Can't work out to "Silent Night"

Or The Grinch, 12 Days of Christmas, Blue Christmas, or almost any other Christmas song. But they're on my ipod, and I can't change songs. Imagine going at a good pace on the elliptical, and then hearing sleigh bells jingle. Please.

A couple years ago one of my best friends Anna sold me her ipod for really cheap, bc she didn't use it and has an Iphone. A year and a half ago, while at PB, we had a theft problem during the holiday season. Someone (not an employee) hit a couple stores in the mall, going into back rooms and rummaging through purses and whatnot. Unfortunately, my ipod was stolen. Fortunately, that was the ONLY thing. My license, debit/credit cards were all there. I kept an eye on them and I have even changed account numbers since, but really, I was pretty lucky. I chucked the purse and the wallet (bc it's weird to think some stranger's hands were in them) and a for Valentine's Day that year, Mac gave me an Ipod shuffle. It's awesome, and about the size of a key, if that. It came with headphones equipped with a button to skip to the next song, but I didn't think they were comfortable, and I think I threw them out. Now I have my comfy headphones, but can't switch songs, and why did I put Christmas songs on my Ipod anyway? I only use the Ipod on the beach and in the gym. I LOVE Christmas music, but Go Tell it on the Mountain doesn't need to play while I'm pumping iron. (Let's be clear; I don't really pump iron.)

Despite having Christmas songs playing in and out of my workouts, I've been pretty good lately at the gym. In the past five days, I've gone to work out four of them, and my legs are sore. The only negative thing I have to say is that my journaling has taken a tumble. With school starting, it's hard to keep up with what I'm eating, although I'm not doing badly. I just forget to write it down, and then at night I'm so tired, so I tell myself "I'll write it tomorrow." I'm really big on tomorrows. So this entry is going to be a little shaky in terms of accuracy.

Friday, August 19, 2011
Weight: 212 lbs.

• yogurt with granola
• ritz crackerful
• salami and cheese sandwich on rye bread
• snackwell popcorn
• diet coke
• head to amazing Korean bar in DC with private karaoke rooms w/Mac & his coworkers)
• edamame
• white rice with soy sauce
• bad romance cocktail (just tasty)
• 4 1/2 miller lites
• diet coke
• jump slice pepperoni pizza
• 1 piece Godiva chocolate
• 1/2 regular pepsi

Clearly, a treat night.

Saturday, August 20, 2011
Weight: 209 lbs.

• yogurt with granola
• 1/2 hr on elliptical machine: 350 calories
• turkey, lettuce and cheese sandwich
• torilla chips
• 1/2 brownie (celebrating my father in law's and my bdays a little late)
• cake
• diet pepsi
• diet coke
• mac and cheese
• cake

Sunday, August 21, 2011
Weight: 212 lbs.

• yogurt with granola
• 1/2 hour on elliptical machine: 300 calories
• diet coke
• mini macadamia nut cookie (about 1.5 inches)
• goldfish
• fruit snacks (80 calories, target brand)
• 4 slices of mini pizza
• edamame
• diet coke
• 1 piece Godiva chocolate

Monday, August 22, 2011 - FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!
Weight: 212 lbs.

• ritz crackerful
• diet coke
• salami and cheese sandwich at 10:30 AM (my break on Mondays)
• snackwell popcorn
• fruit snacks
• banana
• 2 mini cookies from Mrs. Fields, bc after school, I worked at PB from 6-10.
• All I remember about this day is I was exhausted and STARVING bc of how early I ate lunch.

Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Weight: 210 lbs.

• Goldfish
• diet coke
• turkey and cheese sandwich
• diet coke
• fruit snacks
• earthquake
• evaquate school after dismissal
• hoping for no more shakes and head to the gym: 33 mins on elliptical, 350 calories, 20 lunges with 5 lb. weights in each hand/36 curl ups with weights in each hand/ 36 calf exercises/24 arm lifts w/ weights (where you have arms at sides, and raise them up, perpendicular to your body so you make a "T.")
• 6 parmesan garlic wings
• celery with ranch
• animal crackers
• few chocolate fudge cookies

Wednesday, August 24, 2011 - No school, there was an earthquake yesterday
Weight: 210 lbs.

