So over my civic duty...

Phew. I feel out of breath. I don't have a lot to say because I have SO much to say if that makes sense. I sat in jury duty for over 9 hours today with one 10 minute break. Of course they ordered a lunch that I didn't know how to count but I did my best and naturally, I was hungry the rest of the day. Today was "drug day" so we went over the hundreds of drug cases waiting to go to trial. It was ridiculous. As bad as this sounds, tomorrow starts the interesting cases of domestic violence and sexual abuse. I say interesting in the most non-offensive tone I can out of respect for the victims but if I hear one more case about someone being busted with a pound of marijuana and then claiming it isn't theirs...my head may literally explode.

Last night, I gave my lecture to my parents and Jordan to test the waters. Good News! None of them fell asleep! It was good to put it out there so I could practice and get it perfect.

Since I will be out of work most if not all of the day on Friday, I don't have to worry about making my costume for the contest at work. I am disappointed though because it was gonna be awesome. Maybe I'll remember it next year.

I DO however get to dress up Saturday for a party and Jordan and I should look pretty awesome.

OK...I think that's the most appropriate update I can give at this time. I have to rest up for yet another day of mindlessly deciding someone's trial fate.

Hey Vols...WE JUST BEAT THE HELL OUTTA YOU! (Sort of)

I know it's been awhile and quite honestly I'm not sure how much I will get to blog in the next month because of jury duty and school. I am feeling a little overwhelmed by how busy everything has been and will be. Jury duty was crazy long and EFFING BORING. I will admit that it was interesting but I didn't get out until 5:40.

Somehow I lost 2.6 pounds this week (I think that's right) so I'm past the 45 pound mark. That's pretty exciting. I cheated pretty hardcore tonight. I had barely eaten anything all day and went a little crazy at a halloween party. I don't think it was too excessive but I still felt kind of bad. I think that I was already punished though because it made my stomach upset.

Today, I went to the bama game and we played Tennessee. It was THE most stressful game I've seen in awhile. My throat is sore and I'm exhausted. I was so worried I was going to have to take my Dad to the emergency room. I posted pictures below. Terrence Cody is FREAKING awesome and if it weren't for him Alabama would have ruined their chance to stay at number 1 and make a run for the national title. We still have several games to go but if we play like that against LSU...we'll be in trouble. I love football...this has been a good but tiring weekend, carved pumpkins and went out last night and then football and junk food at a party tonight. Tomorrow I have to get serious.

"Where are my potato wedges?"

Today has been a really busy day. It was busy at work but I also had to leave from about 11-3 to work a golf tournament that we were sponsoring with the Big Oak Ranch. It’s a home that was started by John Croyle (former Alabama player) to adopt kids from troubled homes. It’s a great organization. The tournament was called “Legends of Alabama” so there were former football players that we got to meet and talk to. It was fun. Tomorrow is the first day of jury duty. I guess I find out whether I’m selected or not in the morning. I guess I have mixed feelings about all of it because I do think it would be very interesting but I would also be missing way too much work.

We did pretty well at trivia last night. I wish that we would get in the top 3 or 5 just one night. We only missed 3 questions last night but there were teams fully dressed in their nerd armor and when they are there...we don’t have a chance. Everyone contributed last night...it just sucks that because we didn’t know that the Roman God of Fire is Vulcan, we didn’t win. Oh well...I am determined and one Wednesday night we will win. It will be when we aren’t looking for it and BOOM! Trumpets will sound and we WILL win that bar cash in the form of a gift card. I believe it.

I have been craving the worst foods lately. If I smell it, it instantly gets added to the “go there one cheat day” list. I have been wanting a salad because I blogged about them yesterday, I want a donut because I smelled them the other day when they brought some in for a work party and I always crave burgers and barbecue. It’s ridiculous really. I don’t really want things but when they get in my head...it’s like they never leave. I stress out way too much about what I am going to eat on cheat day because it is SERIOUS. I mean I have one day a week to eat what I want...how can I narrow it down.

I have just been hungrier than usual lately. I don’t know if I’m hitting a momentum plateau or what but it’s been much harder to diet the past couple of weeks. I want to make excuses to not do well. I have actually not really cheated at all so I guess if I only dream about it...it doesn’t count. Every week I look forward to those potato wedges at Buffalo Wild Wings. I mean I GENUINELY get excited on Wednesdays because that is the one week day that I know I will get something fried. Well, last night, I would say I had about 7-10 wedges left. I turned around to talk to some friends and when I turned back around...THEY WERE GONE. It still makes me a little faint to think about. I mean...the waitress didn’t even ask me. I told everyone around me and glared a hole right through her head when she came back to the table. One thing about dieting is that you learn to really cherish the good food you can eat and it was like she was mean to me...like she punched me in the gut...broke some sort of server/customer oath. I decided against taking action because I feel like it might have been a little overboard and I would have tried to tackle her.

Just know that even if I lose 100 more pounds...I will ALWAYS be fat hearted. Food has never NOT been important to me so I don’t see that changing any time soon. Tonight is a night that I think I will sit on the couch and not move until bed time. I’m pooped. I can’t wait to report on jury duty!

Don't Fall For The Ol' Salad Trick!

Here’s some fun news...we went to Moe’s last night and I realized that they now have a multi-grain tortilla. I have been getting my burrito “streaker” style which just means I get no tortilla and they dump the contents of my burrito in a bowl. I really like it but the news of the whole grain tortilla is kind of exciting. It means next time I get a REAL burrito...makes me want to go again. Maybe tomorrow. I love when people offer new, healthier things. Moe’s is a good option or really any place that has fajitas and salsa. The veggies in all that really isn’t bad for you...especially if you cut the chips, tortillas, cheese and sour cream. I know that made it seem like you have to take out all the good stuff but the rice and meat and salsa is still pretty filling.

