America's Next Top Model

Ok, not quite but it was fun doing... You should try it too.. Which one do you like best?

Not goodbye.. we'll see you later.

We gathered on Tuesday to say our final goodbyes to this man that had literally touched hundreds and hundreds of lives. Testimony after testimony was filled with how he had reached them, sacrificed his time, had served them with his talents, had listened, had given them a word, a verse, something that was perfectly in season. I know many, if not all of us, wondered why? How could this happen? When will it all make sense?

"Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God."

I don't understand but I can only look to the one who will lead me, guide me through the places of desolation and incredible temptation and weakness. I'm tempted to ask why. But I won't. I believe in a perfect plan, and somehow while this is messy to the naked eye, one day it will all make sense.

In remembering him, we laughed and of course we cried. I bawled when there was a group picture of my dorm that appeared on the screen. He was our brother. Countless stories told that made us laugh, nod and say "yep, that's John". When the youth pastor said that "John followed all the rules" we all snickered and said "do you really think he did?". I don't know how this is possible but even in the midst of the sadness there was also joy. We were celebrating HIS LIFE. I felt quickened, almost alive because of this one man's life. It made me want to rush out and grab a struggling teenager and just love them. Or make that conversation with the best friend last a little longer. Or even go to church.. it made me want to be near the things that are eternal, that which will NEVER pass away.

John will be deeply missed but never forgotten. We will mourn the loss of a brother, servant and friend but one day we will see him again.

My note to my readers: I have to say that I was really humbled that even one person took a moment to post a comment to let me know that they were thinking about me. I don't take lightly any word spoken or written to me. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers - they brought great comfort to me. Because of that, I wanted to share what has been going on in my own heart.

Wordless Wednesday

You know how this picture was taken, don't you? I heard mom go to get the camera. I just knew what she was up to. It was a Polaroid, so there are no quiet or smooth moves in the umpteen clicks that it takes to get the camera ready.

She threw open the door and of course! I stood up, in all my bare naked ass glory and covered my non-existent chest with a big cheesy smile.

Nude Reporter

This conversation could be heard if you were a fly on my car window as I was on my way to class tonight.

Blah, blah, blah.. a lot of stuff that you don't need to know about.. blah, blah, blah.. Bryan Ackerman.

Mel: Who IS that? I always hear his name, but I don't know who that is. Sounds like a celebrity or a nude reporter.

Me: You know who he is.. he's the young guy that does sign language and did you just say nude reporter?

Mel: No, NUDE reporter.

Me: Um, NUDE reporter?

Mel: NO, NOON reporter.

Me: OOOOOH. A NOON reporter.

Mel: NOOOOOO!! A NOOOOOOON reporter. You know like reports the news.

Me: YES, I get it!! A noon reporter.

Mel: Oh my GOSH! N-E-W-S reporter.

Seriously, that's what I heard. I'm not even 30 yet. And you wonder why I need 2,000 cell phone minutes.

Forgive my absence...

Some links to my newest posts won't work because I took them down. I'm not really in the mood to be bitchy or joke around. I just want to be close to my closest friends, snuggle tight until the lump in my throat and pain in my heart goes away. I'm not quitting.. just taking a break for a few days... The funeral is this weekend and the service to celebrate his life is Tuesday.

Thanks for your thoughts, prayers and kind words.

-Tina

to all my blogging buddies

Yesterday was at times a particularly rough day. It's hard to think that someone I knew and was friends with is gone. Thanks for the kind words and prayers. His family and even closer friends will need it to get thru. I was and am still very sad about it but I know that no matter how messy the plan is... somehow it's perfect.

Big John

This morning I learned that a friend of many died. I knew him as "big John", a face that was always around, a big brother type. A faithful member of my church, someone who loved God. He loved people, including the trying teenagers. He was truly a servant. His suffering (though silent and sort of a mystery to many) is over and he is with his Maker.

To me this is a lesson to be careful with our moments. To put aside the things in life that really aren't a big deal. If you can bite your tongue, swallow your pride.. do it. And if you can love, encourage someone, be a friend.. do that too. Time is too freakin' short.

