One day down, 364 more to go

Yesterday was a pretty good food day. It was the first time in weeks that I didn't have a crazy late night binge. My binges these days aren't anything like they were three years ago when I weighed 240 pounds. I use to eat bags of candy, chips, cookies or whole cakes or pies, all in one sitting. I gave the word gluttony new meaning.<br /><br />These days a binge is an extra chicken breast or a bag of light popcorn or a couple Weight Watcher ice cream bars. Or maybe all of that plus some, but all healthy foods (except the WW ice cream bars that are really junk food in disguise). <br /><br />I still consider these binges, just a more healthy version of a binge. Last night I ate two WW ice cream bars and a piece of turkey breast (probably six ounces). It put me over my 22 Points (my 180 weight gives me an extra Point). Still, this is considerably less than I've been eating late at night these past weeks, hence the 6-pound gain in three weeks. <br /><br />Even with an hour of cardio yesterday that was too much food. In order to lose weight I have to maintain my exercise of a minimum of an hour a day AND cut back on the calories. <br /><br />One good thing is I've made peace with Dave's Killer bread, the thing that's been my downfall for a few weeks. I LOVE this bread. It's organic, tasty and full of healthy ingredients. It has 20 more calories than one of those sandwich thin things (130 calories, 3 grams fat, 4 grams fiber). It's two Points versus one Point but it's so much tastier and healthier than fake bread. I allow myself one slice a day, with my breakfast. It's really removed that "it's forbidden, I must eat it all" attitude I had about it.<br /><br />After dinner tonight I'm going to try to totally resist eating anything. Just to see if I can do it. Tomorrow is going to be hell day at work so I have to go to bed early anyway. I deal with "hell days" better when I'm well rested. So I'll be in bed by 9pm, up at 5am for the gym, and physically at the gym by 5:30am. That's my normal gym time but I'm often not asleep until midnight.<br /><br />Not much planned today except a few work things I have to get finished for tomorrow. I've been working on them for the last two days, and I'm almost finished with my project. Tomorrow is the start of alpha testing which is always extremely stressful for me. The work I did is for another team so it's a bit unusual for me. The people doing the testing are very experienced and are perfectionists, which is a good thing, but again, it stresses me out big time. <br /><br />Other than that, I'm going to the gym at noon, home to shower and then hit a movie this afternoon. I really wanted to see Unstoppable, the train movie. I love trains. I know, I work for an airline, but really love trains. They've always fascinated me more than airplanes. My husband wants to see the Harry Potter movie. Since I almost always get to pick the movie (and usually a chick flick and he's good with those), I think I'll let him have this one. I'm not a huge Harry Potter fan, but the movies are usually okay (although the last one was horrid).<br /><br />By the way, it's 364 days until I absolutely will be at goal. I know this is a lifetime thing, I'll always have food issues and will be fighting them to my dying day. That's pretty much a given, but it's 364 days to goal weight. That thought helps me focused.

One day down, 364 more to go

Yesterday was a pretty good food day. It was the first time in weeks that I didn't have a crazy late night binge. My binges these days a...

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Planning de la semaine du 29 novembre au 03 décembre 2010

<BR><br /><h2><strong><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 113%;color:#005c9b;" >Permanences<br /></span></strong></h2><ul><br /><li>Le <strong>Conseil Général du Loiret</strong> sera présent dans les locaux de la Maison de l'Emploi du bassin d'Orléans<br />- le lundi 29 novembre de 9h à 12h30,<br />- le mardi 30 novembre de 9h à 12h30 et de 13h30 à 17h,<br />- le mercredi 1er décembre de 13h30 à 17h,<br />- le jeudi 02 décembre de 13h30 à 17h,<br />- le vendredi 03 décembre de 13h30 à 17h.<br /><br /><li><strong><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2007/11/boutique-de-gestion.html">Boutique de Gestion</a></strong> - vendredi 03 décembre de 09h à 12h30 (sur rendez-vous)</ul><br /><h2><strong><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 113%;color:#005c9b;" >Ateliers</span></strong><br /></h2><br /><ul><li><strong>CV</strong> - mardi 30 novembre de 9h à 12h30 et mercredi 1er décembre de 13h30 à 17h<br /><br /><li><strong>Lettre de Motivation</strong> - mardi 30 novembre de 13h30 à 17h<br /><br /><li><strong>Préparation à l'entretien</strong> - jeudi 02 décembre de 13h30 à 17h<br /><br /><li><strong>Pôle-emploi.fr</strong> - vendredi 03 décembre de 10h à 11h30<br /><br /><li><strong><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2009/07/atelier-situtilises-tu-trouves.html">Sit'Utilises tu trouves</a></strong> - vendredi 03 décembre de 14h à 16h</ul><br /><h2><strong><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 113%;color:#005c9b;" >Information collective</span></strong><br /></h2><br /><ul><li><strong>Boutique de Gestion</strong> - lundi 29 novembre à 14h</ul>

Planning de la semaine du 29 novembre au 03 décembre 2010

Permanences Le Conseil Général du Loiret sera présent dans les locaux de la Maison de l'Emploi du bassin d'Orléans - le lundi 29 no...

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My weighin and feeling more positive

After my pathetic post earlier today about considering myself an epic failure in the weight loss arena, I almost blew off my Weight Watcher meeting. I was feeling like why should I even bother, I can't do this anymore. I'm sick and tired of trying and failing over and over. <br /><br />I couldn't help thinking it doesn't do any good to go to the meetings anyway. I go, I listen, then I chose to ignore the advice. Thankfully I ignored my stupid girl voice and went to my meeting. <br /><br />What was really cool about the meeting was our leader's excitement about the new program. She told us she wanted us to consider today the last day of our Weight Watcher year. This year was past and a new year was starting this week with the new ProPoints program and all new materials. She even played Auld Lang Syne at the end of the meeting and told us we had to hug each other (yes, the meetings are often a little touchy-feely, but they're fun). <br /><br />After the meeting I sat in my car and looked at my weighin results. I knew it was bad and it was exactly as I had anticipated. I weighed in with a 6.2 pound gain at 180.8. No surprise. I gained it in three weeks. My last weighin was 11/6 at 174.6. <br /><br />I looked back in my Weight Watcher weighin book and on January 9, 2010, I weight 180.4. Interesting. Basically, I stayed the same this year. That's a first for me. I've lost significant amounts of weight in the past but never kept it off for more than a few months. <br /><br />Instead of feeling defeated about the weight gain and not making any real progress in a year, I feel energized. I've decided this is going to be my year. This is the year I'm going to make goal. After almost three years of Weight Watcher meetings, I tired of just sitting in meeting after meeting watching other people make goal. I want to make goal.<br /><br />My year starts today, right this very minute. Not on January 1, but today, November 27, 2010. One year from today I will be at goal. I'm definitely feeling more positive.

My weighin and feeling more positive

After my pathetic post earlier today about considering myself an epic failure in the weight loss arena, I almost blew off my Weight Watcher ...

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Weight Watchers told me I'm new...maybe they're right

I tired to change my Weight Watcher payment information last night. This morning their website said I wasn't a member any longer. After being on the phone with them for twenty minutes I'm reinstated, but as a new member. <br /><br />Well, sort of a new member. I had to re-enter all my personal information and set up a new password, just like I was a new member. Luckily it still had my old weight chart information back to February 2008 when I joined the first time, but it had my current weight as 185. Funny how that 185 number popped in there for today. I didn't enter it, maybe the guy on the phone did it (he didn't ask me my weight, maybe he just figured I'd gained 10 pounds since my last weighin). I haven't weighed 185 since June 2008. <br /><br />In a way, I'm a little embarrassed that I've been in Weight Watchers for almost three years, and I'm still not at my goal weight of 135. Seriously, three years is a long time to spend trying to do something that should have only taken about one year. There's really no way to look at it except as a big failure. Sure, I can say I've kept off 60 pounds for over two years, but since the goal was to lose 100 pounds and keep it off, I'd give myself a C- for reaching my goal. Actually, in my work world not making a deadline is considered an epic failure. And for me, that's really not acceptable. <br /><br />Maybe being new isn't such a bad thing. I'm going to weighin today and whatever that weight is will be my new starting weight. Since I've been drinking coffee all morning and chugging the water, I'll probably be up pretty high. That's okay though, I'm not really beating myself up. Just trying to be realistic here, accept my failure and move on.<br /><br />The new program will be announced this coming week in the US. I read a little bit about it online at Facebook and other articles. I liked some of the things I read, and some others I wasn't too happy to read (I hope the "cheat" day of fast food is just a rumor).<br /><br />Anyway, here's a few things I found on line in what appeared to be a legitimate articles:<br /><br />•Instead of basing a food's Points on calories, fat and fiber, there will be more of an emphasis on the quality of the food. Brown rice will have fewer Points than white rice. A 100-calorie pack of cookies will have more Points than 100 calories of chicken breast, and so on.<br /><br />•To encourage better food choices, fruit and most vegetables will have zero Points. Starchy vegetables, such as potatoes, corn and peas will not be in the free list.<br /><br />•The minimum amount of Points assigned to people will be 29 Points, but they'll also be given a weekly allowance of 49 Points as "Real Living" Points to be used on snacky, boozy, party-type foods. <br />  <br />Plus, this <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1326447/Weight-Watchers-Pro-Points-plan-A-new-approach-dieting-success.html">article</a> on the UK Weight Watchers 2011 plan gives even more information. I suspect the US plan is the same. This is just a sneak peek from some of the things I found online. We'll find out the real deal this week. <br /><br />Just for fun, I also checked out the Weight Watcher UK <a href="http://www.weightwatchers.co.uk/community/mbd/threads.aspx?board_id=350&forum_id=1">message board</a> on the ProPoints Plan. Since UKjust got it about two weeks ago, there's a lot of messages flying around on their boards about it. Sounds like everyone loves it because you get so many more Points with the new plan. By the way, you don't have to be a WW member to read the message boards. They're open to everyone.<br />  <br />Well, I have to get showered and ready for Weight Watchers. I'll post my weigh in later today. I'm sure it's going to be scary. For all my talk of losing weight, I know I'm up from my last weighin. I'd say no worries, but if I'm truthful here, I'm mad as hell at myself for screwing up when I was so close to goal. Oh well, I'm "new", what can I say?

Weight Watchers told me I'm new...maybe they're right

I tired to change my Weight Watcher payment information last night. This morning their website said I wasn't a member any longer. After ...

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Black Friday - Part 2

If posting once a day is good for me, posting twice must be really good for me. <br /><br />I went to the gym this afternoon and had all sorts of weird technical problems. First, I forgot my iPod, which I've only done twice in three years. I almost turned around and went home, instead I suffered through my workout. Without music it was pretty miserable. The gym music is horrible. I like really fast-paced, high volume music. The gym music was turned down really low and it sounded like elevator music. Really bad.<br /><br />Then my Polar heart monitor went all wonky on me, telling me pulse was 58 when I thought I was dying and my heart was going to explode. Then it was 154 when I was barely moving. It does this every few months and then it'll be fine the next day. Annoying.<br /><br />After 30 grueling minutes on the treadmill I thought I'd do another 20 minutes cardio on an elliptical. Unfortunately I picked an elliptical that had problems. It would only allow a maximum of a 10-minute workout. I could have used another elliptical (there are about 40 of them, all available), but I decided 10 minutes sounded fine. <br /><br />Then my strength workout wasn't good. I felt weak and tired. I only did four upper body exercises, three sets each. Not really worthy of being called a workout.<br /><br />I'm not sure why I had such a bad workout today, other than my weight gain. It seems like when I gain weight working out is extra hard. My body feels heavier and more difficult to move. I feel lethargic. I need to remember this the next time I think about eating something not on plan. <br /><br />Speaking of plan, only three and half hours left in this day and I've been 100% perfect in my eating. I kept track of my water too, four 26-oz bottles of water, 2 12-oz mugs coffee, 2 12-oz mugs herbal tea for a grand total of 152 ounces of non-food liquids. It really does help with the hunger and helps me stay away from the bad stuff. <br /><br />If I can just get this one day under my belt, the next one will be easier. That's just how it works, good days help create good days. I need a string of them together to lose this weight. I think I will be okay. :)

Black Friday - Part 2

If posting once a day is good for me, posting twice must be really good for me. I went to the gym this afternoon and had all sorts of weird ...

