some questions answered

from that's my answer:
What would you do first if you were given $1000 and the day off of work?

• i would do my christmas shopping and pay off some bills. i would probably also spend a little on myself as a treat, i.e., buy some yarn that i've been wanting or get a manicure/pedicure

from friday's feast:

• Appetizer: What is your favorite carnival/amusement park ride? definitely roller coasters....it's been a while since i've been on one or even to an amusement park. one of the ladies in weight watchers was talking about how she was looking forward to going to six flags and carowinds after losing weight. that's something i'm looking forward to as well.
• Soup: How do you react in uncomfortable social situations? it depends on how uncomfortable the situation is. usually i just stay quiet and observe. the first opportunity i get to leave, i take it. i have been known to fake not feeling well to get out of uncomfortable social outings. i'm a little embarassed to admit it, but i did use "my gallbladder is acting up" excuse a few times to avoid hanging out with a toxic person i had to get away from. she started out as a friend, but the better i got to know her, the worse i would feel around her. she is one of those who had a bad childhood, thinks she's over it and doesn't need therapy b/c she can talk to her friends about it. it got to the point where she was draining my emotions and it was wiping me out. i slowly but surely removed myself from her circle of people.
• Salad: On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being highest, how much do you enjoy discussing deep, philosophical topics? 5 - depending on the subject and with whom i'm having the discussion.
• Main Course: Did you get a flu shot this year? If not, do you plan to? i've never gotten a flu shot nor do i plan on getting one. i'm lucky that i don't get sick very often with the flu.
• Dessert: Approximately how many hours per week do you spend watching television? probably about 30 hours a week. i might have to start writing it down just to see. out of curiosity, if i'm knitting while i'm listening to the tv but not actually watching it, does that count? i read a quote somewhere that said the tv is just background noise for knitters. that's true...lol...i listen to a lot of shows w/o necessarily watching.

it's time to get ready for work. whoooo hoooo...it's the weekend, baby!

kisses....

p.s. i made it...day 30 nablopomo!!!

she broke it...

i had to take janelle to prompt care this afternoon. last night during the powder puff football game, she hurt her middle finger on her left hand. it was bruised and kind of puffy looking. today it got progressively worse. she said it really hurt after a while and she had a hard time writing in her classes. mom and dad looked at it and agreed that she needed to have it checked out. all of us figured it was sprained and bruised up real bad. even the doctor thought so.

after the x-rays, it was determined that she has a diagonal fracture between the 2nd and 3rd knuckle. he put a splint on it and told her she needs to wear it for 3 weeks except during showering. after the 3 weeks is up, she has to buddy tape it to her ring finger.

now here comes the dilemma...they have a powder puff game on monday. she wants to play b/c this is her senior year. i'm probably going to let her. we'll just pad it up so hopefully she won't stab anyone with it or hurt it again. she said that she grabs the flags with her right hand anyway (she's a leftie). i remember how important it was to play the final senior game. i told her to talk to some of her friends who play football and see how they protect their hurt fingers.

i'm going to take a short nap. my brother brent is coming to visit for a few days so i want to be refreshed when he gets here.

kisses....

into the groove

oh how i love the 80's! i'm listening to madonna's into the groove. i didn't realize i downloaded the extended dance version, but i'm not disappointed. i'm chair dancing...lol. wonder if that counts towards my activity points for weight watchers? ;)

oh, snap, crackle, and pop...music...i love that song. can you tell i downloaded madonna songs last night from i-tunes?

i've got a playlist i created called winthrop days. it has some of my fav songs from the 80's. it's a feel-good mix if i do say so myself...lol. it takes me back to the money, elmo duggan's, the silver dollar, sigma nu sud flood, tke 12:01 parties, fall bash and spring fling. ok, looking back over that flashback...too much partying!! the mix includes some depeche mode, madonna, prince, midnight star, kajagoogoo, yaz, dead or alive, culture club, duran duran, dazz band, and so on and so on. there's 50+ songs at the moment.

i love listening to my i-pod at work. it drowns out all the noise from all the loud people and copier and phones. when i've got a slobber-drool task to do, my music makes it easier to handle. fyi: slobber-drool task equals a necessary-evil task where you are slobbering/drooling by the end of it because it's so repetitive, i.e. printing reports, formatting spreadsheets, uploading files to a database, etc. i didn't make up that term, just got it from my old boss.

as much as i'd love to stay and wax nostalgia, i've got to get ready for work.

kisses...

p.s. day 29 of nablopomo...almost there!

minor setback

i'm not happy. according to the ww scales this week, i gained 2 pounds back! grrrrr.....i am so aggravated. my ww leader is evaluating my food log over the last week to see if anything jumps out.

at first she was dimissing it b/c of thanksgiving. when i explained to her that we had a mostly weight watchers thanksgiving meal, she understood why i protested. i told her i haven't cheated and i've been using the meal plans as applicable and counting my points. i've resisted the m&m's, the birthday cakes, the basket of snacks sitting on the counter in our department. i haven't eaten out at a fast food restaraunt or any other restaraunt or gone to starbucks for the holiday coffees that i want. i have even resisted the pumpkin pie blizzard since i've started weight watchers (plus i found out that it's about 12 ga-zillion points for one!). i've stopped getting my breakfast from mcdonald's or chick fil a. and oh how i love those chicken biscuits!

afterwards she got my food log and email address and said she'd send me feedback. one interesting thing i found out...celery has a high sodium content. did not know that. she said she was shocked when she found out too b/c she was eating a lot of celery and was retaining water like crazy. she also said that i could be retaining fluids b/c of the female thing (i know...tmi...sorry!). she asked me about my exercise routine which is non-existent right now b/c of the knee. i'm hoping to get on track with that as soon as dr. b tells me i can.

