Long But Fun Day

We got up early this morning and drove to Dayton to watch the Cincinnati Reds play the Florida Marlins in their final spring training game. My brother wanted to get there early so we could watch batting practice (it was supposed to start at 11:30). We got there around 10:15, parked and walked to the stadium. We made it to the stadium just as the rain started coming down. Luckily there was a overhang to stand under, or we would have been soaked. We got there 10 minutes too late to see the Reds players arrive (we heard most of them didn't sign autographs anyway). We did get to watch the Marlins arrive. There were probably around 30 of us on each side of the barriers to watch them walk in (luckily the rain had stopped for a few minutes). I've never gone to a game early enough to watch players get off of the buses, so I was surprised that they were dressed really nice in suites. Most of them walked past us like we weren't there (I wasn't seeking autographs anyway since I didn't have anything to write on) but I just wanted to see what they looked like. I don't really know much about the Marlins players. A few players signed just a couple of autographs. Dontrelle Willis signed about 10, but Miguel Cabrera stayed out there and signed every single autograph for anyone asking, and he took the time to take pictures with people. I remember thinking "now that's a really nice guy". He could have easily been like the rest of the players, but he wasn't. So, I rooted for him every time he got up to bat. LOL! I like to root for the good guys. We saw the singer of the National Anthem arrive (Gran Bel Fisher - he's this month's Yahoo Music "Who's Next? User's Choice" artist and will be featured on the upcoming Grey's Anatomy Soundtrack). We probably could have asked him to take a picture with all of us and get his autograph since he was just walking around, but we didn't bother him. Before the gates opened, it poured down rain again (lucky us). It wasn't just rain either, it was kinda cold. No doubt I'll probably be sick from it. Anyway, when we did make it inside, we stood and waited for the rain to stop, then took our seats (never did get to see them have batting practice due to the rain). We got bored with sitting, so we walked around the stadium and took pictures of some of the players warming up on the field. Finally the game started.

I didn't go prepared well enough for today. I took a 2 point bar with me, but didn't think about how long we were going to be there (we were there for 4 hours before the game even started). I was starving. If you've ever been to a game, you know there aren't any choices unless you want water or diet soda. The smells got to me (they had pizza, burgers, cheese steak, sausages, hot dogs, giant pretzels, popcorn, peanuts, ice cream, and other junk). I can't lie about it, I looked around to see what might be the most filling and least damaging to my points, but in the end I got a hot dog and diet soda (it was the cheapest). Then I had a few handfuls of popcorn and about 2 handfuls of peanuts (the kind with the shell on). I'm really not sure how many points I had in total, but I just went ahead and marked off my flex points for the week. We did walk quite a bit so maybe that will help some. I'm mad at myself for not being more prepared, but I'm not going to let it throw me off. It's just one day. Tomorrow I go back to doing what I usually do for food (eat at home) and have more control over my points.

We stayed for all of the game except the last inning. The Reds were getting creamed anyway with a score of 6-2. We left the stadium and walked next door to a cute little bar called Southern Belle and played some pool before heading home (I can officially say I've been in a bar now. LOL). It was a lot of fun. I haven't played pool since I was probably 17-18 years old. Rick and I were a team, and my brother and sister-in-law were a team (my sister-in-law is pretty good). They beat us the first game, then Rick and I won games 2-6, and they won the 7th game (we would have won if I hadn't listened to Rick and done what I wanted to do - which I proved after I missed the shot he wanted me to take). LOL! I always make the mistake of listening to him. He does that to me on the golf course too. I'll be ready to swing, and he'll run over and say "hey you know if you do it this way it will be better". Then I take the shot, it sucks and I say I'm going to stop listening to him. It's an endless cycle. LOL! I just need to start trusting myself. I know what to do, now just let me do it! It may not always go according to my plan, but at least if I mess up, I know it's my fault and have nobody to blame by myself. His constant coaching throws my concentration off too. Sometimes I want to say "be quiet and just concentrate on what YOU need to do". LOL!