Can you guess...

... why my normally 40 minute commute from work to home took me an additional 20 minutes?

Maybe there was traffic? Nope. Holiday. Pretty nice flow if you ask me.

An accident? All was clear. And for Maryland, that's pretty darn good because it was raining out.

Detour? Nope, well..

Going into work I take the highway heading north. Going home I take the highway heading south. Well, I just plain forgot which direction I live, so I went North. I had to travel about 10-15 miles before the next exit.

I am simply stupendous.

Tactless Tina

Sometimes, somedays I have little patience. There are certain people I tolerate with a deep sigh. There is this dude at work that calls me ALL THE TIME. It's not a real problem that he calls I guess, it's that it takes a really long time to get thru a conversation with him. Seriously, you can listen to the first minute, put the phone down for the next 20, pick it back up occasionally mmm hmming and you wouldn't have missed a thing. I swear!

So today I had to leave him a message and this is what it said.

"Hi, it's Tina. I have a customer that would like to schedule the work and I need the details of the job. Please call me at 1-800-XXX-XXXX. But you already know that number because you call me all the time."

That last part slipped out. I meant it, but I didn't mean for him to hear it. Oh Lord, when will I learn to count to ten before I utter such things.

At least the boys in the office thought it was funny.

Awwwwwww... woof

November 2, 2005 was an absolutely amazing day.

Polly arrived with 6 sisters and 3 brothers. Just like me!

I handpicked her, pretty much days after I first saw her.
She was like a little teddy bear. Puppies are like newborns. Always sleeping, pooping or eating.

We think that's her with the purple ribbon.
She was always snuggling near her mommy.

I'm pretty sure Jake is holding Polly here.
Those are my sexy legs and slippers in the background.

They just walked all over each other.

Can you imagine what dinnertime was like?

Look at her now!

SS - Why Do I Blog?

So this is my first time playing along with the Scrolling Saturdays' theme. Yay, I love being a virgin. Here is a post I've been thinking of re-posting. I originally began blogging over at Roni's place and then a few months in (I think), there was a crash in the server. Long story short, I began again here. Below is pretty much the reason I started the blog in the first place. Kind of a personal history. Originally posted May 29, 2007.

Why Do I Blog?
This is my second blog, created for the purpose of sharing with others the same struggles and successes in this category called weight loss. The funny thing is some days I don't even blog about weight related things - it's become a place for me to vent or just convey the craziness in my head. I already miss logging in to my Weightwatchen blog and 'talking' with so many that have become such a great support to me. For the most part I am beginning to find again those that were (and are) a staple to my daily blog reading. So glad to have this community! So...this is my story... about my weight, it's ups and downs (literally) and what I'm doing about it now. I know that I can do nothing of myself, without Christ so to Him for every ounce that is lost, I give Him the glory!

Forgive me, for this is long. If you are only interested in the answer to the question in my title, scroll to the bottom. Otherwise, read on. Be patient, or don't. Laugh, cry, nod when it seems I've written your story. I know I ramble, don't complete thoughts and sometimes sound like a lifetime tv for women ad, but this is my story…

Knobby Knees - I remember one time in my entire life where my knees could be described as such… I was 6. I ate like a moose but looked like a piece of spaghetti. I even remember being called by my doctors 'underweight'. Aaah, to relish the days before puberty. As I got older and neared the good ol' pubescent years, I remember grandma saying in her broken English, mixed with a little Portuguese, "when you grow up you are a gonna get a fatta if a you keepa eating like thatta". I laughed because I didn't think it was possible for me, Ms. Twig Thang herself to a.) grow up and b.) get fat

Aunt Flo & High School - Puberty was fun….not really. Glasses, braces and about 20 extra pounds that didn't quite belong on my belly and thighs. I HATED my body, the way I looked. My self esteem was in the toilet. I remember weighing about 150 lbs and standing no taller than 5'2?. I went thru times where I completely starved myself or forced every bit of food back up. I abused diet pills, laxatives…. Nothing worked longterm though. I realized I could never not eat so back on came the pounds. Oh boy, was I so jealous of my mom who was (and is still) soooo tiny. She actually has a problem gaining weight. Which I guess, unless you have been in that boat (which I never have been), it's a very frustrating ride. I couldn't understand why God had made me this way, almost cursed me. I wanted to be thin like my skinniest friends. Why couldn't I be?

