Meh ~~

So for most of us today is like a Friday cause hopefully if you're like me you get tomorrow off! I so need a long weekend right now - it's perfect timing! I need to stop at the grocery store on my way home tonight to pick up supplies to make my Cabbage Salad for tomorrow and tonight is our last night of bowling for the year!! YEAH ! Hopefully we will do better then last week but with both me and my hubby feeling a little sick I'm not sure if that will happen!?

I'm also hoping that I will do ok this weekend with all the family activities and meals! I honestly don't think I will be seeing any big numbers on my next weigh in either. With having this cold I sure don't have the energy to excercise and with the challenge of going to two Easter dinners I may endulge a bit more then I should!? But there's always the week after - right?

~~Wednesday weigh in~~

I feel like crap today, I feel like a wind-up toy that has been wound too tight! I'm trying to fight off a cold that I think I caught from my hubby, so far it's just a mild sore throat but I'm hoping that it doesn't turn into a full blown cold (like he has). So I loaded up with drugs last night to try and fight this bug but I think I'm the only person in the world that can't sleep after taking cold medication! I was so tired but all I did was toss and turn all night! The last time I looked at the clock it was 2:00AM !! I'm beat today, when I don't get enough sleep I tend to get grouchy and it doesn't take much to set me off! So look out! ;)

It doesn't help that my weigh in today was not the best, not the worst either but I'm still a little upset by the efforts I have been putting into this weight loss thing. Last night was grocery shopping day so we decided to grab a bite to eat on our way, we went to Dairy Queen, all I really wanted was a ice cream to make my throat feel better but instead I went for the vegetarian quesadilla. I'm sure it's one of their better choices but it had way too much cheese and I could feel it hit my stomach, I should have just stuck with the Chicken Caesar salad. I really need to concentrate more on my portions and stopping when I feel full! I've always been a plate cleaner - not finished till my plate is clean! Even if I feel like I'm going to burst and there is only 2 more bites, I'll consider it a test and force them in! I must stop when I start to feel full!! I feel that I have seen a huge physical change in me but I still need to work on my mental state, if I can't correct my "fat" mentality it won't take long and I will be right where I was 8 months ago! I need to focus more on my lifestyle - get those 30 minutes of exercise in (even if I'm feeling a little sick) and either take smaller portions or I need stop feeling guilty about throwing food away and just not eat it! So since it was grocery shopping night I never got my walk in either - I knew I wasn't going to be seeing any loss this week and I was right!

Week 32 =183.8lbs

(+0.2lbs)

I suppose it could have been way worse and 0.2lbs shouldn't really count - it was probably cause my hair was still wet! ;)

I can hardly wait for this weekend to get here, even though it is going to be filled with lots of "diet" challenges. We have a family dinner on Friday and another one on Sunday!! It will be a test of my will power and hopefully I'll pass - I guess the next weigh in will be my score!? :) I can honestly say that loosing weight was way easier when I had more of it too loose (which makes sense) and I am glad that I was a little stricked on my diet at the beginning cause I'm sure that if I was slack about it then I still would be now and it would be twice as hard to drop this weight!

On the plus side, as some of you know I had my dentist appointment yesterday and my teeth are nice,white and polished today! I hate getting them cleaned, having them scrap my teeth and the fluoride treatment is even worse but it is totally worth it!! Thank goodness for benefits !!

Happy Hump Day! ;)

10 things ....

10 Things I Don't miss ...

#1- -- Hearing a "fat" joke and secretly wondering if someone was trying to tell me something ?!

#2- -- Feeling like I'm the biggest person in the room.

#3- -- Chafing! Need I say more! ;)

#4- -- Feeling like I was always out of breath, even after the simplest chores.

#5- -- The extra button they put on plus size pants? WTH is that about?? Do people actually use the extra 'hidin' button? I know I never!!

#6- -- Not being able to shop off the rack! For the first time last weekend I bought a pair of shorts at Costco (without trying them on) only to realize when I got home that I should have bought a medium instead of the large that I picked up!! :)

#7- -- Not being able to see who I am when I look in a mirror.

