Tackling Twenty Pounds

As you may or may not know, I recently lost thirty pounds. Yay me! The fact remains, however, that I still have quite a bit to lose before I reach a healthy weight. And I'm certainly not going to accomplish this sitting on my butt playing on the computer. Fear not, my lovely fans, I will not abandon you or this blog. I may have to cut back on Facebook time, but hey, don't we all need to cut back on our Facebook time?

Since the scale hasn't dipped past the original thirty pounds lost marker in about forty five days I know it's time to go back to the basics: easting less, and healthier, and moving more.

Because the scale also hasn't gone up (again, yay me!) I took a vacation from the low-carb diet I'd been on and allowed myself to indulge, occasionally, in some not so low carb choices. The indulgence was infrequent, and I tried to balance it with workouts, but this only allowed me to maintain the new weight I'd achieved. Now I must get back on the losing plan.

I'm using the start of the new month as a launching pad; new month, new plan for weight loss. I'm especially motivated to lose twenty pounds over the next four weeks, as I will be leaving for my highly anticipated New York spring fling in just twenty eight days, and I hope to put a slimmer me on that plane the day of departure.

Twenty pounds is a lot for this timeframe, I know. But with some dedication to daily exercise, a new commitment to omitting starchy carbs from my meals, and a ton of determination, I know I can do it. After all, I've already proven that it can be done once.

This time, I also have the added bonus of having a friend join me on this crazy adventure. I consider this a bonus because having someone to partner with makes me accountable to someone other than myself, and that helps keep me on track. Hopefully, it will do the same for her.

The trick is to remind myself of why I'm doing this, especially during times of weakness. I must not focus on those things I shouldn't eat, but rather should relish those things that will help me achieve my weight loss and fitness goals. And most importantly, I must not tell myself I can't eat something, but rather that I don't want to eat it. After all, "nothing tastes as good as thin!" (and by thin, I actually mean fit and healthy!!)

Here's to tackling twenty pounds!

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And The Winner Is...

Drumroll please! The winner of my first blog giveaway is....

We interrupt our regularly scheduled programming to bring you this very important message.
(You didn't really think I was just gonna blurt it out, did you? Silly goose.)

I wanted to clue you all in a little on why I did the giveaway and how I selected a winner. I know you probably don't care, but I'm telling you anyway.

The first and most obvious reason is that I'd hoped to get more followers for my blog. Shameless, right? But it actually did work. I went from having one follower to having six. And I didn't even make following my blog a requirement for entry into the giveaway, as so many other bloggers do. Ok, sure, I may lose five of you after I make the announcement of who won the Starbucks Gift Card, but I appreciate you stopping in, nonetheless.

The second reason I did it was... well, there really wasn't a second reason. Driving traffic to the site was about it. Pitiful? Yes. Effective? Somewhat.

Now, as to how I selected a winner, there was only one way to be fair, since many of the entrants were friends of mine.

A huge shout out to all of you, by the way, for putting up with my constant tweets and status updates about the giveaway; so glad none of you unfriended me, though I sure would understand if you'd blocked me from your news feed for a few days. It's okay to turn my news feed back on now. Really. I promise. Please?

Back to how I picked a winner (and how all winners of future giveaways will be selected!)

Each comment was assigned a number in sequential order as it was posted and provided it was within the timeframe specified. Once I had all the entries, I headed over to RANDOM.ORG and used their awesome Random Number Generator. You just put in your starting and ending numbers and it will pick a random number for you.

In this case, it selected number 13. Yes, lucky number 13.

And now, back to our regularly scheduled programming

Making the winner of the $25 Starbucks Gift Card...

The envelope please....

AztecConsulting! Congratulations!
I will be contacting you shortly for information on how to collect your winnings.

To the rest of you who didn't win this time, be not discouraged, there will be more giveaways.

Thank you so much for participating, and for sharing your awesome Starbucks drinks with me; I will definitely be ordering some, ok, most, of these at some point in my future.

Here's to a caffeinated weekend!

