Taking inspiration from house flipping shows, I decided to take charge of my life and flip this body. I hope this blog will help others who are trying to lose weight to learn more about their options.
Hi folks. I just wanted to announce I won't be renewing my domain name www.flipthisbody.com. I'm up for renewal on July 22nd, and it's $34.95 for the year. I just couldn't justify the expense when I hardly blog anymore. So I don't know if this will screw up anyone's Feeds, or Reader listings, but I can still be found at flipthisbody.blogspot.com if you need to update links and whatnot. Sorry for the inconvenience!
Ok, so I haven't posted in forever, and then realized I was about to be a guest blogger on my friend Mara's website, so I figured I should post something. Welcome new visitors!
So, what have I been up to. A lot. And it's great. I love my new house, seeing my friends on a regular basis, going out for auditions, and generally being busy. The treadmill I blogged about a while back is still stellar. I'm about to go on it in a few minutes, and I aim for (and accomplish!) 2-3 workouts a week on it. I'm trying to be more diligent about eating healthy without depriving myself. I think I'm generally trying to just be happy, make good choices about what I eat most of the time, workout when I have the time, and not beat myself up if I don't do everything I just mentioned. I'm finding that the less I stress myself out about it, the happier I am, and the healthier I feel.
Maybe that's why I haven't been too jazzed about blogging. When I started this blog almost 3 years ago, I was starting a confusing and troubling journey. I wanted to lose a lot of weight, and I was really scared I wouldn't be able to accomplish what I set out to do. I had a lot of issues to work out about my body image and eating habits. I used this blog as a forum to help me figure out those problems, and most of you (the ones that are still reading!) really helped me with your feedback, of which I am forever grateful.
But I've done a lot of growing up these past 3 years. I lost 30 pounds in the first year, and then slowly gained 27 of them back. But that doesn't really matter anymore. I feel like a different person. I no longer let my weight define who I am. It's simply a part of me -- a part that can be beautiful if I let it. Most of the hang-ups I had about my body image have been diminished. They are still there to some extent (and they probably always will be), but they just don't seem so important anymore. My HEALTH has taken a step forward, while my WEIGHT has taken a back seat. I feel that this is a very good thing. I no longer feel like I'm wandering around in the dark, searching for a light switch.
At the same time, I don't think I could ever shut this blog down. It's fun to come back and give updates, to share some new foods I've found, to look back at my archives and see how far I've come. I love sharing new and awesome things with other people, and I know this blog is often visited by people looking for those kind of things to help their own weight loss.
So, in conclusion, I'm not going anywhere, but the focus of my blog has been, and will continue, to change. And I hope you'll still read. If you really are interested in keeping up with my musings, I suggest you add me to a Reader (I LOVE Google Reader!) or subscribe in the side bar to your left, so when I actually do come around and post, you'll know. And thanks for stoppin'.
Yes indeedy, I'm walkin'--- on my new TREADMILL, that is. :) And here it is! My very own, completely new, beautiful treadmill!!! 
We are absolutely loving our new house! Here are some shots of our garden. The previous owner spent TONS on flowers and trees, and we are now enjoying new surprises every day. These beautiful tulips just budded over the weekend. I just love tulips -- too bad they are gone so quickly!
So, WE GOT THE HOUSE! Yay! And we've been actually living in for 2 weeks now. I am so proud of Mike and my accomplishments over the last few weeks. We managed to pack up, move out of our tiny apartment, move into our new spacious house and work together to make our house a HOME. Here's a quick pic of Mike and what he refers to as his "Caveman TV". 
BEFORE
AFTER!!!!
HOLLAH!!! Can you even compare the beauty of the hardwood floors to the carpeting? No. There is no comparison. More pics to come in the following weeks!
One last thing -- I am so excited to go shopping for a treadmill this weekend. It has been my dream for so many years to have my own piece of grown-up fitness equipment right in my own house. I can't believe it's finally happening. I have the perfect spot for it too -- right behind our basement couch, across from our new 42" flat screen HD TV!!!! Workout heaven!!!! :) No more gym memberships for this Flipper. I'm gettin'-r-dun in my own basement whenever I want, however often I want. :) :) :)
Hey folks! It's been 2 months, hasn't it? Damn. I just haven't been in a blogging mood. Still not sure if I'm back in a blogging mood yet, but I'm going to give it a whirl and see what happens. I guess there's times in your life when you feel like putting yourself out there for the world to see, and times that you really don't want people to know what you're up to, and then times that you just don't feel like either. That's where I've been lately -- neither. Good stuff has been happening, but I just haven't felt like sharing. But lately I've been enjoying some good blog posts from my bloggy buddies, so I thought I'd toss my hat in the ring.
And the other awesome piece of news is that we are about to close on our first house. I'm sure most 1st time homebuyers say this, but it's really been a crazy whirlwind and my head is still spinning. We found the place on our first day out with our Realtor, back on Feb. 21st. We took a second look the next day with our parents and put in the offer that morning. The offer was accepted that afternoon and we were on our way! Usually the negotiation prior to signing the contract is the hardest part, but it was really a breeze! Of course, The Fates couldn't allow us to get off that easy, and unfortunately for us it's the financing that's been giving us problems. The banking regulations for obtaining a mortgage have become so strict that it's really driving us crazy. It's so very ironic that the President and Congress is encouraging first time homebuyers like myself to go out there and buy what we can afford (which is exactly what we are doing) but at the same time the banks have totally seized up and tightened the belt on all their rules so it's really very difficult to get a loan at the down payment we are able to afford right now (5% -- which just a year ago was totally common place!) We were pre-approved for a loan back in late January with just a 3% down payment, but since the market's been going nuts on a weekly, and even daily basis, all of these rules keep changing and it's really messing with our dream!!!! My mortgage broker is confident that it will all work out in the end, but it's been a really unpleasant experience. At the same time, if the market hadn't tanked, we wouldn't be able to afford a house like this in the area we were looking to buy, so I try to remind myself that on a daily basis. My mantra has become "just do everything you can, and if it's meant to be, it'll happen." 
So assuming that all goes well, closing is scheduled for March 30, and our move is set for April 10!!! Now that's a GOOD FRIDAY! The house is really adorable on the inside and it has great potential, but at the moment it's got some pretty nasty old lady smell going on. }:-P We plan to have work done on the house before move-in, such as having the carpets taken up and the beautiful wood floors hiding underneath refinished, as well as painting the entire 1st floor. I've also been spending way too much time on Target.com swooning over their Dolce furniture collection (especially the living room/dining room stuff---including this fantastic desk that is just what I need for my laptop to rest on). My Dad is contributing to the house by offering his handyman services for free, so I am definitely going to take him up on that and save some money by purchasing furniture that requires assembly. :) Today is my 30th birthday. As you can see from my last post, I've been freaking out all of a sudden. Last night I decided to say a conscious "farewell" to my 20s, and to welcome my 30s in as a new chapter in my wonderful life. I am so blessed to have even lived this long, and I hope to continue with that tradition.
SparkPeople, of all things, inspired me with a lovely passage in my inbox this morning, which I will now share with you. Stay warm out there, friends. :)
I saw The Curious Case of Benjamin Button last night. And I completely lost it. I cried for at least half of the 2 hours & 40 minutes. Looking back, it wasn't the most amazing work I've ever seen --- there have been plenty of films about mortality, growth, love, and so on, and so on. But I found the themes of the film really hit home with me in the spot I'm in right now. Isn't it funny how sometimes life throws you something at just the right moment that you need it? That's how I felt about this film.
I'm turning 30 in 11 days. I never really thought much about it. Until now. All of a sudden it's upon me, and it's subconsciously causing me to re-assess my life --- where I've been, where I'm at now, and where I'm going. I've never been afraid of turning 30. I've always felt much older than my years. I've always joked that I'm a 40-year-old in a __-something's body. And though I know that I look like I'm about 24 (which believe me, I have never taken for granted for a second), I feel myself crossing into another land; leaving something I can never ever go back to. In my mind, I imagine myself as Alice, walking through the lookingglass. But it's a one-way pass. I can't ever go back to the other side of the glass.
