1.26

The vest is purple. The tights are gray. The pictures didn't turn out that well.  I probably haven't worn this shirt in over a year. OK maybe it was 3 years ago.  It wrinkles like crazy so I never wanted to wear it.

I wore my snake necklace again. I don't think it really went with the outfit.

My desk is a lot cleaner than normal at work. I handled the 10 or so post-it notes that were all in front of my keyboard.  Dave still said this is not a clean desk but I guess he doesn't see it on a normal occasion.

After work I was so motivated to run and I head over to the gym and realize my orthotics were in my shoes at home and my shoes that were in my gym bag had no orthotics (or insoles at all). Boy did that suck. I was actually motivated to run because Jen told me how she ran 4 miles and had emailed me about it. Usually I go to the treadmill to run and am not motivated. Such wasted motivation.   I came home and after dinner used the exercise bike, did some weights, did an ab workout, and stretched so at least I got a workout in.

11.7

Skirt: F21

Cardigan and Shirt: NY&Co

Shoes: Mudd

Belt: Kohl's

Necklace: Lia Sophia

I woke up early and got to work fairly early. I felt extremely busy all day.

I went for a walk with Dave at lunch but we cut it short because his ankles were bothering him.

I had my gym bag at work to go to Body Pump at work or at Steph's gym.  Well I didn't go to either.  My foot was still bothering me when I wore my athletic shoes. My calves were still hurting a little. I figured I guess I should rest on rest day (even though I also rested 2 days ago).

My new remote came so I tried it out.

I came home and ate dinner. I watched Once Upon a Time and Whitney. Then I finished prepping for my Stampin' Up Class while watching Dancing with the stars. Cutting all the paper for the one card took too long. I kept making mistakes.  8 pieces of cardstock is too many for a card. Having 3 have dimensions that end in 3/8 and 1/8 was also difficult. Oh I should have picked simpler cards. It ended up taking me 3 hours to cut supplies for 1 card and plan one card (and the idea was already in my head) and then cut the supplies for that card.

Since I was already up until 11, I figured why not crop some pictures and type some blog posts since I felt behind.  I took a break and did some crunches. Poly wasn't haven't any parts of that.

9.20

Shirt: NY&Co (altered twice)
Tank: Not sure but it was in 2002
Skirt: F21
Shoes: Macy's
Earrings and Necklace: Lia Sophia

This is the shirt that I altered in two different ways. I made it sit better in the hips instead of having wings and then about 6 months later, I made it not so loose in my lower back.

I woke up and was so exhausted. I slept 1.5 more hours than Dave. He's the sick one.  I hoped I was not getting sick.

The work day flew by until 11 then it dragged on until lunch. I had french fries with cheese for lunch.  Then the day flew again.

I went straight from work to run with Kelly.  I got home, showered, started setting up my computer, ate dinner, and then it was already 8:30 pm. I wanted more food, but couldn't figure out what to eat.  Dave and I watched part of The Sing Off and then Dave went to bed.  I was going to go to bed but then I noticed that The Biggest Loser started so I watched that 2 hour episode. Then I went to sleep. It was very hot so it was really hard to fall asleep.

7.14 - Patio, Deck Party

Outfit 1: Work
Skirt: F21
Shirt: Loft (outlet)
Necklace: F21
Shoes: Macy's

Outfit 2: Deck Part at my parents
Shirt and Skirt: Express
Shoes: Kohl's

I was at work until the patio guy called. I headed home to meet with him. We went over what we were getting.  Finally. We decided to go with him in April.  There has been a lot of lack of communication but finally he's started.  Not only did he have my wrong email address when trying to email me the estimate the first time, bu the also listed our phone number wrong on the estimate so when he tried to call me earlier this week, I never got the messages.  

Starting the patio only ended up being dropping off the bobcat but at least it was started.

I made tuna noodle casserole for dinner. I got back to working while it was cooking.   Then we ate. I followed the same recipe I used last time but this time it turned out much dryer.  Perhaps I'll just wing it like I usually do. Last time it turned out so well that I wrote down what I did.
After dinner, I had to leave to head to my parents deck party. Poly sure was cute and was hard to leave.

At my parents, we sat on the deck, drank frozen drinks, and ate some snacks.  It was nice.  Their new deck is nice. It is bigger than the old one. I think they used it more in the past few weeks since they got it than they did their old deck they had for over 20 years. I got really tired though.  Finally around midnight I went to sleep. I spent the night at my parents as I planned. The plan was to telecommute Friday so I could easily go to their deck party .

