Just a Tad Off

Well, this weekend, I headed to a benefit for AIP = AIDS Intervention Project. I saw my buddy Johnny and a couple other friends, and the drag show was fun per usual. I just love watching them sing, lipsync, dance, and get down with their bad selves! What a riot! They raised over $1300 which for the tiny little establishment it was held in, is simply AWESOME!! I'm so proud of all the performers, the bartenders and everyone at Escapade. Their combined effort made it possible... KUDOS!!



I then headed out for a lil karaoke action at Fatty's, and if you follow my Twitter.. I got carded! Crusher says, "He needs to see your ID", and I laughed, "whatever" and continued to talked to another friend of mine. Then I hear, "Excuse me!" and I look over, and it's the bartender glaring at me with a stern look. "I need to see your ID",he says, to which I reply "are you serious?!?!", and he looks all serious at me and says "yes". I handed him my license and told him how much I loved him and that he made my night! He saw my age, and raised his eyebrow, and smiled and says, "NICE!" I thanked him, and tweeted about it. LOL. Hey, when you get past 30-something and someone cards you, it makes you feel great!! Was me, Barno, Crusher, Paul, Dan, and then finally Rachel showed up. We took a few pics, listened to Barno belt out "99 Red Balloons" and headed back to the house.



The hubby and his friend Scott, who's in from Idaho, had just got back from Bubbapalooza in Greensburg. If anyone listens to Sirius Radio, a guy that calls himself Bubba the Love Sponge, he's a shockjock that started off on Howard Stern and now has his own station. He had a comedy show that Ry and Scott went to, and since they went to high school with Barno, we all headed back to hang out and bullshit. Of course, after Barno left, and Crusher went to bed, Scott, Ry and I were wired, and played friggin' Guitar Hero til 5am! yes... FIVE! hahaha. It's all good. Scott's only here another week or so, and then it's back to Idaho for who knows how long. Last time I saw him was 5 yrs ago, because last time he was in town, we were in Chicago.



I've been doing crunches and trying to consciously walk more, and it's paid off just a tad. I've lost 5 lbs. Only 10 more and I'll be back to what I was spring 2008, and I'll keep it going until I reach my goal. At 5'7" I'd like to be at 150, but if I get to 135-140, then I will feel accomplished. I'm glad to get the stress out of my life, and things have just been going fabulously for me, at work, at home, everything.

On a sadder note, I did find out that a great friend I grew up with passed away last night. Geoff Kemetick was the best friend of MY best friend Wendy's brother John. We were always hanging out at their house. Hell, he was one of the first people to let me drive his car when I was a teenager and let me grind the gears learning stick shift! LOL. Gawd will he be missed. I guess him and some friends headed out to the Vikings game, and on the long drive back, they just thought he fell asleep, and when they stopped for food/gas.. realized, he had passed away in his sleep. How awful is that? 38 years old. I can't believe the amount of people I've lost in the past 2-3 years under 40, and even a handful under 30! It's crazy! My prayers go out to his wife, Lisa, who he just married this past May. She's got to be hurting so bad, and I can't even imagine the pain she's going through right now. Rest In Peace Geoff!



Have a great week everyone!!

A Thank You ... *smiles*

After all You put me through
You'd think I'd despise You
But in the end I want to thank You
Because You made me that much stronger

When I, thought I knew You
Thinking, that You were true
I guess I, I couldnt trust
Called Your bluff, time is up
cause I've had enough
You were, there by my side
Always, down for the ride
But Your joy ride just came down in flames
cause Your greed sold me out of shame, mmhmm

After all of the stealing and cheating
You probably think that I hold resentment for You
But, uh uh, oh no, Youre wrong
cause if it wasnt for all that You tried to do
I wanna know just how capable I am to pull through
So I wanna say thank You

cause it makes me that much stronger
Makes me work a little bit harder
It makes me that much wiser
So thanks for making me a fighter
Made me learn a little bit faster
Made my skin a little bit thicker
Makes me that much smarter
So thanks for making me a fighter

