My Costume

After trying to think of every damn geeky/nerdy show/book/video game/movie yesterday, I finally figured out who I was going to be this year. I'm super stoked about it!

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you Officer Aeryn Sun from Farscape! I think I'm going to attempt to make her gun and hope that my brother can help me out with the design. I'm also going to attempt to make the leg holster for her blaster. Now I just need to find some kick ass boots and semi-form fitting black pants....

Halloween/GenCon

Every year my brother has a Halloween party. This year, it's themed. GenCon themed. Scifi/comic book/fantasy/video game/cartoon themed. I have NO clue how to dress. I've been running some ideas through my head, but the ones I THOUGHT would be good, well, they're super skinny and wear tight or little to no clothes. Not for me. I'm thinking Indiana Jones, Elsa from The Last Crusade, Moiraine Damodred, Phedre no Delaunay...but still, not a clue. If any of you have any ideas, and I mean ANY ideas, let me know quick because I'm doing my shopping tonight and tomorrow. I'm excited about it either way.

Smokes For Less

I haven't had a cigarette for three weeks. I think the past month I was just smoking because it was something to do and I've been doing it for so long. Pretty much off and on since I was about 16 or 17. I started taking breaks at work just to have a cigarette. Not good when you work in healthcare and smell like smoke. Almost defeats the purpose. I was smoking in my car when I didn't have Ethan with me. Then it got to the point where I was smoking on my balcony in front of Ethan. Granted, he was inside and I was not, but still, that began to bother me more and more. I kept thinking, "This is not a good thing. This is NOT okay." I finally waited until he went to bed before I smoked and that was the only time I allowed myself to do it. I finally got to not wanting cigarettes at all and having them taste like ass...more so than before.
I really want a glass of wine...or a beer...but cigarettes taste oh so good with alcohol. So I'm holding off. I really want a cigarette too. But I like not spending my money on them, and being able to breathe and not having breath that, regardless of how many times I brush, still smells and tastes like an asstray. I'm pretty excited that I haven't had one for this long. I think the longest I've gone before is a few days, or a couple weeks. New personal best for me! I WIN....for now.......

Alison-1
Cigarettes-0

Mini Update

Someday soon I'll be updating this with things I've been doing the past few months...pictures included! I know, right?! I visited my aunt's cabin, I've moved into my own place, I've gone to a kick ass No Doubt concert, and I think that's about it. This month Ethan and I will be taking our annual MI trip and I can't wait. I love going up there like nowhere else.
So soon, eventually, I hope, there will be more posts from me to entertain you. :)

Disney Vacation

I've been told I need to update and post pictures. So, okay, I will. I'm really bad (in case you haven't noticed) in keeping up with this.

As foretold, I got second place in the Biggest Loser at work. It was awesome. When I went on vacation I kinda fell off the healthy eating and have been off ever since. Melanie, one of my friends at work, and I decided that we would get back on after Memorial Day. It's a good plan. Not that I've been eating like super crap, but I have been eating like crap.

We went to Disney a month ago. I can't believe it's already been a month!!! I may have to break this down into separate blogs...or just have a crap ton of pictures to share. :)

We got there on Friday 4/17 late afternoon, early evening. Ethan wanted to go swimming so that's what we did. It was so much fun. There were two pools, a lazy river, an activity center, and a mini golf course. Every morning the first thing Ethan said to me was, "Mommy, let's go play MINI GOLF!" I think we played every day. There was one day we played twice.

The second day (Saturday) we went to Magic Kingdom. Soooo much fun. We were there I think most of the day. We went on a Lilo and Stitch ride that scared Ethan. He's still talking about it and how much it scared him. Apparently not a good ride for 5 year olds. :P We rode on the Blue Star Line train or whatever it's called that goes over Tomorrowland and into some of the rides. That was fun. There's a speedway ride, too and Ethan got to drive the car. ALL. OVER. THE PLACE. But it was fun and he was happy because he got to drive. He even got a driver's license before we started.

Third day (Sunday) we went to Epcot. It was fun for me but Epcot really isn't for the littler kids so we went back to Magic Kingdom. The cool thing about that is that we had a 3 day park hopper pass so we could go to all the parks in one day if we wanted and then go back two more days!