But why would I want to go back? My 20's were very good. I earned a degree. I married my husband. Went on a lot of wild adventures. Made a little art. My goal was always to be a working actor/singer. I achieved that at the age of 24. And at the age of 25 I realized I didn't want to be that after all. And I'm still searching. "What do I want to be when I grow up?" It always seemed like such a simple question when I was little. "A firefighter", "A doctor", "An actor". I never imagined "Executive Assistant." And it's not that I don't like my chosen profession. It's just that I don't feel about it either way. If I weren't an Executive Assistant, I don't know what else I'd do. I have no passion for anything else. Well, besides singing and acting. But I don't feel strongly enough about either of those to make them a "career". I know I probably could make good money doing both of those things if I really, really tried. But I just don't want to. I really envy friends who decide to go back to school because they want to pursue the career of their dreams. I just don't have the desire to pursue any career.
Well, that's partly not true. I landed another show, which I haven't yet mentioned on this blog. I feel myself very blessed to be cast in another show so quickly after my last ended, just a few months ago. I'll be part of the Ensemble of Griffin Theatre's The Robber Bridegroom. It's a fantastic quirky bluegrass/folk musical. I love the music and I have a really good feeling about it. We haven't really gotten into the meat of rehearsals yet, due to the holidays, and I can't wait until I can finally throw myself into them. I'm sure at that time I'll be complaining to you all that I'm exhausted, have no time to workout, and can't find a minute to myself...
I think it's when we have too much time on our hands that we start overanalyzing things and thinking Deep Thoughts. :) The holidays are great for that too. New Year's in itself is the designated time for re-evaluation. But at the same time, it's in those moments of idleness that we get back in touch with ourselves. Think about what it is we really want out of life.
As most of you know, I'm a huge LOST fan. Ok, geeked-out obsessed LOST fan is a little more like it. I listen to Podcasts about the show, for Pete's sake. And one podcast that I love has been evaluating some episodes from the 2nd season during the hiatus before Season 5 premieres. I decided to watch the season 2 finale today, in order to better enjoy their recap and analysis when it's posted, and one of my favorite quotes popped out at me that I had almost forgotten. It's when Desmond is about to blow his brains out because he just can't stand one more moment of living in the Hatch alone, and he turns to the final Charles Dickens novel (the one he has been saving for right before he dies) and a letter falls out. It's from Penny, his long lost love. She says this:
"All we really need to survive is one person who truly loves us. And you have her."
I am truly blessed. I have that one person who truly loves me, and I truly love him more than anything in the world.
But I still can't help but feel a little "lost" myself.
Why is it that when we're not paying attention, life seems to fly by so quickly? But when we take time to think back at all the moments we've experienced thus far, life seems quite long indeed. I would not want to go back to my 20s. I felt very independent, though very lonely for most of those years. Going into my 30s, I am still independent, though lonely no more. I am ready for the next phase of life, and I sit here in awe of what joys and despairs it will bring me.
At the end of Benjamin Button, the camera zooms in quickly on each of the people that Benjamin was close with throughout his curious life. Benjamin (as the narrator) labels each person as a "Sailor", a "Dancer", a "Singer", a "Mother", as the camera zooms in on their smiling faces.
I wonder how I'll be labeled at the end of it all. Or even if there will be a label for me.
I hope it's a good one.
Mike and I -- our annual Xmas Morning Pic
Mike's sister Lisa, and her new baby Eloise (3 mos.)
Lisa, Eloise and Ken (Mike's Dad)
Me and Joann (Mike's Mom)
John (Lisa's husband)
Happy New Year!As Stanley from "The Office" put it best, "What we got here is a run-out-the-clock situation..." Our office is so dead this week. My boss is working out of the Cleveland office. If I had the vacation days, I definitely would be using them right now. Since I only have 2 vacation days left for the year, I will be using them next week for the Monday and Tuesday before New Year's Eve. My company gives us 4 paid holidays over the next 2 weeks (Christmas Day, the day after Christmas, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day) so I'll have a nice 7-day vacation. I'm looking forward to spending some time with friends in the city, maybe taking in a museum or a movie, and getting some much-needed recall work done on my car.
My little blog-marketing elf bestowed me with an early Christmas gift this year -- an Oral-B Triumph with SmartGuide Electric Toothbrush! On the condition that I share my opinion of the product with you lovely readers, of course, so here goes. First off, if you are frantically scrambling for a last minute gift for the person who has everything, I honestly think that this is a really good option. Everyone has to brush their teeth, and it's a good unisex, multi-generational gift. I have to say that this is the most fantastic toothbrush I have ever owned. Not only is it an electric toothbrush (which pretty much does the brushing for you -- all you have to do is hold it up against your teeth) but it's got this handy-dandy WIRELESS clock-timer thingy that goes with it. As soon as you start brushing, the clock starts counting up to 2:00 minutes -- the recommended length of brushing by the American Dental Association. See that ring lookin' thing on the screen? Every 30 seconds a different quadrant of the ring flashes, indicating when it's time for you to brush another area of your mouth. If your kids hate brushing their teeth, this is a great way to trick them into liking it. It's like a little game! You can also program the clock to count down from 2:00 minutes, and a bunch of other fancy settings, but basically the main features are already set up for you and you don't have to do anything but put the batteries in and it synchs up with the toothbrush the first time you use it. And the batteries for the clock are included. Score! (the actual toothbrush wand is rechargeable. Go green!) Also, the clock displays the time when you're not using the toothbrush, so free bathroom clock! Woot! You can store up to 4 brush heads in the compartment behind the device. There were 2 heads included with the box, with 2 different colored rings (pink and blue) so Mike and I could tell whose was whose. There are also 4 brush settings you can choose -- regular, sensitive, massage and polish. I am really digging this product. Mike still hasn't tried it yet (it's hard to teach old dogs new tricks!) so I think I'll have to walk him through it. I think the technology of it is a little overwhelming to him. But, honestly, ignoring all the bells and whistles, it's a really great toothbrush that cleans your teeth really well. If you're not a gadget buff, don't let all the fancy features scare you. It's pretty much all set up for you right out of the box and it's very user-friendly. You might just need to hold the gift receiver's hand while they assemble it for the first time. It retails for about $149, but if you click on the link above you can find a $15 off coupon. My favorite part about it is that I can just space out while I'm brushing and think about other things (grocery list, should I work out tonight or not, etc.) and the little clock tells me when I'm done. It's nice to have that 2 minutes of my life back. :-)
The holidays should be pretty exciting this year. We will be meeting our new niece, Eloise, for the first time on Christmas day. :-) She is only 2 months old and has been living in California (with Mike's sister and brother-in-law) so this is going to be pretty exciting for us --- especially Mike. We have her birth announcement up on our fridge with her cute little face on it, and about every other day he goes up to it and makes a silly comment about how he's going to meet her soon. He's so great with kids and I just know he's going to want to spoil her rotten. We got her a couple of really great gifts -- an adorable yellow-polka dot jumper with matching pink sweater from Macy's, and a beautiful soft Gund lamb blanket from Red Envelope (isn't that baby model adorable??? I just wanna pinch her cheeks!!! p.s. this is not our niece, just the pic from the Red Envelope website) We got her name embroidered on it too. :-) I was recently notified by one of my Weight Watchers "connections" about some fun new tools to help you save money and make better food choices...
Weight Watchers launched a fan page on Facebook (my new favorite online obsession) to showcase upcoming products and deliver news and information to Weight Watchers food enthusiasts. It will feature links to recipes, product-related vidcasts, instant polls and more. You can find it here:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Weight-Watchers-Supermarket-Foods/28157282746?ref=ts
Also, Weight Watchers is debuting an interactive widget tool, “I Really Want!” to help consumers hungry for a snack find a sensible alternative. The “I Really Want!” widget offers various Weight Watchers sensible food products as well as everyday snack alternatives. You can check that out here:
www.weightwatchers.com/snackwidget
Simply enter the type of snack you want and a Weight Watchers and/or a generic food alternative with product information will automatically appear. I entered "cheese" and it came up with WW brand reduced-fat American cheese slices (which I didn't know they made) and WW Reduced fat cream cheese (didn't know about that either!)