when i got back to my desk, i compared the 1st 2 weeks' food logs with this past weeks. one of the things i noticed was the snacks. during the 1st 2 weeks, i was eating more savory snacks, such as hummus with green peppers or a serving of wheat thins, guacamole and chips, single serving of low fat popcorn instead of the sweet stuff. even at night i was having 4 gingersnaps with a glass of milk instead of the fat free pudding and whipped topping. i've also been eating the quaker rice cakes. i might be adding sugar into my diet unknowingly.

so i'm going to try an experiment. i'm going to go back to the savory snacks and the fruits and veggies. i also have noticed that i've been hungry at times when i shouldn't be. i'm trying to turn this negative into a positive and learn from it. i'm going to listen to what my body is telling me and try to keep on track. trust me, i thought about turning into dairy queen tonight to get a blizzard but i didn't. so that in itself is a positive step. in the past, i would have ordered the blizzard and the chick fil a meal and eaten all of it and been unhappy and disgusted. i have to keep reminding myself that it's baby steps. i didn't gain all this overnight and i'm not going to lose it overnight either. slow and steady wins the race...

~*~*~*~*~*~
on another note...

the seniors' powder puff team played the freshmen and beat them 27-6. janelle did an awesome job. she got 2 sacks and made 2 really good tackles towards the end of the game. she was plowing her way through the offensive line. at one point they had double coverage on her and she still broke through. she played just like her mama used to...lol. i played defensive line when i played powder puff back in the day. boy, i miss it!

there was a lot of bumping and banging and punching and hair-pulling going on. the principal was calling the game and he had to remind them several times that this was supposed to be a friendly game. lol...we were out for blood when we played in high school. i don't expect any less from janelle and her friends!

monday the seniors play the juniors. it should be pretty interesting b/c both teams are pretty good. hopefully there won't be any fights or injuries. janelle and her friends play for keeps and don't back down.

this time next week the torn cartilage should be gone!

kisses...

Manning the fort

Everybody has gone to lunch right now.  I’ve had 3 people tell me where they are in case someone asks for them.  Uh, when did I become the group secretary? Lol  On the upside, it’s nice and quiet.  No cell phones ringing, no loud talkers, no ding-ding-ding-ding when the copier jams up…

Today is Weight Watchers Wednesday.  I’m hoping I’ve lost a couple of pounds.  I’ve done well with my points so far and haven’t gone over.  I’ve been having some rumbling in my tummy but I think that’s nerves more than actual hunger.  I’ve also increased my water intake b/c I know sometimes thirst can present itself as hunger.

I’ve talked to 2 friends in the past 2 days who have both lost over 50 pounds.  One is going to PHC Weight Loss Center here locally and the other has been watching what she’s eating and riding her bicycle or stationary bike (when the weather is bad).  I want to get to the 50 pound weight loss.  That is not all I have to lose.  I wish it was.  But they’ve both been so focused and determined.  I think that’s what’s different this time for me.  I have been more focused than I have with prior weight loss attempts.

I’ve got to run…phone is ringing

Kisses…

i'm back, but i'm leaving again

my hair and make up is rocking today...lol. i tried to take a pic b/c it is rare that i like both my hair and makeup at the same time. for some reason i don't photograph as well as i see myself in the mirror. i am trying to remember what tyra has told me on the countless episodes of america's next top model, but it isn't working! oh, well...

kisses...

beautiful hair

i'm sitting here with clairol nice 'n easy gray solution #8 (medium blonde) in my hair....ooops...got to go rinse it out. brb.

random questions from that's my answer

found here:

• if you had to define your personality using a color, what color would you be and why? hmmm, that's a hard one to answer. my mom has always said red is my color. i tend to gravitate towards when buying clothes and cars. i tend to like a darker red vs a light red. i have no clue what that means about my personality though.
• if you could take a train ride across any of the seven continents, which continent would you choose? my first train ride would be across north america. i have always wanted to ride on a train across the united states and then back again. one summer janelle and i were planning to ride amtrak from mobile, al to el paso, tx where one of my good friends from high school lives. unfortunately we didn't get to go b/c it cost more that i could pay at the time for our tickets. i would also like to take a train ride through all of europe and asia some day.
• is there a website (other than that’s my answer - of course!) that you visit on a daily basis? in no particular order: sauntering soul, donna knits and spins, crazy aunt purl, craftzine, ravelry, weight watchers, my yahoo...
• what have you accomplished lately? i've lost 8 pounds so far on weight watchers; i've blogged for 26 days in a row even tho some are pretty lame; i haven't cried at work lately; i haven't cheated on my diet altho there are temptations all around me!

well that's it for today. only 4 more days left with nablopomo...i don't think i've missed a day yet. hope i haven't jinxed myself!!

kisses...

afternoon laugh

For your entertainment…lol…

http://icanhascheezburger.com/2007/11/26/has-anyone-seen-mah-staplr/

kind of bummed

how did i manage to survive thanksgiving w/o going over in points, but on a normal day i did? i went over yesterday by 4 points. i miscalculated somewhere with my food intake. i'm not going to beat myself up over it. in the past i have taken a mistake and made it into an excuse to not follow the diet anymore. not this time tho...i'm sticking to it. i'm doing better today. i've been careful about what i'm eating.

for our snack last night i fixed the yogurt cheese with honey and walnuts. it was very good. i'm going to have that as my snack tonight too. i found the recipe in one of the weight watchers books that features how to cook take-out meals at home. the yogurt recipe was from the greek section. dianne had told me about the dessert before and said i would probably like it.

