Same Girl, New Location

Hey all! I hope you have all been happy and healthy during my hiatus. I had some difficult family stuff to take care of in the past few months. Everyone is now happy and on the road to recovery, so it's all good. Except for the part where I got laid off a month ago. But, I have come back to my blogging roots and today I've started a new blog about life right now. Same girl. Same issues. New location. Please come visit me at:



"Meet me at the corner of 79th & Whine" virtually located at http://79thandwhine.blogspot.com/



kisses!

Trixie

I'll Be Back ...

Just wanted to let you all know that I'm going on hiatus for a while. There are some personal things I need to take care of.

I wish you all the best at whatever you are striving to achieve.

Be happy & healthy

Trixie

p.s. I do intend to come back, just not sure when.

Coming Full Circle: Discovery Channel's National Body Challenge

Hey all, I'm doing a little publicity for the Discovery Channel's National Body Challenge.

National Body Challenge is a FREE, comprehensive fitness and weight-loss challenge that provides the tools and inspiration - online, on television and beyond. Among the offerings include a free 30-day pass to Bally Total Fitness, access to customizable meals and fitness plans, over 1,000 healthy recipes and more.

A contact at their interactive agency contacted me to write a post about the program. But, I'm not posting just because someone contacted me. I actually worked for the Discovery Health Channel a few years ago and learned about this program from the inside out. They put a lot of effort into making it comprehensive and motivating. Actually, that is where I learned about blogs, especially health and weight loss blogs, and what motivated me to start my blog. I wouldn't say that working there made me want to lose weight, it was just the right place at the right time I suppose. So, to be contacted by them to promote this program, is just a lovely way to come full circle. (And I realize that by sharing this information, they may realize who I am in "real life," but I think I'm okay with that.)

So, I'll also update you later this week on some of the interesting information I find on the site.

My "SMART" Goals for 2009

Weekly Weigh-in:
143 lbs. @ WW on Saturday, January 3rd
145 lbs. @ home on Tuesday, January 6th

Goals for 2009
Yep, it's my turn ... I figure one woman's resolution is another woman's goal, so today I think I'm ready to share my goals for 2009. Over the years I've learned that one should create S.M.A.R.T. goals (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, & Timely).

* Keep off 100% of original weight lost (82.8 lbs. lost - 141 lbs. goal)
It's specific, measurable (I got the scale now!), attainable (I kept off 97.8% in 2008!), relevant (d*mn straight!) and timely.

* Aerobic exercise 3x per week for at least 30 minutes (does not include my daily walking)
It's specific, measurable (the handy clock feature on my iPod), attainable (I keep repeating to myself, "I will join a gym", "I will join a gym"), relevant (need to stay healthy).

* Count points on a daily basis
I need to do this to stay accountable to my 1) portion sizes (which were always my downfall) and 2) my intake of fruits and vegetables and water (none of which I currently get enough of)

* Go to WW meeting every Saturday
This is really something I enjoy and find comforting. I crave structure and I like knowing I'll see familiar faces and my meeting leader, even if the crazy receptionist told me to "be careful" when she saw I was 2 lbs. above my goal weight! Yessh! (And it keeps me accountable.)

* Work related: Get 2 "exceeded expectations" and 1 "did not meet expectations" on next formal evaluation. I know this doesn't sound like a very challenging goal, but my company sets uber high standards.

* Post 4x per Week on my Blog/ Visit my fave blogs 4x per Week:
I see this as a selfish goal. I have missed being an active part of this community - I am so much happier when I make time for this. It has been interesting going from being a grad student, to unemployed to now working 50-60 hours per week and trying to keep my life trucking along. I am seeking balance my friends.

* Join 1 new club this year
It could be a new book club, a co-ed sports club, Road Runners, volunteering ... again, I need balance in my life, renewal, not just because of my job, but because my two closest friends are moving out of NYC this year: one is pregnant with twins (her 2nd and 3rd) and is moving to the (faraway) suburbs and the other has ailing parents and is looking to move back to her hometown (100's of miles away). I need to force myself to make more connections.


Okay my friends, there it is. 2008 was a wonderful, roller coaster of a year - things weren't always great, but they were 100x better than they have been in the last 5 years, if not longer.

Here's to 2009! Cheers!

2009 ...

I was reading a post by Kim over at Discovering Me and it made me think ... what do I want 2009 to be for me? I guess I have to agree with her that I am a little fearful of what 2009 will bring. Not fear in the sense of anything bad - although that's always possible - but the fear one commenter mentioned of not knowing.

I think it would be good for me to come up with some measurable goals for myself for 2009. I suppose I should also look back at 2008 and see how far I've come. Wow. I don't know what I'm so scared of, but I feel like I'm on top of a mountain, peering alternately over the edge to the landscape down below and up at the sky and mountain tops surrounding me - a lot like I felt when I used to hike in Las Vegas. It's a weird feeling - full of promise and hope. I kinda like the sound of that. It sounds like a nice way to start off the new year :)

Family Stress, Holiday Stress

Ugh, Christmas! I thought I did well on the eating front, but really, let's not kid a kidder: stuffing, gravy, chocolate mousse, my favorite beer , deep dish pizza ... the list goes on and on and on.

