She made me do this..her. yep that one riiiight there.

12:24pm: Today
Everything was going so well. I woke up at 7:15 and took the dog out. I brought him back upstairs and convinced him I was also going back to bed and was able to sneak out and go grocery shopping for the first time in weeks. I came home and put away the groceries and then woke the dog up for breakfast. We player for a bit while waiting for the guy to come and give us an estimate on replacing the carpet on the stairs. I tidied up while waiting and then a little more while the gentleman gave us the estimate and wrote up the install paperwork. All in all a totally productive morning.

Dozer was snoozin' by the time the carpet guy left so I put him in his crate and took a peaceful shower and got myself dressed in total no-bark quiet. I then removed Dozer from his crate and put him on the bed so I could break down the crate and take him to the office. I folded up the crate and brought it downstairs just in time to hear Dozer whine. I ran upstairs to get him and there, as if God needed to say "fuck you for having a good day", he was peeing on my BRAND FUCKING NEW Comforter.

Can Erin catch a fuckin' break? It seems like "No" will forever and always be the answer to that question.

9:46am: Done, with a medal to prove it,
So this weekend just before my race Hally sent me an email saying that she hoped I got everything was looking for out of my race. That really got me to thinking about the reasons I was even getting out there to run the thing. So here's my list of things I got out of/learned doing this:

1. I learned I can do anything I want to really, so long as I put in the work.
2. Never eat anything on the morning before the race that you haven't eaten many times before.
3. My family is amazing and my friends are wonderful and supportive even when they can't imagine why I'd do this to myself.
4. Last place is the person sitting on their couch, even if you don't make it to the finish line at least you tried.
5. It still feels good to know that I came in before SOMEONE.
6. The finish line feels further away the closer you get to it.
7. I have no desire to run a full marathon...ever.
8. I do not look pretty when I run and never will.
9. Port-o-john's will never be more disgusting than directly after the starting gun goes off for a marathon of 40,000 participants.
10. This accomplishment makes me more determined to get to my other goals, very very determined. A "I'd give up chocolate if I had to" kind of determined. (I hope it doesn't come to that)

While I wish I had run better I am still pleased that I finished, I finished running over the line, and I wasn't injured in any way. We'll see how 2 more months of training and work help when I run the next one in March!

Thanks again to everyone who came out to cheer me on, it means the world to me and really kept me going, you guys are the best!

11:01pm: Nothing like a good run to...
make you so hungry you could eat a cow and then so tired you just kinda collapse. And then 3 hours later you sit up in bed and go, "huh I'm completely wide awake, now what?"

I did 13 miles today in order to prove to myself that I could finish the race and not let down my whole family. And I'm achy but not miserable but I wish I could sleep, I just want to sleep until tomrrow but apparently I can't do that.

13 miles...that's a lot, more than many. And after doing that I have decided that I will not ever run an actual marathon. 13 miles is enough, more than enough. Sure I'll keep running once the race is done but I'm thinking I have proven my point to myself.

So tired.....wish I could sleep.

12:21pm: New Year...bah humbug
So i find myself getting into a bit of a depression this season. I tried to cure it with a trip to NYC with friends and that just temporarily lifted me up until I got home. Now here I am back in the dumps wondering what the hell I'm doing. I've been lax about running, horrible about eating, and completely stupid when it comes to work. I have no motivation to do anything except sit, nap, or eat. And now to top it all off there this New Year thing looming on my horizon.

Now, I have given up on resolutions, they simply do not work. You go all gung ho for a few weeks and then when its far enough from New Year's that it seems like no one else will remember your promise, you give up because it is too hard. But part of me still really wants to make a change for the better. Not because it is a new year but because it is the right time to do so.

So today in the grand and yet to be ended year of 2008 I paid off all of my debt. Yep my car is now mine and mine alone to have and to hold from this day forward. And all my credit cards have a zero balance. I owe nothing to anyone in a long term fashion. I have insurance payments, cable and electric bills, and HOA fess. That's it. Normal monthly expenses.

And on top of that monetary goodness I was also able to open an IRA this year, so that maybe I won't have to work my entire life away.

