525,600 Minutes

PSA: Adultery Makes REALLY Ugly Babies

2011-11-12T21:58:00.003-05:00

2011-08-10T18:24:00.000-04:00

I’m giving myself a big DOH! I could have sworn I included the link to my new website in my last entry. Anyhoo, here it is. Feel free to stop by any time. My site has and will continue to have a little bit of everything. Some sites focus on a specific topic like personal finance, fitness, cooking etc. but I’ve decided to forego that route and just write about the things I enjoy or whatever happens to be on my mind at the time. There’s really no method to my madness content-wise. I mentioned in one post that I’m a “consumer of information”; basically I read a lot and enjoy sharing what I’ve read with others. I've also began listing some of my favorite blogs and sites that I visit at least once or twice a week. Some things may interest you while others may not, but they all at one point interested me so that’s why they’re posted. So again, feel free to visit any time.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Thank You and Good Night!

2011-07-09T19:08:00.000-04:00

Before I leave this blog I just wanted to take a few minutes to thank all of you who have been helping me develop my new site. I know I've driven you crazy with all of the questions but your input has been invaluable and much appreciated. I know it took longer than I planned but I've been working really really hard developing my business sites (the money makers) and getting those up and running with lots of content and features. Funny, those were easier than the personal website and YES they are starting so show a nice little profit which was the plan all along. Plus, some of you know the situation with my father and the effects from that. Thank you all for the support through all of that. Your kindness and encouragement will NEVER be forgotten. I could not have asked to be a part of a more supportive and knowledgeable group of ladies and to all of my other friends in my circle, one more time, a big fat THANK YOU!!! Sooooo, I got my first personal entry up today (yeah, yeah, some of you have told me it's still a little puny looking content-wise) but I promise there is lots and lots more to come. I remember some of you workshop girlies telling me that personal sites (not blogs) were harder to develop than business sites and I didn't believe you...trust me, now I do. I promise NO MORE QUESTIONS!!! Well, for a while at least. Ok, I think that about covers it. I'm going to move some of my old content from here over, so just ignore those and hopefully I'll get one more entry up tonight as soon as the Braves game is over -11th inning, score tied 1-1 (I truly suck at multitasking). Well, I guess that's it. You all know where to find me. I'm going to leave this blog up for the time being, but there will be no more updates.

Take care and love you all!!!

Blog Warming Party Soon!

2011-02-10T20:09:00.002-05:00

Getting Settled into my new blog home!

First Book of 2011 - The 4 Hour Body - Timothy Ferriss

2011-01-12T01:19:00.003-05:00

I was very fortunate to receive a Kindle for Christmas this past year. It was a total surprise from my brother, Marc. This book is my very first purchase and I'm looking forward to reading it.

In 2010 I read The 4 Hour Work Week and loved it. It really opened my eyes to the possibilities of not working 9-5 forever.

Product Description - 4 Hour Body

Thinner, bigger, faster, stronger... which 150 pages will you read?
Is it possible to:
Reach your genetic potential in 6 months?
Sleep 2 hours per day and perform better than on 8 hours?
Lose more fat than a marathoner by bingeing?
Indeed, and much more. This is not just another diet and fitness book.

The 4-Hour Body is the result of an obsessive quest, spanning more than a decade, to hack the human body. It contains the collective wisdom of hundreds of elite athletes, dozens of MDs, and thousands of hours of jaw-dropping personal experimentation. From Olympic training centers to black-market laboratories, from Silicon Valley to South Africa, Tim Ferriss, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The 4-Hour Workweek, fixated on one life-changing question:

For all things physical, what are the tiniest changes that produce the biggest results?

Thousands of tests later, this book contains the answers for both men and women.

From the gym to the bedroom, it’s all here, and it all works.

YOU WILL LEARN (in less than 30 minutes each):
How to lose those last 5-10 pounds (or 100+ pounds) with odd combinations of food and safe chemical cocktails.

* How to prevent fat gain while bingeing (X-mas, holidays, weekends)
* How to increase fat-loss 300% with a few bags of ice
* How Tim gained 34 pounds of muscle in 28 days, without steroids, and in four hours of total gym time
* How to sleep 2 hours per day and feel fully rested
* How to produce 15-minute female orgasms
* How to triple testosterone and double sperm count
* How to go from running 5 kilometers to 50 kilometers in 12 weeks
* How to reverse “permanent” injuries
* How to add 150+ pounds to your lifts in 6 months
* How to pay for a beach vacation with one hospital visit

And that's just the tip of the iceberg. There are more than 50 topics covered, all with real-world experiments, many including more than 200 test subjects.

You don't need better genetics or more discipline. You need immediate results that compel you to continue.

That’s exactly what The 4-Hour Body delivers.

About the Author

TIMOTHY FERRISS, nominated as one of Fast Company’s “Most Innovative Business People of 2007,” is author of the #1 New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and BusinessWeek bestseller, The 4-Hour Workweek, which has been published in 35 languages.

Wired magazine has called Tim “The Superman of Silicon Valley” for his manipulation of the human body. He is a tango world record holder, former national kickboxing champion (Sanshou), guest lecturer at Princeton University, and faculty member at Singularity University, based at NASA Ames Research Center.

Here are a few comments from Eric Cressey. I hope he gives a full review after he's done reading. I also found comments and a review from Charles Poliquin

Let it Snow, Let it Snow...or I guess I should say ICE!

2011-01-11T13:49:00.000-05:00

Sunday night Atlanta got between 3-6 inches of snow (depending on location) followed by 2-3 inches of ice on top of that. My office was closed both yesterday and today as are most things throughout the city. Temps aren't supposed to get above freezing for the rest of the week, so I'm not sure when I'll venture out. I'm perfectly happy being at home working on my content sites and just enjoying the quiet downtime. I've never understood people who have to be constantly "doing" something in order not to be bored. I've always enjoyed my own company and doing solitary things like reading, people-watching, etc. People who have to be constantly stimulated and entertained have always kind of bugged me, especially when I'm the person picked to do the entertaining. I guess I see it as a weakness, that some people have to always be busy and around other people in order to be happy. Whatever.

Back to the ice..the winter scenery is STUNNING!! I haven't ventured out because I have an aversion to falling and busting my ass, but from my windows it's gorgeous. I'll probably go out later and scrape my car, but for now I'm staying put. I was last out on Sunday, just to get gas and a Sunday paper and even the convenience stores were crowded. I have yet to figure out why the top 3 must-haves of any hint of snow are milk, bread, and toilet paper. Do people just sit around chugging milk, making toast and wiping their asses? I kinda see why northerners make fun of us so much when it snows. Butttt, it annoys me on other levels as well. I admit we arent' the best drivers in the snow, but seriously, how often does it really snow in the south? I'm sure if we had to do it more than 1 or 2 times a year, we'd be a whole lot better. Imagine doing anything once or twice a YEAR and expected to be as good as it as someone who does it day after day for months on end. I really don't think it's a fair comparison, especially when you factor in that we don't have the same equipment and manpower devoted to snow removal as our northern neighbors. It's not cost effective to purchase and maintain equipment that maybe will be used only a few times a year. Blah,blah,blah, I could go on and on, but I won't. People will always find something to complain about and make fun of, so I won't devote a lot of energy to it. I've got more productive stuff scheduled for today. Productivity is but one of my mantras for the new year.

Ignite Your Soul

2011-01-06T19:57:00.000-05:00

I Love This Video!!

Perfect for the new year!!!

Happy New Year 2011

2010-12-31T18:17:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year!!

Happy New Decade!!!!!!

I know I'm a bit early, but it's already New Year's 2011 somewhere around the globe, so I say, pretty much semantics. We are a global society right?

2010-12-29T22:31:00.000-05:00

I was just sitting here working on my latest blog entry and had to stop and post this because it literally made me laugh out loud...something I needed today.

Where I'm At Right Now...

2010-12-10T21:12:00.000-05:00

Happiness is a state of mind & you can continually choose to be happy. The best way to live in happiness is to live in gratitude because when you focus on all you have & all that you are right now, that is where happiness is born. Once it is born you can nurture it further by discovering other experiences that bring you increased joy, happiness & exhilaration. Spend your time CHOOSING to be happy!

I'm not sure why I'm intrigued by this recipe

2010-12-07T21:52:00.000-05:00

White Castle Thanksgiving Day Stuffing

Serves: 9

Ingredients

10 White Castle hamburgers, pickle removed
1 1/2 cups diced celery
1 1/4 teaspoon each ground thyme and ground sage
1 1/2 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
1/4 cup chicken broth

Instructions

Tear burgers into small pieces into a large mixing bowl. Add celery and seasonings.

Toss and add chicken broth and toss ingredients together again. Stuff cavity of turkey just before roasting.

The recipe makes about nine cups, enough for a 10 to 12 pound turkey.

Note from White Castle: Allow one hamburger for each pound of turkey, which will be the equivalent of 3/4 cup of stuffing per pound.

Cauliflower Pizza Crust

2010-11-22T17:42:00.000-05:00

You Won't Believe it's Cauliflower Pizza Crust

Original Recipe Site

1 cup cooked, riced cauliflower* (recipe below)
1 egg
1 cup mozzarella cheese
1/2 tsp fennel
1 tsp oregano
2 tsp parsley
**pizza or alfredo sauce
toppings (make sure meats are cooked)
mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 450 degrees Farenheit.

Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick spray.
In a medium bowl, combine cauliflower, egg and mozzarella. Press evenly on the pan. Sprinkle evenly with fennel, oregano and parsley.
Bake at 450 degrees for 12-15 minutes (15-20 minutes if you double the recipe).
Remove the pan from the oven. To the crust, add sauce, then toppings and cheese.
Place under a broiler (grill for the Europeans) at high heat just until cheese is melted

Notes:
*I use frozen cauliflower prepared according to package directions. After cooked and slightly cooled, I shred cauliflower with a cheese grater, and then measure for the recipe. (Don't pack down the cup with cauliflower. Just fill it with a spoon or the cup itself.)
** The pizza sauce I use is Great Value Pizza sauce from Wal-Mart. At only 3 net carbs per quarter cup, you get a lot of punch for little carbohydrate pow.

Nutritional Information for the entire crust:
calories: 434, fat: 25 g, carbohydrates: 8 (net), 13 if counting all, fiber: 5 g, protein: 41 g.

Nutritional Information for one serving: 109 calories, 7 grams fat, 2 net carbs, 1.5 grams fiber, 10 grams protein.

Riced Cauliflower

1- 16 ounce bag frozen cauliflower florets

I use a 2-qt covered dish and microwave the cauliflower (Don't add water) until it is cooked, 8 minutes. Using mitts, carefully pour water from the cauliflower. Allow to cool with lid removed.

Cauliflower can be riced in several ways. 1. Food processor
2. Santoku knife
3. Using a cheese grater
4. Using a ricer
Store covered and refrigerated until use.
Note: You can use a head of raw cauliflower to make your riced cauliflower. Simply process/rice the head prior to cooking in the microwave.
Makes approximately 3 cups riced.
Serves 6.
Nutritional Information:
Calories: 20, Carbohydrates: 3.5 g, Fiber: >1g, Net Carbohydrates: 2.5 g, Protein: >1 g, Fat: 0 g

A Few of My Favorite Things - Autumn Edition

2010-11-20T17:56:00.000-05:00

Fall Leaves

Cinnamon-Spicy-Pumpkin Scented Candles

Starbucks Cranberry Bliss Bars

Pumpkin Bread

Candy Corn

2010-11-19T18:16:00.000-05:00

Boy has this month gone by fast. I can’t believe Thanksgiving is almost here! I’m really excited to be going home to visit my family and of course to eat some turkey and stuffing. Since home is in the boonies, I always miss the black Friday sales but being with my family is worth it; plus I shop throughout the year. One of my favorite bargain sites is www.dealnews.com. I’ve gotten some really great deals though them including my $49 iPhone last Christmas. I always get my magazines through their links. I haven’t spent over $5 for a magazine subscription is probably 2 years.

My workshop and creating my business site(s) has been keeping me really busy but in a good way. I’m stretching myself in new directions; which is a good thing. Stagnation never benefits anyone. It’s really easy to get comfortable and just go with the flow and never do anything to improve yourself. I was really proud of myself earlier this week. I was having some technical problems on my site and couldn’t figure them out and it was affecting my site traffic- wise. I emailed a friend and asked him to take a look. Funny, in our exchange he said something that triggered what might be the problem. When I went back I investigated I found the problem (ME!!!) and fixed it. Thanks Dan for making me think on a more technical level. I’m usually really bad about just saying “fix it” so being able to fix it myself was a huge confidence builder. I’ve got some really great ideas for some upcoming sites that will stretch me even further in the new year and I can’t wait. Bring on that passive income!! Lyn needs some new cute shoes!!!

2010-11-11T22:04:00.000-05:00

Last week of October

2010-10-31T19:11:00.006-04:00

I can't believe there are only 2 more months left in 2010!! I'm really happy to see fall finally arrive. Fall and spring are my two favorite seasons. I really don't care for the hot and cold extremes of winter and summer. I can't wait until the fall leaves are at their peak. Seeing lots of pretty leaves is one of the few things I miss about living so close to the Smokey Mountains of TN. I'm sure the north Georgia mountains are pretty too, but I don't live as close to them. Another one of my favorite things about this season is pumpkin. I'm burning a pumpkin scented candle right now, along with an orange cranberry scented one. My home smells fantastic. I hate that this time of year is often rushed through or skipped over in general on the way to Christmas. I love Christmas, but I have no desire to start preparing for it in August (are you listening Hobby Lobby??).

I had a good week this week. I'm still working hard on building up my business sites and learning how to generating traffic. The ladies in my workshop are phenomenal. It's really nice to see women work together as a team and support each other. The genuine desire to see others succeed is so rare these days. Once I get my sites a bit more "developed" as far as content, I'll post the links.

A few posts back I mentioned that vanity is what is keeping me at the gym and on my diet (most of the time) along with the chance to win one of the 4 $10,000 prizes at work. Well, after a few months of slogging along, I was getting a little bored, in essence, my candle was starting to dim and the routine was getting kind of tiring. I need a boost. Well out of nowhere this week...Boom...Boom...Pow.... I got the boost I needed to get back on track. I got a little flirty, flirt-flirt from "Mr. Receipt that Launched 1000 Workouts!!" Oh course I was a grinning idiot for the rest of the week, but hey, whatever it takes right?!?!

