"...gained 5 lbs and lost her crown"

is the line from the Toby Keith song American Ride that I sang to myself this morning.  Why? I stepped on the scale after a long hiatus and that is what happened! The 5lb gain is real, the crown not so much...sigh...obviously I have proven that you can't go back to eating badly and not face some consequences.  OK, point taken-time to put my Big Girl pants back on before I have to put my BIG GIRL pants back on!

is there such a thing as permanently temporary?

Apparently there is  because when I searched for an image, there it was!

http://www.andreasduschek.com/index.php?/permanently-temporary/

A friend and co-worker's spontaneous  job transfer to Austin ,Texas 3 weeks ago has left an opening on the AM radio show as morning producer.  This is a job I have filled in for when Chris took vacations or sick days.   As of last week, I have now added this to my daily responsibilities at the radio ranch. Don't get too excited for me yet-it's the "can you fill in until we figure out what to do"  version of the position.  See, that's what I do-I fill in-for nearly everyone!  I'm versatile, experienced, adaptable...a great asset in a company, right?  Well, yes, except who replaces me if i get rewarded with more hours and a permanent move up?  I don't have an answer for that, but I do know who gets "punished" if I don't get to finally move up.  Stay tuned.

Sunday Buzz

Another week done and gone...

• Along with my own job, filled in for more vacationing co-workers (my apologies for being all over your airwaves again!)  I think most everyone is back now, so you'll get a chance to miss me

• attended my first class of FPU, Financial Peace University (www.daveramsey.com) I'm very excited to get my financial house in order, get out of debt and yes, have peace with money

• got some pool time with my Goddesses on Thursday-going to the pool with my girls is one of my very favorite things to do

• Tried and gave up on the HCG program again.  My apologies for those of you tuning in hoping for more dieting success...I did lose 2.2 lbs this week, but I'm discontinuing the program due to a case of "I'm just not feeling it."  I also watched someone else have difficulty from over-doing the program-helped convince me that it's just not the way to go this time.  I'm  gonna do something revolutionary and go back to the old fashioned "eat less (ie better), exercise more" approach.  What?  does that work?  I don't know, I'll find out and report back!

• Enjoyed a great concert-Creedence Clearwater Revisited.  OK, so John Fogerty isn't with the band anymore but they still put on a helluva show and the singer is damn close.

Like the stock market...

I went down!  Unlike the stock market, it only affects me.

I started HCG drops and 500 cal a day diet again yesterday.  I was very good with only a protein snack late afternoon to help get me through.  Today's weigh in: down 2.2 lbs!  

The right frame of mind and putting on the "big girl panties" again is really the only difference between last week and this week.  This week, I'm ready to not "cave to the crave."  Although there were a few moments when the "sugar bugs"  were loudest and I almost gave in...thankfully, I had proper snacks, pre-prepared foods and nothing too tempting in the house to derail me.  The first 3 days were the hardest last time, so it's safe to assume it will be that way again...on to day 2!

Lame Sauce!

Things that were lame last week:

1. didn't approve my hours in time so my paycheck was waaaay short-ouch
2. Tiny, tenacious ants are trying to take over my kitchen and all the happy little non-toxic methods are not working
3. Work frustration with the "underdog" struggle slowly starting to pay off, but not where it "matters"
4. the  attempt and mostly failed try at a diet I've had previous success with

See what I mean?  Not life changing, world ending nor overly dramatic, just...LAME!  

Lame, Feeble, Weak, Ho Hum, Half-assed...good words to describe my attitude last week, in particular #4. I made a feeble attempt every day to "do the right thing" and then half-assed blew it. Breakfast rocked, lunch was proper, by 3pm, I got weak and tried to fall back into my old bad habits. BUT, I was even lame about that! I made half-assed good choices with food so I minimized the damage...I was even ho-hum in my lameness!   So lame was I that it took me until Friday to finally give in to the lame and embrace it, ha!

