Debbie Downer

Let me start out with this: this morning SUCKED!

Ok, let's get this out of the way. Another gain.... 1.6! I don't even want to add that to last week's 2.8 gain. There's no getting around it, I'm pissed. Don't have much more to say about this other than it seriously makes me want to NOT eat another thing but I'm not gonna do that. Gonna keep doing what I've been doing and maybe make some better choices and STICK more closely to my points. I've slacked the last two weeks for sure.

Also, my Olha left again today... the kids are only here for a few months and maybe I shouldn't get so attached but it stinks when people you like/love have to go away. She has big plans for her life and wants to keep in touch. I hope she does...

Finally, the big NYC trip this weekend I planned for Julia's birthday.. She didn't know where we were going but her other friends did (not the girls that live in my house). Her friends were mad with me (!!!!) that I planned a special day with her in NYC so guess what? They planned the SAME trip for today, tomorrow and Thursday. I'm so mad I could scream. I was talking to a friend this morning about this and he gave me some advice and said to change my perspective about why I'm going. It was for Julia but it was also for my other precious girls who have dreamed of this place, some even as little girls. So I will be mad for probably the rest of the day and then I will get over it. I can STILL show her a good time..

Sorry I'm a big bundle of "down" today. Hopefully the day gets better.

New *Chocolate Fix* Finds!

So, I just got back from Target and I have to report on two things. One was recommended by annoying checkout lady in Walmart (remember her?) and the other I think I saw in a fashion magazine and forgot about until I went a choccolate hunting.

Find No. 1 - Hershey's Sticks are 1 pt per stick (60c/3.5f/0fr). They come in 3 flavors: Caramel, Mint and Milk Chocolate. OMG, quite the little candy. Tasty (as my girls would say) and it hits the spot if you're looking for a choc fix. Oh and compared to the one in the picture.. the actual size is about an inch longer and a tad thicker.


Find No. 2 - Hershey's Antioxidant Milk Chocolate - 5 pts/4 pieces (190c/12f/1fr) - These are comparable to a Ghiradelli's chocolate square and have a good taste to them as well. They do taste like a healthier chocolate but not healthier in a I need to scrub my tongue kind of way. I vote thumbs up.

I forgot what my catchy title was gonna be today...

Wow, it's been waay too long away from my blog. You'd think I have a ton to write about but... I don't. Some quick updates from last week for my hungry readers. ;)

Da Beach - I won't spend too much time talking about this because I don't want to make ya'll jealous. Hee hee. Ok, so I had on a bikini (yikes!) and got a FABULOUS tan... and a little burned on my nose and cheeks. I also bared my hip to the Henna tattoo guy. Got a little genie lamp with writing that says "I dream of...". I've been thinking for years that I may get a permanent one but wasn't sure what I wanted. I think that may be it. Anyway, he didn't seem all that excited to be writing on me. Kinda like the gyno I guess.. Probably gets tired of looking at the same thing all day long I guess, although my hips aren't exactly like the ones I was seeing at the beach. *Shrug* The girls and I stopped about five million times on the drive to Ocean City. One good stop was the produce stand where we got a bunch of yummy fruit (tomatoes, nectarines, peaches, strawberries). I did well for the earlier part of the day, mainly laying on the beach, drinking my water, reading mags and eating fruit. Mel and I played vball for what felt like 9 hours but it was probably about 15-20 minutes. Mel swears it was only for 2 minutes. I think she's lying. :) Anyway, the sun and sand were hot and I was huffin' and puffin' right away... wow, I can't wait till I can play for hours again. After that, we played in the water for a while (actually Mel played, I watched her play) and then back to the beach to lay in the sun again. At one point I took off my top (was laying face down) and this woman kept staring at me. Geesh, it wasn't like I was face up people! Oh, maybe she liked me. :) I'm thinking no. Hmm, what else? Some more volleyball, eating on the boardwalk (yikes again), sleeping on the beach, talking with the girls, sand angels (I really am a kid sometimes), eating at Waterman's... was such a good time. Mel kept trying to talk me into staying but I had to get back to work the next day along with a few of the other girls. I'll post some pictures when I get them uploaded to the puter.

Da Weekend - It was a good weekend but I've been so LAZY and not feelin' so hot. I'm kind of PMSing so I'm not in the mood to hang out and do stuff. I just want to be in bed or at the very least hanging out in my room listening to music. Got some laundry done, did a bit of cleaning, went to Jake's 4 y.o. birthday party (for a few minutes), church... not that exciting. This weekend I'm taking the girls to NYC so I'm gearin' up for that. I've stayed there before but don't remember where. Any ideas on a central location? We're gonna do and see everything possible.

