Sometimes there is not much to say ~ Dave

So I think I blew my new post wad last week.  But honestly there was not much going on this past weekend and so far this week.

I was only down 0.8 pounds, but that is fine as it was still a loss.  The reason being Friday was a party with our of town family and it was all pasta based food and a salad.  I did eat salad!!!  Oddly Rachel did not comment on it since it’s still rare for me to eat one.

So Saturday was weigh in and Rachel had a bridal shower to go to.  I did nothing except watch some TV.  It was kind of nice but it was not a Saturday as we did not have date morning.

Sunday I jumped on the scale and dropped the 2 pounds I should have on Saturday.  Damn pasta!!!!

The week has been quiet thus far which is good.  Rachel goes out of town tomorrow so that means it’s just me and the pups.  It also means no date Saturday again as she will not be back until after 7pm.  But it’s all good because our vacation is right around the corner.

What I Eat ~ Rachel

Since my last post was about chocolate and bacon, I thought it would be good to have a reality check. I don’t eat like that too often. My day-to-day menu is quite boring, actually, but it’s healthy and filling and easy. Lately, this is what I eat:

Breakfast: 2 egg whites, 1 egg, 1oz of lean breakfast meat (bacon or sausage) or 1.5c of mushrooms, 1 slice of whole wheat toast, and 1/2Tbsp of either butter or peanut butter.

There is also always coffee or tea with some half & half. I can’t get through a day without my hot beverages. I don’t need the caffeine…I just really like my hot beverages 🙂

Mid-morning snack: light string cheese, 1.5c fruit (today was watermelon)

Lunch: Chicken salad in a high-fiber tortilla wrap…the chicken salad is 1.5oz of white meat, 1.5oz dark meat, a handful of chopped green peppers or cucumber, a hefty sprinkle of cinnamon, and 1Tbsp mayonnaise (full-fat Hellman’s) plus 1.5c of fruit (today was cantaloupe).  I always buy a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store on Sunday and pull it all apart so I just have to weigh 3oz out when it’s time to make my lunch! It’s super easy, and it’s only $5 for the chicken, which will feed me the entire week.

Afternoon snack: More fruit (today was 2 peaches) and a yogurt. I’ll write a whole separate post about my favorite yogurts some other time.

Dinner: I work (3) 10-hour days and commute 1.5 hours total each day…so, since cooking dinner and eating at a reasonable hour is impossible, I have to precook and plan easy foods. There is always a taco night…I cook the taco meat on Monday or Tuesday night and we usually eat it Wednesday or Thursday night. There are always two “cupcake” nights…If you don’t know about Emily Bites’ Cupcakes, you should click on that link immediately for an example. I make 12 cupcakes on Monday night. Since we each eat 3 cupcakes per meal, that’s two nights of dinner! Friday night is always a very simple protein and veggie since we weigh-in the next morning and don’t want to be laden with sodium. That leaves me 3 nights where I get to actually cook meals and try recipes. I haven’t been too adventurous lately, mostly because of time, but I’m hoping to post more recipes here as I find good ones! I also want to point out that we always have a vegetable with our dinners but we rarely have a starch/grain…we find that we do better in the evenings if we stick to protein and vegetables. Every now and then, we’ll have a little bit of potatoes or rice, and we rarely have pasta, but it’s always a real serving…not a Paul Bunyan serving!

Dessert: I usually have a few points leftover in the evening for “dessert.” Sometimes it’s a beer or glass of mead. Sometimes it’s some sort of ice cream treat or frozen yogurt. We like to have 1/2c of Edy’s Slow Churned Vanilla Bean ice cream topped off with mixed berries that I’ve frozen and then nuke. Sometimes I nuke the fruit too long and the ice cream becomes soft serve. Dave hates it when I do that!

