Today begins an entirely new journey for me. Though I have been working out, my best friend came to me and told me that she found a contest on bodybuilding.com. It's a 12 week program, where you workout, leanout and post progress pictures along the way. Every week they give away cash prizes, and after the 12 weeks, if you win for the best transformation, you win a 7 day trip to Sandals in Jamaica. I will be going there next May to attend the same friend's wedding, and it would be so cool if I could either use that as my trip or get to go again. Who doesn't want to sit on the most beautiful beach in the world in there brand new bikini body?! I'm pumped.
The contest allows you to follow whatever diet/exercise program, so Shannon and I will do the plan I'm currently on, Jamie Eason's plan from bodybuilding.com. And as an added bonus, because all of the foods on my plan are clean, I'm going to see if I can also incorporate the "Blood Type Diet" and work extremely hard to lose as much weight as I possibly can. I so want to win this trip!
So, I'm still plunging away at dating myself, and now I'm about to get in the best shape of my life. Shannon is really competitive, so now that I have a challenge, I'm going to kick some ass!
Friday, September 30, 2011
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Day 8: Dating Detox
Well, I have officially made it a week. I'm still reading the book, and it is very interesting. Patti makes valid points, and the phases of the plan make complete sense. I've been doing lots of stuff alone, which is not really a rarity for me, and for whatever reason, I have been getting hit on more than usual. Is it because I don't care about being hit on right now? It's almost like when you finally get into a committed relationship, and men flock from everywhere just to get next to you. Maybe in both situations, there is a contentness, confidence and aura that is being transmitted causing the man meter to rise. Lol
Anyway, here's a list of Patti's dating commandments.
1. Thou Shalt Return Calls Promptly
2. Thou Shalt Honor Thy Dating Commitments
3. Thou Shalt Let The Man Take The Lead
4. In the Beginning, Thou Shalt Leave the Past in the Past
5. Thou Shalt Be Engaging
6. Thou Shalt Not Drink Too Much On A Date
7. Thou Shalt Not Be A Gold Digger
8. Thou Shalt Act Like A Lady
9. Thou Shalt Express Sincere Interest and Appreciation
10. Thou Shalt Not Become Intimate on the First Date
11. Thou Shalt Not Wear Too Much Bling
Anyway, here's a list of Patti's dating commandments.
1. Thou Shalt Return Calls Promptly
2. Thou Shalt Honor Thy Dating Commitments
3. Thou Shalt Let The Man Take The Lead
4. In the Beginning, Thou Shalt Leave the Past in the Past
5. Thou Shalt Be Engaging
6. Thou Shalt Not Drink Too Much On A Date
7. Thou Shalt Not Be A Gold Digger
8. Thou Shalt Act Like A Lady
9. Thou Shalt Express Sincere Interest and Appreciation
10. Thou Shalt Not Become Intimate on the First Date
11. Thou Shalt Not Wear Too Much Bling
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Sometimes in life....
people in life tell you things you don't want to hear but need to hear. I was told tonight that I'm a beautiful woman, and I'm so loved by many. But a lot of times I'm loud and curse like a sailor. Though it's more acceptable for men to do it, women should refrain from being assholes and learn to be ladies. I always find this offensive, as I am, what I consider to be very lady-like.
But this one person, that I love so much and respect completely made a very valid point. Though I am a very outspoken and an extroverted person, I can choose my words wisely and still get my point across. Do I really think I need harsh man-words to prove a point? And, who do I think I'm impressing anyway? It's not like I'm still in college and don't know any better, I'm 33 and proud of the woman I've become. There really is no use for my absurd loudness or harsh words. I can be even more beautiful on the outside as well as the inside with more cautious words. And do I really need 4 letter words for emphasis? Doubtful.
What do you think? Do women get judged for profanity? Should women be able to get away with it? After all, I'm still a traditional girl that likes doors being opened for her and a man that plays the manly part!