Monday, Monday - Me and my alarm are not friends. I hit the Snooze from 530a until 610a. But I got up and did my run (Day 3/Week 1)! And can I say, it's getting easier. I didn't huff and puff at all. The only difficult part is that it's about 3000% humidity here so I feel like I'm drenched even before I begin - gross. And why is it that I was sweating more when I stopped then while I was actually exercising. At any rate, Polly is lovin' the morning jogs.. And she's getting better and better each time too. I'm thinking I may do Day 1/Week 2 tonight when I get home but we'll see. Maybe tomorrow....

Weigh in tomorrow and I'm biting my nails. I just FEEL fat and like I've had a gain. If so, I may have to take it out on the evil box. Gotta read up on my girls' blogs. I'll get to that later today or tonight. I'm supposed to be working (busy!!). Have a great OP day!

ps. Wow, I guess I did have a lot to say.

Exercise is masochistic (right now anyway)

I still think I'm gonna die. And if I find out who came up with the "exercise is good for you" theory, I just may track him down and beat him senseless. It took about 6 snoozes and a very excited boxer standing on top of me to get me out of bed. Begrudgingly I got up, threw on my clothes, sneakers and headed out the door. I dare say that Day 2 was a little easier although you wouldn't know it by all the chest heaving. What a beautiful day this morning though! Oh and my doggy was better company this morning - she didn't try to chase every living thing in sight which is a major accomplishment for her.

My goal is that I just want it to feel good to exercise. Right now, it's just borderline masochistic. I jumped on the scale this morning (let's face it people, I'm gonna be scale obsessed this week because of my gain).. and I was down 0.8 lbs. So that's looking up! Hopefully I will lose the entire 2.8 lbs this week and if not I'm gonna work to get it off in two. You guys are the best! Have a great day. I'll catch up on my posts later on today. Oh and I won't be around at all tomorrow. Heading to Ocean City, MD with my bff and 6 girls... naps in the sun, beach volleyball, sand castles... I think it's been years (with the exception of Atlantic City last year) that I've been to the beach!

"We're NOT gonna take it..."

169.4

That's a 2.8 lb gain! :(

I guess all my *indiscretions* did catch up to me this week. Wow, I really went completely overboard. And I was as ready as I could be for that number. I even got on and off the scale about 10 times. I'm not gonna take that! It sucks and I didn't even want to post today and want to quit because sometimes I'm sick of this fight. But I AM gonna fight back. CP25K Day 2, here I come (tomorrow). I'm back and badder than ever!

I will read up on ya'll later as I have to get my you-know-what to work.

CP25K - FIRST DAY!!! <----- NSV

Hi bloggin' friends!

It took 2 alarms and about 5 snoozes but I got my sorry ass out of bed and started training at 6:15 this morning! WOOT! Wow, it was difficult. I was huffing and puffing the first 30 seconds. Feeling like you're gonna die before you've got 60 seconds under your belt can't be good. Even my dog looked at me a little funny like "what's with all the exercise?". But I did it! Good times though and I feel good, tired and already a little sore but good! Ps. I think I'm sore partly because Dasha insisted on wrestling with me the other night and I had to put her over my shoulder and carry her around the house. Damn youth - she wasn't even winded!

On another note, I got a dozen roses today as a thank you for all "my hard work" last week. They're so beautiful! Wow, that's such a nice feeling to get noticed. What a surprise!

I hope everyone is having a great day. Keep your fingers crossed for my WI tomorrow. I think I had a gain (if you read my last blog you'll know why). I'll be happy to maintain and if not, I'm gonna kick my weight's @SS this week!! Hiyaaaaa!

Confession Time

So after posting comments on a couple of blogs out there, I felt the need to confess. Hope you're sitting down because this is what I've consumed in about 4 days...Chinese food (21 pts each serving and I had two!!), Rita's Italian Ice AND custard, McDonald's breakfast, 5 BOXES of Hostess 100's. Wow, it felt good to get that off my chest. Thank God I start CP25K tomorrow and that my new week begins on Tuesday. I know I'm gonna have a gain which SUCKS but I have next week to get back on track. I'd better get to bed if I plan on waking up at 5 FREAKIN' 30. I am looking forward to this week though. Thursday I'm headed to Ocean City with some of my girls and hopefully my best friend... I haven't been there in YEARS, so that will be so nice to play volleyball on the beach, sleep in the sun and get even darker (don't be jealous)... WOOT! Ok, I at least have to get IN bed now. Have a great week ya'll!!