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T-Day a Day Late

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBPT-gbkA5PDf5GPf1_nuaPI_17eDOWIFg1TAlBvyXtGDCNBsTYJcM8H1DAfErF61QlX0urwkFjiebfHPgHrJ9NVY3kuz_2AEX_hNCcD1k4UQLuC1QWf5X3oYiOJuM_iA-zTdsE7f8cRvU/s1600/my+little+turkey.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5544015653985368018" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBPT-gbkA5PDf5GPf1_nuaPI_17eDOWIFg1TAlBvyXtGDCNBsTYJcM8H1DAfErF61QlX0urwkFjiebfHPgHrJ9NVY3kuz_2AEX_hNCcD1k4UQLuC1QWf5X3oYiOJuM_iA-zTdsE7f8cRvU/s400/my+little+turkey.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" /></a><br />This little turkey was sad he didn't get to spend his first Thanksgiving with his Aunt Darci..but he's glad that she is having a blast on her cruise!<br /><br />So Darci gave me (her little sis Wendi) the password to her blog this week so I could publish a post for her and I told her I might just have to write a post of my own! I have to say that blogging is such a great form of entertainment. I don't write my own, but I love to read them and I have found so many through my sister's that I read on a daily basis. I think it's such a wonderful community and I know a lot of you out there help my sis to stay on track and keep motivated. I can't say that I do even close to as good of a job at the whole healthy living thing as my sister Darci does, but she definitely motivates me! She is a huge inspiration to me and I would love to be more like her:)<br /><br />Well even though it's the day after, I thought I would give you all a little list of what I'm thankful for. And here goes nothing...<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCStgWNwzrLKSnzrboLl55aATR_i4HxUWY6AQqiikGU7lr5bjxi3440GYCF-d139xEnva6Cwpkm1tRnSX3N98LeN1dd_JDzQq1WkQUKUU91jcsnbYreJTiPd67vTQcZyGJXtERQmOT0NzG/s1600/me%2526darci%2526santa.bmp"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5544032868370634994" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCStgWNwzrLKSnzrboLl55aATR_i4HxUWY6AQqiikGU7lr5bjxi3440GYCF-d139xEnva6Cwpkm1tRnSX3N98LeN1dd_JDzQq1WkQUKUU91jcsnbYreJTiPd67vTQcZyGJXtERQmOT0NzG/s400/me%2526darci%2526santa.bmp" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" /></a><br />My sister Darci who is also my best friend. (And Santa too!)<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwtGm0lqT_PsOUBNGg5CTmwqKkNZIf6rgpUAWiW7ietrn4ColYAHgiiYTuzDrDx-q41uobbUcv9ezoHiCPCl9oSdVlvPJHuboQcJ2yZY11dNXLVH6K0jg_dY6ZMa5DItfW99VLSHfFNhJ6/s1600/cross.bmp"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5544032867463421362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwtGm0lqT_PsOUBNGg5CTmwqKkNZIf6rgpUAWiW7ietrn4ColYAHgiiYTuzDrDx-q41uobbUcv9ezoHiCPCl9oSdVlvPJHuboQcJ2yZY11dNXLVH6K0jg_dY6ZMa5DItfW99VLSHfFNhJ6/s400/cross.bmp" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 259px; height: 194px;" /></a><br />My Faith.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigroucvoYL8WzTwfviOH4udRPi2mAvs7jZpK_LtJubpWYmJjS3cpuM1NDliaCnSsBaJR675FhIDBKmbjuwJeUZyfz_5JSTXuNFtk8cAqUJue9RGFvvpHBnqpyFM5jqTTx4LgMaE_Bmm7JQ/s1600/sunset+beach.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5544032824421531042" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigroucvoYL8WzTwfviOH4udRPi2mAvs7jZpK_LtJubpWYmJjS3cpuM1NDliaCnSsBaJR675FhIDBKmbjuwJeUZyfz_5JSTXuNFtk8cAqUJue9RGFvvpHBnqpyFM5jqTTx4LgMaE_Bmm7JQ/s400/sunset+beach.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 332px; height: 400px;" /></a><br />Life long friends and the beach.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjnwgVAe0bO9OKTxO7gdc-yBRLJk5EBLBSfiQVvg2KxzFC6Z1PjzfjakE_2iSUvAd54mIJ0AQhaArpGp5fXWtY9YzCuZgD1NkeUVdfJSGFPYij55Dozo8yxkukx4ttKrVjnXM9c0Eus08d/s1600/DSC08564.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5544032817673909570" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjnwgVAe0bO9OKTxO7gdc-yBRLJk5EBLBSfiQVvg2KxzFC6Z1PjzfjakE_2iSUvAd54mIJ0AQhaArpGp5fXWtY9YzCuZgD1NkeUVdfJSGFPYij55Dozo8yxkukx4ttKrVjnXM9c0Eus08d/s400/DSC08564.JPG" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" /></a><br />Some of the most amazing women in the world, my mom and my sisters.<br /><br />And finally what I am most thankful for this year..<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV1UPx0KJxOSN9vi-YhRFWkOEOB04wotzuSKjiBmdQyh1skLbsb53ncSZdpFLNPiA_3WDAoOcqTmPttu4X_iScatW2wsuvsGyNNlvox9-Zf1OwLXQKZ3zf3s0srqMBg6745MoL37OPJC8N/s1600/Hayden_Grettenberg_6.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5544034162411067474" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV1UPx0KJxOSN9vi-YhRFWkOEOB04wotzuSKjiBmdQyh1skLbsb53ncSZdpFLNPiA_3WDAoOcqTmPttu4X_iScatW2wsuvsGyNNlvox9-Zf1OwLXQKZ3zf3s0srqMBg6745MoL37OPJC8N/s400/Hayden_Grettenberg_6.JPG" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEK3o5sQBNDpCz67d-8mFKuU7wKXPmpzk3zcOje4vSw5_cKYRXOuuSZWLWxTsGOKcPp57ZoN-hYdNY3vkGzCPUxHFEIbr-5xkGsFstHTcxkKxNk029xHmqSUX4ie81DnHiJRETWFW5sfLm/s1600/DSC01104.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5544034156017840866" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEK3o5sQBNDpCz67d-8mFKuU7wKXPmpzk3zcOje4vSw5_cKYRXOuuSZWLWxTsGOKcPp57ZoN-hYdNY3vkGzCPUxHFEIbr-5xkGsFstHTcxkKxNk029xHmqSUX4ie81DnHiJRETWFW5sfLm/s400/DSC01104.JPG" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCaJrXkXOlMYrXxEwk8NScnUFeQOXkZ1oNYvkq93f3brggYDMzzBt5EmCRe5MkSIVNmmPGMlm6aYTdK7FvFMwyzsZBsy7GL9_EEtdiyxwlYmrfRb1EX_qqvzxiN4oLMd3rM2jNR-iNkSQ6/s1600/Hayden_Grettenberg_4.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5544034126010028594" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCaJrXkXOlMYrXxEwk8NScnUFeQOXkZ1oNYvkq93f3brggYDMzzBt5EmCRe5MkSIVNmmPGMlm6aYTdK7FvFMwyzsZBsy7GL9_EEtdiyxwlYmrfRb1EX_qqvzxiN4oLMd3rM2jNR-iNkSQ6/s400/Hayden_Grettenberg_4.JPG" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9Ev0CgvVdIfPmSJ-m9qZi0brMNEhKD0U3CuOI4ZhgXJ8_PO7fvDI-AJAevwFYeVZxaolQAL5-bi3K2nHB3_2jEeaff9iw8FfNoKE7IUgkkWAwX-bfJPXxzXzGOSCsc8fln0O76zseoESd/s1600/DSC01168.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5544034116080061218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9Ev0CgvVdIfPmSJ-m9qZi0brMNEhKD0U3CuOI4ZhgXJ8_PO7fvDI-AJAevwFYeVZxaolQAL5-bi3K2nHB3_2jEeaff9iw8FfNoKE7IUgkkWAwX-bfJPXxzXzGOSCsc8fln0O76zseoESd/s400/DSC01168.JPG" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpfpvc4okHjI2QEJg1sHg3OHS5bPWODiLVOwx4DPKj_pwMY6rZMNEoni_ylb_hNYAvIG0XsGNXeZWU17-xh6Rh8HtRrXqTysXoEKNxQP4Tw_YkBgzlegtbAZivgJ7FezmLogzECdMfaEHC/s1600/Hayden_Grettenberg_2.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5544034101130120402" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpfpvc4okHjI2QEJg1sHg3OHS5bPWODiLVOwx4DPKj_pwMY6rZMNEoni_ylb_hNYAvIG0XsGNXeZWU17-xh6Rh8HtRrXqTysXoEKNxQP4Tw_YkBgzlegtbAZivgJ7FezmLogzECdMfaEHC/s400/Hayden_Grettenberg_2.JPG" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" /></a><br />The love of my life..my pride and joy..and this blog's most popular baby..Hayden James:)<br /><br />I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLYSJ-O26JrcKs1_ACLgj2bdmAhUB8Nr1wgQRcbPo_b0sctJKM_E06LLJ8Km-ZXF8PbBu1lKjr_9XmjnHPV0ICllARTV_Wk6Kq36QQKGx-O-Fz0VBT73QUID5zhhRpIKLUqbC3lwy_aUpU/s1600/my+little+turkey+2.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5544037629154123714" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLYSJ-O26JrcKs1_ACLgj2bdmAhUB8Nr1wgQRcbPo_b0sctJKM_E06LLJ8Km-ZXF8PbBu1lKjr_9XmjnHPV0ICllARTV_Wk6Kq36QQKGx-O-Fz0VBT73QUID5zhhRpIKLUqbC3lwy_aUpU/s400/my+little+turkey+2.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 280px; height: 400px;" /></a>

T-Day a Day Late

This little turkey was sad he didn't get to spend his first Thanksgiving with his Aunt Darci..but he's glad that she is having a bla...

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Black Friday in more ways than one

I stepped on the scale this morning expecting the worse. I haven't weighed since Sunday when I was 175.6. Today, I was 181.6. Six pounds in five days. Who does that? Well, me, that's who. I've easily gained ten pounds in a week without even trying. I'm some sort of freak of nature and if I was on a deserted island I'm pretty sure I'd survive longer than anyone because of my body's unique way of holding on to calories. <br /><br />180 is my freakout weight. Someone once asked me if there's a weight that scares me into sanity. 180 is that weight. The reason is because at 180 my size 12 clothes are tight. At 185 my face changes. I've seen it happen. I normally have a long, slim face, but at 185 it starts to noticeably change. Of course it changes before that, gradually, where I hardly notice it, but at 185 it's like wow, who is that woman in the mirror. <br /><br />A word about Marie Callendar's pies. First, I made two pumpkin pies, one using a Weight Watcher recipe for 3 Points for 1/8 of the pie, and one with Stevia from an internet recipe. They were both disgusting. My husband went to the store on Thanksgiving Day and purchased two Marie Callender pies. One was Key Lime, one pumpkin. I can pass on pumpkin but I can't pass on Key Lime. 1/10 of that tiny pie was 320 calories, 16 grams fat and 45 grams carbohydrates (not to mention 35 grams of sugar). I ate three slices (1/10 each). That stuff is POISON. <br /><br />Before that I ate the traditional dinner with the best ever organic turkey from Trader Joes. That turkey was worth every cent. I've never eaten such a tasty bird.<br /><br />I could tell you more of what happened in detail, but it's pretty obvious. It wasn't just yesterday,  but it was all week. I ate too much and didn't exercise enough. I worked from home two days in a row when I was feeling weak when it came to food. Even though I attempted to make Thanksgiving as healthy as possible it wasn't just Thanksgiving Day that was my downfall, it was the entire week. It was my "it's the holidays!" attitude that got me in trouble. <br /><br />Now for the plan of action. Today I'm 100% back on plan. Counting Points because that's what I do best, drinking water by the gallons and a good solid gym workout for an hour and a half. Just knowing that I have my plan back in place makes me feel better. <br /><br />Part of my plan is to get back to posting on a more consistent basis and reading blogs and commenting. Even though I've been reading, I haven't commented much. Mainly because I felt like a hypocrite. When I'm not doing well on my plan I drop the posting and commenting as well. Who wants to read about me eating Key Lime pie? How can I give any advice when I'm a dismal failure? Well, I need to change and get back to myself.<br /><br />Just by posting this I feel 100% better. Weird, but sharing my failures makes me feel stronger and hopeful.

