in between the moon and you

This will be quick because I am getting up at 5:20 am to run. I said it. I committed. Nathan and I are going to run tomorrow!

Food has been great today. Low-fat, 1 pump Mocha from daBucks for breakfast. A big handful of goldfish for a snack. Lean Cuisine Canneloni and steamed broccoli for lunch. Brie, grapes, and pita bread for dinner. A bowl of cereal during Wheel of Fortune. It feels good.

I did really want Culvers today for dinner, but I was strong! No fast food burgers for me anymore!!

I won't ruin Biggest Loser for those of you who tivoed it, but i did cry at the homecoming.

Check up on me tomorrow!

I smell like I sound

I was given the day off today since I worked all weekend. It was a great day.

I have found my motivation. I am going to be healthy and thin, and it's all because of her.

I usually get frustrated when I try on clothes. I hate the way I look in clothes. I am more concerned "if" things fit rather than "how" they fit. I found myself at Kohl's today, and my eye was drawn to the pretty colors in the Vera Wang section. I'll admit, I'm sold. I bought a sweater and a short-sleeved shirt to wear underneath (neither of which are on the website) and they are SO FLATTERING! (You'll see pictures later 'cause it's what I'm wearing on my birthday). I want to wear more things from her line, particurarly pants. But the clothes are pretty and not clingy and stylish and me! I've bought from Old Navy for years because it is relatively cheap and they carry my size. I'm on a mission to wear Vera Wang!

After my Kohl's experience, I went to Meijer and bought good groceries. The menu this week is Faux Chicken Pot Pie (chicken, veggies, whole-wheat noodles and grazy covered with low-fat biscuits), Sausage and Lentils with Rice, and Corn Chowder. I bought triscuits, string cheese, grapes, bananas, and lots of Lean Cuisines. I am so excited!

There is something about the fall that makes me want to run. I have to be smart about this. I haven't been doing a lot. I just need to walk for a few days. That's on the adgenda for later!

Nathan also fixed my birthday plans. His family made alternate plans, so I get to experience my day - the good, the bad, and the ugly - without worrying about what others think of me. That makes me feel better. We are having dinner at Boone Tavern. I can't decide what I want to eat. And I guess it depends on what the specials are as well.

Thank you all for sticking with me through my funk lately. I love you all!!

...and I was a diving duck

I haven't been writing 'cause I haven't been well.

• My job is totally stressing me out. I'm working all weekend.
• I will be 30 in one week.
• I have been paying absolutely no attention to my body. I fill it with crap and I don't make it do anything.
• I am 29 years and 358 days old.
• I hate Izzie and George. And it makes me really mad that there are people that find their relationship okay.
• I will be 30 a week from today.
• I picked a fight with Nathan last night.
• Did I mention that I'm 7 days away from being 30?

I know that 30 is just a number. But it's not in the 20's. I just thought I'd be different at 30, that's all. We don't have a baby. I'm usually okay with that, really. But my time is seriously running out. When my mom was 30, her youngest was 7. Seven. I don't even have an oldest. I have 2 cats. I'm the crazy old cat lady.

And now it's back to writing reports for work...

tonight I'll lie in the wide open field

I do not know if I can explain to you how awesome last night was.

I'll tell you first that Nickel Creek once again said no to photography, but I snuck two pictures, without flash, and this is the best I could do.

So we had dinner at Panera with our dear friends from the Fudgery. And then we head to the theatre. Our seats were front row center. We laughed a lot at the opening/warm up comedian. And then Nickel Creek were on stage. Right in front of us. I could have touched Chris Thile or Sara several times, but I'm not a freak. So they play, and we are close enough to hear their banter, and Chris interacted with us a few times. Neat-o. They played all our favorites (House Carpenter, Helena, the Fox, Can't Complain) and ended the show. Of course, they came back out for an encore. They invited people to come and sit up on stage (hence the heads in front of us). We opted to stay in our front-row standing position. They played a few songs and then, out of no where, Chris Thile points at Nathan (my husband!) and says, "What do you want to hear?" Nathan responds quickly with Raggle Taggle Gypsy, a song they did with the Chieftans several years ago. It took them a while to figure it out, but they seemed impressed with his choice and made it through. They took a few other requests, but the Mandolin guy picked Nathan out of the crowd! Just awesome. (You can read a review here.)


The University of Kentucky paper (Kentucky Kernel) posted other pics today that are much better than mine.

In other news, this house stuff is really annoying me. I think I told you all how it rained in our kitchen, which resulted in trying to fix the ceiling, which was unsightly. So today they scraped and restomped the ceiling. It looks nice, but I cannot say the same for the huge (and I do mean very large) scuff mark on our kitchen wall. A big, black mark that will not scrub off. I guess that means that Mr. Repair Man (or the company that repairs our stuff) will be painting to have our wall repainted. And that's just what we can see in the horrible light (the light fixtures won't be put back in until tomorrow). Grrrr.