#8- -- Walking into someones backyard only to discover that the only chairs they have to sit on are those flimsy little cheap plastic chairs that seem to break easily when weight is applied! I'd rather sit on the grass and risk having a bug crawl up my pant leg!

#9- -- Seeing people whispering and assume they are saying something terrible about me!

#10- -- Always hiding behind people and trying hard not to get noticed! I always used to say I was shy but really I think I would just rather not be noticed.

Another week begins ... again!

So another week begins, I'm a little grouchy today, I stayed up late to watch Amazing Race and when I finally got to bed I couldn't fall asleep! I just tossed and turned for at least a half hour! It was a good episode last night though and worth staying up for, I was surprised that the teams are so far apart from each other! ? I like seeing all the places they go to even if it is for just a quick visit, it gives me some ideas of places I might be interested in seeing someday!?

We woke up this morning to snow!! Just when I thought it was over ..... it has to hit us again! I can see out our front window at work as I stand here and type this and I'm watching as the trucks go sliding by, looks pretty slippery out ?! Or they are just idiot drivers!

The weekend was good, very lazy .... we didn't do much at all! Saturday I made a trip to Costco and boy were they ever busy!! I found a couple really cute books I'm going to give my niece's and nephew for Easter. I also picked up a new stainless steel microwave so now all that's left is getting a new stove!! We had a surprise visitor on Sunday, Denise and her family were in the neighborhood so they stopped in for a quick visit. Denise informed me that I had some tulips that were sprouting!! How exciting!! So after I took the dog for her walk I checked it out and I counted 17 tulips that were just starting to come up! I can't wait to see what color they are! Hopefully it is nice next weekend and I can find the time go out and clean up some of my dead plants from last year!

Looks like April is going to be super busy month with Easter next weekend, Denise's boy's first birthday, our bowling banquet and hubbies grandparents anniversary party! I also have a dentist appointment tomorrow and Jordanna is having her wedding anniversary (3rd I think?) !! Well we finally have all our plans in order for Easter. I guess my Dad wanted to order a turkey meal from this store in St.Albert that makes everything for you and he was going to bring that over to my brothers house. But since the hubby and me can't make it to their house on Sunday for dinner they changed their dinner plans to Friday (so we can attend) but the store that offers the turkey meal thing is closed Friday so it is up to us now to do a pot luck and have my SIL make a turkey and dressing. I can't wait to see my niece and nephew, I wish we lived closer to them! I will be bringing my 'Cabbage Salad', it makes lots and is usually pretty popular (and I can make it low-fat without anyone knowing it is). I'll have to post a recipe of it.

Oh, I also got my treadmill on Saturday too!! I haven't tried it yet, the hubby needs to hook up the satellite box thing to the TV in the basement so I can watch my favorite shows as I walk. I'm excited to see if I will like it and I'm hoping that it's not too noisy or loud!? Seeing's how it's been around the block a few times it may be louder then a new one, but I think I will like it?! Hopefully he remembers to bring all the supplies home tonight to set it up! ;)

First week of playoffs!

Last night was our first week of playoffs and guess how good we did!? We are 2nd! ..... 2nd last !! :( BOO Everyone had horrible games we only got over 1000 once (the last game), the second game we only got 839!! For those of you that don't know - that's crap !! The good news is that we still have next week to try and do better and maybe gain some pins! I suppose it doesn't really matter too much on what position we finish in for the playoffs cause we won Grand Aggregate and get to pick our prizes first but it would still be nice to pick our second batch of prizes before some other teams. I also found out the other night that my hubby won't be able to attend the bowling banquet with me cause we paid money to have a table at one of the car shows here so he needs to be there and work his booth! It's all good though, I don't mind - it just means that have to pick his prizes and I also have to pick my FIL prizes. I'll need one of those luggage carts just to get all our prizes to the car! ;) I'm so glad bowling season is over, it's starting to get nice out now and going bowling is the last thing I feel like doing when it's nice out!

