Sigh. So I got an email from Today's Interviewer (who I suppose is technically Yesterday's Interviewer!) and he wants to set up another round of interviews early next week with me and the other "finalist". So apparently it's down to me and one other person, and we're meeting with his right-hand-woman, and then him for a second time. I'm tired already. I just want it to be over.
I'm so sick of getting my hopes up!
Anyway, on to more fun things!
Went to the gym this afternoon – and hooooo boy, did I sweat.
First, I did my warm up on the treadmill but a little better this time:
Of course I did my 1 minute of walking at 3mph, and then ran until 13:40! AT 5MPH! That’s a 12 minute mile, folks. And I ran an extra 40 seconds after that! I am really happy with that. I thought, you know, 4.9 is obviously not that different from 5, and I easily transitioned from 4.8 to 4.9 so I should be able to do it
And I did!
So that was pretty great. The mileage came out to 1.10. Ha, originally I was going to just run until 13:30 but the mileage was at 1.08 and I am a weird person and I wanted to get it to a nice round number so I kept going until 1.10 :-P Ridonkulous.
So after my awesome mile, I did 4 machines. I upped my ## on the leg press, and with the other machines I really focused on going slower and more precisely. Working less of momentum and more off of my own strength. I think it worked? I dunno. I don’t really know anything about weight training. I’ve had some sessions with personal trainers in the past and I read blogs and such, but ultimately I’m making it up and trusting what little instincts I have. Heh.
After those machines I did some jump rope. I did it for a minute and 5 seconds straight! That’s a new record for me. That wasn’t all the jump roping I did, it was just the longest stretch. I did some abs stuff, and took a page from Jillian’s book and did the lunge/bicep curl move from the Shred DVD (I just used heavier weights). It was TOUGH! I did some regular bicep curls and tricep work too.
I did a couple of modified push-ups to see what I looked like doing them – um, I’m BARELY bending my arms and I can feel the burn. I then tried a real push up and couldn’t do it. This is all with the correct form, I should point out. If I had my ass sticking up in the air maybe I could dip down further but…I’d rather get the muscle memory doing it the right way. Anyway, that’s a work in progress!
So I left it there! I was definitely sweating and I don’t want to do the same thing every time and have my body get used to it.
Vitamins – Check!
Water – 152oz. Wow
Breakfast:
*egg mix: zucchini, 1/3 red pepper diced, egg subst, 1 LCL wedge and ketchup on top!
Snack (post-gym):
*1/2 cup of cottage cheese
Lunch:
*oven baked sweet potato fries (half a sweet potato, 1 tbsp olive oil, seasoned with salt pepper paprika and cumin)
*sandwich: arnold’s thin, roasted red pepper, spinach, tzatziki sauce
Snack:
*gala apple
Dinner:
*cup veggie crunchers (LOL this does NOT count towards my whole veggie per meal deal)
*Tastybite Madras Lentils soup (can I mention again how much I love this stuff?)
*cup of steamed broccoli
(okay, I'd say I made my goal of fruit or veggie at each meal - I'm not counting snacks, right? Because that would be a little ridonkulous. I'm sticking with a Breakfast Lunch and Dinner framework)
09 December 2009
Challenge Wednesdays: Week Feels Like 8 Trillion.
Well, I’m at 218 this fine Wednedsay morning.
That's a 3.2 loss from last Wednesday!
And I met all my goals from last week too:
*Go back to the gym! I haven’t been since Friday. Check Check Check! I went Weds, Thurs, and Monday
*Track water again, and drink MORE of it. Check!
*Vitamins.every.day. Check!
*Do the Shred DVD at least once Check! Did it on Saturday
Can I also say that I am very proud of myself for exercising 5 out of 7 days in this most recent Challenge week? Three gym days, a shred day and a track day.
And I guess I also reached my unofficial goals as well:
*No peeking on the scale from last Challenge Wednesday to Monday, and then from Monday to Today Check!
*Get out of the 220s Check!
