'Tis the Season

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 15:18:59 EST

Fa la la la la la la la no....

Well, it certainly feels like that particular season. We are having a lovely winter this spring. Current temperature is 52 degrees according to WeatherBug.

Scoff all you want northerners. We should be in the low to mid seventies right about now. This really is Christmas weather.

Alas, no visits from Ol' Saint Nick and no excuses to be indulging in cookies and fluffy hot chocolate. Christmas is safely in the attic (YAY!!!!!!).

The Latest and Greatest Lose-Weight-Quick Tool

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 12:36:42 EST

It's only been two days, not even, and already I have people gushing about how great I look. TWO DAYS!

And I'll let you in on my secret, because I'm so amazing and sweet like that.

What's my newest secret?

Food poisoning.

It's for the seriously committed only. It's not recommended for pregnant women, people with weak constitutions or anyone at all ever.

But a day or so of violent purging with no desire and/or hope of eating anything ever ...

My I-Should-Prob'ly-Run Day

Mon, 8 Apr 2013 09:02:33 EST

I don't know what it is about Sundays, but for some reason I'm like "EAT ALL THE THINGS!"

And, of course, it's not the healthy things. This weekend my drug of choice was knock off double stuffed Oreos.

Me thinks I should become a better weekend tracker. I am an ab. fab. M-F tracker, but sometime around Saturday afternoon I slack off until I'm back at work Monday morning. Par example, this weekend I tracked my Saturday breakfast and my post-dance-class, pre-running-of-the...

Hold Me Tighter Than My Dereon Jeans

Tue, 2 Apr 2013 21:10:21 EST

So. I have a question for the ladies. More specifically, the single ladies (Wuh uh oh uh uh oh oh uh oh uh uh oh).

Anyone else being bombarded with "So... do you have a guy yet?" or some variation thereof?

It seems like everytime I turn around someone, generally a mother-type someone, is asking me that.

Why are these women so interested in my relationship status? And yes, I just said "relationship status." Life is Facebook.

Being thinner and "gorgeo...

The Wages of Chocolate

Mon, 1 Apr 2013 09:11:54 EST

With the dawning of Easter, my fast from chocolate is officially over.

493 494 And boy did I celebrate! 493 494

Those little chocolate eggs that I've been craving since Thursday. 493 494

"Fun sized" Kit Kats and Twix. 493 494

Reese's cups. 493 494

And that's NOT including the coffee cake and strata eaten at Easter Brunch a...

Fluidity

Thu, 7 Mar 2013 13:41:36 EST

As per my usual, I'm reevaluating.

My official goal, per my SP goals page, has been to get down to a healthy BMI by my birthday in July. That would be (mathing....mathing....) a bit over 30 pounds which is totally doable.

Can I just pause for a second to freak the heck on out that a healthy BMI is a mere 30-some pounds away? Holy health Batman! I've NEVER been a healthy BMI. Granted, I understand that BMI is nothing more than a mathmatical equation relating height (which...

Her name was Flora Spread and she lived on Hovis Hill

Wed, 27 Feb 2013 11:42:49 EST

Well, I now have at least 15 things on my list of "Things They Don't Tell You Before You Start Your Weight Loss Journey."

#15: You will get sick. A lot.

I just back from a doctor's appointment because I have a delightful ear, nose, throat thing going on.

Yesterday I had no voice, which is hard to deal with when your work requires you talk on the phone all day and then you have to go to choir rehearsal.

Voice is back 95-ish%. Talking voice is good f...

Creep

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 13:43:30 EST

I've noticed, as I'm sure many of you have for yourselves, that none of my clothes fit anymore. Pants are the worst offender yet. I can get away with keeping sweaters from 50 or so pounds ago, even 100 pounds in some cases. But pants... not so much.

So, I'm walking around the clothing section (who am I kidding, I zeroed in on clearance) of a national department store in my local mall and I can't help but feel out of place.

I had a friend a few weeks ago tell me that I ...

Reunited Again

Fri, 15 Feb 2013 13:57:45 EST

So, last night I hopped onto the treadmill once again. I have not treaded mill, at least not of my own volition, in some time now.

And now we know why.

