to run in it all the time. But my favorite thing in the world was this brown hoodie that I wore all the time. And it fits. I was freaking out. It's so hard to believe that 9 months ago I was wearing size 20 clothes and now I'm fitting into 14's. I'm still so shocked I finally got myself in gear again.

I'm nervous about the holidays though. My Birthday is Thursday. Then Thanksgiving is the week after that. And then we have Christmas and New Years. It's just a big mess of FOOD! I think if I can work out a lot and watch what I eat I'll be okay. But sometimes it pushes me over the edge. And if work doesn't stress me out too much. Oy. We'll just have to wait and see I guess.

I've also been trying to eat a little more, too. I've been so hungry on my gym days. STARVING sometimes. So I've been eating some of my exercise points and it seems to be helping. We'll see what the scale says tomorrow. Fingers crossed that I at least lose my gain from last week.

Looking forward to the weekend!!

I gained but I'm not down for the count

I gained last week. I totally know I deserved it. I had a really hard Sunday. But I was still really pissed off about it. And I was ready to throw my scale out the window.

But considering that since I finally got my butt in gear and starting losing weight again (March) I think this is only my second gain, I really can't complain. And 1.4 pounds is not a lot. Not enough to make me go up a pant size. Just because I went totally mad crazy on Halloween with my eating didn't mean I didn't work out 5 times. It didn't mean I didn't get right back on track on Monday. It didn't mean that today I fit into several pair of size 14 jeans. A size 14 mini skirt. A large top. So I gained. Big Effing deal. Right?

It didn't stop me from working my ass off these past few days. I really busted my ass this morning. I got at 5am and hit the gym earlier then normal because we were bringing my Mom to the airport because she was heading home. But I wanted to workout before she left. I ran for 12 minutes straight. I felt amazing doing it, too. I would have kept going if I could have, believe me.

Let me give an amazing shout out right now. My awesome friend ran the NYC Marathon on Sunday and after watching and trying to see her (yes, I knew I wouldn't but it didn't stop me) I wanted to sign up for it on Monday. Which I didn't do. But still. Maybe 2012 I might run it. You never know. But she is awesome and amazing and funny and fantastic and I am so proud to say I know her!!

So I hope to see a decent loss this week. We'll see. I have been starving all day today. I burnt 493 calories at the gym and I swear I need to eat more now that I am running again. I'm trying to lift more weights, too. I have um...well..a little loose skin issue this time around. I didn't have that last time. Probably because I went from 242 pounds to 184 in like 8 months. Maybe? What do my fellow runners suggest to eat?

My crazy life

Life is hectic and crazy and I'm not really liking it right now.

Exercise and eating is fine. It's everything else that is pissing me off.

The blogging will continue again at some point.

If you have a Livejournal account add me: sarah_sundae because I am blogging about my crappy life there. But you can only see if you're my friend. And just let me know you're adding me so I know who you are. Shoot me an email operationsize8@gmail.com so I know it's you and your blogger name. Or twitter name. Or something.

Trail running and I forgot my socks

Sunday I kind of lost myself. I ate. A LOT. Of crap. No, not Halloween candy. Actually I didn't eat any Halloween candy this year. But I just ate a lot of junk. And I swear I'm still full tonight. I woke up with the worst stomachache this morning.

But you know what? I picked myself up, dusted myself off and moved on. I know it's not the end of the world and I know it's going to happen. This hasn't happened to me in a very long time either. I'm not what caused it. I think it has a lot to do with how hard I've been pushing myself lately. I've been pushing myself really hard and I was pretty burnt out when I went to the gym on Sunday.

However. That being said after work tonight I hit the trails in my town for my first outside run. And let me tell you, running outside is a lot different then on a treadmill. And harder. And I didn't run that much. And I forgot my socks. So I was doing it just sneakers. My hubby actually went with me. He doesn't work out AT ALL so he couldn't run much but I was really surprised when he asked if he could come with me.

I enjoyed it though. Running outside. So I do plan to do it again and soon. But for now I will get back to the gym tomorrow and work on my treadmill running.

And for the record, I lost 1.2 pounds last week. Not sure if I will lose anything this week after yesterday but it's no biggie.

I love Halloween!!

I can't even begin to tell you how amazingly awesome it was to buy a Halloween costume off the rack tonight. I've been talking about it how I wish I was going to a Halloween party this year. Because I wanted to dress up and be able to do just that. Buy a costume off the rack. And we're going to a party!! We didn't realize it was a Halloween/Birthday party until today!

I was so excited I had to go out and get my costume tonight. Because I didn't want to go tomorrow or Saturday afternoon. I wanted to be a flapper. I am so into that this year. I am so excited that it fits! It's a little short but I love it!!

Of course I will take some pictures.

Hit the gym this morning. I didn't want to, but I am glad I did. And I am still running for 10 minutes but I am working on my speed now. I am probably going to do that for a little bit and then work on more distance. I am loving it!!

I feel amazing. It doesn't matter to me right now what the hell the scale says. I just feel good about myself!!

I am so glad tomorrow is Friday. I have been busting my tail at work this week.

No catchy title here

My nephew is going to be okay. He is going to require rehab once he is out of the hospital, but he is okay. He was moved out of ICU on Sunday and is now driving the nurses insane. I am not kidding. At 23 years old, he still can be a handful. His girlfriend is also healing. She is going to require more surgery, but it looks as if she is going to be okay, too. We don't know for sure yet if that is 100% but that is the way it is looking.

Thank you all again for your kind words. It was a very scary situation for everyone and my sister was such a basketcase. But she is doing much better now. Plus with Mom coming on Thursday I think she is relaxing a little bit now.

On the weight loss front, I lost 0.4 last week. Yep, 0.4. And I'm cool with that. I don't think I ate enough with all the exercise I put in. I hit the gym 5 times. Which is a lot. And now that I'm running again, I know I need to eat more. But every time I have small loss, I take my measurements. And I was happy to see that I lost an inch off my chest, an inch of my waist, an inch of my hips, an inch and half off both arms and an inch off both thighs. So that is pretty good. Not to mention:
I was able to buy boots that fit over my MONSTER calves. I haven't actually warn them yet.

AND on top of that, I tried on a pair of size 14 jeans that fit. I should have bought them, but these boots were way more important to me. Haha.

We went up to Salem on Saturday night and had a great time. It was packed! But Halloween is my favorite time of the year so it was fun to see everything. We went to the House of Seven Gables and I have to say I was never happier to have lost weight. They had us go up the servant stairs and they were so small and narrow...I don't think I could have fit up there if I was 250+pounds. I KNOW I couldn't have.

