Biggest Loser

I did it! Thank you to everyone that has been there for me lately - I truly and sincerely appreciate your support and it is really helping me along the way to achieving my goal.

Today was our banquet (of healthy food!) at work for our version of the Biggest Loser Contest and I won second place out of about 24 people - cash prize of $134!!!! I would like to say that I am going to spend that on gifts or donate it to a charity but no. I am going to spend it on myself. Me, me, me. He, he, he.

This program started September 22 and since then I have lost 17.8 pounds (to be exact) and I am on a roll! Thanks to Kylee and Craig's suggestion, I purchased power 90 (pre-cursor to p90X) and things have really been going well. I work out 6 days a week alternating cardio with weight training taking one day to rest. Sticking to a strict eating plan had also been key in my success. I am always prepared, eat 5 small meals a day, and never eat fast food. Here are two pictures. The first taken on my birthday 9/27/09 and the second taken on Saturday 12/13/09.

Before:



After:

Try what?

This marquee says "Try our Angus." I did a double take.

Wizard Santa, Biker Santa

Today for lunch I headed downtown to meet a friend for lunch. Whhhhell! She not only did she stand me up, but she didn't even go to work today! Nice right? Anyway, I stomped out of the Crowne Plaza all teed off and almost ran over Santa Claus dressed as a biker! OMG - I am on the naughty list for something not even fun. Wait, maybe it's Gandalf! Gandalf! You shall not pass!

I told myself not to be silly, why would Gandalf leave middle earth and come to TOLEDO, OH in the winter? I MUST be Santa.

It occurred to me later that Santa was not the real Santa (there were no elves or reindeer) it was actually William Lee Golden, lead singer of the Oak Ridge Boys because their tour bus was there in the front of the hotel. Here is a bad picture of their tour bus and I whizzed by it and yelled "SORRY! SORRY!" to Billy G. If you really squint and already know what their logo looks like, you can imagine it.

If not, here is their logo and a picture of Santa, er, William Lee Golden. I am sorry I almost hit you Billy G...and I am also sorry for then staring at you. You look like a Gandalf/Santa and I love them both.

BOD

Tonight I sold some jewelry at a work function of my Dad's at a local bar. It was a private function except for the waitstaff of course. The waiter/bartender assigned to the party, let's call him Cliff (that's creepy enough), had on all black and a braided pony tail down to his waist. He was nice enough at first, but was the kind of guy that would linger too long after the chit-chat should have been over. You know the type.

So, the party is in full swing. I am hanging out with the jewelry, the Firefighters are enjoying the party, but Cliff is just mulling around, eating meatballs, cruising around, and every time I look at him he is looking at me. He doesn't look away, no, no, instead he waves at me. I smile - kind of. Cliff is creeping me out. Oh well, at least my Dad is here to protect me. And walk me out to my car.

Cliff makes his rounds and tries to small talk with me but it's just not quite right.
"Enjoying the weather?"
"Uh, not really..."

"Do you make this jewelry?"
"Uh, no."
"Who does?"
"Uh, what?

This is how it goes....

I grab the ring on my table that looks like an engagement ring and put it on. My left hand.

Cliff comes back for his shinging moment.

"Can I ask you a question?"
"Yeah."
"Do I have on too much body spray?"

At this point I could only imagine what my face must have looked like and what I said to him because in my mind it went something like this...

"Buh, buh, buh...body spray? Like BOD? Who wears that? WHAT?"

Then, having no idea what I actually said because I blacked out, Cliff leans into me. Close. Breaking the personal space law. Where's Dad?!?! Doesn't he see the "engagement ring"???

"Can you smell it? The body spray?" He said it again. Bbbboooddddyyy Sppprrrraaayyy.
Eventually Cliff gave up on me and must have moved on because I told him no respectable man wore body spray and he should simply shower and wear deodorant. Possibly reapply when necessary. I felt I owed it to him to tell him that. After all, it is Christmas.

How 'bout I punch you in the face?

