While out shopping yesterday (Big Lots and Ollies you know it) I heard a woman calling for her daughter, Danika.  My first thought was to say "hey that's my dog's name too." but quickly realized that this would insult some people.  Of course, it's much less of an insult than to insinuate she as named after the racecar driver.

 

I also had a moment while laying in bed last night, where I realized something about myself.  But I've forgotten what the epiphany was.  How incredibly sad is that?

Unpaid principal balance:  $0.  Dang I like seeing that when I log in.  WOOT!

I left work early yesterday to head down the mountain to attend my friend TJ's wedding.  I've known him since 8th grade, also known as forever.  It was a lovely autumn scene - he's quite the decorator.  I had the pet sitter come to tend to the girls a few times to allow myself to stay over night at Mom's.

I did finally get my run in, in Altoona.  I headed towards the track at the practice field in front of the high school so for the first time I can say I finished a mile on that track (which I never did in high school).  After that first mile I took to the sidewalks for a bit, but I struggled needing to take a couple of breaks to get the 30 minutes in.  My lungs were really giving me some trouble, but what made me stop was my calves, which were aching before I even headed out.  It's kind of sad, because I have been slacking for the past week, so they had no reason to be sore.  I guess this means I need to step it back up.  I wonder how many days of running and at what distance I should go with until the race gets here in order to be prepared.

Mom made a delightful breakfast and then we both napped close to lunch time.  I eventually headed back up the mountain today to get a photobook complete before my coupon for a free one expired.  The weather was gorgeous, so the dogs were able to enjoy some time out in the sun.  I also realized that the lemons used for limoncello are the perfect amount from which one can extract enough fresh squeezed lemon juice to make a gallon of lemonade.  So, bonus, all of the ones that were zested have been used.

I feel like I've had a full weekend at this point.  Thank goodness I get one more day.

Instead of working out last night (it should have been my last run that wasn't labeled "hey go run a 5k" in the couch to 5k plan) I took that time to get my limoncello going. Yes my neck is a little stiff after hunching while zesting for around 45 minutes. But that is off of the to do list. Only 50 more things to go...

Found a container... still need to find time.

You know I'm busy (mentally or physically) when my dreams go wacky. That happened last night. Two distinct ones even, and far off from the typical topics of my wacky dreams. Who could use a nap? This girl.

Lemons were purchased last night... planer arrived today.  Need to figure out what container I plan on using and find some time in a near term evening to make my limoncello happen.  *feeling overwhelmed with the things on my calendar and things I need to complete in the next week*

Had a lovely weekend, despite the rain on the drive home today... Saturday was absolutely beautiful and perfect for a road trip.  My favorite Egg and I enjoyed a bit of time walking to and sitting by the dam/water at Laurel Hill State Park.  The leaves are really starting to go, but I think it needs another two weeks to really light up.

From there to Glades Pike Winery for a few samples and purchases, then to Sarnelli's Market where we tried and bought a few more wines from Christian Klay winery, and finally Greendance Winery where we sampled and bought even more and then sat for a fresh slice of pie with ice cream.  Awesome.

My diet bet closed out today, which I knew I wasn't going to win for a while since the scale hadn't been moving.  I was off by 2.6 lbs.  Ah well.  Admittedly it's going to be tough to push myself out the door for my run that is due this evening, but it has to happen... I have one month left, and after that, I don't need to run again.  That's good motivation.  I mapped my 25 minute run from last week and it is supposedly 2.25 miles, so I still have a bit to build up to make the 3.1 miles.

Bottle of 151 Everclear purchased. Micro plane grater ordered. Waiting to buy my lemons and get my own batch of limoncello in the works ... torture.

I headed with the youth group last night to Flood City Church for the second and last on the road stop for united services. Next week we're in our house and anticipating quite the crowd of youth. Great stuff, and so grateful teens from so many churches are making the effort to attend.

I got the nod to work on an old project a bit again today for the next several months at a lower percentage. It's decent work and (mostly) good people that I enjoy being around. It is that mostly portion that gives me some unease. Here's hoping they'll just leave me be. To quote Wayne again: "shaaaa. Are you mental?"

The scale moved! I'm down another range... 1(x-1)9! That still puts me 3.5 lbs out from this diet bet. Not gonna happen, but at least it's moving again.

This girl just submitted the request for a mortgage pay off quote.  I'm so excited!

Why so cranky! I don't know what's up, but the mood I avoided last week caught up with me. Maybe it's the colder rainy weather. Maybe it's that the scale doesn't want to budge and I'm conceding that I won't make this bet. I took a day off of working out thanks to my mood. I tried to shake it all evening, indulging in a beer, a hot bath with a book, and cooking up some yummy beets... all to no avail.

I realized this morning what I should have done was curled up w/ a hockey jersey (it's like a great big hockey hug) to stay warm last night. Right now I just want a real hug, that would be good. Soon enough I guess.

For now, I just keep checking in on the mortgage site waiting for them to process my payment properly... then I can request my final payment amount. It's almost over!

My trip past Greensburg on Saturday night went very well, it was to meet some of my dear Eggs' family. We had dinner at Rodney's in Irwin and I'm glad I took his Dad's advice and ordered the chicken parm.

It isn't a stretch to say I've experienced some interesting parents (usually mothers) with guys I've dated. To name a few, there was the one who sent me nasty messages on facebook and pretended to be someone else on there... and the one who, well, frankly loved her son just a little too much in a not quite right way. I was starting to get paranoid that every guy has mommy issues of some sort.

This was the most pleasant meeting ever, and they were so very sweet and kind to me as was the extended family that was there in celebration of a mix of birthdays that occur in September. Beware Eggs, my Mum has been asking about bringing you down, I hope you're prepared for this. You know, a couple of months ago if you had asked me if I was ready for this I wouldn't have been very sure. I'm rather pleased with where my mind is on all of this... I was definitely ready for something worth having, something good, and I'm not ashamed to say that at this point I think I deserve it.