Black Friday in more ways than one

I stepped on the scale this morning expecting the worse. I haven't weighed since Sunday when I was 175.6. Today, I was 181.6. Six pounds...

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Chiffres clés - Année 2010, n 4

<BR><br />Voici le 4ème numéro de l’année 2010 des « Chiffres Clés » produit par l’Observatoire de la Maison de l’Emploi du bassin d’Orléans.<br /><br />Dans ce numéro, un éclairage particulier est accordé aux données de la population active issues des résultats du recensement de la population 2007 dans le bassin d'Orléans.<br /><br /><a title="View Bulletin 4 4 on Scribd" href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/44057078/Bulletin-4-4" style="margin: 12px auto 6px auto; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none; display: block; text-decoration: underline;">Bulletin 4 4</a> <object data="http://d1.scribdassets.com/ScribdViewer.swf" height="600" id="doc_434786434908349" name="doc_434786434908349" style="outline:none;" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="100%"> <param name="movie" value="http://d1.scribdassets.com/ScribdViewer.swf"> <param name="wmode" value="opaque"> <param name="bgcolor" value="#ffffff"> <param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"> <param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"> <param name="FlashVars" value="document_id=44057078&access_key=key-aco7h550q513dn6u6k8&page=1&viewMode=list"> <embed id="doc_434786434908349" name="doc_434786434908349" src="http://d1.scribdassets.com/ScribdViewer.swf?document_id=44057078&access_key=key-aco7h550q513dn6u6k8&page=1&viewMode=list" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="600" width="100%" wmode="opaque" bgcolor="#ffffff"></embed> </object> <br /><BR>

Chiffres clés - Année 2010, n 4

Voici le 4ème numéro de l’année 2010 des « Chiffres Clés » produit par l’Observatoire de la Maison de l’Emploi du bassin d’Orléans. Dans ce ...

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Eat, drink and...watch movies

<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwSy5wWvkxV72XP1cddKDVJyWaCmgo5FoNQMjM0cc5V3Vwq6k6VcuZ3K16sc_x3H5kLbL13GvEx9BdW2d4TJzY-HcCish67SHsTLlv4v2xuArJvDswzQ7UXLR8P1zcM4BFBOmswmI-ik0a/s1600/wine-and-cheese-joeray-kelley%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="235" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwSy5wWvkxV72XP1cddKDVJyWaCmgo5FoNQMjM0cc5V3Vwq6k6VcuZ3K16sc_x3H5kLbL13GvEx9BdW2d4TJzY-HcCish67SHsTLlv4v2xuArJvDswzQ7UXLR8P1zcM4BFBOmswmI-ik0a/s320/wine-and-cheese-joeray-kelley%255B1%255D.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: Arial;">With Thanksgiving looming on the horizon,  my head has been filled with visions of food...and film. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgghDZEQlqgdLtntYkmNOhXdGXrOzDjP2l_chu24uweH9jagup1ijrSHM72IPk5FUNEmUyeUE8iuRCpPao7Kk0s8o_NA300wlKJSdN6T9Ci18m80A5pu9cHAv2zhLcD01DS9qspxVNvIal_/s1600/now+voyager.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="158" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgghDZEQlqgdLtntYkmNOhXdGXrOzDjP2l_chu24uweH9jagup1ijrSHM72IPk5FUNEmUyeUE8iuRCpPao7Kk0s8o_NA300wlKJSdN6T9Ci18m80A5pu9cHAv2zhLcD01DS9qspxVNvIal_/s200/now+voyager.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial;">When the weather turned cooler a couple of weeks ago and <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Now, Voyager</b><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> happened to be scheduled on TCM, I started thinking about my favorite recipe for gingerbread...and how a steaming cup of hot cocoa would go so well with a thick slice of gingerbread <i>and</i> that magnificent Bette Davis melodrama.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Last weekend, M.F.K. Fisher’s<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>“strengthening prescription” from her book, <u>Alphabet for Gourmets</u>, found its way into my thoughts. </span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Fisher, considered the doyenne of American culinary writers during her lifetime, was also a screenwriter for Paramount Pictures in 1942, and this seemed to me to add to the rightness of pairing her simple menu (from the chapter "M is for Monastic") with a movie.</span></span><br /><a name='more'></a><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAqZhkb9VWjf7ScbTgMSz8YUAHQEPEcIMpqbTQSolc5rYSfr-4r7tbqymB0XNrB_r_rrAcjrdBw639uLkxJ0z2lkx1BkZo-1UiaSt6JFH6nAzTOWVHuPeFsuihlF4C8seQ7B520uWaoZjL/s1600/noir3%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAqZhkb9VWjf7ScbTgMSz8YUAHQEPEcIMpqbTQSolc5rYSfr-4r7tbqymB0XNrB_r_rrAcjrdBw639uLkxJ0z2lkx1BkZo-1UiaSt6JFH6nAzTOWVHuPeFsuihlF4C8seQ7B520uWaoZjL/s200/noir3%255B1%255D.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Her "Monastic Supper" was designed with the person alone in mind. </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">I began to think of films one might watch alone and, even better, movies about loners.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>Of course, film noir fills <i>tha</i>t bill. Something like Jules Dassin’s </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Night and the City</b><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> (1950), with Richard Widmark scheming his way from small-time to big-time hood…or Robert Siodmak’s </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The Killers</b><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> (1946), with Burt Lancaster as the anguished victim of Ava Gardner’s dazzling charms…</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">And yet, considering the actual fare (adapted  by me) -</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr1bb3yafMEwQKVEYFMxTrwSUijOr-WwjlhCfuevqOxrxhQMavSwnJGE23RVADYxNJsR8Q8o0e-m4PHVcQv3V31mRnNy4bfHh-nW2jXPRdwlYKQB6CUxMpW_cwAco_ameGKNgAVc4L_lC7/s1600/42.-I-stick-my-neck-out-for-nobody._imagelarge%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr1bb3yafMEwQKVEYFMxTrwSUijOr-WwjlhCfuevqOxrxhQMavSwnJGE23RVADYxNJsR8Q8o0e-m4PHVcQv3V31mRnNy4bfHh-nW2jXPRdwlYKQB6CUxMpW_cwAco_ameGKNgAVc4L_lC7/s200/42.-I-stick-my-neck-out-for-nobody._imagelarge%255B1%255D.jpg" width="175" /></a> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br /><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">One small loaf of crusty sourdough or French bread</span></span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">One chunk of Gorgonzola or Bleu Cheese</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">One bottle of Chianti or (my suggestion) Zinfandel or its alter-ego, Primitivo</span></span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: 9.0pt; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">-<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">  </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">I couldn’t help but think of </span><u>The Rub<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">á</span>iy<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">á</span>t of Omar Khayy<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">á</span>m</u> and that famous phrase, “a jug of wine, a loaf of bread – and thou.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>Clearly M.FK. Fisher’s “Monastic Supper” could also be applied to on and off-screen togetherness.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">A jug of wine, a loaf of bread (with cheese) and thou would work well with...Michael Curtiz's <b>Casablanca</b> (1942), that most beloved of all WWII romances starring memorably paired Bogart and Bergman…or Jean Cocteau’s unforgettably poetic, <b>La belle et la bête </b>(1946), “one of the screen’s great erotic tales” (Movieline Magazine) – no subtitles necessary!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial;">I could go on, but will save more for another day...meanwhile, I'm open to suggestions.</span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4M7Cjj_r5_cDpp49DG7wM8AoC_yTiXhvHebR5ljKXotMuyiBQ21gSoh7b0Kd7yXdPt6pmGCQBQQp6x_DgAWGWJ_R4jc9sWgkG7rzrH-IGnfCAXzouc1qKvSgY4XfvWjvM1RA159e51Soq/s1600/belle-bete-light%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4M7Cjj_r5_cDpp49DG7wM8AoC_yTiXhvHebR5ljKXotMuyiBQ21gSoh7b0Kd7yXdPt6pmGCQBQQp6x_DgAWGWJ_R4jc9sWgkG7rzrH-IGnfCAXzouc1qKvSgY4XfvWjvM1RA159e51Soq/s1600/belle-bete-light%255B1%255D.jpg" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br /></div>

Food and Film M.F.K. Fisher Omar Khayyam The Lady Eve (author) Eat, drink and...watch movies

With Thanksgiving looming on the horizon,  my head has been filled with visions of food...and film. When the weather turned cooler a couple ...

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Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

It's 16 degrees right now, which for Seattle is really COLD!<br /><br />I was out the door this morning at 5:30am headed for the gym (it was 20 degrees). I got to the end of our street, turned around and came home. Even though I grew up in Alaska and know how to drive in snow and ice, I don't have studded snow tires or 4-wheel drive. I decided only a fool would risk their life just to go work out. <br /><br />I worked from home today because the roads were horrible so I went to the gym on my lunch. Not my best workout because I was rushed, but at least I went in spite of the roads. I increased all my weights by an extra five pounds. Even my concentrated bicep curls, I used a 25-pound dumbbell on the last set of 8. It wasn't as painful as I expected but I'm a little sore. I'm trying to amp up my strength training a little. I've been doing the same size of weights for too long, it's time to bump them up a little.<br /><br />Not much else going on except that. I'm completely stressed out over a work project that is suppose to be code complete by tomorrow. It's not done. Almost, but not quite. Theoretically I still have the four-day holiday but it makes me sick to think about working over the holiday. <br /><br />This afternoon when I was dealing with a particularly complicated problem I could actually feel my blood pressure going up. I have a blood pressure cuff and it was at 154/72. Yikes! Normally I'm 120/60, so this isn't good. <br /><br />My eating isn't perfect, I tend to eat too much when I get stressed. I know, crazy isn't it? I haven't gone totally nuts on the food, just a couple slices of my favorite bread (remember, there were two loaves), and maybe too many grapes, and a handful of marshmallows. I don't even like marshmallows and they're only in the house because of Thanksgiving.<br />This is a weird post. Scattered. Boring. Sort of like how I'm feeling tonight.

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

It's 16 degrees right now, which for Seattle is really COLD! I was out the door this morning at 5:30am headed for the gym (it was 20 deg...

