I'll do personals tomorrow. I'm so tired after today!

Candice: I'm a speech pathology graduate student, and for my last semester I have 2 externship placements. They're pretty much internships, but thanks to our lingo, we call them externships. It's habit for me haha.

Whoa. I missed tons! Catch up time:

Leila I'm doing great, thanks! It sounds like you're going through a really rough time with all that medication. Do they know what's wrong? I guess it's harder to fix since you're allergic to some of the antibiotics.

torito Wow! Good luck with hot yoga. Bug your sister in law to give that mat back! It is hard to find the desire to exercise...but I figure even if I tell myself "ok, work out on this thing until the next commercial break" or "work out for this show" it's better than nothing/sitting on my bed. Enjoy your reading break!

sgregg enjoy your spring break! I'm on a non-traditional schedule (boooo) so...I don't have my Spring Break until April 30th. Congrats on the new jeans!!

candice Whoa! Kudos to you for that amazing work out plan. I have HHA too! Maybe I'll start trying to incorporate that into my work out routine. Hope you stuck to your plan at that restaurant; good for you for planning ahead! That's what I try to do when I eat out.

samma my roommate is a speech & language pathologist! She seems to enjoy it a lot (most days)

Yesterday was a rough day for me. I was hoping to get some money back after paying my taxes, and it turns out I actually owe money to the govt. So that stinks. And one of the babies threw up a lot yesterday, so I was scrubbing down everything with anti-bacterial wipes so that hopefully no one else gets the stomach bug.

Today seems to be better so far. It's a really pretty day. Since the sick baby stayed home, I only have one to watch. She and I went to Target to run a couple of errands. When she wakes up we're going to go play outside.

I went grocery shopping over the weekend and got a bunch of healthy veggies and fruits. Tried not to get too many snacks, and tried to get healthy things for the few snacks I did get (like veggie chips vs regular chips). Only downside is that the fruit doesn't last longer than a few days before it spoils. It's easier for me if I only go to the grocery once a week. Might have to make a mini-trip halfway so I can get more fresh fruit regularly. Apples & bananas last...but the raspberries/blackberries/blueberries don't at all.
This week is creeping by sooooo slowly. I think it's the weather. Last week I started thinking it was Friday on Wednesday.

Is there a farmer's market near you? Try making one grocery store trip and one trip to the farmer's market for a second round of fresh fruit & veg so you don't get super bored going to the grocery store all the time.


This week's been pretty great so far. I "took off" several days last week to kind of eat whatever I wanted and didn't exercise beyond a three-hour walk on Saturday, so I'm a little nervous about stepping on the scale tomorrow.

HOWEVER. That three-hour walk was at the ZOO, which is awesome.

And yesterday, for the first time ever . . . I bench-pressed the barbell! When I started weightlifting, I was too weak to lift it with anything resembling good form, so I started off with 5lb dumbbells and added 2.5lbs to each every week until I was lifting 20lbs in each hand and ready to move on to the barbell! I feel like a slowly strengthening beast!

Also, I realized earlier today that I'm going to be over 1/3 of the way to the $1,000 emergency fund I'm putting together as of Thursday. I'm trying to be smarter with money now that I have a job with a living wage (read: I can do more than just pay the bills). My first step is a $1,000 emergency fund; second step is saving about $700 to furnish the kitchen and living room of my apartment with Ikea tables and a gently-used couch. The third step is to pay off my very little credit card debt. Fourth will be to set aside enough that I could live for 3-6 months if, God forbid, I lost my job. And all the while, I'm setting aside a little every month towards a down payment on a house. YAY GOALS!

Thanks for your concern everyone

Steroids are reduced now, was feeling pretty bad as they gave me insomnia but they're nearly finished. Phew! All of this is because of an infection in a tooth, I'm waiting for surgery to get it removed. I had an extraction last year and it was so awful. I could feel it happening because the anaesthetic wasn't having an effect because it was infected.. eugh, nightmare situation and then my tooth kept breaking.. 2 dentists tried but there was still a bit left in and that's been causing me problems for months now. Can't wait to get it out!