But this one person, that I love so much and respect completely made a very valid point. Though I am a very outspoken and an extroverted person, I can choose my words wisely and still get my point across. Do I really think I need harsh man-words to prove a point? And, who do I think I'm impressing anyway? It's not like I'm still in college and don't know any better, I'm 33 and proud of the woman I've become. There really is no use for my absurd loudness or harsh words. I can be even more beautiful on the outside as well as the inside with more cautious words. And do I really need 4 letter words for emphasis? Doubtful.
What do you think? Do women get judged for profanity? Should women be able to get away with it? After all, I'm still a traditional girl that likes doors being opened for her and a man that plays the manly part!
Day 7: Dating Detox
Next, Patti says it is time to make a dating wish list. Write a list of fun activities you've always wanted to try, the sky is the limit. Here's mine.
concerts
traveling to new places
sky diving
creating music
wine tastings
sporting events
helicopter touring
visiting beaches
spa treatments/weekends
painting
hot air balloon ride
shopping for ME
scheduling a trip that neither of us have been
ghost tours
exploring a nearby city
Now it's time to write down the names of all the restaurants you've wanted to try, ranging from the hole in the wall to the most posh five-star in town. I'm not going to say that I haven't been to some of these, because I have, but I would like to have another experience there.
Maison Lacour French
Ruth's Chris
Sullivan's Steakhouse
Flemming's
Gino's
Mansurs On The Boulevard
Nino's Italian Restaurant
Magnolia Grill
Juban's
Stroube's
Doe's Eat Place
Brandt's Maisonette
Latil's Landing at Houmas House Plantation
Camelot Club
Lafitte's Landing
Zea's Rotissarie and Grill
Enoteca Marcello Wine Bar and Cafe
Bistro Byronz
French Market Bistro
Di Giulio Brothers
Beausoleil Restaurant and Bar
Carrabba's
Brunet's Cajun
Galatoire's Bistro
Le Creole
Asian Pearl - Zachary
Pinetta's
The purpose: Once you have these lists of activities and restaurants, you'll be fully prepared when a man asks you, as he inevitably will, "What would you like to do? Where would you like to go? What kind of food do you like to eat? When a man asks you what you would like to do, he wants to please you." I always thought that when a man asks me what I would like to do it is because he has run out of original ideas. Why is it that I enjoy being taken around town not knowing where we are going or thinking about what I want to do or where I want to go? I'm used to that Type A personality, which I like, but I need to keep all of my options open. After all, one day I'm going to want to do something that I want to do and if I'm with Mr. Type A, I will only be along for the ride.
concerts
traveling to new places
sky diving
creating music
wine tastings
sporting events
helicopter touring
visiting beaches
spa treatments/weekends
painting
hot air balloon ride
shopping for ME
scheduling a trip that neither of us have been
ghost tours
exploring a nearby city
Now it's time to write down the names of all the restaurants you've wanted to try, ranging from the hole in the wall to the most posh five-star in town. I'm not going to say that I haven't been to some of these, because I have, but I would like to have another experience there.
