Workin’ it Off!!

Hi guys!
Just wondering….if you shop at one, what are your favorite buys at Trader Joes?

I’ve never been there, but there is one about 13 miles away and I’m considering making a trip there sometime in the future! I plan to go “solo” without hubby or children, so I can spend some time just wandering around…but would love to hear some of your suggestions!

Thanks in advance!

OK..its supposed to be Spring? Right? Well all of my yard is covered in that white stuff again! Yesterday, during most of the day, it was raining. But by the time I left work to go catch my bus, it was raining SNOWBALLS! Honestly! I’ve never seen snowflakes so big and heavy in my life! They weren’t “fluttering” down by any means. It was more like SPLAT!!!! Really now! People piling onto the bus looked as if they’d just gotten out of a shower! I had to wait for almost 35 minutes for a bus that wasn’t full to capacity! I was even willing to stand all the way home, but the first 2 buses came and didn’t have any room for even “standers”! I was soaked to the bone by the time I finally got on a bus! Ok…enough of my whining!

I went to WW at noon today and much to my surprise I was actually down .8!! YEAH!! That’s what I was UP 2 weeks ago. Then I maintained last week and now back to 191! I feel good about that simply because I didn’t exercise much this week because my mother-in-law was here and we also didn’t eat very well! Back on track now as she left for home yesterday.

But as my title says…when it rains it pours! Just when I felt like we were catching up financially…we have a major appliance issue! My washer has been having issues lately with unbalanced loads and I end up with water on my floor. So I finally broke down and had the repair man come. We have some sort of seal/leak problem and he said it would cost too much to fix. We would be better off replacing it. What gets me is….we’ve only had this washer about 6 or 7 years! I think we’ll probably buy a whole set, as our dryer is REALLY old and is starting to make god-awful noises…so I guess that’s what my weekend will consist of! How fun..

Tonight is the end of the year Cheerleading Banquet, which I was the chairperson for, so I am SO looking forward to getting it OVER! We are expecting almost 150 people. Monday night after Body Pump we worked on little “favor”/place card things. We took little white paper boxes and filled them with raffia, Hershey kisses and Dove chocolates. Then we tied toule ribbons around them and attached name tags for eat attendee…They turned out really cute! And for the centerpieces on the tables…we bought vases…put some of the marble-like stones on the bottom and added a Beta Fish to each one. We will be raffling them off….so PRAY that Jordan doesn’t win one! We also raffle off some of the competition trophies and also some nice 8×10 photos of the girls/squads. Anywhoo….I can’t wait to be done with all of this cheering stuff as my daughter has decided NOT to cheer next year!

My MIL is back from Hawaii (as I sit here eating some fresh pineapple straight from Mauii!) It’s absolutely fabulous!

Just wanted to check in with you all and see what you’re up to. My life is so boring not much to write about!

It was an absolutely gorgeous day here in Minneapolis. For some reason or another though, I just am down in the dumps. I think part of it is due to the fact that I haven’t exercised since last Tuesday. With my little surgery on Wed…I haven’t really been able to workout yet. (although I will admit I may be using it as an excuse). My plastic surgeon told me no “strenuous” workouts for a couple days. I think I could have been at least walking lately, but I guess I feel somewhat burnt out…and was feeling sorry for myself.

Anyway…last nights party at my friends house didn’t turn out so good. I arrived at 6:30 or so. By 7:00 or so there were at least 20 of us there. Things were going pretty good, and then Amy started to feel sick with a really bad headache. She had a spinal tap on Thursday, so that could have been the cause. Anyway…she was terribly upset that she wasn’t feeling well, but her sister-in-law and I convinced her that she needed to go lay down and rest! We sent everyone on their way and tentatively rescheduled the party for the 18th. She’s feeling much better today as we’ve been texting back and forth a few times today! If you ever want to read about her, she does keep a personal blog online here: Amy’s Page She is one AMAZING woman! I am so blessed in having met her! All because we had the terrible disease of cancer in common.

I basically stayed home all day and caught up with laundry. I REALLY need to get into my closet and clean it out…organize…and get rid of clothes that I haven’t worn in years. I just couldn’t get myself to do it today! Tomorrow my plan is to get back on track. Head to the gym and “possibly” hit that closet! (..i could always put that off til next weekend )

Well…I did it! I called in sick today…first time in about 3 years! My alarm went off and I just COULDN’T get up! Although I did get up enough to send out an email saying I wouldn’t be working :)!! I slept in til 9:30…got up and lounged around for a while watching the Today show and then went to Weight Watchers at noon. I maintained this week…but that’s good considering how bad I’ve been eating! I’m ok with that and will get back on track this week!