Yesterday, my friend Jordan was going to Logan’s and he didn’t know what to eat. Luckily, I had already estimated some stuff on the menu. The problem was that I couldn’t really tell him exactly because there are STILL major chain restaurants that don’t have their nutrition facts on the internet. So-I wanted to do a bubble bursting blog. I know that you probably know that salads can be fattening but you still choose them when you don’t know what to eat because you figure they have some nutrition and they can’t be THAT bad. I thought about it one day because I LOVE salad. It’s one of my favorite things. My friend Whitney always jokes that she has never seen anyone eat an entire salad, leaving a completely clean plate...but I do. So, if I love them THAT much then there is no way they can be good for you.

The Pecan Chicken Salad at O’Charley’s:


This salad is 48.5 points! That is 4 points more than ANY person on Weight Watchers can get in a day. It is 1,925 calories and 126 grams of fat. Yah, that is ridiculous. You could eat 4 Double Cheeseburgers from McDonalds and a medium fry. Now, the salad DOES have fried chicken so if you MUST get a salad from O’Charley’s, try the California Chicken Salad with NO dressing because if you have the dressing that comes with it...it makes it like 15 or 16 points...it has grilled chicken and strawberries and mandarin oranges. Because...having fruit on a salad sounds so much better than fried chicken and pecans.

Also, beware of salad bars. I got to adding up the points I would use on a salad at Ryan’s and stopped when I got to 20. Let me put it this way. Unless it is fat free, you have to stay away from all WHITE salad dressings. Really, French and Italian are bad too. The best is a fat free or low fat vinaigrette or Italian dressing. Only get a tiny bit. It may only say that the ranch is a few points or not that much fat but remember...that’s for 2 tablespoons. Also, the only meat you can have on your salad is deli ham, turkey OR chicken. Fried chicken, bacon, pepperoni and steak make the salad EXTREMELY fattening. Some things are ok in moderation. If you have a little cheese, a few crackers OR croutons then that’s OK. Believe me, I have had to come to terms with it myself. I love salad. Now, when I go to a salad bar, I get lettuce, onions, broccoli, a light layer of cheese and whatever fat free options they have. It’s not great but I would rather eat a meal then spend a whole day’s worth of points on a salad.

I won’t say who but someone whose voice can carry may or may not have announced that I’m on Weight Watchers so that everyone within a 5 mile radius of me could hear. I don’t really care...just not big on attention being drawn to me. It makes me really nervous for some reason when people make a big deal of the weight loss. Especially because Thanksgiving and Christmas are coming up and I have a feeling my tendency to “stock up for winter” might slow the weight loss process down a bit. We will see...I’m going to continue to try.

I'm giving out awards today...

I would like to just go on the record and say that the weather around these parts is pretty much perfection. It gets the most awesome weather award. I can’t think of anything better than a sunny day between 55 and 60 degrees. Unfortunately, it is supposed to warm up to almost 80 the next couple of days which means the rain is coming back. It was like I had never seen the sun a few days ago because it had been so long since it came out. Anyway, I love crisp, cool weather and wish it stayed like that year round. That was your weather report for Alabama...you’re welcome.

I want to take the time to award the prize for best new show on TV. I just made this award up. There are some honorable mentions. Cougar Town is pretty funny. Courtney Cox has had some work done and I find her puffy face (as well as the puffy face of her neighbor that used to be on Scrubs and The Drew Carey show...I thought she was from Frazier but I was violently corrected by someone at work) is a bit distracting at times but for the most part...I really like it. Community is also a pretty funny show. Out of all the new shows I’ve watched this season, it’s probably my least favorite but that doesn’t mean I don’t like it. I love the Soup with Joel McHale so I thoroughly enjoy the show. I also want to throw out Glee in the mix. I know the show premiered its first episode last season but this is its first full season. I love this show. I am a sucker for musicals and the show never fails to take a modern pop or rock song and turn it in to harmonious and cheesy bliss. It makes me smile and I don’t care who likes it or doesn’t. Now....for the winner...


That’s right...Modern Family. This show is awesome. It has Al Bundy (forgive me but I don’t know his real name) who is the primary father in the show and he has recently married a young woman who has a son. Al Bundy has two kids. One is a daughter with a husband and 2 or 3 kids and the other is a gay son who has a longtime partner and they just adopted a baby girl. The writing on this show is hilarious. They play on stereotypes and are clearly a dysfunctional family which is why I think that pretty much everybody can relate to it.

I don’t know what made me decide to tell you all that but I just thought you should know that if you aren’t watching Modern Family, you need to go to abc.com right now and catch up.

I also wanted to take the time to make one other tiny complaint about Weight Watchers. I will make it in the form of a suggestion. As much as I love Weight Watchers and find it to be incredibly effective...their products are truly ridiculously priced. Now, they know good and well that they can mark up their products and still sell them because of convenience. I have found that the MOST stressful thing about Weight Watchers is that sometimes, if there aren’t nutrition facts or if you don’t feel like taking 14 hours in Wal-Mart calculating points (which I do all the time) then the stuff with the Weight Watchers label is very convenient. You don’t have to estimate, the points are right there. I find that when I do estimate, I underestimate at first and then feel so bad that I probably end up counting whatever it is 3 or 4 more points than it should be. The only thing that I buy that is actually theirs is the yogurt because it’s the only good tasting 1 point yogurt and the cream cheese for the same reason. They are also pre-portioned so you don’t lie to yourself and make that teaspoon stretch into 3 tablespoons. I will go on record and tell you that there IS good cheese, stringed and sliced, oatmeal, and especially bread that is way cheaper than Weight Watchers for the same amount of points. Since, I’m in a competition mood today, I will say that the winner of the cheaper and better tasting than Weight Watchers bread goes to:


This Nature’s own bread is 40 or 45 calories a piece and is only 1 point for two pieces. It’s pretty big and very tasty. The point is...even though it sucks, bring a calculator (if you’re on Weight Watchers) and read the nutrition facts and make comparisons because there is just no reason to pay that much money.

I think that is all for today. I have much work to do in many different departments of my life. In case you were wondering, I do include watching TV in the *work to do* column on my to do list. You wouldn’t believe what ridiculous things go on my to do list. I won’t go into them now but just know that if you put shower, or take medicine on your to do list, you can scratch them off and who wants to look at a to do list with nothing scratched off...very intimidating.

Laugh. Love. Live. Bollocks.

