I have to make mention to you, to the world, to whomever will listen - how proud I am of my husband. He has been working his tail off the entire time I have known him. He had goals and those goals have officially been met.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010 he successfully defended his Doctoral Dissertation.
He now has a PhD in Infectious Disease Epidemiology! What is that you might ask? Well it is the study of diseases in populations. A good example of what he studies....do you remember H1N1 aka "Swine Flu"?? Well he spent countless hours working at the New York State Health Department on response teams, conference calls, running numbers, writing reports, etc.
I knew nothing about the field until I met my hubby. Let me tell you, I have learned a lot about it in the past 5 years. It is a pretty interesting field. His dissertation dealt with Pap Smears in developing countries and HPV vaccination practices on college campuses...so if you ever want to know anything about it....give him a call. I'm sure he would be more than happy to discuss it with you.
YAY for Dr. Bob!
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Medifast and Cosmo's....now that's a BAD idea!
I was in a celebrating type of mood on Sunday. It's not everyday that your sister gets married, you see an old friend, and you are all dolled up in a cute new dress. That was my Sunday evening this past Sunday.
I had a great plan of how I was going to stick to the diet. I was going to show some great will-power. I was not going to cave to temptation. It was going to be GREAT. I was going to be so proud of myself.
I was caught in the motions of the day at first....getting my sister ready for the ceremony. Putting on my really cute new dress. Getting all kinds of pictures taken. And sitting through the ceremony itself. Well that determination flew out the window when I was catching up with an old buddy of mine after the ceremony. I hadn't seen him in what seemed like forever. We were reminiscing of the good ol' days. The trouble we got into. The people we hung out with. You know the feeling. Then we decided to find the bar to relieve some of the typical stress that comes about during a family wedding. I figured, "Okay, I'll just have one for old times sake." I couldn't think of what to order so he suggested a Cosmo...it sounded fabulous at the time....so that is what I got.
Here is how I got to enjoy it....
We were able to sit outside of the resort in northern New Hampshire and watch the craziness of the amazingly patient professional photographer set the Bride & Groom up in a great pose, take a few pictures, and then have to wait until my mom and the Groom's father got enough of the same shots.
I also need to mention the view that we had included this:
Yup, that is the very amazing Mt. Washington in the distance covered in snow and glowing. The Bride and Groom are avid hikers, bikers, skiers, kayakers, etc. You name an outdoor activity - they love it. I have lost track of how many times they have hiked Washington, so it was fitting that it was the back drop for their nuptials.
Okay back to the disaster that was my bad decision. By the time we headed to the reception portion of the evening I was feeling a bit tipsy. I had only drank maybe half of the cosmo and I was having issues walking down the stairs to the wine cellar where the dinner was to take place. My lips had gone numb when I sat down for the meal. My buddy made a comment of how he wished he had my tolerance. I chalked it up to not having had a drink since early January. I knew I was in trouble so I was no longer going to be able to stick to my original plan of staying on the diet all evening. I was going to need some good old hearty food and I was going to need it fast. Yup and then I ordered a 2nd cosmo halfway through the meal - what is wrong with me?!
It was a great rest of the evening. I was so happy for my sister and her new hubby. He has been in the family for a while now, but as of Sunday - he was officially in the family. It really was a great time.
Then the after-effects started happening. I guzzled tons of water before I went to bed. I almost had to keep a foot on the ground as I slept just to make the room stop spinning. I woke up with a splitting headache that wouldn't go away. And I had to drive home by myself for 4 hours. Ugh! I had plenty of time to reflect on the past events while driving almost the entire length of Vermont on I-91 so I decided to figure out why I was so hung over. And here is what I came up with:
~ I have not had a single drink since early January
~ I drank 2 cosmo's that night and both were filled with top shelf Vodka
~ I have lost over 60 pounds (most of it since the last time I had a drink)
~ I am usually functioning on less than 1,000 calories a day.
DUH! This is why you got sooooo drunk sooooo fast and were sooooooo hungover the next day. Trust me, I am going to think long and hard the next time I contemplate drinking that much again. My husband was happy to hear that I have become such a cheap date. (Side note in case you were wondering, the hubby was unable to attend the nuptials because he was defending his doctoral dissertation 2 days later and needed to stay in town to work on the presentation, make edits to his final document, and mentally prepare for what laid ahead.)
But I was determined to get right back on the horse. That is the great thing about Medifast. You can be off plan one meal, one day, one week - and the minute you make the decision - you can get right back on plan again. I went through the entire day wishing for fast food, a slice of pizza from a gas station, anything with grease to help with the hangover....but I wasn't going to let that happen. I did this to myself and I needed to experience the torture so that I remembered it the next time I was tempted.
I did survive. I do regret some of my decisions that day. I am not dwelling on those bad decisions. And I am proud of myself for getting right back on track. But note to self - Medifast and Cosmo's = BAD IDEA!
I had a great plan of how I was going to stick to the diet. I was going to show some great will-power. I was not going to cave to temptation. It was going to be GREAT. I was going to be so proud of myself.
