Belly be gone!

so much to ramble about, so little time…
why??? b/c the person who is the head of one of the divisions i’m a part of (i still can’t keep all the hierarchy straight around here) is in town, and is using the office across from mine as his for the day!!!

ok…chocolate…we had an event at work last night - and there were all kinds of chocolate brownies to choose from!!! ugh - so i took a piece of the one that probably had THE MOST calories - and ate half of it. the other half was on my desk for this morning…and i finished it this morning. now the leftovers are on the table in the break room. i told my friend - “i want to eat all the brownies”!!! i’m doing my best to avoid the break room this morning…but i’ll definitely need coffee at some point! although…if there’s leftover bruschetta, i’ll eat that, too!!! i love bruschetta & caprese salad (this tasted more like caprese salad though…)
UPDATE: just checked…no bruschetta/caprese, but a couple of brownies left. uh, i wasn’t good. i don’t want to admit it…no, i really don’t…BUT, i will…i took another piece for later…AND, I PICKED AT THE CRUMBS THAT WERE ON THE PLATTER!!!!!!!!!! and they are so da*n good!!!!!!!!!! ok…step away from the brownies!!!

i’m getting a new computer! dh has wanted to get me one for years, but i’ve been putting it off. now that i’ve been using one of his while we watch tv (hey…he’s on the computer while we watch tv, too!), i realize how much i like having a laptop. i’ve been the one saying no b/c we didn’t need to spend the $ on one for me…i have a desktop that does what i need, but it’s slow and upstairs…and we spend almost all our time downstairs. so new ‘puter for me! next up - new car!

i had no business running on the treadmill this morning. i was WAY too tired. i took my head phones off so i wouldn’t zone out to my music and then fall off the treadmill…

hmmm…what else. oh - my baby (the puppy) is now 38 freakin pounds!!! i stepped on the scale w/her this morning!!! ugh - she’s getting BIG!!! she’s so funny sometimes.

and i want to tag…but not right now…

there was another thing, but i’ve forgotten it for now…need to get back at it b/c i hear the boss dude down the hall…

i finally tried the recipe where you mix cake mix w/pumpkin (canned) & 2/3 c water. i liked it. dh didn’t. his comments - not sweet enough (uh oh…i may have ruined him…before me, he wasn’t a big dessert eater…and not a big chocolate eater!) and not cooked enough. granted, we tasted them while they were still warm. i liked it. i had a nibble this morning, and it still tasted good to me. it does taste a little undercooked, but it’s still yummy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

my big plans for yesterday didn’t materialize. i had a good workout at the gym - yeah! i was on the treadmill and i did interval running - 4 minutes at one speed, then 1 minute at a faster speed. i did this for 25 minutes! we took puppy to the dog park and she had a blast. after i while, i wasn’t feeling so hot b/c i don’t like being outside standing around when i’m cold…and i get cold easily. so we left. dh & i then grabbed some lunch - oh, that was evil. went to a deli and i had a salami sandwich on rye. that was probably a bajillion points, but i don’t care. it tasted SO GOOD!!! he always brings up the deli, and i almost always say no, since i almost only order the salami sandwich (since i don’t eat it that often). but i gave in yesterday. and after that first bite, i even told him how good it tasted. we saw everyone & their child there, too!!! there were a bunch of people dh went to college with who were there w/their families. then on to the grocery store. and that was about my day. i didn’t get to clean out another area of the house! oh, and we went to sil’s house for dinner - it’s their anniversary. and that was my sunday…ok…of to start monday…make it a good one!