Friday night was Noel and Elizabeth's annual Halloween party!! It was so much fun. I love seeing all of the costumes and of course all of the yummies. I think my favorite yummy was the candy corn cupcakes the Noel made. I had at least 3. Mmmmm!!! Elizabeth's Rotel Dip was Mmmmmmmm too!!!! Everything was delicious.

This is me! I went as Elin (Mrs. Tiger Woods). I'm holding a golf club in one hand and a picture of me and Tiger in happier times in the other.

I had to stop and get gas on my way to Noel's house. Some dude at the gas pump gave me a once over, licked his lips and said, "mmmmm-mmmmm-mmmm". I'm trying not to be too offended that I get more play in an $8 Target synthetic wig than I do on a normal day.

Oh and this is Scott's hat after I accidently pushed it into a candle. From what I understand, the look on my face was priceless as I was standing there holding the smoldering hat.

This Right Here......

2010-10-24T23:16:00.002-04:00

I think I might need these shoes in my life.

2010-10-22T20:14:00.003-04:00

I am not a fan of urban apparel at all but I do like Damon John's message and work ethic. I love hearing about people who start out with very little in life and through hard work and perseverance create great things for themselves.

Adwords, Spiders, Bots, Keywords, SEO and STUFF

2010-10-21T23:33:00.009-04:00

Wow! I can’t even begin to say how glad I am that it’s Friday. This week as been incredibly, incredibly busy, both in good ways and in not so good ways. Work has been very busy. My company is smack in the middle of a huge merger and my boss is spearheading the entire project which means when she’s busy, I’m busy. We had onsite meetings most of the week which means I get to play hostess all day. The people are very nice and very appreciative but it does mess with my schedule; not to mention all of the extra catering and treats that I’m responsible for bringing in and setting up. My diet and training have been way off this week, mainly training. I’ve missed several workouts this week due to the 10-12 hrs days I’ve been putting in. I’m glad everything is over (for this month) and I’m getting back to my normal routine.

I mention a few posts back that some new opportunities have come my way and I’m really excited about it. A month or so ago, I was fortunate enough to come in contact with a group of women who niche blog for a living. After some networking and submitting a few writing samples, I was invited to join their workshop. These women are very very successful in what they do. All of them earn several thousand dollars a month niche blogging/affiliate marketing and a few of them are headed towards 6 figure yearly incomes. I am learning so much from them. I was really intimidated at first, but they are all so nice and so helpful. I’m settling in nicely and working really hard. My goal is to learn as much as I can and emulate their success. My goal is to be in 6 figures myself within the next 2 years so I can move away from the corporate grind and from the uncertainty of the insurance industry. Right now with health care reform in the works, a lot changes are happening and I don’t want to be caught by any surprises. Plus, I’ve always loved the idea of working from home, being able to travel, volunteer etc and this seems like the perfect opportunity to start making some of that happen. I’ve already purchased a few domains in what I hope to be profitable niches and am working on developing content at the moment. The research and writing are definitely my favorite parts. The set up and back end stuff, not so much. I’ve learned more than I ever thought possible about Google Spiders, Bots, Adwords, Adsense, Keywords, SEO (Search Engine Optimization), indexing, analytics, etc. One interesting thing though is this has made me pay more attention to the traffic to this blog. I also monetized it just to see what type of ads would pop up based on the current content. It’s kind of all over the place, just like my blog, but that’s exactly what I want, since most times, I’m all over the place. Hahaha!!!

I did find this little tidbit funny/interesting, especially since I’m all over keywords and SEO.

This is a screen shot from the feed that shows the traffic to my blog and how they get here. As you can see, someone from Hamilton, Ontario Canada (hmmmm) arrived by searching “Cookbook Amy Perez”.

Now if you search “Cookbook Amy Perez” on Google, as you can see below, my blog entry referring to her as Amy “Cuntface” Perez is the first Google link.

Hahahahahahahaha!! Sorry, but yeah, I find that fucking hysterical. Who knew that if you search a certain person's name and the word cookbook, you'd come up with Cuntface. What a hoot!!!! Google keywords are definitely a gift that keeps on giving.

What I find funnier is that “someone” from Hamilton, Ontario Canada would actually search that particular combination of words. Again HMMMMMMM.

TOP TEN!!!!

2010-10-17T14:21:00.005-04:00

7 Week Prep - F Class - 9th Place!! Woohooo!!! Way to crack that Top 10 Noel!!!

Random Stuff

2010-10-13T15:54:00.001-04:00

Happy Wednesday! This week started out kinda of yucky at work (which seems to be a pattern these days) but after staff meeting and dept meetings (my company loves to meet), things are making a turn around. Hopefully things will remain on the upswing for a while. I was assigned a fantastic new research project. Research is one of my favorite things to do. I'm also working on a business opportunity that will hopefully in a year to a year and a half will exceed my current salary and allow me to work from home doing something that I love to do and am good at. I'm really fortunate to have found the opportunity and the great group of women who are currently coaching and mentoring me. I am working really hard to develop it and get things moving. I have always envied entrepreneurs and nothing is exciting me more than to have the possibility of one day soon joining that group.

The diet and training are still going well. I've dropped another 5lbs even though I haven't been as strict with the diet as I have been over the past few months. It's definitely time to tighten back up so I can see more numbers drop, faster. I really really really wish my gym would stop it already with the $10 a month memberships. The place is getting way too crowded. I miss the good old days when it first opened and the place was pretty much empty. I understand though, empty doesn't pay the rent, but how about investing in some more equipment? 3 upright bikes? Really?

This weekend is Nationals!! I'm looking forward to it. I love shows and while I've been to 2 or 3 local shows in the past year or so, nothing beats the national level shows and I haven't been to one since Nationals 2008. A good friend of mine, Noel Clark will be competing. She looks phenomenal; best she's ever looked!! Her class (F) is pretty big but not the biggest. In figure it definitely does NOT pay to be of average height. Noel is definitely bringing the package that best represents her to the stage this weekend. Anyway, we will all be doing the normal fun competition stuff, dinners, get togethers after the show, baked goods, etc. Our normal Atlanta group is going as well as another friend who's coming up from Florida, some of Noel's other friends and of course her family. There is going to be a bunch of us and we are going to be LOUD!! Hmm, I wonder if I have time to make a TEAM CLARK sign? I'm all about the glitter. I'm also looking forward to seeing some other people from some other boards I belong to and some other blogs that I follow.

At some point I need to figure out my Halloween costume. I'm going to a party in a couple of weeks and I have no idea what my costume will be. I really need to get on that. I may keep it simple and get some scrubs and a stethescope and go as a nurse so I can rock my Crocs. It's so sad, my poor Crocs get absolutely no love anymore.

What Connects Us....

2010-09-20T01:27:00.001-04:00

Things like this just stand as a reminder that the world really isn't that big of a place; that we are more alike than different.

Baby, you need to sweep off your own porch first…….

2010-09-14T15:07:00.004-04:00

This is was one of the gazillion sayings that I remember my maternal grandmother using when I was a child. Some of the ones she used make no more sense today than they did 30 years ago when I first heard them, but this one, I think of often. Basically it means, take a look at yourself before you criticize or have something to say about others. As a child, I remember her using it on either me or my brother when we were in that annoying tattletale mode. I can remember rolling my eyes in annoyance because of course I wanted her to take my side and slap the taste out of my little brother’s mouth. After all, HE was the pest, not me!!! No, seriously, he really was.

Most recently I was reminded of this saying during an exchange regarding diet/training/adherence etc. For the most part when it comes to diet and exercise, I’m not very helpful. I don’t offer a lot of specific information about what I eat, how I train etc. I don’t do this for a multitude of reasons. It’s not that don’t want people to succeed or that what I’m doing is top secret, it’s mainly because like my Nanny said, “I haven’t sweep off my own porch yet.” I think it’s easy after dropping a few pounds and sticking to whatever program you’re doing for a few months, to start feeling like you are qualified to give advice to others when you feel as if they aren’t “serious” about making changes, are whining, just don’t want it as badly as you think they should or you feel that their methods are just plain stupid. This behavior reminds me of the behavior of a “born-again Christian” who just found “religion” a few months ago and now thinks they are qualified to point out all of your “sins” when in fact they were the same sins they were doing even to a higher extent and sometimes still falls back into the “sinful” pattern more than they'd ever admit. I feel strongly that everyone must find out what works for them regardless of the number of times they slip up or the method they choose .There are many paths to this goal and yes some of them are stupid, but that’s why we have the power of choice and the ability to research. I may not choose to starve myself on one meal a day and 2 hrs of cardio, but it’s not my place to criticize either, being that some days I’m a hot fudge sundae away from eating enough to bust through the seams of my pants. If asked directly what my methods are, I will direct someone to certain websites so they can do their own research or I will give a brief overview of what I’m doing. Sometimes my information is of benefit to them, sometimes it’s not and that’s ok. I choose to share information, not advice because I still have way too much dirt on my own porch for that. A 20lb weight loss and a few months dietary adherence does not an expert make.

2010-09-11T19:49:00.003-04:00

Share all the love you can today, for tomorrow isn't promised to any of us.

Friday - Sept. 10 Milestone

2010-09-10T17:52:00.003-04:00

This is a picture of my newest toy. It's weight matches the number of pounds I've lost as of today.

Getting in touch with my creative side

2010-09-09T20:44:00.002-04:00

I swear I have one somewhere. I used to use it all the time. Grrrr!!!

I've been thinking a lot lately about getting back into some old hobbies and also starting some new ones. I've been spending some time on Etsy and came across this girl's store. She has some really cool accessories all made from recycled items. Here are 2 of my favorites.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/FeltSewGood

The brooches are made from recycled sweaters. I think this is a great idea for old sweaters that have stains or holes in them.

The cosmetic bag is made from a recycled blazer and sweater for the bottom. I swear I have the matching skirt somewhere in my closet amongst the variety of different sizes.

This weekend I'm going to hit some yard sales in search of some goodies for Ebay. The weather is supposed to be nice so hopefully I can hit several before all of the good stuff gets away.

I'm thinking that my Christmas present to myself this year is going to be a sewing machine and some sewing classes. It's been a long time since high school Home Ec. I've seen some really interesting things at places like World Market and Etsy that I know I can make with some practice and I've seen lots and lots of cool fabrics and patterns on my yard sale treks. Who knows, this time next year I might be running my own Etsy store. One can never have too many accessories.

When the Cheater Feels Cheated

2010-09-07T11:19:00.004-04:00

OMG, I had the WORST cheat ever on Friday!! Don't you hate when that happens? I didn't overeat, but the cheat meal I chose was HORRIBLE. What a waste!!! Isn't it funny how your perception of what's "Good" changes when you limit yourself to eating certain things. Probably a few months ago, I wouldn't have even noticed how crappy my cheat was because I was eating that sort of thing all of the time.

For the past few months, I've been using Chipotle as my cheat as well as a piece of strawberry cake with strawberry/cream cheese frosting from a local bakery. I decided to do a change up on Friday because I was in the mood for french fries, or just something fried. My original thoughts were to go with a cheeseburger and fries from 5 Guys Burgers and Fries, but at the last minute I changed to fried butterfly shrimp, fries and coleslaw from a local chain. Bleech!! What a waste. I ate half of it and left the other half in digust. I definitely felt cheated. Next time, I will definitely go with my cheeseburger and fries or back to Chipolte. I'm really sad because the strawberry cake was only around until Labor Day and I missed my last opportunity until Valentine's Day for a piece. I'm going to try and find a good copy-cat recipe online in hopes that I can replicate it in cupcake form and freeze or bring to work the left overs.

In other news, I should be cruising into the -20lb mark on my next weigh-in on Friday. I was at -18 at the end of last week and I'm tightening up my diet in some areas so I should hit the mark without any problems. I've also changed up my training program. I did the last one for 3 months because I liked it and didn't want to mess up my 5-6 sessions per week stride. I started my new one last week and really like it. I'm finding that routines suit me, so I'll probably do this one until the end of the year and then ping Noel for some new ideas come January 1st.

At some point this month at work, we will be having our first quarter weigh-ins for the wellness program my company has implemented. I can't remember if I ever went into great detail in the blog because I so over everyone talking about it at work. Anyway, my company is giving away 4 $10,000 prizes next July for the people who have met the quarterly weight loss requirements throughout the year. I cannot tell you how good it feels to have met my requirements a month ago. I can honestly say that is the first time that's happened EVER. Unfortunately the contest isn't about who loses the most, but every quarter that you reach the set goal, your name goes into the hat for a chance to win one of four $10,000 prizes. 4 quarters = 4 chances. The odds will improve over time because if you are disqualified the first time you don't reach the goal. I will be really annoyed though if someone qualifies once and then never qualifies again and they win one of the prizes, but oh well, what can you do? It's a lottery. I can only control me and make sure I do everything I need to do in order to qualify all 4 times.

The Truth to Success

2010-09-03T22:30:00.000-04:00

Thelma and Louise Go'in For Teh Tone - 155lb Deadlifts

2010-08-25T19:42:00.004-04:00

What an awesome week this has been. One of my nearest and dearest friends came down from Canada-land to pay me a visit. The visit went so fast, but not to fear, we'll be doing it again shortly and then hopefully in the not so far future, I can pay her a visit and see what kind of mischief we can get into up north. Luckily her hubby is a cop, so maybe we'll get a pass if we get into too much trouble. Anyway, I'll post more about her visit later, but just wanted to post some videos of one of the high points of her visit...going to the gym together. We went with Noel, Elizabeth, and Elizabeth's sister Rachael. Ana also tanned, but I passed on that part.

Anyhoo, here is yours truly (Louise) Sumo-Deadlifting 155 lbs!!

My lifting style is as follows:

(1) Wear a shirt that is just loose enough to get caught behind your elbows and show not one but all three rolls of your belly fat.

(2) Don't breathe until the very last rep, effectively making your eyes look like they're going to pop out AND you're suffering from a thyroid condition. Hey, I was focused and besides, breathing is for sissies!!

Next is Thelma's turn. Thelma's a wee one, but she's lifting those 155lbs like nobody's business. Her lifting style includes looking constipated on the last rep but hey, at least she remembered to breathe unlike me.

Again, had a fantastic time and learned a lot. Noel is very generous with her training knowledge. I can't wait until we all get together again!

Found an Awesome Blog

2010-08-19T20:11:00.009-04:00

I love this blog!! It makes me really wish I had paid more attention in high school Home Economics. It's never too late to learn though. I love creativity and this girl's creativity is through the roof.

http://newdressaday.wordpress.com/

Waaaaaaaa!!!!!

2010-08-06T18:44:00.004-04:00

Ughhhh, what an annoying day this has been.