I have spent most of the day so far trying to flush out all the crap I ate yesterday with water. It never fails that I starve on Mondays because I expand my stomach so much on Sundays. I feel like I did nothing but eat and bite my nails this weekend but I am back on the wagon today and plan on staying on it. I did so well last week and I don’t want those efforts to be in vain. I am well on my way to 50 pounds. I want to be safely over the 50 pound mark before I go to Louisville, KY for a week on November 13th so if I gain a couple that week, I will still be down 50 and it won’t be that traumatic. This is the week that my gym is closed so my Oma graciously let me borrow her stationary bike. It was a pretty good work out...not as good as my 30 minute elliptical workouts but it’s exercise that I need.

So, I found out a few weeks ago that I have jury duty. I found out today that it is grand jury and I have to be out all next week and a week in December. I was excited at first but I didn’t realize that it took that much time. I also have to be out of work a week in November so that is a week per month for 3 months...I mean that’s too much time. Luckily, my boss is very laid back but I still feel bad for doing that to my coworkers. I also hear that it is borderline impossible to get out of jury duty so I’m sure me saying, “I’d really rather not,” won’t be sufficient. Oh well, my mom says it’s interesting and it IS my civic duty. I would at least like to get some sort of souvenir like a mini-gavel or something.


The past couple of Weight Watchers meetings have been the typical, take time for yourself and don’t emotional eat meetings. I usually don’t find any of these problematic but there are times when they take the whole self love thing a little too seriously. I know that their motto is, “Nothing tastes as good as being thin feels.” I think that’s it...or something like it. Well, I can’t really speak to this phrase because I have NEVER been thin. I think as good as I’ve ever gotten is “not as fat as I usually am.” I can assure you I’ve never been thin. I don’t know...for some reason...using the word thin in the motto rubs me the wrong way. I thought their whole approach was a more health based goal...not to be thin. I’ve lost 42 pounds but I’m still not thin...you know?

Also, a couple of weeks ago...at the end of the meeting, the leader revealed a poster that said something like laugh, love and live. That may not have been the exact terminology and I probably would have remembered had the leader not made EVERYONE in the meeting stand up and force us to laugh and then hug ourselves. How uncomfortable! Also, it was stupid. Teach me how to eat better. I don’t care if you throw in a couple of positive thinking tips here and there but if you force me to laugh then I’m going to inevitably dislike you and frankly, I think that defeats the whole purpose. I don’t know if you know this about me, but I’m not the most positive person in the world. I don’t hate myself and I do laugh quite often and I think that’s good enough. It was before 10am...word to the wise weight watchers leader...never force me to stand and laugh on a Saturday morning again.

For those of you who say that my blog is “weird” or “slacking,” I would like to do the following: stare at you, put one finger in each of the corners of my mouth and then spit at you. If you want a daily blog of things that you deem funny and interesting and you aren’t finding that your needs are being met by mine...then write your own. I can’t be funny all the time. Most of the time, I’m not trying to be funny...it’s just the circumstances that happen to me sometimes are funny so if I want a blog where I make food suggestions and don’t tell a story about falling or eating then that’s my prerogative. I’m sure there will be a furrowed brow or two and perhaps a phone call from certain childhood caretakers of mine but hey...that’s just how I feel. I know those that would like it to be funny every day are those who know my potential but I got a few more things on my mind than a blog...like hopefully...my first book. Love all of my 11 followers...especially the ones who read every day even when it is just MEH.

A sad day.

I have been a little absent the past few days. Angel Pittman Burnett, my best friend Jordan's aunt, passed away after a long fight with cancer on Friday and it has been a rough couple of days. Angel was only 35 years old and left behind 3 children along with many, many other family and friends whose lives she touched. Her funeral is today so I expect it will be a long day of sadness and reflection.

In the midst of all the hard stuff...I did leap over my 40 pound goal and I am down 42.8 pounds! It's very exciting...I put up a new photo. I made my poor brother take the picture. I am also very proud of Jordan as he has also lost over 7 pounds! I hope he is OK with me sharing that.

Tomorrow, life for me will move forward but there are plenty whose lives are different now without Angel. I will keep praying for her family!!!!

Life is so unfair. Keep Hoping & Fighting.

It's all about moderation.

Boy, did I cop out yesterday. I mean what was that? Two sentences. Jeez. Trivia last night was terrible. We have fun and I enjoy the food but I hate to lose. The questions seemed really tough last night for some reason. The guy that runs it...his name is Canada...yah...I know...he always feels the need to preface the question to say how easy it is and then it’s something ridiculously obscure. I guess we would only think the questions weren’t hard if we knew the answers. Whatever. I was also informed that the trivia doesn’t stop so honestly, there might be a week in the future where I go...meh...let’s just skip this week. We’ll see. Also, a few weeks ago I started watching 30 Rock. I am very much behind but I watched the 1st season and I am 4 or 5 deep into the second. I think it’s hilarious. The new season premier’s tonight and I wish I could watch it so bad. I might watch it anyway because it doesn’t strike me as a show that could be ruined by skipping ahead. I don’t know if my OCD can handle that. I can literally feel the DVR filling up. There are a lot of things going on and in terms of priorities...all the TV shows are falling short so I am sure there will be a couple weeks of stress trying to get it back down. Apparently, you are prisoner to my stream of consciousness today. While I’m at it, I’d like to give a shout out to my friend Stacey. Her birthday is today!!! And, now I want cake.

OK...I’m just going to put it out there...I use Weight Watchers as my weight loss program. Obviously, I believe it works. In fact, I would venture to say it’s the only program out there that really makes sense. Now, when you first start you get more points. If you’re me...you get a lot of points. So, the first few weeks you still find yourself eating cheeseburgers and fries and you’re losing weight going “THIS DIET IS FREAKING AWESOME!” But, as you begin to lose and cut down a point for every 10 pounds, you begin to turn that medium fry into a small one and that double cheeseburger to a regular one. The point is that you begin to make cuts. The process is VERY slow. The reason they do this is so over time, you learn how to keep up with and control what you eat. I now have 4 points less than when I started. So, I decided I would rather eat more food at night so I eat healthier instead of wasting my points on one burger. Don’t get me wrong, I still go to McDonald’s and Wendy’s from time to time but it’s not nearly as frequent. I think once you lay out the difference between what you USED to eat and what you are eating now then you begin to see why the system works.