I was caught in the motions of the day at first....getting my sister ready for the ceremony. Putting on my really cute new dress. Getting all kinds of pictures taken. And sitting through the ceremony itself. Well that determination flew out the window when I was catching up with an old buddy of mine after the ceremony. I hadn't seen him in what seemed like forever. We were reminiscing of the good ol' days. The trouble we got into. The people we hung out with. You know the feeling. Then we decided to find the bar to relieve some of the typical stress that comes about during a family wedding. I figured, "Okay, I'll just have one for old times sake." I couldn't think of what to order so he suggested a Cosmo...it sounded fabulous at the time....so that is what I got.
Here is how I got to enjoy it....
We were able to sit outside of the resort in northern New Hampshire and watch the craziness of the amazingly patient professional photographer set the Bride & Groom up in a great pose, take a few pictures, and then have to wait until my mom and the Groom's father got enough of the same shots. I also need to mention the view that we had included this:
Yup, that is the very amazing Mt. Washington in the distance covered in snow and glowing. The Bride and Groom are avid hikers, bikers, skiers, kayakers, etc. You name an outdoor activity - they love it. I have lost track of how many times they have hiked Washington, so it was fitting that it was the back drop for their nuptials. Okay back to the disaster that was my bad decision. By the time we headed to the reception portion of the evening I was feeling a bit tipsy. I had only drank maybe half of the cosmo and I was having issues walking down the stairs to the wine cellar where the dinner was to take place. My lips had gone numb when I sat down for the meal. My buddy made a comment of how he wished he had my tolerance. I chalked it up to not having had a drink since early January. I knew I was in trouble so I was no longer going to be able to stick to my original plan of staying on the diet all evening. I was going to need some good old hearty food and I was going to need it fast. Yup and then I ordered a 2nd cosmo halfway through the meal - what is wrong with me?!
It was a great rest of the evening. I was so happy for my sister and her new hubby. He has been in the family for a while now, but as of Sunday - he was officially in the family. It really was a great time.
Then the after-effects started happening. I guzzled tons of water before I went to bed. I almost had to keep a foot on the ground as I slept just to make the room stop spinning. I woke up with a splitting headache that wouldn't go away. And I had to drive home by myself for 4 hours. Ugh! I had plenty of time to reflect on the past events while driving almost the entire length of Vermont on I-91 so I decided to figure out why I was so hung over. And here is what I came up with:
~ I have not had a single drink since early January
~ I drank 2 cosmo's that night and both were filled with top shelf Vodka
~ I have lost over 60 pounds (most of it since the last time I had a drink)
~ I am usually functioning on less than 1,000 calories a day.
DUH! This is why you got sooooo drunk sooooo fast and were sooooooo hungover the next day. Trust me, I am going to think long and hard the next time I contemplate drinking that much again. My husband was happy to hear that I have become such a cheap date. (Side note in case you were wondering, the hubby was unable to attend the nuptials because he was defending his doctoral dissertation 2 days later and needed to stay in town to work on the presentation, make edits to his final document, and mentally prepare for what laid ahead.)
But I was determined to get right back on the horse. That is the great thing about Medifast. You can be off plan one meal, one day, one week - and the minute you make the decision - you can get right back on plan again. I went through the entire day wishing for fast food, a slice of pizza from a gas station, anything with grease to help with the hangover....but I wasn't going to let that happen. I did this to myself and I needed to experience the torture so that I remembered it the next time I was tempted.
I did survive. I do regret some of my decisions that day. I am not dwelling on those bad decisions. And I am proud of myself for getting right back on track. But note to self - Medifast and Cosmo's = BAD IDEA!
Friday, April 23, 2010
To Transition or not to transition....that is the question.
I guess you could say I'm at a Crossroads of sorts. I have been pretty undecided lately. Like I have mentioned before, I am at the point in a diet when I am starting to get bored with the whole dieting concept. This is usually the time when I decide to give in and go back to my old eating habits hoping that I don't gain any of the weight back...even though I am going back to my old eating habits that got me big in the past. (Somehow the concept has always worked in my head - yet I have never been successful with it, go figure.)
This time I want it to be different. It has to be different. I need to make this work. I weighed in this morning and I can now officially say that I have lost 60 pounds since September. That is a MAJOR accomplishment. That is something to be very proud of! And I am. Don't get me wrong. I am very proud of myself. I am just looking at the future and doubting my ability to keep it off. I have failed every other time so what is going to be different about this time?! I have a problem with long term commitment when it comes to losing weight. I am really pretty good at taking it off, I just have a problem with keeping it off.
I have been weighing my options lately and I can't decide if I want to go off the plan because I have been experiencing a lot of stress and I am an emotional eater that uses food as a crutch or is it that I have reached the moment in my diet when it is time to transition. Do I begin transition to see if I am ready?
I was talking to a co-worker yesterday and I said that I have done really well at secluding myself from food situations so that I could be successful in taking the weight off. But now is the time that I have to work on my will-power. I have to start putting myself in situations where I will be tempted to see if I how I handle the pressure. Over the past 4+ months, every time I was put in a stressful situation, I always caved and ate things. Maybe I didn't eat horribly and I was able to show some sort of resistance, but I still ate more than I had planned to.
