Tonight, I signed up Mr Moo and myself for a curling class. No, not hair curling. This curling: |
"NAME THAT MOVIE" CONTEST - 109 In case anyone still cares, round 109 of the movie contest is still open. |
Today's the day. My Red Sox begin a three game series against our arch rivals, the Yankees, in NY. EDIT: Well, I was right about the sweep. Unfortunately, my team wasn't the winning one. If anyone needs me, I'll be in the other room with a blanket over my head. |
Anyone on the West Coast staying up late to watch the lunar eclipse tonight? It's already started and will be full on in about one hour (3:37am PDT). We have incredibly clear skies and a perfect view of the moon tonight. Mr Moo asked me to wake him up at 3:30. Will be interesting to see if he actually gets out of bed or not. EDIT: Amazingly, Mr Moo woke right up and came outside to see the eclipse with me. He was only awake for about three minutes, but he did indeed get up to see it. Here are a couple really, really awful photos. |
Today, well, technically yesterday, was our anniversary. Since we're considering our trip to South Dakota at the end of September our anniversary trip, we didn't do a whole lot this weekend. In order to say we did something, Mr Moo took me to see Bourne Ultimatum - yet another fantastic chapter in the Bourne series and I hope it's not the last. My only complaint was the somewhat excessive use of the not-so-steady cam. There were moments I couldn't tell what the heck was happening because everything was moving across the screen so fast. Aside from that, I thought it was great. Lots of shoot 'em up, 'splosions, car chases and fights - all of the key ingredients for a good action movie. And let us not forget the hotness that is Matt Damon as Jason Bourne. |
TODAY'S WORKOUT: Gilad Janklowicz's Arms of Steel I worked out hard today. Instead of using my usual girly weight of three pounds, I used half the amount of weight Gilad was using. Actually, I think it would be more accurate to say I attempted to use half. I was doing fairly well until he started using 15 and 20 pounds for certain exercises. For starters, we don't even own 10 lb dumbells. When I tried to use our heaviest weight (8 lbs), I found I couldn't maintain good form, which is never a good thing. In the end, there were a few exercises where I had to reduce the amount of weight to about a third instead of half, but I was able to use up to 7 lbs for some of those, which is definitely progress. Yesterday was weigh-in day. Last week's weight loss: +1 lbs. Ugh. I thought last week's loss of 4lbs was excessive. I'm going to chalk this up to my body balancing itself out and try not to get completely discouraged. Almost there! Height: 5' 2" Current Weight: 117 Highest Weight: 167 (January 14, 2006) Goal Weight: 110 Pounds Lost: 50 |
Mr. Skunky Monkey continues to visit us on almost a nightly basis. |
TODAY'S WORKOUT: Cathe Friedrich's Low Impact Step & Stability Ball Abdominal Workout It's been a crazy busy week, so I haven't worked out as much as I would have liked. I did get two in though and, hopefully, one more tomorrow. All is not lost. |
There are times when we all crave something warm, gooey and chocolatey. If you're trying to lose weight, this can put you on quite a slippery slope. You don't want to buy a pre-made brownie that can have upwards of 600 calories for one small square. Buying a boxed mix and making them yourself is also dangerous. Yes, an individual serving is only about 170 calories, but a "serving" is usually listed as just 1/20 of the entire pan. I don't know about you, but I've never cut up a tiny pan of brownies into twenty pieces, eaten only one and left the rest. Just ain't happenin'. And, at 170 calories per serving, that would be 3400 calories if you were to eat the whole thing - almost 3 full days of calories in one tiny pan! Rather than obsess over my recent craving and winding up binging, I got online and discovered this: Unfortunately, the Guiltless Gourmet products are not available everywhere. I can't get them here in Portland, so I have my sister purchase and ship a few to me periodically. Looks like they're available through a couple online sources as well for those of you who don't have a sister living in another state to hook you up. |
Anyone who knows me well knows I'm like a crackhead when it comes to office supplies. The day when the giant full color Office Depot catalog arrives in the mail each year is a joyous day indeed. So, when I saw these babies at the store last week, I had to have them: |
Postcard my MIL sent from her cruise to Alaska last month. |
TODAY'S WORKOUT: Cathe Friedrich's Low Impact Step & Stability Ball Abdominal Workout Back on the workout wagon. I decided I'm too damn close to my goal weight to give up now, so I'm back at it. Since I am so close to goal, I'm going to start incorporating a bit more weight lifting into my routine rather than just strictly cardio. No sense in reaching goal and being all flabby. |
"NAME THAT MOVIE" CONTEST - 108 Round 108 is still open, too! |
"NAME THAT MOVIE" CONTEST - 107 Round 107 is still open! |