We went on some more rides at Magic Kingdom the second time (Aladdin's Magic Carpet, Pirates, Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse (okay, not a ride, but still cool...and I got an awesome shot of Space Mountain)).

Monday we took a break because two days of walking just totally killed us. Mostly my parents and me. It was a good break.

Tuesday we went to Cocoa Beach. We went the back way so we wouldn't have to pay the tolls. We started at Melbourne Beach which is maybe 30-45 minutes south of Cocoa. We ate lunch and played in the water a little bit then headed to Cocoa Beach. We definitely hit Ron Jon's and were there for about an hour. Ethan got some sand toys, a t-shirt, and a key chain with his name on it. I got a HUGE (2X) pink hoodie. We made our way over to the beach and played in the water, in the sand, and had super fun times.

Wednesday we went to Animal Kingdom and looked at all the animals and cool stuff they have. We even went on an African Safari! We did that one twice in a row. There wasn't a big huge wait, so why not. We saw all sorts of neat animals, plants, etc. Once we were done at Animal Kingdom we went back to Magic Kingdom so Ethan could see the SpectroMagic Light Parade and the Wishes Fireworks show. Both totally awesome and made for a super long day. I don't think we got back to the condo until 11:30 and Ethan passed out before we even got on the bus to head back.

Thursday we took our last break and packed since we were leaving on Friday morning.

Friday we left and Saturday we got home. While we were at dinner on Saturday my mom asked Ethan when he wanted to go back to Mickey Mouse's House (which is what he calls it) and he said, as he cocked his little head to the side to think about it, "7 weeks." We definitely all chuckled over that one.

Now on to the pictures. I have a lot so bear with me. :)

This is the view of the resort from our window

Playing MINI GOLF before heading to Magic Kingdom

On Main Street at Magic Kingdom (check me out 22 pounds lighter:))

Driving on the Speedway...surprised I got a decent picture because it was a bumpy ride

Ethan with Mickey and Minnie

One of the topiary gardens at Epcot (Belle and the Beast front and center; Aurora and Phillip in back)

At Epcot in front of Spaceship Earth

In the play area at Epcot

Lion King topiary garden

Space Mountain from Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse

Mom, Me, Daddy, and Ethan (Mom and I were trying unsuccessfully to get Ethan to look at the camera)

Wearing our Mickey Ears

Playing at Cocoa Beach

Ethan, WALL-E, and me in front of Cinderella's Castle waiting for the parade to start

Ethan and the SpectroMagic Parade

I have A LOT more pictures, but I think this is good enough for this tiny little blog. :)

Final Weigh In

The Biggest Loser challenge is over at work. I think maybe I got 2nd place. Which isn't bad. There are still some people that have to weigh in, but that's okay. I've lost 22.1 pounds in 3 months. That's 10% of my body weight! I'm so excited.
It was really great being in Michigan with Ethan. We went down to the beach and on the walk back up the stairs, where last summer I was huffing and puffing when I got to the top, this time I wasn't so bad. I didn't realize how much extra weight I was truly carrying around with me until that moment. I'm going to keep going. I want to be healthy, I want to be around for my son. I'd like to lose about 6 more pounds before we head down to Florida. I have cute clothes that I'll actually look good in while we're there. I know one outfit that I'm taking for sure, and what pair of shoes I'm taking, but other than that, I'm just gonna pack as comfy as I can. I'm excited. I think the anticipation of going is settled so deep in me that it doesn't quite seem like we're really going. I know we are, but it won't really seem real to me until we leave.

Rockin' Away!

So I'm down to a total of 21 pounds lost! I really look like a different person! I'm curvy instead of blobby. My face is thinner. I actually kinda liked what I saw in the mirror last night. It's been forever since I actually felt that way. I was walking around without my shirt on last night, just my bra and scrub pants, and I was walking into my mom and dad's room; their bathroom is before their sleeping area and there's a HUGE wall-to-wall mirror and I just looked and thought, "Holy shit! I look good!" I took a picture, but I'm not gonna share it just yet.
But still, I'm damn proud of myself. If I can lose another 5-6 pounds before we leave for FL that will be awesome. Not quite my goal of 30 pounds, but damn close enough.
I'll be going on a mini vacation to MI this week and I'm pretty stoked. Perhaps Ethan and I will walk to the beach instead of drive if it's nice. We just like to go and hang out; it's fun. I think it's a good plan because it'll get me out and walking around, and walking on the sand will help me, too.
Is it tomorrow yet because I'm so ready to go to MI!!!!

