it's been awhile...

i realized it's been over a month since my last post.  i guess i just haven't had much to say, plus we've been really busy with trips home to WV, moving, and the holidays.

we moved to a bigger apartment earlier this month....3 bedrooms, 2 baths - compared to our 1 bedroom, 1 bath previously.  i feel like i moved into a house - lol.  we left 900 square feet to move into 1500 square feet....it's been really nice so far.  (except for our neighbors upstairs who sound like they're moving furniture at least 10 hours of the day)

we find out what the baby is on jan 12....less than 2 weeks now.  the suspense is killing me.  i'm ready to know if we're having emilee or evan.  we've been trying to prep for the baby - seems like there's a million things to consider and do, but we're slowly getting there...and i'm feeling less overwhelmed the more decisions we make.  daycare seems to be the biggie....it's soooooo expensive up here.  we're almost halfway through this pregnancy thing - 18 weeks today.

from my 1st prenatal appt, i'm up 7 lbs.  i don't love that, but i partially blame the holidays.  well, i guess i blame myself, but the holidays were thrown in there.

as for new year's plans, we're getting together with manda and jay - i'm looking forward to it, as we haven't seen them in FOREVER.  we'll probably just grab some dinner and then hang out for awhile.  i'm really excited for the easy, 3 day weekend.  :) 

okay, i'll try to make an appearance more often.  you guys keep blogging, it keeps me entertained at work!

crazy easy

i've been at work for about 45 minutes and am already to get out of here.  it's a short day, though...i leave here at noon to head to the doctor for my 1st trimester screening (ultrasound) and then i've got about a million things to do before we hit the road to wv later tonight. 

i'm really looking forward to going home...i haven't been home since sometime in september, which really surprises me.  just had about a million things going on, it seems.  we should get to the g'rents at 10 or so tonight, and won't be returning to MD until sunday evening sometime.  it's a long break, but i'm a little worried about leaving the boycat that long.  d swears he'll be fine, so i'm holding him to it...

no real complaints on this end.  surprised, i'm sure.  things have been rolling along fairly smooth lately.

in the spirit of thanksgiving...
things i'm thankful for at this moment

• my husband, who makes me laugh.  (dreams of fried eggs and random voicenotes come to mind)
• the dot aka baby hughes
• finding jeans that fit last night (this is a biggie, as i've been looking for over a month)
• my grandparents for treating me like i'm their daughter
• bestie, lovely, and richmond friend time this week!
• my in-laws
• girl time with my FF, which always involves good talks, good food, and brutal honesty
• super mario world on wii and the penguin suit in the ice worlds
• bloggers - because they keep me educated, and pass my time at work
• dmb - for making the drive to work much more bearable, and for many other things
• DVR and TiVo
• stephenie meyer for writing one of my favorite stories and leaving me twilight obsessed again this week
• good health insurance coverage
• my prenatal vitamins for keeping me un-sick so far this year
• my iPhone - i can't help it, i'm addicted, and i love it.

four things

as i'm already bored at work, and i've only been here 45 minutes, i thought i'd do this little survey i found on another's blog from a few years ago.  (what can i say, i've been blog stalking)

4 things i did 10 years ago - 1999

1. recovered from a break-up from my 1st real serious boyfriend.   ah, josh colegrove.  would say it'd been awhile since i'd thought about him, but he updates on facebook more than i do.  hehe
2. drove to canada with my mom - that was a good night...
3. started my 1st job - i was 16, working as a cashier at foodland (sidenote:  i honestly did love that job, ended up working there until 2005 - through almost all of college - working as an office clerk and later as the evening manager)
4. scored 64 points during the basketball season...haha.  and yes, i was proud of that number.

4 things i did 5 years ago - 2004

1. skipped A LOT of accounting classes to do things that were more fun:  eat out (black bean soup from chilli willi's or cheese wedges at o'charleys or white cheese dip at rio), go shopping or because it flooded
2. went to walmart at midnight, bought a single rose, some black spray paint, an offensive card, and a lemon meringue pie - and proceeded to leave it on a doorstep...maybe we got caught that night and maybe i peed my pants from laughing so hard, maybe.
3. officially formed the AAA and dreamed of owning a CPA firm with that same name some day (although i'm kinda glad that dream didn't come true - not sure i'd wanna work at a CPA firm, let alone own one)
4. went on my 1st cruise (grand cayman islands, cozumel, and key west) and fell in love with cruising and all of key west (i'm a parrothead, what can i say?)

another sidenote:  i was married to my 1st husband in 2004 and we went through a LOT of crap that year (my mom had recently passed away, his dad was in iraq) but still my favorite memories are with the girls.  wish i'd realized this then....

4 things i did yesterday

1. watched biggest loser from tuesday night with my hubby and found out that rebecca and daniel are now dating, and am still trying to figure that one out
2. talked to my poppaw for almost an hour, which included a very detailed description of the cole slaw he made using my grandma's kitchen aid mixer - don't ask.
3. read a few chapters in breaking dawn
4. sat at work, bored out of mind, for 9.5 hours

4 shows i love to watch

1. biggest loser
2. big brother - when it's on
3. grey's anatomy
4. top chef

4 things i love to do

1. see DMB in concert.  i'm kinda having withdrawals, just a lil.  i realized this morning when JTR came on my iPod
2. travel - for fun, not for work
3. play dr. mario with daniel
4. see the odometer hit a "milestone" number - 9,999 or 12,000 - anything even or a repeat of the same number

i guess technically i'm supposed to tag people, but i'll let you guys do it if you want, though i think amanda should definitely do it, because she hasn't updated in FOREVER!!!

looooooooong

today has been the longest day in history.  no, really, it has.  i should've checked the almanac.  wish they could tell me those things - november 18, longest day of your life.  on this day, dmb tix will go on sale.  on this day, you will be so bored at work that you want to quit.  avoid your hubby this day - he will be cranky.  i think it'd be very useful.

i'm seriously looking forward to next week's holiday festivities.  i am going to enjoy a fabulous 6 days away from work, and will be spending the majority of it in WV - catching up with fam and friends.

that's all i got.  i think the longest day dried up some brain cells.

happy birthday, dear seuss....and maybe a bit of a breakdown.

yesterday was my birthday!  i love birthdays like you wouldn't believe.  love them.  would throw a surprise party for everyone every year if possible.  :)

the birthday celebrations started saturday with manda and jay.  we drove down to their house, ate dinner at outback, and then went to see the capitals hockey game.  it was my 1st time on the metro and everything!  okay, fine, i was a little proud of that.  it was a really good time...i didn't know what to expect at the game, but it was very fast paced, and we all had fun!  plus we got the best ice cream ever while we were there.  aunt manda and uncle jay bought the baby this:

love it!

anyways, the birthday celebrations continued into yesterday.  daniel and i got up early and drove to morgantown to meet jill, janie, and the madi girl.  we ate outback - yes, again - and then went shopping.  jill was trying to find some maternity clothes, but had no luck.  madi is a babbling fool now.  she talks soooo much.  she's even saying aimee plain as day, and trying to say daniel - it sounds more like dannel.  lol.  i was really happy to see them, but it made me really want thanksgiving to hurry up and get here so i can see everyone else!!!  i have plans made for almost every day that i'm home over thanksgiving.  i'm soooo looking forward to the long break.

