You're Going To Be Sick Of Me...

I stepped back on the scale today. First time in a few months. And I measured myself today…the usual: chest, waist, hips, thighs, arms. None of them made me happy. (Though for the record, I think it's pretty awesome that both my thighs are the exact same size. Talk about proportionate! lol) At the same time though, I am down from where I started last year, which is a celebration in itself. So maybe I'm 50% happy about it?

Ahh…I love this girl and how she thinks...

Anyway…

Back to My Fitness Pal I go (great website/app that is free to use for tracking what you eat and your exercise, whether you want to stay the same weight or lose.) I felt like I was crawling back.
My profile/journal are at this link if you wanted to track with me:

Marie's My Fitness Pal Page

I could say that I'm going to switch off all bad eating habits and exercise twenty times a week. Sure, I could always say that, but whether it will happen is…well…it wouldn't. Because let's be honest here, I'm human, I like ice cream and chocolate way too much, and my favorite activity is reading, not spinning. Yes, I have a gym membership that I pay dearly for, but this is not the month to go there (well, maybe by the second week of January most of the NYE resolution people will be gone.) But my ideal workout at the gym is walking on the treadmill for a bit until I get bored, doing some weights (I have actually learned to like doing them thanks to a personal trainer a couple years ago), and then a Pilates or Yoga class. No spinning, no boot camp, and I hate hate HATE Zumba.

So how can I make this work for me?

This year, my goals are relatively simple.

Ultimately, I'd like to get down even further on the scale. I don't care how much further…just lower numbers than where I'm at. Yes, I have a goal set, but if I make it or not doesn't really matter, so long as it's lower than what it is today.

Fitness goals? I'm starting back small. I have a 15 pound kettle ball, and I'm going to do a five minute workout with it every morning and every afternoon. Five minutes is reasonable, right? I have the workouts all figured out, two different ones, and I started today. In two weeks, I'll venture back to the gym. Pilates once a week. Yoga once a week. Weights twice a week (on the same days I go to Pilates and Yoga.) Cardio twice a week (again, same days I go to Pilates and Yoga.) That's just twice a week, which is do-able I think. If I want to be overly ambitious, then I can be and go more, but twice a week is a good place for me.

Food goals? Again, small steps. Each week, I'm going to choose one thing to focus on. Every week, I'll add on to the list, and eventually get fully back on track. This way, I should be more capable of doing this, and build better habits. For this first week, it's to drink more water. I'm not setting a goal ounces or cups or anything, just to drink more water. For example, if I feel like having pop, I'll make myself drink at least a full glass of water first, and then see if I still want the pop (usually this works.) Or perhaps at restaurants, just ordering water instead of Diet Pepsi.

Journal goals? Every Tuesday evening, I'll post on here about my weight loss/fitness/food journey. If I don't, yell at me! Send me texts "hey you forgot!" I'll include where I am, what my food goal is for the upcoming week, and a few other tidbits along the way.

So this week? It'll be interesting with some challenges. Friday, I'm going to dinner with one of my best friends, but it's to Bonefish Grill, so there are healthy options. I already know what I'm having (grilled trout with lemon butter sauce, asparagus, zucchini and tomato.) Sunday, it's dinner at another good friends' house (married couple) where I have no idea what they're having, just that it will be gluten free and I need to bring a dessert. In a week, it's my mom's birthday. No clue where she wants to go yet, but birthday cake can be a downfall for me, and when you pay so much for a gluten free cake, you eat it all without leaving anything to spare. I will pass on the ice cream though…because cake will be enough, and I'm not really a fan of ice cream with birthday cake (sorry traditionalists.)

Let's get it on! 2014…you're going to be a loser of a year!

New Year's Eve 2013 into 2014

This has become a bit of a tradition, to fill out a survey of sorts that reflects on the previous year. For this year, something slightly different, but still just as good.

TEN of this year’s movies you liked
These can be movies that weren’t necessarily released this year, but movies that you discovered and saw for the first time this year and fell in love with. 
1. Silver Linings Playbook 
2. American Hustle 
3. Hunger Games: Catching Fire
4. Thor (more so the second one than the first though) 
5. The Hangover Part 3 (yeah, not that great, but good to see the whole series go full circle and what not) 
6. Pitch Perfect
7. The Help (the movie was so much better than the book in this case) 
8. Psycho (yup, finally saw the original…holy crap!) 
9. The Fighter (finally saw this one too three years after it came out, and the more I think about it, the more it grows on me) 
10. The Avengers 

NINE things you are thankful for this year 
Things, people, places, anything that you’re thankful for, list them. And if you want to say why, go right ahead. 