Here is what I would eat at Wendy’s before(Baconator):

And now(Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger):

McDonald’s before(Double Quarter Pounder W/Cheese):

McDonald’s now(Single Cheeseburger):

Pizza Hut Before(Meat Lover’s Pizza-Probably 5 pieces):

Pizza Hut Now(2-3 Pieces Thin Crust w/ham):

Chick-Fil-A Before (Original-Fried):

Chick-Fil-A Now(Chargrilled/Wheat Bun):


And of course all of these came with a medium or large fry. Now, I’m not saying these changes are always easy. Do I miss all those fries? Every Day. But, I will survive without them. I can handle that. Now, by no means am I a weight loss expert. Recently, I’ve lost almost 40 pounds but honestly, according to most doctors...I could stand to lose 100 more. Most people know how to lose weight. Knowing WHAT to do isn’t the hard part. It’s all in your head as to whether you keep with it.

It never fails that every time I type out foods that I can’t have any more...that I seriously want them...I am going to go home now and enjoy my sandwich.

A quickie.

Either my tastes are changing or I just ate the most sour apple of all times. I used to love Granny Smith, they were my favorite. The last two I bought however made my face contort in scary ways. Ick. Not worth the point that I counted them for.

Tonight is trivia night. My mom and I are going to look for a baby shower gift and then we are going to Wild Wings. I included a picture of the tenders I get. They didn’t have a picture of my beloved potato wedges. Even with my mom there last week we couldn’t score a win. I’m hoping this week is different. It’s been quite a busy day so I will have to end it here.

I told you my nerves were shot...

Yah, so I just had a MAJOR melt down in the nail biting quest. I am doing awesome on my right hand. The left hasn't been as good but I was getting them going again and then...

No big deal right? I will just start again. I will admit...it kind of relaxed me.

Honesty Isn't Always The Best Policy

I wasn’t going to post today because my nerves are shot. I won’t go into all the reasons that I am on edge but I have been chewing gum pretty fiercely and all I want to do is eat junk food. Luckily, I disposed of all the evil food at my desk so I am able to make better decisions and the story is pretty much the same at home. But, again, my desire to take my mind off of things prevailed and I decided to throw a blog up in case it helps create a diversion for others that may need one.
I wanted to reminisce on some stories of those who have been quite blunt with me in terms of food and weight in the past. These are stories that I can laugh about now. Truthfully, I probably laughed about them at the time but quickly went home to line my night stand with Reese Cups so in case I wanted one at 3am I didn’t have to get up.
The first little gem I would like to share was when a couple of years ago Jordan and I decided to order a pizza. We were at his aunt’s house and in our defense he had a coupon for some kind of family pack. Between the two of us, we had 2 pizzas, wings, breadsticks and I’m pretty sure there were also cinnamon sticks. Technically, the goal was to save some for lunch the next day. When his aunt came in, she passed the array of junk and poked her head in the den and goes, “When ya’ll get done with ALL OF THAT...there is pound cake in the kitchen.” Jordan and I burst into laughter and still use the phrase, “When ya’ll get done with ALL OF THAT” all the time.
The most recent one was probably a month ago. I think I had lost like 10 pounds so I was feeling good, still fat, but good and went out with my friend Cassandra. If you’ve been on the strip more than 2 or 3 times then you probably know that there is a special needs guy that bar hops every weekend. He is very aggressive and will smack your butt or high five you. Most of the time, he is tolerable and just moves on. We were sitting at a table and he came over and started molesting my back and just kept repeating, “I love huge chicks.” I couldn’t hear him at first so I kept asking "What?" (first mistake) and finally...I put 2 and 2 together and realized what he was saying. I mean...I am a big girl but the word HUGE is a little harsh I would say. I know I shouldn’t let the guy who has to be dropped off and picked up from the strip bother me but I gotta say...it didn’t feel great...but I can laugh about it now...sort of.
The last time I gave blood, I told the lady how much I weighed. Keep in mind I really had no idea how much I weighed because I hadn’t weighed in 3 years and I underestimated it by...I don’t know...50 POUNDS!!! When I said my fictional weight...she looked at me in shock and goes, “You don’t look like you weigh THAT much!” Um, thanks? I hate when people do that. I mean I know they think they are being nice but when they say, “You carry your weight well,” or “You are so well proportioned,” really all I hear is, “Boy, I knew you were fat but, I didn’t know you were THAT fat.” I have already told you that my ex-boyfriend once asked me very simply, “What happened?” I also know how honest old people can be. I may or may not have an old lady refer to her family member as a barrel before.
Some people just don’t have any tact. Luckily, I have pretty thick skin. You sort of have to in my family. We all love each other but we all tell each other how we feel too.
So, maybe these stories made you laugh and maybe they made you uncomfortable. I hope they didn’t make you uncomfortable because if I can laugh about them then so can you!
My Mom asked me if I was going to put a picture in every blog since I know how now and I said yes but I couldn’t think of anything...so...I just ask that you still remember the Burnett/Pittman family in your prayers and for that matter...remember everyone battling breast cancer!!!

A Plea To Touch Free Devices...Be Sweet.