I'm feeling mighty adult today. And I am hoping to carry my new-found adultness into the upcoming year and remain debt-free and savings-rich. Tonight I re-do my budget for the next year without having to consider a car payment!

Funny that the depression is still with me after such a dramatic change in my life. But I guess that just leaves me one more puzzle to work on.

I hope you all find the coming year just as you want it to be, Happy New Year.

9:07pm: 10 miles motherfuckers!!
SO tonight I ran 10 whole miles. I feel very accomplished and much less worried about actually being able to finish the half marathon in January. I am very tired, a little sore (in that good, I did excercise kinda way), and I stink. So now its time to shower but I had to take a moment to bask in my achievement.

11:22am: Voting and other nonsense
Today after 7 years and 53 days of living in AZ, I got to vote for the first time. Now I am not saying that I didn't try to vote in past elections, but my vote in those simply didn't count. I was never on the rolls, despite registering to vote 3 days after arriving here. I had to cast provisional ballots (which don't get counted unless and election is very close). But this year my vote counted. I filled it out and swooshed it into the scantron machine and off it went speeding my democratic choices into the electronic world. I'm excited. But a little scared too, things could go so very right, but also so very horribly wrong. And I'm leaving it at that, those of you who know my views know them, but I'm not posting them here. I will say this though. Please vote. For whomever you want, but vote.

In other news I've been a total slacker with the running and such and today I'm getting my ass back on track. This week begins the 5 miles a day runs with the 7 mile weekends. Here's hoping I don't die.

1:42pm: Awesomeness of Awesome
Coldstone Creamery has put out a new taste treat for all of us watching our calories. It is a fat-free, plain frozen yogurt that only has 25 calories per ounce. And their fruit has been switched over to the water/juice packed variety instead of the corn-syrup filled crap. So this means when you are craving something creamy, tart, tangy, and fruity. You can have it guilt free.


For reference though A kids size is 3oz., Like it is 5 ounces....and you should not ever order anything more than that....its too huge to contemplate.

9:46am: Bad Days and Good Days
So after a weekend of weird I had a week of pretty bad, a few days of o.k., and then yesterday. Yesterday was plain awful (you can say that again) yesterday was plain awful. But as the song goes "That's not now, that's then." Today I woke up feeling better, but not 100% so I decided to try my feet at running in the real world again.

I drove myself to the Tempe Town Lake and started to jog. I paced myself this time, unlike my last disastrous attempt, and made it all the way around my intended loop without walking or stopping (except a the crosswalk, btu that was a safety concern). And there are hills and stuff on that route too!

I felt awesome as I was going, looking at the people all cooped up in their cars, all sullen and angry. And there I was, I was "that girl". The one I used to sneer at as she jogged by and I was in MY car. And I was just fine. Thinking about nothing at all, which NEVER happens for me. I just listened to my music and looked at how far I had run. The more I saw how far I had come, the farther I wanted to go.

I can't wait to run with my family this weekend, and in the half-marathon in Jan. After the couple weeks of bad eating and bad moods and general badness, the not knowing what I needed to pick me up again. Turns out all I needed was me, a trail, and some good tunes. Neat.

7:48pm: TV Meme

List your 5 current favorite TV shows and answer the following questions.

In order of the amount I've been watching them recently:

1.) Lost
2.) Heros 
3.) Law and Order
4.) Buffy The Vampire Slayer
5.) House


1. Who's your favorite character in #2? I'd have to say Peter, he gets a tad whiny sometimes but he's got the best power ever.

2. Who's your least favorite character in #1? ooohh, I'm going with Charles Widmore, he fucked everything up.

3. What's your favorite episode of #4? Sicne favorite doesn't mean best I'm going to obviously vote "Once More With feeling"

4. What's your favorite season of #5? No idea, ahven't watched enough of it.

5. Who are you favorite 'ship in #3?  Oh, Gorin and Eames, no question.

6. Who are your anti ship in #2? Claire and Elle, they are mirror images.

7. How long have you watched #1? Aout a year.  Started right when it went off the air in 2007 and picked it up again in 2008

8. How did you become interested in #3?  Jess and Melanie....damn you.

9. Who's your favorite actor/actress in #4? James Marsters

10. Which do you prefer; Season 1 of #2 or #5? I'm going with 2 becasue I don't know what #5's is like.

11. Which show have you seen more episodes of; #1 or #3? Law and Order wins, I watch it all the time.

12. If you could be anyone from #4, who would you be? Willow = hot, lesbian, mega-witch

13. How would you kill off your favorite character in #1? They already did, though I don't believe he's dead.  They blew him up on the deck of a boat.

