A good hurt....

I was meaning to do some sort of moving-my-carcass yesterday, but exciting things like "errands",  "housework" and "cooking dinner" got in the way.  I also felt the need to take advantage of the 40* sunshine to pick up random sticks & branches from the front yard before the next bout of white crap falls this afternoon / tonight.

So I was feeling guilty.  Then I remembered seeing a pin on Pinterest on a quick workout to do when you're in a hurry.  So this morning while I was in the garage waiting for the dog to do his thing, I did 50 jumping jacks - that's a feat in itself, since I haven't done them since I received my DD214 (military discharge papers!).  But with a heavy winter coat on, it stopped the bounce somewhat. Then before I got in the shower, I did 30 mountain climbers, 20 crunches and 5 push ups.  It also calls for a 30 second plank, but I need to find out exactly what those are.  The ones I've personally seen are not really of the exercise variety.

Anyhooooo, I am really feeling it!  In my shoulders, back, thighs and probably more once I stand up (I've been sitting for about an hour now)  For only taking about 10 minutes of my morning, I enjoyed it!  So I'm planning on doing a Walk-At-Home DVD tonight and tomorrow I can safely assume to be shoveling snow.  That's a nice workout in itself!

Since I like to always put images of some sort in my posts - here are my adorable critters.

 Maddie contemplating the birds on the patio. 

 Jack, waiting to hear something profound from me. 

Up close & personal with Chester. 

Have a great day!

Friend Makin' Monday - Q&A

Happy Monday!  

If you’ve taken part in FMM then you know the rules. If you’re new, please take a moment to answer this week’s question on your own blog then add your link in the comments section over at: www.alltheweigh.com so we can all see your FMM questions and answers. Please invite your blog readers to add their links there too so everyone has to opportunity to be seen. The idea is to connect with other awesome bloggers so take a moment to post your own FMM post and comment on a couple of other posts. Now it’s time for this week’s topic!

Questions and Answers

1. Did you watch the Oscars? If so, who did you enjoy seeing most? Nope.  I had the second half of the Daytona 500 on while reading my Kindle (and remembered why I quit watching NASCAR), then enjoyed watching the Red Wings stomp upon the Vancouver Canucks 8-3 and then after dinner, somehow Miss Angela & I ended up watching a PBR event - I haven't watched bullriding since she was a toddler!  

This is the most TV I've watched in forever!

2. Do you drink meal replacement shakes, smoothies, etc? If so, what’s your favorite kind? I get the GNC Total Lean Shake Powder in Vanilla Bean to mix with my oatmeal in the morning.  I just need the extra protein to help get me survive til lunch. 1 scoop is only 2 Points, so I feel it's worth it. And the vanilla goes with anything else I decide to mix in and also adds a bit of sweetness, too. 

3. Share one thing you have done to help someone in the last week?  The hubby's car died at work and I had to go pick him up. The hood latch was frozen shut so we had to leave his car there.  Of course this happens on the coldest, windiest day possible.  I also took him to work the next day. 

4. What is the tastiest thing you ate last week? Friday we went to Chilis & I got their "lighter option" Mango-Chile Tilapia.  It was tasty, but a bit spicier than I usually like.  This caused me to chug my ~extremely potent~ margarita.  This created much entertainment for the family as we walked around Great Lakes Crossing (a huge outlet mall).  I'm not normally such a lightweight!

5. Think of one fun thing that you could do this week without spending any money to do it.  We're supposed to be getting another winter storm tomorrow, so I'd like to play in the snow instead of shoveling it!

6. Share one place that you’ve been to and would like to visit again. Alaska.  But in winter this time so I could see the Northern Lights. 

7. Do you prefer Facebook or Twitter? As I tell my daughter, I don't Twit.  So Facebook. 

8. What is your favorite vegetable?  Hmm, so many options!  I think it depends on what my taster wants that day.  Right now I have an acorn squash waiting for me at home and I'm looking forward to steaming that. 