i don't know what's up with me this weekend b/c i'm not feeling too good. i think it might be my sinuses. my head has felt swimmy and i've had a lot of congestion. my surgery is a week and a half away. i cannot get sick. i took a nap yesterday and today and feel better for the most part. i took a shower a few minutes ago and that helped me feel better too. maybe i broke a fever when i was napping.

i've got some knitting to do so i'm going to sign off now.

kisses...

yarntopia

i know...stupid title. i went to hobby lobby this morning and got a great deal on yarn. they were having a 99 cent a skein sale on several kinds that i like. i got $80 worth of yarn for about $15. whooo hooo!! i was excited about that. and the other good thing was i found the rust colored yarn i wanted to make pat's scarf.

i went to wal-mart afterwards. i was kind of dreading going there especially on the weekend after thanksgiving. good news is i shopped on the grocery side of the store so it wasn't so bad. i got the usual waffles, hill bros english toffee cappucino, but found some snacks for me this week. quaker rice cakes - peanut butter and chocolate chip - one cake is 1 point on weight watchers. i tried one when i got home...delicious. i also got the toasted wheat thins - vegetable garden flavor. those where good too. i'm trying to add some variety to my diet program so i won't get bored.

mom is fixing us digiorno thin crust pizza tonight. that's a pretty good supper with a big salad. i've got some plain yogurt in the fridge that's straining its way into yogurt cheese. a recipe i saw in weight watchers called for yogurt cheese, toasted walnuts and honey. that's going to be my treat tonight. :)

well, i'm going to go now. i've got to catch up on some email.

kisses...

under my nose all this time

i have been looking for this for about a month now. how about it's none other than alicia paulson of posey gets cozy. she is the one who got me hooked on wanting to crochet a ripple afghan (see my wip on my flickr account under crochet). i love alicia paulson's website and check it out often. she has the cutest little corgi puppy.

it's late and i have to go to work later today...grrrrrrrrrr.

kisses...

p.s. the weight watchers pumpkin pie was so good! i could not believe how creamy and satisfying it was. it was just sweet enough and had that good pumpkin flavor. i'll have to share the recipe with y'all. if you like pumpkin pie, you will love this recipe.

happy thanksgiving

hope everyone is having a great thanksgiving!! it has been a good day overall. i measured out my portions for the thanksgiving meal. mom is fixing to serve up pumpkin pie which is a weight watchers recipe. i think i'm ok on my points for the most part. i'm going to have to run some of the recipes thru the recipe builder to see what they come up to and i'll be more accurate on the points.

they are hollering at me that the pie and coffee is ready. i'll try to write more later.

kisses...

i'm sleeping late tomorrow, y'all

well at least later than i normally do during the work week.


i don't know what was wrong with me this afternoon at work. i was so tired and ready to take a nap. it might have had something to do with the otc allergy-sinus medicine i took at lunchtime. all of a sudden i was congested and sneezing and nose all drippy. i haven't had the otc a/s med affect me like that in a while. i had a cup of french dark roast coffee and was still yawning away. fortunately it was veeerrry slow at work and i didn't have to use much brain power.


suzy and angela and lillian made it here tonight with no major delays on the roadway. the cats were eyeing lillian and trying to figure out why a dog was allowed into their house. they do that every time she comes to visit. lillian is just happy to be here b/c she gets to eat a new brand of cat food. and of course the cats get all indignant about it. diamond had her mad look on most of the night. wilbur's eyes were as big as saucers and he watched every move lillian made. millard stared at her for a while and then went to sleep. missy sniffed her and scared her and then she went to sleep too.


i'm a little nervous about tomorrow. i hope i stick to my plan to eat healthy. i don't want to screw up what i've accomplished so far. i really want to meet my goal at the end of this session. oh, i think we're going to have another session after this one finishes. when we were all sharing yesterday, i said i was going to continue on with weight watchers after the 17 weeks are up. several folks said they were interested in having another session. i ran into tina yesterday and she said she would be interested. cathy said tina could join now, but she'd have to pay the pro-rated amount all at once. i'll have to let her know and see if she is interested.


i'm going to go now. i'll touch base tomorrow and let you know how i did with my thanksgiving meal. :)

kisses...

Wednesday before

We had our weight watchers meeting yesterday.  I lost 3 more pounds for a total of 8!  I wish I could work out some b/c I know I can lose more.  That’s ok b/c I will be able to work out once my knee is fixed.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Answer me this….why do people have to bring their whole family when they go for a doctor’s visit?  I can understand when couples go to the do doctor together.  My parents go with each other.  Part of it is they usually have something planned after the visit and are saving time by the one not having to drive back home to pick up the other.   Yesterday when I went to Dr. B’s office, there was a family there.  I understand that the guy who was the patient needed to have someone drive him b/c he had a cast on his foot and looked like he had a hard time getting around.  What I don’t understand is why Grandma and the kids had to be there as well.  One of the kids, a girl about 12-13 years old, went all throughout the huge waiting room and picked up or touched every magazine.  And she would yell across the room about how she liked something in the magazine, then fling it down and move on to the next table.  Thankfully I didn’t have to sit out there too terribly long with her.  She started to come over near me and I threw a look that said “don’t even think about it”.  When the nurse called me to the back, I told her I was glad she called me back.  I couldn’t stand another moment with that kid in the waiting room.  She said something about they were like that every time they came in to the office.  So this wasn’t an isolated incident…

I am not tolerant with bratty kids.  I understand that kids are going to act out sometimes.  That’s just kids being kids and sometimes their environment or circumstance causes them to act out.  What I don’t understand is parents allowing their kids to running around disturbing others.  If we had ever acted like that girl did yesterday, my Mom would have jerked a knot in my tail.  All she had to do was give us the Mom look and we knew we were in trouble.  Bottom line, we never would have gotten up out of our seats to begin with or would we have touched stuff unless we asked if it was ok.  Janelle rarely acted out either.  When she was younger I had a bag we took everywhere with us.  She had books or Barbie or something to color or draw on.  I made sure she had something to do when we waited, whether at the doctor’s or dentist’s office or even at a restaurant.  I do have to say I have been blessed with a good kid.