And on the running front, I'm up to 10 minutes now. I did hit 10 minutes yesterday and did that again today. I'm going to work with that for a couple days and then push forward. Connecticut has had some great weather these past couple of days, too, but it has made for some hot and sweaty gym mornings.

I'm off to catch up on what all of YOU have been up to.

Family

Those of you who follow me on Twitter, know that my nephew and girlfriend were in a car accident yesterday. A pretty bad one. My oldest sister was such a wreck that she actually didn’t call anyone. The only reason we (my other sister and I) found out was because Sissy (my nephew’s Mom) called middle sister that morning before it happened and middle sister was calling her back. Sissy didn’t even remember why she had called at that point. Said she was at the hospital because of my nephew and she would call middle sister back.

Turns out my nephew and his girlfriend were heading to Sissy’s house and in a school zone. Going way too fast and neither had a seatbelt on. They hit a truck head on. My nephew had the steering wheel to “protect” him plus the airbag. His girlfriend had nothing. Not too mention she is a teeny, tiny thing. They found her UNDER the dashboard. My nephew has a lot of lower body issues. Broken pelvis, etc. They had to put a plate in his groin last night. No spinal injuries. No brain injuries. The girlfriend on the other hand, was not so lucky. Both legs, feet, and arms are broken. Her nose, her jaw. Her spleen and kidneys are injured. They are not sure about her spine yet. She’s also older then my nephew. He is 23, she is 30. And she already had bone problems.

Right now he is still heavily medicated. She is at a different hospital so we haven’t seen her or her family yet. But we want to. She is a sweet and smart girl. Hopefully we can go and see her soon. My sister said not to come today but I want to. This is my NEPHEW we’re talking about. And I want to see HER, too. She needs me. She was surprised yet happy to see us when we came last night. We stayed for 4 hours and then when the surgeon said he was going to be okay but we couldn’t see him we left. His Father was there with his Step Mom and his Grandmother, plus a bunch of his friends. So Sissy was not alone.

Rough stuff. I’m a wreck today and not really wanting to be at work. I probably will work a couple hours and bail.

But you all are awesome and I love you for your kind words! Muah!!

Mom is coming to visit again

8 minutes today. I actually think I could have pushed myself to run more but I didn't. I was really feeling it today. I'm starting to think I could do more then 5k by March. But I have the 1/2 Marathon I am planning on in October to think about...

I've hit the gym 5 times this week. I'm so happy with my exercise progress. Other things in my life my be shit but at least exercise/health wise I feel good.

My Mom is coming to visit next week! This is totally unexpected! She is coming for her 50th high school reunion. She wasn't going to go but then let a friend convince her. I am so excited. I know I just saw her a few weeks ago but I miss her. And she is staying for a few weeks. She'll be leaving 4 days before my Birthday but she'll be here!!

And then of course we're heading to Salem on Saturday. We're staying overnight, so that will rock, too. Busy and fun weekend ahead.

TGIF tomorrow. This week has been mad nuts.

What have I gotten myself into??

Well I went and did it. I signed up for my first 5K.

I'm a bit scared. But I know by the time March rolls around I should be fine and ready for it.

RIGHT?! RIGHT?!

I have been trying to find some sort of counter for my blog that counts down until the 5K but so far I can't find one that works without getting cut off.

Hit the gym this morning and was able to run for 7 minutes. Woot!! Woot!!

Happy Wednesday!!

Going well

*Waving* Hello new followers!! I hope to get to know you all. I have 193 followers? WOW!! Thanks for following me.

Ah...I nearly lost my mind yesterday. Work is... well crazy. I'll leave it at that. I just never know who may stumble across my blog, you know? *Sigh*

As for running and stuff... I did 6 minutes. SIX MINUTES! I cannot even begin to tell you how amazing I feel. 6 years ago I was running 5 miles a day. And I hope to be doing that again soon. Well, not SOON, soon, but soon.

We have plans to go up to Salem, Mass this weekend. Should be fun with Halloween just around the corner. Spooky and all. Halloween is my favorite holiday.

Sunday afternoon

Again, I've been a really bad blogger. And I apologize.

I wanted to post my weigh in at least. I am down another 2 pounds this week. I'm 184.6 pounds now. I am still in shock. Honestly, the weight has NEVER come off this fast before. Last year at this time I was 242. So I'm really amazed with my body right now.

The running is coming along nicely. I did 5 minutes today. I know it's not a lot but for me it's a BIG deal. And I can't wait to push onward and upward. I feel amazing.

Friday night we went to see Roger Waters perform The Wall live in concert. Now some of you may or may not know this but Pink Floyd: The Wall is my favorite album in the world. And Roger Waters is the man behind that album. I never thought I would get the chance to see it live in concert. It was a dream come true. And it was AMAZING!! I had a fantastic time. I had chills when it started and I didn't cry (I joke about that but I just don't cry that easily) but I did get a little emotional about it.

And then last night we went to see comedian Jim Norton. He is a raunchy comedian that we love. But I have to admit he wasn't nearly as funny as he normally is. We've seen him a lot and I have to say the guy that went on before him was a little funnier. Shock!! I still love Jimmy though. I wanted to wear my Jimmy shirt but it was too big. Our friend went with us and he had the same problem (he's lost 90 pounds). We ate somewhere that wasn't too healthy but I didn't eat the bun and I didn't finish the onion rings. And I had buffalo instead of beef. So I felt okay with it.

I was pretty beat this morning that is for sure. Two late nights in a row. Haha. I am usually in bed by 10pm and I was up past midnight both nights. I want to be in bed EARLY tonight.

A month from tomorrow is my (gulp) 35th Birthday. Oh hell. I'm getting old and I don't like it. But I want a cupcake not a CAKE from Whole Foods. Have you ever seen those suckers?! They are HUGE! Bigger then my head!!

Happy Sunday everyone!!

Life is busy but great!!

First off thank you all for the wonderful comments. I still can't believe I'm back to having 100 pounds. I feel like I need someone to pinch me.

I haven't updated this week because well I just feel like I don't have anything to say. Things are going really well. I'm running. Or working on running. So far I'm up to 3 1/2 minutes. I know it's not much but it's better then nothing. Considering last week I wasn't running at all. I know I could do the couch to 5K but I really don't LIKE that program. To me it just doesn't work. So I go to the gym and hope on the treadmill and warm up for 5 minutes. Then I run for as long as I can. First day it was 2 minutes. Then I had to stop and walk. Then the next day I did 2 1/2 minutes. And so on. So maybe tomorrow it will be 4 minutes. Or Saturday. Depending on if I go tomorrow or not. I'm also trying to do more weights so I can start toning up my stomach. It's so flabby!!