I have a busy week this week. You wouldn’t feel like hearing about it would you? Oh! You would? How kind of you! I must finish reading over the work of my peers alerting them to any typographical or grammatical errors (which if you know me or read this blog...you must know by now grammar and punctuation aren’t my strongest features), I need to go with my mom to purchase a baby shower gift for my cousin, then Saturday my Mom and I are going to said baby shower which happens to be in Chattanooga. I will probably miss the better part of the homecoming game but that’s OK. I will make it somehow.
I am quite appreciative of modern technology and I enjoy the touch free toilets, soap dispensers and paper towel dispensers that we have at work. My only problem is that my very presence tends to set these devices in motion without me even coming close to them. It happens all of the time that I will walk into a stall and the toilet will immediately go off or when I go into the bathroom one of the two towel dispensers goes off. It never fails to make me feel a bit self conscious. Today when I went to use the bathroom, I opened the door and BOTH towel dispensers went off and I think even one of the soaps spat out at me. I felt so degraded. It was like I scared the towel dispensers half to death and then the soap was so mad at me that it spit. I don’t know why but I felt enormous...like just my body entering the room caused enough commotion to set everything off. It’s not just at the work bathroom either. My parents have a trash can that automatically raises up when you put your hand in front of it and every time I walk within 3 feet of the thing, my butt makes it raise up. So, I ask of you modern technology, please recognize what is motion and what is me just you know...walking around 5 feet away. Maybe it will listen.
Before I talk about Halloween, I wanted to ask that you pray that I avoid baby shower cake this weekend and that I become more aggressive with practicing my lecture I have to give in a month. I need to be slapped I guess.
Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. I hate when people are all anti-Halloween because honestly I have never had a séance or worshiped evil doers...I just love candy and I REALLY love dressing up. Most Halloweens I end up wearing 2 or 3 costumes at different occasions. This year, I know for one that I am going to go with Jordan to a coworkers party and both of us are going as rednecks. Also, I could do without any comments about how that won’t be that much of a stretch because there will be hot pink eye shadow, teasing of the hair and jacked up teeth. Perhaps a more PC term may be meth addicts...NOT that there is a connection but you know...since it’s Halloween we intend on being extreme. We can also dress up at work and honestly, I don’t know what I want to be yet. There is some pretty fierce competition here because it’s a contest so it has to be good and creative. Feel free to share your ideas. I was a butterfly at a church fall festival last year, we had a pumpkin party, we took pictures with fangs, went as someone from the 80s to a late night improvisational theatre thing and we decorated! I also included pictures of Jordan and I as the devil and angel (he was the angel) from a party last year and me as a jailbird (I had wings and a beak that I made to go with my prison outfit) at work. FUN! FUN! Only exception is that I will have to stay away from the candy this year.

Beef Stroganoff.

I didn't blog yesterday and I have come to terms with the fact that I don't HAVE to blog every day. I will be OK. I was grumpy yesterday day anyway because I lost 1.8 last week bringing me to 39.8 pounds total...only .2 from 40 pounds. I know I shouldn't complain because I lost and really it's OK because I will lose it next week *fingers crossed*. My Dad just said he read my last blog and his response was "Meh." I told him I couldn't be funny every time. My humor is natural and my art cannot be forced. Anyway, I do try to lighten up the blog but apparently last week I decided I needed to be deep. I took my cheat day seriously as usual and I am about to enjoy the dessert my mom made after eating the delicious beef stroganoff and green bean casserole she made. Well, Alabama is 6-0 (we beat Ole Miss yesterday but the picture is from the Kentucky game a couple weeks ago) and I am pretty excited. We are taking out each SEC team one at a time. ROLL TIDE! Tomorrow is Monday...BOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!

Everybody's workin' for the weekend...yahhhh!

My Mom told me that I shouldn’t wish my life away and I’m sure she is right but yet I find myself every week working for the weekend. Today I am tired. I am tired from lack of sleep. I’m tired of the media and politicians (as usual). I’m tired of trying to justify why people have to suffer. I guess today I am asking the age old question of “why?” It seems so simple to ask why...to want to know what the reasoning is that God or anyone for that matter uses to make decisions. I am of the school of questioning. The Bible never said we couldn’t question...and it’s a good thing...because I am a questioner. When I get judged after I die (I always imagine a big screen playing a DVD of all the crap I said or did wrong), in between all the questions...I’m going to try and sneak one in. Why do bad things happen to good people? Seems like old Saint Peter could clue me in to some sort of answer. I don’t deserve it though. All I do in life is complain about trivial things, why should I be so lucky to have a question that everyone in the world would like to know answered. For the past several years I have sort of affirmed to myself that in order to feel happiness, you have to feel pain. Sounds odd but it seems like if you go with the scientific reasoning that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction then you may conclude that in order to experience triumph, you have to know how to experience trial. For some reason, that excuse isn’t cutting it today. I feel like I’m rambling but that is what is on my mind right now. Why?
Instead of providing you paragraph after paragraph of my stream of consciousness, I am going to do us both a favor and change the subject. Today, I wanted to share some foods that I like that are good substitutes for other foods that you love. No substitute is really as good as you would hope but it does help to find some that aren’t just gross misrepresentations. The first thing I want to show you is mayonnaise. I can NOT STAND Miracle Whip. I think it is gross...it’s sweet and tastes like it’s gone bad or something. I also happen to think that light and fat free mayonnaise tastes like Miracle Whip. I like to have mayo on my sandwich and the only substitute that I have found that lacks that sweet taste is Hellmann’s Canola Cholesterol Free Mayonnaise. It isn’t the exact same but it’s not sweet and doesn’t ruin the whole taste of your sandwich. I highly recommend it.

The next food I recommend is Green Giant’s line of Just For One products (especially the broccoli and cheese). It’s a great way to eat a veggie and if you use points, it’s zero points so if you are starving and have no points you can eat it as a snack. I think I’ve mentioned this before and made fun of the fact that even my vegetables were reminding me that I’m single but I really do like them.

This next one is probably my favorite. My aunt introduced me to these...they are Arnold’s Sandwich Thins. The wheat ones are only one point and basically, you can eat them with anything but they are an awesome substitute for hamburger buns.

I also suggest that you try different things so you don’t get in a rut. I often find myself eating the same things every day. When I switch it up, it makes me not feel as much like I’m on a diet. You should try red meat and pork substitutes like turkey burgers (although be careful because some of those are as fattening as a beef patty) and chicken sausage (I tried it...it was OK...strange though). I also love Barbecue Baked Lays. The 100 Calorie Packs of Baked Cheetos are awesome...and there is nothing sexier than having someone tell you there is cheese powder stuck in the corner of your mouth. For breakfast, I like a big ol’ apple or some toast and cream cheese. I also like fiber granola bars (get the generic...to me they are cheaper and just as good). Anyway, hopefully with this you will try and mix it up a bit.
Remember to cheer for the tide this weekend as we try and take down the rebels. Lastly, again, please remember Angel Burnett and the whole Burnett/Pittman family in your prayers...I appreciate it.

