Goodevening ladies! I'm just winding down the day, I'm totally exhausted and just want to sleep for days!! But I'm going to get up and do that 10km tomorrow. My brother and I are going to switch it up and run some, and then walk some. I think we are feeling a little crazy.. but it'll mix it up.. and with a lot of stretching I think we'll recover nicely.

So my day, kinda sucked a bit. I woke up with a headache (stayedup until 1am... too late for this little girl), I took some tylenol, did nothing, we bummed around the house until 12:30pm ( I took sinus pills, as it turns out it was my sinus's bothering me), we then headed to Vancouver to get all of our race stuff, checked out some of the stuff there.. they gave out free multivitamins! woohoo.. free stuff! We came home, and went out for Japanese... mmm.. I love Japanese food We ran errands for a couple hours, and picked up vitamin c. I'm sick, can you fricking believe it?!?! I have the starting of a cold, with a FEVER, ugh. Thats the low down of my day..

Jill - uh huh.. totally long enough I'm sorry to hear about your car crap.. I hate dealing with that stuff.. I wish you the best of luck. Get a honda civic or honda accord. The people at my job didn't really care that I gave my notice, one girl pretended to care.. but I don't believe her. It's fine, I'm done with that crap.

Diana - gusto? I live a very very tame life.. what do you think is gusto?

Kimberley - You are a kind person to help her like that.. I can't garden.. mostly I just don't enjoy it.. I'm more of a pool person..

Okay, I better go back to my guests.. have a great Sunday, I'll post later in the day and let you know how it went!! Nite gals

-Aimee

Diana - gusto? I live a very very tame life.. what do you think is gusto? ~ Aimee

energy, great outlook, confidense...I guess that about sums it up..lol
Good luck today, hope you have fun...

Kimberley~ you are so nice to help her out, that is great....She appreciated it I am sure..My dad, who is 87, still thinks he is 27, sometimes...Does things he shouldn't then pays the price for it the rest of the week...

well, am off, Have agreat day e1!

Oh man.. it's too early for me.. it's 7:30am, on a SUNDAY, ugh. I'm rethinking that running portion of today's thing.. my body is sore (I just got out of bed), but we'll see. So sleepy!! But it's worth it... right?

Diana - I see so many people who do more than me, who do much more braver things.. and generally think my life is just TOO tame. I've never really travelled, or had an exciting job.. I have dated lots.. but yah.. lol. I do feel good about myself (thanks to my mom), and I know that I'm goodlooking.. teehee.. so modest too. It's easy to have confidence when you have a mom teaching you to So I'm going to take the compliment and shut my trap Thank you Diana!

Well, I'm off... seeyah later gals

-Aimee

LOL Aimee, YW, and yes, take the compliment and shut your trap, LOL..You are so funny!!! Have fun!!!

I got up at 7 this morning and stumbled over to the gym. Wow, was that place empty! Then Rob walked up to the park, got a sandwich and shared it in the park, it's gorgeous here today. I bought one of those huge deli pickles.

The stuffed cabbage was really good. Not greasy at all, which is how I like them.

Boy, Kimberley, I know that's a headache. My dad always was having to deal with the neighbors to get the fences fixed. He went through Sears the last time and got them to do the entire job. That fence fell down I think within a year, just bad workmanship.

Good luck with the 10K, Aimee! One day I'll be able to do something like that. Not today. I'm still creaky from going to the botanic garden and back. ha.

I think every one should travel as much as they can afford to money wise and time wise. It gives you a better perpective on the world, and about people in general. I know traveling isn't everyone's cup of tea. I've had friends who've loved it and have been all over the world, and friends who basically have been satisfied to stay within a state of where we grew up. I think because my dad used to take us all over the US when we were kids (in the ol' station wagon, camping out at KOAs -- Kampgrounds of America), I've always enjoyed seeing new places.

Yeah, I like Salvation Armies. We have one a couple of blocks away from us here, unfortunately they sold the building so it will be gone in a few months. I almost always give my clothes and books and other odds and ends to them, I'll miss them, it was really convenient. Sometimes the prices at the SA's here can be a little high. My artist friend who I mentioned before used to buy his frames from an SA in Manhattan. In college I used to buy sweaters from the SA in my home town. (My mom always like to donate change at Christmas time too.)