And work is crazy. I've been back for a week and I'm still trying to get everything straightened out.

I have a busy weekend planned. Tomorrow night is Roger Waters: The Wall in concert. I am so excited I can hardly stand it! The Wall is my favorite album! And then Saturday night we are going to Jim Norton. He's this really funny comedian. I have to squeeze in work and exercise on Saturday. Plus there is a healthy/wellness seminar that I want to go to that is free. It's Saturday and Sunday but I don't know if I will make it.

But I wanted to do a quick update!

Muah!!

I'm not normally the crying type

That is what I saw on my scale today.

Which means I am once again officially down 100 pounds. 100.4 to be exact. I'm kind of in shock. I didn't expect in this week. Next week MAYBE. I mean I was on vacation for TWO WEEKS! I relaxed and enjoyed myself. How the HELL did I manage to lose 2.4 pounds?! I was up on Wednesday. 1.8 pounds. But you know I wasn't nearly as bad on vacation as I thought I was going to be. And as soon as I got home I was right back on track again. Because I wanted to be. I couldn't wait to be.

Today I started running again. It wasn't much but it was something. And I realized two things: I need new sports bras because the one I had on was NOT going to do it if I plan to continue my running. The girls were all over the place. Haha. And my pants were nearly falling off. That was kind of scary! Ha! The reason behind my starting to run again? Well other then I miss it? I'm going to run a half marathon next year. Oh yeah. Pretty excited about it. And since I already told this awesome girl that I would run with her, I have no choice but to do it. She ran it today so she' already a pro!!

In honor of my 100 pounds gone I'm going to do a giveaway. Not sure what but I'll figure it out.

Off to make me a pumpkin smoothie!!

When I return to East Coast Time...

I know. I have to update on my vacation. But I am so tired!! It's going to take a few days to get back on east coast time.

In the meantime.

Check me out:I found this dress at the Gap Outlet in Sedona, Arizona. It's a Large. And it cost me 11 bucks. I bought it of course.

We have to order the pictures from Vegas. So as soon as we get them I will post them. We couldn't take any pictures at the Chapel. And I totally forgot to have the hubby take some of me in the dress. Blame it on too much vodka and red bull.

I promise a good or somewhat good post about vacation soon! When I'm not half asleep. And an official after vacation weigh in on Saturday.

Back to the gym tomorrow!!

Also I joined NaNoWriMo and I'm a little scared.

Home

Just a quick update to let you know I am home and back in Connecticut. Not ready to go back to work tomorrow but I am also looking forward to getting myself back onto the healthy eating and exercise track.

I tell you one thing: The second I stepped out of the airport here in Connecticut I wanted to get back on the plane and head to Arizona again. It's cold! I have had a sweatshirt on the whole time. I hate it!! It's probably 90+ back there. I loved the weather and had the best hair, too. No humidity is fantastic let me tell you!!!

My allergies welcomed me home this morning with a big fat swollen eye. Which ruined my plans for hitting the gym.

I have so many blogs to catch up on!!

Hello from Arizona

This is the first time I've logged onto my Mom's computer since we arrivered here on Thursday. I just haven't wanted to plug into the interwebs. Haha. I'm really enjoying being disconnected from the world, you know? It's pretty awesome. Hard to believe I only have 6 days left before I have to head back to Connecticut.

I'm having a great time. I love, love, LOVE this weather. I am having the best hair of my life. We went to down to Phoenix on Monday and it was 106. But it's really not as bad as you might think. It's not humid. I could deal with it if I had to all the time. Where my Mom is it's only 97 right now so It's not as bad. I know, it sounds terrible but it's not. I know in Connecticut it's been raining a lot.

I've hit up the gym twice so far since I've been here. I know. On vacation. It's awesome. And I've relaxed and enjoyed myself. I actually weighed myself and I'm down a pound. Right?! Can you imagine?! I'm not worrying too much about it. I was going to allow myself a 5 pound gain if it I had to. I'm on a 2 week vacation so if it happens, it happens. But I'm counting points most of the time. But enjoying myself on other days. I don't take vacations like this very often.

Oh and Vegas?! AWESOME! I wish we had more time there. We were so tired the first day.

I will update more when we get back. We get home on Tuesday night and I am so glad that I have Wednesday off because I will need it. The 3 hour time difference is really harder then I thought. I wish I didn't have to go back to work ever again. But luckily I only work Thursday and Friday and then the weekend is here. I wonder if the place is still standing? Ha!!

I miss my kitties. And my sister says they miss us. My Mom has 4 cats and 2 dogs but it isn't the same. I can't wait to see my babies again.

Miss all your blogs and I am so behind on tweets!!

Does that scale say...

ONE EIGHTY NINE?!

Trust me I had to get off and on the scale a few times before I believed it myself. Because that means I lost 3.6 pounds. THREE POINT SIX POUNDS!

Friends...I am 2 pounds away from hitting 100 pounds gone again. And trust me I don't plan in doing this again. EVER! I have done this twice and that is enough. And I've busted my ass enough times to know it's not easy. And I don't want to do it a third time. I am so happy with how I feel and I know it's something I don't want to go through it again.

I was entering my information into sparkpeople and I saw that last year around this time I was 246.6 pounds and I started crying. Happy tears of course. But to be 189 pounds...it's just really surreal. I didn't think I could do this again. I really didn't.

Part of me wishes I was going to be here next weekend so I could hit that 100 pounds but it will have to wait a couple more weeks I guess. It's not going anywhere.

If I don't update again for awhile you all know I'm on vacation. My Mom has a computer so I'll update from there. But we leave for Vegas on Tuesday. Our flight leaves at 6am. Oh dear lord the thought of getting up at like 3am is not fun but so worth it. And then we leave Vegas on Thursday and drive down to Arizona. I'm so excited. You have no idea. We leave Arizona on the 5th and come back to Connecticut around 8pm that night. I don't go back to work until the 7th so I do have the 6th to mentally prepare. But I'm not thinking about that right now.

My Mom went and joined the new gym that opened down the street from her so I could go with her for free. Isn't that sweet? She was disappointed I couldn't go with her to water therapy though. Because of my new tattoo I can't go in a pool. I am disappointed, too, because I wanted to workout with the old ladies. Heehee. But I am not going to go off program for long. I am going to enjoy Vegas (as my work bestie would say I'm strapping on the food bag and getting my drink on) but when I am at Mom's things will be fine. She's a Weight Watcher, too. And I can cook my own food, etc. And then gym of course. My Mom rocks.