As soon as I get to work, I walk into this from one of my coworkers.

Supposedly I don't speak to her enough. I stop and chat with everybody around her but not with her.

First of all, "Bitch please, we aren't in kindergarten. Who does this? We are coworkers, not friends. I am nice to you because we have to work together and because I don't want anything negativo on my evaluation. I am nothing if not professional, but again, that does not equate me wanting to be your friend."

She's really lucky she didn't catch me before my EC kicked in or I would have shared these thoughts with her; evaluation be damned, I have a whole year to recover from any minor slip-ups. Fortunately, I had already "eased" into my morning when I got this little confrontation and spiel.

Second, she's exactly right. I don't talk to her other than the customary greetings. I've tried the idle chit-chat, but 9 times out of 10, I'd get forced into having a 20 minute conversation about the constant streams of drama she has swirling around her at any given point. Trust me, it's better to have me ignore you than you have this look:

See, the thing is, in addition to constantly being involved in some kind of personal/work-related drama, she's one of those people who need constant reinforcement that they are liked and are doing a good job. A few years ago, I probably would have indulged her, but these days, I am sooooo not the one. I have been around a person in the past who constantly needed validation and proof that you were a good friend. Nothing was ever good enough. You could never show enough that you were a friend all the while you got nothing in return. These types of people suck the very lifeblood out of you and drain away any joy you might have. No thanks, been there, done that, don't need another T-shirt. Luckily for me and unfortunately for her, I can now see those familiar red flags a mile away and make it a point to distance myself. I guess she picked up on it, but I really don't care because until my job description says that I have to be everyone's friend, my treatment of her will not change. In fact she may get less since she made it an issue today.

Ok, rant over. Other than that and a few minor but correctable annoyances that actually were in my job description today was overall a pretty decent day. I give it a C+/B-. My boss has been on vacation so I've had a pretty laid back week. I also had a fantastic cheat meal today. I went to Chipotle's and had a

Now it's time to kick back, relax and watch the Braves play. Go Braves!!!!

Winding Down with Week 8

2010-07-30T15:27:00.001-04:00

Week 8 is coming to a close and I have settled nicely into my routine. Earlier this week I was sick and missed training on Monday and Tuesday. Normally, I wouldn’t have given it a second thought, but I found myself in addition to feeling sick, feeling “off”, like something was missing. It then hit me that my “new” routine had officially become my “now” routine. I used to resent routines because I saw them as tedious and smothering, something that suburban soccer moms and middle aged men did. Remember the Dunkin Doughnuts commercials…”Time to Make the Doughnuts”. I enjoyed “living in the moment”, “flying by the seat of my pants” etc. What I’ve now learned is that anything negative can be changed to positive with a shift in mindset. I really think this key point is what has been missing in all of my other failed attempts. Well, that I wasn’t on a man-hunt all those other times. LOL. Anyway, I digress. Now, I view the time spent prepping food, packing my gym bag, going to the gym, etc. as the small daily goals that I need to meet in order to reach the big goal. I no longer have to worry that Facebook, Maximum Fitness Consulting (www.maximumfitnessconsulting.com), Ebay, and all of the other places I used to spend my nights hours with will crumble and implode if I’m not around. Most nights I don’t get home before 7pm and I’m perfectly OK with it. I remember a few months ago complaining in another blog post about how much crap I have to carry into and out of my home each day (purse, lunch tote, gym bag, water bottle, etc.) Now I’m like the momma duck with all of her baby duckies lined up at the front door. I know what goes where, (purse over left shoulder, lunch tote on left wrist, water bottle in left hand, gym bag on right wrist, keys in right hand). It actually feels weird on the weekends when I just have my purse). Funny the things we (I) find to bitch about. I have definitely been guilty of letting the small things get in the way of the bigger and better things. I’m actually still fine tuning my weekend routine. For me weekends = sleeping late/multiple naps, but after all of these years I’m finally coming to the conclusion that this is no longer working for me. I’ve really starting developing an interest in yardsaling, mainly in search of vintage items. FYI: Vintage items are HUGE sellers on Ebay. Although I don’t make it out every Saturday morning, I am increasing the number of times per month that I do get out.

Coming Up:
One of my closest girlfriends, Ana H. will be coming down for a visit at the end of the month. We haven’t seen each other since several of us made a trek up to Canada in 2007. My goal is to lose another 10lbs before she gets here. I’m really looking forward to her visit. I know we’re all going to have tons of laughs. We have so many old stories that no matter how many times they get retold are still sooooo funny. I know there will be lots of treats and cheats too. I can’t wait!!!

The ABC's of Me

2010-07-26T10:16:00.002-04:00

A
- Available: Depends on who’s asking.
- Age: 41
- Annoyance: arrogance and liars
- Animal: Dogs are my favorite but I don’t own one yet.

B
- Birthday: July 1
- Body part on opposite sex: Chest and butt
- Best weather: 80 – 85 degrees, breezy and no humidity
- Burial or Cremation: Cremation

C
- Candy: Hershey’s Cookies and Creme
- Color: Pink (all shades)
- Chinese/Mexican: Mexican
- Cake or pie: Cake! I hate pie!
- Cheese: Cheddar, mozzarella, provolone, American – nothing too pungent

D
- Day or Night: Night
- Dance in the rain?: yes
- Dog/Cat – Dogs!! Love all of their little sweet faces.

E
- Eggs: scrambled and hard-boiled
- Ever failed a class?: oh yeah

F
- First crush: Erik Estrada and Mr. Smith – my 7th grade history teacher
- First thoughts waking up: I need more sleep
- Food: a love/hate relationship

G
- Greatest fear: stalkers, being buried alive, someone I care about being wrongly accused and then convicted of a crime.
- Goals: to be the best me possible and live the best life possible
- Gum: Bubble Gum, Cinnamon, Mint (in that order)
- Get along with your parents: Mother: Yes!! Father: It’s a work in progress
- Good luck charm: don't believe in them. I create my own luck.

H
- Hair color: Dark brown. I’m doing wigs as protective styling right now until I can grow and thicken up my own. Talk about a work in progress!! Whew, it’s never-ending.
- Height: 5’2
- Happy: most of the time
- Holiday: Christmas
- How do you want to die: I prefer not to.

I
- Ice cream: Ben and Jerry’s Strawberry Cheesecake, Chubby Hubby, and Chocolate Fudge Brownie (In that order)
- Instrument: Does the recorder in 2nd grade count? If not, then none
-Icing: Buttercream
-Iphone or Blackberry: Love my iphone!

J
- Jewelry: I’m really into making my own right now. I’m not very good at it, but getting better
- Job: Insurance (Vision) – Strategic Planning
-Juice: Tropicana Orange with Extra Pulp

K
- Kids: I’ll just enjoy a select few that belong to others. I don’t see them in my future.
- Keep a journal: I have 2 blogs, one public and one private. The private one is my journal

L
- Love at first sight?: I think it’s possible, but I’ve never experienced it.
- Laughed so hard you cried: many times

M
- Milk flavor: Chocolate
- Movie: Not a huge movie fan. I watch more TV
- Marriage: Some day
- Motion sickness: Nope

N
- Number of siblings: 1 younger brother: Marc
- Number of piercings: 2 holes in each ear

O
- Overused Phrases: too many clichés out there to even begin to mention
- Onions/Garlic: Love them both!

P
- Place you’d like to live: Anywhere near the beach or NYC
- Perfect Pizza: Lots of cheese, meat and veggies. No ham or pineapple
- Pepsi/Coke: Diet Pepsi
-Pedi or Mani: Mani

Q
- Questionnaires: don’t mind answering if I have the time

R
- Reason to cry: I don’t cry much, but hearing about animals and the elderly being mistreated will make me cry in a heartbeat
- Reality T.V.: hate it!
- Radio station: Prefer satellite radio
- Roll your tongue in a circle: no can do
- Ring Size: 8 – I have fat fingers

S
- Shoe size: 8.5
- Salad dressing: Ranch
- Sushi: Bleech!
- Shower daily?: Definitely
- Sing well?: Can’t carry a tune in a bucket
- Strawberries/Blueberries: Strawberries

T
- Time for bed: During the week, shoot for 11-ish, weekends: whenever I get sleepy
- Thunderstorms: indifferent as long as my power doesn’t go out
- TV: probably watch too much, but love CSI and Law and Order
- Touch your tongue to your nose: No can do

U
- Unpredictable: sometimes
- Umbrella: Always have one close. I’m not a fan of getting soaked

V
- Vegetable you hate: Cooked cabbage and squash
- Vacation spot: anywhere tropical

W
- Weakness: sleep
- Wanted to be a model: that dream ended when I stopped growing at 5’2
- Which one of your friends acts the most like you: None. I am an original
- Worst weather: Sleet and cold rain.

X
-Xtreme Sports: Not really interested in them.

Y
- Year it is now: 2010
- Yellow: like the darker variations like deep gold. Pastels are my favorite.
-Yelling or Whispering: I prefer quiet, but each one has it’s time and place.

Z
- Zoo animal: Lions and Gorillas
- Zodiac sign: Cancer

It only took one.....

2010-07-25T17:32:00.002-04:00

I went to my first "real" professional baseball game last weekend and I am officially hooked AGAIN. I used to be a fan, but somehow I got disinterested in the game. Now I'm officially back. GO BRAVES!! It was a fun day. Things started off a little wet. When we all arrived, we were smack in the middle of a downpour. After a 35 minute rain delay, the game started and the temps cooled off considerably to make the majority of the game quite pleasant. The temps started rising again around the 7th inning but was still tolerable. We had great seats; 2 rows behind the right hand batter's box. I'm officially spoiled.

Braves Dugout

My man Martin Prado at bat!! Yummy!!

Catcher - Brian McCann - My quads would be on FIYAH if I had to squat for that long. Hmm..I wonder how much he squats in the gym.

Jason Heyward - what an amazing rookie season he's having. So young and so talented.

Loud,unattractive, obnoxious drunk lady who insisted on harassing one of the opposing team members.

Another of the loud, obnoxious drunk lady. Someone needs to tell her how to sit in a skirt. She was showing her goods "I use the term 'goods' lightly" to anyone unfortunate enough to walk by. Yes, a skirt, not a skort. Trust me when I say I posted the non-retina burning photos of how she was looking.

Week 7 coming to an end....

2010-07-22T20:00:00.003-04:00

This was me yesterday

after I weighed and saw I had lost

Actually, this morning I was down 1 more pound but I'm only counting the 10 since it was my official weigh in day. I refuse to get into the habit of weighing myself every day and letting the number determine what type of day it will be; that's my yahoo co-workers' job. Hahaha!!

The Receipt, Part Deux

2010-07-17T18:55:00.003-04:00

So anyway, picking up where I left off; that was 6 weeks ago and today I can happily say that I feel fantastic and I've lost almost 10 pounds and close to 3 inches off my waist. My other measurements have gone down as well. I'm still not able to look back and that day and laugh, but I know one day I will....one day when I'm sitting across the table staring into Mr. Hotness's baby blues..Hehehehe!!!

You know, that day did something else as well, it made me look back and evaluate what my dating pool has been like over the past year. These are people who approached me, not people that I actually went out with. Let me share:

Potential Date #1: The vending machine guy. Ok sorry, this will probably sound snotty but it's my blog so whatever. I am 41 yrs old. I'm not trying to date someone who's career is stocking pork rinds and Skittles throughout the metro Atlanta area. He may be the nicest guy in the world, but that's just not what I'm looking for. I've invested a lot in my education and my career so I'm looking for the same. Sorry, but that's the truth.

PD #2: Now this is someone who I went to high school with who now lives in the area and we connected on Facebook. Again, very nice from what I remember in school. He currently has 8 kids with 5 baby-mamas. These kids range from 22 yrs old to 8 months with the 22 year old having a child himself. So basically, I would have to deal with 5 baby mamas and potentially become a grandmother without ever having given birth myself. Ugh, no thanks. Again, I'll pass.

PD #3: Now this guy is the most recent and I actually considered meeting him for coffee, that is until he told me that he couldn't drive because his license was suspended, which means I'd have to do all of the driving. Geez, this is exhausting.

Anyway, I started thinking. Seriously, is this what my future holds as far as available men? Why am I not attracting "normal" men like my Mr. Hotness. Simple. The men that I'm interested in simply are not attracted to fat women. Harsh, but true. Hell, I'm not attracted to fat men, so why should my expectations be any different. If I want to improve my dating pool, I need to improve myself. You see, there are men out there who think that because you are fat and single, you should be happy to have anyone pay you some attention. Do you really think Mr. Vending would approach someone who looked like Halle Berry? Maybe, but probably not. Unlike Halle, I'm am non-threatening. Now this is just my perception of things. I could be way off, but I don't think so.

Regardless, here I am 6 weeks later, still going strong, with no intention of stopping. Actually, I have some new motivation (not male related) that I'll blog about separately.

I think when I reach my goal and if Mr. Hotness is still single, I'll take him to Captain D's for lunch to celebrate. LOL.

The Receipt That Launched a Thousand Workouts

2010-07-15T19:26:00.004-04:00

I never in a million years thought a 2pc fish and fries and a sweet tea from Capt. D’s would be a defining moment in my life. Up until now, I really hadn’t had any of those type moments, but boy was that about to change. Ok, let me back up. See, there’s this man at work (yeah, it’s always about a man) that I’ve been admiring from afar for a few months now. You know, the typical stuff, making small talk in the breakroom/hallways, walking past his office a few times a day to smell is cologne, mentally undressing him in my head, blowing up my computer so he’ll have to send someone over to fix it…just kidding on the last one, mentally undressing him in my head…errr, sorry, I got sidetracked. Anyway, back to Capt. D’s. Well, for those of you that know me, you know that I’m a sporadic dieter at best. I never seem to keep my motivation going for over a week at a time. I’ve been like this for a while now and the June 1 (the date on the receipt) wasn’t any different. I left work to go grab something to eat since as usual I didn’t bring anything from home. I decided on Capt. D’s since it was close. I go trudging inside and low and behold, who do I see standing in line? Yep, Mr. Hotness himself!!! Normally, this would have been a good thing, but it was hot outside so of course I was sweating and that would be the one farking day I didn’t’ wear any makeup so I was looking pretty much like a hot mess. I really wanted to turn around and leave but before I could, Mr. Hotness saw me and struck up a conversation. Mmmm, he smelled soooo good. I swear I don’t remember too much of what he said up until the point that he said “So, do you want to join me for lunch or are you getting yours to go?” Errrr….what!?!?!? LUNCH!! JUST THE TWO OF US!!! WOOOOHOOOOO!!! MY PRAYERS HAVE BEEN ANSWERED! THE UNIVERSE IS SMILING ON ME!! TODAY I AM THE WINDSHIELD AND NOT THE BUG!!!..or so you would think. The next seconds will be forever etched into my brain. My response was, “Oh, I’d love to, but I really need to get back to the office. I’m just getting mine to go” What in the Sam Hill just happened? Who said that? Why did you just let a golden opportunity to get to know him better pass you by? You.are.a.RETARD!! Well the reason I did was “simply-complex”. The first thing I thought was “What if I can’t fit in the booth?” Yep, sad but true. My life had come to this. What's even sadder is that if you look at the receipt, you'll noticed that clearly I wasn't too devastated and digusted with myself to walk out of there with a 2 pc fish and fries dinner and a SWEET tea.

