Welcome back, Lisa!

You already got your test results back? O.o that was super fast! Every time I took standardized tests I had to wait between 1 and 3 months to get my results...If you don't have actual numbers in hand, I'm sure you did better than you thought you did...I never felt like I did especially well on the SATs/ACTs/AP tests, but I generally scored in the top 5-10%.

I found what I THINK was a Lean Cuisine chicken, spinach, and artichoke pita once that had to have been about the most delicious diet food I've ever put in my mouth...unfortunately I couldn't seem to find it again after that. It was so good...I would have had that for lunch several times a week if I could...

Healthy choice Cafe Steamers are generally pretty good...They tend to be on the pricey side for frozen meals, but I used to find them on sale at Stop & Shop every few weeks...lots of variety and most of them are really tasty. http://www.healthychoice.com/healthy...-cafe-steamers

The 30 day shred is going pretty well...maybe it's the fact that the humidity was lower today than it's been, but there was considerably less sweat than the previous days. I don't think I had much of any until I got to the second cardio set, so that's an improvement for me...I'm more than halfway through the first level, so hopefully I'll finish before I get TOO bored.

hotaruchan Yes, they gave me my pitifull results once clicked complete and a print out . I took it at a pearsons center on the computer. And the Lean Cuisine I had yesterday was ok, but I just wasnt motivated to eat it. Im going to try a few more and some soups. Im glad you are doing well with the shred. I have seen and heard some people getting some really good results with it!

Hotaru - I hate the shred...but it works. I am just not motivated enough to keep up with it. If I had a group of people to do it with, I know it would be totally different. So, kudos to you for keeping up with it!!

Lisa - Sorry about your test results!

It has been raining for the last few days. It's great that we are getting the rain, but stinks when you want to go somewhere. Thankfully, it's not bad storms...just rain. We needed it though. The grass was starting to die and it was getting super hot way too early in the season.

Dog-sitting still going ok, although, I'm ready to take the dog back to her home. Haha! She peed in the floor this morning, but that's because I didn't make her stay outside for as long as usual because it's raining. Thankfully, it was on the linoleum so not a big deal to clean up. She's been growling at my one-year-old the past couple of days. That is NOT cool. So, now I'm having to watch them extra close to make sure DD stays away from the dog. She hasn't snapped at her yet, but you never know with animals and babies. The cat doesn't seem to phased by the dog. She doesn't like it, but she's dealing with it.

We got an apartment!!! And it's a character apartment to boot! For only $10 a month more than what we pay for the dingy basement we live in now we're gonna get:

- plastered walls
- granite kitchen counters
- glass paned kitchen cabinets
- a built-in breakfast nook with storage under the seats next to a giant window in the kitchen (the window actually juts out the side of the building and the nook is built into it, so the window actually partially surrounds the nook itself, if you're sitting deep in you can see a 270 view of the outside)
- a claw foot soaker tub!
- a fireplace!
- really neat vintage crystal light fixtures
- hardwood flooring throughout
- 10ft ceilings

It's also located downtown so we're close to all the night life. The building is a heritage building so the Canadian government actually subsidizes your rent if you get accepted to live there. It used to be an old dormitory for medical students in the 30's. The only down sides are no AC and it's way far from any grocery stores. But the building itself is so pretty. When you enter it you have to climb a giant staircase that splits off into two smaller spiral staircases that lead into the wings where the apartments are located. It's so fancy looking I feel snobby just walking around there.

We take possession August 1st

hotaruchan Have you tried the Walk Away The Pounds DVDs?

lisa Here are some of the ones I like (but I'm not a big meat eater)
Lean Cuisine:
-cheddar potatoes with broccoli is by far my fav!
-pizza, especially the mushroom one and the roasted veggie one.
-snacks with pita bread (but I'd have to eat veggies with them to fill me up for a meal)
-garlic chicken spring rolls (another nice snack/light meal)
-Salisbury steak
-3 cheese stuffed rigatoni
-Asiago cheese tortelloni
-mushroom tortelloni

Healthy Choice:
-portabello mushroom risotto
- various tortellini meals

Smart Ones
-chicken quesadilla
-mini cheeseburgers (especially with some pickle slices on it and some mustard!)

wow....this is turning into quite the list....basically, if it was something without meat or fish I've probably had it. haha I think out of the three, Smart Ones has the most meals that I like.

katbot that's AWESOME news about the apartment! It sounds very cool. I'm dreading the possible apartment hunt I'll have later on this year. Seems like so many of the apartments around here have horrible reviews!

It's been a very.very.very long week. It's Thursday and I've already worked so much. By the end of the day tomorrow I'll have worked at least 52 hours! But the $$ is nice! I'm going to start putting away some of my overtime money into a money jar for clothes when I reach my goal weight.