Well, I didn't actually do that, or even say it, but I vehemently thought it to a person at Wal-Mart today when trying to buy a book. ***Side note, I read Eclipse over the weekend and it was interesting. I ripped through it in 3 days and I am not that fast of a reader. It's not a serious thinker, but it was enjoyable and it really kept my attention. More about that later.***

On the rack at Wal-Mart are 15 million copies (the other 15 million have apparently been sold) of New Moon in paperback and hard cover. If you search, really dig, you can find Twilight and perhaps Eclipse, but rarely Breaking Dawn. ***Side note, Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, then Breaking Dawn. New Moon is in theaters now. If you don't know what I'm talking about, go ask a 12 year old girl who Edward and Jacob are, step back, cover your ears, and you'll get the gist.***

Since I am now ready for the final installment of the Twilight series, I need the last book in paperback because I am NOT going to pay $15 for book. I see a hard cover but no paperback. I see some royal blue vests. I approach.

"Sue made dinner last night. Yeah...yea. It was ok. Roast. "

Blue vest lady on the phone. I would have let her continue her conversation had it been work related, but I didn't think Sue's meat was about work. At least I hoped not.

"Excuse me...."

She didn't answer me, just pointed to another worker to help me.

Blue vest girl comes over and stares at me.

Annoyed me, "I see that Breaking Dawn is only in hard cover, do you have it in paperback?"

BV Girl, "That's not my department. I can't help you."

Blue Vest Lady butts in, "The book companies come and restock themselves. We don't have anything to do with the books. "

Really annoyed me, "Well, thanks for your help, Ladies."

Is it really so hard to do your job? Also, is it really so difficult to be polite? I cannot stand it when I am made to feel like I am bugging someone when they are clearly not working. All I want to know is if Bella turns into a vampire and if Jacob gets over it. Geeeeeeez.

Six degrees

Seriously! It's six degrees fahrenheit here in Denver.

It's snowing!

In Denver!

Quick Trip

I'm off to Denver for the weekend to visit my sister! See you in a few days. Here's a picture going from Denver to the mountains. I took this a few years ago when the whole family was out there.

Star Wars: In Concert!

Star Wars: In Concert! hit the Lucas County Arena on Tuesday night much to the delight of the attendees. Displayed in the concourse were these huge canvas scenes that you could get photographed in front of and models from the movies accompanied by trivia, more info, tons of swag, and of course, geeks totally geeked.

The concert itself was just incredible. A full orchestra played the scores from all six movies while Sir Anthony Daniels himself (C3-PO to those of you that live under a rock) narrated the story in person - and he was absolutely fabulous. The concert flow was in chronological order (which is really interesting to see) and was extremely well assembeled. There were a series of segments all labeled with a theme. Daniels would give the prelude, then the orchestra would play a score, while clips and segments according to that segment's theme played on a ginormous screen behind the orchestra. Segments were titles such as A Hero Rises, Droids!, An Empire is Forged, an Unlikely Alliance, a Jedi is Trained, Imperial March - Ho. Lee. Crap! It was so amazing!!!! Often, the audience was treated with lasers or the occasional flame blast. I clapped like a 6 year old boy, fist pumped a few times, and smiled the entire performance.

I think Danny put it best when he said, "It's not that you're a nerd if you like Star Wars, it's just that a lot of nerds like Star Wars. " Well put....and well displayed on Tuesday night. Here are some photos of other people's kids as they would not get out of the way for me to take pics of the cool Star Wars stuff....

If you missed this last night (or want to go again), Star Wars: In Concert! is on tour folks so don't fret. You can follow the show as it tours the US. There is also an official blog. Check it out here.

Trailer of one of the segments: A Hero Falls. Honestly (and you can make fun of me in the comments, however I do not care), I found this show extremely moving. I absolutely love movie scores and the Star Wars scores are among my most favorite.






Here are some pictures of the event:

The warning on the doors entering the arena:

Us in front of CHEWY!

Little Darth Vader (even with the powers of the dark side of the force) cannot resist the temptation of a hot dog:


Sir Anthony Daniels (C3-Po):

The Orchestra:

The Screen:

Han Solo frozen in carbonite. "I love you." "I know...."


