i feel like typing in all lower case letters today

I've time for a quickie

breakfast: coffee, mini bagel, 5 apple slices, handful of almonds, ~ 10 grapes & pb

lunch: cheese pasta & Sprite Zero

snack: rest of my Sprite Zero & 2 cranberry girl scout cookies

dinner: pork loin w/ gravy, big helping of green beans, (mistake - spoonful of pb prior)

mistake #2: 2 big pieces of cake...ate it without thinking...

2 positives for today though. the 1st being that at work i often sit, but am deliberately walking around more & more. 2nd is i tried to find the gym i want to join this morning, but got lost doing so. i eventually did find it, & really like the look of the place. i'll enjoy going there soon to sign up.

it was sad yesterday that my show was not on. i enjoy the biggest loser because i find their progress motivates me to get goin'. regardless, i am feeling quite motivated without watching this week. maybe it is the olympics & realizing how much those people can do and, while i will not get to their level, i can get much closer than i currently am. sadly tonight my back aches after all the filing i did late in the day at work...it is just a reminder that things need to change & they will not do so on their own.

Don't you just love those days when all your plans go out the window? Yep, 100% fits my day!

Regardless, a quick update on my intake vs. output today (food v. exercise):

Breakfast consisted of 2 buttermilk eggos. I was about to eat a Poptart, but stopped myself because 2 eggos are more than sufficient!

Lunch was a rushed affair as my lunchtime at work has disappeared for the last few weeks...basically I heat up a frozen meal & eat as I talk.

Dinner was the other half of my Thanksgiving-in-a-sub Bobbie from last night. Yum!

Post dinner snacking was my weak spot for today. 1 small slice of red velvet cake with frosting, Special K snack bar, & a cupcake. Oh bother.

I did plan ahead for dessert tonight, and it was great :) (i.e. the correct dessert, not the bad choices above) I went to the 'fancy' mart & splurged to buy produce. Raspberries, Blackberries, the quality oj (Simply Orange is my fav!), & Dannon Light & Fit vanilla yogurt all combined in my new mini-blender/smoothie maker to make a scrumptious smoothie that was admittedly heavy in yogurt, but will be better tomorrow :)

Oh, and I went hog wild & bought quality broccoli, romaine & my guilty pleasure - pb.

. . .

Tomorrow's dinner plan: left over pork loin & green beans

The next night: baked chicken & broccoli

(Finally) Friday: my biggest splurge!: whole wheat cheese ravioli!! I have to find a good recipe for a butter or oil-based dressing, because my least favorite Italian combo is tomato sauce (which is normally amazing the way I make it) with ravioli or other cheese-stuffed pasta. I want to enjoy the calories I am putting in my body & can only do that with a lighter sauce that takes a backseat to the pasta itself.

. . .

Finally, I just have to say U.S.A!! I'm watching the Olympics when I can & am enjoying it greatly!!

Kidnapped & held hostage...

Sooo....16 days off this blog...oops.

Well, for part of that time I was kidnapped & held hostage by the weather, knocking out communication with the outside world. But during the other time I guess I just allowed bad habits to grab hold again (I've always struggled with consistently doing things)

Anyway, quick review of the past...16 days...:

I started out trying very hard to do well. Prior to the Weather of Feb 2010, I made a delish turkey chili & stocked up on good-for-you yummies. (veggies, low fat yogurts, etc)

However, just before the storm I'd purchased all the makings for a cake to take to work. That meant icing was in my house...dun dun DUN!

Yes, while in some regards I was 'good' while trapped inside, I also was bad. The icing was gone at the end of the week, I overdid in after No-Cheese January, & was tempted to break No-Chocolate February. Plus I snacked...oh boy did I. String cheese is a down fall of mine (like pb...did I mention I like pb?) & I went through 2 packs in 10 days. Ugh. BIG TIME Ugh.

Then, after the 1st storm I went out to replenish my cake-making supplies to prep for work starting again...& Storm Two hit! Icing gone a second time...

And, my sneaking prowess was put to the test during all of this. Both my roomie & boyfriend were there for much of the time. Parts of the week felt like Mission Impossible. Oh, but I was Kim Possible, complete with ringtone & very own personal Wade.

I did exert a lot of energy in shoveling, but that's about it. Video games & work took over other than that (and reading, I have a not-at-all-secret affair with reading consistently)

. . .

Now to explain my No-____ Month comments. As my New Years Resolution I decided to give up something instead of adding something. Plus, as I've mentioned I'm rarely consistent with things like this, so I'm working in short increments rather than a full year. Each month I am giving up food. Not just any food, it has to be something that will be challenging for me. (no No-Steak September!...that would be a piece of cake)

So, for January I gave up cheese. That was hard. I've always been a cheesy person (haha), in particular mozzarella & more recently cheese in a can. (gross sounding I know, but surprisingly yum)

Other than 2 inadvertent flubs I kept to it (I didn't read ingredients closely enough) Yay!

One side affect that this month had on my body (other than me learning to read ingredients much more closely), is that my nails started to split. Now I've always had very good nails...to the point where the one time I tried to get fake nails they refused because they didn't want to ruin them... However, I think I didn't get enough calcium or something during Jan, because my nails became a hot mess. Fortunately that is getting better as this month goes on.

Now February is No-Chocolate. This is not the hardest thing in the world for me, as I truly am not a huge chocolate fan, but around V-day...it's difficult. So, to combat any weakness, I've taken this on. Now, it is challenging when there are boxes (yes, plural) of chocolate in the kitchen, some of it Godiva... But I'm holding out.

. . .

Final thing for now. my goal for this week is to join a gym. I've been wanting to do this for awhile, but wasn't sure which one to join. There are typical gyms all over the place near me, but my experience with them has been svelt guys attempting to benchpress whole buildings, & models trying to attract the attention of their counterparts...all while I'm getting to be a hot sweaty mess & waiting an hour for an elliptical to open up. Oh, yeah, and experiencing extreme redfacedness from all the looks & not-so-whispered comments when people saw me.

So, I'm looking for something better than the 'typical' gym. I heard both good & bad things about Curves, so that's an option. But there is another option as well that I'm going to try. It's this place that uses equipment you'd never find in Snooty-Skinnies Only clubs. Things like ropes, kettle drums, etc. This is intriguing to me & I want to try to find time to get over there this week...and hopefully not get laughed out of there.

Alrighty, I'll post later. Promise.