1. My mom: She's become so much more than just a mother to me as I've gotten older. We've always had that good bond where we're friends as well as mother-daughter, but when something goes wrong, she's the one that I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that I can go to for help, reassurance, or just a hug.

2. My Friends: They may come and go, they may drop out for a bit and then return, or they may be there every single day, but the true ones are great and I couldn't ask for a better bunch of them.

3. My Dog: Yes, he's my best friend. Taurus cracks me up every day, he's a great listener, and he's the best snuggling buddy a girl could ask for.

4. My Grandma: She drives me crazy sometimes, but she's more like a sister to me than an actual grandma. (This includes all of the sister fighting that occurs with siblings over stupid stuff too.)

5. My Books: They are like a second home to me. (Well, 2nd all the way through 2000th home if you really want to get technical since they all take you to different places.)

6. My Career: Teaching is not only what I do, but it's who I am. I'm thankful that I was able to find a job again this school year (though it will be done at the end of January sadly) so that I could continue to do what I love. 

7. My Job: Starting to work at UNYTS in February was a blessing, not only because it gives me time to read (yay!) but it also makes me feel good that it's such a wonderful organization to work for that is making such a difference (Donate Life!)

8. My Fitness Pal: I've made some amazing friends on there (Agent 13!) who are there to call me out when I eat what I shouldn't or if I say that I'm going to go to the gym and don't. This past year, I balanced out at having lost 12 pounds, which isn't a lot, but that's a pound a month, and it's better than having gone up that much. MFP has helped immensely with that!

9. Gluten Free Products: There are many, and it would be silly to thank them all, but I'm thankful for all of them. It makes living this way much more tolerable.

EIGHT things you learned this year 
Can be anything from a simple, interesting fact to a gigantic life lesson. 
1. Rudolph's red nose is caused by a parasite. (Yes, I'm the queen of useless science facts!)

2. We may be living inside of a black hole and not even realize it. Like what if the whole universe was inside of a black hole, and another universe was studying that black hole trying to find out what it was and everything. (Thank you Penn State!)

3. I can hike. I may hurt myself and end up with bruises and bone contusions that you can still see on my legs, but dammit, I can hike!

4. Barnes and Noble is my personal heaven.

5. I finally gave in to Twitter and hate it. Then I started up a Tumblr and am hopelessly addicted.

6. I am really good at cooking when I put my mind to it. Give me a recipe once, and I'll make it my own, and it will be delicious!

7. There's always a silver lining. You might not know what it is right away, but just wait for the clouds to clear and you'll see it.

8. Being honest with yourself is even more important than being honest to those around you.

SEVEN best memories/moments 
Things that, no matter whenever they happened this year, you could never forget. Not this year. Not ever. These are the moments that mattered. 
1. Penn State Black Hole Conference 
2. Fossil Giveaway in Ithaca at the Paleontological Institute 
3. Hunger Games Day at Science Camp (nothing could have gone better that day, it was a dream!)
4. The phone call from the principal at a school that I interviewed at this summer. I didn't get the job, but her phone call made that okay and was the push I needed to stick with this. 
5. Being called "Elmo" by one of my students…because "everyone likes Elmo, and everyone likes you too." 
6. Hiking along a stream/creek outside of Albany carrying a giant boulder that had a ton of garnets in it (so that I could give it to my mom since garnet is her birthstone and I was so proud that I found it) and just appreciating how beautiful and peaceful it was and that I was able to do it, especially after how "wonderful" my knee was at the start of the year. 
7. Gluten Free Expo in Toronto with Mom

SIX accomplishments 
Everyone has at least six accomplishments. They don’t have to be big accomplishments. Just what you think are accomplishments, don’t be shy about it. 
1. I lost 12 pounds. 
2. I got my knee back in working order.
3. I got accepted to participate in a Penn State Astrophysics Conference/Workshop, which about 200 people apply for each year, and only 20 are accepted.
4. All of my ESL students passed their Regents Biology exam that I prepped with for months.
5. I survived another summer of science camp, while interviewing for what seemed like a million teaching jobs, taking two geology courses (4.0 GPA still!), and working at UNYTS part time.
6. I am getting better, and that’s probably my biggest accomplishment this year.

FIVE things you regret 
Everyone has regrets. Here’s your chance to admit to them and hopefully vow not to repeat them in the next year. 
1. Allowing myself to be fooled by some people, including myself.
2. Not telling people what’s on my mind when I needed to.
3. Slacking off with taking the Earth Science CST, so now it will be a bit harder.
4. Thoughts of giving up and feeling trapped. While I don't really regret them, because they would have happened anyway, I regret letting them take over my life for so long. 
5. Not following my budget as well as I should have the past couple months, so now I'm starting to go into panic mode.