Quiet Ballerina I try to just shop once a week too, otherwise I just buy loads of stuff I probably don't need when I'm back in the shop! I know the feeling about fruit and veg though. I usually have some frozen veg just in case.. you could also freeze some bananas.. tasty stuff! And maybe some dried fruit too? I think it's good to have a few options so as not to get bored.

Hope the baby's ok now

Leila - Ew...that does not sound good at all. Hoping they can get it all out soon!!

bopbot - Woohoo on bench pressing! Good for you! It's always encouraging to see progress. Good luck with saving your money! It's so important and so hard to do. Kudos to you!

QB - Thanks! And I know you will enjoy your break when it comes. Don't be speeding the week up!!! Haha!! I don't buy a lot of fresh fruits and veggies unless I'm planning on eating them the same day or the next day. If I buy fresh, then I'm going to go to the store the same day and get it because if I try to plan meals for the week the stuff will just end up ruining before I use it.

Well, I haven't been tracking my calories this week. I'm just trying to take a break from it all before going back to work Monday. It's easier for me to count calories when I'm at the school all day. I'm still trying to stay aware of what I'm eating, however. It's amazing how you change over time when you are trying to do better for yourself. I remember when I was in high school and college (the first time). I did not care about what I ate or drank. It's so different now. It's a good different though. Anyway, I hope everyone is having a good Wednesday so far. Today marks the half way point of my wonderful spring break. I so do not want it to end.

quiet ballerina: Thanks I did stick to my plan at the restaurant!!!! actually Aiden ate more then I did I think hahaha I think because I was trying to feed him at the same time (therefore i was eating very slow) that I just filled up quicker.... but it was all good I expected some gain anyways because I did have a pop and a small piece of cake (their birthdays) but im sure itll be gone tomorrow..... Sucks about the income tax... Im always afraid of having to pay back money but my income tax people are so great they always get me back tonnnssss of money.. Poor baby hope theyre feeling better now I love having fresh fruit and veggies in the house ... perhaps you might wanna switch to the frozen berries I buy them and they still taste great and i can take out the right amount whatever I want... i still buy fresh veggies like lettuce and celery and my other stuff bananas etc fresh...

bopbot: congrats on the weight lifting sounds exciting!!! and good for you with all the goals and the emergency fund!!! sounds like something I need to do for myself now having a baby... would really like to set aside some money for a home instead of renting all the time.

Leilajey: Glad to hear youre doing a little better and here hoping that you can get that taken out soon and everything will be okay

Well I had a wonderful time yesterday with my girlfriends... we went out to eat as mentioned before and I did stick to my meal plan so im sure ill be okay... The day before I did some batch cooking... I mad a crock pot of chili for my sons dad (he likes very plain chili like beans meat and tomatoes) and then a pot of chili for me(ground beef, tomatoes, celery, beans, onions, mushrooms) all fresh veggies and ingredients in mine.... and i made a crock pot of beef stew.... meat potatoes and carrots pretty basic but oh so delicious so i froze them all in pkgs so i have meals for myself and my sons father when hes over... easy and simple... chicken breasts were also on sale at my grocery store the other day I grabbed some and im going to make som shishkabobs freeze them and make up some stirfrys and freeze them ....

Sticking to this new workout regiment and its kicking my *** let me tell you I am soooo sore everyday I barely want to move... i can feel muscles moving that I didnt even know I had... my bum feels .....tighter I guess? lmfao probably because of the brazilian Butt lift workout... my stomach feels a little tighter too... hoping all this exercise pays off!!!