The Freshman (minus 15) - Everyone talks about their freshman year being the time where they packed on the weight. I was the opposite, in fact, I'm not sure about the total weight but I went from a size 14/16 to a size 3/4 in about 4 months. Thank you Dr. Atkins. When I went back home to visit, everyone told me how great I looked. People I didn't know or who I thought didn't know me were suddenly my friend. It was funny to me, but somehow I think there was a need to be loved by those very people. It was that year that I had my my second 'real' boyfriend, seemed to gain many friends in my life once again I was sorta liking the way I looked. I do remember the small voice in my head saying "a few more pounds". I was not completely satisfied with me, yet. The dangerous thing was I had tricked myself into thinking there WOULD be a point where I was satisfied. I wasn't. I stopped eating 'only protein' and went back to a normal way of eating. Of course, I gained weight, probably about 10 lbs worth and it was then that my boyfriend's dad said to me "you look like you gained some weight, huh?" !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Who does that? Sometime soon after that I joined the dojo where I began to study judo/jujitsu. The weight I had gained fell off and then some. I had it in my head that what I was seeing the mirror was not good enough. I didn't see "bony" - I saw a fat person looking back at her in the mirror. I remember what a low time that was. I think I weighed about 100 lbs (at 5'3?).

Bumps in the Road - My third and fourth years of college I stabilized in my weight. I was about 130 lbs but still very unhappy. I remember working out all the time and going on my high protein binges. I was very good friends with a stick thin model so that didn't help my 'issues' either. If I'm honest, the most unhealthy part of me during this time was my mind. I never did see myself the way others seemed to. During my senior year of college, I was hired to work with children who had learning disabilities. I think this was the greatest time of my life because for once, I was so focused on others and their needs, that I stopped look for and at my faults, real or imagined. Those kids brought out the best in me and loved me, whether I had a full face of makeup on or had rolled in with my "casual Friday" outfit. They loved me so much that I didn't notice my weight gain. Until I saw myself in a picture and stepped on the scale in my bathroom. It read (gulp) 180 lbs! I remember going downstairs and telling my roommate Kim who didn't believe a word of it. We marched upstairs together, I stepped on the scale, and she said "oh damn". Yes, oh damn, I have a big butt and didn't notice it till now. That began my WW journey.

Hi, My Name Is - I joined WW in the winter of 2003. For the first time I learned not only what but how to eat. Not to sound corny here but I learned how to like myself and be proud of my accomplishments, even if they came in 0.4 increments. My leader was so fun and I had a friend that I'd attend the meetings with at 7:00 a.m. on Saturdays. Holy cow, I still don't even know how I did that. Losing weight was actually kind of easy. I was a little obsessed with it, but not in that unhealthy college years way. My first time around at WW I lost 43 lbs! Soon after that in the summer of '03, I found a 3rd serious boyfriend. I never told him I did WW. At first, I'd just sneak to the meetings and then I quit altogether. I was doing okay for a while. Initially I lost a few more pounds but when we ended up being together for a while, comfort kicked in. We both gained weight together and you could say we were fat and happy. Well, I was fat and happy. He was just happy. The happiness with my fatness ended when the relationship ended. He moved out and I sank into a depression. It was after that I got on a scale decided to Dr. Phil my way through this one, and see if I could 'show him'. I went from 174 to 143 in about 3 months time. I could copy and paste from the other sections where compliments were many and unusual friends came my way. But just like those other sections, I didnt keep doing what I needed to.