Ok, I’m off the soapbox now…lol. 

Kisses…

weight watchers tuesday instead

today we are having our weight watchers meeting. i hope i've lost at least 3-5 more pounds. i feel like i have. my clothes are fitting a little bit better. :)

i've got a busy afternoon ahead of me. i have to go to the surgery center to have an ekg in prep for my knee surgery. after that i go to dr. b's office for a pre-surgery meeting with him. he'll probably be glad to know i'm on ww now. he encouraged me to lose the weight which will help with my joints overall.

tonight is stitch night too. i was kind of stressing about how i was going to handle my dinnner since i'm not going back by the house. i decided i'm going to get one of the south beach diet sandwich kits. i had tried 2 different ones before and liked them. i figure i could get a ww yogurt for my snack and make sure i have my water.

last night mom made ww spaghetti with meatballs. it was delicious! the sauce tasted different from her normal sauce, but it was good. and one serving was only 6 points! i'm having it again for my lunch today.

i'm going to go get ready for work. hopefully i'm getting my hair cut, too, sometime between getting off work early and the ww meeting. i've got to call and see if jennifer is working and not on vacation this week.

kisses...

Be honest, how many times do you hit the snooze button?

question above from that’s my answer!

lol...it's monday!! i hit the snooze alarm at least 3 times. that's why i always set my alarm ahead. deep down i really know when i need to get up. for some reason it helps me to think i can just sleep for 5 more minutes.

i'm not a morning person typically. i have been feeling better since i've been on weight watchers. i think some of it is my body is being fueled by good food instead of bad food. i realized last night that i haven't taken a nap in the past 3 weekends. as i've said before, i love my naps. on the weekends i would take a nap on both saturday and sunday, sometimes even friday after getting home from work. on the weekends i sleep a little later. i think that has helped the no-nap situation.

well, as predicted, jimmie johnson is the 2007 nextel cup champion. matt kenseth won the race which ended his season on a good note. elliott didn't do so hot. he tagged the wall and was in the garage for a few laps. he did get out on the track but i'm not sure where he finished up. it was in the 30's though.

i'm going to go now. hopefully this will be a quiet week at work. there's supposed to be a lot of people off, including my boss. no comment...lol.

kisses...

last race

i was watching the last nascar race of the season a little bit ago. elliott sadler is my driver and he's not doing too good right now. he's probably about 38th or 39th b/c he was in a one car wreck with the wall. disappointed is how i feel right now for him and his team. they are better than their season stats are telling. i'm hoping he'll renew his spirits during his time off and come back raring to go.

i was just checking in during a slow part of the race. i've decided the miami-homestead racetrack is about as exciting as the california racetrack. translation: b-o-r-i-n-g!! plus the abc/espn commentators suck big time. when brent musberger is a commentator for something other than football, you know it's going to be bad. i wonder how many times rusty wallace will use the phrase "driving his guts out" which will of course be used by dr. jerry punch several times. i didn't think any group could be worse than the tnt group. boy was i wrong. as much as i can't stand bill weber, i'd take them back. and don't get me started on how they compare racing to other sports, which i think i've mentioned before.

i'll try to write more later. it looks like jimmie johnson is well on his way to 2-in-a-row championships. i'll update the final results later. i'm sure y'all are sitting on pins and needles waiting to hear my news report...lol.

kisses...

this is what i find when i can't sleep...

HowManyOfMe.com

There are 215 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

good day

this has been a nice relaxing saturday for me. i woke up around 10:30-ish and felt like i had a good night's sleep. i've been having a little bit of problem over the past few days with falling to sleep. i start thinking about stuff at work, etc and i toss and turn. i think b/c i feel a little more secure in my job, and i was able to drift off last night.

i ventured over to borders bookstore to check out some of the knitting magazines and books. i planned ahead and took a roast beef sandwich. i used one slice of multigrain bread with a smear of hummus on each side, topped it with lettuce and 2 slices of roast beef. for my snack i counted out a serving of vanilla wafers to go with the coffee i bought from the cafe. i also took a granny smith apple. i didn't want to take a chance of slipping up with my food. i'm proud that i didn't cheat. i purposely tried to not look at any of the food.

and my sandwich was really good. i dunked the vanilla wafers in my coffee which i've been dunking my cookies a lot lately...lol. when i have gingersnaps and milk, i dunk. mom bought some pumpkin-flavored decaf coffee and i dunked gingersnaps in that....really delicious!

i'm finding that i am taking the time to savour the flavors of my food as well as eating slower. no more gobbling it down. to be honest i've really surprised myself with how well i'm doing. i don't want to jeopardize what i've accomplished so far. i know some people who know me may think i'm being all dramatic about this. if you saw how much i need to lose, you will understand why i am adamant about being focused.

i have found 2 new books to put on my wishlist:

• scarf style by pam allen
• knitting new scarves by lynne barr

there are some really cool patterns in both of the books. i'm going to drop the hint to my family just in case they need some ideas...lol.

i got a text message from janelle earlier today. she said she is having a good time at the fbla convention. she is catching up with some of the friends she has made over the past 2-3 years in fbla. i'm so proud of her and her accomplishments. she has worked so hard to be successful.

oh, and guess what came in the mail for her yesterday? her voter registration card! she will get to vote for the 1st time in next year's presidential election. she is very excited about that. i was too when i got mine. i felt like a grown-up...lol. it's hard to believe in a little over 2 months janelle will be 18. time sure does fly!

i started another scarf for a co-worker's christmas present. i'm using a scallop stitch pattern that i found. i'll post it later b/c my notebook is upstairs. i finished my stashhappy biased scarf last night. i like how it turned out. i'll take a pic of the finished scarf and post it. the pattern is from masondixon knitting website.

well, i'm going to go now.

kisses....