Another nice beautiful day today prob high 60s ... were supposed to get a small thunderstorm this afternoon so its either going to cool things down or make them muggy :S either way i dont even care because I love thunderstorms!!! theyre sooo fascinating and I honestly miss being as kid and sitting in the garage watching them move in... the thunder and lightening counting the seconds between to see how far away it was lol yes im weird i know :P

My little guy has 2 teeth that have broke skin in the past day and half!! so happy just waiting for the 2 on the bottom now!! theyre sooo close... and im glad that hes not in any more pain for days he was having trouble sleeping and whatnot and last night after the teeth broke through i put him to bed around 10:15 and he slept till like 8 this morning We both got some much needed sleep! I suspect he will be cranky again in a couple days when those other teeth pop through but at least now I know what I can do for him to ease the pain

Well thats about it over here!! Hope everyones having a great day!!!

Hey everyone. I'm sorry about not being around to support and talk to you girls, life has distracted me somewhat and I hope you forgive my lack of personals. If you're still interested in what's going on with me, then here goes!

My time in America with my boyfriend after not seeing him for 7 months was, unsurprisingly, amazing. I loved being with him, I cherished every moment I had with him and I know some of you might gag a bit - but I feel like I love him even more. We're such a great team, we really support each other, love hanging out together and when things do get rocky (just a few moments of bickering here and there) we figure them out in the end.

For those who might remember, there was a bit of trouble with his Mum and her opinion of me after the last time I visited. I can confirm that there is still an awkwardness with her, although we never talked about it. Why? Because I firmly believe the woman is crazy. She is obsessed with one thing in her life and is the moodiest strangest woman I think I've encountered. The one thing in her life is their new puppy, who she is treating like a baby. I'm aware that puppies need attention...but not that much attention where it feels like she's so controlling of the training and the grooming that she's forgetting to love her and play with her.
At one point when we were visiting some of the boyfriends family, the bf overheard her talking to his cousin and auntie and she was basically telling a story he had told her as if it had happened to her. He was right, she was taking his story and pretending like she was there...the bf tells me she does it all the time which is really bizarre.

The bf and his Mum don't see eye to eye and they never have, and now I know why. At one point in his life his best friend, his friend who he had known since he can remember told him he hated him and he never wanted to speak to him again. When the topic came up at the dinner table, his mum defended the friend who had betrayed her son, who had quite literally change the way he trusted people for the rest of his life. I was furious, but I didn't say anything...but how can a parent know that it's happened and defend it? I knew the friend who betrayed him, and he quite literally went off the rocker and seemed to have decided overnight he hated him - it was a shock to me too.

But because of how stubborn and manipulative she is of conversations, I just didn't want to make a scene. One day I got really upset, but then I realised that I don't need to prove myself. I've been my boyfriends best friend for 10 years, I've changed his life for the better - made him realise he should follow his dreams and be happy. I've supported him, loved him and cared for him in a way that I don't know if she has. I know him inside out, and if she wants to dislike me for any reason then I don't care, because what's important is my boyfriend and he is completely on my side and thinks she's a bit of a psycho too.

The family drama made me quite ready to get out of there by the time the holiday was over - it made me miss my own family (and be thankful that despite how crazy we can be, we love each other and communicate) so I wasn't too sad when I left. I arrived in England fine, I was greeted by a very excited Mother and I felt ok. However, when I went to bed that night, I bawled my eyes out. I missed him so much, I felt horribly down and I didn't know how to stop feeling that way. I did not like sleeping alone in a single bed, I didn't like being away from him. I felt like I had left a huge chunk of myself with him, and I was so desperate to go back. I remember thinking "I don't want to be here, I want to be with him." It was awful.

The next day I had to go to work, I almost cried explaining to my friends that I felt awful being home. I didn't break down, I stayed smiling, and I do have some amazing colleges where I work so it made me feel better to be back in a place where I was missed. The work sucked of course! After a few days of work, going to a gathering with my friends and hanging out with my favourite work friend I felt right back at home. I feel much much better now, my surroundings don't feel so alien, they are starting to feel like home again.

Now all the boring stuff is out of the way, time to get down to the weight loss side of things! While I was in America I managed to stay on plan for 2 weeks. I was exercising, weighing and staying on top of things. The last week? Yeah, I failed. HOWEVER! When I got home and weighed myself, I had only gained 1 pound. And considering that I lost a pound out there I pretty much maintained the weight I was before.

