Sugar, Spice, and Everything Nice...

For those of you who have known me for quite some time, you may recall my minor obsession with the Powerpuff Girls towards the end of my high school years and a bit into college. Well, last night I was sittin gon the couch nursing this terrible cold I can't seem to kick while Pat was searching for something to watch. He landed on Cartoon Network and an episode of Powerpuff Girls neither of us had seen before, granted it has been a looooonnnnnnngggg time since I have taken the time to watch Powerpuff Girls. Anyway, I was completely mesmorized. I still get such a kick out of the show. At the commercial break, Cartoon Network announced they were celebrating the 10th anniversary of The Powerpuff Girls!!

I feel old.....

Don't call it a comeback....

Okay, so it has been almost two months since I've been able to get on this thing and update it. Excuses? Sure, I have a few. The holidays, keeping up with grading at school, geocaching adventures, and working out after school lately are just a few I can come up with off the top of my head.

Life has been a roller coaster for me lately. I've had quite a few ups (family time, friend time, Wild games, concerts, continuing to lose weight) and some downs (sick on and off, two aunts dying on the same day, snow days causing pile-ups at school, the looming of state jury duty), but all in all, I'm doing okay.

I got my 3rd star at Weight Watchers last week which means I'm down 15 pounds! I've gained a littler here and there over the holidays, but I'm working really hard to stay on track now. My pants are getting looser and looser which is great, but I'm hoping they don't look too big. I dont' want to get new clothes until the spring. I've also noticed my bras getting a little looser too. I guess I'll just have to be okay with that :P

I thought I would look back at my first post a little over a year ago and see if I stuck to my resolutions. Here is what I hoped for:
1) Get better at being on time. For the most part, I think I've shown improvment here. I'm even coming to work over 10 minutes early every day now!!! That's something to be proud of.
2) Work out at least 3 days a week. Well, I have done this the past couple weeks, but all in all, I did not do so well with this one. Weight Watchers is helping me get back on track with this. I've even learned that I don't have to go to a gym to work out. Shoveling our driveway is turning out to be a really good work out too!
3) Make more time for "me" time (reading, tanning, indulgent t.v. shows...) Up until we moved I was doing well at this. I've been able to squeeze in some reading and Nintendo DS time in lately, but I really, really want to get back to making time to scrapbook. I'm months behind!
4) Not to sweat the small stuff as much. I think as a whole I've done a lot better with this one. Minus a few cracks here an there (moving, the house warming, and some lesson planning here and there), I think I've done much better at this. Excercise and beer have helped, too.

Now on to my NEW New Year's Resolutions:
1) Work out on a regular basis
2) Get better at putting things away at home
3) Journal/track what I eat every day
4) Learn something new every day
5) Do something FOR ME every day


Latest music obsessions aside from the usual: Indgrid Michaelson and Matt Nathanson

High five? How about a high ten!

After a rough week last week, I achieved a major goal today! I set a goal for myself about a month ago to lose 10 pounds by Thanksgiving. After our housewarming and the leftovers tempting me, I gained weight at my weekly weigh in. I worked really hard this week and even spent my morning off today working out, and it paid off. I have officially lost 10.2 pounds!!! I'm hoping to continuing losing weight and maybe even another ten pounds by Christmas. I know it will be hard because it is the holiday season, which means sweets tempting me around just about every corner, but I am still going to work toward that goal. I'm currently able to put all my pants in the dryer :) That's the only big change I've noticed so far, but that is change enough. No, I take that back. The biggest change I've seen is in my eating habits. I am eating smart snacks and really watching my portion control. I'm AWARE of what I am eating, and that is the BIGGEST change. Yeah me :)

Cheesecake?

I have turned down free, yummy cheesecake twice today. If you know me well, you know that was really tough for me. See how dedicated I am?

What a morning...

When I first got up this morning, I figured it would be like any other day. I rolled out of bed (wishing I could climb back in) and stumbled my way to the bathroom. I turned on the radio, and the first thing I heard was that we were in a Winter Weather Advisory. Really? Thanks a lot Mother Nature. Why tease us with 70+ temps one week and then slam us with something like this? I will be sick soon, I just know it. Later that morning while I was getting dressed, I came to realize that my pants were too big. Although I am thankful for this, I didn't have time to change clothes. Now I am spending the day feeling like I am walking around in either clown pants or in homage to MC Hammer. Either way, I have to admit I am excited for my Weight Watchers weight-in later this week. I'm thinking I may have broken the 10 lb point. It's funny to think that these are the same pants I wore to Tiff's graduation. I was so paranoid about belly-spillage over the pants that day, and today I am relying on a belt to keep them up...

I'm a BLTer....

That means I'm a biter, licker, and taster...

I made a really big decision and finally committed myself to it yesterday. Yesterday, I officially joined Weight Watchers. I've tried changing my diet as a new year's resolution. I've tried working out regularly, but something always gets in the way (or at least I convince myself it does). I just can't make it work, so I figured joining something so structured would not just change me "for now," but it just might help me change the big picture. I know it is going to be hard, but if I fully commit myself to it now, I just might be able to show myself off this coming holiday season. It's not like I cry when I look in the mirror or anything. Overall, I am pretty happy with myself, but there are certain areas my eyes go to every time. It's those areas I want to fix. No, it's those areas I WILL fix :)

One Particular Harbour

So, we are still at that awkward place where we have two "homes." We are working hard to make our new home, currently called our One Particular Harbour, ours. The name came from a Jimmy Buffett song which talks about a very special and sacred place. We have talked for a couple years now about finding our "one particular harbour," our own home where we don't have to feel like we are living under someone else's rules (aka our landlord, neighbor, etc). Last weekend was dedicated to removing some very ugly bushes and relandscaping the front. Pat, Keith, and Pat's dad worked on making some shelving for the garage too. This past week, Pat and I started painting what was a hot pink kids play room a very dark color (kettle black) for his digital and eventually natual darkroom. Tiff came in and did her magic as well; she is one damn good painter! Yesterday we painted the accent wall in the kitchen as well to break up the monotony of "Irish sand" as we have come to call it. Check out the facebook pics to see more. Now it is on to packing, packing, and more packing. Next Sunday will be the big move!!!!