So now we set goals for next week (and it’s almost the last one – we have weigh-ins on the 16th and the 23rd and then Monday the 28th finishes everything up! Crazy…and of course the final WI on the 28th is AFTER the Christmas Eve and Christmas Day holiday meals I have!)
*Keep tracking and drinking water!
*Vitamins.every.day.
*Do the Shred DVD at least once
*Eat a fruit or a vegetable at every meal. Things like V8 or some soups count – but I don’t want to rely on them.
*Don’t look at the scale until Monday.
…you’ll notice other than doing the Shred DVD, I don’t really set fitness goals. That’s because then it turns into something I HAVE to do versus something I choose to do. I was proud of myself for exercising 5 out of 7 days this past Challenge Week. And it’s all the more gratifying because I didn’t have to. And fitness in general is like that too – if I think about how I will HAVE TO sweat my butt off or go to the gym four times a week for 8 or 9 straight months to reach my goal weight it feels overwhelming and I want to quit. But if I think about how this week, no one was making me do anything, but I chose to exercise, I made that decision all on my own and I’m fully capable of making that same decision over and over.
(I suppose you could argue that I would be CHOOSING to set a fitness goal as a goal, but…I still don’t like it. My mind is warped! Or I’m scared of not achieving a goal that I set. Either/or :-P)
Challenge Weigh-Ins:
Week #1 11/4/09 (229.8)
Week #2 11/11/09 (226.4)
Week #3 11/18/09 (224)
Week #4 11/25/09 (221.2)
Week #5 12/2/09 (221.2)
Week #6 12/9/09 (218)
11.8 pounds lost so far!
That's a 3.2 loss from last Wednesday!
And I met all my goals from last week too:
*Go back to the gym! I haven’t been since Friday. Check Check Check! I went Weds, Thurs, and Monday
*Track water again, and drink MORE of it. Check!
*Vitamins.every.day. Check!
*Do the Shred DVD at least once Check! Did it on Saturday
Can I also say that I am very proud of myself for exercising 5 out of 7 days in this most recent Challenge week? Three gym days, a shred day and a track day.
And I guess I also reached my unofficial goals as well:
*No peeking on the scale from last Challenge Wednesday to Monday, and then from Monday to Today Check!
*Get out of the 220s Check!
So now we set goals for next week (and it’s almost the last one – we have weigh-ins on the 16th and the 23rd and then Monday the 28th finishes everything up! Crazy…and of course the final WI on the 28th is AFTER the Christmas Eve and Christmas Day holiday meals I have!)
*Keep tracking and drinking water!
*Vitamins.every.day.
*Do the Shred DVD at least once
*Eat a fruit or a vegetable at every meal. Things like V8 or some soups count – but I don’t want to rely on them.
*Don’t look at the scale until Monday.
…you’ll notice other than doing the Shred DVD, I don’t really set fitness goals. That’s because then it turns into something I HAVE to do versus something I choose to do. I was proud of myself for exercising 5 out of 7 days this past Challenge Week. And it’s all the more gratifying because I didn’t have to. And fitness in general is like that too – if I think about how I will HAVE TO sweat my butt off or go to the gym four times a week for 8 or 9 straight months to reach my goal weight it feels overwhelming and I want to quit. But if I think about how this week, no one was making me do anything, but I chose to exercise, I made that decision all on my own and I’m fully capable of making that same decision over and over.
(I suppose you could argue that I would be CHOOSING to set a fitness goal as a goal, but…I still don’t like it. My mind is warped! Or I’m scared of not achieving a goal that I set. Either/or :-P)
Challenge Weigh-Ins:
Week #1 11/4/09 (229.8)
Week #2 11/11/09 (226.4)
Week #3 11/18/09 (224)
Week #4 11/25/09 (221.2)
Week #5 12/2/09 (221.2)
Week #6 12/9/09 (218)
11.8 pounds lost so far!
