The Wheels are Falling off the Bus...

Seriously, I need an Intervention. See the picture below? 

That girl looks nice, pleasant, happy almost, right??  Well don't let that girl fool you. She would cut a bitch for some caffeine right now. Look at her eyes, look how sunken in they are, how she looks longingly for some sugar and/or caffeine.  She looks exhausted, almost malnourished (ha! I crack myself up!), devoid of any caffeine or sugar in her life (not counting the little bit of caffeine she injested yesterday and the bite of apple crisp/sugar she had today) Someone needs to save her. She is tired, completly lacking energy and 100% without focus..  but aren't her shoes cute?

UGH, I suck at this!!!  At least I'm doing good at exercising!

New (YUMMY) product!

Good Morning!!! 
As I was heading to the gym this morning, I stopped at Danny's (convenience store/gas station) to get a bottle of water and noticed my stomach growling.  My stomach growling is NOT a good thing when I'm headed to the gym for a planned  2 hours of torture, so I scanned the energy bar area.  I found this:

Have any of you had these?? Holy CRAPOLA, they are fantastic!!!!  They have 15g of Protein but have 190 calories, which seems a little high but I ate half before I worked out and then 1/2 after and I'm seriously full.. I need to invest in a box of these... 

Having the most productive morning already!  Worked out for 1 hour with Kath and then did 2 miles (not much today - tomorrow is my big 5 miler training walk) Got some boxes and packed up some things I've been meaning to send out to some friends for months!! Also, packed up some Sisterhood stuff for Amy!  Off to get the beags from the doggie spa!   Hope you are all having a great weekend!!

Project No-Caffeine is going well. Project No-Sugar hit a snag yesterday when cake appeared on a plate right in front of me. I ate 3 bites. Unfortunately, didn't even get to enjoy it b/c it was so rich and thick that I was immediately in the bathroom pbing it up.  that'll teach me!! :)

xo,js

Loose Ends, Sisterhood, and Babbling...

• I'm so excited today!!!  I am actually getting something from the Sisterhood!! Thanks Nella!! I've never received (or asked) anything from the sisterhood but have sent lots out thus far and I have lots more to send. Amy is my usual person that I send stuff to but she's so quickly shrinking that she's now pretty much caught up to me, soooo, if anyone needs some clothing items in size 20/22ish, let me know and I'll be glad to send your way!  (you can email me at jbucky28@yahoo.com) I'm thinking I'm going to start keeping my eyes peeled b/c I could use some stuff that's either an 18 or XL.

• So, I realized that I hadn't really covered the whole ending of the Brother In Law visit..  he is oficially gone and back in Wisconsin and my life couldn't be better!! Can you believe he didn't even say goodbye or thanks or anything? I have no idea what he's up to in Wisconsin and frankly, I don't care at all. For about a week, Tim was kind of mopey but he's snapping out of it and it's amazing the difference in our house and our conversations just in the week and 1/2 he's been gone.  Life is definitely back to normal. As normal as our normal is.  Tim has conned me into going to Wisconsin for Thanksgiving, but under the condition that we can get a hotel and do our own thing! 

• The No-Caffeine / No-Sugar thing is going OK. I'm definitely not ready to kill someone as I was the last two days. I have to admit, I did have a little diet coke yesterday at lunch with Michelle and Joy and I also had a small cupcake. So, I guess I'm failing!! :)  BUT, I thought I'd clarify my reasons why I'm trying to cut out the caffeine - it really has nothing to do with losing weight.  I haven't talked about this but I am going to be starting to work with a Fertility Dr. next month (when I start my next period)  I've been working with him for the past 5 months to prepare myself to start the IVF process.  He wants me to be completely caffeine free when I start the process. So, that's why I'm doing it!  The no-sugar thing is purely b/c I found myself eating too many sweets after my meals or after I PB'd. 

• Went to Zumba last night with my boyfriend Adrian - it was fabulous as usual. I am clearly a big talker b/c I still haven't gotten up the nerve to video.. maybe next week!

