Reactions

I'm not a religious person at all, nor do I believe in the traditional 'heaven/hell' afterlife; but occasionally, a TV show or movie will touch on a deeply religious theme, and completely overwhelm me with an emotional reaction.

This particular conversation is from Lost, season 2, episode 'Three Minutes'.

---

Michael: I hear you're a priest.

Eko: Yes.

Michael: Guess you believe in hell, then.

Eko: For a brief time, I served in a small parish in England. Every Sunday, after Mass, I would see a young boy waiting at the back of the church. And then, one day, the boy confessed to me that he had beaten his dog to death with a shovel. And he said the dog had bitten his baby sister on the cheek, and he needed to protect her. And he wanted to know whether he would go to hell for this. I told him that God would understand. That he would be forgiven as long as he was sorry. But the boy did not care about forgiveness. He was only afraid that if he did go to hell, that dog would be there waiting for him.

New Dreads!

I got dreads again! I didn't forget what a painful process it was, either... 2 hours of hair pulling/twisting, then another 1.5 hours of chemicals and head throbbing! But it's worth it. :)

It's at the first stage of growth, so right now they're thin, curly and short...








But eventually, they'll look like this again! :D

Halloween 08!

Good food, good company, good drinks... rockin' costume! :D



Pretty close, right? :)


Hooray for special contacts! They were the most expensive part of my costume...


I lasted a good four hours with the mask and contacts, as they were both not very comfortable. But alas, one must suffer for such things sometimes! :)

Now what am I supposed to do with my life?

I have, finally, completed the Harry Potter books... so yeah, you can re-read the title of my post right now! :D

I guess I'll have to go back to Warcraft... lame... I mean, not really, but Warcraft doesn't have the ability to hold my attention SO severely, nor give me tears streaming down my face consistently! Seriously... I cried like, six times while reading the last two books... at least! I had to have a box of kleenex nearby... how amazing is that to say, that you cry while reading a book?

Sadly, I stopped reading in Jr. High, after my age surpassed the Fear Street and Goosebump series. (Well, the main plot with the Fear Street series did clutch my emotions at times, since it involved witch burnings...)

Anyway! Seriously, if you want an easy slide back into reading books, start with HP 1! I found it enjoyable, to read the book, then watch the corresponding movie again... but often I just became too critical of the movies because of the 'true' timelines and information I knew. :P

I cannot tell you how AMAZING this story is! Next step for me is to buy all the first six books, and re-read them, now that I know all the secrets... yayyyy!

And in movie-news, the sixth movie has been pushed from this November, to a release date of July 2009. The last movie will be split into TWO full-length films, the first releasing November 2010, the second May 2011. Um yeah, so again, re-read the title of my post!!! Arg... such a long wait for wonderful gratification! I guess the sixth movie got bumped because of the writers strike... all this info is per Wikipedia! :)

This is tough!

I can't even tell you how hard it is to come back to full-time work, and waking up early in the mornings again, after spending five weeks sleeping-in and doing whatever I like on each day. It's surprisingly harder than I thought it would be!

My body is certainly wasting no time in telling me it doesn't like this new adjustment, either... I feel uncomfortable overall when I'm sleeping in my huge/comfy bed, my stomach isn't being very nice (even though I've been eating super well this week), I've had night-sweats for the past three days, and my jaw has started clicking/cracking again.

I'm hopefull that after this first week, things will get better!

Luckily, I didn't come back to a huge workload... I have a few projects coming in soon, but generally I've been helping other this entire week with their projects. That helps the stress-load a ton! I'd probably be in much worse condition today if I came back to piles of stuff on my desk...

Oh, and speaking of piles on my desk, here's what my co-workers did to my cube while I was out...













You can imagine, from how clean a person I am, what my cube looked like before the mess! :)

Took me about a half an hour to clean it all up and re-flip my stuff... and I literally worked-up a sweat! We're getting more and more creative when people take vacations and their cube needs a good sabotage!

Here's my cube a few months ago, when I took some time off in the summer.





Good times... :)

Sabbatical = Over

Man... I can't even begin to tell you how FAST the past five weeks went by. It feels like I just left work for my one-month sabbatical! I'm excited to go back and see everyone again, but not too excited for the workload. :P

I accomplished a lot though, during my time off. I got my entire list of things-to-do-on-vacation done and I've been gathering materials for my Halloween costume! I'm going to be my Undead Mage character that I play on Warcraft.



I'm going to look so bad-ass!!! I got a dark-green robe/dress from eBay... the online store is called Holy Clothing, and they have a lot of simple Renaissance-style dresses and shirts. My mum helped me make the mask - rivets and all! I'm going to velcro the top pieces to my head so it doesn't mess with my hair. However, the mask won't cover my eyes, as it does on the character... I do have to see where I'm going. :) But I think I'll get fun contacts to wear to make me look more zombie-like!

I bought the staff from the Renaissance Festival here in Minnesota. It's beautiful!



And here's the result of wearing sandals for shoes while spending six hours at the Festival...


Dirty feets!!! :D

Anyway, I'm also feeling much better mentally than I was two months ago. I'm no longer melancholy! That was my main goal for this sabbatical... to get mentally stable again, and so far so good. :)

I Heart Seabiscuit!

I just need to make a quick comment on how much I still LOVE the movie Seabiscuit. I practically grew up at the racetrack, as my dad owned a few race horses when my sister and I were younger, and we'd always go to Canturbury, what seemed like every weekend, to watch our horses run and make bets. And I'd like to gloat a bit and say that I was DAMN good at picking horses! I always played it safe too, betting them to Show, so at least I'd make some money if they got first, second or third. Dad would place the bets for me though, as I was what... all of 12 years old? Hehe!

Anyway, I recall wining like, 50 bucks one day! Or maybe it was 10, and it just seemed like a lot of money to me at the time. Plus, one time when my best bud Margaret came with us to watch our horses run, he ended up wining! What a rush that was... I could barely see over the fence, but me, my sister and Margaret were standing right at the fence on the grounds, cheering on our horse! It was a wonderful feeling to watch him race across the finish line in first place... I can't remember exactly which horse that was (Pip Style, maybe?), but I do remember getting to be in the winner's circle many times for photos. Even though our horses didn't always win, they rather enjoyed when dad would take my sister and I back to the stables to visit... they'd nip at dad all the time, but when Manda and I walked up to them, they'd bow their heads low to check us out.