Maison Lacour French
Ruth's Chris
Sullivan's Steakhouse
Flemming's
Gino's
Mansurs On The Boulevard
Nino's Italian Restaurant
Magnolia Grill
Juban's
Stroube's
Doe's Eat Place
Brandt's Maisonette
Latil's Landing at Houmas House Plantation
Camelot Club
Lafitte's Landing
Zea's Rotissarie and Grill
Enoteca Marcello Wine Bar and Cafe
Bistro Byronz
French Market Bistro
Di Giulio Brothers
Beausoleil Restaurant and Bar
Carrabba's
Brunet's Cajun
Galatoire's Bistro
Le Creole
Asian Pearl - Zachary
Pinetta's
The purpose: Once you have these lists of activities and restaurants, you'll be fully prepared when a man asks you, as he inevitably will, "What would you like to do? Where would you like to go? What kind of food do you like to eat? When a man asks you what you would like to do, he wants to please you." I always thought that when a man asks me what I would like to do it is because he has run out of original ideas. Why is it that I enjoy being taken around town not knowing where we are going or thinking about what I want to do or where I want to go? I'm used to that Type A personality, which I like, but I need to keep all of my options open. After all, one day I'm going to want to do something that I want to do and if I'm with Mr. Type A, I will only be along for the ride.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
The Pregnancy Pact
I am one of those people that has to be listening to some dialogue when working (mostly due to my ADD), so sometimes, I will find a movie on YouTube and listen to it while completing various tasks at work. I usually make sure that it is upbeat, funny and PGish, in fear there might be some steamy sex scene and get busted. I finally finished listening to Mean Girls 2, which was pretty boring unlike the first one, when I stumbled along The Pregnancy Pack. At first thought it seemed it might be something deeper then comedy, and after a few minutes realizing it was true, I had a feeling that it was something that needed listening. I am astounded that this is a "based on a true story." So, If you haven't seen it, it is certainly worth watching, particularly if you have female children. Let me see if I can come up with some press about it.....
Pregnancy Boom at Gloucester High
As summer vacation begins, 17 girls at Gloucester High School are expecting babies — more than four times the number of pregnancies the 1,200-student school had last year. Some adults dismissed the statistic as a blip. Others blamed hit movies like Juno and Knocked Up for glamorizing young unwed mothers. But principal Joseph Sullivan knows at least part of the reason there's been such a spike in teen pregnancies in this Massachusetts fishing town. School officials started looking into the matter as early as October, after an unusual number of girls began filing into the school clinic to find out if they were pregnant. By May, several students had returned multiple times to get pregnancy tests, and on hearing the results, "some girls seemed more upset when they weren't pregnant than when they were," Sullivan says. All it took was a few simple questions before nearly half the expecting students, none older than 16, confessed to making a pact to get pregnant and raise their babies together. Then the story got worse. "We found out one of the fathers is a 24-year-old homeless guy," the principal says, shaking his head.
The question of what to do next has divided this fiercely Catholic enclave. Even with national data showing a 3% rise in teen pregnancies in 2006 — the first increase in 15 years — Gloucester isn't sure it wants to provide easier access to birth control. In any case, many residents worry that the problem goes much deeper. The past decade has been difficult for this mostly white, mostly blue-collar city (pop. 30,000). In Gloucester, perched on scenic Cape Ann, the economy has always depended on a strong fishing industry. But in recent years, such jobs have all but disappeared overseas, and with them much of the community's wherewithal. "Families are broken," says school superintendent Christopher Farmer. "Many of our young people are growing up directionless."
The girls who made the pregnancy pact — some of whom, according to Sullivan, reacted to the news that they were expecting with high fives and plans for baby showers — declined to be interviewed. So did their parents. But Amanda Ireland, who graduated from Gloucester High on June 8, thinks she knows why these girls wanted to get pregnant. Ireland, 18, gave birth her freshman year and says some of her now pregnant schoolmates regularly approached her in the hall, remarking how lucky she was to have a baby. "They're so excited to finally have someone to love them unconditionally," Ireland says. "I try to explain it's hard to feel loved when an infant is screaming to be fed at 3 a.m."
The high school has done perhaps too good a job of embracing young mothers. Sex-ed classes end freshman year at Gloucester, where teen parents are encouraged to take their children to a free on-site day-care center. Strollers mingle seamlessly in school hallways among cheerleaders and junior ROTC. "We're proud to help the mothers stay in school," says Sue Todd, CEO of Pathways for Children, which runs the day-care center.