• granola with yogurt
• gym, same exercises as Tuesday, legs are SORE; that means it's working?
• 6 leftover parmesan garlic wings
• animal crackers
• gold fish
• carrots
• mac and cheese
• cheese hot dog (1 cut up, and 1 in bun, and that is 1, or 2, too many)
• plain green beans
• last bit of cake

Ok, clearly keeping this up with any sort of accuracy during the school days is going to be challenging. I feel like I've been planning my meals, but I realize several things, as usual. Not enough fruit, definitely not enough veggies. Those two need to replace some of the other snacks that can be easier to prepare. I just need to commit to prepping stuff at night so I don't have to think about it in the morning. If I don't pack my lunch at night, I won't bring lunch to school. I just never give myself enough time in the morning.

I guess it's cool that I realize the areas where I need to improve. The challenge with be actually following through with what I need to do. I'm not at a point in my weight where I should plateau, so the scale should continue to go down if I behave. Behave, Megan. And also, ask Mac to take Christmas songs off of the ipod. This is getting ridiculous.

Success, then fail.

I was on vacation for pretty much the first half of August.  (Really lucky.)  I was in Murrells Inlet, SC for almost a week at my parents, then home in MD for two days, then back to the beach for another week- Ocean Isle Beach, NC.  I already wrote about my experience in SC, so let me detail what happened in NC.

To shed some light on the Ocean Isle trip, it is Mac, me, and some of our best friends from college along with their significant others.  We live in a beach house for a week and try to pretend we're all 21 again.  We've been going for 8 years now, and it is always my best and worst week of eating of the entire year.  Everyone cooks a good meal one night (per person or couple) and then we usually have 1 or 2 nights out.  The food is amazing, but try having Thanksgiving on Monday, Christmas on Tuesday, and repeat for the rest of the week.  You're FULL.  But the food is so good, so you stuff yourself and save the fat pants for the end of the week.  I will say that's a nice thing about bathing suits.  It may not look great, especially by Friday, but elastic is nice.  No judgments among the group either.  At least not about size.  I didn't bring my scale, or my journal, but I can pretty much scramble things together...

OIB 2011 - drive to Elon, meet amazing best friends, eat at Wings to Go, honey bbq wings, fried chips with ranch and corn nuggets, beer, Cook out shake on the way home, good homecooked breakfast the next morning by Kristin's family, white chedder cheetos on the way to the beach...

• Sunday night - pizza, garlic knots and lots of beer
• Monday - 1 mile walk on the beach
• Monday night - stuffed peppers, bread, White Russians/beer
• Tuesday - 1 mile walk on the beach
• Tuesday night - jambalaya, corn bread, corn, green beans, white russians/beer

• Wednesday - 4 mile walk on the beach BOOYA.
• Wednesday night - dinner out at Sugar Shack: coconut battered shrimp, jerk pork and goat, corn bread and burger with fries/beer at home

• Thursday - no walk on beach, beached myself in the water like a whale
• Thursday night - Peruvian meat and potato dish, salad, beer/white russians
• Friday - no beach walk, still counting 4 mile walk as if I can divide up miles among days.
• Friday night - stir fry, then Twister and yoga (kind of)

• Saturday - 1 mile walk on the beach
• Saturday night - Barefoot contessa mac and cheese with add your own toppings (including sausage, bacon, peas, jalopeno peppers, tomatoes, broccoli), ice cream for dessert 

• Sunday - leave for home, peanut butter m&ms and mac and cheese for breakfast, cookout chicken sandwich and shake, kettle corn & perogies for dinner
• other things eaten during the week: low fat yogurt with granola, celery and carrots with dip, scrambled eggs, cheese omelet, white chedder cheetos, peanut butter m&ms, homemade choc. chip cookies, homemade chocolate cake, skinny cow ice cream sandwich, honey mustard and onion pretzels, regular m&ms, pizza rolls, both pepperoni and combination, kettle corn, gold fish, and shots of various liquors.  Huge news: with all that, NO ONE GOT SICK.  ALL WEEK.

