Tomorrow is another day...

I am posting this Weight Watchers Wednesday with my head hung a little low and I'm certainly not making eye contact with you. It turns out that the loosing weight thing is a little harder than posting a cute little logo on my blog.

I was "good" for a few weeks and lost 5 lbs. Then I got a little stressed and gave in to a craving or two (or three.) I couldn't resist the Halloween candy section at Target and well...here I am. At least I'm being honest!

I've done good with breakfasts and lunches. I love the multi-grain cheerios and end up eating them dry on the way to work. You know, the way 2-year-olds eat it as a snack. For lunch, I've stuck to Smart Ones frozen meals and salads. I'm good with dinner as long as I cook it myself. I've been making a delicious and quick tuna steak once a week and then having chicken or soup the other nights. The sides are salads and steamed veggies. If it weren't for the Thai food I had last week, the french toast I had a brunch over the weekend, the handfuls of Reese's mini cups, and that yummy salsa and cream cheese dip I was craving, I might be doing just fine! Okay, okay- one more confession: the caramel apple suckers by Tootsie Roll= delicious. And they're only sold during the Halloween season!

But let's keep focusing on the positive. I've been drinking lots and lots of water, and cut back to one caffeine drink a day- usually coffee in the mornings.

So there you have it...the highs and lows of the Weight Watcher Wednesday adventure. The good news: the candy is almost gone and I promise I won't buy any more. The bad news: I'm going to be crazy busy at an upcoming conference for work. There will certainly be a need for Starbucks type pick-me-ups and temptations of quickie conference food lunches. I'll do my best to make it skim and to consider the healthy lunch options.

Oh and then there's a weekend trip to SC the weekend after next. But one week at a time.

Gorgeously Green Update

I thought I'd update you on the Gorgeously Green 30 Day Pledge that I took. The pledge is in green and my results in black.

1. I commit to cutting my beef consumption down by 25-50%. I will prepare at least three meat-free meals a week. Meat production has a very heavy eco-impact.
I consciously tried to cut back on the meat that I ate. I made Tomato Pie with some fresh, local tomatoes that I bought at Eastern Market, which turned into a few meat-free meals for me. I also made some delicious veggie pasta, had some soup and salad nights, and veggie pizza.

2. I commit to buying organic, seasonal, and locally produced food whenever possible. I vote with my dollars and want to support sustainable producers.
I bought seasonal and local from Easter Market early in the process. I have to work on the organic part of this one. This girl has a budget!

3. I commit to cooking at least three meals a week at home so that I can save money, my health and the planet.
I do this anyway so this was easy!

4. I commit to reducing my food waste by 50 percent by sticking to my eating plan and my shopping list and by using my leftovers.

I tried to use up all of my leftovers...not easy for me as I always make too much food!

5. I commit to growing something edible (even an herb will do!)
I had a few veggies left from my summer garden which made a yummy salad!





6. I commit to recycling my paper, plastic, glass, and cans, and to buying recycled paper products (paper towels, napkins, and toilet paper) to preserve more trees.
I have recycled everything I could, including those annoying wire hangers from the Dry Cleaners. Most dry cleaners will take the hangers back and reuse them! I do need to work on buying recycled paper products.



PS....In an organizing frenzy a few weeks ago, I went through a huge box of photos and put them in albums. (My roomies had TONS of laughs at my expense while looking at some of my school pictures.) But, this one caught my eye, as I think it proves I've always been a treehugger at heart! (I'm the blonde.)

Lonny Magazine

You know how I looooved Domino magazine? I finally got a subscription and a month later, the magazine was dunzo. So imagine how excited I was when I found out about the new Lonny Magazine. (Thanks, Lisa!!) Some former Domino staffers are launching the new online design magazine. The site went live today!

A Charleston Wedding

What better way to decompress after a particularly difficult week than heading to Charleston for a beautiful wedding! There's something so charming and calming about Charleston. I headed down with my roomie for one of our friend's wedding. We even worked in a blissful hour on the beach just laying in the sun.

The wedding was beautiful- outside and beside the water. There was a huge wrap around porch. And of course, the bride was stunning.

The scene from the porch:

Roommate pose:

First Dance:

Fun with friends:


With the Bride:

Congrats to the newlyweds!

Field Trip to the White House

I recently had the opportunity to attend not one, but two White House events. Both events were held at the Executive Office Building, which is on the White House grounds. I've been on a tour of the Executive Office Building and the West Wing of the White House, thanks to a family friend that was working there. But had never been to the Executive Office Building for anything official.

The bigger of the two events feature the First Lady. She gave her first big speech on health care reform, which got a lot of press. It was a fabulous speech on women in health reform.

Moments like this remind me of why I moved to DC in the first place. This sort of opportunity doesn't come up all that often. On our walk there, we saw Chuck Todd- NBC's White House Correspondent! (DC star sightings aren't like they may be in NYC or LA.)

