A Whole New Start

What has been happening since I last blogged? I lost my job, got my motorcycle license and dated a couple of different men, none very seriously. It’s been 3 weeks since I was laid off and I’m definitely going stir-crazy! I’m actually waiting to hear if I got a job I really want that I interviewed for twice last week, the pay is good, the work environment is great, the only downsides are that it is further away and will be 8-5, so no more working from home.

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Today’s Plans

Practice on Susan’s Motorcycle, around her neighborhood – Done
Add red streaks to my hair – Done
Clean! – not done, went to the movies and dessert with Lu, instead
Get at least a minimal workout in – Done

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Skin & Makeup

Morning Cleansing:
Rinse face with warm water
Kinerasse Intense Eye Cream
Earth Science Moisturizer with SPF 15

Makeup:
Bare Minerals Eye Shadow in Cultured Pearl
Lancome Definicils Mascara
Concealer
Chanel Tinted Moisturizer

Evening Cleansing:
Earth Science A-D-E Creamy Cleanser
Earth Science Azulene Eye Treatment
Earth Science Fragrance-Fee Moisturizer

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Health, Fitness & Diet

Notes

Today’s Diet

• Breakfast
  • Old-Fashioned Oats
  • Flax Seed
  • Cranberries
  • Slivered Almonds
  • Chopped Walnuts
  • Honey
  • Lucerne Light Yogurt

• Lunch
  • 2/3 of a Combination Vietnamese Sandwich from Lee’s Sandwiches
  • 1/2 of a strawberry lemonade

• Dinner
  • Personal size pepperoni pizza at the movie theater
  • Slice of vanilla bean cheesecake from TGI Friday’s

Reflections on today’s meal:
Breakfast was good, but the rest of the day not that great. I really need to try and look for better options when I’m out and about.

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The book scene

Current Read: Nothing today, no time.

I’ve Been Bad

Yes, I’ve been bad, in more ways that one. I realized that I haven’t updated my blog since January, and I’ve fallen off the wagon in regards to really paying attention to what I eat. So far I’ve maintained my weightloss, although I have no idea how. I also have a new incentive to get back in the habit, my friend Lucy’s wedding is coming up and she has asked me to be her bridesmaid, so I definitely have to look better for the wedding pics!!

So, to kick-off a new phase I’m doing a whole body cleansing, which I’ve heard helps to clear out your body and give you lots of energy, both of which I need. Today is day one.

Weight: 182.7lbs

Results of Cleansing:
Nothing, yet, since this is my first morning.

9:30am:
McCann’s Quick Cooking Oats with 1 tsp of each of the following… dried cranberries, blueberries, cherries and raisins, almonds, walnuts and wheat germ
Mix1 Hi-Antioxidant Fiber Drink in Dark-Berry
GNC UltraMega for Her Vitamins

12:30pm:
Organic Bistro Spiced Chicken Morocco with green beans, carrots and a chickpea-almond pilaf
Rachel’s Relax Vanilla Chai Yogurt

6:45pm
2 cups of fresh pineapple
11oz Vita Coco Coconut Water

8:30pm
Organic Bistro Ginger Chicken with Green Tea Vegetables and Almond Pilaf
1 cup Fage 2% Greek Yogurt
1 Tbs honey

A New Year

Wow, what a crazy week it has been! I haven’t had time to update my blog, but I’ll work a little bit on it all day to keep things going.

Work has been insane with the end of quarter, lots of budget issues, getting invoices in, etc. Plus the rebranding work, of course, trying to get that through.

NYE was a crazy night of too much alcohol, extremely sexy men and hot women! Susan arranged a Pajama Party and those men (yes, only some of the men didn’t “dress up”) who didn’t wear pajamas were seized and we attempted to strip them to put them into other pajamas. But, I think we were too drunk by the time we attempted that, so we only got a few shirts half off. Way too much alcohol that night left me extremely hungover, enough so that I plan on avoiding any alcohol for a while.

My goal for today: Get in at least a 15 minute workout.

My goal for at least the next 2 weeks, if not longer: No alcohol!!!!

WI: 183.8
I didn’t make my short-term goal by New Year’s Day, due to way too much eating out the week between Christmas and New Years, but I at least maintained that week.

3 Days Until Christmas

3 Days until Christmas and all my shopping has NOT been finished. I still have wine to buy the co-workers, and a little something for Dustin and Lu, plus a White Elephant gift for the Christmas dinner I’m planning. This is definitely going to be a hectic week. Other than Christmas shopping, I still have tons of cleaning, shopping and other errands to run. It’s also looking to be another crazy week at work, we’re still in the middle of Rebranding and I haven’t gotten all projects in to be sent on to Creative.