Wonder Woman is a Bitch

Ethan and I both have air foil kites. His is Thomas...guess who I have?? That's right. Thomas flew like a dream. He was up first so Ethan could fly his while I was getting mine ready. Good idea because Wonder Woman never took off. Oh, she was up for about 20 seconds and then nothing. I was NOT happy today. Isn't kite flying supposed to be fun? Apparently not when your kite wants to be a bitch.

Altoids

I love music...all kinds...I love being healthy now that I'm actually working on it and not just pretending...I've had 2 cheat days since I've started my healthier me at the beginning of January...I want to be able to run at least 30 minutes and not feel like I'm going to die after the first 5...I'd like to meet someone that thinks I'm special and won't smother me to the point of being obsessive...it's just irritating...I have a shit ton of confidence now that I know I'm worth more than what I used to feel...I still want to be published in National Geographic someday...I want a zoom lens, among many things, for my cameras...I cuss like it's nobody's business when I'm not around Ethan...especially on my drives to and from work...I like to say fuck...shit is my favorite cuss word...I hate drains...pool drains, bath drains, whatever...they freak me out...I love water but I'm also smart enough to know I should respect it at the same time...I deserve nice things therefore I will be buying them for myself from now on...my son deserves nice things and therefore I will be doing the same for him...I am becoming more organized the more I realize how much shit I own and don't really need it all...I might be more excited about going to MI with my BFF's in July than going to Disney for my son's 5th birthday in a month...then again, I'm pretty damn excited about both trips...I don't like heights...I still don't like spiders and don't think I ever will...I want at least one more tattoo so I'm balanced...I love to sing and even though people don't tell me, I know I sound good...I love my job because I get to write my name all day long...I love to write my name...I finally got my long hair cut short and I love it...I have 10 more pounds to lose before I reach my goal of 30 before Disney...I have no ass...it's got a little shelf and then it goes flat...I hate that...Ethan falling asleep on me is the greatest thing in the world...his laugh is one of the most beautiful sounds in the universe...I'm finally making time for myself instead of spending it all with Ethan...it's hard but it needs to be done in order for me to stay sane...When I read a book I fall in love at least a little bit with the main characters...I can entertain myself because I'm so funny...I love the turn off the interstate to go to my BFF's house...I'm too nice...I can be a bitch but no one sees that side of me...I love yoga and I thought I'd hate it...I LOVE going to MI for my vacations......someday I won't live with my parents...there are longer pauses between these Altoids now so I'm done.

Week I'm Not Sure

It's been almost 2 months since I started the Biggest Loser. I've lost a total of 13.6 pounds which is awesome. I'll probably lose my goal of 30 pounds by mid-April if I keep this up. One of my nurses has even told me I can come look through her old clothes and she has a swimming suit that would fit me. Which is cool because the one I have is almost 5 years old and I need a new one. Once I'm not so sick I'll start exercising. Maybe walking or something small to start. I did get my Wii though! Awesome! I played for 30 minutes by myself one day and kicked my ass. I started off slow with bowling, then tennis, and ended with boxing. Boxing is a workout! I was sweating by the time I was done. It was fun though. Now I need to keep doing it so the pounds will just come off. I couldn't tell I was losing weight until Thursday morning when I went into my mom and dad's room and saw myself in their bathroom mirror. I had on a nightgown that about 2 months ago was pretty tight on me. And then Thursday, it was just hanging on me! Again, AWESOME!

Today I have on a surgical mask so I don't pollute the air of those around me. It's not on right, because if it was, my glasses get foggy, but at least I can breathe with my mouth open and not spread too many germs...or get any more hospital contagions than I already have or will get while working here. And yes, here's a lovely picture of me in what our student nurse Crystal calls my SARS mask:

It definitely doesn't look cute and neither do I...especially with the greasy looking hair and droopy eyes. Feel free to make fun of me all you want. :D

And I got an iPhone. I didn't deliberate much on that one. It's super awesome! Apparently "awesome" is my word of the day.

