Race for the Cure - Oct 3rd

As I have posted here before, I have been going through the Couch to 5K program, and I have signed up for my first 5K!  I won't be finished with the program yet, so it'll be a walk/run and I joined in the non-competative race.  It should still be fun.

If anyone would like to help support me in my run, you can donte to the Susan G. Koman Houston Affiliate in my name.  Everyone is given a suggestited goal of $100 in pledges, so if you can help that would be great!  (of course, moral support is appreicaited too!!)

I'll be finishing week three tonight, and I bought a pair of really good shoes last weekend and my shin splints are goon!  Woot!

C25K - Week 2 begins.. and a little excitement at the end

Had my first run last night, first of week two that is. Last week I was running 1 min, then walking 1.5 mins, doing that for about 20 mins. This week it's run 1.5 mins, then walk 2 mins. Over the next couple of months I'll work my way up to running non-stop for the whole time. :)

I take my dogs with me, and I take them off-leash. Since it's hot out, I wait until after dark to run. And since I run alone, I think taking the dogs with me is a sensible thing to do. Besides, they love it! But last night, at the end of the run, while I was walking my cool down, Cera discovered an animal of some kind. A possum maybe? Anyway, she took off after it. So did Maxie, but Maxie listened when I called her back. Not Cera. Scared the little creature out of its mind I'm sure. Whatever it was, it couldn't climb a tree, it was just trying to out run my dog. Which it can't. But since Cera wasn't trying to catch it, just wanted to play, she kept right with it, all the way down the road, going from yard to yard. So instead of walking a cool down, I'm after my dog!

Eventually she responded. I'm not sure if she got tired of the full out running she was doing, or if it found someplace Cera couldn't get. I was just afraid she'd corner it and get hurt when it tried to defend itself.

Anyway... that was the excitement of the night and we all got home safe and sound (even the creature).

Breakfast

I was going to be good today, I picked out some cottage cheese and two hard boiled eggs for breakfast (about 270 cals total) and in walks my husband who says, "now would be a good time for those biscuits". (I had asked him to give me advance warning for them so I could plan my days calories accordingly)

So instead of my first plan, I had a buttermilk biscuit, a pork sausage patty and scrambled eggs.

At least with the eggs, I did good. DH said he was gonna make some and he'd make me some too if I wanted. I asked if he would not use the butter and scramble my egg beaters. We do have a butter-flavored Pam Spray, so he used that and made me eggs.

So my breakfast was 420 calories.

I can fit that in. and the sausage biscuit was SO good. :)

(I had only one)

Back on the Diet

Three years ago, August 06 I reached my highest ever weight, 160 lbs. I went out one day to find a new dress and discovered I did not look good in a single thing I tried on. I was overweight. And I didn't like it.

I joined a website called SparkPeople and by keeping track of everything I ate, over the following 8 months I dropped 35 lbs. And I kept it off for 2 years.

But last summer, I had a miscarriage. I went from a job I liked to one I did not. And I just quit paying attention to what I ate and over the last year (or more) I have gained 25 of those pounds back.

I don't like it.

So I started over on SparkPeople. I've finished the first week and I've already lost 4 lbs! Yeah Me! I also am doing something different this time... I'm exercising. Actually, I started running. And since I haven't done that in YEARS (not since the Army really) I am using a program called Couch to 5k which over the course of 9 weeks gradually gets you from being a couch potato to being able to run a 5k (if you wanted). I don't have any race in mind, but it's a great way to get back into it. I know from personal experience that running works for me. When I was working out several times a week including running, I could eat what I wanted when I wanted, never paid attention and kept my weight around 130 easily. I'm 10 years older now but if I work out I should be able to keep me weight where I want it with minimum of effort (hopefully!)

Anyway. I had day 2 of my first week of running. I was surprised how much easier it was today then it was for day one (last Thursday). That's promising.

This week I did well on - tracking everything I ate. If it went in my mouth, it went in the log. I also worked out twice, prolly should have been three times, and this week it will be. I only went over my allowed calories once and was under twice. That's good.

I need to do better on - my water intake. I simply don't drink enough water.

So, I'll try to report at the end of this week and we'll see how well I'm doing.

4 lbs the first week, I'm proud of myself!

Vampires and Authors

The current issue of Entertainment Weekly has a 10 page spread on vampires and impact on today's pop-culture. Very interesting stuff.

But they did a quick interview/profile on six authors in this genre and Laurell K Hamilton was one of them. In answer to the question, "What are your thoughts on the Twilight phenomenon?" She has a long reply which starts off with this...
"Stephenie Meyer has come and she's taken the genre that I sort of pioneered."