5.20 - Breakfast, Drive, Rehearsal, 2 dinners

Outfit 1: To work for a breakfast

Skirt: F21

Shirt: NY&Co.

Blazer: Sears

Belt: Target

Necklace: Sears

Earrings: Target

The blue earrings are the same shade as the shirt. I'm not sure if you can tell in the picture.

I had probably a dozen better ideas of what to wear but then something was dirty or I thought it would be too tight since I gained a little weight.

Outfit 2: Driving to Philly but also ended up being wedding rehearsal outfit

Jeans: Indi

Shirt: NY&Co

Jacket: NY&Co

Shoes: Kohl's

Necklace: Sears

Earrings: Target

These jeans were a lot more comfortable than the jeans I bought ages ago. I think because I was already getting fatter when I got these.  The sandals have 4+ inch heels. They are the first sandals I bought and wore. They are still out of my comfort zone and are already almost a year old. (See them better here.)

Poly cuddled with me in the morning so I got started getting ready a little late.

I got up and Dave was still sleeping. Look how cute Poly was.

Then after my shower, Poly wanted in.  She loves the shower.

I went to work for the breakfast. It was the recognition for the WIN scholarship Winner. There were 16 total in attendance.  As soon as I got home, we grabbed last minute things and were on the road.

We were making a pit stop on the way so my mom could cat-sit Poly.  Poly doesn't mind  the car as much during the daylight.  Dave sat in the backseat with her.  BTW this is a dog cage. The cat ones were too little and she didn't like them.  We always leave the cage out in the living room. We caught her napping in it once or twice. Sometimes she also naps on top of it. She actually does that often. We leave it out so she doesn't see it and hate it when we do have to go somewhere. Inside the cage is an afghan and a towel so she has a nice soft surface to sleep on.

We got to my parents and Poly made herself right at home.  We stayed there talking a little bit and then realized we might be late if we didn't get a move on it.  Also I always forget to take into account that I like to stop at every rest stop to take a little nap.

I knew we were running behind so I only stopped at 2 stops.  We also didn't make a final stop close to Philly where Dave would drive. I hate driving near there.  We arrived at the rehearsal at 4:58.  It was supposed to start at 5. Also I originally thought we'd go to the hotel first before going to the rehearsal.  We hit a ton of traffic near Philly and that sucked.

The officiant arrived at 5:34 so I guess it was like we were early.

After the rehearsal, we all went to dinner at some random place near Tyler Arboretum.  While there I was talking to Dave about where our 2nd dinner would be.

We ended up getting Wawa for 2nd dinner.  I got an italian hoagie and Dave got 2 hoagies.  This was the start of me gaining 2 lbs while in Philly.   Man was I exhausted.  I don't like all that driving.

5.2 - Cooked Dinner

I keep tricking my eyes with these nude pumps.
Shirt: Express
Blazer: Sears
Skirt: F21
Shoes: Aldo
Belt: Target
Necklace: Sears
Earrings: Target
Ring: Lia Sophia

My shoes cost more than the rest of my outfit put together.  This is one of my favorite shirts.  I wish the sleeves on the blazer were a little longer.

This morning I opened a box of pantyhose and put them on. Around 10AM I noticed a big runner in them.

I was going to run after work but somehow I got hacked into coming home and cooking. I did the cooking. I even did the stuff on the grill.  I wasn't too happy about that.  The fries were made in the oven according to the directions and then in the broiler for a few minutes and I turned them in order to get them crispy.  The chicken has Carolina's seasoning mix that my mom bought me from the place she bought her grill. The green beans were steamed from fresh with butter and pepper added.  The corn was steamfresh. As an FYI I ate 3/4 of my chicken but ate more veggies than were on my plate here.

Day 28 - March 8 - Everybody Everywhere Day

Since I'm still in my 30 for 30, I had to go with an accessory with polka dots and the only thing I have is tights. 

 Boots: Famous Footwear, Cardigan: B Moss, Cami: Express, Skirt: F21,

Tights: Target, Necklace: Lia Sophia

I did a little jumping for the Everybody Everywhere day.
Jumping is hard work to time the picture properly. It is also hard work to not make the weirdest facial express. It also messes up your shirt so it is too high on your body.

Now to get this post up I had to upload my pictures at home this morning, crop them at home, make the collage at home. Therefore, I got to work a good 30 minutes later than I normally do.

