Oh, Where, Oh Where Has My Little Maggi Gone?

I am here!!!!

Sorry for the absence folks.  I need to stop going away for such long periods of time.  I have gotten out of the routine of reading my friend's blogs as well.  Time to shape up!

Ok.  Catch up time:

Update number 1: The Vampire Diaries are still a huge obsession.  I mean how hot are these two:

And there are many more where those came from (Google Images).  I just watched last week's episode last night.  It is getting so good with twists and turns everywhere!


Update number 2: I have subsided with my Jillian workouts.  Not good cause I am getting a bit gigglier again, however, I seem to continue to lose weight.  Weird, I know.  I think it is that I am really watching what I eat and how much I eat.  I am going to lend Jillian to my friend Tracy.  She has two weddings coming up and she, I think, needs a bit of a kick start again.  She has been working out for a while now and she may have just plateaued a bit.  Jillian is certainly the one to help with that.  I hope she likes it.  That brings me to...


Update number 3: I have a new friend named Tracy!!!  She is super fun, super cool and reminds me a bit of my very bestest bestie, my cousin, Elena, so you know she is of the utmost in the realm of sheer friendship quality.


I started taking the bus to work to save money on parking and gas.  It is much better than when I lived on Fairfield cause the bus stop is one block (and really it is a short block so it is more like a 1/2 block) away and I don't have to transfer buses as all.  So, I had seen this chick at the stop each day, thought she may have looked slightly familiar (I will come back to the significance of this later) but didn't say a word.  First off, I am not sure I know her and second, I haven't had my coffee yet and it really can be difficult to converse that early in the morning when you haven't had your liquid pick-me-up.  Well, one day, she comes running up and asks me if the bus that just went by was the 38.  I said, "No, it was the 3."  And thus began a beautiful friendship...at least so far.  JK, Trace, if you are reading this.  Hahahaha.  She did say to me, at one of our get-to-know-you sessions, when I told her I was a Scorpio, that things always go south in her friendships with Scorpios.  I plan to prove that it won't be so with all Scorpios, at least not this one.  Not to mention that I fancy myself a special sort of Scorpio, a different sort of Scorpio.  We'll see if that fancying works out for me.  ;)  "Here's your one chance, Fancy.  Don't let me dowwwoowwnnn!"

From Someecards.com

(Via BuzzFeed) UPDATED: It seems that #5, Molestationnursery.com, has been changed into something unrelated to childcare. It is definitely NSFW, even if you work at a nursery. And the Cummings Methodist Church has also changed their URL. No word on whether there's pornography filmed there.

Sunday's Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen

Miss Regina King and Miss Jaquee Harry. They are more subdued in these after show clips than on the regularly aired show but you will get the gist. They were hilarious! Andy could not get control of these two.

Day 7 & 8

Day 7 - Stronger than the day before.  I know I keep saying this but it still amazes me.  Not entirely sure why...it stands to reason that if you work out your muscles will get stronger and stronger until you have done that exercise so much, they plateau and maintain but I am nonetheless flabbergasted each time I get down on that floor to do my push-ups thinking "This sucks!  I am going to die!" and then I don't at all die and it really isn't that sucky.  I am still doing the push-ups on my knees but I am hoping to soon bring them up to my feet.  With the rate I am going, I have no doubt I can do that shortly.

All of the moves keep getting increasingly easy to accomplish.  The side lunges with shoulder lifts (3 lb weight in each hand) are finally starting to work with me.  This is by far, the hardest move to do for me and one that I always have to stop for a couple of seconds a couple of times throughout the exercise.  Day 7 saw me stop only twice, I believe and for a very short amount of time.  Mike does have to hear me grunt through some of the moves but he knows that means I am working hard and pushing through.

I started to get sore again.  I believe this is because I am strong enough now to actually do the moves correctly allowing for my muscles to work more efficiently and work my body better.  It is not at all like the first couple of days where I walked like a penguin and could hardly get out of my chair at work or walk down stairs.  It is a much more manageable pain.