Ah... memory lane is so much fun to visit! :)

America Has No Talent Anymore

I'll admit that I do watch some reality TV... one show (of two) is called America's Got Talent. I love seeing all the different contestants with their amazing abilities. However, in this third year, as I sit here and watch the top 10 contestants perform after missing a few of the pre-finale shows, I can't help but rush to my computer to blog about my absolute distaste for this year's participants. They passed through the most ridiculous acts, people with no talent, or talent that isn't worthy of having their own contract — nor a million dollars. I can't help but get the feeling that this show has inevitably, and finally, succumbed to the ratings conglomerate.

I was surprised to see who the finalists were after catching a few of the first episodes. Although I highly enjoy watching legitimate people sharing their gifts with this country, I can't stand the banter and pointless commentary of the three pitifully talentless judges, not to mention the useless host. I feel like the judges pass people through because the network pre-determines poor performers just for drama ratings, or people have mimicked other artists that are already out there, changing the style slightly, or they're either too embarrassed to tell little kids 'no' on TV. You can even tell, definitively, when one judge really doesn't like someone, but they were clearly told to pass them through!

Don't get me wrong, there are a couple really amazing people in the finale... but do you think one of them will win? Probably not... it'll either be the Stomp / Blue Man Group rip off, some weird creepy guy who thinks he's great at singing and performing, or the Britney Spears impersonator (he does really look like her, though!).

And if anyone is wondering what the other reality TV show I try to watch is, it's Last Comic Standing. It's like getting a huge, variety-filled comic show for free! :D

Convalescence

Ooohhh, I used a big word in the title of this post... makes me seem smart, eh? Yeah, well, I cheated... it's called a Thesaurus (<-- holy crap, I spelled that word right the first time I typed it! That means I *AM* smart! Woo!).

Anyway, today is the end of day 1 of my sabbatical from work. I must say it was a great day! I slept in, then went to see my Chiro at 10:30 for an early adjustment. I figured if I'm going to start exercising like crazy again, I'd better have exemplary spinal alignment to start! Then I came home and ate healthy soup for lunch and constructed a huge, colorful fruit salad for the week.

I was going to start doing Pilates for Abs again, as part of my exercise routine. However, 5 minutes into the DVD, I remembered how much neck strain is involved, and it's extremely aggravating for my body. So, I put that to bed. I can work my abs in other ways...

Next was power-walking! I haven't done that in awhile, either... I literally dusted off my treadmill, and walked for my usual 45-minute ER episode.

BodyPump was at 5:15, so I bused up to the Y. Supposedly my MetroPass has to be put on hold while I'm on sabbatical, as it's deducted from my paycheck. So either I'll end up paying cash for rides or just biking to the gym when I can physically make it home after my legs become jello from class! :P

Then after dinner, I played WoW for awhile and got my new Druid up to level 15. Now I'm staying up past my normal 10 o'clock bedtime without hesitation! Oh, the agreeable freedom I have again! Love it. :D

You Can't Escape It!

Minnesota Construction Joy...

While trying to drive home last night - a trivial 7 miles - I ran into a rather frustrating experience. I was in Richfield, attending my mom’s Open House. I left their place at 10 pm, which is much later than I had anticipated, but I assumed traffic would be no issue - it being so late on a weeknight.

Well, having multiple 'getting home' options, I decided to take 494 West to the 35W North entrance. That was closed. So I got off on Penn Ave. and whipped around to try the south-facing, northbound entrance. (Someone else driving behind me had the same idea.) But alas, that was also closed. So now that I’m heading East, I figure I can take Hwy 77 north, then 62 west, and use that entrance. I just enter onto 62, when all of a sudden, there’s rush-hour-type traffic! We’re at a dead stop. A sign up ahead says the right lane is closed, so naturally, Minnesotans being ill-equipped to merge properly, it takes a good ten minutes before I’m at the 35W North entrance... BUT IT’S CLOSED! By now it has been a half hour since I left my mom’s place, and I’m getting irritable because it’s getting late.

So I end up heading south on 35W and think that maybe the 66th Street entrance is open. I get to the exit and decide that it most likely isn’t open, since none of them are, so I turn right and head towards France Ave. I now insist that the entrance on 62 east HAS to be open... how could it not? How could they close it all down at once without putting up proper detour signs? So I make it to 62 and start heading eastbound. Whaddya know... that entrance is also closed; but in this case, construction crews had placed cones all along the freeway, preventing anyone from merging onto 35W north. I now saw why they had it all closed down... they were hauling HUGE cement beams, carried by Wide-Load semi trucks. I can’t imagine trying to drive one of those through that bottleneck area at Crosstown! One taxi-cab, a few cars ahead of me, tried to disobey the cones and jump into line with all the Wide-Load assistant vehicles. About a moment later, he realized his decision was quite stupid.

So yet again, I’m heading East, and no closer to home than I was 20 minutes prior. I make my final decision now to get on Hwy 77 north, take that up to Lake Street, and get home five minutes later. It worked, and I opened my door at 11 pm, tired, and having to use the bathroom very badly! :P

New Car!

Tomorrow, I will be buying my first official car! I found it on CarSoup a few days after my (usually) reliable '91 Cierra Oldsmobile muffler decided to crap out on me. I've had that thing for many years now, and put a lot of money into its new parts; but alas, it was time to get a real car that I could hand-pick myself.

Here she is!


She's a '01 Volkswagen Cabrio Convertible. $7,995 - 80,000 miles, manual top, automatic everything else, custom wind-screen for the back seat, new brakes and rotors, big trunk with a folding back-seat for extra space, 6-disc CD changer, heated seats, cloth upholstery, front-wheel drive, keyless entry, etc.! My dad checked the BlueBook website and it has a 4.1/5 user rating. Everyone at work says Volskwagen's are very reliable, too.