let's rewind for a second.  friday night was a big breakdown by me.  huge, even.  i think daniel wanted to kill me.  i'm trying to decide if it was all pregnancy hormones related...who knows?  whatever the case, it was bad.  so daniel and i went out to dinner friday night (japanese steakhouse food - yum) and then went to the mall to try and find me some jeans that didn't make me leave them unbuttoned. well, no department store had maternity jeans for plus size gals. none. so i went to lane bryant, and the size i normally wear is too small in the waist....so i try the next size up...too small in the waist, still...but WAY TOO BIG everywhere else. so we left the mall, and I was just not happy, because I had no clue what to do. well, i guess i was being a lil cranky, but i honestly just didn't have anything to say, i was just bummed that nothing fit, and i was mad at myself for being fat. so then we get home, and daniel's all like i don't know why you're so upset, you need to calm down, it's not a big deal. you look just like you've always looked. so i started crying, and just didn't say anything, and continued to cry FOR OVER 2 HOURS. because i couldn't find a fitting pair of jeans. seriously.  anyways, i ended up ordering a pair of jeans from old navy in a size bigger and a pair of their maternity xxl jeans. just to see which i need. through tears, mind you. he went to bed like an hour before me, and i was still crying, and finally when i went to bed, he was like are you okay now, and that made me cry harder. i fell asleep crying. my eyes looked so bad saturday morning.  the next day we stopped at the motherhood outlet store in leesburg, and they carried plus sizes. i tried on 2 pairs of maternity jeans, which were all way too big. i did buy the bella band thing, though, and i think it's gonna help. funny thing is, when i got up saturday, i weighed and was down 4 lbs, and my jeans fit.  lol.  all of that over a bloated stomach.  nice, huh?  (in reality, i think missing my mom might have something to do with it all - my birthday is always hard 'cause it's the last time i spoke to her)

okay, this a long post - especially for me, as of late.  nothing else new - going back to the doctor on nov 24 for the 1st trimester screening and there's a *slight* chance we might find out the sex of the baby, and then i go back on the 30th for my 14 week appt.

is anyone else having crazy warm weather?  it's almost HOT here!!!!

squirm

i kinda suck at blogging, huh?  i've been SO BAD about updating lately.  i'm never, ever, ever on here.  it's harder for me to blog from work now that i don't work at massey, so i find that i rarely post anything new.

obviously i made it back from memphis okay.  it's GOOD to be back in my own bed.  for those wondering, yes, i tried the bbq, but i didn't make it to graceland.  the trip could've been much worse - but hey, it could've been better.  looks like i'll be going again in february, but it'll only be for a week this time.  i think that was part of the problem - 12 days away from home! 

i had my 1st doctor's appt for the baby today.  daniel took off work to tag along with me.  everything checked out exactly as it should.  they couldn't pick the heartbeat up with the doppler - the doctor said this is normal at 10 weeks - so we got an ultrasound.  we could see it's heart beating away on the screen.  the baby kept moving around and i think it looked like a wiggling worm.  it's head is way bigger than it's body, too.  haha.   i'm so glad the appt finally arrived - it made all of this seem a lot more "real".  daniel and i were so excited leaving the doctor - i couldn't wait to tell everyone about the baby and about seeing it!

i'm up 4 lbs since getting pregnant...the doctor seemed to think everything looked great, and didn't act like i should be too worried about my weight during the pregnancy, so that was a good thing.  they want me to keep my weight gain at around 15 lbs.

i'll try to be bettter about this, but really - no promises.  but you guys should blog because i still read the updates!!! :)

bbq city

if i hear one more time that memphis has the best bbq, i might throw up.  i for one am a big buddy's bbq fan - buddy's as in small town, usa - as in huntington, wv buddy's.  it rocks.  i like them so much they catered my wedding.  basically there's 3 things to do in memphis - eat bbq, go to graceland, and drink.  i am leaning towards doing 0 out of the 3. 

i think it could be kinda fun to be here on a mini-vacation (think trip to see dmb, spend an extra few days), but being stranded with no car is not really my idea of a fun time - not to mention sitting in a classroom setting for hours on end. 

on a positive note, i've met some really nice people, and i'm making good money, so i will try to keep my complaining to a minimum.

there's not a lot new with me.  i've been kinda absent in the blog scene lately - just don't feel like i have much to add to the party, though i have missed reading you guys' updates.  seems like i'm not the only one going mia a lot of the time.  nothing new with the pregnancy stuff, either.  still tired, little to no nausea, pants feeling a lil less comfy.  that's about all i have going on.  oh, and that i gave in to my caffeine needs after 3 weeks of no caffeine.  i was mad - about what i can't now remember - but i wanted it and i wanted it bad - so i drank it.  i guess there's worse things i could have done...haha.

okay, i'm tired, and boring, and tired.  so, i'm out.  hope you guys are more interesting than me.

no witty titles come to mind

So, I’m an idiot. I had been sitting here at work all day – bored, as usual – and the lower part of my back kept itching. I could not figure out what it was. Anyways, so when I made my 3rd trip to the bathroom this morning, I finally realized I didn’t remove the sales tag off of the pants I bought over the weekend. Smart, huh?

Doing pretty good with sticking to my “pregnancy points” so far. A few days last week I went over, but I figure flex took care of that. I’m just playing with a few pounds here and there, and will talk to my doctor more about my weight for the pregnancy at my appointment on November 4. I still haven’t told everyone at work that I’m pregnant yet. The people I talk to regularly know, but most people do not. Including my boss. For the record, my face is still a bumpy mess and my heartburn is out of control.

Over the weekend, Daniel and I went to visit Amanda and Jay – the boys watched football while we went shopping, and then came back and ate chili and her “not mountain dew” cake aka as dreamsicle cake. She fit into awesome smaller sizes, so it was a fun shopping trip. We also went into a Babiesrus, and I thought I was going to have a nervous breakdown. I didn’t know what half of the stuff was for, and I guess I just didn’t realize how much stuff we were really going to need.  It was so overwhelming – feeling that unprepared. I told Mandi about it yesterday, and she sent me a “necessities” list, so I feel like I have a better idea of what kind of stuff we need to be looking for now.

I’m super excited for Biggest Loser tonight. I think it’s the only show Daniel and I watch consistently on the day it airs. I’m wondering if Tracey will do any crazy nonsense this time…

I leave for Memphis on October 18 for 2 weeks of training for work. I think it’ll be a long two weeks – and possibly boring. But I’ve never been to Memphis, so I’m excited about seeing it. And I’m looking forward to not having anything to do every evening, so I can nap a lot, get caught up on some reading (Amanda let me borrow The Host!), watch some tv, and just relax. A few girls I work with here in MD are going the same time as me, so I figure we’ll check out something fun over the weekend there.

So, yeah…that’s it.

connect the dots

i have decided that my face looks like a connect the dots puzzle.  do you guys remember those?  i used to love them...on paper.  on my face?  not so much.  no amount of concealer could cover up these monsters.  i thank my raging hormones.  in other pregnancy news, i've started to get nauseous.  :(  seriously almost lost it in wawa's parking lot this morning.  there's 13 other people in the room i work in, and i'm afraid they're going to see me losing breakfast or lunch in my manger's trash can at some point in the near future.  guess that'd be one way to make the announcement at work.  also, my first appointment has been scheduled for november 4.  that will make me 10 weeks.  seems like a long time to wait to me, but the doctor said that was pretty standard - as did my friends who have had kids.

there's nothing else new around here, but it had been about a week since my last post, so i figured you guys were starting to miss me.

does anyone else think dan takes such good care of shay on biggest loser?  they are so sweet.  i was rooting for them...and tracey is a crazy person.  jillian was so mad...i cracked up when she went off on her and weigh-in and then was like "i'm done".

 i've been very good about tracking my food in iwatchr (for you iphone/ww people, it rocks...download it).  i'm trying to steadily eat 40 pts per day, which is several more than i was eating before, but converts to about 2,000 calories per day.  unfortunately, i was up 2 lbs at weigh-in last monday.  ooooh, i am switching to a friday weigh-in though.  i like to use my flex over the weekends, and i feel like it results in a slight gain every monday, that is off with a big loss on wednesdays.  i don't like the discouragement, so i'm switching to a friday weigh-in.  i know, i know - in the big picture, it doesn't matter.  but i'm switching anyways.  (sidenote:  i'm not trying to lose weight right now, for obvious reasons.  i'm just trying to eat a healthy amt of calories for me and the baby.  didn't want to confuse anyone with my weigh-in, ww counting stuff.  i'm just doing it to make sure i don't overeat - not to lose weight.  note the increase in points every day! ;) )

back to work - errr, catching up on blogs.