And Monday the 27th I am meeting my friend, Tara, who I have known for a little over 4 years. We met online on myspace due to our love for NASCAR. I can't wait to meet her. She's so cool! Going to be fun!!

So anyway, if I don't update again until next weekend or so, you know where I am. But hell I'll be tweeting. You know that. So if you don't follow me, follow me. I'll follow you right back. I'm just private right now. Because I have to be. Which I hate. Long story.

Happy weekend! Muah!!

Alive

Don't worry. I haven't abandoned my blog. I'm just super busy. With work. Since I leave for vacation on Tuesday. And won't be back until the 7th. I'm a little stressed. Okay, more like A LOT stressed. But I'm okay. I'm not eating. And with all the other things on my plate you would think I would be. But I'm not.

Chugging along. One more weigh in (tomorrow) before we leave for Vegas. I wanted to be 192 or less. Will it happen?

Tune in tomorrow...

Monday, Monday

Before I forget, Whitney asked me what the inspiration behind my new tattoo was. I'm a Scorpio. So I thought it would be very appropriate to have a scorpion tattoo.

Hard to believe a week from tomorrow I will be in Vegas! Holy cow! I seems like we just started thinking about the trip and now?! It's almost here. I honestly can't wait to get to Arizona to visit my Mom, too. Mom time is always good.

I tried on the dress for when we renew our vows tonight and it's actually a little loose. I'm happy about that. It's huge or anything but not as snug in the stomach area as it was when I first tired it on. I plan on hitting the gym for the next 7 days to see how much I can get done. I think my tattoo is healed enough at this point so I can some weights again. It doesn't hurt anymore but it does itch. Ugh!!

I can't wait for this vacation. I really need it!!

Weigh in...

Just a quick update on the weight loss this week.

Down 1.4 pounds. I weighed in at 192.6 pounds. I'm so happy. I wanted to be 192 for when we went on vacation so it looks like that is probably going to happen. As long as I lose again this coming week.

I have a lot going on. Some of you I told on twitter last night. THANK YOU for your support, etc.

Please feel free to email me at operationsize8@gmail.com or whatever. I may not be posting too much for awhile. I locked up my twitter. Had to. So...

Happy weekend. I'm still around. Just got a lot going on.

New tattoo!!

Here is my new tattoo!! I promise a better post tomorrow. The past few days have gone by in such a blur. But I am really enjoying life. Not sure how my workout is going to be tomorrow but it's look like just cardio for a few days. At least until this heals. Not exactly thrilled about it but what can you do? And no swimming for me while I'm on vacation but I wasn't exactly planning on jumping in the pool anyway.

Amazing

I knew it would be a small loss this week and I'm so cool with that. After one week of 2.6 and then another of 2.8 I knew I would be lucky to see anything come off at all.

And it was 0.8 this week. And I'm so happy about it. To see a ONE before my weight is the best thing in the world. To know that I have ONLY 44 pounds to get to goal is the best feeling in the world. SEVEN pounds before I'm at 100 pounds gone (again). I cannot begin to tell you how amazing I feel right now.

I feel fantastic.

If I can do this. So can you. Just believe in yourself.

I took my measurements today. The last time I took them was 07/31/10.

Then: Today:

Neck 14.5 14
Waist 40.5 39
Hips 46.5 44.5
Left Leg 25 23.5
Right Leg 25 23.5
Right Arm 15 13.5
Left Arm 14.5 13.5
Chest 42.5 41

Not too bad. I'm pretty happy with the results. I know I am going to reach my goal. It's going to happen.

Nearly TWO weeks until Vegas. We have the hotel booked. I cannot wait. And the chapel is booked where we are going to renew our vows. OMG! It's really happening! And then we are going to drive down to Mom's after that.

It's anther NASCAR night race weekend. Nerding out again? Yep.

Booked my appointment for my 4th tattoo for Wednesday night after work. I'm so excited for that, too. Nervous and excited. Not sure about how the workout thing is going to work on Thursday but I'll talk to her (my tattoo artist) after that. I will have pictures!!

Have a great weekend! Hope everyone survived Earl!!

RIP Scooby

Rainbow Bridge

Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.

When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge.
There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together.
There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.

All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor; those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by.
The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.
They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent; His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.

You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.

Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together....
Author unknown...

Vacation hurry up!!

This has been a really rough week. And it's only Wednesday. Work has me stressed beyond belief. Vacation cannot get here fast enough. I talked to my Mom today and she says "Why don't you just eat a piece of chocolate".

Ummm...no. Because that is just going to be a bad idea. Although after talking to her and bitching for 30 minutes I felt a lot better. I just have a lot going on and I'll be so happy when this week is over. End of month is a killer for me right now. I have had a pile of work to do and it's never ending.

Tomorrow is going to be a rough day, too. I am going with my sister to have her dog put to sleep. I know she is going to be a total wreck and I don't blame her at all. He is her baby and I am not sure what she is going to do without him. So on top of that, work and a few other things, today was really rough.

But I survived. I didn't give in and I'm doing alright.

I love shopping!!

I got my haircut today. It was WAY over due. I haven't cut it since the end of May. I love it. I love keeping it short. Funny how I used to hide behind my hair. Then after that we headed over to Fashion Bug because silly me thought I could find a few bras. I give up trying to buy bras there. Every time I go they never have my size. But I did get 2 new tops and I tried on this dress:I didn't buy it only because I can't wear it to work. We have a RULE about the length of sleeves. Sad, but true. I really liked it. I may go back but we'll see. I had a gift card I wanted to use so that is really the reason we went over there. I'm looking at my camera but whatever...

I had a great workout this morning at the gym. I needed to get in a good weight lifting workout and I did. After my cardio.

And the weather is so beautiful here. I'm glad it's warmed up again.

Even though we're going on vacation on the 21st of September I'm already planning another trip. I have this friend, Ashley, that I've known for 5 years now. I met her on a NASCAR board 5 years ago and she lives in North Carolina. We're talking about me going down there next May so we can finally meet. THAT would be super awesome.

Looking forward to spending the evening with the husband. Hope you all have a great night my friends!!

Scratching my head...

So I'm not sure. I'm not sure how I did it. But I lost 2.8 pounds this week. And of course the weight watchers website gave me a little slap on the wrist for losing over 2 pounds 2 weeks in a row. Pffft. Whatever. It's not usual for me to lost this much this fast believe me. Next week I DOUBT I'll lose more then a pound if I lose anything at all.