Actually, it wasn't too terribly bad. I kept my pace between 4 and 5 mph, had a slight incline and I didn't want to die.

Huzzah! Progress!

I think I did 30 minutes but I'm not quite sure. I went to take a sip of water and hit the wrong button, cool down instead of pause, which means I had to start co...

Misery Business

Thu, 14 Feb 2013 13:27:14 EST

It's day 2 of the Lenten season in which I have opted to give up chocolate.

I didn't realize how badly I was/am addicted to chocolate.

Mardi Gras/Shrove Tuesday was a pretty chocolatey day: brownies, chocolate chip cookies, chocolate chip pancakes, ice cream and hot chocolate. I was sick of chocolate by the time I went to bed.

Yesterday was a tough day and I just wanted a freaking brownie. I wanted chocolate gosh darn it! But no, no chocolate.

I did...

More than Hour Our Never

Wed, 6 Feb 2013 13:12:06 EST

So for the past few days I've been kind of sick.

I stumbled home from work Monday and fell asleep until around Tuesday afternoon. I did wake up to decide to not go to dance class, take a shower and e-mail out sick from work.

Between Monday 7pm until Tuesday 7pm, I spent approximately 19 hours in bed.
102
I felt better and risked a run to choir rehearsal. Which left me appropriately drained, but I sang better than I have all season and felt alright....

Weight Loss Intellectualism

Mon, 28 Jan 2013 14:42:35 EST

"Being an intellectual creates a lot of questions and no answers." -- Janis Joplin

There is all this talk of "goals" running around. I've had this arbitrary "get-t0-a-healthy-weight-as-determined-by-
my-BMI" goal for a while. People keep wanting to know numbers, so I generally give them "around 40-50 more to go."

But is that really what I want? What do I want from this weight loss journey/lifestyle change?

Is this just about my weight? Is all of this, whate...

To exhale audibly in a long, deep breath, as in weariness....

Fri, 25 Jan 2013 10:48:27 EST

I shall begin with a sigh.......

Decided last night and threw away the blasted fudge.

As my mother was making brownies.

** headdesk **

I think my problem is an old one: if it's there, I will eat it. When it is in my face, I have no willpower. I want it.

If it's not there, I can go ages without. I used to eat ice cream every night, now I can go months without and I don't feel deprived. I haven't had a Reese's cup in almost a month and I d...

I am not a bear (as long as I have my coffee)

Thu, 24 Jan 2013 14:08:04 EST

I can hear all of my midwestern friends giggling at we poor, silly suth'nahs. Or that could just be their bones rattling from the cold.

We are in the middle of a cold snap! High temperature here today is 30 degrees. And it's SNOWING!!!!!!!! Well, flurrying. And it's most likely not going to stick.

And I am COLD. My body is trying to go into hibernation mode. I'm cold, tired and hungry! I cannot get out of my bed in the morning, I feel like I am constantly eating and I c...

I'll be fine

Tue, 15 Jan 2013 13:43:00 EST

Last night after dance class, I sat in my car and cried. I did not sob, or sniffle. I full on cried: snot-dripping, red-faced bawled. I cried the entire way home. I was pleading with God because "I don't want to die."

Hm. Melodramatic much?

Now that over 24 hours have passed from my doctor appointment and I have managed to sleep on it, a clearer head has seemed to prevail.

I'll be fine.

I don't have a history of heart disease in my family (that I kn...

Looking for the Positives

Mon, 14 Jan 2013 13:26:10 EST

I was under the impression that losing weight was supposed to make me healthier.

Silly me. So trusting. So naive.

For a while now I've been having issues with dizziness when I stand up. This has been going on for months. I would just wait until it passes and move on. I just wrote it all off as dehydration.

Yesterday, I was having chest and back pains when I tried to get in a good breath. Key word here is "tried." I feel like I'm gulping in air and getting no...

Adventures in Smoothie Making

Fri, 11 Jan 2013 23:18:29 EST

So, I was awfully close to the upper limits of all of my ranges, but still kind of hungry so I decided to make a smoothie.

I should have just gone to bed and slept the hunger off, even if it was only like 8:30. Early to bed, early to rise...yeah right.