Feast One Hundred & Sixty Nine

Here's my Friday Feast...

• Appetizer: What was your first “real” job? working at a tyson chicken plant when i lived in alabama. that was the 1st time i had my own health insurance.


• Soup: Where would you go if you wanted to spark your creativity? i usually head to the book stores and browse through the craft section or art section and the magazines.


• Salad: Complete this sentence: I am embarrassed when…i forget someone's name a few minutes after i've met them. i used to be good at remembering a person's name when they were introduced to me. i think i'm getting old...


• Main Course: What values did your parents instill in you? to be truthful even when it sometimes hurts; there's nothing wrong with an honest day's work; treat everyone as you'd like to be treated; always be polite


• Dessert: Name 3 fads from your teenage years. forenza sweaters, swatch watches, leggings...and i had all 3!

kisses...

p.s. whooo hooo!!! it's friday!!!

good review

i've been with my company 8 years as of today and had my annual perfomance review. i am so excited b/c it was a freakin' awesome review. my boss gave me high scores on almost every category. i was 2 points from a perfect score...lol. my emotions messed me up some. she talked to me about trying to not show my frustration when users don't read instructions. that i struggle with all the time, but i'm trying. she complimented me on taking initiative in the problem-solving area and told me i have really stepped up to the plate this year. that really made me feel good b/c at times i do question whether i know what i'm doing. she said i need to stop second-guessing what i know especially with new projects.

she also told me that we are going to be moving to a new group. finally! this is a really good move for both of us. she will have more responsibility, but i think she will do fine. she said she is going to give me more hands-on with the maintenance of the databases and i'll help with some of the reverse-engineering with the conversion. i'm going to be gaining more skills! yippee!! i get to move into an area i've wanted to work in for about 3 years now. i had a meltdown a couple of weeks ago when they started laying off some folks. part of my job is going away after the 1st part of the year. my role will change and i'll be taking over some of the training with reporting and of course i'll still handle the budgeting.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
now the update on weight watchers:
we had a really good meeting. as i said, our group had good results overall. the biggest loser was 6.4 pounds. there were several of us in the 5 pound category...a lot of 3.6's and a few 1 pounders. we talked about thanksgiving and how to handle it. our group leader told us not to beat ourselves up too bad if we go over our points for thanksgiving day. she did say to use our heads and not go overboard.

i'm lucky that mom is making thanksgiving dinner. she is going to try and make it as healthy as possible, but she said she is still going to make some of the favorites. i'm going to measure out my portions and watch my points for breakfast and lunch so i can enjoy a little more for dinner.

i'm going to play this holiday season smart. i want to continue to lose during the holidays even with all the temptations that will be laying in wait. it helps having dawn around to talk to and the other folks have been supportive as well. i purposely didn't go to the service awards ceremony this morning b/c there was food that would tempt me. there was a birthday celebration this afternoon for one of our co-workers. i went in the breakroom, told him happy birthday, and then left. i didn't even look at the cake they brought him. i decided i wasn't wasting points unnecessarily.

losing weight this time just feels different to me. i seem more focused than before. this is a very doable thing. after i get my knee fixed, i'm going to get back to walking or doing the elliptical machine. i still have some punches left on my water aerobics card. i have options and i'm going to use them. i want to be at my 1st goal by the end of the 17 weeks. i'm already planning on joining again after the end of this session.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
janelle is on a bus to birmingham for a fbla regional convention. they got a late start so they won't be there for a while. she's going to call me or text me when they get there. i miss her already. how am i ever going to adjust to her going to college next year?!

i'm going to sign off now.

kisses...

weight watchers wednesday

I’m happy to report that I have lost 5 pounds since the last meeting! I was so excited to hear that.  Overall our group had good results.  I think there was only one person who didn’t lose any.  I’m not sure what was going on with her, i.e. sick or just not able to dedicate time this first week.  Our leader, Cathy, said that she doesn’t expect much weight loss the 1^st week because folks are just starting to get into the program.  She said our group seems real determined to lose.  Hopefully we’ll all be successful!!

I’ve got to go now.  I’ll try to sign on later and tell y’all the important stuff I learned.

Kisses….

Nothing makes the workday go by faster than listening to an awesome mix on the Ipod!  I have been working on updating 2 reports all day long and the music makes it better. J

up late again!

i'm waiting on janelle to get home. she and some of her friends decorated one girl's car last night/this morning. she is turning 18 today, so they have all kinds of stuff they are putting in her car, like stickers, straws, balloons, confetti, etc. they are also saran-wrapping her car. to make sure she could get to school all right, they made sure that she can see out to drive. it's going to be funny to see.

one of their other friends had their car covered in sticky notes. i think that is hilarious. i told her to make sure they didn't do anything that would mess up her paint or interior. she said they were using the window paint to print happy birthday on her car. everything else is to fill up the inside of her car. hopefully she'll get pictures tomorrow. if she does, i'll post one.

well i hear janelle pulling in the driveway, so i'm going to go.

kisses...

p.s. staying up late is one way to get my nablopomo posting in!

monday drama

at work today we got some surprising news. one of the pain-in-the-you-know-what controllers is suddenly gone. no one is giving any details, so he must have done something really bad to go so quickly. we were told he has "left the company to pursue other interests"...not the words you want to hear. it basically means he had the option to resign before they fired him.

of course my boss was walking around on cloud 9. there have been problems with this guy practically from the beginning. one person said he micro-managed everything. we saw just the opposite. we couldn't get him to look at the details. he was one of those who was real big on letting you know how important he was b/c he had over 400 emails in his inbox. that's fine, but you've got to read them every once in a while. that might have been what did him in. enough about him...