We didn't get to talk too much, but that's okay, I was just glad to see him instead of getting that creeping "missing" feeling building up inside this past weekend. We did discuss some potential things to do for this coming weekend, so I have plenty to look forward to. Thanks to their overwhelming kindness I also have beets, yellow squash, tomatoes, zucchini, and butternut squash to fill my plate this week (note that I have already resolved that there is no way I'll be winning my current diet bet despite this last week of healthiness).

Sunday is when I made an attempt to catch up on a few things like laundry and yard work, but I didn't have a lot of time because of a youth event. I wasn't going to go, but after a couple of the kids ask if you're coming with a big smile on their faces and say "you should come" and "we've missed you" what else are you going to do but hustle to get back there. I got my 25 min run in (yay me), showered, and arrived with still soaking wet hair, but on time, to head to CaddyShak where we rode go karts and played mini putt. I'm glad I went, but I was pretty tired by the time I crawled into bed last night. Let the week begin.

Tonight was my first lesson in limoncello, making it that is... I've had my share of lessons in drinking it.  Time to get my own batch started. Too bad we can't buy grain inPA anymore, I guess my first batch isn't going to be top notch, but I suspect there will be more rounds to follow.

I had a bit of a surprise call on my way to my professor's (the delightful Mrs. Law) that will lead me on a bit of adventure tomorrow.  Hopefully my nerves won't give me odd dreams meddling with my sleep.

I was due for a trim and a color refresh so I got to see Miss Theresa last night. I love the color as it is not too far off from my beloved black, which she has long since banned from my head.

Also, the scale finally budged again. This morning I was teetering on dropping into the next 10 lb lower range. Of course, this sends my mind to yummy food like Mexican. What is my self-sabotaging issue!

Tonight youth starts back up, so I'll be hard pressed to get a full workout in if I go. I'm torn. On one hand, I should go and maybe even take the night off from working out - sometimes that actually helps, on the other hand it's off site, so they don't really need my help and burned calories are always a good thing, right?

Another good weekend... even though I had to be a patient girl and wait til noon on Saturday for the really good part to begin.  Friday night was okay too, don't get me wrong.  I headed back to the Flood City cafe, where I caught up with Beff and met a few ppl who were important to her.

Saturday morning found me making sauce to use up things that have been collecting in the freezer.  I really need to get better about marking bags... as the bag of peppers I added to the sauce clearly contained hot peppers.  Oooy.  So I have two containers of rather saucy sauce w/ meatballs in the freezer, the other two went home with Eggs.  I did use a little bit of it across the top of a batch of stuffed shells which turned out very yummy.  So yea, bad bad bad food again this weekend.  Scale still seems hung up, but no surprise... I have two weeks left, it's time to buckle down hard.

That said, yes, I did still get my run in tonight.  I think I need to get fruit heavy again starting tomorrow... but those leftovers won't eat themselves.

Last night I survived my first run of 20 minutes straight. I can hardly believe it. The first few minutes were the most daunting, mentally. When the trainer dinged telling me I was half way I was elated and starting to get hopeful. Around the 17 minute mark I really had to dig deep... fortunately, shuffle on my music queued up just what I needed at that moment, and I made it. I can't tell you how hard it was to not scream "frelling-a" when that timer went off. I'm sure the folks living around where I finished appreciate my restraint.

Even back in school I couldn't run the 1 mile they required of us as part of the physical fitness tests. This is the first time I can say with confidence I ran a mile straight (and then some I'm sure). I don't know the distance, just the time, but just across the halfway point of the couch to 5k program I ran 20 minutes!

Mental note for next job: Real walls. The little tiny walls in NC were abysmal. The half ones here are not all that much better. I should be able to speak w/o it annoying neighbors... especially if you're on projects that require you to work/deal with other people.

Mortgage company slow head shake for September: I sent a chunk of money last Friday, less than a full monthly payment's worth. As expected the money goes into 'suspense' meaning we'll hold your money but we won't count it to your account (f you). Knowing this I also send an email through their contact system saying "Payment submitted on xx/xx/2014 in the amount of $yyy.yy, please apply 100% to principle."

This time I got the person who doesn't comprehend percentages. So instead they took $100 and applied to principle and left the rest sitting in suspense. It's now been a day shy of a week since I made the payment and I have to call instructing them again what they're suppose to do. "ok, no problem, I'll put that request in for you." "when will this go through?" "It should be complete by close of business tomorrow." Yay for technology - it takes a WEEK for an electronic payment to be properly applied to an account. Ridiculous.

Note that I've done this many times before without an issue. I think this is just their way of punishing me for getting close to paying it off. One more of these type of payments and then final payment. Home stretch baby.

Why do girls focus so much on their weight?  Well, let me tell you this - after taking off 18 lbs in the past few months I feel a lot better.  My BMI is no longer considered obese, but it is still overweight.  I'm not thin, but I'm making progress.  My clothes are looser and don't hurt me by mid-day.

Now, when I go shopping looking for a flannel shirt (which is back in style, welcome back Nirvana/early 90s bliss) I shouldn't want to cry in the store.  Of course the women's cut stuff doesn't fit, I expect that.  But the men's too?  Seriously, an XL men's shirt should NOT be too tight for my arms to bend.  This "skinny" trend has gone way overboard.  Men should not be that skinny.  Pick up a weight, heck pick up anything and you'll have larger arms than what this shirt would permit.

I don't know if the designers are obsessed with the 12 year old boys in china (where the clothes are probably all made) or if the crab-people are real (reference Southpark) and planning to wuss-i-fy our country to the point of being easily overtaken.