Don't forget to join me for Color Rotation Challenge starting March 15.



Daily Update: I got to work later than normal so I had to stay later. This would greatly impact my gym schedule. I thought I could run at lunch. Well I was wrong. I had a meeting 12-1 and another one 2-3:30 (and one 2:30-3 and one 3:00-3:30).  We have core hours that end at 3:30 so I thought I could get a run in after the 3:30 meeting and go back to work.  Well the last meeting actually ended at 4:10. I was headed over to change to run and realized pilates starts at 4:30 so I should just go to that. Also it was pretty chilly outside without the sun so I wasn't sure about an outside run. I thought I had enough time to run 1 mile and then do pilates. I was wrong. I would have had about 4 minutes but people get to class early and I didn't want the spots to be gone so I just went to pilates. Then I decided to run on the treadmill after class.  I got the last treadmill. Then all these people came in looking like they wanted a treadmill. It was too much pressure for me.  I stopped at 1.5 miles (13:15). But during that time I the weather report told me to get outside today and enjoy it because there will be a wintry mix the next 3 days (out of the three day forecast). Boy was I bummed. I guess at least I got a workout in.   So my workout counting stretching and cleaning up was 50 minutes.  I then showered (and put on my outside running clothes) and went back to work. I didn't do my makeup at all. I only brushed my hair and threw it up in a hair claw. I didn't dry it one bit.  I was gone from my cube for 1:45. That meant I had to stay even later.  I did end up staying at work even later than I had to. I left at 8pm. The janitor came to me around 7:30 saying it was official that I was the last person there.

I came home and ate some dinner. I reheated my leftovers from On The Border while watching Detroit 1-8-7.  Then Dave came downstairs and we watched The Event. Then it was 9:30 and we headed to bed. I read until I fell asleep reading.

Day 23 - February 28 + Exec Team building

To work:

Shoes: JCP, Skirt: F21, Tank: Old Navy, Cardigan: Express, Necklace: Lia Sophia, Earrings: Kohl's

The stripes in the tank top were awkward with the cardigan. The fabric bunched in odd ways. But overall I was pleased with how it turned out.

After work we had a team building for NA-YGN.  The restaurant allowed smoking so I wore clothes that I could throw in the wash and not have to worry about how many days until I do laundry again. I wore shoes, shirt, and jeans not on the 30 for 30.
Shoes: Nickles via Famous Footwear, Jeans: Express, Sweater: F21

These pictures make me look a lot fatter than the pictures a day earlier made me look.

I wore my hair up because it is entirely too long and I cannot stand it.  I hate wearing my hair up but can't stand the length. In November, I thought it was time for a haircut and I still haven't cut it.

Now PA has some laws about smoking in restaurants but there are exceptions to this law. I very much LOVE no smoking in restaurants and couldn't believe we ended up planning the event at a place that allowed smoking. Do restaurants allow smoking/have smoking sections in your area?  How do you feel about the smoking? 

Now I thought the smoking wasn't nearly as bad as I thought but then I realized my eyes burned from it so I guess it was way worse than I thought. I did not get a headache from it, but I usually do.  I got home at 11pm and still had to shower because I smelled like smoke so bad.  It was more noticeable once I got out of the car. I had the vent on while driving so didn't really notice it.

Besides the smoking the team building was good. Most of the new people could make it. We had over half there. The original date should have been the week before but the snow foiled those plans.

I was going to go to the gym Tuesday morning but with a late night Monday shower I didn't want to have to shower so close together so I did not go to Body Pump

I worked all day and left just in time to drive home to change clothes and then leave again. Poly was so cute during the short time that I was home. I was very sad about this. She must have known I was in a rush. I told Dave to hurry home from work. He was at work late... very late for him.

In the morning Poly hogged the bed. I'm glad I keep a camera on my nightstand.

Day 18: February 21 - E-Week Presentation (and Day 19)

I'm pretty sure this could be outfits 2018 and 2119. I had the blazer on in the morning and no blazer in the afternoon. (Sometimes I swear the hardest part of this challenge is figuring out which outfit day I'm on.)

Shoes: JCP
Skirt: F21
Shirt: Express
Blazer: Sears
Necklace: Sears
Umbrella: Carnegie Mellon

What didn't work: 
I think the black and white were too blah looking. I should have worn some color under the blazer like I have done in the past. (I almost wore this outfit but realized I already wore it for the 30 for 30 so I couldn't wear it again.)
There wasn't enough red to balance the red of the shoes because my hair blocks most of the necklace.

