I have just spent the entire afternoon uploading pictures to the internet so my family can view them. I did all this instead of doing my homework. Great, now I have to spend all night reading when I really should have done my homework this weekend. What was I thinking?
Want to see what I did all day? Go to http://photobucket.com/albums/v437/AmyEsPhotos/
Click on the album name Luau Pics to view all of todays hard work. Whew!
Wow! I just added up how many miles I biked last week. 58!!!! And the weirdest thing is, I actually gained .6 this week, instead of losing. Last week, when I only rode about 10 miles, I lost 2lbs. Something screwy going on here! But I'm not going to get discouraged. I am SO proud of myself for sticking with riding my bike this long. It's not about losing weight for me. I LOVE seeing how far I can ride and how fast I can go and etc, etc. And I might as well do it while I can, because I predict that as I get further on in the semester, the amount of time I have to ride is going to get less and less.
Yay me for riding almost 60 miles last week!
Mmmm...just got done having a milkshake. OK, it's really called a Monkey Shake and here's the recipe.
1 small box Instant Pudding, Sugar free, fat free Chocolate
2 cups fat free milk
1 tray ice cubes
1 large banana
Dump all ingredients into blender and blend on high until mixed thoroughly and ice is crushed. Top with a couple tablespoons Fat Free Cool-Whip and enjoy.
(This would be really good with some banana schnapps or Godiva liqueur. I'll have to try that next time. )
DH is watching sports. I walked in from my night class and he said, "Hi honey. Look, I'm in heaven. Dallas and the Cubs are both playing tonight." Lovely...now I'm forced to suffer through the flipping of channels and him yelling at the TV every so often. Guess what, honey? Those little guys in the box cannot hear you, no matter how loud you yell. :) Gotta love those sports fans. Meanwhile, I've got about 8 or 9 chapters to read and no place quiet to do my homework. Wonder what time the library closes?
It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood...
Well, OK not really. Actually it's overcast and sprinkling, but to me that makes for a beautiful bike riding kind of day. When you're sweating your butt off and it starts to rain just a bit, it is such a relief! I was just glad it didn't rain too hard. Didn't want to turn my morning workout into a wet t-shirt contest. I rode 14 miles today, which put me over 200 miles since I got my bike computer. (July 1st or so.) YAY!
Post exercise endorphins through the roof and Creedence on LaunchCast Classic Rock station right now. Hmm....if I weren't so dang tired, I would clean my house. :)
Something weird is going on. Blogger somehow posted the previous post like 8 or 9 times in a row. All the while, it was telling me their server was down and I assummed it wasn't posting at all. WTF?!
Want to know something weird about me?
I love string cheese. Just had some a while ago and it was so good! I think I just love the fact that you can almost qualify that as playing with your food (peeling it apart and eating it). YUM!
That has to be the weirdest thing I have ever said in this blog. lol
I lost another 2 lbs this week. That's up to 10.2 with Weight Watchers and 15 total. If I keep losing at this rate, I'll match the weight listed on my drivers license by the end of October. That's my goal. Just to be the weight on my license. You know, quit living a lie and that kind of thing. (Just kidding! I don't normally give a damn, but I do think that would be a good weight for me.) Wonder how many people lie about their weight on their license. I know I haven't changed mine since I was a senior in high school. (8 years ago!)
OK, yes, now I know this is the weirdest and most random rambling of stuff I've ever blogged.
Must be having a funky kind of day today.
Instead of riding my usual 10 miles on my bike, I spent the morning learning a tiny bit of html and modifying a template for my blog. (Many thanks to BlogSkins.com and may*star for making this template available to non-technical folks like me...and for free!)
This template is very pink and purple and girly and I'm sure it will get on my nerves quickly, but I needed to learn how to change a template and all that kind of stuff.
Too bad the bike had a flat this morning, but I am still proud I figured out how to change the way my blog looks. Yay me!