I've Said it Before...

...and I'll say it again. I hate being sick. I would much rather be home in bed, puking my guts out and get it done and over with in one or two days than to have to deal with being achy, headachy, sore throaty, snot nosey, and non-breathy for who knows how many weeks. I'd take the puke any, and I mean ANY day of the week, month, or year.

Start of Week 5

I was bummed last week because I didn't lose any weight. This week I got on the scale and thought, "Just two pounds. I'll be happy with two pounds." And yes, I had lost 2 more pounds! That makes it a total of 8.5 pounds in a month. Not too shabby.
I've already decided with my tax money I'm going to get a Wii (hopefully I'll get one) so I can start having some activity at home...and it's something Ethan and I can do together. I'm thinking about getting the Wii Fit too so i don't have to pay for a gym membership and I don't have to go out in the cold. We'll see how that goes. But I'm excited for it.
And a new cell phone. Mine's all busted on the front screen. I'm debating between the LG Incite and an iPhone. The LG is pretty much like an iPhone without all the super cool aps and $50 cheaper...we'll see what I decide when I go in and get one. I'm really leaning toward an iPhone though just so I can be cool. :)

The Super Bowl is also today and I'll be at work for most of it. I HATE working weekends during football season. If I could afford to I definitely would not work on Sunday's. But at least I have a job and that's all I can ask. Oh yeah, back to the Super Bowl. I'll miss most of the awesome commercials because the good ones happen during the first half and I'll get home when it's almost over. At least I'll be able to watch some of it.

GO STEELERS!

A Funny One

Last night my mom, Ethan and I were watching Dora before Ethan went to bed. They were going to a party and there were balloons.

My mom looks at Ethan and says, "What color is the red balloon?"

Ethan (as he tilts his head to the side to think about it): "I don't know."

Mom: "Listen to my question; what color is the red balloon?"

Ethan: "I don't know."

Mom: "Listen to my question again; what color is the red balloon?"

Ethan: "I don't know."

Mom: "RED!"

Ethan: "Aaaaahahahahaha!"

Yeah, that's my little boy. :)

Give A Shy Girl A Drink...

...and watch what happens. I hit the heavy stuff last night. Vodka and Diet Coke. Usually I stick with the lighter stuff, like beer or something with not so much alcohol. I could do it though because vodka+diet=0...calories that is. It was just enough alcohol to get me loose and comfortable and actually introduce myself and have conversations with people I had just met. It was a really fun night and it was nice to know that even though my talkativeness was alcohol induced, I stepped out of my comfort zone and met new people.
I saw old friends last night, too and got to talk to them and catch up a little bit and just shoot the shit.
And I'm laughing right now because I realized I was talking to myself the entire time I was driving home last night.
I enjoy spending time with Ethan, but sometimes it's nice to be an adult and hang out with people my own age.

YAY ME AND HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

I'VE LOST 6 POUNDS IN

TWO WEEKS!!!!


I'M AWESOME!!!!

I even cheated while we were at dinner last night...sorta. We (the whole family celebrated my brother's birthday) got a spinach and artichoke appetizer and I had a little bit of that. For dinner I had fish and chips and a salad. It was delicious.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO

MY BROTHER AARON!

He's 30. :)

And on a totally unrelated note...I LOVE BREAKING BENJAMIN!




Someday I will own their albums and go see them in concert.

Day 12

I feel much better after my breakdown on Sunday. I yelled and screamed at my stupid ex and cried on my mom because I was hungry. I'm doing better with my eating. It's still hard because I LOVE to eat and I'm used to eating whatever the hell I want and damn the consequences. However, my food choices are getting easier to make. Instead of going for the greasy juicy yummy double cheeseburger from McDonald's while Ethan and I were out on Tuesday, I opted for Subway. Not what I wanted, but it ended up being just as delicious...and healthier for me. :)
And I actually ran with Ethan. Not a whole lot of running, but enough to know that I wasn't winded when we were done. It was awesome! One more small victory for me!
If I ever sound redundant, call me out on it, but I'm SOOOOO freakin' happy I'm doing this! And maybe I'll post a before picture sometime...I'll just have to find/take one. And then while I progress, I'll keep posting pictures and then at the end, do a "slideshow" of when I started to when I reach my final goal...which is more than likely going to be long after the biggest loser challenge is done at work. But I'll do an "after" picture once the challenge is over.