To be continued……

Leaving work and heading to the gym for workout number 37/1000.

An Open Letter to S. Phillips

2010-06-23T20:26:00.002-04:00

It has been recently brought to my attention that someone by the name of Sarah or Sariah Phillips has been sending "naughty" emails to my two favorite blog subjects. Now while I support anyone's efforts to make their lives a little more miserable, Boo, I'm going to have to ask you to stop this tomfoolery with a quickness. You see, the problem is that I'm being mistaken for you and basically your style of writing sucks monkey balls and I can't allow myself to be associated with it. Your writing style is choppy at best and your vocabulary is limited. You seem to have a love affair with incomplete thoughts and run on sentences. You see Boo, my literary shit flows. My sentences are complete thoughts with correct punctuation. My vocabulary and grammar exceeds far beyond the average seventh grader, while yours does not. Actually in my year of editing much of the female blog subject's correspondence with the male blog subject, I pretty much recognize this style of "writing" but that's neither here nor there. I'm actually pretty damn offended by this nonsense. I'm offended that after numerous years of correspondence and blog posts that this raggedly mess is being attributed to me. Surely I've presented myself as being more educated than this. Clearly the drunken yahoo is looking at content vs. quality on this one. I'm actually shocked that his deductive reasoning skills aren't sharper. I always prided him on that. Hahahaha, in all seriousness, if the quality was good, I'd probably shut up and take the credit for being a pest, but this is so bad that I just cannot be silent. Besides, when have I ever been anonymous and private in my thoughts on this subject? That alone should be a red flag. Clearly someone's reasoning skills are amiss. The bottom line to S. Phillips is this....STOP!.... Pump your brakes!!.....Stay in your lane!!...... Recognize that sharing your thoughts through the written word is not for you!!!.... Some of us are meant to be READERS and not WRITERS...Ask for some help next time!!

OKThanxbai!

2010-06-17T19:38:00.002-04:00

Wow, it's been a while since I updated this thing. I took a little break from blogging. I just wasn't interested in doing it anymore. Now, I'm ready to start again. I guess it was just one of life's ebbs and flows. I love how things usually tend to work. One area ebbs while the other flows. Over the past month, I've had some really good opportunities come my way both in my work, financial and personal life, so I've really been focusing on those things. I've had some "defining/not.so.good" moments as well (ugh...Captain D's and the $7 accounting mistake that cost me almost $300) but as always, you can either learn from them or let them derail you. After a mini pity party, I chose the former and things are really on track right now in several areas of my life. Sometimes I guess when we get a little too comfy in one place, we need a little kick in the pants to get us moving again. Unfortunately, I got two, straight in the ass!!!! BooooHisssssBoooooo!!!! Anyway, I'm in the process of implementing some of those opportunities so I definitely want to document my progress in my blog.

My new favorite song...

2010-04-17T15:50:00.001-04:00

I'm loving this song. I have it in a continuous loop as one of my Ipod playlists.

Homemade Apple Butter

2010-04-15T10:24:00.002-04:00

Mmm..this is so good! I made a batch yesterday. It takes a little longer to cook than I'm used to but to me it was worth it. I'll post the recipe as I found it, but I added more spices to suit my own tastes. Next time I'm going to try it with one of the flavored unsweetened applesauces like maybe peach or pear. I had some on a bagel but I'm thinking it would be really good on some egg white french toast.

I was able to get 20 tbsps from my batch but this will probably vary depending on how thick you like your apple butter. I'll post the macros for the entire batch and then it can be divided by the number of tbsp you get.

Homemade Apple Butter

1 (14-oz) can unsweetened applesauce

1/4 cup (2-oz) apple juice - I used juice boxes (Eden's Harvest) so I wouldn't have to buy a large bottle of apple juice

1/4 c. Splenda

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1/4 tsp salt

Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 40-50 minutes or until thick and smooth, stirring occasionally.

After cooling, refrigerate in a closed container for up to 3 weeks.

Total calories: 198

Total carbs: 52

RuP.

2010-04-14T19:46:00.002-04:00

His hair and makeup look better some women I know.

Yummy Apricot Chicken Recipe

2010-04-13T14:23:00.002-04:00

I've been trying to get a little more creative with my cooking lately. I've been experimenting with different herbs/spices, just trying to add a little more variety to my diet. I made this last night and it was pretty tasty. I'm going to try it with raspberry next time.

Apricot Chicken

1/2 c. sugar free apricot preserves ( I used Pollaner's)
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. chopped fresh sage or thyme ( I used thyme)
1 clove garlic, minced
4 small skinless, boneless chicken breasts

Preheat the broiler. In a small microwave-safe bowl, combine the apricot preserves, lemon juice, chopped sage/thyme, and garlic. Microwave for 15 seconds, and stir until well combined. Set aside half the sauce. Coat a baking dish with cooking spray. Place the chicken in the baking dish and brush with half of the remaining apricot sause. Broil for 6 minutes. Turn the chicken and brush with more apricot sauce. Return to the broiler and cook for another 6 minutes. Serve with remaining apricot sauce.

Yield: 4 servings

Each serving: 162 calories - 10 carbs - 3 g. fat - 27 g. protein

Next on my list is homemade apple butter. I love love love apple butter!!

Thought for the Day...

2010-04-05T18:22:00.003-04:00

I saw this on another board I post on and thought it was awesome!!!

"I'm Great whether you agree or not. Instead of worrying about my Greatness, figure out why you're lacking in the Great department."

2010-03-24T20:54:00.003-04:00

Just sitting here waiting for my pedi to dry. I painted the toesies lavender shimmer in honor of spring, and in hopes that spring will hang around for more than one day. The weather in Atlanta has been crazy this year. It was in the 70's last weekend, then it snowed on Monday and now back to the 70's.

I'm still keeping busy with work. It's hard going from a job that you know everything about into one where you know absolutely nothing, but I'm enjoying the process and learning new things. New things always help out the ol resume.

I trained HARD tonight at the gym. I'm sure I'll be paying tommorrow and Friday but it will be worth it. I feel fabulous right now.

Tonight's program was:

DB Split Squats
Close grip lat pull downs
Cable Pull throughs
Seated DB Press
Standing Calf Raises (one of my favs) I lurvs some shapely calves on women.
Pulldown Abs
DB Laterals (Ghey)
Planks (Double Ghey)

I've decided that for me personally, when it comes to diet and training, I can't have any days off because they tend to turn into weeks off. I'm like the typical alcoholic that just tries to drink one drink and then before you know it ends up sprawled out drunk in a carport clutching an empty Sprite bottle and calling out someone else's name. Well maybe not that bad, it you get the idea. Days off just don't really work for me, at least not now. So what to do, what to do???

Changing gears....
I've been wanting to volunteer in some capacity for quite a while now. Since I really don't like folk much, I've found the perfect solution...

Soon I will be volunteering at a pet foodbank. I'm on a waiting list for the one closest to my home. The one that has openings now is clear across the city, which means in Atlanta traffic, an hour one way easily. Hopefully the other one will need more volunteers soon. I'm so excited. I love love love dogs (cats are OK) and since my current lifestyle isn't really conducive to owning a pet right now, this is perfect. I get to spend time with animals and help make sure they have plenty to eat. Again, I'm so excited!!!!

Thanks Jennifer Lynn A......

2010-03-14T18:24:00.001-04:00

....for finding and sharing this.

Me!!

2010-03-13T16:46:00.002-05:00

This has been me this week. Even after a bout with food poisoning last weekend, this has been an awesome week!!

Big things a poppin~small things a droppin!!!

March Already ?!?!?

2010-03-03T15:11:00.002-05:00

Woosa!! I can’t believe it’s March already. This year is going by so fast. I’m loving it though, here are a few high points:

January 2010: Actually the transition started in December, but January 2010 began with me in a new position at my place of employment. I.Love.It!! I still have the same boss and she is FANTASTIC. I love working for her. I have learned so much from her. She’s not only a great boss but a great mentor as well. She has really caused me to reevaluate some of my professional goals and to be objective about which areas need improvement. One of the most helpful tools in finding out which areas you are strong in is Tom Rath’s Strengths Finders 2.0. All employees here have to take the online course.

Below are my top 5 strengths and they TOTALLY fit who I am as a person. I was stunned by the accuracy of the assessment. The assessment is much much more in depth but here is a basic thumbnail sketch:

• Input: People who are especially talented in the Input theme have a craving to know more (maybe this is why some people tend to think I’m nosy). Often they like to collect and archive all kinds of information.

• Context: People who are especially talented in the Context them enjoy thinking about the past (anyone who knows me, knows I’m a HUGE history buff; I’m the dork who took ALL of the history classes offered in college just because I wanted to). They understand the present by researching its history.

• Intellection: People who are especially talented in the Intellection theme are characterized by their intellectual activity. They are introspective and appreciate intellectual discussions.

• Futuristic: People who are especially talented in the Futuristic theme are inspired by the future and what could be. (I think this explains my strong beliefs in all of the Universal Laws, mainly the Law of Attraction as well as Quantum Physics and the power of the human mind). They inspire people with their visions of the future. (Inspire maybe, but I know I annoy a few people LOL)

• Learner: People who are especially talented in the Learner them have a great desire to learn and want to continuously improve. In particular, the process of learning, rather than the outcome, excites them. The underlined portion says a lot about my non-competitive nature. I truly enjoy learning a process vs. the actual outcome which may explain why I 9/10 know tons about a subject but often struggle with applying the knowledge. Unfortunately, this is often characterized as being lazy or “ just not wanting something bad enough”.

February 2010: After 8 years of not having a car payment I threw in the towel and bought a new car. My 1993 Pontiac Bonneville is happily retired and is looking forward to becoming a donor to other less fortunate Pontiacs who might be in need of parts assistance. I bought a 2008 Hyundai Sonata which is very similar to probably a Toyota Camry in size and body style. Our new relationship kinda got off to a rocky start though. A bad body sensor was draining the battery and eventually fried my radio. I went through 3 batteries the first week I had the car (my radio is still on backorder. Grrr!!!) Luckily diagnostics and a 10 yr/100,000 mile warranty brought us back together and now we are happier than ever. :grin:

The first 3 days of March have been pretty uneventful, just work , work and more work but I’m not complaining. It’s challenging leaving a job that you knew everything about and moving into a new one in which you know NOTHING. I’m making it work though and am very excited about everything that is to come this year.

2010-02-19T09:15:00.009-05:00

Yep, I’m changing the name of my blog yet again.

525,600 is the number of minutes in a year. If you've ever watched the movie or the play Rent, you've probably heard the song "Seasons of Love" and how it talks about how we spend those 525,600 minutes. Actually I remember hearing it for the first time as the background music for a then local NBC television station's annual look back at the top stories of the year. I hummed the chorus for at least a year before I discovered that Google was my friend and found the correct name of the song. I still find myself humming it on a daily basis.

Anyhoo, we’re 50 days into 2010 and I was reflecting back on when I first started my blog and what my goals and intentions were and how they are the same and yet in some ways different from the ones I have for today. One of the major things that I now think is important is to capture all 525,600 minutes in some way, shape or form. The little things are just as important as the big things. I think random pictures, quotes, videos, thoughts etc. in all areas of my life are just important as the “biggies” and should be equally celebrated. While my main focus definitely still needs to be on physique/diet improvements, I also have financial, spiritual, relationship and personal goals that need to be documented and given equal time as well. Creating balance is one of the things that I am continuing to focus on throughout this new year and beyond.

Below is my very first blog entry and my first comments received from last year. I love looking back and comparing where I was then to where I am now. Some things have changed and others have remained the same. The main thing I remember was that I was so excited to finally get a blog up and going and then actually receive comments of support right off bat. It was an awesome feeling.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009
I thought it be really interesting to document the step-by-step emancipation of the lean, chiseled, 5 inch heel, blinged out suit wearing figure diva that is now trapped under 200+ lbs of flubber that is currently me. This will be a long process but in the end, it will be something that will be truly amazing to look back on and see exactly where it all started.

My name is Lyn and I am fat..so fat that I have the beginning stages of a F.U.P.A. If you don't know what one of those is, well, then Google is your friend, look it up. Anyway, like I was saying, I am fat. I am not thick, big-boned, heavy-set or any of those nice words people like to use to describe the obese. I prefer to keep it real and call 'em like I see 'em. I am simply fat. I did not get this way due to a thyroid issue, or any type of medical issue. I got this way because I ate too much and exercised too little. I am a lover of all that is fried, buttered, greasy, sweet and fat-laden. I have never met a combo meal that I didn't like. But you know what? I am a lover of me too and I know this is not the me I want to go through life being. I am vain. I want to look good and I want others to think I look good. I admit it. I will enjoy the jealous and bitchy looks that I will one day receive. I will enjoy the attention I get from men. I will not care that the attention will piss off wives and girlfriends. That will be their issue, not mine. ...just keeping it real. I'm not by any means saying that I will go out of my way to dress or act inappropriately, but I will enjoy the fruits of my labor. Another reality is that one does not lug around 200+ lbs of fat for multiple years without some wear and tear on the body. When all is said and done and before I hit the NPC stage (or any stage) in my red crushed velvet suit and my 5 inch heels, I will need plastic surgery. I will definitely need a breast lift and a tummy tuck. I am saving for those now. It's quite possible that I will need some work done on my inner thighs as well. I plan on documenting all of that here as part of my process. I am also a very strong believer of the power of the human mind so my thoughts, feelings, frustrations etc will be documented as well. I want to remember everything, good and bad. Nothing is insignificant if the diva is to be freed.

During this process I am very lucky to have the support, knowledge and guidance of some very special friends, some of who's identity will be kept a secret for now, but when revealed will only make the end result that much sweeter. I know that not every day will be a victory, but I am ready for the battle. I am keeping in mind some famous words from Winston Churchill, "It's not enough that we do our best; sometimes we have to to what's required."