I'm bored. It's Sunday afternoon and my normal message board I frequent is just plain boring! I usually lurk on the Weight Watchers boards because some of the stuff they discuss on them is downright hilarious. All those newbies agonizing over which type of bread is lowest in points, blah, blah, blah. Get over it people! Just read the nutritional info on the label and figure it out for yourself! On the other hand, the general thread (no Weight Watchers questions allowed there) gets to be a little much for me too. Some of the regulars have a really twisted sense of humor. Funny for a while, but somehow just not what I'm looking for today. Wish it was cooler, I'd go for a bike ride.
Speaking of Weight Watchers...they're unveiling a new program this week. Am sick and tired of all the speculating going on in the boards. Will be sure to stay off them for a week or so til the hype dies down.
Tried a new church w/DH today. A little too much "old-time religion" for our tastes. We want something a little more contemporary, but not too wild and crazy. Will keep trying and hopefully we will find where we fit in.
Think I'll try to change over to a new blog template today. Wonder if I can find one I like that is pink and girly (and free). Just in one of those kind of moods today.
I really need to learn more about computers. I do not even know where to begin. The magnitude of my ignorance really is embarrasing. I know just enough to get by, sometimes just enough to screw things up. But where does one even start? I am really interested in designing my own web page. And possibly helping my dad set up a page for his business. Wonder if I could take some classes at NSU as an elective. Hmm...just a thought.
One good thing though...I did finally figure out how to add pictures to my blog. Watch out! I'm gonna be a picture posting fool now! :) I'm so proud of myself for figuring that out! ha!ha!
This is a fairly old pic of me and my husband. He hates this pic because he calls it his "fat picture". I tease him and say I thought only girls had those. :) Taken at the Tumbleweed bar, Stillwater, Oklahoma. Kevin Fowler concert. What a fun night! 
Oh yeah...that Banana S'mores recipe that I said I would post.
1 banana
chocolate chips
mini marshmallows
graham crackers, crumbled
Peel only one side of the banana. Use a spoon or knife to scoop out about 1/3 of the banana. (Save for later.) Make a cavity in the banana and layer in the choc. chips, marshmallows, and crumbled graham crackers. Top with the rest of the banana and fold banana peel to cover. Wrap banana in foil and toss on barbecue grill. Heat until chocolate and marshmallows are melted.
Very messy, but very good! I am now called MOM by all my friends because I had the foresight to bring everything but the kitchen sink on our float trip, including the ingredients for these s'mores. :)
Twice now I have typed out long blog posts and somehow they did not show up. I can't figure out why!! It's almost like my computer freezes up or something when it says "Posting new entry". My computer stays on that screen and makes this little clicking noise FOREVER!
VERY FRUSTRATING! Don't know whether I'm going to continue using this program. I don't thing the problem is w/my pc.
Also, another very annoying thing about this blogger...it won't let me copy and paste. I tried that after the first time my post mysteriously disappeared and when I right clicked to copy text, the copy and paste were ghosted out and wouldn't let me use them. After much cussing and banging things around, I decided the hell with it and watched some TV instead.
Anyway, I've lost a total of 14.2 lbs now. I wore this stretchy lycra shirt for the first time since I bought it and felt good in it. I'm still a little soft around the middle, but I'm working on it!
Better save this post before it gets lost too.
What a busy weekend! Jason and I went on a float trip down the Illinois River w/5 other people. Here's who was there: Shawn, David, Glenn (all Jason's friends), Glenn's girlfriend Courtney, and Shawn's friend Brandon. We got there Friday, checked into our cabin, dumped our stuff, and went off in search of the nearest grocery store to buy supplies for the weekend. After we got back to the cabins, we built a fire in front of our cabin and sat around the cabin's front porch drinking beer and listening to Glenn's stero. The guy works for Kicker, where they make car stereo speakers, so needless to say, the sound carried...a lot! We tried to keep the noise down, but Glenn is somewhat proud of his system, so it was hard. Plus, the more the guys drank, the louder the stereo got. The resort's manager came by to tell us to turn down the stereo. We did, but we were not happy. He didn't even ask politely...just said "We have a quiet camp here. Turn off your stereo now." What an ass! Whatever. We were determined not to let that ruin our night, so we begrudgingly turned off the stereo and kept on shooting the bull and drinking beer. No big deal. The rest of the night was uneventful.
