TTT!

1.  I am 30 seconds away from climbing through the phone and strangling my "relocation consultant."  Yesterday I asked her several questions regarding my relocation package, including if there's a minimum price at which I can sell my house.  She took more than 24 hours to get back to me and basically said, "You need to ask your contact at New Company."  Lady, really?  My contact at New Company is in Talent Acquisition.  You are a "relocation consultant."  Consult, dammit!

2.  I'm also about 30 seconds away from firing my realtor.  Ugh!

3.  We are moving in less than a week.  I want so badly to be excited - new city, new adventure, new place to live...  But all this bullshit about selling the house is making it difficult to be enthused.  Why do people always rain on my parade?  (I'm very whiny today.)

4.  I weighed in at 201 this morning.  Come on, 199!  You're so close!

5.  I finally took my boss' advice and bought a pair of work pants from Kohl's a couple of weekends ago.  When I bought them, they fit.  When I put them on to wear them to work for the first time today, they're too loose.  This is why pants are hard. 

6.  I wore a size 12 dress from Banana Republic Outlet to work yesterday.  Eeeeeeeee!

7.  You know, the number one reason that I got a Lap-Band was for my health.  I was so miserable, what with the GERD and the rest of it.  And all of those issues have gone away - my blood pressure was 117/71 at my last fill, my heart rate was 72 (which is "above average" for my age), I never get heartburn anymore, my knees don't crack when I walk, I don't need to nap all of the time (though I would still *like* to nap), I've stopped smoking, I quit caffeine, I don't drink carbonated beverages, I haven't eaten at Taco Bell since April...  And I love that all of those things have happened for me.  I'm so grateful to my band for making those changes possible (though I did work my ass off to make them happen).  But I have to say - being able to walk into any store, even an outlet, and buy things off the sale rack and have them fit - I'd honestly underestimated how good that would feel.  'Cause it feels damn good.

8.  The flip side of that is that me and my addictive personality could run the risk of becoming a compulsive shopper.  Luckily, I've banned myself from buying clothes online, because I'm still not a really consistent size - I'm a 12 in skirts and a large in tops at Banana and J. Crew, but an 8 in jeans from Target (WHAT?) and I bought a winter coat in an XL from Old Navy. 

9.  This is going to sound ridiculous (and some of you may want to punch me), but I feel like when I was bigger, clothes were easier - I just put on the size 24 from LB and the XXL from Old Navy and went on my way.  In a sense, it was a little bit easier to have such limited options - 95% of the time, I didn't even try things on before buying.  But now I may have to try on an item in 3 different sizes before I find the right one.  Also, when I was bigger, if an item of clothing fit me, I bought it, regardless of how it actually looked on me - it was so hard to find clothes in my size that I couldn't afford to be picky.  Getting over that mentality is hard - I'm learning to ask myself, "Do I really love this?" before I buy it - I've never done that before.  That said, while clothes were easier when I was bigger, they're way more fun now. 

10.  My parents bought an elliptical for their house.  This makes me very happy, as now when I'm home for Christmas I won't have to run outside in the cold.  Yay!

Liebster Award!

Thank you, Cheri at Staying In the Pink for the award.

The Rules:

 

1. Think of 11 facts you'd like to share about yourself.

2. Answer the questions Cheri asked.

3. Think of 11 questions you'd like to ask.

4. Nominate 5 bloggers with less than 200 followers.

The Facts:  (I like Cheri's approach of doing something chronological, so I'm going to imitate her (imitation, after all, is the sincerest form of flattery).)

 

1.  I am adopted.  I don't know my birth parents and really have no interest in finding them - I've always considered my adoptive parents to be my "real" parents.  They're awesome people and I don't have a need for a second set of parents in my life.  That said, sometimes I wonder what it would be like to find someone else in the world who resembles me.