EVEN BIGGER NEWS: I gained half a pound.
However, I don't know how that happened, and I didn't deserve that kind of reward.  I was hoping for 5 and under.  Shit, did you see all the stuff we ate?  Good GOD.  So I walked a little bit.  Something is wrong with me.  I am trying to forget about only gaining half a pound, because I can't go on thinking that the way we stuff ourselves at the beach is ok.  I definitely ate poorly there, but it's more of a group effort.  And also huge news: 2 members of the group are now in their THIRTIES.

    Now it's a few days later.  School has started (no kids yet), and I did VERY well for the first few days, considering my body could have been in shock from lack of FATTY foods.  I didn't work out, but in my defense, I took a very long nap on Monday after school, worked at PB after school on Tuesday, hung out with Tim on Wednesday, and taught lessons tonight after school.  Bad news: Last night, I ate poorly, then drank beer (hello, I DONT have students this week), then made homemade chocolate chip cookies.  FAIL MEGAN.  Fail.


Monday, August 15, 2011 
210 lbs.

• ham & cheese omelet made at staff mtg. for school
• 1/2 chocolate chip muffin
• 2 miniature baby ruths
• diet coke
• peppercorn turkey with chz on rye with light mayo
• diet coke
• Ritz crackerful bar
• 4 HOUR NAP, body is in shock from being up so early
• potato and cheese perogis
• 4 slices american cheese
• snackwell popcorn

Not great, but could have been worse.  Worst parts: no veggies, no fruit, no exercise

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

210 lbs.

• cheerios
• diet coke
• fried chicken (lunch was served at school)
• egg/potato salad
• roll the size of my palm
• ritz crackerful
• diet coke
• snackwell popcorn
• marchones italian sub with l. mayo
• 1 piece godiva chocolate

Wednesday, Augst 17, 2011

210 lbs.

• cheerios
• regular coke (3 hr. workshop, no diets in machine, was mad, but not mad enough to not have caffiene)
• crackerful
• regular coke
• turkey and cheese sandwich on rye bread with light mayo
• hard times cafe with tim: two blue moons, santa fe egg rolls, chili with cheese, and corn bread
• come home, have another beer, make cookies
• eat cookies (maybe 5)

Thursday, August 18, 2011

212 lbs.  (What exactly did I think would happen?)

• cheerios
• diet coke
• salami and cheese sandwich on rye with light mayo
• diet coke
• carrots
• ritz crackerful
• on the way home from lessons, there was a light out at an intersection.  i pulled up and stopped, and 3 cops were directing traffic.  i realized i wished i was 1 lane over, in the turning lane, so when the cops gestured for people to turn, i put on my blinker, waited for everyone else to go, then crept into the turning lane on my left turn signal, and turned left through the intersection, as the one cop waved me on.  Halfway through the intersection, the other cop stood in front of my car, yelling at me and waving.  Then I stopped, and he waved me on, so I moved, then he banged on my window.  I am still in the middle of the intersection at this point.  I roll it down and he yelled at me, "I didn't tell you that you could make a turn from a straight lane!  I know it's confusing with lights out, but I don't want you to get yourself or someone else killed out here!  Okay?!  Thank you!"  Walks away.  I did not respond, bc although I can HANDLE confrontation, I don't like getting yelled at, especially by an authoritative figure.  So I cried the WHOLE way home.  I could have said "The other cop told me to go," but I'm pretty sure he didn't want to hear my voice, I'm pretty sure I should have just gone straight and flipped a bitch later on, and I'm pretty sure I would have been hard to understand what with the pre-sobs causing my chest to heave.  And hello, he's a COP.  I respect cops, a lot.  Having a discussion with a cop in the middle of an intersection (at Connecticut and Randolph, mind you) is not a good idea, and knowing my luck at times, it could have turned into a ticket.

