I Love...I Hate

I Love Goals…I Hate Not Achieving Them

loveshates — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 00:17:19 +0000

I Love Goals…I Hate Not Achieving Them

loveshates — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 23:54:28 +0000

Everyone has goals. Starting from when you are little-wanting to hit the ball with the bat, beating your sibling at their grades, getting goods scores on the SATs and graduating high school. Getting older they change into graduating college, getting a good job, getting married and having children. Then those goals warp into broader themes like losing weight or working out and seeing the world. How many of us actually set specific goals? Probably not many. Who really sets attainable goals like getting A job after college not specifically a good one or the perfect one? Or lose 10 pounds in a specific time period instead of 50 pounds in general? Or become a certified personal trainer instead of work out daily for two hours?

I love goals. I always have them somewhere inside me, thinking about them constantly. I think about what I need to do to get to my next stage in life. Easy goals like just going online to apply for jobs, making it to the gym whether it is before or after work it doesn’t matter. Making healthy lunches for the week on Sunday so I don’t go out everyday with coworkers and not only eat crappy but spend money that doesn’t need to go into Subways or Nugget Market’s deep pockets. I wear nice clothes and heels to work so I feel nice about myself instead of just jeans and t-shirts to hide what I think is wrong with me. I put money aside for future travel plans, instead of spending frivolously on things that are dispensable.

I love goals that show a change in my body. This goal is one that I know I have total control over. I have always had the “lose weight” goal that everyone has. Even after I had gastric bypass surgery I never was able to be totally okay with my body. I thank God for the surgery everyday because I could not see a way to have lost the excess weight without it. Now I can workout two to three hours at a time-and be sore afterwards but love that I could do it. I can run four miles on the treadmill, do a 5k monthly, I can do strength classes and boot camp classes at the gym daily, all because I lost 175 pounds. I love that the workout goal has toned my legs and I have a body part to be proud of. I can see real differences in myself post bypass that I would never have gotten without it, and can now set reasonable goals that are specific in nature so I don’t lose sight of what I desire.

I am proud of my current goal. I decided that for the new year and Lent, my goal is to train for a 1/2 marathon. For New Years and Lent I have been giving up food items, and been extremely great at not going back to whatever it was. Over the last three years I have been able to give up chocolate, soda, chips, Starbucks, white chocolate and yogurt covered foods and many other things. This New Years resolution I am giving up store bought cookies. But for Lent I decided that instead of giving things up, I am going to do something that will inherently help and change me. I was reading Shape magazine and saw a training plan for 5 Weeks to a 5k. I already do monthly 5k’s so I just glanced at it, but at the bottom was what to add to do a 10k and 1/2 marathon. That was it for me, my decision was made and my buddy was texted. I am one week into it and my legs are not sore yet and I am not putting in as much gym time but the effort and difficulty is just as great. I can’t wait until I have logged more then four miles at one time. I can already see myself at the “end” line of the treadmill with my arms pumping in the air, proud of what I have just done.

I hate when I don’t achieve my goals. The one goal I have always had, besides weight loss, is to find the perfect job. I am a job searcher, I guess you could call it dreamer, at heart. No job has ever been “it” for me. I always find whatever it is I do boring, to easy, not fun and just plain not full-filling. I always think that there is something bigger and better out there. I even moved across the country to find the excitement, and found a job that was pretty much the same thing I was doing back home, but at least I got travel out of it (my one great passion). The bad thing about job searching is that it is not about me. It is not about the applicant, since it is out of your hands after hitting the apply button. I am constantly searching for new jobs, but it is getting harder with so many people out of work that have degrees…which leads to the other goal that I is always in the forefront of my head. A degree, totally attainable, ever out of reach.

I hate achieving goals alone. So many people are in it with you-whether it be on the side lines or actually next to you helping you. I hate when I have to do it by myself though. I just can’t seem to get it together, or at least hold it together by myself. Having a buddy that is supportive, doing the same workout and putting in the same effort as you and who is eating healthfully along with you is so important you just don’t realize until you move away and they aren’t by your side anymore. I moved away from the person who helped me get past-not just get past but beat it down!-my plateau, but since then the weight has crept back on and filled back in the skin that had let it go. My body likes to workout, that is not my problem. Putting in effort at the gym is not my problem. I need someone who is eating cleanly, healthfully and pretty much the same as me to get my eating under control. Being around people who are open to vegetarianism and like clean eating and don’t mind giving up the crap is not just helpful it is necessary to your well being.

My goals normally consume me. Not always a bad thing, but when the goals are not set clearly or aren’t really attainable, that is not healthy. My broad weight loss goals consume me. I wake up every morning and if the scale has decided not to befriend me, it will eat at me the rest of the day. I will punish myself for the gain at the gym, but then sabotage myself by eating something I don’t even really want nor need at all. I will think about my workout goals all day, between entering time & attendance and bill paying at work. My goals of giving up food items will be in the back of my mind all during the difficult times of the day, particularly when they are brought in by staff. Donuts and cookies on the reception counter, chocolate cake or fudge as freebies at the market, Starbucks literally on every corner. But the goals that consume me are the few that are not achieved. Maybe not necessarily achieved-because in reality I have made every one, by losing weight and hitting the gym, and having a job, and I have seen the world-but not seeing the positive in every small goal that I have obtained-that is my real downfall.