I think every one should travel as much as they can afford to money wise and time wise. It gives you a better perpective on the world, and about people in general. I know traveling isn't everyone's cup of tea. I've had friends who've loved it and have been all over the world, and friends who basically have been satisfied to stay within a state of where we grew up. I think because my dad used to take us all over the US when we were kids (in the ol' station wagon, camping out at KOAs -- Kampgrounds of America), I've always enjoyed seeing new places.~~Marge

LOL I had to add something when I saw that. we have been all over the country too, my dad did the same thing, every summer we camped and traveled...I loved it, and when DH retires, we will be going on road trips ourselves to Yellowstone, Grand tetons, Grand Canyon, etc...beautiful...we will be motelling it mostly, he is not into tenting as much as I am, but it will be fun...He has barely seen what beauty this country has to offer...BBL all, and I LOVE Cabbage Rolls, or Pigs in a Blanket as we called it in Toledo, here, Pigs in a blanket are hot dogs wrapped in Crescent rolls..lol, Funny how different things are...Hmm, may have to make some of them for myself this week, He is not fond of them, I love them and he will be working ot all week on afternoon shift, hmm....

Alright, so 10km's? It's pretty far!! I was going at a great pace 10minutes per km, and considering I had the most painful shin splints in the WORLD, I was good with that. And then I hit the 7th km. My fingers started to feel kinda weird, and after a hill I got a tight feeling in my back (from working hard, but of course, I'm paranoid and thought I was dying or something). I kept on going though, and because of my being all paranoid about that crap.. my panic attacks started. I felt like I couldn't breath and just wanted to lay down and cry, I was going to go to a medical station.. but instead I called my mom. I cried a little (I'm such a wuss!!), but she talked me thru it, for 1km (I was at a 12min/km at that point). And I survived, focused on the moment. It was quite the little journey, it definitely humbled me. Fortunately, I'm feeling strong, and will recover, both physically (my shins are ACHING!), and mentally.

I totally believe people should travel as well.. I really wish I could afford to, one day I will. In the mean time, there is tons to see around where I live As for camping? I just can't do it... tents aren't my thing, and those RV thingies.. expensive!

Alright, I gotta go take care of my body... remember, we can do ANYTHING we set our minds to, heck, I did a 10km walk with no training at all!

-Aimee

Just briefly saying hi and then I'm curling up in bed with my Dean Koontz novel. This nightowl is dog tired! We went to a Columbus Clippers baseball game today (they're the farm team of the NY Yankees). The game started at Noon, so we were up early -- early for us, anyway. The Clippers and the Charlotte Knights were tied and went extra innings - finally, in the bottom of the 12th, the Clippers had a homer and won. It was a great ending to the game! Howie's new avatar was taken by our friend today at the park.

Night-night, bunny rabbits!

Good morning, all!

I'm up and at 'em at work--I know a bunch o my coworkers came in over the weekend to work on stuff, and my boss had said she would leave work for me on my chair. However, I came in to an empty chair with not so much as even an email asking me to do anything. Looks like I'm off the hook (till everyone else comes in, anyway)!

So, Saturday was SO fun! Jeff and I stayed in bed till about 9-ish, then I woke up and dragged him over to the couch so we could watch cartoons. Then we fell back to sleep on the couch till about noon, got up and took our showers, then went to Jillian's with his cousins. We got there about 4 and had dinner (well, breakfast for Jeff and me), then played video games for a couple hours. I LOVE the "Hyperbowl"--it's this big screen that shows a bowling ball and a course, and you have to spin this bowling ball on a stand to make your ball move in the direction you want to try to hit the pins at the end of the virtual course. It's funny to watch people do it, and it's even a great arm workout. Jeff, his 17-year old cousin Matt, and I played 2 games of that, a little air hockey (which I LOVE), and a few other video games (can't go to the arcade without some bloody, violent, first-person shooter games). Then, the rest of his cousins (the 2 parents, the 13-year old, and the 7-year old) went home while Jeff, Matt, and I headed to the Metro (train) station to go to RFK Stadium to catch the rest of the Washington Nationals game. They're doing really well for a new team--#1 in the National League so far, and we watched them kick some Diamondback behind that night! Funny little story about the game, though...