Ohh, ohh, ohh, ohhhh, ohh-yeah ah uhhhuh

Never, saw it coming
All of, Your backstabbing
Just so, You could cash in
On a good thing before I realized Your game
I heard, You're going around
Playing the victim now
But dont, even begin
Feeling I'm the one to blame
cause You dug Your own grave

After all of the fights and the lies
Yes You wanted to harm me but that wont work anymore
Uh, no more, oh no, its over
cause if it wasnt for all of Your torture
I wouldnt know how to be this way now, and never back down
So I wanna say thank You

cause it makes me that much stronger
Makes me work a little bit harder
Makes me that much wiser
So thanks for making me a fighter
Made me learn a little bit faster
Made my skin a little bit thicker
It makes me that much smarter
So thanks for making me a fighter

How could this man I thought I knew
Turn out to be unjust, so cruel
Could only see the good in You
Pretended not to see the truth
You tried to hide Your lies, disguise Yourself
Through living in denial
But in the end You'll see
You wont stop me

I am a fighter and I
I ain't goin stop
There is no turning back
Ive had enough

cause it makes me that much stronger
Makes me work a little bit harder
Makes me that much wiser
So thanks for making me a fighter
Made me learn a little bit faster
Made my skin a little bit thicker
It makes me that much smarter
So thanks for making me a fighter

cause it makes me that much stronger
Makes me work a little bit harder
Makes me that much wiser
So thanks for making me a fighter
Made me learn a little bit faster
Made my skin a little bit thicker
It makes me that much smarter
So thanks for making me a fighter

- Fighter by Christina Aguilera :)

You know who You are :) *smooch*

Fixing the Negative Self-Talk

Yes, that's right folks, below is another entry with tips and advice from my favorite trainer and girl crush - Jillian Michaels! I know a lot of us suffer from this, and it's so great when we are reminded that we need to keep ourselves positive. Another great post came from my fellow online blogger Jody this week on Raw Emotions-Better Body Image.

I can't wait to blog about this weekend! We have a get together with friends, and then I'm heading to the AIDS Intervention Project for Home Nursing Benefit Saturday night, and will get to see a bunch of great people and friends I haven't had the opportunity to see in a while. Should be such fun!

Anyway, I hope you all have a fantastic weekend and keep it positive!! Enjoy!

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From LOSING IT! With Jillian Michaels
Friday, September 25, 2009

Fixing the Negative Self-Talk

Is your inner voice a trash-talker? If you've tried and failed to reach your fitness goals in the past, negative thoughts might have held you back. Want to succeed this time? Get your journal (or log on to your Fitness Diary). It's time to get some of those thoughts out of your head and onto paper. Ask yourself the following questions:

1. Do you have a negative self-image?
Do you constantly say things like "I'm fat" or "I'm ugly"? Do you pick yourself apart and beat yourself up when you look in the mirror?

2. Do you lack self-confidence?
Do you doubt your ability to achieve your goals, weight related or otherwise? Do you dwell on your perceived limits or fears? Do you doubt your ability to accomplish the things you want to accomplish?

3. Do you feel powerless?
Do you feel as if you have no control over your life, or do you rely on excuses like "I'm genetically predisposed to being overweight"?

4. Do you label yourself in self-deprecating ways?
Do you think and talk about your failure to lose weight as a foregone conclusion? Do you refer to yourself mockingly (or not!) as a stereotype — the happy/funny fat person in the room? Is your e-mail address "fatso@blank.com"?

Now think about your responses to these questions. How would you describe their tone? Are they affirming and constructive, or downbeat and destructive? If you want to turn your thinking around, ask yourself one more question:
How is this negativity serving you? Answering this question will help you understand why you have been perpetuating these destructive thoughts and behaviors so that you can cut them out at the root. Is what you say about yourself really the truth? Or is it a defense mechanism? And if so, against what? Are you just making complicated excuses? How does this kind of negativity help you achieve your goals?

Here's the last step: Go back and answer the above questions again, and force yourself to use only positive terms. It can be hard to let go of negative thought patterns. Often, they're the result of years of self-loathing and your internalizing of the negative opinions and judgments of others, but you can do it. Remember, knowledge is power. The next time one of these negative thoughts crops up, you'll have the awareness to cut it down.