I don't think I am going to come to an answer right away. I am going to need to be patient. Usually I am a VERY patient person....except when it comes to weight loss.
Wish me luck and I would love any advice you have for me blog world!
Happy Friday!
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Hissy Fits
Remember the days when you didn't get your way so you rolled around on the floor kicking and screaming?! Most people are under the age of 10 right?! Well, I had one of those nights last night! I am not proud to admit it but I feel as though I should share.
It has been a rough week in the "B" household. We have some major things going on. We had company last weekend, the same company is coming back again this weekend (my brother - trust me I'm not complaining...but it can be added stress when anyone comes to visit), had to make a day trip to Syracuse yesterday for work (more on that in a bit), my sister is getting married this weekend...so I have to head to NH on Sunday for that, my hubby is (fingers crossed) defending his dissertation on Tuesday (April 27), and we are preparing for a TON of upcoming activities over the next month or two.
I am an emotional/stress eater. Any emotions, any amount of stress = Erin eats and she eats good (well bad really)! I have been resisting the urge for a couple days now...but it all came to a head yesterday. Like I mentioned, I had to go to Syracuse for a meeting. The drive out was fine. I got to my location an hour early - great. Most of the people showed up on time = awesome. Then the person that was supposed to give us a tour never showed! We were in the right place. We waited for a half hour. We went looking for them. Turns out we were supposed to be in a specific room in order to start off the tour. Grrrrrr. I would have been fine and my typical laid back self but a person from the State decided that this was going to be her first meeting she decided to attend and didn't tell me ahead of time! Double Grrrrr. I have met her twice and I haven't figured out what type of person she is. Can I relate to her? Is she going to like my typical personality or am I going to have to be all business around her? Is she going to attend every single freakin meeting? Give me the info, I need to know! It all worked out in the end which is great. But then I ran into every single stupid driver that doesn't know how to drive and should probably stay off I-90 forever. So I was put in a bad mood again. I was trying to shake off the bad mood before I got home because I didn't want to add any extra stress to my hubby because he can't handle anymore right now.
Just as I am approaching home base, my gas light goes on....I decided to wait until tomorrow when my paycheck was deposited in my account. Okay so I had to return a RedBox movie before I got charged for a 2nd day. I asked my hubby to start making my dinner (he's the cook of the family) while I returned the video because I was STARVING. I got to the RedBox location and for some reason it wouldn't let me return my stupid movie. Grrrrrr. Price Chopper Customer Service couldn't help because RedBox just rents the space....they have nothing to do with the company. A woman said she thinks there is a RedBox at Hannaford up the road. I drove up to Hannaford and couldn't find the stupid thing. I didn't want to ask anyone because I pitied the fool that tried to talk to me at that point. I was unsuccessful in returning the DVD. I returned home to a delicious dinner....which helped a little.
I quickly checked my work email to see if I missed anything major. I got an email from a stupid lady from a stupid agency. It put me over the edge....stick a fork in me....I WAS DONE! The scene unfolded with me running to the kitchen to find something to munch on...ANYTHING! But we have done such a good job in weeding out all the non-essentials that we had NOTHING to satisfy my cravings. I just wanted a cookie, a bagel bite, chocolate syrup ...SOMETHING! My hubby was great. He was trying to help me calm down. He was trying to give me suggestions of how to eat something extra but still stay on plan. I was kicking a wall 
(and I missed the first time because my legs are so stubby short), I was swinging my arm s, I was whining, I was jumping around. I realized that I was having no luck in the kitchen and I needed to get out of the room so I went back and sat on the couch to continue my hissy fit. I proceeded to lay down on the couch and continue to flail my arms and legs and grunt and yell. Again, my hubby was great.....he was laughing at me the whole time....but he was great. He was reminding me of how well I have done, what it has taken to get me to that point, how upset I would be with myself if I just relented, etc. But I wanted to wring his neck because he was laughing at me!
Long story......LONG! I survived the night. I ended up eating a Sugar Free Popsicle to help me get through the hard time...which helped a little. I am happy that I didn't go out and ruin my progress. And I am proud of myself for making it through another battle of emotional eating.
To give you a bit of an update...I checked for RedBox locations on their website and found that there actually is one in the Hannaford that I went to last night. I still couldn't find it, so I asked this time. It was hiding in a corner (not a good location from a sales standpoint). I also called RedBox to log a complaint. I wasn't looking for anything special. I wasn't going to be an obnoxiously mean customer. I just wanted to make them aware of the problem. The guy was very nice. He was appreciative of me making him aware of the other RedBox refusing returns and he ended up crediting my account since I was getting charged for a 2nd day.