Friday, Friday... Na, na, na, nana, na

Ok this was my Friday..

I typically hate Fridays because usually something goes wrong at the office and the owner is away and I'm left to work late figuring everything out. He came in in the morning which I love (I've been in training for the last 6 months to take over so he doesn't have to come in), we got a lot of things accomplished and then he was gone by 11. Pretty smooth day so far, busy but no real problems.

Then my phone rang at 2 and guess who it was. The voice on the other end said, You're not gonna love me when I tell you this.. I geared up and said "what's up". He then told me about his 16 nephew that was flying in from Holland. He had checked the flight and he was already arriving. At this point I'm thinking "wow, I have to leave now to make it to Baltimore".. at least 1.5 hour drive. Well, that's when he said he was at the Baltimore airport but that didn't do any good because his nephew came into Philadelphia!! Oh, Pete how we love the ADD and dissaray which is your brain. Seriously, he's one of the smartest most talented people we know but there are some things that should not be left to him... or left alone with him. :) So I said "don't say another word, just tell me who I'm looking for and where I should go". I flew out of the office, arrived at Philly with zero problems, parked, ran inside and spotted him immediately. That family has some STRONG genes. It did help that he's about 7 ft tall and a kid. Not entirely too common. I drove him back to Pete's house where Pete and his wife (who scolded Pete for asking me) thanked me. They think they owe me but that's not how friendship works with me I guess.. Don't have a score chart of who did what last. I love being there for my friends.

Friday evening I spent hanging out in my room, got a few phone calls but I went to bed early only to wake up this morning at 4ish AM...back to sleep at 6ish.. back up at 8ish.. back to sleep at 11 and at 2 this afternoon, I'm finally up. Geesh, it's practically Sunday!

Hostess & Hershey

I will start by thanking swizzlepop for her reminder that I was missing everything Hostess... the other night I ran out the house after I had already committed to the pj's, changed (this never happens) and then went to Walmart. I cruised up and down the aisles until I found the snack I've been separated from for I think a few weeks... Hostess 100. Oh and I bought 8 boxes!

When I got to the checkout, the chiquita banana said to me "You on WW?". Kinda personal, caught me off guard but I said "yep, 16 weeks" and proceeded to tell her that I struggled the first 5 because I didn't lose any weight and she told me how that was weird and was I doing anything wrong, etc. Lil annoying. Then we got in conversation about the cakes itself and she said I was wrong to think that the yellow ones were 1.5 point. That WW doesn't believe in the 1/2 point. Now unless they've changed things, I never learned otherwise, especially if I'm using a POINTS CALCULATOR and that's what it's telling me. When I said PC she backed off and said "oh, you have a a calculator".. I didn't feel the need to explain that I didn't "have" a calculator but I USE an online one.. same difference. When she was done annoying me she said that Hershey has some kind of new candy out there in three different flavors (Hershey Caramel, Hershey Mint.. and something else) but she said for one 6 inch stick of chocolate it was 1 point. Just wondering if anyone has tried them or knows what the hell she's talking about... Poor lady, she caught me on a cravings night is all. I should go find her and give her a hug.

"You've Got..."

PICTURES.

Posted a before and after and another before (now)... Oh that reminds me to post a picture of me in March right before I started WW again... Gotta find a picture or two.

Hope ya'll have a great day!

Yawwn.. stretch

First can I say your comments are the bomb... they totally make my day! I'm working on my comments back to you guys.. I feel so guilty when I don't write back. It's just not a strength of mine. I've been away for a couple of days too (not away, away - just not blogging) so I have some catching up to do... I'll get back to ya soon! In the meantime continue to naked tushy shake (or for those who feel it necessary to abide by the laws of the land - keep your clothes on and SHAKE SHAKE SHAKE).