Oh really? I do believe that honor belongs to Ms Rice, who was also featured in the article. She was asked this question, "What's unique about your vision of vampires?"
"Their glamour. What I thought to do with Louis and Lestat was make them very beautiful and very appealing. I thought to myself, Why should this supernatural being be repulsive? Why should he be feral like Dracula? What if he was more like a dark angel? It was kind of a radical idea. And now, 30 years later, no one would even question vampires being beautiful and magnetic."

Exactly. Which is why Anne Rice shall always be the premier vampire storyteller... even if she has left the genre.

Back to Phantom Happiness!

Before I get any comments or emails asking if I need a new companion for my Phantom tickets (*grin*) I wanted to say that the boxoffice was very helpful. I was able to exchange them for a night a week earlier, one row closer and just slighter more off center then the old tickets. I'm very happy. I did have to pay a $25 fee for the excahnge, but that's well worth it. Now our tickets are for Tuesday the 21st of July.

I'm very happy now. :)

Digital Scrapping

I've been getting more and more into scrapping, although so far just about all of my scrapping has been done at my upline Nancy's house. Her layouts, my pictures. But while going through some pictures on my hard drive, I found three pages I did digitally, and I thought I'd post them. I made the pages shortly after the date on the first page, so you can see how long ago I made them ... I'd like to think if I did them now they'd look better, but not bad all in all. whatcha think?

Phantom Sadness...

As I posted last month, I bought tickets to Phantom for this July. First of all, realize that this isn't a 2 week engagement, these people are going to be performing 6 days a week for FOUR weeks, a total of like 24 performances. The problem? Hubby is going to be out of town. Yes folks, the company he works for has decided to schedule their GM conference for four days that just happen to be at the same time as my Phantom tickets.

What can I do? All I can, is call the box office and see if there is any way of exchanging them for comparable seats for a different night. One where he will actually be in Houston and can attend the show. Oh, and to add insult to injury.. wives are expressly NOT invited to go with them to Napa, CA. Hurmph.

A little of my own Bits & Pieces....

My mom has been doing Digital Scraping lately, and she just posted some new layouts to her blog - Micki's Bits & Pieces - including one of little 'ol me!  Go check it out!!

In other news.... Phantom is coming to Houston this summer.  I have known about this 

for months of course, and I put the date that the tickets go on sale in my calendar (April 19th) - but the other day I get an email... the tickets are going on sale early for eClub members - of which I am one - and I could buy them now.  so, of course I go and see what the prices are and what kinds of seats are available... I wasn't actually going to buy them yet... but I found tickets for third row, center!  Of course I bought them!  I mean, they were only $85 a piece!  LOL  

So my husband and I will be at the Hobby Center come Wednesday night on July 29th! I am very excited.

This will be my fifth live performance.

38 so far this year, and counting!

I never posted my February reads, so this is for the last two months.

February

• How to Marry a Millionaire Vampire - Kerrelyn Sparks
  
• Vamps and the City- Kerrelyn Sparks
  
• Hunters Moon - CT Adams and Cathy Clamp
  
• Moons Web - CT Adams and Cathy Clamp
  
• Bone Crossed - Patricia Briggs
  
• Naked in Death - JD Robb (re-read)
  
• Be Still my Vampire Heart- Kerrelyn Sparks
  
• All I want for Christmas is a Vampire- Kerrelyn Sparks
  
• Pride - Rachel Vienct
  
• Promises in Death - JD Robb
  

March

• Daemon - Daniel Suarez
  
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - JK Rowling (re-read)
  
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - JK Rowling (re-read)
  
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - JK Rowling (re-read)
  
• Kitty and the Midnight Hour - Carrie Vaughn
  
• Deal Breaker - Harlen Coben
  
• Kitty goes to Washington - Carrie Vaughn
  

I'm up to 38 so far this year (not counting the 2 I've got for April already)

I didn't get much read in march because I promised that after I finished the HP books, I'd put the books aside so I could catch up on the TV shows on the DVR. I had DOZENS of shows, some going to back before christmas! LOL But I got all caught up and went back to my books.

I've got the rest of the Kitty books here, I've got 4 more of the Coban books on the way from PBS. I read Men of the Otherworld by Kelly Armstrong, and that made me want to finish THAT series, so I picked up the last three, and I just (re)started the first one, Bitten... I also bought the newest Kerrelyn Sparks vampire book.... too many books!!!!! (I love it!)

Pictures of Me

I just posted 60 pictures of myself... from the first one taken of me on the day I was born to just a few months ago... I don't know if just anyone can see them or if you have to be a "friend" of mine on Facebook, but if it's anyone, here's the link.  Enjoy the trip down my memory lane!