 

To put this event to rest,  I dub thee first week of August, 2011 "Sue's Week Of Lame"

(any attempts to repeat this week would be...wait for it...lame)

Blog Drought

Confession time: I just haven't been motivated/indoors for long enough/it's summertime/what other excuse can I come up with  to not want to blog?  There have certainly been things to talk about, just not making it onto the page regularly!  Blame it on summer, the heat, the vacations (not that I've had any), working extra hours...enough excuses, it's a new month and a new beginning, so here goes:


Since last time I've:

• Worked a ton filling in for everyone at work

• Hosted a 70's party for my friend Tami's 40th birthday

• Attended the Toby Keith concert with Tami and got us backstage to meet him

• Opted out of MRC weight loss and into HCG drops again as of August 1st

I've had a fairly crazy, somewhat undisciplined summer, so it's time to jump start the weight loss/get my act together  again before Fall and before all the old habits creep back in completely again.  I've maintained my loss of about  20-23 lbs since March, so that feels good but I'm ready to start losing again since I want another 25 gone.  I didn't do the 2 load days since I feel like I've been loading for the last 2 weeks!  I just jumped right in yesterday and today's weigh in didn't net me anything yet.  Have to fess up tho-day was screwy, didn't eat lunch til 4, went to a movie so dinner was at 9:30 and (not exactly protocol) so it's all on me.  I'm currently baking chicken breasts for future meals and today I will follow properly.

Feels like forever...

and I guess it has been since I last blogged....since June 29th, I've:

• finished up a great run for our radio station at the Stampede
• celebrated our nation's birthday
• lost my 98 year grandma
• took an epic road trip to Wisconsin and back

We had a great last weekend at Stampede-weather was perfect, crowds were good, had decent entertainment throughout, capped off by country artist Darryl Worley on the 4th with fireworks after.

things that make me feel short (er)

 My 98 year old grandma, "Tiger Lil" passed away on July 1st-she lived a great long life and really didn't struggle much with her health until this last year...plans for her memorial service were set for the following Thursday, so I started making plans to head back to Wisconsin where my family is from.

she was with us at her champagne celebration

On Tuesday, July 5th, I had to go weigh in at Metabolic Research Center...again, a little nervous about weight gain because it was a holiday weekend and was not following my normal routine much.  Great news!  I actually lost 2 lbs...how re-energizing!  Got stocked up on all my supplements and got ready for my trip to Wisconsin.

On Wednesday, my cousin Erik and I left Colorado by car to road trip back to Wisconsin for Memorial service and burial.  It was a quick, cheap trip-travel by car, drive straight thru, brought our own food and drink, leave Wednesday come back Sunday...whew!  It was an Epic Journey on so many levels.  Erik and I hadn't traveled together by car since we were kids  and it turns out we are pretty good traveling partners.  Although we live close enough to each other to be able to spend time together, that is rare due to jobs, life and other obligations getting in the way.  Being "stuck" in a car for 17+ hours each way gave us a great chance to catch up on each other's lives:

• We solved all the world's problems (if only they would listen to us)
• wrote at least one song and have ideas for more
• developed marketing plans and tried to once again figure out what we wanted to be when we grew up
• sang loudly to every type of music from Van Halen to Dean Martin, Patsy Cline to AC/DC
• took wrong turns a couple of times from blabbing too much (Marion Iowa is a nice little town)
• Discovered there is no Starbucks in Dubuque Iowa
• got pulled over for driving too fast into Des Moines (used dead grandma card to get out of a ticket)
• Discussed philosophy, art, music, religion, politics, family, health care and taxes...all without driving each other into a ditch!
• saw way too many bloated deer and dead raccoons on roadways
• I now fully understand why his wife Lucile says he has "squirrel-like tendencies" (it's actually an endearing quality of his)

A mascot for a rock band

My favorite quotes and events from the trip: 
(warning: these are generally "had to be there"s but funny none the less-feel free to ask me to explain when I see you)

• "Move along people this is a park again now"
• 23 bottles of champagne consumed to honor GG
• seeing all my fave musicians from the past together on stage after 30 years
• Me and mom, " Uncle Doug told us he'd be at the Farmer's Market today...I don't see him"  Random guy, "He's not here, his mother passed away."  Really?
• getting picked up by boat by my best good friend Lori to go out on the lake, drink vodka lemonades and reconnect like no time has past.
• "Hey Jim, I'll take one of your Manhattans...I'm a musician ya know"
• spontaneous guitar and banjo playing at family events
• The church pastor telling an Ole and Lena joke during the funeral service
• Carol's lefse, mom's krumkake
• being told "you're one of the good ones" by someone who is
• having my ATM card shut down because my bank didn't know I was out of town...good thing I knew people who would lend me gas money to get home
• Best compliment ever: "you're like traveling with a guy-playing air guitar and singing!"

