Various Christmas photos ( 2008)

Don't you just "Love it" when someone takes an unflattering photo of you then shares it with everyone??!!!

Merry Christmas

I hope that all of you had a very Merry Christmas today. Bob and I had a most enjoyable day. We started opening our gifts last night that we got for each other and finished that this morning. It's so nice to have 4 days off in a row. With Bob being done with his most current job, we actually have some time to be together and it's been fantastic. Today we went to the movies. We really didn't plan to go see anything today, it just came about to do that rather than sit here in the apartment with nothing to do. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND the movie ..."The Curious case of Benjiman Button."

It's been a very long time since I have raved about a good movie. It's a very long movie ( 2 hours 45minutes), but worth every moment. It was full of drama, some comedy and sadness. Bob & I both loved it. It's NOT just a chick flick. The story line is great. Let me know if you see it, what you thought of it.

Now with Christmas over and New Years right around the corner, the Holiday's are nearly over and the tempting foods will be done and over with. I must confess that my will power is weak (very weak) when it comes to some of the goodies. I have gained 5 pounds and trust me, I'm so mad at myself over that. Bob and I had a great morning run today which felt awesome. It's time to buckle down now and get back into the swing of things with my eating and exercise. I'll be fine though and I'm not worried. I just don't like this little set back.

I am leaving for California in 3 weeks for a surprise visit to see my Mother for my Birthday. I haven't seen her since we moved her out there to live with my Sister back in April of this year. I'm hoping she is very surprised. I'm also hoping I can make it without letting it slip to her that I'm coming. I want to tell her so bad that I'll see her soon. I just know she's going to be really surprised. My Sister is in on the surprise and has agreed not to tell her. We're just going to let my mom open the door when I get there. It's going to be great. I haven't had a count down on here in a long time.

Festival of Lights

Well, we went, we saw, I attempted to take photos. It's not that easy from the backseat of a car when the driver is anticipating that your shot is over and can move so the cars behind can move for their shots. (and that the photographer can't focus a damn camera to save her ass). Anyway, with all that aside, we had a great time seeing the display. I would have loved it more if there was snow on the ground. This area of Maryland just refuses to understand that it's the 1st offical day of winter and let it snow!! Oh well....here are the better of the shots I took. I indeed left the out of focus shots in as well, because they kind a sorta look cool that way.

Some assistance needed please.....

It's no secret if you have been stopping by here in the last year and browsing my blog, that I have been active in eating healthy and getting plenty of exercise. Back in September, I reached a 50 pound weight loss mark (not my goal) and have held onto that now ever since. After 3 and a 1/2 months of holding at 150, I just weighed in after a run to see I have finally broken the pattern and dropped a pound!! I'm now 149 pounds. Just a pound you say??!! Trust me, that makes me ecstatically happy. I focus on that as a step in headed back on track to more weight loss. I'm looking to drop another 15 to 20 pounds before I will say I'm done loosing weight. I'm very encouraged over this one pound. Just in the last week alone, everyday I have been stepping on the scale and it's been registering at 150.4. Five days in a row at the same exact number is odd for me. So yes, having that scale say 149.0 just now really pumps me up.

When I'm at the gym or jogging through the neighborhood, I always have my MP3 player tuned in to my ears. I have several varieties of songs on it but have been using 3 different "albums". They are (in no particular order)....Songs 4 worship, big band swing and Fired Up 3. I really like working out to "fun" and "upbeat" music. It energizes me. I really need new stuff though. My body "knows" when the beat slows, so it anticipates that I'm going to do just that. I have to get my mind into a "new groove" so to speak. Please give me some ideas. I'd love to know if anyone has some Latin tunes maybe or something that you may use that pumps you up. I'm open minded right now. There is music that the aerobics instructor picks that if I heard it on the radio I doubt I'd listen to it, but I concentrate on the beat and let my body move to it.

With my Mom's tenacious spirit and my tunes in my ears, I stay motivated to keep up my workouts. I need some help now. What can you tell me???

Such a dreary day today.

Around here today it's wet, rainy and pretty dark. That is not at all the type of day that I like. Here at work it is very slow due to weather (mostly). it would be nice to just get out of here and get some last minute shopping done for Christmas. I have several packages that I need to get wrapped and boxed up to mail out of state too. I suppose I should be happy that it's only raining and not snowing. It was 64 degrees here yesterday and didn't start misting rain until last evening. It's 40 degrees right now. It's no wonder we caught a flu bug!