~*~*~*~*~*~*~
one of my friends at work brought me a knitting book today: i can't believe i'm knitting socks by cindy guggemos. i was pleasantly surprised to get it. the techniques include double pointed needles, magic loop, 2 circular needles as well as options for the toe and heel. there's 8 sock patterns in there. my friend told me she got the book by making a donation to our local food bank. they had a table with various books on it and she saw this one and thought of me. i'm going to have to make her a pair of socks from one of the patterns in the book. she is a cross-stitcher so i know she appreciates handcrafted work. i'm really psyched about this b/c it has tons of information. :)

i'm signing off for now. only 2 more days til weight watcher wednesday! i'm sticking to my plan and feeling good. i hope i've lost a couple of pounds...lol...especially since i've kept my hand out of the m&m bowl! btw- a serving of m&m's (from the big bag) is 1/4 cup, which is equal to 5 points on the ww flex plan. 5 points is equal to a light meal. i'm not wasting 5 points on a handful of candy that will leave me wanting more. see already i'm making some positive changes.

kisses....

yesterday was international pajama day...

and i participated unknowingly. i found this while reading this nablopomo blog...knit 'n nascar...nuff said! of course i had to read the knit 'n nascar blog. i knit while i watch nascar. i tried to knit a chevron scarf, but somewhere along the way i messed up the stitches. so i frogged. i need a couple of days of bias scarf knitting to get me back in the groove.

i need to go to sleep b/c i will need to get up in approximately 5+ hours to get janelle up from school. and i didn't take a nap yesterday or sleep late. what's up with that on the weekends? naps are the special treats of the weekend. for the past 2 weekends, i haven't taken my afternoon naps.

i'm yawning more now. i need to sign off and go to bed!

kisses...

raverly update

as promised, i updated my ravelry notebook. if you're on ravelry, come check me out....my user name is scgrrl65. or if you're not on ravelry and would like to see my fo's, go to my flickr account.

i really was surprised at the number of projects i finished this year. and there are still some that i haven't uploaded yet...some scarves, a couple of hats, a shawl, a couple of amigurumi cats... my sister has a hat that i made as well as my dad. i can get a pic of my dad's hat easily enough since we live in the same house. he had a brief period of time whenhe didn't know where the hat was, but found it tucked in the pocket of one of his jackets. i offered to knit him several more so he could leave them strategically in the places he would need them, i.e. the garage aka his workshop, in one of the saddlebags on the harley, etc.

i'm going for now. i want to go watch the race. i've been on the computer all morning so it's time for some racing and knitting. i'm thinking about casting on another scarf!

kisses...

easing into the weekend

today was another nice and relaxing saturday for me. i slept late and felt pretty good when i woke up. i caught the karate kid on one of the cable channels and watched it again. ralph macchio was soooo cute! i wonder what he's up to now. i liked him in the outsiders too. he always played the brooding kid. i also watched remember the titans. that was a really good movie. i don't know why i haven't seen it before now.

i think i'm going to do pretty good on this weight watchers thing. everything that mom has fixed has been really good. we had a tex-mex chicken salad and western frittata last night for dinner. the flavors were really strong and powerful. i had some of the tex-mex salad for my lunch today. i chopped up 2 cups of romaine and mixed in the tex-mex salad. i'm really surprised at all that i am allowed to eat. i just logged my points for the day and i still have almost half left. i haven't had any dairy today so i might eat some yogurt or drink a glass of milk. the thing about weight watchers is most of the veggies are zero points. at least the ones we're eating. it means i can fill up on a big salad as long as i don't add the bacon, cheese, and fatty dressing. the fresh veggies are tasting really good to me anyway, so i don't really need the other stuff.

well, i'm going to go now. janelle wanted to hang out and watch tv for a while. she's going to be gone next weekend on an fbla trip and she's got a lot to do this week so we won't get to hang out much.

kisses...

yaaawwwwwwnnn

i'm sitting here on the computer waiting on janelle to come home. her high school's football team had a playoff game friday. she and some of her friends drove up to the game to support them. they left about 4:30 or so to go tailgate before the game.

oh, goody...she just pulled in the driveway, so i'm heading to bed. i'll post more later on today. i wanted to update on the weight watchers deal. i'm doing pretty good if i do say so!

kisses....

friday's feast

when i was reading beverly's blog, she mentioned this website, friday's feast. it looks like a lot of fun, so here's my take:

• Appetizer: Which snack do you like to get when you go to the movies? small popcorn mixed with plain m&m's. now that i'm on weight watchers, i'm going to have to figure out a more healthy alternative or i could just not snack during the movie...novel idea, that.
• Soup: What year did you start using the internet? i think it was around 1996.
• Salad: What is your first name in Pig Latin? everly-bay
• Main Course: Name something you are picky about. i like to be in charge and drive. very rarely am i a passenger in the car. i take after my mom in this respect. even when she and my dad go to visit my sister and my brother and his family, mom does most of the driving unless she's not feeling well. if i'm not driving, i want to be in the backseat asleep.
• Dessert: Fill in the blanks: I went to walmart yesterday and I will probably wind up going again today. i didn't get all my grocery shopping in for my ww meals plus i need to buy the usual waffles, english toffee flavored cappacino, fat-free/sugar-free strawberry yogurt, and aloe vera juice. i hate going to walmart too. i wish that some other stores could compete with them on their prices. when you're on a tight budget, it's hard to shop anywhere else. even when using coupons at others stores it does not make it cheaper than walmart for most things. i've been scouring the grocery inserts in the paper hoping to catch some deals elsewhere.