9. Share a goal that you have for the month of March.  Angela has her first dance competition of the season in Mid-March, that means sitting in the theater for the better part of 2 1/2 days.  I plan to take good snacks and water with me so I won't be tempted by the vending machines. 

10. Share a quote that inspires you.  My favorite quote ever!  "If you can't love yourself, how the hell you gonna love someone else?" ~RuPaul

Can I get an Amen up in here?

Now it’s your turn to answer this week’s questions! Don’t forget to head over and link up in the comments! 

13 in 13 update

Since I haven't updated in a while ya know!  This will be quick, since Randy's car decided to not want to run, and I have to go get him from work.  The co-worker he has carpooled with this week smokes & the smell gets to him after a while. Can't say that I blame him!   Then the cable to pop the hood has also chosen to freeze up so we can't open it!  He managed to get it home from work, after leaving it there 2 days.  But now it's a snowy blue lump in the driveway.  Guess what we're doing this weekend?

Anyway, we're getting dinner out of the deal.  There's both a Rainforest Cafe and Toby Keith's I Love This Bar & Grill near his work.  After spending an hour clearing wet & heavy snow from the driveway, I'm ready to eat!  I know - Make Good Choices, wherever we go!

1.  rededicate myself to WW - this I have to say isn't going too well. I refused to go to the meeting this week and get on the scale. I ate like a pig Monday at a co-workers bridal shower and since it was held in the conference room, there were still leftovers on Tuesday. Someone brought in this amazing grape desert, but it was NOT healthy in the slightest. And I did absolutely no extra exercise and even polished off all my extra weekly Points +2. UGLY!

2.  post eTools progress report weekly - it says me weight didn't change because I entered the same # as last week. I was just afraid I'd have a gain and then I would have cried.

3.  dust off my WAH DVDs - obviously no.

4.  use my new waist & arm / thigh trimmers while doing DVDs or Wii Fit - also a no.

5.  plan meals weekly - Not yet. I've tried but the thought of having chicken again was making me gag. I will have that made before I go grocery shopping tomorrow.

6.  eat more / new veggies every week - check!

7.  be a better blogger - I've had a case of the "Don't Wanna"s. (see #2 & #3) But I did get 2 posts written over at Random Ramblings - #399 & 400 to be exact!

8.  get my house de-cluttered - check! I didn't keep track of the # of days, but I did manage to get Miss Angels to clean her room before going to spend 2 nights at a friend's house (they're on winter break this week, so it kept her busy while I was at work) She was so excited to actually be able to walk into her room and spin around! Of course the carpet is gross. Ground in makeup & glitter & nail polish stains, etc. But nothing is suspect of being alive anymore!

9.  cut back on unnecessary spending (see #8) - somewhat. See post #399 over at RR.

10. find plans & designs for tomato cage trees / MGC fence / potion book - I found a couple $1 metal keys at Michael's that will look cool in my display.

11. work on RACES certification - nope

12.  

13.  wean myself off pop - progress! I'm getting so I don't even really want pop, except for that first morning can. That'll be the tough one to break!

Alrighty, have to go rescue my hubby, later!

No treasure for me!

Woohoo, my 400th post on this blog!

I was tossing around the thought that there would be something neat in the bottle 

I picked up at the antique store yesterday.  

 You know, this one in the middle?

 With the close stupervision of my orange cat, Chester - I dumped it all in a bowl. 

This much ended up being an average assortment of buttons. 

I thought these were really cute.  I love the gingies!!

A whole truckload of pink, white & pastel yellow pearls of assorted sizes.  

Then some random other stuffs / trash.  

In the bottom center are a couple glass ball buttons, which are really cool.

But that's it.  Nothing stood out as being extremely unusual or anything.  Oh well!  It's always fun to wonder what is in a container that you find in an antique store. 

Have you ever....

Had a case of the "Don't Wanna"s?  

I got one.  Badly.  I don't want to go to work, don't want to hear the damn alarm go off in the morning,  don't want to cook, don't want to exercise, don't want to even blog or pre-write my A-Z posts!   I'm truly hoping this is just the winter blahs and will go away soon. 