BUT HOLY COW! That makes 92.2 pounds! HOLY CRAP!

194.8 pounds. WOW! I'm pretty excited and really proud of myself. I hit the gym 5 times this week so maybe that was it? I think I'm going to do the same thing this week and see how that goes.

My coworker and I were joking about how if we both keep this up we're going to be model thin by Christmas. It's a joke of course. I don't want to be model thin and my butt is way too big to ever be model thin. And she was kidding, too, because she has big boobs that never get smaller. Haha. But we're both on a mission. She's doing South Beach, God bless her. She hasn't had a carb in 2 weeks. I would be such a bitch.

Looks like the weather is going to finally turn around. We had some cool and rainy days. I wasn't enjoying that too much. Not at all. But woohoo for warmer weather. That I can enjoy.

Bummed for no NASCAR this weekend. But after this weekend it's smooth sailing right up until November. All the NASCAR I can ask for. I love it!!

Right I have a blog

What? I have a blog? I sort of forgot about it these past few days. And I'm sorry about that. I've been busy. Work has me busy. Life has me busy. Oh and then there is this television show called "Nip/Tuck" that I am now sucked into on Netflix that I can't stop watching. Haha. Yeah, so...like I don't spend enough time doing NOTHING as it is.

Life is good though. I have nothing to complain about. I have been to the gym 4 times this week. Proud of myself for that.

Oh and at work yesterday the HR woman came in which put us all on edge. The last time she showed up she fired two people. So we were all nervous. But she came in just so we would stop feeling like every time she came in something bad was going to happen. But all day she kept saying to me "You look great" or "You look fantastic". That's nice and appreciate it. But enough is enough. Was I THAT hideous before? I mean really.

I am so glad tomorrow is Friday. Really, REALLY glad.

What am I going to do today?

Thank you all so much for the comments on my last post. You are all so amazing and I love you all. I don't think that I could do this without you. No, I know that I couldn't. We are all in this together and I without your support and comments I KNOW I couldn't do this.

I have decided that I am going to treat myself to a tattoo in the very near future as a reward for all my hard work. I've been wanting one and I am itching (that is probably not a good word to use) to get another one. This will make number 4. It feels like so many people around me are getting new tattoos and I must get one. They are very addicting.

Last night was fun! A little awkward at first (I just can't get into that here) but fun. And the husband behaved himself to a certain extent. I only had 3 beers which was all I needed let me tell you. The race wasn't as crazy as I had hoped and today I'm not sure what to do with myself since there isn't a race on. And there isn't another race until Labor Day weekend. I HATE off weekends.

When I got up this morning I totally did not want to go to the gym. But I did and I was so happy when I was done. Nothing like a good workout to put me in a good mood.

Now I'm just enjoying my lazy Sunday. Doing some laundry. And relaxing. Monday morning is going to come really fast.

I'm in baby!!

Kaboom!

I'm in baby! In the the 190's that is! Woohoo!! I'm down 2.6 pounds this week and was so excited to see 197.6 pounds on the scale I had to get off and on it a few times to make sure it was right. I would have been happy to see 199.8 pounds. Hee!

I plan on staying in the 100's thank you very much. And don't plan on EVER going back into the 200's EVER AGAIN!

It was another week of 4 days at the gym and I managed to eat pretty much all my points nearly every day (okay so Sunday I had 5 left over but come on I went out that night) so I guess if I keep doing what I'm doing I should be at goal by....? Who cares! I'm not going to put any restraints on myself. I'm going to enjoy it and keep on, keeping on.

Tonight the hubby and I are going out. We're going to a party. I'm bringing some beers. I'm hoping to be a good girl and not eat anything bad. It's a NASCAR party (enough out of you Suzi haha) so I'm sure I'll be having myself a good time. So if you follow me on twitter you probably won't have to listen to my "annoyingness" tonight NASCAR-wise. Or not. We'll see. I may drunk tweet. Oh won't that be fun? I'll be with my PEOPLE tonight. Except my husband. Who hates racing. Not sure why he agreed to go but whatever. Should be fun. Heehee. Okay-my nerding out is done (Suzi).

I'm out peeps. Have a great weekend! Muah!!

Allergies

I went home early from work yesterday due to my Angioedema acting up. Funny that I mentioned not that long ago that it wasn't bothering me and then I had a huge issue yesterday. And then I stayed home today because of it. I hate missing work. HATE it. Unless it's a planned day off. So I'm sure tomorrow I'll go in to a total CF!

But I am happy to report that I am feeling 98% better and my face is nearly normal again. Or as normal as I can be. Ha! I'm trying to be funny here people. Bare with me okay? It was a rough couple of days being all doped up on my medication. I hate that feeling. And I'm really not sure what brought it on. I'm really careful about what I eat as you know.I'm thinking it's the fact that it was raining during the Zac Brown concert. And that happened the last time I sat out in the rain during the Dixie Chicks/Keith Urban/Eagles concert. I had a reaction the next day, too. Boo! And the hubby has been great taking care of me. He always is.

And the Zac Brown Band concert? Was AWESOME! We had a blast! It didn't matter we had lawn seats. It was so much fun! Great music and fun times. Love that band!!

So anyway. Not much to really post or update about right now. I know I'm behind on my meme. I'll do that soon I promise. I have 4 weeks from today until we leave for Vegas! I am still hoping to drop another 10 pounds but I doubt that is going to happen. I'll be happy with another 5 at this point.

In Nascar news (if you follow me on Twitter you know I love me some Nascar) I can't wait until Bristol this weekend! It's my favorite track. I'm just hoping the Newman/Logano thing is over with. Not sure what is up with my Newman. I think he's lost his MIND. He is normally so calm and collected. Whenever I saw him SHOVE Joey I thought oh boy this is not good!! I am not sure if he's under a lot of stress right now or what?! Eek!!

Also with all these new Nascar announcements..CAN SOMEONE PLEASE GIVE REED SORENSON A FULL TIME RIDE NEXT YEAR?!

Darn you allergies!!

I totally wanted to blog tonight but my allergies have me so messed up tonight that if I attempt an update it might come out all messed up.

I am seriously doped up on my medication and out of my mind.

If you follow me on twitter I apologize ahead of time.

I have had a flare up like this in a long time.

Tomorrow I shall update.

It's Saturday Weigh In!!

I really worked hard this week. I hit the gym four times this week. My goal was three.