How Did I Get Here Again - I am here 8 weeks into WW yet again. I've grown up some, still hate my body somedays but my mind has a different perspective. I'm probably the most comfortable in my skin than I've been ever in my life, even when I weigh 100 lbs. I'm proud of my journey because I think I am just starting to 'get' who I am. I'm not my fat roll, or my stretch marks. I am 'fearfully and wonderfully made'. All the parts that are me - physical, spiritual, mental, emotional - they are not by accident. I was designed with my, let's just call it, uniqueness. This goes for you too! Why do I blog here? To share the good, bad & ugly. Why WW again? Because I know it works. Enough said.

Editor's Note: I am doing WW yet again. I've learned that this really is a journey, as corny as that may sound to some of you. My brain was wired to think that weight loss was my goal, not keeping it off or actually maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Once I got to that magic number then everything would be okay. But it's not just about getting to that perfect number. We have bad days, bumps that throw us off, old demons that haunt... it's about getting up, brushing yourself off and moving forward. With life (including food), I don't take it one day at a time. It's less daunting to take it a breath, a second, one minute at a time...

Dear Pablo,

You called my house last night about 100 times. I wasn't aware that Peru and Maryland have something in common. Do you know what it is? Google pointed out to me that we share the same time. So Pablo, when you rangy rang my phone from 11:30 pm to 1:30 am, it was the same time for you too. Maybe you don't have Google there in Peru? Or a bedtime? Can I send you a link? A sleeping pill?

I was nice to you last night, even when you annoyingly asked the same question over again. Yes, she received the flowers. No, Ms. Thang NO ESTA LA CASA. I mean, c'mon. I said it in YOUR language and I'm not even great with Spanglish. I hate repeating myself but I did that too... three times. For your sake. Maybe you missed a word or two that I said? Although your English did sound pretty good to me. I politely told you that it was late and that I had been sleeping. You apologized and then asked me again if she was home. Sigh. I mentioned this great invention called voice mail. Made for this very reason so you don't have to exhibit stalkerish qualities.

I cut you some slack, Pablo because I was ignorant of geographical things. I was patient and kind. But next time, I may not be so nice. I'm warning you. I saved the Fedex label from the package you sent your girl. I know where you live.

Sleepily,
Tina

Happy freakin' Valentines

My morning started a little something like this.

I forgot to let Polly out last night before bed so this morning when she was doing the bathroom wiggle, I should have known that there wasn't much room to play. I moved as fast as I could. I mean, c'mon. I just woke up. Stumbling to the back door, with one eye open...Oh lord, what was that I just stepped in? Lovely. It's too early to step in warm, wet stuff. Actually, it's not too early. I'm running late. Again. Good thing Mel is driving today. And picking up coffees before she meets me. I knew I loved her.

I got dressed in about 5 minutes, splashed some water on my face, brushed my teeth, tidied my hair and I was ready to go. I get a phone call. It's the bff and she's at Walmart. Looking for a VD card for me because she forgot at home the one originally bought. So she was looking for the same card. At a different store. Did you get coffees? No, because I wanted to get you a card. She's so sweet but all I can respond is "I hate Valentines Day". Nice. I'm such a wonderful person. Maybe I'm grouchy because I stepped in dog pee.

Mel arrives a few minutes later and I gather up my belongings (including Polly) and head out the door. I put Polly in a sit/stay while I lock up. She takes off. I don't really care at this point because I still have my whole life to pile into Mel's big honkin' SUV. I dump my stuff in her car and then go to collect the dog. Keep in mind I am not in my warmest outfit.

Polly, come. Ride? *sweet and fun voice. Polly looks in my direction, looks vaguely interested, then takes off. I am trying to keep in mind all the things I've heard about getting my dog to come. Don't sound angry. Don't be stressed. Make it fun.