This past weekend was crazy and fun, both. Friday was pretty quiet, but Saturday was a Yelp Elite event at Travese in Los Gatos. It was supposed to be appetizers and a few wines to try, instead it was very few appetizers and lot of wine, poured in full servings, instead of 1oz tastings. Can we say toasted by 3pm? To fix this Susan drove us back, with a stop at Taqueria La Bamba for a Super Burrito with Carnitas. I just wish they had a smaller version of the Super Burrito, since I never can eat more than half of it, the other half goes to waste. So, half of a super burrito, followed by an hour long nap, sobered me up enough to go home and finish the scarf I was making for Susan’s Christmas gift. Thank goodness I could get it done, since I’d just found out that morning that our group of girls were doing our gift exchange Saturday night, instead of later in the week! Susan seemed to love the scarf (orange, her favorite color), Judy seemed to be excited at the Borders gift card, and Lucy seemed to love the necklace I had made for her (see earlier blog post). As for me, I was extremely excited over getting “Lust, Caution” from Judy, it’s one of my favorite movies, and I didn’t have a copy. Lucy gave me a great overnight makeup bag set (she got one for herself, too, lol0 and Susan bought the four of us matching pajamas! The pajamas are cute and very soft, but Susan wanted us to all wear them to the New Year’s Eve Pajama Party! I don’t think so, especially since Susan and Lucy will look so much better in them than I will! So, after the exchange, we went out for sushi and to see “7 Pounds” the new Will Smith movie, it was good, but I wouldn’t say great, although sad and thought provoking. All in all, a good night. Sunday was much less busy, although I should have been cleaning for Christmas, I more vegged the day away, after a quick 15 minute workout. Then, joined some friends for dinner, followed by a few games of pool, in which I didn’t completely suck, thanks to my friend Dustin’s instructions.

Workout: (8:00am) 15 Minutes Core

Meals:
9:00am: Oatmeal with dried fruit and almonds, 1/2 fresh berries, multi-vitamin
11:30am: Eating Right Pinapple Black Bean Chicken and Brown Cow Apricot Mango Nonfat Yogurt
2:00pm: 1 mini macaroon, 1 small slice of lemon-berry cake, plus 1 cup of strawberries (2-3 in the afternoon is one of my greatest times of weakness when it comes to sweets. My energy level takes a dive and I need something to perk me up)

This work day is turning into the day from Budget hell, and I’m really craving chocolate, but trying to avoid it.

Turning Into a Good Day

Well, working from home again today, I have so much to do and the deadlines are looming. I can get so much more done at home, without the constant interruptions of people stopping by my cube. I just have to learn not to check every email that comes in, as soon as it comes in. I’m making pretty good progress on my major project, so that’s helping to put me in a good mood.

This working out first thing in the morning is also improving my mood, so Harrison was definitely right about that!

Breakfast: Kashi oatmeal with 1tsp each of brown sugar, dried blueberries, dried cherries and golden raisins
Lunch: A chocolate cupcake
Dinner: Red Lobster’s seafood fondue in a bread bowl, tossed salad (balsamic on the side), 1lb of snow crab legs (never got around to the baked potato) with drawn butter and lemon, half of a cheddar bay biscuit, and another cupcake.

Craving for cupcakes hit at about 2pm, out of nowhere. A while back I’d heard about a great cupcake shop that opened at Santana Row, but I’d never been. Since I needed to go to the bank, I decided to take my lunch hour, drive over, make a deposit and pick up a cupcake or two. By the time I got into the area, over 30 frustrating minutes later, it became apparent that my quick errands were going to take longer than expected. But, while I was out I decided to do a bit of Christmas shopping. I got another third of my shopping done and figured out what to get everyone else and picked up 3 cupcakes, since I couldn’t decide between them. But, I was planning on giving at least one away to a friend who had called and was going to be in the area. Instead of heading home and working some more, I picked up a friend at the train station and took him on a few of his errands, followed by dinner, followed by a return to the train station. And, he forgot to take his cupcake. Maybe I’ll give it to Susan tomorrow. But for now, my tummy is upset, it was already getting that way before the second cupcake, but I think dinner was just too rich for me, since I’m not used to eating such heavy food anymore.

Workout: core – 15 minutes in the morning

WI: 185.4 (after a quick workout AND breakfast!)

I’m starting to get used to going to bed by 11pm, in order to get up early enough to workout in the morning.

Challenged

If you read yesterday’s post (not the 2 book posts) you’ll see that today’s goal was to get up and do at least 15 minutes of exercise before work, thanks to a challenge from my friend Harrison, who said I couldn’t do it. Well, I did! And, yes, I knew he was just saying I couldn’t in an attempt at reverse psychology, but it still worked.