And last, but not least, the rewards program: turn tasty Weight Watchers food into rewards. It's an easy way to choose from extensive rewards including beauty products, cooking accessories, DVDs and more! For every Weight Watchers food product you buy, simply cut out and save the UPC barcodes and follow the simple instructions at:
www.WWIncredibleRewards.com
You can always learn more here:www.WeightWatchers.com/SensibleFoods
Even though I'm not currently following the Weight Watchers program to lose weight, I definitely use their food products in my own weight loss plan, cuz these people know what they're doing!
Another company that is really leading the way on great tasting healthy food is Fiber One. I've been a big fan of their Fiber One Bars for a while now, but I have totally flipped over their new toaster pastries. They are pretty much Pop Tarts, and I've tried them in blueberry and strawberry (also come in chocolate, apple cinnamon and 1 other I think) and they are really good. They are 190 calories each -- a great choice for a quick breakfast on the go. I also splurged and bought the Fiber One Pancake Mix, and it's really good, for diet pancakes. They are definitely not as good as Bisquick, or homemade pancakes for that matter, but they are a great alternative if you're trying to watch your weight. I made them for Mike and didn't tell him until after we were done eating that it was "diet" food. He said they were good, so hey, maybe you can trick your family too! ;-)
Finally, I want to thank those of you who left such nice comments on my last post. I was worried I might get some backlash on that one, but I was pleasantly surprised that you guys didn't rip me a new asshole. I feel a lot better now, like a weight has lifted from my shoulders (har har.) So thanks for that. :-) I officially weighed myself this morning and I'm at 195. I'm going to try to not post my weight more than every few weeks because I don't want to obsess over the number. I want to focus on my clothes fitting better and how I feel. So far I feel overwhelmingly better just from making these new choices and it is so empowering. But I wanted to weigh myself at this point so I have some kind of benchmark on my progress. I better get off the couch and get my workout on. Have a great weekend everybody!
I found this great website chock full of healthy recipes from my bloggy friend Mara over at I Made Dinner. It's called Heather's Recipe Site and it's a really great source for new recipe ideas. There were some really great Crock Pot recipes in there too, which really made me excited, as Crock Potting is my favorite way to cook in the winter --- I time when I just want to be lazy and let someone else do the cooking for me! :-) Mara's site is also a great source of ideas for simple, delicious heathy meals and I recommend you check her site out too. Mara has found great success on Weight Watchers and her site is really inspiring for the home cook who's has a fiancee / husband / family to please while trying to stay fit.
In other news, I am (once again) back on the road to healthy eating and fitness. I truly believe that no matter how many times you fallen off the wagon, it's never too late to get back on it. Better to have failed and try try again, than fail and stay miserable in a depressing tailspin of guilt and regret. Every day is a new day to start fresh. It also helps that Former-Cubemate Sarah is in the same boat as me right now, and we have made a pact to get back in the game together. If you have a friend or family member that is experiencing the same weight loss woes as you, I recommend that you talk to them and see if they'd be interested in partnering up. Though Sarah and I go to different gyms now, we can still support each other by checking in via email, phone calls and when we get together. It also helps that we have each other for a little friendly competition. :-)
The difference this time is that I am going back to a source that has always been successful for me in the past. I never shared this with you all on my blog before because I was partly ashamed and partly I didn't want it to seem like I was "cheating". So many people have written me that they were inspired by my journey that I felt guilty in revealing my secret weapon. Until now.
....DRUMROLL PLEASE....
Friends, I admit that I am once again taking the doctor-prescribed appetite supressant Meridia. I have been on and off Meridia ever since I was in college. Every time I was on this drug I managed to lose 20 - 30 pounds. In my opinion, it is a fantastic help in reaching weight loss goals. Whenever I have been on Meridia, I have found that it's easier to stick to the plan I have set in front of me. It makes it much easier to not always think about food. I can sit at my desk all day and only have the desire to eat when I'm truly hungry. I can watch TV on my couch without feeling like I need a snack. It doesn't make me feel nauseous or anxious -- the only side effect I have experienced is cotton mouth, which in a way is a good thing because that makes me want to drink more water. For me, Meridia works.
Of course, at the same time, I have gone off the drug MANY times because I have felt that once I lost that first 20 - 30 lbs, I could go off it and complete my goal without it. Similarly to people who are on medication for any other type of illness, once you are on the drug for a long time you feel like you're cured and you don't need it anymore. And every time I've gone off the drug I have gained the weight back. I'm not saying that going off the Meridia was the sole reason why I gained the weight back --- of course I had a choice in every single thing that I put in my mouth and I chose to not workout for most of this year. But now that I'm ready to try try again, I'm going back to the drug that helps me. Because I really want to succeed and feel better about myself. I've been back on Meridia for 3 days now and I really really can tell the difference. I am able to stick to my eating plan with very little problems. It is such a relief. I feel like I can truly believe in my ability to do this now. I know that may sound like a horrible thing, but nobody's perfect, and it's the truth.
Ok, so now that that's off my chest...
WHEW!!!
I seriously have always felt really guilty about not disclosing that to all of you. Very ashamed. I'm at the point where I don't want to lie anymore and I want to use this blog to help me. I don't want to feel guilty anymore -- I don't want to apologize anymore. I want to be who I am and write when I feel like I have something to say and not let this blog define who I am, but help express what I'm feeling. I want to move forward. And I hope that you keep reading, even though I'm not perfect. Which I suppose would probably keep you reading, because hey, who can relate to someone "perfect"? It's our flaws that make us who we are, right?
If you're still reading, I thank you for sharing in my life and journey. It really does help to know that there are others out there with the same problems as I, the same struggles.
I am happy to report that my first Thanksgiving at home was a GREAT success. I was so pleased with how everything turned out and it was honestly the best Thanksgiving I've ever had. The best part is that my father-in-law and parents got along SO well --- way better than ever before --- and I am so hopeful for the future of our family relations. Everyone is making a great effort to get to know each other well and start forming a REAL family, and it just makes me SO relieved for myself and my family to finally be connecting with my in-laws.
My decor was really simple -- buy a huge bouquet of flowers from the Jewel, cut the stems short and split it all up among 3 short vases -- one for the coffee table (to accent the appetizers), one for the table ('natch) and one for the kitchen island to accent the buffet. 
I brined the bird for 14 hours in water, apple cider, peppercorns, sage, thyme and of course kosher salt. Everyone was saying that it was the juiciest white meat they've ever had. As my Dad carved, the juice was literally running down the sides. YUM! I decided to not stuff the bird with stuffing because it just sounded like such a hassle to make sure that it reached a certain temperature so we didn't get salmonella, blah blah blah. BUT I did stuff the bird with some apples, carrots, onions, celery sticks and fresh herbs to help flavor the meat from the inside-out. Not sure if it did anything, but hey, like I said, it was delicious, so I must be doing something right.
The broccoli cheese casserole was DEVOURED and sadly there are no leftovers of that one, and it was super simple to make. Will definitely be making that again. So much better than green bean casserole. (P.S. all of these pics are from before the dishes went in the oven)
The stuffing was just kinda "meh" for me, but in the future I think I know what I'll do different --- stick to Stove Top and try not to get too fancy! :-) Sometimes you just can't get it to taste as good as the boxed stuff, no matter what you do.
The sweet potato casserole (from Cooking Light mag) was SOOO awesome. I cooked the sweet potatoes in a crock pot with some water for 5 hours on low, which made them so tender and I hardly needed to do any mashing. I loved the combo of chopped pecans AND mini-marshmallows. I also drizzled a little maple syrup on top, which added a lot of flavor.
The pie was the best of all! And I hardly did a thing! Just used some Pillsbury ready-made pie crust in my own glass 9" dish, filled it with a jar of Cracker Barrel cherry cobbler filling (this stuff is the shit --- www.crackerbarrel.com) and used these neat pie crust cutters that my Mother-in-law got me from Williams Sonoma last Christmas. Little cut-outs of acorns, leaves and pumpkins (though I left out the pumpkin ones -- didn't seem to go with the cherry pie) -- so cute!