I always wanted a convertible... not sure why exactly. I used to drive home from college on summer nights, with all my windows rolled down, music blasting... it was very peaceful! Anyway, my story begins with a trip to CarSoup. I have no clue about car makes and models, but I had to find something to give my mum for her to bring to her car guy to have him find me a car I'll actually like. So after questioning my friends and family, I gave her a few options. But the pull to search for convertibles wouldn't let go, so I searched for fun, still within my price range.

I filtered through many convertible options, finding about 8 that were feasible, all the while, realizing that I could potentially get a decent one for a good price. Hope was rising! Eventually, I came across this Cabrio. Instantly I just knew that I had to have this car. I checked out all the specs and description information, and the price was right in the range I wanted. It only had 80,000 miles on it, and the owner described it as EXTREMELY CLEAN. That, as you can assume, caught my attention first. :)

So on Tuesday I gave the owner a call. A man answered and I asked if he was the one selling the vehicle. He said yes, and I said I'd love to come look at it soon! Long-story-short, after talking to his wife, trying to arrange a time/place to meet with not much luck, I called Jeffery back and asked him what his work schedule was like. Immediately he asked me if I was at City Center, as he probably recognized the phone number. I said yes! He said "oh, well, I work in the Plymouth building right next door... and I drove the car into work today, so do you want to come take a look at it now?" :D !!!!! I was stunned! The car of my dreams was sitting near me the whole week, one block away! It was meant to be...

During lunchtime, I walked across the skyway and met Jeffery at his jewelry repair shop. He was a very nice older man, and he brought me down to their building's parking garage. He showed me the car and told me about ALL its great attributes, and explained the history of it, as he knew. He showed me the paperwork he had for the 80,000-mile inspection he just got, and told me all the stuff that was replaced. It was rainy that day, so we didn't take it out for a test drive. Wednesday, we both had work things going on, but this morning I had time between meetings to finally take it out and play! I came to his office and he gave me the keys and let me go drive it on my own.

I was really nervous at first and had to adjust the seat a bit, along with the mirrors before driving off. I had the top up to start, to check out the wind-resistance and noise levels. No problems there! I shot down 35W south for a bit, testing the A/C as well, then I got off on 46th Street, parked and opened her up! It was wonderful to be able to breathe in fresh air while sitting at a stop light. I just loved it, and before I even got into the car, I KNEW it was mine. It's one of those things, ya know? Like when you're apartment/house searching and you walk into a place, and you just get that feeling... you just know.

So tomorrow is the official day! I'm so giddy with excitement... especially considering the shitty 6 weeks I've had. So tomorrow after work, I drive home with my NEW car!!! I'll have to clean out my old one tonight and move it out of my garage space. So, if anyone needs a ride anywhere, CALL ME! :D

Here's some extra pics!

Rest in Peace, MacRaider

I was just informed recently, that my dear Australian e-mail friend has passed away. Her daughter sent out a message to everyone in her address book, saying Kerrie (aka MacRaider) had been sick with a viral infection for the past three weeks, and she suffered a heart attack in the end.

I met this woman many years ago, when I searched online for a Tomb Raider II walkthrough. Her site came up, promoting Tomb Raider gaming on Mac's, and we instantly started chatting about all things life-related! She was a sweet, wonderful person, and her detailed loyalty to the TR games amazed me. I'll miss her dearly!

So if you ever need walkthroughs for any TR game, here is her site: http://www.users.bigpond.com/macraider/

World of Warcraft

I would like to take a moment out of my un-busy day here, at work, and tell everyone that I am an avid WoW player... I love it! I have been playing since March 2007, after my friend Mike bought me the game for my birthday. I expressed to him that I only really like Diablo II: Lord of Destruction, but haven’t played very much in the past year. Mike says “no, seriously... you will LOVE this game!” And thus, I became one of the 10 billion people who play Warcraft. :)

So, here are recent photos of my characters.


Tulum (Tuh-loom) is my pride-and-joy! She was my first character... a Night Elf Hunter, level 61 (70 is the highest). I love Elves in general, and have this strange, unexplainable lust for bow & arrow weapons. And as a Hunter, aside from her bow and daggers, Tulum has many pets to help her track and kill enemies! This white wolf is her main pet, Xoc (pronounced like the French name Jacque). Her other pet is a white tiger named Ikal (ee-call). She can tame any wild beasts she wants, and train them as they level with her, to have certain helpful abilities. Her outfit and weapons could use a little work, but as I explore this new area I’m in, it’ll be easy finding other great stuff!


Here Tulum is riding her Mount... a very helpful tool, to get to places quickly... the game “board” is HUGE!




This is Kanal (kah-nall). She’s my newest creation, and is a Draenei Frost Mage. Draenei are these hybrid goat-human things... but very pretty and elegant! She specializes in magic of the ice elements. She can also use Fire and Arcane spells, but I prefer Frost because it slows enemies down, thus, making them they hit me less. She’s currently level 24.

I thought sticking with Mayan-themed names with all my character’s would be very fun, and make it easy to name my people what I want (as there can only be one original name on an entire server).




And finally, this beauty’s name is Muertana! (Muertana is not Mayan... just an alteration of the Spanish word Muerta). She’s an Undead Frost Mage, currently level 36. The Undead just look so incredibly cool, I had to make one! She also deals in Frost magic, like Kanal; and she can also breathe underwater for nearly unlimited time (since she’s basically a zombie)... I hope to find a nice robe for her one day that compliments her features.

I'm on the Shadowsong server, so feel free to whisper me at any time! :)

Paintball!

I played Paintball for the first time today... it was a blast! My co-workers play often, and they have this great wooded spot near Stillwater they go to. I purchased camo pants and a jacket for myself at General J's Military Surplus on Nicollet Ave. I told the huge, black salesman I was here for Painball camo, and he looked at me in surprise, saying "you?" Yes me... don't let the work clothes fool you! :) After trying on a few sizes and styles, I bought pants and a jacket. Each piece was $30, but well worth the money.