But by May, after nurse practitioner Kim Daly had administered some 150 pregnancy tests at Gloucester High's student clinic, she and the clinic's medical director, Dr. Brian Orr, a local pediatrician, began to advocate prescribing contraceptives regardless of parental consent, a practice at about 15 public high schools in Massachusetts. Currently Gloucester teens must travel about 20 miles (30 km) to reach the nearest women's health clinic; younger girls have to get a ride or take the train and walk. But the notion of a school handing out birth control pills has met with hostility. Says Mayor Carolyn Kirk: "Dr. Orr and Ms. Daly have no right to decide this for our children." The pair resigned in protest on May 30.
Gloucester's elected school committee plans to vote later this summer on whether to provide contraceptives. But that won't do much to solve the issue of teens wanting to get pregnant. Says rising junior Kacia Lowe, who is a classmate of the pactmakers': "No one's offered them a better option." And better options may be a tall order in a city so uncertain of its future.
Read more: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1816486,00.html#ixzz1ZBf9d3vo
Pregnancy Boom at Gloucester High
As summer vacation begins, 17 girls at Gloucester High School are expecting babies — more than four times the number of pregnancies the 1,200-student school had last year. Some adults dismissed the statistic as a blip. Others blamed hit movies like Juno and Knocked Up for glamorizing young unwed mothers. But principal Joseph Sullivan knows at least part of the reason there's been such a spike in teen pregnancies in this Massachusetts fishing town. School officials started looking into the matter as early as October, after an unusual number of girls began filing into the school clinic to find out if they were pregnant. By May, several students had returned multiple times to get pregnancy tests, and on hearing the results, "some girls seemed more upset when they weren't pregnant than when they were," Sullivan says. All it took was a few simple questions before nearly half the expecting students, none older than 16, confessed to making a pact to get pregnant and raise their babies together. Then the story got worse. "We found out one of the fathers is a 24-year-old homeless guy," the principal says, shaking his head.
The question of what to do next has divided this fiercely Catholic enclave. Even with national data showing a 3% rise in teen pregnancies in 2006 — the first increase in 15 years — Gloucester isn't sure it wants to provide easier access to birth control. In any case, many residents worry that the problem goes much deeper. The past decade has been difficult for this mostly white, mostly blue-collar city (pop. 30,000). In Gloucester, perched on scenic Cape Ann, the economy has always depended on a strong fishing industry. But in recent years, such jobs have all but disappeared overseas, and with them much of the community's wherewithal. "Families are broken," says school superintendent Christopher Farmer. "Many of our young people are growing up directionless."
The girls who made the pregnancy pact — some of whom, according to Sullivan, reacted to the news that they were expecting with high fives and plans for baby showers — declined to be interviewed. So did their parents. But Amanda Ireland, who graduated from Gloucester High on June 8, thinks she knows why these girls wanted to get pregnant. Ireland, 18, gave birth her freshman year and says some of her now pregnant schoolmates regularly approached her in the hall, remarking how lucky she was to have a baby. "They're so excited to finally have someone to love them unconditionally," Ireland says. "I try to explain it's hard to feel loved when an infant is screaming to be fed at 3 a.m."
The high school has done perhaps too good a job of embracing young mothers. Sex-ed classes end freshman year at Gloucester, where teen parents are encouraged to take their children to a free on-site day-care center. Strollers mingle seamlessly in school hallways among cheerleaders and junior ROTC. "We're proud to help the mothers stay in school," says Sue Todd, CEO of Pathways for Children, which runs the day-care center.
But by May, after nurse practitioner Kim Daly had administered some 150 pregnancy tests at Gloucester High's student clinic, she and the clinic's medical director, Dr. Brian Orr, a local pediatrician, began to advocate prescribing contraceptives regardless of parental consent, a practice at about 15 public high schools in Massachusetts. Currently Gloucester teens must travel about 20 miles (30 km) to reach the nearest women's health clinic; younger girls have to get a ride or take the train and walk. But the notion of a school handing out birth control pills has met with hostility. Says Mayor Carolyn Kirk: "Dr. Orr and Ms. Daly have no right to decide this for our children." The pair resigned in protest on May 30.