My cousins and I in Coursant:

Follow the White Rabbit

Yesterday I had the extreme pleasure of seeing not one, not two, but THREE people with whom I interact frequently via blog. Yes, I saw My Reality, Write Here Write Now, and her husband, B! It was so exciting!

I draw similarities to this kind of interaction to the movie The Matrix. Don't fret, no one was wearing leather trench coats or wrap around sunglasses. It just feels like we are in the Matrix when we blog and perhaps we "unplugged" yesterday.

Nice to see you Neo, Trinity, and Morpheus. Let's meet in Zion again soon.

Mistletoe

As per my previous post, we decorated our house for Christmas last night with the tree and a few other miscellaneous items including hanging the mistletoe. You will always find mistletoe in my family members' houses. I purchased a new one for my house this year and on the back of the package it gave the story of the tradition and I wanted to share it with you. It is entitled MISTLETOE LORE:

"Mistletoe has been the subject of many legends and traditions for hundreds of years. Ancient Druids considered mistletoe sacred as it grew without roots in the ground and they believed that it must have been planted by the gods. Mistletoe was thought to ban evil spirits and bring good luck and great blessings. When warriors met beneath mistletoe, they had to lay down their weapons and call a truce. From this, it became a sign of peace and good will. But why do we kiss people under the mistletoe?

It all started with a goddess called Frigga. Her son, Balder, was shot with an arrow made of mistletoe. Frigga's friends succeeded in conjuring up powers to save the boy. Balder lived anew and Frigga ordered that the mistletoe should never again be used to harm. Instead, she made it a symbol of love by kissing anyone who passed under it.

We wish you and yours a peace and love this Holiday Season!"

O Tannenbaum

Here's our tree! Hooray!

Some people are just plain stupid

Warning *** This post is just to make me feel better and vent so if you don't feel like reading a negative post, quit now***

To give you a little background on how I've gotten here, I am following a strict diet and exercise routine that has been absolutely WORKING thanks to Kylee and Craig's recommendation. I have been doing well and have stayed on track since October 1st. That said, these weeks of holiday celebration and gatherings are making me a bit, well, moody and testy to say the least. Not eating sugar, fat, simple carbs, and NO ALCOHOL, is enough to push a girl over the edge from time to time. Especially when drinking really is my big vise. Maybe not to get totally blasted, but I would be happy to but back 5 or 6 beers, glasses or wine, or mixed drinks. Sigh. BUT MY PLAN IS WORKING! I AM SO HAPPY - so that is not a complaint, but it's hard for me. It's really hard to resist all these temptations...

Anyway, as you can imagine, I find myself out late often and being the designated driver - happy to do it. I would drive anyone home if they asked me. I drove home a friend - more like an acquaintance - the other night as he was clearly wasted. So wasted in fact that he was hilarious on the ride home. Not making sense at all, he was quite entertaining. We passed several accidents along the way. Upsetting.

I saw him last night. That stupid bastard had the gall to say to me that he drove home after I dropped him off at his buddy's house.

His words exactly: "You dumbass, I drove home after you dropped me off. You should have taken me to my house."
Me: "I'm the dumbass? I would have driven to you Lansing if you asked. You asked me to drop you off at your buddy's house."
Him: "Well, I guess the joke was on you!"

It took everything I had not to punch that a**hole in the face. Really? I was so incredibly pissed off at this guy for driving home and putting the lives of others at risk. It's not like he had a few beers and was worried about being over the legal limit. He was WASTED. It upset me so much I had to force myself not to let it ruin my night. Jerk.

Lights Before Christmas

Here are some highlights from the Lights:

The big spruce (has more lights than the tree in front of Rockefeller Center)

Giraffes in Africa!

The big purple tree reminds me of Ursula the Sea Witch

This crocodile is hiding in the Savannah area near the Elephants

More colorful trees

The pathway between the African Lodge and the Carnivore Cafe

Merry Christmas! Er, Happy Thanksgiving....

Go see the Light at the Zoo if you haven't in a while! There are so many more than I remembered from years past and it really is fun for all ages. Click here for tickets and information.

Lights!

