30 Day Shred- Day I'm Not Telling

Why am I not telling?  Well, maybe because it's supposed to be Day 18 when I skipped two days recently (the day after the anniversary because I was so full from Melting Pot that I thought I might explode and another day earlier this week because I slept terribly).  Those of you keeping count at home will do the math and say it's Day 16, and you'd be correct.  I feel guilty about it all day when I miss a day.  What I find to be interesting is that when I skipped the day, especially on the day where I had a terrible night's sleep, I felt physically awful all day.  My body didn't feel right, I had hardly any energy, and it was kind of tough to get through the day.  So, for the past few days, I've made myself get out of bed and do it, and then I feel great for the rest of the day.  The thing I notice the most is the energy level.  I know it's basic body science and this is common knowledge, but it's still cool to see actually happen.

I've also been able to recommend this to tons of people, one of which specifically asked about the program rather than me complaining about being tired and sore.  I think she's awesome and she can do it, and I'll probably give her my blog link so she can read my updates about the 30 Day Shred.  If you're reading this, Hi Shiri!  If not, then there's no reason for me to leave you a greeting in my post, IS THERE?

I bought a scale as well to help with tracking.  The weight I posted earlier is from the scale at my parents' house, and all the weights I'll post from here on out will be from my own scale.  That being said, I've lost 2 pounds!  It doesn't seem like much, but it's all in the rounding.  145 rounds up.  143 rounds DOWN.  I've also lost about 2 inches off the waist as of this morning, and my arms actually have some definition!  That is a first for this pasty girl.  I've always been thin, but I've never really been muscular, especially in the upper body.  I used to get pretty smokin' leg workouts in high school from all the marching (don't make fun, that mess works), but the clarinet isn't the heaviest instrument ever.

That paragraph took a nerdy turn.

Finally, I've signed up for the Ukrop's Monument Ave 10K in March.  I think I might be a crazy person, but my mom wants to do it, and I'm running with her so we can push each other to keep going.  I'm also raising money for the VCU Massey Cancer Center.  If you'd like to donate, the link to my site is here.  I'm doing this to honor my grandpa and hope that the money I raise will help other people like him and families like ours.  It's going to be a hard battle for me to get through this race, and I'm DEFINITELY not expecting to win ANYTHING, but I know I'll be able to do it.

I made it through my two seasons of Angel, just waiting on the 3rd one to come in so I can continue.  Psych started again last night, and I'm thankful to have something to entertain my Wednesdays again now that Glee isn't back until April.  However, LOST IS BACK in 6 days.  Oh, Lost, how I miss you.  How sad I will be without you.  How I hope you explain that friggin' Smoke Monster.

Seriously, what the crap are you?

30 Day Shred- Day 9

It's been over a week, and I'm still doing this craziness, so that's good.  I'm seeing results, so that's why I keep going.  I haven't weighed myself, but I know I have lost some inches.  How?  Because I'm wearing a pair of pants at work today that, though they fit me months ago, they were so uncomfortable that I couldn't button them.  Today, snug as a bug in a... pair of well-fitting pants.  My clothes pretty much all fit better.  I find that I have more energy.  It's nice.

Today is also officially mine and Jack's two year wedding anniversary.  Two years ago today, at this very moment, I was watching my bridesmaids get their hair did and thinking about how great it was to wake up to Full House that morning and wondering if it was going to snow.  (Spoiler alert: it did.)  Apparently, two years is traditionally the Cotton anniversary.  I should get Jack some Q-Tips.

Golden Globes! I love Award Season!

With the Golden Globe Awards airing on Sunday, I would like to commemorate this occasion by actually posting some predictions on who I think will win in the TV categories and why.  I would do the movies too, but since I watch more TV, I feel I am more of an expert in it than movies.  Without further ado, here goes.  (Props to Ken Tucker of EW for typing all this up so I could copy and paste it from him.)

!- BEST TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA
a. BIG LOVE
b. DEXTER
c. HOUSE
d. MAD MEN
e. TRUE BLOOD
I don't want to diss TB, which I love, but Mad Men had an impressive season this year.  Dexter could be a sleeper, but I think the men of Sterling Cooper (Draper & Pryce) will be victorious.
UPDATE- This was a tough category to predict, and now I feel smart :)

X- BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA
a. GLENN CLOSE, DAMAGES
b. JANUARY JONES, MAD MEN
c. JULIANNA MARGULIES, THE GOOD WIFE
d. ANNA PAQUIN, TRUE BLOOD
e. KYRA SEDGWICK, THE CLOSER
I'm going a little rogue on this one, and I'd love to see some Julianna or Anna love, but I'm going with Glenn.  She will not be ignored.  (Sorry, had to.)
UPDATE- I ask for it, I got it!  Yay, former Nurse Hathaway!

!- BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA
a. SIMON BAKER, THE MENTALIST
b. MICHAEL C. HALL, DEXTER
c. JON HAMM, MAD MEN
d. HUGH LAURIE, HOUSE
e. BILL PAXTON, BIG LOVE
I do not watch Dexter (yet...), but I hear amazing things about it, especially this past season.  Bonus: I love MCH from Six Feet Under, so that's part of the reason I pick him.
UPDATE- Oh my GOSH, I don't know how to feel about him wearing that cap.  It's breaking my heart...

!- BEST TELEVISION SERIES – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
a. 30 ROCK
b. ENTOURAGE
c. GLEE
d. MODERN FAMILY
e. THE OFFICE
This one's just for me.  I heart you, Glee, with a red hot, obsessive passion.
UPDATE- Yaaaay!!

X- BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
a. TONI COLLETTE, UNITED STATES OF TARA
b. COURTENEY COX, COUGAR TOWN
c. EDIE FALCO, NURSE JACKIE
d. TINA FEY, 30 ROCK
e. LEA MICHELE, GLEE
There is a reason everyone loves her.  Heck, I don't even watch 30 Rock (please don't start with me...), but I love Tina.  It may be because I am often told I remind people of her, even when I'm not wearing my glasses.  It beats a Lisa Loeb comparison...
UPDATE- Crap, I knew I should've gone with my b'day buddy, Toni.

!- BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
a. ALEC BALDWIN, 30 ROCK
b. STEVE CARELL, THE OFFICE
c. DAVID DUCHOVNY, CALIFORNICATION
d. THOMAS JANE, HUNG
e. MATTHEW MORRISON, GLEE
Again, there is a reason everyone loves him.  He's funny.  He's got that straight man shtick down.
UPDATE- His acceptance speech was my favorite.

!- BEST MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
a. GEORGIA O’KEEFFE
b. GREY GARDENS
c. INTO THE STORM
d. LITTLE DORRIT
e. TAKING CHANCE
Edies are crazy.  Watch the documentary.  It should be big again, since Hoarders has taken the world by storm.
UPDATE- Everybody loves a Hoarder.

X- BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
a. JOAN ALLEN, GEORGIA O’KEEFFE
b. DREW BARRYMORE, GREY GARDENS
c. JESSICA LANGE, GREY GARDENS
d. ANNA PAQUIN, THE COURAGEOUS HEART OF IRENA SENDLER
e. SIGOURNEY WEAVER, PRAYERS FOR BOBBY
Jessica took home the Emmy over Drew.  I call it again.
UPDATE- Whoops?  WTG, Drew.

X- BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
a. KEVIN BACON, TAKING CHANCE
b. KENNETH BRANAGH, WALLANDER: ONE STEP BEHIND
c. CHIWETEL EJIOFOR, ENDGAME
d. BRENDAN GLEESON, INTO THE STORM
e. JEREMY IRONS, GEORGIA O’KEEFFE
1. I like Brendan Gleeson, especially as Mad-Eye Moody. 2. When he won his Emmy, they played "Into the Storm," which I also played in high school. 3. I think it would be funny to hear the song again.
UPDATE- I love the Baconator.  I also like that Kyra was sincerely happy for him too!

X- BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
a. JANE ADAMS, HUNG
b. ROSE BYRNE, DAMAGES
c. JANE LYNCH, GLEE
d. JANET McTEER, INTO THE STORM
e. CHLOË SEVIGNY, BIG LOVE
Jane Lynch is incredible.  Her delivery is impeccable.  Her timing is amazing.  She is a pitch-perfect villain in a show where the characters constantly burst into song.  She deserves more than this.
UPDATE- I am so upset!  Sue does not C it this way...

!- BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
a. MICHAEL EMERSON, LOST
b. NEIL PATRICK HARRIS, HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER
c. WILLIAM HURT, DAMAGES
d. JOHN LITHGOW, DEXTER
e. JEREMY PIVEN, ENTOURAGE
AS MUCH AS IT PAINS ME to not pick NPH because I friggin' love him and I want all the awards ever to be given to him, John Lithgow is scaaaa-ry.  Mostly, as long as it's not Piven's, I'm pretty much pleased.
UPDATE- Woo!