Gloucester's elected school committee plans to vote later this summer on whether to provide contraceptives. But that won't do much to solve the issue of teens wanting to get pregnant. Says rising junior Kacia Lowe, who is a classmate of the pactmakers': "No one's offered them a better option." And better options may be a tall order in a city so uncertain of its future.
Read more: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1816486,00.html#ixzz1ZBf9d3vo
Monday, September 26, 2011
The 11 Most Annoying Things Single Women Don’t Want to Hear
11. Use this time to work on you. Anytime’s a good time for self-improvement. I know some women need to decompress following a really bad or hurtful relationship, but singleness need not be the sole reason to chase a dream or chip away at a personal flaw. Shouldn’t that just be a part of life, hitched or not?
10. Stop being so picky. A woman wants what she wants. But if expecting a man to have a job, his right mind, some manners, and all of his front teeth — and not the gold kind — makes a gal picky, then guilty as charged.
9. Just pray about it. With tsunamis and floods, hurricanes and storms, and the presidential election coming up, too, I refuse to bother God with the deets of my love life anymore. Unless He just needs a good chuckle.
8. Is that what you’re wearing to go out? No, actually it’s not. I was just about to change into my man-magnet lace bra top and hot pants.
7. I envy you. I wish I was still single. Can we be honest with each other right here? If you really wanted to be single, boo, you would be. It’s free and available to anybody who wants to have it. Plenty of it to go around. So don’t feign envy at my marital status.
6. It’s his loss. That might’ve made me feel better when I was in the fifth grade. Maybe a scratch and sniff sticker to go along with the advice would help heal the hurt.
5. Have you tried [insert online dating site here]? I know the commercials are convincing. Just pay your little membership fee and love pops into your inbox. But I can count on one hand how many people I personally know who’ve scored dates with reasonably compatible dudes on those sites, much less a whole relationship. And besides, the guy in the eHarmony commercial is creepy. Talking about he might not be single after their second date?! Yikes.
4. Let me introduce you to my nephew/son/cousin/brother/co-worker/personal trainer/mechanic/dentist/lawyer/butcher/bail bondsman. There are times when two people seem like they would just so totally hit it off that it’s almost stupid to not try to at least introduce them, then sit back and watch the sparks from your romantic handiwork fly. But sometimes folks get desperate — even if you’re not — and all it takes for some lucky dude to become their single friend’s next date is the fact that ... well, he’s a dude.
3. Do you go out to places where you can meet men? Where exactly are these fabled places where I can just pluck men like fresh produce off the trees, ripe and ready for commitment? Gimme an address to plug into my GPS. Rare is the woman whose main dating problem is that she’s holed up in her home. We’re out there but, short of having an experience that would make prophets out of The Weather Girls, it’s not necessarily raining men.
2. Stop focusing on it so much and let it happen. Ah, you got me. Here I was doodling “Janelle loves Anonymous” all over my notebooks. I’m a single mother, I own a business, and I’m not lamenting the absence of a husband in my household. It would’ve been nice to be married, yes. But my life’s work is not unfulfilled because I never had an engagement ring slipped onto my left hand.
1. Gasp! You’re so great/wonderful/amazing. Why are you still single? Even I can never think of an answer snarky enough for this one.
Read more: http://thestir.cafemom.com/love_sex/126396/the_11_most_annoying_things
10. Stop being so picky. A woman wants what she wants. But if expecting a man to have a job, his right mind, some manners, and all of his front teeth — and not the gold kind — makes a gal picky, then guilty as charged.
9. Just pray about it. With tsunamis and floods, hurricanes and storms, and the presidential election coming up, too, I refuse to bother God with the deets of my love life anymore. Unless He just needs a good chuckle.
8. Is that what you’re wearing to go out? No, actually it’s not. I was just about to change into my man-magnet lace bra top and hot pants.