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Typos, Bad Grammar and Other Such Horrors

By day, my profession is that of a software quality assurance analyst. To non-techie folks this likely sounds way fancier than what it really is. In plain English, I test websites and software programs. Part of my job also involves proof reading the copy on said websites and programs. Yes, I actually get paid for this.

So you can imagine my chagrin, neigh, my sheer horror, when I publish mistakes on my own website! I do my best to proof read each post before publishing it, but inevitably I will miss a typo here and there and before I know it, voila, it's out there, flapping in the wind, for all the world to see. It's not pretty. These things never are.

We won't even start on my grammar. I use far too many commas, inserting them willy-nilly throughout the posts, much like a slight pause in a conversation. My liberal spattering of bold and italicized text is borderline abusive. Run on sentences? Brutal. Oh, wait! We weren't going to do this. Let's move on, shall we?

Now normal folks, like you, (I told you it was bad!) reading this are probably wondering, "Why in tarnation is this woman going on about her typos and laughable grammar?!"

I'm getting to that. Patience, grasshopper.

Today at the office, I was telling someone about the giveaway I'm having this week right here on this blog. Wanted to give my new co-worker a chance to win some yummy java. Ok, fine. Maybe it was a bit of shameless self promotion and even a teeny bit of brown-nosing, but hey, what's wrong with trying to play nice with the co-workers?! Hmph. I make no apologies for my actions. Deal with it.

My point is, said co-worker was quick to point out a big, fat typo on a previous post. Ugh.
I think he forgot that I'm the QA person, and he's the developer. Which means? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

Yep. I'll be the one testing his code. MWAHAHAHA ! (I know. Not a word. But it really should be, 'mmmmkay?)

Here's to typos, bad grammar, and other such horrors!

UPDATE: Shortly after posting this, a friend on Facebook kindly pointed out that I'd misspelled "grammar" all over this post! (Hanging my head in shame.)
I have since corrected this nasty snafu. Thank you for playing my game.

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Starbucks is My Friend: A Giveaway

Two days on the new job and I am exhausted! Don't get me wrong, I love what I'm doing (so far) and am looking forward to tackling the many, many things that need to be tackled, so the exhaustion is exhilarating. But yeah, I'm definitely exhausted.

Never one to need an excuse to pay my local Starbucks a visit, if these last two days are any indication of what my days are going to be like, well, let's just say that it would behoove me to buy some Starbucks stock.

Now, there are some of you that are likely thinking, "Wow, must be nice to be able to afford a $6 blended coffee drink every day [insert sarcastic tone here]" but the reality is, I try to limit the blended drinks to no more than one every one or two weeks. Too many carbs and/or fat. No, I actually go there for straight up java. It's strong, caffeinated, tasty, and did I mention strong? And these days, strong coffee has become a necessity. I'm actually trying to figure out a way to safely mainline the stuff straight into my veins; I'll let you know if I find a good solution.

In the meantime, I will keep a steady supply on hand for the long days ahead. Call me addicted. And because I know so many of you are also java junkies, for whatever your reasons, "It tastes great!", I am finally ponying up the giveaway I've been teasing you with these last two weeks.

Here's the skinny (latte, anyone?) on the giveaway:

The prize - One $25 Starbucks gift card, to be used at a Starbucks of your choosing for your favorite java concoction.

To enter the contest - tell me, by way of a comment on this post (be sure to include your email address so I can contact you if you win!), your favorite Starbucks drink. Are you a "Tall Pike's Peak with lip for cream", a "Grande Skinny Cinnamon Latte"or a "Triple Venti Soy Caramel Macchiato?" (my personal favorite when nothing but a blended drink will do.)

One entry per person, please! (Multiple entries by the same user will be deleted!)
The winner will be selected randomly from the comment entries.
Entry deadline is 5pm (CST) Friday, March 26, 2010.
Winners will be announced sometime over the weekend; exactly when will depend on my level of exhaustion!