Since we had gone to Jillian's, we got to the game a little late. We missed the first 3 innings. No big deal--we still had more than half the game to watch. So, we go in and find our seats--not the greatest seats in the world, but at least they were along the third base line and not all the way back behind the outfield. So anyway, we sit down, and the guy behind us says, "Hey, one of you might have to move and come sit up here or something cuz these guys [gestures to the men sitting about 3 seats down to my left] were taking up all but these last two seats here," to which I replied, "Well, we've actually got tickets for these seats, so I'm pretty sure we're staying here." The guy looks at me and goes, "Oh, well, I hope that works out for you, then." Hope that works out for you? What the he!! is that supposed to mean? Of course it's going to work out for us--they're OUR seats! Just because some other people stole our seats before we got there does not mean we should have to move to accomodate them. No one ever asked us to move, since they knew those weren't really their seats (we saw some of the guys come down, look at us sitting in the seats, then go to sit somewhere else), but just the way that guys said stuf was pretty rude, even the tone of his voice. Ugh, people!

Okay, done with my little rant for now. So then yesterday, all Jeff and I did all day was lay around watching movies/tv and sleeping (I almost always fall asleep during movies anyway), so I caught up on quite a bit of the week's missed sleep.

On a more painful note, has anyone ever had an ingrown toenail? I have had them before and had to have the root of the edge of my toenail cortorized by the podiatrist. Well, not to gross anyone out, but on Thursday night after working at the restaurant, I came home and took off my socks and shoes to find a new development on my left foot--an infected ingrown toenail. Great. Like I have time to see a doctor! So Friday I wore flip-flops to work (luckily didn't have to work at the restaurant that night), and it hurt even when sitting still and not touching anything. Not a good sign. Saturday, I had to wear socks and real shoes (sneakers, since I knew the baseball game would require walking to and from the Metro station, not to mention the 10-mile hike to get to our seats), and by the time we got home on Saturday night, it was insanely painful and quite disgudting to look at, so I put my flip-flops on and made Jeff drive me to the store (not many choices at 11:30 at night, so we went to the grocery store that was open till midnight). I bought q-tips, peroxide, Neosporin (with pain reliever), and band-aids. Then we went back, and I went to work on my toe as best I could. I did some things I won't mention just in case any of you have just eaten, then I put a huge blob of Neosporin on it and 3 band-aids. I must have done a pretty good job--I left the band-aids on over night but didn't put any more on yesterday or today--let it get some air and dry out. Yesterday, it was kinda purple instead of red/yellow, but looking at it now, it's a lighter shade of purpleish-red and is much less swollen. I am wearing sandals (socks and closed-toe shoes make my big toe rub against my second toe, which KILLS since the offending toenail is on the inside of my big toe), so it doesn't hurt at all right now. I am PRAYING that I make it through my shift at the restaurant tonight okay--I'm serving instead of hostessing, so I should be able to sit down a little more often, which will be good. I'll have to see how it goes this week to see whether or not I will have to consider a podiatrist.

Aimee--congrats on making it through the 10k--tears or not, it's quite an accomplishment!

Marge--I would LOVE to travel. I went on a cruise to the Bahamas when I was in high school (school trip for a singing group I was in), but I have never been west of Kentucky or to any other countries. Maybe when I'm a little older and am not work 70 hours a week to make ends met

Kimberley--you're so great to help Pearl out like that. When I was in high school, I was a member of our Service Corps. We did stuff to help people in the community (shovel snow, rake leave, etc.), and I once had to help clean the gutters of this huge house for an older woman who had broken her collar bone. It would have been okay if she was actually nice! Talk about a mean old lady--she kept pointing out things we were doing wrong and watching our every move as if she'd just hired us for the day straight out of prison! I love helping people out, but I love it even more when they actually appreciate it!

