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!

a time to run - week 3

i started a walking ---> jogging/running program. i found it online at http://www.ab-core-and-stomach-exercises.com/beginner-treadmill-workout.html. with all the exercise i've been doing, i started with week 3 of the program. i was really proud of me for doing it! i know it doesn't sound like a lot, but i'm amazed about how you progress with exercise...how much easier things become.

Week 3: Walk for 4 minutes between 3.0 and 4.0 mph then jog between 4.5 and 5.0 mph for 1 minute. Repeat 6 times until you've completed 30 minutes.

for me personally, i walked at a 3.5 mph pace, then jogged at 4.8 mph. i'm going to try to keep going with this program. i'm pretty excited about it.

nothing else new on this end...tomorrow i work half a day in richmond, then get to head to Illinois to spend Easter weekend with my boy. :)

new 'dos

i got a haircut...it's so much shorter!!! i like it...and at first i thought my face was looking a little thinner, but no, i think it looks chunky in these. lol. this is me pretending to be hard at work.

speaking of haircuts, i convinced daniel to get one that last time i was out there to see him. i'm so proud of him. he's lost so much. check out this comparison. the top pic was taken on our cruise in mid-december. the 2nd pic is from a week and a half ago...and doesn't the haircut look so nice???

i'm back in richmond, of course. i want to say it was a nice weekend with my fam, but it was actually kinda stressful. i love my brother and sister dearly, but seriously, sometimes it's a bit much. here we all are at christmas, and then again from this past weekend.

shew, i'm a picture posting fool today.

i'm trying out weight watchers etools. so far, my favorite part is being able to journal and look up points easily on my blackberry. i'm considering keeping it, just hate to spend $60/mo on weight watchers. ang and i have toyed around with quitting the meetings, and just doing weight watchers online...but i worry that i won't be accountable. decisions, decisions.

is it thursday yet? 3 day weekend for this girl!

metaled! :)

week 9: -6.5; -25 lbs total

guess who got her 25 lb metal this morning? this girl! i was SHOCKED to learn of my 6.5 lb weight loss this week. crazy what writing everything down, and being entirely consistent will do for a girl's weight loss.

it's been a crazy busy day already. i went to weigh in, then i picked up mcdonald's for my bro and his friend (who are staying with me this weekend...nice to have a visit!), and grabbed myself a diet coke and a fruit 'n yogurt parfait. mandi (and pregnant belly!) met me at the house and we got my wedding cake picked out, and then headed to a floral shop and ordered my flowers for the wedding.

last night i bought my wedding gown in a...dun dun dun...size 20! :) i was so happy about it. i started weight watchers in a 22/24, and i'm really hoping i'll have to have the dress altered down.

it was a bit of a strange week at work. they announced 10% paycuts across the board and a decrease in benefits on thursday. thursday was a tough day, but dinner with manda eased my worries a bit. we laughed a lot...it was nice to forget about all the problems for awhile. i'm surprised daniel didn't kill me. i was crunching numbers like crazy, trying to figure out if i needed to adjust wedding plans or cancel my trip to the gorge. *tear*. very stressful. friday, we learned that the paycut was lightened to 3%. i felt like i had been given a 7% raise! it still sucks, but 3% is a little more doable.

that's about all that's new on this end. xoxo

my 1st blog award

yay! Slackey gave me my 1st blog award, and i was so excited that i had to follow the rules! :)

With this award, you're supposed to name 7 things you LOVE, and then pass it along to 7 others.

i love:

1. Dave Matthews Band!
2. milestone numbers on an odometer...99,999 into 100,000 being my absolute fav. (you get 2 milestones back-to-back!)
3. old friends reruns...particularly "the one where ross got high"
4. my iPod...i'm mad that i didn't get one before now...i love adding new songs (and older stuff - think the murder remix of J.Lo songs) to it!
5. my weight watchers leader...she's so cute. and she's always so encouraging. the weeks that i go see daniel and just go for a weigh in, not a meeting, i always miss her.
6. listening to my grandpa tell me the same ol' stories from when i was younger. i love hearing about how "seuss" (his nickname for me) rode in the floor board of the car all of the way to GA. safe, g'rents? prolly not. but cute just the same that he loves telling the story.
7. NYC. i miss that city. i want to go to times square and see the cup o' noodles.

my seven picks are:

mandi

ang

learning to be less

wildfluffysheep

lynn

losing waist!

may