Honestly…I’m happy with all that food. And I have NO IDEA how the hell I ate the portions I used to eat. That 1/2c of ice cream would have been laughed at before…as I shoveled it into my mouth. Now? It still looks kind of pathetic (hey, I love ice cream!) but in a tiny bowl it doesn’t look ridiculous…and when you drown it in berries, it’s downright awesome! And satisfying!

So, that’s kind of a birds’ eye view of my eating habits. I’ll come back another time and tell you all about yogurt. And I promise, I’ll post about real food versus frankenfood. When you start reading food labels, you start going blind! DO you know what propylene glycol is? No? Well, I’ll tell you all about it soon.

 

The Birthday Plague ~Rachel

All of sudden, my husband goes to the gym every day and is posting on our blog way more than I am. He also does laundry, cleans, and empties the dishwasher. Step back, ladies, he’s taken 🙂

And me? Well, I’m still trying to finish my dissertation. I also clean, meal plan, prep lots of food, and cook most of our meals. So there’s that.

Anyways…

My 34th birthday was on Monday. Our good friend (and my former roommate), Mary Beth, came down to Raleigh from Philly for the weekend to celebrate. There was a lot planned. I was even watching my aunt’s dogs while she was at a wedding (in Philly, of all places…small world). I had mapped out the entire weekend so I could have fun, be a good host to Mary Beth, and take good care of Lucky and Twinkle.

What wasn’t planned was me getting the flu. Last week, around this time, I got a sore throat but didn’t think much of it. It was a bit worse on Thursday but I managed to have a nice time at the monthly birthday lunch at work. By 2pm that afternoon, I was a mess. My throat was worse, my head hurt, and I had muscle aches that were actually interrupting my concentration. I left work early that day. By Friday morning, I had a fever of 101.3…my normal temp is somewhere around 97.6 (lower than the average person) so I knew I was really sick. We picked MB up at the airport that night and by the time we got home, I pretty much went to bed, not knowing what the weekend would bring. Well, I was feeling a little better the next morning and seemed to have broke my fever so off we went to Weight Watchers. I was down more than 2lbs…which was shocking to me because the scale at home said something else. The topic of the meeting was “Is it worth the points?” I’ll get back to that in a minute.

I felt human enough to go to dinner that night with our friends Keith and Monica. I did not want to miss my birthday dinner. It was at J Betskis, the German/Polish restaurant in town that is AWESOME! It’s my second favorite restaurant in town. And not only that, the month of July is PIEROGIE-PALOOZA. People, let me explain something here. My maiden name is Italian but I am more Polish than anything…and I have the pierogie gene. Trust me on this.

Well, I think dinner may have had some medicinal properties because I getting better and better by the minute. Dave and I shared the pierogie appetizer, I had the pierogie entree, and the table shared the pierogie dessert. We also shared something else. I’ll get back to that in a minute, too. The appetizer was 3 different pierogies: bbq pork, ox tail, and potato/leek. The ox tail was my favorite…there was a strong cinnamon flavor to it and I’ve been on a cinnamon kick these days. The entree was so complicated that I’m not sure I can even explain it. Let me try…they were stuffed with eggplant, some other vegetable, and quark cheese. On top was an arugula pesto, fresh corn, and some sort of almond puree/sauce. It was really tasty…maybe a little too much going on, but very tasty. It tasted a lot better than it looks:

I “borrowed” this from J Betski’s FB page

The pierogie dessert was pierogie stuffed with swiss chocolate, raspberry something or another, and hazelnut…and it was topped with a raspberry mousse and whipped cream. The entire table shared those, so I had 1/2 of a pierogie. The table also shared this:

I “borrowed” this from the J Betski’s FB page, too

This is the chocolate torte. It is chocolate, sea salt, caramel, and bacon. This is the best dessert I’ve ever had in my life. Grandma, if you are reading this, I’m sorry. Don’t take it personally. Your desserts are right behind it. But LORDY this was a RELIGIOUS experience! And yes, I’ll repeat that for you in case the picture doesn’t speak enough words: CHOCOLATE, SEA SALT, CARAMEL, and BACON!