Expect and Do!

Direct, focus and sustain your actions with your expectations. Make your expectations come to life with your actions.

Your efforts are more effective when they're driven by positive expectations. Your expectations exert the most powerful influence when they're backed up by consistent action.

Expectations without actions amount to little more than empty wishes. Actions without specific, positive expectations will fail to achieve the desired result.

Expect the best of yourself and others. Then do what it takes to actually achieve the best.

Let your expectations be the driving, directing force behind your actions. And take the committed, persistent actions that will achieve what you expect to achieve.

-- Ralph Marston

_______________________________________

Use this in your life, your lifestyle, workouts, career, family, goals, and just do it! Have a great day everyone! *hugs*

Fun-Filled Packed Days!

I had a great weekend with Ryan and all my friends. Saturday was packed full with 3 events. First, we went to the 4th Annual Roar in the Mountains, which is a motorcycle rally at the Legion Park in Hollidaysburg, PA. Lots of fun, as a lot of our friends were working boths, and the Underground was there organizing the entertainment, so our friends Chris and Lori were there, along with Milyssa and Adam. We saw Ashley and Stacy there, along with their daughter, and our friend Travis. Later, we headed to the Hair Force One reunion show. They are an 80's "hair band" cover band. They are so good, and such fun. After THAT, we headed over to Aldo's to celebrate birthdays with Milyssa and Barno. I left early, cuz I was my friend Chell's DD, but it was a great day.

Sunday was relaxing, up until the Bears/Steelers game. I'm surrounded by Steeler fans, but it was a sweet win for the Bears. So that left the weekend on a good.. no a GREAT note!

Monday & Tuesday, back to work per usual. Last night on TBL, I was so proud of all of the contestants putting a damper on the Week 2 curse. Normally they either don't lose a lot, and some even gain weight, but they proved the curse wrong and 15 contestants lost over 150 lbs. It was a great finish. I love that show!! (ya think?)

Today, it's back to the grind again, and back to the night job as well. MJ's coming out to drop me off a power cord for the laptop he gave me because our lil Bear puppy we had decided to use it as a chew toy when we had him, and I've just been so busy, I haven't had time to meet up with Him.

Well, hope all's well in your world peoples! Love ya! I'm hoping to get around to catch up on everyone's blogs today and tomorrow! Ciao for now! *smooches*

TBL 8 & Goalsetting

Well, last night, the 8th season of The Biggest Loser premiered. I don't know about you, but man are Bob and Jillian swearing a lot in the gym or what? LOL. Not sure how motivating swearing at contestants is, but I guess it makes good tv. This season has the heaviest people to ever be on the show. The heaviest tops out at 476 lbs. They busted butt, and lost amazing numbers this first week, and Alexandra was the first to be booted off. The background and stories of some of these people really tug at your heartstrings. They are referring to this season as "A Second Chance", and that's exactly what it is. A second chance at life, health and happiness. I really encourage you to watch it for inspiration more than anything. Tuesday nights on NBC 8-10pm ET.

Just a little bit ago I read the new blog post from one of my online inspirations, Lauren, called "Be A Finisher!". It really struck me about how far off track I've become in regards to my health and wellbeing. When I went home for lunch today, I had received a letter from the fitness club about how they notice I haven't been utilizing my membership and were concerned, and offered a free consultation again. Between that, TBL starting up again, and Lauren's post about goals, it all hit home. I need to make those goals for myself again. I need to quit commenting on my weight, and pudge, and get back on track so I can feel the way I felt 2 years again when I dropped 30 lbs. I need to get to my weightloss goal. I need to feel good about myself again. I'm back to the old Cher that use to just criticize herself but never did a damn thing about it. I need to get back into the groove, start watching what I eat and exercising like I use to. I have to utilize the few days I DO have off work, and get to the gym, take a class when I can, and get that part back into the routine that is my life.