I Want To Cry

I'm hungry, I'm cranky, my legs are sore from taking the stairs all the damn time. I just want to go to McDonald's or Taco Bell and say, "Fuck this, I'm done!" It's very hard. Especially hard when one of the nurses I work with has already lost 11 pounds. I'm exercising, or at least doing some sort of physical activity at least 5 days a week, eating a whole hell of a lot better than I did, and she's just eating right! Oh, it makes me so mad! I'm not used to eating so little each day and I'm so hungry I just want to cry. I may do that tonight before I go to sleep...it might make me feel better.
My plan is to lose 20 pounds by the beginning of March and then keep going after that until I'm down to about 135-150. Once the first few weeks are done and I see my progress, I probably won't be so much of a whiner (or weiner) and I'll be a little more positive than I am now. Just keep giving me support and pep talks and I'm sure I'll do just fine...because let's face it, a $150 prize is gonna be quite nice if I can win it. :)

Biggest Loser: Day 5

I've been eating super healthy since Monday. Cutting down on calories, making smarter food choices, being hungry...it's all part of it. But you know what, it's a good change, a needed change. I was less than thrilled with my initial weight (and no, I'm not going to let you know either). However, I weighed myself a few minutes ago and I was so elated!

I'VE LOST 3.1 POUNDS SINCE MONDAY!!!

If I can keep this up, and I know I can, by the end of the competition, I will have reached the amount I want to lose and then keep on losing it.

YAY ME!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Holy crap, it's a new year already! It really went by pretty fast. I moved, Ethan started preschool, we did some fun stuff over the summer that we normally wouldn't have done (gone to the library, went to some movies, went on bike rides, and had fun) we went to events at the Zoo, I got my hair cut short and sassy, we went to the Children's Museum, and I FINALLY got full time at work. I know I have been seriously remiss in keeping my readers (yep, all 3 of you) up to date on my life. I suppose since I made that morning/night only internet time, it's really cut down on the time I spend online. I haven't even done anything with my Facebook and MySpace pages in who knows how long. And I have TONS of pictures to share!!! Halloween, Autumn, Christmas, and just in general. I always have good intentions of getting something more than words up here, but I just haven't gotten around to it...or I'm just lazy. I was going to post pictures on all my networking sites New Year's Eve, but I lay/laid (I'm never sure which one I'm supposed to use) my tired head down with Ethan about 10:15pm and didn't wake up until I had a friend call me after midnight. No ball watching for me this year. But I did exactly what I wanted to do...be at home with my family.

I haven't really made any resolutions yet. I know again, as always, is to take better care of myself. We're doing a Biggest Loser at work so that may be the incentive to get my butt in gear this time. And I think I'm seriously ready to do this. I bought a trampoline for my birthday and Ethan's used it more than I have. Perhaps I should actually use it.

I want a Wii, too like whoa. I've played it a few times at a friend's house and once while I was Christmas shopping. Yeah, Castleton had an area where you could play. It was so much fun. And Ethan can play, too. He's pretty awesome at bowling. He likes to play a driving game too; Penny Racers I think...or something like that. He's not too bad at that one either. I got my mom and dad to play bowling with me and I thought that was just the coolest thing ever. It would be fun to have one because it's something we could do on a Friday night, or just any night to get some fitness/fun time in for the week.

I'm hoping to get Ethan and I enrolled in a Learn to Swim class through Red Cross. There are some places close to my house so I just need to call and see what they have available. Hopefully it's through the week when I'm off work and when Ethan's not in school. I'd like to get him at least knowing the basics before we head to Florida in April. It's a good plan anyway.
And once my Biggest Loser starts, I'll be blogging about that and the progress I'm making in that area. But for now

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!