Sore as a boil

My aunt uses this phrase all the time. Today, it applies to me. Yesterday I moved up to the final level of the 30 Day Shred DVD and just let me say, it kicked my ass. I am sore all over--legs, stomach, shoulders, arms. If I haven't said it enough, if you want to get in shape and lose weight in the shortest time possible, get this DVD. You may end up wanting to kill her, but Jillian will get you in shape, which is why you would buy the DVD anyway, right? Cussing at the TV (her) while doing the workout is all part of it--in my opinion and experience. There's hardly a workout where I am not hollering at her at some point. Yesterday there was a lot of it going on.

The weekend cometh

Yes, today is finally the beginning of the weekend--well, sorta, after Mr gets off work.

I've had a pretty busy week with lots of errands to run. It's nice to get a lot done. There is certainly a sense of accomplishment with making a list and actually getting to mark things off of it!

One thing that I don't feel so jazzed about is my workout schedule. So far this week, amazingly, I have managed to work out twice. As you may remember, the workout goal is 4 times a week. I'm sorry to say that I haven't reached that goal in quite a few weeks. My being sick for so long set me back quite a ways, but this week there was no excuse except laziness. I will be working out today so that will be 3 times, but it's very discouraging to me to set a goal--a goal I've basically had no problem of reaching in weeks past--and fall short. For some reason my motivation is waning. Even though I have 5-7 more lbs. to lose to get to my goal, there is part of me that is content where I am. I am basically back into most all of my pants that I was in 2 years ago, but for some reason, I'm not back into my tops. It's weird how my body has changed since I've turned 40. You would think if I'm fitting into my pants, my shirts would also fit. That doesn't seem to be the case. We'll see what happens.

Don't forget to enter the giveaway posted in yesterday's post. The deadline for entering is Monday, April 6 before 9 a.m. Have a great weekend!

I guess my doctors aren't quacks

I am feeling a lot better today. Still a little dizzy and a little weak, but I can hear out of my ear and actually feel good!! I'm going to try to get some stuff done today and maybe even try a light workout. Life is good today!

My weekend sucked

We went to a friend's house on Friday night and had a really good time, but after that, my weekend went downhill. I'm soooooo tired of talking about--and being--sick, but that's how I spent my weekend. I laid around all weekend because I felt so crappy. The dr. had taken blood on Thursday and called with the results on Friday--everything was normal even a white blood count, which, according to google, means I don't have an infection in my body. Why am I still sick and can hardly hear out of my ear still then? The ENT dr. pulled some stuff out of my ears on Friday which helped my "good" ear but did nothing for my "bad" ear. Over the weekend I experienced dizziness, nausea, fever, ear pain, throat pain, you name it, it seems. Again, according to google, it sounds like I have an inner ear infection but why then isn't my white blood count out of whack? Right now I'm pretty much at a loss as to my next move. I want to go to someone and insist on an antibiotic, but if I don't have a bacterial infection, that's not going to fix anything. My worry now is since I've been having this hearing problem all week that I might have long-term hearing problems in that ear. That really worries me. Not to mention, it is really wearing on me emotionally to feel so bad and not be able to do anything. This completely sucks.

Red wine

will not cure what ails you--as I found out after consuming several glasses last night.

First day of spring!

Yes, it's officially spring as of 7 something this morning. How do they know exactly when spring begins? Instead of just saying March 20th, they have to put a time to it. Cracks me up.

I am headed to the ear, nose and throat dr. this afternoon after a wasted trip to the regular dr. yesterday. She thinks I have a virus so no antibiotics. Telling her that this has lasted for 2 weeks already didn't seem to persuade her that it was anything more than viral. However, I still can't hear correctly out of one of my ears. She couldn't see anything but wax (ew, gross) so she suggested the ENT dr. I kinda wish I'd just gone to him first. Anyway, I'm not looking forward to the appt. today if they have to do wax extraction (ew, gross #2). I don't know if you've ever had that done, but sometimes it hurts--bad--and other times it's just a very weird feeling because your ear, nose, throat are all connected so if something comes out of one of them, you feel it in the others (triple gross). A very weird sensation to say the least.

I'm feeling extremely guilty because I have only worked out one day this week because I've felt so bad. I'm making myself workout today before the dr. appt. even if it's just a light workout. The guilt is killing me!

Hope everyone has good weather wherever you are for this first day of spring!

St. Patrick's Day

I've always liked this Irish blessing so here it is for you to enjoy this St. Patty's day! I've never "celebrated" St. Patty's day. That means, I don't think I've ever had a green beer. Can you believe that? I'm certainly not opposed to them, except I hate draft beer, but have just never had one. I doubt if I will be having one this year either.