A memorable trip...thanks everyone!

Latest weigh in:  Went over to MRC yesterday and gained 1 lb while out of town-bummer, yet grateful to keep the damage to a minimum.  Now that I'm back and everything is "normal" again, time to get serious.  Next weigh in is Saturday.

Wednesday Wupdate (I just like saying that)

Wow, funny the difference a week makes!  Almost everything I said last Wednesday is different this Wednesday! Here's the latest (today):

Kym and the team at Metabolic Research Center in Greeley worked really hard behind the scenes to get a deal worked out where I could stay and finish up the program with them.  I'm excited that I can continue the program and although I'm not "an endorsing DJ" anymore, I will continue to blog about the program and how it's working for me.  As always, you can ask me questions about my program and feel free to call them for details on their many programs to find one that is right for you.

So, this leads in to the Weight Update...if you are a friend on Facebook, you know that I've been at the Greeley Stampede nearly non stop since Friday and will continue to be there through July 4th.  Our Big Country stage and booth is set up at the end of the food court and this is a challenge every year because there is so much good festival food to choose from (most of which is not allowed on program of course).  I've been following breakfast and lunch to a tee, taking all my HNS and supplements, and splurging here and there on the things I like the most while at the Stampede.  While I was a bit concerned about being "off the reservation," I didn't get too crazy and that paid off by no weight gain since my weigh in last Wednesday-yay! I will get back on task as soon as the Stampede is over, but it's nice to know that if you "splurge with purpose" you can still enjoy life's tasty things without guilt or weight gain-that is a nice place to be!

Greeley Stampede Food Court Peep Show

(it's the Food Porn feature on steroids)
Since I can't eat my way through the Food Court, I thought I would offer up a few pics for our mouth watering pleasure.  No guilt, no calories, no embarrassing stuff clogging up your computer...enjoy!

Wednesday Wupdate

Metabolic Research Center informed me that they are "going in another advertising direction" and discontinued my endorsing DJ contract as of June 19th.  This means I no longer get product and programs in exchange for advertising and promoting my results.  Well, it was fun while it lasted-lost a total of 7 lbs and 12 inches in about a month. I enjoyed working with the staff in Greeley, they were awesome-positive and helpful. I'm gonna go weigh in one last time this week, but sorry to say it is not in my budget right now to continue their program, so I am on my own again.  If you are interested in their programs tho, call the Greeley office and tell them I referred you.



Another round of HCG drops. I'm gonna start Phase 2 again soon. I've done well maintaining my weight and even losing some more on the above program but I'm only half way to my goal, so it's time to get serious again. Not only that, but with a busier/wackier summer schedule, I'm starting to slip back into some bad habits and want to nip that before it gets too far gone.  I'm gonna start blogging again every day so that I stay on task-I still need the idea that people are watching, reading along and rooting for me-feel free to do that and post comments if you are so inclined.

Other fun things:  Brenda and I sneaked up to Golden on Monday to catch the Post Secrets art exhibit...fascinating!  and now I'm in love with Golden too-what a pretty area!  Find out about Post Secret  http://www.postsecret.com/ 

     As a "team building"  exercise, about 10 of us radio types wandered off to Water World (http://www.waterworldcolorado.com/) yesterday for a day of splashing, sliding, tanning and general all around fun away from the office.  We are about to get crazy busy with 2 weeks at the Greeley Stampede (http://www.greeleystampede.org/), so what a nice treat to carry us through!
     Tuesdays are always our regular Goddess Coffee day, but yesterday was a special treat because all 6 Goddesses were in attendance for a special reason (of which I can't speak about on here!).    For now, just know that we had an extra good time, had an extra special themed cake that Goddess Riviera made from scratch and that someone will have extra special something after today!
     Although I 'm not sure it belongs in the "fun things" category, we helped our oldest son move into his first place on Sunday.  Although it's weird not having him here, I miss seeing his face every day and his car in front of the house, he is so happy to be on his own it's hard not to be happy for him.  (don't tell him I shed a few tears)

Wow, it's been a pretty exciting week so far!  Wonder what else is in store for me?