 

So after crying for about 20 minutes (other things on my mind too, most of all my Aunt Sally who is very ill), I came upstairs, decided not to go to the gym, ate about 10 chocolate chip cookies and watched Hoarders.  You know how if something sad is already happening in your life, and then something little happens, like you stub your toe, or get yelled at by a cop, you're all of a sudden in hysterics?  That's me right now.  I'm wearing sneakers to try to not have a meltdown if I stub my toe.

Ultimately, I was kind of successful for a few days.  I made a sandwich every night so I wouldn't go out for lunch.  I packed snacks so not to hit the vending machines.  I drank lots of water, although I should drink even more.  And then tonight.  Cookies.  This is why I don't bake until like November.  Fail Megan, fail.  Back on the bandwagon.
  

Vacation

Well it's official.  I turned 29 a few days ago, and now I literally have something like 360 days to get thin.  But the thing is, I'm on vacation.  :)

Last Friday morning, Mac and I flew down to my parents place in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina.  It's the land of sun, sand, boating, swimming, fishing, eating, drinking, and then repeat.  So much fun and I'm so lucky to have such a fantastic family.  If I ever have children, I want to have more than one, simply because my sister and I are so close.  I also hope to be as good as my parents have been to us.  Without airing too much dirty laundry, I will politely say that they each had difficult childhoods in my opinion.  It is, without a doubt, my parents and they alone who have made our family what it is.  Ashley and I were/are equally loved, supported and cared for in the most impressive ways.  They are each amazing people and role models, and I simply wouldn't be where I am today without them. 

Without my dad, I wouldn't have the passion for sports that I do.  I am crazy about the Philadelphia Eagles, and I can distinctively remember him yelling at the TV, calling them "filthy, stinkin' bums", when I was younger.  I wouldn't be able to burp as fantastically as I can, get tan, get my Irish up when needed, throw a ball, catch a ball, play golf, wash a car, comb my hair, swim, parallel park an SUV, and about a million other traits if I didn't have the amazing father that I do.

Without my mom, I may not be teaching music.  My mom used to play the piano, and she was also a cheerleader.  This line has forever stayed with me: "Megan, I should have stuck with piano, because in your 40s, you can't do a split, but you can still play piano."  When I quit band in 8th grade, she pushed me to take private lessons, and now I love teaching music.   I wouldn't cry at movies, kiss and hug everyone I know, make hospital corners on beds, adore china and crystal, clean exceptionally well, get yippy when I'm excited, swim or have any sense of class without my mom.  (For example, I can burp really well, but I would not do it when out to dinner.)

To keep the speech going, here's Ashely:  Clear as a bell, I remember her coming home from the salon one day after she gradated high school.  A haircut was all it took?!  It was like a model walked into the room.  She was always cute, and pretty, but just when did my sister become a drop dead gorgeous model?  Overnight, duh.  I'm still waiting for that beauty rest to kick in with me.  No, seriously, without Ashley, I wouldn't know what a best friend is.  I mean, I have best friends, but you know how it is when you've got that one.  I wouldn't laugh as much, wouldn't cry as much, would wear black and brown and navy all in the same outfit, wouldn't use a straightener or curling iron, wouldn't wear makeup, and would without a doubt, be more neurotic than I already am.

Ultimately, I love visiting my family.  :)  AND, I only gained 1 pound.  Great success!

