5 Months Down, 50+ lbs, and Much Deserved Spa Day..

Hey all!! Well, yesterday was my 5 month date! AND, I did it!! I finally hit 50 lbs! (I actually hit it on Saturday, and then went up again, and then down again and then up and then down.. you get the picture) but today, I was down another 1.2!! Yahoo!!!!
Anyways, I'm very thrilled with my progress.  I know it's not 50 lbs in 5 months, but close enough..  (I count since my pre-op diet started).  I was chuckling to myself (yes, I do talk and laugh to myself sometimes.. ) b/c whenever I think / say the word 50, I think of Sally O'Malley from SNL (Molly Shannon) which then makes me think of Shannon, my BFF, b/c she used to love this character!!!  Here's  a clip if you have no idea what I'm talking about..  seriously still cracks me up!!



So, onward and downward right??  I think I'm actually starting to feel what it's like to be near the Sweet Spot.. I don't eat a ton and I'm not always hungry like I used to be.  I have to say I like this feeling!! I have a fill on Thursday that I'm still going to keep.  So, what has changed for me at 50 lbs down?

1. I'm down 2 sizes
2. I'm so much more confident with myself.  I carry myself a little differently. I know I have a long way to go, but I just feel much better about myself. 
3.  I am a workout machine now and instead of making excuses to not go work out, working out is my new excuse to not do other things..
4.  I still eat whatever I want, just in much smaller quantities ( I know that if I changed this, I may be down more, but I'm OK for now on my progress)

I still have a very long way to go but I'm going in the right direction.

So, I promised myself that I would do something for myself when I hit 50 and I'm heading to the spa on Friday for a nice, long, massage.. I can't wait! I can't remember the last time I got a massage. Right now, I'm in so much pain from my recent workouts with Kathi that Friday can't come soon enough. I have a whole other blog dedicated to my hatred of ketel bells / exercise balls alone.. 

Ok, I'm out!  Loads of work just sitting at my desk waiting to get done.  Hope you are all having a great week!! And hopefully, you all are lucky and get a short week too!!!

xo,js

This MAY have been the last time I wore shorts, AND tucked something into them!!!

Ha! I was just on Facebook, and was on one of my ex-camper's page and there's a picture on there of ME and all my campers from Camp Weequahic, circa 1992!!!  Hilarious!!  I was a camp counselor at CW in lower PA/ Poconos for 4 years during college and it was some of the most fun summers I've ever had. I love that I've been able to catch up with most of my campers on Facebook and am planning on seeing them when I visit NYC in May!  Just had to share this picture!!  I was too cool for school back then, with my Bon Jovi hair!!! :)  (I am the third one from the left, if you couldn't tell!)

BB Wife of the Year...

That's what Michelle called me today.. (Baseball Wife of the Year)..   Today was the last Spring Training game of the season and it was a good one!!  We went with some of my buddies from work. Had a blast and the Brewers won!!  Now, the real season begins in about a week and then we start hitting up some away games (Phx, San Diego, and San Fran!)

Random Photo blog coming at you.. most are from today!  Enjoy!

Me and Timmy after the game..

JB, me and Jen

Jen and Manual (aka the Chorizo)

We all picked teams for the Sausage Race..  my guy, the Polish, won and I pocketed $20! Woot!

Beautiful Saturday at the ball park!!!

Me and my buddy JB...

This one is from a couple of weeks ago.. Timmy and I before a big birthday party night out..

SO CLOSE!!!!!! UGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

I am so close to being down 50 and it's making me crazy that the scale isn't giving me the magic number I want to see!!!  Today, when I got to the gym, I weighed myself and I was 1.2 away from down 50.. I worked out, then got back on the scale just for kicks and I was then .6 away from down 50.. I'm hoping when I weigh in on Monday, I'll hit that number.  It's so irritating to be so close and keep going up and down and up and down!!!  Monday will be my 5 month mark so that would be SWEET to hit that number.  I shoudl preface by saying that I wouldn't be 50 lbs down from my surgery date, but 50 down from when I started the pre-op diet, two weeks prior. So I guess, I'm already past my 5 month mark from that date..  in reality, I lost almost 20 lbs on the pre-op (I overindulged the week leading up to it to hit an all time high!! AND, went to Mexico and drank and ate like there was no tomorrow!! ) So, if you are keeping track, I'm really only down almost 30 since surgery which compared to a lot of people, isn't THAT great, but I'll take it!!! :)

So anyways, moving on..  while on my way to work today (it's a beautiful day here in AZ by the way.. going to be 80!) I spotted some Hot Air Baloons in the sky and thought I'd take a couple of pics. Turns out, I'm not that great of a driver/photographer but I try..  

Sorry for the blinding sun in this one.. if you look just under the sun, you can see the balloon..

Here's another.. there were two or more in the sky in the same general area!!

Wish I could have gotten closer to them - they were so pretty against the mountains!!

Ok, back to me.. I keep noticing the more I lose, the more I find different imperfections in myself that I maybe hadn't noticed so much before - maybe b/c I was always so focused on my weight that I didnt' notice other things.  Take, for instance, my nose.. it's HUGE!!!  I think chubbier cheeks might have downplayed this

thing but I'm noticing it so much more now!! 

Ugh, and dont' even get me started on the wrinkles..   thank god the company I work for is planning an Employee Reimbursement plan for the products they make - like Restylane and Dysport.. this girl may need some filler for these lines!! :) Too bad you can't see my cute earrings in this pic, b/c they are CUTE!