Just like Jillian says all the time about playing the victim. It's not an excuse anymore. I was playing the victim, using all the chaos in my life that was going on as an excuse for not taking care of myself, and that did was cause my health to suffer. There is nothing holding me back but me. I need to back to feeling good about myself. And like the TBL theme song says.. "What have you done today to make you feel proud?" Lately I really haven't, but I'm going to start feeling proud of myself again, and do what I set out to do.

Men, Movies and Maroons!

Some close to me know that the hubby and I are trying to work out our differences. We've had several heart-to-hearts the past few weeks, and it's looking more and more positive. Everyone has their opinion, and they are entitled to them. I guess for me, my marriage is worth fighting for, because this isn't someone I'm just living with or dating... he's my husband. Lot of people don't know the underlying story of us, so the surface is all they see, so it's hard to really take anyone's opinion seriously since they truly do NOT know the whole story. Marriage means taking the good with the bad, and this summer has been BAD on many, MANY levels, but in the course of events, sometimes it takes something to hit total rock bottom before you realize what you had. If you haven't seen the move "Why Did I Get Married", you should, because it's based on the 80/20 rule. You don't ruin your marriage over the 20% you feel you're missing or not getting because you'll desperately miss that 80%. Anyway, that's all I really have to say about that. We went out to dinner last Thursday, and it was the first time we had been out, just the two of us, together, alone, in almost 2 years. We had a really nice time. Great dinner, did a little shopping at the mall, came home and relaxed.

Saturday was movie night at Jim's. Crusher, Ryan and I headed out around 4pm. We had Wolverine and Crank 2 showing on his awesome 96 inch HD projection tv. Great food and munchies, and lots of conversation, laughs and good times. It was nice to get out, and hell, we didn't even pull back up to our house til past 1am. I haven't seen Jim in over a year, because our schedules clash, and working on and off on weekends never gave us much time to hook up and hang out, so it was great to get out there. Hopefully we'll do it again real soon. Crank 2 rocked... and although Wolverine was "good", it didn't stick to the story of the X-Men series, so in that sense I was disappointed.

Sunday was Lyndsey's bridal shower. Seemed everyone was sick, or getting over something. Poor things. She got some really nice gifts. One I just loved! It was a piggy bank that said "Sex Pig" on the side, and the note attached said starting on their wedding night, for the next year, every night they have sex, but a minimum of $1 or more into the "Sex Pig" and then on their 1st anniversary, open it up and check out how much they saved, and use it for vacation. What a great idea! I won one of the prizes, and it was a cute lil fall/autumn basket filled with spiced sprays, candle, gadgets and such, and it was really nice. The wedding is on Halloween, so I look forward to that as well.

Of course my Sunday evening was ruined by the Bears game. Stuckey came over and we both watched in disgust as Ryan giggled on the couch. (Thanks babe! lol) I'm so distraught over my "future hubby", Brian Urlacher's, injury that is going to keep him out this year. I think I'm going to need vacation time to go *cough* tend to him *cough*.. hehehehe. Hopefully Cutler squeezed out his last turd play and will look better next Sunday. And I'll need the patience to deal with all the snob Stiller fans here. If we win, we win, if we lose, we lose.. but oh MAN would it be great to upset the Superbowl Champs.. LOL. A girl can dream :-D

Of course yesterday we found out Patrick Swayze died. Triple talent treat.. actor, dancer, singer. He will be missed. I worked last night, so I didn't find out until I got home. So many amazing movies, and just a great man all-around.

Both jobs are going ok. I enjoy my regular job, because this is my job, my way, etc. The other place, I'm not going to even go into, because... well.. LOL.. CAUSE! It's fine, it's money in my pocket, so whatever. And I get free movies right? So there, bonus.

This morning I had to deal with the friggin maroons on the road. Guess I didn't get the memo that it was "No Turn Signal Tuesday". They need to retest people every so often, cuz some of them get pretty bad, and one was even an AmTran bus driver. Yes maroons.. not morons, MAROOOOONS!!!