I Love To Go, Go, Go…I Hate Feeling Worn Out

loveshates — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 18:31:07 +0000

	I am a person who can go for hours, but also someone who can sit in front of the t.v. and be perfectly fine watching great shows or spacing out to nothing in particular. I can hit the gym running and do a half hour on the treadmill then an hour Zumba class, and then an hour Group Strength Training class. I always feel great when I am done, sore but great, and then I do so much after cause I am in a great mood about myself. Then other times, I just can’t seem to make it to the gym no matter what I tell myself, or how much I remind myself how great I will feel.I love having energy. I love that feeling when you wake up in the morning like you know what you have to do for the day and then you just get up and do it. It is nice for once in my life to have the feeling of accomplishment, of doing things that I would never have done before, or of actually getting normal things done in a timely manner and not getting tired out. I have energy out the wazoo, hitting the gym in the am, then shopping all day and trying clothes on while I am out. Being able to do things during the day without getting worn out, or feeling like taking a nap later in the day because you were to active. I love being able to go to the gym. I normally get up at 4:30am to hit the gym and get it out of the way for the day. I get up feeling proud, I get to the gym with energy to spare and hit the treadmill…well not running, but I bump up the incline to 10 and go at 4.0 for an hour. Then because I am an over achiever in the gym, depending on the day, I do a 30 minute Spin class, an hour GST class, Zumba, or a Boot Camp class. Let me tell you, I feel it later it in the day like I over-did it, but I feel so proud of myself that I go to work and share everything I did. I find it impressive that I have the energy and will-power to do it, cause you know a few years ago I would have laughed in someones face if they told me to get up at 4:30am let alone do the treadmill at 4.0. I love that I can workout for two-three hours straight and not feel tired. That I have trained myself to go for it and not look back. When I don’t, and just do an hour on the treadmill, I feel guilty because I know I have more in me. I know that I can do what others can’t or don’t think I am capable of. I know what strength is now and love it. I love pushing through the hard stuff, knowing that the gained energy from working out and being an active person is what gets a person through the hard stuff. Being able to look through and see the other side, going to the gym and leaving whatever is bothering you on the treadmill or in the group workout room, because you now have the capacity to “see” clearly. I hate feeling worn out. I can do so much, but then not want to do anything. I can hit that gym for three hours, but then it’s like BAM. I tapped out and all I want to do is lay down stare unseeing at the television. Feeling worn out cause I thought I had the energy to bust it out-I like that I have muscles and the treadmill has helped immensely with lifting my butt-but, I then have to live with the worn-out muscles and tired head. So drained of energy from pushing as hard as I could, that I can’t seem to do anything I felt like doing before the gym. Not being able to go to the store to get groceries, to Target to look at the new dresses in the Merona section or even to get a pedicure at the nail salon across from the gym. I hate not even having the energy on the weekends to get up and even head to the gym. I have high plans all day Friday, about what I will do at the gym, think about the teachers I will see and hope that no subs step in. I think about what I will do when the classes are over-groceries, Target, pedicure, sitting in Barnes & Noble-but, when I wake up in the morning I can’t seem to do more then turn on the t.v. in bed and lay there. I feel so guilty about being worn out and tired that I lay there and think about everything I could and should be doing, but can’t do more then lay there. I think about all the calories I should have burned and then feel bad about that and what do I do? Eat. Think about everything I should not be eating and feel guilty about that. Yuck. I hate that after a day at work i cant even make it to the gym. I went through a faze where I wasn’t getting up early in the morning before work to hit the gym. I was worn out and so tired it was unbelievable, that just sleeping one extra hour in the morning made such a difference. I don’t know why but sitting through a day of work, being bored or busy it didn’t matter, but I just couldn’t find the strength to do more then drive home and blindly watch t.v. I had no energy to even read. It was crazy. I felt like the laziest person because I couldn’t even steer my car a mile out of the way. I would think about the gym, again day-dreaming of what I will do and which class I would stay for, but after my very long day I could do nothing. And if I did happen to make it to the gym, I would feel great when I was done and so proud of myself, but the next day I did nothing. Very frustrating that to get in a great workout I have to wake up at 4:30am to do it!

I am a person who can go for hours, but also someone who can sit in front of the t.v. and be perfectly fine watching great shows or spacing out to nothing in particular. I can hit the gym running and do a half hour on the treadmill then an hour Zumba class, and then an hour Group Strength Training class. I always feel great when I am done, sore but great, and then I do so much after cause I am in a great mood about myself. Then other times, I just can’t seem to make it to the gym no matter what I tell myself, or how much I remind myself how great I will feel.I love having energy.

I love that feeling when you wake up in the morning like you know what you have to do for the day and then you just get up and do it. It is nice for once in my life to have the feeling of accomplishment, of doing things that I would never have done before, or of actually getting normal things done in a timely manner and not getting tired out. I have energy out the wazoo, hitting the gym in the am, then shopping all day and trying clothes on while I am out. Being able to do things during the day without getting worn out, or feeling like taking a nap later in the day because you were to active.

I love being able to go to the gym. I normally get up at 4:30am to hit the gym and get it out of the way for the day. I get up feeling proud, I get to the gym with energy to spare and hit the treadmill…well not running, but I bump up the incline to 10 and go at 4.0 for an hour. Then because I am an over achiever in the gym, depending on the day, I do a 30 minute Spin class, an hour GST class, Zumba, or a Boot Camp class. Let me tell you, I feel it later it in the day like I over-did it, but I feel so proud of myself that I go to work and share everything I did. I find it impressive that I have the energy and will-power to do it, cause you know a few years ago I would have laughed in someones face if they told me to get up at 4:30am let alone do the treadmill at 4.0.

I love that I can workout for two-three hours straight and not feel tired. That I have trained myself to go for it and not look back. When I don’t, and just do an hour on the treadmill, I feel guilty because I know I have more in me. I know that I can do what others can’t or don’t think I am capable of. I know what strength is now and love it. I love pushing through the hard stuff, knowing that the gained energy from working out and being an active person is what gets a person through the hard stuff. Being able to look through and see the other side, going to the gym and leaving whatever is bothering you on the treadmill or in the group workout room, because you now have the capacity to “see” clearly.