So…when I said I would “get back to that later,” here it is: My pierogie-palooza, birthday dinner was WORTH EVERY SINGLE POINT.

Of course…I’m now in the red for points this week. I need to earn 5 activity points by Friday to get back in the black. I probably will since we see Dave’s trainer on Friday. But even if I wasn’t, that dinner was worth it. Totally worth it.

Who said you couldn’t enjoy decadent food and lose weight/be healthy? I’ve lost over 46lbs since February…and I did it while enjoying chocolate and bacon 🙂

Guess Who’s Back ~Rachel

Hi everyone!

I know it’s been a long while since I posted…and Dave keeps nudging me to post something. So let this be my return to the blogosphere. I can’t promise regular postings, but I will try. I have lots of ideas of things to blog about, but you know what they say about best laid plans. After all, I am STILL dissertating 🙂

So, to catch you up on a few things:

• I rejoined Weight Watchers at the beginning of February. I weighed in at the heaviest I’ve ever been: 283 point something. Like that point something means anything. I knew my weight had gotten out of control again. I wasn’t exercising. I was eating ridiculously large portions of things. I wasn’t even trying to lighten up recipes. And we ate out a lot. I was tired of feeling like crap. And looking like crap. And buying clothes in alarmingly high sizes.
• This time feels different…I’m determined, sure. But I’m much more matter of fact and laid back about it all. It is what it is. Somehow, not making a big deal out of it makes it more real? Does that even make sense?
• I will make a little bit of a big deal about something, though: Since i joined Weight Watchers, I’ve lost 44lbs.
• I’ve been a little amazed at my body while losing the weight. My last big Weight Watchers adventure resulted in something like 56lbs lost and it seemed like the fat was coming off sort of evenly. This time, however? The weight is coming off of my butt (which is a slope now…it was a shelf) and it seems to be coming off of my thighs. The tire around my middle? It feels like it’s never going to get smaller. Dave insists it is getting smaller…and a friend at work has actually pointed out to me that my tummy looks smaller….but it sure doesn’t look it to me. It’s the part of my body I absolutely despise and get self-conscious about. Oh well. I know it takes time. And like we always say to ourselves in the mirror (seriously, the sign is hanging on our mirror), “I accept myself unconditionally right now.”
• The eating part of my new healthy lifestyle is mostly a piece of cake. LOL. Sorry, I just said cake. I eat what I eat and I don’t get all whacked out of shape about higher point foods, especially when we are eating them in such moderation. My two favorite letters in the alphabet are D and Q. Believe me, we still go to DQ….at least a couple of times a month. I just get a small or medium sundae and I’m happy and satisfied. I can’t even imagine eating a large Blizzard. That kind of makes me want to throw up a little bit.
• I still kind of hate exercise. I’m just trying to move more than I was. I now work (3) 10-hour days at the office (with a 45 minute commute each way). On those days, I get my ass up at 5:30am to walk the dogs with Dave. It’s only about 1.3 miles, and it only takes about 20 minutes or so, but it’s still something. And even though I DESPISE getting up at 5:30am (to do anything), it does set the day for me. I’m pushing myself to get to the gym on the other two weekdays. I do mostly cardio on the Arc Trainer/Elliptical/Rowing Machine but am starting to add some circuit training stuff to it. Every other Friday I train with Dave and his trainer Brandy. This past Friday, I did 600 reps in 30 minutes (side crunches one each side, deadlifts, pushups, squats, and straight rows). In the fall, I might add some personal training sessions with Brandy…maybe two a month or so.
• I HATE HATE HATE pushups. Seriously. I *think* I would rather do burpees.
• On the weekends, we walk the dogs before our Weight Watchers meeting and on Sunday mornings, we got for a couple mile hike at the nature park down the road. The hike is a lot of fun. Our furkids LOVE it. Darwin, especially likes to run around like a moron through the creek. We’ll have to get a video one Sunday so you can witness then two of them acting crazy.
• In mental health news: I’ve FINALLY submitted paper #1 of my dissertation. It’s under review at a big epidemiology journal right now. I have to get my ass in gear for paper #2, which I want to knock out in a matter of 6 weeks, but the weight of paper #1 is off my shoulders for now.