There has been a recall of some Lean Cuisine entrees:
“LEAN CUISINE PESTO CHICKEN WITH BOW TIE PASTA”
“LEAN CUISINE CHICKEN MEDITERRANEAN”
“LEAN CUISINE CHICKEN TUSCAN”
Check out the link below for more info on this recall:
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/News_&_Events/Recall_043_2008_Release/index.asp
Please inform friends and family who are Lean Cuisine consumers. Luckily, these are not LC items I typically buy, but if I did I would like to know NOT to eat them!
So I finally broke down and headed over to Lane Bryant to buy some new pants.
Let's start with the Lane Bryant part. Why is it that as a borderline-plus-size girl, I always feel that shopping at Lane Bryant is like admitting defeat? It's just a store. A store where I fit into the SMALLEST size. So you'd think that I would be thrilled to shop there. Not so much. I have always felt that shopping at Lane Bryant was like admitting that I'm fat. There. I said it. I am in fat denial. Somehow in my mind it make sense to me that if I just don't go shopping at all, then I'm not fat. I suppose I equate not fitting into clothes with being fat. So if I don't try on clothes that are too small on me, I'm not fat. Makes sense, right?
Not when you have been wearing the same pair of black pants for 3 years. And they are falling apart. Torn hems, elastic poking out of the thighs, just an overall hot mess of nasty black work pants.
Not when you have 1 pair of jeans that fit you right, and they are hand-me-downs from a friend, in a style and shade that was hip 5 years ago when she bought them.
It was time.
So I sucked it up and went to Lane Bryant. I went on a tip from a friend who is a similiar size to me. I noticed the other night that her jeans were really cute, and I complimented her on them. She said she got them at LB --- the store totally changed their way of sizing, so you can't even tell what size you are. I was extremely intrigued by this, which gave me the courage to go in the first place.
I walked in the store and made a B-line for the pants section. I quickly noticed that everything was labeled from a size 1 to 10. This totally threw me off. Luckily, it was not busy at all (thank the economy?) and I was able to grab a salesperson, who instructed me to follow her. She whipped out a tape measure and measured my hips and waist. She then led me over to the pants and pulled out a size 2.
A SIZE 2!!!!!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? I've never, ever, ever, ever worn a size 2. Even when I was a pre-teen, I think I jumped from a size 6x to a 13 juniors overnight. I never even got to shop at 5-7-9 (that awful store -- it tortured me so!!!) I know, I know, it's a size 2 at a plus size store. But I'm a size 2 somewhere. And I know numbers shouldn't mean anything, and I know it's what's on the inside that counts, but for one brief moment I felt NORMAL. I felt GOOD. I felt RIGHT.
I must've spent an hour in the store just trying on all the different styles of jeans and pants. The salespeople were SO wonderful (this is the LB at 1807 W. Fullerton in Chicago) and they gave me really great advice on which styles looked best on me. I walked out of there with a new pair of beautiful dark-wash trouser jeans and a pair of black wide-leg pants. They were both in the new "Right Fit" style of pant, of which there are 3 tailored fits -- Yellow, Red and Blue. Blue is for ladies with wide hips, Yellow is for ladies that are pretty straight up and down, and Red is when you have some hips. I got the jeans in the Red 2 (which are being hemmed right now at the cleaners down the street) and the pants in Red 2P (short length, and they actually aren't that short -- I am 5' 3" and I can wear them with a 2-inch heel and they only leave the ground by about 1/2 inch.) I was able to order more of the pants through the store to be shipped to my house for free because they didn't have them in the store (pants in grey and navy.) I loved the jeans so much when I got home that I jumped online and bought another pair, and was excited to see that they are offering free shipping through tomorrow (Nov. 19).
So the moral of the story is that it doesn't matter what the name is on the outside of the store. If you can go in there and find some cute clothes that make you look really great and give you that inner confidence, then who gives a shit what store you're in? I need to let go of hang-ups like this. I have always had a weight problem and I will struggle with it for my entire life. I may not always be too big for the regular stores, but I'm sure there will always be times in my life when I will need to go back to stores like Lane Bryant. I need to appreciate that I live in a country and time where there ARE places to shop when you're larger than a size 12. I am very fortunate to have so many options, and I'm going to take that option. And enjoy it.
It's official. I'm a grown-up. I have offered to host Thanksgiving for the first time ever!
This is a huge step for Mike and I. We usually spend Thanksgiving at my parent's house with a minimum of 18 people (including various members of my extended family.) To christen our 1st home Thanksgiving (and finally break in all that fancy China from the wedding) we will host a total of 6 people in our 2-bedroom apartment: my parents, my brother, my father-in-law, Mike and myself. I am both nervous, excited, antsy and exhilarated!!!!
So here's where I need your help, people! I need your tips on cooking Thanksgiving dinner in a small kitchen with only one oven. I've already delegated some dishes to our guests: My parents will bring the pumpkin pie and mashed potatoes, my bro will provide the dinner rolls and all-important beer, and my father-in-law will bring a simple appetizer of cheese and crackers. That leaves the turkey, stuffing, sweet potato casserole and green beans up to us. I am strongly considering cooking at least one of the items in a crock pot. I have 2 crock pots, so I could definitely use both for this. Also, my toaster is a toaster OVEN, and while I've never used it as an actual oven, this might be an option. Not sure if it's big enough to cook anything substantial though. I've also considered buying one of those oven racks, which allows you to stack multiple dishes on one side of the oven --- though I'm not sure if that would fit in the oven along with the turkey, or if it would just make a crowded mess. I think I'll have to take some measurements before my trip to Bed, Bath and Beyond this weekend...
What I'd really like from you, dear readers, are tips on defrosting/brining the turkey when you have zero freezer/fridge space. I have a couple of ideas. I can either buy a frozen turkey 3 - 4 days prior to the feast and defrost it in a cooler with ice on my back porch for a few days. Or I could buy the turkey fresh a day or two prior, and just keep it chilled in the cooler on the porch. Thoughts? I really want to try brining the turkey (which is basically soaking the turkey in a salt-water bath (brine) for about a day, which I hear keeps the meat nice and moist) but I'm not sure the best way to go about this. I guess I could dunk the turkey in a garbage bag of the salt-water and plop it in the cooler for a day or two. But how much brining is too much brining? :-/
If you stop by my place over the next 2 weeks, I can almost guarantee you will find me on the couch watching Food Network, ready with a pad and pen. They just started running their annual Thanksgiving specials and I hope to pick up lots of tips. I'm the kind of gal who feels a lot more confident after I've done my research. Even though I will probably not use 95% of the tips/techniques/recipes I'll see over the next two weeks, I will at least feel confident that I COULD use them if I wanted to. Knowledge is power. (You should have seen my DVR in the months prior to my wedding.... nothing but "Who's Wedding Is It Anyway"and "Bridezilla"...what to do, and what NOT to do... insanity, I know...)
Wish me luck!
Check out this article on how New Yorkers are reacting to the new nutritional statistics posted at chain fast food and sit-down restaurants. Since last Spring, all fast food and chain restaurants in New York have been forced to post the calorie content of their items in menus and on menu boards. Everywhere from Starbucks to Chili's -- and this will soon become the standard in Los Angeles. I think it's a great idea and I can't wait for it to come to Chicago. It will be such a relief to know exactly what I'm getting when I sit down to a meal, like I do when I'm at home. However, what's most disturbing to me about this article is that even though most people are completely shocked by the high calories in their meals (A 1,600 calorie SALAD?!? I'm looking at you, T.G.I Friday's!!!), a good number of people are requesting to see the old menus with no nutritional information. They'd rather not know how unhealthy their choices are. Because putting your head in the sand and ignoring the truth will just make all the calories and fat go away, right? RIGHT????