As far as 30DS goes, I'm feeling pretty good.  I swear I look thinner, but mostly I think my perception of myself has changed.  I feel thinner, therefore I am.  I hate getting up early, and I hate side lunges with shoulder raises, and sometimes I want to leap through the TV and punch Jillian in her FACE, but it's working.  Right now, I want to begrudgingly thank her.  On Day 30, I will probably want to run to her house and thank her in person.

UPDATE- 6-11!  Which means, more than 50%!  In my head, success!  And good grief, the Golden Globes are so awkward!

Day 3

So... remember yesterday how I said that those ladies who had to grip the stair rail so they didn't fall were crazy?  I take it back!  I had to do the same thing when I left work yesterday and at home as well.  Stairs are not my friend.  However, if I feel like this after 3 days, it must be working.

I feel like it is, too.  I LOOK skinnier.  My abs look more defined.  To me, my face looks skinnier.  I feel like I've already lost an inch.  That is probably impossible, but it feels like I did.  I was thinking about my previous entry, and while I won't post a pic of me (though I'm thinking of posting one at 10, 20, and 30 days), I will tell you that when I started this, these were my stats:
-Weight 145
-Height 5'5" (I'm guessing this won't change...)
-Waist about 33 inches
-Hips about 40 inches

So... we'll see how this goes.  Ugh, I'm already embarrassed.  Knowing this is out there will surely help me keep going.

30DS Day 2

I've read all these reviews of the Shred, and these women claim that they can't move after they do the first day, that it hurts to roll over in bed, that they physically grip the stair rail for fear of falling because their legs can't hold them.  I didn't feel like that.  My legs felt sore, but it was that good kind of sore, if that makes sense.

What a difference a day makes.

My arms are totally killing me.  I know the reason behind this, though.  You're supposed to do the strength training with hand weights, and I didn't yesterday because they were in the same room with the dog and I didn't feel like getting her all riled up at 6 am.  So now, my arms are like totally meh, which should make today interesting.  My calves and thighs are pretty dang sore still.

BUT I made it through 2 whole days without quitting.  I'm counting it in the little victories for now.

Angel on TNT is wearing a bright yellow and white striped shirt.  Um... what happens in the next two seasons that Angel would wear anything besides BLACK?  Or perhaps a dark charcoal GREY?  I'm intrigued...

seriously... what in the world?

Update: decided to wear my boots with heels to work today.  might decide to punch myself in the face for it later.  good gravy, calves feel crazy.  that almost rhymes.

30 Day Shred- Day 1

Just finished the workout a few minutes ago.  It is no joke, but I'm really pleased with it.  It's definitely butt-kicking (at one point, you literally try to kick your own butt), but it'll be worth it in the end.  I did the Level 1 first, obviously, and there are 3 levels total.  Since it's 30 days, I assume you do each level for 10 days.  For me, I'm going to continue with Level 1 for 10 days OR until I feel like it's not kicking me like it was.  Either way, I'm kind of excited.

Also, though I am following what I may lose, I'm not going to post it because I'm too self-whatever to do it.  I may change my mind, but I just can't right now.  Sorry!

Other than that, nothing much here.  Just about to get ready for work.  Hope you all have a great day!

Ring, Ring, Ring.

Telephone's on Threat Level CRAZY today, so I'll keep this brief.

Because I need motivation and because it seems like the thing to do these days, I'm planning on starting the Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred on Monday, and I'll be blogging about it.  I hope to do a daily entry, BUT... we'll see how that goes.  From all I've read, even if you don't "lose" weight, you gain muscle, strength, and endurance.  Those are three things I'm okay with.  I'm watching what I eat more, and I'm tracking my calorie intake on the iPhone app Lose It!  It's kind of disturbing to physically see how many calories you can stack up in a day.

I also like that I have a little scale on my menu.

All else is pretty well.  Love my new Buffy comics still.  Love my Keel's Simple Diary.  It's a pre-printed diary with all these random questions and ways to describe your day, so it's not like your typical journal.  I would recommend getting one if you feel like have a random keepsake of your daily minutiae.  Excited for the weekend for Savannah's 1st birthday, shopping with my moms, and Girls Christmas Make-up Day.  This will be my last hurrah before the Shred.

Random tidbit- the Tuesday after next is mine and Jack's 2 year anniversary.  I cannot, CANNOT believe it's been that long.  It seems like it was just yesterday and also like I've always been with him.  Kind of the best feeling ever, really.

Bump that to Threat Level Holy Monkeys.  Must dash.  As the Canadians say, peace oot.

A Picture A Day Helps Keep Boredom At Bay.