I've been home now for over a week, and I haven't been on track. I've weighed myself here and there, and every time it's been at 156 lbs, but the last few days I've been a bit naughty. I haven't exercised once since I've been home having found myself very frustratingly bored with Insanity (been doing it for 6 months!).

However! The last time I was at work my manager came to me with a piece of paper, he was arranging for people to do a 10k race for charity. At first I was like "hmm, I dunno..." but then I thought "no, a 10k race got me on the track to healthy before, it can do it again" so I signed up. SO! 10k training starts Monday! It's on May 13th and I've got a work out buddy this time. She's overweight, and a bit out of shape she says, but I've already warned her I won't be sticking around with her I will be training for my personal best. She understood completely, so I hoping she'll help me stay on track on days I feel like not going.

So, my life is starting to take form again. I'm staying positive about being away from my boyfriend again, who I will see again in August. I've still to hear back from my interview with JET, I've got an interview with Interac on Tuesday (that I'm trying to not over prepare for like I did with JET and get overly nervous) and if I don't get either job offer I'm going to apply for a work visa anyway and move in August (which is when I would be placed if I got a job with either one!) Phew. So, life is getting back on track, fitness will be in check on Monday and weighing/accountability will start asap.

Did you honestly read all that? I admire you if you did! Thanks for listening, I'm excited to get back in the swing of things on here, I miss you guys and your support!

Riestrella, welcome back! Er, welcome away!, since I'm in the U.S. and you are not. If you don't mind my asking, why Japan? And where in Japan would you like to go? I had a friend who did the JET for two years running in a tiny mountain town; he and his wife loved it, but he's back in the States now at graduate school.

candice, your poor little guy! I'm glad he's feeling better now that the teeth have broken through.

sgregg, hope you enjoy/ed the rest of your spring break! I really do miss that now that I'm working full-time.

LeilaJey, that sounds AWFUL. I had a bit of tooth splinters left in my jaw when I had my wisdom teeth out eons ago. It caused me tons of pain and discomfort, and finally I just took a water syringe and a pair of tweezers to my jaw and got that sucker OUT.

Well, I had planned to get back on track last week after my kitty-anxiety mini-break, but since then I have had a sinus infection (UGH). AND THEN, just as things seemed to be improving, this periodic pain I have in my ribs every few months or so returned and I finally went to the doctor to see what it was all about. It's called Tietze's syndrome, an inflammation of the cartilage that holds ribs together, and manifests when I'm feeling really stressed out or haven't slept enough. It's harmless but can be very painful.

Anyway, he forbade me from gym-ing it up until the pain is gone, which is very frustrating because I've been eating poorly for about a week now and I want the exercise to help me alleviate some of the damage. So I think I might just give myself until my Monday afternoon workout and take the weekend to do some things to make good food more accessible to me and alleviate my stress, like going to the city farmer's market for fresh fruits and veggies and perhaps taking a gentle yoga class on Sunday afternoon.

And let's not forget spending time with my new best friend, the bag of frozen lima beans I've been strapping to my chest whenever I'm at home.

There's a 70's disco and funk party tonight that I want to go to, ribs permitting, but I have no idea what to wear. I may just pull a Bootsie Collins and show up in a wedding dress or a giant diaper. XD

bopbot - Thanks! I've always been fascinated with Japan, and a lot of my friends/boyfriend love it there and tell me all the stories and about all the places I've been to so I just really set my sights there. It'll be a challenge but I know it'll be a good step for me and considering the bf is going there it will be nice to be in the same country as him. He'll be in Hamamatsu, so anywhere close to there but I would really like to be near Kyoto because it looks amazing. As long as I'm in Japan I don't mind!
Eep, rest up those ribs! I hope you feel better, definitely don't exercise. Yoga would be great, it's not strenuous and it's also calming so the stress will melt away and hopefully make it better! Just make sure you eat clean while you're not exercising, you'll be fine! Focus on your health not your weight right now.

bopbot that is such an awesome plan for the emergency fund! Depending on your credit card debt, you might want to pay that off first. That way you aren't wasting money on interest.