14. Give a random quote from #5. "Up late last night, internet porn"

15. Which character in #2 do you love to hate/dislike? Probably Parkman, he seems to fuck things up in the past present and future.

16. Would a #3/#4 crossover work? Wow Law and Buffy?  It could work, Gorin would totally be the understanding and believeing cop that supports Buffy's secret fight against evil.  And it would turn out that his Mom wasn't dead but in-fact UNDEAD! 

17. Pair 2 characters in #1 that would make an unlikely but strangely okay couple. Hurley and Sun, he loves the baby and she's lonely and vengeful.

18. Has #5 inspired you in any way? Not so much, have not watched it so much.

19. Overall, which show has a better cast; #2 or #4? As much as it pains me I'm going with Heroes over Buffy.  They have more awesome cameos and a perfect casting for each power.

20. Which has better theme music; #3 or #5? No contest House has awesome music.  Very pretty.

6:40pm: Making a point.
I am angered by these new High Fructose Corn Syrup ads on TV that say that HFCS is just as bad for you as sugar.  Allow me to point out the biggest lie there is in those commercials "It has the same calories as sugar."

1 Tbsp of HFCS - 53 calories and 14.4 carbs
1 HEAPING Tbsp or Sugar -  23 calories and 6 carbs.

Anything can have the same calories as something else, you just have to have one item be significantly smaller than the other.   The same calories by volume would be a different statement.

Also the whole "its all natural and made from Corn" thing is a ton of shit also.  Sugar is made by crushing the cane, boiling the water out of the juice,a nd collecting the left over crystals.

HFCS is made by:  The corn wet milling industry makes HFCS from corn starch using a series of unit processes that include steeping corn to soften the hard kernel; physical separation of the kernel into its separate components—starch, corn hull, protein and oil; breakdown of the starch to glucose; use of enzymes to invert glucose to fructose; removal of impurities; and blending of glucose and fructose to make HFCS-42 and HFCS-55.

I'm sorry but that's not natural, it cannot be done by human hands alone!

So a big Fuck you to the corn growers of America, you are full of shit and are making America the fattest country on earth.  Good job.

6:45pm: A Conversation with my body
Me: Good Morning.
Body: Meh.
Me: We should go running.
Body: Nah, talked to the brain and we think you should study instead.
Me: OK, I'll go make breakfast.
Body: You do that, I'll continue sleeping. Leave me alone.
Me: Breakfast is tasty.
Body: Huh, wha...I told you to leave me alone I'm sleeping.
Me: OK you can sleep till I'm done showering, then we have to go to work.
Body: Yeah, whatever.

Me: Alright time to go, let's get moving!
Body: *Yawn* Ok fine...oh by the way you period is today...forgot to mention it before.
Me: Greeeaaaat.
Body: Don't blame me, talk to Uterus...
Me: I'm hungry, I want a cookie.
Body: Good plan.
Me: I shouldn't  I didn't go to the gym.
Body: Fine, don't eat it see if I care.

(Insert 6 hours at school and work here)

Me: I need dinner.
Body: Holy Fuck, you're just now figuring that out! Way to go Einstein! 
Me: Don't be whiny we'll get something good for dinner.
Body: Like BBQ, from Joe's?
Me: Maybe..what about a salad.
Body: Joe's has potato salad.
Me: Or maybe fajitas?
Body: Pulled pork on a tasty, buttery, grilled bun is kinda like a fajita.
Me: Yeah kinda...
Body: You should go get Alan and go to Joe's, if you take someone else the guilt will be less
Me: Yeah...
Body: Do you remember the new Dunkin' Donuts in Mesa
Me: Yeah...
Body: They have donuts.
Me: Yeah...
Body: We should have a donut.
Me: Yeah.
Body: Make Alan take us to Donuts.
Me: 'Kay.
Body: Wow you're easy to manipulate.
Me: Want BBQ, want donut.