Ok, I can see this is getting pretty long. I wanted to share my day since I don't get to do fun things like this very often. :) I'm really tired, so I'll probably be heading to bed in the next hour or so. Thanks for listening. Goodnight!

I've Got Nothing

Sorry, I really don't have anything exciting to talk about tonight. I just ran a couple of errands during the day and worked for a few hours. Then we went to my parents house for dinner and cards like we usually do on Friday nights. This week my dad and I were on a team together and Rick and my Mom were on the other team (it's amazing how Rick and my Mom stop the "I'm gonna kick your butt in cards" threats when they're on a team together). LOL! Well, they beat us in the first game and we creamed them in the second game, so I guess we're all losers and winners tonight. I suppose it keeps us balanced. :) I'm hitting the sack early tonight. My brother invited us to see the Cincinnati Reds play tomorrow in Dayton, so we're going to go to that. I just hope it doesn't rain. LOL! I did good as usual on points again, in fact I was a bit low, so I had a glass of milk when I got home earlier. That helped put me closer to where I should be. Have a good weekend!

Relaxing For A Change

Even though a few people (like my mom) think that because I work at home, I don't actually hold a REAL job and work hard for my money, I decided to take a day off today. It was nice not to be sitting at the computer all day for a change. I got up early and dropped Riley off to be groomed (he was in need of some serious doggy repair) LOL! While he was getting bathed and buzzed, I drove to my parents house in Dayton and dropped off some stuff to them. While I was there my Dad asked me to take a look at his computer, but I couldn't figure out how to fix it. Maybe with a little more time and a little more searching we could have come up with something, but the groomer called and said Riley was done. So, I picked Riley up and headed home. I chatted with Ben for a few minutes, had some lunch, answered some emails, answered some stuff on my message board, emptied the dishwasher and threw a load of laundry in. Then I made out a grocery list and headed to the store. When I got home, I put the stuff away, answered some more emails, checked out my message board, chatted with Ben again to see how his day was going, then made dinner. After dinner I cleaned up, watched a couple of shows on tv (I actually watched them while they were on, not Tivo like they usually are. LOL), did some more laundry, and now I'm back on the computer again to update my points tracker, write this blog, check my mail and message board one more time, then I'll probably chat with Ben for awhile, finish laundry and go to bed (maybe I'll watch a movie, haven't done that lately). It's been nice not having too much to think about or do today. Just a nice, calm, no drama type of day. :) (I know you wanted such details of my day didn't you? Sorry, since I didn't really do much I didn't have anything else to write about.) LOL! Did good on my points and everything again. :) See ya tomorrow night.

My 2nd Weigh In

Well, I don't know why, but my scale said I was down 2.2 pounds this morning compared to last week, and when I went to my meeting this morning, they said I was down .8 compared to last week on their scale. It was a bummer, but I've decided this time around I'm not going to let the scale affect me like it use to. It's just a number I suppose. I know I did my best this week and that's all that matters. At least the scale went in the right direction. Maybe the rest will show up next week. I'm just going to keep doing what I have been.

I'm keeping this short tonight (though now that I'm re-reading, it looks a little longer than I thought it would be. LOL). I want to get some cleaning and laundry done before I go to bed. The place is suffering a little since I sat at the computer all week working on my site. Not to mention if I don't get some laundry done, come Friday or Saturday I'll have to go out without a shirt on and that won't be pretty. LOL! I can't wait until I lose enough weight so my clothes will fit me again (they're a bit tight right now). I mostly just have cheap t-shirts from Walmart. When I gained my weight back, I refused to spend a lot of money on clothes, and quite frankly I can't really find anything to wear in the stores because I've maxed out the size limit. I absolutely refuse to purchase from a catalog too. I'll just have to suffer a bit until I can fit back into some of my old clothes that I use to wear. I've decided this time around, I'm going to put $5 away for every pound I lose. This way if I need a shirt or something along the way, I'll have the money to get it. And if I don't need anything along the way, well then by the time I hit goal, I'll have saved up close to $750. That ought to buy a pretty nice wardrobe or pay a few bills. :)

Oh, and in case you're wondering, I did really good on my points and everything today. Even got the fruits and veggies in along with all my water, milk, etc.