I hope you got a laugh out of this. I am soon going to be at the point where I can laugh about it myself...just not yet. :-)
It has been a rough week in the "B" household. We have some major things going on. We had company last weekend, the same company is coming back again this weekend (my brother - trust me I'm not complaining...but it can be added stress when anyone comes to visit), had to make a day trip to Syracuse yesterday for work (more on that in a bit), my sister is getting married this weekend...so I have to head to NH on Sunday for that, my hubby is (fingers crossed) defending his dissertation on Tuesday (April 27), and we are preparing for a TON of upcoming activities over the next month or two.I am an emotional/stress eater. Any emotions, any amount of stress = Erin eats and she eats good (well bad really)! I have been resisting the urge for a couple days now...but it all came to a head yesterday. Like I mentioned, I had to go to Syracuse for a meeting. The drive out was fine. I got to my location an hour early - great. Most of the people showed up on time = awesome. Then the person that was supposed to give us a tour never showed! We were in the right place. We waited for a half hour. We went looking for them. Turns out we were supposed to be in a specific room in order to start off the tour. Grrrrrr. I would have been fine and my typical laid back self but a person from the State decided that this was going to be her first meeting she decided to attend and didn't tell me ahead of time! Double Grrrrr. I have met her twice and I haven't figured out what type of person she is. Can I relate to her? Is she going to like my typical personality or am I going to have to be all business around her? Is she going to attend every single freakin meeting? Give me the info, I need to know! It all worked out in the end which is great. But then I ran into every single stupid driver that doesn't know how to drive and should probably stay off I-90 forever. So I was put in a bad mood again. I was trying to shake off the bad mood before I got home because I didn't want to add any extra stress to my hubby because he can't handle anymore right now.
Just as I am approaching home base, my gas light goes on....I decided to wait until tomorrow when my paycheck was deposited in my account. Okay so I had to return a RedBox movie before I got charged for a 2nd day. I asked my hubby to start making my dinner (he's the cook of the family) while I returned the video because I was STARVING. I got to the RedBox location and for some reason it wouldn't let me return my stupid movie. Grrrrrr. Price Chopper Customer Service couldn't help because RedBox just rents the space....they have nothing to do with the company. A woman said she thinks there is a RedBox at Hannaford up the road.
Long story......LONG! I survived the night. I ended up eating a Sugar Free Popsicle to help me get through the hard time...which helped a little. I am happy that I didn't go out and ruin my progress. And I am proud of myself for making it through another battle of emotional eating.
To give you a bit of an update...I checked for RedBox locations on their website and found that there actually is one in the Hannaford that I went to last night. I still couldn't find it, so I asked this time. It was hiding in a corner (not a good location from a sales standpoint). I also called RedBox to log a complaint. I wasn't looking for anything special. I wasn't going to be an obnoxiously mean customer. I just wanted to make them aware of the problem. The guy was very nice. He was appreciative of me making him aware of the other RedBox refusing returns and he ended up crediting my account since I was getting charged for a 2nd day.
I hope you got a laugh out of this. I am soon going to be at the point where I can laugh about it myself...just not yet. :-)
Monday, April 19, 2010
I love to Crochet
I don't think I have talked about it much in my new location...but I love to crochet! It relaxes me, it keeps my hands busy while watching TV, and most importantly...it relaxes me ;-)
I know I have mentioned this a couple posts ago, but I happen to be a Professional Wedding Attender. My hubby and I have attended 24 weddings in the past 5 years (with 6 more coming in the next few months). Many good friends have "tied the knot" and I have wanted to help them celebrate by giving them a special gift. So I make these special friends what I like to call "Sweethearts blankets." They are actually afghans that I crochet. I make one huge "Granny Square." And when I say huge...I mean fits over a king size bed huge! They are so much fun to make. Lots of hard work, love, and even prayer goes into each and every one of these afghans. I have been super busy making these afghans in preparation for this year. I am going to end up making 5 of these for 6 of the upcoming weddings. I currently have 3 completed. But I can't show you pictures just yet, because some of these fabulous friends follow this blog and I don't want to ruin any surprises.
The 4th afghan is going to be a little different than my normal wedding afghan. It is for a couple that that my hubby and I are mentoring through our Church parish. We have really only gotten to know them because of their impending nuptials. So while I thought it would be nice to give them an afghan that they can cuddle up with each other under it, I didn't necessarily want to give them a "Sweethearts Blanket." The next best thing - my "Scrap Wrap afghan." This pattern is awesome! And I have made 2 in the past (another one being a wedding present for my hubby's colleague.
Here is a pic from the catalog of what the finished product should look like:
It is so fun to make, organize, and assemble. I did a lot of organizing last night so that I could begin the assembly process and I wanted to share a bit of the process. First you make a ton of tiny "granny squares" (I made 1,184 for this particular project).
Then you begin to lay them out on a flat surface in 26 rows of 36 "motifs" aka granny squares. I decided to make this particular afghan a little bigger than normal so I made 28 rows of 40 motifs. This pic is about halfway done:
And after a couple of hours of hard work, here is the final lay-out:
Now I need to find a way to put this away until I can crochet them all together...because my hubby would be pretty upset if he didn't get to sleep in our bed due to a crochet project. So I take a long piece of yarn, one row of motifs and string them together. I label the first motif of the row so I know what order the squares go in and here is the finished product (for now):
Now all I have to do is crochet them together vertically and horizontally and then finish it off with a great border around the whole afghan. Stay tuned, I will post pics when I am done.