About my title.. I need a nap. I've been pretending too long to be 18 and it's catching up! I mean today I actually took a snooze at lunchtime in my car!! I haven't done that since oh, I don't know, I was 19 and actually lived off an hour or two of sleep every night. Wow, good ol' days, huh? So I finally decided to get my butt in bed at a decent hour the last couple of nights and what happens? I watch endless amounts of tv (I've heard the tv in your bedroom interrupts your REM cycle speech). I'm addicted to So You Think and my new favorite is Don't Forget The Lyrics. Finally I drift off to some creepy Dateline episode (ps. I've been in love with Stone Phillips since I was 10) only to be WIDE AWAKE a few hours later and because I have nothing better to do I end up going into work an hour/hour and a half earlier. I'm thinking of ideas that have worked in the past.. a bath before bedtime is nice - doesn't get me sleepy but I definately relax. I think what I really need to do is get some one on one vball time with Melissa, soak in her jacuzzi then I should be more than able to count some sheep. :) Oh, I already forgot whose blog I read it on about the Couch to 5K training. I decided yesterday or was it Tuesday that I'm gonna do that too! I'll definately conk out before 11 doing that! I start on Monday and one of my friends is going to run "with" me and by with me I mean we're both waking up at the same time in completely different counties and will call each other, say a quick prayer (seriously) and then pound the pavement. I'm so excited because I used to run a few miles at least 3-4 times a week and maybe I can get in that shape again that I once was. Oh yeah, check back tomorrow because I'm gonna post some of my "befores"... even some from the first time around at WW. Have a great night ya'll!

Did a little nekkid dance...

So I did a nekkid dance this morning. I'm down 1.4!!

166.6 - I'm almost on the "other side" of the 160's. I can't wait!!!

Have to get ready for work so I'll post more later but for now, shake your tushies with me and celebrate!

HOLY CRAP, HOLY CRAP - NSV!!!!!!!

So I'm getting ready for my movie date with the bff and I'm in my room in just my towel. I'm a little feisty today and I don't know what got into me but I dropped the towel in front of my FULL LENGTH MIRROR. Maybe it had to do with the song playing in the background (Spears/Outrageous) or I was curious to see what exactly is going on with the bod but can I say, I am noticing some changes. I danced around for a bit, shaking my butt (and everything else) and then finally came to stand still in front of the mirror. I think it's time to take some measurements because my boobs are definately smaller but so is my waist! Well, maybe the head was getting a bit swollen but I decided to try one of my favorite pairs of pants that have been hanging in my closet for months and months just teasing me. They are cream colored, Limited brand, dress pants and they are a size 10! I figured, what the hell, right? Well, I held my breath and to my surprise, they came up over my hips. Then I squeezed my eyes shut as I pulled the zipper up ALL THE WAY and then did the buttons... they're the annoying dress pant kind, two interior.. one claspy thingy and the other a regular button. I can't believe it.. both buttons done!! Granted, they're a tad on the bootylicious side but.... I can't believe I'm saying this... look good! I think that's TWO NSVs.. one for my thinking and the other for the one size smaller.... YAY ME!

Life is good...

Wow, this has been an exhausting week for me, mentally, physically, emotionally... I first want to start out by giving a big ol' THANKS to all my bloggin' friends. Each comment, sentence, word of support has been read and GREATLY taken to heart. You guys are amazing. I told my best friend that I felt stupid about posting why I was sad but she assured me it's okay to feel sad about this kind of stuff. I swear I'd make a better guy sometimes because this "in touch with your feelings" crap (oops, stuff) somedays is just not my thing. Now I've got some splainin' to do...

I'll preface this with saying have you ever had a person come into your life and in a short time, maybe a day, a week, a month, you didn't want to think about what your days would be like without them. The person (people) that once the connection is there, it takes little work to maintain... this is how it has been for me with the last group of girls that have come to live with me. Elena asked me the other day regarding our time downtown, "do you do this with all the girls that live with you?" and I had to answer no. I don't. For me, a "connection" with people is such a unique and beautiful thing... something that cannot be manufactured. And it either happens or it doesn't. I am lucky to have found this with a few people in my life, namely my best friend Melissa. But when these girls came, foreign to this country and to me, they were fast friends. People that I wanted to be involved in their lives not only while they stayed here in America but also when they went back to their countries. I try not to think of the day when they go back but when I do I know how much they will be sorely missed. Here are a few pictures of our time downtown and then the continuance of my life story...


I came home from a very busy second workday to find that my precious Olha needed to talk to me. We sat out on the bottom deck and she told me that she had to leave sooner than planned. There were some problems which I don't want to discuss here but it was necessary for her to move out within days and I was the one to take her to the airport. We sat there with one of the other girls and cried and hugged knowing that we had so many plans together in the short time and now our sweet, talkative Olha would be missing out. She is a unique part of my home. Bubbly (but not annoyingly so), talks SO much but at the same time her voice is so soothing I want to close my eyes and take a nap, she's so funny and many times is laughing without a reason but mostly she is a friend. We knew that the next two days would be important, spending as much time together as possible which was a problem for me because this was a crazy week at work for me.

