I am not your billboard.

I am turning off the comments again.

I got up and did yoga today with my cats.   They were both cute and "helpful," and by helpful, I mean trying to kill me.  ;)

They like to rub against my legs and lay on the mat underneath me, so when I change to a different pose, the cat gets pissed off.

Monday Motivation!

My weight loss has always been about loving my body and making it healthy for a long life.

If you want to lose weight because you hate the way you look... a diet is not going to fix what is really wrong.  Self loathing isn't going to keep you motivated. In fact it is a vicious cycle that keeps making you feel worse!!! :-(

Loving yourself every step of the way is key to being successful.  Even if you seem to taking more steps backwards than forwards... You are still awesome, special and should take the BEST CARE OF YOURSELF POSSIBLE!!!!

It doesn't matter how fit or out of shape you are if you don't appreciate and love the person inside.

Learning to love and appreciate yourself is the first step towards a healthier, happier life.

You are Loveable,  You are Special, and You worth taking care of!!!

HUGS!

Jess  :-)

Tracking Calories on Google!

I have added a new widget to my iGoogle to track my calories.  It is super sweet, because I don't have to log-in to the calorie tracking site, it just is all done right there on my iGoogle dashboard.


There are many calorie tracking widgets to chose from, but considering how often I am ON Google (It's my start-up homepage - Hello!!)  It's a constant reminder every time I open my browser or look something up: "Hey Jess!!! Count your calories!!"


It's fairly slick!  :)   So  if you spend a lot of your day googling...  think about using a customized iGoogle with a calorie tracking widget! 




This link with take you to the page to add the same widget I am using to your igoogle.

Jobless Husband = Amazon.com Banner

I hate spammy sites full of ads targetting the obese and over-weight with bogus products and vowed I would  never have ads on my site! 

Well now I have added a banner add to buy Amazon Gift cards on the sidebar, and I am feeling a bit guilty.   

I know the add isn't preditory, animated and obnoxious, but I still feel I went back on my word.

Since Aaron is still unemployeed I thought I would try monitizing this site to see if it would be enough for him to stay home and be my Mr. Mom!

You know I am a geek, right?

I am a very nerdy girl.  I met my husband at a Vampire the Masquerade LARP for crying out loud!!!


This weekend -- at an AWESOME gaming event at Mercer College -- I said that Aaron and I will be married 10 years this Summer.  


This prompted the men at my table to ask if I got married when I was 14.  


I joked, "Maybe that's how you guys do things here in the South, but I was 22 when I got married!"


They then did the (simple) math in their heads to pronounce me 32.  


Yep.  I am 32 now, and boy is my biological clock ticking LOUDLY!!!!


I am thrilled at the thought of motherhood, but also dead scared of the weight gain... and if I will be able to ever get back in shape?


So... my blog maybe heading towards a healthy pregnancy / losing the baby weight blog in the next year or so.


Aaron is still looking for work.  He's had one interview so far and I hope he finds something awesome soon.  In the meantime I spoil him because he spoils me by doing all the housework.  :)


I have thought about him just being a stay at home dad... but why did we spend all those years in college if he was just going to stay home all day?!


I mean who would want their kids spending all day with their well-educated, loving, biological father!?!?!  ;)


Actually, having a smart, caring, daddy stay home all day while I win the proverbial "bread" sounds GREAT!


How much is Day Care anyway?


This is something to research more....


I hope you are all doing well!!!!

Moved to Atlanta, GA

You may be thinking...  I thought you guys were moving to the Bay Area!!!?!?!?!?


Well, we did too.


But then I was offered an amazing job in Atlanta before Aaron found work in CA, so here we are!




The move has been a NIGHTMARE.  




We drove 17 hours straight - OVERNIGHT with two cats -  one that cries really loud, and one that get's car sick....




During the drive the stupid GPS sent me through these horrible hilly and curvy back-country roads in the middle of nowhere TN -  in the middle the night - in a downpour! AHHHH!

 I am so tired and sore!

I have now learned that the truck with all of our stuff on it, that was supposed to be here TODAY (Thursday) will not arrive until at least MONDAY!!!