08 December 2009
Ain’t Nothing Like the Meal Thing
So, I had an interview today, and I think it went well but I don't want to jinx it or get my hopes up so I'm going to leave it at that except to explain one quick thing - the reason I went on this interview is because I was passed over on a different job within the same organization. My Original Interviewer passed my resume onto Today's Interviewer. So Today's Interviewer tells me that I was passed over by Original Interviewer because she thought I would grow out of the position too quickly. As in, maybe I was meant for better things.
Original Interviewer called me again today to tell me that she really liked me, and that she hopes she gets to work with me. And even if I don't get this new job with Today's Interviewer, she was calling to ask my permission to pass my resume along within the organization if other opportunities present themselves.
*
I have been unemployed for almost a full year. My last day of work was December 18th, 2008. Seriously, almost 12 months. 365 incredibly painful days. (Not counting temp work here!)
From January through July I didn't even get any phone calls. NONE. That's also when I gained all my weight back (60 pounds) from SWL1. And then in August I started getting interviews, and I've been consistently interviewing since then, for about 4 months.
That was enough for a while, but then it starts getting to you again. Yeah I'm interviewing, but why aren't I actually landing any of the jobs? Am I not good enough?? Is it the way I look?? I've been trying to keep those thoughts away but they definitely creep in, especially when I have to tell friends or family for the zillionth time that I didn't get this job or that job...
*
My point in telling you allllllll of this is because today, even if I don't get this job with Today's Interviewer (he's interviewing quite a number of other candidates) I will know that I have Original Interviewer in my corner and I made a good impression. Maybe she was just saying all of that as routine let-you-down-easy-speak, but I feel she really meant it. (If you work in HR or have experience with hiring and this is a routine line, please don't tell me! I want to be happy in my assumptions haha!) I felt good. I felt valued. And I haven't felt that in relation to a job in a long time.
So that was a great outcome of today regardless of getting the new job or not. And that's a nice thing to come away with.
(Oh and SomedaySkinnyMinnie, I know you asked and I keep meaning to tell you, the field I'm in is Arts Administration/Management - working with/for arts non-profits like symphonies, theatres, museums, or orgs that promote arts education or use the arts for community development, that kinda stuff!)
Okay getting away from the warm fuzzies and on to the standards!
I didn't go to the gym today...I should have. I tweeted about it! But then I made an awesome lunch instead and then made holiday cards and hung some ornaments on our tree and hung out with my parents. I'm happy with my choice. After all, my parents are leaving in less than a month to go be Snowbirds for 4 months..and despite all the Talk that I talk, I will miss them a bit :-) I have to get in the quality time while I can!
Vitamins – check!
Water – 92oz today. Hah, that's low for me these days - but it's okay, I was kinda busy making holiday cards and what not :-)
Breakfast:
*I started to make/eat pumpkin oatmeal with quick-cooking oats, pumpkin puree and nutmeg and cinnamon, but I really didn’t like it. I added some unsweetened applesauce which helped, but ultimately gave up. I probably ate a cup in total.
*I then switched to a pumpkin waffle instead :-)
*cup of coffee, black.
Snack:
*gala apple
Lunch:
*fish taco: tortilla wrap, chopped romaine lettuce, grilled tilapia seasoned with Old Bay, mango salsa
*biiig glass of milk (two cups)
Dinner:
*cup veggie crunchers
*wrap: … I really am a creature of habit… 100 calorie whole wheat wrap, chicken with mayo, 1 LCL wedge, honey mustard, 10 bread and butter pickles, big handful of baby spinach, a little bit of diced onion.
Original Interviewer called me again today to tell me that she really liked me, and that she hopes she gets to work with me. And even if I don't get this new job with Today's Interviewer, she was calling to ask my permission to pass my resume along within the organization if other opportunities present themselves.
*
I have been unemployed for almost a full year. My last day of work was December 18th, 2008. Seriously, almost 12 months. 365 incredibly painful days. (Not counting temp work here!)