I will tell you one tradition I hate for St. Patrick's day is the way people pinch you if you're not wearing green. Pinching hurts, people. Also, I have to believe it breaks some kind of social etiquette to pinch someone else. Don't they teach you in kindergarten to not do those kinds of things?

Today is also check in day on the healthy living front. I have lost another pound. Officially I am down 11 lbs and only have 7 more to my goal. I've decided I'm going to quit doing the check ins every week with my weight loss. I may update you from time to time whenever I feel like it and I will certainly let you know when I reach my goal weight, but for now, I'm growing tired of it. I may put a little something on the page that reflects my progress, but right now, I'm not sure about that either. I am still working out 3-4 times a week and trying to eat healthy with moderate portions. Now I'm just trying to decide what outdoor activity I want to start since the weather is getting warmer. Any ideas you all have would be greatly appreciated.

Today is not only St. Patty's day, but it's also the day I'm going to reveal what I did with that blank-ass wall over the couch.

For some reason this picture is blurry, but you get the gist.

What do you think? Did I copout by putting a mirror up? The size of the mirror is perfect for the space so I think I did good there. I'm wondering if I should've chosen a brown frame instead of black since the pillows are brown. I chose black because I have black picture frames sitting around. Who knows. All I know is Mr measured and measured and measured so it's staying there at least for a while. And, it's not blank anymore for which I am super happy.

You know you're freakishly domesticated when...

getting the carpets cleaned is an exciting day for you. We are getting our carpets cleaned this morning and I am jazzed. You see, our little miss Daisy dog has started a new habit--peeing on the carpet--only steps away from the linoleum floor which would be preferable (if this habit has to happen). She does this during the night and we don't know why. She's never peed in the house before and we can't figure out why she's started now but what we do know is it's wrecking havoc on our carpet. We've started pulling up her water at night to dissuade this nasty habit and it seems to be working. The next step is putting her back in her cage at night so there's no nighttime wandering going on. Hopefully it won't come to that, but after the carpets are clean, the gloves are off!

By the way, I lost another 1 1/2 pounds on weigh in today. I am officially down 10 lbs.!! Now, only 8 more pounds until I'm back to where I was 2 years ago and hopefully, back into all my old summer clothes. Yay!

Another recipe for you

I don't want this to turn into a recipe blog, but eating healthy is my focus right now so....

I had some broccoli that I needed to use the other night so I googled some recipes for it. It's amazing that hardly any recipes for broccoli don't contain cheese! I found tons of different recipes for broccoli casserole. It was discouraging because I started to think that's the only way you can fix it. Then, I found this recipe on allrecipes.com.

Broccoli with Garlic Butter and Cashews

1 1/2 pounds fresh broccoli, cut into bite size pieces
1/3 c. butter (I used less than this. I'm thinking you may not have to use at all)
1 T brown sugar
3 T soy sauce (I used low sodium soy sauce)
2 teaspoons white vinegar
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 c chopped salted cashews (optional. I didn't use because I didn't have any)
corn starch

Place the broccoli into a large pot with about 1 inch fo water in the bottom. Bring to a boil and cook for 7 minutes or until tender but still crips. Drain and arrange on a serving platter.

While the broccoli is cooking, melt the butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Mix in the brown sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, pepper and garlic. Bring to a boil. You may need to use a little corn starch to thicken. Remove from heat. Mix in the cashews and pour the sauce over the broccoli. Serve immediately.

Because of the soy sauce, it tasted very oriental so I'm thinking it might be good with chicken stirred into the sauce mixture next time. Regardless, it's nice to find a recipe for broccoli that doesn't have cheese in it! If you all know of any others--other than boil and put a little butter on it--please let me know.

Checking in

Miraculously, it seems I've lost 1/2 pound this week. Measurements have changed slightly--lost a little some places, seemed to gained in others. I'm recording it as a 1/2 inch gain for the week. After the weekend of eating I had this past weekend, it's a miracle that I didn't gain 2 or 3 pounds! I'm relieved to know that indeed I can eat what I want, as long as I watch the portions. And, of course, keep working out!

Two New Recipes For You!

I tried 2 new recipes last night and I wanted to share them with you.

Applesauce Pork Chops

4-5 boneless pork chops
1 T oil
2-3 apples, peeled, cored and chopped (I didn't use these)
1 1/2 cups applesauce
1 cup water
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 T worcestershire
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 tsp cornstarch
2 T water

Heat the oil and brown the pork chops on both sides. Drain excess oil then add the apples, applesauce, water, onion, worcestershire, garlic, and pepper. Stir, bring to a simmer, cover and simmer 30 minutes. Take the pork chops out onto a platter. Stir together the cornstarch and water and add that to the apple mixture. Stir and simmer a few minutes then put the pork chops back in and heat through.