You know what was fun (to her)? That I was calling her and she wasn't coming. In fact, she ran farther away. Oh yay, she's stopping! Maybe now I can grab her. Oh my lord, she's POOPING. And my neighbor is walking out the door and is totally gonna report me. Not another letter from the homeowner's association. I always pick up her poop but today it was 16 degrees out and tears were streaming down my face because I was so cold. So there the poop lay because I had bigger fish to fry. I needed to CATCH MY DOG. I try to trick her and open the door to my car. She runs across the front lawn of all my neighbors. Back and forth. Like a demon child. I'm convinced that when I do catch her, I'm gonna kill her. I breathe a sigh of relief. She's coming closer. Yay! I reach for her. Miss. And she DARTS off. Again. To the field across from my house. Oh Lord, I think I'm gonna die. I'm just ready to leave her ass behind. I wanna sit on Mel's heated seats! I try to trick her by opening my car door again. This time it works! She hops in my car. Only problem is that's not the car we're taking today. She's sitting in the front. I open the front door to grab her leash and yank lead her out of my car. She hops to the back seat. Ok, I can do this. I close the front door and open the back door. She jumps to the front again. Melissa at this point says "Grab her leash". I should point out that this bit of helpful advice comes minutes after she laughed for about 5 minutes straight at the spectacle I was creating for all my neighbors (and apparently her too) to enjoy. Priceless.

I've got the leash! I thought my morning Olympics were over. I forgot about the next hurdle. Getting Polly into Mel's car. Finally after much struggling and my embarrassing butt crack show to the world, we managed to get in. Of course I had to share MY seat with her. I don't care. I'm in the car. I'm sitting down. I'm warm. A little squished but warm nonetheless. What's that? Those "brrrp" things on the road that are a supposed to be little reminders that you shouldn't be sleeping while driving. Yeah, Polly hates those. Mommy loves them. Because it meant I got to have my seat all to myself.

Happy Valentines Day!

Bloggy Lurve

Because sometimes others know us better than we know ourselves, I was invited to be a guest author on Mel's blog. Go check her out and show her some lurve. She's quite quirky!

Wordless Wednesday

This picture is more like speechless Wednesday. I'm simply amazing in my full length flowered dress. My shoes have soles that are incredibly honkin' in thickness. Wow.

I'm so glad that my style has evolved some.

Are daily servings of burgers and fries on the WW plan?

Wow, I had so many visitors yesterday. What fun! Thanks for stopping by. Since it is slow today, I will have some time to not do my work stalk you guys!

So I get an email from the bff saying "ignore all the stuff Greg wrote about you (on Facebook)". The HELL I will. I marched my butt over to Fb and looked to see what she meant and lmao. Serves her right for logging in as him. Greg's one of our pals and he barely knows how to use a computer. So Mel sets up everything for him. That means she knows his password. Forgetting that she was logged in as him, she editted the details about how we knew each other and put that we had lived together and listed three different places. They were the three different places MELISSA and I have lived together. She thought I had deleted her as my friend (as if)... my rule is only delete the crazies and the stalkers. I'll admit, she's getting close but she's UNdeletable in my book. Now the really funny thing is Mel and I just had a conversation yesterday about how I was glad she didn't have my email password because I just know she would be snooping around. She admitted she would be tempted but wouldn't snoop. I'm not so sure (btw, I know she's reading this). She says it's my fault because I told her to log in as him (I can't remember why - I think we wanted to see if he had written a girl). But that's not ALL my fault, is it? She wrote "be sure your sins will find you out". Hee hee. They sure will. Now onto other topics...

So this morning was my weigh in. I have to confess. I need to go grocery shopping. I eat HORRIBLY when I don't. I don't overeat.. I just choose all the wrong things and eat once a day. Like burgers and fries. Everyday. I also went thru my TOM on Thursday - Saturday. So I've been feeling "feed me salt"ish. And water? Don't even get me started.

Weigh in = NO change and for that I am offering up a big YAHOO. I'll take it.

Tonight I will get some groceries. And eat better. And eat fruit. Wow, I haven't had a piece of fruit in DAYS. Wait? Does a cherry filled pop tart count? Just kidding, no pop tarts for me.

As an NSV, I have been doing workouts at home. It's probably not helpful that I'm thinking all the while "this isn't gonna do a dang thing" but anyway, I've been doing 'em. So that's something! Gotta run. Will stalk you later.

~Tina

Quirky Confessions

In lieu of Manda's birthday, I decided to join her today in listing my quirky confessions. Happy Birthday!