The next morning, we all got up and had breakfast (yogurt and a low-fat pumpkin muffin for me, greasy sausage and eggs for all the non-dieters). Around 11:00, we loaded up the truck and drove to the resort office, where we boarded a bus that took us to the drop point for our float trip. We signed up for the 13 mile float, instead of the 6 mile float, hoping the longer float would have less people and we'd have more fun. Yep! The first 7 miles were relaxing and fun. The weather was only in the upper 80's, which made for a BEAUTIFUL day! Not too hot, but warm enough to swim if we wanted. Very nice. The float went well and we all had a good time. The guys enjoyed dunking each other and splashing us girls. Courtney ended up getting a little pissed cause she was getting so wet, but HELLO! We're on the river! What do you expect??! I just enjoyed every minute of it! And I had taken my camera with me (in 2 Ziploc bags, in case any water got in our raft) and I got some great pics. One of David standing waist deep in the river with a beer in one hand, a cigarette in the other, and a big yellow floppy fishing hat on his head. I had to get a pic of that. He is by far the nicest of Jason's friends and one heck of a great guy. 6 hours later, we finally reach the end of the trip. By this time, everyone is starving and a couple of the guys are really drunk already. We haul all our stuff to our cabins, shower, and it's time for dinner.
Dinner was fun. Hamburgers and brats and my now famous "banana s'mores". (recipe to follow)
We all ate until we were stuffed, built another fire around dark and proceded to get toasted on beer and mixed drinks. We had the most fun campsite, by far! People from other camps were coming over to join us because we had the biggest campfire and the coolest people. A good time was had by all...until around 11:00pm when the Park Ranger showed up and warned us to be quiet. He said he'd had a number of complaints about our campsite all weekend, due to noise. We said it was the first we'd heard about us being too noisy, except for the one time the night before when the camp owners told us to turn off our radio. After that, there had been no other complaints that we were aware of. He said for us to just keep it down and there wouldn't be any more problems. OK. No big deal. Everyone continued the party at a little quieter level for a while, but I guess people were more drunk than we realized, because in rebellion that we couldn't turn our radio on anymore, someone starting singing "Amazing Grace" (very poorly, I might add). Next thing we know, the same park ranger comes walking up from behind our cabin, demanding that someone tell him who was singing and threatening to give us all a sobriety test and take us to jail for public intox if no one fesses up. What the hell?! Can no one sing around a campfire anymore without being threatened with being hauled off to jail?! Is it illegal to have a few drinks on the porch of our cabin?! We weren't doing anything wrong, buddy! So, long story short, 3 guys volunteer to take the test so we all wouldn't have to do it. (Thank god, because there is no way I would have passed. But that is beside the point.) 2 guys end up spending the night in jail for public intoxication. What a way to end the weekend.
When we got home, I asked my friend, whose husband is a cop, if what happened was legal. He said that unless the people who were complaining about the noise filed a written complaint, that it was a misdemeanor charge of disturbing the peace and that would have been false arrest to be arrested for a misdemeanor. And as for the charge of public intoxification, the campsite where we were had been rented by Jason and myself, so it was not public property. We invited them onto our (rented) property and they were above the age of 21, so it was not a crime. If this is the case, the guys that got sent to jail would have the right to sue the park ranger for false arrest. I hope they do. Those guys were jerks.
And if almost going to jail myself was not enough, when we finally got home on Sunday, we walked into our house hoping for a hot shower and a nap, only to find that our furniture had been rearranged and our bedroom was completely empty. Not only that, but there were huge fans blowing under our carpet. We were confused to say the least. We went next door to our neighbor's part of our duplex and asked what the heck was going on. She said that sometime late Friday night, she walked into her bathroom to find water covering the floor. Apparently, a waterline had burst under our side of the duplex, flooded the entire back of our house, and was seeping into her house. I don't know for sure what happened, but evidently, the leak was fixed, and the carpet cleaning guys were called to deal with the mess. Poor guy had to move all our furniture out of our room by himself so he could rip up the carpet padding in 3 rooms of our house. So until he comes back to replace it, Jason and I are sleeping on the couch and on the loveseat in the living room and our house is in shambles. Thank God it was not our fault! We don't have renter's insurance right now, but you can be sure we will have it very soon!