(My new camo and Brian's gun)

We arrived at the spot around 11 a.m. this morning. Brian let me borrow his brand new gun and a face mask, and Scott let me borrow his extra gloves with armor-type plastic on them. I think there were 10 of us total. The first game we split up into teams, 3 against 7 (the big team consisting of a few newbies and semi-experienced players). About ten minutes into our capture-the-flag game, I hunkered down at one of the wooded bunkers they made a few weeks back, and assumed I was safe. Everyone seemed to be shooting in a frenzy, so I shot back... little did I know Brian snuck up behind me to my right, and BAM! I felt my first ping of a paintball slam into my side, then my back (and later I found out, in my right butt cheek!). I yelped out in pain and yelled a series of "stop shooting me" words, and had to walk back to our base with my gun in the air (signifying I was out and had to restart).

This image below is what became of the very first shot I experienced, in the right love-handle:


(Okay, this photo does NOT do the bruise justice! It looks much worse in person... all purple and black. And it's 2 inches wide!)

Let me be honest and say getting shot hurts like HELL! My first reaction with these three back shots was to keel over, then yell for people to stop shooting. Then once I got up to walk back to base, I had to laugh and how badly that hurt, and just the fact that I thought I was safe behind the bunker. The pain is only temporary though, and it's more startling than anything. I managed to get Brian back later, with two straight shots to the back!


(Brian & Me)

We played three more games after that. Brian shot me again in the second game, including one very scary neck shot! Man... that one hurt, too. It felt like it had gone through my camo collar, with paintball-on-skin contact, but it didn't. Here's the damage:


(Neck hit)

This is what most of my 9 total bruises look like (all red and white), except for the top shot; this one below I got on my hip, but didn't find until I showered this evening.


(A second hip shot)

Here's a list of my 9 total hits taken:
• right butt cheek
• under left arm (this one still stings occasionally)
• right mid-bicep
• left side of my neck
• right of my spine in the middle of my back (the most swollen of all the hits)
• right love-handle (the ugliest!)
• above the knee on my thigh
• below my bikini line on my thigh (which I originally thought was the crotch shot someone made)
• and my boob... yes, my boob. I also thought this shot hit differently out in the field, on my sternum; but later, I found the small bruise.

Most of the shots were tolerable, but the love handle... man, it's hilarious how funny I must have looked when my legs buckled from the shock and pain of it, then hearing my yelps for people to cease fire.

Really I'm just glad I didn't get shot in the fingers. I was afraid for my neck, but once it happened, I didn't expect it to surprise me as much as it did! So overall, I had a great time! I sat out for the fourth 'kamikaze' game... too tired and beaten up. I can't wait to see what that huge bruise on my hip will look like in a couple days... I'll have to add an updated photo on here when the times comes. :)


(The group. Front row = my co-workers!)

UPDATE: The bruise is getting uglier! This is 3 days later... it almost looks like a sunburst or something... might be a decent tattoo! :D

Photo Shoot

Crystal is an amazing photographer yet again! These pics, I plan to send to a local modeling agency to see if I can get some part-time modeling work... fingers crossed!

3 Month Results

Hello all! As promised, here are my 3 month results. These past few months have been challenging and tough, but I think I'm at a pretty good spot, considering my "comfortably slow" weight-loss attitude and occasional bad eating habits.

My routine:
• BodyPump twice a week at the YMCA (missed a few sessions)
• Pilates for Abs (DVD by Kathy Smith) four days a week for the past five weeks
• P.M. Yoga two to four times a week (DVD)
• Lite Caesar salad with shrimp, for various meals, three times a week for the past five weeks

Combined with my 6-week results I posted previously, the 3 month total inch loss is 5 inches! Areas of inch loss include my lower thighs, upper thighs, tummy, and waist. I gained a total of 2.5 inches of muscle mass, too, which include my arms, lower thighs and chest.

I'm very happy with these results, considering my 'take it easy' weight-loss attitude. The next time I do measurements will probably be in two months.

As far as the Dex, I haven't been taking it as religiously as I was last month. Overall, it hasn't made me lose weight or fat; however, it has helped my hunger pains feel less intense, it helps me eat less during meals, and it control my sweet-tooth cravings. So it does work... just not for strict fat reduction in my body type.

Weight-Loss Adventure

Boy have I been busy! Work is crazy and I'm trying ever so hard to keep up with a good diet and my exercise routine. Both have been going fairly well these past few weeks... the latter, more so.

Just wanted to update everyone that I'll be measuring again next week, at my 3 month mark. I'll be excited to see the results of my stomach this time, as I've been doing Pilates for Abs four times a week, for five weeks now. Bad eating aside, I should get SOME results... right?

9 Month Anniversary!

This month of April marks the 9-month anniversary of my egg donation! Long-story-short, I donated my eggs to an infertile couple last July. It was a two-month long process for me, full of needles, drugs, blood tests, and lots and lots of bloating! The extraction was last July 3rd, and I had called a few weeks later to ask if there was a successful pregnancy. There was, but that's ALL the information I am legally allowed to know.

Therefore, this month means that, if the pregnancy was carried to term, my egg baby (or babies) could be born at any time! This thought had popped into my head randomly last week, so I wonder if that meant my earthly intuition was kicking in... ;)

I do hope she/he/they contact me when they're 18 and can legally obtain my information... what a wonderful treat that would be when I'm in my mid-forties. :)

DEX Con't.

Ugh, you guys, I've been so bad lately! I just get on these eating kicks, and can't stop eating or buying bad stuff to consume... or I see something on TV and I crave it so much, I have to eat it soon! I'm disappointed, but I have to remind myself that it's okay to fall off the wagon sometimes, and I can get back on my feet quickly. However, I was exercising a lot during my bad eating period, so I'm hoping it kind of equalled itself out.

Yesterday was a good day though! I had a huge Lite Caesar salad with [unfortunately soaked-in-sodium] shrimp for lunch, then Special K cereal with chopped up banana for dinner. I do notice when I eat badly, the next day, Dex doesn't work so well, and I have to snack like I used to before my Dex discovery. I also treated myself to a Tootsie Pop (my usual post-lunch treat) and two Twizzlers sticks. But only two!