I am also slightly irritated about my birthday. I'm just a few more than single-digit days away from being 30. We had plans. We were going to drive about an hour, eat at a restaurant I really like, and shop. But we get an invitation to a party for family friends' of Nathan's 50th Wedding anniversary party on my birthday. (I know it's confusing, but I tried several times to phrase it better. Read it again if you need to.) No big deal. It's in the same town as my restaurant. What luck! We can shop earlier on, stop by the party, eat at my restaurant, drive home for some birthday alone time...We still had a great plan. I wasn't even thinking. They are family friends. We live between the family and the friends. So now we are having company (Nate's mom and boyfriend, Nate's brother, and wife). Going to the party together. Overnight guests.

I know I sound incredibly selfish. I guess I am. 30 is a big day. I was dreading it for a while, but then I decided to embrace it. A celebration of who I am and who I want to be. Sure, we can celebrate my birthday the next weekend, but then I'll be 30 and 7 days. I feel like we share big holidays with the families. And 5 times out of 7, birthdays and anniversaries and Valentine's Day falls during the week. I know nothing will change, I don't want to make a scene and change things, but I'm unhappy. I want my birthday! On my birthday!

I do sound really selfish, don't I?

have a seat by me

Yesterday was awesome!

I was very frustrated early in the day. I had a great plan. We were going to the Louisville Zoo, then to hang out downtown, and then to Nickel Creek (yay!). But we get to Louisville, and the Zoo was closed to prepare for their Halloween Party. I was not happy. I mean, what were we going to do all day?

We ended up walking around downtown, and it was nice.

We ate at the Old Spaghetti Factory, and it was very nice as well.

Then it was time for Nickel Creek. The venue again did not allow photography. And they were serious. The ushers were chasing people down with their cameras. And I'm such a rule-stickler that I did not take any pictures. The show was so good. They played covers of Brittney Spear's "Toxic" and Jackson 5's "I Want You Back." It was so fun!

We have Nickel Creek again tonight here in our town, and with our second parents (the couple that owns the Fudgery). I am so excited! I've taken pictures at Singletary before, so I hope I can tonight! Front row - center baby!

Matt Wertz - I Will Not Take My Love Away

Okay, this is crazy. I found this on YouTube. I was at this show too! This is my favorite Matt Wertz song1

i have my reasons why

I talk about Nickel Creek a lot. I thought I'd show you who they are.

We are seeing them tonight and tomorrow night. And that's all until they go on "indefinate hiatus." So I'm happy and sad.

These are some clips from the concert we were at last weekend. Enjoy!

I also decided to show you my other favorite. I LOVE Matt Wertz! He was also in Asheville last weekend, same night and time as Nickel Creek. We attempted to stalk him in Asheville but never found him.

My health motivation is zero. I have been keeping up with writing cards, but that's about all. What is it going to take to get me in gear?

Reasons Why

Asheville!

When in Rome

Asheville

Matt Wertz - 5:19

this is just my tendency

I feel like my new house has given me my life back. My commute is down from 65 minutes to 4! It is so nice to have time in the mornings to do nothing in particular. Like blogging!

I got on the scale this morning, and I'm bummed. I've gained .8 this week. I've been eating better (not great, but much better), we've been exercising, I'm motivated by the Biggest Loser...I don't understand. I'm not giving up, though!

Speaking of Biggest Loser, I find that it is increasingly becoming the show I am most excited about. I'm not impressed by Grey's yet. The whole George/Izzy storyline is really making me angry. He's MARRIED. It's hard for me to watch. But Biggest Loser? I'm all about it. I don't know who I would work better for, Bob or Jillian. Nate says he'd rather be with Bob, but I think I might respond to Jillian's tough love. I really don't like the red team girl. I've been watching her for several seasons and I don't remember her name (Kim maybe?). I would love to go on the show. I think I could rock. I think life gets in the way of my weight loss. And my weight gets in the way of my life. What's a girl to do?

Today is like Thursday for me because I'm taking Friday off. We are leaving at lunchtime Friday to go to Asheville, NC. It is one of my top 2 places to visit. We are also seeing Nickel Creek while we are there. I am kinda bummed 'cause my other musical obsession, Matt Wertz, is going to be in Asheville doing a show, same time, same night as Nickelcreek. My plan is to comb downtown Asheville all day Saturday to find Matt. I'll post lots of pics when we get home!

I'm doing pretty well on my 30-in-30. I'm ahead on cards, I have my full $30 lunch money left, and I'm not focusing on tv as much as I was. We're exercising almost every night. I just need to get my eating in check. I've had my breakfast of Starbucks and banana this morning, so I'm well on my way!

sweet like candy to my soul

30-in-30 Day 5!

30 Points a Day: I haven't counted. But this is what I ate.
Breakfast - Starbucks, banana (6)
Snack - Fiber One bar (2)
Lunch - Lean Cuisine Chicken and Almonds and granola bar (7)
Dinner - Eggs and chicken sausage (8)
Snack - Hummus and crackers (6)
Woot woot!!

30 minutes of exercise: I am really tired today. It's the famous really bad day of the month (do you all have one MOH day that is much worse than the others?). So we cut our walk to about 20 minutes and then went to buy fake pumpkins to carve.

30 minutes of tv: I haven't really watched anything today. The tv has been on, but I've been doing other things. Like now.