Body: Oh that was tasty...
Me: *drooling*
Body: We should nap now.
Me: No...must study and get to gym.
Body: No gym, gym tomorrow.
Me: 'Kay.
Body: Nap.
Me: Study.
Body: Nap.
Me: Studnap
Body: Nap.
Me: Kay.

1:44pm: Half Naked and Covered in Frosting
In order to save my clothing I made the brilliant decision to frost this cake in my underwear. And while I have numerous colors smeared all over myself and I'm done!



Isn't he just soo cute!!!! Totally worth my sugar coating! So now I am sitting on the couch and gloating over my success! Hurrah!

8:01pm: Somedays its awesome to cheat....
Tonight for dinner I ate exactly what I wanted. Two turkey burger patties, topped with two slices of cheese, and 6 strips of bacon. Accompanied by some baked french fries, and followed by tasty rice pudding. I am now full and so very satisfied.

Hey it could be worse I could have gone to Wendy's and had the same thing for 1170 calories, instead of the 878 I actually ate by making it myself out of much tastier stuff. And the best thing is that my stomach won't want to kill me in an hour!

mmmmm......belly full of happy...now time to get to cake baking.

9:55am: Random thoughts for the week...
I am really good at mkaing cupcakes....even my failed ones taste of awesome.

I need to get better at frosting techniques.

I ran my first 11:30 mile today, actually 1.74 of them.

My fitness logging program has an activity category for "Forking Bales of Hay" but not one for Pilates.

I have a new muscle line on my arm, it's truly thrilling to me.

There is no such thing as too many raspberries, blueberies yes...too many make your poo turn green, but raspberries were sent directly by the Gods to grace our bellies with consequence free sweet snacky goodness.

If I manage to run this half-marathon I am going to reward myself with either a boob lift or a stupidly expensive vacation.

If I get a boob lift I will be the most perfect trophy wife ever. Cooks, like to clean, organized, smart, talented, a minx in the sax, and perky boobs. Actually that makes me sound like I could also be a well paid hooker, gess there's not much of a difference.

8:44am: Huh...funny
So even my ideal dream man is so rare that Hollywood casting directors can't even find a good look-a-like.

Your result for The Harry Potter Husband Test...

Mrs. Bill Weasley

Your perfect HP man is Bill Weasley.

Take The Harry Potter Husband Test at HelloQuizzy

12:52pm: I finally beat the Belgains!
For this post allow me to give you some history:

Between 1830 and 1850 the mathematician Adolphe Quetelet, invented something called the Quetelet index. It was a means of evaluating a person's mass as a function of fat to muscle to height and weight. It was adopted by doctors in the West in the mid 1960's, and most recently adopted as a solid guideline for obesity by the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics, the USDA, the NIH, and the FDA. Its now referred to as the Body Mass Index.

The index will tell you a range of how much you should weigh for your height, sex, age, etc. Here's a picture of it.

http://www.gov.ky/pls/portal/docs/PAGE/CIGHOME/PRESSROOM/ARCHIVE/200608/GOODNUTRITION/BMICHARTCFNILG.JPG

In addition to its being very colorful this little chart holds a special meaning for me today. As of this very moment, right now, here, on this plane of existence, I am officially no longer obese. I have never been so pleased to say that I am overweight! While I still have a ways to go I am actually past the worst part. By no longer being obese I am a candidate for surgeries without being "high risk", I have lowered my risk of heart attacks, strokes, cancer, and blot clots, I might actually even live to see 40!

So fuck you Adolphe Quetelet, I win today!

8:05am: Oh my the SOuth Korean Archers are sooo CUTE!


You may not be able to see but unlike most team uniforms these women are wearing chest plates that feature Winnie the Pooh and an adorable Panda holding a heart. I hope they win, just beacuse they are not the boring Olympic types, they have style!

1:20am: Leave it to Roger....
So most of you know I've been feeling a little off lately. So tonight after a day full of annoyances and cleaning I felt worse than ever. I couldn't find a thing to wear, it was a bad body day, my hair did not cooperate, and don't even get me started on the state of my closet.