I know I have mentioned this a couple posts ago, but I happen to be a Professional Wedding Attender. My hubby and I have attended 24 weddings in the past 5 years (with 6 more coming in the next few months). Many good friends have "tied the knot" and I have wanted to help them celebrate by giving them a special gift. So I make these special friends what I like to call "Sweethearts blankets." They are actually afghans that I crochet. I make one huge "Granny Square." And when I say huge...I mean fits over a king size bed huge! They are so much fun to make. Lots of hard work, love, and even prayer goes into each and every one of these afghans. I have been super busy making these afghans in preparation for this year. I am going to end up making 5 of these for 6 of the upcoming weddings. I currently have 3 completed. But I can't show you pictures just yet, because some of these fabulous friends follow this blog and I don't want to ruin any surprises.
The 4th afghan is going to be a little different than my normal wedding afghan. It is for a couple that that my hubby and I are mentoring through our Church parish. We have really only gotten to know them because of their impending nuptials. So while I thought it would be nice to give them an afghan that they can cuddle up with each other under it, I didn't necessarily want to give them a "Sweethearts Blanket." The next best thing - my "Scrap Wrap afghan." This pattern is awesome! And I have made 2 in the past (another one being a wedding present for my hubby's colleague.
Here is a pic from the catalog of what the finished product should look like:
It is so fun to make, organize, and assemble. I did a lot of organizing last night so that I could begin the assembly process and I wanted to share a bit of the process. First you make a ton of tiny "granny squares" (I made 1,184 for this particular project).
Then you begin to lay them out on a flat surface in 26 rows of 36 "motifs" aka granny squares. I decided to make this particular afghan a little bigger than normal so I made 28 rows of 40 motifs. This pic is about halfway done:
And after a couple of hours of hard work, here is the final lay-out:
Now I need to find a way to put this away until I can crochet them all together...because my hubby would be pretty upset if he didn't get to sleep in our bed due to a crochet project. So I take a long piece of yarn, one row of motifs and string them together. I label the first motif of the row so I know what order the squares go in and here is the finished product (for now):
Now all I have to do is crochet them together vertically and horizontally and then finish it off with a great border around the whole afghan. Stay tuned, I will post pics when I am done.
Ta Da....The Big Reveal!
Well, Saturday was the big day....I got my first (and most likely only) tattoo. I went to Lark Tattoo on Lark Street in Albany and Kara was my tattoo artist. My friend has gotten many a tattoo done by Kara and she came highly recommended.
My brother came out from MA for the big day. About a year ago he and I made a deal....he would wait to get his 2nd tattoo until I met my weight loss goal. Things weren't looking too great for a while (meaning I wasn't losing any weight) so he upped the anti. He said he would only wait until summer 2010 for me and then he was going to do it without me. Like I mentioned in the past, things turned around when I started Medifast. He was actually surprise at how quickly I lost the weight and met the goal.
I am a self-proclaimed pansy when it comes to pain. For those that know me, I would do just about anything to help a person in need. I volunteer my time, energy, and talents. I help friends move, paint, clean. I am a Big for Big Brothers, Big Sisters. The list could go on...but the one thing I can't bring myself to do - Donate Blood. I feel horrible whenever I see a Blood Drive advertised, but I just can't bring myself to do it. I hate needles. I hate pain. I hate everything about it. So how the heck was I going to manage getting a tattoo. Here's how:
I wouldn't let go of Bri's hand the whole time. I squeezed pretty tightly at significant points during the process. And my hubby kept the conversation going as a distraction. I couldn't bare to watch Kara do her thing...thank goodness the hubby also got plenty of pics for me to check out after the fact:
The entire thing took about 20 minutes TOPS and Kara was really great. Here is the finished product....
What do you think??
I love it!
It is the Constellation Orion...lots of family meaning and symbolism. Orion's belt depicts 2 very special family members surrounding me and the color of each star represents our birth stones.
I never thought I would get a tattoo but I am soooooo happy I did. I love it. I am constantly checking it out, making sure it's still there (even though I know it is going to be there forever), and admiring it. I couldn't be happier (I can't say the same for some of my family members though - they aren't big fans of tattoos....but oh well, I am not going to let them get me down!)
And here are some pics of my brother getting his tattoo. This is the before pic:
A little background on his...he has a tattoo on his left shoulder blade of a Celtic Shamrock and "The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit" written in Gaelic.
So he got a Celtic Cross for his other shoulder blade. Doesn't it look awesome?! I told you Kara does nice work!
There you have it. This was our Saturday adventure. I am so glad it is over (I was a nervous wreck up to the point in which it was over), I am so glad I did it, and I am so glad my brother and I were able to do it together!
My brother came out from MA for the big day. About a year ago he and I made a deal....he would wait to get his 2nd tattoo until I met my weight loss goal. Things weren't looking too great for a while (meaning I wasn't losing any weight) so he upped the anti. He said he would only wait until summer 2010 for me and then he was going to do it without me. Like I mentioned in the past, things turned around when I started Medifast. He was actually surprise at how quickly I lost the weight and met the goal.