There is a lot I want to blog about and I’m hoping to get back to it on a more regular basis:

• What it means to eat REAL food. Propylene glycol is not real food. And it seems to be in EVERYTHING that is marketed as the “healthier” choice. I have some WW ice cream bars. I refer to them as my propylene glycol bars. I’m working on ridding my food of that kind of crap.
• What the “foodie” world is currently talking about in terms of health and obesity. I’ve read a bunch of really awesome (and totally infuriating) articles recently. McDonald’s is not going to be the cure for obesity. You are probably saying, “No shit, Sherlock.” But let me tell, somebody out there thinks McDonald’s is the answer and the Atlantic made it their cover story recently. <facepalm>
• Recipes
• What my goals are in terms of body shape/size. I know I will  probably never look like this, but Gina Carano is hanging on my mirror in the bathroom:

• What my fitness goals are. Hint: I used to do this:

Well, I better get working on paper #2. I have to meet with Dave’s trainer at 11 for an “assessment.” She’s going to show me some things I can do that will help with my weird orthopedic issues like my terrible feet and the plica in my knee. I guess I will blog about those things, too 🙂

New posts incoming ~Dave

No freaking joke! Rachel finished paper #1 and can actually commit some time to posting again!!!!! And I have big news as well.

Now with more frequency ~Dave

So, I will try to keep things going on a semi regular basis until Rachel can get back into things.

My doctor is a prick.  Plain and simple.  I have to see him on a regular basis now to get my thyroid levels tested till my medication strength is stabilized.  it’s annoying and really sucks for a person who hates needles.  But I will do whatever it takes to get my weight figured out and GONE!

The scale has barely budged.  Granted in 6 weeks I lost 8 pounds according to the prick, but that is nowhere near what it should be.

Here is why I believe this.

1) Both Rachel and I are eating very healthy to the point that old foods I used to cherish are just not good to me anymore.  We go out once maybe twice per week and the rest of the time is eating healthy home cooked meals.

2) I exercise 3 – 5 times a week.  I go to the gym at least 3 days a week to do my routines which are getting progressivly more intense.  I try to go a 4th day and do 45 minutes of cardio.  On top of that I have been taking the dogs for a mile walk and jogging part of it another day.  So I am definitely not slouching there.

3) Hypothyroid medication should cause weight loss even when the dose is not quite right or being figured out.

So my doctor proceeds to tell me 1 – 2 pounds a week is healthy weight loss.  Yes for someone just doing diet and exercise that would be correct.  But even my trainer stated that this should be extremely different for the following reasons:
1) I am male
2) I eat very well
3) I exercise a lot and I exercise HARD
4) My liquids consist of tea, 96 oz water (both daily) and maybe 4 beers (consumed weekly) no more pop

None of it is making sense.  I lost a few pounds and put it right back on.  My ring goes from being snug to almost falling off.  I dread waking up and getting on the scale because it feels like every victory is closely followed by a defeat.

Speaking of scales Rachel and I are looking for suggestions for one that is not too expensive but can take large weight.  Anyone?

So I am having a hard time staying positive.  I am motivated, that is not a problem and hell I think I am doing awesome at the motivation.  But something has got to give.

Simplify ~ Rachel

Greetings everyone!

I’m here to tell you that I am officially putting this blog on hiatus until my dissertation is done.

In order to just get that darn dissertation done (goal is to defend in September), I need to simplify my life. That means clearing the calendar. That means removing as many obligations as possible. I know the blog isn’t an obligation…but it does take time and I think it deserves more than a half-assed attempt at posting regularly.

Until I defend my dissertation, I am going to stop blogging.