More Mojo .. and a layout!

I really like the mojo Monday sketches... I did number 73 but never got around to posting it. I haven't done 74 yet.

My upline's normal Stamping Saturday got canceled due to her daughter landing in the hospital (She's fine now) so I went to Archivers and attended their scrap mania - they hold it every Friday and Saturday. I did this card, and I did a double page layout. I am extremely proud of the layout as I did it completely on my own... it's not copied from another, it's not a sketch, it's from my head. And it's the first one that I've ever done on my own. And it looks good! (If I do say so myself).

But first the card.  This is from the Mojo Monday Sketch number 73.  The base is SU's Bravo Burgundy, the green paper is also SU, from one of the print pads in Always Artichoke.  The Stamp set is Lovely as a Tree and is inked in Always Artichoke.  The other SU item is the ribbon.. burgundy and from a mini a while back; it's satin.  (I have the chocolate one too, verra pretty!)

Non SU... The yellowish paper is from a glitter paper pad I bought called "A Pocket Full of

 Posies Stack" by DCWV (whoever that is), although there's no glitter on the particular paper I chose.  But it's lovely.. it's got a lot of colors in it - including the burgundy and green I used, it matched very well.  The brads are making memories, and the button was a great find.  I bought a pack of buttons, they are - hmm, apparently missing the insert that told me who made them... but it was a Christmas color combination and only cost me $2 for a huge amount of buttons... and inside I found the one on the card.. it had both the burgundy and the right green.  Awesome.

I really like the card.

But I love this layout...

It's on black card stock, matted with grey.  The flowery paper was one sheet that I cut in half and rotated so the "middle" of the paper is at the bottom of one page, and the top of the other.  It's kinda shimmery too.  The white flourishes are rub ones, and the ink was a souffle pen.  The only SU on here, also the only thing that I didn't buy that night at Archivers, is the ribbon.  But it is retired!  LOL

The pictures are of my brother and his family.  The younger girl, Ashlyn, is his by his wife, the older, Kelsee, by his ex-wife.  The two boys are their foster kids.  To quote my brother, "My wife's friend had her kids taken away by CPS and we took the two boys and are going to give them a good home till mom gets her stuff together. If she don't then we will adopt them".  These are the profession photos they had taken just after they got the boys.

So, whatcha think?  Leave me a comment and let me know... and while you do that, I've got a date with my DVR!

It's Monday again...

Which is a good thing as my normal days off are Tuesdays and Wednesdays... today is like my Friday!  (even if it's after midnight, so technically it's Tuesday now).  Anyway, I made another card!

I just really like the sketches on the Mojo Monday blog... and here's my challenge card.

I chose my colors from the retired Berry Bliss paper - Close to Cocoa, Pretty in Pink, and Purely Pomegranate. With a touch of Chocolate Chip for shading and the words.

Stamp sets are Natural Beauty and Happy Harmony.  The ribbon is Chocolate Pollytwill and the button is from Button Bouquet (finally!  something that's not retired!) The thread is embroidery thread, and the flower is unknown - I have a bag full of them given to me by a friend.  And lastly, the brads are antique copper by Making Memories.

I have to admit, I think last week's came out better, but this is an okay card.  I'm proud enough of it to show you!  Well, until next week....  I'm gonna go read!

Books I read in January

What I read this month....

Goddess of the Night - Lynn Ewing (Daughters of the Moon, Book 1)
Into the Cold Fire - Lynn Ewing (book 2)
Night Shade - Lynn Ewing (book 3)
The Secret Scroll - Lynn Ewing (book 4)
The Sacrifice - Lynn Ewing (book 5)
The Lost One - Lynn Ewing (book 6)
Moon Demon - Lynn Ewing (book 7)
Possession - Lynn Ewing (book 8)
The Choice - Lynn Ewing (book 9)
The Talisman - Lynn Ewing (book 10)
Gift Wrap - Charlaine Harris - Short Story
The Star of David - Patricia Briggs - Short Story
The Prophecy - Lynn Ewing (book 11)
The Becoming - Lynn Ewing (book 12)
The Final Eclipse - Lynn Ewing (book 13)
Lovers Prisoner - MaryJanice Davidson (84 page short story)
Jared's Wolf - MaryJanice Davidson (78 page short story)
Dead and Lovin it - MaryJanice Davidson
Derik's Bane - MaryJanice Davidson
Undead and Unpopular - MaryJanice Davidson
Undead and Uneasy - MaryJanice Davidson
Dead over Heels - MaryJanice Davidson (2 of three short stories, the other is about the mermaid and I haven't read any of those yet)
Undead and Unworthy - MaryJanice Davidson

wow! That was a lot more then I expected! But then 13 of there were young adult and a bunch were MaryJanice Davidson and her books are very quick. Up for this month... the new Patricia Briggs, Rachel Vincent's Pride, there are 2 novels of the Darken I need to read. I still have Plum Spooky on the list, and a new vampire series (for me) by Karrelyn Sparks that I've picked up. Who knows what else I'll find in February!