My dog is on my shit list.  I've told him many times recently that he's not my favorite child.  First of all, I got Randy a gigantic chocolate chip cookie for Valentine's Day.  He had left work early for a dentist appointment, so he brought just over half of it home Friday.  This 13" cookie came in a pizza-type box and was twist tied in a plastic bag.   Damn if Jack didn't wait until we left the house Saturday morning and got ONTO THE KITCHEN TABLE - pulling a chair out to assist - and managed to open both the bag & the box (and left them on the table!) and drug that cookie onto the floor and polished it off.   This was only maybe 2-3 hours after he'd been fed, so he wasn't starving.   He got punished & locked into this crate for a while.  Later on, Miss Angela left food in the living room unattended so she could ask me something and yet again - Jack got on the couch and ate half her pizza rolls in less than 30 seconds.  And yet again, within just an hour or two of being fed his own food.  I don't know what his deal was, but he's being banished from table scraps for the time being.  

 Dammit.  I don't care if he's cute!!

And don't get me started on him wanting to go outside 10 minutes before my alarm goes off in the morning.  EXPLETIVE!!!  Too many times in the past few days. 

Anywhooo, one of the girls at work is getting married this weekend, so they threw her a bridal shower at lunch Monday.  She's been with her boyfriend 21 years and he finally got around to proposing!  Sheesh!  She wanted to either elope or have a destination wedding, but his family wanted the whole shebang.  But OMG, the food.  Turkey pitas, this crazy sweet grape salad dessert thing (to die for!!), several different salads, cupcakes of many flavors, chili, meatballs.  And we all pitched in to get the happy couple a gift card and Shelley cried when she saw the amount!  

Valentine's Day was just another day.  I was going to whine about it, but I sounded bitchy and deleted it.  Let's just say I occasionally would like a little token to show that he thinks of me.  But I can't say anything to him, since then I'd think he was getting me flowers or whatever out of guilt & not because he means it.  I used to get flowers all the time.  Then we got married.  Sigh.  Shelley - watch out! 

OK, now for some cheerful news.  Miss Angela ~gasp~ cleaned her room!!  She has a floor !!!  We are in the middle of mid-winter break and she wanted to spend the night over at a friend's house tonight.  So that was the deal.  I left her a list Monday to do certain things in her room and a couple more things Tuesday, so she wasn't overwhelmed too much.  She ended up finishing her room & even running the vacuum before I got home Tuesday.  So when she got a text from Taylor, she was able to spend Tuesday night over there, too!   I saw her in there walking around and doing a few dance steps & I laughed when she made a comment about how nice a bare floor was!  Of course now you can see how gross the carpet is.  The carpet in our bedrooms make the average office carpet look thick & luxurious.  She's got nail polish, glitter, makeup and random other mystery stains all over. Ew. 

I've also come to the conclusion that she is a blanket hoarder.  She's got 3 on her bed that I can see in this picture. I know she took at least one with her to Taylor's and she left another in the living room. 

And oh joy of joys!  I finally had a nice loss last week at Weight Watchers and got below that 50 lb mark again, for the first time in about a year!!  I'm faintly seeing Onederland (being below 200 lbs) looming in the distance!   But after going crazy with that darn grape salad (grapes swimming in some pudding-type stuff & graham cracker crust & pecans) 2 days and not exercising at all this week, I already know I'm going to skip the meeting tomorrow since it would probably make me cry if I went up again.  I have tracked everything as well as I could, and as ugly as it has been.   

Yeah.  Not getting on a scale. 

Since I had the afternoon to myself today, I felt the need to go shopping.  Which is dumb, since there was nothing we actually needed.  So I ended up at the local antique / craft mall place that always manages to suck some $$ out of me. 

Today they only managed to get $10.06 from me.  I got this cool "vintage" glass bell, a really cool bottle that I thought was worth the $2.50 even without being filled with beads & buttons & a 6-sided brown bottle.  I really need a hutch to display all my cool bottles!  These will end up in the Halloween stash anyway.