Day 8 - Last night.  I didn't do it.  I feel really guilty but I didn't do anything last night.  I was super tired cause Mike got home early yesterday morning from work, around 1 or 2 am, and I could not fall back to sleep after that.  And, really, I just plain did not feel like it so I didn't do it.  Luckily, my guilt subsided rather quickly when I realized I do not have any money to do anything with this weekend so I will have plenty of time to make it up then.  So, last night was reserved for watching Sunday's episode of Brothers and Sisters, Andy Cohen's Watch What Happens Live and The Millionaire Matchmaker, along with finding Vampire Diaries on Facebook, Liking it and drooling over Damon (Ian Somerfeldt) and Stefan (Paul Wesley), my new favorite vampires.  But all of this is for another post....a very hot, steamy post. ;)  Stay tuned...

Day 6 - The Jillian Saga Continues

So, I just accomplished day 6.  Ok, just meaning last night.  I got into a routine before the holidays where I worked out just about every morning but there is so much jumping (jumping jacks, jumping rope) that I decided to work out in the evening now instead.  I didn't want to wake Mike up plus I take a shower afterwards which means I am more ready to go in the morning so I don't have to get up as early and I can straighten my hair in no time cause it is already dry.  But I digress...

I can't believe how quickly Jillian has given me strength.  And by strength, I am not referring to the will power to get through the moves (I had to come up with that all on my own) but I mean actual muscle strength.  Each day, the push ups got easier, the crunches got easier, the lunges got easier...you get the gist.  I was sort of nervous doing the workout yesterday thinking the 2 days off (and the drinking and stuffing my face) would somehow render the last 5 days null and void but the workout was even easier than last Friday.  I didn't stop to catch my breath (only for 5 seconds like Jillian allows) less often than Friday even.  The side lunges coupled with arm lifts (oh, these are the worst!!!) were easier and I hardly paused.  And the best part, even if I am fooling myself and just seeing things, is that it seems as if I am a bit smaller.  As I stated in my last post, not so much by weight (although I do seem to have lost a couple pounds) but I must be toning cause my fat knees look on the slimmer side, my thunder thighs are on the quieter side, my tremendous saddle bags seem to carry less, my tire looks like it might not save me as easily if I drown like it once did and Mike tells me my face looks slimmer.  It all seems to be working.  Huh?  Who knew?  ;)

Now, if I could just get in the habit of shaving my legs more often....perhaps Jillian will fix this as well.  If my legs get skinny enough to wear shorts and skirts in the summer, problem solved...for that season anyhow.

Always Good Advice

A New Year

We are officially one entire week into the new year and this usually signifies new beginnings of some sort.  I have a couple such new beginnings.

Starting on the first weekday of the new year (Monday, January 3rd), I started my new workout regimen with Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred.  This routine consists of 18 minutes of straight workout with probably another approximate 4 minutes each of warm up and cool down.  The workout is Jillian's 3-2-1 program consisting of 3 minutes of strength training, 2 minutes of cardio and 1 minute of abdominal crunches.  Now, I am pretty sure that Jillian Michaels is the antichrist but I can tell you that after 5 days of this workout in a row, I can already tell a difference.  I am much stronger and Mike seems to think that I am skinnier (not so weight wise but I suppose I could have toned up a bit already).  It is the most intense workout I have ever endured but I am done in less than 30 minutes and I already feel the benefits.  I gave myself the weekend as I headed down to Dodgeville on Saturday to see the folks and hang out with high school friends.

This leads me to my other new beginning of this new year...I have a new show and I am obsessed!  I am in love with The Vampire Diaries on the CW.  Ok, so this started before the new year cause I needed to catch up with the first season via Netflix but I am now waiting for the new episodes to air starting January 27.  It is a teeny bopper show but the writing is actually pretty good and so is the acting.  Not to mention that they have employed some of the most beautiful people I have ever seen for these characters.  I was pleasantly surprised which turned into intrigue which turned into a mild compulsion to know what would happen next which turned into full blown obsession and I am sure I need an intervention now.  Carla, Liz and I sat for hours and watched Season 2 and now I am all caught up.  I usually get annoyed and bored when a subject seems to get overplayed but not when it involves vampires, witches and werewolves.  I cannot wait to see what happens next!