• We are headed to LA next weekend for a long weekend with our friends Angela and Ian. Another thing that I hadn't talked about but cryptically mentioned was that a few weeks ago my friend Angela (she's the one who lost her passport in Mexico, remember?) was preliminarily diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. It was devestating to all of us and her.  HOWEVER, thankfully they did some additional testing on her lymph nodes and she got the pathology reports back last week and is cancer-free. Hallelujah!  Nothing like a scare like that to put things way into perspective! 

• I've gotta be honest, I'm kicking ass in the workout challenge.  I haven't walked as much as I would have liked this week but I've been working out every day this week (some days 2x a day!), since Friday actually. I'm not sure how to show on my blog my workouts like you can show your miles. Anyone have a good tracking system for just workouts, not miles??  Let me know!

I think that's all I got!  Hope you are all having a good week!! xo,js

Looks Like I Picked the Wrong Week to Stop....

Anyone remember this line?  "Looks like I picked the wrong week to stop sniffing glue!"

I only remember b/c my friend Jen said it the other day and boy can I relate this week!!!  I'm on Day 2 of no sugar and/or caffeine.  Day 1 was fine.. felt great all day but today, I woke up with a blinger (ode to AJ) of a headache and have been grumps all day long. So much so that my boss offered to give me something called Zipp Fizz to break the caffeine fast so that I could go back to my normal self..  that's how grumpy I am.  I'm hoping that Zumba wakes my ass up this evening!!  I guess I didn't realize how much caffeine affected me until I decided to try to give it up. I normally only averaged about 2 iced teas a day but wow, they must have been powerful iced teas!! :)

Hope you are all having a good week so far!

Desert Living at it's finest... and a new low!

so, today, I started this ridiculous training for the 1/2 marathon that I've been conned into doing with the Jens.  I did a training walk this morning of 4.3 miles.  I could have probably gone the extra .2 to make it an even 4.5 but it would have been me walking down the street and back and that just seemed silly!!!  As I was walking my pre-planned route (from MapMyRun.com), I realized that I had routed myself smack dab in the middle of the desert.  I looked around me and it was straight up desert, nothing else!  And then I saw what I was afraid I'd see..  a coyote.  Luckily, they don't like me any more than I like them and he was gone in a flash. That's the 3rd wild animal I've seen in 3 days.  I saw another coyote yesterday crossing the road on the way to the gym and the other night, as I was getting out of my car, in my driveway, I saw a javelina.  YUCK.  if you don't know what a javelina is, here is a pic:

They are nasty, vile creatures that resemble a wild pig, but in actuality they are rodents.  They normally travel in packs but this one was a rogue. He was maybe 10 feet from me and I got out of my car and noticed a wierd smell and rustling noise.  I looked over and thought, wow that is a large dog that's on the loose and then I realized it was a javelina. I ran to my front door, looking for my keys and when I couldn't find them I started banging on the door for Tim to open. I have no idea if javelina's attack and didn't really want to find out. Of course, Tim is a turtle and was not answering the door quick enough for me~! Fortunately, my little friend turned the other way and walked down the street.  Wierd that he was just hanging out on my block!  Tim has seen a few together when he's taking the beags out and has promptly come right back home.  I don't think we need to see a beagle/javelina showdown any time soon!!

That's all I had to say today. Hope you all have had a great weekend! 

**Oh and I hit a new low this weekend so now I'm 73 down.. GO ME!!!  Something must be working in my favor now!!! 

**Oh, and I love this new challenge!! It's totally motivated me this weekend!  I know I'll never win but I'll win for myself by knowing I'll be kicking ass in the workout department now!!!

xo,js

Making some changes,,,

So, while we were in Denver, we went to a Wisconsin bar before the game (meaning big time Green Bay Packers and Milwaukee Brewers bar - flags and signs everywhere!) and we cozied up to some bar stools by a wall.  I looked to my left and saw this written on the wall! I had to take a pic b/c yes, yes indeed, 2010 is the Year of Jen!!!  ( I think it's funny that directly below, is the saying "it is what it is" which happens to be my least favorite quote EVER!!)