The view from my window....it officially feels like the holidays now.

Challenge

I attended a great seminar this week called "Leading from the Heart" lead by George Brymer. It was fantastic. I'll tell you more about it later, but one of the exercises he had us do was take a proficiency test of a 5th grader. HA! It was interesting. Here are some sample questions. Please answer them (NO CHEATING! NO GOOGLING!):

1) Name all states that begin with an N and an M and their respective capitals (hint: there are 8 of each).

2) List the planets in order from their proximity of the sun.

There were so many more but the math ones I cannot even recall enough to write down. I just wanted to share these two with you.

GO!

TOM SKELDON ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT

Skeldon to step away as dog warden

Lucas Co Dog Warden set to retire Jan 31, 2010

Updated: Thursday, 19 Nov 2009, 6:22 PM EST
Published : Thursday, 19 Nov 2009, 10:00 AM EST

TOLEDO, Ohio - In a letter received by Lucas County Commissioner Pete Gerken Thursday morning, County Dog Warden Tom Skeldon said he is going to retire from his post effective Jan. 31, 2010, a job he has held for the past 22 years.

Skeldon plans to use his leftover vacation time, which would make his final day at the pound at the end of December. In the letter, Skeldon said he felt privileged to have served the community for 22 years and that he took his position within the county seriously.

Read entire article here. Keep reading for some interesting viewpoints as you get to the comments section.

I want to thank Tom Skeldon for performing a very tough job for many, many years under such scrutiny. He is a great man and a caring person. Being micromanaged by the entire city would drive anyone into early retirement.

Good luck to you Tom. Your supporters are behind you.

How lazy can a susan get?

Leg warmers

Not only are they back in, but they are back in stores! Look at this display at Bed, Bath, and Beyond.

Fuming!!

I just went to retun something to this awful store and since is 21 days past the date of purchase, they won't take it back. Cute right? 21. Not even an in store credit or exchange!!! Wtf 21! Angry...

Great marketing

Ping pong balls in the beer aisle! Like a match made in heaven.

Personal Registry

What do you want for Christmas? What are you buying for your sister's boyfriend? Have someone to buy for that notoriously hates your gifts??


All these issues could easily be solved by one simple and amazing solution/idea: The Personal Registry. The PR would be a registry of items that you would like to receive - your wish list. You don't need a specific reason, event, or occasion for this registry, in fact, it is better to not have one. This is not for a wedding or baby, this is just for you and only you. The PR could someday parlay into a wedding or baby registry, but for now, it's yours, all yours and you own it. This is also great if you have attended 30 plus weddings and you are 30 plus! The PR is for men, women, and children (well, 18 and above for legal reasons). The PR is ongoing and you can update it at anytime. Carrie Bradshaw did something similar in Episode 83 of SATC, but her registry was for when she turned 30 and to get one pair of Manolos (clever girl).


You could register anywhere! Your PR would be linked to your Facebook or Blog and gift givers could shop online for you.

Occasions that one would need to consult the PR:

• Birthdays
• Holidays
• Promotions
• Good Days
• Bad Days
• Thank you
• Housewarming
• Do you need more reasons?

You can always buy a gift not on someone's registry, but the PR gives you good ideas, a starting point. Friends, I strongly suggest we make this happen. I mean, how many times have you had these conversations...
"I got Bill in the office gift exchange and I don't even know him?"
"My girlfriend and I just started dating - what the hell should I buy her???"
"My mother-in-law is always so hard to shop for? What should I do this year?"

The answer: The Personal Registry.

Etsy!

Yesterday I welcomed myself into the Etsy world and made my first purchase! While I cannot tell you what the purchase is (and I really, really want to!!) because it is a Christmas gift for someone, I can tell you it is so exciting!

If you have not been to Etsy, go there immediately! Most of my inner circle of blogger friends have Etsy on their tickers and worship that stuff so I decided to give it a whirl. It's cool. I was impressed by the uniqueness and value of the items for sale on this site. I also feel good about supporting local artists of sorts. I sifted through the categories of what I wanted, and the deciding factor for me was to purchase from the seller in Ohio (as opposed to Toronto).