1. I do not "do" fruit in my VEGETABLE salad. Fruit salad, yes. Baby oranges, grapes or anything other than lettuce, tomatoes, cukes and onions and I'm pretty much out. I don't do cooked fruit either. Sweet and sour chicken yes. Cooked pineapple, no.

2. It bugs my sleep if my room is cluttered. I'm pretty organized but I do have my moments when I let things go (usually when I'm busy) and my sleep suffers as a result. I lay in bed thinking of how I should clean my room and usually when I'm finally tired of the clutter, I spend 8 hours cleaning. Hence my cleaning spree this weekend.

3. I like my room really cold and lots and lots of blankets when I sleep... all year long.

4. My bff calls me grandma because I Tivo all the Dateline, Primetime, 20/20 and 60 Minutes shows. I'm 29.

5. I almost never put my clean laundry away. I just dig thru the baskets to find what I want to wear and then when they're empty, it's time to do laundry again.

6. My grocery lists are an art form. By aisle and type of food. And if I make a mistake, no scratchsies outsies. It takes me less than 30 minutes to do about $100 bucks worth of shopping and that includes the check out.

7. I compulsively check my alarm clock to make sure it's set for the right time (that doesn't mean I've remembered to turn it on).

8. I have a mental list of three things that I must have at all times: keys, cell phone, wallet. Only once have I forgotten one of these things. My day was thrown completely off because I obsessed about the wallet that I may/may not have let in my car.

Ok, your turn. You know you wanna bare all!

Polly does naughty things

I wonder the thought process that Polly has when she is being tempted. Oooh, I want that stuffed animal even though mommy always says 'No' when I get near it. Or it's lots of fun to make the kitty cat growl at me. Or it's hilarious when me and mommy are playing outside and then she calls me and I just run off like I never heard her. That's my favorite.

Two Christmases ago I received a plush, light up snowman from my mom. I LOVE snowmen and I get them every year as gifts either from others or from me to me. This particular snowman was my fast favorite and because she (it was definitely a girl) had a country-ish theme, I could keep it out the whole winter. Because I have a hard enough time putting away my Christmas stuff, it was nice to be able to leave this decoration out just because it was 'wintry'. And this is what happened when said decoration was left out.

And this is who did it. I could have killed her but obviously I didn't. I mourned and moved on.
And this is my beloved kitty, Pip. He never chews anything. Except the Christmas lights but that was a long time ago and a completely different story.

Frozen in Grand Central Station

This is wild. 200+ people were enlisted to freeze at the exact same time in Grand Central Station. Pretty cool. Little freaky. Thanks Vera.

Questions, so many questions...

Where am I going?

Budapest, Hungary. Eastern Europe. 8 hour flight. Can you say Xanax?

Who travels with me?

Last year, it was just Mel. This year Glenn (Mel's hubby) and Texas Greg are coming along. That should be loads of fun, if you like grumpy and guffawing. At least the girls will be in one room and the stinky boys in the other.

Why, why, why Budapest?

Our home church in Baltimore, MD has churches all over the world. They have a pow-wow twice a year, once in Europe and once at our homebase. The pow-wow this time of year is in Europe.

I have to mention that in college I became fast friends with many Hungarians, they are beautiful people inside and out and I also took a semester of Hungarian(and yes, I can speak egy kicsit). I will be walking around the house with my tapes as a refresher.

What will I do with Polly? Oh my god, will I blog while I'm gone? And what else will I do while I'm there?

Don't worry puppy fans. She will join the pack at Mel's house. The nanny LOVES my doggy so she'll be well cared for.

I'm pretty sure I will not blog while overseas. Internet=boku buckaroos. But stay tuned. I may surprise ya.

Mainly we'll be at the conference, attending different sessions, hanging out with old friends, meeting new people, eating strange but wonderful food, walking around the city and one of my (our) friends is gonna take us bowling the day after we arrive. I'm also looking into meeting up with at least one of the girls that stayed with me last summer. Right now, it's looking like a 10 hour train ride to Romania but maybe we can figure something out.

