TGIF Feathers!

I'm the only person in my whole office building today so I'm blasting awful music (currently playing: "Bad Boys" by Inner Circle). It's a beautiful day out and I am strongly considering the possibility of taking a long walk at lunchtime. I ate like a king yesterday and am down 1.2 pounds overnight. Had a nice long session at the gym after work yesterday. I'm seeing a lot of improvement in my pullups and dips - took more pounds of resistance off the Gravitron machine. I also added weight to all my leg stuff and 5 lb to bench press.

Open mic didn't end up happening as our third band member had to stay late at work (Legislature was in session until late, budget season) and my roommate and I were honestly sort of relieved to have an evening to ourselves. I did jack sh!t after the gym - cooked dinner for 2 and ended up eating all the meat myself (salmon) - whoops!

Tonight is my friend's karaoke birthday party and a going away sendoff for another friend. My goal is to not get too drunk to drive at karaoke, so that means I can have one drink and then wait like two hours. Hah. I'm planning on celebrating Easter with my parents - coloring eggs, going to the movies, eating, the usual. My mom still gives me the same Easter basket I've had since I was a tiny tot filled with the exact same candy - jelly beans, Cadbury creme eggs, Russell Stover chocolate (-___-). This year I've been asked to bring dessert and I have no idea what to do but I'll have a lot of free time so I'll peruse recipes online.

Good Friday today - always reminds me of that village in the Philippines where the men actually self-flagellate until bloody and a few get nailed to crosses. I like their style.

Alexis Sorry to hear last night was a rough one - Life cereal isn't even good so you know it's emotional eating. I have had such fun times with friends where I leave feeling emotionally overwhelmed and binge to drown it out. I play violin and melodica and if I could multitask I would want to sing too.

Turbo You are going to be OK. I hate when events come up in the middle of a really inspired/motivated losing streak - but you are going to bounce back just fine and continue along the path of improvement you've been on! I haven't heard from Joss - I hope she is doing well...

PrincessSophia IF is the best thing that has ever happened - I do it daily.

JessicaB Your husband is being really weird about your dog. Is he jealous of it or something? What a strange thing to pinch pennies about - assuming you guys aren't like, starving to death or destitute. Losing 1 pound a week is still a very steady rate of loss - I hope finding a more moderate approach will solve a lot of the binging problems you are having.

Awww, Krampus. I enjoy Life cereal. It's like sweet shredded cardboard. What's not to love? :P And I've heard about those crazy Catholics in the Philippines, too. Go big or go home, I guess. That Easter basket sounds yummalicious. All that candy brings back good memories of being a kid.

My weekend plans are pretty sedate:
Good Friday service tonight + girl time with some friends from last night. Hopefully less emotionally charged.

Saturday I'm hoping to get in a yoga class, some "spring cleaning" and possibly a meet up with a guy I met online. He mentioned going up to the Poconos to his mother's cabin and he'd have to drive back for us to meet up, so I'm not heartbroken

Sunday = church @ 10,then vegging for the rest of the day.
I'm mostly in charge of cooking for special occasions. This year, I'm trying a crockpot breakfast casserole with hash browns, eggs, cheese, and sausage. Going to put it on before leaving for church and hopefully it will be ready by the time we get back. Making a turkey for lunch/dinner, along with sweet potatoes and some kind of spinach salad. Keeping it pretty low key this year. I was torn about what to make for dessert, since I'm trying to limit my sugar intake. I wanted to try a summer pudding (bread in a mold with berries poured through) but my mom's more a fan of angel food cake so I may try the "sparkle cake" (angel food with berries in the middle) which sounds very similar. Deviled eggs, probably, for tradition's sake.

Alexis : The parallel between Christmas and the next few days were also stricking me, and I think this is why I was so nervous because yes, I was so up when I got back from the Holidays (although I don't think it was ONLY the results of the Holidays, I had stop training after getting hurt and stuff). Thank for your nice words, I guess we kinda believe more on each other willpower than ours, around here!

Sorry you felt all confused with your emotions after your night out. I love the quote you posted, it is a good way to paraphrase that this bag of chip and this box of cereal did not get the best of you. We all fall, but the cool thing is that we actually get up too

krampus : Nice choice of song!! That is some great improvment on the weight! I so look up to you for that. One day I'll be strong too Aww, I do love the fact that your mom gets you the same Easter basket every year since you were young. My mom used to do the same and I dearly miss it.