I am a self-proclaimed pansy when it comes to pain. For those that know me, I would do just about anything to help a person in need. I volunteer my time, energy, and talents. I help friends move, paint, clean. I am a Big for Big Brothers, Big Sisters. The list could go on...but the one thing I can't bring myself to do - Donate Blood. I feel horrible whenever I see a Blood Drive advertised, but I just can't bring myself to do it. I hate needles. I hate pain. I hate everything about it. So how the heck was I going to manage getting a tattoo. Here's how:
I wouldn't let go of Bri's hand the whole time. I squeezed pretty tightly at significant points during the process. And my hubby kept the conversation going as a distraction. I couldn't bare to watch Kara do her thing...thank goodness the hubby also got plenty of pics for me to check out after the fact:
The entire thing took about 20 minutes TOPS and Kara was really great. Here is the finished product....
What do you think??I love it!
It is the Constellation Orion...lots of family meaning and symbolism. Orion's belt depicts 2 very special family members surrounding me and the color of each star represents our birth stones.
I never thought I would get a tattoo but I am soooooo happy I did. I love it. I am constantly checking it out, making sure it's still there (even though I know it is going to be there forever), and admiring it. I couldn't be happier (I can't say the same for some of my family members though - they aren't big fans of tattoos....but oh well, I am not going to let them get me down!)
And here are some pics of my brother getting his tattoo. This is the before pic:
A little background on his...he has a tattoo on his left shoulder blade of a Celtic Shamrock and "The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit" written in Gaelic.
So he got a Celtic Cross for his other shoulder blade. Doesn't it look awesome?! I told you Kara does nice work!There you have it. This was our Saturday adventure. I am so glad it is over (I was a nervous wreck up to the point in which it was over), I am so glad I did it, and I am so glad my brother and I were able to do it together!
Friday, April 16, 2010
It's Tattoo Time!
I am getting my very first tattoo tomorrow....AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! I am such a pansy when it comes to pain yet I am about to inflict a large amount of pain on myself intentionally. What is wrong with me??
Alright so one big thing I learned from Weight Watchers (one of the numerous times that I went through the program) was that you need to reward your successes. Usually people that are any amount of overweight will often think to reward themselves by treating themselves to a night out at a favorite restaurant or ordering some yummy food from a local take out place. If weight loss is your end result, this reward system won't work. We need to think of ways to reward our hard work things other than with food.
I want this time to be the last time that I go on a massive diet and have a ton of weight to lose. I spent a lot of time really reflecting on what I wanted as my rewards and here is what I came up with:
~ My husband told me that when I lost 25 lbs, he would buy me a nice antique charm bracelet. We have been given charms from our childhood and I would like to get one where we can start to build it as our relationship grows and we achieve certain accomplishments.
~ I said that when I went under the 200 lb mark, I was going to get myself a tattoo.
~ And together my hubby and I decided that when we hit our goal weights, we would plan a trip to visit friends in Phoenix, AZ. We have been trying to figure out when and how to get out there so now we were making it our goal to go on that trip!
Okay so now let's check on the status of each of these goals. I earned my charm bracelet a while ago, but I have not found the right one yet. I am still looking. It is hard to do because this is something that I want to look at in person, try it on, fiddle with it - but most jewelry stores don't carry these types anymore thanks to Pandora charm bracelets.
I earned my tattoo about a month ago but the tattoo artist at Lark Tattoo was not available on a Saturday until tomorrow. (YIKES! Have I mentioned that I am so nervous about the pain??) It's going to be exciting though because this is something my brother and I are doing together. He has wanted to get a tattoo for a while now and I told him to wait for me. Meeting that goal wasn't looking promising for a long time so he gave me until summer or else he was going to get one without me. Medifast helped me meet this goal. I picked a design with a lot of family meaning and memories behind it. I plan to get it on the top of my right foot. And while I am nervous and afraid, I am also very excited. I worked hard for this tattoo. I earned it. I am proud of myself.
I am working hard for the Phoenix trip. I have a goal in mind but it is a range rather than one set number. At most, I have 36 lbs until I meet that goal. I am hoping to stay focused and meet that final goal by the beginning of summer time. I would like to take the summer to maintenance off of the program.
So there you have it. Those are the goals I have set for myself and the progress that I have made on those goals. I do have to say that since I was going to have a month lag time in earning and getting the tattoo, I did treat myself to a manicure and pedicure as soon as I met the goal. Those are always a great reward!
I am thinking that I need to set up another small goal in between now and the final goal. I have been pondering a massage or another mani/pedi. I think I like the massage idea. Okay, I will buy myself a massage when I am halfway between earning the tattoo and the absolute smallest number I have set for myself. YAY! Now I am VERY excited.
I will make a side note that I do plan on eating off plan once this weekend. Since my brother is coming into town and we are getting our tattoo on Lark St. we have to introduce brother to Bomber's Burrito Bar! That is just a must! I plan to take a look at the menu and see if I could order a smaller size meal (maybe they have a kids menu) just so that I can get the taste of Bomber's but not ruin my entire progress!
Stay tuned for pictures of the tattoo!
Alright so one big thing I learned from Weight Watchers (one of the numerous times that I went through the program) was that you need to reward your successes. Usually people that are any amount of overweight will often think to reward themselves by treating themselves to a night out at a favorite restaurant or ordering some yummy food from a local take out place. If weight loss is your end result, this reward system won't work. We need to think of ways to reward our hard work things other than with food.