and in case you needed to know, here's a quick tutorial on how to speak gibberish. who knew?

oh and day 2 of weight wathcers went pretty well. later i'll post the chicken and pasta dish we had for dinner last night. it was simple and it was delicious. as a matter of fact, i'm taking leftover for my lunch today.

kisses....

focus

we had our 1st weight watchers meeting yesterday. not surprisingly, it's all women who signed up for this session. maybe guys don't want to go on a diet during the holiday season? :) from the lively conversation while we were all weighing in, it looks like we're going to have a good group. what i like about it, too, is i get to meet people from other parts of the company who i wouldn't normally run into. i also got to see some friends i don't get to see too often.

i was disappointed with my weight. it was not where i expected it to be. that's ok b/c this whole deal is about focus (hence the title). when i woke up yesterday, i told myself i was going to look at eating in a different light. i'm taking it seriously this time around. i'm proud of myself that i avoided the m&m's bowl even though i had points to accomodate eating some. i saved my points for real food that satisfied me. i'm planning on reaching my 10% goal at a minimum by the end of the 17 weeks.

mom and i were looking over the literature last night. i printed off a sample of the menus for 1 week. there's lots of options and it also gives a shopping list to go along with it. i will definitely be increasing my veggie and fruit intake as well as dairy. last night and this morning, i was looking at nutrition labels and i'm actually thinking whether the points are worth it or not before having something. believe me, folks, this is a big, big change for me. in the past i'd eat without a second thought as to the consequences of calories, fat, sodium, etc.

the next step is to get on an exercise program. as with the eating, i'm going to start out simple. right now i think i just need to focus (there it is again) on mild exercise. walking is free, easy to do, and i can start now. when i go see dr. b on the 20th, i'm going to ask him how soon after my knee surgery will i be able to start an exercise program. it's about getting myself moving, which i haven't done any more than necessary for quite a while.

it's time to get ready for work. i'm looking forward to my new adventure! i haven't been excited about something like this in a while...lol. i'm such a goober sometimes.

kisses....

weight watchers wednesday

i'm excited b/c today is the first ww meeting! we're going to get the ball rolling on the road back to healthy land...lol. we're going to get all our books and recipes and helpful hints. one lady who has been in ww on and off said she is glad we're starting this right before thanksgiving and christmas. she said it helped her cope with holiday overeating or eating the wrong things when she was on ww before. and she said the group leader is going to give us some healthy alternatives for some of our fav recipes.

mom has pulled out her ww cookbooks as well. she said it wouldn't hurt for all of us to eat a little better. my dad has been talking about wanting to lose weight as well. i know it will help all the way around for me to have a support system at home as well as one at work.

i'm going to call curves and get the info on membership fees, daily hours, etc. i was checking out their website and it looks like it is the program i need to try right now.

i'm signing off now. catch you on the flip side!

kisses...

7 things about me

1. my daughter, janelle, is the best thing that has happened to me besides having my family. she has made me look at my life in a whole new light. i'm amazed at how strong and determined she is. i admire her for not being afraid to let people know she is a christian. she is much braver than i was at 17.
2. my sister, suzy, is the BEST friend i have ever had, even when we were not talking to each other for about 4 months. i don't even remember what we were fighting about. i know that she will stand by me no matter what and will put me in my place when i need a reality check.
3. i'm an artist at heart. some days it kills me to work in accounting. i get in touch with my creative side by doodling and drawing when i'm on the phone with users.
4. depeche mode is my all-time favorite band. the 1st song i remember hearing by them was people are people. i got to see them in concert in atlanta in the mid-90's and absolutely loved it even though i was one of the "old" people (there were lots of college kids at the concert).
5. i love dancing with glow sticks when a really good dance mix is on. you'd never know it by looking at me now, but this big girl can tear up a dance floor...lol.
6. i have always wanted a pet skunk. when i was about 9 years old, my sister, my brother, and i attended a local day camp here in north augusta. one of the ladies who worked in the office was visited by her husband, who was a forest ranger. he had come across some baby skunks that had lost their mother. he had them checked out by a vet and had their little stink glands removed (not that day, but early after he found the baby skunks). he and his wife had kept them as pets and he brought them to the office to show her. i held one of them and he snuggled up against my neck. it was love at 1st sight. from then on, i wanted a skunk. i've never been able to get one and i think it is illegal to own one now. for years my family has given me skunk figurines and stuffed skunks and skunk puppets to make up for it. :)
7. i've wanted to live in a remote french village....similar to the one in chocolat.

i know this is a quick little post. i'm just about finished with my ripple scarf and want to get back working on it. i've taken some pics and will post them soon.

kisses...

got that monkey off my back...

well, i had a pumpkin pie blizzard yesterday. but i had a small one, which is a huge step for me. because i love pumpkin pie so much, i would normally go for the medium or even the large size. i'm proud of myself actually that i made a sensible choice. donna, i think i am going to try the points with weight watchers. from what i've researched so far, that's the easiest bet for me. one of the ladies at work said she was more focused using the points system.

i am enjoying this extra hour we've got...lol. i forgot to set my alarm clock back saturday so i woke up about 6:30am. thankfully i remembered the change in time and didn't wake janelle up. she would have been very upset with me. she is so my daughter sometimes. we are both alike that we aren't morning people. we are comfortable in pouty silence first thing in the morning which is in direct contrast to my parents. they are both chatty cathy and it makes it hard when we're all up at the same time. thankfully most days the retired folks roll out after we've left the house for school and work.