From January through July I didn't even get any phone calls. NONE. That's also when I gained all my weight back (60 pounds) from SWL1. And then in August I started getting interviews, and I've been consistently interviewing since then, for about 4 months.
That was enough for a while, but then it starts getting to you again. Yeah I'm interviewing, but why aren't I actually landing any of the jobs? Am I not good enough?? Is it the way I look?? I've been trying to keep those thoughts away but they definitely creep in, especially when I have to tell friends or family for the zillionth time that I didn't get this job or that job...
*
My point in telling you allllllll of this is because today, even if I don't get this job with Today's Interviewer (he's interviewing quite a number of other candidates) I will know that I have Original Interviewer in my corner and I made a good impression. Maybe she was just saying all of that as routine let-you-down-easy-speak, but I feel she really meant it. (If you work in HR or have experience with hiring and this is a routine line, please don't tell me! I want to be happy in my assumptions haha!) I felt good. I felt valued. And I haven't felt that in relation to a job in a long time.
So that was a great outcome of today regardless of getting the new job or not. And that's a nice thing to come away with.
(Oh and SomedaySkinnyMinnie, I know you asked and I keep meaning to tell you, the field I'm in is Arts Administration/Management - working with/for arts non-profits like symphonies, theatres, museums, or orgs that promote arts education or use the arts for community development, that kinda stuff!)
Okay getting away from the warm fuzzies and on to the standards!
I didn't go to the gym today...I should have. I tweeted about it! But then I made an awesome lunch instead and then made holiday cards and hung some ornaments on our tree and hung out with my parents. I'm happy with my choice. After all, my parents are leaving in less than a month to go be Snowbirds for 4 months..and despite all the Talk that I talk, I will miss them a bit :-) I have to get in the quality time while I can!
Vitamins – check!
Water – 92oz today. Hah, that's low for me these days - but it's okay, I was kinda busy making holiday cards and what not :-)
Breakfast:
*I started to make/eat pumpkin oatmeal with quick-cooking oats, pumpkin puree and nutmeg and cinnamon, but I really didn’t like it. I added some unsweetened applesauce which helped, but ultimately gave up. I probably ate a cup in total.
*I then switched to a pumpkin waffle instead :-)
*cup of coffee, black.
Snack:
*gala apple
Lunch:
*fish taco: tortilla wrap, chopped romaine lettuce, grilled tilapia seasoned with Old Bay, mango salsa
*biiig glass of milk (two cups)
Dinner:
*cup veggie crunchers
*wrap: … I really am a creature of habit… 100 calorie whole wheat wrap, chicken with mayo, 1 LCL wedge, honey mustard, 10 bread and butter pickles, big handful of baby spinach, a little bit of diced onion.
Holiday Cards
I set off to Target this evening to find holiday cards to send to all my friends. I have Jewish friends, Athiest friends, Agnostic friends, and some of them are bothered by Christmas Cards and some of them aren't. So I always go for "Holiday" cards to be safe.
Target's selection was crap. I usually have a hard time finding just the right kind anyway - I'm a stickler for stationery - but this year was all wrong. One would have a great design but be for Christmas - or the holiday/snow ones would be super ugly. I couldn't find the right mixture of being PC but also cute or clever and even reflect a little bit of my own silliness or cuteness. (That's right - I can be silly and cute! Imagine the sides to me you haven't seen!)
So I decided to make my own.
They appeal to the sarcastic in me.
Cardstock, travel paper cutter, envelopes, snowflake stickers, and my own Sharpie marker :-) I wrote it out on one and scanned it to my comp to avoid writing it out over and over like a doofus. You can tell it's scanned and even a bit pixelated but I think it adds to its charm.
Want one? ;-)
Target's selection was crap. I usually have a hard time finding just the right kind anyway - I'm a stickler for stationery - but this year was all wrong. One would have a great design but be for Christmas - or the holiday/snow ones would be super ugly. I couldn't find the right mixture of being PC but also cute or clever and even reflect a little bit of my own silliness or cuteness. (That's right - I can be silly and cute! Imagine the sides to me you haven't seen!)