Anyone with experience on train-ing it in Europe? Just when I think I've found a good site to use, I discover it's in Ro-gar-ssian.

When do I leave?
NEXT month baby. March 5-11th. Woot!

pics post & Budapest bound!

I've become one of those people. You know. They stop on the side of the road and whip out their digi-cams. I just couldn't help myself.

Most of today and including right now it is 67 degrees. It's February 6th and I wore a t-shirt and sandals to work. Which could explain why I keep getting sick. *shrug* I am NOT complaining but the warmer weather is a tease because even though I want to be dumped on with tons of snow, I'm soooo ready for spring-ish clothes and FRUIT IN SEASON.




Today, my bff and I booked our tickets to Budapest. We paid $492 bucks r/t! That is an UNBELIEVABLE deal. We're going for a missions conference and then we have a few days of play time. So hopefully we'll be able to hit a neighboring country. Ideas are welcome as always. I will be investigating online later to see if we can maybe visit on of my girls from last year's stay. Oh yeah, we leave next month.. March 5th!!

Darn scale predictions and AWARDS

I was right this time. My crappy eating last week did NOT, repeat not, pay off. You know those times when you feel as if you're gonna gain and then don't (I LOVE those times). Well, this was not one of those times. I'm up 0.6. On a positive note, at least I'm still in the 170's.

Last night I did 45 minutes of strength training, a workout formulated by SP. I have to say when I got home, everything hurt but in a good way. Then I made a healthy dinner broiled potatoes and chicken and then tuned into my all-time favorite show The New Adventures of Old Christine. Dreyfuss is freaking awesome and I nearly pee my pants whenever I watch. And I could just strip all my clothes off and throw myself at melt at Mr. Harris. But I digress.

It's so easy to slip away from the gym even after weeks of going but I have to say it felt really good to be back!

Yesterday I had some time to poke around on a few new sites and found Secrets of a Black Heart and Shamelessly Sassy. Funny, funny gals. If you're in need of a laugh, I'm sure they've got one for you.

And finally, I've always wanted to be a presenter at the awards shows and since that'll never happen I'm gonna give one out here. There's only rule. Hand it out to as many people as you'd like.

And the award goes to...........

Where the hell is Barbie?
I know I'm not the only reader to laugh so hard to the point of snorting. She's AMAZING and inspires me. She's got this picture of a magazine cover of HER on it and she has quite the amazing before and after. Not only is she a great read I always see her comments floating around on others' blogs encouraging them.

Swizzlepop
She's another one you CONSTANTLY see floating around building others up. She has been my longest and most faithful blog friend. She's an amazing person with great food habits (Hostess 100's). And recently she made LIFETIME. She's beautiful, funny, smart and she's worth a read.

Roni
She's the whole reason I started the bloggy thingie (that was for you HappyBlogChick). I joined to have some accountability, to share my thoughts because quite honestly I felt like no one did understand this struggle. As a result I got a whole COMMUNITY of people dropping comments saying encouraging words, giving me a "hang in" just when I needed it. She has a great site with food ideas, rants (which I love), exercises but most importantly the amazing community which is just the support you need.

Kate
If you're looking for someone to ooze positivity, look not further. It's not the annoying kind either. She almost always throws some inspirational quote our way. She BAKES but using healthy alternatives and she has a daily puppy on her blog. :)) She's such a sweetheart working on her own weight goals but is so quick to have a word of encouragement to me and many others.

Happy Tuesday!

The tree is DOWN but I'm not...

I think I'm gonna take a break from blogging on the weekends... I seem to have more to talk about come Monday morning.

Saturday - I took down my freakin' tree and cleaned the first floor of my house from 8:00 am until about 4:30 pm. I'm talkin' steam cleaning the carpet, washing the kitchen floor, scrubbing counter tops and vacuuming the umpteen tree needles from every crevice. I think next year my two resolutions will be to check my mailbox more often (right now it's about every 7-10 days). The reason for this is I missed the notice from my HOA that said tree pickups would be the week of January 21st. Nice. Good thing my friend's dad has a dumpster that he offered to haul off my pathetic tree to. I'm so excited though because I rearranged the furniture and everything looks so nice! :)) Oh my other resolution will be to take down my tree for the week of tree pickup.