Wednesday night I arrived home from work at about 745PM. Olha and I spent some time talking together, looking at pictures of our time downtown and then it got all too emotional and I retreated to my room. I think I lay awake for hours just thinking as I kind of watched the tv. We had made a plan to go to Melissa's house the next night and swim, relax in the jacuzzi and eat sushi - not quite in that order... that would be our last night with Olha.

Thursday came and was another busy day at work for me. My friend the IT guy was down here this week setting up our server and I was basically his bodyguard keeping away all the annoying questioners like "can I print" and "why is my computer not working" (duh, plug it in)... In four days, two of which the boss was out of the office, I had so much going on and then I was to get what I call a blind feel for what was going on in his department because as my boss just put it yesterday, I'm "kind of in charge of security".. haha. Anyway, now we're up to Thursday night.

I got home from work around 7ish to four beautiful faces and said "you ready to go?" They jumped up, got their eensy bitty bikinis (beeotches) and piled into my car (along with Polly my doggy). We picked up some grub and headed over to the madhouse I like to call Mel's. The girls talked to the boys a little, were awestruck by the house (seriously, it's like out of a movie) and then came the lure of the pool. They stripped off their clothes (again, beeotches) and jumped in. Of course they are all perfect but I'm kidding kinda about the "b" comment. I really didn't care that night. We were all having so much fun playing water v-ball, jacuzzi sitting and eating on the deck... such a good time. We left about 11ish. All of my girls asked me at least once "Tina, can we do this again"... Aaaaah, I love them! It was time to go to bed, knowing that at 5am Friday, Olha and I had to leave the house.

Friday morning - I swear I didn't hear my alarm but I'm notorious for shutting it off in my sleep. I awoke to Olha's voice at 5:15. I threw on my clothes for work, brushed the teeth and maybe my hair and then we were off. The drive was quiet, each of us so drained because of our week and also the time. It seemed like the drive was too short. I wish I had more time with her. Finally, we arrived and it was time to say our goodbyes. I told her that if there was anything I could do for her to call me, never hesitate. F'fwd to mid Friday morning - I noticed there was a voicemail on my cell phone. It was OLHA! Something about a phone call, things were resolved and most importantly she could stay!! She also asked me if I could come pick her up but didn't leave a contact number! Of course I was gonna go get her but had no way of assuring her that I would. I called my boss to let him know that I needed to leave a little earlier and then feverishly finished up the 'necessary' to try and get the heck out of there. In the meantime, I noticed ANOTHER freakin' voicemail.. from Olha! Oh good God, now I'm about to have a heart attack. And why isn't she calling my TOLL FREE work number. No contact number again. Finally it's 2ish and I'm ready to leave... only to find a 20 mile back up on I-95. Nice. It took me 2.5 hours to get to her but get to her I did. The drive back was tearful (more on her end because seriously I think I've dried out the ducts). We stopped at the Crackpot (seafood) , bought a few movies from Target (Firewall, United 93, Rumor Has It) and then headed home. We arrived to shock Elena who was the only one home at the time. Hugs, explanations, and then we flopped on the couches, ate some food and watched Rumor Has It. I still couldn't (and can't) believe she was with us. She calls herself lucky.. because these kinds of things happen all the time to her. And because I have a little more time with her, I call myself blessed.

And the scale said...

168.0 which means I'm DOWN one pound. That's great right? And I had a NSV. I actually made it to the freakin' gym and played one on one volleyball with the bff. Wow, I'm actually embarrassed at how many months have gone by with the membership automatically hitting my credit card and I haven't even shown my face, even for a massage! Hopefully today motivated me. It felt pretty good to work out even though I was fighting it the WHOLE TIME on the way there. Anyway...

Work is insane this week. We have new servers being put in, walls being torn down, construction going on because we are ever expanding. What a busy busy time! Swizzle! I'm glad you're back. I've missed you! I will post to you very soon, probably in the next day or so.

I got some sucky news which I will share more with you in the next few days. Just taking some time to deal with it, cry a little and spend the time as wisely as possible. Thanks for all those who faithfully build me up by dropping a comment here and there. I promise to get back to all of your comments in the next days. Love you guys!