Workout: 15-20 minutes of lower body (to be detailed in a workout post)

Breakfast: Oatmeal with dried fruit and almonds, plus a multi-vitamin and a bottle of water
Lunch: (Catered in) 5 Butternut Squash Ravioli, lemon chicken (1/4 of the breast), 1/2 C grilled asparagus, 1/4 C pineapple, 1/4 C strawberries
Dinner: Korean spicy pork and rice, and a couple of bites of the panchan

When I let Harrison know that I met his challenge, he decided his next Challenge is to at least continue through the end of this weekend, so that will be 4 days in a row of a minimum of 15 minutes of exercise. Think I can do it? I know I can!

8 Days Until Christmas

Only 8 days left until Christmas, I just can’t believe how fast the last couple of months have gone by! Still haven’t finished my shopping or the scarf I’m knitting for a friend, although I should finish that at my knitting group tomorrow night.

Breakfast: Brown Cow Nonfat Blueberry Yogurt
Lunch: Organic Bistro Chicken Citron Whole Life Meal
Afternoon Snack: Total raisin bran with nonfat milk and a Kashi cereal bar, plus 2 Godiva truffles (hormones, but at least I don’t get PMS)
Dinner: 1 cup of Trader Joe’s frozen brown rice with 2/3 cup of Green Giant Healthy Weight vegetable mix

I’ve been super frustrated all day, too much to do at work and not enough focus or time to get it done. The new Aprimo system first got blocked by our security system, then once I was finally able to get in, the entries were done incorrectly and I couldn’t access them. I now have to wait for a co-worker to get home from dinner with his mother and unlock each of them, so I’ll be at this all night. But, at least my frustration was a good push. Finally got around to calling a psychologist about determining if I have ADHD or not. Since I’ve already taken some tests online that indicate I’m ADHD she said the next step was trying medication to see if it helps. So, I’m to call my General Practitioner to see if I can get a short-term prescription and see if it helps, then set up an appointment with the psychologist. Since it’s too late to call Dr. Katie’s office tonight, I’ve marked on my calendar to call first thing in the morning.

Tomorrow’s Goal: My friend Harrison has challenged me to get in at least 15 minutes of working out before work in the morning, so that is my goal!

Feeling Good

I just got back from a crazy few days in Vegas that included some good moments and some bad moments. Good moments included seeing friends I hadn’t seen in a while or had never met offline. Bad moments included going to the hottest club in Vegas and it sucked, wall-to-wall people and people smoking, which made me sick. And, despite the cold, dry air in Vegas, my skin didn’t dry out like it did last time!! A big thanks to my co-worker who recommended Earth Science cleanser and moisturizer! My skin is reacting well, getting rid of the dryness that always happens in winter, without setting off a flare up of eczema. And, it’s cheaper than the stuff I’d been using before, which I can really appreciate.

Luckily, after weighing in, I still lost a bit of weight after the last week *grin*. But, let’s see how tomorrow is after today’s office potluck.

WI: 185.6lbs

3.4lbs more to hit my Short-term Goal Weight #1! Can I do it by the end of the year? It’s possible, but I’ll just have to wait and see how my will power holds up. Signed up for the “Biggest Loser” contest in my office, it starts in mid-January and goes through mid-April. Hopefully it will be even more incentive to workout and watch what I eat, since someone else will be weighing me in weekly.

My mood has been pretty good, especially Sunday. I don’t know what it is about Sundays, other than the fact that they are the beginning of a brand new week, but I’ve been finding myself in a positive mood when I get up.

Breakfast: Oatmeal with fruit, plus a cookie given to me by a co-worker
Lunch: Office potluck, don’t remember it all, but I tried to eat in moderation, especially dessert
Dinner: Total raisin bran cereal with nonfat milk

Went to see the Punisher movie with Lu, too silly with lots of blood and gore. Definitely wouldn’t see it again. Ate a bowl of cereal for dinner before I went, so I wouldn’t give in and eat theater food or stop for fast food on the way home. Seems to have worked, although I’m a bit hungry right now, but about to head to bed, so just have to make sure to have a filling breakfast first thing in the morning. Talked to Lu for an hour after the movie, recapping Vegas, who we’re each interested in, general life and love things, as well as discussing plans for Christmas and NYE. Now we just have to come up with exactly what those plans are, lol.

Blah, Blah, Blah

Did I just not know what to write or is the title a reflection of my mood? At this point I just don’t know.

Did my weigh-in this morning and down another pound, but that’s probably more reflective of my being a bit sick yesterday. Don’t know what was wrong, just suddenly got extremely nauseous at work around lunchtime, so I came home. The nausea faded until late in the evening, when it came back slightly. But, I wasn’t able to eat much, so hopefully I won’t have a rebound after eating today. Especially considering this weekend was a total bust, diet-wise.

