The Holy Trinity and the Big 2-0

Tomorrow I weigh in.

No big deal. I do it every Friday like clockwork. Actually, every morning, after I pee (don't laugh - sometimes it makes a half pound difference!), before I put on an ounce of clothing, I step up on those cold, glass digital scales to check my progress. Sometimes I even jump on before bedtime to estimate what the number will be the next morning. Hell, I probably get my weekly cardio from scale hopping alone.

But tomorrow will be different. Tomorrow I anticipate the loss that will - finally - put me at my 10% loss goal and the 20 pound loss total mark.

Hooray me!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, it's been slow. It's taken me since March. I've been stuck at the 177/175 mark since July 4th. But I'm a firm believer in losing slow. It's much easier to keep off when your body has time to adjust. People are finally starting to notice a difference and that's very encouraging. When they ask me how I've done it, I tell them about the holy trinity of my weight loss: Walking, Water, and Weight Watchers. (Wait...is that 4 W's or 3? Shit!!)

There are alot of weight loss programs out there, but I know that Weight Watchers is the only plan that will teach me how to eat normal, grocery store foods and keep off the weight once I've reached my goal. I have friends who've tried low-carb, low-fat, low-food-altogether diets only to gain it all back, plus some. It makes no sense to teach yourself how to eat on a diet that isn't practical and won't allow the foods you love. You're just setting yourself for failure. I'd much rather go with a plan that is realistic and fits the way I live.

I have a few mini-goals I've set for myself to keep on track this fall.

I have some shopping money I've set aside for when I reach 167 pounds. That's about 6 pounds away from my current weight. And I can't wait to buy new jeans!!

Joe and I are attending his cousin's wedding on October 20th. I'd like to be at 160 by then. That's 13 pounds in 7 weeks. (I better get my walkin' shoes out!)

There's a 5k I plan to participate in next month, so what better motivation to step it back up to 12 miles a week! And besides, I can't exactly look like an out of shape loser when I'm the co-captain of our team. It's my first anythingK. Should be fun.

Wish me luck!

Befuddled

Yesterday, as I sat prepared to hand over the $2k for cataract surgery on our dog (that we love so much we'd pay 10x that for) - this woman comes out of the weave/braid store next door carrying her son - who is wearing the now infamous number 7 Falcon jersey.

I just don't understand it.

They Say It's Your Birthday!

Well, not quite. But I have an early present...

Looks like I'll be making my own cake. And I won't mind one little bit.

If anyone needs to borrow the biggest cupcake in the world pan, just give me a ring.

Get this wedding over with already!

I'm ready for the honeymoon!!!

Blog about Blogs

A bit of downtime at work is a welcome change. I've had time to do all the shopping my budget will allow, print out half the weight watchers recipe collection from their website, catch up with a few very old friends, start a rough plan of a wedding and honeymoon, and read about a hundred blog entries from various sites I've grown fond of.

Before things pick up around here, I thought I'd kill two birds with one stone - share my blogroll with my faithful two readers AND post a blog entry all at the same time! Yes, actually, I am a genius.

You'll find my blogroll here!

Mayday! Mayday!

Shit!
How could I have done something stupid like buy a pack of smokes, when I had gone for four months without even ONE! And then suddenly, I feel completely out of control. Hanging on by a thread, even.

Fuck!
How do I manage to always screw up a good thing?

I'm a sad panda.

:(

Here's Looking at You, Kid.

Last night was a night of many firsts for me.

The first time I ever rode in a limo.

First time meeting Sean, the limo driver.

First visit to Piedmont Park.

First screen on the green.

And the first time I finally got to see Casablanca.

Most fun of all, was the first time I got to hang out with Jaimee, Joleen, Lynette, and Swathi all at once. Looks like the beginning of beautiful friendships!

Tiny Pants!!

In an update on the weight loss front, I finally broke the 10 pound mark and am now at 13! I am pushing myself to run/walk at least 8 miles a week and that is helping tremendously. (wow, exercise is a good thing...who knew??!) I love shrinking out of my clothes and having to buy new ones!

I'm not quite as obsessed with points as I once was, but probably because I am now on auto-pilot and pretty much know what I can eat every day without doing the math on it. I get fuller faster and with smaller portions, so it's not nearly the struggle as it was several weeks ago. And seriously, I want to marry whoever decided to make the Hostess 100-calorie packs so that they are packed with 5g of fiber. 1 point cupcakes might be my salvation.

Eating Points

It's been a couple of months since I joined Weight Watchers. As of today, I've lost 7.5 pounds. None of them were easy, either. I'm averaging about a pound a week - which is slow, but steady, with the exception of this week - goddamn birthday cake.