Downtown Baltimore

So last night was an absolute BLAST. My best friend ended up being able to come (YAY)so we had 8 hot chicas on our way to our awesome city's Inner Harbor. The night started around 7 with Dasha searching out the signs on the drive down (we live about 20-30 minutes north of the city). Of course, the rest of us knew where we were going so it was fun to watch her face. Well, as soon as we entered downtown, the volume in the vehicle (that's for you Mel) got higher and higher. Squealing, pointing, oohing and aaahing... you name it - whatever you as a tourist have done or what you have seen tourists do, especially US first timers, they did it. It was soo sweet, funny but I think most of all refreshing. So we parked and on the walk to the Cheesecake Factory, the girls were camera happy. "Make of picture of me here... in front of this... OH, here... oh PLEASE, PLEASE make me a picture of this". So cute. I don't know how but we finally made it to the restaraunt. So the plan was to put our name in at Cheesecake Factory and then decide what we wanted to do. The wait was for 1.5 to 2 hours!! But what else could you expect on a Friday night, right?

So we met together and talked for few minutes on some of our options... paddle boats, walking to see all the shops, aquarium... Decision time. Melissa took 4 of the girls to go walking around and I took Dasha and Julia to do the paddle boats. OMG I was so nervous because Dasha is a "rocker" and I know she would not mind getting a little wet. With the threat of death looming over her head, Dasha behaved and we paddled (actually THEY paddled) and enjoyed the setting of the sun. Aah, such a beautiful time. Our 30 minutes was up so we headed back and I went inside CF to see how long our wait was. Still about an hour. So we walked down a little ways to where there was a circle of people around these amazing young girls who were making the most beautiful music on drums and other things (I'll have to ask Mel what exactly it was because she knows everything about that stuff). We watched and danced and laughed. The girls kept saying "thank you Tina"... it's gonna be hard to send these kids home, I'll tell ya. Oh but they also kept saying "sorry Tina, we're going home to pack up our stuff and moving here". Ha ha! So much love!

It was coming close to that time where we might actually get seated so we headed back to wait for our buzzer to bzzz. While we were waiting we decided to take some photo ops and ha ha, while I was taking a picture of the girls, some guy walked behind me slowly and said "DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMN" while motioning to my butt with his hands. Apparently his eyes were on my lower parts the entire time he walked away. The hysterical part is that I was OBLIVIOUS to it all!!!!! My friends had to tell me why they were CRACKING UP while I was taking their picture. Isn't that a riot? Yup, I STILL got it... hahahahahahahaha. Moving on.

A little bit more time has passed and finally we're being seated. I'm gonna ffwd to the food. I got the fish and chips and have NO idea how many points (someone HELP) but asked for a box at the beginning so I could pack away half, actually 3/4 of the fish and 1/2 of the fries. The cheesecake I got was better than sssssssssssssssssssandwiches! Brownie sundae cheesecake... I ate about 5/6ths of it which I figure is about 20 points worth. I had 10 points left from my day and 28 flex points so I think it's safe to say that I cleaned house last night. I'm going to stay OP for the rest of this week (start over Tuesday) just so I don't blow it. I didn't count activity or anything.. we did a few hours of walking at least. If someone has a better calculation on what I ate, let me know!

We had one more stop to make before the night was over. We piled in the car, drove to Fell's Point and did some more walking and people watching. There was a dance school set up in the center of the little park area and the students (presumably) were giving us a ballroom show. Pretty cool. We did a little bit more walking by all the closed shops and then stopping for a while by the water. We just sat there taking pictures, watching the boats, enjoying the moment. It was such a great time! Our exotic supermodels had attracted a bunch of attention (to say the least). I felt so young again and my bff and I kept joking that all the stares we were getting, some were actually for us too. But hey, I think out of the 100's of guys that checked them out, at least 1 kinda glanced our way too. HEE HEE.

The night ended back at my house at 2AM (thanks Mel for driving!!!!) with the girls all hugging and saying "thank you so much Tina for this night" just inside the front door. I am so happy that I could be a part of this experience. Aaah, I feel my eyes tearin' up a little. Ok, sorry this post was so long and if I bored some with my long recaps. Just wanted to share my day w/ ya'll. Hope you're havin' a great weekend!

ps. Once Mel uploads the pictures from her camera, I'll get a few on my site.

I got me a compliment....