Anyway, I saw a super quick recipe using milk, protein powder and ice cubes and thought "Hey! I can do that!"

First, I don't have "protein powder" per se. I have this weight loss shake stuff that I was conned in...

The Secret Life of Fitness Instructors

Thu, 10 Jan 2013 13:51:35 EST

This morning, I didn't have time to make a lunch (which, considering the suckfest that was yesterday's lunch, probably isn't too bad of a thing), so I braved the blisteringly cold wind to walk over to the grocery store that is in the same strip mall as my office.

Alls I knows is I had my heart set on apples and string cheese for some reason.

As I'm walking into the store, the lady who walked in in front of me grabs a cart and turns to walk in and, lo! behold!, it is one ...

When in Romaine....

Wed, 9 Jan 2013 14:05:45 EST

After getting my butt kicked in the gym last night (which was ...ah...so wonderfully wonderful. Thank you ma'am may I have another round?), I walked (hobbled) to the store to buy cat food because, apparently, those "hunters" would rather eat dry kibble than catch something fresh.

So lazy.

I also bought some romaine salad and spinach. I am determined to eat these bags of salad and spinach before they go bad (unlike the last few times I bought salad and spinach). I prefer...

Forgive me Sparkies, for I have sinned

Tue, 8 Jan 2013 13:49:24 EST

I could go on and on about my first Belly Dance 2 class last night (we got to play with veils! And, I had to endure the most horrifying 4 minutes of the day in "exploratory time" where you "do what you feel." I feel awkward. You don't want me to do awkward. STOP LOOKING AT ME!!!)
40

Yeah. I could. But I won't.
Instead, I have a confession. 39

I have been eating chocolate. A lot of chocolate.
493 494 473<...

I don't sleep in a toaster

Mon, 7 Jan 2013 08:43:31 EST
I did it! I did it! I diiiiiidddd iiiitttt!

I went to the gym in the morning. Like crazy stupid early morning.

I was at the gym at 6am to lift weights.

I had forgotten that there even IS a 6am.

It's dark and cold and quiet.

I don't like it.

But you know what I do like? Coffee.

You know what I don't have? Coffee.

This makes for a fairly unhappy Saraaline. Cold, tired, sleepy and caffeine deprived.

Ch...Ch...Ch...Changes

Fri, 4 Jan 2013 21:17:01 EST
I love me some Bowie. Mrow....

Uh...yeah.

I have a few blogs that I've been meaning to write this past week, but alas life tends to have other plans.

Fear not! I shall get them written! (Pish...like anyone reads my ramblings LOLz).

I was thinking earlier about how I do so well, food-wise, during the work day and then throw it all away after I get home.

For dinner today I had:
Pizza Hut Pizza, medium, meat lovers, stuffed crust (with ...

Oh for the love of....

Mon, 31 Dec 2012 17:36:04 EST
In the span of 1 holiday week, I gained 4 pounds.

Crap. Bollocks. Dang. Poo. Daggumit. And, indeed, harumph.

I can figure a few reasons for said gain:

1.) Christmas
1a.) Christmas cookies
1b.) Christmas chocolates
1c.) Christmas bread
1d.) Christmas alcohol

2.) My sister's thirty-One party
2a.) Party food (cookies, chocolates, wraps, wieners in crescent rolls, etc.)
2b.) Party drinks (wine, punch and Toblerone (Kahlua, ...

Christmas Town

Sun, 30 Dec 2012 23:02:22 EST
This afternoon I, my sisters, BIL, and 2 16 year old cousins went to ChristmasTown at Busch Gardens Williamsburg.

Busch Gardens Williamsburg is apparently "The World's Most Beautiful Theme Park."

And I agree.

There at 2 Busch Gardenses: one here in Williamsburg, VA and another in Tampa, Florida. Williamsburg is Busch Gardens Europe and I think Tampa is Busch Gardens Africa.

FYI: Pictures are not necessarily in time order. I didn't start taking pict...

45 Life Lessons

Fri, 28 Dec 2012 20:10:05 EST
I got this via e-mail from a co-worker this morning and I feel that it is worth sharing. I know that I, personally, need to work on 29 and 32.