So it looks like I dine alone tonight again.  Last night I grabbed a couple fresco soft tacos from Taco Bell on the way to take Angel to Taylor's and then had to rescue Randy from work.  His car's battery died and I was quicker than calling AAA.  But once I got there, the cable to open the hood had frozen!  So I had to take him to work this morning.  Luckily, it was the first time since I've known him that he had to actually go to an inventory site, which was somewhat close to home.  He just texted me that he was stuck on a call from some place in the UK.  Why don't all these damn stores use the same reports for their inventories???   

Alrighty, off to scrounge some food!  Later!

Happy Valentine's Day !

I'm just popping in real quick because ~GASP ~ the hubby is actually taking me out to dinner tonight!!  We already called & there is an hour wait at the Texas Roadhouse, so I have some time to spare.  I'll do my 13 in 13 update tomorrow.

Did I mention I hate Valentine's Day?  With a last name like Love, you'd think we'd go all out.  Nope.  Apparently since I received a ring from Sir Randy, it means that he is exempt from ever giving me floral tribute ever.  Dammit, I just want flowers sent to me at work!!  But oh well.  I got myself a cute little bamboo plant and took it in this morning to sit on my desk.

 
Anyhoo, I had planned to actually go to my WW meeting tonight, but dinner plans got sprung on me, so I just went in to get on the scale.  I was down 2.6 lbs!!  Which took me over the 50 lb mark for the first time in over a year!  I'd been in agonizing 5 pound limbo since March 2012.

What have I done differently?   Besides track religiously??   I stopped last weekend at GNC and got some protein powder to mix in my oatmeal in the morning to help keep me full longer.  I went into the store to ask for advice instead of ordering online (I also get glucosamine supplements for both me & the dog from them).  The guy suggested their Total Lean line and I got the Vanilla Bean flavor so I can mix it with more stuff.  I've been doing that since Monday and it has really helped.  I usually eat as soon as I get to work at 0730, and am starving again by 1030 / 1100.  With the extra protein powder, I've been holding out til almost noon.   This is good, since my lunch keeps me happy later in the afternoon and I won't get the munchies as soon as I walk in the door after work.

Alrighty - time to head out to dinner - have a wonderful V. Day!

Friend Makin' Monday - Personal Quirks & Habits

I never thought I would find myself saying this, but I am SO glad to be back at work today!  We got hit with Nemo Light on Friday (we only got about 6 inches in SE Michigan) and I knew I didn't have enough work to do, so Thursday I asked my boss for a personal day.  Schools were closed and Randy opted to work from home.   Randy made me crazy.  I could write a novel, but in a nutshell - he's out of shape and over did it = a whiny guy.  For some reason, just in the last week or so, his health has really started to concern me. It always has, but this feeling is getting stronger.  He's 5'6" tall and 320 lbs.  And he wonders why his ankle hurts when he's on his feet too long.

Anyhoooo, after dinner last night (he put away 4 pieces of pizza and probably 5 breadsticks) he told me that he really didn't think he overate!  Yes - I did indeed give him the deer in the headlights look!  So today I sent him an invite to My Fitness Pal and challenged him to track what he ate for one week.  That's all, just track it.  He used to be fairly active, walking every day at lunch and playing golf, etc.   Now he has this misguided notion that he has to be a role-model to his team and never leave his desk.  Then he comes home, eats & then watches TV.

So, everyone please send some good mojo vibes his way so that he sees the light!

Does anyone else get tempted by paczkis (pronounced poonch-keys)??  Tomorrow is Fat Tuesday and in Detroit these are a big thing!

must.
stay.
away.
from.
Tim.
Hortons.

Now it's FMM time!  These will be fun questions!



If you’ve taken part in FMM then you know the rules. If you’re new, please take a moment to answer this week’s question on your own blog then add your link in the comments section over at: www.alltheweigh.com so we can all see your FMM questions and answers. Please invite your blog readers to add their links here too so everyone has to opportunity to be seen. The idea is to connect with other awesome bloggers so take a moment to post your own FMM post and comment on a couple of other posts. Now it’s time for this week’s topic!