Nothing much else to report! Have a “girls night” planned tonight with a friend of mine (Amy) –the one who has been battling breast cancer and only has a couple month left.. her rules are simple for tonight’s get-together at her house: 1) come with a smile on your face 2) bring a funny story about her…she the camcorder will be running most of the night! 3) no crying… (or at least not until you leave for home at the end of the evening).

Wow…I can’t believe how long it’s been since I’ve posted! That’s what happens when your mother-in-law comes to stay, so you have to entertain and visit with her! She left for Hawaii this morning so back to my “usual” past-time!

I’m not totally back on-track yet, but I’m getting there. Eating has been challenging with the MIL here…but I’ve been doing OK with the exercise until today…. Sorry if TMI, but today I had my nipple reconstruction surgery so I’ll be out of commission as far as exercising for the next couple of days. I am way excited that I am almost done and back to “normal” (if you know what I mean). It’s just really ODD looking at a breast with no nipple whatsoever!!

My plastic surgeon did the areola tattoo first and then constructed my nipple…but the weird part is…I haven’t really gotten to see it yet! It’s covered with guaze and tape and I’m not supposed to remove it until tomorrow! (unless the curiosity kills me by later tonight! )

Anywhoo…just wanted to stop by and say HI…! I’ve missed you all!

So I was presently surprised by my WI today….I was only up .8!  I was expecting SO much worse! I am perfectly fine with that gain! I had a great time indulging on a few beers and chicken wings and of course my daughters birthday cake!  And I don’t think I went “terribly” overboard!  SO yeah for me!

Another challenging weekend ahead though… my dear Mother-in-Law is here…and yes she did bring tons of baked items! Cookies, bars, etc….but I have already put some away in the freezer, and believe it or not, I haven’t even had a cookie yet! I will treat myself to Angel Food cake tonight for my son’s 14th birthday though!  Plus we’re going out to dinner. Which reminds me I need to check out the restaurants web site to plan ahead what I am going to eat!

 Hope you all have a great weekend! 

My mother-in-law from ND is on her way here as I type! UUhhhhgg!  She always brings at least one homemade apple pie and a bunch of homemade cookies and bars! So needless to say being in my home is going to be somewhat challenging over the next few days.   Thank goodness she leaves on Tuesday for Hawaii for a week!  Then she come back here, stay a day or two and then head back to Minot, ND (where we are from originally).

SO….i am signing off right NOW to head to the gym because tonight my daughter has a choir concert that we are going to.  Get that exercise in or I’ll make up a lame excuse for not doing it!  TTYL! 

Well…I am officially confessing here that I am struggling.  I went 4 weeks straight with great losses…great motivation…great eating…great exercising.  Then last week that all came to a standstill. 

First off, it was Spring Break for my kids and we were expecting company for the weekend.  Well, last minute our out-of-town guests called and had a change of plans so weren’t unable to come.  In the back of my mind I was relieved….thinking it will be much easier to stay OP without having to entertain guests, etc!  WRONG!!  We went car shopping on Friday and my first mistake was skipping WI for the first time! I also gave myself a “pass” to not go on Saturday too!!  (although I did chose the gym instead of WW??…so it’s not THAT bad, right?)

Well, since then, I’ve exercised well, but my eating has been awful. I start my day out good, but it all goes downhill from there.  Plus this week both of my kids have birthdays so there will be cake in the house…and also our traditional birthday dinner out! AND my mother-in-law is coming to stay on Friday. And when she comes….she always brings tons of baked goods and also tends to cook some of my husbands favorite foods, which are all fried or full of cream, etc! 

I hereby promise that from this day forward I will be OP.  In fact, I think I better start posting my food journal for at least the next week.  OK…I will starting tomorrow…uhhhg!

Hi guys!  Hope you are all having a wonderful Easter! 

We went to church this morning, but have no big plans for the day at all. All of our family is at least 500 miles away, so it’s just a quiet Sunday at home.  I didn’t buy any Easter candy (on purpose)…but broke down today when I had to run an errand to Walgreens!  So needless to say, the Cadbury Caramel Eggs have gotten the best of me!  I’m not going to beat myself up about it…I’ll indulge a bit today and get right back on track tomorrow! 

 Anywhooo…we did finish our car shopping for our daughter.  We bought a 2003 Ford Focus w/50,000 miles on it. It’s in REALLY good shape and is quite sporty looking. She loves it.