June 2?

soooo...thursday night i took a pregnancy test and it was positive.  5 pregnancy tests later, i'm still pregnant.

planned?  nope.
wanted?  in the next few years.
excited?  yes.

after the initial shock wore off, and we've told all our friends and family, things are starting to set in.  according to the lovely pregnancy calendar, my due date is june 2.  daniel was THRILLED.  there's no other way to really phrase that.  i met him at the door with the news, and he was so excited.

repeat after me - i am not going to eat like a fatty just because i'm pregnant.  i'm still going to monitor what i eat.  i'm going to consume a healthy calorie diet (and convert that to ww points for easy counting) and track it.  i'm going to continue walking.  (and yes, i got in my 3 walks for the week - beat the challenge)

lots of changes this year, indeed.

it kinda rocks...

so, tricia is having an awesome fight fat phobia giveaway...everyone should go check it out.

tricia rocks

peanuuuut, peanut butter....and jelly!

have you guys heard that song?  peanuuuuut, peanut butter...and jelly!  we sang it a lot as kids - i dunno where i learned it, but i'm gonna assume it was in elementary school.  we sang a lot at my schools.

anyways, it's stuck in my head because i had it for lunch.  5 pt pb&j?  yes, please!  very tasty.

challenge update: 1/3 workouts completed.  have until sunday to get the other 2 in...gonna try to do it tonight and tomorrow, though, because we're going to WV for the weekend.

i'm so bored - and ready to crash.  i took a 2 hour nap last night, and then slept for almost 7 hours.  i shouldn't be tired today!!!

how's everyone else's week/day/life?  update people!  i need something to read. :)

not my fav...

so this weigh-in was not my favorite...

total weight lost as of last monday: -26.4

this week: +0.2, -26.2 total

crazy easy

i'm having an easy weekend, and i kinda like it.

daniel and i got up early this morning, and i made us some french toast for breakfast.  am i the only person that dislikes sugar free syrup?  i can't deal with it...tastes, ironically enough, too sweet to me.  (mandi - did i use ironic properly in this sentence?)  anyways, i ate my french toast and with measured out syrup for 8 pts.  good start to a fun day.

we showered, hit up kohl's for picture frames and photo albums, went to see Love Happens, decided the day was too gorgeous to head straight home, and hit up a miniature golf course.  daniel beat me this time, so no gloating for me.  we considered hitting up the arcade after playing mini-golf, but decided to rent a movie and head home so he could watch the WVU game.

i used some flex points today - quite a few actually.  i hope i don't pay for that on monday's weigh-in.  how does everyone else handle their flex?  all at once, spread out, a lot on a few days?  i'm finding that i'm barely eating my flex - and i know that isn't the way to go for me.  i always lose better when i eat it all.  need to follow my own advice and add some extra points to the day, probably at breakfast and lunch.  seems i tend to have 20 or more points left for dinner.

angela and i have a challenge for next week since both of us have been sucking on the exercise side of things.  i thought amanda might want to join us - and anyone else is welcome too.  we're starting out easy, so it should be a doable challenge for anyone interested.  we're making a commitment to exercise at least 3 times this week, for at least 30 mins each time.  totally doable.  i think we should give bonus points if we get more than 3 days in.

it was gorgeous here in MD today - hope tomorrow brings more of the same...

xoxo

i wanna make a no free food rule at work

the people at the new place love to bring in food - brownies, cakes, hot chocolate - you name it, they love it.  well, that's not entirely true.  name anything that's bad in points, and they'll be bringing it in.  i think at first they thought i was being rude - so when i was asked for about the 3rd time "aimee, you really don't want anything?" i finally told them all i was doing weight watchers.  not that i was hiding it...just hadn't come up in conversation, and no one really noticed, as most of us pack our lunch.

well, yesterday the managers ordered us all pizza - as a surprise - and then this morning, one of the admin people brought in like 4 dozen doughnuts.  and i'm not talking the cheap grocery store bakery glazed stuff - this is the good stuff....fillings, icings, sprinkles - all of it.  but i sat here with my oatmeal and 24 oz of water and passed on the sugary goodness.  for the record, sweets are my favorite breakfast food.  and what did i do yesterday for lunch?  ate my homemade chicken noodle soup (use the homemade term loosely here - it was canned broth, chicken, and egg noodles, okay?) and diet coke and ignored the cheesey stuff that was in my face.

okay, enough food talk.  as you can see, i'm doing well at sticking to the plan this week.  like most of you guys, i was loving biggest loser this week - and a few times was all teary-eyed.  that show pulls at the heart strings...

i love having all of my tv shows back on!  and, get this - comcast had an appt to fix my dvr last night and 1) they showed up on time, 2) it was at the beginning of the time slot, and 3) they actually fixed the problem.  there's hope for them yet.

having an easy weekend at home in MD this weekend...will be making the trek to WV next weekend.  been awhile since i've seen everyone, so it should be good fun.

TGIF?  yes!

boooooooring

first things first...

weekly weigh-in
total weight lost as of last monday: -23.6
this week: -2.8, -26.4 total

i'm okay with my stats, even if it was showing a 4.5 loss earlier in the week.  lol.  not sure what happened - but i'll take it.  :)

my weekend was okay...nothing major to report.  we hit up the outlet malls in hagerstown on saturday since daniel's mom and her boyfriend came to visit.  i did catch an awesome deal on a kate spade wallet - $49, regular retail price was $155.

i'm still a cooking machine.  i'm so proud of the few times we eat out every week now!

there's nothing exciting going on for this week, either.  DMB is going to be on Ellen on wednesday, though...so set your dvr's.

visitors

i'm sitting here while my mother-in-law talks to my hubby about family happenings back in WV, and my kitty is curled up on my lap. :)  nothing too new to report, just figured it was time for an update.

i think we might hit up the outlet malls in hagerstown tomorrow, so that could be big fun.

on the weight watchers front, things are going well.  a sneak peak at the scale this morning showed a 4.5 loss so far this week...we will see what monday holds.  tomorrow the in-laws want to go to cheesecake factory, so that could be a toughie...i do have some flex left, and i told daniel not to let me order cheesecake no matter how bad i whine.  lol.

soooo happy it's the weekend - this getting up at 4:30 stuff is killing me!

weigh-in results

after one week fully (back) on plan, my results look like this:

total weight lost as of last monday:  -17.4
this week:  -6.2, -23.6 total

daniel and i have spent our labor day doing a whole lot of nothing.  our 2 hour tetris marathon took up most of this evening, but other than that, we've been very boring!

hope yours was more interesting!!!

stay at home weekender

daniel and i stayed home all weekend. i've cooked, cleaned, watched tv, hung out...it's weird. so unlike me. yet, i love it...i should be at the gorge this weekend, but i'm actually kind of glad i sold my tickets (forgive me, DMB).

tomorrow's weigh-in day...a sneak peak at the scale showed 6.5 lbs down this morning...we'll see what tomorrow says. that first week completely on track really does wonders, huh?

TJ - note the cooking part of this blog. i might get crazy and even try one of your recipes. :)

love updating again! i kinda missed you guys. i was in need of a change, note the new layout.

don't drink the water

everyone's pregnant! no, not me. but just about everyone else. everywhere i look, there's pregnant bellies passing by. a few weeks ago, i found out my friend jill is expecting her 2nd. before that, a former coworker. several people from high school. and just last night, tia called me to say she was pregnant!!! she was so excited - it was cute.

as for us newlyweds, things are going well. we're really starting to like living in MD, and so far the new job is going well. i like my coworkers and LOVE my new schedule. home by 4 everyday? yes, please!

you will all be pleased to know that i am down 4.5 lbs this week. finally, finally, finally am back on track. it looks something like this:

july 10: -35 lbs
aug 31: +17.6, -17.4 total
today: -21.8

mondays will be my official weigh-in day. i'm just soooo glad i'm getting back there. hate that i gained so much back, but ice cream, pizza, pf changs, movie theater popcorn, fried foods - basically, my choices - got me there. i didn't switch back to regular pop, but so that's good, but my eating was far from good.

i'm looking forward to a long holiday weekend! :)

WW bound

i'm joining a WW meeting in MD this saturday and i'm really excited about it. i need that stability. wish me luck!

in the mean time, if you know anyone interested in buying my bodybugg, let me know! the price is negotiable!!!

still here dancing with the groogrux king...

as of monday morning, i was down 2 lbs from my 5 days of being on the challenge. i don't feel great about some of my choices this week, though. i'm really thinking i want to go back to weight watchers meetings - i liked it better. and frederick has the monthly pass thingy.

i only have 'til friday left working for massey. it seems weird, but i'm excited about the job change.

today is my poppaw's birthday, and also the anniversary of the death of one of DMB's founding members, LeRoi Moore. been thinking about my favorite saxophonist all day.

okay, that's all i've got.