Personal Quirks and Habits

1. Share one unique character trait that sets you apart from your friends.  I have a weird Halloween addition, which causes some odd looks when I'm taking about building props in February!

2. List at least two pet peeves that always aggravate you.  Idiot drivers and people who start out conversations about how tired they are.  GRRRRR!  I am convinced that the US Military (all branches) needs to get rid of hazy gray and camo and replace it with 2000 Ford Escort green.  It is totally invisible to asshats.

3. Is there a word or phrase that you say so regularly that people expect to hear it from you?  I'm sure the family could answer this better than me.  I can't think of anything that stands out.

4. Are you a risk taker, or do you typically play it safe?  Either / or.  I've done my share of taking risks, but I usually play it safe.

5. Describe your life as it was in high school. Are you the same person? Have you changed?   High school sucked.  I was a nobody with only a couple friends.  Didn't participate in any clubs or cliques and stayed mostly to myself.  I'm more outgoing now and I don't care what people think of me.

6. What is the craziest thing you’ve ever done that you’re glad you did?  Went on Yahoo Personals and met Randy!

7. Do you ever talk to yourself? If so, share an example.  yes, I plan out phone conversations before I make the call - like last week when one of the school buses came flying out of the high school parking lot without stopping or slowing down and cut me off (and I was the only car around!!!)  I totally called that in.

8. Share something you did that unexpectedly helped shape your life.  I joined the Navy and that made me a more independent & capable person and gave me a love of travel.

9. Do you follow a strict routine, or are you a free spirit? Are you somewhere in between?  I'm in between.

10. Share something about yourself that you hope will inspire others.  I lost 65 lbs and have kept 45 of it off for the past 3 years.  I'm trying not to focus on that other 45 I still need to lose!

Now it’s your turn to answer this week’s questions! Don’t forget to come back and link up in the comments. 

The Liebster Award

Woohooo!  I got nominated for the Liebster Award from Chris at Wisdom, Courage, Power !  

I feel so warm & fuzzy inside!

Here’s how it works-the rules:

a) Each blogger posts 11 random facts about themselves.

b) Answer the questions the tagger has set for you

c) Choose 11 new bloggers to pass the award to/nominate.  From what I found, it's geared toward blogs with 200 followers or less. I didn't actually check {shrugs}

d) Come up with 11 new questions to ask your nominees

e) Go to their page and tell them about the award.

f) No tag backs!

I think I pretty much have the random facts covered in the "123 things" tab above!

Chris asks these questions......

1.  What are you passionate about?  I guess I'm passionate about my family.  I want what's best for them & to protect them & all of us to be happy and healthy. 

2.  What motivates you to get things done?  Hmm.  When it comes to domestic dullness, it's knowing that someone is coming over.  At work, I make myself deadlines.  Since I had no intention of going into work today (thanks, Nemo!), I made sure my in-box was empty, even if it just meant filing in the desk drawer.  And my to-file basket got emptied yesterday.  In regards to weight loss, it's the thought of feeling better & maybe even being willing to get in front of the camera for a change! 

3. What stops you from achieving your goals?  My own laziness

4.  Batman or Superman (Human physical and mental greatness or Alien god-like powers)?  

Batman.  I have a family history of Batmans (Batmen?) in my family.   I have a picture of my Dad & nephew wearing Batman shirts & scarily-enough, matching underwear.  My nephew is now 25 and still wears Batman stuff. 

5.  Do you have pets?  We have a Beagle & 2 cats.  Jack, Chester & Maddie.  They are all rescues and all totally spoiled.  Jack, we got as a puppy from a friend's neighbor whose Great Dane used him as a chew toy.  Both Chester (who is purring on my lap right now) and Maddie chose us from the Humane Society.  And we have 4 Gouramis (kissing fish) and 2 plecos (algae eaters) but they're not very exciting. 

Jack
this is his "I'm waiting for you to say a word I know" face.

Chester (on the pillow) and Maddie

6.  If you could travel anywhere for relaxation or excitement where and what would it be?  I'm pretty happy going anywhere new to me. I love to sight-see and look at old buildings & cemeteries and all sorts of stuff.  

