Wednesday, September 20, 2006

3 Down, 3.6 To Go

Yay! I lost 3 lbs. this week! Only 3.6 lbs. to go for my 50 lbs. star! I'm very excited if you can't tell by the abundant use of exclamation points. For the first week in a while, I followed the WW plan as opposed to the Starfruit plan. I mostly stayed OP and I've been to the gym 4 times since I weighed in last week. The challenge now is to lose weight this coming week while I'm in the 'Cuse.

For those who don't know, my family moved from Syracuse to Columbus this summer, but we had to leave a few things behind (like a 17 ft. U-Haul amount of things behind). So I'm leaving tomorrow morning for SYR with my mom and sister to pack up the rest of our stuff to bring back to C-bus. It's always challenging for me to stay on track (OP and working out) while I'm at home. But I'm going to do it this time. I want my 50 lbs. star!

I'm probably not going to lose 3.6lbs. in the next week to get my 50 lbs. star by my goal date of 9/28 (next Thurs.), but I hope to get it by 10/5. Only 1 week off track. I haven't figured out what my reward is going to be yet - maybe a new pair of jeans. But I already have a pair of jeans that I've never worn that are the next size down. I might need to content myself with those since I don't have a full-time job yet. I can fit into the jeans, as in they zip up and I can move around, but they still kinda of look like they are painted on. Not a good look for me ;-). Or maybe my reward will be new running sneakers. I definitely want/need a pair. I will have to ponder this.

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

I am a PENGUIN

and I love wogging - not quite walking, not quite jogging, it's wogging. I read the greatest book yesterday about running. Specifically, about running for beginners. It's called No Need for Speed: A Beginner's Guide to the Joy of Running. It's by John "The Penguin" Bingham. He's a columnist for Runner's World magazine. I would highly suggest this book to anyone who is thinking about becoming a runner. The book talks all about the basics of starting to run and addresses a lot of concerns that beginner runners have in a thoughtful, funny and easy-to-read format. It's a fantastic book and I have requested two of his other books from the library. I can't wait until they come in.

In any case, the reason I'm reading about running is because I am going to participate in a 1/2 Marathon next year. I hope to be able to do the Indy Mini Marathon with Becardi in May 2007. So this is my formal declaration of intent. I have already started getting ready to start training in January 2007 (any suggestions are welcome). I discovered last week that I can indeed jog more than a mile all at one time without walking - I'm not going to break any landspeed records - but I'm proud to say that I can jog 2 miles at a 12:30 minute/mile pace. Only 11.1 miles to go to finish a 1/2 Marathon.

Friday, September 15, 2006

A Good Week

This was a good week, I've decided, for a couple of reasons. First, I got new glasses this week. I'm very excited because they are super cute and I can finally see clearly again. (No more almost running over old men crossing the street.) Second, I had a loss this week on the scale. It was only 0.3lbs., but I'll take it. It's puts me at 7lbs. from my 50 lbs. star, so I probably won't be getting my star by Sept. 28. But I'm still going to try. I have 2 weeks left. Third, I got the greatest birthday present from Broccoflower. She's awesome! I love my new "Disappearing Civil Liberties" coffee mug (I used it this morning.) and my new Beer Bands (they're like wine glass charms). Thanks Broccoflower!

The only thing that would have made this week better is if I had gotten employed. I'm still waiting to hear back from 3 different interviews. I'm starting to get very frustrated. One of the interviews was on July 24 and I still haven't heard anything. I even called them earlier this week to see what was going and they haven't called me back. Probably because my rejection letter is in the mail. I'll just add it to my growing collection. This time last year I was enjoying being unemployed, this year I'm bored. It sucks.

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

2 Recipes

Here are two recipes I've adapted to the Core program that worked out well, if I do say so myself.

TACO DIP

16 oz. container Fat Free Sour Cream
1 or 2 pkgs. Old El Paso Taco Seasoning (0 pt./serving)
16 oz. jar Salsa
Shredded Lettuce
1 pkg. Fat Free Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1 large can Sliced Black Olives
1 bag Baked Tostitos (not Core, but I don't remember the points) or baked polenta crisps (Core)

1. Mix fat free sour cream and taco seasoning together in a bowl. Spread mixture on the bottom of a large serving dish (at least the size of a 13x9x2 baking dish).
2. Layer salsa, lettuce, fat free shredded cheddar cheese, and black olives (in that order) on top of the sour cream mixture.
3. Cover and let it sit in the refrigerator for at least an hour.
4. Serve with Baked Tostitos.
Note: The longer the sour cream mixture sits, the better the dip is. Sometimes I mix the sour cream and taco seasoning and let it sit overnight.

APPLE CRISP

3 medium Apples, cored, skinned & thinly sliced

Mixture:
1/2 c. Splenda
1/2 tbsp. Cinnamon
1/4 tbsp. Nutmeg

Crisp:
1/2 c. Quick 1-Minute Quaker Oats (can probably use the regular kind too)
1/2 c. Unsweetened Applesauce
2 tbsp. Brown Sugar Splenda (equivalent to 1/4 c. brown sugar; adds 1 pt. for entire dish)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Put apple slices into 8x8 baking dish. No cooking spray needed.
3. Mix Splenda, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a bowl. Add the mixture to the apples.
4. Mix oatmeal, unsweetened applesauce and brown sugar Splenda in a bowl. Spread over apples.
5. Bake for 30 mins. Makes approximately 4 servings.

Friday, September 08, 2006

Burning in Hell

Not only am I going to hell, but I'm probably going to spend some time burning when I get there. "Why?" you ask. Because not only did I almost run over an old man while making a right-hand turn on to Bethel Rd., but then I yelled at him. He started it.

This is what happened: I pulled up to Bethel Rd. to make a right hand turn, look to the right, didn't see anything. Looked to the left, into the sun, to see oncoming traffic. Waited a minute or so for cars to pass, and then started to roll on to Bethel Rd. I hadn't even hit the accelerator yet (thank you, Lord). All of sudden there was an old man in front of my car who pounded on the hood and kept on walking past. Whoops, almost ran over old man. Naturally, I felt bad, so I rolled down my window some more to call out an apology to him. Next thing I know, he turns around and starts yelling at me - "What the hell is your problem?! Can't you see anything, don't you look?!" (Sidenote: The ironic thing is I was coming from the eye doctor because I can't really see out of my glasses which I was wearing).

What happens next is why I going to burn in hell. The old man made me mad by starting to yell at me when I tried to apologize. So instead of apologizing, I yelled back. I believe my exact words were, "Don't be such a jerk-off. I didn't see you and if you would've waited 5 seconds, I would've apologized. Now I won't. Being old doesn't give you an excuse to be an asshole." Then I drove away.

Being mean to an old man who I almost ran over = Burning in hell

Thursday, September 07, 2006

Not So Bad, Not So Good

WI went alright today. I maintained, which is fine. It wasn't a gain :-). I had a couple good days and a couple bad days this week. I also didn't journal or go to the gym at all this week, so it's probably a struck of luck that I didn't have a gain. I really need to get on track. I don't know what my problem is. As of tomorrow, I'm "turning over a new leaf" as my very first WW leader used to say. It was accompanied by a hand gesture and has always stuck with me. This coming week will be better.

Wednesday, September 06, 2006

Laguna Beach

So I'm addicted to Laguna Beach...I have no shame in admitting it. But here's my question - why do almost all the girls have super long hair? I guess it's the new "in" thing, but if I lived by the beach I would find it a pain in the arse and my hair would always look like arse from the salt, sand, sun, etc. However, they never seem to actually be on the beach or in the ocean, so maybe it's not a problem.