2.  I am an only child.  I didn't always love being an only child, but now that I'm an adult, I fully appreciate it.  

3.  My dad, while not an alcoholic, likes his wine (and brandy).  He used to take me trick-or-treating around the neighborhood with a big plastic cup filled with wine.  So very classy.  I love that man.

4.  My childhood dog was a Yorkshire Terrier.  Even though he died almost 13 years ago, I still look for him in his little place in the window whenever I go to their old house.

5.  I had the highest SAT score in my graduating class.  No, my SAT score was not that high - my high school was just that full of underachievers.

6.  I was a double major in undergrad, and in my current profession I don't use either of those degrees.

7.  I went to all 50 states before I turned 30.  

8.  Though I've traveled all over the States and Canada, I haven't been out of the country much.  I've been to the Bahamas, Germany, France, Turkey, Greece and Egypt.  And though it doesn't count as being out of the country, I've been to Puerto Rico - twice.

9.  I've seen U2 in concert in four states.  One of them was Hawaii.

10.  I've seen Tori Amos in concert at least 10 times.  I've lost count.

 

11.  I just gave my resignation and I'm so nervous that I could eat my own hair.

Cheri's Questions:

1.   You are throwing a dinner party  - what three famous people would you invite?

Bono, because I love him even though he's a total ponce.  Viggo Mortensen, because he's gorgeous and would have a very interesting conversation with Bono, I suspect.  And Rob Thomas, because he's totally my secret shameful rockstar crush.

 

2.  Who was your first crush?

Boy George.  I know.

 

3. What would your dream job be?

I hope that I'm starting my dream job next month!  But if I could do anything in the world without worries about money, I'd love to be a travel writer.

 

4. Favorite television show?

The wife and I are obsessed with Homeland right now.

 

5. You are being served your last meal on earth...what do you want?
 

Spinach dip from Publix with a whole bag of Tostitos scoops and a dozen chocolate iced creme filled Krispy Kreme donuts.  Oink.

 

6. Place you haven't been yet and want to see?

New Zealand.  One day I want to take a Lord of the Rings tour there.

 

7. Something that annoys the snot out of you?

Extraneous noise.  Oh my god, I hate it when people tap fingers or jog legs or do anything else that creates unnecessary noise.  I'm very sensitive to noises.  I'm also, ironically, married to the noisiest person on the planet.

 

8. Something that will always make you smile?

My wife's thigh dance.  Don't ask.

 

9. Oprah, Dr Phil, Kelly Rippa, and Barbara Walters are on a boat. It's going to sink unless you throw two of them off into shark infested waters. Who are you dumping?

I'm dumping Dr. Phil because I hate his voice and Barbara Walters, because she only has a little time left anyway.  Yeah, I'm insensitive like that.

 

10. You can wave a magic wand and solve ONLY ONE world problem (ie: water for everyone). Which would you solve?

Religion.  I would solve religion.

 

11. What are three things you most like about who you are?

 

I'm generous.  I'm devoted.  And I will try harder than anyone else.

 

I'm not going to nominate anyone, because I don't want to pick people - I want everyone to do it, because I like learning things about all of you!

Wardrobe Victories!

I weighed in at 202.5 pounds this morning.  I am so close to Onederland that I can taste it.  I will be there in the next couple of weeks!

I've discovered a new love of Spinning.  My gym has these Spinning bikes that run programs - I've been doing intervals on them recently - I ride about 20 miles in an hour, and I sweat like a hog.  It's amazing.  I love it!

I had two major shopping victories yesterday.  First, the wife and I were wandering around some shops and decided to go in Banana Republic.  I know I said something the other day about being able to shop at BR now, but I don't know if I really believed it.  But we went in and I started picking through the sales rack, and I found this:  Faux-Leather Trim Dress  It was 50% off, so I figured, "What the hell?"  I tried it on in a 14 and it totally fit.  So now I own my very first piece of clothing from Banana Republic!  My style is slowly getting a makeover. 

I also tried on a dress, a skirt and a couple of blouses from Anne Klein but, while they fit, I didn't like them, so I passed.  But they fit!  I can try on clothes at Anne Klein!