EDIT: my hubby sent me flowers today, just because. he's kinda awesome like that.

Husband Survey

as stolen from julia and ang

1. When is your "engagement" anniversary: February 28, 2009

2. When is your "marriage" anniversary: July 10, 2009

3. How long have you known your spouse: 1 year and 1 day. but we did a lot of texting for about 6 weeks prior to that

4. How long did you date/court before you were engaged: 6 months

5. Where did you meet your spouse for the first time? We met on the internet, and I drove out to Jefferson City, MO to meet him for the first time because that's where he was working at the time. Yes, a 10 hour drive. Yes, I'm probably crazy.

6. What is your spouse's full name: Daniel Lee

7. Do you have any children: Not yet. Who knows what the next year holds, though! :)

8. How many - boys/girls: I'd like one of each, but he wants all girls.

9. Do you have any house pets: Yes, MAP. Also known as Parker the boycat.

10. Do you own a house or rent: rent, rent, rent. We are always renting. We hope to look to buy in the next 6 months - 1 year.

11. Do you live in the country or town/city: town, now!

12. What is one of your favorite activities together: cuddle up on the couch and watch tv. boring, huh? But both of us like to travel. Luckily, he feeds my DMB addiction.

13. Do you have a favorite vacation spot: I think the Elizabeth City, NC will always be special.

14. When did you first kiss? 1st day we met. I kissed him. Ha!

15. What church do you attend? We don't have a home church yet...hope to find one we like in Frederick.

16. Is this the church you were married in: Nope, married outside.

17. What town is your current address at: Frederick, MD

18. Do you work or stay at home: work (i work too much, i drink too much, i eat too much...ooh, sorry...)

19. Where did you go on your honeymoon: Oahu...stayed on Waikiki Beach.

20.What was the funniest gift you gave when dating? I bought him a pig that snores so he could listen to it at night and think i was there with him.

21.How long have you been together? yesterday was 1 year

22. How long did you know each other before you started dating? um, we didn't really - i'd say we were officially dating when i drove out there, even though we'd never really met 'til that day.

23. Who asked who out? he asked me if i'd want to come out there that weekend, so i guess him - but i planted the idea the previous weekend

24. How old are each of you? we're both 26 - i'm 2 months older than him.

25.Where do you each work or go to school? he works for FEMA and currently work for a coal company in WV

26. Which situation is the hardest on you as a couple? long-distance relationship almost the entire time we've been together - but that's all coming to an end! :)

27. Did you go to the same school? nopey

28. Are you from the same home town? nope

29. Who is smarter? i think we're both smarter in different areas, so i think we're pretty even. :)

30. Who is more sensitive? we both are to an extent...but i think he's more tender-hearted than i am.

31.Where do you eat out most as a couple? chipotle, recently...as a whole? outback.

32. Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple? hawaii!

33.Who has the craziest exes? i don't think either of us have crazy exes...

34. Who has the worse temper? he does, but i can get pretty mouthy

35. Who does the cooking? neither at the moment...but i'm working on it, right, manda?

36. Who is more social? definitely me

37. Who is the neat-freak? him more than me

38. Who is more stubborn? again, me

39. Who hogs the bed? all me

40. Who wakes up earlier? he does for the time being

41. Where was your first date? we ate at a steakhouse that i can not remember the name of, then drove around Jefferson City, and then went back to his apartment and watched napoleon dynamite and drank slushees from sonic.

42.Who had more boyfriends/girlfriends? probably me

43. Do you get flowers often? once!

44. How do you spend the holidays? last year we split them between the fams - i figure it'll be more of the same

45. Who is more jealous? me - why am i always the one with the negatives?

46. How long did it take to get serious? not long. lol.

47. Who eats more? probably pretty even

48. Who does the laundry? both of us

49. Who’s better with the computer? him. he's a dork. :)

50. Leave a piece of advice for the other couples - make your marriage a priority, talk to each other, be friends

getting back into the groove..

nothing major to report - just wanted to check in on the challenge and let everyone know that i kicked day 1's butt...and day 2 is going nicely.

challenge update:
day 1
target: 35 points
flex balance: 35
actual points consumed: 39
new flex balance 31


random question for everyone. how do you pronounce chipotle?
is it chipotlay or chipoltay?
i pronounce it with a "lay" on the end, but most of the guys i know put a "tay" on the end.
help me out!

...and enough was enough

guess what today is? lose-the-weight-you-gained-start-over-day. is that a good title for it? not sure. but somewhere between leesburg and richmond this morning, i decided it was time to rededicate. i have sucked since the honeymoon - and some days weren't as bad as others, but thinking about the coconut cream pie and spaghetti from last night, i know the time for change is now. that just felt very political...but what i'm trying to say is i'm starting over. i have set a small challenge for myself - 10 days without eating over points.

points, you ask? yes, points. i love the bugg - i do. but i do better with weight watchers. and i know it works. trying to decide if i should try to sell the bugg or use it to monitor the calories burned during my workouts. any suggestions? as for my challenge, if anyone would like to join me, feel free. it's only 10 days! surely we can do that.

okay, so as promised, here's a few pics of the new place.

i love the red furniture!

mr. bear looks pretty awesome on the new bedding!

these were one of my wedding gifts from ang. super nice, huh?

i'm trying to decide if i have anything else to catch up on. the last month seriously has been a whirlwind. between the wedding and honeymoon, work travel to richmond, packing up our place in cross lanes, moving to maryland - it's just been one thing after another. i'm happy to report that everything is put away, except a few boxes in the den (aka the computer room). my closet took some major organizing...4 hours of work, to be exact.

i took yesterday as a personal day to finish putting stuff away. daniel was excited i got to "play wife" for the day, and actually be home when he got home from work. haha. i explained that i no longer "play wife" as i am the wife, but we had fun with it. in honor of being married a month yesterday, he even left a card hidden in some papers for me. this is what he wrote in it:

he's cute. :)

okay, i guess i have to get back to work. i'm pleased with my food choices so far - and have a plan for dinner. 10 days. i can do that. i want this...

suckage

I HATE COMCAST.

i just needed to say that.

i hope to update more later - complete with pics of the new place.

and in case anyone was wondering, i get to start my new job on august 31. no more richmond travel, no more nights away from the hubby.

big yays on that.

flogger stalker

so...my friend amanda created a blog. yes, you should read it because:

1. i like her
2. she's awesome
3. she reads yours.

since she is now admitting to her stalker status, i do think she should be invited to the Flogger event. now, since she's not an actual Flogger, i vote we upgrade her to Flogger Stalker status, and give her an honorary invite.

thank you, thank you.

slacker girl

i've been slacking - big time on the blog front.

this is just gonna be a quick update - as i really don't have much to report.

i've lost 7 of my 13 honeymoon pounds without really trying. i'm half-assing the entire attempt at the moment, which means i don't go completely overboard, but i'm not really trying that hard either. i miss my drive behind it...

on a positive note, daniel and i did find a place to live in frederick. on a negative note, i still don't know when i'll be starting work. haha.

this coming weekend is another dmb weekend...my last of the year. i decided to play the responsible card and bail on the trip to the gorge, though it completely made me the giddiest girl just a few months ago. but the expense of moving and of all the awesome things i wanna buy for the new place make me think that spending another $700 on flights to see a band i'll have seen 40 times after this weekend is probably not the smartest thing to do.

i also think this weekend will be the last time i see angela for who knows how long. her new job starts monday, and i'll still be down here in crapmond, so i'm not sure what that means. our little audit family sure is changing...

married life is happy life, though.

i haven't been sleeping well. i used to be the girl that could lay down and would be snoring loudly in about 45 seconds. no joke. i now toss and turn, and look at the clock for at least one hour every night, and a lot of times, i'll fall asleep, but then be wide awake and stare at the clock for close to 2 hours during the night. anyone else do this? or any idea why it suddenly happened? i blamed it on hawaii first...but i've been back for over a week now. and i don't feel like i haven't adjusted back to the time change, so i dunno. stress? all the change? who knows?