I am also stopping personal training with Isaiah. The money was definitely a contributor but it also seemed silly to have personal training sessions at a time when I am not regularly and consistently going to the gym.

I am also stopping my Weight Watchers membership. Again, it seemed silly to pay a monthly fee when I rarely use the website and haven’t been very faithful to meetings. I have the knowledge and materials to still follow the program if I choose to do so.

I will miss all those things but here is what I am going to do until my dissertation is done:

(1) Eat right

(2) Move more

I think if I can just get back to eating right again (and tracking what I eat) and get to the gym at least a couple of times per week for a class (water zumba just started!), I will be fine. It’s all about being aware of what is going in to my body and getting in some exercise.

Other than that, I just need to chain myself to my computer so I can dissertate…every now and then coming up for air in the form of a social life.

I’ll still be around the blogosphere….I just won’t be contributing posts to it anytime soon.

Once I defend, though, look out!

I can get back to a real life where I have hobbies and interests and time that isn’t completely taken over by feelings of guilt that I’m not working on my dissertation.

Until then, be healthy 🙂

Cupcakes for Dinner ~Rachel

I don’t know who started the trend of cooking everything in muffin tins but I want to thank them profusely.  I’ve made Weight Watcher’s Mini Meatloaf Muffins before…lots of times…and have enjoyed both the food and the built-in portion control. Let’s face it: I didn’t get fat by eating reasonably-sized portions.

I love to cook but I’m not really creative in the kitchen. I can follow a recipe but I haven’t branched out much further than that. There is, however, someone who took the muffin tin idea and ran with it.  For those of you who don’t like to cook…or who don’t have much time to cook…or who have picky eaters at home who would rather eat wings and burgers than salad and veggies…I bring you Emily Bites.

Just like Tuesdays have become Taco Tuesday, I think Thursdays are becoming “Cupcake” Thursdays.

Last Thursday I made her Buffalo Chicken Cupcakes. They. Were. Awesome.

Buffalo Chicken Cupcakes @ Emily Bites Original

Last night I made her Cheeseburger Cupcakes. They were pretty awesome as well but I think I’ll make some modifications next week when I make them again. Oddly enough, Dave and I thought the mushrooms were too much. I say this is odd because we’ve never met a recipe that had too many mushrooms in it. If I had a cooking motto it would be “You can never have too much garlic or too many mushrooms.” Anyways, when I make these again next week (yes, on Thursday), I’m going to cut the mushrooms in half, replace the ketchup and mustard with BBQ sauce and add a little bit of bacon (to replace some of those mushrooms). I might also use Laughing Cow Swiss Cheese wedges instead of the Queso wedges. The possibilities are endless!

Emily also does breakfast cupcakes…I can vouch for the Banana Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Singles!

Now, to make all these muffins you need a good muffin tin! I don’t normally do this but I’d like to recommend a particular muffin tin. Would you believe Rachael Ray’s Oven Lovin’ Muffin Pan has served me better than any other muffin tin I’ve owned (especially the Calphalon one)? I’m not very good about not using metal utensils on non-stick surfaces and this muffin pan has been quite forgiving. It really does not scratch easily. The Calphalon? I looked at it the wrong way and it scratched (I think this is odd because I love my Calphalon pots and pans).  Ok, PSA on muffin pans over and out.

**************************************************************************************************************************

Marsial over at Eyes of the Sun: Musing and Losing was tagged by someone, had to answer a bunch of questions and tag some of her fellow bloggers to do the same thing. Well, Marsial tagged me. The questions are not easy to answer without a lot of time and effort (and I am a bit short on time due to a meeting with my dissertation chair on Monday) so I will leave you with answers to a couple of the questions:

Q: Which author do you admire so much that you have read more than one of his/her books

A: John Irving: A Prayer for Owen Meany is my favorite book of all time and I actually keep an eye out in the news for when a new Irving book will be published (next new one is due out in May)! I don’t think there is any other author I “track.” I don’t know if I so much admire John Irving or just admire his talent.  His stories are pretty epic!