In the good ol' summertime...

Summertime is in full swing now in NoCo..  This means less time indoors if I can help it and more time at the pool, in my gardens and at other outdoor activities. 

 

bird #1 leaves the nest:  My son Ryan has decided to move across town and live the College Guys lifestyle  with his band mates.  I'm nervous, a little weirded out but also excited for him...However, trying not to plan too much for his room since everyone tells me he'll be back! I don't want him to fail, but he is always welcome here.   This is also a good excuse for deep cleaning several areas  of the house-give him some stuff and start planning a garage sale...I purge every year, where does all this crap come from?!

"Do one thing every day that scares you." ~Eleanor Roosevelt

OK, I don't do this every day,  but this week I did something "crazy"...I got my navel pierced!  I decided that if I lost enough weight to feel "ok" in a 2 piece bathing suit, that I would pierce my belly button.  I'm not the best thing you've ever seen in a bikini, but I'm not the worst either...besides, after all the time I've spent brain damaging about what others think-I'm done! Turning 50 is quite liberating! It was fun-3 of the Goddesses came with me, it took all of about 5 minutes, we documented the event and now I have a piercing.  I'll post some pics as soon as I get them from Princess.

Weight Update:  between the 2 programs I've been on-it's now 25 lbs and 12 inches lost-thanks for letting me know you've heard my ads on the stations!    Things are going to be changing...or not?  details coming soon 

Happy Father's Day to my dad-love you!

In the last week...

 we've had my parents here for a visit and:

• Celebrated Kyle's 16th birthday with a spaghetti feed and Techno Rave
• Attended our first Colorado Ice Indoor Football game
• Gathered with other relatives  for a BBQ feed
• did some gardening with my favorite gardener (mom) and both mom and dad helped spiff up the place via landscaping
• Made cherry wine in classy Mason jars
• enjoyed happy hours, good food and company and the perfect weather Colorado is know for
• and a few mean games of Mexican Train as tradition dictates

Well, visitors are gone now and life as we know it is returning to "normal."  Time to get back into the routine of things again...

OOPS  oh dear, haven't journaled in my food diary nor weighed myself in a week...how bad is this gonna be?  Let's assess:  don't feel like I really over-ate, but there were snacks and extra times out to dinner or lunch and desserts....I got some extra exercise working in the yard and was faithful with my MRC supplements and vitamins....I don't feel fatter, but I may be in denial...can't put it off anymore:  must.  face. scale.   Wow, I LOVE my scale!  managed to drop 3.6 lbs since I weighed last Tuesday on home scale.  I weighed less at MRC last week than at home, so we'll see how that translates-fingers crossed! 
MRC update:  lost a pound on their scale too, yippee!

Happy Friday!

I have never liked the term "Hump Day"

but I do like Urban Dictionary's definition #3 of it:

"Wednesday, or the hump of the week

The absolute BEST day of the week, the day of maximum hope that maybe, you might make it out of this week alive. A particularly good hump day can last you the rest of the week, and by Doomsday morning (Monday) you survive by anticipating hump day. Nothing goes wrong on hump day"

I am all about the positive spin, so thumbs up on this one! see full definitions at  http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=hump%20day

I was also going to try and find an appropriate picture to go with this but Google took "Hump Day" to a whole new level...yikes!  That lead me to this:

"I hate you, Google. You've caused a lot of problems in my relationship. I share a computer with my girlfriend and she would look up anything. "I'm going to look up apples today." She just hits 'A.' It's "Asian ass porn" instantly. Google is, like, "I'll take it from here. I know exactly what you're looking up... Well, every time you hit 'A,' it's 'Asian ass porn.'" Google! All I ask is that you let her type three letters before you jump to such a bold conclusion."

