GOAL WEIGHT SURPASSED!!

I was so excited this morning to see I was

below my goal weight of 130!

The scale read: 129.8

So I've now got a new goal: 125!

fabulous photo taken Sept 18th by the talented photographer

Erica Miller

REVVING UP FOR THE HOLIDAYS!

The Annual Motorcycle Toy Run took place on the weekend.  There's nothing like the

rmmm,  rmmm of about 1500 bikes to rev things up on a Sunday morning! 

There were big bikes, smaller bikes, dirt bikes,

 3-wheeled bikes, bad-ass guys on bikes, clean cut guys on bikes, and,

 I was happy to see,

 lots of women driving bikes!

I took my new camera, the one I got with Airmiles, and am so

pleased with the photos~they are amazingly clear!

This is really the start of the festive season events, and one of my favorites!

I wish I was bad-ass enough to ride a bike!



BIGGEST LOSER UPDATE!!

After winning 'Biggest Loser' at work in April, I knew the winnings should go to something personal, that would remind me of my accomplishment often.  That eliminated clothing, anything breakable, or something that might get used up.  I thought about things I really loved, and after seeing a beautiful ring on a lady at a cooking class one night, decided on a turquoise ring.  She directed me to a local jewelry maker, and I placed the order the next day!  I picked it up a couple of weeks ago~isn't it spendid?  I've had so many compliments on it! 


As of now, my weight is holding at 23 pounds lost!  The rest seems to want to come off slowly.  That's OK tho.  It took 5 years to gain the 30 pounds and I'm persevering!  More about that journey at:
http://ishouldbedoingpushups.blogspot.com/

TIME FOR A MOVE?

Over the last couple of weeks I've been increasing fed up with Google and am contemplating moving to Wordpress.  I like that I can have a cute blog here~because I am all about cute and adorable~but maybe I could manage that there too, with a little help.  I am so tired of getting pages telling me my request is invalid and randomly being directed back to a sign-in page right in the middle of a task.  The clincher for me tho, was finding my computer switched to 'Google Chrome' out of the blue earlier this week.  I was shocked, as I didn't download it.  Suddenly my toolbar was gone along with my favorites button!  I was able to switch back, but it was a bit of a painful process, with all the 'invalid request' pages and the 'we were unable to sign you out' pages that kept appearing.  So what do you think?  Does anyone have any experience with other blogging sites?  Any advice or suggestions?

MOTHER'S DAY

The good Things~



A deer in the woods next to our complex.  The bright spot to my morning..

Insane cuteness down the road from the barn!

If you go to the fence, the donkeys will come over to you.

Adorable!

And of course, my lovely Mini!

The Bad Things~

'Nuff said..

 

LAST YEAR...

...these capris were soooo tight! 

Now they barely stay up!

Yay me!!

BIGGEST LOSER AND WEEKEND UPDATES!

I won!  I lost just a hair under 14 pounds!  My hard work is paying off, pants and dresses I'd given up hope of wearing ever again are fitting.  One lovely dress will have to be taken in!  I went to the 'SHARE' box in the garage and took out some cute capris that will fit in another 5-10 pounds!  I'm now down 14.5 pounds, and have set my next goal for 140.  My prize?  A $50 gift cert. at the place of my choice!

On Saturday Mini and I went to my brother's to celebrate his birthday.  It was one of those milestone birthdays, and he made dinner for us~kind of backwards, I know, but he wanted to barbeque steak.  So we took wine and bread and our card and gift and had a great time! We ate steak and broiled tomatoes and asparagus and cake! It was soooo good. (So good that I went out yesterday and picked up a little barbeque for Mini and I.)

At one point in the evening, I was scrolling thru my camera, looking for some photos to show my bro and came across some pics of mr pawprint and I at the beach last summer.  I wasn't prepared for that, or for the pang of sadness that pierced my heart...

And I'm off to power walk in the sunshine~hope y'all are having a great Monday!

ROUND 2...

Early this morning I had to step over JulieBella on my way to tinkle.  Next thing, she'd grabbed my foot with her claws and was biting!  I shook her off and grabbed the nearest weapon.  "Back off," I said, "I've got toilet paper!"  She threw me a look that clearly said 'loser' and left.  Do I know how to fight back or what?