Note it was raining in the morning. I wish I would have known we were going to get an insane amount of snow because I would have taken boots to work with me instead of those red shoes.

Details of the Day:
At work there was a speaker for E-Week. This speaker was Dr. Sam Cerni. He presented to ANS earlier and the presentation was basically the same. Dr. Cerni was excellent at his presentation. Everyone listened intently which is rare for every single person to be so interested in the presentation especially with a group of about 300 people.  I introduced him and did not do so well. Then I presented him with a paperweight that was inscribed. That ended up even worse. My public speaking skills aren't the best. Then my public speaking skills into a microphone while being photographed and videotaped is even worse. The worst part of it all is that other sites are playing the DVD to employees.  I can't even bring myself to watch my introduction to see how bad it is.

Right before I was about to speak for the first time, I got a text message from my husband making me more nervous. He always likes to do that, but it is very annoying.

Nothing else went on in my day except normal workday stuff, which included computer issues.  I was afraid every time I saw anyone I knew that they would tell me they saw the presentation in the morning and would tell me how awful I did.

So after work there was supposed to be a team building event with a group at work but because of the snow that didn't happen. I really wished I had my gym bag at work. So not only did I not get home until 11, but I didn't get a workout in and I wasn't productive all evening.

30 for 30 Winter Edition: Day 5 (February 5)

This is a similar outfit to Day 1 but a cardigan instead of a sweater and I wore fishnet tights over my tights.

I'm not sure how I feel about layering tights.  Also my zipper on my right boot kept getting caught on the tights on my left leg.

This morning I ran 10 miles with Christina at North Park. I'll have a separate post with those details because I sure got a lot of details.  After I got home, I showered while Dave made some stir fry.

I was purely exhausted so I rested on the couch while we watched the rest of American Idol.  My hands were cold and my afghan was too far away so I used the terrible towels.

I got up because it was time to leave and Poly just looked too cute that I had to take her picture. Look at those crossed paws.

We did some car shopping today. We went to Outback where I left my leftovers right on the table. I'm sad about that. I probably ate 2 oz of my steak. I just got too full because we had an appetizer.
Then Dave and I watched a movie. I should be planning for my SU class. I have 5 of 12 cards ready. I do not have the box ready at all to make.   Tomorrow people will be coming around 6 and I have to shop and make food prior to that. I also need to fit in exercising.  I don't know how it will all get done.

30 for 30 Winter Edition: Day 1 (February 1)

I started off wild and crazy for me. I wore bright tights to work. They are purple. People told me they were purple. They look pink in these pictures though.

Shirt: Express
Sweater: Express
Skirt: F21
Boots: Famous Footwear
Tights: Target
Necklace: Charlotte Russe

This outfit is so far out of my comfort zone, it still scares me and I wore it all day.

What didn't work (and never will) is that the skirt has an exposed zipper. I hate that. But today's shirts were so long that they covered it, so that was good.
My purple tights looked pink but that might have been better since my necklace is pink.  I went with brights today.

   

I had a few emails with Kendi today. Her list of remixers are up and there are over 800 participating this time around.  Also, in case you are wondering, Kendi loves my tights. She also asked if this is a new Colleen. Ha. I told her this is a scared Colleen branching out.
This is a scared Colleen branching out.

I'm wearing boots. I only did that like twice at work before this year. Now it is common.
I am wearing colorful tights. A very new thing for me
I don't match the tights I contrast them. Matching tights is new but today is way new.
I have on a printed skirt... that is rare
I have on a skirt with a stupid exposed zipper... seems popular but I can't stand it.

I'm BRANCHING out like crazy

Even the shirt under my sweater is a new thing.
Then her last email to me was:

Colleen! This is more than branching out -- this is a whole new person!!

A shirt under your sweater? You have gone mad. I'm glad you're branching out. Scaring yourself is good for you. 

Scaring myself is probably not as good for me as you might think. Well maybe it is because I think the days I scare myself are the days I burn a lot more calories and calorie burn = good for me.

What do you think of my outfit? I think it is a bad way to start my challenge. I'm supposed to get better as it goes on but I think I've already peaked.

This morning I turned around for 10 seconds and turn back to use my computer and find this. Poly is a cutey. BTW right now she is right in front of my keyboard. My right arm is over her body and my left arm is under her paws and head. She is just too cute.