I cannot wait for warmer weather! Then the bf and I can finally get out and bike on the weekends and be active. Don't get me wrong, I love chilling at home and watching great movies and TV shows, and reading Harry Potter all weekend, but I hate winter, and at least want the option to be outside. Don was fixing up his bike this past weekend, too - via the inspiration of warm weather we had last Saturday. I think mine is good to go... just needs air in the tires and to be dusted! Yes, I keep my bike inside... it stays cleaner this way, and I spent a lot of money on it, so I'd rather keep it in near-mint condition as long as possible. But now, in retrospect, I wish I had gotten a smaller and lighter bike... these things are so heavy and clunky! Oh well. I got a great deal on it via someone I knew who worked at Eric's Bike Shop.

In other news, BodyPump is going well. I haven't upped my weights in awhile, but I still see results and 'feel the burn', so I'm not worried about it. One of the instructors has these amazing thighs! I want someday... :)

Okay, so overall with the Dex, I have been eating a bit less than normal (even though I always ate small amounts anyway) and there's a lot less snacking, which is great; but in the long run, I feel like exercise is what is making me lose weight faster. So hopefully people aren't dependent on Dex; rather, take it as something to assist you with snacking and cravings, and not weight loss entirely. That's my experience with it, for my body type and weight, anyway. I'm curious to see others' results and how their bodies react, so keep those comments coming!

Answer for Lori!

Hey Lori, thanks for your interest in my blog! I'm glad so many people are reading it...

Anyway, here's an answer to your question:
"My question is the manufacturer claims that the dex-c 20 targets stored fat,(tummy, hips, boobs). Do you find that is true? Are you loosing fat in the tummy and hips?"

Just the Dex alone, no, I'm not losing much in those areas... which is good for the boobs, though! :) My hips though, are a pretty standard size... I don't have much fat in that area (but the love-handles are another story!). I hope this info helps!

DEX Comment

Some information for women taking Dex... for me, during my menstrual cycle, the Dex doesn't work at all! The day that it starts, I'm hungry at my usual, old times. This tapers out towards the end of the week, but it's strong enough where I've noticed the difference these past two periods. I'm not sure if I should just stop taking it during those times, or keep taking them out of habit and keep it in my system.

DEX C20 - Day 39

Day 39!?! I can't believe it has been that long since I bought this stuff...

Anyway, I'll honestly say I haven't been eating very well this past week/weekend... holiday and all, and it was just one of those weeks! I've been skipping Pilates as well, so I need to get back into that again TODAY. Although Dex does suppress your appetite and craving for foods, you are able to override it - i.e. stuffing your face even though you're full! Something I need to work on when there's free food around...

Very busy at work, though... more to come later, when I have some real information. :)

6-week Measurements!

Okay, all this talk about results and measurements got me curious... so I gave-in and measured myself this morning, at the six-week mark. I'm fairly pleased with the results... it's slow-going, but that was my decision overall. These measurements reflect six weeks of: BodyPump twice a week, DEX C20, Pilates for Abs (sometimes), and P.M. Yoga (at least twice a week). They also reflect semi-decent eating most of the time, and a few days + one weekend of eating whatever the hell I wanted! :)

Before & After (from top to bottom)-
Biceps: 11.5" to 12"
Breasts: 36" to 36" *no change... good ;)
Chest: 33" to 32.5"
Waist: 31" to 30"
Belly: 35" to 34.5"
Hips: 36" to 36"
Butt: 38" to 38"
Upper Thigh: 22.5" to 22"
Lower Thigh: 19" to 18"
Calf: X" to 14"

That's 3.5" loss overall!

Some comments... good inch-loss on the waist area right below the ribs! I could do better with my belly... meaning more Pilates for Abs. BodyPump has ab work, but only five minutes at the end. I doubt my hips will ever change... but that's okay. Also, great inch-loss on my lower thigh! I have noticed a lot of thigh improvement in that area. Keep in mind that I've had a lot of clearly visible muscle increase on my legs, so I don't expect that measurement to drastically reduce there. I gained 1/2 an inch on my Biceps, though! And I forgot to measure my calf the first time, so that's what the X means.

Hooray for progress!!!

DEX Comments

Thanks to everyone who made wonderful comments about my Dex trial! It's great to hear that people are reading and referencing my blog.

Oh, and to the person ("Slash" ?) who thought I didn't publish their comment about my being anti-scale, I was on VACATION for a week, and was NOT checking work e-mails, so I wasn't able to post any of the comments until TODAY. I did publish your comment, and thought it was very insightful as well, so don't jump so quickly to conclusions if I don't react immediately to your every thought.

Anyway, I thought I'd answer some questions people had in one big post! Here goes:

Q: "have you had any positive results"
A: Absolutely! It does suppress your appetite quite a bit — much more than the Hoodia did.

C: "I used to be like you and justified not using a scale in one way or another, but the fact is, I avoided the scale because it told the TRUTH."
R: Ahh, interesting take. I don't avoid it completely, but I find the only time I weigh myself is when they force me at the Dr.'s office, as I don’t own a scale anymore. I am happy to report that I've maintained my weight within 8-10 pounds over the past three years, but I would love to see better results. I found when I had a scale in my home, I became too obsessed with the daily measurement — much like I used to be obsessed with timeliness while wearing a watch everyday. I'm still very timely, don't get me wrong; but I just don't need to have it attached to my body, as I have other means of checking what time it is. I digress... :)

Q: "They say that the DEX - C20 is supposed to be fat burning too, you think there is any truth to that, or is it simply an appetite suppressant?"
A: There supposedly are extra natural ingredients in the pill that burn calories (not fat). I haven't noticed if they work well by themselves, as I've been doing a lot of muscle building lately. There's also some other ingredients to increase your energy. This I haven't really noticed much of either, but again, my eating well, working-out and naturally-high metabolism might have something to do with it.

C: "Your blog was a real find."
R: This is wonderful to hear! I noticed there wasn't much out about Dex on the internet yet... GNC said it is still a very new product.

