More Insights and My Scale Phobia

Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who commented yesterday. You guys are so sweet! Reading your comments seriously made my day.

Ready for another edition of things I've noticed in Italy? Let's begin.

1. Almost everyone (women that is) wear their boots tucked into their pants. Ok, as a shorter girl with legs resembling more of a tree branch than a twig, I'm not so sure my legs will cooperate with this trend. Also, tights with boots and short skirts are big here too. Again...not so sure I can work the tight-wearing trend. I'll give it a try though. Especially because I LOVE the boots they wear here. Buckles and high heels galore!

2. A good way to tell you are an American? Wearing blue jeans. I have yet to see jeans on an Italian woman or man. I'm sorry, but I just refuse to give up my jeans.

3. So, I noticed on post that there was a building called the Italian Mensa. I thought it a bit odd that there would be a Mensa society on post, but dismissed it. Only later did I find out that mensa means cafeteria. Ha!

4. AFN sucks. Seriously. I have been stuck watching wrestling for what feels like the past three nights. Me? I'm up for some Six Feet Under. Sean? Loves the fact that pay per view wrestling is shown for free. This man hasn't watched wrestling in ten years, yet can't get enough of it now. Yes, he knows it's fake.

5. The best AFN "commercial" goes a little like this. "You can laugh and joke around", said three times showing three different groups of people living it up. "But Not at the gate!!!" To the effect you can't joke around about bombs at the gate. Seriously, is anyone that stupid to joke around about having a bomb on a military installation? I hope not.

I went by the ITR office yesterday to sign up for the Florence trip. Bad news though. It seems that we won't be able to go. Evidently 25 is the minimum number to go and I was like the 10th person to sign up. I'm sad! I want to see Florence dang it!

I've been decent at working out this week. I went to the gym yesterday and did Turbo Jam this morning in the room. I do enjoy Turbo Jam, but the host, Chalene Johnson annoys the crap out of me. Nobody should be that perky about kicking and punching. Nobody!

Although I've been trying to cut back on my food intake and upping my working out, I still refuse to step on the scale. I have my digital scale with me, but I'm frightened to get on it. I'm not sure I've gained weight, as my pants still fit great and aren't tight, but I'm just too scared to face the truth of what the scale says.

I know, I know...I'm a sissy.

Well, I'm off. Hope everyone has a lovely Wednesday!

Pounds and Puppies

Well, here I am at work...alone downstairs again. Never fear though, I still have some mail to do and I also brought along my new Budget Travel to keep me busy.

There is an office to the left of us that part of it is overhead our filing room, well they are doing some work up there and whoever is doing it sounds like they could be trying out for Riverdance. They are loud! It goes a little something like this, " tap, tap, hammer, hammer, hammer, BANG, tap, tap tap."

So I finished my first Jen Lancaster book this weekend. For those of you already on the Jen Lancaster wagon that read her several years ago, bear with me. I just got introduced to her books. It's been awhile since I have laughed so hard reading a book. Several times I had to put down the book and actually wipe away tears because I was laughing so hard. Sean kept asking me what was so funny, but when I would read the passage he didn't think it was as funny as I did. Guess you have to actually read the book to get the gist of it. I cannot wait to get her next two books. I'm officially hooked!

A friend of mine is in the process of moving to her first military post this week and we've been talking the last few months about what she should expect, etc. She asked me last week if I ever forgot the fact that I lived on a military post. I don't know about you fellow military wives, but I never forget that fact.

Perhaps it's the fact I see people in ACU's everyday, the constant helicopters flying over or the sounds of mortars going off and gunshots from the ranges, but I never forget where I'm at. I like the fact I live on military post, but it's so different from what I was used to. I guess in time you just adjust to it and it becomes your life. Well, at least that's what I told my friend.

You know it's funny, because I told Sara last week when she was visiting that I feel closer to her and other bloggers on here than I do some of the women that I've met here at Ft. Polk. I don't know if it's because the people that blog on here seem to be more similiar to myself or exactly what it is. Makes me grateful for blogging!

I was walking Boomer yesterday and we passed a lady with a large dog, I think he was a Boxer. She told me I was lucky for having a smaller dog. I just smiled and said yes, but what I should have said was....

"Yes, I consider myself lucky that my small dog likes to run underneath my bed and chew up the underside of the mattress"

"Oh and let's not mention what he's destroyed since we got him, too many of my chapsticks to count (in fact, just one this morning) fall decorations, a library book, a photo album, countless things out of the trash and oh yeah that roll of toilet paper last night"

Don't get me wrong, I love Boomer, but he is a handful! I can only imagine if he were larger what he would get into!

So I have a question, how is it possible that after eating sort of crappy last week that I didn't gain any weight until this morning when I stepped on the scale and was 2 lbs heavier than yesterday. I even went and ran 3 miles yesterday! How is this possible? I hate my scale. My goal is to lose those pesky ten more pounds before I leave Fort Polk. I'm going to try my hardest to accomplish that. Even if it means no more Reeses and cutting down on my potato intake. ::sigh::

Eating well and a small celebration.

I've been discussing nutrition off and on lately with various friends as there are a few of us who are trying to lose weight.

One of my friends was talking about how she was going to stick to her diet this week, but if she hadn't lost any weight she was cutting out all carbs, sugars and dairy.

Personally? I could never do that. I know a lot of carbs and sugar aren't good for your body, but I could never cut all of that out completley, especially not dairy. I love dairy, even when my body doesn't always take it that well. I'm slightly lactose-intolerant, so usually milk in the mornings doesn't sit too well with me.

I understand where my friend is coming from on losing weight. I had an incident happen earlier this year that finally pushed me to lose the extra weight I had. A doctor here on post point blank asked me if I had a problem with my weight and I had to admit I did. I wasn't happy where I was at that time and didn't feel comfortable with my body. He advised me to go low-carb, cut out dairy, but I tried it for a few days and couldn't do it. I realized I was never going to lose weight forcing myself on an eating plan that I couldn't handle. So, I looked into the low glycemic diet. It's honestly the best thing I've ever tried. I don't stick to it religiously, but I feel that everyone needs wiggle room. If I want to go eat Olive Garden or enjoy some mashed potatoes then I'm going to. I might have to make adjustments to the rest of my eating that day, but I don't like denying myself anything.

I started this new eating plan/more exercise kick back in March. I was 163 lbs that day at the doctor's office and today I am happy to report I am down to 145. I checked my BMI yesterday and according to it I'm no longer overweight. I still have about 10-12 lbs to go until I am down to my goal weight,but being able to wear things I haven't worn since my early college years is fantastic. When I went home last time my mom told me that's the skinnest she's seen me since high school. I'm still at a size 12 jean and I know I'll never be down to a 3/4, but I'm ok with that. My goal wasn't to be tiny, but to be in the best shape I could be.

I'm hoping that by the end of October I'll be down to my goal weight, that will put me at losing about 30 lbs in 7 months, which I think is a realistic goal for me. I'm more than ready to shock my relatives who haven't seen me since my wedding with the new me.