My neck hurts. Cervical spondylosis and sleeping on the couch for days don't go too well together. Hopefully he comes to fix our carpet tomorrow.
One final thing that I'm proud to report...even with the camping trip and pms last week (which means eating everything in sight practically) I still managed to lose 1.2 lbs. Yay me! Going for a bike ride tomorrow and I know that will help work out the kinks in my neck and back and put me in a good mood all day.
Dang it! I had a LONG post this time and for some reason, it didn't get saved. It was a good one too. Oh well! Forget it! I don't feel like typing all that crap again.
Here's the basics:
This post would have been a lot funnier than most. I'm sad I lost it. What the hell happened? Who knows? Now this is just a boring laundry list of things I did today. Too bad.
OK, here's a recipe I love:
Spicy Grilled (or Broiled Shrimp)
1 lb shrimp, cooked, cleaned and peeled
1 lemon
1 Tbsp salt
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
Preheat broiler or fire up grill. Move the rack as close to the heat source as possible.
Mix all spices in a bowl or shaker. Arrange shrimp on baking sheet or on grill surface. Sprinkle with lemon juice. Sprinkle on seasoning. Grill or broil the shrimp 2 to 3 minutes on each side.
Serve with lemon wedges.
YUM! This is my favorite thing of all time to make. So easy and so good!
I usually make a baked potato and salad and wine to go with this. I could eat this every day of my life. Think this is what's for dinner at our house tonight, as a matter of fact. :)
OK, I'm back and I'm not bitchy today. In fact, I'm on top of the world today! I had a weigh-in at WW and somehow I managed to lose weight on vacation! Almost a pound, which brings me to 7lbs since starting July 1st. A slow and steady loss, despite many days of not exercising and WAY too much cookie dough one particular night. Man, this feels good! I told someone I was doing WW and they said "But why? You're not fat?" After I thanked them for the compliment, I said because it feels SO good to be healthier! Woohoo!
Wah! I'm in such a foul mood tonight. Just had a mini-argument w/DH about something stupid just cause I'm PMSing. Now I feel like crap for bitching at him, but I was right!!!! Oh well! All will be forgiven by tomorrow, I'm sure.
And none of my friends are home for me to call tonight. Actually, my best girlfriend, my grandma, and my sister. Called them all and not one of them is home. Glad they have lives. Not me though! I hate not knowing anyone here in this town! Can't wait for school to start next week (Did I really just say that?) so I can meet some people.
Gonna go have a glass of wine and a bubble bath and try to de-bitchify.
Aaahhh! Home! Just got back last night from a 10 day "vacation" to Florida. I say "vacation" because of several reasons:
1) Really had to go there to stay with my 16 yr old sister while mom was out of town on business. That's ok though, she's a good kid.
2) Also had to watch their 6 indoor cats who rebelled that their "mom" was not home and showed their dislike for me by using the floor as a litterbox. Had to spend a big majority of the time cleaning up after them. Not fun.
3) It rained every single day I was there. Apparently, this is the rainy season in "sunny" Florida. Did manage to go to the beach for a couple hours one day. Would have liked to do it again, but it was always raining.
4) Because of the rain, I ended up watching like 6 movies, reading 4 books, and watching endless hours of MTV and BET w/my sister. (I must like her, because I hate the crap they play on those stations...except for Newlyweds. Too funny!)
5) My husband didn't get to go with me, because he had to work. Newlyweds should not be apart for that long. Suffice it to say that I was VERY happy to come home!
6) Had to miss a Weight Watchers meeting, right when I really needed it most. During the trip, I stuck with the plan for lunch and dinner and didn't get all freaked out if I ate more than I should. I was on vacaction, for crying out loud! One night we had pizza...lots of pizza. And another night, I made peanut butter fudge cookies and we ate so much dough, I thought I'd be sick. YUM! All of that and I still somehow managed to lose 2 lbs while I was there. This may be a do-able diet after all.