Q: "What I want to know is how many do you have to take a day and in pounds, how much have you lost using it?"
A: You take two pills a day, 1 one-hour before lunch, and 1 one-hour before dinner. It's sometimes hard to time these things perfectly, but I find it works more effectively if you can stay on the one-hour rule. Instead of pounds, I'm going by measurements... I haven't measured in nearly two months though, but at the end of March, I'll be posting those results! However, I'm not overweight... I'm above-average, according to my online BMI analysis, which means my body is pretty normal and my weight loss won't be as drastic or fast because I'm not overweight.

Q: "Are you still using the dex c20? How well does/did it work for you over a month?"
A: Yep, I'm still on it. Although, a week ago was my birthday, so that whole weekend I ate terribly! I even didn't take the Dex one day so I could eat more than normal... don't think that worked though, as I was stuffed before lunch was half-over! :) The difference between this and the Hoodia, is that it works RIGHT away. I noticed by Day 5 that it was definitely working, without any hesitations. My eating could still be better/healthier (not less in quantity); but I hope my new measurements will yield some good results.

Thanks everyone! I hope to put up another Day post soon... work is super busy, having taken a whole week off...

DEX C20 - Day 18

This stuff definitely works, if I haven't made myself clear on that yet. :)

Yesterday I had lightly-breaded jumbo shrimp, and I was barely halfway done when I felt incredibly full. I kept eating though, as this particular dish re-heated would have been very gross. So now it's a matter of will-power and stopping yourself from eating when you feel full, and accepting the fact that you'll have a lot of left-over dishes during the week.

This fullness though, lasts a good 2+ hours! 8 pm rolled around and I felt as if I just ate a huge meal at Olive Garden. I also notice it works better when you do abide by the 'take one hour before meals' rule. It's hard to plan your meals sometimes, especially when you're out and about!

I might not take it on my birthday though, so I can eat more! I'll be ordering just lobster, as opposed to my usual shrimp pasta and scampi dinner, to make sure I have room for their new cookie dessert! I've seriously been thinking about it since we visited Red Lobster for dad's birthday dinner in January... but I think about food a lot... all day. :)

DEX C20 - Day 15

Well, this week has been a rough one... I've had a very strange period, if you must know, so I think that has been affecting the way the Dex is working. I haven't felt super full after eating this week, and on Wednesday, I was having major hypoglycemia issues... out of the blue! Again, probably due to my cycle... lovely things, those are. :P Plus I missed both BodyPump’s this week due to work issues. I've been trying to keep up with power-walking, yoga, and pilates, but it's hard when you're having headache and stomach problems.

Things are getting back to normal though, and this morning I wasn't hungry until the usual 10:30 time. Oh, I've also started taking my left-over Hoodia along with the Dex, to see if a double-plant dose helps each other work better. If it doesn't work, at least I got rid of my left-over Hoodia... :)

On a positive note, I have noticed my shirts feeling looser! Not a ton, but enough to be noticed. Pilates and BodyPump are my main focus these days... I heard building muscle is a great (if not best) way to burn fat quickly. I've decided to have a slow outlook on losing weight and toning my body - meaning I'm not going to stress-out about eating super-well every single day of the week. This will be a slow burn, and I might not even be at my ideal weight until next year! I know summer will definitely help with weekend exercise, being able to bike and walk around my new home. But if I want to have a treat or two one day, then I will! Denying myself this stuff only makes me stress and think about my body 24/7... consuming my daily thoughts.

So that's the plan! I'll still give measurements though... perhaps starting at the end of March, and then each month after that, if I feel it's worth reporting. No weight though... I don't like scales, and they're not always accurate. Muscle weighs more than fat, and I'll be building a lot in the next few months, so I'd rather not be bogged down by false numbers.

DEX C20 - Day 7

So far so good... I was able to only eat half my wrap for lunch today, and put the other half aside for later, before I go to BodyPump. It's sometimes hard to plan to take the pills exactly one hour before a meal, but generally, I've been within the 45–60 minute gap.

I feel lighter today, too! I have been keeping up with Pilates for Abs, so this might have a lot to do with how I'm feeling. I have been able to curb my snacking as well... they were never bad snacks, but they're calories that add up quickly! I'm still enjoying a small sugar treat after lunch though, but it's small candy like Jolly Ranchers or Tootsie Pops. And I only have one! It's chocolate that I can't just have one of... :)

Speaking of, I stocked-up on my most FAVORITE candy yesterday... the seasonal Cadbury brand Mini Eggs. These are different than the cream-filled Cadbury Eggs most people think of when I say this; they're the solid chocolate eggs with a hard, crispy shell. And you really do need to stock-up when they come out... they're in high demand, and they don't seem to make a whole ton extra for the season! I've never seen any left over, on clearance after the holiday. So I got one bag for me, a couple to put out at work closer to the actual holiday, and one bag of dark chocolate for me as well (new since last year!). I'll be getting some Cadbury Eggs later (the cream-filled), but those seem to last awhile in stores... plenty of time, and I don't want any temptations around — at least until my birthday!

DEX C20 - Day 5

Okay, this stuff is definitely working... I think.

When I eat breakfast, I start to feel really stuffed as I barely finish my small bowl of cereal. I can last until about 10:30 to 11 am until I feel a small tinge of hunger pain. If I have to eat, I'll eat a banana or something small to hold me until lunch. Yesterday, I had lunch at 11:45, and I wasn't even hungry when I left for the gym at 4:45! I ate a Fiber bar though, before exercise, just in case. But again, I wasn't hungry.

I felt some slight hunger pokes on the bus ride home, but they're different than normal... it's not a gurgling pain, but instead, it's more of a minimal pressure that is easily ignored. I was able to come home and put my stuff away and make something small for dinner without feeling like I was starving and had to eat immediately.

So far so good! I'm curious to see my report at the two week mark... and perhaps on days when I eat healthier things. :)

DEX C20 - Day 1

Well, I'm abandoning the Hoodia... after two days in a row of it not working well, and only having it work semi-decently 10% of the time, I've decided to try DEX-C20. It's a different plant (caralluma), but has the same appetite suppressant as Hoodia, plus extra (natural) ingredients to burn calories and increase energy.

The GNC guy says a lot of people return Hoodia, but he's never had someone return DEX, ever. I didn't know you could make returns! So this gives me hope, but I'm still not going to be overly dependent on this product, in case this doesn't work, either.