Also before I finish this up... if you enjoy reading weight loss blogs, check out my friend Ben's blog titled "Fat Single Dad Seeking Smaller Me". I'd love it if you'd stop by and show him some support. He's going it all alone at home, and raising two small kids while working and going to school. He's a nice guy and I know he'd appreciate it. Thanks!

Where Did The Week Go?

Wow, I can't believe this week is over already! Where did it go? In a way I'm glad it flew by so quickly, because that means I've stayed on track for 2 entire weeks now with no problems. :) I've made it past that point where I would usually quit, or start cheating and be in denial (and I'm not talking about the river). I've done that several times over the past couple of years. I know I'm the one who's been making it happen, but I owe my friend Ben a big time thanks. He's losing weight with Weight Watchers too (with the at home kit). We IM each other everyday to see how each other is doing, and we bounce recipes and ideas off of each other. It helps to keep a positive outlook on the whole thing, and if one of us is bugging out a little bit or talking about eating stupid stuff, the other one just says "stop it" LOL! So Ben, if you're reading this.... Thanks for the support, you rock! :)

I can't believe how much I got done this week. I had a list of things to do on the website that I thought would take me at least 3 weeks to get done. I got all but about a week of stuff done just this week. Of course my butt hurts from sitting in this chair so much, but I think in the end it's worth it. Just the feeling of accomplishment makes it all ok.

Tomorrow is my 2nd weigh in. According to my scale at home this morning, I'm down a little over 2.5 pounds. I'm a little worried though because throughout the day today I've been feeling swollen (it's hot and my central air isn't working for some reason). I can tell my feet and ankles are swollen for sure. Of course, they aren't coming to fix my air until Thursday when it's supposed to start cooling off again anyway, not to mention after my weigh in. LOL! I'm sure it will all work out though. I guess as long as I lose something tomorrow, I'll be happy. Maybe the rest will show up next week.

Oh, if anyone wants to participate (which I hope you do)... I'm collecting recipes for the next cookbook. I've shared my favorites, now I'm looking for others to share their favorites with the rest of us. It's going to be a "Community Favorites" cookbook. Sales will help pay for the website and services. If you're interested, you can get all of the info at my site (check the main page, recipe page or message board for the info).

Ok, I'm actually heading for bed before the sun comes up tonight. I have to get my "weight loss" sleep for tomorrows weigh in. LOL! I'll let you know how I did tomorrow night. Wish me luck! :)

New Recipes Are Up

Well, I got the new recipes up on the site today. It feels good to finally have that all done. :) After I finished that, I ate lunch and then worked on orders. I got those all finished and ready to go too. Things are finally getting marked off on my "to do" list. Only 3 things left right now. I've spent the last 3 hours trying to get a new page up on my site without luck. I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong. I guess I'll sleep on it and come back and look at the HTML tomorrow and see if I can make sense of it. In the meantime, I'm hoping someone will answer my plea for help at the boards I posted at while I'm asleep. Maybe they can tell me what I'm doing wrong? I guess if I can't figure it out, I'll abandon it and go another route. I'm sure there's more than one route. LOL! Anyway, I did good with my points today. I didn't quite get all of my water in, but I was able to check off everything else. I didn't make any new recipes today. I just had chicken on the grill and oven fries for dinner, nothing special. :) I'm going to try and get through some of my email and then head for bed. Maybe I can mark off at least one more thing from my list tomorrow. TTYL!

Goodnight

I'm keeping this really short tonight. I've been working all day on my estimated taxes, paying bills and trying to finish up with getting the new recipes together for my site. The only thing I have left as far as recipes go, is to link the pages together and upload to my site, but I'm going to wait until tomorrow when I get up to do it. It's after 4 AM and I'm tired, so I'm going to bed. I did really good on everything points wise today (including water), so I'm still on a roll (mmm a hot buttered roll sounds good right now). Just kidding. :) Goodnight!