T.V. Junkie

I guess I ought to be more specific. I am an NCIS junkie. When I was dog/house-sitting a few months ago, I watched a lot of television, because there wasn't much else to do. I came across a show I knew my parents liked to watch, so I decided to sit and watch an episode or two.

I was hooked.


I'm sorry, but Mark Harmon is... dreamy. He plays brooding, ornery Agent Gibbs well, and the chemistry the whole cast has is just awesome. You can't help but develop a crush on McGee, want to be buds with Abby the Girlie-Goth, wish you were tough like Ziva, want to give Ducky a hug, and want to slap Tony in the face. I just love it.

Anyway, on to more important things... such as OCTOBER!!! Fall leaves, football, Oktoberfest, hoodies, pumpkins, and HALLOWEEN. I've been listening to my Halloween mix on my iPod (which you are getting a taste of right now, if your sound is turned up!) and I love it. I think I might actually have to use my down comforter tonight - it's chilly in my room!!

A few weeks ago, I went camping with Steve, Shawn, Kate, Mar, Jesse, and Addie. We went down to Zion's for the weekend, and it was SO pretty! Kinda warm, but gorgeous down there. The boys hiked the Subway, and us girls took it easy and hung around camp, drove into town, and went on a little "hike" (more like a nature walk) to Weeping Rock. Other than a bit of rain we got on Saturday night, it was pretty much perfect!



Addie is such a good camper. Good thing, because she'll grow up doing it a lot!


Such a ham.

Anyhow, I know you probably can't tell really well from the picture of me above, but as of today, I've lost 23 pounds. I feel better, sleep better, and my clothes fit better... they're even getting too big! Emily A., I will probably need more pictures soon! *wink wink*

Happy October, everyone!

Well THAT Can't be Right...

First of all, thanks everyone, for your positive reinforcement! You don't know what it means to me, to know that I have "cheerleaders" of sorts, rooting for me. :)

When the lab results came back from my most recent round of blood work, I was told that my thyroid wasn't functioning properly, and that I needed a mild medication for that. (Great - ANOTHER medication to go with my bad cholesterol medication.) So I am currently treating bad cholesterol and a mildly dysfunctional thyroid. Lovely. Well, at least I know why I've gained a bunch of weight during the past 6 months. But it's time to get rid of it.

I mentioned in my last post that I was going to do something about it, and go on a strict diet. Well, I wasn't kidding. I'll tell you more about how I'm doing it in a later post, but let me just say that the weight is starting to come off, FINALLY. As a matter of fact, I stepped on the scale on Monday or Tuesday, and saw the number and thought, "Wait, THAT can't be right." So I tried two or three times, but yep - it registered a 12-13 pound loss. That's right, I said loss. Don't worry, I'm still eating and going for walks, I'm not starving myself, or letting my muscles get flabby.

So far, I feel a lot better, my clothes are getting baggier, and I still have energy (except when I sit in front of a computer all day, which is... oh yeah, EVERY day). Like I said, I'll explain more later about the program I'm doing, but in the meantime, I'm learning a ton! I discovered that I tend to retain a lot of water - probably because of my love of soda and salty Mexican food. So, if anyone else out there has that same issue... here's a remedy.

Health Tip: Drinking hot/warm lemon water helps rid your body of excess water weight. Real lemon juice is a natural diuretic and combining it with warm water helps it get through your system faster. Sounds crazy - getting rid of water with water? But it works! :)