I tried to eat all my points every day. I think that there were a few days I didn't. I might have had a couple left over here and there. Okay...so there was one day that I had 5 left over. I know, I know. That's really bad. Just sometimes I'm not hungry and I don't eat them. I usually leave myself 15 points for dinner and snacks when I get home at night. I don't always use them. And then sometimes I do.

But...I lost 1.6 pounds this week. 200.2 pounds. So very close. Next week my friends. I hope next week to see 199.8 pounds. I don't care if I only lose 0.4 pounds. I just want to be out of the 200's for good (and I mean it this time).

I figure if I do what I did last week this week? I'm GOLDEN!!

I also had TOM against me this week. So who knows what might happen once that passes.

I already hit the gym once this week (today).

On a totally unrelated weight loss note, my sister and I are going to see the Zac Brown Band tomorrow night. They are a country music band. Her friend's boyfriend works for a radio station and offered us free tickets. Um...hello?! Yes please! It's going to be fun!! Can't wait!!

What do I do with my arms?

Seriously! I never know what the heck to do with my arms! Ha! This time I put them behind my back. Sometimes I just stand there like dork with them hanging by my side. Hee! But this is my Old Navy outfit that I got on Saturday. The top is an XL. The cami top underneath is also an XL. And the pants are a 16. I love this outfit.

Remember how I said I wanted to work out 3 times this week? Well I totally did it. I got my butt to the gym this morning. Holla!! I did 50 minutes of cardio and 10 minutes of weights. I wanted to do more weights but it was SOMETHING. I'm so happy I did it. I may actually try to go again tomorrow.

And do y'all remember that dress I busted my tail to get into for my cousins wedding? The one I wore in May? I put it on when I got home today because I wanted to wear it to work tomorrow (I'm feeling girlie lately). Now the dress is too big. Ha. I've lost 15 pounds since the wedding. Pretty cool. I'm going to wear the dress anyway though.

Off to catch up on all your blogs. Thanks for the comments yesterday. I love you all!!

Happy Tuesday!

Today I wore one of my new shirts to work today. What a difference that made. It's an XL and the pants were 16. Now I've been wearing 16 pants to work for a few weeks now but I guess wearing a smaller shirt really made the difference because I got tons and tons of compliments from everyone!! It was kind of embarrassing after awhile to be honest. Ha! Nice but embarrassing. Tomorrow I am going to wear my favorite outfit that I bought. So excited. I am going to have hubby take a picture and I'll post it.

Needless to say I felt really good all day. Skinny even. Although I know I'm not. But I felt good. I have a lot more confidence in myself then I did even a month ago.

5 weeks from today I'll be in Vegas. Boo-ya!

I haven't had any diet soda in 8 weeks!

Cooked breakfast for dinner for me and the hubby tonight. I don't normally cook for both of us because the hubby doesn't eat what I eat. I really enjoyed doing it, too.

I was all motivated yesterday to get work done. Today. Meh-not so much. I really have to get my butt in gear because I have tons to do and since I'll be gone for 2 weeks in 5 weeks...you get the idea.

Sunday, Monday

Yesterday turned out to be pretty awesome. I went to the gym in the morning and got in some awesome cardio while watching NASCAR Now on the elliptical. Hey-66 minutes is a great workout, right? Then I did 30 minutes of weights. When I got home the hubby and I decided to head out to our first Farmer's Market.

It was great!! I picked up some pretty yummy white peaches. I still can't believe I hadn't been to a Farmer's Market either. There are plenty of them around here. I would love to go back again. Or check out more of them.

Then I came home and watched the race of the NASCAR race. Fun times.


Today I had planned on actually getting work DONE while at work but it's kind of hard when you get kicked out of the computer system a million times a day. Annoying!!

I love Monday nights. Only because I know when I come home from work I can watch "True Blood". And it did not disappoint. Love that show! I know the season is going to end soon though. It's been the best season so far.

That is about all the excitement right now. Not much else going on. I hope this week goes by quickly.

It's all about Weight Watchers

Down a pound this week! Not bad for someone who only worked out twice. And didn't exactly eat all her points every day. Tisk. Tisk. Bad Sarah.

I have goals for this week. My goals are...work out at least 3 times. And eat all my points EVERY SINGLE DAY. I want to see 199.8 on that scale. I want to drop 2 pounds this week gosh darn it.

Thank you all again for the wonderful and awesome comments about the dress. I can't tell you how amazing I felt when I put it on. I can't believe I can fit into a size 16. I really can't. I was telling my Mom how wonderful and awesome the online weight loss community is and how Suzi was so fantastic to send me this beautiful dress. She thought it was really interesting that I knew other Weight Watchers people in other states and countries and all the support I got and tried to give them. My Mom is a lifetime Weight Watchers member herself so she can totally relate to what we all go through. She lost 90 pounds in the 70's when Weight Watchers first started (she'll tell you horror stories about eating tuna fish with mustard-gag me) and took me to my first Weight Watchers meeting when I was 14 where I lost 40 pounds and kept it off for about 3 years. To this day my Mom still doesn't eat ketchup because you couldn't eat it back then. Strange. My Mom went back to WW a few years ago because she was ready to lose weight again and lost 65 pounds and she looks and feels great.

Now I may not follow the NEW Weight Watchers program but I follow Weight Watchers. I don't like the new program as much. Those 35 flex points seem to get me in trouble. But that doesn't mean I don't love Weight Watchers. I just love the old program. That doesn't mean it doesn't work for me. It's just not the current program.

And I'm perfectly happy following online these days. I don't feel I need the meetings right now. After all. I've lost 40+ pounds since March.

My best friend is considering going to Weight Watchers, too. She has been asking me all about it. Her main concern was that she didn't want to have to buy their food. I assured her she didn't have to. She lives in Missouri or else I would go with her to the meetings.

Anyway...today I am going to get new clothes. It's time my friends. Everything I own for work is just too big. At least 2 sizes. Some are 3. It's sad. I was trying to hold off but after Thursday when I had to wear a shirt to work that was a 26/28 (and now I can wear some 14/16 tops) I turned to the hubby and said "I'm going to buy new clothes this weekend". I earned that much.

I hit the gym this morning, too. 60 minutes of cardio and 25 of weights. After I walked out the door of the gym I decided no overtime today. I am burnt out. And it's too nice outside.

I'm out of here. Enjoy your weekend!!

Thank you!!

Thank you for the wonderful comments on the dress!! You have no idea how beautiful it made me feel. The weight loss has really made me feel better about myself, even if I have 53 pounds more to go to get to goal.