I hate feeling worn out. I can do so much, but then not want to do anything. I can hit that gym for three hours, but then it’s like BAM. I tapped out and all I want to do is lay down stare unseeing at the television. Feeling worn out cause I thought I had the energy to bust it out-I like that I have muscles and the treadmill has helped immensely with lifting my butt-but, I then have to live with the worn-out muscles and tired head. So drained of energy from pushing as hard as I could, that I can’t seem to do anything I felt like doing before the gym. Not being able to go to the store to get groceries, to Target to look at the new dresses in the Merona section or even to get a pedicure at the nail salon across from the gym.

I hate not even having the energy on the weekends to get up and even head to the gym. I have high plans all day Friday, about what I will do at the gym, think about the teachers I will see and hope that no subs step in. I think about what I will do when the classes are over-groceries, Target, pedicure, sitting in Barnes & Noble-but, when I wake up in the morning I can’t seem to do more then turn on the t.v. in bed and lay there. I feel so guilty about being worn out and tired that I lay there and think about everything I could and should be doing, but can’t do more then lay there. I think about all the calories I should have burned and then feel bad about that and what do I do? Eat. Think about everything I should not be eating and feel guilty about that. Yuck.

I hate that after a day at work i cant even make it to the gym. I went through a faze where I wasn’t getting up early in the morning before work to hit the gym. I was worn out and so tired it was unbelievable, that just sleeping one extra hour in the morning made such a difference. I don’t know why but sitting through a day of work, being bored or busy it didn’t matter, but I just couldn’t find the strength to do more then drive home and blindly watch t.v. I had no energy to even read. It was crazy. I felt like the laziest person because I couldn’t even steer my car a mile out of the way. I would think about the gym, again day-dreaming of what I will do and which class I would stay for, but after my very long day I could do nothing. And if I did happen to make it to the gym, I would feel great when I was done and so proud of myself, but the next day I did nothing. Very frustrating that to get in a great workout I have to wake up at 4:30am to do it!

I Love Golden Globe Fashion…I Hate Over The Top

loveshates — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 03:38:20 +0000

I love the Golden Globes, and I love the Golden Globe fashions. I love the Globes because it is a precursor to the SAGs and the Oscars, but I love this one because you get to see all your stars in one place-tv and movie. I love it. I also love that the stars think about their dresses in a sense of setting the style session for the year. The classier the better, you know I am not kind to the inappropriate ones. A lot of stars did good this year but an amazing amount messed up.

Natalie Portman

Catherine and Michael

Let me start with how much I loved Natalie Portman’s dress by Viktor and Rolf. Being pregnant, she said, she actually got to wear a dress she wanted-a flowing one. Well she got one of my nights winning awards in her pale pink one-shoulder flowing gown with a printed flower screened very simply across it. My second winner was Catherine Zeta-Jones. This woman is absolutely gorgeous with her dark hair and olive skin-all she needed was an emerald-green dress by Monique Lhuillier. This dress was an immaculate choice for her with the fitted bodess and flowing bustle style skirt. Wow. And her awesome husband, Michael Douglas, looked healthy and happy as her date.

Eva Longoria

Sofia Vergara

I of course had other dress loves for the night. One was Eva Longoria in Zac Posen. She looked gorgeous as always in a black floor length gown with a cut-out in the back. Tina Fey looked great this year in a black v-neck gown with ruffles around the arms-I know it sounds weird and oddly warrior-like, but it actually was quite beautiful. Sofia Vergara was amazing in her sexy red Vera Wang gown. This dress is one that I could see on every body type, which is wonderful to see a dress on a red carpet that is more real then dreamlike.

Brad and Angelina

Another couple I loved were Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. Okay, it is hard for Brad not to look good in a tux, I mean any guy looks good in black and a bow tie. Then there is Angelina. It would take a lot for this woman to not hit a home run lately and she did not miss the hit this time. She looked exquisite in her sparkly bright emerald-green, boat-neck (boat-neck people, very modest for a starlet) gown and it even had long sleeves. Versace was doing good this year. I also loved that Robert Downey Jr wore a gray suit with a red tie. He is so cooky that he can pull that off at an award show.

Anne Hathaway

Nicole Kidman

Two dresses that are very hit or miss with me were Nicole Kidman’s Prada gown and Anne Hathaway’s Armani gown. Both dresses were on the simple side. Nicole’s dress was the palest yellow, you looked at it and kind of thought it was just her skin color it was so pale. It was a one shoulder with a bow at the waist for a belt type look. The only color you can see on it was the blue and teal pendant at the shoulder. Anne’s dress was really bold with the shoulder pads and the disc type sequins in a blush brown color. I love it, I think. I know I love it cause I love most everything she wears. Both women won with the easy hair styles and not loaded up with jewels, leaving us to look at the dresses.

Helena Bonham Carter

Okay. I hate over the top outfits. Really that is what one dress was. It was nowhere near being appropriate for anything other than the circus. Who thinks it is appropriate-and I understand personal expression and having fun with fashion. But please do not think this was a great choice. Helena Bonham Carter really does know how to pick loser outfits. She has done it before in almost every public outing, so I should not have been surprised. But, alas, I was. She wore a weird Vivienne Westwood black and floral dress, that had a netting-poof on the hip…yes, I said netting. It also had a lightening bolt going up the boob towards her head. And no, that and her horrible hair weren’t even the worst parts. Her shoes. She wore one green and one red heel. Oh man.