I tried to pick my battles and make healthy choices (steamed scallops at the Chinese restaurant, rare tuna an arugula without dressing), and make every unhealthy choice one I would enjoy, but inevitably, sometimes the "oh, just this once because it's the holidays" doesn't end up tasting all that great. But, you're hungry and haven't eaten in hours and grandma is driving you batty because she doesn't understand the concept of 3 hour lunches with your friends, so you just pick something that will comfort you. Ahh, yes, comfort food. I didn't realize until I'd ordered a burger and mashed potatoes for dinner tonight that all the family stress from the holidays had finally pushed me over into stress eating. I don't, really as a rule, eat out of stress or boredom. Some how, some blessed way, I have managed to navigate the weight loss terrain for over 2 years without eating to relieve my stress about graduate school, or not having a job, or not dating, or trying to date after a decade on the couch (literally and figuratively), or not having any money, or moving across the country, or moving back across the country, or starting a new job, or managing new employees, or dealing with new clients, or finding a new apartment (but in a building that's being renovated, hello - no cable again for the 3rd time in 3 months!) . . .

But now, after the 6 days I spent with my parents and grandmother, I am stress eating. My choices today were ridiculous. I had a bagel for breakfast, no lunch, sucked down pretzel and diet Coke like it was my job, and then opted for the burger and mashed potatoes (oh, I forgot the escargot soaked in garlic butter - I was at a French bistro). I did manage to only have two beers, but I did have cappuccino, and trust me, this joint doesn't even have skim milk on the premises (I also overheard another well-meaning young woman next to me ask for it and be rebuffed). It took like over 2 years for me to find my stress eating trigger - family drama. You'd have thought it would have come out before seeing as I lived with my parents for 4 months earlier this year, but hey, we had casinos in Vegas, so I guess that's how I dealt with my stress. Oh, yeah, and hiking and running and walking. Oops. Forgot about the exercise. Guess that's a good way to deal with things. (Insert hand slapping forehead here.)

So, on New Year's Eve morning, I would LOVE to resolve to go running ... for the first time in - let's count together - 1, 2, 3, okay, about 3 months. (The last time I remember running it was when I was at a conference in Texas at the end of September.) But, I just checked weather.com and discovered that it will be raining/snowing tomorrow. Ugh! But! I also got the Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred DVD from Netflix yesterday (thanks for the suggestions!) so, I can test drive that tomorrow morning. (Saturday and Sunday look like they might be dry possibilities for running outside. Still not sure about spending $80+ a month for a gym membership.)

So, my friends, I am off to have a nice cup of coffee before bed. I know, it sounds counter-intuitive, but I find a nice cup of hazelnut coffee quite relaxing. I should have planned ahead and gotten decaf for times like these, but hey, I like to live dangerously.



P.S.

I have to say, after this Christmas, I now understand why there is the "my family is crazy, especially during the holidays" genre. I knew those movies were around, but never fully appreciated them until this year. My recommendation if you want to partake in this genre, try Jodie Foster's (1995) Home for the Holidays. I haven't seen it in years, but I think I might just get it from Netflix.

Love Actually Insults (The Movie)

Weekly Weigh-in:

142.8 lbs. @ WW on Saturday, Dec. 20th

144.8 lbs. @ home on Saturday, Dec. 20th

So, that 2 lb. difference is a little weird, I'm not used to weighing myself at home AND at WW, but I'm still down from last week, so I'll take 142 or 144 :)

I just watched what I would like to call a sweet movie about different kinds of love - Love Actually. I haven't seen it since I saw it in the movie theatre years ago. (I pretty much see anything Colin Firth is in - I'm a HUGE fan of the BBC's version of Pride & Prejudice from the 90's - swoon!) It was really quite lovely in some ways, but in others, it was a little disturbing. Then tended to demonize overweight women. The character Hugh Grant's character is in love with is called "plumpy" by her parents (a childhood nickname) and said she broke up with her boyfriend because he said she was getting fat! Meanwhile the actress looked healthy. This disturbed me because what if some people really thought she was overweight? No one really clarified the fact that her boyfriend was batty for talking about her weight. Then there was another character who had an overweight sister. This time Colin Firth's character shows up at the girl's doorstep and asks her father for her hand in marriage. Of course the "joke" is that this girl isn't home - but her overweight sister is standing in the background, and Colin's character couldn't POSSIBLY mean her. I also found out that they cut another scene out of the American version that's in the British version where a guy, who until this scene pretty much as an unrequited crush on Keira Knightly's character, fat. Ugh! It never stops! I don't understand why a perfectly lovely movie had to lower itself to such tired and inaccurate stereotypes. I'm in my own living room, alone, and yet I still winced at these scenes. And really, what are they thinking - it's a romcom - their market are WOMEN! - so why make so many of them uncomfortable? why insult so many of them? why do we put up with it?

On a happier note, I got most of my stuff done today. I'm buying the tea tomorrow because Starbucks was crazy, but I found it at my corner market, so I'm going back tomorrow. I also need rain boots because when it snows here GIGANTIC puddles form that make it impossible to get from the sideway to the street without wadding through puddles about 2-3 feet wide.

On an unhappier note, I just don't feel like doing work tomorrow. Partially because I should have delegated all of this to my team, but they say they are working at capacity, so it falls to me if I want it to get done. And, in the end, I want it to get done. I guess I should be happy I'm on vacation from Tuesday-Monday. It's the first real vacation I've take since I started at the end of April. Let's see if I can stay off the computer for work for 7 days straight! So, I'll work a little tomorrow and a lot Monday and then relax! :)