7.  What is your favourite movie and why?  (LOL, my spell-check doesn't like the extra "U") probably Top Gun.  I think it played a subliminal part in my decision to join the Navy after high school.  I wanted to get away from where I grew up.  So I did!  Too bad I only live about 12 miles away now.

8.  Would you use a time machine to alter your past? Knowing that any changes made could completely change your life/knowledge/personality now?  No.  As much as I wish I'd stayed in the Navy sometimes, I know that my life would be very different if I had.  I know I'd never have met Randy and if I hadn't gotten out when I did, I would have been stationed on a ship and would have had to leave Angel with my parents and miss her toddler / little girl years.  So I'm happy where I am. 

9.  What’s your all time favourite band?  without a doubt, Def Leppard - I've been a fan since high school / late 80s.  I was so excited to go see them in concert last summer!

10.What makes a good friend?  Someone who you can talk to and have fun with and who knows (and keeps) all your secrets.   And if you're really lucky....you get to marry your best friend!

11.  Why do you blog?  I actually have 3 blogs.  This one is geared toward keeping myself accountable to my weight loss / health / fitness journey.  This divided off of my original blog, which is just all randomness.  And the third is all about my Halloween display.   I figure it's a good way to talk about what interests me without my family having to hear my stories and thoughts over & over. And it's also a journal and planner of sorts. 

Alrighty - here are my victims, I mean, the lovely ladies who I'm passing this on to!

Adrienne - Chronicles of a Curvy Housewife
Amanda Brown - Beautiful Life of the Browns
Cat - Crap on my Shoes, Egg in my Pocket
Jennifer Kay - Just throw the dishes in the dryer
Judy - Life...Minute by Minute
Lindsey - Lounging with Lindsey

Lindsey B. - Life*Health*Faith
Ruth - Welcome to Me
Sarah - The Fat Girl Fighting

Snow-Dragon - My Weight Loss Journey
Wendy aka Quillfeather - W.M Morrell's Musings from Down Under

And this here are my questions for ya'll....

Chinese or Mexican food?
If you could choose a different decade to live in - which would it be and why?
Dogs or Cats?
What is your favorite book?
What was your favorite subject in school?
What has the ability to take your breath away?
Have you ever Googled yourself?  If so, what did you see?
Gold or Silver?
What major event made you into the person you are today?
Do you have any bad habits?
As a child (or even now!) did you have an imaginary friend?

Congrats, everyone!!

13 in 13 Update

Checking in.....

1. rededicate myself to WW. - Umm, well. I didn't stay for the meeting. So shame on me.  But the ladies at the reception desk thought I was "bubbly".  All I did was explain that I had been in a hurry and couldn't find my most recent monthly pass so I took a picture of my computer screen with my phone.  I could it as a huge success that I stayed the same, even with being a swine for the Super Bowl.

2. post eTools progress report weekly


notice the total lack of tracking on Sunday. The rest of the week is OK. I'm not going terribly far over my daily target line.  I haven't been filling out my weekly checks.  Guess I should.

3. dust off my WalkAtHome DVDs - check! Only once this week, tho.

4. use my new waist & arm / thigh trimmers while doing DVDs or Wii Fit - seeing as how I just got the waist trimmer last night - half credit. I have worn my arm & thigh ones several times.  They definitely make you sweat!

5. plan meals weekly - check!



I got this white board for posting dinner ideas at Staples. Miss Angela thought she'd help by filling it out the first time for me. Don't worry - that is NOT what we're eating. That kid could eat pizza & pizza rolls every day.  ~gag~

6. eat more / new veggies every week - I didn't try anything new this week. But I did find a sale on frozen steamed veggies at the grocery store & stocked up. I take a package to work with me to have with my Lean Cuisine. I don't know how they can consider some of those to be 3-4 servings!

7. be a better blogger - Nope. I've been thinking about my posts, but haven't physically wrote any.   I need to work on making my posts shorter, but it's hard to do when I'm being accountable.