Scarlett Johansson

Well after that really big hate, I really can only dislike the others dresses I can’t stand. And I really did hate this one, though. What was Scarlett Johansson thinking? I mean, did she really have to steal Betty Whites dress from Golden Girls? You know the one I mean. The episode where Rose, Dorothy and Blanche enter the dancing contest and Rose does that mega dancing scene? It is so that dress! The pink sequins and kimono sleeves anyone? And goodness, her hair. I get that she likes the retro look, but can you comb it first? Wow, Elie Saab really missed the mark, need I say more?

Claire Danes

A few that were weird. Green and hot pink were the colors of the night-the greens done beautifully, and the pink hmm. It is just a weird color to choose for a red carpet dress. Claire Danes had a color miss. Claire wore a halter style gown from Calvin Klein Collection. Now it is a minimal style gown, which is good but the color is so bright, it takes away from her coloring. I think it totally washed her out.

Olivia Wilde

I will leave you with a list of a few others I just didn’t approve of. Amy Adams won the award for weird bow placement. Why add accessories to a dress that was otherwise amazing? The added froufrouness, on the shoulder and hip. The navy dress was a perfect color for her skin and hair types. Julianne Moore, she just always misses the mark for me. She wore a one-shoulder gown by Lanvin in a cherry red. The color suited her but the arm on the dress looked like it was tacked down to her hip. I don’t know. The last was Olivia Wilde. When I saw her I immediately thought prom dress. Who wears prom dresses to red carpet events. Now, I know the dresses are just glorified-expensive-prom dresses but really. This was one. It was a chocolate brown that was seriously bejeweled. She styled it with a pair of yellow stilleto booties.

I Love New Year’s Resolutions…I Hate Not Sticking to It

loveshates — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 02:41:15 +0000

We have all made them. The all time favorites are losing weight, starting a diet or just cutting calories, going to the gym daily…you name it and I have promised it to myself. Some other favorites? Stop eating any and all junk food, no more alcohol, become a vegetarian. Non-health related? Well the all time number one for all of us is do not spend so much money. A few new resolutions I have heard lately are to eat greener and to have become more green.

I love New Year’s resolutions. There is just something about promising yourself that this is the year you are going to get healthy, lose weight, to actually use the gym membership you have made high monthly payments to, find a new and or better job, dump the loser partner, stop smoking, get a life or just plain enjoy the one you have. The fact that we recognize that there are things in our lives that need changing and that the New Year presents a new beginning makes it so hopeful and like it is just finally time. Time to get on track with who you know you are, who you want to be and who you just plain deserve to be. We don’t let others hold us back and the New Year presents a way for us to stop holding ourselves back.

I love having a resolution partner. It is hard enough to stick to what you are doing by yourself, but if you have a partner - someone to hold you accountable and tell you to just get up and do it or stop shoveling the chocolate in your face-it just seems a whole lot easier to handle. I am perfectly fine disappointing myself, but if I feel I have let someone down or disappointed them, well I am harder on myself and won’t let it go. When you have a partner that knows how to push you and keep whatever it is you gave up or started for the New Year interesting and fun to do, there is no stopping either of you. It is all about inspiring and if you can find the person, even a long distance partner, who does that is enormous.

I love that most of my resolutions in the past couple years I have been able to keep. A lot of help for this came from my sister-in-law. She wanted the same things health wise as I do, so it made it a ton easier and I treated her like I was Jillian-fun for me not so much for her. But her knowledge about training for the PT tests from the military and her positivity came in so handy for the both of us. She read Bob Greene’s The Best Life book, and that set the course last January for a four-month weight loss record for both of us and kept us on the training track after I moved away. We both fell off the wagon at different times, but thankfully after a Christmas get together that we both desperately needed, we are on the same track and both feel great about it. Having each other to pick up off the floor, to get in the last workout after a rough day and her to get me to believe I could actually run a mile was amazing.

I hate not sticking to the resolution. In the last few years I may have been able to stick with what I have said but I have had plenty of resolutions that fell by the wayside as I tromped over them to get to the nearest Mtn Dew, Kit Kat and Starbucks Caramel Frappuccino. I always seem to make resolutions that seem so unattainable that it is okay that I gave up on them, even if I gave up after just a couple of days. Lose one hundred pounds in a year-I couldn’t even lose five pounds in a month because my head wasn’t in the right place to do it. Get a new job. Well can’t do that if you haven’t even written a resume. Join a gym-well I did, but always felt too fat to go. Stop spending money. Ha, I just justified it by putting it on my credit card instead of using my debit card. Excuses, excuses, excuses.

I hate that after drinking Slim-Fast and eating a Lean Cuisine I almost gained back all I lost. My sister-in-laws New Years day tradition-which I love, it is so fun to find cool things to eat that day-of eating foods that have fun names gave me a great start to the new year. I drank a Slim-Fast, ate a Lean Cuisine, had Laffy Taffy and a Payday. The Slim-Fast and Lean Cuisine were to ensure I lost weight during the year-I did, and then moved away to get a job (the Pay Day helped) and everything went downhill so fast that there was almost no stopping the train wreck. Thankfully the Laffy Taffy, so I would have a fun-filled year, saved me from myself. Even having a resolution partner can’t stop the downward spiral of unhappiness. Sometimes it takes hitting bottom to see the light.

I hate that my resolutions always revolve around the same thing. I wish I could say that I would be better off making a resolution that didn’t revolve around my weight or losing weight or working out. But I couldn’t-not and stick with it. I am so caught up right now with weight loss I can’t put any focus into anything else. I would love to be able to do something unrelated to hitting the gym twice a day, but that would require me to get a life…what I should really be making a pledge to do. That to me is too scary and I would rather stick with what I know I can do. I know that my resolution for this year of giving up all chocolate is easier than making a promise to get out more or put myself out there more.