Friday, July 29, 2011 (my birthday!) (hopped on my parents scale, it said I was 5 lbs. lighter.  I stopped using it because I was afraid of thinking that way)

• chocolate chip muffin at airport after big fight with airline about checked baggage
• diet coke
• banana
• wheat thins
• out to bday dinner at Charleston Cafe...
• roll with butter
• caesar salad
• potato soup
• diet coke
• chicken stuffed with crab
• baked potato with butter
• green beans
• 3 glasses white wine
• 2 rum and diet cokes
• 1 shot of jager
• chicken stuffed with crab
• 1 piece cake
• 2 reeces cups (do not remember eating them)

Oh my gosh, why do I think I turned 21?  It was a fun, fun night.

Saturday, July 30, 2011

• 100 calorie pack cool ranch doritos
• bologna & cheese sandwich on wheat bread, no mayo
• diet coke
• salad with fat free thousand island dressing
• diet coke
• 1 crab cake
• broiled with fish with lemon
• corn on the cob
• 1 piece of cake

Sunday, July 31, 2011

• blueberry buckle (homemade by mom, Duncan Hines recipe, AMAZING)
• scrambled eggs
• 1 sausage link
• diet coke
• pretzels
• carrots
• reduced fat wheat thins and cut up cheese
• diet coke
• chicken italiano - chicken in crockpot with tomatoes and onions and peppers
• angel hair pasta
• salad with fat free thousand island dressing
• 1 piece of cake

Monday, August 1, 2011

• blueberry buckle
• leftover chicken italiano
• no idea what else i ate, bc i was lazy and didn't write it down.  and now it's thursday.

Tuesday, August 2, 2011 (daddy's birthday!)

• blueberry buckle
• 1/2 turkey sandwich on wheat bread, no mayo
• banana
• reduced fat wheat thins and cut up cheese (monterey jack)
• out to dinner at Dockside....
• 3 glasses white wine
• 1 piece bread with butter
• hushpuppies with amazing strawberry butter
• 5 grilled scallops with oregano lemon oil
• 5 grilled shrimp with oregano lemon oil
• 1/2 beer
• 1 piece of cake
• 1 bag of snackwell caramel popcorn drizzled with chocolate (delicious 130 calorie snack, recommendation from my coworker, Precious)

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

• blueberry buckle
• diet coke
• reduced fat wheat thins with cut up cheese
• hot dog
• 1/2 cup baked beans
• snackwell popcorn
• diet coke
• tortilla chips
• 3 pieces Godvia mint choc. chip bar

Now I am back home for a couple days before heading off to Ocean Isle Beach, NC with 7 of my favorite people.  The AMAZING news is that I am only 1 pound heavier than when I left for my parents!  I didn't "watch" myself, but I didn't stuff myself either.  I literally felt like I was on vacation, and to have only gained a pound feels like a triumph for me.  Since I wasn't here on Tuesday, I'll detail my weight along the side via today, Thursday.  Then I'll get back on track with the Tuesdays.

The next week is going to be rough.  It's myself, Mac, and 6 of our best friends from college.  We've been going to the same house for 7 years now, and it's a week filled with outstanding food, drinking as if we're still in college, snacking, games, drinking, eating and more of the same.  It's so fun and hopefully all the laughing I do while I'm there will burn away the calories.  I'd like to say I'll go on walks, but it's vacation.  I'd like to say I won't snack, but it's vacation.  I'd like to say I'll journal what I eat, but it's vacation.  I'm feeling seesaw-like, not knowing which way to go, yet hoping I can balance in the middle.  This is my big vacation of the year, and while I don't want to undo what I've worked for, I realize that I am the queen of excuses- it's vacation.

Disclaimer, as usual.  I wrote a lot about my family, and all the pictures are from my wedding.  That is because, it's been my favorite day of my life. 

And while I clearly love my family, I'm so fortunate to have married my best friend.  Mac is so supportive, and has really helped me with this blog.  He deals with me on a DAILY basis, and I'm just really lucky.  I love you Mac.  Thank you for being my rock.