Q: Describe how you met your spouse/significant other/love of your life (even if you are no longer with that person). 

A: I don’t think I’ve ever told the story of how Dave and I met. We met on Myspace of all places. Yes, MYSPACE. After we met, we both posted a note on Myspace about how we met (from our own perspective), kind of a he said/she said thing. Here’s what I wrote (Sorry it’s long, but I promise it’s a good story):

A lot of you know that I’ve tried the online dating thing off and on for the past 3 years or so. You name it, I tried it…eHarmony (twice), Match, and Yahoo. This past spring break, I even tried my luck with Craigslist. Yep, you too can find a date and a used couch by barely lifting your clicker finger. For the most part, I met nice enough guys, and even dated one for a little while. I also met my fair share of total lunatics (Craigslist is their home apparently), but that’s a whole other post that’s not even worthy of my time.

Anyways…

I still had a profile on Yahoo, but it was inactive and invisible to anyone on Yahoo who was searching for women in my age group. But Yahoo would still send me weekly-ish “These are your latest matches” emails and every now and then I would get curious and just browse. On April 16th, a Monday, I happened to browse my latest matches and stumbled upon one that actually sparked my interest. He had this huge smile that drew me in to the rest of the profile where I learned that despite a certain level of corniness (he did, after all, quote a Rupert Holmes song…groan), he was pretty funny. And for those who know me, I really like funny. He also seemed like he had a big heart, was open-minded and easy-going, and was kind. Unfortunately, I wasn’t in the position to subscribe to Yahoo (these things get expensive). I wasn’t going to get to break the ice with this cute guy who had grabbed my attention.

Except…

The very next morning, I had a message in my MySpace inbox from HIM! It was about 8 something in the morning, I wasn’t fully awake yet, and I about fell right out of my chair. I swear the Twilight Zone theme song was playing softly in the background. I think I did my best to resist thinking about “fate” and “destiny” but those words were creeping into the forefront of my mind. I mean, what were the odds of this happening? They were totally independent events…which is always fun to explain to people b/c they somehow think Dave could see that I checked out his profile on Yahoo (he couldn’t). When people realize that we just happened upon one another at the same time in unrelated cyber territory, their eyes get real wide and then they smile.

Anyways…

Not only had he sent me a message, the subject line was “Not the same without Cowher.” He was a Steelers fan! I didn’t want to reply immediately and had to get to school, so I think I replied sometime in the early afternoon. We spent a couple of emails back and forth that day and then began talking on AIM that evening. I had mentioned in one of my emails that I wanted to see Grindhouse…he echoed that sentiment. When we were IM’ing, I decided to just ask him if he wanted to meet up that weekend to see it together. I usually do not suggest meeting up so quickly, or even at all…I usually let the guy make that move. But I didn’t really know where it would all lead and knew I was sick of the whole back-and-forth emailing that came with meeting guys online. We exchanged numbers and ended up talking for 3 hours that night. Our little meeting up for a movie quickly turned into a real date when we realized that there was a lot of chemistry between us. He was all shy about asking me to dinner beforehand…it was really adorable. We ended up talking every night that week for about 3 hours a night. We never wanted to get off the phone, we never ran out of things to talk about, and we talked about the heavy stuff and felt totally comfortable doing so. There was no way that the first date was going to end poorly.

And of course, it didn’t…

***********

We met on our first date on April 21, 2007. We went to see Grindhouse (a B-movie double feature full of zombies and blood and machine guns for legs) at North Hills cinema and then out to dinner at 518 West (contemporary Italian food) in downtown Raleigh. After dinner we went to the Raleigh’s Little Theatre Rose Garden and had a wonderful time. That was just the beginning of a new life together…

***********

Interesting fact: We lived closer to each other in Pittsburgh growing up (Mt. Oliver and Penn Hills) than we did here in Raleigh/Chapel Hill when we met!

