let the christmas countdown begin!

my posting has been a little sparse lately. on friday it was a huge snow storm so i didn't go to work. i have to drive for 40(ish) minutes so it just wasn't worth it because a) it would have taken much longer and b) the chance of getting into an accident and dying an untimely death are somewhat high. and i don't have snow tires and wouldn't want to hurt anyone.

instead i went to my boyfriend's school for his christmas concert. cute!

i didn't weigh in on friday because i forgot. really! but it's probably a good idea. my clothes fit and nothing is really out of control, but i don't want any bad number (if it so exists) ruining my holiday enjoyment.

i have been doing really well in the exercise department. on friday i walked on the treadmill for four miles, on saturday i ran 5k on the treadmill (30 minutes without stopping), on sunday i went for a 40 minute swim, and this morning a 30 minute swim. i might do some more treadmill walking tonight depending on how tired i am after a long waking-up-early working monday. i am meeting a girlfriend at swiss chalet tonight for our annual festive special hooplah, so i should allow for some extra calories.

that's about it. oh, and i didn't get the other job either. BOOOOOOOOO! Hissssssssss! i guess it wasn't meant to be. :(

i have to work tomorrow too (with ma mere) but not wednesday or thursday (obviously). i am looking forward to some good old fashioned family time. by that i mean too much booze and family squabbles. i kid i kid. ;)

a little stressed

sorry i didn't post yesterday. i am draining my own mental energy. here is the scoop going through my head right now.

i am in line for two jobs. both have good aspects and bad aspects. one pays more, but i think in my mind i've decided i'd prefer the other one. they are both in my field, but very different career paths. i had one interview for the job i'd prefer on wednesday, and i think they are deciding soon, because they said they wanted someone to start working by the end of next week. yesterday, i had the second interview for the other job and they are choosing between three candidates. they will let me know on monday for sure.

now, here is where my mental stress begins. what if i am offered both jobs? what if i am offered the job on monday and not offered the other job until it is too late to accept or not accept the first one? what if i am offered neither job!?!?!?! it could happen. after my interviews i was thinking gung ho, thinking i'd be offered both. but the more time passes, the more i am second guessing myself.

the rational side of my brain is telling me not to worry. i can't do anything about it until monday at the very earliest, unless something happens this afternoon. i hope it does. it would be the greatest holiday gift if i could start the new year with a new job.

anyway. today is friday weigh in and i am down another 2.4 from last week, which means i am very close to the bottom of my maintenance range, and the lowest number i've ever seen. i had a cookie to celebrate. it was free at the bank ;) now my holiday goal is just to stay within my range. i have some wiggle room and i'm ready to paaarrrrrtteeeeee! :)

i found some very exciting holiday treats on the kraft website. i am all about the least amount of ingredients and baking possible.

check it out:
chocolate clusters: my mom used to make these (except with no butter or peanut butter) and they are heavenly. the best of sweet and salty and crunchy too.
merry meringues: the cooking part is a bit time consuming, but easy and low calorie too. and i just looooooovvveeee meringues.
teddy s'more bark: if this isn't the cutest thing you've ever seen! so cute. not really christmasy, but who cares!
no bake holly cookies: amazing! and look how cute they are. i imagine they taste like rice crispy treats.

my tree is a cat toy

so i put up my tree last night. i think it looks smaller than 3 feet but it's still cute. it's decorated all in gold. i decided to forgo the red bows because they looked kind of tacky and even though they are small were dwarfing the tree. i also wrapped presents while i watched biggest loser.

i also put up this wall decal i ordered a while ago. i have been scared to put it up for weeks, and with good reason. it was a nightmare. first i had to cut it up the way i wanted, then tape it to the wall to make it look alright, and of course the tape kept unsticking. then i had to take it off the wall, press any bubbles out with a credit card, remove the backing, and then try to apply this clear sticky paper to the wall exactly where i had it the last time. it kept sticking everywhere and generally annoying me. it ended up not looking perfectly straight but still beautiful in my opinion. here is a picture of the wall decal i bought. this isn't my house, but i will post a picture of my wall (and baby tree) soon. it's called "birds on a wire" and i set mine up to look exactly like this:


my cat, oliver, won't stop playing with the balls on the tree. i have spritzed water at him about 500 times thus far but it doesn't seem to be deterring him for longer than a few minutes at a time. he even runs away when he sees the spray bottle, but i think it just revs him up for some excitement that i'm not really providing. does anyone have any tips?