I Love My New Job…I Hate Not Knowing Everything

loveshates — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 12:58:55 +0000

The nerves about starting the new job have passed, the stress of meeting new people and impressing the bosses are long gone. I have figured out the way to get to work, and the quickest way home. My new nice work clothes set me apart from the rest of the staff because my office is in the way-too-laid-back casual work clothes environment.

I love my new job and it is going great. It is easy work-you know lots of filing, doing data entry, answering phones and checking in visitors. It is really interesting learning about the work also. I have never worked in construction or engineering so getting to see the ins and outs of it is fascinating. Within the first few days of work I got to go out to a work site-they are rebuilding the levees in the city and my work is seeing it get done-and I got to see them digging the trenches with the big excavators. Man, if you have not worked in the industry before it is really cool to see it actually getting done and seeing the completed creation. You also don’t know how much goes into a contract. All the submittals that contractors have to turn in for every little thing or the modifications that have to be added to a contract.

I love my bosses; they are really cool and laid back. On my first day they took me and the other new girl out to lunch to get to know us; I have never worked for someone who cared to know every little thing about you. They don’t get upset about anything that I have noticed yet, so that is really nice. Also, the people who work there are very helpful and easily answer questions-no matter how often I ask the same one. My first day another woman started with me, she worked for the same agency in another state so she knew what she was getting into. It is hard starting at the same time with someone else, especially when that person has such an overpowering personality that they overshadow any effort you put in to get the attention you deserve. The first week was the hardest with the other new lady, but now I understand where she is coming from and I have come to like her, not be annoyed by her.

I love that the work is so easy. My work consists mainly of data entry. Data entry is so mindless that you can do it while thinking about quantum physics. And answering phones-all I do is answer them and transfer the calls and my phone doesn’t even ring that much. Everyone knows the extensions they need so my phone rarely goes off. It actually startles me when it does because it doesn’t ring that much. Who doesn’t love going into a new position having their duties be so easy. The filing is all numerical so thankfully I am a good counter; the mailings I send out get separated into groups that are always the same. The shredding is only on certified payroll items-which doesn’t happen often because things get kept for so long. Also, we are going through all the contracts and relabeling and reorganizing and this is the best thing since I am getting to learn the contracts and where things go without having to constantly ask people questions.

I hate not knowing everything. I know that this is a new job, but really I hate not knowing everything right off the bat. As I said, the job is so easy that I feel like I am dumb for not knowing everything. My first day people were telling me how easy the agency specific computer system was-like I am stupid and have never used a computer before or something. I am not unintelligent or computer illiterate, I know how to do things, and really data entry is not hard. But it is the other stuff. It is learning all of the other stuff. I want to impress everyone by picking up on everything quickly, so that I look good in everyone’s eyes, not like I am unintelligent or computer illiterate. I don’t want my coworkers or bosses to think they made the wrong decision in hiring me.

I hate being talked to by my boss about things I have done wrong. Granted, again, I have only been at this job six weeks now-and she talked to me about this at week two-but I hate my boss thinking I don’t know something or can’t do something correctly. Again-easy job and I don’t want her thinking that I am scatter brained or a complete idiot. She sat me down and went over the guidelines for memo and letter writing-I have to go over the staffs letters before I turn them into the boss, so she doesn’t have to correct a bunch of stuff…I have never claimed to be a great writer, especially when that writing is done in a work setting where it is important. I really hate that she had to go over letters in front of me that I had reviewed and “fixed” myself and “bled” all over them-she calls it “bleeding” when she uses the ghastly red pen to do corrections…like I am in school again or something. Oh man, I felt two feet tall and wanted to go in the bathroom and cry in frustration. It was horrible-THEN everyone suddenly had letters for her approval to go out. I spent almost the whole day toiling over those letters-about 15 total-so she would think I listened to her and didn’t have to “bleed” all over them. The next day when she handed 12 back to me signed and no blood she thanked for turning it all around. Oh man, talk about sigh of relief heard round the world!

I hate when staff suddenly spring things on me that I supposedly should have known but didn’t. I take things so personally when I don’t know things that I get upset when someone tells me when I have been doing something wrong for the last six weeks. The person who had been training me had only started at her job a few weeks before me and had only one week of training, so if she didn’t know something that meant I didn’t know it either. So when coworkers start telling me that items don’t get distributed without a memo being written and asking where these items were…uh, whoops. Or my boss once again telling me that I have been doing something I shouldn’t have. This thankfully was really miniscule like not to date stamp something, when everyone initially said everything that comes in gets a date stamp. It’s the fact that I am getting told things that I have been doing presumably correctly have been in actuality incorrect.

It will get better; next week I will do everything correctly and remember that some things don’t go straight out like I was doing. My boss will be impressed that I am doing good at turning in letters and memos that don’t need the dreaded red pen markings. I will continue to be the efficient and reliable person that I know I am and try not to take things so personally.

I Love Magazine Workout Guides…I Hate that I Don’t Use Them

loveshates — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 00:30:23 +0000

You have all seen them. They are in most magazines now, not just the health periodicals. It doesn’t matter what type of exercise you are looking for-strength, circuit training or cardio-they are there. If you are looking for weighted ideas or you are want to perfect your form they are there. They have the summer ones to get your bikini ready, or winter wonderland ones to get you in ski-bunny form and prepped for snowboard season…and of course the spring ones to get you back in top form from all the yummy holiday goodness.

I love magazine workouts and workout cards. I love that I can flip through most magazines and come across another exercise idea. I do workout videos on a regular basis, but man they get boring and just plain tiresome when you do them all the time. Constantly doing the same exercises and being able to anticipate upcoming moves and say the script with the instructor does not constitute a good workout. You get a little, or a lot really, complacent with the workout. The workout cards or articles give you a new way to do moves or even a different routine for them. You can use them to add on to or do them before you start your video, or if you are planning a run they are good for when you get back and want to use your heightened heart-rate to your advantage, the cards are a great tool.

