Heres the Plan Stan

I am starting to get excited about going home. I think it has been over 5 years since the last time I was home for Christmas. We really can't afford to go home this year, but my grandparents are getting old and I don't get up there enough...

Because of the severe lack of $$$, we are driving up. Hubby's friend Alan is coming up with us to spend Christmas with us and will share in the driving. We plan to leave tomorrow (Wednesday) between 9pm - 10pm. We want to try to get through DC before rush hour and are hoping to be at my parents by late afternoon on Thursday.

My older brother is flying up from Orlando on Thursday as well. Unfortunately, my younger brother is not able to take time off to come home. There is a policy against taking time off between Christmas and New Years because of the high volume of business Budweiser does at that time. At least most of us will be home for the holiday. My mother is already hinting at either coming to my house or my brothers house for Christmas next year. That is fine with me. If I had my way, they would have been down here this year for the holiday.

Anyway, I hope I get to see a couple of you while I am up there (Tracy and Heather). If I don't post beforehand, I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas!

Me and Spinach Dip

Last night I went out with a friend for what was supposed to be just a couple of drinks. I was starving, so I ordered spinach dip and tortilla chips to munch on. It was a cold kind of dip and really really good. But I hate when I get a dip like that and I run out of dip before I run out of chips. So, after a few vodka tonics, I thought it would be a good idea to order more dip. I wound up eating about 2 cups of this dip all by myself.

Do you have any idea how the body digests such a large amount of spinach dip? Well, apparently it doesn't. Today, I am not hungover, I am in sever abdominal pain. I have discovered that spinach dip exits the body in pretty much the same color and consistency and with the same smell as it enters the body. I flushed the toilet three times this morning and the water was still tinted green. I also would not recommend eating as many tortilla chips as I ate last night. I guess my body didn't feel the need to completely break down the chips either. I swear, I can feel the sharp triangle edges of the chips traveling through by intestine and it is no fun passing chips like that. They are like kidney stones for your ass...

Biggest Loser Finale

I am so hooked on this show. I could not believe how much everyone lost! That one chick, Poppi from New Jersey, looked completely different. She looked like a little girl! The winner Erik, holy cow. How does someone lose over 200lbs in 9 months? I enjoy the show and it inspires me, but sometimes I wonder how healthy the diet is. I feel like the quicker you lose the weight, the easier it is to gain it back. I did see the winner from last season, Matt, in last weeks episode and it looked like he gained a lot back. So I am curious of the success rate of those who lost and managed to keep it off. I mean, they workout so intensely while they are on the ranch, how is it possible to keep up that intensity at home, while living your life? I think that those contestants that didn't make it on the ranch but still lost weight will probably have a better chance of keeping it off. But who knows? They were all competing for this. So now that the competition is over, will they not work at it as hard? I also think that ALL of the contestants had gotten a lot of help that the average person would have (gym membership, regular personal training, nutritionist). So now that the competition is over, will the show continue to pay for that stuff? I still love the show and will watch it if they have another season, but I just wonder about how real it REALLY is.

I Have No Clever Title for This Entry

As it turned out, I did not have to beg and plead with my hubby's boss to get him the time off. He was able to get it. Thank God, because I was in no condition to beg and plead to anybody's boss on Friday night. I felt like total crap. My nose was all runny, my head was stuffed up, I had that crusty stuff around my nose and mouth from coughing and sneezing and I was just out of it. I didn't even drink but one Amaretto Sour. The food was okay, what I could taste of it anyway. Most of the people he works with are older and they seem to do the "Electric Slide" to any song that was playing. I must have apologized to hubby a million times because I just sat there like a bump on a log and was not my usually perky and outgoing self. We left before 9pm and I was home and in bed before 10pm.

Saturday I felt better. I was still stuffed up, but I switched from cough medicine to some Sudafed that at least kept me awake and helped with the congestion. The cookie exchange was a lot of fun. I apparently got pretty intoxicated (I think the combination of the medicine and the hard liquor did me in). There were about 20 - 25 of us. I guess after my 3rd martini I was doing family impersonations that proved to be entertaining. I don't know what I am going to do with all of the cookies I have now. I came home with two huge bags!

Sunday was a mellow day. I did some Christmas shopping, relaxed and watched the Patriots get their asses handed to them by the Dolphins. I was so disappointed. I think if I had been there and watched it live, like I would have been if I still lived in Florida, they would have won. My older brother went to the game and even though the Pats lost and he had talked alot of shit all through the game, he had a good time and managed to get to his truck without incident. Because I felt so disgusting from eating so many cookies on Saturday, I made myself go for a run. I did 4 miles.

Tonight is our hotels staff holiday party. All of the managers have been assigned a job. I have been assigned to bartending. I have no idea what they were thinking. It should be fun though. Even though the managers work it, we all have fun.

Yuck...

That is how I have been feeling the past couple of days. I ended up calling out sick on Wednesday and slept ALL day. I haven't done that in forever. I still have a lot of congestion in my head and sneeze every 5 minutes it seems, but I am feeling better, even though people here at work have told me I look like shit.

Tonight is hubby's work holiday party. Its in Savannah at 5:30pm and I don't get out of work until 5pm. So I will be haulin' ass to get there. I think the cocktail reception (my favorite part) starts at 5:30pm and dinner actually starts at 6:30pm. I have been told that it is no fancy shin dig and to go "casual". I think I am just going to wear the slacks and sweater I have on. I will be on a mission tonight. I need to convince hubby's boss to let him have the Thursday and Friday off before Christmas so we can drive up to MA on Thursday. At the very least, hubby can work remotely from his laptop. If I have to guilt the man into letting him be off, so be it. If I can't get him the time off, then we won't be able to leave until Friday night, giving us only whatever time on Saturday (not much), Sunday (Christmas Eve) and Monday (Christmas Day). Then we would drive, all 16 hours back on Tuesday so we can be back at work on Wednesday. So wish me luck!

Blah...

Not much to tell. I haven't been doing too much except work since I got home. I did attempt to paint our bathroom and did a pretty shitty job. I love the color though, is a deep sage color. Hubby tried to "fix" what I did and made it worst. Today I went out and got some edging stuff to hopefully fix it once and for all. Hubby also attempted to decorate the outside of the house on Saturday, but I made him take it down because it really didn't look too good. I did like the big colored lights he did up on the roof, so those stayed and I spent Sunday redecorating the doorway to the house and our mantle inside.
I have been really making an effort to continue to eat well during the holidays, but it is pretty hard when people are bringing in all sorts of goodies to work and the cold weather makes me want to eat comfort foods like creamy macaroni and cheese, pot roast, sweet potatoes, chocolate chip cookies....Mmmmm. So to offset my little indiscretions I have been increasing my distance running. I was off today and ran a little over 7 miles in an hour outside in the cold (I have decided that I really don't like running in the cold, but I guess I will have to get used to it). The days I work, I go to the fitness center at the hotel and run and do some weights. So far, I have managed to maintain my weight, but I really want to lose a few more pounds. That may be a bit to ambitious over the holidays though.
This Saturday a couple of my friends and I are hosting a cookie exchange at my neighbors house. We need to make 6 dozen cookies/bars and make copies of the recipe and bring them. As a host, I need to bring a couple of appetizers and alcoholic punch in addition. For my recipe, I am going to make my grandmothers "Thelma Bars". I hope I can do Nana proud.