EDIT: ang asked me if i wanted to attend the blogger meet up thingy in cleveland with her. i figure that could only be answered with a yes.

i'm baaaaaaaaack!

did you guys miss me? silly question - of course you did. i'm so excited to read everyone's updates...i'm way behind.

okay, 1st things 1st. the wedding went really well. we had a bit of a rain scare, i hated my hair, things weren't going super easy, but in the end it all fell into place, and i think the wedding turned out super nice. the setting was really pretty. i'm anxiously awaiting our professional pics and to see more wedding pics in general - i've just seen a few snapshots that people took.

the honeymoon was perfect. i loved hawaii. we stayed at the marriott at waikiki beach and the hotel was super nice, and the staff really attentive. that was one of our favorite beaches. i was so proud of daniel for getting into the ocean, too! he doesn't really know how to swim, so the water typically makes him a little nervous, but he did really well. i showed him some floating techniques, and we played in the water a lot. we really enjoyed that. we took a lot of things in - the dole plantation, a luau at the polynesian cultural center, the north shore, the windward side of the island. the thing you guys should be proud of is our hike up diamond head. it was CRAZY. i was so disgusting at the end - but i'm really proud of us for sticking to it.

we got in late yesterday evening, and switching back to eastern time has been killer.

as for the weight gain, i weighed in this morning 13 lbs heavier than i did on my wedding day. yes, 13. can you believe that? ughhhh. but it's back on track today. we ate A LOT of good food while we were gone, and had ice cream almost every day. i was anticipating a bad gain.

okay, so i'm obsessed with big brother, and watched the 5 episodes that have aired so far last night when i got in. does anyone else watch it?

okay, i'm off to read the updates - it'll take me a few hours, i'm sure.

i'll leave you with some pics! and if you're interested, you can view all of my honeymoon pics here: pictures and more pictures and a few wedding pics here.

just a few more hours...

can you believe the wedding is in 2 days? i can't.

i also can't believe that i'm sick...yuck. it's this sore throat-earache-coughing-stuffy-fever funk. dunno what it is, just know that it sucks. i left work at 6 last night, headed to the hotel, fell asleep at 6:30, ate a baked potato at 8, back to sleep at 9, and slept until 6:30. insane. my meds are helping a little.

basically anything that could've gone wrong with the wedding plans has gone wrong this week. i think we've got everything sorted out now - just hope it doesn't fall apart on friday.

i've eaten healthily this week - hope i don't gain too much while i'm on my honeymoon.

not sure when i'll get to update again - it may be after the honeymoon! i'll get some awesome pics to share with ya, though!!!

leaving work in 3 hours - and i won't be returning until the 22nd! woo hoo!

ms cranky pants

i'm cranky and stressed. i have nothing nice to say, but i did want to share a few pics from the weekend. i was less cranky and stressed then.

we were looking super cute in our red, white, and blue on the 4th

poppaw was a grilling machine

i'm working on the bad mood.

in weight loss news, i was down 1.5 this past week. not bad considering the junk food i ate at camp (think smores).

wedding's in 4 days - one ray of light in this craptastic day!

hope you're all feeling happier than i!

more of the same

i do not blog as often as i should. sorry - i seem to be lacking in stuff to talk about. which is SO unlike me.

in weight loss news, i lost 3.8 lbs last week (5 days were spent wearing the bugg). i kinda love the bugg. this got me down to a new middle number. :) grand total of weight lost since february 1? 31.2 lbs. i'm proud of it, but frustrated with myself because the last 6-8 weeks i've been about the same place. i had a breakthrough this week, though, and got lower than i've been this time around. i remember on april 9 i was down 25 lbs exactly, so i guess in 2.5 months i've lost like 6 lbs. nothing to complain about, at least it's going down. but i know i could definitely be lower if i had not let the weekends get in my way.

i like calorie counting. and as a loyal weight watcher gal, it's hard for me to say that. i like it a lot, though. as for the bugg, i'm a big fan, like i said. however, their online program? it sucks. i use dailyplate for calorie logging. i just use the display to tell me what i'm burning, and show my deficits on dailyplate instead of on their online program. if anyone has any questions about the bodybugg and/or program, just let me know. i'd be happy to share it with you!

so the wedding is 10 days away. ready to be a mrs. :) and ready to be laying out on waikiki beach!

my bridesmaids (bestie and jill) had me a dinner at outback this past weekend. got some nice gifts and got to spend time with my favs. it was big fun. here's a few pics:

me and the besties - mandi and baby madison

me and madi m - not the best pic of me, but she's smiling! :)

i look good with a baby, right? the boy wants one early next year, so we'll see!

some of the work crew!

me with the most thoughtful gift ever! mandi bought me a snowglobe music box that has me and daniel's names and our wedding inscribed on it!

me, jill, and madi g - the lovelies!

madi girl - she said aimee for the 1st time this weekend!

and that's all i've got...looking forward to the 3 day weekend! what's everyone doing for the 4th?

bugged and challenged

i got the bodybugg and i love it so far. like love it. i am forever watching my calories burned, doing little things to get the number to creep up, checking my steps, etc. it's a slight obsession, and i hope the calorie deficit thing holds true. i've been good at meeting my targets so far.

i'm supposed to be working really hard at the moment, so this will be short and sweet, but i'll keep you up-to-date on the buggy stuff.

i joined jack sh*t's kick ass, half ass, half a pound challenge today. since i'm in the challenge, i'm allowed to display this on my blog. tah-dah!

and just so everyone knows, my sole motivation for joining this challenge is seeing MY name make one of his poems.

that's all i got. more to come? maybe.

wait! and i was down 2.5 lbs last week, so that's something. :)

sidenote: my title isn't a dmb lyric for once.

i was there when the bear ate his head...

in case there was any doubt about what an unbelievably caring boyfriend/soon-to-be-husband i have, rest assured, the doubt is gone. i had just gotten back from my dinner with ang and bdab, and was getting ready to work out when i noticed a flashing light on my hotel room's phone. i listened to my message and was told i had a package waiting downstairs. i was like "wtf? i didn't order anything". so i go downstairs and it's a delivery from ftd.com. so, i go to ang's room to open it and it's a build-a-bear! i've never had one and i kinda love him! :) do you want to see pics? of course you do.

mr. bear
please note the awesome new pedicured toes and tanning bed legs.

and the card! (which is totally white, not orange, by the way. way to rock the camera skills, aims)

it makes me really happy that daniel does stuff like this. the distance is hard on us, especially with the wedding so close. i CANNOT wait until we don't have to live in separate states. and to think this all came from internet dating....wow.

so my cool new workout shoes are not so cool. my feet were still on fire. what gives? am i doing something wrong? what am i missing? i went to the runner's store here and they picked out the shoes for my feet, so i really am floored now. the balls of my feet burn when i work out and my toes go numb. i just don't understand. i thought maybe i wasn't wearing the right size or something, but the nice sales lady checked them for me. (i seriously felt like a 5 year old.) i'm so going back to the store. $95? no thanks - shoes didn't work. any advice? anyone?

still going strong on weight watchers this week.

am anxiously awaiting the dmb shows this weekend. fun times to be had in the 'burgh.

storm went right on by...

my boss drives me crazy sometimes. he had me near tears right before lunch today. but, alas, i have nothing but a NSV to report.

i was upset and did not turn to food. that'd be the victory part. :)

on lunch, the crew and i went to carytown and i bought some new workout shoes. goodbye $135 nike shox, hello $95 saucony. my feet better thank me tonight. also - i got an awesome deal on a vera bradley duffel bag....well, 2 of 'em. 50% off, fools. :) needed some weekend bags - all of my luggage got lost in the divorce.

wait! that's not all. check this out:

what is that? aims journaling her food?! YES!

this is the bulk of my lunch. a big ol' salad (i even added carrots to my usual "just lettuce") with FF italian dressing and a turkey sandwich. please note that i removed the turkey and cheese from the high calorie bread the cafeteria served and put it on my "2 slices for 1 pt" bread. i kept 1/2 a slice of cheese on it, and tossed the rest out with that other bread. the bread on the back of the container is what i tossed out.

i call today a success and it's not even 2:00. :)

dinner is planned and within my points. happy day!

shake me like a monkey

double post. can you believe it? i go weeks with barely posting, then i decide to do 2 in one day. shaking things up.

okay, so first of all, i have to let everyone know that i spent an hour and a half laughing hysterically at work today. "why?" you may ask. i was reading tricia's blog. that girl is hilarious - and i hate that i've been such a blog slacker lately and was so far behind on her life's tales. so if you don't read it - go over there, read it, laugh, and feel like your life has gained a little more purpose.

i exercised. i'm trying to decide if it's more shocking that i updated (twice!) or exercised. either way, i'm proud that i stayed true to my word. AND this girl is working weight watchers. yep. new aims. finally.

i'm saying "i do" in 25 day. i can't wait to post pics of my pretty, pretty dress for you guys. i really don't want daniel to see it, so you'll have to wait awhile longer.

does anyone watch so you think you can dance? i need to know who everyone's favorites are.

okay. that's all i've got. kinda boring for a 2nd post, huh?