I love that I can do these exercises without anyone watching. You know when you go to an exercise class at the gym you are unsure of yourself, or are afraid you will look foolish, or that you won’t be able to do the move correctly or in time with everyone else. Workout cards are like little practices. It helps also when you have tried a video that kicked your butt the first time (for me it was Yoga Meltdown, my arms hurt so bad!) or were even to timid to do or finish, the cards are great rehearsals. You just pull them out and can do them one at a time. They are also a great instrument for people who don’t work out and want to start or have injuries. They can be as low impact as your body wants and you can work up to your full potential by doing them regularly.

I am working up to this

I love that cards let go at your own pace. Everyone’s pace is different. I always feel like I am flying through the routine in step class, but when I look up I notice everyone is done and breaking and I am still kicking and stepping. Or in strength class when everyone else is lunging to their knees, I am lucky to push-up from half way to the floor. If you are beginning to workout you can just choose one type of exercise at a time, like just doing squats, and practice until you are comfortable with them. Start slow and don’t go deep and then work your way up to seated squats. Same with arm exercises, start with a light weight and then do them until it feels like you can move up to heavier weights. When you are comfortable you just add more exercises to your little routines you have put together. When you tear out a bunch of the workouts from different magazines you can do all types of the same base exercise.

I hate that I rarely use them. I am like everyone else; I tear them out of magazines and put them with the others in their special place with the other exercise equipment, but those happen to not get used. Call it stubbornness, laziness, lack of will power, but I just never get around to it. Commercials during television programs are reserved for bathroom breaks, getting something to drink, chatting or just plain zoning out. Also, the only time I remember to do them is when I am gung-ho going for a workout video that I am determined to get through. The cards are my last resort-meaning I have probably fallen asleep as I think about picking one up and giving it a shot. If I do remember them, I will go through my stack looking for the one in particular I feel like doing-usually it will be the ab workouts that you lay down and do-then I just lay there and end up watching TV on the floor. Kind of pointless.

Yoga with Kettleball

I hate that they use too much equipment. Who wants to go out and purchase more exercise stuff? I mean we buy the hand weights to go with the videos, but other equipment too? Bodybars are not cheap and they come in so many weights, which one do you choose? Kettleballs; yeah, you can start with the five-pound one but how long will that weight last you? I saw one in a magazine that the base is a certain weight and then you hook on attachment weights-it was $100, no thanks. A step and risers for cardio routine, that is costly also. The only cheap thing to buy is the band; you can get a set of resistance bands for about $11 at protherapysupplies.com. Also, we buy gym memberships so we can go to the gym and have encouragement to help us get through the strenuous workouts. And they are strenuous when you start adding bodybars and kettleballs-those suckers really work your inner thighs! I am the type that unless I have a teacher showing me and doing it with me-whether it be at the gym or on a video-I won’t give it my all or even do it.

Step and Risers

I hate when they do weird things with the extras. One magazines set of cards had you putting the band around a very tall “sturdy” object and doing pull downs. Who in the world has either a bed frame with tall canopy style poles or cut outs in their walls with enough useable space to wrap around it and pull down? Now most of the exercises are reasonable-seated rows, frog pushes or curtsy lunges with sword draws-but when they add the weird stuff it doesn’t make me want to try it, let alone rip it out of the magazine and give it a shot. I am easily intimidated by exercises that I haven’t tried before, so adding new equipment let alone different or unusual ways of using the equipment, I get scared and won’t try it. Or trash-talk it and say that I hate it. Really it is me; I should just get over it and do it…

Update-I Loved the Primetime Emmys…I Hated a Lot of the Dresses

loveshates — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 02:57:41 +0000

Okay, I am just going to give it all to you…

Jimmy Fallon did an alright job as host of the Primetime Emmys. The opening could have been better. I should have known they would do a play off of Glee. Not all that great, though. And the weird guitar and singing bits after each commercial break. Jeez, I was done with it.

Let me start with the Love’s, of course. There unfortunately weren’t all that many to be Lovin’ this year. Very disappointing, but the ones that were great-were great!

Kyra Sedgwick & Kevin Bacon

Julia Louis-Dreyfus

Mariska Hargitay

These lead actresses all looked wonderful in their uncomplicated gowns. Kyra Sedgwick looked beautiful in her very simple wine colored dress. It flowed nicely around her, though it had an odd look to it like it wanted to be velvet but was more broomstick-style fabric. Mariska Hargitay was amazing as always. It was probably the simplest dress she had ever worn, and she looked wonderful in it. It was a corset style top, of course, with an uncomplicated train in a pale pink color. It was just gorgeous on her. Julia Louis-Dreyfus showed some skin in a black dress that had a stomach cut-out covered in black mesh. It was a sophisticated style that had a little flash, and looked just amazing on her.

Lea Michele

Eva Longoria-Parker

Lea Michele, in Oscar de la Renta, looked great in her age appropriate dress. It was navy blue and looked great against her skin color-and you know I am not frou-frou, but I didn’t mind the bottom of her dress, it was actually kind of cute. The other frou-frou I didn’t mind was Eva Longoria’s. Her Robert Rodriguez dress was a tight corset type on top, and covered in roses all over the bottom. It was a little weird, I do admit that, but on her it looked amazing.

Kelly Osbourne

Claire Danes in Armani Prive looked amazing. The dress looked like a crystallized dream, and I would recommend not drinking anything because it would be hard to go to the bathroom! Kelly Osbourne looked fabulous in her black Tony Ward Couture gown. In her new slimmed down frame, the kimono-esque top and skinny bottom with a diamond pattern could do nothing for her but flatter.

The Hates…were ugly, and abnormal, and really, really Hate worthy.