53 pounds! That's it! Not that long ago it was 93 pounds! 6 months ago I was 240 pounds and now I'm almost under 200. So I know as long as I keep doing what I've been doing I'll reach my goal.

Thank you all again! Without all your awesomeness I wouldn't be able to keep going.

I'm in a dress!!

Now it's not the dress I got at Kohl's and wore to work last week (but that is coming I promise). This dress is even better and even cooler!!

You all know we're going to Vegas next month to renew our wedding vows for our 10 year wedding anniversary, right? I have been trying to find a fun and sexy dress to wear for the occasion.

Well the awesome and lovely Suzi mentioned on twitter the other day that she had a dress she was wondering if anyone wanted. I causally said I would love it if no one else had requested it. And she said I was first. And the beautiful dress arrived today:

I cannot even begin to tell you how awesome it felt to try this dress on and have it fit. It's a size 16. SIXTEEN PEOPLE!! Hello?! Because I admit when I took it out of the box I thought-oh this is never going to fit me. I am way too fat for this dress. I have boobs in this dress! The husband? Well he is pretty happy with this dress, too. And I have decided when I am no longer able to wear it, I am going to pass it on, too, like Suzi did to me. I think it's stunning and I love it.

This dress is perfect! It's what I wanted. And I can't wait to buy shoes, a bra and underwear to go with it. You know-girlie stuff.

I never know what to do with my hands in pictures. I look so dorky. Ha. But I was so happy to be in this dress. Just wait until I get back into my size 8 clothes. I'm going to be bouncing off the walls!!

I know I need to get rid of that stomach but I'm a work in progress. And I have 6 weeks to go until Vegas. So I have time. The hubby even said the dress will probably be too big by the time we get there. Ha. I'm wearing this dress if it kills me.

Thank you, Suzi! Thank you so much! You are the bestest person and I love you!! I promise to enjoy this dress as much you did. And will post pictures of the fun I have in Vegas wearing this dress, too. With Elvis.

The results are in!!

I weighed in yesterday. Which was a week earlier then I planned but I was ready for it. And I lost 4 pounds! I was so happy. I'm now 202.8 pounds. I have 3 pounds to go to get under 200! I am so happy I can hardly stand it. I haven't be then "small" in 4 years. EEK! I can't tell you how excited I am right now.

I truly feel awesome these days. I feel totally "Unstoppable" right now to be honest with you. I feel like I can do anything I put my mind to.

I also took my measurements. I lost half an inch of my waist, 2 inches off my hips and half an inch off each thigh. I stayed the same every where else. In 3 weeks I say that is pretty good. I'll check again in a month and see where I am.

I know I haven't been the best blogger these days and I do apologize. I hope to get back into the swing of that soon.

I hit the gym this morning for a great workout. 65 on the Elliptical (I was watching a Nascar show-I totally got caught up in it) and then 30 minutes of weights. Now I'm enjoying my Sunday brunch routine of an Amazing Grass smoothie and an Ice Coffee.

Life is good!!

TGIF my friends!!

The BBQ went great yesterday. ! I don't know why any of us even tried to get work done yesterday because it was kind of impossible with all the fun going on. I stuck to my guns and only ate what I planned on. Vegas/Arizona baby!!

I wore my dress and after seeing what I looked like in I went to the gym last night. My arms. That is all I am gong to say. Everyone said I looked so cute and adorable and you could really see how skinny I was getting but still. I need to work on my arms for sure. So I am going to up the gym time after that. I have less then 2 months until vacation my friends.

I have pictures to post of the dress I promise!

Needless to say I slept like a rock after hitting the gym last night. Which is always awesome. Who doesn't like a good nights sleep?

My boss is on vacation for 2 weeks. Guess who is in charge of the office? That would be me. Not exactly thrilled about it. I have enough on my plate thanks.

TGIF and all that!!

Mish Mosh

Yesterday made 4 weeks, one month, that I gave up diet soda. Easier then I thought. I've only had a couple days were I really wanted a soda. And both of them were when it was really hot out and I was really thirsty. But I didn't give in. I had water instead. Considering I've been LIVING on that stuff for as long as I can remember I really thought it was going to be hard. I still drink my coffee in the morning because I can't give up that stuff. I love it too much.

I have to pick up my allergy medication tonight. First off, I lost my ATM card. I have no idea where it is. The last time I saw it was Friday night in the house. And then when I went to look for it Sunday morning? Gone. So who the hell knows where it is. I have NEVER lost it before. So I'm kicking myself in the ass. So I haven't stopped to get my medication yet. Instead I took Benadryl the past two nights. Which knocks me right on my ass. And leaves me waking up like a total zombie. Ugh. So I have to go to the bank on my lunch and get this mess fixed with my ATM card. And take out money so I can get my medication.

SPEAKING of my allergies. I haven't had many flare ups since I starting eating clean (knock on wood). I have angioedema and believe me, it can get pretty ugly. I made an appointment with my allergiest because I haven't seen him in over a year. I need to get some blood work done, too. I also think that my weight loss helps with the flare ups, too. Because when I was thinner I didn't seem to have too many issues but once I started gaining weight I starting having more issues. We'll see what he says though when I go see him in a few weeks.

Work was busy yesterday. Turns out our 800 numbers were down all weekend. Which isn't good when you have oxygen and vent patients that depend on you for their LIVES! HELLO?! We couldn't make any outgoing calls for the first 4 hours either. Which isn't a big deal to me. ha ha. But in all seriousness it's not cool when your patients can't get through to you on the weekend in an emergency, you know? I hope nothing bad happened to our patients. I always have such big plans to get so much done and it never happens. But that was Monday. Hopefully today will be better.

We're supposed to have our yearly BBQ at work on Thursday and of course, it's going to rain. I am planning on wearing my dress, too. Eek!! I'm super excited about it. Although I have NEVER worn a dress to work. Not in the 9 1/2 years I've worked there.

I've decided to weigh this week. It's a week earlier then planned but I'm cool with that.

I wish I was going to Pocono this weekend! It's so close yet so far away!!

Time to get ready for work!!

The one where I buy a dress!!

Last night the hubby and I went out to do a little shopping for vacation. I need clothes people. I've lost enough weight at this point so that everything I own is too big. Yes this is awesome but it costs a lot of money to buy new work clothes. And non work clothes. So basically I've just been wearing things that are too big for me.Which I don't really care about but it looks kind of stupid. And you know what happens when you wear clothes that are too big for you, right?