I had a meeting today that lasted so long that I had to move conference rooms twice.  I have been mentioning for awhile that I could help someone do the powerpoint and then today they take me up on it. It was the very last day and I had plans this evening so now I am very tired. I just finished.

Tonight, there was a Stampin' Up Party at Lindsay's. It was a little hectic with 2 tables in 2 rooms, but we made it work.  I am just so exhausted from it. I can't wait until I load my gowear fit numbers to see how many calories I burned during it.  The last time there was a hectic party, the calorie burn remained my max for a good 3 or 4 months.

Today I added some navigation buttons to the top of my page. I still have to write a few pages. I can't wait to make my running one. I just won't have any time for at least a week.

Also did anyone notice I have no gold in my remix. How am I to wear black and gold this weekend? Also Thursday and Friday are black and gold days at work. Too bad my Steelers Jersey never arrived that my dad ordered for me.

January 20 - My own outfit creation, snow, new TV

Blazer: Sears (2005)
Shirt: Express (February 2009)
Skirts: F21 (December 26, 2010)
Shoes: Shoe Dept. - Mudd (2007)
Belt: Target (2010)
Tights: Target (Friday, January 14, 2011)
Necklace: Gift given to me May 20, 2006

When Brie was over going through my clothes, I got out my blazer saying how I don't want to wear it like a suit to work because people ask me why I'm so dressed up. I really like the blazer but never wear it. Then I said "I just want a print skirt to wear with it." but before I could even finish that, I started saying "Oh I just bought one." That is when my outfit creation was born.

I was indecisive about what to wear to work. I took 20 minutes picking out my clothes. I have a lot of "new" outfits from all the clothes already in my closet but I was still indecisive. It would be cold so did I want pants? Did I want taller heels?  It was probably the first day I actually picked clothes out and put them on my bed and then changed my mind.

Then I thought about layering tights. I thought I could go with purple tights and a pink shirt but I needed something to tie the 2 colors together. Well I failed at thinking so I just went with my new tights. I have seen many people wear these tights (in real life and in blogs). These tights caused me to mix patterns. At least I didn't realize until I was at work so I couldn't change my mind.  I should have worn tights though, because I was cold.

I knew I would have a decent amount of walking so I went with my 2" heels. Plus at the end of the last 30 for 30 I decided my black heels were too worn out and painful so I need to replace them. I still have yet to even look for replacements. I better get on that before this 30 for 30.

I took a picture with the blazer buttoned because I thought I might switch to doing that partway through the day. I didn't, but could have. Do you wear blazers? Where did you find your favorite blazer? I want to get more and can never seem to find good ones.

Someone at the gym complimented my skirt. It meant even more because I had never even seen this person before and we had never talked.  Also she saw me from behind so she could see the stupid zipper that isn't hidden.

I had 2 different meetings in building 1. They were spaced out but I didn't want to come over a third time to run, so I went at 10:30. I had an 11:30 meeting and wasn't sure how long it would take to walk there and shower after my run. I only ended up running 2.1 miles. Also at 2.08, I got a bad side cramp so it was a good stopping point. According to my thought timeline I could have probably run .15 more. I wanted to run 3 total. In actuality, I could have run .5-.6 more based on how much time I had to spare after walking to the conference room. Oh well. Hopefully I remember next time.   After my shower, my face matched my skirt. Two different people even commented on this. I put on foundation and then a lot of powder and it really helped. Someone else even commented how much it helped. I really put a lot on though.

My new TV has arrived. The wall mount is also here.  Now to figure out when to move my entire desk and computers away from the wall so I can set it all up.

The new TV means that I can stop using my 13" TV from Christmas of 1994.

Poly still likes her red bag.

Poly was sleeping on Dave but he kept laughing and that made his chest move. She did not like that so she went and rested at the end of the couch.

I took a breakfast bar with me to work but never ate it. I went to Moe's for lunch. I ate hot dogs for dinner. Then I ate Honey Nut Cheerios. Then I ate some sour cream and onion chips. Then I ate some Mike and Ike's.

When I got to work, I went to the gym to drop off my gym bag and hang up my coat. During this time I saw someone drying her hair.  Later after my 2nd meeting, I went back to the gym to get my coat and gym bag. I saw the same girl drying her hair.  So she saw me twice in the locker room and neither time was I actually working out. Also she obviously worked out twice.  She probably thought I was crazy.