One last bit of messy housekeeping: Contest open to US residents only. Sorry rest of the world!

Here's to having some Starbucks, on me!


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Girl Time, Girlie Food

My husband went out of town this past weekend, to spend some time with the guys and get in touch with his "wild at heart" man.

This meant I had the weekend to myself and I chose to spend it in one of my favorite ways; hanging out with my girlfriends eating girlie food.

Yes. Girlie food.

There are some things guys, my husband in particular, just prefer not to eat. Don't ask me why. It's perfectly respectable food. Still, apparently it's not manly. Therefore, I eat this "girlie" food whenever my husband is out of town, or any other chance I have to enjoy girl time.

Started the day by putting together my favorite quiche. It's chock full of all kinds of goodies.

There's bacon.

And butter. Ah, butter. You make everything right.

We also have onions. Sweet. Softened in butter. Delicious.

And finally mushrooms and artichokes. Oh my.

All this encased in egg, cream, and swiss cheese, and we have a beautiful quiche.

Now, a girl cannot live on quiche alone. 

So we had the quintessential girl food - salad.

But not just any salad. This was my special spinach and fruit salad, topped with delightful chevre cheese crumbles and lightly drizzled with a homemade balsamic vinaigrette.

With these tasty dishes as our main entrees, I had to find something equally delicious as a starter, but something that could also serve as a snack tray.

I decided on a fruit and cheese tray. Raspberries, apple slices, grapes, and strawberries all complimented the smoked gouda, brie, and creamy chevre decorating this noshing tray.

Of course, girl time is just not girl time without the absolute, must have, girl food - chocolate!

This truffle tray:

and these spicy Mexican chocolate soufflés,

were the perfect finish for an awesome afternoon with my girlfriends.

Ladies, if you don't already have a girl day established in your routine, I highly recommend it, if for no other reason than to have an excuse to partake of these girlie treats among your girlie friends

Here's to the power of girls, and their food!

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Ugly Shoes

Ordered two really cute pairs of flats the other day.

The first pair: this adorable, leopard print silk number by Rocket Dog. Just precious!

The second pair: Sweet, candy apple red patent leather with a shiny buckle. Love these.

Received them today and immediately proceeded to try them on. I was disappointed when both pairs turned out to be too narrow for my foot. I tried telling myself they would stretch out, but fact of the matter is, having spent the last six years trying to get rid of plantar fasciitis, I refuse to do anything that will hurt my feet, even if it means giving up adorable flats such as these.

While at the store returning these great little shoes, I saw a display for Skechers Shape Ups, and remembered a tweet from a friend about how these are supposed to help make the most of your walking time, helping tone your muscles by mimicking the effects of walking in sand.

Now I don't know that I necessarily believe this, but I'd been hearing about these shoes for some time and since I had a store credit I figured, "why not?"

A little voice at the back of my head replied, "cause they're UGLY!"

I turned a blind eye to the lack of aesthetic appeal; the sparkly, bling-y touch at the laces was nowhere near enough dazzle to make these clogs even a little cute.

No, I definitely didn't get these for looks. 

As I had some more errands to run, I immediately put these on and proceeded to spend the next two hours walking around in the Shape Ups. I've no idea if they are doing or will do what Skechers claims they do. But I can tell you that my legs are notably more tired than if I'd been in my regular shoes. I suppose only time will tell if there is any truth to the claims. 

In the meantime, I'll wear my ugly shoes whenever I'll be walking for long periods, in the hopes of integrating my weight loss and fitness efforts into even the most mundane of activities.

Here's to making the most of walking!

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I Owe You a Giveaway

I was supposed to do my first giveaway this week, right here on this blog, but alas, I am way behind on stuff and just didn't have time to get everything together.

My apologies, but what can I tell you, life got in the way.
Anyway, I wanted to you to know that I've not forgotten, nor have I blown it off, but as I was still unsure of what the giveaway was going to be, it was tough to get a related blog post together.