Being that it is the Year of Jen (according to graffiti no less), I'm making some changes. I know we are (all of us with bands) are making big changes this year, but I've hit a major plateau (I mean MASSIVE).. anyone who follows me knows that I'm stuck at the same weight give or take a few lbs for months now! And it's not like I'm anywhere near my goal weight - I still would love to lose another 70 or so lbs so technically, I'm really only halfway there. I feel like I've tried a lot to get past this plateau - stepping up my workouts, etc..  but the one thing I haven't really done is change my eating. I know that in order for this band to be successful, you have to change your thinking and your habits. I, for some reason, still fall into bad habits of eating. I don't follow the proteins first, veggies 2nd rule.  Just today, I was telling Michelle over lunch that lately, when I PB, one of the first things I go to after is something sweet, like a cookie or a brownie.. What the heck is that all about?  

So, I'm committing to some changes here and now. I'm writing them out b/c if I don't, who knows if I will follow them. I need accountability. I've been a little loose on the beer/booze drinking (my mom told me so the other night!! :)) so I'm cutting back on that. I'm eliminating sugar from my diet completely. I'm cutting caffeine as well.  I'm going to try to be a good bandster and follow the healthy eating rules.   I'm starting to train for a 1/2 marathon (in which I will be mostly walking - don't get crazy now!) this weekend.  So, I'm getting back into upping my exercise.  I'm going to be a better blogger and commenter. I know that the support I get from people is huge and I can't expect it anymore if I'm not giving it back.

That's my commitment. I know I can do it. I can't rely on the band completely to get to where I want to be and I think for the past several months, I've been relying on it to change me but I need to make the changes myself first.

Have a great weekend all!!  Get your exercise in if you are doing the challenge!! (even if you aren't - do something to move your body!! ) 

xo,js

Things to do in Denver when you are BANDED!

Hi Peeps!!!! I've been MIA in the blogworld the past week or so but things have been a little busy!  I've been trying to read all your blogs but whew, it's hard to keep up if you can't commit to it!! 

So, I have a lot to blog about this week so expect a deluge of posts from me!!! First, I will talk about my trip to Denver this past weekend. One word:  AHMAZING!!!! I've taken a few trips this year but this one tops them all.  Just Timmy and I went and we had the best time. Totally needed time away, together, what with all we were dealing with all summer long. 

My band, on the other hand, was not a fan of this trip.  It was like a vice grip was in my belly.....  could not keep anything down the entire time, PB'd/slimed multiple times, had burning sensation in my stomach everytime I tried to eat. That was not fun. However, the one thing that I had no issues keeping down was BEER!  I swear my ratio of beer to water was about 90/10... it wasn't pretty. I barely got my proper nutrients in.. oh wait, that's not completely true.  Here I am getting my veggies (via a bloody mary) in..

MMMMM Bloody...

On Friday, we cruised up to Boulder and walked around and had lunch.  It was a gorgeous day! 

Of course we saw the worst team in Baseball, the Brewers, play. Here is our requisite game day photo!!  (I should start comparing all of my Brewers games pictures and could probably do a post alone on them!! )

On Saturday, we went to a heavenly place called Golden, CO, home of the Coors brewery!!! First, the tour is free so you really can't beat that! 2nd, you get free samples of my favorite bevvy...  BEER! 

Saturday night, before the game, my girlfriend Teresa came up from Castle Rock.  I have known T for over 20 years now. We were summer camp counselors for 4 summers at a camp in the Poconos. There is something about our relationship that it doesn't matter how long we go without speaking, we just pick up where we left off. I guess you could say she's a soulmate.. we literally didnt' skip a beat. I think it's rare to find that these days. I'm lucky to have found it in multiple friendships I have. She's a total skinny beyotch (manages the local fitness club), which made me a little self-conscious, but it was awesome to see her and hang with her for the night!

I have plenty more pictures to post but this has taken me most of the morning to even write since work is super busy (as usual!) and I need to find my camera cord.

My band and stomach is starting to feel a little better today.  Thankfully, I did not gain any weight while I was gone. I'm totally turning up the heat now that I'm back and have no where to go for awhile (besides a side trip to LA in two weeks to see Ang and Ian!!) I'm excited for this new challenge that Drazil is hosting too!! I need the motivation a bit. I've definitely not been a model bandster or worker-outer in the past couple of weeks.  

Hope you are all well!!! xo,js