And this is very good to keep in mind as we go into a new year and start with fresh calendars. Enjoy.

"This is something we should all read at least once a week!!!!! Make sure you read to the end!!!!!!

Written by Regina Brett, 90 years old, of the Plain Dealer, Cleveland , Ohio .

'To celebrate growing older,...

Eat your heart of Alice. My Wonderland is better

Tue, 18 Dec 2012 10:53:32 EST
236 236 236 236 236 236 236 236 236

199.5

Never has a "1" looked better (unless it's on the board at WaWa, but that will never happen again).

Oh Em Effing Gee y'all! I'm in ONEDERLAND!!!!!

Barely, but I'll take it.

I cried on Linda's shoulder.

I freaking cried.

Oh my gosh.

Also, I'm wearing a pair o...

Yay it's Christmas! Oh wait, I'm a musician....

Mon, 17 Dec 2012 08:59:17 EST
I tried hard to keep Advent this year. But it just doesn't seem possible with all of the running around ||: to this concert to that rehearsal to this other thing :|| (Music Theory Class! ":||" is musical notation for repeat. "||: ... :||" means that you get to ":||" you repeat starting at the "||:". There will not be a quiz at the end. No worries).

Thankfully, I had my last two concerts yesterday: cantata at my parent's church and Lessons and Carols at St. John's Episcopal in Hampt...

Christmas in One-derland?

Thu, 6 Dec 2012 15:40:03 EST
I got weighed last night and had lost 6.5 more pounds. In 11 days. It's a little high, but I'm not worried.

Eventually I'll be bemoaning the fact that I'm not losing as fast as I used to and I will long for these days. LOL.

But yeah. I say this a lot, but I can't remember the last time I weighed this little. Per SparkPeople's counter-thingy, I could be under 200 pounds by Christmas.

That's Christmas 2012.

That's 19 days away.

Ho. Lee. Ni...

I lost 110 pounds. How is that a big deal?

Mon, 26 Nov 2012 12:39:18 EST
Yep. I don't think it's a big deal.

I know it should be. My mother is thrilled and telling EVERYONE about it and she's talking about this "Joy Fit Club" or some such nonsense. I told her to save her breath and rent a billboard on 64 and be done with it.

Alas, I don't think she heard me. She's bragging about me too much to listen to me.

But yeah. One-hundred-ten pounds. That's like 2 bags of dog food that WalMart has to keep on the floor. I can barely lift one ...

It's a Conspiracy

Wed, 21 Nov 2012 10:47:23 EST
Warning: Ranting and raving ahead....

I'm now convinced that the world is working against me. Santa knows I'm not allowed to be happy and do what I bloody well want to do. Noooooo....

Why else would the fracking gym be closing so fracking early today?

Ohmigah I want to go to the gym soooooo badly! Nay! I NEED to go to the gym!

I work a high stress job, live in a high stress environment, I NEED THE GYM!!!!

Last night I did some of the spar...

Belly Drafted

Mon, 19 Nov 2012 13:48:53 EST
Linda and Deborah, a fellow singer in and the director of "Bellissima" women's choral respectively, had their first belly dance lesson with Ginger this past week! YAY!!!!!! I was/am so stinkin' excited for them! I honestly don't think I have ever been so excited about an activity that I manage to get other people involved due to my enthusiasm. It's kind of a heady thing.

Deborah said that what got her wanting to do it was seeing the change in me from the end of last season to the ...

Excitement turns to fear

Sat, 10 Nov 2012 09:12:46 EST
I wanted to get my BMI this am when I went to the gym and Linda had me hop up onto the scale again. (Last time they took my BMI, it was 53. This am, 33).

The scale in my doctor's office and the scale in the gym are equal. I would always double check: weighed at doctor in am, weighed at gym in evening.

I've lost 4 pounds since my doctor's appointment.

FOUR POUNDS IN 48 HOURS!
24 230 228 230 24

Beautiful Things or The excitement(?) finally hit

Fri, 9 Nov 2012 10:46:38 EST
Last night, around 6:00, I was driving down a very busy street with massive amounts of traffic, listening to KLOVE, a Christian radio station, when the song "Beautiful Things" by Gungor came on. I lost it.