Etsy = excellent! Great ideas for Christmas gifts!

Child Photography

Yesterday at my place of work (I am not allowed to disclose my place of work as per strict instructions from our big boss, sorry) a couple and their "minister" came up to the front window and asked if they could get married here. The receptionist replied that of course they can and and if they would like to see a salesperson.

"NO, we mean right now. We want to have our ceremony right here, right now."

So, there were a few minutes of mayhem, but the impromptu wedding actually happened right outside our office building at 4:30pm. The minister (who looked liked she meant business so I kept calling her the sinister) brought what we all assumed were her children. The little boy was less than 10 but he was the photographer and seemed like he knew what he was doing, getting all the angles, even lowering himself to a knee - really professional looking. The little girl just stood there and one of my buddies said she looked like a child from children of the corn (me: hysterically laughing).

So, we did what any professional office building would do: stood at the windows and gawked in between the blinds. It was crazy! We did get wind that he was being deployed and if that is in fact the case, good for them, we wish them the best, and I mean no disrespect. But if not - seriously? Married in jeans in a public place, by a sinister and her grade school photographer? Where's the reception? Long John Silver's (nevermind, that place is awesome..)

Trans-Siberian Orchestra

It's like Christmas on crack, orchestra meets Metallica, a wild laser show that burns your retinas...and it ROCKS. Trans-Siberian Orchestra's Winter Tour promoting their NightCastle album stopped in Toledo again this year and was exponentially better than the years past - no offense to my former place of work, but SeaGate was smaller and the new arena is on par with the other venues that TSO plays in so needless to say, we all got our faces melted.

Trans-Siberian Orchestra, if you have never seen them, consists of a full orchestra, insane guitar riffing, banging keyboards, mind blowing vocals, a blinding laser show, a high voltage violinist, pyrotechnics, smoke, lighting, fist pumping, power stances, and head banging - oh yeah!. The violinist is this really hot chick from the UK that runs all over the stage while playing rock n' roll violin (I know, I know...). At one point, she was shredding the violin, ran over the the lead guitarist, did this amazing power-slide on her knees and wound up on her back under him as he was solo-ing. What? Awesome.

The stage lights up, but you can't even believe how it constantly moves and how the lights become digital screens - it's craaazy. There are parts of the stage that lift up into a scissor jack as the musicians stand upon them and play while smoke is billowing out of the base of the tower. The digital and REAL flames during the Carmina Burana were simply thrilling. Here are some pictures that don't really do it justice unless you have been there and they serve as a reminder.

If you ever have the chance to see TSO in concert - DO IT. Now for the photos:

This is the opening song with "stars" in the background. Look at how the truss is in a V form

Our first glimpse of green lasers! Notice the truss is now in a straight line

These are flags of the nations of the world - so cool!

Licks of flame! Guitar riff!

Big flames now! You could seriously feel it on your face

During the Carmina Burana, the ring around the arena was "engulfed in flames." Amazing!!!

This surprise blast of fire was in the middle of the arena

The lead guitarists (and creator) and violinist

POWER STANCE!

Lead guitarist Chris up on the scissor jack (see the lightning in the background?)

The finale! The second stage lifted up and basically flew - it blew my mind.

Suave Professionals: VibrantShine

Getting new Shampoo and Conditioner is one of life's simple pleasures. When my sister worked at a salon, she could get me great discounts on stuff like Bumble & Bumble or TIGI/Bed Head which was super fabulous because my hair is just like a sponge - it retains the smell of everything. This can be a great thing when I go to the salon or have lovely smelling shampoo (seeing as how I wash my hair every three days) or a terrible thing (smoky bars, bonfires, smelly kitchens, working in the seafood department at Food Town in high school....).

Suave makes a great line called Professionals - I love the imitation BioLage one! It's amazing. Last night I purchased a different type called VibrantSHINE which claims to restore luster and shine as well as Sebastian Laminates (insert trademark symbol here). See website here for more products.

WWHELL! My hair does look terrific (if I do say so myself), however it smells like a PERM! Yeah, a home permanent from Olgilvie. Ick! I might take it back and see if I can exchange it (does Walgreens do that?).