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And the long overbooked weekend is upon uuuus (yay)

133.2 this morning, which makes it a 2.6 pounds loss for the last 7 days. That is a bit big in my own taste, but I had got up from 0.8 pounds just before my official weekly WI last week. Anyways I'm gonna eat more and most of all eat things I'm not eating usually in the next days, so I'll definitely go up a bit... so not stressing too much.

Since I was born, my family always respected the Good Friday thing of not eating meat (it was more a tradition than anything, I was never forced to go to church and was only going for special occasions and holidays). We were just big on traditions... so today, I am not eating meat and everybody is making fun of meeeeee because of that. I don't really care about upsetting God or anything, but I can just picture SO WELL my mom's face in my head, looking at me with THOSE eyes that I just make the effort of not eating any meat today.

I just texted my brother about it and he was like ''SH*T just ate a grilled TBone. OOPS'' Fail, bro, fail :P

Have a good day ladies!

Happy day before Easter! Last night I went out drinking and came home and ate chips and junk - whoops. Weighed in at 124.8 nonetheless (food was light during the day), woke up at 10:30 and my roommate and I walked to the farmer's market to buy apples and eggs - I'm going to make "healthy" aka less sugar apple crisp for my family's Easter dinner.

Yesterday I took a progress picture - NSFW underwear - as I continue to improve at pullups and dips and perhaps pursue climbing as a hobby I hope my back will get SUPER.

The weather today is beautiful - I think I'd really be missing out if I didn't go for a run outside at some point and take advantage of it.

Turbo I hope all your Easter celebrations and meals will go well and not be a sad time of year because of memories of your mom. <3 It's really nice to uphold family traditions like that - my mom is big on remembering her mother and doing some things she always did.

Hey feathers!

Been a busy weekend, but I'm still around. Getting ready to dye Easter eggs with my girl! Just sitting over here maintaining, but now I'm going to bust it a bit & try to get down 3-5lbs before the cruise in 3 weeks! Just a little extra padding for when I eat like a beast on the cruise

Happy Easter weekend, girls!

P.S. Krampus - I want your butt! Dang, girl!

YESSSSSS just ran 7 miles on the bike path in 62 min 28 seconds. My left knee was bothering me a bit toward the end but otherwise I feel fine - not exhausted or winded or anything. I even sang in the car driving back from the path! Off now to hang with my mom.

Maddie Haha thanks - honestly it looks like a dimply saggy mess if my legs are together T__T Have fun coloring eggs! I'm doing that with my mommy tomorrow

Good afternoon, feathers!

I hope you all are having a very good weekend! I ate a bunch of pizza today. *clutches tummy and groans*

@Krampus - I've sort-of, kind-of weighed. Like I took a very quick glance a few days ago, haha. Okay, so yeah, I did weigh once since break and I am exactly the same as I was just before break. Which is kind of cool since I really did go over the top (for me) over the break. I basically ate whatever I wanted when I wanted. Although I did listen to my body and when I didn't feel like eating, I didn't eat. So I've learned something important. If left to my own devices, I still eat and drink too much to be as slender as I want to be. I do need to learn to make some sacrifices here (maybe be super strict during the week but let loose more on the weekend). Also, I confirmed to myself how much I love wine and if I do let myself to my own devices, I actually rarely drink more than 2 glasses. More than 2 glasses and that's when I feel icky and dehydrated and get a bit too much of a buzz. So out of curiosity, krampus, how did your international move cure your binging?
AND lol on Inner Circle songs! Oh, good memories for me! Excellent choice! And holy crap, girl, you are a FAST runner! I'd be lucky to finish a 10K in 62 minutes. Right now, definitely not. Wowee!

@Jessica - thanks for the info on 1200 calories. I just see so much contradiction of information out there. Some people say NOoooo, 1200 is way too low, especially if you exercise while others have had great success at 1200 and others have said 1200 is absolutely ALL they can eat because they are short and older and not as active. Then still others claim later that eating as low as 1200 messed up their metabolisms or made them stall out with weight loss (and that's what scares me most, I think, that there could be a point that you would just stop losing and you can't go under 1200...also, I love food! 1200 would be very difficult as a life time number). Such a shame that your hubby is being silly about the dog. Yes, pets do cost money! I don't begrudge a penny I spend on my cats, they're my babies.

@Princesssophie - hope the IF is going well for you!