"All this pain
I wonder if I’ll ever find my way
I wonder if my life could really change at all
All this earth
Could all that is lost ever be found
Could a garden come up from this ground at all

You make beautiful things
You make beautifu...

My favorite running buddy

Fri, 9 Nov 2012 07:52:59 EST
Yesterday I talked a bit about my running buddy, Porsha.

Ain't she gorgeous?!

She's part pit-bull, part lab and the sweetest little thing ever! She is my little cuddle bug. When I'm sick, she'll stay in bed, pressed right up against me.

Buuuut....she's a wee bit of an idiot. I guess the pit bull overrode the lab intelligence. I bought her about $30 worth of toys yesterday and she ...

Shouldn't I be excited?

Thu, 8 Nov 2012 14:19:45 EST
I had a doctor's appointment this morning and I've lost a grand total of 101 pounds from my highest recorded weight.

One-hundred-and-one pounds.

That's like a whole supermodel.

I thought I'd be thrilled, jump up and down and be all excited when I hit that amazing marker.
I'd be all: 244 236 209 334 224 250 345 9

Nope.

I'm actually kind o...

I wish they had told me...

Wed, 7 Nov 2012 13:46:17 EST
I don't know exactly who "they" are, but I want to know why I wasn't informed of all the issues that came along with such massive weight loss.

I knew some of what awaited me:
Constantly buying new clothes
9
(And looking like a bag lady if I didn't get them soon enough)
Eating less junk food
297 495 493 494 472 477 489 486 483 487...

In the running

Tue, 6 Nov 2012 13:56:11 EST
We Americans are fairly limited in our scope of interest. Today, it's politics. Which I will not talk about.

Except to say that I voted and if you are 1.) an American citizen and 2.) 18 years of age or older, go vote. In Virginia, the polls are open until 7pm and, by federal law, if you are in line when that time rolls around, they have to let you vote. I was in line at 6:05 this morning and cast my vote around 7:30. I wouldn't wait that long to ride a roller coaster at Busch Garde...

I blame Sandy

Tue, 30 Oct 2012 12:17:53 EST
These past few days of being locked away in my house have been horribly horrible!

It's rainy and cold and I was bored to tears.

And we have pumpkin bread mix.

And cookies.

And hot chocolate.

I was a bad girl these past few days.

I'm also going to blame the fact that I was off my meds.

But, now that I'm back to work (for a few hours after working at an evacuation shelter this am for a few hours) and back on my medic...

OMG! OMG! OMG! AMAZING WEIGH IN!!!!!

Fri, 19 Oct 2012 22:44:47 EST
I got weighed tonight and I have lost a grand total of....

** drumroll please **
501 bpprrrrrrrrrrrrrr tsssss

98lbs from my highest weight!!!!!!!!!!!

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!

9 236 224

356 355 354 353

355 356 354 353

247

Neon Shrubs

Fri, 19 Oct 2012 14:39:13 EST
I don't know about the blog title. I think that, in my head, it's a play off of "Neon Trees" which is the band that does "Everybody Talks."

Mostly because this just a Sara feels like talking blog and somehow the above explanation worked in my mind.

Now that it's out there, it sounds really dumb.

Point 1: Asthma Blows!
My chest is really tight and I took my inhaler this morning. I think it's stress. Heck, I KNOW it's stress.
28
Stre...

Complaining, with some (very) amateur stock tips at the end

Wed, 17 Oct 2012 12:19:31 EST
I am sick. 46

Shards of glass in my throat, runny/stuffy nose, super tired, cold, etc. PTL no fever though. I thought I had one, but when I took my temperature yesterday I was actually a few degrees below normal.

Way lame.

I spent last night alternating between Raspberry Zinger tea from Celestial Seasonings and "Iron Goddess of Mercy" Oolong tea (if I remember correctly, I bought it for the name). It took 2 or 3 fairly generous coatings of Vicks o...

On Diet Pills **Warning: I get preachy**

Mon, 15 Oct 2012 23:05:28 EST
DISCLAIMER: This is my opinion. Feel free to disagree. That's what great about humanity: we have differing beliefs and, hopefully, everyone will be someday able to adequately express those beliefs in a peaceful way. Make art, not war.