I was recently asked to sample and review Weight Watcher's Golden Sponge Cake with Creamy Filling. Each cake is only 1 WW point. I think the cake is pretty tasty -- a good substitute if you're a fan of Twinkies. The servings are very small (about 3 inches long and 1 1/2 inch wide) but I think this is a good thing. If you just want a small taste of cake, but not a lot of calories, just eat one. If you want a little more satisfaction, eat 2. The box includes 6 cakes, which is great if you only eat one at a time, but if you eat 2 at a time, well obviously you're not getting as much bang for your buck. I'm not sure how much these cost, but I think it's worth a try if you really enjoy yellow cake, but have a hard time controlling your portions.
TA DA!!! My annual pumpkin, fashioned to reflect my current political enthusiasm. GOBAMA! I got this stencil at www.yeswecarve.com. Brilliant! I cannot wait for next week. I just pray to God that there isn't another voting debacle like Florida in 2000! :-/
The new job is going great and I'm settled in my new awesome cubicle. Since they were building my cubicle from scratch, I got to work with the maintenance guy to set it up just the way I wanted and it's PERFECT!!! I have 2 windows and LOTS of room. I ordered new office supplies last week and I had fun finding a place for everything; filing away papers I brought with me from my last position, figuring out where I will stash my all-important 100 calorie packs (this is important stuff here people!), etc. I just set up some wedding photos on the wall and it's already starting to feel like home. My co-workers/boss are so super nice. It's really exactly what I was looking for in a work situation. I am amazed how much better my situation is from just 2 weeks ago. My last position wasn't bad, by any means, but this new position fits what I was looking for SO much more. I am now working with people face-to-face on a daily basis, instead of sitting at a cubicle alone waiting for my boss to come back from his latest world tour. I am a social person and I really need that one-on-one interaction. I like working in teams and this is just the right sized team too -- just the 4 of us. Big enough to feel substantial, but small enough to be cozy. *SIGH* I can feel the UV rays coming through my windows. God bless natural light! :-)
Holy shit, has this been a crazy ass week! In one week I got hired permanently at my temp job (YAYYYY!!!), and then just 2 days later my boss left the company. WTF??????? I still don't know what happened, and I think I'd rather not know. But the good news is that I still have a job (YAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYY!!!!) and it might just be better than the one I signed up for.
I started at this company 3 months ago as a temp-to-hire Executive Assistant for a high up executive that was always globe trotting. He was in the office 1, maybe 2, weeks out of each month. Most of my job consisted of arranging his travel and schedule. When he was actually in the office I was really busy. Sometimes a little crazy busy, but better to be busy than bored. Which is what I experienced the other 2 - 3 weeks per month. Pretty much nothing to do for hours and hours sounds like a brilliant thing, but it makes the day go by sooooooo slowly, even if you are reading an amazing book. (Which I am at this time --- "I Am Legend" --- never seen the movie, and the book is FANTASTIC, so check it out)
Then by crazy random happenstance, a corporate lawyer named Joe ran into my boss in the break room one day and mentioned that he needed some Administrative support because his Admin had just resigned. My boss volunteered me, as he knew I had plenty of time on my hands. So I've been assisting Joe here and there over the past 2 months and we get along great. He hires 2 more people (a paralegal and another lawyer) and mentions to me that he is looking to hire a full-time Admin. to support the 3 of them. I give him my friend's name, as I know she's looking for a change, though I know she's also possibly looking to move back to her home state. In the meantime, I help him with his 2 new hires, getting them set up with office supplies and stuff, and they are really cool and friendly.
Fast forward 3 weeks to now. I am hired full time on Monday, and I go through my first ever real salary negotiation. I've never experienced this before, as in the past my salary was not really up for negotiation -- it was "this is what the budget can afford, and what the position warrants, so this is what you're getting." It was really cool and grown-up to be able to go back and forth at the bargaining table with my boss. He was very respectful of my requests and took me seriously. I ended up with a salary that I am really proud of. I'm excited to start earning it and building my financial future, and our house fund! Finally, Jesus. These past 6 months since I left the hotel have been just sucking all our cash away, and I am so excited to start paying down debt again, instead of building more up!!! :-)
So 2 days later I get a call from HR. More specifically, the HR Rep for my boss, who is located in the UK. He tells me that my boss will not be working for the company any more. But don't worry -- I still have a job. He explains that Joe really wants me to work for his Legal team. But if I'm not comfortable with that, they will work to find a department that I like. So the whole time I'm on the phone, I don't know if I should cry or pass out from shock. I then realize this is a golden opportunity to work for a department that will challenge me, giving me a more consistent and interesting workflow, as well as the chance to work with people that I have a great rapport with already. I tell the HR guy that yes, I would love to work for Joe and his Legal team.
I was still shocked for the next 48 hours. I couldn't tell anyone at work about my boss until it was officially announced the next day. That was a bitch, as many people were calling me, asking me where he was and why didn't he show up to certain meetings, where was his report to include with such and such packet for the CEO, etc. I was so relieved once they actually made the announcement, so I didn't have to pretend everything was ok anymore. It was really nice to see so many people come up to me and ask how I was doing. I explained that I wasn't going anywhere and they were relieved. I also got to meet with the very top HR person for the entire global company. She asked to meet personally with me to make sure I was alright and assure me that she met with my boss and he is doing fine --- that he was actually very worried about me! I don't know if he felt it coming or what, but it's just a little too coincidental that he pushed to get me hired quickly on Monday, only to be gone on Wednesday. Whatever the case, I am very grateful for what he did --- if I hadn't been hired before his departure, I could very well have been back to square one as a temp again.
The last 2 days consisted of packing his things, cleaning out all my files regarding work for him, and getting ready to move down to another wing of the building. That's another thing I'm excited about --- the legal dept. is in a great part of the building, with lots of windows and great sun exposure. I'm so excited to sit next to a window again, and I might even have 2 windows!!! There is so much more space there and I think the stark contrast from what I've been sitting in up until now (small, cramped cubicle in a dark corner with no windows and a really narrow aisle) will make a HUGE difference. And their new color copier is just 2 steps from my desk --- quite a difference from having to walk literally a 1/2 city block to the copier I've been using!!!
So in the end I am still very sad for my old boss, but at the same time this is a whole new adventure for me. I'm excited to see what happens next!
As you may be aware, I sometimes get sent free stuff (mostly diet foods) and am asked to try them out and give my honest opinion. I was recently sent 2 packs of the new Tic Tac Sugar-Free Chill Mints. Besides myself, my test audience was my fellow castmates -- all dudes, none of whom are the dieting type. We all agreed that the mints tasted very good -- they didn't taste "sugar-free" at all. I was given 2 flavors to try out: Paradise Mint and Exotic Cherry. The cherry one was hands down the favorite of all of us. The consensus was that the cherry was tastier and had a little tangy zing to it, though it wasn't really "breath freshening". As a dieter, I would recommend the Exotic Cherry Tic Tacs for moments when you have a craving for candy. They actually taste a lot like Smarties, though smaller and harder, with a little more bang. They are not too tangy though -- just enough to add a little kick. The Paradise Mint was pretty good too, and we agreed that if fresh breath was more your concern, that would be the way to go (instead of the cherry.) What made it "paradise" mint? There's a slightly sweet flavor to the mint -- a fruitiness. The packaging is also pretty neat -- it's a slightly larger box than regular Tic Tacs, with 2 ways to dispense; a small opening for 1 at a time, or a larger flap that opens if you want to take out more at a time. 1 piece equals 1.8 calories, 0g sugar, and a whole lot of ingredients that I can't pronounce. I'd say give 'em a whirl.
Today is our 1st wedding anniversary. I really can't believe a year has passed since that wonderful day. This year has had many ups and downs for me (so many job changes, getting back on stage, gaining back weight, etc.) and Mike has been there to back me up every step of the way. I love you so much honey --- more every day --- and you make every day a gift.
Last night we celebrated Rosh Hashanah with my side of the family, complete with the unveiling of the year-old top tier of our original wedding cake, complimented by a freshly baked replica from the same bakery (just in case the original tasted like crap.) The original was surprisingly good! My parents wrapped it really well and kept it in their basement freezer all year. It was actually pretty moist and almost as good as I remembered it! The fresh one was really good too, but there was something about that year-old cake that brought all the memories flooding back. It was a lovely moment.