well, i'm going to go for now. i'll try to get online later today and post my wips and fo's on ravelry. i'm not the greatest photographer, but you can still get the gist of it. i've also got some photos from colonial days at the living history park. they turned out pretty good, even for me!

kisses....

only 3 left

today elliott is racing at texas motorspeedway. there's only 3 races left to decide who the champion is this year. he's starting 19th, so maybe that is a good sign to start your car number...lol. he has been doing better, but things just keep happening to not have the greatest finishes. he has won at texas before and it would be nice to have a win before the season is over. this season has been disappointing to say the least. but as they all say, there's always next year!

i've decided this year that i'm making scarves to give to folks at work....well, certain folks anyway. there's 24 of us in our department and frankly, some of them wouldn't appreciate a hand-knit scarf. i started one yesterday using the ripple stitch pattern i found on lionbrand's website. i'm using yarn bee soft delight in pink for this one. the links show the soft delight extremes which is not the yarn i'm using, but you get the idea. the pale pink is shimmery with orange, green, pink, yellow, and purple stranded throughout it. i love the soft fuzzy effect it has and how it drapes. i'm using the size 13 circular needle so it's a fast knit.

i also have the soft delight in red. there is a lady who is in the red hat society and i think the red yarn is perfect for a scarf for her. it is shimmery red with pink, purple, yellow, orange and green too just like the pink one. i made a hat out of some of the red which my sister, suzy, fell in love with and took it.

i need to take a shower and wash my hair so i'm going to sign off here. lately my hair has had a mind of its own and i've got to figure out what to do with it. i need to go see jennifer and get her to trim it up a little bit so it's not so unruly! maybe she can get it back under control again...

kisses....

oh dairy queen...why do you tempt me so?!

i am a proud member of the blizzard fan club. if you saw me in person, you would understand why! :) as i've said in other posts, i'm starting weight watchers this upcoming wednesday. i've had some folks ask me if i have planned for a last hurrah before i start dieting. i had prepared myself to not go crazy and panic before dieting and to not eat like a mad woman.

well, dairy queen has a pumpkin pie blizzard this month! pumpkin pie has to be one of my most favorite things in the world, especially my mom's homemade pumpkin pie. i think i'm going to give in and have a small pumpkin pie blizzard to get it out of my system. and i plan on eating it tomorrow, possibly for my lunch...lol. i figure that way i can not have a craving hanging over me and start fresh with the weight loss.

my mom was a stay-at-home mom and in my opinion, was a perfect example of a mom. she prided herself on cooking from scratch. no canned biscuits allowed at our house! she made the best ice cream, too. she would mix it up and then my dad would operate the churn. when we lived on east avenue, we would sit on the porch helping dad turn the handle until the ice cream was ready. when we got to electric ice cream churn, we had homemade ice cream more often. i remember going to pick a pail of blackberries to take home to mom. she'd make a blackberry cobbler to go along with the freshly churned ice cream. oh my goodness! it didn't get better than that i tell you. i have loved ice cream ever since.

i know that i can still have ice cream but i have to use my head about it. i have to make sure i have a serving and not go overboard. i know i can't avoid it all together. i just have to stay strong and be smart. i'm determined to become a healthy eater again!!

well, i'm going to go now. dad and i are fixin' to watch the world of outlaws dirt track racing on speed. there's a race in concord tonight at the dirt track. wish i was there!!!

kisses.............

p.s. thanks, donna, for the tip about curves. i've had several folks tell me they liked it. i could swing by there on the way home from work and get all my frustrations out. i would love to get back into an exercise routine and that might be the trick! :)

situation

i'm listening to situation by yaz on my ipod right now. boy, does that take me back to my winthrop days. i remember dancing like a crazy woman to that song. i had this little dance step that i liked to do. it was easily adaptable to different songs. jay and i would do the little step to lucky star by madonna...which i need to go download that song right now while i'm thinking of it.

i would definitely work up a good sweat on the dance floor. that's one thing that i miss doing since i'm so overweight now. and roller skating. i want to shuffle skate so bad sometimes when i hear some of the old school songs on my ipod. i'm going to get back to where i can do that stuff again. the weight watchers meetings are going to help.

we didn't get to start our meeting this week with weight watchers. it is going to start next wednesday. the leader had a conflict with this week, so everyone agreed to move it to next week. i'm curious to see who else has joined. there's one lady who has joined and i don't know why. she is in good shape, not overweight even tho she thinks she is. she has a very warped sense of self and is obsessed with weight. weirdo! lol...like i have room to talk....

kisses...

1st day of nablopo

last year i stumbled across national blog posting month. i've decided i'm going to try it again this year and see how long i can go. i managed to blog for about 43 days before i missed one. i don't have those posts anymore b/c i deleted them from my old yahoo 360 blog.

i don't know what was wrong with me today at work. i was angry for a while, sad next, and then crying like a little baby by the afternoon. i must be pms'ing...lol. it was a quiet day for the most part, but there were little bursts of stressful moments. i don't want to rehash the day, but i'm glad tomorrow is friday.

mom told us that brent, kim, and the kids might be coming next week. i hope they get to come visit. i've got to child-proof my room in case the girls want to hang out again. i can hardly wait to see them! i know they've grown like weeds and miles looks like he's a big boy as well. he's not even a year old yet! i might see if i can take a day off to visit with them since they aren't going to be here very long.

well, i'm going to go now. i just wanted to get this thing started so i'm on my way!

kisses...

p.s. i'm hoping to update my flickr account with pics of my fo's and wip's and to update my ravelry profile. when i started looking at all i've done this year, i was surprised. i know it doesn't compare to some other folks, but i'm pleased with what i've accomplished so far.