this morning i am at my mom's office, and i have another job interview this afternoon. yes, another one! and then my final "a-line" skirt sewing class tonight. it already is looking pretty awesome. maybe i will wear it tomorrow and impress my mother. it's so long though, i look like a farmer. hopefully we are shortening them tonight.

yesterday was another completely on plan day. marvelous! i am feeling very on top of the ball and accomplished. i just need to make it until friday and then i can slack off a little.

tis the season!

hello friends. tis the season to be busy which i why i forgot to post today. until now! and i've been lacking in the commenting department as well, but i plan on catching up today and tomorrow. all of your blogs are waiting in my google reader!

yesterday i stuck 100% to my eating plan, even with my boyfriend tempting me at night. i didn't put one bite in my mouth that wasn't planned and it felt so good. except when he was eating in front of me. that's old news (yesterday) and i don't care about it anymore. having one great day under my belt makes it so easy to do well today.

today i bought my very own (and first) christmas tree and decorations. canadian tire had a great sale. i got a pre-lit 3-foot tree for $9.99, 60% off regular price. and a package of mixed gold decorations for $9.99, 50% off regular price. and some small red bows to jazz it up a little.

my big plans tonight include setting up my tree, and watching biggest loser. last week evil vicki actually showed some emotion - can you believe it?

hmmmm, what else? i am having a love affair with tea. it's so wonderful and warm. and it's perfect for tasting whatever you want to taste with no calories. peppermint, pumpkin spice, sugar cookie, vanilla, gingerbread... etc. i even have a flavour called "chocolately chai" which is heavenly and really chocolately.

where is the sun?

it's been forever since i've seen the sun. when i was a teenager i loved gray autumn days (emo), but now i want sunny vitamin E-filled days of warmth. not having sun for so long is depressing. and it's only november! did you know it's not even officially winter yet? we almost went right from summer to winter.

thanks for your gift suggestions yesterday. i'm still at a loss. my boyfriend's mom doesn't really like music, and they don't really sit down to watch dvds, and i could make them something, but it would have to be as a hostess gift, so i'd have to get something else anyway. last year i framed a picture of everyone in las vegas. i don't really have anything to match the "sentimentality" of that gift. it's too early to start fretting about anything yet. christmas is still almost a month away, and i am really close to being done my shopping.

today is friday, my weigh in day, and i stayed the same this week. i thought i would have dropped since i've been eating next to nothing for the past two days (being sick), but no. then again i haven't been exercising and i've mostly been eating carbs. my tastes have been all off and things (like raw veggies and hummus) that i normally crave make me feel like gagging.

the good news is: it's the weekend. almost. let us rejoice! and hope that i feel 80% better by tomorrow so i can go dancing. :)

back on monday

it's a winter wonderland out there today. the snow on the weekend was insane. i only left the house yesterday to walk to the grocery store (it's very close.) my anniversary went very well. i made my bf a photo scrapbook with this awesome backgrounds. he really liked it! we went skating and to the ballet and to a comedy show - recreating our first date. oh, young love. so nice.

another rad thing is that my couch was delivered on saturday - yahoo! having somewhere to sit is really something you don't think to appreciate until you don't have it haha. i will take a photo because it's a very attractive piece of furniture.

one more week of work - and one more week until christmas! ahhhhh! i got my bf tickets to the nutcracker, and since that was his surprise for our date on the weekend i'll have to think of something else.

weight wise everything is going well even though i've been eating holiday treats. i've been pretty active and usually only eat two bigger meals on the weekend. tonight i will hit the gym for treadmill cardio.

today's menu:

fat free cottage cheese with mixed berries
dark chocolate cookie mound (i made these and brought them to work)
oatmeal with raspberries
carrots and dip (homemade fat free sour cream and french onion dip powder)
2 slices whole wheat bread
chef boyardee microwave NHL pasta cup. mmmmm.