Well, ya'll have a killer week, and for those that know how much I love my Jillian... BIGGEST LOSER PREMIERE TONIGHT!! Watch it!! hahaha. *hugs*

Patrick Swayze Mini-YouTube Tribute

Friday Quote

"Have patience with everything that remains unsolved in your heart. Try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books written in a foreign language. Do not now look for the answers. They cannot now be given to you because you could not live them. It is a question of experiencing everything. At present you need to live the question. Perhaps you will gradually, without even noticing it, find yourself experiencing the answer, some distant day."

- Rainer Maria Rilke

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Have a great weekend everyone!!! *muah*

Metabolic Syndrome

The Syndrome That Affects One in Four Americans

Nearly one-quarter of Americans have a syndrome that dramatically raises their risk of developing other serious health conditions. It's called metabolic syndrome, and you have it if you meet three or more of the qualifying criteria:

• A waist circumference greater than 40 inches in men, and greater than 35 inches in women
• High triglycerides: 150 mg/dl or higher
• Low HDL cholesterol (the "good" kind): less than 40 mg/dl in men; less than 50 mg/dl in women
• High blood pressure, defined as a reading of 130 mm Hg or higher for systolic pressure (the top number), or 85 mm Hg or higher for diastolic pressure (the bottom number)
• High blood sugar: a reading of 100 mg/dl or higher for a fasting blood glucose test

Why does metabolic syndrome matter? If you have it, your risk of developing heart disease doubles, and you're five times more likely to develop diabetes. You also have a higher chance of developing fatty liver disease or polycystic ovary syndrome.

The good news is that there are ways to fight metabolic syndrome and lower your risk for its related conditions. Metabolic syndrome is linked to insulin resistance, and many of the strategies for combating insulin resistance are helpful for people with metabolic syndrome. For example, if you're overweight, losing 10 percent of your body weight can cut your risk of diabetes and heart disease and raise your life expectancy. Eating four small meals a day, without going longer than four hours between meals, can help you stabilize your blood sugar and insulin levels. And one of the most important changes you can make is to get more exercise, which can increase your cells' ability to use insulin.

If you think you might have metabolic syndrome, talk to your doctor. While it's a dangerous condition, the consequences are not a foregone conclusion — with diet and exercise you can take control of your metabolism and get healthier!

Managing Stress Is Key

Stress can actually contribute to your risk of metabolic syndrome by increasing your body fat. When you're under stress, your body produces the hormone cortisol, which encourages the body to pack on fat, particularly around the abdomen. Manage your stress levels by cutting back on your responsibilities where you can, learning relaxation techniques and healthy ways to blow off steam, and making time for yourself to unwind. Getting at least seven hours of sleep a night will also go a long way toward relieving stress.

JM

What does "Toning" Really Mean?

By Jillian Michaels

All of us want to "tone" our muscles to achieve a cut, fit look. But what exactly is "toning"? Let me clarify a little: The word "toning" has nothing to do with the size of a particular muscle; it refers rather to making a muscle lean by burning intramuscular fat, and conditioning the muscle for better performance.

You can't actually build muscle mass unless you're eating more calories than you're burning, but you can tone a muscle to make it leaner. To tone your muscles, you should weight-train four days a week, working each muscle group twice a week. After you work a particular muscle group, you should give it two days of rest before you focus on it again.

Here's a sample toning program that works each muscle group without overdoing it:

Monday: Work the chest, shoulders, triceps, quads, upper abs, obliques.
Tuesday: Work the back, biceps, hamstrings, glutes, lower abs.
Wednesday: Rest.
Thursday: Work the chest, shoulders, triceps, quads, upper abs, obliques.
Friday: Work the back, biceps, hamstrings, glutes, lower abs.
Saturday: Rest.
Sunday: Do a cardio-only workout.

Remember: Exercise is the architect, but recovery is the builder. You have to give your body adequate recovery time to heal itself and grow stronger. If you work out too often without resting, you'll just break your muscles down.

JILLIAN'S TIP OF THE DAY
Afraid of Bulk?

Women always tell me that they feel hesitant about toning exercises that require weights because they're afraid of building bulky muscles. Hear me out, ladies: It's extremely difficult for women to gain muscle mass simply by doing toning exercises — we don't have the testosterone that guys do that lets them build mass. Using weights to tone your muscles will make you look trim and terrific, not big and bulky.