8. get my house de-cluttered - Working on it. We're supposed to get hit with Winter Storm Nemo (ok - 4-8 inches) but I chose not to deal with fighting my way into work thru snow & idiots, so I asked my boss for a personal day tomorrow. So I will stay at home and get some stuff done. Time will soon tell if I have kid and/or hubby company.

9. cut back on unnecessary spending (see #8) - for the most part - check! I had to drop off Randy's gold chain at the jewelers tonight to get a new clasp put on it. It happens to be in the same strip mall as the Salvation Army and I had time to kill. I found a really cute hippie dress with store tags still on it for $4. I came home & tried it on......let's just say with some creative cutting, I'll have a cool new skirt.

10. find plans & designs for tomato cage trees / MGC fence / potion book - I've been looking on Pinterest & pinning some ideas.

11. work on RACES certification - small check. I started to read the book & had to stop to do something & never got back to it. I'll have to start over.

12.

13. wean myself off pop - still not there yet!

Friend Makin' Monday - Five Things

I don't go weigh in last week. I had part 1 of a root canal last Wednesday and the combination of Vicodin & Penicillin made me sicker than a dog (so I stopped taking the Vicodin) and then Saturday I chose to go out to breakfast alone with the hubby instead of going to a WW meeting.  

Sunday was ugly.   I'm not a football fan (me like hockey!!) so I didn't care who won, but it was entertaining watching Angel (rooting for the Ravens because she liked their purple uniforms) and Randy (rooting for the 49ers and actually compares stats, etc) argue about plays & such.   Eating was not the best!  Just a passing note - Lil Smokeys in BBQ sauce and grapes are a really interesting combo.  

 

So lots of water today & I planned on doing one of my DVDs tonight, but ended up shoveling snow instead. I'm still not warm yet! Guess I should have changed out of my dressy boots & knee-length skirt (with bare legs).

So now it's FMM time!

If you've taken part in FMM then you know the rules. If you’re new, please take a moment to answer this week’s question on your own blog then add your link in the comments section over at: www.alltheweigh.com so we can all see your FMM questions and answers. Please invite your blog readers to add their links here too so everyone has to opportunity to be seen. The idea is to connect with other awesome bloggers so take a moment to post your own FMM post and comment on a couple of other posts. Now it’s time for this week’s topic!

Five Things

1. Share five things you hope to do before you die. 

- visit all 50 states

- travel to all continents

- visit the northernmost & southernmost points of the US 

        (Barrow, AK & Key West, FL)

- move to Arkansas
- to drive with the Stig on the Top Gear test track

2. List five things you love about yourself.
- my imagination / creativity
- my tattoos

- my love of animals

- my awesomeness (thanks, Angela!)

- my eyes

3. Share the five coolest things that you've done in 2013.
- saw Monster Jam (sat on the start/finish line)

- signed up for the A-Z Blogging Challenge

- am participating in the 13 in 13 Challenge

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-

(it's still early in the year!)

4. List five things that you always have in your kitchen.
- at least one cat, and/or the dog (if not all of them!)
- Coke / Coke Zero

- glass jug of water in the fridge

- oatmeal

- Crystal Light Strawberry

5. Share five places you would like to go on vacation.
- Seattle - I lived 25 miles from there for 3 years & never played tourist

- Alaska again (to see the northern lights)

- the mountains

- the beach

- visit Arlington National Cemetery & Washington DC in springtime

6. List five celebrities/public figures you’d like to meet.
- RuPaul

- Nick Lidstrom, former captain of the Detroit Red Wings

- Jeremy Clarkston- the Top Gear guys

- Richard Hammond

- James May

7. List five bands or artists you’d like to see perform live.
- Def Leppard (again and again)
- Kenny Chesney

- Toby Keith

- Luke Bryan (yum!)

- Bon Jovi

8. List five TV shows that you don’t want to miss.
- RuPaul's Drag Race

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-

-

-
(I don't watch much TV!!)

9. Share five things you wanted to do as a child.
- be a horse trainer

- marry a 90 year old millionaire

- never have kids (that didn't happen!)
- move away from Clawson where I grew up

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10. Share five things you hope to do in 2013.