Daniel Tosh- massively inappropriate, hugely funny

I am scale bipolar...up, down up down...Went  to MRC anticipating a bad weigh in after the long holiday weekend and was pleasantly surprised when I weighed in 2 pounds less than Friday.  Now if I could just break the gain 2 lose 2 cycle I'd be even more impressed.  I was told that I'm diluting my High Nutrition Supplements too much and need to do "full strength" at each meal...oops, busted for being a cheapskate and trying to make them last.  Ok, I will do full strength til my next weigh and see if it really makes a difference.

Flight delay:  I was just about to head to the airport to pick up the parents, when I got the call they were still in Milwaukee.  Hmm, maybe teen boy will wake up and drive me to airport now that it's a little bit more reasonable hour.

Today's Food Porn:  Princess and I had our monthly lunch date at Sushi One yesterday.  The Bento Box is our new fave.  It is pretty and delicious! This is not our exact lunch, but pretty close.

mmmm! except replace tofu with chicken

Memorial Weekend tidbits



So, have any plans for Memorial Weekend?  People are so cute to ask me that, because the answer is always the same-working! Don't feel bad for me-I have always worked holidays, weekends, etc because that's the business I'm in.  Radio isn't 9-5 M-F (except when you've won something and want to come get your prize on the weekend)   I don't mind and don't really care because I'm really not missing out.  I just have  my weekend another time.  Memorial Weekend is special tho because it is the kick off to summer, the Indy 500, graduations and BBQ's.  The most important  reason  for this weekend though is to remember our fallen heroes.  It's because of them that we get to live a pretty great life in America.  I am humbled and  honored by their sacrifice...THANK YOU!

Not sure that was a good idea:  I was trying to pack too many things in on Friday and decided to weight in after working out because it fit my schedule better.  Even though I had heard that weight can fluctuate dramatically after a hard workout, it still didn't help when I got on the scale and saw an increase of  1.5 lbs!    I had eaten good, done a good hard work out and my reward was the scale going up?!  That pretty much blows it.  As of this morning it is gone again, but I was pretty upset for a time yesterday! Had to battle the old demon of What's the point?  Why try? all this hard work and this is my reward? Calm down it was a glitch-it's not worthy of ruining everything   I'm gonna go back to weighing myself every morning...don't like surprises.

Guess who's coming to visit?  The parents will be here from June 1 - June 8 and I can't wait because we didn't get to do our usual Spring Break in Florida with them this year.  It's funny tho, my house is perfectly livable in the day to day operations of life.   Then, when you start deep cleaning for a visit,  you notice it needs painting and scrubbing, new windows/floors/carpets and all new furniture, don't get me started on the landscaping, and, and, and...I wonder if we could just move?!  Not an option, so we have to kick out a teen boy to make room, and since their rooms are equally disgusting, I'll have to flip a coin to see who gets to camp in the basement for the week. ugh, there's another spot that needs to be nuked.

Today's food porn

Happy Birthday to Bert!  hubby celebrates a birthday today-have to go out and find the most decadent double chocolate cake to celebrate.

Thanks for stopping by-enjoy your 3-day weekend with family and friends!

How boring...

is this blog since I moved my diet stuff?!  I'm asleep, how about you?  I've gotten out of practice of writing each day since I got busy with graduation videos and working more...it's either feast or famine with me...lots of hours everywhere I work or nearly none at all!  It's always been that way and I'm not sure I'd know how to act if it were normal, reasonable or steady.

(FYI-Careful Google-ing normal? images...there is some weird stuff that shows up!)

Now that things have calmed down a little, I'm going to try and get back to blogging more.  I've missed rehashing the day's events on here, so  it's time for a little "ketchup."

Spring video season comes to a close:  I'm nearly finished with grad videos-last one goes out the door today.  I had a great time making my "babies" again this year-each one had a different theme, attitude and was as individual as the person it was for.  If you want to see samples of my work, send me an email and I'll send you a demo.