First, an update to yesterday's entry- I did NOT watch TBL because Hubs said he would rather watch something else, and the best time to miss TBL is at the beginning when you don't really know anyone yet and everyone drops like a bazillion pounds.  Therefore, we watched (500) Days of Summer instead.  I had never seen it, but I wanted it for Christmas anyway.  Zooey Deschanel + Joseph Gordon-Levitt (or, as we call him in our house, 3rd Rock) + The Smiths = one happy jeskuh.  Also, in other blog update news, Jillian workouts are free on Comcast On Demand.  So... that's kinda awesome.  Perhaps I can get a dose of BEATINGS, BEATINGS, BEATINGS from JM herself.

Now, onto new news.  Or new updates.  New ramblings?  Eh, whatever.  I recently joined a site called Momentile.  It's essentially a daily photo diary.  You upload one photo a day, and that's it.  It's not really a social networking site, though you can "stalk" people and have people "stalk" you, and you can "stash" pics of other users that you see that interest you, but mostly it's just about capturing the moment of the day in one picture.  My sister-in-law Jo uses it, and when we were on a boat (we're on a boat, i am on a boat, sorry distracted today!) I kept thinking about how really fun and interesting it sounded.  I noticed myself looking around for something to stand out, thinking about what I would post as my pic of the day.

Apparently, it's in its early stages, so you need invites OR an iPhone.  It actually works totes awesome with the iPhone, because you take it, upload it, and you're done.  It's like 5 seconds.  And, you don't need an invite to join.  You just download the (free!) app, create an account, and go to Picture Town.  So far, I've invited Jack and my bother.  I figured they'd be the most "into" it.  However, I got 8 invites left, if anyone's interested.  And by anyone, I mean the 2-3 people who may actually read this blog... Tell your friends ;)

Sometimes, I feel like I'm really not updating this for anyone but me.  Sometimes, I like that thought.

Got the Buffy comics in the mail.  Will start shortly.  Finished "Evermore."  Liked it, didn't love it.  It's inspired me to write more, though, because it's showing me the style I DON'T want to emulate.  More like Stephenie, less like Alyson.  Still, I want to read the other 2.  Also want to read the Westerfield series Erin told me about.  Lots of things to interest me in this new year.

Beatings, Beatings, Beatings.

Tonight starts the next season of "The Biggest Loser."  As previously stated, I will pretend like I won't watch it, but I know I will.  Hopefully, it will inspire me to do something for at least a week or so.  This is my problem.  I am habitually lazy.  I know it's just my own mind I'm fighting against, but it's the hardest fight I've ever had.  I simply cannot motivate myself.  Even now, when I weigh the most ever and I'm displeased with what I see in myself, I still cannot DO IT.  I don't know what will work, but I wish I had a Jillian to give me BEATINGS BEATINGS BEATINGS and yell at me about how lazy I am.  Her total scariness and fists of beating fury would definitely motivate me to RUN FAST away from said fists.



Mostly, I just want something easy to fix the problem, but I know there's no way to accomplish that.  That's really no way to accomplish anything.  I need to break the laziness.  2010 needs to be the year I beat Lazy.  I need to take Lazy by the shoulders and SHAKE IT right out of my system.  The bad part is that, just like the late, great Mr. Fields used to say, I got that disease running all through my body.  I can fight it for a while, but eventually, I end up back on the couch, staring at the laptop or petting the dog or watching TV or staring into space.  I can't do that anymore.  Too many excuses-- it's too cold, I'm exhausted, I want to watch TV, I want to relax, me me me, blah blah blah.  Which kind of seems like the theme of this entry: Me, Me, Me.  Blah, Blah, Blah.

So... there's that.

I got a ridiculous amount of music for Christmas this year.  So far, my favorite albums are:

 Fantasies by Metric (oh, I love it so much, especially the first 2 tracks)

Sainthood by Tegan and Sara (I'm fairly certain T&S could make a kazoo album and I'd still love it, but this truly rocks) and...

Fearless by Taylor Swift.  I don't know why I love the Swifty, but I really do.

Also for Christmas, Jack got me the first two seasons of Angel, much to his own chagrin.  Also, much to his own chagrin, I kind of love it.  It isn't the best thing I've ever watched, not by a long shot, but it's cheesy and silly and it makes me laugh.  It still has that Joss Whedon charm, and that's something I'm a fan of.  Plus, I'm a fan of this guy:

cheesy Angel shot!

Alright, must dash.  If you have any tips on how to stop being a lazy lazy lazy person, please feel free.