Anyway, in typical DC fashion, we saw some interesting sights on the walk there and back. Protesters....

Weight Watchers Wednesday

Happy Fall! I'm trying to trick myself into being happy about fall. As I've said before, it's not that I don't like fall, it's that I don't like know what comes after. But as I read somewhere, at least we're one day closer to next spring/summer!

Is it really already time for the Weight Watcher Wednesday segment? Cause that came around way too fast. I've had lots of lean cuisines for lunch, and am getting on a soup/salad kick for dinners. It's just so easy to pop open a can or throw some veggies in a bowl.

I will admit to a small diet detour over the weekend. Plus I've had some personal distractions...which is most likely the real reason I lost a few pounds this week. But am happy to say I have done well in the sweets and snacking department. It was an okay start to getting on track. I know I can and will do better.

Ready, Set, TIVO

Time to bring Tivo out of it's summer slumber! The Emmy's are this weekend and I'm probably one of the few people more excited about the start of the Fall TV season than I am about the start of the Fall Football season.

I've searched high and low and scanned through the new fall TV schedule. There are a lot of good shows out there. These are just my picks! I haven't gotten in to the vampire trend yet, so I know nothing about those. I'm also totally over most reality type shows. Even Dancing With The Stars doesn't interest me due to the totally lame line-up of "stars."

So here's my game plan.

Sundays
Mad Men on AMC at 10:00 pm
Mad Men already started their new season a few weeks ago. It's a total throwback of a show and has some major politically incorrect moments (by today's standards.) But it's a glimpse of the way things were and how far we've come. This may be my favorite show right now!

Brothers and Sisters on ABC at 10:00 pm
This family drama has become a favorite of mine over the past few years. The Walker's dysfunction makes you feel like your own family is perfectly "normal."


Mondays
Gossip Girl on CW at 9:00 pm
Gossip Girl has a later time this year (9 pm) and premiered on Monday night. In my very humble opinion, Season 3 may be in trouble! Something just wasn't right seeing Dan all materialistic, being chauffeured and waving money around, and Chuck all romantic. What is that about? Maybe once they all start school or Hillary Duff joins the cast, things will get better! Let's hope so!


Tuesdays
The Good Wife on CBS at 10:00 pm
Apparently CBS has a few other shows besides CSI. This could be my inner political junkie coming out, but it looks interesting. You know us South Carolinians can't seem to get enough of a good political scandal!


Wednesdays
Mercy on NBC at 8:00 pm
It's the new ER, I mean medical drama about nurses. I'll give it a try. Nurses are the new hot thing. I enjoyed Nurse Jackie on Showtime this summer.

Modern Family on ABC at 9:00 pm
Entertainment Weekly says it's the fall's funniest new show. And haven't we all missed the beauty of the 30 minute sitcom?

Cougars on ABC at 9:30
This stars Courtney Cox....not totally sold on this one, but will give it a try.

Eastwick on ABC at 10:00pm
I don't know why I think I can watch a show about Witches and not the ones about Vampires. But it intrigues me.

Thursdays
The Office on NBC at 9pm
The Office lost a little of it's luster for me last year. Maybe I just needed a break now that I could rest easy that Jim and Pam are finally together.

Project Runway on Lifetime at 10:00 pm
Runway's season is well on it's way to crowning another design King/Queen. I'm having fun watching Carol Hannah (from my hometown) compete each week. There's still a long way to go, but so far, so good. The jump from Bravo to Lifetime hasn't changed the show much at all.

Grey's Anatomy on ABC at 9:00 pm
Yes, I'm still watching, despite the terrible plot line a few years ago of Meredith drowning and then coming back to life. And I even held my nose and watched through Izzy's hallucinations of Denny last year. Grey's has at least one big change with the departure of George. Mer and Der are together, and everyone else is coupled up.

Private Practice on ABC at 10:00 PM
I wasn't the most devoted Private Practice watcher last year, but the season finale was quite a cliff hanger. This could possibly be way better and more interesting than played-out Grey's.


Whew, thank goodness for TiVo, who makes my TV watching much easier! I think these shows, will give me plenty to watch this Fall! Have I missed anything?

Girls, Fantasy, and Football

No, I'm not talking about anything dirty. It's not that kind of blog. And I'm not talking about the Independent Women's Football League (yes, there is such a thing.)

I AM talking about the NPR story about my all female fantasy league. We were interviewed during our fantasy football draft a few weeks ago. I'm not quoted in the interview, but I'm one of the girls referred to as "gathered in Arlington."

You may remember that I was the champ last year. But this could very well be my last time to gloat about that. Because despite winning my first week, yet again, my QB is hurt in the first game of the season. Last year the same thing happened to my QB, Tom Brady. This year, it's Tony Romo. Hopefully he'll have a quick recovery and have a solid season.

So starts another year of the ups and downs of coaching an imaginary team!