Leila ouch! Hopefully you'll get that tooth taken care of.

sgregg I'm sure you're sorry to see your spring break nearly over. Hopefully you were able to enjoy it!

candice I don't know if you've tried it, but sometimes it helps with teething to wet the corner of a washcloth and stick it in the freezer for a bit.

Riestrella Welcome back! You were missed! Good to hear that your trip was mostly great. Not sure what to say/think about your bf's mom. Maybe there's some mental illness there? You made a good call by not initiating anything.

Great idea with the farmer's market. There is one in my area, but it hasn't started yet. Doesn't open until May!
I'm really glad it's Friday because the work week has been a little crazy. I have some boring stuff to do that I've been putting off (like finally bringing a bunch of stuff to donate...and organizing important papers) but it's supposed to be nice weather this weekend so I'm going to get out and about too.

I'm jumping back in here again! Looks like you gals are enjoying life more than anything !

Riestrella: read your 'report' in the bikini thread, sounds like you had an awesome time. And great job on maintaining!

--
I am back on track since monday, been doing really well. Which is good because since carnaval I'd been off track and just could not get in the swing of it for weeeeeks. I lost 4lbs already, from the junk I ate before monday I am sure. Hope to be at 140 asap, which is where I left off.

sgregg congrats on the size 16! Hope you’re enjoying your spring break. Thanks, although I knew when the semester started I was going to have to give up some time of school for my health, and I was ok with that. I’ve been going for 2 years straight (with no holiday breaks) so I’ve lost a lot of motivation to even keep on task with school (which is prob why I’m on 3fc so much )

Candice obviously I’m invited to the family dinner birthdays, it’s the parties with the school friends. And it’s not so much that I’m not invited, it’s more of a “we’re having a minecraft party!” and I’m like ohh.. yay.. have fun.. lol. That’s exactly what’s on my bucket list!! My mom says I’m crazy that I’d wanna go on a cruise somewhere cold instead of somewhere warm, it just sounds so pretty. Congrats on finishing the new workout, that’s awesome! Glad to hear that you got to catch up on some sleep

Quiet I applaud your persistence with working out, and it is definitely better than sitting around. Sorry about your bad day, and your unfortunate taxes. I have a hard time with fruit/veggies too. I eat a lot, but I always seem to waste some, and go to the grocery store a lot just for one or two things (like blueberries and tomatoes or something)

bopbot glad you had fun at the zoo, and congrats on your workout victory! That sucks about your ribs, but you can still do it without working out. Watch what you eat and it’ll still come off. You sound prepared for that though.

Leila ew I’m sorry to hear about your tooth. That really sucks, but I’m glad the steroids are reduced.

riestrella welcome back! You were missed. Of course we’d read it all. I’m glad you had a good time – minus the mother stuff. That’s hard, but you’re clearly the bigger person if you were able to walk away from the situation. I know exactly how you feel about after a LDR visit, I was always just so lonely and hanging out with friends just didn’t fix it. But I’m glad you’re feeling more at home again, soon enough you’ll be counting down the days till you see him again. And seriously, you rock for not gaining. That was always my downfall when seeing mine, it was just so easy to eat what he was eating, go for a walk to get ice cream, because we never saw each other it was easy to use it as a excuse to treat each other. Yay for running! Good for you! I don’t know how you’ve done insanity for 6 months. Good luck on the interview!