- finally get in Onederland!

- travel to some more cool places within Michigan

- I hope to NOT have to drive a certain child to summer school again this year

- go camping Up North one more time before my Mom sells the property

- make my Halloween display even better than last year

These were hard!!!

Now it’s your turn to answer this week’s questions! Don’t forget to come back and link up in the comments! Happy Monday, friends!!!!!!!

13 in 13 January Round Up

Holy Crap, it's February!

Alrighty, let's see how I've been doing in the challenge. 

To Achieve - Onederland  Not there yet!!

1. plan meals weekly - this hasn't been much of an issue at all.

2. eat more / new veggies every week (1 recipe from book per week) I haven't used the book at all, but I am getting in a better variety of veggies & fruits.  I've tried kale chips & blood oranges.

3. take better care of my skin (lotion AM, wash face PM, lotion PM)  I've been doing this.  Altho I don't look any better since I'm having female issues and causing me to break out like a 15 year old.  Side note - I've called the doc and he's supposed to adjust my BCPs to hopefully help with the issues.  Then maybe skin will clear up.

4. be a better blogger - I'm ready for the A-Z Challenge!  Well, with ideas anyway.  I don't have posts written yet.

5. get my house de-cluttered (15 minutes per day) eh.  I'll call this 50%.  I did have Miss Angela go thru her dresser drawers and get rid of any clothes she doesn't wear so she can put the rest away.  She set aside a smallish pile.

6. dust off my WAH DVDs (2 or more x per week / other DVD or Wii)  I'm doing pretty good here.

7. cut back on unnecessary spending (see #5) Ummm, well....I had a moment.  I went to a couple places last weekend and got a few things for Halloween projects (an antique picture frame identical to one I already have, a book to turn into a potion book) and I found this.....

I have never found blowmolds at the thrift stores around here, so when I walked around the corner and saw this, I almost fell over my feet getting to him.  He's taller than my kitchen counter!!  But he's out in the garage until I can make room for him in the shed with all the rest. 

Oh yeah, I got suckered into going to the mall with Miss Angela.  She "needed" a new pair of high-tops since  she can't wear her other ones after her favorite choreographer autographed one.  And she needed some new leggings & One Direction fake nails. 

8. MGC fence- nope. Probably not til it gets warmer.

9. rededicate myself to WW (weekly meeting / track every day) So far, so good - with the exception of this week.  And I do plan to go before the week is technically over. I've been doing pretty well with my tracking, too. Next month I'm going to post my progress reports from WW.  That will really keep me accountable, since it shows my tracking & how well I stay within my allotted points.

10. figure out & use Kindle Fire  - I think I need to change this one.  It really wasn't worthy of a year-long challenge.  So I'll have to think of something else.

11. get RACES certification (30 min per week) - the best I've done so far is find the book and look at it.

12.

13. wean myself off pop (stop drinking one hour earlier every month) - so far, so good! I've been choosing non-carbonated options more often. 

So to update my mini-goals.  Most of them I'm keeping, since they are a work in progress. 

1. plan meals - keeping this one!

2. eat more veggies - keeping this one, too.  It's an on-going challenge to get out of that rut. 

3. take better care of my skin -changing this one.  I think I have it under control. 

4. be a better blogger - keeping this one. 

5. get the house de-cluttered - keeping this one. 

6. dust off WAH DVDs - keeping this one.

7. cut back on unnecessary spending - probably should keep this one, too. 

8. MGC fence plans - changing this one. This is too general. 

9. re-dedicate to WW - keeping this one

10. figure out the Kindle - changing this one. 

11. get RACES certification - keeping this one. 

12. still blank

13 - wean myself off pop - keeping this one

So my new mini-goals are:

3. post progress reports from eTools weekly

8. find plans & figure out materials for tomato cage trees / MGC fence / potion book

10. use my new waist & arm / thigh trimmers while doing exercise DVDs.

12. still blank

I think this month will be better since my goals are more definite, instead of very general.