Diana--good luck with the family stress. I know how difficult it is when people try to drag you into their conflicts. I always have this feeling like I want to help, but I know it's better to just stay out of it as much as possible.

Heather--I'm so glad your mom noticed your weight loss! That is such a great feeling, and it's very motivating to know people can see a difference. I know one of the ladies here at work keeps asking me how much I've lost. She says she can see it in my face. I think for me it's not so much the weight loss, but the working out that kinda shifts the wieght around even though I am only down about 7 pounds total.

Alright, ladies, this has been quite a long post (even for me--and only 1 smilie the whole way through! --well, now 2), so I'm gonna go pretend to do some work now. Have a Marvelous Monday!!

I'm no stranger to the ingrown toenails - Ouch. I've always been able take care of them myself, fortunately. Every so often they grow out on the sides and I just do some "intensive clipping" after I get out of the shower.

Aimee, I didn't reply specifically to any posts last night, but wow...I felt like I was on the walk with you. That's awesome how you pushed through the panic and kept going.

We're getting ready for an overnight in Cincinnati this weekend. About 45 folks (including kids and spouses) from davesgarden.com are meeting at a park down there for a plant swap, lunch together, and visiting. I may go to the Cincinnati Flower Show at Coney Island with some of our friends, but Howie is going to hang out and visit. We're staying at a B&B Saturday night and making our treat day Sunday since the owner cooks up a full breakfast for guests.

The first weekend of October, we're going to the really big roundup in Kentucky. We'll stay several days that time. We have such a blast together!

We need some 3FC gatherings, eh?

Goodmorning! I am just dragging my butt out of bed to go grocery shopping, I am feeling SO much better than I was feeling last night. Before I went to sleep I was half laughing, half wanting to cry, and in SO much pain. It was a really long day, I think I was actually delerious from needing to sleep. I woke up this morning with a tiny bit of pain in the butt (teehee), and my calf muscles. My shin splints ARE GONE!!

Jill - sounds like a fun weekend, minus the toe nail thing. I'd totally dig the sucker out, which I suspect you might have too

Okay, I gotta go.. but I'll be back later!

-Aimee

Kimberley - Thank you We should have a 3FC's meeting, however... I live SO far away, and have no car.. but this might all change !

I'll BBL for real now!

-Aimee

afternoon ladies. I hope your day's are all going well so far.
Kimberly, I think that sounds like such a wonderful weekend planned. My daughter will be in Cincinnati on Friday...she has choral competition there for school. We don't live that far from you.
Aimee, I am so proud of you for doing that run!!! I know what you mean about shin splints. I get them all the time in class. My professor keeps telling me to do toe lifts, but they don't help. I hope eventually they won't be so much of a problem.
Jill, Im sorry youre having problems w/ your toe. I used to get them alllllll the time, and my mom(who was a nurse) would make me soak my foot in hot water and epsom salts..it always helped.
Di, I hope things go well for you this week at curves. Does that membership travel? or is it only good for your city?
I think it would be so awesome to have a 3fc meeting. The damage we could do to one town...oops....I mean we could have so much fun together...yeah, that's it, that's the ticket, fun.....
To everyone I havent seen in a while, as well as to those I have, I wish you all a fantastic day, low fat food that actually tastes wonderful, and the ability to laugh at your scales.

My time is in.. 108 minutes. So I held my pace of 10minutes per km, or close enough! Yay!

Heather - Congrats on your weight loss.. I'm late.. I'm sorry. Life has been very distracting lately. But I bet you know all about that.. I don't even have a husband or kids.. I can't imagine. My bf is pretty time consuming.

I went to Costco today and bought these drinks, sparkling something, flavored type water stuff, made with Splenda.. which doesn't always work too good in my system.. but one here and there will be okay. I'll keep me sane as I'm quitting sugar again!

-Aimee

Gooooood morning!

So, I was serving last night instead of hostessing (yay!), and since I was the first one on at 4pm (others didn't come on until 5:15 or 6), I was first cut (yay again!). That means--I was home by 8:30!!! And that was after I went grocery shopping after my shift! Oh, it felt sooo good. I only made about $8 less than I would have if I stayed all night to hostess, and I only worked for 3 hours. The schedule has me serving 2 days next week--Monday and Tuesday (I'm hostess for today-Thursday this week), so that'll be a nice change of pace. I'm SOOO glad to be serving again!