TODAY'S WORKOUT: Gilad Janklowicz's Arms of Steel I haven't worked out in over a week because my motivation is completely in the toilet at the moment. It felt good to get up and get moving a again today though. I've been wanting to work out all week, but it's that week and I haven't felt very well. Anyhoo, today was weigh-in day. This week's weight loss: 4 lbs. Yikes! That's a lot. I haven't posted stats in three weeks. I gained several that first week because of all the crap I ate while we were in Seattle, but lost a little the following week then a lot this week. Since the last time I posted stats, I'm down only 3 lbs. That still averages out to one pound per week, so I'm pleased. I decided on a goal weight of 110 lbs today, too. After being weighed a couple times at the doctor's office, I've determined that 110 on The Scale That LiesTM works out to be roughly 113-115 everywhere else in the world. Only a few more to go. Hopefully, it won't take too long. Height: 5' 2" Current Weight: 116 Highest Weight: 167 (January 14, 2006) Goal Weight: 110 Pounds Lost: 51 |
We've officially decided to go to South Dakota for our vacation this year (Sept 27 - Oct 7). However, our grand plan to use frequent flier miles to get free tickets has very quickly been dashed. United has no FF flights for about a week before/after the day we wanted to return home. Figures. We can do the upgraded FF plan and return on any flight we want, but it uses twice the number of miles and we don't have enough. Looks like we might just be sucking it up and paying full price for the tickets. Blargh. |
Read recently in a newsletter we receive: Are you trying to lose a little weight but can't avoid sweets? Here is a great idea. Next time you want to resist the temptation presented by sweets, rinse your mouth with a solution of one-teaspoon baking soda in a glass of warm water. Swish for a few seconds and then spit out the solution. Your sweet tooth should be immediately calmed.Anyone out there daring enough to try this and report back to me with results? |
The landscaping company hired by our homeowners association mowed all the grass growing around the detention pond behind our house today. I understand they need to do this a few times per year because it becomes a fire hazard, but I often wish they would just leave it alone and let it grow however it wants for two primary reasons. First, there are many birds and animals that live down there that I'm sure would appreciate not having their home/protection mowed down to the ground. Second, when the grass is short, lots of stupid lazy people decide it would be easier to cut through the pond area to get to the main street instead of walking back on the trail and going around. However, when they get to the gate, they discover that it's virtually impossible to open and, rather than going back from whence they came, they cut through our yard to get out. If you have even a vague understanding of the US legal system, you probably know if anyone should happen to hurt themselves while on our property (no matter how stupid, irresponsible or otherwise uninvited their actions are) we are the ones who are liable, which is why I'm such a crankypants about the whole thing. |
"NAME THAT MOVIE" CONTEST - 107 Round 107 is still open. |
Assuming there are no major conflicts with Mr Moo's work schedule, it looks like he and I will be going on vacation to South Dakota/Wyoming in late September/early October. The major points of interest on our "must see" list: - Badlands National Park We're also going to attempt to see the Buffalo Roundup in Custer State Park, Spearfish Canyon and as much of the Black Hills National Forest as we can manage. Tentative game plan at the moment is departing Portland on Thursday, September 27 and returning on Sunday, October 7. Mr Moo is going to check with his boss tomorrow to make sure they aren't expecting him to be in Israel again during that time. If not, I shall be purchasing plane tickets tomorrow. Wheee! |
On our hike. The camera phone really doesn't do very well in low light conditions, does it? |
We're off to a bit later start than we were hoping, but we're heading out to go hiking today anyway. What are you up to today? |
Our connection to the internet went down sometime last night and we only just got it back. So much for getting any work done today. What a pain in the arse. I went to see the doctor today about the lingering edema (swelling) I have in my left leg. I first started noticing that my left leg was larger way back when I was at my heaviest weight. I chalked it up to being fat/retaining water and never thought much about it. However, now that I've lost weight, it's become much more pronounced and noticeable. I took some measurements last week and it was over an inch larger in circumference than my right leg. The doctor took measurements today as well. While it wasn't as bad today as last week, she was still quite shocked at the difference. I'm now scheduled to see a vascular surgeon in about a month's time to see if we can figure out what's going on with my bloated leg. Mr Moo and I went grocery shopping tonight. We hadn't been since getting back from Seattle, so the cupboards were getting quite bare. While we were away, we stopped at Safeway for some snacks before the ballgame and I discovered my new favoritest snack - sliced apples with yogurt and granola. It all comes in a convenient little snack sized divided plastic tray. Best part: the whole thing is only 170 calories. I searched high and low in all of our regular grocery stores, which don't include Safeway, with no luck. Since it's a fresh fruit item, I was worried the Safeways here in Portland might not carry it. I made Mr Moo stop at one just for kicks tonight and success! I can get it locally. I sense lots of yogurty granola apple goodness in my future. |