@Alex - aww..you're sweet to say that. I know I'm not super overweight, just a few pounds over the healthy BMI, but it bothers me because I feel it like a tire around my middle. I was down to my ideal weight once as an adult. I was living overseas and my lifestyle was completely different. I walked EVERYWHERE and was extremely active, but I didn't diet at ALL. I ate whatever and however much I wanted at all times. I gained weight as soon as I came back to the States and became more sedentary and then got married and got even more sedentary and went out to eat too much. Then I got down to/close to my ideal weight about 9 years ago and stayed near it for about three years. Got there by mostly eating lower carb and good, old fashioned stress. Also I never drank back then. Or rarely. *sigh* stupid wine addiction! Hope your yoga class helped you feel a bit better!

@Turbo - yep, that's what I've been doing. Just sort of maintaining and considering what to do. I've decided that I really DO want to get down to my ideal weight. I think it would feel so much better and I would look WAY better. Also, in general, I know that I am not feeling that healthy lately. And I feel so bulky. So I am going to wait until after tomorrow (some big family dinner stuff happening this weekend) and start April off right. I have bought a bunch of healthy food (lots and lots of veggies, some fruit, and some mostly lean meat and a little bit of fatty meat, too). And 133.8!!?? That's fantastic! What have you been eating like lately?

@Maddie - have fun doing the easter dye thingie with your girl! I got to do a bit of that with my nieces yesterday. Was fun!

krampus : OMG the upper part of your back!! I'm jealous! Woah that is an awesome run! You really do have a killer cardio! Have fun coloring eggs!

Maddie : You can so manage a loss like that before your cruise! Where exactly are you heading?

olehcat : I do agree with you, starting all new and fresh on the eve of a huge family dinner is probably not the best idea What I have been eating lately... For lunch, wraps or soups, lean protein for dinners, lot of veggie and fruits and I cut a lot on the side dish of pasta... I still end up around 1600 cal every day, but I did increase a lot on the training side. This equation seems to be working fine with me right now

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I was up 135.8 this morning after 2 days without poop and dining out with friends last night. I did very good until we went to a little café to get coffee and dessert, where I burst my calories budget but this amazing maple/chocolat sundae. But to be quite honest, TOTALLY WORTH IIIIIT.

I woke up early this morning and headed out for my long run training. The weather was so nice and my cardio was great, even if my legs were heavy by the end (thanx to my decision of ''oh let's try this street, I have no idea where it is leading'' - answer : it is leading on a freaking long HILL)

Went to see my goddaugther this afternoon and we got take out food on our way back, I was starving and had no interest in cooking something so I went and got the asian salad I love at McDo while the boyfriend got a foot-long at Subway.

We are heading for the in-laws chalet tomorrow afternoon for...we don't know what kind of dinner/night to expect. We are a bit tired, I hope we'll get to just relax in cute nature sight over there.

Happy Easter ladies!

Happy Easter, feather friends!

Krampus ~ Love the pose with the hobbit fellows. Perfect set up. They're clearly in awe of your guns, too.

Turbo ~ I think it's touching that you still observe the "no meat on good friday" tradition. As a church-goer, I can appreciate this. Hope you're enjoying the chalet!

Maddie ~ Cruise sounds like a TON of fun!!! Is it just you and the hubs or are you taking the kiddos, too? (was it for an anniversary? Am I remembering that right?)

Olehcat ~ The yoga class was awesome, tx for asking! And you can totally get back to your gw, girl. What is it about the wine? Do you think it adds the calories or does it make you just go "F*** it! to healthy eating?

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So glad I managed to make the yoga class on Fri The teacher remembered me even though I hadn't been to class in close to a year. She's such a fantastic teacher, too. Very calming and relaxing in her method.

Yesterday was errands and running around + Easter vigil mass (2+ hours long - I feel like those Catholics really want to jam it all in for the people who only come on Christmas and Easter...) It brings back memories, even though I'm not Catholic I went to a Catholic grammer school and it just makes me feel connected to that tradition to return on Easter.

Went to an Episcopal church this morning and then came home and completely "overindulged" on food. Did breakfast casserole, deviled eggs, stuffed biscuits, turkey, spinach/squash salad, sweet potatoes, and a sparkle cake. UGGGHHHHH!!!!!!!

Good news is that we have leftovers for miles, so hopefully won't have to do much cooking this week. Have a busy few days comin' up, too. Candidate coming into the office and a board meeting tomorrow, Orch on Tue and Wed, Thursday off, Rehearsal on Friday, and planning meeting on Saturday. Yoinks. Suit up and show up, so they say...

Hope everyone is enjoying the end of the weekend!