So, if you need Christmas ideas for me, buy me those giant bottles of Shampoo and Conditioner of moisturizing Biolage for dry hair - the real stuff - and be sure to take a whiff before you purchase it. If it smells like your mother's bathroom circa 1985, please don't buy it.

Craigslist of the Week/Month

I have been slacking on these and I am sorry, but I think this one redeems the lack of posts. I had to read this advertisment a few times to figure out what the "seller" or poster was seeking and I still am not entirely sure that I am clear on it. What I do know is that this person should invest in a spell checker or dictionary rather than a forklift. Click here to see the entire post and the picture entitled "Garbage Man Dan." Instant Cragislist classic.

"My neighbor and I have been trying to get an old Forklift running all summer and finally gaveup on it to make room for winter projects, anyhow the forklift was not at the curb for 3 minutes before the Famous "GarbageManDan" Of sylvania droveby and stopped.... he actually parked for 30minutes gaurding it untill atleast half a dozen of his buddies showed up in a mini van and they all got out... at this point me and my nieghbor didnt know what to expect next, quickly they went for the forklift and lifted the dam thing on the back of garbageman dans dodge dakota.... nice work dan!!! i check on here every hour to see how high hes going to price it ( IF he can get it running) ahhh maybe he already took it to the scrap yard... - keep up the good work garbageman dan "

The Seafood

The Seafood, located on Alexis, has been in business since the 60s and is a nice little Toledo gem. The Seafood keeps it real - no website, certainly no facebook, not much advertising. It must be word of mouth and a loyal customer base that has been frequenting for eons as we were definitely the youngest people in there....by about 30 years. The menu was huge and featured a vast variety of, well, seafood, but also your more traditional dishes like liver & onions and things for the non-fishy eaters like burgers and steaks.

This is the kind of place that you have been going to with your Grandparents for years. You may have hated it when you were a kid - scrounging the menu for anything to eat and maybe settling for a plain hamburger and fries or fried shrimp (unless you are me and you loved every food and any age). However, by now you have grown into your taste buds and can appreciate the seared ahi tuna and the crab cakes on the menu.

A giant warm roll of marbled rye and pumpernickel bread was served to us first along with our shrimp cocktail. I had halibut broiled with Cajun seasoning with steamed veggies - a mixed a wax beans and carrots. The veggies were not fabulous (can I get some broccoli?), but the fish was excellent. DT had Lake Erie Perch that was fresh and delicious. Our waitress was efficient and polite, the hostess checked on us numerous times and you know I love customer service.

There were lots of paintings and decorations on the walls: really authentic and interesting stuff like gigantic stuffed marlin, fish nets, and the like. The paintings were stuff like this:














Overall, it was a really nice change of pace and I would recommend The Seafood for a nice quiet dinner, good service and great seafood.

It's not plural (or possesive)

It really bugs me when people make titles or proper nouns plural or possessive by adding an "S" to the end.

Example #1:
"There are frozen dinners on sale at Meijers."
This sentence is often heard at Weight Watchers and immediately after you will hear the sound of my blood pressure increasing. Yes, it is in fact audible. I will save this tirade for another day, but WW is maddening and the sale at Krogers is not making this meeting any more tolerable.

Example #2:
"I graduated from St. Ursula's."
Well, you must have juuust made the cut, because anyone with a semi-respectable grade point average knows it is just one Ursula, and her first name is Saint - Saint Ursula. Ugh.

Christmas Shopping

What kind of salesperson would I be if I didn't start talking to you about Christmas the day after Halloween? Actually, what kind of friend would I be if I didn't offer you the opportunity to shop from your couch for Christmas?

For those of you that don't know, I proudly sell (and model daily) Premier Designs Jewelry. I always have catalogs and would be happy to bring or mail you one if you like. I also would be thrilled for you if you wanted to earn free jewelry by hosting a party. Parties aren't for you? Cool. Need great gifts for the holidays? Excellent. Want to buy something fabulous for yourself? Even better. Call, email, or post me. Love, your Jewelry Lady.