So I decided to make my own.
They appeal to the sarcastic in me.
Cardstock, travel paper cutter, envelopes, snowflake stickers, and my own Sharpie marker :-) I wrote it out on one and scanned it to my comp to avoid writing it out over and over like a doofus. You can tell it's scanned and even a bit pixelated but I think it adds to its charm.
Want one? ;-)
07 December 2009
AHH! Meal Monsters
Well this post isn't nearly as fun to put up as the one earlier today! And thanks for all the comments about my new pictures. I do feel pretty good :-) Heh. Gotta set my sights on the next one, which should also be mean my entrance into Onederland. Crazy! But I'm not gonna rush it or expect it too soon, just gonna do what I'm doin' and keep on keepin' on as long as I can. Day by day. Little victories add up to big ones, right?
Let's get down to business, shall we?
Vitamins – check!
Water – 120oz!
Got into the gym today too. Considered resting on my laurels but thought better of it. I might as well make the best of it while I’m feeling good!
Gym:
*walk 1 minute, then run a mile (plus about 10 seconds) at 4.9mph, no incline to 13:30
(potty break! Eeps!)
*run 3:30 at 5.0mph with .5 incline (that little bump in incline really makes a difference. yeesh)
*three machines and bicep curls with free weights
*five minutes on elliptical
*four more machines
I had a pretty good workout, if my leg soreness is any indication :-) I bumped myself up to four sets for all the weight machines. I used 7 machines, but it comes out to 13 different movements, I guess, since some have more than one or two. I alternate between leg and arm machines.
And now,something we think you'll really like! the food consumption.
Breakfast:
*cup of milk
*gala apple
*half a pumpkin waffle
Snack:
*cup veggie crunchers
Lunch:
*wrap: 100 calorie whole wheat wrap, chicken with mayo, 1 big avocado slice, honey mustard, 10 bread and butter pickles, big handful of baby spinach, a little bit of diced onion. SO GOOD! (clearly, as I've had it three days in a row...)
*can of V8
Dinner:
*Progresso Macaroni and Bean soup (the full can, which is two servings and WAY too much sodium for my liking, even after I pour out some of the liquid…yeesh)
Let's get down to business, shall we?
Vitamins – check!
Water – 120oz!
Got into the gym today too. Considered resting on my laurels but thought better of it. I might as well make the best of it while I’m feeling good!
Gym:
*walk 1 minute, then run a mile (plus about 10 seconds) at 4.9mph, no incline to 13:30
(potty break! Eeps!)
*run 3:30 at 5.0mph with .5 incline (that little bump in incline really makes a difference. yeesh)
*three machines and bicep curls with free weights
*five minutes on elliptical
*four more machines
I had a pretty good workout, if my leg soreness is any indication :-) I bumped myself up to four sets for all the weight machines. I used 7 machines, but it comes out to 13 different movements, I guess, since some have more than one or two. I alternate between leg and arm machines.
And now,
Breakfast:
*cup of milk
*gala apple
*half a pumpkin waffle
Snack:
*cup veggie crunchers
Lunch:
*wrap: 100 calorie whole wheat wrap, chicken with mayo, 1 big avocado slice, honey mustard, 10 bread and butter pickles, big handful of baby spinach, a little bit of diced onion. SO GOOD! (clearly, as I've had it three days in a row...)
*can of V8
Dinner:
*Progresso Macaroni and Bean soup (the full can, which is two servings and WAY too much sodium for my liking, even after I pour out some of the liquid…yeesh)
I Want It That Weigh
**Okay, so I usually put my post title in last before I finally upload the entire post, right? And I started the post below as normal, but I have to interject now that I used a Backstreet Boys song for my post title. I was in high school during the peak of TRL's popularity and relevance...I can't begin to tell you how often I watched the video for I Want it That Way. And on top of our constant TRL watching, my friends and I recorded it on tape (TAPE!) and would watch it over and over and over and over...man, those were good times. I still put on a private car concert for myself whenever I listen to that song, which is more often than I should, probably. Also I may or may not have seen BSB twice in concert. And NSync two or three times. And NKOTB twice..in one year...as an adult.**
Oh, my lovelies. I come to you this morning with a happy heart. Because I have (*singsong*) new pictures for you!!!!!!!