And then we went to Target, because the wife and I have decided that I need to step up my work wardrobe when I start my new job.  I wear a lot of dresses now, but a lot of them are too big and kind of old, and just overall I'm starting to look a little schlubby.  I want to get off to a good start at the new job and make good first impressions, so I'm trying to build an affordable workwear wardrobe.  So I bought a couple of cardigans, along with this dress.  So pretty.

And then...  the second victory.  I tried on, fit perfectly into and purchased size 10 jeans.  Eeeeeeeeeeee!

Now I just have to avoid buying a purse at the Coach factory clearance that's going on right now.  Oh, shopping. 

I found out today that I passed the background check for my new job, yay!  I'm giving my notice at my current job on Wednesday.  One of two things will happen at that point - 1) the shit will hit the fan or 2) everyone will completely ignore it.  I'm 95% certain that option 2 is going to happen. 

The wife and I are narrowing down our apartment search.  Cost of living is certainly higher in the new destination city than it is in Fort Worth, TX - rent prices are higher than I'm used to.  But we're gonna get it done.  We may end up renting an apartment sight unseen - which makes me nervous.  I wish we had friends in western PA (yes, we're moving to PA!) who could help us out with scoping out the neighborhood.

Ten Things Thursday

1.  My house went on the market today.  I've got my fingers crossed for a quick sale.  Anyone in Texas or looking to relocate to Texas wanna buy a house?  It's priced to move.  With a pool!

2.  Trying to figure out this move is something of a logistical nightmare.  I'm a person who likes to have a plan, and this whole thing is very, "It depends."  Ugh!  I start my new job in a month in a city 1,200 miles from here, and I don't even know where I'll be living yet.  Does anyone have a couch in an as-yet unnamed mid-Atlantic state on which me, my wife, my dog and three cats can sleep?  It would have to be a large couch...

3.  I'm giving my notice at my current job next Wednesday, assuming that I've passed the background check for my new job.  There is so much stupid schoolyard crap going on behind the scenes at my current job that it just makes me ill - everyone is talking about me behind my back (not bad, just "How do we keep her from leaving?") and no one is talking to me.  I can't wait to run out the door laughing with glee.  I cleaned out my desk yesterday.  

4.  I'm in Chicago for work today and tomorrow.  I had a 7:30 flight this morning.  At least I got upgraded to first class - first class makes getting up at 4:30 not quite so bad.

5.  I cannot believe it's November.  What the hell happened to 2012?

6.  I haven't really been getting as much sleep as I would like for the last week or so.  I'm the kind of person who needs quite a bit of sleep, and between Real Dog and repairing the bathroom and organizing the house and going to the gym, I haven't had enough sleep.  But my kitchen cabinets have never been so organized.

7.  I have a million things to sell before we move.  Anyone want to buy any of the following?:  A Kenmore stainless steel French door refrigerator, a large chest freezer, a 1980s-era refrigerator (currently in use as a second fridge in the garage), a Dolphin pool cleaner, a red Whirlpool front loading washing machine, a white Amana dryer (yeah, my washer/dryer don't match - don't judge me), a 200something grey Toyota Corolla with fewer than 40000 miles?  Christ, why do I have so much stuff?

8.   I painted my nails with Revlon Scented Nail Enamel last night.  It smells like Ocean Breeze, even with a topcoat.  Very trippy.

9.  My back hurts.  My back has hurt since the last time I was on the elliptical, which was Tuesday night.  I'm about 5 seconds away from asking someone to walk on my spine.

10.  I have let my exercise get away from me a little bit in the last week, what with the prepping for putting the house on the market.  I skipped the gym entirely on Monday and I won't get a chance to go today (on account of the 7:30 am flight and the fact that I will be working until 9:30 tonight).  I want to be in the low 190s/high 180s by the end of the year, so I need to prioritize - I must fit exercise in whenever I can!