This was very good and very healthy. I used natural applesauce and since you drain the oil, there's virtually no grease. Of course, I use olive oil for all cooking anyway. It's a nice way to jazz up ordinary pork chops. I love pork, by the way. I think I could eat it every night. Mr likes it too, which is a good thing since I've been buying pork chops in bulk!

This next recipe is unbelievably easy since you do it in the crockpot.

Zesty New Potatoes

3 pounds (small) new potatoes, unpeeled (I only used a 1 lb. bag or else we'd have been eating these for weeks)
1 T olive oil
1 envelope zesty Italian dressing mix

**Potatoes should be the size of golf balls. If not, cut in half or quarter.**

Pour the oil in a plastic bag and add the potatoes. Shake well to coat. Add the salad dressing mix and shake well until all the potatoes are coated. Place potatoes in crock. Cook and cover. Low: 7 to 8 hours OR High: 4 hours

I would add, I think next time I will spray the crock with nonstick spray. Even though none of the potatoes stuck, I think they might have if I hadn't been here to stir them. It's unbelievable that they cook with no water, but they are super soft and yummy. Again, very nutritious because new potatoes are better for you than white potatoes.

Try one or both tonight for dinner. You won't be disappointed!

Inches update

1.75 inches lost this week. Total inches lost: 6.25 Yay!

Checking in on the right day

Well, I held off until today like I said I would last week. It wasn't too hard because I sure didn't eat the best over the weekend. I was still very moderate in my portions, but not the healthiest food choices. I haven't measured myself yet, but I have lost 2 more pounds bringing my total weight loss so far to 8 lbs!!! Yay! I'm very pumped this morning. It makes all of the sweat, straining, sore muscles and cussing at the DVD player worth it. Now, just 10 more pounds until I reach my goal weight. Rock on!

A Love/hate relationship

Has anyone else noticed that when I started talking about my healthy eating plan/weight loss journey that my weigh-ins and measurements took place on Tuesdays and now they're taking place on Mondays? I just noticed this trend and it's not a good one. Typically I don't stay on plan as strictly over the weekends like I do during the week and I don't work out. So, logic would say that I am probably my "fattest" on Mondays, yet here I am--weighing and measuring on Mondays. This needs to stop.

Today my love/hate relationship with the scale is in the love category because it seems to have gone down another pound to pound and a half. However, my measurements haven't changed one iota. One would think that if the weight was down, the measurements would certainly be down. It appears that losing weight is an flaky thing.

To re-affirm my weight loss thus far, I had Mr put me into my wedding gown last night. Now, those who read regularly may remember the dress fiasco several months ago when, to my horror, I discovered that I no longer fit into my gown, as in, it wouldn't even zip up. To think that I'd gained that much weight in such a short time was absolutely horrifying. Well, I'm pleased to announce that last night not only did it fit, but it was looser than it was on my wedding day! Yay! Now that, my friends, is progress no matter what the scale or the tape measure says.

Check in

This week's weigh-in/measurements weren't so hot. Looks like I only lost a total of 1 inch and maybe 1/2 pound. I guess that's good given that I was out of town and didn't eat the way I have normally been eating. I am also bloated this week so I think that has something to do with it the inch loss being virtually nill. I'm still continuing with my workouts, although last week I only worked out 3 times due to me being lazy on Tuesday (I took off a day early) and didn't factor in that I wouldn't have time to make it up on Friday since we left. It was soooo hard to motivate myself to work out yesterday, but I did it. It feels so good to get it done for the day.

I'm really ticked at walmart online. I ordered my 30 day shred DVD and it was supposed to be here no later than yesterday. I've sent them 2 emails trying to figure out why it's still not here and all I get back are standard replies. I won't be ordering from them again. I know once I can get back on the shred, the inches will be moving out of here.

Super Bowl Monday

I took my measurements this morning since I measured last Monday. It seems I am down some inches--a combined total of 4 1/2 inches to be exact. That's kind of exciting. It would really be interesting to see how many total inches I was down if I'd started measuring from the get-go. Of course, since I was doing the measuring thing, I decided to hop on the scale a day early. It appears I've lost 1 1/2 to 2 pounds. I say that range because I can't really tell from the scale--the little lines are too close together! Either way, at least the scale is moving in the right direction!