I want this time to be the last time that I go on a massive diet and have a ton of weight to lose. I spent a lot of time really reflecting on what I wanted as my rewards and here is what I came up with:
~ My husband told me that when I lost 25 lbs, he would buy me a nice antique charm bracelet. We have been given charms from our childhood and I would like to get one where we can start to build it as our relationship grows and we achieve certain accomplishments.
~ I said that when I went under the 200 lb mark, I was going to get myself a tattoo.
~ And together my hubby and I decided that when we hit our goal weights, we would plan a trip to visit friends in Phoenix, AZ. We have been trying to figure out when and how to get out there so now we were making it our goal to go on that trip!
Okay so now let's check on the status of each of these goals. I earned my charm bracelet a while ago, but I have not found the right one yet. I am still looking. It is hard to do because this is something that I want to look at in person, try it on, fiddle with it - but most jewelry stores don't carry these types anymore thanks to Pandora charm bracelets.
I earned my tattoo about a month ago but the tattoo artist at Lark Tattoo was not available on a Saturday until tomorrow. (YIKES! Have I mentioned that I am so nervous about the pain??) It's going to be exciting though because this is something my brother and I are doing together. He has wanted to get a tattoo for a while now and I told him to wait for me. Meeting that goal wasn't looking promising for a long time so he gave me until summer or else he was going to get one without me. Medifast helped me meet this goal. I picked a design with a lot of family meaning and memories behind it. I plan to get it on the top of my right foot. And while I am nervous and afraid, I am also very excited. I worked hard for this tattoo. I earned it. I am proud of myself.
I am working hard for the Phoenix trip. I have a goal in mind but it is a range rather than one set number. At most, I have 36 lbs until I meet that goal. I am hoping to stay focused and meet that final goal by the beginning of summer time. I would like to take the summer to maintenance off of the program.
So there you have it. Those are the goals I have set for myself and the progress that I have made on those goals. I do have to say that since I was going to have a month lag time in earning and getting the tattoo, I did treat myself to a manicure and pedicure as soon as I met the goal. Those are always a great reward!
I am thinking that I need to set up another small goal in between now and the final goal. I have been pondering a massage or another mani/pedi. I think I like the massage idea. Okay, I will buy myself a massage when I am halfway between earning the tattoo and the absolute smallest number I have set for myself. YAY! Now I am VERY excited.
I will make a side note that I do plan on eating off plan once this weekend. Since my brother is coming into town and we are getting our tattoo on Lark St. we have to introduce brother to Bomber's Burrito Bar! That is just a must! I plan to take a look at the menu and see if I could order a smaller size meal (maybe they have a kids menu) just so that I can get the taste of Bomber's but not ruin my entire progress!
Stay tuned for pictures of the tattoo!
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Shopping....success!
Well my shopping trip was a success! I found a great dress to wear to the wedding next week. Wanna take a look?? Here it is. I also got a cute pair of white sandals and a white cardigan to go with it. I am excited to wear it.
The best part about this wedding is that I was originally going to be in the wedding and we were all instructed to buy a particular bridesmaid dress. This all took place back in August/September when I was FAT, so I had to order a Size 22 for the dress from David's Bridal. Back in January I got the idea to see if I could trade in the dress for a smaller size since I had lost some weight. They actually said that I could! Woo-hoo. I ordered a size 14. The woman looked at me (I was fitting into Size 16 pants at that point and we all know that dress sizes run smaller than typical clothes) with doubt. She said, "Do you want to try that size on before you order the dress to make sure it fits? Because if the dress comes in and it is too small - you are not able to return it." I understood where she was coming from but I knew I had this under control. So the "new" dress arrived and it has been a form of measurement for me. I try it on every so often to see if I can zip it up all the way. I haven't tried it on in a couple of weeks but I am getting closer and closer to the goal.
Long story, long...ha ha. I no longer have to wear the bridesmaid dress to the wedding! YAY. It has turned into a very small, immediate family only affair and we can wear whatever we want. I will try the formal bridesmaid dress on just before the wedding to see if I met my goal. But I was able to go out and buy a size 14 dress...so in one aspect, I already met the goal!
The shopping excursion was also fun because I was able to look at whatever clothes I wanted to check out. I am no longer restricted to the "Fat Girl Stores" or "Fat Girl Sections." I can wander wherever my little heart desires and check out clothes that more fashionable and hip (basically anything that doesn't make me look much older than I actually am).
Now here's the deal. I have become a "Professional Wedding Attender!" In the past 5 years, the hubby and I have attended 24 weddings!!! Can you believe it?! This is why we do not own a house yet, we can't afford the mortgage! Ha ha. And we have 6 upcoming weddings between next week and the end of September! 30 weddings in just over 5 years...there has to be some sort of record for that! So I mean it when I say that we are "Professional Wedding Attenders." Do you think I could add that to my resume?! Hmm, I will have to look into that. I have gotten into the habit of buying one or two wedding appropriate dresses per year and wear them to each....you invest in the wedding enough (showers, bachelorettes, wedding presents, travel, etc) that I am not about to buy a new dress for every wedding we attend. I like to recycle! So you might see a repeat in outfits over the next few months.
Ta ta for now!