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Blog Interview: Bobbi from Nhershoes

While I am cruising the tropical Caribbean waters I thought I would keep you guys entertained with a few posts! Today's comes from one of my favorite blogs, <a href="http://www.bobbimccormick.com/">Bobbi at Nhershoes</a>. If you haven't visted her blog before, it's a MUST read!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0IiLx9ugg3alIGZbwmbG4mC8JLzb6r156w1NXZPAZ33MamSh6wMlszppWdbUelRIVas_k9PuR1YelZs-_4-_HaOBxmT5o8tB9NNp65vasSwb65Huqg-yvbWT89Cq3m_TpdlTuCpkdZ2Ne/s1600/bobbi.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5540171035536148386" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0IiLx9ugg3alIGZbwmbG4mC8JLzb6r156w1NXZPAZ33MamSh6wMlszppWdbUelRIVas_k9PuR1YelZs-_4-_HaOBxmT5o8tB9NNp65vasSwb65Huqg-yvbWT89Cq3m_TpdlTuCpkdZ2Ne/s400/bobbi.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 282px; height: 400px;" /></a> She is a rock star athlete, creative in the kitchen, and just overall such a fun, beautiful, honest person! Bobbi always has great tips & is so up beat! Check out the "interview" I had with her!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><span style="font-style:italic;">Let’s start with a general question! Tell us about a little about yourself.</span></span><br /> <br />I am one busy women who is trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle in a crazy busy world. I wear several different hats every day as a wife, cook, runner, athletic director, registrar , blogger, small business owner, coach, and kickboxing instructor!<br /> <br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><span style="font-style:italic;">What made you want to start blogging?</span></span><br /><br />I wanted to write about my Boston Marathon training and then it just grew from there. I just started reading a lot of other blogs and just got more and more inspired.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><span style="font-style:italic;">You are in such great shape! Have you ever struggled with your weight?</span></span><br /> <br />I went in to college at 5′5 and 155 pounds (I lied on my driver license and put 150 because that seemed smaller to me). I started my college education as a Kinesiology major because I wanted to be a PE teacher one day, and this was how I thought I would lose all the weight. Well I was partially right. I began to exercise a whole lot because all my classes were exercise classes. I had yoga in the mornings, Akido in the afternoon, and kickboxing at night. I was also taking nutrition classes and learning a little about what the right things were to eat. I slowly started knocking the weight off, but I <span style="font-weight:bold;">wasn’t doing it the healthy way</span>. I remember people saying to me, man you look great, keep it up. I was so happy but started to get depressed. I knew that I was messing with God’s temple. The breaking point was when I got down to <span style="font-weight:bold;">10 wheat thins, and an apple a day</span>. I was <span style="font-weight:bold;">starving myself</span>. How could have I have gotten this far? How was I justifying this? I was falling a part. I got some help and started developing a better relationship with food, better but not great.<br /><br />My sophomore year I left to Memphis Tennessee, the third obesity state. Don’t get me wrong they have some great food in the south, but a lot of it is full of grease and salt. I knew what to eat, and I tried to stay healthy but college got the best of me, and I had one to many beers and free pizza dinners. I gained all my weight back plus some. I was in a size 12 and still fighting to get down to 15o even though that was still considered overweight for my body frame I thought 150 was fine. I finally decided to bust out the old running shoes and start running again. I took it easy and got back in to running shape; well at least I could do a good three miles without dieing. I then started to get inspired and motivated I loved the way I felt when I ran. I was born to run! I have and will always love it. I knew that I was going down a path to freedom. <br /><br />My senior year of college I decided to do my first marathon, St. Jude. I started training with a friend who had to drop out, so I finished the training on my own. I didn’t have any kind of plan, I just ran when I could and did long runs on the weekends. I had no idea that I should be taking goo’s or doing interval training and yoga was out of the question. I still ate OK, not great. Had those late night Chilli’s runs oh so often with happy hour margaritas! I ran that marathon the best I could and hated it. I remember hitting 18 miles wanting to run off that road and go home! I ran the whole thing and got a 4:20 and was proud of myself!!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizFVHotF7f7qF4QMmVEy68P3n5Xx2r1BJsLwB6Y_NhqoZXfrJyTMEUDgdnxjcDriWjDSm9RwJbmAgBGdF85IPHYDFQjlaafw82ZJpSnmMZfgcSmxOyli8Lm7WQhEZKLpw6H5N0EIriwTHd/s1600/bobbi+race.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5540189040051122882" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizFVHotF7f7qF4QMmVEy68P3n5Xx2r1BJsLwB6Y_NhqoZXfrJyTMEUDgdnxjcDriWjDSm9RwJbmAgBGdF85IPHYDFQjlaafw82ZJpSnmMZfgcSmxOyli8Lm7WQhEZKLpw6H5N0EIriwTHd/s400/bobbi+race.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><span style="font-style:italic;">What is your exercise regimen?</span></span><br /> <br />I try and do a little bit of everything so I don't get BORED! When I am not training for a marathon I run at least 2-3 times a week. Do yoga twice a week, ride my bike somewhere in there, and hit kickboxing 3 times a week. I make sure to take at least 1 rest day a week.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><span style="font-style:italic;">I know you’ve done quite a few marathons, what have you learned from all those races?</span></span><br /> <br />That each one was HARD! Mostly mental but physically too.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><span style="font-style:italic;">Your house is so cute, I love how you decorate! What would you say is the style of your home?</span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZn2exavBCuSBcmWkq_fN6w7LSBBc82NfTHCilJTRlFvLlfpDdn24Zh7Pt_8UKyBrZFateWHs3f0bZd7SulogYGgO_qk7tXlvT57x5eXBwmW7WUVXYD-KxdQ-HncXnbu_nCzO5lrpydo5O/s1600/bobbihouse.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5540171062040955154" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZn2exavBCuSBcmWkq_fN6w7LSBBc82NfTHCilJTRlFvLlfpDdn24Zh7Pt_8UKyBrZFateWHs3f0bZd7SulogYGgO_qk7tXlvT57x5eXBwmW7WUVXYD-KxdQ-HncXnbu_nCzO5lrpydo5O/s400/bobbihouse.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" /></a><br /> Well thanks girl! Hmm, not sure I guess I would say Modern Chic :)<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEyVFDufhI30hHRHYcCFje4C_6vq0jyM_dU6BOCRb9tVSZLUfIIyUHAslbA_lY4u0FRwXi2Yd6mcO2Xj9i3VGVNMvqWUZdstr7JL-eB3BQ_7p_1nEuVCiAhIp4beVwqKehvPLLgXNkmO9m/s1600/bobbihouse1.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5540181954627476530" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEyVFDufhI30hHRHYcCFje4C_6vq0jyM_dU6BOCRb9tVSZLUfIIyUHAslbA_lY4u0FRwXi2Yd6mcO2Xj9i3VGVNMvqWUZdstr7JL-eB3BQ_7p_1nEuVCiAhIp4beVwqKehvPLLgXNkmO9m/s400/bobbihouse1.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><span style="font-style:italic;">I know you like to entertain, what is your favorite “go to” meal when you have dinner guests?</span></span><br /> <br />Anything in the crockpot or pasta!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><span style="font-style:italic;">What is your food weakness?</span></span><br /> <br />Salsa and Chips!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><span style="font-style:italic;">With the holiday’s right around the corner, what do you do to stay on track with the “busy-ness” of the season and all the food at gatherings?</span></span><br /> <br />I am a little OCD with planning. For instance I have already written out my gift lists and put down days to shop and things to do for the Holiday season in my calander :) We keep a family calander with google and a hard calandar for myself to write down tasks.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><span style="font-style:italic;">Name one fun fact about yourself.</span></span><br /> <br />I have four younger brothers and I tend to have more guy friends then girls because of it!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><span style="font-style:italic;">Who is your role model or who inspires you?</span></span><br />I think people who really go out and do their dreams and don't worry about failing!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrqf2SDVc4M3cuJGJ35ajTY1TBqhVmW4NhuhDgs5xiKQ8Mf07jgENASrXq9C0Z6asfHqb0MIeo1JSNPNU_5gHAgLpMkos7UsJAeNyYloolVvDk0IAPMLs1LcUriaQbMSn8Ik3oUlqeUrjb/s1600/bobbi1.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5540188278628709170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrqf2SDVc4M3cuJGJ35ajTY1TBqhVmW4NhuhDgs5xiKQ8Mf07jgENASrXq9C0Z6asfHqb0MIeo1JSNPNU_5gHAgLpMkos7UsJAeNyYloolVvDk0IAPMLs1LcUriaQbMSn8Ik3oUlqeUrjb/s400/bobbi1.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 301px;" /></a><br /><br />Thanks for your time Bobbi! You are so inspiring! You can go to her blog <a href="http://www.bobbimccormick.com/">here</a>.

Blog Interview: Bobbi from Nhershoes

While I am cruising the tropical Caribbean waters I thought I would keep you guys entertained with a few posts! Today's comes from one o...

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Christ Church Is Alive! Let Christians Sing!

The rumors on the diocesan street about Christ Church, Las Vegas are all about division and decline. All I know is what I see.<br /><br />Yesterday, at Christ Church, there were close to 60 people in attendance at the 7:45 a.m. service. Granted, that does not pack such a big worship space. But it was a lot of people for 7:45 a.m. under any circumstances. They are nearly two years deep into an interim period and numbers always go down during interim periods regardless of how well loved the interim may be. So I was surprised and impressed by the early service.<br /><br />I missed the Spanish Mass at 9:30 because I was socializing with the good people of CCLV in the parish hall, now served by its remodeled kitchen. I talked with a number of folks, but mostly with two young adults, one of whom I had confirmed last year, the other of whom is a 2 L at the Boyd School of Law, UNLV. Yes, there are young adults and college students at Christ Church.<br /><br />At the principal service, I lost count of how many teenagers we confirmed. All I can say for sure is that it was a most impressive group – by far the largest group of confirmands I have had this year at an English speaking service. There were also 2 adult confirmands – one of whom was young adult, specifically another UNLV student. There were also four teens from the Latino congregation at St. Luke’s. Hurray for St. Luke’s too. But most of the youth were Christ Church kids. Let me add, they were strong in spirit as well as numbers. They were engaged, intelligent, and attentive when I met with them before the service. They had clearly been blessed with good Christian formation.<br /><br />I don’t’ know the attendance number, but the church looked about ¾ full to me. It was a crowd! Yes, they were there for confirmations – or a lot of them were – but that counts. It was a mighty impressive turnout of engaged people who sang out and said the prayers with gusto. And another thing: they were, as they always have been, a diverse lot by any standard. There were black, white, brown, and Asian people. There were folks who looked well to do, folks who looked poor, and folks in between. This congregation looked considerably more like the city in which it resides than most Episcopal congregations.<br /><br />If you are in Nevada, you have heard about the controversial new organ. In my experience, saying “controversial” and “new” about a church organ is redundant. Any new organ is controversial, and the better the organ the more controversial it is. The Christ Church organ, the largest in Nevada and certainly one of the best, is inevitably controversial. But the voluntaries before and after worship were magnificent. At the principal service, the congregation staid in place for the postlude, spell bound by the music, then broke into spontaneous applause.<br /><br />“When in our music God is glorified<br />And adoration leaves no room for pride,<br />It is as though the whole creation cried<br />Alleluia! Alleluia!”<br />Hymnal, 420.<br /><br />How much is that worth? How much is it worth multiplied by the long life of a tracker organ which will inspire souls for generation after generation?<br /><br />Then at 5:00 Linda and I joined the Latino congregation for a Fiesta in the parish hall. It was absolutely packed. The food was delicious and the people were warm hearted. This group has been worshiping together for only 9 months but already the feel of community is emerging. Wondering how the Anglos are taking it? Several Anglos took me aside in the morning to say, “Thank you for sending us Fr. Bernardo.” Some described their own new spiritual experience and joy from worshiping with the Latino congregation. Even though they did not speak Spanish, they got it. They understood at the heart level.<br /><br />Then came the evening Eucharist. I’d say the church was about 4/5 full. We baptized and celebrated children’s communions. Again I could not keep track of the initiation rites. More than in the morning. Now here’s what struck me. We were not baptizing babies. We were mostly baptizing teens and pre-teens. Latino families whose children have not been baptized long before this age have definitely been alienated from the church. We are not moving people from one church to another. We are bringing people from unchurched and estranged lives into the fold. I wish you could have seen the faces of these young people – joyful, devout, sincere. They were not going through the motions, not just doing what was expected of them at a certain age. It was ritual marking new commitment to Jesus.<br /><br />This Latino congregation along with Latinos from All Saints’ and St. Luke’s are the heart of Latino support for the Las Vegas Interfaith community organizing effort. Anglo clergy from Christ Church are joining the struggle to make the Valley into a place where we know and care about each other. Of course, Christ Church continues to be the core of our urban ministries to the homeless and now to the new poor of the present recession.<br /><br />They are doing all this during an interim period, during a recession, and in the aftermath of a traumatic conflict two years ago. This congregation is resilient, inspired, and inspiring. I give thanks to God for their witness.

Christ Church Is Alive! Let Christians Sing!

The rumors on the diocesan street about Christ Church, Las Vegas are all about division and decline. All I know is what I see. Yesterday, at...