Posted by Anissa.Lynette at 6:52 PM
4 comments:
The Urban Perspective said...
Love the premise of your blog :) It's always good when you can laugh at yourself. You got me curious as to what's underneath it all. Look forward to more from you .

January 28, 2009 8:27 PM
Lis said...
LYN!! I can't wait to follow this journey that you have chosen to take. You're right, it's going to be A LOT of work but the rewards are even greater. I'll be checking in on ya!

Always support,
LM

January 29, 2009 3:21 AM
Sportsgirl said...
I'll forgive you for dissing my Steak 'n Guinness pie.

Look forward to following your journey!!

Your blog is all pretty with these pink bows on the side!

February 1, 2009 2:01 AM
kevamykaikam said...
I love the intro! You are always so well with words, not to mention funny. I can't wait to see you debut your hot body!!

February 1, 2009 10:00 AM

Oh and here’s a link to the video of the song that inspired the name change of the blog. I love the message.

Snow - February 2010

2010-02-13T11:24:00.002-05:00

I'm not a huge fan of snow, especially a lot of it. I can pretty much take it or leave it. It snowed here yesterday; reports say 3.5 -4 inches average in most areas of metro-Atlanta, GA. Here are few pictures from my home. It's pretty and it did get me out of work yesterday a few hours early, but now I'm ready for it to melt so I can get back to my regularly scheduled programming.

February MFC Challenge!!!

2010-02-02T20:47:00.002-05:00

This should be fun!!!

100% on plan for the entire month and no cheats until Elizabeth's birthday dinner!

Varrroommmm!!!!

Just Wow!!

2010-01-25T19:55:00.001-05:00

The shape that this woman is in simply amazes and inspires me.

2010-01-01T02:00:00.001-05:00

Last Post of 2009

2009-12-31T16:51:00.002-05:00

Ahhh, we're finally in the last hours of 2009. I am so excited about the upcoming new year.

I'm going to end the year with a little word association game.

I'll post a picture or word and then another picture that can be a direct association.

Hmmm, let me think for a sec. Ok, got it.

Ok, lets try another.

Jump-off or Sidepiece: can refer to a man/woman or mistress you fuck on the side of your regular.

Oooo, that's an easy one.....

Ok, last one.....

CUNT:

Good Bye 2009!!

Lyn's Comment for the day

2009-12-27T21:54:00.004-05:00

In a few days I will have a new number for the new year. I am looking forward to 2010 and the many changes it promises to bring. So....if you happen to NOT get my new number, then YOU are apart of that change.

Quote for the Day

2009-12-24T19:33:00.001-05:00

“Christmas gift suggestions: To your enemy, forgiveness. To an opponent, tolerance. To a friend, your heart. To a customer, service. To all, charity. To every child, a good example. To yourself, respect.” Oren Arnold

2009-12-22T19:05:00.000-05:00

Trip to Canada

2009-12-18T18:20:00.005-05:00

Funny how times flies. This time two years ago we all had just returned from a trip to Canada. I swear it sometimes seems just like yesterday and sometimes it seems life a lifetime ago. I can't wait to go back sometime in 2010.

We don't get this much snow in the south. It was fun to visit and leave in Canada.

Ana's Christmas Tree, well half of it :grin: I'm too lazy to resize. Yeah, I'm a dork when it comes to pictures.

Noel and her Ketchup Chips. Man I wish we had those here. They are quite tasty.

Ana, Cindy, Ileen, Laura, me and Noel.

Ana and Cindy

Me and Noel. Noel had this picture framed. I love it.

Sexayyy!!

Sexayyy!!! II

Lightweights.

Again, don't feel like resizing these puppies.

I wonder if these bad boys are still around? Stylish eh? They were a gift for someone who hates Crocs and bandanas. I had to finally give up my love for classic Crocs shortly thereafter, but I still like some of the newer styles. Shhhhh!! and of course I still love my bandanas.

Oh really now.....

2009-11-25T21:33:00.002-05:00

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know I need to let it go and I will, I just HATE being called a liar and having others convinced that I'm a liar. I promise I will not be bringing this into 2010 but once again, it is my blog so I can post what I want. Nobody has to read it that doesn't want to. It reads from the bottom up. So yeah, I'm the one who dumped her. Umm, ok.

---- Forwarded Message -----
From: anilyn@comcast.net
To: amyperez@vzw.blackberry.net
Sent: Sunday, July 5, 2009 8:17:47 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern
Subject: Re:

Amy, when I sent Sandi that message at 11:40pm she wasn't even on the board. She replied back at 11:59pm. There was no reason to her to contact Erik. Ok, so you thought Kevin had sent me something? I sent Kevin that text the same night before I pm'd Sandi, so that with the pm from Sandi/Erik, there was no way you could not have known. In my misguided concern about you and your family's well-being, I contacted Noel and she in turn contacted Eddie, so I know your phone hadn't been off for a week other than to your "friends" so I'm sorry Amy I'm calling BS, you knew that I didn't know a thing and quite frankly I don't think you even cared. How much effort and energy would it have taken to text "I'm fine, need to be alone?" This is clearly the "sanitized" version of what is really going with you, which is fine, when it comes down to it you don't owe me anything. If you feel closer to Sandi after knowing her a month, fine, your choice. I just find it interesting that you seemed to take issue with others doing the same thing, but still your choice. I swear I dont even know who you are anymore. It's that why you felt the need to block me from FB? Did you think I would pass judgement on your for going back to Erik or whatever relationship that you/Erik/Kevin/Laura have? Really? After all of this time and all of the things we've discussed and seen between Erik and others, you'd think that? Whatever? I'm calling a spade a spade.....obviously, you want new friendships with people who don't know how things really are, so you can paint some pretty picture of how you want to believe things are fine, so be it, but don't try to feed me bullshit and try to pass it off as cake. Remember how I always said that people mistake me not saying something as not knowing, well this is fine example. So yeah, you hurt me, a lot and for the record, I never saw things ending like this either. Hell, I never imagined things ending at all, but as in life, not all things are my decision.
----- Original Message -----
From: amyperez@vzw.blackberry.net
To: anilyn@comcast.net
Sent: Sunday, July 5, 2009 6:09:26 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern
Subject: Re:

I can only blame myself, so no apologies needed. He admitted to me 2 years ago that he was attracted to her. (This was after I saw him act weird around her) but what actually brought it all to surface was him still being friendly with erik. Almost being ok with things. Little did I know that kevin had talked to him about Keri!! Gee sounds just like Will talking to erik. When I finally talked to laura, she then went to erik and crap hit the fan. We all talked (laura and I) (erik and kevin) and then I talked to erik and kevin talked to laura.
I turned off my phone for a week. As far as sandi is concerned, she fwd the pm to erik after not being able to get a hold of me right away. It wasn't until u sent the text to kev that I checked my msgs. I really thought kevin was going to contact you. So I'm sorry. I have nothing against you and of everyone I have met thru lbf, I've been the closest with u. I'm sorry I've hurt you and did not expect things to end like this. I only got back in contact w ames since thursday afternoon after she called the house. (Not that it excuses me not talking to u or anyone else)

I am very sorry for hurting u lyn. Of all people-i didn't want to do that to u.

From: anilyn@comcast.net
Date: Sun, 5 Jul 2009 19:34:34 +0000 (UTC)
To: amy Perez
Subject:

Amy, I am really sorry about what Kevin did and about you being hurt. I really am. Nobody deserves to be deceived like that. I hope that you guys can work through it because I really think that you two are a wonderful couple and have an amazing family. I have looked up to you both since I've known you. The problem I have is that I haven't heard a word from you since June 25 and today did you not block me from Facebook? Facebook is trivial, but Amy, I kept texting you over and over and calling you because I was worried that something awful had happened to you or your family. I know you got those texts, so would that not be an indication that I had not heard anything about you? I even asked you in the last one to just please tell me that you were alive and safe and I got nothing. Was that not an indication that I knew nothing or that no one had contacted me? I even contacted Sandi to ask about you a week ago. I was told by her that you were fine but you had a lot on your plate. I have no doubt that she told you I contacted her since she doesn't know me from Adam. I know you've been in contact with Ames regularly for about a week, and now the FB thing, so although, I am so sorry that all of this is going on and I wouldn't wish this on anyone, I do think I am justified in my feelings and for those texts.

Decisions, decisions...

2009-11-23T14:19:00.003-05:00

Hmmm, word is that I, not CuntFace Perez is a liar. Comments like this really make me want to share. I'm debating posting an email that I sent to Amy, Erik, Amy's hubby Kevin, and the supposed object of Kevin's affection according to Amy, a few months ago. I sent the email then because Amy accused me of being the liar and the one who dumped her and Erik. I have no doubt Amy was able to spin a web a lies to convince folks to believe her and how a 3-4 paragraph email could be one big lie. Wow, that stretched out pussy of hers must have some magic powers that cause people to lose all powers of common sense. Regardless, I'm debating whether or not I should share the letter as a fitting and proper closing for 2009 or should I just move on and wish Amy and all involved the absolute worst the life has to offer, both options have their own merit.

Funny of the Day

2009-11-21T13:46:00.002-05:00

Days of Thunder......

2009-10-20T22:05:00.006-04:00

Tickets to "The Men of Texas" male revue.....$25

On stage lapdance.......$10

A special appearance by teh Thunder.......PRICELESS!!!

The Men of Texas

2009-10-20T17:57:00.003-04:00

I found these old pictures from a girl's night back when I lived in Knoxville. I hated east TN, but I must say this was a fun night.

Whoever knew spandex and cowboy boots could look so good?

Changing My Name

2009-10-13T18:29:00.002-04:00

Hmm..I'm thinking about changing the name of my blog. My goals haven't changed but since I like to blog about a variety of people, places and things, the title really doesn't fit. Just thinking out loud.

A little whine with my egg white and cheese omelette

2009-10-08T21:19:00.008-04:00

Ya know, I've decided that the worst thing about working out at 5am and going straight to work afterwards isn't the getting up part, it's the lugging all of the extra crap around part. Seriously, I have to make two trips to the car....work clothes on hangers so they don't wrinkle, purse, gym bag with toiletries and junk, water bottle, and cooler with the day's food. Hmm maybe I just have too much shit to begin with, but I NEEEEED my stuff. I can't go to work looking all wrinkled and busted up. I'm just waiting for the day that I forget my wig/hairpieces and have to wear my bandana all day. Nah, I'd call in sick before that shit happened. It doesn't help that a Chick-Fil-A is right around the corner. If I had a dollar for every time a chicken biscuit has almost flown into my mouth (pun intended) I could just get some lipo and call it a day. Yeah, today has been a sucking hairy, sweaty, stinky monkey balls kind of a day with another "bootleg" Friday seemingly on the horizon. Ok, the next sound you hear will be Lyn sucking it up. Man, somebody needs a nap.

Rainy Days and Mondays

2009-10-05T08:54:00.000-04:00

....always get me down. Bleech. That is all.

Lyn on crack!l

2009-09-28T20:27:00.004-04:00

Hmmmm....

I'm not sure why this is skipping so much. It wasn't on my camera, maybe it's just my computer. Please comment and let me know if it's skipping. I might need to take it down and redo it at work. My computer there is new and faster than the home version.

Trip to Publix

2009-09-27T14:37:00.012-04:00

I was shopping at Publix and came across these cute pink reusable shopping bags. They are in support of breast cancer research and will only be around from now through the end of October. I bought several for myself and for friends and family. I love the idea of doing something good for the environment as well as helping out a very very worthy cause.

Gotta love it............

2009-09-26T19:02:00.006-04:00

Anonymous said...

Holy crap, you're rude~

I know these 2 are a piece of work, but you're no better slandering and obsessing about the whole situation. Give it up!

This anonymous commenter has a direct link to my blog and has visited many many times so something must keep them interested. Hmmmm...maybe they want a little suck of the E-peen themselves or maybe Amy "Cuntface" Perez has a new little friend. Regardless, yeah you're entitled to post your opinion given that this is a public blog but the deeper question is why if the content is so rude and offensive to you, why do you bother reading it and why have you saved the direct address to this blog? I don't recall ever holding a gun to anyone's head and making them click on my blog and read it.

Halloween Costume 2009

2009-09-17T18:10:00.004-04:00

I think I've decided on my Halloween costume this year.

May I present the AmyPerez-SuperCunt costume:

I'm going to dress up as a big can of Magic Powder and don a frizzy curly wig, I'm also going to suck on a vodka-laced Canadian E-penis all the while telling massive lies about all of my "friends", then at the end of the night I'll just dump everyone and head north with my daughter in search of crappy-kissing predators. Predators whom I was told on MANY occasions pull out and use their dad's "Cancer Card" whenever they need attention. Hmmm...whoever thought an Amy-Cunt could be such a creative inspiration for the upcoming holidays? Wow, so many sides to her 'eh? It's really never-ending. I can't wait for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Update:

This is the look I'm going for. I still haven't figured out how to suck off the E-penis and talk at the same time but I'm working on it.

The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene

2009-09-13T16:32:00.003-04:00

I just started reading this book over the weekend. It was recommended on a forum that I post on. It's all about strategy and winning. Overall, it's about leaving people in your dust without them even knowing what hit them. It's very similar to The Art of War. I'm really enjoying it. It's over 400 pages and I'm taking lots of notes. It's always a promising sign when you take over 3 pages of notes just from the book's preface. Watch out world!!!

...............

2009-09-11T21:32:00.000-04:00

Being thankful for my health....

2009-09-10T10:40:00.001-04:00

I’ve been thinking a lot about overall health this past week. Last week one of my classmates died at the age of 39 due to complications from a lung transplant. She left behind a husband and a son under 10. Wow, a lung transplant. I don’t remember her having any health issues when we were in school. She played sports and was very active. I had another classmate who has cystic fibrosis and required a lung transplant but the differences in Kelley and Greg were night and day. Regardless, at some point her lungs failed her and she required a transplant. I’m not sure how long ago the transplant occurred but she died last week of pneumonia and some other complications. I’m really sad for Kelley and her family. I’m sad for her son because I can’t imagine growing up without a mother, I’m sad for her sister Holly because she lost a sister and a best friend and I’m also sad for Kelley because of the life that has been taken away from her.