If only people just did what I told them too...

So, because my Mom knows the Doobie Brothers, Leatherface and Homie the Clown from In Living Color, we made a much better showing at Trivia last night. After the first round, we were in first place. We didn’t do near as well in the second half and our chance at the title went away. You know what though...we went out there and did our best. We need to get a sports nut. That is what always kills us. Having my mom there was fun and we all had fun so it doesn’t really matter if we win. It does matter if we win because I am very competitive but since we haven’t come close to winning yet, the sting of defeat gets less and less brutal each week. I think I’m going to decorate the house for Halloween tonight. I’m pretty excited. I just broke one of my nails off. Ooh...that makes me mad. It was weak because I still pick at them and it peeled off. I didn’t even get to bite it. Whatever, I have to learn to leave them alone but it’s hard because I can see them on my keyboard all day looking very bitable(not sure if that’s a word).
Yesterday, I went all deep encouraging people(and myself) to not spend their life trying to please the people who aren’t beneficial to them. Well, I also have to realize that people don’t always do what you want them to do. It would be a perfect world if everyone listened to every suggestion I made and said the right things but I don’t anticipate that ever happening. I think the best example would be my brother. Overall, he’s a good kid. He has a good head on his shoulders and cares about other people. On the other hand, he is fifteen and his hormones make most of the decisions for him lately. I often set up traps for him hoping that he will do the right thing and it never works. When I stayed with him for a week he didn’t feed the dogs, he always tried to stay later than he should, he left the dogs out for hours and the back door unlocked and was not as grateful as I’d like for the bowling trip and concert I provided for him. I know that he isn’t doing these things because he’s bad...he’s just 15 and absent minded and the only thing he can think about is his relationship with his girlfriend. I guess turnabout is fair play because my mother always expected things from me that I didn’t do and it infuriated her. I am very close with my brother. I worry about him SO much...sometimes it makes me physically ill because it literally felt like he went from kid to driving teenager in one night. The point is, it’s not fair of me to test him and expect him to do things when I don’t even ask him. I have to learn to be direct. I also find myself wanting people to do things like me because those things work for me and that isn’t fair either. Different things work for different people and I just need to calm down. Sometimes people don’t believe the same way I do, exercise or diet the same, agree with my politics, like the same movies or music I do and sometimes that frustrates me. I don’t know why I am so high strung or where I get it from but I am working on it.
So, the lack of Diet Coke has been ok but I really wanted one yesterday and just now when I was thinking about lunch, I was planning on stopping to get a Large Diet Coke from Chick Fil A but then I just realized I couldn’t and I have to say...that was a pretty big letdown. I will say that the lack of caffeine has helped my sleeping situation. I also started my new book by Paul McKenna called “I Can Make You Sleep” so I look forward to having complete and restful sleep very soon. I have a lot to do this weekend for school. I can’t wait until November 22nd because the deadlines and papers and revisions will all be done and I will have a masters. I will miss the people but I am so excited about having a much needed break from school. I posted a picture of me and my brother David below. It’s a few years old but a fun memory...he was younger...he looks like a young man now. So, I wanted to use a picture where he still looked like a kid.

Defying Gravity!

Since I so intelligently figured out how to put pictures on my blog yesterday(I realize most people can do this within 5 minutes), I have the urge to go back and put pictures all in my other blogs. I decided that wouldn’t be beneficial to anyone though since those times have past but I assure you that I have been tempted. So...tonight is Trivia Night and I am bringing the ULTIMATE reinforcement...my mother. Her more seasoned trivia skills are sure to bring us the victory we’ve been hoping for...I can feel it. I just hope that the acceleration of crude behavior that happens when I’m around my friends doesn’t make her ashamed to be my mother. You should see the look she gives me when I burp out loud in a restaurant. It’s seriously the most depressing look EVER. I know that the words “where did I go wrong” run through her mind over and over until I shrug and go “whoops?” This trivia season is almost over and despite the fact that I know we won’t be advancing to the semi-state level, I still want to go out with a bang.
I was thinking today about how there are many times in my life where I back down or do things to make people happy. This doesn’t really sound like me because I am confrontational and can be quite a pill sometimes but I also HATE when people are mad at me or each other for that matter. It is very unsettling for me to think that someone I’m close with is mad at me or needs me to do something for them that I can’t provide. So, I had a boyfriend and frankly, because of him I have some very jacked up trust issues. He may read this and call me and be upset but if he doesn’t know these things as truth then I question his mental stability. I dated him at a very young age and to be honest I think he was very controlling and manipulated me. He may not have done this intentionally and I realize I’m not perfect...this blog is not going to be an ex-boyfriend bashing...I have a point (try as I might, I will not be a man hater). He never said or did anything right. He cheated, lied, and flirted but I stayed which is why I don’t think I was really in control of what I wanted. Randomly one day, I decided I had endured enough and ended it. Because of his need to feel important, he had a girlfriend within a few weeks. Despite the hurt I felt then, his new girlfriend and present wife happened to be the best thing that ever happened to me because that made it official...the five years I spent hoping that he would change had come to an end...for good. We still went to church together and I spent a lot of time trying to be the more mature person. I would do this for 2 years. I remember the Christmas after the break up, they (as in the ex and his new girlfriend) gave me a present in front of the entire youth group to open. The book was “Approval Addiction” by Joyce Meyer.