NOROVIRUS

HMMMMM.......................... it could have been that.

Norovirus



Common names of the illness caused by noroviruses are winter vomiting disease, viral gastroenteritis and acute non-bacterial gastroenteritis[5], also colloquially known as "stomach flu" — a broad name that can also refer to gastric inflammation caused by other viruses and bacteria.



Signs and symptoms:
The disease is usually self-limiting, and characterized by nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain. General lethargy, weakness, muscle aches, headache, and low-grade fever may occur.


This sure does sum up what we were feeling here over the weekend. i even tried to go to my aerobics class lastnight. I managed to stay an hour but limited what I participated in. There was way too much jumping around and bending for my stomach to handle. I was having acid burp-ups all day, so I'm not sure why I thought I could make it through an entire aerobics class. i'm happy to report that both of us are back to our normal selves today!

It's a better day

We both feel better today. No fevers and no throwing up and very little "running to the bathroom". It's amazing how much strength being sick like that makes your body loose. I stepped outside to take a mild walk through the neighborhood and it literally took all the energy I had to make it up a slight incline on one of the streets here. We both declined going to the gym today because we didn't want to have any accidents. Tomorrow night is my regular aerobic night and I plan on going.

Now to go figure out what I want to have for lunch.

Feeling rough

I have no idea why, but today I'm sitting here at work and feeling like I want to throw up. I didn't eat anything that I don't normally eat so I know that's not it. I haven't been "sick" so I'm just puzzled as to why I feel like crap right now. I still have 2 and 1/2 more hours of work before I can go home and lay down. Perhaps if I did "toss it" I'd feel better.

I want to go for a run after work. I guess I'll have to wait till I clock out and see how I feel then. It's only 25 degrees out and a bit windy today. Maybe I shouldn't run. Oh the dilemmas in life.

Update..(5:14pm)

I have a small temp of 100.2 and massive diarrhea. It's so blasted hot in this basement apartment since our Landlord is older and when he's cold he feels like he lives in the Arctic or something. Bob was sick at work today too only he was doing both. I haven't yet thrown up and no longer feel like I'm going to. I'm hot and sweaty and constantly running to the bathroom. it will pass, but not fast enough. I hate being sick. I hate being hot behind the eyes and having body aches. This just sucks. Oh...and we do open the window in the bedroom for fresh air.

Tenacity

You know, I've been giving this a lot of thought lately and I have come to the conclusion that I really look up to my Mother for strength and endurance. In other words, I feel that my Mother is the most tenacious person I know. The reason I bring this up now, is because it relates to my weight loss. I have been the type of person that has **yo-yoed* over the years with my weight. This is the first time in my life that I have been eating healthy and going to the gym and working out (jogging and sit-ups) at home on off days. I absolutely hate to jog. I used to say that "this chick don't run unless I'm being chased and no one is chasing me". I went back to Ohio over the Thanksgiving Holiday for 4 days and I'm happy to report that I did not gain any weight. I actually went out every morning to the Monument Park and jogged once around the walking path. It only took me 20 minutes total to make it around there. Mind you it was cold and I was bundled up a bit. Every time I wanted to stop running and just walk, a memory of my Mom would pop into my head of how she never gave up. My Mom used to be a member of the Y.M.C.A. and ran in races. It didn't matter to her that 90% of the time she came in, in last place. It meant more to her to finish and to glory in that accomplishment. Mom always used to work out. She had the strongest legs of anyone I knew. She was still always over weight, but the drive she had stays in my mind. If my mom would have been eating a balanced healthy diet with the activities she used to be involved in, she would have looked fantastic. I remember on several occasions when she was in a race and barely moving her legs, but still in a jog, I would step out of the crowd and run with her to the finish line. I was always proud of her (and still am). While I'm at the gym sweating my ass off on the treadmill or the elliptical and wanting to take it easy, I just think of her never quitting on those races and I find the energy to keep going.

I have been maintaining my 50 pound weight loss now since September. I still want to loose about 10 to 20 more pounds but I'm not going to push myself this time of year. There are way too many tempting foods right now to do that. I'm very pleased with my accomplishment over Thanksgiving and hope I do the same over Christmas. I'll really push up the volume on my works outs once the Holidays are over.

I promised some photos once I got my new digital camera. Well, I have the camera and I'm still learning all the buttons and settings on it. Very soon now, I'll post some updated photos.