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The week in review

Every day I think of something I want to post about, then every day I'm too exhausted to post. Today I'll give you the highlights of my week, and hopefully get back to regular scheduled programming tomorrow. <br /><br /><strong>The weighin</strong><br />My weighin wasn't great - 175.6. Up 0.6 pounds. This seems to be my destiny, and I don't like it one little bit. I'm super perfect on plan for two days and then totally blow it the next day. Wash, rinse and repeat.<br /><br /><strong>What went wrong</strong><br />Thursday it was a loaf of my most favorite bread. It's store bought, but perfect bread. <a href="http://www.daveskillerbread.com/goodseed.shtml">Dave's Killer Seed Bread</a> from Portland, OR. I love this stuff. It's very healthy, all organic and full of good stuff...but it's high in calories when you eat several slices with light Smart Balance and a drizzle of honey. I didn't eat the entire loaf, but I made a good dent in it. I don't buy it because I know I'm weak when it comes to bread. My husband (darn him anyway) brought it home from Costco. Same with the best tortilla chips I've ever tasted (the kind they serve in Mexican restaurants), another bad day. He's now on restriction, he has to buy from a list. If it's not on the list, he can't buy it. New rule (that he probably won't follow, but a girl can try).<br /><br /><strong>What went right</strong><br />To add insult to my gain is that I worked out like a maniac last week. I've started a new routine where I do ten minutes of warmup on the Stairmaster, then my weights for an hour and finish with an intense 20 minutes on the StairMaster. Since I detest cardio, this really works for me. It seems like that 10 minute hard warmup gets my heart rate up and then during weight lifting it stays up high. I also seem stronger when it comes to lifting by keeping my cardio at the end, like all the books recommend and I've been ignoring for years. My workouts are now a full hour and 35 minutes. Of course some of that is wiping down the StairMaster twice and walking to different areas of the gym. I figure a good hour and 20 minutes is solid exercise time.<br /><br />I've also been forcing myself to really do the lower body strength exercises every other day (alternating with upper body). I hate the lower body strength training almost as much as the cardio (not quite, I don't hate anything like I hate cardio).<br /><br />On the days I didn't eat bread or tortilla chips I actually tracked all my calories, four out of seven days. Not bad but the bread and tortilla chip days put me way over my calories. <br /><br /><strong>Yard Work - Me!</strong><br />I did yard work last weekend. Yes, me with a rake in hand. Probably the first time in ten years I've actually worked in the yard (maybe 20 years). We have the world's largest Maple tree in our backyard. It's actually eight trees that grew up out of one spot. Imagine the leaves from eight gigantic maple trees. You couldn't even see the lawn beneath the leaves. I raked for three hours. My husband and I switched chores last weekend. He went to Costco and grocery shopping (hence the two loaves of bread and two giant bags of tortilla chips).  I chose the yard work because I wanted to be outside.<br /><br />The coolest thing was when I discovered the ivy had climbed about 20 feet up the trees. Now that's not the cool part, ivy on trees is very bad since it kills them. What was cool was me climbing up the trees and pulling off the ivy. I'm a lot stronger than I thought (thank you 20 and 25-pound dumbbells). <br /><br />When my husband saw all the ivy off the trees he asked me how on earth I got up there, he asked me if I had pulled over the ladder. I told him no, this 55-year old woman climbed up in the trees and held on to branches as I reached out and plucked ivy off the tree with the other hand. Some of the ivy stems were at least an inch thick and I had to use a screwdriver to force the ivy suckers off the tree. That's the first time outside of the gym that I thought wow, I'm pretty strong. Being strong really comes in handy in real life...like climbing trees and pulling off ivy. <br /><br /><strong>Team event</strong><br />Speaking of being strong, I have a team event (for work) on Nov. 30. At first I was super excited about it since it was my first pick of six choices. My coworkers (there are ten of us) are going up to Mt. Vernon for the day and doing the <a href="http://www.seattlepi.com/getaways/132982_ropes31.html">Eagle Rock Challenge Course</a>. It's one of those corporate things to help build team trust and relationships. <br /><br />It has things like walking on ropes high up in the air, a trapeze thing, and other similar activities. After I looked at some videos online I'm not so sure this is a good idea. I have a bit of a fear of high places. Not terrible, it's just not something I prefer to do. I guess I should have looked at the website and the videos prior to voting on my choice. I just hope I'm strong enough to do this. I work with mostly younger and very fit people. Most are late 20's or 30's and I'm by far the oldest and fattest person on my team.<br /><br />We have to sign waivers that we won't hold the City of Mt. Vernon responsible for any injuries, and wear hard hats. It's not like I can say no, I don't want to go, then I'm not a team player and it's all about being a team player where I work. If you don't want to be on a team, well, there's the door...good luck in your job search.  This isn't me in the video below, but I'll probably have a similar video after the 30th of our adventure (if I live to talk about it). Wish me luck! This is also part of why I'm upping my weight lifting time at the gym. I don't want to be the weak, 55-year old fatty that can't do this.<br /><br /><object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/0D8omMIBHFo?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/0D8omMIBHFo?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br /><br /><strong>Quicken aficionado</strong><br />I must mention my new hobby. Finances! Another thing I haven't done in 20+ years of marriage, looked at our finances. We both work,  have decent jobs with decent salaries, no kids, yet there never seems to be enough money. <br /><br />I purchased Quicken 2011 a week ago and have spent hours looking through everything and entering information, downloading all our bank stuff online (way cool). Yikes! I had no idea I was spending so much money on groceries. It's embarrassing. I can't even write it out here because we (I) have been spending more on food than most people probably spend on a family of six or more. I didn't know the price of anything because I don't look at prices when I shop. I know, I'm an idiot when it comes to money. But that's all changing. We have a budget! Now that I'm tracking everything in Quicken I'm much more aware of what I'm spending. <br /><br />Plus all the crap I buy that I don't need. I found myself at the pharmacy yesterday picking up my asthma medicine strolling through their attached gift shop. I always buy some piece of junk when I go in there because "they have the cutest stuff". Emphasis on "<strong><span style="font-size: large;">stuff</span></strong>". I don't need any more stuff, I have plenty thank you very much. :)<br /><br /><br /><strong>Plans for the coming week</strong><br /><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">Stop eating bread and chips!</span> I never eat these things, and I just went a little nuts with them in the house. It's like a crack addict knowing there's a bunch of crack sitting in their kitchen. Seriously, that's just foolish. If it's not in the house I won't eat it.<br /><br />Yes, I know I live with another person. I know he should be allowed to have what he wants to eat, but...well, I guess there are no buts here. I should be able to resist. It's just really hard for me. He won't be doing it again if I can  help it. He's always very supportive and he thinks I have things under control with food. I keep telling him I'm like an addict, but I really don't think he gets it. He never eats out of boredom or loneliness, he eats when he's hungry. What a concept.<br /><br />I have real plans to track my food every single day. Even on Thanksgiving day.<span style="color: red; font-size: large;"> Stay within my 1400 calorie limit.</span> <span style="color: red; font-size: large;">Even on Thanksgiving Day</span>. Tracking really helps.<br /><br /><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">Continue with the exercise and water.</span> Both were great this week. <br /><br />I know it's Thanksgiving week, but we're staying home and that helps. I'm in control of what's being cooked and I can cook a good, tasty, yet very healthy meal. Hopefully I won't go crazy on the healthy food...which I've been known to do. <br /><br />Have a good week, and I shall be back tomorrow!

The week in review

Every day I think of something I want to post about, then every day I'm too exhausted to post. Today I'll give you the highlights of...

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And I’m Off!!!

<p>Hello friends!! In case you missed it, I’m going to be spending this week on a cruise with friends & family, 10 of us total!! Kyle and I are flying to Tampa today and our cruise leaves tomorrow!</p> <p>Saturday I spent the day packing! I’m all about packing outfits, rather than just a bunch of shirts, shorts, & skirts. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLupfilMCSzotwPc65VGvYTTix9P6CJr0LSLg8ylagCwvVYkQ4JABMHnMrqAAl97eLEZzfi7on4NnQeSpgyt9bECC9hOnVUpLV9bM_FA6Z_WewBolDVXVmPUlfonTxJM1KuDUXPTuWZHsK/s1600-h/DSC09334%5B3%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC09334" border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmZO2MHoy6TtvRmX1Yw-idhxlHDb5u0Ae5nE_X7BUWH67SPNNc_4goiI-eHIe887vX4ZgizKT8TsfoZHr2VQp_c4iyF5NKMvqS-jhyphenhyphenU6YRhMZmjejlrwj4tgcW8feRI8aCVd2Ch3v8jGem/?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" title="DSC09334" width="404"></a></p> <p>And I think I was good on the number of shoes I brought…8 isn’t too many right?!?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivUJIFXR6hnN8pu1Md3y_A6OH-luLs_wkj2dYaJycJY62iD1CMiodTecc8gTMZkfEMjNexmZknMM2PprRf-nkU5e_ego1M87naqLTBzeL-OSxkuVs3BdWPukB-BiKXx2zOvuDdt4tdym7r/s1600-h/DSC09335%5B3%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC09335" border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp8r-Mj9c0iNF7sy5JIdF2Vy0ck6lpoAI5eVaYyY23VGO0KHXS5XNJ8kxHP-raZklsYSnOU9aV92PEqG3euK6gIhMQTunK6-is7m8pecqAB80DqYfnkfNc2_0tL1lSiU7ZlRVx55m8F39G/?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" title="DSC09335" width="404"></a></p> <p>Abby thought she fit in my suitcase nicely! She is actually spending the week with my Mom, Step Dad, sister (Wendi), and Hayden! Thanks for taking care of her guys!! :)<img alt="DSC09338" border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdM8VmMNHW-P1YcsfnM5CwRXP5ORkanzklEjAbfw-5s8GkYO3cJUxolN5wtQdKvTAuF1l3jzlZQ3907FoMcP6FfCk_0GmEoatzHziwDsm-mcRtlezqyvP9T5zVqMNOPGR3xyny-xbILhh3/?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" title="DSC09338" width="404"></p> <p>I got a pedi! Love to be pampered!! <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbPm67yqnjlQYRnQOYaAG2BJ1J-F-suDSQQ74D5_Q2FMkN23RYWadqD33aBLpstJV2bnSrx5LQJcTx4znQqsoE31dceXZuRPj4r54-SdSK7dlUpksafVMxA5tlKGOEtOQzuLimihJUp9eL/s1600-h/DSC09337%5B3%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC09337" border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHtz2PtT0WH9IpsSV7eWPHLoBHF_TZdafro5mezUattLVuv2TyalxvpGQ0bkihk-8rLbo3o3IpS6773D7UP5kXAOq_-QdBTfRE0AKVtHeIwOY4sqvziya-GHShPcfDtnfQZqazCt428xid/?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" title="DSC09337" width="404"></a></p> <p>The rest of my day was spent cheering on the Hawks, only to have my heart broken. :( They put up a good fight though!</p> <p>AND…..</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p>I finished decorating for Christmas!!! I usually do this the weekend after Thanksgiving, but we wont’ be home so I wanted to do it early!! :) I went with some bright colors this year! Love the green & teal together!<img alt="DSC09340" border="0" height="404" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDYORmU8jclUz_JzvOB0wDgjIKkjMWutPfxH-To2DIM9cy5zA1TtmLB5BvIkd5LH62YNo6El9qla-H59wtaI9Vm2ogFyPaz8U0C9llZqpT3eT8HJHILILO8fVuLHs9mV5_UVRES3noe_XM/?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" title="DSC09340" width="304"> </p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivdFOkTdnkH8uMNl0k0_VmYvFVzRJ5vS_90lz912Av33hEzw-5oyG5vCFc_K6E9MgBBGaSI4EQXNWQJLJU9BYZxSBUIgUOg-Cg685TuNT-qm9181EbcKRr3Z1Fu7CocIL0bYW2JO1fFld2/s1600-h/DSC09350%5B3%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC09350" border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaJrlc9J035y0FggV45t7YG0jxZ1vr2xjCzriclxl80zqYUg91nPFLf9mbiRCGLEnZLDJB8gVkrq7GuuzCHt0hBrsFj8fgk3ITEMaByAebDVlsuyHuIhkv4NbXh3QUf8KQCfWxEKEmKS40/?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" title="DSC09350" width="404"></a></p> <p>This is behind my sink in the kitchen, one of my favorite pieces!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh47Bi2WcfPDR-zUOBabjBB4NEwEMpWLtkSpH8l-h27RG-BvMCGTCEstW9k07AU57PVxNwbUKRASRvvW-8QrVe0RvF3I8PGVg9iZ63f_3Gz6huSMOcBQXL3mPc6aTGUj9W_HpOTLKXF-bZN/s1600-h/DSC09352%5B3%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC09352" border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq50yULTp08oYeeuMtJ_h1yoCAKDuVCJTZPWtZl03-0TBk1HTqW4Zrb1td4RCDwqMxusYwE2q4gxKeFSCpISr3yt9hP0Xv7Riy2HlMmPY7YhGhlcgykERESURVn41Ul7oxugKqPD2xNa7X/?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" title="DSC09352" width="404"></a></p> <p>And probably one my favorite Christmas decoration, my nativity set!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggOSQqRuUZaoVhSOchZvh16X5_vRW7zSkCR1G9omP2k9lsBw25hfoJiLZ5d6S7nG6wZTFHZP3icYn_CQD0X5GxUNv3KTFS6JjS7ysdcI2lVrgXy0q9XtBHUBx9s998hr_tunSpxS9f3QH_/s1600-h/DSC09342%5B4%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC09342" border="0" height="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLGbRPiOmEbpICwqmWqEaSBm_LaUtjM9lguyimjGpjv5xKm3scfSPo5k63ew2S54obvOFM6ti4MdIA8BMfYjm0V27aJd2PE7sedfuD8N8jq5kHmEAiXTSBP2doAghe7ni6iwWAXdar9phX/?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" title="DSC09342" width="404"></a></p> <p>And the star of our living room, the tree! Last year I had a teal/blue & silver tree, this year I skipped the silver & added green & pink! Love the fun bright colors!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJlBFUHhU5G5l6B_98civ7i10JlZR4pkiP4fC_0bvn3dUoAILrpqfwA91KV7lATNtQpGmaSgztEVaPkp02mwBfEtmRhOWm8CgYSUQT62DuzYCN3ZrBhOpGACsbLXI7d3wk6zh0Kg2HWa_j/s1600-h/DSC09345%5B3%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC09345" border="0" height="404" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHn-YJGwXClouozM-cyDpNL48fj8HTdSobumDy-yQFty9lxIhD2C1zmYqkjzxw5I_7kn_R94KV3rzynoHOFuF1aOWytdl6KbG5nu1gVQn3jgGBd28Ly8w2OuelmHrsG7tpZYX3rZk0OjWF/?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" title="DSC09345" width="304"></a></p> <p>That’s all for me now! Kyle and I need to get to the airport. I have a few posts planned for while I’m away so make sure to stop back! And especially next weekend for a full recap on my cruise!! :D</p> <p>Have a great week everyone!</p>