We've had to go buy stuff to get us through.   I am not happy about these expenses, because if the movers would have correctly estimated the arrival - we would not have had to buy this stuff!  grrrrrr


Even though I am cranky and sore,  I am looking forward to getting settled! 
It's been a hard time so far, but I know that soon I will be loving life here in Atlanta!

Killing Christmas Cravings

One of the hardest things about Christmas time when you are trying to lose/maintain your weight is the once a year foods, and the food you have access too.

Fake Hunger

The first thing I am going to help you avoid is “fake hungry.” 

This is when you suddenly have an intense urge to eat, especially when the craving is for a specific food, such as eggnog, chocolate, or a Big Mac. 

This is type of hunger is psychological and if you can distract yourself for about 5 minutes the craving often passes.

Try some of the following ideas to get your mind off food:

·         Email or call a friend

·         Do some window shopping

·         Take a walk

Food Hostage

You're out doing you last minute shopping, when the smell of the food court makes your tummy scream, "YES!!  I NEED FOOD NOW!!!”

Before you find yourself saving, “I’ll have a number 5 with a Diet Coke.” let’s start over before you went shopping.  (By the way, a McDonald’s Premium Grilled Chicken Sandwich has 420 calories, and medium fries are 380 - a total of 800 calories!)

1.      First, make sure to eat a healthy breakfast or lunch before going out.

2.      Take a bottle of water with you or one of those cute metal ones you can reuse!

(They are inexpensive, environmentally conscious, and make an awesome gift!)

3.      Do NOT shop until you drop! Shop just for a few hours.  Day-long shops trips always include a meal at a restaurant.  This usually nullifies all the calories you burned walking around! 

Festive Fare

The hardest part for me is the foods that come but once a year.  Like Eggnog, Aunt Linda’s broccoli and cheese casserole, Lefse, and decorated sugar cookies in Holiday shapes!  How can you avoid something you love, and only get to have once a year?!?!?!  My advice is don’t. 

Obsessing over what you should and should not eat will stress you out!!!  In the end it always triggers a binge that makes you fall off the wagon!!  :(

It is okay to indulge a bit.  Take a very small portion and savor the taste. 

Your first bite should also be your last bite!

Don't Wait until New Year's!

Wow... it’s 9 days until Christmas and 15 days until 2009 draws to a close!

Lots of people will make the resolution to get healthy in 2010.

But why wait 15 more days to start getting healthy?!

Why allow yourself to binge the next two weeks and then spend January working off the pounds you never needed to add!?

Holiday parties often have trays and trays of easy to pick up calorie dense treats.

My tip:  If you can eat it without plate, AVOID IT!!!

Every 500 extra calories is 0.25 pounds added to your belly!!!

Here are 12 Holiday foods in a 500 calorie portion, like the 12 days of Christmas!

12 oz. Eggnog

11 Shrimp Cocktail

10 Filled Chocolates

9 Stuffed Mushrooms

8 Little meatballs

7 Cordial Cherries

6 Lindt truffles

5 ounces cheese!

4 cubes of fudge

3 ounces nuts

2 gingerbread men

and a slice of pecan pie!

Awesome For Hire!

I am now kicking my Bay Area job hunt into high gear!

http://hirejessicascott.blogspot.com/

I have started pounding the virtual pavement, and hope to be working by January!




When looking for a job it is important to take care of yourself.

When unemployeed some people let themselves go, this is the opposite of what you should do!

Staying active not only fights off feelings of depression and stress, but also gives you more energy.

This makes a big difference because interviewers can tell the difference between a person truly "Ready to Rock!!!" and the one that is like... "I want a job."

Sad times might lead to poor eating habits.  Keep yourself safe!  Think about your end goal.
Put up a little sticky note on your monitor reminding yourself what you really want.

Be healthy and safe this Thanksgiving Weekend!!

I am very thankful for all of you who ready this blog and have been so patient as my husband and I transition to a new state.

Take care,

Jess  :)

Wait... How is 2009 almost over?!

I feel so bad because I have really neglected this site. :( I just have not had time to keep it up to date with all the changes taking place right now!

I hope you are doing well!

I plan to get back to blogging once we are settled in our new place.