He was giving me a book in front of everyone to help me get over the fact that I try to please everyone. A book whose descriptors are like “for people who are desperate to fit in.” I can’t tell you how angry I was. This is how he operated. Who does that? But you know what? I am addicted to approval. I stayed in that church, a church where I was not happy for 2 years so I wouldn’t let anyone down. The idiot was right...for once. I don’t really care about fitting in but the part about me needing to know that people don’t have ill feelings towards me does matter. I will never read the book. I’m sure it’s just dandy but I’d be pissed the whole time I was reading it. It was like he knew he was right about this and he chose to call me out about it in front of everyone. I didn’t go to their wedding and I remember my old pastor totally judging me for it. WHO GOES TO THEIR EX-BOYFRIEND OF 5 YEARS WEDDING? Seriously! How awkward for the bride... Anyway, I had to get out. I had to leave all (with the exception of 1 or 2) of those relationships behind because they weren’t helpful to me in anyway. No matter what you do, you can’t please everyone. You can try but you may end up stuck 5 years later wondering where your early 20’s went and realize you can’t get that time back. I can’t get that time back. I was talking to Stacey the other night about those days. I said, you know...I had fun...but I don’t miss them. I am so better off surrounding myself with people who don’t try and upstage me or belittle me every time I’m around them. Again, despite the fact that I may sound upset...I am over that relationship but it took me a LONG time. I still feel the effects and it isn’t just him...it’s that whole period of time. Sometimes, you just have to give up the good fight. I am so much better now. I blamed him for my weight gain for many years but I can’t use it as an excuse anymore because the only person I need to please...is myself...as cheesy as that sounds...and it does sound cheesy. At least I didn’t type the lyrics from “Defying Gravity” from Wicked like I REALLY wanted to.
“Wind Beneath My Wings” is TOTALLY on my shuffle right now. I think that is hilarious. My Windows Media Player knows me SO well...I appreciate that. I wish there were a soundtrack to my life. I might make one...it would take me forever. Right now I will just settle for that Shania quote that you love Jordan (I know it’s tough to narrow that down)...it’s about self-esteem and dreaming...why don’t you pump that out on the comments and bless everyone this afternoon.  OK. TRIVIA. HERE. WE. COME.

Technical Savvy

It is with great hesitation that I admit I forgot to tell you something VERY important yesterday. I have been saying for months now how frigid I always am and how I want a Snuggie. Well, because I have wonderful family and friends who pay heed to my requests, Jordan brought me home a precious pink Snuggie the other night. I was SO excited. I posted a picture below of a lovely woman who is wearing one. While she looks quite swanky in hers, I look more like a giant bottle of Pepto Bismol but when I tell you that I have never been more comfy and cozy on my couch at night...it’s the absolute truth. I love this thing and on top of that...it is pink for Breast Cancer!!! If it didn’t expose my backside like an exam gown, I would more than likely make quick grocery store runs in it. It’s pretty much awesome. I ate dinner with Stacey and her little baby Alivia last night and I don’t think I have ever inhaled a tortilla-less burrito so fast in my entire life. I guess I was starving. We also went to Charming Charlie, the new accessory store I think I’ve mentioned before and I got some earrings. I love that place.

I learned how to put pictures on my blog today or at least I think I did. I feel like the more pictures I add the less likely it is that I will ramble on. My brother used to watch Barney as a child and while I found that show profoundly annoying, there was one quote that stuck with me that my mother and I occasionally bring back out and that is “I could tell you but it would be much more fun to show you.” So, I am totally with that statement because if I let myself, I will bore you with every detail and you wouldn’t read anymore so I wanted to figure out how to do pictures. Please don’t judge if there aren’t pictures to see because I WILL figure it out. I also posted a picture of my fingernails. As you may remember, in addition to trying to lose weight, I am also attempting to not bite my nails. They may not look like much but I assure you that they are WAY longer than they used to be and none of them (on that hand) are infected from my usual chomping. Even just typing about it all makes me want to bite them but I will try not to.

I think that I have over exerted myself by adding these pictures so I will say goodbye now but you can anticipate an increase in a more dynamic blog...I’m excited!

DEVASTATED.

Holy crap. I TOTALLY forgot to blog yesterday and I’m not even gonna lie...this does some NASTY things to my obsessive compulsive disorder that I am trying to deal with. I am going to try and convince myself not to freak out because you know, it’s not like Saturday’s blog was really detailed and I don’t HAVE to blog every day. Jeez...I never should have committed to every day. Oh well, here I am now. I am not sure if in the couple sentences I did manage to relay this weekend if I mentioned that Alabama beat UK but I am not scared to tell you again that Alabama is now 5-0 and hopefully we will continue to have a winning season. In other news, I made dinner for my Mom and it was AWESOME! I made chopped steak, shrimp and grits (thanks to the other Heather’s suggestion), green beans, corn on the cob, bread sticks and I also made cake and ice cream. I think my Mom really liked it. She works really hard and always cooks for us and makes our birthday special so I like to make a big deal out of hers. I know that this is odd to say after I just told you all the awesome, fattening foods I ate yesterday but I wanted to tell you that I lost 2 pounds last week bringing my total to 38! I have this feeling that it will take a couple of weeks to hit the big 40 but I don’t care...I’ve worked hard and I don’t plan on stopping so I am right on track. I am also doing a no soda experiment this month and I am interested to see if that helps me lose weight despite the fact that I only drink diet. They say even quitting those helps because you intake less sodium. We will see how that goes because I am a pretty hardcore addict of diet coke.
So, as I was approaching the door of my gym this morning, I saw a sign that said it would be completely closed for seven days starting October 19th for maintenance. I was so pissed off. I don’t understand. Why on earth would they close the whole place, equipped with a pool, basketball courts, two exercise rooms and many other facilities for a WHOLE week. I think they should at least only shut down part of it each day. I paid $100 for the year. I know that is very inexpensive considering many gym memberships but if they are going to take a week from me I think they should send me a check for $1.92 for the inconvenience. All joking aside, I am always walking on very thin ice when it comes to diet and exercise. I am one extra morning of sleeping in and one more night passing the KFC away from just letting it all go and eating what I want and not exercising. That is how I have been. At this point, I’m determined but a whole week without my routine could be dangerous...really dangerous. Now I know there are other things I can do but none that are the equivalent of getting up and doing the elliptical at 6am. It’s good to maintain consistency and I know that if I sleep in everyday for a week...it’s going to be extremely difficult to start getting up again the next week. I can’t really walk outside that early because it’s still dark then and I have no machines that have a timer so that I ensure that I do my allotted time. I am sure I will figure it out but let’s just hope it doesn’t screw me all up.
I am going to dinner with Stacey tonight and then hopefully catching up on TV. Goodness, I seem to be complaining a lot about that lately...just seems like every time I finally get to watch something, the next episode comes on.
I wanted to take a moment to remember that October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Get your pink out and do anything you can to support the movement to find a cure for this terrible disease. Also, please remember to keep Jordan’s Aunt Angel in your thoughts and your prayers as she battles with this disease...she has an inspiring and amazing attitude. www.angelburnett.net.