Also, last week one of my coworkers husband was diagnosed at 30 years old with diabetes. He isn’t overweight, but his diet was HORRIBLE. Everything he ate was sugar, fat, or salty. He admits to hating all vegetables and hasn’t eaten a vegetable in going on 20 years. When he was finally admitted to the hospital, the doctors told him he was less than hours away from slipping into a coma or worse, dying. After almost a week in the hospital, he was able to come home but with some serious dietary changes. He’s smack in the middle of the 5 stages of grief right now. He will adjust to the changes in time, after all it’s not like he has a choice if he wants to live. Actually, after looking over his diet, it doesn’t really look that different from many of ours, but no doubt it’s a huge transition coming from eating fast food for every meal.

Wow, sometimes Life/God/The Universe can really smack you upside the head when it needs to get your attention!!! I know sometimes we get wrapped up in what our bodies look like on the outside when we really should be thankful that it’s healthy and pain free on the inside.

Charitable Giving...My Thoughts

2009-09-02T14:19:00.001-04:00

This week has been my company’s quarterly canned food drive to benefit a local food pantry. I’m convinced that many people have a skewed sense of charitable giving. I always dread these quarterly food drives not because I have an issue with supporting local charities but because these events which are supposed to bring out the best in people often times bring out the worst or the most disappointing behaviors in people.

The way our food drive is set up is, to “encourage” people to donate, each person is to donate 5 canned food/non-perishable items in order to dress casual for the upcoming week. Now personally, I don’t believe in “bribing” people to be good citizens, but it’s not my program so I just follow the rules. Anyway, 5 cans for 5 casual days, pretty simple huh? Basically for a $3.00 food donation you can wear jeans, sandals, etc for an entire week vs. normal business attire. Unfortunately since my workspace is in a central location, I get to see the masses in action and have basically broken down my fellow employees into various categories when it comes to giving.

The Open-Handed Givers: this is my favorite group and I consider myself part of it. Basically, these people give because the want to and regardless of whatever “reward” the company is giving, we would donate anyway. 5 cans is a minimum, a suggestion. If you have more, give more. It’s not that serious. My philosophy is, if your hands are closed, how will you ever receive anything. I’m not saying that you should give just to receive, but I do think that the law of the universe (karma) rewards those who give freely and without hesitancy. I think there’s a verse in the Bible that says something like “the Lord loves a cheerful giver” or something similar. I’m not a Bible-scholar so that’s just my attempt at paraphrasing.

The Acknowledgement Seekers: these people give, but they want you and everyone else to know that they gave and if they decide to give 7 cans instead of 5, they will tell you. This person will never fall under the category of “Anonymous Donor” These people proudly and prominently display their “Certificate of Participation” on their cubicle wall and will take notes and drop hints about others who didn’t give the 5 can minimum yet are still participating in Casual Week.

The Rationalizers: These are the people who wouldn’t give unless they are getting something in return and they won’t ever give more than what is asked for. In fact, these are the people who will rationalize that if they work from home one day a week and since Friday is a company casual day anyway, then “technically” they only need to give 3 cans. These are the people that I really want to punch in the face. I’m not even sure why they even feel like they have to give an explanation. It’s not like they feel bad.

The Triflers: These are the trifling folks that know that since the food drive organizers don’t really monitor the food drives, nobody is going to know whether they actually participated or not, so they just dress casual and never bring in a donation. They know that the Acknowledgement Seekers are watching them, but they also know that the Seekers can’t really prove anything since nobody really verifies who brings in canned goods. My only hope with these people is that they will continue always get the crumbs that life has to offer and will remain bitter and always wonder why life is so hard for them.

2009-09-01T11:06:00.005-04:00

There's a really good "blue balls" joke in here somewhere, I just can't seem to put my finger on it.

2009-08-31T12:22:00.001-04:00

Some days are easier to "fake it til you make it" than others. I am not feeling my fellow man today. I need a nap and a do-over.

Lyn's Questions of the Week....

2009-08-29T12:31:00.002-04:00

Question 1: Where do I see myself in 5 years?

Question 2: How do I have to behave today and every day to create the life I want 5 years from now?

Alwyn Cosgrove's Paper Towel Analogy

2009-08-18T14:43:00.004-04:00

Here's the paper towel analogy that I mentioned in a previous post. I think it's awesome!!!

Let’s assume you go out and buy two rolls of paper towels, each with 112 paper towels on it. You put one aside, and keep it for future reference (your “before” picture). The other one represents you (I’ll call your paper towel “Ed”). The core represents the lean Ed. The towels represent the fat that is covering the lean Ed.

For sake of argument, let’s say that Ed wants to lose 28 pounds of fat, so (112/28) each sheet represents a quarter-pound of fat lost.

Let’s also assume that Ed loses his fat equally during each day of the program.

Each day during the first week, you tear a sheet off of Ed, representing the fat he has lost for the day. Next, you put Ed next to the full roll (“Big Ed”) for comparison.

No noticeable difference! Even at the end of the week!

“This can’t be working for me! This program sucks! ”
But, you continue to follow your fat loss program. At the end of weeks two and three, you continue to compare Ed to Big Ed, and still notice very little difference.

But Ed is determined! He continues to work hard!

Three more weeks go by, the sheets peeling off day after day, before Ed gets up the courage to stand next to Big Ed again.

Now there’s a big difference!

By the end of the program (112 days), Ed is down to his lean dream, or somewhere near it. Big Ed is still – well, big.

The lesson to be learned is that fat, like paper towels, comes off in sheets. When you are heavy, you are big around. And when you are big around, that fat is spread over a MUCH larger area – just like that outside towel sheet. The closer you get to the lean you, the more each lost pound of fat shows, because it is spread over a smaller area.

While the outside sheet may only cover one layer of the roll, the inside sheet may go around 4 times. That last sheet looks like it gives you four times the results of the first sheet, but in reality, the results are the same – your perception is just different! And you’ll never see the inside, if you aren’t patient while the outside is coming off

Lyn's Week in Review

2009-08-16T16:51:00.006-04:00

Last week started off fairly uneventful. I really don't remember anything stellar happening either on Monday or Tuesday. It usually takes me a few days to ease into the week and get my stride. This week was no different, but from Wednesday on, it was good.

On Wednesday I took the time to sit and compose a long letter regarding Amy Perez and the demise of what I thought was a very solid long term friendship between. My reasoning for doing this was because a few days prior, someone very close to Amy had some questions for me on some information that Amy had used as the excuse to walk away from all of her friends instead of just telling the truth (foreign concept for Amy), that she had gone to Canada to visit Erik. This information was regarding this other lady. I have no idea if what Amy said was an outright lie that she felt she could use since the chances of my and this other lady talking were fairly slim or if in fact the information was true and maybe Amy had sworn never to repeat it. Who knows? None of my business either way. Now mind you, I don't know this lady other than what Amy had said about her, so I answered her questions and forwarded her some emails where Amy had specifically mentioned the things that this lady was questioning. I did this because this lady wanted some answers to her questions. I totally understood the position this person was in, believing your "friend" vs, believing someone you just met 5 mins ago. I wasn't trying to convince her of anything. I figure with Amy, people will come to know the truth in their own time. Besides, my blog gives my the opportunity to say what I want to say. I don't need a bandwagon of folks to validate my thoughts and opinions. Anyway, I digress, the reason for composing the long letter and later sending it to Amy, Kevin, Erik and a few others was because I have no doubt that Amy did her crying/hurt routine and changed the content of the emails to fit her own needs. The big difference between me and Amy is that I will not sit silent when someone says something about me or accuses me of lying. Now I'm sure she calls it "taking the high road" which was always one of Erik's favorite lines, and that's her choice, but that doesn't work for me. If you imply that I am lying, you better be ready for a confrontation. I'm not saying that EVERY thing someone says deserves a response, but somethings do and many times a person's silence says way more about their character than a response would. I'll use my previous blog posts as an example...Now my blog is public, anyone and everyone can read it. Now if I were the topic of several blog entries where someone was posting my pictures and saying that I was giving blow jobs to someone other than my husband, you better believe I'm going to confront that person IF the postings weren't true..isn't that slander? So what does silence say in this situation? So anyway, wrapping up Wednesday, I sent the email to all parties involved and of course got no responses back saying that anything I said in the letter was a lie, so for me that speaks for itself.

Thursday was biweekly day!! I am down 4lbs. I was very very happy with that. That reminds me, I need to post the link to Noel Clark's blog on her site www.maximumfitnessconsulting.com Noel posts a great analogy about a roll of paper towels that I am now using to keep me on track and not get discouraged just because you can't "see" the differences just yet. I definitely think going back to using biweeklies is a good thing for me. I used to hate them when I was working for Erik because they were so detailed, so know I'm just using the weight, diet and inches part and it seems to work for me. I had a moment Thursday where I looked in the mirror and didn't hate what I saw. Now, I didn't look any different with 4lbs lost, but it was a shift in my mindset. My body is nowhere near where it needs to be and I have a long long way to go before I'm happy with it, but what I was happy about was the fact that I was doing something and moving forward, so in a sense, what I liked had nothing to do with my body, but it had everything to do with liking Lyn as a person.

Friday, I met Ileen to get my gym bag that was a gift from her and Cindy for my 40th birthday. The original bag arrived damaged and Ileen dealt with so many yahoos to get a replacement bag for me. I'm so happy with it. I'm so lucky too because the bag is now discontinued. I showed mine to my boss and she loved it; funny because her's was the one I'd been coveting before I got my own. I got a nice surprise when I opened it. I thought it was going to be plain black. It's actually back with lime green trimmed straps and cute daisy details. It's awesome!! Thanks again Ileen and Cindy.

Saturday morning I went to the NPC Coastal BB, Figure and Bikini competition with Noel. Prejudging was looooong, over 3 hrs. Noel was helping backstage so for most of the show I was by myself. It gave me an opportunity to people watch, which is something I love to do. Some of the physiques in the audience were amazing. I did find it funny some of the folks lugging around the gallon water jugs and the big ass coolers. Given the physiques of some of these "luggers" I'm still not convince that they just didn't buy them for the show. Hahahaha! Seriously though, I love shows. I love local shows all the way to national/pro shows. It's great to see so many like-minded and supportive people all in one place. I may giggle about some of the people and their gallon jugs but seriously it's one of the few places that you can lug your water and food around not be stared at like you have 3 heads so it's all good. I'd love,love, love it if I could go to a show once or twice a month, I don't think my motivation would ever wain because there is always someone new to see and be inspired by.

Pathological vs. Compulsive Liar

2009-08-07T22:11:00.014-04:00

A pathological liar is usually defined as someone who lies incessantly to get their way and does so with little concern for others. Pathological lying is often viewed as coping mechanism developed in early childhood and it is often associated with some other type of mental health disorder. A pathological liar is often goal-oriented (i.e., lying is focused - it is done to get one's way). Pathological liars have little regard or respect for the rights and feelings of others. A pathological liar often comes across as being manipulative, cunning and self-centered.

Exhibit A

A compulsive liar is defined as someone who lies out of habit. Lying is their normal and reflexive way of responding to questions. Compulsive liars bend the truth about everything, large and small. For a compulsive liar, telling the truth is very awkward and uncomfortable while lying feels right. Compulsive lying is usually thought to develop in early childhood, due to being placed in an environment where lying was necessary. For the most part, compulsive liars are not overly manipulative and cunning (see, Pathological Liar), rather they simply lie out of habit - an automatic response which is hard to break and one that takes its toll on a relationship

Once again, Exhibit A

I've been thinking a lot about these terms lately. Actually what I'm trying to figure out is which one of these definitions best describes Amy Perez. I have pretty much decided that she is a combination of the two. Now believe me, in my eyes she will always be a lying, two-faced cunt, but I do think she does have some deep-seated issues that cause her to lie for no good reason other than to just lie.

Now having offered my diagnosis of Amy as being a dual-liar, exhibiting the signs of both a pathological and a compulsive liar, I will also add that...Damn girl!!! You got me!!! Usually I pride myself on being a pretty decent judge of character but I must admit you are good....scarily good. Hell you've got all of your new friends believing your shit now. How many little care pkgs have you sent to people? How many nice comments have you made? How much support have you offered? Yep, that's pretty much your standard operating procedure..right before you start talking out of both sides of your neck. You had me believing every word you told me about Erik, Noel, Ali, Patricia, Cathie, Sandi, Kim, etc. Now don't worry, I'm not going to post any of that stuff, but honestly, I really do hope that most of the things you said are lies and these people really aren't everything you said they are.

I'm still so confused over why you even felt the need to lie about most of the stuff you chose to lie about. It was so unnecessary and so hurtful to me and to others.

Let me give a few examples how what I mean as it pertains to me and to someone else who has approved of me posting this information.

Ex 1: Amy to Lyn: You know girl. Your problem is that when it comes to diet/training, you need accountability. Let me help you with that.

Amy to someone else: Yeah, Lyn came to me and asked me to train her.

Ex 2: Amy to Lyn: You are doing great!

Lyn to someone else: Lyn is so lazy and unfocused. She clearly doesn't want to lose the weight bad enough. Why not just do it already? Seriously! Actually, I'm in good company on this one. I remember you used to say the exact same thing about your husband Kevin. Hmm..guess he showed you didn't he?

Ex 3: Amy to Lyn: Oh yeah girl, I really hope Ana starts posting on Noel's new board. Ana's a postwhore. She'll really help the numbers and get the board going.

Amy to Noel: There's no way in hell I'd ever allow that bitch on my board.

Ex 4: Amy to Lyn: There's no way I'm going to NJ to that seminar with Noel. We aren't even that close anymore. I can't see myself spending the whole entire weekend with someone I barely even talk to anymore.

Amy to Noel: Girl, I've been at the airport trying to get a flight. Boohoo, I'm so upset. I've been here for 6 hrs trying to get a seat on the next flight.

Ex 5: Amy to Lyn: Yeah, Erik thinks you're a nosy gossip. He thinks you spend your time trying to get in everyone's business. (Yeah, I have no doubt he said this but true to form, I'm sure he didn't expect it to get back to me) Actually, I find it amusing since he was the one who asked me on numerous occasions to go over to EP and tell him what was being said about him. I guess it's not gossip when it's something he wants to know about.

Ex 6: Amy to Lyn: Yeah, I know it was bad that I accidentaly sent Noel a text in which Erik and I were trashing her. I know it probably hurt her feelings, but it needed to be said. I feel bad for the way in which she found out but I will never apologize for the content.

Amy to Noel: Booohoooo, booohoooo. I'm so sorry. Please forgive me. Booohooooo. Booohoooo.

Ex 7: Amy to Lyn: There's no way I'd be like Noel and expose my kids to Erik. I wouldn't want to be in the position to catch crap from people like Matt and from others. She really caught heat on that and I just don't ever want to be in that situation.