Autumn came to the house so we could go see Roger Clyne and I headed off to the show feeling like poop. A big, ugly, fat, pile of poop that someone has stepped in way to many times, scraped off their shoe and left clinging to the sidewalk.

Now at 1:24 AM I feel like a real person. I danced all night, I sang as loudly as I could, screamed, danced more, and now I feel awesome. Roger's lyrics, his energy, the music it all lifted me up from the self-depricating-depression I've been dwelling on. It reminded me of why I came here, and what I've learned since then. And I saw Autumn as herself for the first time in a long time, her smile helped me to see what we were both missing.....us.

So here I am again....thank you Mr. Clyne.

P.S. you're HOT!

11:19am: And for you insolence she will shoot you with her laser beam eyes!

8:20am: Mantis Kitty Contemplates Your Doom!

7:43am: Don't read if you're bored of my weight stuff, I just need to have it recorded for me
Today I am officially past my half-way goal and only 10 pounds away from my next tiny goal of weighing the same as my driver's license says (which I think was a lie then too). Once I hit that goal I am making them give me a new license. Possibly with my hair all done and make up all nice. I didn't believe in makeup when I moved here, and also I was blonde.

In April of 2006 I joined Jenny Craig and was just about the heaviest I had ever been in my life. And for a while that whole planned meal thing worked for me. I started at 240 pounds I lost about 35 pounds. But over time I grew bored and annoyed with the same things daily. I quit in the hopes that I could do it on my own. So In January of 2007 I went to London and quit when I cam back. Over the course of 2007 I gained back about 15 pounds, and I was thinking of going back to JC. But instead I did a little research and designed my own plan. So in April of this year I started again. And so far I've lost 30 pounds, I'm not bored and I actually feel like I can do this, I can get to my goal. I am closer to it than ever before. SO overall I'm looking at 50 pounds of weight loss and only 40 more to go (and that's to hit the low end of my goal range)

Not to mention I can do things I never could before. I can run more than 300 feet. In fact I run about 2 miles a day and I'm getting faster all the time. I now ride my bike back and forth to work, and that is getting easier too. I'm just plain excited about stuff again and my new goal is to run the half-marathon here in January. I don't think I'm up to a full marathon, or could be in time for January, but I think 13.3 miles is doable.

Anyone want to join me?

11:26am: Question for the masses
Has anyone seen my black and grey Camelback back pack? It has gone missing and I have no clue where it might be. I have spent 3 days trying to find it to no avail. So if you have any clue where it might be, please let me know.

8:46am: REAL SHORTS!!
So I have been on the hunt for shorts that have a real inseam for years now. All I have been able to find are either Daisy Duke's or bermuda shorts. The first leave my ass looking like this (minus the hair):



And the bermuda shorts create an effect something akin to this:




only lumpier. So when I was a Target yesterday and say some shorts that had more than a 1.5 inch inseam I was intrigued. But the were rolled up by 2 inces or so. So I went home and sema ripped the 4 stiches holing up the sides, and now I have shorts that sit at my waist, cover my butt, and go halfway down my legs and don't pinch off the fat at the bottoms. Now I have shorts for riding my bike when its stupid hot!!!

Thank you Target for finally coming up with a winning design. Oh yeah, and if you ladies want a pair, go now, as they are on the clearance reack for $7.48. Yay!

10:20am: I am so very manly!
Yesterday I bought and assemled a grill. With my own two hands I built a device that would cook meat with FIRE! And then I grilled my meat over said fire, a great success. Also Autumn and I put together a new Umbrella for the backyard, there was some difficultly in the engrish directions. But it is now shading the backyard qite successfully.

I shall grill for the rest of the summer, screw the hot kitchen I shall cook in the out of doors as was intended! Tonight will be burgers and chicken and mozzerella artichoke suasages (ok those are girly but damn tasty).

10:32pm: Gotham's Mayor Wears Eyeliner?
I was so dumbfounded that Batmanuel was the mayor of Gotham City that I had to go and find out what was up with all the eyeliner. Was it just his shtick or what.

Come to find out, those are just his eye lashes. I want to have his children simply so that those genetics are kept in this world. How many women would kill to have eye lashes so thick that they would never need eye liner again?

So here's to Nestor Carbonell, the man with perfect eye lashes.