EDIT: i updated my profile pic in honor of father's day coming up. that's my poppaw. THE best man i know.

quickie

weekly weigh in:

-1.5 from last week. down 27 lbs total.

up 3 from the lowest i've been on weight watchers this time around.

but hey, i updated, so that's progress.

sidenote: feeling a lil better about life in general. decisions = calmer aims.

and if nothing can be done...

i guess it's been forever since i've updated. i haven't even been updating my weight. i'm such a slacker - but i promise i've just been SWAMPED. so here it goes:

weight loss
i'm back on track with weight watchers. it's been a really good week. i had been struggling with the whole "gotta eat everything in sight on the weeekends" syndrome, but i think i'm pulling past it.

i am definitely going to update my weight loss this weekend. hoping for a nice loss. i was up a few pounds from my lowest as of last week, so we'll see what monday morning holds for me.

i went shopping last night and bought the cutest stuff at LB...thank God for real women dollars. haha. anyways, i got to buy everything in a 18/20, so that's a plus. :) down from a 24 in a lot of things from earlier this winter.

i cleaned out my closet a few weeks ago and got rid of everything in my "fatter" size. i got rid of 7 (!!!) bags of clothes. how crazy is that? who has that many clothes? obviously i'm working on replenishing it though. hehe.

wedding - i'm getting married 4 weeks from today! yay! and my wedding dress still fits. :) that's definitely a positive. all my plans have come together and i'm so ready to go to HI.

work - it sucks. enough said. no details on the new job - guess they're still working on my security clearance. the good news is daniel's new job is workign out nicely. he comes home on the weekends, and it really isn't too bad on us. i think he's realizing there's not a lot to do in cumberland, and he gets a little bored, but he really enjoys the work. i'm so glad he likes his job. i think it's so much easier to get out of bed in the morning when you don't hate your job!

family - daniel and i have gotten hit with some tough news. i don't want to go into all of that, just please keep us in your thoughts. lots of big decisions are coming our way, and i'm hoping and praying that we find the right path for us and our future. it's scary when you don't know what the right thing to do is...but i'm sure we'll figure something out.

dmb - i'm in love with the band's new album. if you don't have it, go buy it. :) promise you will not be disappointed. i'm going to see the boys next weekend in burgettstown (near pittsburgh). and it's daniel's first show!

friends - while i'm not sure what the future is holding for me and the boy, i have spent a lot of time thinking about how hard it'll be on my friendships when i move to maryland. it's tough - the girls pulled me through a lot of tough times. and when i say pulled, i literally mean PULLED. some times with me kicking and screaming and fighting them every step of the way. am i a better person because of it? you betcha. in light of that, it makes me hesitant to move on...because i'm afraid it won't be the same. no more on this, because i don't wanna be crying at work. haha.

okay. is that everything? yeah? i think so. okay. i PROMISE to update my weight loss stats on monday morning. and i will try try try try to be better about updating. if work gives me time to breathe, it makes that task a little easier.

i hate being busy!

i feel like i have no time to blog.

i'm still on the "diet all week, eat bad on the weekends". it's making me maintain. i'm not happy with that, and need to get back on track...

i hope to update more soon. :(

i'm here...

i haven't completely disappeared. promises.

i'm doing well on weight watchers somedays, horrible on others. it's hit and miss. i did well monday and tuesday...then wednesday and thursday were bad, but today's been well.

i'm swamped at work, and still stressed about life in general.

but the boy's coming home this weekend, and i'm looking forward to that.

maybe i'll have something to update soon...we'll see.

highlights of the week:
keith urban concert
madi madison and bestie time
LOST ---> i'm obsessed.

yep, that's it. :)

fraudulent

i feel like such a fraud for posting this, but it is what it is.

week 15: -4, -30 total

i feel fraud-y because i ate bad this weekend. but yet that's what the scale said. i did have a good week, though...the weekend was just typical. i have got to get a handle on them. stupid evaroni's pizza. ("in all the world there is only one evaroni's", and i'm telling you people that are not near huntington, wv that you should be glad!)

in wedding news, daniel and i applied for our marriage license today. awwww. and i got fingerprinted for the new job. :) hoping everything goes well with all of that - especially since i spent over 3 hours on a form the other night. haha. i've also almost finished everything for the wedidng. the bridesmaids have their dresses picked out. decorations are all taken care of. we need to order tux rentals and buy my wedding band and we're good to go!

i'm boring. so that is all for today.

you might die trying

"if you give, you begin to live". sorry, dmb = stuck in my head. plus the lyrics kinda fit today.

i've kinda been sucking. wait, make that i've really been sucking. i can't stay on track. i do great during the week - for the most part - then the weekend comes and everything i know about ww and weightloss and healthy food choices go out the window. it's like, holy crap, it's the weekend! eat! you may never eat again!!! grrrr. i've been playing with the same 5 lbs or so for the past month. it's frustrating. why do i do this to myself, when i know how to work the program?

since i suck ww this week, i am late in reporting my weekly update. but here it is.

week 14: -1.6, -26 lbs total

in case you're counting, that's less than 2 lbs per week. thanks to the suckage.

STRESS. did i mention that i am under an insane amount of stress? i'm letting myself stress over everything. guess who gets the moodies, and crankies, and smart comments due to the stress? daniel. i feel bad for him! he has about 4 weeks home before starting the new job, with only 1.5 weeks remaining, and i've been not so nice the majority of the time. he's wonderful for putting up with me and for trying to talk to me about what's bothering me and trying to calm me down.

um, since we're in such a negative place this morning thus far, let's talk about something optimistic....i got a job offer!!! :) pending my security clearance (which stresses me for some unknown reason), i'll be kissing my current position goodbye and working in the DC area. AND my FF works there, too! :) it seems like everything's falling into place for me and daniel, which is great.

so why the bad mood again?

dash the hopes of those who hate me

okay, couple things...(in my best papa price voice)

1. TJ at TJ's Test Kitchen and Ugly Girl with a Beautiful Heart @ The Long Road Out of Hell awarded me the Super Blogger Award.

Here are the rules:

Pass it along to 5 fellow super bloggers, and comment on their blog to let them know how lucky they are today!When you present your Super Blogger awards, link back to the super blogger who gave it to you.Ya gotta love being a favorite of a fellow blogger and the hardest part is picking 5 people to pass this SUPER BLOGGER AWARD on to. This one has made it's rounds, so I tried to pick bloggers who hadn't been picked yet! Here are my picks for this SUPER BLOGGER AWARD:

• Mandi @ Family First: she's my bestie, and a new mom. she balances work, family, and her friends - and shares my love of DMB and weightwatchers. we've been through soooo much together, and laughs are never far behind us.
• Angela @ Angela's Grand Adventures: WW partner, fellow Richmond-ian (for now), and another Lane Bryant fan.
• Learning to Be Less: funny, motivator, and a Biggest Loser fan. Love her!
• Slackey @ One twenty-something's journey to get fit: has lost an amazing amount of weight and is getting ready to start WVU Law School.
• Lynn @ The Hungry Little Caterpillar: i follow her blog, even though i'm terrified of caterpillars! :) she's always out moving - wii fit, walking, etc...and she's a twitter gal!