Ok, I'm done bitching for the day. I have a huge headache and I need a day off.. next Friday (Good Friday) can't come soon enough!!)

They Tried to Make me go to Rehab...

Hey all!!  Well, I have to preface this blog by saying that I had already written a full really long blog about my theory that my husband's sole purpose in life is to find ways to irritate the shit out of me but I realized that what I was writing was making me sound like a huge beyotch so I nixed it. But for the record, some days, I do believe that is true.. especially today. Don't get me wrong, I love my husband and am very happy in my marriage but today was one of those days where I had to question whether I was being punked b/c of all the irritations he was laying on me!! :) So, he's safe from blog topic.. for today...............

So, what's with the title?  I may need to go to Rehab for my current addiction. I recognize this addiction b/c I realize that I mention this place at least once a week.. yes, my name is Jen and I'm officially addicted to Pita Jungle..  here is my dinner:

This is hummus with Sirloin.. not sure why I got the Sirloin b/c me and Meat don't really get along lately, but I'll eat around it and just enjoy the hummus - at least 1/2 of it!!  I also had about 1/2 of a side of cucumbers. I'm not kidding when I say I could eat this EVERY.SINGLE.DAY... it's that good!!! 

this is my girl Frieda hoping that I'll share some of the Sirloin with her... she has her moments!!! She's a bona-fide PJL (Pita Jungle Lover) as well... 

I know I have a pretty addictive personality and admittance is the first step right?  So, in no particular order, here are my current addictions..

1.  Iced Tea - this has taken over for my addiction of Diet Coke.. I love, love, love Iced Tea

2.  My Iphone - I'm never anywhere without it.. biggest mistake I made was downloading my work email onto my phone..  bad idea

3.  Facebook - I'm on this alot on my phone and it's the easiest way to keep up with my friends

4.  Yogurtology - Yogurt what you ask??  This is just a not so distant second to PJ..  I go here at least once a week.. the Yogurt here is the BOMB..   especially the Oatmeal Cookie.. and it's completely fat free.. 

5.  Reality TV - you name it, I probably watch it.. my current faves - Survivor (have watched every season), Kell on Earth, Real Houswives, Bad Girls Club..  this is truly a sickness.. there is not enough time in the week for all my reality watching.. the good news is that a few of my friends share this addiction so there is always something to talk about!!

6.  Checking my bank account - pretty much what I do every morning first thing. I think this has to do with the fact that a couple of years ago, Timmy and I went through a really bad financial situation and I'm almost conditioned to make sure everything is A-OK on the financial front.

I could go on and on and on..  wish I could say I was addicted to exercise but I don't think I ever will be.. it's getting easier the more I do and the more consistent I am (and lord knows I'm consistent these days!) I'm sure this is super boring post but whatevs..

Today was a good day. Seems like overnight I lost some more weight (even though I didn't) b/c a handful of people told me how good I looked. When does it get easier to take compliments??

Hope you are all doing well!!

xo,js

***Oh, Vanessa - you had asked about beer and how it is with the band.. I haven't had any issues with carbonation at all and" it tastes so good when it touches my lips"..  (who can name where that line came from?)

I did it.. and I can't believe it..

Today, I not only tried on, but bought shorts.. I don't think I've owned a pair of shorts in at least 10+ years..  but I gotta admit, despite the pasty whiteness and horrible dry skin patches on my legs, they look pretty darn good in these shorts!! 

I did not wear them but I will someday soon, once I have some color on my legs.  this is HUGE people!!!  Might not seem like much but for me, this is a major milestone for me. 

So, I went to my 4th baseball game in under 3 weeks.. like I said to someone today, if this doesn't qualify me as the "good wife", I don't know what will.. actually when Tim heard me say that, he said, this qualifies you as "the AWESOME wife"..  smart man..

Speaking of baseball, we normally sit in the lawn section but today we spent the big bucks and sprung for some box seats (a whopping $21/person!) and this ass did not only fit into a seat but fit comfortably without any spill-over..  SAWEETTTTTTT..

Had a pretty rough week at work so I had a beer last night while out watching some college B-Ball.. it was needed and appreciated!!  I did get a promotion this week that was majorly overshadowed by some other crappy things that went on, but nevertheless, it happened, and I was excited!!! I would blog all about the crappiness but I have some work friends who follow me and it would be inappropriate to write about.

Hope you are all having a great weekend!
xo,js

Happy St. Patty's Day!!!!

first, how cute does KD look in her St. Patty's day outfit??

Hope everyone is doing well. Again, I've been slacking in the reading of blogs lately. I've been working a lot (big shocker) and by the time I get home, I just am not in the mood for the internet!! One day I'll catch up!!

I love St. Patty's day. Wait, I should say I USED to love St. Patty's day. Back in the day, when I lived in Chicago, we'd take the whole day off, head to a bar around 10am or earlier and live it up all day, drinking green beer, dancing and socializing.  Unfortunately, Phoenix doesn't have much of a St. Patty's day scene.. or at least I'm not aware of it. And, there's no way I could take a day off of work to drink!! :) I have to admit, I really miss those carefree days!!!

Tonight, Timmy and I are having dinner with my Aunt and Uncle who are in Tucson for the month of March and then my cousin is arriving in town as well. Should be fun since I haven't seen any of them since my surgery and it'll be interesting to get their opinion!! HOpe they notice that I've lost some weight!!

Gotta run, but wanted to jump on here and wish you all a Happy Day!!!

xo,js