Anyway everyone kept telling me go to Kohl's, so I did. And got 2 pants, a top and a dress. A FREAKING DRESS! Now these are supposed to be for Vegas and Arizona in 2 months so I kind of hid them away but the dress? I want to wear it now. I don't wear dresses. They make me feel exposed. But it's so pretty. I may wear it tomorrow. We'll see how I'm feeling.

I felt after that I was good until my next paycheck because the dress was not cheap. Hubby got a couple tops for his business so we spent more money then I thought. We did go to Target (I heart you Target) but I forgot even why I wanted to go there until I got home. Guess I need to go back.

My sister texted me yesterday and told me her dog has cancer. I am so upset. I love that dog to death. She is beyond upset as well. He is like her child. I haven't heard from her since so that makes me nervous. But she said she was going to spend some time with him because she doesn't have the money to do much else then that. I will be with her when she has to let him go though.

I'm sorry I haven't been blogging as much. I mean to but then I just get home and don't get the chance. I've been immersed in Nascar stuff again. Sort of hit me hard and it's been awhile. So I'm enjoying that (even though Hubby hates it). But I hit the gym yesterday and today. So that is good. I am hoping to up the gym time with less then 2 months until vacation. We shall see how that goes. But if you follow me on twitter you know I am still alive and well. Or at least alive.

What is in a name?

I need your help my friends. I am ready to change the name of my blog. Because it is no longer about a size to me. It is about more then that. It is about being healthy and happy. So...what should I call my blog? Obviously the blogger url is going to stay the same but what should I call my blog? I don't feel Operation Size 8 is right for me anymore. I'd LOVE to hear any suggestions you may have. Or maybe I should have a contest? What do you all think?

Today my friends makes 2 months until we leave for Vegas. Which means 2 months from today I will be in Vegas. I have to get my ass in gear. Seriously.

I was reading Lynn's blog and she is recommitting herself to her weight loss journey and I feel I need to do the same.

Tomorrow night we're going grocery shopping and I'm going in there with a big old grocery list full of healthy and clean foods. I haven't been cooking much. I've been eating whatever is in the house. It's healthy but it's not what I was doing before. I'm counting my points but not getting in enough fruits and veggies. I am going to go through my Clean Eating magazines and look for some new recipes and see what I can find. I am bored with my eats and I think that is part of my problem, too.
And everyone knows I am not getting in the exercise I need to be getting in. I'm fighting myself for some reason. I want to workout but I am not doing it.

I can do this!!

I saw my doctor today for the first time since April. And you know what she said to me? "You have lost a s**t load of weight". I kid you not. I love her. She's so awesome. I tried not to look at what their scale said either. I'm not paying attention to it. No weigh in until August 8th people!! No weigh in. Remember. No month without a scale. It doesn't run my life!!

Oh and guess what I found at Whole Foods?




I am pretty glad I didn't buy more then one because it was so freaking good! Holy cow! They had all the new flavors but I only got the cookie dough one. And I got an awesome salad. My doctor's office is right next to Whole Foods. Score!!

I can't believe Vegas is 2 months away! WOW!!

I need to get it together people. TOGETHER!! And I know I can. And I will. Watch me.

Another quick update for you...

Another quick update to say I'm alive and I promise a better update soon!!

I did hit the gym again yesterday!!

And I am really enjoying not worrying about the scale.

I've been getting a lot of compliments about my weight loss. Today we had a Birthday party for my boss and I didn't eat anything that I hadn't planned on. No pizza, cake, or diet soda.

Today makes 3 weeks diet soda free! Easier then I thought that is for sure!!

Happy week my blogger friends and I promise a better update soon!!

Running off

Just a quick post to let you know I'm here. I was busy the past couple of nights and didn't have time for an update. I'm heading out in a bit with the hubby so this won't be too big of a post.

Thursday night I managed a half ass run but it was hot. So it wasn't much. Only a little over 2 miles. But I do love the new sneakers.

This morning I hit the gym which felt great. I did 60 minutes on the elliptical and was so happy to do that. Tomorrow I plan on going to the gym for cardio AND weights before going to work for some overtime. I usually do that on Saturday but I have to do much going on today and didn't feel like squeezing it all in today.

I am also packing a lunch to take out with me today. How is that for dedication? I don't want to be tempted to anything bad while I'm out today.

No weigh in today as I'm still on the one month with no scale plan. We'll see how that goes. And Monday makes 3 weeks soda free! Can't believe it. I don't miss it at all!!

Fast food is evil

The big rage in Connecticut today is the new Sonic that opened up here. I really don't see what the big deal is. It's another fast food restaurant. Big whoop. Who cares. I don't get it. But it's all over the news and it's all over the radio. I mean it's really a BIG DEAL.

The one thing that has really stuck with me all day is the guy on the radio who said he took the day off from work so he could go to the grand opening. Of a fast food restaurant. Are you KIDDING ME?!

My friends, we all know we are living in a world where we have a obesity epidemic. I don't like to push it or preach it on people. But it makes me SICK that someone would actually do this. I mean it's your right to do this, take the day off from work if you must, but the restaurant is not going anywhere. It's going to be there tomorrow. It's going to be there Saturday. It's going to be there a week from today. It just opened. I mean yes, it's the first Sonic in Connecticut but get real.

So many Americans (and other countries) are overweight and it's a problem. We live in a time where it's so easy to eat fast food. Why?! Why do you have to take time off work to go to a fast food restaurant?

Take it from me. Someone who ate fast food 3 times a day for nearly 3 years. And what did that get me? THIS is what it got me:


287 pounds. This picture was taken in 1998. My heaviest recorded weight. I was miserable. I started losing weight not too soon after this but I hated myself. It took a long time before I started liking how I looked. There were not a lot of pictures of me between 1998-2002.

I am not perfect. I slipped up and I gained back weight. I went from 150 pounds to 260.8 pounds between 2005-2008. I understand that I have issues with food. I know it's going to be a lifelong battle and I may never have 100% control of it. But I will never ever go back to eating that way. Watching the move "Supersize Me" made sure of that. And I don't want to teach my children to eat that way. I want them to eat the healthy way.

Right now I am loving the way I am eating. I love eating clean and I don't miss the processed food. I don't miss the diet soda. Since I started eating clean at the end of February my body has just "let go" of the weight and it's unreal. To go from 242 to 207 is amazing. I want to eat this way for the rest of my life.

And yes, I understand you can eat decently at some fast food places. I'm not saying it's all horrible food. But I stay way from it. I haven't stepped foot in one of those places in years. I can't even remember. I DID get a coffee from McDonald's a few months ago. I admit that.

Enough of my rant. I have been saving that bad boy up all day.