Ok, so I know that's not English at it's finest but I DON'T CARE. :o) First my rambling... So last night was so much fun. I left work to go shopping for Dasha's present because her birthday is on Sunday - we are all celebrating downtown tonight though at the Cheesecake Factory and ESPN Zone). Anyway, Dasha's a bit of a tomboy and during one of our late night convos on the balconies, she mentioned that with her first few checks a few things that she was very excited about buying. I made mental notes - don't you love that, when you remember what someone REALLY wanted, not just something you *think* they'd like. So I was walking around Toys R Us kind of aimlessly until I spotted the section on skateboards. I was NOT excited at all. Dora, Spiderman & Junkyard Dog. Um, eww! THEN I noticed the bikes and totally had a "back on the balcony conversation" recall. A bike was another one of those things on her list. Now I was debating whether or not it was worth it (bringing it back, would the girls want to be in on this present with me b/c we had decided on the skateboard, etc). So I told the very young but nice sales guy who had to listen to my indecisive babbling for 20 minutes that I would think about it and come back. In the meantime I headed over to Dick's Sporting Goods to check out the skateboard selection. I think I was in there for about 30 seconds and knew what the right thing was. I headed back to Toys and found the very nice sales guy and said "I want a bike". I picked out a Jeep mountain bike, blue and black. Very pretty but not so girly if you know what I mean. The fun part was getting it into my Camry. I swear I earned at least one activity point yesterday doing this alone. Then, success! Got the bike home and decided to stow it in the laundry room downstairs, hoping Dasha wouldn't stumble upon it. The girls (not Dasha) that FINALLY came home said they thought it would be a good idea to give to her last night because she may find it and ruin the surprise. So we came up with the idea of having an impromptu birthday bash for Dasha. We got some decorations, put on some music and the girls taught me a national Greek and Bulgarian dances while we waited. We did this for about an hour - I LOVE to dance and haven't for so long! I think I'm going thru my "I wanna learn to salsa" phase again but I digress. We waited and waited for her to come home and then found out from one of the other girls that had just arrived home from work that Dasha was going out with some friends. I couldn't believe we had a no show! But then I got a hold of a friend who got a hold of her friend and together they concocted a pretty brilliant story which got her back to my house. She came inside was SO surprised and if you could have seen her face light up and the way she hugged us all and then how quickly she jumped on her bike and sped up and down the street on it... it was worth every "I stayed up too late" stretch and "OMG, I'm so tired" groan!

Oh yeah, the compliment. So of course all my exchange students are stunners, exotic looking and SKINNY. I get so mad when the 100 lb-er says "I'm getting fat"... ARRGH. Well anyway, I was explaining to them a little about WW and how the points work, etc. They were very interested in this. But the compliment came when Olha said "Tina, you are the same like us... we don't see you walking down the street and say OH, THERE is Tina coming.. you look like us, you look good!" Granted, I know I don't look like a supermodel but hell, I'll take the compliments when they come!

Want Cinnabun?

So I know I had a little too much fun at convention last week and to be quite honest toward the end of the week I stopped writing everything down. Bad move, I know. I knew that I was starting fresh today and that no matter what the scale said I'd get back on track this week. I knew I'd probably see a gain...I mean, c'mon - PB Fudge cake, chicken tikka, french fries. Wow, I really did have fun.

I braced myself and got on the scale this morning and I'm up 1.6. That wasn't the kicker. I was ready for it, kinda. The next part is why I'm so ticked. When I go into work on Tuesdays my co-worker (who is doing ww with me) and I report on our progress. She lost a pound (yay her!). I told her what the scale said for me this morning and one of the guys overheard and said "YOU had a GAIN?". After I said yes, 1.6 lbs he said "want a Cinnabun?" and then laughed. To which I replied with a not so endearing term, referring to his lower parts (namely where the sun don't shine). Aaaaah! I know it's stupid and I probably shouldn't be so mad, but I'm PMSing AND had a gain. For crying out loud I have been workin' my ass off at losing this weight!@ I'm not like his perfectly sculpted body (NOT) who has probably never had a weight problem and can eat an entire house without as much as a bloat. Breathe Tina, breathe.

I just talked to one of my other guy friends here who is starting weightwatchers (for the second time and BTW he looks good!) and told him that I gained this week. He was like "no biggie, that'll come off in the next two weeks because it's not a real gain". I LOVE him. Oh and my boss just called and said we can leave at noon. We've been going back and forth and last night he said we could leave at 3. But yay! I'm so excited!! July 4th eve, here I come!