A night of way too many drinks on Friday night, although I didn’t have much dinner, but the calories from drinks add up. Saturday, I only ate 1 major meal, but it was good ol’ Southern comfort food, chicken fried steak, 2 eggs over medium, country potatoes, toast and grits, along with a corn muffin with butter. Then my friend Grace took me to her favorite place for pie and I had a slice of the banana cream she recommended. Went to a friends place to watch a boxing match and avoided the pizza, but did have a nice glass of wine. And then Sunday, went to dim sum with a couple of friends, followed by half of a cheeseburger for lunch (took the other half home) with some potato salad and some cookies and other sweets from a wonderful bakery. Dinner was at a Korean sushi place, where I had some spicy pork with some tuna and salmon sashimi. So, now to recover over the week.

WI: 186.8

So, on to a better week, hopefully. But, how do I stay on track while in Vegas this weekend?

Breakfast: 365 (Whole Foods brand) Nonfat Peach Yogurt
Lunch: Organic Bistro Sockeye Salmon Cakes Whole Life Meal with Ginger-Bean Medley and Confetti Pilaf. I really wanted to like this more than I did, but then again, I got it knowing that I’m not a big fan of salmon, but I’m trying to teach myself to like it. I did like the medley with ginger-scented (couldn’t taste or smell it) edamame, sugar snap peas and green beans, but the pilaf was ‘meh.’ At least this meal had tons of vegetables, as do apparently all of the meals in this line. The lack of non-carb heavy meals in the diet frozen dinners usually annoys me, but is this meal worth the higher calorie count and larger price tag? I’ll try some of the other meals by Organic Bistro to find out. Otherwise I’ll just stick to buying frozen veggies and stirring them into my frozen meals.
Dinner: Amy’s Organics Black Bean Tamale Verde with Rice Whole Meal. Yum! At least for the verde sauce, really tangy and perfect. The tamale was good and moist, but otherwise lacked flavor, other than the verde sauce and the masa. The rice was pretty decent and moist.

A Test in Will Power

You ever have one of those days when everything seems to be a test? Yesterday was one of those days. When it comes to the Thursday donut challenge, I was a failure. When it came to not telling the guy I was dating he’s a dumbass, I succeeded.

Yesterday’s Meals:
Breakfast: My usual (lately) Kashi oatmeal with dried fruit and nuts, with a multi-vitamin
Mid-morning “snack”: a chocolate covered cake donut, a cup of coffee, but some cantaloupe and honey dew, also
Lunch: catered in chicken breast in a light (in texture) mushroom sauce over wild rice, stir fried veggies (mainly broccoli and squash, in way too much soy sauce), and a piece of cake
Dinner: Dole pineapple and creme parfait

Other than those struggles, my only focus for the day was writing Yelp reviews, got 20 in, lol.

But, on to the dumbass issue. Been dating a guy, but he lives in Vegas so we didn’t see each other very often. Well, about a month ago I find out that he messaged one of my best friends, wanted her to set-up and get-together so he could meet another of my friends, who he’s never met but he has a crush on her from her online personality. We weren’t dating exclusively, but that was just stupid, did he think she wouldn’t tell me? Last week he was in town for Thanksgiving week, in town a total of 11 days. I saw him the day after he arrived, for a few hours, then he kept putting off our next date, so I didn’t see him again until the following Friday, when we spent a fun day in San Francisco, and he was super affectionate. But, at the end of the night he tells me he’s not making it to my birthday party the next night because he feels he should spend the day with his parent, since it’s his last full day in town, but it doesn’t matter because he’ll see me in Vegas in 2 weeks. He didn’t even understand why I was so upset. First, he’d spent the entire time he was in town with his parents! Ugh, tired of this BS. Well, he calls me last night and agonizes over the phone and tells me about my friend that he “likes” without telling me the name, and I didn’t tell him I already knew who it was and that she’s said he’s creepy for trying to contact her constantly when she doesn’t even know him. Oh, and apparently now I don’t have a place to stay in Vegas, at least not yet, because I was supposed to be staying with HIM! But, this is where I restrained myself and didn’t call him a dumbass, even though he so is! And yes, if you’re wondering, it is OVER!! I like intelligent men, and he’s been proving that he’s not. *bangs head*

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So, today is a new day, and hopefully a better one. Looking forward to the Yelp UYE in SF tonight, even have a ride up because I didn’t want to make that drive again.

Today’s Meals
Breakfast: same ‘ol oatmeal with dried fruit and nuts, with a multi-vitamin and a bottle of water.