I've got some ideas, but what I really want to know is what you folks would like to see for a giveaway. Now please, when making suggestions, be reasonable. I'm looking for kitschy, cool, and inexpensive ideas, but something desirable nonetheless. A gift card maybe, for Starbucks, iTunes, Chipotle? Or a cool workout DVD? Maybe an Amazon gift card? There are so many cool choices!

Oh, I've got it! Why don't you lovely folks give me your ideas? Just leave a comment with your suggestions! It's easy and you'd be doing me a huge favor by helping me decide!

As for the timing of the giveaway, I plan to get my act together this weekend, so hopefully some time next week! Help keep me honest, would ya'?

Here's to getting organized and giving back!

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Rules of Dieting

I should make clear, right up front, that I am not a nutritionist. Nor a doctor. Nor an expert of any kind. So when I tell you today's post is about the rules of dieting, please note they are my rules.

My blog, my rules.

I'm not great with rules. I'm the first to admit that. So I guess you could say these are more things I've learned on my ongoing weight loss journey and less rules. Besides, rules tend to make us not want to follow them. It's the rebel in us all. I get that. So fine. We won't call these "rules". We can call them "guidelines." Whatever works, right?

Anyway, whatever you decide to call them, here are Dyana's Rules of Dieting, in no particular order:

Rule #1 - Never let yourself get to that point where you're telling yourself, and everyone around you, that you're starving. This inevitably results in over-eating.

Rule #2 - If you break rule #1, eat a small portion of whatever you're consuming and drink at least two glasses of water with this meal. If you think you're still hungry, wait at least one hour before eating again. I have this rule because usually, if I wait that long, I'll find I'm really not hungry anymore. It's when I don't wait that I end up over-eating and then wind up feeling guilty and gross over the whole mess.

Rule #3 - If you break rule #2, go work out. Go for a walk or run or for a bike ride. Head to the gym for some cardio. Dance around your living room. Doesn't matter what you do, just do something. The best thing you can do when you actually do over eat is exercise.

Rule #4 - Don't break rules 1 and 2!

I broke rules 1 and 2 tonight, but invoked rule #3 and am glad I did. One of the best lessons I've learned in all this is that determination, or coraje as we say is Spanish, goes a long way!

Here's to the strong-willed!
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Weighing In

To loosely quote my friend April, “The scale is not my friend today.”

Woke up this morning, went about my normal routine and then hopped on that most dreaded device, the scale. I was discouraged, to say the least, by what I saw there. Considering I’d had pizza for dinner yesterday, and some ice cream (about a quarter cup which, I have to tell you, while tasty, did bad things to me that we won’t even discuss here, thereby rendering it so not worth it), I definitely wasn’t surprised.

I know I’m only supposed to weigh myself once a week but I’ve spent so much of my life in denial about my weight that weighing in is now a part of my daily routine. Most days I don’t mind it, as I usually see some form of progress, and if not, at least I’m maintaining.

And, on those rare days when I do see a slight increase, whether it’s water weight or the result of a late night pizza and ice cream binge, I refuse to let that deter me in my efforts. In fact, I find this actually has the opposite effect on me, in that I double my efforts to eat smaller, healthy portions, and my resolve to lose the weight is strengthened.

Yep. The scale may not be my friend today, but sometimes it takes our non-friends telling us a truth we’re unable to tell ourselves to get us off our “assets” (again, quoting April!) and moving again.

Here’s to reality checks!

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One of Those Days

Ever have one of those days when you feel like you have it all together? You are comfortable in your own skin, self-assured even? Your confidence bolsters you and you can't stop smiling? You recognize the countless blessings and unconditional love that envelope you?

I don't often have those types of day, historically speaking. I can usually fake it, but rarely do I make it.

But today? Today was one of those days.

Today was one of those days when I knew I could conquer the world. When how I looked on the outside was reconciled with the beauty I felt on the inside. When I could smile with a peaceful calm and genuine gladness. When the world held hope and the promise of new beginnings.

Today was one of those days when I looked around and saw God's hand in everything. Today, I held my head a little higher, walked a little lighter, smiled a little brighter.