On other health news, I have been pretty good this week! Only a few pieces of candy, a Skinny Cow ice cream treat, and healthy lunches. I have also been going to the YM my usual days, and I started Pilates for Abs again. I figure if I want massive stomach fat reduction, I need to do Pilates again. I lost so many inches last time I got into a routine with that DVD, so I'm hopeful it'll work again, no problem. :)

Hoodia - Day 8

I got full off of cereal this morning! I had my usual-sized bowl, and when I was nearly done, I suddenly felt really full. Not like "I'm gonna puke" full, but "I need to stop eating" full. So perhaps it's working! It's been about three weeks exactly since I've had it in my system... takes awhile to kick in, huh. So I'll check out how this week goes, and will probably need to order more. I guess it would be best not to change brands, as it seems to take awhile for your body to get used to it.

Also, last night after working out, I usually come home very hungry for dinner at 7 pm. But I was able to take my time, put some things away, and then heat up some vegetarian chili I made this past weekend, without hunger pains!

I'm still hesitant to say it's working, but I'm not sure why. I mean, it's not a super potent thing... but it's subtle. Sometimes I feel like I'm hungry, but it's very slight - something I can ignore. I've also been feeling very motivated to work out this week. I'm not saying that's the Hoodia, but it's probably due to my trying to eat better.

I usually have trouble in the mornings... I get hungry quickly, but after lunch, I'm fine until dinner. However, I've started taking the Hoodia before lunch, as I read online that you should take it about 30 minutes before the biggest meal of your day. So this seems to be working very well for me.

Hoodia - Day 7

I think it's working! I couldn't eat very much of anything this weekend... normally, if I feel full, I can keep eating if it's something really tasty (which isn't a good thing, but I can't help myself). Often I can squeeze in a few last bites, but both Saturday and Sunday, when I started to feel full, I just couldn't do it! I had to stop. I actually felt a bit sick if I tried to eat any more... very weird, but good at the same time.

I notice I especially feel full after eating carbs... I also notice I'm able to control my portions as well, and I'm craving sweets less and less. This might be because I've been trying to stay away from chocolate, but even after having a few pieces last Friday, this weekend I didn't feel a craving for something bad at the grocery store. I mean, the thought popped into my head a few times, but overall the urge wasn't very strong, so I was able to forget about it moments later.

So the next step is to finish off my left-over Hoodia, taking it an hour or so before lunch (and maybe dinner if I feel the need), then purchasing that other stuff to see if it works better. I'll try that for a month, then switch back if it doesn't work as well. I should maybe ask the GNC guy if this would be okay though... perhaps the Hoodia just takes awhile to get into your system, as it has realistically been almost three weeks since I started taking it. I guess I haven't decided yet what to do... :P

Hoodia - Day 3

Well, it didn't work this morning... I took two pills after getting up, and only lasted about 20 minutes before I had to eat breakfast, from the hunger pains. I'm going to go to GNC today and see if the clerk knows any information about different Hoodia brands that I could try, for my body type. Perhaps I just need something stronger or different?

***

Took two pills again at 10:30 from slight hunger pains... ate some peanuts thirty minutes later.

***

I had a big lunch, so I'm not hungry yet... which is usual. I visited GNC near my work, and they have a couple different varieties of Hoodia-based products. The clerk suggested I try something similar to Hoodia, as he's heard both sides to Hoodia results, depending on the person. I'm starting to think my body type might not agree with Hoodia... high metabolism and all. But this all-natural product he recommended is from a different plant, and contains other (natural) ingredients to boost my energy and make me eat less. What I noticed though, with the three different Hoodia's they had, were the Directions For Use instructions. They were very different than the one I take now. One said to take the recommended dose 15–30 minutes before your two biggest meals of the day (usually lunch and dinner). The other said take the dose an hour before lunch and dinner. Same with this DEX-C20 product I was recommended to take — one dose 60 minutes before lunch and dinner.

So my next step, is to try this with the Hoodia I still have left over. Tomorrow I'll eat normally in the mornings, then take it before lunch. When I get home, I'll take it again before dinner. Simple, right!?! Although, I wonder if I'm screwing up my system by taking it at different times each day... but if it's all-natural, and I've had it in my body for 2.5 weeks now, shouldn't it work regardless? Such drama. :P

Hoodia - Day 2

Took the recommended dosage this morning and ate breakfast 40 minutes later. Was hungry three hours later, so I took another dose, and planned to eat lunch a half an hour later. I had a pile of jobs on my desk though, when I came into work after my Dr.'s appointment, so I ate a small bar, did the jobs, and now two hours later, I'm hungry again.

I hope this kicks in soon... I'm trying to eat well still, and detoxing... if this kind doesn't work, perhaps I'll try to order a different brand, but still remain with the all-natural stuff.

Hoodia - Day 1 (con't.)

I finally felt a small poke of hunger pain four hours after breakfast... not bad at all! I ate a few peanuts to stave off any hunger before my lunch, at 11:30. It has been a hard day for me, as I'm essentially trying to detox my body from all the junk I ate this past weekend — and past week! It'll take a few days, I think, but the candy I bought for the office yesterday is calling my name...

And speaking of lunch, I bought this really great Mezze Salad from downstairs today. It has spinach, cucumber, tomatoes, olives, pita folds, and this amazing hummus! Very good for semi-pre-packaged meals and $4. I'm stuffed. I'm hoping this stuffed feeling is the Hoodia, as it's supposed to make you feel fuller faster.

***

Two hours post-lunch and I still feel very full... like I just ate. I hope I last until 4:45 when I eat a Fiber 1 bar before going to Step class.

***

Okay, 4 pm now and I definitely need a Fiber bar! Feeling some slight hypoglycemia effects, too. (This is probably due to my body used to having pure sugar of some form all afternoon.) However, after even MORE research online about the product, I find that most brands require you to take it before every meal... meaning not just once a day. I'll have to go back and re-read the instructions on my bottle, to see if it says 'once a day', to which I thought it did. Regardless of what it says though, I think I might take it before each meal, or just before breakfast and lunch, to help kick-start my system. I also read that one guy took it an hour before each of his meals... but I think my 30 minutes would suffice.