Many of you have seen the wedding photos already, but I thought it would be fun to post some photos that you haven't seen already --- some of my favorites that are more "artsy". Our gift to each other is our framed Ketubah (the Jewish "marriage contract".) With the 1st anniversary gift being "paper", we thought that was especially fitting (my parents, however, thought a roll of scratchy Scott toilet paper was more fitting. Har har Mom and Dad }:-) Kudos to our friend Henio who suggested the round frame. I've included some pics below to share the results with you. It really turned out beautifully and hopefully we'll get it hung today. We are out of wall space, so something's going to have to be taken down, or rearranged. We're planning a nice dinner at home tonight, with some quality lounging. Enjoy the pics below...
Hey everybody! It's been a while since I've done any food reviews, and lately I've been trying out some new-to-me items, so here's some of my newly recommended items.
First off, if you are a fan of frozen meals (ranging from Lean Cuisines to Smart Ones to even Trader Joe's frozen items) you'll love this blog I just stumbled upon -- http://heateatreview.com/. There are TONS of detailed reviews on this site. It's a really great resource for dieters, as they list the basic nutritionals, serving size and WW points value for each item they review. My favorite part of the site is that you can sort through their posts by Rating, Points Value or Name Brand, among other labels. So if you want to see a pretty comprehensive list of frozen food items that clock in at 5 points, just click on that label and VOILA! Pretty snazzy. Not all foods are healthy or low-cal, but it seems like most of the bloggers on this site are pretty health conscious -- almost every post mentions the all-important nutrional-value-to-taste ratio.
Ok, so now for the foods I've been eating lately. I recently decided that if I'm going to really give it the college try and get back down to where I was a year ago (and approx. 20 lbs. ago) I'd need to change up what I've been eating. After eating the same good-for-me foods for years (i.e. Lean Cuisines, invididual packs of cottage cheese, egg whites, apples, etc.), and associating them with "dieting", I've developed an aversion to many of my standard items. Time to get back into the grocery store and spend some time finding new and exciting items to make this healthy lifestyle more attractive and tasty!
JIMMY DEAN'S D-LIGHTS
(in 3 Choices: Turkey Sausage, Black Forest Ham or Canadian Bacon)
Description: A breakfast sandwich, consisting of a whole grain English muffin, your choice of meat, an egg white patty and low-fat cheese.Clocks in at 280 calories, 10 g fat, 2g fiber, 18g protein.
I am a huge breakfast sandwich fan. Just knowing I'd be able to enjoy breakfast sandwichy goodness without the guilt, I was very eager to try these. They come 4 to a box, and I am proud to say that I've enjoyed every last morsel over the past 4 work mornings. I cannot wait to buy more -- I originally bought the turkey sausage, and I think I'll try the Canadian Bacon next. Really good, really filling -- a great item to get your day off on the right foot.
Kashi Lemon Rosemary Chicken frozen entree
330 cals, 9g fat, 5g fiber, 17g protein
Description: Chicken marinated with lemon and rosemary, grilled then sliced. Served with baby Portobello mushrooms and sugar snap peas over our Kashi 7 Whole Grains Pilaf, and topped with lemon rosemary sauce.
I've been getting really sick of the quality of most Lean Cuisines/Smart Ones, so my latest strategy is to spend a little more money to get a better quality product, which will fill me up a little more, pack a better wallop of flavor and leave me overall more satisfied with my lunch experience (i.e. less likely to hit the vending machines mid-afternoon.) I hit the excellent organic frozen section at our local Jewel and found this lovely meal from Kashi. The chicken actually tastes like real chicken that I'd make on my own stove (as opposed to the rubberized questionable chicken you often find in frozen entrees.) The pilaf was very hearty and the sauce was tasty. There aren't a lot of mushrooms, but the few there were very yummy. I'm definitely going to try more from the Kashi line in the future. They really weren't that more expensive than most other frozen entrees. And it's worth it to me to spend an extra dollar on a good quality frozen meal that I'll actually be excited about eating, as opposed to going out to eat and spending upwards of $8 while my Lean Cuisine sits in the company fridge.
Jell-O Sugar-Free Rice Pudding (individual serving sizes - 6 to a pack)
This stuff is the shit. Seriously. I almost fell out of my chair when I tasted how good this was. If you are a fan of rice pudding then you will LOVE this. My favorite is the Cinnamon, but it also comes in plain and creme brulee. I don't know why it's not listed on the Jell-O website, but this stuff is da bomb and you really need to try it out. Find it in the dairy case. I can't find the nutriontials online, but I'm pretty sure they are 60 calories each.
If you're a fan of Hungry Girl, you've probably heard about the new Yoplait Light flavors, all clocking in at 110 calories and 0g of fat. I have tried all 3 of the new flavors: Strawberry Shortcake, Raspberry Cheesecake and Pineapple Upside Down Cake. While they were all good, I can say with confidence that only the Pineapple Upside Down Cake actually tasted like it's title. The other 2 just tasted like Strawberry and Raspberry -- flavors that Yoplait Light already offers. I didn't taste enough difference to get the "cheesecake" or "shortcake" part of them. BUT the Pineapple Upside Down Cake really knocked my socks off. I will definitely buy this item again soon, and I recommend you give it a whirl as well! Kudos to Yoplait for at least attempting new and exciting flavors in their Light line. Keep them coming Yoplait!!!
Please add your suggestions. I'm trying to re-familiarize myself with the Amy's Original Kitchen line of products. Any items to suggest from that line? I'm already in love with the Cheese Enchilada dinner and have that waiting in my fridge for another lunch this week. :-)
Please help out my bloggy friend Laura. She is running a survey online and she'd like your help. Here's what she had to say on her blog, From Sparkly to Single:
To request a big fat favour from my readers. I am currently doing some
contract marketing work for my old company, Coast Hotels & Resorts, and I've been
assigned the task of researching some options for the company's web strategy for
the coming year. So I've put together a short survey about web usage. I'm
specifically seeking responses of women over the age of 30 who live in or are
interested in travelling to the Pacific Northwest (BC and Alberta), but all
responses are of course appreciated.If you could spare a few minutes, would you
please fill out this survey? And if you have a blog I would most appreciate you
posting the survey to your own blog so I can reach a greater number of
respondents.Click here for the survey: Website Usage Survey
Tonight is opening night for my show, Anna Livia, Lucky in Her Bridges. I'm very excited and I think we're going to do great. The past 2 nights have been preview shows -- which are like "test audiences", where we get feedback from the audience to help make the show better. Opening night represents the final product. Our preview audiences have been very positive, as well as helpful to point out the parts of the show that need more clarity. What I'm most happy about is I finally feel like I've got a good grasp of the language and my performance is really coming together. The confidence that I was lacking over the past week has slowly been dissolving, being replaced by a more secure, confident feeling that I can do this and it will be good; something to really enjoy and be proud of.
If any of you are living in the Chicago area, I really recommend you see it. It's a very mysterious show, with a very intriguing plot. But if you are uncomfortable with gay themes it might not be your bag. I personally think that our production has presented the gay themes very well -- the love between the two main characters is very real and beautiful. There is no groping -- nothing perverse. It's just pure love between two people. "Beautiful" is the word that keeps coming to mind. There are also many other themes -- God's trust in mankind; the bond between siblings; love transcending death and time; the consequences of being a coward. It's definitely a show that leaves you thinking, and makes for great conversation while enjoying post-show drinks.
Here's info on the show if you want to catch it. If you do come, please wait for me in the lobby and introduce yourself!