The best part about this wedding is that I was originally going to be in the wedding and we were all instructed to buy a particular bridesmaid dress. This all took place back in August/September when I was FAT, so I had to order a Size 22 for the dress from David's Bridal. Back in January I got the idea to see if I could trade in the dress for a smaller size since I had lost some weight. They actually said that I could! Woo-hoo. I ordered a size 14. The woman looked at me (I was fitting into Size 16 pants at that point and we all know that dress sizes run smaller than typical clothes) with doubt. She said, "Do you want to try that size on before you order the dress to make sure it fits? Because if the dress comes in and it is too small - you are not able to return it." I understood where she was coming from but I knew I had this under control. So the "new" dress arrived and it has been a form of measurement for me. I try it on every so often to see if I can zip it up all the way. I haven't tried it on in a couple of weeks but I am getting closer and closer to the goal.
Long story, long...ha ha. I no longer have to wear the bridesmaid dress to the wedding! YAY. It has turned into a very small, immediate family only affair and we can wear whatever we want. I will try the formal bridesmaid dress on just before the wedding to see if I met my goal. But I was able to go out and buy a size 14 dress...so in one aspect, I already met the goal!
The shopping excursion was also fun because I was able to look at whatever clothes I wanted to check out. I am no longer restricted to the "Fat Girl Stores" or "Fat Girl Sections." I can wander wherever my little heart desires and check out clothes that more fashionable and hip (basically anything that doesn't make me look much older than I actually am).
Now here's the deal. I have become a "Professional Wedding Attender!" In the past 5 years, the hubby and I have attended 24 weddings!!! Can you believe it?! This is why we do not own a house yet, we can't afford the mortgage! Ha ha. And we have 6 upcoming weddings between next week and the end of September! 30 weddings in just over 5 years...there has to be some sort of record for that! So I mean it when I say that we are "Professional Wedding Attenders." Do you think I could add that to my resume?! Hmm, I will have to look into that. I have gotten into the habit of buying one or two wedding appropriate dresses per year and wear them to each....you invest in the wedding enough (showers, bachelorettes, wedding presents, travel, etc) that I am not about to buy a new dress for every wedding we attend. I like to recycle! So you might see a repeat in outfits over the next few months.
Ta ta for now!
Monday, April 12, 2010
Shopping
In years past, shopping has been the bane of my existence. I do it only out of necessity. My hubby actually loves to shop, so funny enough, he usually picks out a lot of my outfits.
Because of my big weight loss, I have had to do a lot more shopping recently (my wallet has not enjoyed it). And to be honest, it has gotten a little easier. I have been able to say "Adios!" to the stores that I not so lovingly refer to as the "Fat Girl Stores" or the "Fat Girl Sections." I have been able to re-enter stores that I have missed for many, many years. Shopping has actually become somewhat fun again.
Tonight is going to take me to the limits though. I have to buy a dress for an upcoming wedding. Again, there are PLENTY of other activities that I would rather be doing than shopping....laundry, cleaning my apartment, plucking my eyebrows....but I am thinking positively this time.
I have enlisted the help of my "fashion guru" and we are set to go tonight after work. ( Ha ha...fashion guru....I just named her that. Let's see if she notices ;-) )I will have to let you know how I made out...wish me luck!
It's a struggle...
I have been struggling the past few days with my diet.
I have learned I am initially really good at losing weight. I can usually hang in there for about 3 months and then I hit a wall. I get bored with watching what I eat, I hate keeping track of things, I feel like I have been doing it forever, and/or I just get lazy. I have been on my current diet (Medifast) for 4 months now and I am just shy of losing a total of 50 pounds! That is UNBELIEVABLE to me! I am very proud of my successes and I feel GREAT! I almost think I feel too great...if you can believe that. I am enjoying being the size that I am and I have started to lose the motivation or will to continue.
Trust me, I don't plan on dieting like this forever! I am not going to try and get to a ridiculously low number because I would just look sick! But I do have another 15-40 pounds left in this weight loss journey. I came up with this number while talking to my doctor about it. She brought up a good point - my body will tell me when I am done shedding the weight - I will just stop losing. This is how I will know I am done.
So I took a few days off my diet. I tried not to be horrible on those days off, but I guess I kind of needed the reprieve. I am still not feeling 100% but I do feel a lot better than yesterday. I stuck to the plan today, I did my weekly Zumba class, I am looking to schedule some good walking time this week, I am re-evaluating upcoming activities that will tempt me to "cheat," and I am trying to get my head back in the game.
I will get through this. I will be victorious.
Welcome!
Hi Friends,
Well I have officially settled on a new location. I originally started blogging a couple of weeks ago because I wanted to write about my weight loss journey that I started back in December 2009...but it turns out that I had so much more to talk about that the original name of the blog didn't fit the purpose anymore. So hopefully this new one will work out better. I plan to continue writing about my weight loss - trials, tribulations, and successes while also talking about favorite pastimes, goings on in my neck of the woods, and anything else. It will most likely be an all encompassing blog. I hope you enjoy it and visit often!
P.S. Feel free to check out old posts at thatshowigotfat.blogspot.com for recipes, inspirations, etc.
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