And I’m Off!!!

Hello friends!! In case you missed it, I’m going to be spending this week on a cruise with friends & family, 10 of us total!! Kyle and I...

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Planning de la semaine du 22 au 26 novembre 2010

<BR><br /><h2><strong><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 113%;color:#005c9b;" >Permanences<br /></span></strong></h2><ul><br /><li>Le <strong>Conseil Général du Loiret</strong> sera présent dans les locaux de la Maison de l'Emploi du bassin d'Orléans<br />- le lundi 22 novembre de 9h à 12h30,<br />- le mardi 23 novembre de 9h à 12h30 et de 13h30 à 17h,<br />- le mercredi 24 novembre de 13h30 à 17h,<br />- le jeudi 25 novembre de 13h30 à 17h,<br />- le vendredi 26 novembre de 13h30 à 17h.<br /><br /><li><strong><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2007/11/boutique-de-gestion.html">Boutique de Gestion</a></strong> (sur rendez-vous)<br />- lundi 22 novembre de 13h30 à 17h<br />- vendredi 26 novembre de 09h à 12h30</ul><br /><h2><strong><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 113%;color:#005c9b;" >Ateliers</span></strong><br /></h2><br /><ul><li><strong><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2008/12/atelier-parcours-emploi.html">Parcours Emploi</a></strong> - mardi 23 novembre à 9h30 au <span style="font-weight:bold;">Relais social de St-Denis-de-l'Hôtel</span> – 30 avenue du Stade – St-Denis-de-l'Hôtel (<a href="http://maps.google.fr/maps?hl=fr&q=30+Avenue+du+Stade,+45550+Saint-Denis-de-l'H%C3%B4tel&ie=UTF8&f=q&sll=46.75984,1.738281&sspn=7.619431,12.941406&hq=&hnear=30+Avenue+du+Stade,+45550+Saint-Denis-de-l'H%C3%B4tel,+Loiret,+Centre&z=16">Plan</a>) <br /><br /><li><strong>CV</strong> - mardi 23 novembre de 9h à 12h30, mercredi 24 novembre de 13h30 à 17h et jeudi 25 novembre<br /><br /><li><strong>Lettre de Motivation</strong> - mardi 23 novembre de 13h30 à 17h<br /><br /><li><strong>Pôle-emploi.fr</strong> - vendredi 26 novembre de 10h à 11h30<br /><br /><li><strong><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2009/07/atelier-situtilises-tu-trouves.html">Sit'Utilises tu trouves</a></strong> - vendredi 26 novembre de 14h à 16h</ul>

Planning de la semaine du 22 au 26 novembre 2010

Permanences Le Conseil Général du Loiret sera présent dans les locaux de la Maison de l'Emploi du bassin d'Orléans - le lundi 22 no...

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Max Ophuls' Letter From an Unknown Woman (1948)

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIn17zfCso9-cQRJYidC9uEZyIE5hqT0DVwOuQIM6RKHy5wuYZ0iU0sOb4j8IhvFgzcebZj9ZlV-8IH3xn-ArIOtmpAmTFdrhAvlU-bqZAlEVs1cenZbla_4RgzUKVRtnX_cvmWkL7hATO/s1600/letter+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="230" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIn17zfCso9-cQRJYidC9uEZyIE5hqT0DVwOuQIM6RKHy5wuYZ0iU0sOb4j8IhvFgzcebZj9ZlV-8IH3xn-ArIOtmpAmTFdrhAvlU-bqZAlEVs1cenZbla_4RgzUKVRtnX_cvmWkL7hATO/s320/letter+3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin: 0in 0in 12pt; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin: 0in 0in 12pt; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">It is turn-of-the-century Vienna, the wee hours of a wet night. A man alights from a horse-drawn carriage and jokes with companions about the duel at dawn to which he has been challenged. Entering his flat alone he tells his manservant he will leave before morning, "Honor is a luxury only gentlemen can afford." But the mute servant indicates a letter awaiting him and, as he prepares for his departure, the man opens it and begins to read...</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin: 0in 0in 12pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">"By the time you read this letter, I may be dead," it says, and the voice of a woman, the letter writer, begins to narrate her story.  Her tale unfolds in flashback as the man immerses himself in the letter.</span></div><a name='more'></a><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin: 0in 0in 12pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3U4pJ0nhrIOJxsc-AvOYcKHTzn7mMMAzep1MCiCQPO5Fm0CwU0vC2AdAeWTcded1J_FJTB4xuJlrVGfPoKkN5Wy8glcKY9MBAH-dCCxG1zy85S79LktZu7PWAMrNZxSMRBa7iil2kkqiW/s1600/letter+from+an+unknown+woman+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3U4pJ0nhrIOJxsc-AvOYcKHTzn7mMMAzep1MCiCQPO5Fm0CwU0vC2AdAeWTcded1J_FJTB4xuJlrVGfPoKkN5Wy8glcKY9MBAH-dCCxG1zy85S79LktZu7PWAMrNZxSMRBa7iil2kkqiW/s1600/letter+from+an+unknown+woman+2.jpg" /></span></a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><b>Letter From an Unknown Woman</b> tells of Lisa Berndle (Joan Fontaine) who, as an adolescent, becomes enthralled with up-and-coming concert pianist Stefan Brand (Louis Jourdan) when he moves into the building where she lives with her parents. Though the suave virtuoso is unaware of her, Lisa privately harbors a fantasy that they are destined to be together. Many years later their moment does come, but it is brief, Stefan is soon gone and Lisa is left with something more than her memories of him. Eventually she marries a wealthy man and years go by before, by chance, she and Stefan meet again. His has been a self-indulgent life and his career has failed, but Lisa is unable to resist and goes to him again in spite of an ultimatum from her husband. It is only then that she understands Stefan's true character. As Stefan, who has been sincerely moved by Lisa's story, comes to the end of her letter, he notices an official stamp on the last page and realizes its significance. By this time dawn has come and he makes another fateful decision.<br /><br />The storyline may be melodrama, but this  lyrical, dream-weaving film is a keen reflection on love, illusion and human nature. </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-BxnknjMUCE_sjbbiLqPusL4TL2Ff1cosV3uVEsHUoTKAJyiTCe0p6haPwITeTjiEXX_e-I00wsgeM6OEeQ6GE3O4Le-J8WpiKdba6zLza3ZbOZHVFNyAUbpp8ck1UhyidSO8uznNSOwD/s1600/Letter-From-An-Unknown-Woman+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="156" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-BxnknjMUCE_sjbbiLqPusL4TL2Ff1cosV3uVEsHUoTKAJyiTCe0p6haPwITeTjiEXX_e-I00wsgeM6OEeQ6GE3O4Le-J8WpiKdba6zLza3ZbOZHVFNyAUbpp8ck1UhyidSO8uznNSOwD/s200/Letter-From-An-Unknown-Woman+1.jpg" width="200" /></span></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">As the film moves from present to past to present again, it becomes clear that both Lisa and Stefan have lived lives steeped in unreality; Lisa by holding fast to her idealized vision of Stefan, and Stefan by relentlessly seeking his romantic ideal night to night. John, Stefan's mute valet, perhaps mirroring director Max Ophuls' viewpoint, observes the all-too-human folly around him and serves as a silent, compassionate witness.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Ophuls, known for his bold and graceful camera movement and use of extended takes, shapes <b>Letter From an Unknown Woman </b>with both sophistication and a light touch. Visually and structurally fluid throughout, the film seems to turn in elegant circles from beginning to end, subtly evoking themes enhanced rather than obscured by its glittering surface.</span><br /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Produced by actor/producer John Houseman, screenplay by Howard Koch (<b>Casablanca</b>), cinematography by Franz Planer (<b>Roman Holiday</b>), edited by Ted Kent, with original music by Daniele Amfitheatrof (<b>Song of the South</b>) and gowns by Travis Banton. As characters undone by desire, both Joan Fontaine and Louis Jourdan achieve moving eloquence.</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9Mv6ox-6_vDHZW0qBs7iXJxWKVJjo9mJNAyI9UoqPbIb638noQNWxFw-M2vZUI7r_DmTIWAutgvjo_VFvc2sgdlTqdfqJkzZPuYP0PnX1Gh4otloCDyfl92bMDTSZXj1YtEvWfTkuKcAA/s1600/letter-from-1-copy%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="188" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9Mv6ox-6_vDHZW0qBs7iXJxWKVJjo9mJNAyI9UoqPbIb638noQNWxFw-M2vZUI7r_DmTIWAutgvjo_VFvc2sgdlTqdfqJkzZPuYP0PnX1Gh4otloCDyfl92bMDTSZXj1YtEvWfTkuKcAA/s320/letter-from-1-copy%255B1%255D.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></div>

Joan Fontaine Letter From an Unknown Woman Louis Jourdan Max Ophuls The Lady Eve (author) Max Ophuls' Letter From an Unknown Woman (1948)

It is turn-of-the-century Vienna, the wee hours of a wet night. A man alights from a horse-drawn carriage and jokes with companions about th...