2. it's my 50th post!!! :) in honor of this, i'd like to try my hand at a little giveaway. how do you cats feel about no pudge brownies?!? well, the winner of the giveaway will get all 3 flavors available in my area - chocolate, mint, and cappucino! you know the drill - leave a comment on this post and blog with a reference to this giveaway and i'll randomly choose someone as the winner on the 15th. good luck! :)

3. the title of this blog is from DMB's new song, beachball. love this song and loooooove that line!

slacker 2.0 - the blog version

i'm slacking - but only with blogging. i've been so on track this week. makes me feel good. let me preface that by saying that i gained 4 lbs last week...dang. the ice cream from cold stone creamery did not help, nor did the olive garden celebration with the g'rents. good news is the 4 lbs is already gone, and hopefully some more will be off before monday's weigh in.

week 13: +4, -24.4 (ugh - wrong direction much?)

anyways...bad weekend, but excellent start to this week.

randoms:

• i've been swamped at work.
• i had a phone interview this morning that looks sooooo promising. *fingers crossed* she told me if i hadn't been given an offer in 2 weeks, to call her back.
• we're having a mother's day cookout on sunday, and i am kinda excited about Hughes family time.
• big fight with my sister = the return of the boycat. kinda happy to have parker back at home with me and daniel.

that's all i've got. boring, huh?

moody mooday

i'm moody. i think it's that TOM - or will be soon. i've been cranky to everyone, and i really shouldn't be. plus, i'm tired.

okay, so i haven't been journaling. i feel like i'm not doing well, though i'm not necessarily eating bad, i just can't say with certainty that i've been in points, because i haven't journaled a single thing. i've stuck to healthy choices (except on wednesday, when i ate PF Chang's with the boys - i KNOW that food is high points - though i didn't eat my entire dish, which helped), got my water in, and exercised daily. i even took walks on my lunch in addition to working out in the evenings.

i've been so pissed off at my mom this week, too. :( had a bit of a breakdown about it last night. it makes me so mad that she won't be at my wedding. oh, sorry, daughter - my pain pills are more important than your future. grrrr. i think i'm just a little sad that she won't be there - to see me happy, and to be proud of me. a lot of days i just want to know that she'd be proud of where/how i have ended up. and i feel like i can't do a unity candle at the wedding because i don't have a "mom" to light my half before the ceremony. which is fine - because really, i hate when they blow out, and it probably would because it's an outdoor ceremony. but still.

i am beyond stressed with everything going on. a lot of big changes are taking place, and while i'm happy about all of them, it's a tad overwhelming. trying to find a job, daniel starting a new job, him moving to MD, me hopefully moving to MD soon, planning the wedding, getting married, finding him a place to live until i can move, paying two rents, etc, etc, etc.

i know, i know - i'm whining about things that i have been wanting. i think jill said it best when she said "it's okay to whine about this. so what if you're whining over things you wanted? you never said you wanted it all at the same time!" haha.

that being said, i'm extremely thankful that daniel got placed in MD...and that, even if i don't find a job up that way in the immediate future, we will still get lots of together time, because cumberland is a short drive away from charleston...and weekend trips will be much more doable.

i guess all of this stress has lead to the lack of journaling. i don't want to lose control over the weight loss, too. i've come too far.

i will face the scale this weekend, and hopefully still have a loss to report. with or without the loss, my goals for next week are:

1. exercise daily
2. stay within my points target and weeklies
3. journal my points
4. work on wedding plans
5. finish gathering addresses for my invitations

okay, enough rambling from me. sorry for the moody post. here's to a better weekend!

mustard sammiches

why does subway feel the need to pile the mustard on my sandwich there? i talked the boys (aka the crew i'm working with in richmond) into walking the 6 blocks or so down to subway at lunch today...subway club = yum. anyways, i always get 12 inch subway club on wheat, with no cheese, with mustard, pickles, and lettuce. they always decide to give me enough mustard for 3 sandwiches. hehe. i grabbed extra napkins, and scraped off what i didn't need and am now enjoying the sandwich.

i think i forgot to mention that daniel met me in bowling green on sunday. this was on my trip home from nashville. i hooked him up with the new dmb tee i bought him in nashville - 2xl, looking so good on my boy!!!! - and we ordered pizza and hung out. it was so nice getting to spend some time together.

my new garmin kinda rocks. it's a lot nicer than i expected. it speaks all street names, tells me how fast i'm going on the main screen, tells me the speed limit of the road i'm on, and puts what side of the road my turn is in the mile countdown. i kinda love it.

i'm going shopping tonight. i'm in desperate need of some spring/summer work clothes. mandi's momma gave me a lane bryant gift card for christmas, plus i have an exchange, plus another gift card, so i think i can go in, buy a decent amount of clothes, and not spend a huge sum of money. that's huge, because typically i spend wayyyyyy too much in there.

i worked out last night...felt so good. hated that i could tell a big difference in where i am now from where i was last time i worked out. started the jogging program again, but had to back up a week on it. hoping to see a big improvement over the next week or so, though.

it's biggest loser night! :) why does this excite me so much? i think it helps keep me motivated....oooh, and alison sweeney said in a tweet this morning that it's an excellent episode. fingers crossed for tara in the final four! bye, bye ron!

sitting, weighting, wishing

i want to be out of my current "middle number". i'm sick of it. (one of these days i'm gonna get brave and put my actual weight in this blog, btw...just not today.)

week 12: -1.4; -28.4 total

i'm a lil frustrated because i was down about twice that amount on friday, and then today it's back to this. lol. but i did consume some alcohol this weekend, and i must have been dehydrated. i think i had about 20 oz of water all weekend, so that didn't help matters.

i'm very happy to be back in richmond...well, for the working out, at least. the work sucks, and living out of a hotel sucks, but i'm glad to be back in my "aimee time" routine.

had a fun time in nashville...i'd like to go back another weekend. and i got to take the bluegrass parkway on my trip down, and i loved the scenery. i totally want to see that castle...does anyone know if that's something you can visit?

other fun things on the drive (but forgive the poor quality, taken with my camera phone while driving):

this is a sign i saw while driving on the parkway. i busted out laughing. there's literally nothing around this sign...talk about random.

i loved this. reminded me of my rawr shirt. and kinda i wanna go to dino world now!!!

hope everyone else enjoyed their weekend. this girl broke out capris for this week! :)

oh, and did i mention i heard blue water for the 1st time ever? no more dmb until june 19, but it's bound to be a goodie!

I'm spending this gorgeous day driving. I'm Nashville bound for another DMB show - my last until June.

I stopped in KY for gas and for a potty break. On impulse, i bought a diet coke and some peanut m&m's. I started driving, and popped a few m&m's in my mouth and was like "what the crap are you doing?!". I checked the points and decided it wasnt worth 6 points, rolled down the window, and tossed the rest out. No worries, I kept the bag, so no littering! ;)

Weekend tally - Aimee 1, Food 0

double poster

posting again...don't kill me.

wanted to share a few lovely things from the weekend. sidenote: can you believe i'm just now blogging about the weekend? geesh. this a/p audit might kill me. i mean, don't they know that being busy at work is cutting into my blogging time? hehe. anyways...

when starting my weight watchers journey this time around, i was wearing size 22s that were extremely tight, and, although i hate to admit it, i was also wearing some 24s. all from lane bryant. this is me in size 20 jeans from old navy...and a shirt in their normal girl sizes. by normal girl, i mean i didn't order it from the plus size "online only" section of old navy. didn't buy the jeans, just pumped that they fit. did buy the shirt - bonus? it was on sale!

this is my happy fat face at the 2nd DMB show from the weekend. it's been my happy place since 2005. this was show #32. love the band, love the music, love the venue, love the crowd, love the experience. as lynda from ljmsart says, i love all things dave. (try to ignore the blurriness...taken on my phone)

this is me taking a pic of myself in the mirror. do you love my rawr shirt?!? daniel sent me that. cute story. anytime one of us is being cranky on bbm (for you non-blackberry users, that's blackberry messenger) we say RAWR to the other one. weird inside joke, ya know? anyways, i get in the mail and find a package. i open it and lo and behold it's my very own rawr shirt...there's a footnote that says "rawr means i love you in dinosaur". awwww. :) as an added bonus, he ordered the shirt in an XL - not a 2x! :) and it fits...it may be slightly snug, but dangit, it fits! :)

so, the online only weight watchers seems to be going well so far. i'm a scale peaker, can't help it. i'm down 2 lbs since monday. hope that trend continues. i am, however, still sucking at exercise. unless you count me cleaning like a madwoman and folding 10 loads of laundry. haha. it's back to richmond next week, so hopefully i'll be exercising again.