BELLA

My poor Bella turned into a screaming psycho-kitty today at the vet.  She bit, slashed, clawed, hissed and spit at anyone within reach.  This not only included the vet, but me too!  Altho we washed really well right away with antiseptic soap, a couple of hours into my shift my finger was swollen, red and sore~I'm waiting for the red line to go up my arm!  Poor mite~next year she's getting sedated.  And yes, I'm on antibiotics...

THE BIGGEST LOSER...

At the end of last year, I decided 2011 would be the year to tackle getting back into shape and loose those pesky pounds that I've put on over the last few years.  January was the start of 'The Biggest Loser' at work.  I was determined!  So I started by using fat-free cream in my coffee and limiting alcohol and promptly lost 3 pounds!  Of course, I'm limiting portions and drinking about 2L of water a day.  I'm sure running to the biffy a jillion times a day is burning off a butt-load of calories!

Last Monday I started a fitness challenge.  I power-walked four times and did some strength training.  When Mini goes to the barn I get into my walking duds (newly purchased.  It's been very cold here.  My pajama fleece pants just weren't cutting it!) and head out onto creepy Lincoln Ave and book it.  My cell phone serves as a  timer for intervals and an old barbeque lighter makes for a flashlight~there are no street lights~like I said, creepy.  Since January I've lost 7 3/4 pounds!  And I'm sleeping better. 

Mini and I just signed up for a 40 KM bike ride in May!  It's a fund raiser, and teams have access to 2 months of personal training~circuits, bike riding, strenth training, nutrition, etc~all FREE!  Who could pass up 2 free months of personal training?  I'm pretty stoked about it all!  Especially since there's a high-school reunion this summer.  It'd be nice to look smokin' hot for it...

I wanted this year to really be a time to focus on me, and doing things to make me feel good about myself, things that make me happy.  Years ago, when I worked out a lot~weights, martial arts, played a little hockey (a Mom's team.  We were pretty awful.  Lost every game!  Had tons of fun!)  I felt the most beautiful when I worked out, doing things to make my body my friend. 

Added bonus~the cool things you see when you're out walking~ 7 herons sitting in a conservation area of the farm and the first time ever sighting of a skunk!  Even creepy Lincoln Ave has a mini donkey farm.  Let me tell you, they are cuter than cute! 

CHANGES...

I guess I knew, when mr.p moved to his own place, that it was the beginning of the end for us.  We parted ways a few days before Valentines, and it was heated and a bit ugly, and hurtful things were said..the same old arguments with nothing getting resolved.  Well, except for the break-up part~that was resolved.  And even tho it's the best decision for everyone, there are moments when I miss him so completely that it almost takes my breath away.  And there are many more moments when I think  'yes~ this feels right'.   I'm holding on to those moments, making them last and letting that feeling guide me as I make other changes in my life. 

MY NEWEST TOY...

Isn't the color fabulous?  I love it!

THE NEW CHAMPEEN!!

Fun eve last night~playing Wii bowling!  Guess who's the new champeen?  The last game I 'bowled' a strike or a spare every frame!  It was total fun, and so much easier than real 10-pin bowling, with no heavy ball to lift.  Even so, I think a trip to the bowling alley is in the future!

I've been  treating myself to cooking classes lately~classes I think will be fun with some learning too.   My goal is to take one a month.  Since October I've taken classes on Thanksgiving side dishes, soups and breads, and an Italian Antipasto Platter~it's been awesome!   While I enjoy baking, cooking dinners isn't really my thing, but I made a Linguine Puttanesca while my Mom was here visiting between Christmas and New Years.  It was pretty easy and sooo tasty!  Usually we just dish everything up from the stovetop, but that night I put the pasta on a platter and chopped up a little fresh parsley for garnish.  Looks so much more appetizing!  I can't say that we'll give up our stove-scooping ways, but honestly, the pretty presentation made the whole meal taste better!  It's for sure~I'll be pulling out the platters more often!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

We spent a quiet evening~moving furniture!   I bought 2 new chairs at Ikea a couple days ago and mr pawprint put them together, then we re-arranged everything.  It's way more spacious!  I love the POANG chairs.  My brother has them in blue, mine are off white and look awesome with the white leather couch.   The cat has claimed one already!  She bit me when I tried to move her off it! 
We watched 'Get Him To The Greek', had some appies and I made a whoppin' big martini.  I'm really, really happy to see the hind end of 2010.  It's been a very stressful year, and I'm hoping for a better 2011. 
Happy New Year everyone!!