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Interfaith Relational Power For The Common Good

The Episcopal Church is involved in interfaith broad based community organizing in Reno and the Las Vegas Valley. Our efforts are really quite simple, but people have a hard time grasping it. This is such a different approach to our common life that it is like speaking a foreign language. It isn't starting with a divisive issue and gathing the people who agree to fight with the other side. Interfaith organizing believes relationships and knowledge lead to a different kind of power -- relational power to heal society instead of dominating power for win-lose controversies. It is a different way of being a people together. The statment below is how I explained our goals to a meeting of Las Vegas Valley Interfaith attended by 254 people from 72 different churches, mosques, and synagogues two weeks ago.<br /><br />From what Charles Redmond has told you<br />of our accomplishments so far,<br />you can see we are here to do something new<br />– something different.<br />We are here to change things at a deeper level than usual.<br /><br />Usually when we set out to do some public good, we start with an issue.<br />People who care about the same issue<br />get together, take a stand, win or lose, then go home and forget it.<br />Relationships have not been formed.<br />People have connected to causes, not each other.<br />The basic pattern of fragmented, broken community has not been changed.<br /><br />This is different.<br />Instead of starting with issues, we start with people.<br />We are forming a network of relationships<br />among Las Vegas Valley people who ordinarily<br />would not know each other.<br />I have new friends here I would not have known<br />and my life is already the better for it.<br />We intentionally cross the lines of race, religion, and politics.<br />We are Muslims and Catholics, Methodists and Jews.<br />We are Democrats, Republicans, Greens, and Independents.<br />We are black, white, brown, and Asian.<br /><br />We are knitting together this diverse community<br />by hearing each others’ stories.<br />We are learning together how our government,<br />our economy, and our schools work<br />so we can make them work better.<br /><br />We have no ideology except grass roots democracy<br />– common people taking responsibility for our common life<br />– and working for our common good.<br />We will stand shoulder to shoulder to meet the issues of this decade,<br />and we will still be standing shoulder to shoulder<br />in the next decade when new issues arise.<br />Divided, we are too politically weak to make our voices heard.<br /><br />But together, we can make a difference<br />in the foreclosure crisis, the decline of our schools,<br />the plight of families in which a member is undocumented.<br /><br />This Organization has a broad but clear purpose<br />– a better life for families.<br />Our Valley is not yet a family friendly place.<br />We have children in Las Vegas growing up<br />-- some on the streets; some in rent-by-the-week motels<br />-- children without a sliver of a chance.<br />We are an international hub of human trafficking.<br />Young lives are being derailed by gangs.<br />Tonight, you have heard some of the stories<br />about how life goes wrong here<br />for children, youth, and the elderly.<br /><br />But together we can make this Valley blossom<br />for all our families and all our faiths --<br />just as broad based community organizations have done in Phoenix,<br />Tucson, San Antonio, San Diego, Nasville, Charlotte, New Orleans.<br />Las Vegas is next.<br /><br />This big job takes broad-based, long term commitment.<br />To be stable and strong, we have to stand on our own feet.<br />We have to be self-supporting and self-sustaining.<br />That means we need the churches, mosques, and synagogues<br />to sign on, to commit both time and money,<br />just like we expect the people in our congregations<br />to sign on and commit.<br /><br />We all have other pressing demands on our time and our budget.<br />But you have heard the stories and there are countless more.<br />What are these lives worth to us?<br />What are the children, the elderly,<br />and ordinary families worth?<br />What is it worth to set our Valley free to flourish?<br /><br />Churches, mosques, and synagogues cannot change this Valley<br />if we remain divided -- feeding a hungry person here,<br />speaking out on a particular issue there.<br />But together, we can be a formidable force for the common good –<br />built to last, uniting people of all races and faiths as friends.

Interfaith Relational Power For The Common Good

The Episcopal Church is involved in interfaith broad based community organizing in Reno and the Las Vegas Valley. Our efforts are really qui...

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The return of hunger

This morning I decided today is really a new beginning, square one, of me on a diet. Yes folks, it's a diet. You may call it a lifestyle change, but to me it is and always will be a diet when I try to lose weight. Lifestyle change sounds pretty and easy and sort of fun...lifestyle, nice word. Diet, on the other hand, has all sorts of negative connotations. Hunger, discomfort, frustration, anxiety, misery, a challenge. I suppose that sounds a bit negative, but I'm just calling it like it is. If it was so darn easy as some people would like us to think then we would all be skinny.<br /><br />I worked out like a maniac this morning, 30 minutes on the StairMaster and 40 minutes of upper body weights. I pushed myself hard on the weights but I'm not sore yet. I was hoping for some triceps soreness with the 25-pound dumbell tricep presses. Maybe tomorrow. I define a good workout with a touch of soreness now and then, especially when I push myself like today.<br /><br />My food had been good, with every bite weighed, measured, documented. 1,485 calories. It sounds like a lot to me, but it's almost exactly what I was eating following Weight Watchers Point system (I'm still in Weight Watchers, just trying the calorie counting for a while). The water has been extra good today. 117 ounces and one mug of coffee. I forgot how much all the water helps with the hunger.<br /><br />About the hunger, yes, I've been hungry today. It's part of the diet, it's what happens when you cut back on your calories. My sister and I have said for years that hunger is a good thing. It means you're burning fat and losing weight. <br /><br />Funny thing is that I've seen other bloggers posting about hunger recently. <a href="http://almostgastricbypass.blogspot.com/2010/11/day-187-thursday-nov-18-2010-part-2.html">Allan</a> had a good post about it today. I've noticed some people never talk about hunger. From reading their blogs it appears they never actually get hungry. They're few and far between but I've decided maybe they just feel things differently than the rest of us. They're very lucky because hunger isn't fun, but for some of us fatties, it's just a fact of life if we want to lose weight we're going to have to experience a  certain level of hunger. <br /><br />It's almost 11pm and I would call this one of my best days of staying on plan in weeks. I'm very tired, ready to hit the pillow.

The return of hunger

This morning I decided today is really a new beginning, square one, of me on a diet. Yes folks, it's a diet. You may call it a lifestyle...

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A walk down memory lane

I'm typing this from my 1998 Dell desktop computer, Windows 2000. My beautiful, less than a year old Toshiba laptop hasn't been playing nice with my 23" monitor. I even bought a new monitor and new $40 HDMI cable for it, both big monitors are still red flashing lines at me. The laptop monitor is fine. I finally caved and asked my husband, the computer geek guy, to look at it. Something about the HDMI port on the laptop. Needs to be repaired. I have to take it in to the computer guys to be fixed. Bummer.<br /><br />Since I can't live without a computer with a big monitor (for work stuff), I thought I'd turn on my old faithful 12-year old Dell. I hadn't really used it since my first laptop in 2004. Amazingly it booted up, connected to the internet and works with the new monitor. The grinding sound the hard drive keeps making is annoying me, but it works. Gotta love old technology. <br /><br />I was looking at all the old files that I never bothered to transfer over to my laptops. Apparently I was much more career-driven in 2004. There are tons of work files, work goal setting documents and very few pictures. I found two pictures of myself sitting on the desktop. <br /><br />2004 - 240 pounds<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPDgXUj-hEPKcciqxBoEal3Ybqlf9F9VFwLm9wTj1DtRkTbvc2OkoMCpCZm8o12eSz8tNiXIgaLN8XwpIKf8FNPWuejfV6etsujrvWF2aJxWxtr0hAt8tIOdgbEgcAFvktt1Y0P1BBGVnQ/s1600/235.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPDgXUj-hEPKcciqxBoEal3Ybqlf9F9VFwLm9wTj1DtRkTbvc2OkoMCpCZm8o12eSz8tNiXIgaLN8XwpIKf8FNPWuejfV6etsujrvWF2aJxWxtr0hAt8tIOdgbEgcAFvktt1Y0P1BBGVnQ/s640/235.jpg" width="414" /></a></div><br />June 28, 2009 - 156 pounds (I think I added this one when my old laptop was dying last year).<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOyHwNfNVtUMr9igIwE-m2Rr_KlAqfnN6_TyPBpFnBstQoiAO82Le4hOaKdiK9VIaLKOHwCHw7WqVA7dtjBXGV8anTa9yM_avbIKWBmu_fbQZqSMptHmc86Ht700PTHC4KPpLbCpW8RvxT/s1600/Diana1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOyHwNfNVtUMr9igIwE-m2Rr_KlAqfnN6_TyPBpFnBstQoiAO82Le4hOaKdiK9VIaLKOHwCHw7WqVA7dtjBXGV8anTa9yM_avbIKWBmu_fbQZqSMptHmc86Ht700PTHC4KPpLbCpW8RvxT/s640/Diana1.jpg" width="252" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">So where am I today? Sitting right where I've been for months. 175 pounds. Sixty-five pounds less than the top picture but 20 pounds heavier than the bottom picture (and I still thought I was fat at 156). </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The reason I haven't been posting is because I've been in a slump lately. Just sick and tired of the whole thing, yet each day I start out full of hope that this will be the day I stay totally on plan, drink my water, and lose weight. Yet each day I fail. Not horribly because I'm not gaining weight, but still, I'm failing because I'm not losing weight. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">These pictures stirred something up in me. A little bit of sadness that I didn't stick with it and get to goal. A bit of hope that heck, I did it before and got so close that I can do it again. A little bit of fear, looking back where I started and what IF I go back there?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I've printed both pictures and stuck them on the bathroom mirror. A visual reminder of where I've been, and where I want to go, but this time go even a step further and get to goal. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In other words, I'm back!</div>

A walk down memory lane

I'm typing this from my 1998 Dell desktop computer, Windows 2000. My beautiful, less than a year old Toshiba laptop hasn't been play...