thank you for forgiving the doublepost. hopefully the muffin top in the cute size 20 jeans don't scare you off.

flowers! :)

daniel sent me flowers at work today because he "was thinking about me and wished he was home with me".

i just had to share. :)

EDIT: does anyone ever have trouble with posting comments on others' blogs? the other day, i was trying to comment on tj's blog, and it opened up like 1,000 internet explorers....ang just tried to comment on this blog, and it did the same thing. what's the deal? spam? virus? i wish i was computer savvy... :/

quick update

i've been mia....busy!

i'm good on points, bad on exercise. i think i'm switching to WW online only...i'm down 3 lbs from last week as of this morning. hope to continue that trend.

week 11: -3; -27 total

it was a hectic weekend, lots of DMB-ness going on. loved both of my shows, especially saturday night.

i'm behind on wedding stuff. i have got to get on the ball.

that's all. hope to be better about updating this week.

chicken

i've eaten a lot of chicken the past few days. seriously...it's like all i've been eating. it's just so easy to stay in points that way, and i actually enjoy grilled chicken. this is the 3rd day in a row i've had it for lunch, plus i had it for dinner last night, too. i'm mixing it up just a little, though. i had a1 on it one day, and last night i baked it in the oven with ff italian dressing as the marinade. tasty!

got some good news and bad news on the weight watchers front. the good news is i've stayed at my target points everyday. the bad news is i haven't been working out. things have been so hectic, it seems. i've had so much to do, and get caught up on. no excuses, though..i totally could've been working out while i watched american idol and biggest loser last night. (sidenote: i love tara).

baby madison has been so happy to have some time with her aunt aims... :) well, and aunt aims has been loving it, too. here's a bestie pic:

how wee is my newest niece? love them both!

and now for the best news...daniel got a position with fema that will allow him to stop traveling!!! :) i'm so happy about it. it will involve him moving to cumberland, md, but i'll take it. i am looking for work up that way (if you have any leads, let me know!!!), but for the meantime, it'll work out nicely, because it's only about 3 hours from home, and when i'm in richmond, it's only 4 hours from there. i'm so happy about it. more than anything, i wanted us to actually be able to spend our marriage together...and it looks like it's working out. i was so happy yesterday. it was a big day - he got that news, then i got the copy of dmb's newest single (free download - my boys rock!).

did i mention i'm going to charlottesville friday and saturday for my 1st 2 dmb shows of the year? pumped. seriously.

xoxo

junk food overload

okay. i ate badly all weekend. when i say badly, i'm not sure you understand to what extent. let me list it out for you. i did not count points, but i'm fully aware of what i ate between friday after weigh-in and sunday night.

in no particular order:
6 oz filet from logan's roadhouse
baked potato with sour cream only
32 peanuts (the kind in the shell-i didn't eat the shell, though...haha)
2 rolls, no butter
house salad with french dressing
6 reese cup peanut butter eggs (the 2 pts each kind)
2 reese cup peanut butter eggs (the 5 pts each kind)
4 caramel cadbury eggs (5 pts each)
homewrecker with beef from moe's
6 chips and queso dip from moe's
1/4 dish of sesame chicken from asian bistro
1/4 dish of chicken fried rice from asian bistro
3 potstickers from asian bistro
mcdonald's doublecheeseburger
1/4 of a large fry from mcdonald's
1 med sprite from wendy's
double cheeseburger from wendy's (yes, with mayo)
1/2 med fry from wendy's
3/4 bag of nerd's bumpy jelly beans
1/2 of the signature selection dinner for two at the melting pot, plus 1/2 the original chocolate fondue with dippers

i think that's it. as if that's not enough. geesh. i dunno what i was thinking. i do know that i felt like ABSOLUTE CRAP all day yesterday, and spent entirely too much time in the bathroom. i was so sick to my stomach. and my chest is all broke out. :(

anyways...i can't undo any of that...soooo, today i'm back on track. it's been a good day so far.

i've had:
instant oatmeal
chicken breast
green beans
salad with light italian dressing
grapes

i still have about 17 points left for dinner. that's a lot. i'm going to stay at my target the rest of the week, and workout every evening. i'm trying not to beat myself up over this. i haven't had a slip up like this since i started weight watchers...and honestly, i cannot believe i ate so much food.

in other news, i had an amazing time with daniel this weekend. friday night had to be one of the best times we've ever had together. i get so sick of the travel back and forth, but seeing him waiting on me as i pull into the hotel parking lot always brings the biggest smile to my face. here's a pic of us overlooking delmar blvd in university city, mo. it's on the outskirts of st. louis, and it was such a fun, little place. it was a nice day and the streets were crowded with people - playing music, sitting and talking. it reminded me of "my" city...aka nyc.



AND i stopped to see ms. madison on my way home last night...she's adorable. tiny. absolutely precious. cannot wait to see her again this evening. (and her mom's not too shabby either!! hehe) i'm gonna take some pics of madison and her aunt aims tonight.

lack of sleep and a little giggling, dribbling baby girl

it's been a whirlwind of a few days. here's the updates:

1) we get a little break from the richmond audit. i am so happy to be home for a few weeks. the work is probably gonna suck, but it's a nice break from all that travel. i think i might miss working out on the elliptical/treadmill, though. i was pretty pumped about my jogging program. i'll do my watp 'til then...and get back on it as soon as i return.

2) my bestie is a mom! baby madison arrived a few weeks early. mandi's blood pressure went too high for her health and for madison's health...so they induced her labor, and after about 31 hours of laying in a hospital bed, she gave birth to a beautiful baby girl at about 11:30 thursday night. i headed straight to the hospital when i left richmond on thursday, and stayed with mandi and fam until 2:30 am or so.

3) i rolled into bed at 3:30 saturday morning, and rolled right back out at 8 so i could pack for illinois and make my weigh in 1 day early. the results: gained 1 lb. :( i wasn't happy about it, but i wasn't overly surprised, as my dinner consisted of pizza really late thursday night. plus, with the huge results last week, i wasn't expecting much of a loss anyways. right now, i'm back to -24 lbs, but i'm hanging in there. nothing i can't drop back off next week.

4) i headed to the hospital after weigh in to check on my girls, and both are doing well! they might even let madison come home tomorrow with mandi. we thought she'd be in NICU for about a week, but the little nudger is showing remarkable strength.

5) after my visit, i hit the road to illinois, and ran into horrible storms throughout kentucky. it was NOT fun. i was in a horrible mood...i'm pretty sure it was the lack of sleep catching up with me. i can't believe daniel actually put up with smartass comments. all ended well when i finally reached his hotel at 8:30 cst. i was so excited to see him. we exchanged easter baskets (dorks that we are) and i was pumped to find a little candy and an iTunes gift card! i've been eating on my nerds bumpy jelly beans, and i had a cadbury caramel easter egg. :0 those things are too good. seriously. we went to a place called asian bistro that served the most expensive chinese food ever. think pf chang's prices, but not the pf chang's taste. it was good...but i did really well. i'm sure i went over my points for the day, but i ate maybe 1/4 of my dish. my goal this weekend is to make better choices, but i will, without a doubt, be over points. our "hawt date" is tonight, and we're going to the melting pot. i'm sticking to lean meats, and trying to eat the cheese fondue and chocolate fondue in extremely small portions.

6) i finally feel rested! :) daniel had to work this morning, so i slept in...really in. hehe. i am pretty sure i kept him up most of the night with my snoring. seriously...i'm lucky he puts up with me. ha!

happy easter, everyone! hope the bunny was good to ya!

EDIT: i know not everyone is as big of a dmb fan as i am, but this article and the video really touched me. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/dave-matthews-band-s-big-whiskey-is-a-toast-1003961236.story. i cannot WAIT until april 17 when i get to see these boys again!