WOOT!

Alabama beat the stank off of Kentucky (I secretly semi-like Kentucky because I heart their colors). My parents are on the way home. I got points left for a possible McDonald's run tonight...things are good. I have a busy day tomorrow too so I just wanted to say hi! Peace!

Lemme borrow that point...

I’m in a pretty good mood. It’s Friday, Grey’s Anatomy didn’t make me want to drive nails down my arms last night, I’m almost caught up on TV, my parents are coming home tomorrow, I turned in my last five poems that were due for school and at some point this weekend, I’m going to eat cake. Oh! Also, when I came home last night, I discovered that my brother had left the dogs outside, the backdoor open and my parent’s bathroom light on. So, I called him and told him he sucked and then hung up. After that, I wasn’t sure if I would be in a good mood again for the rest of the night but I saw in the mail where I am summoned to jury duty! I am kind of excited. I think it will be interesting. Some people think I’m crazy for being excited but I look forward to being a part of the process and doing my civic duty. For some reason, it makes me feel a little patriotic. Anyway, I may hate it and have horror stories...although I’m pretty sure because of confidentiality...I won’t be able to tell you...you know...the whole if I told you I’d have to kill you thing. I still have a pretty long to do list for this weekend with school and making sure my Dad doesn’t have a stroke when he comes in the house and something is out of place.
I discovered that if I lose over 1.4 pounds tomorrow morning that I have to go down a point. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I am very happy to lose weight and I hope I lose at least that but I HATE when it’s time to go down a point. It just doesn’t seem fair that the more weight I lose, the less food I get. I mean I understand the logic, the less you weigh, the less food you need to eat to maintain. It still sucks though. I know it’s only one point but you know, I might want that one point. I also think about the future and how inevitably, I WILL have to make some sacrifices. It may just be a beer here or a small fry there so I need to prepare myself for that. I usually end up with enough points at the end of the day to have a nice, fattening snack so one day I will probably have to give that up too. Last night, I had Baked Tostitos with this white cheese dip that my parents have in their refrigerator. Dang that stuff is good.
Well, as usual, I think I have crammed way too much on my weekend agenda and I will probably have to extend some of those tasks to next week but I do hope to get a lot done. I am cooking dinner Sunday night for my mom’s birthday celebration....any ideas on what I should make? She’s the typical, “I don’t care what you make” mom so I think I’m on my own. I want something in the beef and pork category probably since I don’t get to eat those that much. I will let you know what I decide. I think that’s all for today. I have GOT to get my priorities in order...though I’m OK with the blog being at the top.

In a pickle. My goodness I misuse puns.

I wanted to first say “HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!” to my mother. I would tell her in person but she is Canada right now. I am going to cook dinner for her on Sunday even though I have no idea what I’m going to cook. I have a school deadline today and then it will be a LITTLE more relaxed until November when I graduate. I have to give a 30 minute lecture while I’m there and what I really need to do is make my family listen to it at some point this weekend. I need to go over it and over it before I go because I’ve never given a lecture before and I’m going to be kind of nervous. Anyway, I am jumping ahead I guess because I really wish it were Saturday and I was relaxing, watching the Bama game. I am kind of glad the next two weeks are away games so I can actually rest on a Saturday.
So, I wouldn’t consider myself a picky eater but there are certain things that I just don’t eat. I don’t like pickles, ANY kind of pea, ANY kind of bean (except for green beans), celery, coleslaw, cilantro, peaches (or anything peach flavored) and bananas. I also don’t care for Indian food or sushi. I know...people always say that I’m not trying the right thing or that I would like their favorite foods. Let me just say this...I have tried Indian food and sushi several times and I really just flat out don’t like it. Indian makes me sick. There is something in the spice of their food that I just literally can’t stomach. When it comes to sushi...oh my goodness. It tastes exactly like what you would think...raw fish. I’m not big on fish anyway unless it’s shrimp, lobster or fried so the potent fishy taste is NOT really my thing at all. Those are pretty much the only things I just won’t eat. I could have missed something but I think it’s a pretty thorough list. I would say that pickles are the most offensive thing to me. I don’t care if they are in a salad or there is a spear on my plate...after that...everything tastes like pickles. I think that putting pickles on a sandwich shouldn’t be standard. You should have to request pickles because it is far more offensive to HAVE pickles on something when you don’t like them then for the person who ACTUALLY likes the nasty things to add them to whatever they are eating. My mother says there is a pickle conspiracy in the world and I believe that because it seems like every time I turn around, pickles become standard on something else. Anyway, because I don’t eat some of those things, there are healthy foods that I’m missing which means my variety is lowered. So, I was going to put it out there that if anyone has any interesting veggies or fruits I might like, new brands of food I can get at the grocery store or recipes they would ever like to share...I would love to hear them. I am always looking for new things I can eat. I love to cook but I don’t cook at my house much because that involves going up stairs and despite my weight loss quest...I still HATE stairs. I know that’s lazy but it’s just how it is.
As much as I LOVE my brother and dog Pacey...I can’t WAIT for my parents to be back. I miss them first and I’m sure they have a souvenir for me and they are just so much better at dealing with the day to day crap of their house. There is so much responsibility and now that my brother is 15, he isn’t home a lot and my Dad is out of town a lot for work so I really don’t know how my Mom does it every day...especially without sticking her thumbs into Dixie’s jugular...too violent? If you think it’s too violent I dare you to spend one night with that horrifically noisy dog. I will stop complaining about her now since I devoted a whole blog to it yesterday. The point is....COME HOME NOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I want to live with people that don’t need to be fed everyday and people that don’t need money all the time and ask me if they can go places!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!