Today was apparently "talk about diet pills with SARAALINE" day. Yay. (Not yay).

My sister texted me with great news! I thought I was going to be getting a niece or nephew for my birthday next year or they had bought a house and were going ...

The Magical Mystery Tour a.k.a. Embarrassing Photo Time!

Sun, 14 Oct 2012 22:50:34 EST
So, seeing as how I have pictures from this weekend (happy vow renewal and a blessed 25+ more years of marriage to my super awesome "aunt and uncle") and seeing as how I am finally proud of some photographs, I figure it's time to trot some out.

So...we start with the very beginning (not really, but I could go all the way back, but I won't).

And we begin withEaster 2009 when I was, approximately, my heaviest:

Beach Blanket Beledi and Back to Reality

Wed, 10 Oct 2012 14:14:05 EST
This past weekend I was in Nags Head, NC for Beach Blanket Beledi which is belly dancing workshop/conference/all-around-good-time.

The most important rule of Beach Blanket Beledi: You must have FUN!

There were belly dancers from all over, mostly Virginia and North Carolina though. We had workshops about Chekett (sp) styling from Morocco, "surprise endings" (did not like. I can learn choreography at home kthnxbai) and "brainteasers" where we get how to do all of the stuff...

An open letter to my lungs

Wed, 3 Oct 2012 12:27:55 EST
Dear Lungs,

Hey. Wassup?

I want to start this off by saying thanks for working so hard for the past 26 years. I know it hasn't been easy; I'm overweight, I used to smoke and I live with a smoker, so, you know, thanks for not quitting on me.

We've had some tough times. The asthma and the allergies when we were younger sucked. But we outgrew all of that. With your help, and a little training, I became a "professional" choral singer. You need some pretty impressi...

Rabbit Rabbit

Mon, 1 Oct 2012 22:50:08 EST
Happy October! Time for my people (Germans) to start celebrating! OKTOBERFEST BABY!!!!!!!!!!!

Roll out the barrel! We'll have a barrel of fun!

Sorry. The Benadryl may be going to my head a bit.

That's right. Starting this glorious month off feeling very sicky. Yesterday I was convinced it was just allergies, now I'm not so sure. I took some Benadryl this morning, it wasn't working so I took 2 more pills (4 hours after my first pill, so I thought it was okay). ...

SARAALINE's SparkPeople Blog

I'm Breaking a Sweat, It's Alright

It's Like The Dinosaur Story

S%&t People Who Haven't Gone Through This Lifestyle Change Say

'Tis the Season

The Latest and Greatest Lose-Weight-Quick Tool

My I-Should-Prob'ly-Run Day

Hold Me Tighter Than My Dereon Jeans

The Wages of Chocolate

Fluidity

Her name was Flora Spread and she lived on Hovis Hill

Creep

Reunited Again

Misery Business

More than Hour Our Never

Weight Loss Intellectualism

To exhale audibly in a long, deep breath, as in weariness....

I am not a bear (as long as I have my coffee)

I'll be fine

Looking for the Positives

Adventures in Smoothie Making

The Secret Life of Fitness Instructors

When in Romaine....

Forgive me Sparkies, for I have sinned

I don't sleep in a toaster

Ch...Ch...Ch...Changes

Oh for the love of....

Christmas Town

45 Life Lessons

Eat your heart of Alice. My Wonderland is better

Yay it's Christmas! Oh wait, I'm a musician....

Christmas in One-derland?

I lost 110 pounds. How is that a big deal?

It's a Conspiracy

Belly Drafted

Excitement turns to fear

Beautiful Things or The excitement(?) finally hit

My favorite running buddy

Shouldn't I be excited?

I wish they had told me...

In the running

I blame Sandy

OMG! OMG! OMG! AMAZING WEIGH IN!!!!!

Neon Shrubs

Complaining, with some (very) amateur stock tips at the end

On Diet Pills **Warning: I get preachy**

The Magical Mystery Tour a.k.a. Embarrassing Photo Time!

Beach Blanket Beledi and Back to Reality

An open letter to my lungs

Rabbit Rabbit

On Diet Pills Warning: I get preachy