It's hard to stay motivated at this rate. I'm hoping that my salvation will come in the form of a huge loss this week resulting from an almost flawless weekend staying on track. I'll be happy with 2 pounds. I'd just like to finally hit that 10-pound mark. It feels like I've been hovering around 7 for years now.

Sigh.

I THINK I CAN. I THINK I CAN. I THINK I CAN.

Come Put Your Records On

Jaimee and Swathi's brilliant rap remake of a Korn classic.








What do you get when you invite a handful of friends to collaborate on a mix cd for the evening's entertainment?

Here's what!


1. Pussy Liquor - Rob Zombie
2. Smell of Incense - Tiamat
3. All In The Family - Korn
4. Let It Beast - dj BC and the Beastles
5. Rehab - Amy Winehouse*
6. Look After You - The Fray
7. American Baby - Dave Matthews Band
8. Свинка-свинка - Ногу Свело (aka Piggy Piggy)
9. Istanbul - They Might Be Giants
10. Nothing Left - DJ Icey & Orbital
11. Tears and Rain - James Blunt
12. I'm Yours - Jason Mraz
13. Titanium - Kraftwerk
14. J-Lo vs K-Co vs S-Wo - Lenlow
15. Virus Alert - Weird Al
16. Nothing Left to Lose - Matt Kearney
17. Silent House - Dixie Chicks
18. Rainbo Conversation - Stereolab
19. Something Left to Say - Roman Candle*
20. DRH - ??
21. Vermillion, Pt. 2 - Slipknot
22. Serenity - Godsmack
23. Ocean Size Love - Leigh Nash
24. Stoned - Lewis Taylor*
25. Hallelujah - Leonard Cohen

* = contributed by yours truly

Spit it out, already!

Most anyone who reads this already knows the big news. So the following announcement from this weeks' newsletter at work won't be a suprise - it's just blog-worthy!

Man down! MAN DOWN !!!

If you haven't seen his tag line yet on MSN, then it's my pleasure to announce to you that Joe Morris and Mandy Vaughn are affianced as of last Friday! The betrothed are currently considering a Fall wedding for 2008.

When I asked about the details of the proposal, Joe said it didn't really go according to plan. He said he got so caught up in the "How do I love thee? Let me count the ways" bit that, when he stopped to await her answer Mandy inquired if he had something to ask her. Joe thought for a moment, smiled broadly, and then replied, "Oh yes! Will you marry me?"

Congratulations to the both of you, Joe and Mandy!!!

why i love sundays

Radio That Doesn't Suck

I'm always showin' my love for DaveFM here in Atlanta. They play THE best music (although sometimes a little heavy on the Petty & Talking Heads side) and have the coolest personalities. They'd already won me over with Paste Picks, but now they've gone and done it again with last night's "Dave After Tomorrow" show with Margot and Mara as the special guest.

Last night's theme was country influence in rock. Knowing Mara is a Dixie Chick fan made this especially exciting. Could it be?? That DaveFM was gonna queue up some Chicks for the first time?! And not only did they give the girls a huge shout-out for their grammy wins, courage, and musical influence, they included them among such greats as Lucinda Williams, Ryan Adams, Johnny Cash, Elvis, Dwight, Emmylou & Gram Parsons. The entire two hour segment was incredible - but especially getting to hear "The Long Way Around" on radio - period. Mara said it best, "good music is good music".
Man, I love that chick!

workin' 8 to 5

All signs are pointing towards me being a full-time employee as of Monday. Or the Monday following (I will know on Monday). Which means I get to...drumroll....SHOP!
OMG!OMG!OMG!OMG!

As my friend Leann would say: *squeals* :)

Being the unemployed, half-ass employed, unstable, leaching girlfriend that I have been for a couple of years has wreaked havoc on my staples in life. I am slowly starting to build up my collection of stuff after losing most all of it after the divorce. But the introduction to real digits on my paycheck just HAS to be enough to afford this addition to my collection immediately.

Screw Winter

I'm pretty sure that today I have reached my limit and am fed up with the cold weather. I think nature must know that if we had to deal with frigid temps for any longer than a third of the year, we might go insane and kill off the species. Perhaps the dinosaurs really did kill each other off in the wake of an ice age. It makes complete sense to me. But they're pretty ornery creatures without the cold weather. At least that's what I learned from Jurassic Park.