ANNA LIVIA, LUCKY IN HER BRIDGES
Written by David Brendan Hopes
| Location: | Bailiwick Repertory - Mainstage |
| Street: | 1229 W. Belmont |
| City: | Chicago, IL 60657 |
I just received this great comment that I wanted to respond to in a post:
I have been wondering how you are doing. I am having such a hard time losing this weight. My husband is a terrible influence, wanting to go out and eat, buy snacks and stuff, oy vey! He supports me in this but he sometimes doesn't care about losing his as much as I do mine. I know he wants to, but he gives in at times. How are you doing? Are you hanging in there? Jess
I tried out a new aerobics program on the Comcast OnDemand. It's called "Dorm Room Workout", and you can find it in the ExerciseTV section, listed under College Crunch Time. It's a 30 minute circuit video that is challenging without being too complicated. I am enjoying this workout because of several reasons:
One thing about the video that bothers me are the constant comments relating to "college life." For example, the leader will randomly spout out crap like, "Come on, push it! Get rid of that Freshman Fifteen!", "This will really get your body ready for those formal dances!" and "I know sometimes the buffet line is unavoidable, and it's ok to indulge once in a while, but try eating salads instead!" The comments imply that what really matters in college life (or life in general I guess) is how skinny you are. It really can wear on your psyche after a while. She kinda made me feel like I wasn't cool enough to be in her sorority. :-/
My favorite line, while performing TaeBo-like sucker punches: "Everyone has that English professor that they hate. Just imagine punching him!" Wow. Talk about motivation. Maybe 8 years ago!
If you don't have Comcast OnDemand, try clicking on the link above and you might be able to order it on DVD. It's definitely worth a try, especially if you are naturally talented at zoning out negative body image propaganda.
In other news, my new job is turning out really well. I am still not a permanent employee (I'm temp-to-perm), but I have a feeling an offer will be coming in the next few weeks. My boss and I are getting along really well now. I think it was just a matter of him getting to know me better --- building that trust. He's seeing that I'm a hard, fast and smart worker, and he likes that. He is a lot more personable now, and he even asks me questions about my life, like, "So, any big plans for the weekend?" You don't really notice how much you miss stuff like that, until they aren't there. I mentioned that I got cast in ANNA LIVIA and he was really excited for me. He said I should let everyone in the office know and they'd come see me. It's stuff like that that makes you feel more at home in an office environment. When your co-workers/boss show an interest in your life, it makes you feel more like a part of everything. Which is very nice. :-)
I totally forgot to blog about the new show I just got cast in! It's called ANNA LIVIA, LUCKY IN HER BRIDGES, and it goes up at the Bailiwick Repertory on September 12th. Which is really soon! It's part of the Pride Series, sharing the stage in rep with another gay-themed play. I play the part of Ellen, the older sister to two brothers, living together in Dublin, Ireland, at the turn of the century. So that means IRISH ACCENTS! And RED HAIR!!!! They often refer to my character's "fiery red hair" in the script. So I will either be coloring my hair red, or wearing a red wig. I'm fine with the coloring, as long as it's done professionally. Not sure if that's in the budget, so we'll have to see. But I'm very excited to be back on stage again!! There are 3 other actors in the show (all dudes) and we start rehearsals in 1 week. I've got a lot to memorize so I'd better get crackin'. The script is very well written and I'm really looking forward to digging into it. It goes back and forth between 1904 and 2004, on June 16th (Bloomsday). Which is very fitting because my character is dating James Joyce. Yes, THE James Joyce. In a way, it's a ghost story. I'll try to post updates on how rehearsals are going, especially with my new early-morning workout schedule. I'll have to work extra hard to keep up with that, now that I'll be working nights at rehearsal. But I'm hoping to stick to it, especially since I've been seeing real changes in my body and the way my clothes are fitting. I'm trying to focus on that more and not worry about weighing myself as much. Ok, time for Mad Men!
Mike's birthday was a blast! I'm exhausted from a busy and fun weekend, but I'm still getting up early tomorrow to workout before it's back to the work week. Here are some pics from the weekend I wanted to share.
Me, flying off the slide
Mike's awesome guitar shaped cake (thanks to Mom)
Another of me and Mick, my bro
Today is Mike's 40th birthday party! I've been working over the past few months to get it all organized and ready, and I'm so excited the day is finally here!!! I worked with Mike's best friend Henio (who's a brilliant artist) to design the invitation and it came out GREAT! It was drawn comic book style, with this photo of Mike at age 20 on the front. HILARIOUS!!! Mike used to be an actor too, and this was an unused proof from a series of headshots that his friend took of him in college. Channeling James Dean, methinks? Needless to say, the invitation was very well received by all, and Mike was somewhat embarrassed, but mostly entertained. :-)
My parents were gracious enough to donate the use of their house and backyard in-ground pool for the party. Thanks Mom and Dad! I am so excited for all the tacky 40th b-day decorations that I bought, which Mike is unaware of. :-) Hee hee hee... Including an inflatable cane (which will be great for floating in the pool, and is also a stab at Mike's surprisingly large collection of canes -- because he's apparently 80 years old???) and a PINATA shaped like the number 40!!!! I bought old school candy to stuff in it, a mix of Mary Janes, Slo-Pokes, Bit O' Honey. Yummy and nostalgic! And I'm bringing some photo albums of Mike in his 20s/30s. I'm hoping his Mom will be able to dig out some albums of his childhood and bring them with her. Oh, I also bought him a t-shirt that says, "40: How the $%^&@# Did That Happen???" for everyone to sign. Oooh that reminds me to grab a Sharpie. We'll have 3 kinds of Baker's Square pies (cherry, lemon merengue and french silk) since Mike is more of a pie fan than a cake fan...but of course we still had to get cake for everyone else (um, hello? what's a birthday without cake???) so my Mom had this great idea to order a cake shaped like a bass guitar!!! Mike doesn't know about it (and he doesn't read this blog, so no worries) and I'm so excited for him to see it!!!
Well, I better get ready to go soon. The weather isn't bad, but I wish it were sunny. It's kinda overcast, with a chance of "isolated" thunderstorms. Hopefully those will be isolated far away from us. :-) I'll post pics this week!
I'm into my 2nd week of consistent regular exercise and I've got to admit --- I'm feeling pretty great. I can't really remember exactly when I started on this path, but that says to me that I'm even more invested in a change this time around. I'm not really dwelling on how long I've been having to workout, nor how long I will have to workout until I reach my goal. This time, I'm looking at it more like a routine change.
I've planned to workout Mon, Weds and Fri for 30 minutes and 30 minutes on either Sat or Sun. My new 15-minute work commute has allowed me extra time in the morning, so I'm taking advantage and working out as soon as I wake up. Getting the workouts over with first thing in the morning is helping a lot with my success rate. Just getting it done before I can talk myself out of it is really key. This has always been the problem with working out after work---I dwell on the idea of working out all day and I usually manage to talk myself out of it by the time I leave work. Then I sit around all night feeling tired from the day, plus ashamed that I didn't workout. With this new routine, exercise is a scheduled part of my morning, just like taking a shower, or making my bag lunch. I'm using the mindset of "It's just another chore I have to do before I can get to work."
The only problem is that I am not as coordinated or energetic right after I wake up, but then again I'm not all that great at the end of the day either. My best time of day to work out is like 11:00 am. At that time, I've had a little breakfast, I'm more alert, and I have a bit of a spring in my step. But that's just not realistic during the work week. So I will settle for slightly sleepy, kinda uncoordinated, but actually accomplishing something!
My eating habits are a lot better too. I think the exercise is helping to increase my metabolism. I'm also getting used to eating smaller amounts of food at each meal, and my body is not as hungry anymore.
In order to keep up with my healthy eating habits, I'm trying to schedule more non-food-related activities in the evenings. My problem is that if I sit around the house after dinner and just watch TV, I will usually get the urge to keep going back to the kitchen for another bite of dinner. And since sitting around the house watching bad summer TV programming is really boring anyway, I'm scheduling stuff that I really like to do that energizes my brain and keeps me occupied without the boob tube. One example is my voice lessons. I'm trying to keep up with these at least once every two weeks. It's helping me to focus on what I love --- SINGING! --- and it's helping me to work on new material for auditions. The excitement of doing something I love also gives me adrenaline through the rest of the night. I want to make more plans to go out and see friends for drinks/dinners after work. I'll just have to be careful to focus on the conversation and NOT the food.
So things are on the up. The job is working out nicely. I feel at ease, and in my element, as an Executive Assistant. It feels good to be back, doing what I know.