And if you’ve lasted this long, here’s a picture of us very early on in our relationship. I think it might have been taken at his mother’s on the day I met her for the first time!

You Take the Good, You Take the Bad…~Rachel

You take them both and there you have: The Facts of Life!

It’s been a wacky few days full of highs and lows. Here’s what’s been going on:

Bad: My Dell Studio 15 laptop has a design flaw that causes it to overheat…it eventually fried the processor and the hard drive…and I’m 4 months past warranty. I’ve been fighting with Dell since mid-December. I will never ever buy from Dell again. Their customer service disservice has now topped Time Warner Cable and Verizon Wireless on my list…and that is saying a lot!

Good: I bought a new 21″ iMac which is so very pretty and lovely to use. I’m trying to switch everything over and relearn stuff from my previous Mac experience. But all in all, it’s soooo worth it!

Bad: That knee injury has apparently not resolved itself like I thought it did. It has been feeling better each day since last Saturday when it was at its worst. I iced, I rested, I stayed away from exercise involving the lower body. It seemed fine. I did 20 minutes on the elliptical today and it felt fine. I followed that with 10 minutes on the stationary bike and it felt less fine. This evening, it’s swollen again and throbbing a little bit. Crap.

Good: I had personal training sessions with Isaiah twice this week, each time focusing only on the upper body. And while Thursday’s workout kicked my butt (boy oh boy did I WHINE), I’m not nearly as sore as I anticipated and I actually feel like I accomplished something in the session. But don’t tell Isaiah. He already likes to give me smug smiles as he’s kicking my butt.

Bad: I had bought a Groupon for a shellac manicure (Never done one? They. Are. Awesome.) and had a 1pm appointment yesterday. I showed up 20 minutes early in case they wanted me to soak my already shellac-ed nails. The only person working was doing hair. She couldn’t track down the manicurist. She called twice and finally, around 12:55pm, LEFT to go get lunch. Yep, I was left alone in a salon with another customer (who had her head under a dryer) while the ONE employee left the building for lunch. At 1:15pm, when nobody had shown up, I left. Boy was I pissed. I REALLY hate people who are late and people who don’t show up. I called Groupon from the call so they could issue me a refund. They did, without so much as an apology, but whatever. When I got home, I sent a message online to the nail person and said I was issued a refund and I would be reviewing her “business” online at various websites.

Good: The nail salon owner emailed me today to apologize. Apparently, they didn’t have my appointment in the book. Even though I was issued a refund, she offered me a complimentary shellac manicure. I sent her my phone number and we’ll see what happens. Mistakes happen and I will give her a second chance. I haven’t posted my review of her business online…yet.

It really does last!

But in the middle of all these “first-world problems,” I was down 8.2lbs at weigh in yesterday morning, I’m still faithfully tracking all my food, and I’m still not drinking pop!

Oh by the way….that dark chocolate caramel with black sea salt candy bar that has its own Facebook page? I finally ate it…half yesterday and half today…and it is good enough to have its own Facebook page. And that is not an exaggeration. Each half of the chocolate bar cost me 6 points plus. It was worth every single one of them.

Have a good weekend everyone! I’ll have some great recipes for you next week!

When You Work the Plan… ~ Rachel

…the plan works.

I worked the plan this week. I tracked everything. I stuck to my points. I managed one session with my personal trainer before dealing with a knee injury and a back sprain.

I was down this morning at weigh in.

I was down 8.2lbs to be exact.*

Boo-yah!

I went from my meeting to another session with Isaiah. I told him to stay away from my knee and lower back. You know what that meant? He absolutely destroyed my arms. I will be cursing his name tomorrow. Hell…I’m already cursing it. As I am typing, my arms are shaking!

I hope I can hold my arms in position for my manicure later! 🙂

 

*Last week’s weigh in did involve me wearing jeans rather than workout pants like this morning, but my jeans don’t weight 8.2 lbs.