Sunday - I woke up feeling pretty crappy. Sore throat, feverish, achey, chills, basically the same symptoms everyone else has been feeling lately. Polly had WAAY to much energy yesterday. I was ready to post "does anyone want a dog?". 50+ lbs jumping on my stomach is usually fun except for yesterday. I pretty much slept the entire day until about 6:15 to which I tuned to the Superbowl. Let's just say I'm in mourning. I was supposed to go to my neighbor's house to watch but since I wasn't feeling well, I opted to stay in. They were doing a $1 a spot and I picked ten and guess what? I won $50 bucks! That NEVER happens!

Monday - that's today. I'm feeling better than yesterday. I got on the scale this morning and I was up two pounds. I kinda expected it because I didn't really do too well eating this past week. Not many fruits, veggies.. but stayed on target with the water. I am gonna start exercising again. I am feeling bad about paying 84 bucks a month and not using my membership at all. I think I need to start strength training again. I can't tell you how many times I heard on tv or read online (this week alone) that in order to lose weight, you should exercise with weights. So that's what I'm gonna start doing... tonight, after work. *insert sarcastic yay here*

On a sad note, my boss called me this morning to say that one of his very good friends was hit by a car and killed last night as he tried to cross the highway on foot. If you would, please keep his family and friends in prayer. This is a very sad time for many people I know.

Meme Time! OMG it's my 100th post!

I got this in an email from an old friend.... and because I'm bored and have nothing interesting to post as of yet, here goes. Feel free to copy and paste. :))

1. What is your occupation? Office manager
2. What color are your socks right now? mint green with cranberry colored flowers (good thing my pants are long b/c they totally don't match)
3. What are you listening to right now? my portable heater
4. What was the last thing that you ate? ham, egg & cheese on english muffin
5. Can you drive a stick shift? sure can
6. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? black
7. Last person you spoke to on the phone? a customer
8. Do you like the person who sent this to you? yep
9. How old are you today? 29
10. Favorite drink? diet soda although I haven't had anything except water in DAYS
11. What is your favorite sport to watch? ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL!!!
12. Have you ever dyed your hair? yes, ugh
13. Pets? doggy and kitty cat
14. Favorite food? hamburgers
15. Last movie you watched? Pay It Forward
16. Favorite Day of the year? probably Thanksgiving or Christmas.. but only if spent with family... otherwise the holidays SUCK
17. What do you do to vent anger? depends who made me angry. I have quite the Portugie temper at times.
18. What was your favorite toy as a child? hands down my Barbies
19. What is your favorite, fall or spring? Fall
20. Hugs or kisses? Again, depends...
21. Cherry or Blueberry? def cherry
22. Do you want your friends to email you back? does not apply but feel free to comment!
23. Who is most likely to respond? swizzle and mel
24. Who is least likely to respond? dunno
25. What is your favorite song? Who Knew by Pink
26. When was the last time you cried? Um, hmmm... I dunno... maybe in church I teared up a little.
27. What is on the floor of your closet? lots and lots of shoes
28. Who is the friend you have had the longest that you are sending
this to? Melissa
29. Who is the friend you have had the shortest that you are sending
this to? Probably all my bloggy buddies
30. Favorite smells? clean clothes
31. Who inspires you? Roni, Steph, Melissa, my mom
32. What are you afraid of? Being forgotten
33. Plain, cheese or spicy hamburgers? cheese
34. Favorite car? MY car... :)) Camry
35. Favorite cat breed? Domestic cuz that's what I have
36. Number of keys on your key ring? about 8
37. How many years at your current job? 1.5
38. Favorite day of the week? I'd have to say Saturday.
39. How many states/countries have you lived in? 2
40. Do you think you're funny? sometimes and especially when I'm overtired or took a very strong pain killer.