Hoodia - Day 1

I'm calling this post Day 1, as I think it's the official first day I'm taking it 'properly' and it has been about one week since I've had it in my system.

This morning I changed my routine... for those of you who know me, you can imagine this was quite a jolt to handle! :) I took the pills in the morning right away, brushed my teeth, then sat and watched the Weather Channel for about five minutes to wake myself up. After that, I did my normal getting-ready stuff, and a half an hour later from taking the pills, I ate breakfast. During that half an hour, I didn't feel hunger pains at all. A good start! I had a small bowl of cereal, and although I feel pretty full now, 1.5 hours later, I felt content at the time. So far so good!

I also measured my body. Luckily, it wasn't too much of a shock or difference from what I've been for a long time. :) I measured from top to bottom, including my arms and thighs. I'm curious if my BodyPump class will yield a drastic measurement change in those limbs. I’m inclined to take a ‘before’ picture, too... but we’ll see.

Oh, this morning I had an e-mail about someone who wanted to post a message in response to my first Hoodia post... it was spam!!! Some guy who has a website about the Hoodia Sucker... saying if you consume it, it goes directly into the blood stream, works better, blah blah blah. Um, if I'm eating a sucker, and that's going into my stomach, then what's the difference between swallowing pills... that go into my stomach!? Silly. I rejected it... maybe I should have posted it for fun though. Omigod, I just visited the website out of curiosity, and it’s a TRAVEL website!!! LMAO! It’s nothing about Hoodia... it’s about vacationing... how pathetic.

Hoodia Gordonii

I have recently decided to try Hoodia Gordonii 'diet' pills. For those of you who are unaware of Hoodia, it's an all-natural, organic appetite suppressant. I figured with my high metabolism, and having to eat something every 1-2 hours, this product would be perfect for me in jump-starting my new weight-loss concentration. It had a lot of buzz about a year ago, featured on 60 Minutes and Oprah. Here's the web address if you want to learn more! www.hoodiagordoniiplus.com

I did a lot of research before buying anything, as there are a lot of brands of Hoodia out there. Many of them have extra weight-loss ingredients added, meaning they pack these pills full of caffeine and other unhealthy chemicals. I found a company that distributes only the all-natural, vegan-friendly version, with no additives except for green tea and magnesium. If you purchase bottles in bulk, it saves you money of course, but for the time being, I just ordered one bottle to see if it works.

The recommended dosage for this kind is 2 pills on an empty stomach, before a meal. I've read online suggestions of taking them 10, 20, or 30 minutes before eating, but since my morning routine consists of eating breakfast right away (to help me wake up), I decided to stick with this schedule and see if it works.

I started last Wednesday, taking the pills 10 minutes before breakfast. I also read online that it might take a few days to one week to kick in, depending on your body type. It's hard to be patient with any weight-loss regimen, but I figured I'd give it a week and see if it starts to work.

My routine in the morning is very set - wake, brush teeth, eat breakfast, fix hair, dress, leave. I figured I could take two pills right away upon waking, as my stomach will be empty from the 8 hours of sleep, and it will be about 5-10 minutes before putting cereal into my stomach. Four days of this trial haven't yielded any noticeable results...

However, on Sunday, I decided to make myself a treat for breakfast. Normally my stomach starts to complain if I wait 10+ minutes before eating breakfast. However, this particular morning, I took the Hoodia, then baked Blueberry Muffin box-mix, which took about 45 minutes total. This entire time, I was never hungry! My stomach didn't complain one bit and I never felt weak. And when the muffins were done, I ate four of them (they were pretty small), and during the fourth, I felt this overwhelming sense of being very full, like after stuffing your face at your favorite restaurant. I felt this way for a good couple of hours after, but not to the point of being in pain. :)

Because of my high metabolism, I also suffer from Hypoglycemia sometimes, depending on my eating habits. I have less than four hours to eat something after breakfast, otherwise I'll start to get weak, sweaty, crabby and shaky. It sucks, but normally I have access to food on these occasions. Well, Sunday morning didn't yield any of those symptoms! It was a good four hours before I had a big glass of orange juice, but I wasn't even hungry or hypoglycemic at the time. Then I was able to wait until eating dinner about three hours later, again, without feeling hungry.

This morning though, being back to work, I did my usual routine, and had to eat something around 10 am, like normal. I think I'll edit my morning routine tomorrow, and try the 30 minute wait before eating after taking the pills, and see if this provides the same results I had yesterday.

I'm going to try and blog a lot about my experience with this in the next month or so. It might be limited posting due to my new job training next week, but we'll see! I should really take 'before' measurements of my body as well... I'm hoping the Hoodia, along with my BodyPump and BodyStep classes will give me fast results!

Oh, and I should probably state that I'm not looking to be a super-thin size 2 or any b.s. like that... but I want to be fit and lean, which means losing body fat, which takes forever if I'm having to eat all day. :P

New Job!

I haven't posted in forever, due to being very busy at work, as well as preparing, interviewing, and finally getting a new job! I'm still within the same pyramid here at Target (under my old bosses new boss - lol... did that make sense?), but I'll have a new manager who reports to the pyramid boss. I'm also salary now, instead of hourly, which means NO MORE CLOCK PUNCHING! I think I'm more excited about this than my raise. :)

Officially, I start today, but there's going to be a huge, timely transition... for one, because our new manager was just announced, and I'm sure she has to give her old job two weeks notice; and secondly, since we're a brand-spankin' new team, we don't have a workload yet. So today I'm still doing my type stuff... and sitting in my same cube. That's another issue... we won't be moving probably for awhile because the whole Marketing team might be doing some shifting in the next month or two. So it'll be very weird not to sit next to my new teammates. I scheduled a lunch with them today though, so I can at least get to know them.

Officially I am now a Creative Production Design Specialist! This basically means a bridge between Creative and EP (electronic production, where I am now, but in Type). I'm hoping it's about half EP work, and half Creative... design does stress me out a lot, but our team won't necessarily be doing heavy concepting or design work; rather, we'd be taking already created stuff and furthering it through our routing process. At least I hope... :)