philana congrats on the loss! You’ll be back to 140 soon

So my nephew thing did not work out at all how I expected. I sat down with my parents to see if it was even possible for him to come, and my mom said they both had some vacation days so they’d take time off and all would work out. Well it turns out my mom got denied time off and my dad just had too much work to do to take time off, so he’s been with me all week. I love him TO DEATH, but I hate feeling stuck with him. Luckily my dad was able to watch him for an hour in the mornings so I was still able to go to the gym every morning but homework is another story. I needed this week to catch up, and that has just not been possible.
The other day I watched my sisters 2 kids as well, so I took the 3 of them out for lunch, bought a shitload of candy and did a scavenger hunt around the house to find the bags of candy. Then took them out to the movies (which 3 kids+me+popcorn = over 50 dollars). After that they played minecraft on the computer, for 5 hours! I was able to get some reading done, but I felt bad that my brothers son never gets to see them and they just wanted to play computer games. Then I went to leave (with my brothers son) and I asked my sisters kids for a hug and they just said “no”. Couldn’t leave their computers to come say goodbye at the door. I was so mad at them! I tried not to be, but I felt so unappreciated. (though after they found the candy they did say thank you) Normally they are good/polite but not that day. I’ve debated on telling my sister how upset I was by that, but I don’t know. Maybe I’m just being over dramatic. /end rant

I actually have less than $200 in credit card debt, and it's a vet-specific credit card, so I can only ever use it when the kitties are sick (which is just fine with me). I put about $100 on it each month, and more when I can afford it--for example, this month I put $287 on it because I had a little extra income I hadn't expected. It's kind of a great card. Even though it's through GE Capital Bank, I pay 0% interest if I pay off a bill within 6 months. If anyone has medical expenses for their family or pets and would like to build their credit a little, the Care Credit card is a great way to do it.

Riestrella, I'm planning a trip to Japan myself in 2015 or 2016! The boyfriend wants to go to Osaka for our honeymoon. I don't like to think about things like wedding planning (aside from how much $$ I don't want to spend on it) because I secretly fear I'll jinx it, but Osaka sounds perfect. If I could live anywhere in Japan, though, it'd be Kyoto. What's your boyfriend going to be doing in grorious Nippon?

torito, I don't think you're being overdramatic. It's common courtesy to appreciate the things that someone else does for you. Unfortunately, empathy isn't something that's totally developed until the late teens/early twenties (and sometimes never, it seems, for some people :/) so they may not know how much their lack of appreciation hurts you.


I don't know that I'm going to make it to the party tonight, but I am looking forward to going to the city farmer's market tomorrow morning. It's about three minutes drive and twenty minutes' walk, which I look forward to doing in the future when my ribs are healed up. I know they'll have plants this time of year, and I'm always tempted by potted herbs, but Arthur's in a teething mood and is liable to either eat it or knock it to the floor during one of his mad dashes.

Recently I've been spending a lot of time looking at houses for sale in my city. There's NO way I could buy one now--I love my tiny and inexpensive downtown apartment--but I set up an investment account with Betterment.com, through which I hope to save/grow about $50,000-60,000 for a down payment on a house over the next seven years. I'd love to own a beautiful little cottage-type home or townhome at 32.

Sometimes I'm tempted to find a second job, maybe 5-8 hours a week, for just enough money to set aside to make that dream come true while I'm waiting for raises at my real job. But I don't even know what I would do, or who would want to hire someone who could only work a shift a week.

Im gonna see my father in Chinatown tmrw...oy!
We have a pretty close relationship, and he's a real foodie and I know that my parents are the type to nitpick (too fat...too thin) but since I have moved my mother said "I'm glad you are still fat since you moved out, I was worried you won't eat living by yourself" err whatever-traditional Asian parents aren't well known for being sensitive about weight lol-if anything that pushes me more-comments about how high my weight is make me feel like a child! Anyways, I'm just gonna get wonton soup with noodles and not eat the noodles. Thats prob the lightest option I can think of. I can go to Chinatown anytime, and I've had all those dishes anyways. No one has noticed my weight loss, so he prob won't say anything and if he does eh whatever!
Its just crazy, last time he saw me was last summer.
WHY can't it be normal to just order water at restaurants??! LOL I've been doing that but I'll let this be an exception

boppot, I am going to the farmer's market tomorrow too! I have to go by train, so I can only bring back what I can carry, so I run out pretty quickly and always go every week. The commute is long and I have to go early cause stuff sells out, but I won't buy my eggs/meat anywhere else. Plus the veggies are so amazing. I can only manage this cause I don't commit to too much else lol.