Amy to Erik: We're on our way!!! See you soon!! My daughter can't wait to play the Wii with you!!!

Ex 8: Amy to Lyn: Lyn, Erik is not a nice person, he's a predator. At the Arnold he pinned me against a wall and told me that he could take me if he really want to. I was so scared. I had bruises on my arms. I had to wear long sleeves for the rest of the weekend and don't even get me started about how Erik kisses, BLEECH!! He made my lips puff up like a pufferfish. I thought he was going to suck my damn face off!! I was dodging the cameras all weekend because I didn't want anyone to see my fat lips!!! It was a horrible weekend. I was soooo ready to come back home.

Amy to Erik: Slurp, suck, slurp, suck (Sorry, I guess it's hard to talk with someone's dick in your mouth)

So anyway, like I said, I'm really not sure why Amy felt the need to lie about so many things but she did and I really hope that every nasty thing she's said about me, Erik, Noel and other people she claims as "friends" comes back to bite her in the ass; it usually does ya now. The sad thing is she always made Erik out to be the manipulative, ego-driven, paranoid, insecure asshole, and while that's true, he is all of the aforementioned, but I'm really starting to think that even a liar of his caliber is no match for all that is Amy.

Just thinking out loud.....

2009-08-05T10:22:00.009-04:00

Before I start with my “thinking out loud” I just want to include this little disclaimer. This is MY blog and these are MY thoughts and comments. My entries vary and are based upon what I’m thinking about at any given time and will not be tempered based upon who may or may not be reading at any given time. Anyone and everyone is more than welcome to read my blog and leave comments, but, if you are friends with Erik Ledin and Amy Perez and/or are offended or put off by my bluntness or choice of content, then it’s probably best if you didn’t read any further. Mind you, no one has expressed any “concern” about my choice of content; in fact most are intrigued, enlightened, and entertained by it, but I did want to put the disclaimer out there just so everyone is aware that if you do choose to follow my blog, it won’t be all training, sunshine, and light. Hehehe!!

Anyhoo, back to my thinking out loud…...

Now I’m not a relationship expert nor do I play one on TV, but if this is that status quo in marriages/relationships, then I’m glad I’m single. Although I do give mad props for creativity on this one….

How creative is it to invite your um, “friend” whom you are “close/intimate” with, his wife, and his daughter to your house for a little nookie um I mean visit. Hehe..oops, slip of the tongue. I mean how cool is that? You get the best of both worlds. While Mr. Lover Man plays with your kids all day, you get to play BFF with the wifey. You can scrapbook with her all day, take her shopping, teach her how bake, get pedicures, etc. during the day and then after the she goes to bed, you get a little quality alone time with Mr. Lover Man. Wow!! How smart are you!?!? Don’t forget to wear your green workout top that shows off the nips. You know, the one you acted so self conscious in and acted so offended when Mr. Lover Man commented on how it was so hard to keep his eyes off you and your nips in that shirt. I guess that’s one way to get some male attention since your own hubby doesn’t …oh let me stop, that would be too mean (not that you don’t deserve it considering what a backstabbing lying cunt you are) Now, I do feel sorry for Mrs. Lover Man because obviously the poor woman doesn’t have a clue to what’s really going on, she never has. It’s really sad because she is a sweet person who truly believes that her husband has changed. Poor thing thinks the worst thing her hubby has done is “tried” to kiss someone. She has no clue about Mr. Lover Man’s various “trysts” over the years. Hmm..I wonder what she’d think about the one that happened in her own house where Dex the family dog got so agitated at what his master was doing that he snapped at the chick and ripped her panties? Wow, I guess Amy was right when she said he was aggressive when he’s drunk. Obviously I don’t pay any mind to what she says because it’s not like she’s not going back for more even after she mentioned what a nasty, sloppy, crappy kisser he is. What baffles me is the conscious/integrity of someone who befriends the wife of the person she’s blow…………errr, is “close” to and invites all of them into her home. I bet they’ll all go to church this Sunday even though I can remember so many times Amy making fun of all of the books, scriptures, daily devotionals, etc. that Mr. And Mrs. Lover Man send her. I distinctly remember the book Approval Addiction and how she was so offended that she got that book from him because clearly he’s the one who needed approval not her and why was he always trying to change people when clearly he the one needing to be accepted, hence his paranoia and repeated bad behavior. Hmmm…. I guess the power of the peen changes everything ‘eh?

Speaking of teh "peen" Amy sent me this picture of teh "peen" because according to her, it shows its girth.

I can’t wait to see the pics from this little trip. Thanks Amy for the suggestion to get set up a fake profile and use a proxy while still being a member of the board as to not raise suspicion and alert Erik’s paranoia. Good move!!!

Oh and here’s a pic of the lovely couple during one of their other little visits. Don’t they look happy

Lastly, a long distance dedication to the happy couple.

Free Downloadable Cookbook Link - Yummy!!!

2009-08-03T09:10:00.005-04:00

Below is a link to a free downloadable cookbook that was created by Kim Austin, a partner in the now defuct www.formerfatgirlfitness.com. The link has been posted on several fitness boards so I hope Kim doesn't mind that I've posted it here as well. There are some really, really, really good recipes in this book and Kim needs to receive some credit for her hard work and effort in creating this. For the longest time Amy "CuntFace" Perez has been taking credit for this cookbook when in fact this creation as well as many of the recipes listed on Amy's LBC (Lean Bodies Consulting) blog actually belong to someone else. I'm not sure why I'm still constantly surprised by the depth of Amy's lies and deception but I am. I guess if someone can lie about getting a restraining order against a supposed "psycho" and then initiate conversation with said "psycho" on July 8th 2009, then, I guess it's not a big deal to lie about a protein cookie or a chicken recipe.

http://kissmyglutes.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/recipe-book3.pdf

Awesome night at the gym!!

2009-07-29T21:46:00.004-04:00

Guess what I did at the gym tonight???? I'm so proud of myself!!! Drum roll please.....

I benched with these....

I still have to work up to doing all of my sets with 25's but I was able to do some and I wasn't even embarrassed when I couldn't re-rack the last rep and some strange guy had to help me get it off my chest. Bwahahaha!!! I was in the process of rolling it down to the floor when he stepped in so what the heck, I let him be the big strong guy saving the damsel in distress. Tonight was on of the best workouts I've ever had. My motivation is

I seriously wanted to do this after I was done.

I am so stoked right now!!!

FaceBook

2009-07-29T21:35:00.003-04:00

I had an interesting discussion on Facebook tonight. It all started with my status update which said:

"Seriously, is there no limit to the number of lies Amy Perez can tell? Is her name even Amy Perez? I swear I'm not even sure of that anymore."

the following exchanges ensued. I'm blocking out the names of some people who may not want to be listed.

CR: Oh man. What now?

MB: :popcorn:

Lyn: I give her credit, she had me fooled. I bet she's had to tell some doozies to cover her ass with Prince Chippendale von Absolut. I'd love to know what she's said about me other than the ones I already know about. I'd love to get her butt on a conference call with PCvA, Mrs. PCvA, her current bffs, and others and see what she comes up with. That would be a dark day for the kingdom.

Facebook Friend (FF): Well if she's being influenced by you know who....I'm sure it's limitless....;)

Lyn: Nah, these are lies so she can have "you know who" all to herself. The funny thing is, she trashed him to me for the entire 1.5 yrs that we were supposedly "friends".

(FF): am so seriously out of the loop...lol...huh?

Lyn: Hahaha!! You stay out of the loop. Not that that's a bad thing.

(FF): wow..I am out of the loop too....

AH:Like i've said that woman is a pure waste of space on this earth. Absolute 100% trash scum of the earth.

FF: Oh lawdy.. now what?? There's MORE????? Was it she that gave him "Chippendale von Absolut"??? Few years back she called him Eyore to me.. you know.. " Poor me..nobody likes me"

Lyn: Nah, Chip was my name. Hahahaha! She used to refer to him as Eeyore to me too!!! It does fit though.

Thought for the Day

2009-07-28T08:50:00.002-04:00

If one has the desire to punch someone in the face, does it mean that the puncher has anger management issues or does it mean that there are simply people out there who go through life needing a good punch in the face but just haven’t gotten it yet?

Hmmm..I’m gonna go with the latter. Hahahahaha!!!

Quote for the Day

2009-07-27T09:10:00.003-04:00

"Don't Major in the Minors"

Sports Bra Hell

2009-07-23T09:38:00.005-04:00

Well I guess I’m done with my catharsis regarding Amy Perez and Erik Ledin. May they live happily ever after or until Erik dumps her for his new flavor- o-the –month. Actually, most of my vitriol was directed towards Amy. She does have the dubious distinction of being the first female I have openly called Cuntface and believe me, it fits. Anyway, it was cathartic to get all of that out of my system and really say what I wanted to say. Honestly, I didn’t say EVERYTHING I wanted to say, (gotta save something just in case it’s needed in the future) but it was nice to be able to vent in my own little space. I’m sure several found it entertaining, but for me it was cathartic to finally be able to say a lot of what others have thought but never had the opportunity to say. So before I get branded a psycho or some other name that CF likes to label people whom she has shit upon, let me move on to what’s going on in Lyn’s world.

Arrgh, sports bras for anyone over a D–cup are the debil. My favorite bra, the Enell is ugly as hell, but I love it. It’ holds the girls right where they need to be. What I don’t love is the $60+ price tag that it comes with. The first one I bought I was able to find on Ebay for about half the price; this time, no such luck. Oh yeah, Ebay had the Enell’s for $37 or 2/$70 but of course in every size but mine. I swear these things must be made of some space age material because they fit women anywhere from a 32C to a 52F!!! I first saw them on an Oprah “Favorite Things” episode and they truly are great. If anyone needs a strong supportive bra and can get over the ugliness of the thing, this is the bra for you.

Anyway, since I didn’t want to pay retail and since Ebay didn’t have my size, I went with one from Lily of France. It’s a little more attractive but doesn’t offer the same amount of support but at $17.99 on sale at Kohl’s, it will be fine for lifting days and I can save my beloved Enell for HIIT days until I can find one on sale.

Wow, what an exciting life I lead, almost a whole entry devoted to my quest for a sports bra. Hahahaha!! Oh well, that’s OK, because that’s what this blog is for, to write about everything that I encounter along my path and who wants to go down their path of improvement with unsupported boobs. Oh that reminds me of something else. The” boobs and belly” account that I started a month or so ago with ING is steadily growing. I swear its addictive making those deposits. I’m pretty sure that unless I win the lottery, I will reach my target weight before I have the money for the surgery, but I’m fine with that. I will be more than happy looking fabulous in my clothes until I can look great in AND out of my clothes. Hehehehehe!!!

Happy Monday!!

2009-07-20T09:37:00.001-04:00

Wow!! I can’t believe its Monday morning yet again!!! Where did the weekend go? I swear I was just sitting at this desk yesterday. Ahhh, the life of a cubicle jockey. I’m on this mission to find out what my true passion or calling is in life. While I am very grateful to have a job, it is just that, a job. I want a career, something more that just something that pays the bills. I want to be excited every morning when I wake up, not just excited because it’s almost Friday.

Anyway, I digress. On Friday, I did the following training:

Full Squats 3 x 5
Barbell Rows 3 x 5
Romanian Deadlifts (my favorite exercise) 3 x 5
Flat Bench Press (my weakest exercise) 3 x 5
*Followed by one set of the BW exercises I posted last week

Saturday was HIIT intervals

Sunday was my latest infomercial inspired purchase “Yoga Booty Ballet” I found this last week on clearance at Target for $20.00. I’ve been curious about it since I saw it on a late night informercial but at the time it was $40 + S/H so I’m glad I was patient and waited.

Today’s training will be:

Dumbbell Split Squats – 3 x 12 each side
Close grip Lat Pulldowns (my favorite upper body exercise) 3 x 8
Cable Pull throughs – 3 x 12
Seated Dumbbell press – 3 x 10
Standing Calf Raise – 3 x 20
Tricep Pushowns – 3 x 10
Dumbbell Laterals – 3 x 10
Planks – 3 x 30s

Now I believe in giving credit where credit is due so just want to say that the above program as well as what I posted last week were created by Erik Ledin of Lean Bodies Consulting. I was a client of his from Jan. 2007 – Jan. of 2008. I have about 12 of these babies that I will be posting throughout my blog whenever I decide to change up my training and whenever my diet needs to be tweaked. Now as much as I loathe Erik Ledin aka Thunder and KNOW that he is a lying, cheating, “I’m a Christian when it gets me the ladies”, “Eatin Ain’t Cheatin, suck your lips off when he kisses you (thanks Amy for the visual) douchebag and hate his current flavor-of-the month Amy “ Lying Cuntface, Erik tried to force himself on me and I was scared, but I still love him and went back for seconds” Perez, I’m no dummy. I’m not one to cut my nose off to spite my face. Douchebag’s programs do work and Cuntface’s Pick and Choose is a good option to have.

Well back to work. Another day another dollar.

Word Association

2009-07-17T10:03:00.001-04:00

I was just thinking on my drive into work this morning how funny or irritating (whatever the case may be) it is that certain words, phrases, smells etc. will immediately take you to a certain place. What I was mainly thinking about is how unfortunate it is people can ruin perfectly good words or things because you hear them a lot or because you have particularly bad memories associated with the person who originated them. I was making a mental list of such words and things and so far I’ve decided that the following words and items have made the short list:

Protocol – when used in reference to training.

Reach out – My company loves this one. “Lyn, please reach out to Bob for help with this project” Whenever I reach out it’s usually because I want to smack someone.

Detail Oriented and Forward thinking – I’m convinced that everyone has this on their resume.

Touch base/taking it to the next level/thinking outside the box – tired, worn out corporate clichés that make me want to vomit.

Thunder/Erik – enough said, although I now use this word and the word douchebag interchangeably.

Puppy Chow/Magic Powder/Bootcamp/Amy – have all been ruined by the person whom I now lovingly refer to as “C*ntFace. The * = the letter “u” It’s nice to know that whenever I remove hair from my cooter she will always be there. Also when I eat my favorite protein pancake (recipe posted below), I have to put it out of my mind where it originated or else I will surely gag.