I had to order the 30 day shred dvd from Walmart and of course I screwed around in ordering it so hopefully it will be here sometime this week. I'm disappointed because I was making some noticeable progress in my workouts and I don't want to lose that. Today I'm going to try to do something similar so I don't lose ground. I also managed to work out 4 times last week. I initially was going to move up to 5 days this week, but I think I'm going to stay at the 4. I enjoy taking Wednesday off--it breaks up the week nicely and gives me something to look forward to!

Onto other things...did you all watch the Super Bowl last night? I actually watched it from start to finish. What a disappointing end. Mr and I were rooting for the Cardinals so you can imagine our disappointment at the final score.

Let's talk about the important stuff about the Super Bowl, though--the commercials and entertainment. Personally, I was very disappointed in the commercials. Although there were several that Mr and I laughed out loud at, none were phenomenally good. I've seen better in other years. What about Jennifer Hudson's National Anthem? I thought she was awesome. If you can sing that song, you can sing! Of course, the Boss was awesome during the halftime show. I'm not a huge Springsteen fan--I haven't seen him in concert and am not hankering to do so--mainly because I don't know enough of his songs, but I love the songs I do know. I thoroughly enjoyed his performance and I thought he really re-charged the halftime show--without showing any boobs!

Check in

Well, today I weighed and didn't lose a pound. I know part of it is because my monthly visitor is getting ready to come--sorry, probably TMI, but just keeping you up to date! I was expecting that I wouldn't lose or maybe even gain due to that, but still...it's disappointing.

I've decided to take Girl Child's advice and start measuring. Since I'd started the weighing thing, though, I thought I'd do both. I took my measurements yesterday so that's a starting point now.

I know my body is changing. My "muffin top" is most definitely smaller and so are my hips. That's very exciting.

I have been working out to a DVD I got from the library--30 day shred with Jillian Michaels. She is the hard-ass trainer from Biggest Loser. Let me tell ya, this workout is hard. It's deceptive because the workouts are only 20 minutes long, but let me tell you, they are an intense 20 minutes! There are 3 levels and obviously you start at Level 1. I guess you do each level for 10 days and then move on. I am only doing it every other day because a. it's hard and wears me out and b. I think it's better to rest your body after such an intense workout, esp. your muscles. I can't believe how much I have improved after only 3 workouts! It's so cool how your body responds even when you've (I've) been sitting on my ass for so long. That's real progress!

So, that's where I stand on the "Healthy Living 2009" front.

On another note, I've decided to only do "YouTube Tuesdays" when I find a video I like. The theme days aren't cutting it for me and I've decided that I will write whatever strikes me that particular day. Having said that, check out this video. It cracks me up. I'm soooo lucky that Mr isn't like this when he gets sick.

I have a big fat secret that I'm ready to share

"Fat" being the operative word in today's post title. I've been keeping a secret from you, dear readers, and I'm ready to come clean...I am working out and trying to lose weight.

Yes, it sounds like a strange secret to keep, but when you tell people you're trying to lose weight and working out, if you are with them and you don't eat just the right thing they think you should or you don't work out for a few days and they know about it, well, it's just more judgment than I want to deal with. So, I've mostly kept it to myself. Today marks my 2nd week of my healthier living and I'm happy to report that I've lost 3 lbs. 3 lbs. is a huge disappointment to me, but it is better than gaining. Not by much, in my mind, but nevertheless.

I can't diet. The word alone strikes fear in me and I want to eat everything in sight. I have a long history of disturbingly weird eating habits and dieting triggers those urges. What I am doing is trying to make healthier choices at my meals, trying to incorporate more vegetables and fruits--which heretofore were nonexistent in my daily eating; I'm not kidding--and trying to move more. Last week I worked out twice to some DVDs and so far this week I worked out yesterday. This week I'm aiming for 3 days and next week's goal will be 4 until I'm up to 5 days a week. No way am I working out on the weekends, no matter how fat I get.

I'm only weighing myself once a week, Tuesdays, which is why you're getting my confession today. After today's disappointment on the scale, I may quit weighing altogether. My weird eating habits are also triggered heavily by the scale and its associated numbers. The fact is, I don't care what I weigh. I just want to get back into my cute wardrobe that I have hanging in the closet that I can't fit into right now. I know what scale number will get me back into them so really, why do I need the scale when I have several pairs of pants that will serve the same purpose.

So, there it is, my fat secret. It's not earth-shattering and probably not all that surprising if you noticed the content of several of my posts over the past 2 weeks. I will keep you updated as to my progress and if I don't, please don't ask because you know what that probably means.