i’m a total pack rat.  and i know this.  i hate to throw things away.  and here’s the bad part…not only am i a pack rat, but i’m not a very organized pack rat, either!  and it doesn’t help things when DH is similar.   and lately we’ve been having some discussions about this.  so a few weeks ago, i told myself i was going to start small…work on a section at a time…i started w/my dresser.  i now have a dresser top that is clean & i can display things on!  :)  esp the beautiful swarovski fish i got for my bday!  thanks hubby!  :)  then, i cleaned out & off my nightstand.  yesterday was the corner of the floor next to my night stand.  that was a long time coming, since the puppy likes getting in there!  well, it’s done!  i’m not sure what i’m going to get to next, but i hope to get to another area today.  oh, and i went through my closet a few weeks ago, too!  i need to get some more of it as i started pulling out clothes i didn’t want to wear any more…it may be a slow process, but this way hopefully i won’t get burnt out doing it!  and hopefully everything will be neat and essential…for the next time we move!  ha ha ha  and that’s a few years away!!!  ha ha ha

on the eating front…well, surprisingly, i was down .8 yesterday.  not sure how, since all of last weekend i ate crap (lots of fast food!) and i found the halloween candy, too!  and i had my day of emotional chocolate eating!!!  so, i’m very excited & happy to be down .8!!!  just need to motivate myself to keep at it…i’m also curious to see how things will turn out after working w/the trainer.  i think my main issue now is body shape.  so i’m hoping to get toned up and lose some inches going that route.  maybe if i lose a little more weight (5 lbs) and tone up, i’ll be happy!  we’ll see…i’ve read others’ blogs where they are where they want to be or are almost there, and while they are very thrilled w/what they’ve accomplished, they aren’t necessarily thrilled w/how their bodies look.  as some one said (it might’ve been a comment i had read), we always want more!!!  and i’m no different…

ok…got to get ready for the gym!  want to get there early & get out since we’re taking puppy to a dog park this morning!  oh…we all started obedience school yesterday!  she did pretty good!!!  and she had fun playing w/a few of the dogs afterwards!

tomorrow is WI.  i wouldn’t be surprised if i have a gain.  i ate crap this week…

i want / need to get back on plan.  even though i’m technically on maintenance, i still want to lose weight.  maybe another 10 lbs.  but that means planning & prepping ahead.  i was thinking of making my goal to lose weight before my mini-vacation in december.  i could probably do it if i just stick to the plan…so that’s the goal…

i made this today in my slow cooker.  it was YUMMY and totally hit the spot after the gym tonight…

3/4 c barley

3/4 c lentils

1/2 onion

2-3 carrot sticks

2-3 celery sticks

1 potatoe

baby bella mushrooms

3-4 cloves garlic

2 bay leaves

64 oz chicken stock

cut up vegetables & garlic into smaller pieces…throw everything into the slow cooker.  put on low for 8 hours.

serve up & eat.

DH LOVED this.  he said the house smelled so good when he walked in tonight…

notes on this…having this on low for 8.5 hours, then on warm for another 1.5 hours - this was VERY thick and there was not enough liquid to qualify this as a soup.  i guess it was more like a stew.  this was the first time  i used my slow cooker for a soup / stew.  i was still a little worried about leaving it on all day (even though i come home at lunch to let the puppy out), but it turned out fine.  oh, i digress….i guess you could add more liquid (broth or water) or cook it for less time…

i have all kinds of things to write about…and they’re all random…

SF syrup - found some in super target.  i’ve seen lots of recipes that call for SF syrup, or have wanted to add it to coffee or whatever.  so the other day when i was in super target, i walked by the coffee aisle, and there was hazelnut & caramel SF syrup - made by archer farms i think that’s target’s brand). 

doggie day care - we took the puppy there yesterday.  i think she LOVED it!!!  we loved that it wore her out!  she was so conked out last night, that i was wondering if she had too much fun!  but, seems like she’s back to normal.

halloween - kind of survived it.  had a few pieces today, and took the big ol’ bag to work!  it looked like my co-workers started making a dent on the pile.

sore - worked out w/the trainer tonight.  it kicked by BUTT!!!  i’m dreading the feeling tomorrow night - it usually takes at least 24 hours until i feel it…and i have a feeling that it’s gonna hurt.

ok…that’s it for this post…i made a soup / stew that i want to write about…and i can’t remember if i had any more to write about in my random blog…