TODAY'S WORKOUT: ran 3+ miles on the treadmill I watch an episode of CSI during my runs. Whenever the show is on I run, and I walk briskly during the commercial breaks. Considering I'm just starting out with the whole running thing, it actually works out to be a fairly decent breakdown for me. I had to stop running during the last interval tonight because my knee was really bothering me, but, if I continue running regularly, I should be able to get through the whole thing without issue before too long. |
I put some peanuts on the patio for the raccoons, but it looks like they didn't come back last night and the crows got them all this morning. |
A family of masked bandits was on our patio last night. |
Mr Moo is flying down to California for the day tomorrow on a business trip. His flight leaves PDX at 0605. That means he has to be up and out of bed by about 0330 in the morning to get there in time. I'm sure he's going to be up late tonight trying to finish up work, too. Poor boy is going to be muy tired. At least he gets to come home tomorrow evening and doesn't have to stay overnight. |
Mr Moo's friend, the black and white "kitty", stopped by for another visit last night. |
TODAY'S WORKOUT: ran 3 miles on the treadmill I felt like running today, so onto the treadmill I went. I tried running for exercise many moons ago and it was a disaster. Between my asthma, which was much worse than it is now, and the pounding my knees were taking from all the extra weight I was carrying, I couldn't run for more than just a couple minutes and had to rest for an age each time. Today, I ran 10-12 minute intervals with just a couple minutes of walking in between. My left knee started to bother me a little bit toward the end, but it wasn't bad. Vast improvement from last time. I was inspired to attempt running again after working out while away this weekend. I wasn't sticking to my meal plan 100% (Curse you, DoubleTree, and your free chocolate chip cookies!!!) so I worked out while at the hotel. There was a fitness center somewhere in the hotel, but it was in one of the outbuildings and I didn't feel like searching for it. Our room was located fairly high up in the main tower and at the end of a long hallway. For my workout, I jogged down the hall, took the elevator downstairs, jogged back to the far end of the building and went back up 7 floors via the stairs. Lather, rinse and repeat five more times. It took about 45-50 minutes total and was fairly intense. Heck, when all was said and done, I had jogged up 42 flights of stairs. Phew! Since I did all that running and, amazingly, felt pretty good after doing so, I figured I'd give it another try once I got home and so far, so good. For any of you who are trying to lose weight and have to travel, it is possible to get a workout in even if there isn't a fitness center. You just have to get a little creative! |
"NAME THAT MOVIE" CONTEST - 106 Round 106 is still open. Any guesses? |
We're home finally. Traffic was a frickin' frackin' nightmare, but we made it. I'm going to spend some time with the kitties now then try to get to bed early. On the morrow, fishies. |
The Red Sox won this afternoon. YAY! On our way back to Portland now. See you on the other side. |
Game #3. Absolutely perfect weather for a ballgame. Red Sox won last night. Let's see if we can make it 2 out of 3. Go, Red Sox! |
Beautiful sunset tonight. The Space Needle is hiding behind the far right support of the bank of lights over the SafeCo Field sign. The Red Sox are winning. Yay! |
At ballgame #2. The Red Sox lost last night. Let's hope they do better tonight! |
View of Sea-Tac International Airport (and a big fluffy white cloud) from our hotel room balcony. |
We'll be leaving for Seattle shortly. Look for us at the games this weekend. We'll be the microscopic specks in the upper upper deck. Back on Sunday. Have a good weekend, fishies! |
Holy crap! Look what was in our backyard yesterday! |
TODAY'S WORKOUT: Cathe Friedrich's Low Max & Stability Ball Abdominal Workout Since we won't be home for the weekend, tomorrow should be an early weigh-in day. If today's reading was any indication, it's not going to be a good week. Ugh. On top of that, Mr Moo took me out to dinner at Red Lobster tonight, too. Double ugh. And having food at the ballpark for three days isn't going to help next week's numbers either. Triple ugh!!! I'm a walking train wreck when it comes to my diet right now. Stand back, people! It's for your own safety. |
In exactly 24 hours, Mr Moo and I will be on the road to Seattle for the weekend. In exactly 31 hours, we'll be at SafeCo Field watching my Red Sox play the Mariners. Squeee! I cannot wait! |
Some photos from when Mr Moo, my sister and I visited the Japanese Gardens a few weeks ago: |
TODAY'S WORKOUT: Cathe Friedrich's Body Fusion I haven't been good about my eating this week. I don't even want to think about how many calories I had yesterday. Ugh. However, I was better today and I got a good workout in. So, I'm trying not to beat myself up over it. Easier said than done though. |
From this year's Chick-fil-A calendar, The Good, The Bad and The Hairy: |