We are having a BBQ today at work, one of our drivers is leaving to do the highway run (still with us but just not at our store) - of course he was the best driver we had. Hopefully things will run smooth without him here! So I'm going to have my first BBQ hamburger of the season!! I can smell them cooking back there as I type this and can hardly wait to bite down on one! YUM


So my mom was wondering ..... I keep talking about how my hubby is working in the garage, so she was wondering WTH is he doing out there? And since he is the handy kind of guy that he is, he could be working on just about anything. Well his big project lately has been his car, for those of you that don't know, my hubby likes to drag race. I've personally never even been to a race track before I met him and I never really had the urge to go fast. I am definitely not a speed junkie like he is. So this is our race car: (sorry for the tiny pic- it's the only one I could find on the computer) It is a 1977 Chevy Nova with a 400cu engine and it's fastest run was 11.92 (105mph) in the 1/4 mile -- (I think got that right? - if not I'll find out tonight) ;)


So being the speed junkie that he is, of course he wanted it to go a little faster - like a few seconds faster!! Which doesn't sound like much but when you are already doing 105mph @ 11.92 seconds in a 1/4 mile .... a few more seconds could be insane! This is what he is doing to his car now:

He has cut out just about all the tin on the car (mostly to lighten it up - I think?) He had a pretty good 'cage' in it already but for us it is always a safety thing (you can never be safe enough) so he is putting in a better cage one that could withstand anything! This car will be 100% different then what it looked like last year. It will not only have better parts in it but it will go faster and will be safer. This is a project that will take us a few years to get complete (if ever). There will always be something better or something might break (God forbid) and we will have to upgrade. I think the goal for now is 2 1/2 years for it to be back at the race track! So for now we will just be working at the track during the summer months and hopefully be back to race in a few years!

Here is your fun for the day!! This totally describes me to a T !! Once again Blogspot amazes me! ; ) Check it out and see if it gets you right too!?

You Are a Realist

You don't see the glass as half empty or half full. You see what's exactly in the glass. You never try to make a bad situation seem better than it is...But you also never sabotage any good things you have going on. You are brutally honest in your assessments of situations - and this always seems to help you cope.

Are You An Optimist or Pessimist?

10 things .....

10 Places I've Been ...

#1- -- Houston, Texas - It was just a stop over but we had to stay the night and I really wanted to go to "Jack-in-the-box" but we never did! I'll have to go back to try one of their sourdough burgers! :) All I really remember was the humidity - it felt like you were always sweating cause it was so humid!

#2- -- Playa del Carmen - Loved loved loved it here, I would go back in a snap! I wasn't too crazy about the snorkeling (it was hard to get the breathing right while under water?) Lots of stuff to do and we barely did any of it! It is on my must go back list! :)

#3- -- Quebec City, Quebec - I was quite young when went here and all I really remember was going to the nice botanical garden center, it was really pretty. I also remember trying to read all the signs but not understanding them cause they are in French. ;)

#4- -- Kansas City - not where Dorothy is from, the other Kansas City. LOL - We were here for a Jobbie event and my biggest memory of Kansas was that my mom wanted to go shopping with us and was wearing white shorts and black knee highs - the only piece of skin showing was her pale white Canadian knee caps!! I refused and made her go buy white socks before I would go anywhere! :) sorry mom - luv ya!

#5- -- Toronto, Ontario - I was also fairly young when we were here, I remember going to the Flinstone park and seeing Niagara falls.

#6- --Guatemala -- We went here to see the ruins which were quite impressive. I remember stopping at a little restaurant and having our tour guide tell me that if I had to use the washroom I should really try and hold it! I remember seeing beautiful lemon trees - full of lemons and lots of kids running around trying to give us "shoe shines" but everyone was wearing sandals!? Sorry kiddo!

#7- --Cancun, Mexico, I also loved Cancun and wish we would have spent more time there and done more touristy things! It was beautiful, if you like night life you would like Cancun- there were tons of things to do there, we barely scratched the surface! :)

#8- -- Belize City, Belize, I have actually been here twice (one time too many-IMO). It was nice the first time and maybe it was just the company we were with but I found that we ran out of things to do here fast! If you enjoy sitting on the beach and doing a little snorkeling or swimming then this is where you should go. If you like to take full advantage of your trip and see everything the place has to offer then maybe you should consider only spending a week here (cause that's all it will take to see everything) I really enjoyed their ruins and their zoo -!