I am once again bored at work, so I thought I'd blog a bit about Sparkpeople. I've talked about Sparkpeople in the past; how it's the best free online weight loss website. But it's been a while since I talked about it, and I thought new readers might be interested in learning more about it. And just to be clear, I do not earn a single cent from SP. The website is just that great for dieters like me, that I want to make others aware of it's awesomeness.
Sparkpeople is a free online service that is great for anyone who needs help keeping track of their daily calories. When you first register, SP asks you a series of questions about your goals, your lifestyle and your fitness preferences. Then SP takes this info and creates a customized program for you. For example, it asks "How many pounds do you want to lose?" and "When do you want to reach your goal?" Based on those answers, the system can identify exactly how many calories you need to consume and burn each day leading up to your goal date in order to meet that goal. It's a pretty brilliant concept, if you actually stick to the plan.
Once you are a registered user, you track your daily calories/fat/protein/whatever you want to track in your daily food journal. The great part about the food journal is you can store the nutritional info from items that you have in your home, as well as look up foods in the SP food database. They've got thousands of items in the database, most with namebrands, and many items from fast food/chain restaurants. If you're like me, you often take food to work and forget to check the label before you leave the house, so you're not sure what the stats are while you're trying to log the food in your diary. No worries! Just do a search on Sparkpeople and you will likely find the item. And if you can't find something in their database, you can do a quick Google search for the item, and usually you can find the stats at the namebrand's website. Then, just log the stats in your journal and choose to save the item in your "Favorites". Then the next time you eat that food, you've already got the info stored and you don't have to look it all up again. It's really convenient for people like me, who have their standard healthy snacks that they eat frequently.
Another part of Sparkpeople that I love is the Fitness Tracker. This feature houses a database of all different kinds of activites, everything from jogging to vacuuming! Let's say you just did a 30 minute aerobic DVD. Just do a search for "aerobics" and select "30 minutes". The tracker shows how many calories you burned (this is estimated, based on your current weight and height, which you would have originally logged in your account settings upon registering, I believe.) Then it records all this info (your minutes logged, your calories burned, etc.) in your Fitness Tracker and you can keep up on your progress.
The site also has a very strong community. You can create your own custom "SparkPage" which is like your own website on Sparkpeople -- you can post "before" pics and tell the SP community a little about yourself. There are also TONS of SP message boards where you can meet thousands of users just like yourself. The boards are really great as a resource to make new friends, gain support from people with the same goals/lifestyles as yourself, and help get your questions asked about SP or nutrition/fitness in general.
Did I mention the Points System? It's really a silly thing. For each thing you do on SP, you gain points (for logging your food, logging how much water you drank, reading an SP article, etc.) The points add up as you use the different features each day and after logging a certain amount of points you can earn "trophies". The points and trophies don't really amount to an actual tangible prize... but it's a fun way to motivate people to use the site. I, for one, am very competitive, so the points are really great for me. It motivates me to check out new things on the site.
The final part of Sparkpeople that I want to brag about is it's sister site --- SparkRecipes.com. I have found so many awesome recipes on this site that are easy to make and my husband doesn't realize is diet food! :-) What's also great is at the click of a button you can transfer the nutritionals from 1 serving of the meal you just made from that new recipe and it will log it in your Food Journal. How awesome is that???? And of course, you can submit your own recipes to share with the community. I've found so many delicious recipes to use with my Crock Pot --- I honestly believe that slow cooking makes even the most low-cal of foods taste better (i.e. chicken breasts.)
So that's the end of my rant on Sparkpeople. If you sign up, mention that FLIPTHISBODY was your referral. I earn more SparkPoints for each person that signs up, and even though those points don't win me any prizes, I still get a kick out of earning them. And if you do register, make sure to create a SparkPage for yourself and ask me to be your friend. It's like the Facebook of Sparkpeople. Let me know if you have any questions about the site and I'd be happy to help!
Hey folks! I got a new job! YAY! It's technically a temp-to-perm position. That means I had to interview for the position against other people, but once I was selected I was taken on as a "temp", with the intention to hire me eventually if all goes well. It's a nice arrangement for the employer and myself -- if I don't feel it's the right fit, I'm allowed to leave before it goes permanent and there's no hard feelings. At the same time, if they don't think I'm working out, they can tell my agency and I'll be out of a job. :-/ But it's really my job to lose. As long as I can show my boss that I'm good at what I do, eventually they will make me an offer. I'm told this takes an average of 3 months to happen.
So far it's going well. I'm working for an electronics distribution company, based in the Ravenswood neighborhood of Chicago. IT'S ONLY A 5-MINUTE DRIVE FROM MY HOUSE!!! And the parking is FREE and PLENTIFUL! AND if I move to the suburbs, the Metra train stops RIGHT OUTSIDE THE FRONT DOOR!!! Can you tell I'm excited about this? :-) I am the Executive Assistant to the Global Supply Chain Director, Tom. Tom is a nice guy, as far as I can tell. I've only spoken to him for 1/2 hour, when I met him for my interview 2 weeks ago. I started working here a week ago, but he's been in Singapore the whole time so I haven't even seen him yet! He's supposed to be back late tomorrow, and I'm looking forward to sitting down and asking him some questions. I was trained all last week by the woman I replaced. Not sure what her situation was --- it was pretty shady if leaving was her choice, or if she was asked to resign. Hmmm... Oh well! Tom is traveling at least 50% of the time, so I will be alone a lot. There's a lot of people in this office, but it's hard making friends because all the departments are pretty separate. I have become friendly with 2 or 3 people that have their desks near mine. Hopefully, if I get hired on permanently, I'll start making some friends to go to lunch with. That's always the hard part for me about starting a new job --- finding people I can enjoy spending my breaks with. My job consists mostly of arranging Tom's travel and managing his busy calendar. It's not rocket science, and I have lots of experience doing this from my job at the beauty school. Unlike my position at the hotel, I am very familiar with the tasks I'll be doing, so it's not a "fish-out-of-water" situation like it was at the hotel. I feel a lot more at ease in this position because I'm doing what I know. And that feels SO good. :-)
I also am getting back on track with my eating and exercise habits. Since my commute has been shortened now by 45 minutes, I am trying to use this extra time in the morning to work out. I've been finding success in the FitnessTV section of the Comcast OnDemand. There's a slew of aerobic and strength training shows on there that you can start and stop whenever you want. And it's FREE! I like trying new ones as often as I can --- I don't want to get stagnant doing the same routine too many times. Jillian Michaels (the super intense trainer from the Biggest Loser) has her workout videos on there and they KICK MY ASS. They are only up for a limited time though, because they are really just trying to promote her DVDs, so they give us free usage for now, and then they direct us to go online and buy her program. It's a great program that I'd totally buy -- if I wasn't getting tons of workout videos for free on this OnDemand thing!
I've been somewhat successfully getting back to my original eating plan. I found that sticking to the Nutrisystem way of eating (without actually buying the Nutrisystem products) was really working for me. (check out links on the sidebar to read archives of my plan) I've been a pretty devoted Lean Cuisine fan for a while, but a few days ago I perused the Weight Watchers SmartOnes just next door, and they had a lot of yummy options that piqued my interest. I stopped buying the SmartOnes a while ago because I was really bored with their offerings, but it looks like they've jazzed them up a little and I'm giving them another go. Especially since I notices that their WW Points values are generally lower than the Lean Cuisines. So I'll let you know how that goes.
I'm going to try to post more often on here. I'll definitely have more time to do so, now that I'm working a job where there are full weeks at a time where my boss is out of the office and I will have not a lot to do. He's pretty cool though --- he even said I should feel free to browse the internet if I was bored, so I'm definitely taking him up on that. I've been auditioning again, but nothing is panning out, so I think this Fall I will probably not have a show to do. But that's ok. I am hoping that more auditions in the coming months will lead to a Spring show. Then I'll have time to really settle in to my job and enjoy the holidays before adding another layer of craziness.
If you've been following my blog lately, or in the past, and you stop by, please leave a comment! I'm curious as to who's still out there. I feel like I've dropped off the face of the blogosphere for a while! Sorry about that, but, yeah, what can you do. Toodles!
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