Back on Weightwatchen (thanks strawgirl)

I just finished reading strawgirl's post and was a little torn about signing up on weightwatchen again only because it's quite comfortable to blog here... but after thinking about it for about 30 seconds, I posted. So here is my first second post on weightwatchen.com.

I’m back but torn…
So it does feel good to be back. THANKS RONI! In the meantime, I’ve made many “friends” and had so many supporters to my journey. That is a hard thing to pass up. Ever since the crash, I like many others started again on blogger, which I hope to keep up. The question is, can I keep up with two blogs? Sigh.

Strawgirl mentioned in her blog that weightwatchen was up and she was conflicted about what to do. She gets way more comments in blogger than here but the community here is amazing. I’m conflicted because there are things I love about blogger but I did feel more of a sense of community with weightwatchen.

I guess in the meantime I will try to keep up with both (I mean, how hard is it to copy and paste). Talk to ya soon!

I get far less comments here than I did at weightwatchen but all in all, that's not the point of me blogging. It's really become like a form of therapy and accountability for me. Like I said above, I may just end up copying and pasting. That can't be too hard!

No excessive speeds!

Just wanted to keep ya'll updated on my colon's state. You're welcome. :) Right now we are approaching the middle lane of the highway. No excessive speeds - we seem to be keeping up with the flow of traffic. I was a little nervous because I thought for sure I'd have to take a vacation day or at least half day because of all my toilet time. But things seem to be normal.

It's the day before WI and I'm hoping that all my convention hoopla-ing last week has not resulted in a gain. But I'm preparing myself mentally for one just in case!

I walked into a crazy day here - most of the phone lines were ringing at the same time when I walked in at 8:10 (we don't open until 9). Definitely an indicator of how the day would go. Boss is kinda in an impatient mood because we've had some customer trying to get something for nothing. He's not fully taking it out on me but he's a little testy today which makes me a little snappy too. I think I'm kinda PMSing too - FUN! Plus one of the secretaries is ALWAYS having hot flashes so we are in a constant battle over whether 72 degrees inside and outside is a nice temperature. She wants the AC on. I don't. I'm winning, for now. Ok, well I have to go. Lots more work to do. Boss said he wants to close the office early tomorrow (YAY) so I'll end up having about a day and a half off. LOVE IT! What're ya'll doing for the 4th?

UPDATE: Totally winning the AC battle. My boss just said "why the heck is the AC on? It's freakin' 70 degrees outside! (the sneak put it on when I wasn't lookin') Oh, and I totally had a "omg I have to go NOW or else" bathroom moment.

Droppin' the kids off...

...at the pool.

So today, my best friend and I started a cleanse together. We went into GNC to find something that would "clean us out" (sorry) and got help from the guy behind the counter that went a little something like this.

Me to GNC guy: Dude, do you know which one of these will make me sit on the toilet all day long? Because I don't want that one. *My best friend objects because she does not have to leave the house all day long if she does not choose, I on the other hand do.
GNC guy to me: Uh, well, I think they are not like that. They will get ya movin' but I think (love this word when dealing with a professional) are pretty gentle.
Me: You think?
GNC dude: Well, actually the liquids are stronger than the pills so you might get a stronger cleanse. *Again with the indefinite words like "might". I mean, I think that's how they work.

GNC guy continues to rample on about which ones he wants to try but they "smell nasty" or he is "too scared". Way to market your products buddy. Now I've decided to ignore GNC guy and make up my own mind. So I start having a conversation with the bff about which cleanse we think we want. Liquid or pills. We look at prices and decide that because they are pretty comparable we will just figure out which ones we will do the best on. There was a 21 day cleanse that we ruled out because we both have extreme cases of ADD and I honestly don't think I could focus on a poopin' regimine for 3 wks. Then there was the two week one which got ruled out for the same reasons. Now we are in 7 day and 2 day territory. We figured a 2 day-er was better than 7 days. We both hate pills and we hate liquids and since there didn't seem to be a cleanse in a Hershey's candy bar, we had to decide on one of the two. We chose liquid that swore to have "great taste" to which I rolled my eyes. It was either that or the horse pills. I've had my second dose. Kinda like apple juice with a bit of medicine aftertaste. IMHO, it isn't all that bad. It is one point per serving (need 4 per day) but I plan to have lots of fruits and veggies the next couple of days. Can't wait to feel the results!! :) I'll keep ya posted.