Almost Carb-Less Protein Pancake
Ingredients
20g protein powder (your choice)
2 egg whites
1-2 Tbsp Davinci’s Sugar Free Syrup
2g SF pudding mix (optional)
Directions:
Mix all ingredients together and pour onto hot skillet. Flip and serve.
Nutritional Information:
Calories: 122 Fat: 1.4 g Carbohydrate: 4.5 g Protein: 22.2 g

Changing gears, I’m looking forward to the weekend. I’m headed to Charleston, SC so see Jenny Hendershott’s first NPC show. It should be exciting. I love going to competitions. I’ll also be riding shotgun with a stuffed whale named Orca who needs to be returned to its natural habitat. Should be an interesting weekend. I’m going to try and borrow my friend’s laptop so I can post pics. If not, I’ll update on Monday.

A Day in the Life...

2009-07-16T11:58:00.000-04:00

Yawnnnn. Man I'm so sleepy today for some reason. I went to bed early last night and actually overslept this morning, so you'd think I'd be well rested. Hahaha, there's nothing like waking at 7:53am when you have to be at work by 8. Luckily I had packed my cooler last night night or I'd really be in trouble. It's those times when I'm unprepared that I really slip up because you have to just eat what's available, which here at work is vending machine fare. I really must have had it in high gear because I made it to work by 8:40am (my commute is less than 15 mins). That's not to say that I look fabulous but at least I'm here. I'm debating whether to stay over and make up the time or just take a 30 min lunch and leave at regular time. I'll probably do the 30 min lunch because the ealier I can leave in the afternoon, the less traffic I have to deal with. I'm starting to get excited about the weekend. I'm only working a half day tomorrow. I have a little road trip planned with one of my girlfriends. I love roadtrips and this one should be especially interesting.

Getting Back on Track after The CheeseCake Factory

2009-07-15T11:02:00.003-04:00

Usually after a big cheat (birthday/girl nite), it's always been really hard for me mentally to get back on target. I love food!! So I'm happy to report that so this far this week diet and training have been 100% Woohoo!! How's that for me not being committed and not wanting it bad enough?!?! Like I said in a previous post, I’m back on my own these days, and focusing more on being accountable to myself vs. someone else. So far its working good, but I’ve still got lots of work to do and a long road ahead of me so it’s important to do whatever I need to do to keep my momentum going. Ths is the plan I'm doing right now.

Monday, Wednesday and Friday’s (Training Days) my diet will pretty much look like this:

Meal 1: 1 scoop pp – 1/3 c. oatmeal – 1 serv. Yogurt or 1 serv.fruit
Meal 2: 4 oz chicken – 1.5 c. rice – fibrous veggies
Meal 3: 1 can of tuna or 5 oz white fish – 2 tsp. EVOO – 3 fish oils – fibrous veggies
PWO: 1.5 scoops pp and carbs = 200 cals/42g’s
Meal 5: 4 oz chicken- 2tsp EVOO – 3 fish oils – fibrous veggies
Meal 6: 1 whole egg – ¾ c. egg whites – ½ hard cheese – 3 fish oils – fibrous veggies

Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday (Non-Training Days):

Meal 1: 1.5 scoops protein (made into a protein pancake) – 15 g. peanut butter
Meal 2: 4 oz chicken – 15 g. peanut butter – fibrous veggies
Meal 3: 3 oz extra lean ground beef – 1 oz hard cheddar cheese – fibrous veggies
Meal 4: 1.5 scoops protein – 15 g. peanut butter – 3 fish oils
Meal 5: 4 oz chicken – 2 tsp. EVOO – 3 fish oils – fibrous veggies
Meal 6: 1 whole egg – ¾ c. egg whites – 1 oz cheddar cheese – 3 fish oils

Sunday:
Meal 1: 1.5 scoops protein (made into a pancake) – 1 fish oil
Meal 2: 4 oz chicken – 1 fish oil – fibrous veggies
Meal 3: 3 oz extra lean ground beef – 1 fish oil – fibrous veggies
Meal 4: 1.5 scoops protein – 1 fish oil
Meal 5: 4 oz chicken – 1 fish oil – fibrous veggies
Meal 6: ¾ c. egg whites – 1 fish oil – fibrous veggies

I’ll be back in later to fill in the weights but today my training will be the following:

Dumbbell squats – 3 x 12
Seated Cable rows (overhand) 3 x 15
SHELC – 3 x 8
Incline DB Press – 3 x 12
Lunges – 3 x 15 each leg
Incline DB curls – 3 x 10
Step ups- 3 x 15 each leg
Stability ball crunch – 3 x 10

After my workout, I will also do one set of the following:

Bodyweight squats x 20 reps
Bodyweight lunges x 20 reps (10 each leg)
Bodyweight split squats x 20 reps (10 each leg)
Kneeling push ups x max reps

Man, I wish I could hit the gym now instead of sitting in this cubicle for the next 5 hours. Jobs.Are.For.Punks!!!!

On a side note: Grrr….the new gym that I joined back in April has still not opened. It was supposed to open on June 25th and it’s still under construction. I got a great deal on a membership ($10/mth no contract) and it’s less than 10 mins from work, even during the 5pm work traffic, but it needs to open already. I’ve pretty much decided to keep my LA Fitness membership as well. It’s $35/mth and it’s close to home so I won’t have to travel as far on the weekends, plus it’s open on Sundays, as the other gym is not. So basically for an extra $10 a month, I’m getting a shorter gym commute during the week plus a 5 min. drive on Sat. and Sun, can’t beat that!!! Whatever it takes to do what I need to do.

Recap of My Birthday Celebration/Girl's Nite!!

2009-07-13T22:56:00.020-04:00

As mentioned earlier, I'm back with an update and pictures from my birthday celebration/girl's night Friday night at the Cheesecake Factory. What a great night!! It's always fun to get together with the "Atlanta Crew", Cindy, Ileen, Elizabeth and Noel.

The laughs and conversation began with a round of strawberry martinis for a few of us….yum, yum, yum..those suckers were STRONG!! One was plenty for me. After dinner (chicken broccoli pasta alfredo for me), I had to endure the “Happy Birthday” song from the staff. I don’t know how the ladies got that one past me. I was doing my best to keep an eye on things (I’m nosy like that or so I’ve been told :P ). Anyway, they some how got word to our server; thank goodness I didn’t have to wear a stupid hat or I would have needed another drink. After more conversation, (no more drinks for me), it was time for gift opening. Let me say up front that I have some incredibly generous and “creative” friends.

Noel always remembers how much I love, love, love her mom’s oatmeal raisin cookies. From what I understand, these are a booger to make, but Noel always takes the time to make sure I have them a few times a year. This time Noel got creative in the kitchen and we all got to try her newest creation “Crack-Chow” or “Crack-Buddies”. We might be renaming the Puppy Chow due to its unfortunate distasteful origins. Crappy origins aside, this creation will give you cavities just from looking at it. I’m sure there are several dentists out there who will greatly appreciate this concoction. Basically, Noel took the recipe for Muddy Buddies/PuppyChow and added the toffee topping and topped with melted chocolate (thanks for leaving off the nuts, bleech). It was fabulous and of course way, way, way too sweet for Ileen, but I give her props for trying it. Also from Noel, I got a spy kit to help me take my nosiness and gossip mongering to another level, some lip shaped lip gloss to prevent those irritating chapped lips from all of the ass kissing and crawling up asses that I do, a new scrapbook to house all of the pictures of my friends since the last one got tainted and has since been tossed, and some new Tupperware and a water bottle in hopes that some new stuff might make me “want it bad enough and to stay focused” since obviously according to my last trainer, I lacked in that area.

Elizabeth brought me back a beautiful purse from her recent trip to NYC. I love it!! I thought it was very thoughtful of her to think of me while she was vacationing with her family. Elizabeth and I have a great love for bargain shopping in the city. We will go down every road and in every back room to find a deal. Unfortunately Cindy let us know with a quickness that my and Elizabeth’s brand of shopping wasn’t for her…snob. LOL!!

Ileen and Cindy tried to be cute in giving me a package of Depends, a denture cleaning kit, and a magazine with quilting patterns. All that was missing was the tube of Ben-Gay and a stray cat. Obviously they haven’t heard that 40 is the new 30. Honestly, if I can look half as good as they do, I’ll be more than happy to take my place in the 40’s. Cindy and Ileen had another surprise up their sleeves though. Remember the gym bag I posted about a few weeks ago, the one my boss has that I’ve been coveting since she showed it to me? Well, Cindy and Ileen GOT ME THE GYM BAG!!! How awesome is that?!?! I was so surprised!!! I don’t have a picture of me with the actual bag yet. Eagle-Eye Ileen noticed that mine was damaged so hopefully my new one will be here within a few days. It’s the one posted below.

So as I stated previously, it was a fantabulous night. I am so lucky to have such amazing friends.

Here are a few pictures from the evening:

Me after a long week of dealing with yahoos.

Ileen. Check out those arms ya'll!! Wowza

Noel:

Elizabeth

Cindy :lol:

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies and Noel's New Crack Variation:

My purse from Elizabeth

My new gym bag that's on the way!!!

In the Closet

2009-07-13T00:08:00.005-04:00

Just rediscovered this video. I remember when it came out I liked it a lot and loved the use of sepia tones. I also loved the sensuality of the video. I never really paid much attention to the words (especially Naomi's) until watching it again. I've added it to my IPOD. Maybe it should be the kindgom's new national anthem. :hehe:

Quote of the Day.

2009-07-12T19:35:00.002-04:00

The greatest pleasure in life, is doing what others say you cannot do.

Friday, July 10, 2009

2009-07-11T15:16:00.004-04:00

I had a fabulous time with my girlfriends last night. We celebrated my birthday which was July 1. As usual, we pretty much shut the place down. I haven't laughed so much and so hard in a long time; great company, great food and great conversation. Details and pictures coming soon.

2009-07-09T23:17:00.009-04:00

Since the other entry was so long and so detailed, I decided to delete all of the specifics and just repost the following summary for the sake of brevity.

So boys and girls, here's the the end of this very sad but very true story of two people's lies and deception...................... after unceremoniously dumping all of her friends without as much as a wave adieu, a flip of the curls, or a text goodbye, the fair Princess Magic Powder and the handsome Prince Chippendale von Absolut blackberry messaged off into the sunset together and lived happily ever after….err….lived happily for the next 6 months until the handsome Prince Chippendale von Absolut discovered that his curly locked Princess Magic Powder had shared all of their deepest and darkest secrets with others throughout the kingdom and banished the fair Princess Magic Powder from his land and crowned the brand new shiny Lady-in-Waiting, who had been patiently waiting and dutifully fulfilling her role as the prince's gatherer and presenter of information from kingdoms that were outside of the prince's span. So let this be a lesson to you boys and girls, always remember, "People may forget what you said, people may forget what you did, But people will NEVER forget how you made them feel."...Maya Angelou

So in the words of the late great Mr. Paul Harvey, “and that my friends, is the rest of the story.”

“Oh what a tangled web we weave, When first we practice to deceive”

2009-07-08T22:45:00.004-04:00

Originally I had planned to keep this journal strictly about my fitness journey, but the journey to become an overall better person can take you down many paths and include many things. I posted a day or so ago about changing my training and my overall attitude due to some personal changes that were going on. These changes have affected both my physical and my emotional well-being, so I do feel as though I need to include as many details as possible so that when I do reach the end of this journey i can look back and reflect upon everything that has gone into shaping that person whom I long to become.

Much more on this tomorrow.

2009-07-07T10:48:00.003-04:00

I took a long vacation from my job and from life in general a few days ago. For the most part it was fantastic, had a few bumps along the way, but things happen for whatever reason I guess. I celebrated my 40th birthday while I was out, visited family and friends and most of all took a nice long mental break to just relax, regroup, get organized and just think about things. I took a lot of time to reflect on who I am as person, where I've been and most importantly where I'm heading. In the process I was forced to re-evalute long standing friendships and the people I have/had in my life. It was and continues to be quite eye opening to say the least. I'm not sure what the lesson learned in all of this is, but I have no doubt it will reveal itself to me at some point. The important thing with all obstacles, mistakes, failures, etc. is to not be bitter but use it as a learning experience and move on. One thing that I will need to readjust is my diet and training. Unfortunately in this latest transition process, I lost a person who was both one of my closest friends as well as my trainer. Well, let me rephrase, I will need to believe in myself and adjust my accountability and make myself accountable to me vs. someone else. Personal accountability is definitely the key because regardless of who tells you or acts as if they believe in you and want you to succeed, you have to believe it yourself in order for it to work. Situations and people may change, but if you have a strong foundational belief in yourself (which continues to be a work in progress with me) changes will not shake you, rattle you or move you away from your goal.

I have been very fortunate in the past work with people/trainers who were and continue to be very knowledgeable in the fitness and nutrition arena. I have so many great plans that have worked in the past and since we as a society are moving to a "greener" world, why not use this knowledge to invest and improve upon myself? What's the slogan...."reduce, recycle, reuse" So many times we do not invest in and/or take advantage of the human capital and the resources that surround us. What I need to do more of is to expand my circle in the training and nutrition area, ask more questions, become more knowledgeable, and most importantly, take a more active role in my success instead of relying upon others to rally and cheer me on. Sometimes it's important in life to be your own cheerleader. Rah, rah, rah!!!

Super Dieter's Tea Update

2009-06-30T14:50:00.002-04:00

Well, I followed the directions on the box and pretty much nothing happened. According to a friend of mine I didn't make it strong enough, so I will be trying it again at a later date. The directions said to pour 12-oz of boiling water over the tea bag and let it steep for 2 mins and then drink 6-oz of the tea and save the other half for the next day. I probably should have either let it steep longer or drank the whole thing because my results were dissappointing to say the least. I figure since I'm taking an all day cheat for my birthday tomorrow, tomorrow night will be a good time to try it again. I plan on leaving the tea bag in the cup and drinking the entire 12 oz. Tally-ho!!!

2009-06-28T21:20:00.002-04:00

Most who know me know that I can't pass up a bargain whether I actually "need" the item or not. Well, I was at a Rite-Aid that was closing and their entire inventory was 50% off. I found some Laci Le Beau Super Dieter's Tea. I had read a few things about it on some of the boards I post on so I thought, "hey why not" and it's half off to boot. Luckily I'm on vacation this week, so this will be the perfect time to try it and not have to worry about being caught in Atlanta traffic if this stuff kicks in with a quickness and we all know what "kicking in" means. I'm not even sure why I'm intrigued by this stuff but I am. I don't have any expectations of dropping x number of pounds overnight with that stuff. The days of finding a miracle diet cure are long gone. Proper nutrition and training are the only things that work over the long haul, and I'm in it for the long haul, but hmmm..I guess a good "cleaning out" won't hurt me. So tonight I'm having my first cup and I'll be back tomorrow night with an update.