Lauren Graham

Jewel

Oh Lauren Graham. She can be pretty random with her dresses, but dang did she miss the mark big time this year. Her Yigal Azrouel black and white ensemble, because you can’t really call it a dress, looked terrible-it was more like an unfinished dress with the white part just tossed there and then stitched quickly in place. Jewel also looked terrible in her Zuhair Murad pink dress which looked like it could be from the 1800’s and not in a good way. The color completely washed her out, the bow was too young for her and it was really just a wedding-dress-tiered-mess.

Emily Deshanel

Jane Krakowski

Emily Deschanel looked beautiful, but her dress had weird fans all over it. The color though against her skin and her hair looked fabulous, but thank goodness I didn’t know her designer because it was probably someone who should have done a better job. Jane Krakowski looked weird in her Escada gown that had a droopy flower looking thing on the shoulder-and she had one huge hip, with like extra fabric just laying there. It was like she pulled the plug on the oomph of the dress, leaving just blah.

January Jones

Christina Hendricks

Okay what was with the Mad Men women dressing like birds? January Jones-oh man, that dress was just plain ugly. Her poor Versace, it looked like a blue-peacock and it wasn’t a cute one either. Um, tiny cups much? Why do women who have small busts accentuate that by putting small cones on them? Really, there was no way to save that dress. Side note-what was with her hair? She couldn’t have combed it? And jeez, Christina Hendricks missed the mark completely. Her feathery Zac Posen gown was just wrongly weird. She looked like she was trying to be a lilacish bird, with the feathers on the shoulders. I don’t even know if the dress could have been saved by taking the feathers off.

Anna Paquin

Carrie Preston

Rutina Wesley

The True Blood female cast all looked terrible. Anna Paquin in Alexander McQueen, looked like a gladiator also-another bomb for this poor designer. Carrie Preston looked terrible also, in a weird red and blue leopard print gown. And then there is Rutina Wesley. Really, if this was one of your first Emmy Awards, why would you come in a silver-zebra-type gown? It seemed that they cast got together and decided to try and be weird-at least I hope so because the only alternative is that they just have horrible style…

So here are the winners, in case you missed them.

Lead Actor-Comedy-Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory	Lead Actor-Drama-Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
Lead Actress-Comedy-Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie	Lead Actress-Drama-Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer
Supporting Actor-Comedy-Eric Stonestreet, Modern Family	Supporting Actor-Drama-Aaron Paul-Breaking Bad
Supporting Actress-Comedy-Jane Lynch, Glee	Supporting Actress-Drama-Archie Panjabi, The Good Wife
Best Comedy-Modern Family	Best Drama-Mad Men

I Love the Primetime Emmys…I Hate So Many Faves Nominated

loveshates — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 22:46:48 +0000

Okay, you could say I watch too much television. I watch more than the recommended two hours a day. I do get close to two hours of exercise a day, but I watch television while I eat…shame on me. I don’t do squats, lunges, sit-ups or push-ups during commercials, though I have been known to put in a Leslie Sansone walking tape in the ole laptop and watch Biggest Loser while exercising. So, yeah, I love TV.

I love the Primetime Emmy Awards. I love to watch the Emmys more than the Oscars really, because I actually care about all the nominated stars more in the Emmys. The Oscars are about hyped up movie actors who do one movie project a year, and then promote it until we don’t care about it anymore. Television actors work year round doing long days every day; they don’t promote their shows except going on talk shows at the beginning of the season and they are usually the less popular stars and not as known in the acting world when they hit it big on TV. Another reason I like the Emmys is because the awards are all relevant to the show. We are watching actors and actresses getting awards, not the behind the scenes people who I don’t know anything about-rude, I know.

I love that I can count on my favorite actresses to get nominated. With television actors you know that they bring their A-game to each and every show, because television programming is a fickle business. To many low ratings and a television network will drop a TV show like a hot potato. My favorite shows are drama shows; my two favorites are Law and Order: SVU and The Closer. I think all the actors in both shows should be nominated, as well as the shows themselves. And you know that a show is good when the lead actress is nominated seven times in a row like with Mariska Hargitay and five times in a row like with Kyra Sedgwick. I also love Julianna Margulies, and would love to see her win again, since the last time she won was in 1995 and nominated five times for ER.

Mariska Hargitay

Kyra Sedgwick

Julianna Hargitay

I also love to see what the stars where at the Emmys. The Emmys seem to have a classy air to them, the stars not dressing in ostentatious gowns but more sedate and respectable. The stars usually dress in more covered and elegant dresses, not like the Oscars where they dress in elaborate and flashy garb that is only to get noticed in. I am not saying that the Emmy-dressers don’t dress expensively and can get flamboyant also, but they seem to be more about coming for the awards and seeing the show. It also seems like there are less bad/tacky dresses going on than at other award shows. I think movie stars are used to people thinking they rock no matter what, but TV actors are used to wearing jeans and t-shirts during their shows so they like to choose classy and dressy items to get noticed in.

I hate that so many of my favorite stars are nominated at the same time. That is really the good thing about the Oscars-I usually only care about one actor in a category. How can I choose or even root for one actor or actress when I like a lot of them. I am happy for the winners-unless I didn’t like them to begin with-but then I feel bad for the ones who didn’t win. It is a little bittersweet, and I don’t even know these people. Who can choose between Matthew Fox and Jon Hamm? Or Steve Carell and Tony Shalhoub? What about Terry O’Quinn and Andre Braugher, or Jon Cryer and Neil Patrick Harris? It gets confusing to keep track of them all-like I need a scorecard or something.