Anyone have fun weekend plans?

This weekend I'm planning on meeting up with a few friends and having a movie night on Friday. I'm gearing up to have some fun with my coworkers and family for my birthday on Monday.

Ok, saw this on someone's facebook page (hope the picture works!) and I love this!
One jar with "pounds to go" marbles, and one with "pounds lost." I'm a very visual person. This is right up my alley!

Lisa: Aww...sorry to hear that. The good news is that you can always take it again when you're better prepared. All of these new-fangled gadgets...*shakes cane at kids and yells for them to get off of my lawn*

Kat: That sounds AWESOME. My shoebox of an apartment and I are jealous.

Ballerina: ...I have not. I'll have to look into it (though walking is hardly any more enjoyable to me than running. It gets boring really fast unless I'm walking somewhere in particular.) Also, the stone jars are a great idea! If I had somewhere to put them (again, shoebox apartment) I'd be all over that idea...

Everytime I see that it reminds me I want to do that, it's so cool and a great visual

Sadface...I think I officially have to stop wearing my 10th Doctor pinstripe pants...

They never actually fit me per say (they're a 14 and somehow I made it up to halfway between 12 and 14 at my high) but I bought them anyway because I'm obsessed with David Tennant and his swanky dark brown and blue pinstriped suit...I wore them to school today and the belt was so much smaller than the waist that they ballooned out at the crotch and made me look like a clown. RIP, my subtly nerdy pants...I enjoyed our time together immensely.

hotaruchan I recommended the walk away the pounds DVDs because they will probably fall into the category of "not get you very sweaty."

I've been a little extra stressed this week, so I'm really looking forward to the weekend. Going to get in some exercise and cleaning and improve my mood. New semester starts next week (non-traditional schedule) so I want to get a jump start on things with that too.

Bought my marble jars at Target today!!
Also got a dry-erase calendar that is going to be my school/workout calendar. Will hang right over my desk so I see it ALL.THE.TIME.

Quiet Ballerina That is an awesome visual! And thanks for the frozen dinner input, I will be trying some them!

Katbot That sounds like an awesome place! Congrats!

TGIF! Whooo hoooo,Im so happy to see FRIDAY! Going to the Farmers Market tomorrow morning. It’s like my treat! I haven’t been in a few weeks, and I’m excited to get to some of my favorite vendors! Turbo Fire is on a FedEx truck as I type! I really hope I can keep up. Although, being honest I don’t not plan to exercise 6 days a week. I’m just won’t lie to myself about that. Also working on a grocery list. I have to stay on budget. I don’t know if this applies to anyone else but shopping for a healthy lifestyle is more expensive for me.

Soooo I left you all in the dark with that teasing comment about black rice. Well we cooked it like normal rice (just took twice as long) and had it with curry I think, it was good, tasted like wild rice. Fun to cook too, made the water purple

Other news- wedding planning is coming along. Getting a bit stressed that we havent planned much lately, but if I can get the invitations decided on and the hair and make up investigations going this weekend, then I'll be a bit happier. And we met with the cake person a couple of weeks ago so thats all sorted too. Must get onto the flowers too though. And the bridesmaids dresses. And the plan for the day! Arg!!

I really have to get back into eating and working out too. Eating is good during the day, but its the after dinner snacking that is ruining things I think. And getting up at 5am when it is freezing is really hard too! But I will try extra hard this week and see how I go.

Lisa- I find that eating a healthy lifestyle is actually cheaper! Maybe snacks and things are more expensive...and I find I have to plan a bit more, because when you are buying fresh stuff of course its going to go off faster...but overall, I do find it cheaper. Especially since we are eating less meat. But maybe thats just a New Zealand thing, since we do grow a lot of stuff as on of our main industries. Mind you, most gets exported. I dunno

hotaru- thats so sad! Cant you alter the pants?

katbot- that apartment sounds so exciting! Will the lack of AC be a problem? Most places here dont have AC. Some people have heat pumps/wall mounted aircon things, but thats definitely not the norm. Its more seen as a luxury. The rest of us just sweat and freeze

Hey everyone!! I did it!! I made it under 200.. by .3 lbs.. hey.. its under! 199.7 this morning! I'm so happy!!

So that was a socializing fail. I totally ignored the thread for like, the last 13 days. Sorry!

In that 13 days I've gotten a gym membership. And actually gone to the gym! I can't wait to go back... I'm going to be starting a weightlifting plan by Jamie Eason. Only problem is.... I don't know my way around the gym at ALL. So. Yeah. I'm kind of a dumb noob when it comes to lifting heavy things.

krystalb - Welcome to Onederland! Congrats