7. I envy you. I wish I was still single. Can we be honest with each other right here? If you really wanted to be single, boo, you would be. It’s free and available to anybody who wants to have it. Plenty of it to go around. So don’t feign envy at my marital status.
6. It’s his loss. That might’ve made me feel better when I was in the fifth grade. Maybe a scratch and sniff sticker to go along with the advice would help heal the hurt.
5. Have you tried [insert online dating site here]? I know the commercials are convincing. Just pay your little membership fee and love pops into your inbox. But I can count on one hand how many people I personally know who’ve scored dates with reasonably compatible dudes on those sites, much less a whole relationship. And besides, the guy in the eHarmony commercial is creepy. Talking about he might not be single after their second date?! Yikes.
4. Let me introduce you to my nephew/son/cousin/brother/co-worker/personal trainer/mechanic/dentist/lawyer/butcher/bail bondsman. There are times when two people seem like they would just so totally hit it off that it’s almost stupid to not try to at least introduce them, then sit back and watch the sparks from your romantic handiwork fly. But sometimes folks get desperate — even if you’re not — and all it takes for some lucky dude to become their single friend’s next date is the fact that ... well, he’s a dude.
3. Do you go out to places where you can meet men? Where exactly are these fabled places where I can just pluck men like fresh produce off the trees, ripe and ready for commitment? Gimme an address to plug into my GPS. Rare is the woman whose main dating problem is that she’s holed up in her home. We’re out there but, short of having an experience that would make prophets out of The Weather Girls, it’s not necessarily raining men.
2. Stop focusing on it so much and let it happen. Ah, you got me. Here I was doodling “Janelle loves Anonymous” all over my notebooks. I’m a single mother, I own a business, and I’m not lamenting the absence of a husband in my household. It would’ve been nice to be married, yes. But my life’s work is not unfulfilled because I never had an engagement ring slipped onto my left hand.
1. Gasp! You’re so great/wonderful/amazing. Why are you still single? Even I can never think of an answer snarky enough for this one.
Read more: http://thestir.cafemom.com/love_sex/126396/the_11_most_annoying_things
Day 6: Dating Detox
So, here's the kicker...next assignment: Take the 25 qualities that are important to you in each category and pick the 10 traits that are the most crucial. Ugh! This was REALLY hard for me to do, most of them seemed to be deal breakers, but I think I did my best in making my list. In no particular order....
1. Tall/Dark/Dark Hair/Handsome/Big Upper Body
2. Adventurous
3. Loving
4. Smart/Computer Genius/Wants to Learn New Things
5. Social/Life of the Party/Extrovert
6. Funny/Humorous/Makes Me Laugh
7. Financially Blessed
8. Spends Money Wisely
9. Spoils His Mate/Himself
10. Looks for New Ways to Make Money
Now, apparently, you're supposed to narrow them down to the top 5 non-negotiables. Really? Lol. It was tough enough to get down to 10....they are in order this time....
1. Loving
2. Social/Life of the Party/Extrovert
3. Funny/Humorous/Mkes Me Laugh
4. Financially Blessed
5. Spoils His Mate/Himself
1. Tall/Dark/Dark Hair/Handsome/Big Upper Body
2. Adventurous
3. Loving
4. Smart/Computer Genius/Wants to Learn New Things
5. Social/Life of the Party/Extrovert
6. Funny/Humorous/Makes Me Laugh
7. Financially Blessed
8. Spends Money Wisely
9. Spoils His Mate/Himself
10. Looks for New Ways to Make Money
Now, apparently, you're supposed to narrow them down to the top 5 non-negotiables. Really? Lol. It was tough enough to get down to 10....they are in order this time....
1. Loving
2. Social/Life of the Party/Extrovert
3. Funny/Humorous/Mkes Me Laugh
4. Financially Blessed
5. Spoils His Mate/Himself
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