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Weekend

<p>Hello my favorite blog friends!! I’m counting down the days till Kyle and I head out on our cruise…only 5 more to go!!! But first let me catch you up on our weekend happenings!</p> <p>It started out with a scare! My Grandpa was rushed by ambulance to the ER, he had fluid on his heart and it was racing. We all sat in the ER waiting room for 3+hours waiting to hear. They finally were able to stabilize his heart and Kyle & I made the tough decision to go ahead with our weekend plans, heading to Chicago. Thankfully he was able to go home from the hospital on Monday!</p> <p>Kyle and I with his parents hit the road to Chicago Friday night. Kyle’s sister & her husband live there. Also Kyle’s Aunt & Uncle flew in from CA.</p> <p>And we all went to the Iowa vs Northwestern football game on Saturday!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0D3Wl4WSKGd_MGNGJdjltprr69YS3pgiC8FpCvOxavDvzRS_BeVfmbCZmgHqoDLYJMRG-n2uXh5gK6PPM5Neooa7OTAzfPnDKFbwrN2DuY3rgQpPNY4Xm4C5ThCljlAJBeaxSPHrad2_L/s1600-h/DSC06568%5B3%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC06568" border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSkBDkm6biw01EM89IWQzctstg99NAZjhEdz1mYL0q23U7_QnU0-Vp0ySxZpqESmNLPAew5ZQTc4_dHhJNtlywzR9x8VRFS1bPEliHMzMj2SdTZYul2RQToyENxee76wE-G6l1H-NWvuKU/?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" title="DSC06568" width="404"></a></p> <p>It was fun to see Kyle’s Aunt & Uncle from CA! They are quite entertaining!!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNua3iCDys3W-cU35s3iFO13L8ME3GJ_reQlW9u9GjocK4OIKAcZ2ZIErbcboqsiE4VrbTJOnQeF5UpXKC2J7PgQjE8tx2uHFtcR_m4vy7e2g9OBwvd658q7klylkxEfCvBHaHsxsTwNe7/s1600-h/DSC06566%5B3%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC06566" border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx7-aWnVdQYr8g_fxZUesKphmnnV4cHQ4SezxKYMtMuCKAGTCZKVXRw8mFN7x_H52eGkSbqlPZZW7gISSZOxwOLAeU3nmJ3NAYt4SxWlmFg5fWWk5X7P5onIozNO03Vdw_n8LiN9pasmt-/?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" title="DSC06566" width="404"></a></p> <p>And we all couldn’t wait to cheer on the Hawks!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5v9vSk8LNIBjYnzeqwaisbsFLEVf-eyNWpgSksYOqVC6ypCF4kmCYnYLENa9F-DhBLJZ0cN7ApBIQqYiAh8Dy6ZPOSQJPtu8b4Mgdwt9bnL6tL8kRtr7K1mABtyLG7r0hSXGxtK1fAtAp/s1600-h/DSC06570%5B3%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC06570" border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVQmSbUgrtp3WhxvVpa2smiHNCaQvyBH6i69tanpZJ8ogtR3hklslVV1ioEZOy6R1Y8pQ1vEy9lydV4EyprbPOyreSF1UFmAzJOIaaRo5i_XiJ4reQ_aF9oAvyrWe4ORWc7a0o5tDqkUUy/?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" title="DSC06570" width="404"></a></p> <p>If anyone says Iowa fans don’t travel well, they weren’t at the game on Saturday!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwGJb6Zq_Q5sHAdvbS6lCNsGKh_MnQRMLMyhrJvHIle1l1EKBwVSx5TaT5SqO8u3cxzLDNlbGGwA-xiTTXLm-mjyFJjxEkZ3MvVbJeY_iFS5JIt22YC2Fb_DQc1kHudINS66kWeLM2YSmN/s1600-h/DSC09320%5B3%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC09320" border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuSKKI0c59oHn6Nqx-DwYB0qgbcjz6sXQE-TXrWY3oDE7qzUBd5ajjjNITbDHdZd3OtGS_meHUfjh8ytl53uMIsqTg9DVq2CXfG-Z0kCh9gjKIA8PBHc2DoVBbpAWPWWKFSsDwDvbgr4MM/?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" title="DSC09320" width="404"></a></p> <p>I don’t see much purple in that crowd!! It was awesome!!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKKm2buRs_tQDNZuX0TYYMMpGMBuiClRvSZQmVTSpUOJw-3qj0pmpIXCEISwAHPCmwxQUakH_dhf6SK-lcENm09r83_oNok_6lFgRrBcwJN9Vrj6iEx69mf8bPCmhrBUGQOYbl4IsT6fD6/s1600-h/DSC09319%5B3%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC09319" border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsiFB8q16lYx0S6UGKj5HXwGorup_tDFetUi5iRRH_xuHcPU0IQpTpR4qLTCYjK7gbWTwJKwLV-nAN-kHXxtKSjDwh-Dn3hRIAUWemQEVg9crIGZCzMfZ4eIQc3tOLlMwW4VcmCSedI8_G/?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" title="DSC09319" width="404"></a></p> <p>Unfortunately it was a rainy, chilly day…!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUIn-BcNOUIrLyHfxc5wXZTMTUr1NHosbunYQvbnSgBKHUmgpn0euUwf_11GU9SMy6pGvh9_VJLq8_yfVjFwDoSMhTMrvJYtOMZgn4Jkq3GvYIXmo6aYN9Gb3tqUpA7QFBP40-N2q2bdNO/s1600-h/DSC06579%5B3%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC06579" border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWlKQL3i6BRm8l05XsQ8DFrX48l_pY4UPEEtLrhcVh6BA7wM4FhWHZZ8nHMaw8EX1PDmVArhF_pDv0gxsA_4qulQYbK3RDkYVASOdgcFnDFMdxpDPjRxVKxeye7b7NOQmg67gRcLanyY4f/?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" title="DSC06579" width="404"></a></p> <p>But we had our ponchos to stay dry!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhILicjFn5eQsNu5BsHhZB2-mHJi5hPUCXJc3Ziy_M07zWJgatIVUPSD4OAJAEaKuQFYTsq-8bW1vFprFWT3iC4a1tOcIHHqLokT4KSzZsOydeFp4nhA-S0Bby6A1welq92zb6-b0HcrQxq/s1600-h/DSC09322%5B3%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC09322" border="0" height="404" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIb8K7TvZBoZU8XwOYNmodjykZ_vmgwvoQ5wTlp3CpO6vhRv6IhAb2mYjYUpszRHx4LyvrqlWW4p1ekWC8uRWbnPg9cAeumpHo2f2qGZ03HyBBryruPjTrttC2x6kjSgyFAO-YBryygkH6/?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" title="DSC09322" width="304"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja7uuE7TaHXAro7gq5sMveLVUthNc3-zwMdcqtcO-hgYpWCCv4SYHqXny6knyrH8rBLdled-qxATlpokQi_xJKf8E65DJjdmwqe58prEy_hir-KaJDbcVa-dNRlJjvzkLdSF8tTmkGlXBZ/s1600-h/DSC06581%5B3%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC06581" border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8CU_E_Spxo_30kJPo8VLhW1PvXvoYzu1Y3U6aCiXTg3mmhALUI8ztycVfWZrx31gHRjwfm5L6VC4K9HQG9wmeGQlg1djKDfcxaR6IS3uMyEZ57nAHYpHXHo43GgeIOmdUhxiykdCv78Kt/?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" title="DSC06581" width="404"></a></p> <p>Unfortunately the Hawks pull out a win. Such a bummer! </p> <p>Even with the loss we couldn’t pass up some Chicago style pizza! Giordanos!!!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdSVn-ePyTDBv6XrEAaJce3li0D1lGXLJxy0LLuROqgBZpi6NDcLC3r1VMOXvp6eB9YAwdATY6BtAZYbIrpBprPDLzLrJYFRHnV31ycMfZH6_qJLUMGWR5yRtHkNHHnI-vhIQeAQNJBErN/s1600-h/DSC06142%5B3%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC06142" border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL29TyccRlzWChpNhMfIG3VqWyrQoonexIhvGFzBM0kLOlQL2FbfVBcKrDeaK-XJdW_gFYnhCtYKDX2gZcPiBxY0IfHmLVRjGN0XQuQIxU1LDtxiAA3ZEsXdVL3nR4gRE823Z2lDWPDhWr/?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" title="DSC06142" width="404"></a></p> <p>Aunt Debbie got her own personal sized pizza…no one wanted to share a spinach pizza! ;)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixKfdO7OkDG8-RMmqF-JM629c7IthVvdrCjTcmWnia3pWA_hQALs6E5OwF8PYj64jUIwdWDbx719zvsGcJx1dekh3_5admunSnuWkY64-k4f8XlkqI0Fqlm52aiRXDvRKaNHPLwFS0v-6I/s1600-h/DSC09324%5B4%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC09324" border="0" height="404" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq2iXBLNptHvT60Xiw5k0KE3RCFnIqBhDFb7SxSON6Nq2AcYrjYBzjuxRWlxSatW-2i-6Ov-QM-YYZfdvtpDpk5VIj_uWcqCiAQeB_Wq-UIsoHT-IW5yPoj2ffOOMPTRs9qAHDcId_U7JT/?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" title="DSC09324" width="304"></a></p> <p>Kyle and I split a Hawaiian with his sister & her hubby!! Mmmm, delish!!!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs4udHdyX34cQCayxO6hKSVRqKUIZj_cGNeMTMS_UdoHtGBu8ULCcl2hhY6IX6Bp-NYzsdXEXNgcSG0ihNcPU_m8IpMkMjnBYhCfOOUF9q1X4s34O_INXzgVoiP-S6TqtzuB9QoeBZyV6i/s1600-h/DSC09325%5B3%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC09325" border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhidWL7DQlr0pTWBIqGo6p2iLSozgXjCyCq6CzHq7tB8lUI4U3wz_dM9rcSQQ89U9Q9XSjJt4LQwLOLvnV44ayhVU5_4RFvZDueI7UVvuBrvYeSZC47HlGYhVuxad-coR2Y4H5oPdebo7Zk/?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" title="DSC09325" width="404"></a></p> <p>Mmmmm, love this pizza!!!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiThscZ5sCouAuDJNZQsLJSpzVFsrHJWp9RZZhc74BRM9b9vEtzkcwbGkOc2Cjty9w8XlzdmT9BavzhQKGkROfQtOzWsyUy_-Jud5GCvwv1EFRwdPoQtXkKTKiPAoJIGEAbUS-EgEY9R8tS/s1600-h/DSC09326%5B3%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC09326" border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-rzWsVrkjjSijcNxBWynBOsw8J6XJZmPSm2KpV82GQ3D7cGrFOCQ18Z-oh4hiVY6xeU2ibZrvy_UFuJQt-dOZhQeWbSUkQvx53kAMRXggu6-QcIyebCBzXR6pXec2nahYhZvrgCOJ7Z8s/?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" title="DSC09326" width="404"></a></p> <p>We let our pizza settle and couldn’t finish the night without some ice cream!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-cXK48rt0SgMP28Bv26-uXteEp_rRHVTu4hC2IQ_WK9CxCT4bhne9e4lPvlSG7ZT7uKWKC-I0JtKWKb46aNJbQIn8u8fiPGisN5w6nxh6NWYXL_90D3Q-iWn-z55MTyMWLgnWP9zUETUT/s1600-h/DSC06587%5B3%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC06587" border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-XNeQnSdZwFVJGxt97HvJrFe-JjS_FbmOTdSjEyRd5JcoCl6Fo70zhsmzTpa_MwdOI7V45tl8IOT4TZCrVPfEb4L6HxbsL-SgQ4IMz5GnMfWrlPmh_T0KIo6Q05uXhd_XPcqLMDqPme7C/?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" title="DSC06587" width="404"></a></p> <p>I <3 ice cream!!! ;)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-JGotOPR93VgMrxVPD2a2Wd32G0fBJeSn-KdK-6ekzzZ0TgTIr-ic9s9985GyVAGMt6wHzm7w5HMx7pwN-EAembvQJM8Hi9EiwxES_xX4jM85g8QRXIZffbrQL9m1cssUEvL9g9yr0fDy/s1600-h/DSC06586%5B3%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC06586" border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIA5cyjsXhU-DfhWIVKnmc4YteD50SBythFST1E56C-9_z92xqh6yXxd9ovPF7T1OVlA_VlPcBOc_Q9PykpfIJ7Hcs_OZR-XSE1OVIPhNrdti12nsmNd8LDnBHCrewJgZXjf37UtLgfKKw/?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" title="DSC06586" width="404"></a></p> <p>We all passed out from our food coma and the sadness of the Hawkeye loss. The next morning we went out for breakfast before hitting the road. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwZhMIaHjP7_Qa9s3iaLZw2TBGzg9czjqoJejw6fYKAxkLH4wXJPASPSk281MNZfPqd5EF9UmRnD5H4wqNUIkKQz8t-4md9xytJD7S8vuWCv_Zs9EOqDPCzM365Y0zsQGKm3SKNzadLO8v/s1600-h/DSC09328%5B3%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC09328" border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6dl0SbD2MTGYj2yv3siEGyIn1sxqoMFl4W_gZgT6pmc3K0pAW7xQyhvDfYucZ-ZTaUdI1W3aWTUbN-rFTl11OT-qxb7kqvZuWUkxqZTr4UsWdOZnr4rtM1pQ2GtsNkKI5GX0q0Ylc9rzW/?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" title="DSC09328" width="404"></a></p> <p>We said our goodbyes and drove the 5+ hours home.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb3mt21zikW6VOeWX4eO-XSbUJa86ikszC5ATQfWggfje5N-ySGTUZ_uxSXFMH2tlmK4J4kJOs2kH5MBVYHKUDexg6mgdhNRfW6A2DUIyN1K3xI6pW3oZsH_OEjHdmejq_KHfo6Aimo1E-/s1600-h/DSC09329%5B3%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC09329" border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFZ9rq1lRaBDk0khF4QeSllaJaeCaS7asSb7PdboDEmGpUDC1g0ZRKORhthZOr2s9kA-VxR_2vIR2_Y1sBOnvxt1P1shsrjXVRxQitTyk5vVsozUckwTg4p_N2N4ioyJ3iVCmAetD5vRIu/?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" title="DSC09329" width="404"></a></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p>It was a good weekend, minus the Hawkeye loss! Now we’re looking forward to our cruise next week with my sisters and a few other friends!! Cannot wait!! :)</p> <p>Happy Hump day friends…only 2 more days till the weekend!!</p>

Weekend

Hello my favorite blog friends!! I’m counting down the days till Kyle and I head out on our cruise…only 5 more to go!!! But first let me cat...

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