I did not go to the gym yesterday. I could have--I had the time to do it. However, I feared putting my sneakers on and irritating my toe. As it was, I only had my socks and work shoes on for about 4 hours last night, and it made the toe worse. It doesn't necessarily look any worse (it's not redder or purpler or ickier), but it definitely made it hurt a little more. I may take this week off from the gym and just try to eat a little healthier in a meager attempt to make up for it. I can also do some muscle tensing exercises at my desk at work. I'll still b moving about the restaurant all night for the next 3 days, so I won't be getting no exercise, just less.

So, here I am at my desk, tired and cold. I bought more meat when I went shopping last night (sliced ham, shredded chicken, and turkey burgers). I think I need more protein in my diet. I need more iron, too, I think, but I don't really like red meat much. I also bought yogurt (I know you're a big fan, Aimee), which should be good for me. It's no sugar added, but it has aspartame in it. It has 90 calories per container, and they're only 44 cents a piece. I figured that would be a good snack during the day. I really need to focus on eating healthy, not just cutting calories. I eat quitea bit of fruit, but no veggies and barely any meat. Example, here's what I have for today:
Breakfast: cereal (fruit loops) with skim milk (2 servings~400 calories)
Snacks: 2 cinnamon graham crackers with 2 tablespoons fat free strawberry cream cheese (170 calories)
Chex mix (130 calories)
BBQ shredded chicken (2 servings~180 calories)
yogurt (90 calories)
Lunch: Lean Pocket Ultra--meatball & cheese (200 calories)
Dinner: Chef Boyardee pasta w/meatballs in tomato sauce (220 calories)
After-work snack: apple (80 calories)
All together, that keeps me under 1500 calories for the day. I don't drink coffee or tea or anything, just water at work and occasionally diet Coke at the restaurant. I'm also currently eating some fresh strawberries a coworker left for me [at 50 cals per cup, I'd say I'm only having about 100 calories (since some are already kinda mushy and browning), so still under 1600 total for the day]. This is a very typical day for me except that the shredded chicken is a new addition. I usually just have either more fruit [like an orange and/or kiwi, or like yesterday I had a can of fruit cocktail (not packed in heavy syrup)] or pickles or something, but I added the chicken today for protein.

When I started this whole dieting thing, I decided to just count calories and not worry about anything else for the time being. As you can see from the above, fat grams is not a major concern of mine (I always stay well below 30 for the day), but I feel I'm certainly not getting the proper nutrition. I know it's better for your body to get nutrients from food, but I'm thinkging I need to start taking some major supplements. I'm always cold (I used to never be cold, and I've only lost about 7 pounds, so I know the weight loss is not the culprit), and I'm always tired (I know I work a lot, but Sunday I slept for about 13-14 hours and still felt tired), so I think lack of certain vitamins/minerals may be to blame. Anyone else have these issues or have any suggestions (suggestions for changing my diet or for adding supplements)?

Aimee--congrats on sticking so closely to the time you set for yourself for the 10km! That's an awesome accomplishment!

Heather--I had always soaked my foot in salt water before, too. Not only does it feel good, but it softens the skin for when I need to cut the nail out myself. It just never seems to be an issue for me until it gets infected--I never know I have an ingrown toenail until it is red, painful, and needs to be drained (I know that's icky--sorry). It sucks, especially when one of my jobs requires walking all night long! But, woe is me, I'll survive. I've survived worse

Kimberely--How cool that you get to meet people that way! The only people I have ever met from online have been guys I've dated (2 I only had one date with, and then my Jeff ).

How AWESOME would it be to have a 3FC gathering?! what've we got here, I'm near DC, Marge in NY, Kimberley in Ohio, Aimee near Toronto--Heather and Di, are you guys in Ohio, too?

Alright, back to pretending to work (and by that I mean researching cars online ). Have a Terrific Tuesday!