When I was a kid we had no need to invest in a sled, and probably didn't have the money anyway. So one year when we had a decent amount of snow (probably 3 or 4 inches is a blizzard here) we made do with a big old tire chained to the back of my uncle's pickup truck. Yes, safe, I'm sure. I remember him pulling us around on back roads for hours until I was completely frozen and was feeling hypothermia in the toe region. I suppose it sounded like a super smart idea at the time. I've always thought it would be great to live in New England - where kids really own sleds and get to use them. But here on the 8th day of February, I take it all back.

I am ready for spring!

My Little Stocking De-Stuffers

Never question a dog's ability to unwrap a package. Especially when it's filled with miniature Reese's cups and M&Ms.

Shut UP!

Either I've had too much coffee or I'm just way too excited that the Chicks got FIVE grammy nominations this morning including one for album of the year for Taking the Long Way and two for the single Not Ready to Make Nice. Even Rick Rubin got props for Producer of the Year. Needless to say, it is a happy day in Dixie Land!

Screw you, country radio.

What do Superheroes Dream?

For about four hours yesterday evening, while you were snacking on cheeze-its and watching reruns on your rooms-to-go sofa, I was busy summoning chain lightning and the will of the goddess in order to secure planet Earth from Mister Sinister. Fighting Dark Angel is no easy task, even with Magneto, Wolverine and Gambit having your back.

Ok, so, I only played Storm on the PS2 XMen II game. And really, no one should attempt pulling off tight spandex costumes and horrific one-liners unless your name is Halle Berry.

Perhaps I logged too many hours saving the world yesterday. This morning I awoke remembering the dream I'd been having that seemed almost too real. Of course, most of it is a blur now that its mid afternoon, but the parts I remember involve me being in a cab with Joe and Joe. And totally irrelevant to the story at hand, but worth mentioning, were both Joe's enjoyment of my obvious offense to the cab drivers' rude commentary. (Thanks, guys) Anyway, we were on a mission to save the world (or at least our neighborhood block) from this elusive serpent who had been reeking havoc on the city.

Cut to the next scene.

As we were closer to the stand-off with Mr. Sinister Serpent, we made time to stop so I could get my hair done. Can't exactly feel like a superhero when you don't look your best, you know. Then it dawned on me, that I did not know this man yielding scissors behind my head. I woke up panicked that I was about to hunt down a ferocious beast.

While having a bad hair day.