Sophomore year in the books.  Teen boy made it through his sophomore year...nearly.  He changed schools last summer and was overwhelmed by the amount of work expected of him at the new school.  He finally got it together this last trimester and only needs to take a summer school class to get on track for math. He will be working for his dad for free to pay back the money for extra classes (this should be motivation to keep grades up, eh?)  he will celebrate his 16th birthday on June 2...wow. 

How's my driving?  For those of you wondering how Kyle is doing with his driving-he is doing quite well.  His double lane changes are a little unnerving, but he does do them safely, uses blinker and looks both ways.  He'll even go grocery shopping to have a chance to drive and is brave enough to go "the back way" to Walmart and now lives to practice parking next to other cars.

weight loss journey:  between the HCG program I did on my own in March/April and joining Metabolic Research Center in May, my total loss of weight and inches is at:

23 pounds lost (18 on my own, 6 so far with MRC)
The HCG jump start was an awesome boost  and now I'm excited to be on MRC because I can eat enough food each day to be able to exercise like I want to.
11 1/4 inches lost over my whole body
I am super happy about the inch loss because I didn't lose many inches with the HCG-this is all the MRC program...I there is now a hint of ribs and waistline,  yay!

Goddess Night Out tonight:  warning, all 6 Goddesses will be out together for  dinner (at On The Border) and a movie (Bridesmaids at Metrolux 14)...this should be epic!  Photos to come.

Pool opens Thursday!  All I can say, is it better be nice tomorrow...The Goddesses are in need of pool time.  The scary part about the pool opening?  I still need to go try on bathing suits...yikes, even with all the progress I've made, still not sure that will be fun or even "bare able."   Stay tuned...

Sue Sutton - Northern Colorado's New BIG COUNTRY 97.9!#article_comments

Sue Sutton - Northern Colorado's New BIG COUNTRY 97.9!#article_comments

Sue Sutton

Sue Sutton

Sue Sutton - Northern Colorado's New BIG COUNTRY 97.9!#article_comments

Sue Sutton - Northern Colorado's New BIG COUNTRY 97.9!#article_comments

Programming note

Hi everyone!  As I mentioned a couple weeks back, I'm starting a new phase of weight loss and will continue to blog about it, but it will be on my radio station blog instead of here. My Big Country blog is here: (http://www.bigcountry979.com/pages/sue.html)

One of the benefits of being a full time DJ is advertisers will ask you to try out their products, hope you like and have success with them and encourage others to buy and try their products as well. I am now working with Metabolic Research Center and will be an "endorsing DJ" for their programs.  This is a win-win for me because I was already in the right mode and on my weight loss journey, but now I'll have the support and expertise to keep me successful! 

Hopefully I'll figure out how to link up everything so you won't have to do anything special to keep up.  It's the "old dog new tricks" thing so we'll see how that goes!

the blog is back!

So, I haven't posted anything in a week because, well, maintaining weight loss isn't very exciting to anyone but me I thought.  However, I got some feedback that people were kinda missing my posts (awww, thanks!), so I'm baaaaack!


Some news of note: 

• Since last Thursday, I've lost another 1.4 lbs, so I'm now within a pound of breaking into the next set of numbers-yay!  I haven't really been doing anything special other than staying away from the starches and sugars as recommended.  Any time I do venture into Carb Land, I make sure it is very light and brief and mixed in with other good stuff.

• It occurred to me that I haven't bought (nor eaten) bags and bags of Easter candy every week since Valentine's Day like in previous years...where is all that extra money and how come I'm not even skinnier?  Of course I'm still waiting for the "You've quit smoking and have now saved $__________" check too!

• Now that I am "full time" middays on Big Country, (love radio-5 hours a day is full time)  I've been noticed by one of our advertisers and they've asked me if I was interested in trying one of their weight loss programs....yes please!  I'm going to start with  Metabolic Research Center soon and will keep you posted on how that works

my new fave snack is Sea Point Farms  edamame steamed in the little packets.  3 1/2 minutes in the microwave, a little salt and then you have fun breaking open the pods and eating the beans!  it's filling, tasty and satisfying.  I've replaced my TV snacking with this. I buy them in bulk at Sam's Club.

I hope you have Happy Easter weekend!