What to read? Where to read?

I'm in a yahoo group that is a general interest reading group, although most of us tend towards paranormal / fantasy / sci-fi books.  What's generally referred to as popular fiction in the industry.  Anyway, one particular member likes to post general questions to the group to stimulate conversation.  Here are two recent ones, and my response.

Amy: We all obviously are semi-attached to our computers and are all readers.  Where is/are your computer(s) located? What type of things surround it?  Is it anywhere near where you keep your books?  How many of you have actual libraries instead of overflowing piles?

Me:  I have a room to myself in our house. It's a 4 bedroom, we have "our room", "his room", and "my room". Then there's the extra bedroom. Eventually, someday, it'll be a baby's room, but right now it stores holiday stuff, an extra bed, an extra desk, and 5 bookcases. One is half filled with books he owns (but never reads) and the rest are mine.

In my room I have all my craft stuff (mostly rubber stamping and scrap-booking) and my computer desk. I'm also one of those people who will cover ANY flat surface with stuff. So my work area (craft) and my desk are covered in stuff. Right now on my desk there are 15 books. Two I'm finished with, two I'm halfway through (one of which I'll finish), another four that I've read some of (short story collections), and seven that I haven't read yet, but most of those will be read soon, the others are "on the list".

Other things on my desk right now: stamp sets, data cds. music cds. one DVD, a calculator, candy, the box to my ipod dock, a stack of Sims games, an extra keyboard (for when I boot my mac in Windows mode), a wireless mouse I can't get to work, my checkbook, 2 camera, a happy bunny key chain (which says "Hiiiiiii Loser!" when you push it's button), stickers, two forks, camera case, stamp catalog, assorted papers.. and I think you get the idea!! (btw, thats not even half!) LOL

Amy: How do you decide on what to read? Do you read books because it's on a reading challenge? Do you read the books because of a reading group recommendation? Does it have more to do with what reading material is closest at hand? Are you more of a mood reader and keep picking up available books until something strikes a chord? Do you assign yourself certain types of books to read?

Me: I read whatever strikes my fancy. :)

Sometimes I see something at work (ok, a lot of the time I find stuff at work!). Customers will recommend authors. I like to read series, so I'll find one then go off in search of the rest. I just finished the Daughters of the Moon series (13 YA books). I found the first one for $3 in the bargain blowout.. got the rest at the library. I was kinda into the Betsy the Vampire Queen, but then got to a point in the story where there was a short story that I didn't have, so they got set aside for a while. I have it now, so I can read it then the rest of the Betsy books. In the meanwhile I got ahold of all of her (MaryJanice Davidson's) werewolf stories. 

If I'm not in the middle of something... when I finish a book and I haven't already picked out the next, I goto my shelf in the extra bedroom, and look at what I have that I've gotten in the near, and not-so-near past and just see what strikes my fancy from that shelf.

I've kinda entered into a werewolf phase... I just finished the Wyndham werewolves, and I've of course read all the Mercy books, but what else is out there? I prefer when a series follows one / a group of characters rather then jumping from character to character like MJD does. Oh, I've really liked the early Kelley Armstrong books, the ones on werewolves.

Anyway, there's a hint into how I think... that is if anyone followed any of that at all!

Mojo Monday Challenge #71

I did a challange!  This is my first stamping project (outside of my demo's stamping saturday) that I've done in I don't know how long!  It's for the Mojo Monday challenge, this one is number 71.

Trolling for ideas, I was browsing around the Always gallery on Split Coast Stampers when I came across this card by Lynda.  I really liked the color scheme, so I took it!  Sky Blue, Blue Bayou, and Real Red - and she got them from a color challange last year.  (yeah, these are last years In Colors, but I figured, what the heck!  I like them!)  

Designer paper is from the Patterns Pack (Winter Catty 08 hostess Set).  Stamp set is Always, ribbon is retired Blue Bayou double stiched grosgrain, 1 ¼" circle punch, scallop circle punch, scallop edge punch and one red rhinestone brad.  The card is 5 ½" square.

I hope you like it!