$30 on lunches: Not a penny spent, thank you very much. Almost everyone in my office brought their lunch today. It was beautiful.

30 sermons: Still behind. I started one during dinner, and I'll finish it when I clean up the kitchen in a little while.

30 cards: I am going to write one to my co-worker today. She is starting the challenge tomorrow, as it will be her "40-to-40" day. It's so exciting!

30 minutes of Bible/prayer: I got some reading started today, and I'll finish it when I go to bed.

whoa-oa here she comes!

My 30-in-30 plan is doing okay.

30 points a day: I am not doing as well as I would like to do food wise. I had a significant amount of ice cream today. But I only had one Starbucks drink. And I pretty much just ate the ice cream because it was there. And I did not eat the big blobs of chocolate (like 2 the size of my thumb) that were left when all the ice cream was gone. Small victories!

30 minutes of exercise: Check! Nate and I went to the fitness room. The treadmill was kinda jerky, but it was the only one available. I figure it engaged my core since I felt unsteady and maybe it was a good thing.

30 minutes of tv: The television was on a lot today, but I really only watched about half of an episode of King of the Hill. I was doing other things while the tv was on (like playing on iTunes or taking a nap).

$30 on lunches: I still have the full $30.

30 sermons: I'm a little behind on this one. I went to church today and I listened to almost a full sermon on the treadmill. I'm catching up.

30 cards: 4 down! I'm well on my way!

30 minutes Bible/prayer: I'm heading upstairs right now to get that done before sleep!

I am feeling really good about where we are, geographically and mentally.

with 2 cats in the yard

I'll give you a 30-in-30 update later, but I just got house pics uploaded, so I thought I'd share.

(EDIT: I was in a hurry earlier. I'm adding captions now!)

This is technically our old house, but this is Scully on the day she was shaved. She's grown out a lot in 3 weeks.

This is our new office/library. This is the only real room downstairs. There's also a 2 car garage down there.Second floor is kitchen/dining room...
and tv room.
Top floor is guest bedroom and bath...
And the sanctuary of our new bedroom!
I am going to work hard on getting caught up today on my plan. You'll hear from me later tonight!

don't stop believing

Hello bloggers!
I am posting from the comfort of my own home! (Thank you very very nice Windstream man!) We are having dinner at Kent's tonight, and then coming home to pick up to prepare for my parents' visit tomorrow. I'll take and post pictures of our house this weekend!

The 30-to-30 Challenge is doing okay. I'm not doing each and every one of them yet, but I am honestly making an effort to do so. Yesterday, I did the food, the exercise, the Bible reading. Today the food isn't going to happen (Kent's fixing chicken Parmesan), but I am going to listen to a sermon as I pick up when I get home and I have plans to write 2 cards. I am going to have to think of this in terms of averages, and I'll get there.

And this is big for me. I am usually such a black-or-white person. All or nothing. 100% or 0%. Part of who I want to be at 30 is someone who is willing to accept ambiguity. Will I ever be as thin as I want to be? Will I ever be a mom? Will I ever be able to be completely the person I feel I need to be? I don't know. But I can try as hard as I can each day, and be proud and thankful of what I have accomplished.

But right now I have to start some laundry and go hang out with my best buddy.

I can't wait to get caught up with all y'all...and get you caught up on me!

3(0) is the magic number

My loving husband Nathan will be posting my posts for me for a while. You gotta love my husband and his willingness to take the flashdrive to the library on his lunch hour.

The move was not bad. We got packed, moved, and mostly unpacked in a very timely fashion. But then things went awry. First, our phone/internet capabilities are somehow defective. So we are paying for phone and internet, but have no way to access it. I guess that’s the beauty of having a brand new home. And then Tuesday morning, we get up to rain in our kitchen. Not on our house or around our house, but in our house. (And it hasn’t rained in Kentucky for a long time.) Today is much better. We are dry, the floors are fine, but we still have no internet. Groan.

We live in such a cool home in such a cool part of town. We have so many places to walk. When I am able, I will post pictures.

I realized today that my birthday is in a month. A big birthday. The big 3-0. At first I thought I might just ignore it and treat it like any other birthday. I mean, seriously. If someone would have told me 10 years ago that on my 30th birthday I’d be fat and childless, I would have died. But I have to accept where I am. I will not beat myself up for where I have let myself get to. However, I do not have to accept the person I am as the person I will continue to be in my 30s. And, for that reason, I have developed the “I’ll be 30 in 30 Days Plan.” (Here on referred to as “30 in 30.”) I have 30 days to shape my behavior to be healthier in my 30s. I am focusing on being a well-rounded person, not just physically. And here is the plan.

Over the next 30 days, I will do the following:

I will eat 30 Points a day. (My actual WW target is 28, but I’ll just throw in flexies to keep with the theme.)

I will exercise 30 minutes a day.

I will only watch an average of 30 minutes of tv a day.

I will spend $30 (and only $30) over the “30 in 30” on lunches and snacks during my work day.

I will spend 30 minutes a day in Bible reading and prayer.

I will listen to 30 sermons over the month.

I will write 30 cards or letters to people I care about.

I am embracing 30! Bring on November 3rd!!