Let's start with this one, shall we?
Did you see my twitter about me being a post-it addict? For realsies. So I was looking to see if I had any crayons in my Craft/Office Supply Box (and I DON'T! What is wrong with me?!) and came upon the fact that I have an inappropriate amount of post-it notes. Some of them are still in the packaging! Like those Office ones, for example. They're just so fun! Hello Kitty, Washington Post, my initials, oh my! Why do I even buy them if I love them too much to use them?! These are all the ones that I haven't even gotten to yet, btdubs. I have SIX other notepads sitting on my desk that I use at the moment...Yeah. My name is Laura, and I have a problem.
You know what I don't have a problem with?
Losing weight. Boom.
Here are my latest progress pics!!
Can you guess what weight I'm at? I'll tell you that those jeans are my 20s, still - they came out of the dryer yesterday so they fit pretty well, a little on the loose side. The only thing I don't like is being able to see my zipper outline on the front-facing picture - this is the first time I've worn that shirt in a while and it isn't as loose as other shirts I've worn...but I wanted it to fit me a little bit on the snug side so I can really see my shape. (Also I may or may not have had to photoshop a small stain out of that shirt...*sigh*)
Anyweight (didn't mean to add the T on there, but it stays!) I actually had a bad feeling about this morning - I was prepping myself to face another week of "Where did all my hard work go?" and I want you all to know that I did my best to remember and hold on to the fact that I did a lot of work and healthy choices and exercising (in the snow!) and I need to be happy with that.
Well lucky for me I can be happy with the scale number too!
218
A nice round even number!
So that brings me to 42 pounds lost! Huzzah!
And thank you for all your shoe comments - I will let you know what happens with my search for new kicks!
Oh, my lovelies. I come to you this morning with a happy heart. Because I have (*singsong*) new pictures for you!!!!!!!
Let's start with this one, shall we?
Did you see my twitter about me being a post-it addict? For realsies. So I was looking to see if I had any crayons in my Craft/Office Supply Box (and I DON'T! What is wrong with me?!) and came upon the fact that I have an inappropriate amount of post-it notes. Some of them are still in the packaging! Like those Office ones, for example. They're just so fun! Hello Kitty, Washington Post, my initials, oh my! Why do I even buy them if I love them too much to use them?! These are all the ones that I haven't even gotten to yet, btdubs. I have SIX other notepads sitting on my desk that I use at the moment...Yeah. My name is Laura, and I have a problem.
You know what I don't have a problem with?
Losing weight. Boom.
Here are my latest progress pics!!
Can you guess what weight I'm at? I'll tell you that those jeans are my 20s, still - they came out of the dryer yesterday so they fit pretty well, a little on the loose side. The only thing I don't like is being able to see my zipper outline on the front-facing picture - this is the first time I've worn that shirt in a while and it isn't as loose as other shirts I've worn...but I wanted it to fit me a little bit on the snug side so I can really see my shape. (Also I may or may not have had to photoshop a small stain out of that shirt...*sigh*)
Anyweight (didn't mean to add the T on there, but it stays!) I actually had a bad feeling about this morning - I was prepping myself to face another week of "Where did all my hard work go?" and I want you all to know that I did my best to remember and hold on to the fact that I did a lot of work and healthy choices and exercising (in the snow!) and I need to be happy with that.
Well lucky for me I can be happy with the scale number too!
218
A nice round even number!
So that brings me to 42 pounds lost! Huzzah!
And thank you for all your shoe comments - I will let you know what happens with my search for new kicks!
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