All About the Music

1. Favorite Beatles song: In My Life
2. Favorite Rolling Stones song: Beast of Burden
3. Favorite Doors song: Love Her Madly
4. Favorite Bob Dylan song: Tangled Up in Blue
5. Favorite Led Zeppelin song: Ramble On
6. TV Theme Song: The Dick Van Dyke Show
7. Favorite Prince Song: Cream
8. Favorite Madonna Song: Don't Tell Me
9. Favorite Michael Jackson Song: Don't Stop Til You Get Enough
10. Favorite Queen Song: Killer Queen
11. Favorite Motorhead Song: Ace of Spades
12. Favorite Ozzy Song: Iron Man
13. Favorite Public Enemy Song: Bring the Noise
14. Favorite Song from a cartoon: Aqua Teen Hunger Force
15. Favorite Bruce Springsteen song: I'm on Fire
16. Favorite Depeche Mode song: Personal Jesus
17. Favorite Cure song: Pictures of You
18. Favorite song that most of your friends haven’t heard: Thin Line - Dixie Chicks
19. Favorite REM song: Nightswimming
20. Favorite Beastie Boys song: Pass the Mic
21. Favorite Clash song: Rock the Casbah
22. Favorite Police song: Every Little Thing She Does is Magic
23. Favorite Eurythmics song: Would I Lie to You?
24. Favorite Beach Boys song: Good Vibrations
25. Favorite Cyndi Lauper song: I Drove All Night
26. Favorite song from a movie: Jimi Hendrix - May This Be Love - Singles Soundtrack
27. Favorite Duran Duran song: Ordinary World
28. Favorite Peter Tosh song:
29. Favorite Johnny Cash song: I Walk the Line
30. Favorite song from an 80’s one hit wonder: Come on Eileen
31. Favorite song from a video game: Kuru Kuru Rock from Katamari Damacy
32. Favorite Kinks song: Lola
33. Favorite Genesis song: That's All
34. Favorite Thin Lizzy song:
35. Favorite INXS song: Not Enough Time
36. Favorite Weird Al song: White & Nerdy
37. Favorite Peter Gabriel song: Come Talk to Me
38. Favorite John Lennon song: Happy Christmas
39. Favorite Pink Floyd song: Comfortably Numb
40. Favorite cover song: Eva Cassidy - Fields of Gold
41. Favorite White Stripes song: Pretty Good Lookin'
42. Favorite dance song:
43. Favorite U2 song: All I Want is You
44. Favorite song from an actor turned musician: Natalie Imbruglia - Torn
45. Favorite disco song: Heart of Glass - Blondie
46. Favorite Power Ballad: REO Speedwagon - Keep on Loving You
47. Favorite Guns N’ Roses song: Sweet Child of Mine
48. Favorite The Who song: Squeeze Box
49. Favorite Elton John song: I Guess That's Why They Call it the Blues
50. Favorite song, period: yeah, right.
51. Favorite Ryan Adams song: Come Pick Me Up
52. Favorite Green Day song: Extraordinary Girl
53. Favorite Alanis Morrissette song: Not the Doctor
54. Favorite Jamiroquai song: Canned Heat
55. Favorite Foo Fighters song: Everlong
56. Favorite David Bowie song: Ziggy Stardust
57. Favorite Metallica song: Enter Sandman
58. Favorite Jeff Buckley song: Last Goodbye
59. Favorite Pearl Jam song: Elderly Woman Behind a Counter in a Small Town
60. Favorite Grateful Dead song: Cumberland Blues
61. Favorite Def Leppard song: Animal
62. Favorite Dixie Chicks song: Truth #2
63: Favorite Cowboy Junkies song: Lay it Down
64. Favorite James Brown song: That's Life
65. Favorite Barenaked Ladies song: A Million Dollars
66. Favorite Creedence Clearwater Revival Song: Born on the Bayou
67. Favorite Garth Brooks song: Shameless
68: Favorite Chuck Berry song: Never Can Tell
69: Favorite Willie Nelson song: Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Cowboys
70. Favorite Tom Petty (solo or with the Heartbreakers) song: Runnin' Down a Dream
71. Favorite Van Halen song: Panama
72. Favorite Old School Soul song: Got to Give it Up - Marvin Gaye
73. Favorite Song That Totally Kicks Righteous Ass:
74: Favorite Song of Yours That Everyone Else Hates: Probably most of it.
75: Favorite ZZ Top Song: LaGrange
76: Favorite AC/DC Song: Shook Me All Night Long
77. Favorite Blondie song: One Way or Another
78. Favorite Bob Marley Song: No Woman No Cry
79. Favorite Violent Femmes Song: American Music
80. Favorite Alice in Chains Song: No Excuses
81. Favorite Wallflowers Song: Three Marlenas
82. Favorite James Taylor Song: Fire And Rain
83. Favorite Counting Crows Song: Mr. Jones & Me
84. Favorite Blues Traveler Song: The Mountain Wins Again
85. Favorite Drinking Song: Life of the Party - Charlie Robison
86. Favorite Hendrix Song: Wind Cries Mary
87. Favorite Break-Up Song: Hallelujah - Ryan Adams
88. Favorite Allman Brothers Song: Statesboro Blues
89. Favorite Rusted Root Song: That drum song that goes on for 20 minutes
90. Favorite Dave Matthews Band song: Jimi Thing
91. Favorite Elvis Costello Song:
92. Favorite Beck song: Jackass
93. Favorite Muse Song:
94. Favorite Radiohead Song: My Iron Lun
95. Favorite Stone Temple Pilots Song: Interstate Love Song
96. Favorite The Eagles Song: Life in the Fast Lane
97. Favorite Janis Joplin Song: Try (Just a Little Bit Harder)
98. Favorite Coldplay Song: Shiver
98. Favorite Soundgarden Song: Burden in my Hand
99. Favorite 70s song: Stuck in the Middle with You
100. Favorite Joan Osborne Song: Righteous Love

Things That Rock

in random order (or as I think of them):

Andybear's ThingsThatRock rights permission
Flip-flops
Finding out that garlic comes in fists and ears
Pink toenails
Joe
Republican scandals just before mid-terms
Pinot Grigio
Goody Powders
Dobros
Katamari
never stepping down from a 21mg patch
a Hello Kitty thermos
PigTails
being almost finished with the same book for 3 months
Jon Stewart
Clothes that never wrinkle
Curry
Anything Martha Stewart does with a pumpkin
Having a job you don't hate
The way I fold t-shirts
Sunsets at Big Sur
Sleepy puppy eyes and doggy butts
Being in love
Ikea
Jeans that are too big
A perfectly roasted lemon-basil chicken
Hugh Laurie
Coke Zero
the current playlist on iTunes
Using the fireplace for the first time in the fall
Getting my hair cut tomorrow
Eating at a new Greek place tonight