Today was one of those days when I caught a glimpse of what God intends every day to look like.

Today, I pray that every woman out there recognizes her own true beauty and strength, and knows it's source.

Here's to those days!


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Live Blogging the Oscars

Yesterday was the Fashion Superbowl, known officially as the Academy Awards Ceremony. It is the biggest night for Hollywood, a night of full on glamour and glitz.

Instead of expounding on the fanfare in this post, I really want to talk about what I did during the Oscars: live micro-blogging by way of Twitter and Facebook. Think speed-dating for blogging, in 140 characters or less.

The assignment, to micro-blog your thoughts, opinions, take on what you're watching. In this case, the pre-Oscar Red Carpet Events and the awards ceremony.

This was my first live micro-blogging attempt, and here are my first impressions:

1. I need more adjectives! For events like this one, a thesaurus should be kept nearby.
2. Let people know what you're doing; unexpected guests dropping by will result in a serious interruption of micro-blogging posts, making your friends wonder if your fingers have fallen off.
3. Turn off email and text notifications! Unless you like watching your phone jitter spastically across the coffee table while simultaneously draining your battery and running up your text message count, it is best to disable these features so that when your friends comment on your posts, your phone isn't spammed to the point of near death.
4. Exercise your fingers! Live micro-blogging is serious business and trying to type up a comment or opinion as you are watching a live event, while managing responses from friends, is a true exercise in speed typing, and if your fingers aren't appropriately warmed up, you might sprain something.
5. Be prepared to make some frenemies. Those of your friends that aren't watching the event being micro-blogged may unfriend you for cluttering their wall with your, let's face it, unsolicited, and likely stupid, opinion. An apology upfront (see #2) may help prevent unfriending, as said friends can hide your posts for the duration.

That being said, I had a blast! Live micro-blogging is challenging but hilariously fun, especially if a group of your friends are doing it with you. It's like having a party, but without having them come over and make a mess which they'll leave you to clean up on your own!

Here's to the next live micro-blogging event!



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A Place of Solitude

With sixty degree temperatures and sunny skies, I couldn't help but pull my bike out today and go for a nice long ride. Ok, it was just under fourteen miles which isn't really long, but I haven't ridden in months and my bottom feels like it was a forty mile ride, so long we'll call it.

We live near a lake which is lined with parks, providing me with beautiful places to run and ride. It was along these trails that I wrestled my bike up hills and along tree lined paths. Not a particularly rough ride, I chose it for the distance, but mostly for the scenery. The lake, this time of year, tinged with the golden light of a setting sun, makes me forget the burning in my thighs as I pedal up yet another incline.

And then there's that one spot, about half way along my course. It's a bit of land that juts out into a cove of the lake. The trees come out of the water and in the evening, the sun turns all the water a beautiful red gold, and the trees are lined in light. On the tiny peninsula, there is a single bench, facing the water. The park path runs behind this and there is a road that can be seen from the bench, if one were inclined to tear their gaze from the spectacular light show flitting across the water.

During my evening rides, the path is a busy one. There are runners and walkers and dogs and kids and cyclists. Most are whizzing by, with nary a glance at the majesty of what is playing out in the sky, along the trees, and on the lake. Then, there are the mornings. Early morning rides during which the place is one of solitude. You can sit and reflect on God's glory, and wrap yourself in His peace. It is a place where the busyness of daily life is washed away in the oranges, golds, and blazing reds of a sun that chases the bluish purple hues of dawn into another day. It is a place I long to sit in for a moment of quiet, meditation, reflection.

Sounds lovely, doesn't it? I paused along today's ride, with every intent of photographing this little piece of heaven so I could share it with all of you. Then, I changed my mind. I wanted to protect this not so secret hideaway, keep it private. But even more than that, I wanted each of you to see it in your mind's eye, to paint it with the hues that bring you peace, to imagine the silence wrapping itself lovingly around you.

Here's to a beautiful place of solitude.

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