I hate that my favorite shows don’t even get the nod. The actresses in the shows get a nomination-not even an award, just nominated-but the show gets the shaft all the time. I realize Law and Order: SVU has been on the air forever, but something about it is going right if Mariska Hartigay keeps getting nominated. Same with The Closer, it is a great show and no nod. I loved the Pacific mini-series by Tom Hanks, but no actor nods-crazy. It is like a popularity contest sometimes. And what about the Biggest Loser not getting nominated in the category for Outstanding Reality – Competition Program-are you kidding me? The Biggest Loser is the most popular competition reality show on the air, and no nomination? Are they crazy? Who doesn’t want to see Jillian Michaels all gussied up and winning an award?

I hate that the nominations seem like a popularity contest sometimes. If there is a new and recently popular show that has come on, every year they get a show nomination and they usually take up the acting awards too. Mad Men is this year’s favorite again. I agree that shows, if they are good and deserving, should have multiple nominations, but some just don’t deserve it. True Blood? Nope, I would rather read the books-the series is so much better! And Glee is the year’s new-fangled favorite again that is singing its way to the top of every chart. Can’t say I have watched the show, I have heard the remake of a few of their songs, but give others a chance.

Do you have a favorite star or show that was or wasn’t nominated-or do you disagree with my faves?

I Love Glowing Skin…I Hate Acne

loveshates — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 23:24:04 +0000

How is your skin doing today? Does it ever feel like you can never do right by it? That you eat healthy all day with the five fruits and vegetables, liters of water and no processed sugar and still you get pimples. Does it seem like the older you get the more zits you get, or the hormonal changes happen and boom-some zits? Grr, it is so frustrating having to wear cover-up all the time because there are things are on your face that aren’t needed.

I love glowing skin. When I have pimples, zits, spots, white heads, blemishes-whatever you want to call it, I get so self-conscious because it feels like everyone sees what I see in the mirror. I love when the few days a month I have clear and healthy skin. Oh man, when I don’t have to slap on the cover-up it is a good day. Do you how much time you save in the morning when you don’t have to put so much make-up on? Yeesh, if all days could be like that I could sleep later or take my time driving to work or actually eat breakfast at home instead of in the car!

I love sunscreen. Sunscreen, sunscreen, and more sunscreen-we are at the worst part of summer when everyone is outside trying to soak up the last of the rays before school gets to heavy, or the weather changes and we have no more sun for awhile. Even if it isn’t hot outside and it is just a sunny cool day, sunscreen is important. For women it is easier since sunscreen is now prevalent in all moisturizers, but we don’t put moisturizer on the rest of our bodies. Have you heard the news reports and magazine articles about skin cancer happening on the left side of people’s bodies? It is because we are driving all the time now, and we don’t have sunscreen or any type of protection on the left side of our faces, necks, arms and hands. The easiest thing to do in the morning is slap on some sunscreen right after you shower that way you don’t have to worry about it when you are hurrying around to get to work on time.

I love that I can eat healthy food for healthy skin. I read recently in a Yahoo article David Zinczenko about the 6 Best Foods for Healthy Skin. It made me look at what I eat and see what I can change or add into my diet to help clear up my skin. We hear all about drinking tons of water for healthy skin. Hmm, I don’t know how much truth is in that because I drink between four and five liters of water a day, and I still get pimples. He listed Salmon which helps lock in moisture in the skin-no help for me since I am a vegetarian, but it is the Omega-3 fatty acids that are needed, so luckily I can eat walnuts and flaxseeds to get the same effects. Carrots, which I love so those will get more prevalent, help to fill in blotches on your skin to give a healthy glow. Avocados, Beans, or legumes, all help to smooth out wrinkles, and Grapes help to stop the skin from sagging-added grape benefit is they help protect us from heart attacks.

10 Fast Skin Fixes: (great advice in this article)

Wash your face before you go to bed.
Wear sunscreen every day, year-round.
Be nice to your face.
Stop thinking that if your skin feels tight it must be clean.
Banish breakouts.
Keep shine at bay midday.
Wash your face after you do your ‘do.
Clean your makeup brushes weekly.
Change pillowcases often.
Get your beauty rest.

I hate acne. I am way too old to be having it-anyone over seventeen is too old in my book. Why is it that I had absolutely no pimples in high school, but I grow up through my twenties and yep…there they are. I get them at the corners of my mouth, I probably wipe my mouth to much or something, but still! I do not deserve them. I wash my face daily; I use moisturizer, get sleep, drink tons of water and eat healthy. This is the time of my life when I should be living it up and not worrying about skin malfunctions, not covering up even more imperfections.

I hate that there is no for sure cause of acne. Okay, my pores clog. Well, I wash my face-shouldn’t that be good enough? But other than that there is no one cause to say, Don’t Do_____. Acne.org, who should be the ones that know what to do and not do, have some presumptions but no hard facts. Some reasons may be hormones-that makes sense in your teens, diet, evolutionary biology, vitamin deficiency, stress and more…More, how much more could there be, since they list everything that is going on in your life. They say that diet has a direct effect on insulin levels, which directly affects all the hormones in our bodies. They think that a diet that causes insulin spikes affects the development of acne-does that mean diabetics all have acne?

I hate that there are some easy ways to stop or get rid of acne. If it is all so easy, why haven’t I figured it out yet? Easiest ways? Stop touching your face…that is the hardest part for me. I touch my face and wipe my mouth constantly. So oils, bacteria and just plain grime gets moved all around. Blech. Another supposed “easy” way to get rid of acne? Exercise. Well I do that already, and two hours a day sometimes, but still it is there. I am glad I am getting the good exercise in, but come on-I want to reap other benefits too. Something I haven’t tried is benzoyl peroxide which you can buy cheaply over-the-counter and doesn’t come in a heavy lotion form. The benzoly kills the bacterium that causes acne so I think I will add this to my daily routine. Anything to get the stuff to stop popping up.