I don't need another map of your head

-Starting Weight: 191.5
-Current Weight: 187.5
-Goal Weight: 172

--+--

On Tuesday, I managed to go to the gym and was on the elliptical for 51 minutes altogether. I did some weight lifting for a few more minutes and then went home because it was beginning to get late. I stopped by CVS on the way home and bought a stronger anti-fungal treatment for my ringworm; Tinactin- or at least its generic version- along with some more band aids and anti-fungal soap. I've been using them every day since Tuesday and already it looks as if the thing is gone...which is a vast improvement over how it looked even a few days ago.

I stayed up late texting John and as such as tired when I got up in the morning. I worked Wednesday and Thursday and everything was pretty much the same as it has been. My late evenings on both nights, however, were punctuated by late night phone calls from John, both of which were amazing and hot.

During all of this, I've read more of John Adams, and yesterday, I finished the first season of 'Downton Abbey'. Bekah's package of food goodies and the book The Lover's Dictionary by David Levithan came in the mail as well. I have read 3 books now this year, and so far, only one has not been on my reading list.

I was going to go out to the gym, but the temperature around 5:15 made me change my mind, though I did walk up and back to the mail box and did some backwards pedaling on the crappy exercise bike in the kitchen. I also have eaten very well today, so that's something in my favor; eggs and toast with jam and tea and OJ for breakfast, small piece of steak with pasta and edamame for dinner and some of the goodies in the box Bekah sent.

I talked with Bekah while doing the dishes and laundry before I chatted with John via Skype for a good long while. 35 more days until I can see him in person. I'm looking forward to it much more now...especially since we established that my fetish for a hot teacher is alive and well. What? XD

-Quote of the Day: "breathtaking, adj.

Those mornings when we kiss and surrender for an hour before we say a single word."- The Lover's Dictionary by David Levithan

Last 20 Books Read in 2011

31} Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson {re-read}
32} The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl by Barry Lyga {re-read}
33} Red Dwarf: Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers by Grant Naylor {re-read}
34} Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh {re-read}
35} Food and Feast in Medieval England by Peter Hammond
36} Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause {re-read}
37} The Silver Kiss by Annette Curtis Klause {re-read}
38} Miracle in the Andes: 72 Days on the Mountain and My Long Trek Home by Nando Parrado
39} In The Forests of the Night by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes {re-read}
40} Demon In My View by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes {re-read}
41} Shattered Mirror by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes {re-read}
42} Midnight Predator by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes {re-read}
43} Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World by Vicki Myron
44} Unbearable Lightness: A Story of Loss and Gain by Portia de Rossi {re-read}
45} Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America by Barbara Ehrenreich {re-read}
46} The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom {re-read}
47} The Ways of the Samurai by Carol Gaskin
48} House of Many Ways by Diana Wynne Jones
49} The Short and Bloody History of Pirates by John Farman
50} Hide This Spanish Book by Berlitz Publishing Company

First 30 Books Read in 2011

1} Dealing With Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede {re-read}
2} Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan
3} The Little Ice Age: How Climate Made History; 1300-1850 by Brian Fagan
4} A Cook's Tour: Global Adventures in Extreme Cuisines by Anthony Bourdain
5} The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
6} Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder {re-read}
7} Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder {re-read}
8} On the Banks of Plum Creek by Laura Ingalls Wilder {re-read}
9} The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder {re-read}
10} 127 Hours: Between a Rock and a Hard Place by Aron Ralston
11} Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
12} Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
13} Victorian London: The Tale of a City 1840-1870 by Liza Picard
14} Royal Pains: A Rogues' Gallery of Brats, Brutes, and Bad Seeds by Leslie Carroll
15} The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
16} Waiter Rant: Thanks for the Tip--Confessions of a Cynical Waiter by Steve Dublanica {re-read}
17} A Break With Charity by Ann Rinadli {re-read}
18} Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
19} It by Stephen King
20} A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin
21} The Help by Kathryn Stockett
22} Bar Flower: My Decadently Destructive Days and Nights as a Tokyo Nightclub Hostess by Lea Jacobson {re-read}
23} Little Town on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder {re-read}
24} A Clash of Kings by George R. R. Martin
25} America the Edible: A Hungry History, from Sea to Dining Sea by Adam Richman
26} A Journey to the New World: The Diary of Remember Patience Whipple, Mayflower, 1620 by Kathryn Lasky {re-read}
27} The Winter of Red Snow: The Revolutionary War Diary of Abigail Jane Stewart, Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, 1777 by Kristiana Gregory {re-read}
28} Across the Wide and Lonesome Prairie: The Oregon Trail Diary of Hattie Campbell, 1847 by Kristiana Gregory {re-read}
29} Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison {re-read}
30} A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin

43 Things #1: Read 50 books- First 10 down!

1} Dealing With Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede {re-read}
2} Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan
3} The Little Ice Age: How Climate Made History; 1300-1850 by Brian Fagan
4} A Cook's Tour: Global Adventures in Extreme Cuisines by Anthony Bourdain
5} The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
6} Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder {re-read}
7} Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder {re-read}
8} On the Banks of Plum Creek by Laura Ingalls Wilder {re-read}
9} The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder {re-read}
10} 127 Hours: Between a Rock and a Hard Place by Aron Ralston

43 Things #4: Take a road trip

For the longest time, I’ve been wanting to take a road trip across America, particularly after the completion of a Grand Event; graduating from college or something like that. But, since I have yet to actually complete college, and the only Grand Event that’s going to happen in my life soon will be the marriage of Emmy, one of my best friends, sometime this year, I figure after that will be a good time to go on the Great Cross-Country Road Trip. She, myself and our mutual friend Mary are shooting for 2012 or 2013, since we will all be in better financial situations by then, or at least that’s the hope.

• Who: Me, Emmy, Mary
• When: Late spring/early summer 2012/2013 {April, May or June}
• Where: Cahokia, Illinois; Mt. Rushmore, Keystone, South Dakota; Yellowstone National Park, Montana; Four Corners Monument; Grand Canyon, Arizona; Roswell, New Mexico
  
• How much to save: $2,000 {$1,000 each for ourselves and an extra $1,000 for emergencies}
• How long to travel: 1 1/2 weeks or 2 weeks

We had planned to also go to New York on this trip, but since I’m coming from New Hampshire, and both Emmy and Mary live in West Virginia, I think me flying down to them and us leaving from their homes, like we did in 2008 on our road trip to Kentucky, would be easier and better in the long run. It’s already going to be a long trip without adding New York onto it.

I would like to go back to New York City one of these days, though.

12 pounds lost

-Starting Weight: 206
-Current Weight: 194
-Goal Weight: 185

OMG I’m getting so close to my goal weight. I think I’ll tackle the snow on the deck to see if I can bring my weight down to 190 or so.

Oranges and salads will be my food of choice for awhile.

At the 200 lb mark

I’m down now from starting at 206.5 to being 200.5. Not too bad for a month, but I could probably do a lot better. Just by walking or using the exercise bike in the kitchen more, I could probably start losing at least two pounds a week.

I was sick recently and it took my appetite for a few days. I’m going to assume that helped with some of this weight loss. The trick will be keeping it off and maintaining without sickness “helping” me in that way.

I’m still eating a lot of fruits and salads; we bought oranges and I had about six in three days or so. I also made sure to still at least have salad and healthier bread products. I’ve begun snacking on saltines and animal crackers {for when I need something sweet} and will see how the oyster crackers my Dad bought taste.

Soup is going to become a big part of my diet, and I’m going to load up on juices and lemonades and teas to ensure I don’t fall off the wagon and load up on soda. If that means only bringing enough money for the tolls or even leaving my debit card in the car at work, so be it.

I’m determined to be at least 185 by March. Hopefully 172 if I can help it, but we’ll see.

One other good thing about being sick; since I ate at a fast food restaurant the night before I got sick, I’m kind of turned off by a lot of fast food. True, I had a Frosty last night, but I also had a salad, and just the salad instead of a Wendy’s meal went a long way in helping me.

-Current Weight: 200.5
-Goal Weight: 185
-Healthy food had today: 2 oranges
-Days Without Soda: 9

43 Things in 43 Months

Planning is key.

1. Read 50 books {at least 75% of them have to be new books, not just re-reads}.
2. Go back to school
3. Lose 30 pounds {202.5 by my last weigh in, so we'll set that as the marker}
4. Travel to England
5. Plant a garden
6. Go to New York again
7. Become fluent in Spanish
8. Exercise more
9. Travel to Japan
10. Travel around Europe for a year
11. Visit Boston
12. Wake up by 9 AM every day
13. Visit all 50 states {28/50. 22 more to go!}
14. Take a road trip
15. Learn Japanese
16. Learn German
17. Read The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien
18. Learn how to style hair
19. Stop wasting so much time on the internet
20. Attend a taping of SNL
21. Write a screenplay
22. Learn to knit
23. Publish first novel
24. Watch every movie on the AFI's Top 100 list
25. Learn to let things go
26. Hike the Presidential Range in New Hampshire
27. Get out of credit card debt
28. Watch the IMDB Top 250 movies
29. Cook at home more
30. Re-learn how to play the guitar
31. Watch all of Alfred Hitchcock's films
32. Read the complete Sherlock Holmes collection
33. Get married one day
34. See Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon
35. Eat a salad and one fruit a day
36. Travel to New Orleans, Louisiana
37. Visit 50 of the World Heritage sites
38. Be a vegetarian for a week
39. Win 10 Man v. Food challenges
40. Visit Washington state
41. Swim in the Pacific Ocean
42. Get a passport
43. Get my own place