#9- --London, Ontario, I wish it was the other London but no... still in Canada! While we were here we traveled down to Detroit to see a baseball game. That had to be the highlight of the entire trip - it was amazing! Seeing a ball game in a real stadium with everyone singing that peanut/ cracker jack song! I also remember the highway to get there, never in my life have I ever seen so many lanes on one highway! It was nothing like what we have here - everything was super sized!

#10- -- Nanaimo, BC, And last but not least beautiful British Columbia! I love the mountains and the ocean so to me this place is maybe the best place to visit in Canada! Not too sure if I'd live there - I've heard that it is usually cloudy and rainy but on the nice sunny days this place is awesome! :)

!!! AS PER REQUESTED !!!

Well, I know I have been promising this for a really long time and I know a lot of you didn't think I would actually ever do it but ...... here you go - before and after pics!! If I could go back 8 months I would have definitely taken some better before pics, to anyone out there reading this and they are just starting their weight loss journey I can not stress how important it is that you take some before pics. I was told too but that was the last thing I wanted when I knew I wanted to loose weight, I always hid from the camera or was the one on the other end taking the picture. But seriously if you haven't already taken a before pic... you really should - I was quite happy to see my comparison shots and I think some of you will be amazed too! ;)



The best before pic I could find where it had my whole body in the pic. Me and hubby at my Grandma's house - I'm probably around 240 here.

This picture is actually older then the one above but I feel that it shows more of my girth as a "large girl" and I probably weighed closer to my start weight in this pic (250).


Me today .... after loosing 68.2lbs!! Can you see the difference ? I can see a difference !! :)



I wish I would have taken full (standing) front and side shots when I started NS. I still hate my spare tire or 'muffin top' and hope that will soon be gone! :)



All my bears so far..... only 4 more to go (including goal bear)!! And I'm sure I will be getting one in my next order! Maybe even two by the time I place my next order! ;)

Weigh in Wednesday~!

WEEK 31=183.6lbs

(-2lbs)

Another big loss for the week, I'm quite happy about that! I only have to loose another 1.8lbs to get my 70lb bear (Big blue) !! :) I never would have thought that I would have been this devoted to NS (almost 8 months) - I suppose any diet works, it's just a matter of sticking to it, but NS seems so easy and something that I would be able to stick to for life. I also don't think I would have stuck to NS as long as I have if I wasn't seeing those 'big losses'!

I had to go grocery shopping after dinner yesterday for some 'staples' and filled my new crisper's. I love having all those fresh veggies at eye level! I bought a squash last night too, I have never cooked squash but I have tried it at restaurants and I liked it, so I thought I would give it a try at home. I bought the butternut squash (cause it was one of the smaller types of squash) and it has cooking instructions right on the little sticker - cut in half, scoop out seeds, wrap in plastic wrap and microwave for 8 min! Add honey or butter and enjoy ?? Kinda sounds like if you were to microwave a potato but I'm not sure if you are only suppose to eat the guts or do you eat the skin?

It was quite yucky outside yesterday - rainy and snowing, sleet I suppose you call it. My hubby told me that I shouldn't worry about taking the dog out cause we would just get wet and cold but it was my "last chance" work out so after grocery shopping I took her out but this time I ran a block, walked a block - not only did I finish faster but I felt like I actually did something. I think I will try and do that again - twice a week, and eventually work my way up to a quick jog around the block. Although the dog didn't like it very much, she was unable to 'stop and smell the rose's' and pee on every one's lawn!! I hate how she feels the need to relieve herself on every one's front lawn - sometimes I think she just does the motion and nothing comes out, she's all pissed out! Last time my in laws were over my MIL asked if I wanted her treadmill!! Hell yeah! It would have been perfect to have yesterday, I think I would use it - I would still have to take the dog for her walks but I think I would walk to a favorite show when we got home too. Either way it would be nice to have the option of going on the treadmill instead of getting wet outside.

On a side note .... for those of you that understand the lingo.... I thought I might be pg cause I'm still waiting for AF, so this morning I bit the bullet and POAS but I got a BFN - just as I thought it would be, so I guess I just have to wait for AF ?? Not that it would have been bad news but there are still lots of things I want to accomplish before we are pg. We just need to wait a few more months! ;)