FOUR favorites this year 
Pick any four favorites you want. Food you discovered. Book you read. Movie you watched. TV show you started watching. Video game you played. Class you took. Vacation you went on. Song you heard. Highlighter brand. Anything you feel like should be a favorite, include it. 
1. Movie: Silver Linings Playbook
2. Book: Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock 
3. Book Series: The Mortal Instruments 
4. Food I Discovered: Bone Marrow outside of Albany…OMG absolutely amazing, so much so that it should be a sin!

THREE plans for next year 
Everyone’s got plans for the next year. These three should be your most important plans…the ones that mean the most to you. 
1. Finish up my Earth Science teaching certification and get my professional teaching certification finished up (everything is done for it, I just need to get everything in order and submit for it)
2. More professional development/conferences/workshops this summer (which will definitely include another NYS Geology workshop…this year's is in the Finger Lakes)
3. Enjoy life to the fullest, and find a way to separate the little things that shouldn't matter from the big things that always will matter.

TWO major changes in life 
Has anything this year changed your life? To better? To worse? What has made you restructure your life? What made you improve? What opened your eyes? 
1. I found out that I definitely need to exercise every day, because even one day of being lazy will cause me to barely be able to move thanks to my knees. Just those 15 minutes every morning of knee exercises before getting ready make a huge difference, and I need to do them.
2. I've come to the conclusion that I am the one. Seriously…I've been in a couple short lived relationships this year, and they all fizzled. But I'm the one who has to deal with myself 24/7, and so long as I love myself, I'm happy and content.

ONE resolution for this coming year 
This is your resolution. The most important thing you need to do. 
2014 is going to be happier and healthier than the rest. That is all.

Most importantly, I know not many people read this, but I would like to wish you all a very happy new year. Cheers to 2014 being amazing and better than the past!

Six Question Saturdays: Mish Mash

So a couple updates before I go ahead and answer the questions for today.

First off...I broke past the barrier on the scale today for the first time in about four years. Yes folks, I weigh less today than I have in four years! Big woot! There's more where that came from!

Second...I went to the knee doctor on Thursday. He's worried that I tore my medial patellofemoral ligament, what helps keep your kneecap in place. They did a MRI, but weren't sure how well it would work since I have two or three screws in that knee from the first surgery, and metal can mess up MRI images. But, he told me that he would call the next day if I needed to wear a huge brace, and he didn't call yesterday, so is that good? I'm still worried though, because it's hurting more now than it has in a while...almost constantly. He said we can't consider any form of replacement (partial or total) for at least another ten years, and the only other surgery would involve basically tying down my kneecap which would greatly limit mobility. Umm...no thank you! So, I'm supposed to live like this with it going out about three times a day on average? That doesn't sound good to me either. I'm not allowed to go to the gym for two weeks, and I'm not allowed to do too many stairs...basement is okay, but I need to take the elevator to go to the bathroom at work. Pathetic! Ugh! I have another appointment bright and early on Wednesday, so we shall see what comes of it. In the meantime, ice and Tylenol.

Third...Gonna have a blind date at some point in the next couple days. Yeah, I know, I know, we shall see here too how it goes. Don't want to say anything else, otherwise I might jinx it.

Question time, question time!

1. What's the #1 most played song on your iPod?

I don't know for my iPod, but on my laptop it's "A Thousand Years."

2. Which celebrity do you get mistaken for?

Sarah Silverman. It's happened quite a few times...

3. When you have 30 minutes of free time, what do you do?

Usually read...there's always a book around me somewhere...

4. What's the weather like where you are?

Snow...we've gotten about five inches since early this morning. Usually the lake effect hits the southtowns, but this time the wind is coming from the southwest instead of the northwest, so the northtowns (myself included) are getting it. Fun fun!

5. Did the groundhog see his shadow?

No he didn't, so hopefully spring is coming sooner rather than later!

6. If you could learn to do anything, what would it be?

I would love to learn how to speak a ton of different languages. Learning languages was never my forte...and it only gets worse as you get older. I can speak a few words of Irish, and I took German and Latin in school, but I'd love to learn more. Welsh especially...don't know why, but yeah.



I'm not bothering with a menu plan this week. Mom and I were sick for quite a bit of the week, so we didn't eat or make the majority of what was listed for the week. Tomorrow night I know we're having pizza (Chebe!) and chicken wing dip...